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BP to close TANAP deal by year’s end

BP confirms it will close on deal to take stake in Turkish natural gas pipeline by the end of the year. UPI/Alexis C. Glenn LONDON, Oct. 28 (UPI) — BP confirmed Tuesday an agreement to take a 12 percent stake in a Turkish pipeline carrying Azeri gas to Europe will close by the end of the year. BP-Azerbaijan in January 2013 signed a framework agreement to take on a 12 percent stake in the Trans-Anatolian natural gas project. The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic has a majority stake in the pipeline. "We expect to take a 12 percent stake in TANAP by the end of the year," a BP spokesman confirmed to UPI. BP has awarded more than $1 billion in development contracts since selecting the Trans-Adriatic pipeline as its option to carry natural gas from the Shah Deniz field off the coast of Azerbaijan last year. The […]

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EU climate policies work, commissioner says

European report finds emission reductions on course to pass goals for 2020. UPI/Stephen Shaver The commission and the European Environment Agency estimated total greenhouse gas emissions from members of the European Union in 2013 fell 1.8 percent from the previous year. That means 2013 emissions were their lowest since 1990. EU members have agreed to cut emissions by 20 percent of the 1990 benchmark by 2020. The commission said the data show the EU is on pace to surpass the target. EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the emission declines show European climate policies work. "Delivering on 2020 climate goals shows that Europe is ready to step up its act," she said. "And better, still: it shows that the EU is delivering substantial cuts." Members of the European Union agreed last week to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent, increase the renewable energy footprint by 27 percent […]

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BP Enhances Dividend as Profit Beats Estimates on Margins

BP Plc (BP/) ’s quarterly profit beat estimates as underlying production increased and refining margins improved. Europe ’s third-largest oil producer said it would pay stockholders a higher dividend for the period. Net income adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes fell 19 percent to $3 billion in the third quarter from $3.7 billion a year earlier, the London-based company said today in a statement. That beat the $2.93 billion average of 14 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. BP will pay a dividend of 10 cents a share, a 5.3 percent increase from a year earlier. “BP is steadfastly continuing on its road to recovery,” said Richard Hunter , head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management Ltd. in London . “BP has been able to generate strong cash flow partly through an improved downstream performance.” While the refining business helped BP beat estimates, the overall decline in profit […]

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BP hurt by Russian economic downturn

Economic cloud hanging over Moscow hurts BP’s bottom line for third quarter 2014. UPI/Alex Volgin BP reported its third quarter profits were off 63 percent. Revenues for the third quarter dropped more than 3 percent year-on-year to $94.8 billion. From its operations related to Russian oil company Rosneft, BP said net income for the quarter was $110 million compared with $808 million during the same period last year. "The depreciation of the ruble against the dollar over the period had a significant impact on the result," the company said in its quarterly statement. The Russian currency hit an all-time low last week, trading at 42 rubles to the dollar. Western sanctions on its energy sector imposed in response to crises in Ukraine, coupled with record-level inflation and low oil prices, have hit the Russian economy hard. In its statement for the second quarter , BP warned any "future erosion" […]

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Europe Strives to Overcome Its Reliance on Russian Gas

LONDON — In the early 1980s, the Reagan administration warned its West European allies about their growing dependence on Russian gas. The Europeans paid no heed. They had found the Soviet Union to be a reliable supplier of gas over the previous decade, and they all — Margaret Thatcher included — refused to comply with a United States demand to stop their companies from selling technology with American origins to build new pipelines to bring more gas to Western Europe from Siberia. Now, the Ukraine crisis has opened up a deep political rift with Russia, Europe’s largest single foreign supplier of not only gas, but also oil , coal and nuclear fuel — and that long-ago warning by the United States looks prescient. For Europe, growing reliance on imported fossil fuels is a fact of life that will not change greatly for years. Europe’s domestic production of oil, gas […]

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The Cost of Cheap Oil

Printer-friendly The world price of oil – Brent Crude – fell below $84 per barrel on October 15.  This was 26% less than the $115 it had reached in June, just four months before.  The rise during the spring had many explanations:  global tensions in Ukraine, the South China Sea and especially the Middle East with the emergence of the Islamic State, plus a capital crunch challenging the health of the U.S. shale fracking boom.  Then suddenly in June, prices started dropping, reaching levels unseen since 2010 (though still high by historical standards – twice that of 10 years ago). What is going on?  Why does the price of oil matter to financial advisors?  What might these fluctuations mean to the price and supply of oil for the rest of the decade?  Isn’t oil just another commodity? A primer on oil prices Oil is unique. There is a tight […]

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Population explosion is unstoppable

4607 Votes Not even a third world war or a lethal pandemic, leave alone a one child policy globally, will be able to slow down the planet’s rocketing population rise, scientists say. New multi-scenario modeling of world human population has concluded that even stringent fertility restrictions or a catastrophic mass mortality would not bring about large enough change this century to solve issues of global sustainability. Scientists concluded that even a world-wide one-child policy like China’s, implemented over the coming century would still likely result in 5-10 billion people by 2100. There are currently about 7.1 billion people on earth, and demographers estimate that this number could rise to about 9 billion by 2050. Professor Corey Bradshaw and Professor Barry Brook from the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute said that the locked-in population growth means the world must focus on policies and technologies that reverse rising consumption of natural […]

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Oil Price: Beginning Of A Downtrend

4607 Votes Summary The IEA’s Mid-Term Oil Market Balance may be the only chart you need, to assess longer-term oil suply-demand. Based on abundand supply and slow demand growth, the recent drop in oil price is likely the beginning of a downtrend. Investment implicaitons: exposures to crude oil and oil producer stocks are not recommended. Crude oil prices recently plummeted to around $80 per barrel of the WTI contract, from the recent peak around $105 in June – a more than 23% drop. The Brent contract price stands around $86, even a steeper drop from its peak. This came as a surprise to many energy experts, given ongoing serious geopolitical issues in oil-producing regions such as ISIS advances in Iraq and Syria, and sanctions on Russia. The lower WTI price has negative consequences for earnings of U.S. oil producers. And, while lower oil price is a net-positive for the […]

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Oil Subdued Ahead Weekly U.S. Stockpile Data

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures were subdued in Asian trade Tuesday as market participants expected yet another increase in weekly U.S. oil inventories to add to the current global oversupply. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at $80.62 a barrel at 0501 GMT, down $0.38 in the Globex electronic session. December Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.52 to $85.31 a barrel. Oil markets are still gloomy after Goldman Sachs slashed price forecasts for next year overnight, but investors are likely to shift focus to U.S. inventory data this week. The American Petroleum Institute, a trade body, will publish its survey of weekly U.S. oil stockpile data later Tuesday. The more closely watched inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due on Wednesday and analysts expect a significant increase. Oil producers, particularly from U.S. shale have […]

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WTI Trades Near 3-Day Low as Supplies Seen Rising

West Texas Intermediate traded near the lowest closing price in three days amid speculation crude stockpiles increased to the highest level since July in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent fell in London . Futures were little changed in New York after falling just 1 cent yesterday. Crude inventories are forecast to have expanded by 3.8 million barrels to 381.5 million last week, a Bloomberg News survey showed before government data tomorrow. OPEC is unlikely to reduce its production target when it meets next month, Mohsen Qamsari, a director for international affairs at National Iranian Oil Co., said yesterday according to the Oil Ministry’s news service. “It’s clear that the supply situation is at a record in terms of stockpiles, so it’s going to take some time to clear that excess,” Michael McCarthy , a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone today. With […]

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