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U.S. Refiners Looking Closer to Home to Buy Their Crude

The U.S. is relying the most in four decades on oil from the Americas as the shale revolution reduces imports from the Persian Gulf and Africa . Countries outside North, Central and South America supplied the smallest portion of foreign crude in August to the U.S. in government records dating back to 1973. Surging production in Canada and the U.S. has reduced the need for cargoes of light oil, with the remaining imports of heavy crude more likely to be from Mexico or Venezuela than Nigeria or Saudi Arabia. The shift is another sign of how the North American energy revolution is affecting some suppliers more than others. OPEC members, including Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria, meet tomorrow in Vienna to decide whether to cut output in an effort to prop up prices that have fallen 31 percent since June. U.S. refiners built the capacity to use heavy crude, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Give thanks for low gasoline prices

Business is brisk at the Mobil on the Run gasoline station where the price for a gallon of regular has dropped to $2.38 in Overland, Missouri on November 19, 2014. UPI/Bill Greenblatt Gasoline prices in the United States heading into Thanksgiving are the lowest in five years and should continue to drop, the Energy Department said Wednesday. The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States is $2.81, according to motor club AAA, which is nearly 50 cents lower than one year ago and the lowest average price heading into the Thanksgiving holiday season since 2009. The Energy Information Administration, the analytical arm of the Energy Department, said the decline in gasoline prices is largely a reflection of crude oil prices , which have shed more than 20 percent of their value since June. Gasoline prices are down more than 88 cents per […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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E.P.A. Ozone Rules Divide Industry and Environmentalists

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday announced a long-delayed environmental regulation to curb emissions of ozone, a smog-causing pollutant linked to asthma, heart disease and premature death. The sweeping regulation, which are aimed at smog caused by power plants and factories across the country, particularly in the Midwest, is the latest in a series of Environmental Protection Agency controls on air pollution that wafts from smokestacks and tailpipes. Such regulations, released under the authority of the Clean Air Act , have become a hallmark of President Obama’s administration. Environmentalists and public health advocates have praised the E.P.A. rules as a powerful environmental legacy. Republicans, manufacturers and the fossil fuel industry have sharply criticized them as an example of costly government overreach. The National Association of Manufacturers has called the proposal “the most expensive regulation ever.” The proposed regulation would lower the current threshold for ozone pollution to a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EPA Proposes Stricter Ozone Air Pollution Standard

Los Angeles has been ranked the worst in the nation for ozone pollution. ENLARGE Los Angeles has been ranked the worst in the nation for ozone pollution. Getty Images WASHINGTON—The Obama administration is preparing for the release of a series of energy regulations over the coming weeks in advance of a Republican-controlled Congress next year that will prompt pushback from industries and lawmakers, testing President Barack Obama’s commitment to his environmental agenda. On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed lower limits for ground-level ozone , or smog, in the atmosphere, setting off a nearly yearlong regulatory process for setting a new standard. Public-health and environmental groups say the limits are essential in preventing a range of respiratory diseases. Businesses say it could be the costliest regulation in U.S. history. By year’s end, the administration plans to release at least three other regulations, including another from EPA regulating coal ash, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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More on Bakken Production, Choke Theory

The US Petroleum Supply Monthly just came out with production data for every state and territory. US supply was up 168,000 bpd to 8,864,000 bpd in September. The biggest gainers were North Dakota, up 53,000 bpd to 1,185,000 bpd and Alaska up 79,000 to 477,000 bpd. Alaska  was way down in both July and August and are just recovering from that.  There was only one big loser, New Mexico, down 18,000 bpd. Texas was up only 9,000 barrels per day which was surprising. The Gulf of Mexico was down 3,000 bpd. The Choke theory and why I ain’t buying it. North Dakota publishes a Daily Activity Report Index  of all permits and other well activity in the Bakken as well as the rest of North Dakota. In this report is a list of all producing wells completed as well as wells released from confidential (tight hole) status. Wells usually […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Monster Wells: Hundreds Of Fracking Wells Using 10-25 Million Gallons of Water Each

While the oil and gas industry likes to claim that fracking is not an especially water intensive process, a new report has found that there are more than 250 wells across the country that each require anywhere from 10 to 25 million gallons of water. The American Petroleum Institute suggests that the typical fracked well uses “the equivalent of the volume of three to six Olympic sized swimming pools,” which works out to 2-4 million gallons of water. But using data reported by the industry itself and available on the FracFocus.org website, Environmental Working Group has determined that there are at least 261 wells in eight states that used an average of 12.7 million gallons of water, adding up to a total of 3.3 billion gallons, between 2010 and 2013. Fourteen wells used over 20 million gallons each in that time period (see chart below). According to EWG, some […]

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Russia Says Will Keep Oil Output Steady In 2015

Russian oil companies will keep production steady in 2015, Energy Minister Alexander Novak says, after Moscow left a meeting with other major oil producers with no agreement on how to address weak oil prices. MOSCOW, Nov 26 (Reuters) – Russian oil companies will keep production steady in 2015, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday, after Moscow left a meeting with other major oil producers with no agreement on how to address weak oil prices. Russia, which is not an OPEC member, has watched nervously as oil prices have fallen 30 percent since June and analysts say Moscow had hoped to convince other members and non-members to support a production cut at an OPEC meeting on Thursday. After talks between Saudi Arabia, fellow OPEC member Venezuela and oil power Mexico ended without an agreement on Tuesday, Russia’s message was clear – daily average oil production of around 10.5 million […]

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Russian Finance Minister Warns Oil Prices Likely to Remain Low

Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. The minister warned that oil prices are likely to remain… ENLARGE Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. The minister warned that oil prices are likely to remain at their current low level in the long term and so Russia must adjust its budget to make up for lost revenue. Photo: Reuters. Reuters MOSCOW—Lower oil prices are here to stay for the long term and the country’s budget should be adjusted accordingly, Russia’s finance minister said Wednesday. “The new oil prices, between $80 and $90 a barrel, most probably will stay in the mid to long-term,” Anton Siluanov told the upper house of parliament, before it formally approved the country’s budget for the next three years. Russian budgetary expenses have been growing faster than inflation for years while oil prices remained high. The country’s budget for the next year is still based on an average oil […]

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London has faith in marine energy

Early setbacks are expected, but low-carbon technologies like wave energy are part of the future, the British government said. UPI/Shutterstock/Ethan Daniels "Tidal power has the potential to contribute significantly to Britain’s energy security and provide clean energy and predictable clean energy, as part of a diverse mix," British Energy Secretary Ed Davey said at an investment conference in London. In September, the British government launched its so-called Paris 2015 document ahead of next year’s international climate summit in France, describing how acting now on cutting greenhouse gas emissions can help deter future climate disasters. The government said the document shows how it’s giving "a decisive political signal" that the future of energy is low-carbon. Government data show renewable energy’s share in electricity generation increased 7 percent year-on-year to 19.4 percent. The use of fossil fuels in general has declined, with coal’s share falling 3.7 percent to 37.1 percent. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Prices Up Slightly Before OPEC Meeting

By Cassie Werber LONDON–Crude oil was slightly up Wednesday, with all eyes focused on the outcome of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ meeting in Vienna this week. "The market remains volatile in the run-up to OPEC’s meeting," said Commerzbank in a note to clients. The group could decide to cut production, thereby tightening a market that has been oversupplied–resulting in falling prices–since midsummer. But it will also need to look longer-term, said David Hufton and Tamas Varga at PVM. "The problem facing OPEC is structural, not temporary. Western governments are determined to cut the growth in fossil fuel demand and they are determined to promote climate friendly alternatives which all comes in addition to the growth in conventional and unconventional oil supply. Cutting production will not solve the problem," they said in a note to clients. Brent crude for January delivery was up 50 cents at $78.81 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple