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Venezuela: National Police Crack Down On Student Protest

Members of Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Police used tear gas to disperse a student protest at the Catholic University of Tachira in San Cristobal, Tachira state, NTN 24 reported Jan. 7, citing social media reports. At least two protesters were arrested. The previous night, a separate group of protesters used burning tires to block the Pan American Highway in San Cristobal but were eventually dispersed by police as well. Last year’s wave of protests began in Tachira state with student demonstrations against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shale player pulls plug on Ukraine

Energy company puts shale gas ambitions in Ukraine on hold because of a tough investment climate. UPI/Gary C. Caskey LONDON, Jan. 7 (UPI) — The economic climate in Ukraine is no longer conducive to continue investing in shale natural gas opportunities, producer JKX Oil & Gas said Wednesday. "The board of JKX has decided that the combination of Ukrainian Government-imposed restrictions on selling its gas to industrial clients and the punitive rate of gas production tax requires the company to suspend its planned 2015 capital investment program in Ukraine until the economic parameters for investment improve," it said in a statement. The company in August said new budget measures passed by the Ukrainian government means higher taxes for the oil and gas industry in the country. The most significant, it said, was a move to nearly double the tax on gas production to close to 55 percent. In its […]

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Oil Exports From U.S. Jump to Record as Shale Output Booms

The U.S. exported a record amount of crude oil in November after a five-year run of production growth that has made the country the most oil-independent in 20 years. Shipments surged 34 percent to average 502,000 barrels a day in November, the highest on record dating back to 1920, surpassing the previous monthly peak of 455,000 barrels set in March 1957, data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Energy Information Administration show. The U.S. is now the 17th-largest exporter. The export record was unthinkable just five years ago, when U.S. crude production was still near a nadir following a 25-year decline. Since then, producers using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in underground shale rock have boosted output by 66 percent. Lawmakers in Washington are trying to end a 40-year-old law that restricts crude exports to just a few markets. “This is something we never expected to see,” said […]

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Canada jumps into Keystone XL fray

Alberta’s premier says he plans to visit Washington to make the case for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. UPI/Kevin Dietsch EDMONTON, Alberta, Jan. 7 (UPI) — Alberta’s premier said he was planning a trip to Washington to make the case that the Keystone XL oil pipeline is in the best interest of the region. "Alberta is committed to responsible energy development, which firmly positions us as a safe, secure and responsible energy supplier and we will continue to advocate on behalf of Keystone XL," Premier Jim Prentice said in a statement issued late Tuesday. Prentice served previously as the nation’s environment minister. As a minister, he said delays from Washington on the cross-border Keystone XL oil pipeline were regrettable, but should encourage the federal government to expand its export options to other markets like Asia. Republican leaders pushed legislation in favor of the pipeline to the top of their […]

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North Dakota defiant despite low oil prices

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple gives nod to potential budgetary impacts of low prices for crude oil during his annual State of the State address. UPI/Ron Sachs/Pool BISMARCK, N.D., Jan. 7 (UPI) — If low oil prices threaten North Dakota spending plans, the state’s governor said he had confidence lawmakers would take measured steps to cope. North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple delivered his State of the State address late Tuesday, announcing plans to invest roughly $2.7 billion in state counties behind the oil boom in the state. "I have recommended increasing the state’s support during the upcoming biennium by another $1 billion," he said. North Dakota’s economy grew in 2013 faster than any other U.S. state in terms of real growth in gross domestic product. The U.S. Commerce Department said in a state-by-state review North Dakota can credit the extractive industries for a sizable portion of its 9.7 percent […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Freezing rain impacts Texas oil operations

Extreme winter weather in western Texas idles some drilling operations. UPI/Kevin Dietsch DALLAS, Jan. 7 (UPI) — It’s not oil prices, but extreme winter weather that’s impacting production and drilling operations in the Permian shale oil basin in Texas, an operator said. Pioneer Natural Resources said severe winter weather in West Texas has left the Spraberry/Wolfcamp area in the Permian basin in the dark and out of reach. The company said an "extensive recovery period is expected," and it could take several weeks before it determines the full extent of the damage . The National Weather Service said Wednesday conditions are ripe in West Texas for a possible winter storm and accumulations of freezing rain. The high for Wednesday is predicted at 31 degrees Fahrenheit, about 30 degrees below average. Since the start of the year, Pioneer said much of the associated infrastructure in the Spraberry/Wolfcamp area is frozen […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Exports From U.S. Jump to Record as Shale Output Booms

The U.S. exported a record amount of crude oil in November after a five-year run of production growth that has made the country the most oil-independent in 20 years. Shipments surged 34 percent to average 502,000 barrels a day in November, the highest on record dating back to 1920, surpassing the previous monthly peak of 455,000 barrels set in March 1957, data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Energy Information Administration show. The U.S. is now the 17th-largest exporter. The export record was unthinkable just five years ago, when U.S. crude production was still near a nadir following a 25-year decline. Since then, producers using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in underground shale rock have boosted output by 66 percent. Lawmakers in Washington are trying to end a 40-year-old law that restricts crude exports to just a few markets. “This is something we never expected to see,” said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Duke Energy Asks Carolina Customers to Curb Power Use During Deep Freeze

Duke Energy Corp. asked customers in North and South Carolina to curtail energy use over the next 24 hours to reduce the potential for isolated power outages as frigid temperatures are expected to increase pressure on the electrical grid. Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke operates utilities that serve more than seven million customers in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. “The forecasted conditions are very similar to those we experienced last January during the Polar Vortex, and are affecting a large portion of the country,” said Nelson Peeler, Duke Energy vice president of transmission system operations. Mr. Peeler said Duke Energy expects to have sufficient generating resources to meet demand but added that conditions may change quickly. If necessary, the company may need to “initiate forced power reductions that would result in rotating or sustained power outages across the grid.” The company is asking customers to take voluntary measures that […]

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New Research Links Scores of Earthquakes to Fracking Wells Near a Fault in Ohio

Not long after two mild earthquakes jolted the normally steady terrain outside Youngstown, Ohio, last March, geologists quickly decided that hydraulic fracturing operations at new oil-and-gas wells in the area had set off the tremors. Now a detailed study has concluded that the earthquakes were not isolated events, but merely the largest of scores of quakes that rattled the area around the wells for more than a week. The study, published this week in The Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, indicates that hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, built up subterranean pressures that repeatedly caused slippage in an existing fault as close as a half-mile beneath the wells. The number and intensity of fracking-related quakes have risen as the practice has boomed. In Oklahoma, for example, quakes have increased sharply in recent years, including the state’s largest ever, a magnitude 5.7 tremor, in 2011. Both state and federal […]

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API includes other sources in broader State of American Energy report

WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 7 01/07/2015 The American Petroleum Institute broadened its fifth annual State of American Energy report as it included solar, nuclear, hydropower, wind, coal, geothermal, biomass, and energy efficiency as well as oil and gas. The Solar Energy Industries Association, American Wind Energy Association, Biomass Power Association, and other nonoil and gas groups were represented. “We felt that an industry-wide report this year was necessary to underscore the reality that our nation will thrive if we adopt a true all-of-the-above energy strategy,” API Pres. Jack N. Gerard explained. The US is the world’s leading natural gas producer and petroleum refiner, and is expected to become its top crude oil producer “as early as this year, though some project we are already there,” Gerard said at a Jan. 6 luncheon where the 2015 report was released. “America’s emergence as a global energy leader has fundamentally reordered the world’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple