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U.S. crude stocks jump more than expected: EIA

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. crude stocks rose more than twice expected levels last week as refineries cut output, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories fell, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Thursday. Crude inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 3.2 million barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 3.663 million barrels, EIA said. Refinery crude runs fell by 122,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates fell by 1.3 percentage points. Gasoline stocks rose by 485,000 barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 167,000 barrels gain. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 3.8 million barrels, versus expectations for a 2.1 million barrels drop, the EIA data showed. U.S. crude imports fell last week by 181,000 barrels per day. (U.S. […]

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Marathon Oil going after costs, has saved $225 million so far

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Marathon Oil Corp said on Thursday it has so far captured $225 million in savings, citing streamlined shale drilling and completion processes and lower prices from oilfield service providers. While many oil and gas companies forecast cost savings, Marathon said it is already seeing savings as it squeezes well costs in fields in south Texas and elsewhere and renegotiates service contracts in response to the steep drop in crude oil prices that have upended the sector. "With margins compressed by lower commodity prices it’s incumbent upon us to be aggressive in pushing those service costs and tangible costs down," Lance Robertson, vice president for North American Operations told investors on a conference call. Marathon said its has reduced its per well cost by $1.3 million to an average of $6.3 million through efficiency and service costs reductions. The Houston company is also working to pare general […]

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Oil’s Pain Is Wal-Mart’s Gain

Wal-Mart Stores finally hit its number this morning, posting its first quarterly gain in store traffic in 24 months. This may be cause for other retailers to celebrate as well, as Wal-Mart welcomed cash that would have otherwise been spent on gas. It’s a theory popular among economists: Plummeting fuel costs lift all boats, not like a tide but like a sort of shipping lock, to play the metaphor through. Analysts at Goldman Sachs note that the longer gas prices stay low, the more consumers like to spend. There’s some evidence that’s exactly what happened at Wal-Mart in the recent quarter . Revenue from the fuel pumps at the company’s Sam’s Club stores was down 2.4 percent in the quarter. Meanwhile, sales at Sam’s Club minus fuel costs were up 2 percent. Companywide, Wal-Mart revenue ticked up 1.5 percent. U.S. consumers spend about $370 billion a year on gasoline. […]

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Environmental team surveying W. Va. oil-train disaster

Crews are on the ground in and around the site of Monday’s oil-train derailment in West Virginia deploying containment boom, the response team said. The National Transportation Safety Board estimated 28 tank cars of the 109 from a CSX line slipped the rails early Monday afternoon near Mt. Carbon, W. Va. State authorities estimated about a dozen of those cars were transporting crude oil from North Dakota, which would equate to approximately 8,000 barrels. A unified command set up by CSX, local, state and federal authorities said crews are on the ground surveying land and water contamination . No cars fell into the nearby Kanawha River. "The response crews were able to deploy about 500 feet of containment boom as a precautionary measure to limit potential impact on the environment," the command center said in its latest update Wednesday. "The use of additional boom material is being evaluated." West […]

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Union cries foul after Exxon refinery blast

‘Large Fire Explosion’ at ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery Prompts Emergency Response PITTSBURGH, Feb. 19 (UPI) — The United Steelworkers union said the fire at an Exxon Mobil refinery in California is a reminder of the lopsided policies in the downstream energy industry. A blast at the 750-acre refinery in Torrance, Calif., shook nearby buildings and left at least four people with minor injuries . Most of the damage was contained to the site of what was described as a small fire. Dave Campbell, secretary of the USW Local 675, which represents workers at the facility, said the blast occurred near a fluid catalytic unit , part of the refinery’s infrastructure used to process gasoline. "We thank God that no worker at ExxonMobil – hourly, management, or technical – was killed or seriously injured," he said in a Wednesday statement. USW workers at 11 refineries are striking against what they see […]

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North Dakota oil boom deflating

North Dakota oil production hasn’t yet declined due to lower rig count. Photo by David Gaylor/Shutterstock WILLISTON, N.D., Feb. 19 (UPI) — Low oil prices haven’t yet dimmed confidence in North Dakota, though there may be concerns lingering over the mid-term horizon, those on the ground said. Oil prices have remained above what some consider the floor price for the recent downturn, trading in recent sessions above the $50 per barrel mark for West Texas Intermediate crude oil. That’s more than 18 percent above late January lows, but still 50 percent less than June prices, forcing many in the industry to lay off staff and cut spending on exploration and production. Oil prices are down in part because of a weakened global economy and a market swing to the supply side. Oil produced from U.S. shale, like the Bakken formation in North Dakota, is behind some of the momentum. […]

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West Virginia Oil Train That Derailed Was Traveling Under Speed Limit

ENLARGE The CSX train that derailed near Mount Carbon, W.Va., was going 33 miles an hour in a 50 mph zone, said Sarah Feinberg, acting head of the Federal Railroad Administration. Photo: Office of the Governor of West Virginia/Associated Press The crude-oil train that derailed and exploded in West Virginia on Monday was traveling well below the track’s speed limit, according to an onboard recording system, a federal official said Thursday. Sarah Feinberg, acting head of the Federal Railroad Administration, said the CSX Corp. train that derailed near Mount Carbon, W.Va., was going 33 miles an hour in a 50 mph zone. The cause of the derailment remains under investigation, and Ms. Feinberg said investigators would look at the condition of the rails, tanker car wheels and other factors that could have contributed to the accident. Investigators have so far examined outward-facing video footage from the train, as well […]

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U.S. Oil Workers Reject Shell’s Contract Offer Prolonging Strike

Representatives from the United Steel Workers Union (USW) hold a rally at the entrance to the Marathon refinery in Catlettsburg, Kentucky, on Feb. 7, 2015. (Bloomberg) — The United Steelworkers, representing more than 30,000 U.S. oil workers, instructed members to reject a seventh labor contract offered by Royal Dutch Shell Plc as the biggest refinery strike since 1980 dragged on. The proposal, the first one made by Shell since Feb. 5 on behalf of companies including Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp., “fails to improve safety” in an enforceable way, the USW said in a text message, instructing local units to prepare to join the strike “if called upon.” Ray Fisher, a spokesman for The Hague, Netherlands-based Shell, said the company had no comment beyond saying the two sides met. Since Feb. 1 more than 5,000 USW workers have walked out of a chemical plant, a cogeneration complex and […]

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Apple Wants to Start Producing Cars as Soon as 2020

(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc., which has been working secretly on a car, is pushing its team to begin production of an electric vehicle as early as 2020, people with knowledge of the matter said. The timeframe — automakers typically spend five to seven years developing a car — underscores the project’s aggressive goals and could set the stage for a battle for customers with Tesla Motors Inc. and General Motors Co., both of which are targeting a 2017 release of an electric vehicle that can go more than 200 miles on a single charge and cost less than $40,000. “That’s the inflection point — the proving ground — that brings on the electric age,” Steve LeVine, author of “The Powerhouse,” a book about the automotive battery industry, said on Bloomberg TV Thursday. “Now you have Apple coming in and this is critical mass. Was GM really going to be […]

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Canada Unveils Tax Breaks for LNG Development

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper. ENLARGE Photo: Zuma Press OTTAWA—The Canadian government unveiled Thursday tax breaks for developers of liquefied natural gas export projects in an effort to kick-start investment amid a low energy-price environment. At an event in suburban Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said LNG developers would be eligible to write off industrial equipment and real estate at a faster pace. The write-off is eligible for equipment and real estate acquired after Thursday up until 2025. Ottawa estimates the cost to the federal treasury of about 50 million Canadian dollars (US$40.3 million) over a five-year period. The province of British Columbia, which is banking on LNG development and shipments to spur future growth, had lobbied for such tax breaks, as did the industry. Mr. Harper said in a statement that the move “builds on our low tax plan for jobs and growth, strengthening the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple