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Batteries suit offers clues to Apple’s car ambitions

Apple’s CarPlay system is seen in the touchscreen console of a Ferrari FF automobile A maker of electric car batteries is suing Apple for poaching some of its best researchers, providing further evidence of the iPhone maker’s plans for a big push into the automotive market . In court filings this week, A123 Systems accused Apple of “systematically hiring away [its] high-tech PhD and engineering employees, thereby effectively shutting down various projects/programs” at the Massachusetts-based company. “They are doing so in an effort to support Apple’s apparent plans to establish a battery division that is similar if not identical to A123’s,” the lawsuit states. The company is also suing five former employees from its R&D lab who have joined Apple since June last year. The lawsuit follows news of Apple’s extensive hiring efforts from carmakers, first reported by the Financial Times last week. The creation of a top-secret automotive […]

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BP Loses Bid to Cut Maximum $13.7B Gulf Spill Fine

Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Feb 19 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday rejected BP Plc’s attempt to reduce the maximum civil fine it could face for its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, leaving it potentially liable to pay $13.7 billion under the federal Clean Water Act. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans agreed with the federal government that the maximum civil penalty that BP could face is $4,300 per barrel spilled. BP had sought a $3,000 per barrel maximum, equal to a maximum $9.57 billion civil fine. Barbier has not decided how much BP should pay, and it is unclear when he will. Setting a fine is the last step in a civil trial overseen by Barbier to determine responsibility and penalties for the April 20, 2010 blowout of the Macondo oil well, which killed 11 workers and caused […]

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Texas tax collections point to surging fuel demand: Kemp

LONDON (Reuters) – Consumption of gasoline and diesel in Texas is growing faster than at any time since the financial crisis, as an improving economy and lower fuel prices encourage more use of cars and trucks on the state’s roads. Receipts of motor fuel taxes in January 2015 were 9 percent higher than the same month in 2014, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas collected almost $288 million in motor fuel taxes last month compared with $264 million in January 2014, according to the comptroller’s monthly Revenue Watch report ( link.reuters.com/heg24w ). Tax rates have not changed so the revenue rise is directly attributable to increased sales volumes. Motor fuel taxes must be paid to the comptroller by the 25th day of the month after which they are collected by suppliers and distributors, so the January receipts are for gasoline and diesel sold in December. By […]

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Canada’s Oil Industry ‘In Near-Death Condition

BobInget on Thu, 19th Feb 2015 10:45 am  Before buying or increasing ones positions it’s a grand idea to express fault in whatever you are interested in. Here’s the latest rundown. In terms of reserves; Saudi Arabia comes in SECOND. Second to Venezuela. Canada trails at number three in the World. China cornered future Venezuelan exports. This leaves Canada open for sale.Canada and Venezuela. All the rest, except deep-sea, is window dressing. Bloomberg) — For debt investors betting Venezuela will default this year as oil slumps, there is one big wildcard that threatens to sink the trade: China. The Asian nation, whose $3.9 trillion in foreign reserves are the world’s largest, has a history of lending out money to Venezuela, having doled out $45 billion over the past decade. And it has a strong incentive to provide more — Venezuela sits on the world’s biggest oil reserves while China […]

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U.S. Says More Russian Troops, Weapons Enter Ukraine; Europe Stands By Truce

ENLARGE Ukrainian soldiers who left Debaltseve on Wednesday prepare to return to support the further withdrawal of troops on Thursday in Artemivsk. Photo: Getty Images European leaders on Thursday stood by the cease-fire they brokered a week ago for Ukraine, even as the U.S. said Russian equipment and troops continued to flow into the country and the Ukrainian military significantly raised its latest casualty toll. Kiev and its Western backers had denounced a dayslong offensive by Russia-backed separatists to seize the strategic rail hub of Debaltseve as a violation of the cease-fire. But as fighting subsided generally after the hasty retreat on Wednesday by Ukrainian forces, none of the parties appeared willing to declare the latest deal dead. “The four leaders agreed to rigorously implement the entirety of the package of measures” agreed to on Feb. 12, the office of French President François Hollande said after the conference call […]

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Kiev accused of cutting gas supplies to rebels

A new faultline opened up between Ukraine and Russia over natural gas on Thursday when pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine accused Kiev of cutting off supplies to them amid sub-zero temperatures. Russia said it had started supplying gas to the rebel-controlled regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, while Kiev said supplies had been interrupted temporarily after heavy fighting damaged pipelines. More On this topic IN Europe The gas dispute broke out less than 24 hours after thousands of Ukrainian troops were withdrawn from the ruined town of Debaltseve as it was captured by the rebels. The seizure of the town was a significant defeat for Kiev’s forces and threw into doubt a new ceasefire signed in Minsk last week. Late on Wednesday Petro Poroshenko , Ukraine’s president, called for UN and EU peacekeepers to monitor the ceasefire. But the proposal was swiftly rejected by Moscow and Russian-backed rebels in east […]

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Ruble’s Best Rally on Record Seen Being Short-Lived

(Bloomberg) — Don’t get too excited about the Russian ruble’s best ever rally. That’s the advice of banks from Credit Suisse Group AG to Sweden’s SEB AB, which warn that the currency’s 12 percent gain versus the dollar this month is vulnerable because it depends on a Ukraine cease-fire and Brent oil staying at about $60 a barrel. Options traders remain more bearish on the ruble than on any of its 31 major peers, and strategists are cutting their forecasts to anticipate an 8 percent decline by mid-year. “It’s not a turning point,” said Per Hammarlund, the chief emerging-markets strategist in Stockholm at SEB, which sees the ruble tumbling 10 percent by the end of next month. “The risk of an oil-price reversal is significant. A resurgence of fighting in Ukraine would also weaken the ruble.” A relapse in the exchange rate would heap further pressure onto President Vladimir […]

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Eurozone activity rises at fastest pace in 7 months

Activity increased in both the dominant services sector and the manufacturing industry Fresh evidence that the eurozone’s economy may finally be heading for a meaningful recovery emerged on Friday, as an influential poll of purchasing managers showed activity rising at its fastest pace in seven months despite the stand-off between Athens and its creditors. February’s flash purchasing managers’ index, compiled by Markit, rose to 53.5, up from 52.6 in January and well above the crucial 50 level that marks an expansion in activity. Falling energy prices , a weaker euro and the announcement of a landmark quantitative easing programme by the European Central Bank have helped lift expectations that after years of sluggish growth the region’s recovery will quicken in 2015. Though concerns linger that political risks emanating from Athens and the EU’s eastern borders will undermine optimism, regional GDP figures for the fourth quarter of 2014 published last […]

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Oil falls sharply as U.S. crude inventories rise

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices tumbled on Thursday after another big weekly build in U.S. crude inventories and a possible rise in Saudi output stoked worries about oversupply. U.S. crude stocks rose by 14.3 million barrels last week, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed after Wednesday’s settlement, compared with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 3.2 million barrels. [API/S] If U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data due at 1600 GMT confirms the large build, it would be the biggest weekly addition in barrels since such data became available in 1982. The API and EIA reports are a day late this week because of a U.S. holiday on Monday. At 0843 GMT, benchmark Brent crude futures for April were down $1.67 at $58.86 a barrel, extending declines from Tuesday’s two-month high of $63. U.S. crude for March delivery, which expires on Friday, was down $2.05 at […]

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Oil Prices Fall as U.S. Crude Stockpiles Grow

ENLARGE A gas staion in Newark, N.J., U.S. Data from the American Petroleum Industry on Wednesday showed an increase in crude stocks last week. Photo: Associated Press LONDON—Oil prices fell sharply on Thursday extending their losses on expectations that U.S. crude stockpiles will reach a record level. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said late Wednesday its data showed a 14.3 million-barrel increase in crude stocks last week . The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its official data later Thursday. In recent weeks, oil futures have rebounded strongly , with Brent—the global price benchmark—up close to 30% from its mid-January low. But U.S. stockpiles and production data, which have been hitting records in recent months, indicate that the market is still suffering from the oversupply which drove oil prices off a cliff last year. Brent crude for April delivery fell 2.3% to $59.10 a barrel on London’s […]

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BP: Post-Arab Spring conflicts curb oil potential

BP annual report finds medium-term production slump expected from conflicts raging in the Middle East and North Africa. Photo by Ismael Mohamad / UPI LONDON, Feb. 18 (UPI) — Regional conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa have left a historic amount of oil on the sidelines, an annual report from BP found. Despite an insurgency waged by the group calling itself the Islamic State, oil production in Iraq grew at a faster rate than any country apart from the United States. Analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration found total crude oil production in Iraq rose nearly 10 percent from 2013 to average almost 3.4 million barrels per day, which represents about 60 percent of the production growth from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year. Iraq may be the standout. An annual report from BP on the status of the global energy sector […]

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Iran, U.S. to begin nuclear talks

TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Delegations from Iran and the United States will sit for another round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Friday, Iranian state media reported Thursday. The talks will begin as a bilateral meeting between Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and U.S. Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Iran’s official news agency IRNA quoted Araqchi as saying. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will join the talks on Sunday and Monday, Araqchi said. Following the bilateral talks, further discussions may be held with the participation of other members of the P5+1 group, he added. Iran and the P5+1 group, which comprises the United States, Britain, France , Russia , China and Germany , should reach a political framework deal before March 2015 and a comprehensive deal before July, according to statements made after the previous round of nuclear talks […]

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Supreme Leader Doubts Talks Will End Iran Sanctions

TEHRAN — Iran ’s supreme leader said on Wednesday that he did not believe that all sanctions against his country would be lifted, a move he had previously said was an essential condition for nuclear talks to succeed. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , who has the final say in Iran on any nuclear agreement between his country and world powers, and who has commented regularly on the negotiations, has stressed that he is not optimistic about whether a compromise can be reached. But in a speech on Wednesday, referring to the United States, he said he did not believe that sanctions would be lifted “even if the talks continue on the basis of what they dictate.” In January, Ayatollah Khamenei called Iran’s opponents in the talks “greedy” and emphasized that sanctions must “really be lifted” for any agreement to be accepted by the Islamic republic. If not, […]

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First Libyan oil exported in a week from Hariga storage

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – A tanker has loaded 600,000 barrels of crude from storage at the Libyan port of Hariga, an energy official said on Wednesday, the first vessel to pick up oil for export from the country in more than a week. The official said crude supplies from the Sarir oilfield, which flow to Hariga for export, remained disrupted following a pipeline blast, with repairs and maintenance expected to take a number of days. Libya’s oil exports, on which the North African country’s revenues depend, have collapsed as fighting among factions has split the nation. The shortfall helped raise the price of benchmark Brent oil to a 2015 high of $63 a barrel this week. Hariga is the only operating oil port, though two small offshore platforms can also export around 70,000 to 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude. No oil tankers departed Libya in the previous […]

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Saudi Arabia’s oil output rising, at about 10 million bpd: PIRA

(Reuters) – Production from Saudi Arabia is rising, and demand has pushed it up to about 10 million barrels per day (bpd), according to energy consultancy PIRA. The estimate suggested the country is hewing tightly to the strategy of protecting market share rather than cutting production to try to inflate prices. Saudi production averaged about 9.7 million bpd since last June, according to the consultancy. "Additional demand has pushed output to just under, if not above, 10 MMB/D," PIRA said in a weekly note. The country’s rising production boosted OPEC’s oil supply in January, according to a Reuters survey earlier this month, a sign that key members are standing firm in refusing to prop up prices. Oil prices fell by 60 percent between June and January, and have remained low as oversupply trumped concerns about supply disruptions. Output in top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia has been flat to slightly […]

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Rising Gasoline Prices Defy Global Oil Rout: Corporate Brazil

(Bloomberg) — Brazilians are paying more to fill their gas tanks even as oil’s 49 percent rout in the past year drives down prices from New York to Tokyo. Gasoline in Sao Paulo climbed 9.9 percent in the past three months to 3.26 reais a liter, or about $4.50 a gallon, at the start of February, the most recent figures available, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price fell 31 percent to $2.06 a gallon in the U.S. and 23 percent to $5.51 in Europe in the period. “We’re swimming against the tide,” Pedro Paulo Silveira, chief economist at brokerage TOV Corretora, said in a telephone interview from Sao Paulo. “The fact is that consumers are in a complicated situation in Brazil.” Brazilian consumers and companies can expect to pay more for all energy this year, from natural gas to electricity. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-run oil producer […]

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Uganda: Sanctions-Hit Russian Group Wins U.S. $4 Billion Uganda Oil Refinery Deal

Uganda has rewarded a $4bn oil refinery deal to a subsidiary of Russia’s Rostec, whose CEO has been subject to US sanctions. Uganda and RT Global Resources will now negotiate the terms of a joint venture to engineer and finance the $2.5bn refinery plus a product pipeline and associated infrastructure. The decision to award the contract cements growing ties between Moscow, and the country, which increasingly characterises the west as a neo-colonial aggressor. The CEO, Sergei Chemezov, is a former KGB officer and close ally of President Vladimir Putin. The US blocked his assets and prohibited companies from dealing with him since April 2014 in response to Russia’s military involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The EU followed suit in September. Although Uganda is under no legal compulsion to comply with the sanctions, the decision will further threaten its international standing. Uganda’s global standing was knocked last year […]

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Uganda: Why Govt Picked Russian Firm for Oil Refinery

Photo: Amnesty International (file photo). Government yesterday picked a Russian-led international consortium led by RT Global Resources as the preferred bidder for the construction of the country’s oil refinery. The other company which lost out, SK Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd from the Republic of South Korea, was retained as the alternative preferred bidder. RT Global Resources is a subsidiary of Rostec, a Russian arms manufacturer. Members of the consortium include; VTB, Capital Plc, a subsidiary of VTB, the second largest Russian state-owned bank, Telconet Capital Ltd Partnership, Tatneft JSC and GS Engineering Construction Corporation (South Korea). While members of the SK Engineering and Construction-led consortium include: SK KDB Global Investment Partnership, a private equity fund, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd, Haldor Topsoe A/S and Mastro Oil and Gas Solutions (MOGAS). The selection of a preferred bidder for the refinery follows the submission of final offers from the […]

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Pemex cuts budget by $4 billion

The board of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has approved a $4-billion budget reduction for 2015, an 11.5% decrease compared with the previous expenditure program authorized by Mexico’s Congress. Pemex says the cuts, which come amid lower oil prices , are imperative in achieving financial targets set by Congress. Two thirds of the company’s $36.3 billion budget—$24.6 billion—will be allocated toward the company’s investment plans. The remaining one third will go toward operating activities and meeting labor and pension obligations. Pemex says its budget formulation process considered a $79/bbl average price for the Mexican crude oil export basket to estimate annual revenues and to set a corresponding ceiling on expenditures. Deferred spending for downstream activities includes refinery revamps and clean fuels projects involving ultra-low sulfur gasoline and diesel ( OGJ Online, Feb. 18, 2015 ). The board has instructed management to meet with contractors and renegotiate long-term deals that were made […]

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U.S. to Monitor Air Quality in India and Other Countries

HONG KONG — The United States says it will expand air-quality monitoring at some overseas diplomatic missions, following several years of reporting pollution data in China. The goal is to increase awareness of the health risks of outdoor air pollution, which easily spreads across borders, Secretary of State John Kerry said in announcing the program on Wednesday. The program is intended to help United States citizens abroad reduce their exposure to pollution and to help other countries develop their own air-quality monitoring through training and exchanges with American experts, he said. “We’re hoping that this tool can also expand international cooperation when it comes to curbing air pollution,” Mr. Kerry said . The program, run in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency , will begin to operate in India in a few months. New Delhi has some of the world’s worst air pollution, and residents there are becoming increasingly […]

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China to crank up oil product exports, add to supply glut

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Beijing has raised the initial volume of oil products that Chinese refiners can export this year, potentially adding to a supply glut just as new processing capacity in the Middle East is expected to pressure fuel prices and depress margins. China controls oil product exports through quotas to state-run refiners after assessing domestic needs. This year Sinopec Corp, CNOOC Ltd and PetroChina were given an oil product export quota of 9.75 million tonnes, up about 20 percent from the initial limit set for 2014, industry sources with knowledge of the matter said. The refiners will likely apply for more allowances once they exhaust the initial quotas as they run cheaper crude through the capacity added last year, and the final annual exports are expected to far exceed the opening levels. The first quota limit given to oil refiners in 2014 was for about 8 million tonnes, […]

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Russian Retail Sales Drop as Real Wages Crumble Most Since 1999

(Bloomberg) — Russian retail sales fell last month for the first time in more than five years as real wages plunged the most since 1999, underscoring the damage inflicted on the economy by a tailspin in oil prices and the ruble’s collapse. Sales declined 4.4 percent from a year earlier after expanding 5.3 percent in December, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said Wednesday in a statement. The median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 1.9 percent decline. Wages adjusted for inflation shrank 8 percent. The drop in consumption, which accounts for about half the economy, is the latest blow for President Vladimir Putin as Russia lurches into recession following the oil rout and U.S. and European sanctions over Ukraine. The fastest inflation rate in almost seven years and the ruble’s 46 percent slump in 2014 are eating into workers’ paychecks, putting Russia on track […]

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« Tight Oil Production Will Fall 600,000 Barrels Per Day By June

Posted in The Petroleum Truth Report U.S. tight oil production may fall 600,000 barrels per day by June 2015 based on reasonable projections of current rig counts.   I compared the decrease in rig counts that began in late 2014 to the rig count decrease in 2008 and 2009 following the Financial Crisis.  I projected current total rig counts according to three scenarios out to June 5, 2015 shown in the chart below. I then applied those decline rates to rig counts and production in the 4 major tight oil plays: the Bakken, D-J Niobrara, Eagle Ford and Permian basin. Comparison of rig count decrease in 2008-2009 and 2014-2015. Source: Baker Hughes (Click image to enlarge) In 2008-2009, the U.S. rig count dropped from 2,031 to 876 over a period of 283 days. As of February 13, 2015, the rig count has fallen from 1,931 to 1,358 over a period of 151 days.  The current rate […]

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The Hot New Statistic Oil Traders Are Eyeing Is 71 Years Old

(Bloomberg) — It was like clockwork. Every week since 1944, Baker Hughes Inc. would release its survey of how many rigs were out drilling for U.S oil and gas. And every week, oil and gas traders would, for the most part, overlook it. What a difference a $50-a-barrel slide in oil makes. This past Friday, traders were bent over their desks, staring at their screens, waiting for 1 p.m. New York time to see whether drillers extended their biggest-ever retreat from U.S. oil fields. (They did.) Oil futures spiked within minutes of the count, closing at the highest level in four days. “I don’t think I’ve heard ‘Baker Hughes’ more in my life than I have in the past month,” Dan Flynn, a trader at Price Futures Group in Chicago, said by phone on Feb. 13. “It’s like I’m saying it in my sleep.” The sudden interest in Houston-based […]

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Growth in Slow Start as U.S. Factories Curb Output: Economy

(Bloomberg) — Factory production rose less than forecast in January and home construction fell, showing the U.S. economy is off to a slow start in 2015. Output at factories climbed 0.2 percent and figures for the previous three months were revised lower, data from the Federal Reserve showed Wednesday in Washington. Total industrial production, which also includes mining and utilities, climbed less than projected as oil-well drilling slumped. Housing starts dropped 2 percent, according to the Commerce Department. “It’s not weak, but it’s not great either,” said Thomas Costerg, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York, who correctly estimated the gain in factory output. “There are some downside risks, clearly.” The data bolster Fed concern that struggling economies from Europe to Asia, a stronger dollar and the sluggish recovery in housing pose obstacles that warrant keeping interest rates low for longer. Additionally, while consumers benefit from an […]

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U.S. refinery strike passes 18th day but talks resume

HOUSTON (Reuters) – The largest U.S refinery workers strike since 1980 passed its 18th day on Wednesday but talks between union and oil company representatives over safety and pay restarted after a gap of a week and went into the night, according to a union text message. More than 5,000 workers at 11 plants, including nine refineries accounting for 13 percent of U.S. production capacity, remained on strike on Wednesday. "Industry responded to the information request and engaged in discussions into the evening," the text message to United Steelworkers union (USW) members read. "Still miles apart. Bargaining continues tomorrow." Talks between the USW and lead oil company negotiator Royal Dutch Shell Plc had been on hold as the company drew up a response to an information request and a counterproposal from the union. "Shell resumed negotiations with the USW on Wednesday and continues to work towards reaching a mutually […]

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Blast at Exxon refinery in California could hike gasoline prices

TORRANCE, Calif. (Reuters) – An explosion and fire ripped through a gasoline processing unit at an Exxon Mobil Corp refinery near Los Angeles on Wednesday, leaving California with the threat of higher gasoline prices. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the blast in Torrance, California, which occurred shortly before 9 a.m. PST (12 p.m. ET). Four contract workers were injured and sent to Long Beach Medical Center for evaluation. Exxon said late on Wednesday that three of the workers had been released. The company said it was operating units that had not been affected by the explosion at its 155,000 barrel-per-day refinery. Torrance Fire Captain Steve Deuel said a small ground fire that followed the explosion had been quickly extinguished. He said firefighters and refinery crews also contained a gasoline leak that had been caused by the blast. Deuel said there was no evidence of foul play. […]

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Best Shale Driller Halts Oil Growth in Bullish Oil Sign

(Bloomberg) — The biggest, fastest-growing oil producer in the U.S. said it plans to halt output growth this year, delivering a signal that shale companies are beginning to do what it takes to reduce oversupplies. EOG Resources Inc., which has boosted its oil production by almost 50 percent annually for the past five years, is slashing spending 40 percent and will drill half the wells it did in 2014. The Houston-based company fell more than 6 percent in after-hours trading as it reported fourth-quarter profit Wednesday that missed expectations. The company joins Apache Corp. in its plan to pump about the same volume of oil as last year. The cutbacks are a sign that shale producers can slow down a lot more quickly than forecasters are expecting, said Michael Scialla, a Denver-based analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. “EOG is viewed as the premier company in shale development, and […]

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Rigs Running Hot Offshore as Shale Scales Back

(Bloomberg) — While U.S. drilling on land has fallen along with the price of crude, the risky and expensive drive to pull oil from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico is showing little evidence of a slowdown. Oil rigs working in the Gulf will increase by more than 30 percent this year compared with 2014, according to data from Wood Mackenzie, an industry consultant. At the same time, the number of land-based rigs has fallen by a third since October, bearing the brunt of industry-wide cutbacks that have shed tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S. The reasons are two-fold. The rise in deep-water drilling stems from years of planning and billions of dollars already invested, and the payoff can be considerable. Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s Lucius platform can handle as much as 80,000 barrels a day from the six wells that feed into it, an output that […]

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NTSB: Oil by rail needs scrutiny after W. Va. incident

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. The state Department of Military Affairs & Public Safety estimated that about a dozen of the cars were carrying crude oil, which would equate to approximately 8,000 barrels. The NTSB said an undetermined amount of crude oil spilled into an area river. U.S. crude oil production levels are more than the existing pipeline infrastructure can handle, forcing energy companies to use rail as an alternative transit method. The increase in crude oil transport by rail has raised safety concerns, most notably in the wake of a deadly 2013 accident in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. Most rail incidents involving crude oil spills were tied to cars labeled DOT-111. The incident in West Virginia involved newer model cars designated CPC 1232. "This accident is another reminder […]

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Polar vortex to unleash record-breaking cold in eastern U.S. on Thursday, Friday

The coldest outbreak of the season is pushing south into the eastern United States this week. Temperatures will be running as low as 30 to 40 degrees below normal across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic on Friday morning. Thursday night’s departure from normal temperatures is shown above in Celsius. (tropicaltidbits.com) The coldest air of the season is surging south this week, leading up to what could be historic cold for parts of the eastern United States. Thursday and Friday’s polar outbreak could set all-time February low records from Tennessee to Virginia. With a fresh coat of snow, Washington has the potential to dip below zero for the first time since 1994 . All of this is courtesy of a plume of not just Arctic, but  Siberian air that has been trudging across the North Pole and into North America over the past week. With the cold plume already washing over the […]

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Energy efficiency improvements have largely offset effect of more, larger homes

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Drivers of Household Energy Consumption The growth in residential energy use has slowed to below the rate of household growth, meaning that per-household energy consumption has decreased. Analysis of EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) conducted since 1980 shows how improvements in energy efficiency reduced energy intensity enough to offset more than 70% of the growth in both the number of households and the size of dwellings. Between 1980 and 2009 (the most recent survey year), delivered energy used by U.S. households increased from 9.3 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) to 10.2 quads, an average growth of 0.3% per year. The change in delivered energy during this period can be broken into component factors, including number of households, structural changes (the mix of housing types, the geographic distribution of households, and changes in average floor area), weather, and energy intensity (measured here as consumption […]

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Magnum Hunter slashes budget by 75%

HOUSTON, Feb. 18 02/18/2015 Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. , Houston, plans a $100 million upstream capital expenditure budget for 2015, down from the $400 million the company planned for 2014. Allocation of $70 million was approved for its Utica and Marcellus shale exploration and development drilling program in Ohio and West Virginia, $10 million for its properties in the Williston basin in North Dakota, and $20 million for leasehold acreage acquisitions in the Utica and Marcellus. Magnum Hunter plans to further delineate its acreage positions in Monroe, Noble, and Washington counties in Ohio, and in Tyler and Ritchie counties in West Virginia. During the year, the company plans to bring on production three net horizontal wells in the Marcellus and eight net horizontal wells in the Utica. A number of these wells have already been drilled and are in various stages of completion, meaning capital for these projects was […]

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Marathon Oil Slashes Spending A 2nd Time, Says Profit Up

Feb 18 (Reuters) – Marathon Oil Corp on Wednesday cut its 2015 budget by another 20 percent to $3.5 billion and said its fourth-quarter profit rose, boosted by a gain related to the sale of oil and gas properties in Angola and Norway. Profit in the quarter was $926 million, or $1.37 per share, compared with $375 million, or 54 cents in the year-ago period. Marathon, which previously said it was slashing 2015 spending about 20 percent in December, said it would make a second budget cut of another 20 percent. The company said its output, excluding Libya, would rise 5-7 percent this year. (Reporting by Anna Driver; Editing by Terry Wade) WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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The hearty, hardy gas production of the US

It seems like only yesterday that big winter storms or other extreme weather events could curtail or shut natural gas production in the US. A winter storm and freezing temperatures in the Northeast or in the Southeast would prompt freeze-offs or shut-ins along pipelines. But perhaps no longer. When I joined Platts as a gas markets reporter in February 2011 — another abnormally cold winter (at least in Houston) — I would see cash markets bounce around as freeze-offs and other shut-ins shook up prices. In a testament to fast-growing natural gas production and infrastructure, though, particularly in the Northeast, Hurricane Sandy had a minimal impact to Marcellus gas production in 2012. Gas pipelines also fared well in the aftermath of the hurricane. A year ago, in a winter that is widely regarded as being insanely cold, things appeared to fall more in line with historical expectations.  Freeze-offs in the Northeast […]

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Ruble Rally Ends as Weaker Oil Outlook Turns Focus to Recession

(Bloomberg) — The ruble ended a four-day rally as signs that oil’s rebound won’t last cast a shadow over the biggest currency rally globally this month. The Russian currency weakened as much as 1.2 percent against the dollar as Brent crude, the grade used to price Russia’s main export blend, traded below $60 for a second day. The country’s stocks and bonds also retreated. As options traders bet oil’s rebound will reverse because of rising U.S. production, the prospects for Russian assets to hold on to gains are declining as the slide in oil and sanctions over Ukraine threaten to worsen a looming recession. Brent has tumbled 6.4 percent in the past two days, trimming its advance from last month’s six-year low to 30 percent. “Russian assets are closely following the oil price and the outlook for oil is negative,” Andrey Vashevnik, the chief investment officer at R&B Investment […]

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Gazprom in good shape, director says

Russian energy company Gazprom says it can weather the storm of low oil prices. (UPI/Shutterstock/Igor Golovniov) MOSCOW, Feb. 19 (UPI) — Russian energy company Gazprom will be able to continue as normal even if oil prices drop to $30 per barrel, the company’s finance director said Thursday. The Russian economy is entering a period of prolonged weakness because of the dual strains of Western sanctions imposed in response to crises in Ukraine and a weak crude oil market. Though recovering, crude oil prices are about 40 percent less than they were in June 2014. With few signs of a cease-fire holding in eastern Ukraine, some Western powers have enacted additional sanctions on Russia . Gazprom Finance Director Andrei Kruglov told state-run television the company planned for oil prices in the range of $30-40 per barrel when drafting its 2015 budget . "The company will be ready to implement all […]

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EU Antitrust Chief Prepares to Move Against Gazprom

European Union authorities will move ahead soon with a long-running antimonopoly case against Russian energy giant Gazprom, European Union competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in an interview. Photo: EPA BRUSSELS—A sculpture of a raised middle finger greets visitors to the elegant offices of Margrethe Vestager, the most powerful woman in Brussels. It is a reminder, from a disgruntled lobby group in her native Denmark, that tough decisions come with the territory. One hundred days into her new job, Europe’s antitrust chief is preparing a series of politically explosive decisions involving some of the world’s biggest companies, including Google Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Perhaps her most incendiary case is a 2½-year-old probe into Russian energy company Gazprom OAO . In an interview, Ms. Vestager said she will move against the state-owned company shortly despite the Ukraine crisis, opening up the possibility of multibillion-dollar fines. “I think we can […]

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‘It’s Capture or Death’: Ukraine Soldiers Recount Painful Retreat

Ukraine withdrew troops from Debaltseve early Wednesday after pro-Russia rebels overran much of the town despite last week’s European-brokered cease-fire deal. Mark Kelly reports. LUHANSKE, Ukraine—Nine hours after a cease-fire was supposed to take effect , rockets and mortars slammed into Ukrainian army Lt. Yuriy Brekharya ’s redoubt outside the besieged city of Debaltseve “like never before,” he said. Three days of relentless pounding later, he appealed to a neighboring commander for help after advancing Russia-backed separatists destroyed his unit’s final armored vehicle. “Buddy, I’ve got nothing to help you with,” came the reply. Lt. Yuriy Brekharya outside Luhanske village on Wednesday. So Lt. Brekharya, a 37-year-old financial analyst, gathered his 50 men and led them on a 14-mile overnight march across fields, streams and hills through separatist lines. As dawn broke Wednesday, he was among the first of hundreds of fleeing soldiers to arrive in trucks, tanks or […]

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Ukrainian Soldiers’ Retreat From Eastern Town Raises Doubt for Truce

ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — Ukrainian soldiers were forced to fight their way out of the embattled town of Debaltseve in the early hours of Wednesday, casting further doubt on the credibility of a days-old cease-fire and eroding the promise of ending a war in Europe that has killed more than 5,000 people. It was unclear Wednesday how many of the thousands of Ukrainian soldiers trapped in the eastern Ukrainian town had survived the hellish retreat under enemy fire and avoided capture. President Petro O. Poroshenko put the figure at 80 percent, but since the Ukrainian military has never commented on its troop strength, the final accounting may never be known. By midday on Wednesday, as limping and exhausted soldiers began showing up in Ukraine -held territory, it became clear that the Ukrainian forces had suffered major losses, both in equipment and human life. “Many trucks left, and only a few […]

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Russia Economy Moves Further Toward Recession

ENLARGE A currency exchange office in Moscow last month. The ruble has lost almost half its value against the dollar over the past 12 months. Photo: European Pressphoto Agency MOSCOW—Economic data published Wednesday showed Russia’s economy moving further toward recession under the weight of Western sanctions and a sharp decline in the price for oil, its main source of hard currency. Although the rate of inflation is slowing, a sharp decline in retail sales and a drop in real wages indicated that consumers are bearing the brunt of the economic pressure. The government expects gross domestic product to shrink by 3% in 2015, the first drop since 2009; many private economists expect a deeper contraction. The Wednesday data from the Federal Statistics Service RosStat showed a decline in domestic demand, which had been one of the main drivers of the economy for years, but has been hit by a […]

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Earthquake Dangers in Dutch Gas Field Were Ignored for Years, Safety Board Says

LONDON — An independent Dutch safety panel has found that the operators of Europe’s largest natural gas field, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, as well as the Dutch government, for years ignored the dangers posed by earthquakes in the field. That finding could add to growing pressure to reduce production at the field, in the Dutch province of Groningen, which has long been a crucial source of fuel for northern Europe and generates billions of euros in revenue annually for the Dutch government. In a report published on Wednesday, the Dutch Safety Board, a government-financed but independent organization, concluded that “the parties concerned failed to act with due care for citizen safety in Groningen” related to the earthquakes caused by gas extraction. The government had already ordered a series of cutbacks at the field, which lies under about 350 square miles of farmland and cow pastures, after residents […]

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Another cut seen in Groningen gas output

HOUSTON, Feb. 18 02/18/2015 Production from giant Groningen natural gas field in the Netherlands might be further curtailed in response to public concern about earthquakes ( OGJ, Aug. 4, 2014, p. 32 ). On Feb. 18, Dutch Economy Minister Henk Kamp said he’ll set a new cap on Groningen output on July 1 and will act sooner “if we see good reasons,” Reuters reported. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs said in January 2014 it would lower Groningen output because of seismic activity. In December it targeted a cut to 39.4 billion cu m this year from 42.5 billion cu m in 2014. The move followed a recommendation by the State Supervision of Mines, based on data about seismic activity, that gas production be trimmed by 3.1 billion cu m this year in the southern part of the field. Kamp didn’t specify how much further output might be trimmed. […]

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Fooling peak oil one more time: can we find new sources of liquid hydrocarbons?

The world peak of conventional oil production took place in 2005-2006, but the supply of combustible liquids did not decline, mainly because of the contribution of the newly developed “shale oil” (or “tight” oil) fields. With the impending worldwide peak of “all liquids” it is likely that the industry will try a new, all out effort to squeeze out the last drops of liquid oil from whatever sources are available, no matter how dirty and expensive. It is not certain that the attempt will be successful, but it is likely that some new monstrosity will be created in Sauron’s satanic mills.  Peak oil is something referred to as a “theory,” intended in a derogatory sense. But the concept is not just a theory; production peaks are historically observed facts, occurring not just for oil, but for any natural resource which is exploited beyond its capability to reform (e.g. for […]

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What happens if we run out of oil?

What happens if we run out of oil? thumbnail It took hundreds of millions of years to create the world’s oil reserves. It took less than a century before oil became the commodity on which world power turned. And it was little more than a century before fears were raised that we would run out of oil. Fifty years further on, it’s less clear than ever how much is left. That’s because technological advance has confounded those who feared there were tight constraints on what could be drilled. The rich rewards from oil have fuelled initiative and invention. As Professor Iain Stewart explains in his BBC series Planet Oil , this wasn’t just a passion for scientific and engineering endeavour. It was economic, political and strategic military calculation that drove the UK and the US to find ways of becoming less dependent on supplies from the Middle East. Having […]

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Oil falls below $62 as analysts doubt recent rally

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil dropped below $62 a barrel on Wednesday, failing to build on gains of more than 1 percent in the previous session as analysts said a recent rally in prices was overblown. "The lack of follow-through higher yesterday is a worry and there’s plenty of reason to be neutral here and observe carefully," PVM Oil Associates director and technical analyst Robin Bieber said. Oil prices have risen more than 35 percent since hitting an almost six-year low of $45.19 in January, in a rally fueled by lower industry spending and falling rig counts in the United States. Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 83 cents at $61.70 by 0855 GMT (3.55 a.m. EST), having fallen more than $1 to $61.47 earlier in the session. U.S. crude traded at $52.93 a barrel, down 60 cents. "The contracts will look very fragile and accident-prone if one or two […]

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Oil Prices Settle Higher

ENLARGE Smoke rises from the port of the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday during clashes between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and Islamist militias. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images NEW YORK—Oil prices gained Tuesday, reversing earlier losses, as traders weighed concerns about Iraqi and Libyan production against an oversupplied market. Light, sweet crude for March delivery settled up 75 cents, or 1.4%, at $53.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Dec. 30. Brent, the global benchmark, rose $1.13, or 1.8%, to $62.53 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. Oil prices have plunged since June as ample global supply growth outweighed tepid demand, and many analysts expect the market to stay oversupplied through the first half of the year. However, recent violence and bad weather has affected output from Libya and Iraq, two major oil producers. Egyptian airstrikes against Islamic State […]

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Volatility Has Natural-Gas Traders Scrambling

ENLARGE Marc Kerrest, a trader in San Francisco, checks natural-gas prices as he prepares to watch the Super Bowl with family on Feb. 1. Photo: Laura Morton for The Wall Street Journal The natural-gas market is costing Todd Gross a lot of sleep. Mr. Gross, chief investment officer at Qeri LLC, a small commodity hedge fund in New York, used to wake up at 5 a.m. to look at the latest market data. Now he increasingly rises in the middle of the night to check the latest weather models and adjust his wagers. He doesn’t want to miss what he calls an “oh my God” move of 5% or more. Mr. Gross, 48 years old, says it has become common for those moves to start as early as midnight when electronic-trading programs react to weather updates hours before most human traders are awake. Natural gas and Mother Nature are […]

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BP report predicts Opec comeback

Oil pump jacks The boom in US oil output that has sent prices tumbling and put America on course to self-sufficiency by the 2030s will slow sharply in coming years, leading to record demand for crude from Opec producers, according to BP . In its annual long-term energy outlook , BP forecasts rapid growth of so-called “tight” oil supplies, or shale, particularly in the US, until the end of the decade. More On this topic IN Global Economy However, the pace of output growth, which has contributed to a near 50 per cent fall in oil prices since last summer, will then slow, paving the way for a recovery in the global market share of Middle Eastern producers. The US is likely to become self-sufficient in oil by the 2030s, having imported about 60 per cent of its total demand as recently as 2005, BP says. North America is […]

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