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Refiners Sue BNSF Railway Over $1,000 Oil Tank Car Surcharges

(Bloomberg) — BNSF Railway Co. was sued by a trade group representing 400 U.S. refiners and petrochemical makers objecting to a $1,000 surcharge the nation’s biggest rail transporter of crude oil tacked onto older, unjacketed tank cars. Link to Company News:{BRK/A US <Equity> CN <GO>} To contact the reporter on this story: David E. Rovella in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: David E. Rovella at [email protected]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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ND Bakken Tax Trigger: Per Barrel Impact

North Dakota calculates oil taxes using a formula based on the benchmark WTI market price to determine the trigger for the oil extraction tax. The trigger can impact new wells, existing wells and producers. North Dakota calculates oil taxes using a formula based on the benchmark WTI market price to determine the trigger for the oil extraction tax. In 2014, the trigger was set at $52.06 and increased to $52.59 for 2015. If the price for WTI minus $2.50 is below the trigger for one month, then all new wells completed in that month qualify for a reduced tax of 2 percent. If WTI minus $2.50 is below the trigger for five consecutive months, then all wells have the 6.5 percent extraction tax reduced to zero percent for 18 months. Based on the current and futures market pricing for WTI, the tax trigger should be enacted in May 2015. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Population Grows 20% in Williston

City Services Stay Barely Ahead of Demand Williston Service Population Grew 20% Williston, N.D., a city at the heart of the Bakken oil region, is experiencing population growth that is ten times the normal rate, according to a recent study commissioned by the city. In order to determine how many people use its infrastructure and to project future needs, the city turned to Nancy Hodur, a researcher from North Dakota State University. Hodur began the study in 2012 with the goal to project numbers through 2014. To accomplish this, she began with census data and then added the numbers from people living in hotels, crew camps, RV parks and other conditional use permitted housing. Hodur’s 2012 projections have held up well, with recent estimates indicating they are all within a 5 percent margin of error. “We did pretty well,” Hodur said. “That bodes very well and reinforces that if we […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Sadly, fossil fuels are about as sustainable as my chocolate supply

Sadly, fossil fuels are about as sustainable as my chocolate supply thumbnail WHAT exactly is Transition about? asks Sally Elias. “No, I still don’t get it,” said a good friend, exasperated. “What exactly is Transition all about?” We Dorking Transitioners have always struggled with the challenge of a succinct explanation – a lift-pitch. If you say “We are trying to save the planet”, you sound “boring and worthy” (not my words). If you mention post peak oil, people glaze over or say, “Well now they have discovered fracking we don’t need to worry”. Or if you mention global climate change… well, we all know how that goes down with some people – apparently it’s NOT HAPPENING.  I am not terribly bright, but I do hang out with intelligent people who have read a lot more, studied a lot more and understand a lot more than I do about all […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report

The katest OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report is out with OPEC crude only production numbers for February. All data in the OPEC charts below is in thousand barrels per day and the last data point is February 2015 . Total OPEC crude only production was down 137,600 barrels per day in February. Algeria seems to have stabilized their decline. Angola is holding steady. Ecuador has been slowly increasing production at a rate of about 25,000 barrels per day per year. I don’t think they can hold that for another year however. Iran production has been remarkably flat for about two and one half years. It is a question as to how much their production could increase if sanctions were removed. It is remarkable that Iraq has been able to keep production as high as it is with all the ISIS problems they are having. Kuwait was producing flat out in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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How Fast Can We Cut Energy Use?

Energy intensity improvements, or declines in the amount of energy consumption per unit of economic output, must play a critical role in efforts to decarbonize the global economy. Global decarbonization scenarios depend on a wide range of energy intensity improvement rates. Several scenarios which rely heavily on renewable energy and exclude other technologies from consideration (i.e. nuclear or carbon capture and storage), depend on a dramatic acceleration in energy intensity improvement compared to historical rates. Policy making has only limited influence over the mechanisms behind changes in energy intensity. Further research is needed to carefully unpack the mechanisms behind historical rates of change in energy intensity in order to benchmark global decarbonization strategies. Until then, scenarios calling for a step-change acceleration in energy intensity rates should be treated with caution.  Avoiding extreme or dangerous climate change will likely require the nearly complete decarbonization of the global energy system during this century, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil prices drop on hopes of Iran nuclear deal, low spare storage capacity

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday as spare oil storage capacity runs low and a potential agreement in nuclear talks with Tehran opened the prospect of more Iranian exports, should sanctions be eased. U.S. crude fell to $43.57 in early trading, its lowest since March 2009, before rebounding to $44.19 by 0658 GMT, still down 65 cents. Brent was trading at $54.26 a barrel, down 41 cents. Western powers are hoping for concessions from Tehran that could help clinch a political agreement in nuclear talks this week after the United States and European powers voiced a willingness to compromise on suspending U.N. sanctions, which also affect oil exports. "The prospect of an increase in Iranian oil sales as part of a new agreement in the next couple of months will only exacerbate OPEC oversupply, supporting our bearish outlook," Barclays said. The World Petroleum Council said that the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Most Emerging Stocks Fall on Oil Decline; Chinese Shares Rally

(Bloomberg) –Most emerging-market stocks dropped as a slump in commodity producers offset a rally in Chinese shares after Premier Li Keqiang pledged to take action if economic growth slows too much. Turkey’s lira climbed from a record low. Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production Pcl and South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. sank at least 2.8 percent as energy and raw-material shares slid. Dubai equities led Persian Gulf markets lower as oil decreased for a fifth day. Malaysia’s ringgit lost 0.4 percent versus the dollar, while the lira and South Africa’s rand strengthened more than 0.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index surged to a five-year high. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.1 percent to 940.45 at 8:31 a.m. in London, with 373 shares falling and 275 rising. Li said Sunday the government will take more steps if China’s growth, targeted at about 7 percent this year, drifts toward the lower […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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« Misleading IEA Statement Sends Oil Prices Lower and The U.S. Rig Count

Posted in The Petroleum Truth Report The IEA (International Energy Agency) made the following statement in its Oil Monthly Report  yesterday that supposedly sent oil prices lower by $2.41 per barrel for Brent and $2.21 per barrel for WTI: “Steep drops in the US rig count have been a key driver of the price rebound. Yet US supply so far shows precious little sign of slowing down. Quite to the contrary, it continues to defy expectations. Output estimates for 4Q14 North American supply have been revised upwards by a steep 300 kb/d.” IEA’s comments on U.S. oil production trends are misleading.  When IEA says “oil” they mean “liquids” so their number includes natural gas liquids which add more than 3 million barrels per day on top of U.S. crude oil supply that largely come from natural gas production and not from oil production. Also, IEA is talking about the 4th quarter of 2014 which is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Warmer Weather Cools Natural Gas

A Connecticut man digs out from a blizzard in early February. ENLARGE Photo: TNS/Zuma Press Natural-gas prices are sliding, a harbinger of spring. Heavy snowfall and deep cold in the Northeast states, a major gas-consuming region, briefly boosted prices above $3 a million British thermal units last month. Now, as temperatures turn mild, natural-gas demand is expected to ease as U.S. consumers no longer need to heat their homes. The front-month April contract is headed toward a three-year low, falling 3.9% last week to $2.7270 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. “Even if it gets cold in the next couple of weeks, the demand is going to go away” as soon as the spring comes, said Marc Kerrest, who manages $1 million in his own gas-focused fund, Cornice Trading, in San Francisco. “We’re going to be left with a whole lot of gas.” Mr. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple