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France says deal with Iran must be robust, guarantee no atomic bomb

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – France’s foreign minister said on Saturday that his country wanted an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program that was sufficiently robust to guarantee that Tehran could not acquire an atomic bomb. Iran and six world powers – the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – suspended negotiations on a nuclear agreement on Friday and are set to meet again next week to break a deadlock over sensitive atomic research and lifting of sanctions. France has been demanding more stringent restrictions on the Iranians under any deal than the other Western delegations and at one point during the talks French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius phoned his team to ensure it made no more concessions, officials said. The Europeans and U.S. Secretary of State Kerry plan to meet in London on Saturday to help bridge differences, negotiators said, before a end-March deadline for a political framework […]

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France Takes Toughest Line at Iran Nuclear Talks

ENLARGE U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, before a negotiation session with Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, right, over Iran’s nuclear program in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images LAUSANNE, Switzerland—France is again adopting the toughest line against Iran in negotiations aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program, potentially placing Paris at odds with the Obama administration as a diplomatic deadline to forge an agreement approaches at month-end. President Barack Obama called French President François Hollande on Friday to discuss the Iran diplomacy and try to unify their positions. The presidents “reaffirmed their commitment” to a deal “while noting that Iran must take steps to resolve several remaining issues,” the White House said. French diplomats have been publicly pressing the U.S. and other world powers not to give ground on key elements—particularly the speed of lifting United Nations sanctions and the pledge to constrain Iran’s nuclear research […]

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Saudi looking beyond oil price slump as rig count spikes

DUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – As the global energy industry stares transfixed at a spectacular drop in U.S. rigs, Saudi Arabia is ramping up the number of machines drilling for oil and gas despite a sharp fall in the price of crude. Industry sources and analysts say the OPEC kingpin is looking beyond the halving of global oil prices since June 2014 to a time when crude could again be in short supply. Riyadh is therefore keen to preserve what is known as its spare capacity – the kingdom’s unique ability to raise oil output quickly at any given moment. But to achieve that, Saudi Arabia has to drill much more than in the past, after boosting output to record levels to compensate for global supply outages in the past four years. "The Saudis are probably worried about everyone else reducing capex as a result of low oil prices […]

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Nigeria’s Rating Lowered by S&P as Oil, Politics Hit Economy

(Bloomberg) — Nigeria’s credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s on Friday because of falling oil prices and rising political risks before delayed elections due next week in the West African country. The foreign and local currency long-term rating was cut one level to B+, four levels below investment grade. The outlook was changed to stable. “The decline in oil prices in the last seven months has significantly affected Nigeria’s external position and external vulnerability,” S&P said in a statement. “The tightly contested general elections may pose risks to Nigeria’s external position and the implementation of what we view as the government’s ambitious fiscal consolidation plans, while the Boko Haram group continues to disrupt the northeast.” Africa’s largest economy, which derives 90 percent of export earnings and 70 percent of government revenue from oil, is struggling with Brent crude prices having halved since June. The International Monetary Fund […]

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Libyan Investment Authority remains upbeat

Libyan investment chief upbeat about future despite threats to oil, one of the main sources of government revenue. UPI/Tariq aL-Hun. Though Libya’s short-term oil potential is waning, officials at a Malta summit said they were confident economic prosperity would come to the nation’s people. The board of directors at the Libyan Investment Authority met in Malta for their first annual meeting this week as violence lingers in the North African country. LIA Chairman Hassan Bouhadi said the investment authority is independent from political issues in a dividing country. "LIA’s assets are protected and the fund aims to develop these investments to establish economic prosperity for the Libyan people," he was quoted Thursday by the Libya Herald as saying. U.S. Ambassador to Libya Deborah K. Jones wrote in a February piece in the Libyan newspaper the country may go broke if oil continues to get caught in the cross fire. […]

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Shell unloads Nigeria assets

Shell unloads assets in Nigeria as part of a strategic review, one day after critical oil spill report from Amnesty International. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian Royal Dutch Shell said Friday it completed the sale of its stake in a Nigerian oil field for $737 million as part of a strategic review of onshore assets there. The company sold its 30 percent stake in oil mining lease 30 to Eroton Exploration & Production Co. Eroton took on an additional stake in the area from subsidiaries of Total and Eni. "This divestment is part of the strategic review of Shell Petroleum Development Co.’s onshore portfolio and is in line with the federal government of Nigeria’s aim of developing Nigerian companies in the country’s upstream oil and gas business," the Anglo-Dutch company said in a statement. The oil mining lease was producing an average 14,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day last year. Amnesty […]

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Oil rig count continues slide as debate grows on uncompleted well backlog

The US oil rig count continued to fall this week in response to lower crude prices, although output continues to climb and debate rises on the impact of a backlog of uncompleted wells. On Friday, 825 oil rigs were working domestically, down 41 from last week and down 784 from October 10, according to the Baker Hughes weekly rig count. The number of rigs in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota and Montana fell to double-digit levels for the first time in at least four years. Just 99 rigs were drilling in the play, down from 104 the week before and the most-recent high of 198 October 3. Operators have quickly reined in activity there, because of the high cost of wells and transportation to markets from the stranded basin. Likewise, oil rigs drilling the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico dropped by 20 to 285 this […]

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BHI: US rig count plunges in 15th straight week, spurred by offshore dropoff

HOUSTON, Mar. 20 By Matt Zborowski OGJ Staff Writer The US drilling rig count fell 56 units—41 of which targeted oil—to settle at 1,069 rigs working during the week ended Mar. 20, capping off the 15 th consecutive week in declines, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. Since the week ended Dec. 5, the rig count has plunged 851 units ( OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2014 ). The total of 1,069 is the lowest count since the week ended Oct. 30, 2009, and 734 fewer units compared with this week a year ago. The US Energy Information Administration noted this week in its “Today in Energy” update that the last major rig count drop during the 2008-09 recession had little impact on overall oil production because of rig efficiency. “When producers make the decision to lay down some drilling rigs , they generally start by idling the older, […]

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Bakken Rig Count Dips Below 100

Williston’s Population Growth Taxes Infrastructure Williston Service Population Grew 20% The Bakken-Three Forks rig count decreased by five t0 97 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week. In recent Bakken news, a study reveals that Williston, N.D. is experiencing population growth that is ten times the normal rate. Infrastructure maintenance and improvements are a growing concern throughout the state as growing populations and oil equipment demands have taxed the current roadways and services. Read more: Population Grows 20% in Williston The U.S. rig count fell another 56 to 1069 rigs running as of today. A total of 242 rigs were targeting natural gas (down 15 from the previous week) and 825 were targeting oil in the U.S. (41 less than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 99 rigs are running in the Williston Basin across […]

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Smallest Oil Rig Drop in Three Weeks Shows Retreat Easing

(Bloomberg) — The biggest retreat from U.S. oil fields on record is showing signs of subsiding. Oil explorers sidelined 41 drilling rigs this week, the smallest drop in three weeks and down from the average 59-rig decline in February. The count has fallen for 15 straight weeks to 825, reaching the lowest level in more than five years, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website Friday. The country has lost an unprecedented 750 oil rigs in the past 15 weeks as collapsing prices force drillers to let go of thousands of workers and retreat from shale formations. The slide in the rig count threatens to bring to a halt the oil production boom that turned the U.S. into the world’s largest fuel exporter. “While we’re still going to see declines on a weekly basis, the retreat is definitely losing steam,” James Williams, president of energy consulting company WTRG Economics, […]

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U.S. sets first major fracking rules on federal lands

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Friday unveiled its first major standards for oil companies that frack on federal lands, including beefed-up safety measures to protect groundwater, prompting industry complaints they will be a barrier to growth. The rules require energy companies to reinforce boreholes and otherwise prevent leakage and provide data on the cocktail of chemicals that helps extract crude oil and gas out of the ground. The rules will add transparency to the practice, long shrouded by companies reluctant to reveal "trade secrets." Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a controversial process that involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into a well to extract oil or gas. Environmentalists say fracking poses health risks. Although only about 10 percent of fracking occurs on federal lands, the Obama administration is hoping the new rules will become a model for industry standards elsewhere, especially in states that do not have fracking […]

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US fracking rules seek shale boom balance

In this March 29, 2013 photo, a worker switches well heads during a short pause in the water pumping phase, at the site of a natural gas hydraulic fracturing and extraction operation run by Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., outside Rifle, in western Colorado. Proponents of hydraulic fracturing point to the economic benefits from vast amounts of formerly inaccessible hydrocarbons the process can extract. Opponents point to potential environmental impacts, with some critics acknowledging that some fracking operations are far cleaner than others. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) The Obama administration has taken its biggest step yet to regulate fracking on federal land by imposing new environmental safeguards on the technique that has turned America into a shale energy superpower and upturned global energy markets. In a move that will be closely watched by other countries debating shale development, the administration said on Friday that it would introduce new rules […]

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Fracking Rules Unveiled by Obama Administration

The rules will require disclosure of chemicals used at well sites. ENLARGE Photo: Getty Images WASHINGTON—The Obama administration on Friday issued comprehensive rules for hydraulic fracturing, seeking to set a national standard for controversial drilling practices that have helped fuel a domestic oil and natural-gas boom. The regulations, in the works since 2012, triggered criticism from oil and natural-gas companies that they were too onerous and from environmental groups that they didn’t go far enough. Two influential groups representing oil and natural-gas companies filed a lawsuit to block the rules just minutes after they were announced. The rules directly apply to a small percentage of oil and gas drilling on federal lands, which account for 11% of the natural gas and 5% of the oil the U.S. consumes, according to Interior Department data. Most hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, occurs on private or state land. But states and companies […]

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Oil Group Seeks to Set Aside Fracking Rules as Unscientific

(Bloomberg) — The Obama administration’s new fracking regulations were attacked in an oil industry lawsuit as lacking scientific and engineering evidence to support them. The Independent Petroleum Association of America contends regulations issued Friday are based on “unsubstantiated concerns” and asked a federal judge in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to rule them invalid. The new rules don’t take effect for at least 90 days. The rules require those drilling on federal lands to reveal the chemicals they use, meet well construction standards and safely dispose of contaminated water. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, injects the high-pressure water and chemicals to free oil and natural gas from underground deposits. Mark Barron, a Denver-based lawyer for the Independent Petroleum Association, said the group may ask for an order blocking the rules from taking effect after it has reviewed them in detail. The Washington-based association named the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Interior Secretary […]

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Rebels Plan Offensive in East as Ukraine Fortifies Key Port

A Ukrainian soldier walks near a position of the Ukrainian forces near the village of Pervomayske. Photographer: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images (Bloomberg) — Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine are preparing for a new offensive to expand their territory, signaling a six-week-old truce is in danger of crumbling. “We’ll try to push them from here to hell because we’re tired of them killing civilians with indiscriminate fire,” Alexander Khodakovsky, who commands the 3,500-man Vostok Brigade, said in an interview at his headquarters in Donetsk. The campaign may start in the “foreseeable future,” according to Khodakovsky, who also heads the security council of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. A rebel offensive would shatter the cease-fire negotiated last month in Minsk, Belarus, and raise the risk of escalating U.S. and European Union sanctions against Russia, which they blame for stoking the conflict. Ukraine and Germany, which brokered the accord with France, […]

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Oil Patch Jobs Resistant to Price Plunge For Now

An oil worker outside of Midland, Texas, in December. Even with sliding oil prices, Midland boasts the lowest metro jobless rate in the country. Bloomberg Midland, Texas, a symbol of the American oil boom that has recent run into shaky ground, still has the  lowest unemployment rate in the nation at just 2.6% in January, according to figures from the Labor Department published Friday. The Texan oil town was followed by Lincoln, Neb., a consistently stable employer, at 2.8%. That’s the same jobless rate as that of the state of North Dakota, also at the center of the energy sector’s expansion and still the lowest rate of any state in the nation , a separate report recently showed. Oil prices have plunged by more than 50% in the last eight months, raising concerns about the financial condition of some energy producers and refiners. In contrast, El Centro, Calif., has […]

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Texas RRC Report and Other Peak Oil News

The Texas Rail Road Commission has released its latest stats with production numbers through January. There is always a delay in these numbers and that is why you see the production graph lines seem to droop toward the recent months. Because of this I post six months data so the data can be compared in order to gain a better insight into which way production is heading. All Texas oil and gas data is through January. The Oil data is in barrels per day and the gas data is in MCF. Texas Condensate Texas condensate will likely show a small gain when the data is finally in. Either way it will not be enough to make much difference in the final C+C January production. Texas Crude Only I believe Texas crude only will be down in January. This shows a huge decline from the December incomplete data. The EIA […]

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API: February US petroleum demand is highest since 2008

WASHINGTON, DC, Mar. 20 Total US petroleum demand reached an average 19.3 million b/d in February—the highest level for the month since 2008, the American Petroleum Institute reported on Mar. 19. The amount represented a 1.5% year-to-year increase from February 2014’s nearly 19 million b/d. “Greater demand for gasoline and jet fuel and a colder-than-usual February brought total February deliveries back to pre-recession levels,” API Chief Economist John Felmy said. “At the same time, the continued strength of crude oil and refinery production ensured that stocks of crude and refined products remained high.” API said February’s US gasoline demand edged up 0.1% to an average 8.7 million b/d, its highest level for the month since 2009. Gasoline production averaged nearly 9.5 million b/d, a record for the month and 1.9% higher year-to-year. Distillate fuel production rose 3.8% year-to-year to a February record of more than 4.7 million b/d as […]

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Ruble Tops Global Currency Rally as Oil Bounce Adds to Taxes

(Bloomberg) — Russia’s ruble headed for the best weekly gain against the dollar globally on demand from companies rushing to meet a tax deadline and as oil prices rebounded. The ruble is poised for a 4.5 percent advance for the week, the biggest rally among 170 currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Crude oil, the nation’s main export commodity was poised for the first gain in three weeks, paring the decline this month to 12 percent. The ruble’s strength “doesn’t look logical from the fundamental point of view,” Vladimir Vedeneev, chief investment officer at Raiffeisen Capital asset management in Moscow, said in e-mailed comments. “The move seems rather technical. Exporters have been selling the foreign-currency revenue.” Russian companies must pay about 1.3 trillion rubles ($22 billion) in taxes this month, with the largest portion falling due on March 25, according to a Bloomberg survey of five economists. They must pay the […]

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Germany’s 2014 coal imports hit all-time high of 56.2 mil mt: VDKi

German hard coal imports reached an all-time record high of 56.2 million mt in 2014, up 6.2% on the year, according to statistics released by the German Coal Importers Association (VDKi) Thursday. Thermal coal imports into Germany increased by about 5% on the year to 41.9 million mt, while coking coal imports jumped 15% year on year to 11.7 million mt. Imports of coke declined by about 6% to 2.4 million mt. Russia was the largest shipper of thermal coal to Germany last year, delivering 13.7 million mt, up from 13.1 million mt the previous year. Article continues below… Platts Global Coal Alert brings real-time coal industry information to those who can’t afford to wait until tomorrow to get market coverage and pricing information. With it, you get up-to-the-minute news, overheard transaction information, and market commentaries, along with thermal coal markets pricing for regional and global markets. Thermal coal […]

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Russia says sanctions ‘destructive’, will act in own interests

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia described "sanctions rhetoric" as destructive on Friday and said it would do what is in its national interests after European Union leaders kept economic sanctions in place over the Ukraine crisis. In comments to reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also accused Kiev of violating the terms of a peace deal for eastern Ukraine that was agreed in the Belarussian capital Minsk. "We prefer to engage in creative matters, not destructive matters such as sanctions rhetoric. So we do not discuss sanctions and the Russian Federation will do what is in its national interests," he said. (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya, Writing by Timothy Heritage, Editing by Lidia kelly)

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Peak Oil Mirage Is Evaporating as U.S Production to Last Generations

David Bernal, Allegro Development This article is written by David Bernal who is a Senior Solutions Manager for Allegro Development, a real-time commodity trading information services and risk management firm. Whether you blame technology, politics, softening demand or a mix of all three, the recent oil price plunge is testament to the dynamic nature of energy markets and the huge risks that emerge in a period of profound volatility. The most important question for energy market participants however, is how they can minimise our exposure? Technology in the form of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling has arguably made America the world’s pre-eminent oil producer, pulling up to 4m barrels a day from sources that were once called “unconventional”. So much oil is sloshing around that Congress has taken its first tentative steps toward removal of the crude export ban by allowing exports of certain condensates. Full-on exports of crude […]

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« Lifting the U.S. Oil Export Ban Is No Solution to Low Oil Prices

Tight oil producers are hoping for an end to the U.S. oil export ban. They hired IHS to write the second report on this topic in less than a year.   In  Unleashing The Supply Chain , IHS argues that U.S. jobs are the casualty from the export ban. The problem, they say, is that the U.S. lacks the capacity to refine all of the light tight oil being produced and that lowers the price.   But there were plenty of jobs over the last several years when oil prices were high even though the export ban was in place.  That is because over-supply has lowered oil prices and over-production, not the export ban, is the problem.  The chart below shows that tight oil production from the U.S. and Canada is the anomaly responsible for global over-supply.  Leading liquids producing countries 2008-2014. Source: EIA and Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc. (Click image to enlarge) And it’s a […]

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Brent falls towards $54, heads for third weekly loss

SINGAPORE(Reuters) – Brent crude fell towards $54 a barrel on Friday and was on track for its third weekly loss, hurt by oversupply worries after Kuwait said OPEC had no choice but to maintain output levels. High inventory in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, also weighed on prices. Brent crude for May delivery LCOc1 had fallen 30 cents to $54.13 a barrel by 0743 GMT. The contract is set to fall nearly 1 percent this week in its third straight weekly loss. U.S. crude for April delivery CLc1 tumbled 52 cents to $43.44 a barrel, headed for its fifth weekly loss. The contract expires on Friday. "The U.S. crude inventory numbers have been climbing for the last 10 straight weeks, sitting at their highest levels in 80 years. So that’s a further supply side concern on top of news coming out of Kuwait," said Ben Le […]

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Oil Prices Remain Choppy After Overnight Losses

Dow Jones Newswires By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures were choppy in Asian trade Friday, with Brent crude ticking marginally higher as investors weighed volatile currency markets and ahead of this week’s U.S. rig count data. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in traded at $ a barrel at , in the Globex electronic session. Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange to $ a barrel. Oil prices had resumed their decline in the last trading session with Nymex crude losing 1.6% and Brent down by 2.6% on rising U.S. oil stockpiles and a strong U.S. dollar. The latest U.S. drilling rig-count numbers from oil services company Baker Hughes will be released later today. Executives from oil services companies expect Brent crude prices to average $75 a barrel by end-March 2016, Gordon Kwan, head of oil research at Nomura, said in a report. He […]

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Oil falls as dollar up, Kuwait sees OPEC output steady

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices tumbled on Thursday as a rebounding dollar and Kuwait’s stance that OPEC had no choice but to keep producing in an oversupplied market undercut the previous day’s rally. Benchmark Brent oil settled down nearly 3 percent while U.S. crude lost almost 2 percent, weighed by the dollar’s rise against most currencies. In the previous session, Brent rose nearly 5 percent and U.S. crude about 3 percent as the dollar suffered its biggest one-day tumble in 18 months on disappointment over the lack of a clear timeline for a U.S. interest rate hike. [USD/] "It’s dollar play all over again today," said Phil Flynn, analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago. "The fact that the oil market is oversupplied is a given, so the only real variable now are currency moves and how they impact commodities demand." A stronger dollar weakens demand from […]

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That Oil Rally Didn’t Last Long

There was a lot of movement in markets yesterday after a Fed announcement which was widely perceived as dovish . Stocks surged. The dollar dove. And oil finally caught a break, spiking hard after the news. But as you can see on this chart, that didn’t last long. Oil has given back almost all of its gains. The move in oil mirrors what we’re seeing in currency markets, where the dollar has made a big comeback since its initial post-Fed drubbing. The fundamentally bearish conditions for oil – rising production and storage facilities getting filled to the brim – remain in place. For more, read this QuickTake:   Oil Prices

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Preparing for a Brent Benchmark With No Brent Oil

ENLARGE LONDON—It was once a behemoth, a massive North Sea oil field whose importance to the world crude market was summed up by its name atop the global benchmark price: Brent. Today, the Brent field, northeast of Scotland’s remote Shetland Islands, is all but tapped dry. It produces about 1,000 barrels a day in a global market of 93 million daily barrels. Royal Dutch Shell PLC is awaiting approval to scrap the first of four Eiffel Tower-sized platforms that have sucked Brent-branded crude from the seabed for almost 40 years. In a few years, the Brent benchmark—a crucial metric for global oil prices—will contain no actual Brent at all. With aging North Sea fields running out of crude faster than predicted, changes to how the global price of oil is calculated are being accelerated, putting a spotlight on the methods used to put a value on the world’s most […]

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Natural Gas Slides on Inventory Data

Dow Jones Newswires By Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Natural-gas prices dropped Thursday after weekly inventory data showed that supplies fell less than expected last week. Natural gas for April delivery settled down 10.7 cents, or 3.7%, to $2.813 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural-gas stockpiles fell by 45 billion cubic feet in the week ended March 13, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Thursday. Analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had called for a drop of 47 bcf. Inventories are now 53% above last year’s unusually low level and 13% below the five-year average for this week. "Even though it wasn’t a big withdrawal, the market was expecting a little bit more than that," said Santiago Diaz, a broker at INTL FCStone. Looking forward, he said, "it’s more of a question of, what is the weather telling is? Is winter going […]

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Iran Talks Stall Over Ending of Sanctions

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left center, talks with Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, after a Thursday morning negotiation session in Lausanne with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over Iran’s nuclear program. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images LAUSANNE, Switzerland—When international sanctions on Iran would be lifted has emerged as one of the largest remaining stumbling blocks to an agreement to constrain Tehran’s nuclear program by a March 31 deadline, according to U.S., European and Iranian officials. Tehran’s negotiators in Switzerland, according to these diplomats, have hardened their position that United Nations sanctions on their country be repealed at the front end of any deal reached this month with the U.S. and other global powers. The U.S. and its European allies are demanding the U.N.’s sanctions be suspended or terminated in a phased time-frame over years. They believe sanctions relief should only come […]

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Supreme Test for Iran’s Leader to Cap Anti-U.S. Career With Deal

To make up for lost growth, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for conglomerates controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and conservative religious foundations to give up their tax-exempt status and pull their weight. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg (Bloomberg) — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an implacable opponent of America and its allies for most of his rule, will have to concede ground if he’s to end a nuclear dispute that has spanned three U.S. presidencies. Khamenei was selected as guardian of the mainly Shiite Islamic Republic on the death in 1989 of revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini as the country reeled from a newly concluded eight-year war with U.S. ally Iraq. Under his tutelage, Iran sparred with neighboring Sunni states for regional primacy, while sanctions deepened its isolation and crippled the economy. Through it all, Khamenei, 75, stressed self-sufficiency, pious loyalty and animosity toward the U.S. — the “Great […]

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Kerry Says Difficult Issues Persist in Nuclear Talks With Iran

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday said that negotiators were still grappling with difficult issues in the talks on limiting Iran ’s nuclear program , but that they had made some headway. “We are pushing some tough issues, but we made progress,” Mr. Kerry told reporters in Lausanne during a break in the talks. It was not yet clear, Mr. Kerry said, whether the United States team would return to Washington on Friday or remain here through the weekend to continue negotiating with the Iranians. Iranian officials have spoken optimistically about the chances for sealing an accord in the coming days. The Iranian statements may be intended to build public pressure on the United States and its allies to make concessions, as well as to strike a positive tone for the Iranian public. But the United States and some of its European negotiating partners have […]

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More Iran Oil May Flow Within Months of Deal, Officials Say

(Bloomberg) — World powers have offered to suspend U.S. and European oil sanctions against Iran within months of signing an agreement if the Islamic Republic adopts strict limits verified by intrusive inspections of its nuclear program for at least a decade, according to U.S. and European officials. Limits on Iran’s oil exports would be suspended after Iran complies with an initial set of restrictions, such as disconnecting the majority of its centrifuges and submitting them for verification, according to the officials who spoke to Bloomberg News on condition of anonymity to describe the private negotiations under way in Lausanne, Switzerland. Negotiating teams from six powers — the U.S., U.K,, France, Germany, China and Russia — are working toward a self-imposed March 31 goal to reach the framework of a nuclear agreement with Iran. Both sides are seeking a final deal by the end of June laying out steps that […]

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Deadly tribal conflicts hit southern Iraq

Members of Iraq’s anti-terrorism unit for oil facility protection take their positions during a training exercise in Basra on Nov. 18, 2012. (ATEF HASSAN/Reuters) Recommend 171 people recommend this. Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. Security forces in southern Iraq are struggling to contain a spate of recent tribal conflicts that have left citizens dead and injured, disrupted transportation routes, and damaged energy infrastructure.Three battles this week – two in Basra province and one in Missan – have highlighted the limited capacity of government security forces, which have been stretched thin because many of the most capable units have redeployed to fight the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group in other …

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OPEC’s Gulf core steels for longer wait, lower prices in shale struggle

DUBAI (Reuters) – U.S. shale drilling may be slowing, but not fast enough for OPEC to change policy at its June meeting or to prevent oil prices maybe falling more, in the view of the group’s Gulf members. Actual oil output from the United States could prove harder to beat back, sources in the Gulf say after poring over the latest data with top consultants. The message is, do not underestimate the ability of the oil industry to adapt: there can be cost cuts, restructuring and consolidation and that would take time, the sources said. "These two years, 2015-16, are still a discovery, everybody is talking about the economics of tight oil but nobody is talking with certainty… you have to wait and see," said a source from a Gulf OPEC producer. At its last meeting in November, OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia persuaded fellow members to keep production unchanged, […]

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Truckers killed in Basra bombing

At least three people were killed by a truck bomb Wednesday in Basra province – an area that has recently been relatively insulated from such attacks.The explosives-laden truck blew up in a parking lot on the main freeway linking Umm Qasr port with the town of Safwan, about 20 kilometers south of Basra city, on the border with Kuwait."Most of the victims were truckers heading to Umm Qasr’s commercial port," said Talib Alhusona, the mayor of Zubair.Various officials gave different c…

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Libya’s State Oil Firm Operating Independently Of Rival Governments

TRIPOLI, March 19 (Reuters) – Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) is working independently without taking orders from either of the country’s rival governments, the Tripoli-based group said on Thursday. The internationally-recognised government said on Tuesday it wanted to route oil exports through an eastern NOC entity under its leadership rather than via Tripoli, which has traditionally handled oil exports. "The NOC board of directors confirms that NOC’s position is neutral and (that it) receives no directives from either the Tripoli- or Bayda-based governments," it said. Bayda is the seat of the recognised government in the east. "(It) operates in complete independence from both sets of authorities," NOC said. "All revenue proceeds are directly deposited into a Central Bank of Libya designated account." The two governments and parliaments are allied to armed factions fighting for territory and control of oil facilities. The eastern-based government has appointed a new head for […]

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Africa: Statoil’s Historic Disclosures Blow Holes in Exxon and Shell’s Campaign for Secrecy

press release Transparency campaigners call on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to follow Norway’s lead The Norwegian energy giant Statoil today became the first major oil company to publish its payments to governments under a new, mandatory transparency standard being rolled out across the world. As the Securities and Exchange Commission works to create a similar transparency rule for US-listed oil and mining companies, campaigners in the Publish What You Pay coalition are calling on U.S. regulators to follow Norway’s lead. (1) Norway is the first country to bring the standard into effect, which requires oil, gas and mining companies to disclose the revenues they pay into government coffers – such as taxes, royalties and licence fees – for all countries they operate in. (2) Greater transparency will enable citizens to monitor payments worth hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and hold their governments to account for […]

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U.S. commercial crude oil inventories now provide the most days of supply since 1985

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum and Other Liquids and Short-Term Energy Outlook Note: U.S. crude oil inventories exclude Strategic Petroleum Reserves. December 2014 to February 2015 are estimates. With lower U.S. refinery runs and increases in domestic crude oil production, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories at the end of February provided the most days of supply since the mid-1980s. Commercial crude inventories were sufficient to supply 29 days of U.S. refinery demand, based on expected refinery runs in March. The number of days of supply is calculated by dividing the commercial crude oil inventory level at the end of the month by the forecast crude oil refinery runs in the following month. This calculation excludes government-held inventories such as the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The days-of-supply calculation is an indicator of how loose or tight oil markets are by showing the number of days current commercial inventories will […]

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Growing U.S. oil export debate has now spread to geopolitics

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lifting the longstanding ban on U.S. crude oil exports would boost the country’s economy and enhance its global leadership, a former senior Obama administration official will tell senators on Thursday, introducing a strategic dimension to the growing debate over selling American oil abroad. In testimony submitted ahead of a Senate energy committee hearing on U.S. crude export policy, the Pentagon’s former undersecretary of defense for policy, Michele Flournoy, argues "policymakers in the United States should embrace these various benefits to our allies and ourselves and liberalize our crude export rules. "Market conditions merit such a step and security dividends will not be fully realized without it,” said Flournoy, co-founder of the Center for a New American Security. A host of economic and geopolitical factors, from plummeting oil prices, near-capacity storage facilities and sanctions against Iran and Russia, are forcing both sides of the debate to address […]

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North Dakota reviews oil-train safety

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple calls for tighter rules to ensure safe transport of crude oil from state’s Bakken shale reserve. Photo by Steven Frame/Shutterstock There’s no way to offer a single solution that would allay concerns about the safety of crude oil transit by rail, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said. Dalrymple spoke with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to discuss efforts to improve the safe transport of crude oil by rail from the state. The Republican governor said he called on the secretary to adopt new standards for rail cars carrying crude oil as soon as possible . "Secretary Foxx and I agree that there is no single solution to improving the safety of rail transportation," Dalrymple said in a statement Wednesday. North Dakota crude oil production is more than existing pipeline capacity can handle, forcing many in the industry to use rail as an alternative transit […]

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Rig data paints mixed oil picture

Mixed pictures emerge on how rig activity may or may not impact oil production in key U.S. shale basins. Photo by UPI/Shutterstock/Calin Tatu. North Dakota state data show 107 active rigs as of Thursday, down 45 percent year-on-year and 3.6 percent less than last week. The rig count of 111 last week was the lowest since April 2010 . Bentek Energy, a forecasting division of energy reporting agency Platts, found crude oil production in and around the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota averaged 1.2 million barrels per day. That is around 276,000 bpd higher than February 2014, despite the drop off. "Producers are countering the decline in rig count with a drive for efficiency gains in drilling and completion techniques and an increased focus on their more productive acreage," Catherine Bernardo, Bentek’s manager of energy analysis, said in a statement. Data from the North Dakota Industrial Commission found […]

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Low oil prices may hurt Colorado economy

Low oil prices may hurt Colorado’s economy, state budget report finds. Photo by Calin Tatu/Shutterstock The Colorado Office of State Planning and Budget said the state’s general revenue fund for fiscal year 2014-14 was relatively unchanged, with growth expected at 8.8 percent. Revenue growth for the fiscal year ending in 2016 is expected to decline by 0.4 percent, or $43.7 million, because of issues in the energy industry. "Because the oil and gas industry and the economic activity associated with it have been an important part of the state’s growth in the current expansion, there is risk of a larger economic slowdown than forecast, especially if oil prices decline further and remain low," an OSPB report published Wednesday said. Colorado’s government in February endorsed recommendations set forth by an oil and gas task force that gave more input to local officials on large-scale drilling operations, though it kept some […]

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Fed urges lawmakers to toughen rules on Wall St. and commodities

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers should consider overturning a decades-old rule that allows Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to extract, transport and trade physical commodities, a top Federal Reserve official said on Thursday. Asked at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on bank regulation what rules could be strengthened, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo said one target was the commodities exemption the two banks enjoy, which allows them to handle everything from crude oil cargoes and copper pallets to electricity lines and aluminum stockpiles. Without naming the banks Tarullo said "it would be very much worth considering treating those two firms like the other banking companies." Tarullo, the Fed’s point person for bank regulation was joined by two other bank regulators on the panel, which was called by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby to examine the regulatory regime for regional banks. Regional banks, such as Comerica Inc, fall in […]

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Debt Is Oil Patch’s Four-Letter Word

The 60 percent plunge in crude oil prices since mid-2014 isn’t just about increased production and slower global growth. Debt may be the four-letter word when it comes to explaining the extent of the energy sector’s collapse, a paper in the Bank for International Settlement’s Quarterly Review shows. While production has certainly increased and consumption cooled, current estimates of both are little changed from previous forecasts. This stands in contrast to the last two periods of similar oil-price declines in 1996 and 2008, which were attributed to big reductions in demand and/or a surge in production, according to the paper. Bank for International Settlements This time, low borrowing costs, a product of easy Federal Reserve monetary policy, are a new wrinkle. Cheap financing has made it easier for exploration and production (E&P) companies to finance operations and expand rapidly as the era of hydraulic fracturing kicked into high gear. Debt […]

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Pimco Lowers U.S. Forecast Amid Strong Dollar, Oil Plunge

(Bloomberg) — Pacific Investment Management Co., the manager of the world’s biggest bond mutual fund, lowered its expectations for U.S. economic growth this year because of the impact of a strong U.S. dollar and a slowdown in spending among energy companies. Pimco sees economic expansion of 2.5 percent to 3 percent, Rich Clarida, global strategic adviser, and Andrew Balls, chief investment officer for global fixed income, said in a report on the Newport Beach, California-based company’s website today. That’s down from its 2.75 percent to 3.25 percent projection in December. “Our baseline view remains that the U.S. is on track for solid if not spectacular above-trend growth,” they wrote in the outlook, formulated after a quarterly meeting that included experts such as former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. Pimco said a stronger labor market and falling oil prices are a positive for U.S. consumers despite headwinds from sluggish […]

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The Economic Impact of Shale Oil

North Dakota Sees $4.4 Billion in Revenues N.D. Economy Booming During a recent event dubbed “Energy Day” in Bismark, N.D. various groups came together to recognize the impact of the oil and gas industry. The day included legislative committee hearings, an education session and facts and figures regarding the industry’s importance to North Dakota’s economy. According to one study, presented by Dean Bangsund of ND University, oil and gas had a $43 billion economic impact on North Dakota in 2013 and affected many parts of the aspects of the state’s economy. Highlights include: Retail trade saw the largest impact, accounting for $11.3 billion of the total. Personal income saw the second-largest impact at $9.3 billion. The finance, insurance and real estate industry ($4.5 billion) overtook the government $4.4 billion in government revenues Researcher Dean Bangsund told Bakken Magazine  “This study helps confirm that the petroleum industry is one of […]

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Fracking Rules Expected to Be Unveiled by Obama Administration Friday

Pump jacks and wells are seen in an oil field near McKittrick, Calif., where gas and oil are being extracted by hydraulic fracturing. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images WASHINGTON—The Obama administration on Friday is expected to issue long-awaited regulations setting new standards for hydraulic fracturing in the oil and natural-gas industries, people familiar with the matter said. The drilling technology has been key to unlocking vast reserves of oil and gas across the U.S., but qualms about its environmental impact have made it controversial. The regulations will set standards for wells and disposal of wastewater—and also require companies to disclose chemicals used, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said on Tuesday in remarks discussing the rules. “The rule will include measures to protect our nation’s groundwater—requiring operators to construct sound wells, to disclose the chemicals they use, and to safely recover and handle fluids used in the process,” Ms. Jewell said at […]

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Water rationing may become a way of life in California drought

LOS ANGELES — After the driest January on record and dire predictions of the worst and most persistent drought in 1,000 years , California is once again cracking down on water wasters and reminding residents that water rationing may be a way of life for years to come. The State Water Resources Control Board sounded an alarm this week by mandating tougher restrictions, forcing local water agencies that don’t already limit outdoor watering to institute a two-days-a-week maximum. All restaurants are now required to serve water only upon request and hotels must offer guests the option of not having towels and linens laundered every day. A majority of the state’s 415 urban water districts already have drought emergency plans , but the state’s call to action is expected to generate tougher rules and stiffer enforcement statewide. Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to announce $1 billion in emergency drought funding. […]

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Shale Producers Have Found Another Lifeline: Shareholders

(Bloomberg) — U.S. oil producers are issuing new shares of stock at the fastest pace in more than a decade, looking to investors for a cash lifeline to pay down debt and keep drilling as crude prices continue to sink. Tapping equity markets has become the best option for companies such as Dallas-based RSP Permian Inc., which announced March 17 it’s seeking to raise as much as $232 million by selling additional shares. Calgary-based Encana Corp. and Noble Energy Inc. of Houston also have issued shares in the past two months to reduce debt. That brings funds raised in the first three months of the year to about $8 billion, more than 10 times the total in the same period last year. As the continued slide in oil prices further crimps cash flows, banks are pressuring these companies to shore up their capital and reduce debt to lower servicing […]

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