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New Studies Link Earthquakes With Oil, Gas Drilling

ENLARGE In this file photo from Nov. 19, 2014, Scott Passmore, director of public works, checks on a solar powered seismic monitor that records earthquakes in the area around Reno, Texas. With real-time monitors, scientists have linked a swarm of small earthquakes west of Fort Worth, Texas, to nearby natural gas wells and wastewater injection. Photo: Associated Press New scientific findings released Tuesday linked earthquakes to the practice of injecting wastewater from oil and gas operations deep underground, adding to a growing consensus among researchers that energy development is probably causing seismic activity in Oklahoma, Texas and other parts of the U.S. The Oklahoma Geological Survey released a statement Tuesday saying that it now “considers it very likely” that most of the hundreds of earthquakes in the state’s center in recent years were “triggered by the injection of produced water in disposal wells.” Produced water is salty fluid that […]

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Crude Demand Continues to be Strong on Price Slump

ENLARGE An oil pump-jack in the oil town of Gonzales, Texas. Oil prices are seen staying above the lows seen earlier this year as demand for crude remains strong. Photo: Getty Images LAUSANNE, Switzerland—Oil prices are unlikely to sink to fresh lows this year, major commodities traders said Tuesday, though they stopped short of predicting any significant rebound. “The low price is now behind us,” Torbjorn Tornqvist, CEO of Gunvor Group, told the FT Global Commodities Summit in Lausanne, noting that the current oversupply in the market isn’t large and oil prices may have overreacted to the downside. Though predicting oil prices is notoriously difficult, with hardly any in the industry forecasting the current slump, there are signs that the market could get some support. For one thing, strong oil demand in the first few months of the year is pointing to an uptick in consumption. Vitol, the world’s […]

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Oil States See Slumping Employment as Texas Loses 25,000 Jobs in March

While the U.S. economy continued to add jobs last month, states that rely heavily on the oil industry experienced significant cuts. Job losses hit particularly hard in Texas (down 25,400 jobs) and Oklahoma (down 12,900), leading the nation in losses. North Dakota lost 3,000 jobs, a significant cut in such a small state. The decline in oil prices has provided a windfall for consumers who are paying less at the pump. But the plunge is now hurting the states that had benefited from the domestic oil-production boom in recent years. All told, 31 states and Washington, D.C., saw a drop in employment in March, and only 18 states saw employment rising. The broad deterioration was a reversal from February, a month in which only 13 states saw decreases and 36 states and D.C. saw an increase. Michael Feroli , the chief U.S. economist for J.P. Morgan Chase , said Monday […]

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US EPA climate rule could drive significant growth in gas power: NERC

An Environmental Protection Agency rule to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the existing power fleet could bring almost 100 GW of new natural gas-fired generation to the US fleet by 2030, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said in an assessment released Tuesday. The assessment at the same time found significant retirements of coal-fired generation by 2030 as well as an erosion of the economics supporting remaining coal power as the resource shifts from acting as baseload to becoming a peaking asset. NERC is an industry-backed organization tasked by Congress and FERC to ensure bulk power system reliability In light of these and other changes to the system, the assessment noted concerns that the necessary infrastructure may not be in place by the rule’s deadlines, creating the need for a mechanism to ensure reliability should unforeseen issues or timing challenges arise. Article continues below… At the same time, NERC […]

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LNG export limits violate US free trade tradition, ExxonMobil executive says

WASHINGTON, DC, Apr. 21 The US should remove the national interest demonstration requirement for LNG exports to countries with which it does not have a free-trade agreement before it loses one of its biggest energy and economic opportunities in its history, an ExxonMobil Corp. executive said. The requirement, which originally was imposed as part of the 1938 Natural Gas Act, is more than an archaic relic that does not recognize the dramatically improved US oil and gas outlook, ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing Co. Pres. Rob Franklin said. It also flies in the face of the country’s free-trade heritage and potentially could lead to international legal actions under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Franklin said during an Apr. 20 address at Johns Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies. Asked which Washington policymakers specifically need to act on this, Franklin said, “The responsibility lies with Congress, although […]

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Statoil lets carbon dioxide service contract for Bakken

Statoil has let a major carbon dioxide supply and service agreement to Ferus LP of Denver to supply liquid CO 2 to be used in a test well to evaluate potential production uplift and partially replace water in a large multistage hydraulic fracturing operation in a horizontal oil well. In addition to supplying the CO 2 , Ferus will provide transportation, logistics, storage, and onsite supervision. The service agreement also includes the deployment of a membrane technology that separates the CO 2 from the produced gas to reduce flaring. Statoil and other oil companies are working to flaring to comply with a series of targets established by the state of North Dakota. Oil companies also can save money by capturing gas and using it to economically fuel their own operations instead of flaring it. This CO 2 stimulation test is one of several projects under Powering Collaboration –a collaboration […]

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Increasing domestic production of crude oil reduces net petroleum imports

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (interactive table viewer) Note: Product supplied is used as a proxy for consumption. In its recently released Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015) Reference case, EIA expects U.S. crude oil production to rise through 2020 as oil prices recover from their steep decline, reducing net petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products) imports. AEO 2015 explores the effects of domestic crude oil production under various assumptions about world oil prices and domestic resource availability. In all AEO2015 scenarios, the United States remains a net importer of crude oil (despite increased domestic production) and a net exporter of petroleum products. As always with EIA base-case outlooks, AEO2015 assumes no changes in current laws and regulations. Thus, all cases in the AEO2015 assume that current restrictions on U.S. crude oil exports remain in place. Increasing levels of domestic crude oil production through 2020 have […]

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CERA 2015: US Permian Basin in ‘second or third inning’ of development: Pioneer CEO

The US’ Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico is probably only in the "second or third inning" of its full development potential, the CEO of one of the largest Permian operators said Tuesday. Two prolific Permian horizons — the Spraberry and Wolfcamp in the eastern part of the basin — contain about 75 billion barrels of equivalent recoverable oil, while the western part of the basin holds another 25 billion barrels recoverable, Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield said during an upstream panel at IHS CERAWeek. Pioneer released the 75 billion boe figure in May 2014, up from its previous estimate of 50 billion boe in May 2013. "The Permian is probably in its second or third inning [of development]," Sheffield said. Article continues below… Oilgram News brings you fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news on and including: Industry players, upstream and downstream markets, refineries, midstream transportation […]

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CERAWeek: Executives emphasize innovation during oil-price downturn

HOUSTON, Apr. 21 ConocoPhillips Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance told IHS CERAWeek that ConocoPhillips is prepared for oil-price swings going forward, and it has positioned itself to ramp up its core US unconventional investments when it appears feasible. “If $80-90/bbl oil is coming back, there is a good chance that $50-60/bbl is coming back as well,” Lance said during a news conference after his Apr. 20 speech. “We’re planning to ramp up” once ConocoPhillips executives believe oil prices are back into the $60-70/bbl range for a sustainable period, Lance said. IHS Inc. Vice-Chairman Daniel Yergin and other oil company executives attending the annual energy conference in downtown Houston also forecast continued price volatility. “This is a market that’s far from settled down, and it’s a market that’s going to be a lot more volatile,” Yergin said. “What kind of prices do you need to keep it going? […]

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Exxon CEO: Feds, Industry Must Work Together in New World of Energy

Exxon CEO: Feds, Industry Must Work Together in New World of Energy thumbnail It’s a new world taking shape in the energy industry, Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO, told a crowd during the second day of IHS CERAWeek in Houston. And while the full picture of this new paradigm has yet to take shape, it’s clear that the industry needs to come together with the public and policy makers to pioneer these opportunities in a way that will erase the old lines between the conventional and the unconventional. With this cooperation, the United States could be a net energy exporter by the end of the next decade, he said, despite the new pressures, low prices and anemic economic growth. “The highly technical, innovative nature of energy offers the greatest hope for us to meet our shared aspirations,” Tillerson said. Lifting the ban on U.S. crude oil exports was […]

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Gazprom CEO Offers Greece a Gas Pipeline but Little Else

The chief executive of Russian state-owned OAO Gazprom pushed a plan Tuesday to sell its natural gas to the European Union via Greece, but made no public offers of immediate sweeteners during a visit to cash-strapped Athens. OAO Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said in a statement that the company could guarantee annual shipments of 47 billion cubic meters of gas via Greece. He said Greece could raise commercial loans against the guaranteed deliveries. Greece, which is in difficult talks with European leaders over much-needed financing, is hoping for an economic boost from Russia, such as cheaper natural gas supplies or an exemption from Moscow’s ban on European food imports. But there have been no major agreements despite a two-day trip by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to Moscow earlier this month, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticized the EU’s sanctions policy against Russia over the Ukrainian […]

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Yergin: Why the oil-price collapse changes everything

General Ideas It was not long ago that $100 per barrel oil was accepted as the new normal. China’s strong economic growth (and energy demand) would continue apace, and OPEC and Saudi Arabia would continue to play the traditional role as swing producer in support of oil prices. Events have proved otherwise. Oil markets have entered a new period. Now it is supply, not demand, which is the key the factor, making not-so-distant discussions of “peak oil” seem very far gone. China’s economy, while still growing, has slowed. And by leaving oil prices to the market, OPEC has effectively ceded the role of de facto swing producer to a country that hardly expected it—the United States. Markets never cease in their ability to upend current expectations and confound established thinking. That is certainly the case for the world of energy in a year that has seen the rapid creation […]

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Saudi Arabia’s Oil-Price War Is With Stupid Money

Saudi Arabia’s Oil-Price War Is With Stupid Money thumbnail Saudi Arabia is not trying to crush U.S. shale plays. Its oil-price war is with the investment banks and the stupid money they directed to fund the plays. It is also with the zero-interest rate economic conditions that made this possible. Saudi Arabia intends to keep oil prices low for as long as possible. Its oil production increased to  10.3 million barrels per day  in March 2015. That is 700,000 barrels per day more than in December 2014 and the highest level since the Joint Organizations Data Initiative began compiling production data in 2002 (Figure 1 below). And Saudi Arabia’s  rig count  has never been higher. Figure 1. Saudi Arabian crude oil production and Brent crude oil price in 2015 U.S. dollars. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, EIA and Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc. Market share is an important part of the motive but Saudi Minister […]

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EU data shoves oil prices lower

Weak construction data from the European Union helps push oil prices lower in Monday trading. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI NEW YORK, April 20 (UPI) — Weak economic data Monday from the European Union offset concerns about threats to the oil sector in Saudi Arabia, pushing oil prices lower. The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, fell more than 1 percent from the previous close to trade at $62.71 per barrel early Monday. Brent is up more than 10 percent since the start of April, but still more than $40 per barrel below the June 2014 level. Crude oil is trading in a bear market because of a steady increase in oil output from key producers Saudi Arabia and the United States. While global demand for oil is increasing, key members of the world economy are still working to regain footing lost during the last recession. Eurostat, […]

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Oil extends gains on lower U.S. rig count, Chinese stimulus

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday, extending last week’s gains as a drop in the number of U.S. rigs drilling for crude pointed to lower supply later in the year, while China’s latest stimulus measure also underpinned the market. U.S. oil drilling rigs fell for a record 19th straight week to the lowest since 2010, data from Baker Hughes showed. While the drop slowed, suggesting the collapse in drilling could be coming to an end, Schlumberger Ltd ( SLB.N ), the world’s largest oilfield services company, said an eventual recovery in U.S. oil drilling activity may never reach last year’s frenzied pace. China’s central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves on Sunday, the second industry-wide cut in two months, adding liquidity to bolster the economy. Brent crude CLOc1 was up 70 cents at $64.15 a barrel by 0532 GMT. It settled […]

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Dollar rises as Greece anxieties sting the euro

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar rose broadly on Monday, with the euro sliding more than half a percent against the U.S currency, on growing concern that Greece may default on debts. The euro was last off 0.70 percent against the dollar at $1.0730, weighed down by the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program and the risk Greece could leave the single currency within months. Athens is in negotiations with its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund over reforms required to unlock remaining bailout funds. Public sector entities in Greece were ordered to transfer idle reserves to the central bank to help with a cash squeeze. The European Central Bank’s vice president, Vitor Constancio, said on Monday that Greece would not necessarily have to leave the euro if it defaults on its debt. Still, ECB officials are concerned about the country’s looming 1 billion-euro bill due to the […]

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Oil prices source of imbalance, global banks say

World Bank and International Monetary Fund say during spring conference crude oil prices are among the factors upending balance in the global economy. Photo courtesy of IMF. WASHINGTON, April 20 (UPI) — Backers of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are called on to remain vigilant against monetary shocks like the low price of oil, the banks said. The IMF and World Bank issued a joint statement following their annual spring conference in Washington. The meeting came as global economic dynamics are shifting in an era of lower oil prices, a key barometer of economic health. Both institutions said the global economy this year is growing faster than in 2014, though rates of growth are uneven. "We remain vigilant to the risks from potential financial market volatility, movements in exchange rates and oil and other commodity prices, and sluggish global trade," they said in a joint statement issued […]

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Natural Gas Slumps as Pace of Supply Growth Accelerates

By Christian Berthelsen Natural gas futures posted their largest one-day percentage drop in more than a month, as the market comes to grips with accelerating supply growth and warmer-than-expected weather forecasts for early May. The May contract fell 9.8 cents, or 3.7%, to settle at $2.536 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The loss, combined with Friday’s decline, wiped out much of last week’s rally. The market opened down and continued to grind lower over the course of the trading session. Analysts have been noting the accelerating pace of production and growth in stored supplies, with the industry adding between 3 billion and 6 billion cubic feet of output above demand levels every day. "We have a lot of gas coming out of the ground," said Gene McGillian, senior analyst with futures brokerage Tradition Energy in Stamford, Conn. Teri Viswanath, a strategist at BNP […]

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Iran wants OPEC to pave way for its extra oil production when sanctions lifted

ANKARA (Reuters) – Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should prepare for extra Iranian crude production when Western sanctions on Tehran are lifted, Iran’s oil minister was quoted on Tuesday by state news agency IRNA as saying. "We expect the members of OPEC to pave the ground for (an) increase of Iran’s oil production that will reach global markets when sanctions are lifted," Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said during a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart Asdrubal Chavez in Tehran, the agency reported. Iran, once OPEC’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, hopes to boost crude exports by as much as 1 million barrels per day (bpd) if Tehran and six major powers finalize a nuclear agreement by a June 30 deadline. Sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States have halved Iran’s oil exports to just over 1 million barrels per day since 2012. Lower […]

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U.S. says might talk to Iran about regional stability, cites Syria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Monday it might talk with Iran about promoting regional stability, noting it had been open to including Iran in past efforts to achieve a Syrian peace deal if Tehran had altered its policy. But it drew a distinction between talking to Iran about issues beyond its nuclear program and actually working with Tehran on such matters, something Washington has ruled out. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf made the comments when asked about a call by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif in a New York Times opinion piece for regional dialogue to address the crises in countries such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Washington was put in an awkward position since it blames Tehran for much of the instability and because it does not wish to upset Gulf Arab allies who fear a nuclear deal being negotiated with Iran may […]

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U.S. Sending Aircraft Carrier to Help Monitor Iranian Ships

ENLARGE The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, shown in a U.S. Navy handout photo in the Gulf of Oman on April 13, is heading to the Gulf of Aden as a deterrent to any Iranian attempts to funnel weapons and supplies to Houthi rebels. Photo: Reuters WASHINGTON—The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the Yemeni coast to join a growing fleet of ships keeping watch on an Iranian flotilla American defense officials suspect may be carrying arms for Houthi fighters in Yemen. The USS Theodore Roosevelt is heading to the Gulf of Aden as a deterrent to any Iranian attempts to funnel weapons and supplies to Houthi rebels in Yemen who have been the focus of Saudi Arabia airstrikes for the past three weeks, American defense officials said Monday. U.S. military officials said they are keeping an eye on as many as nine Iranian ships suspected of […]

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Kurdish forces repel IS attack in Kirkuk, clashes continue in Salahudin province

BAGHDAD, April 20 (Xinhua) — Kurdish security forces on Monday fought back the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq’s oil-rich province of Kirkuk, while the Iraqi forces continued their battles against the extremist militants in the country’s central province of Salahudin, security source said. In Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk, the Kurdish security forces, known as Peshmerga, repelled an attack by the IS militants on two villages near the town Daqouq, some 40 km south of the provincial capital city of Kirkuk, leaving at least five Peshmerga members killed and 16 others wounded, a Kurdish security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The extremist militants started their attack with suicide bombers and mortar barrage on the Peshmerga positions in the two villages and were followed with dozens of IS militants armed with machine guns and rocket propelled grenades, the source said without giving further details about the IS […]

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Iraq oil exports slip so far in April, still near record

LONDON (Reuters) – Iraq’s oil exports have slipped so far in April to 2.92 million barrels per day (bpd), according to loading data and industry sources, although shipments from OPEC’s second-largest producer remain close to a record high. If sustained, Iraq’s exports this month will be just short of the record of 2.98 million bpd set in March. Another strong month from Iraq adds to signs of continued high output from major members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Exports from Iraq’s southern terminals have averaged 2.50 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first 19 days of April, according to shipping data seen by Reuters and an industry source, down from 2.71 million bpd in March. But exports from Iraq’s north via Ceyhan in Turkey, comprising Iraq’s Kirkuk crude and Kurdish oil, have averaged 420,000 bpd so far in the month, according to loading data and […]

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Eni brags of oil production in Egypt

With investment confidence rising, Italian energy company Eni said its oil production in Egypt has doubled in just three years. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Presidency Office MILAN, Italy, April 20 (UPI) — Italian energy company Eni said Monday its oil production in the Western Desert of Egypt has reached a record level, doubling its rate in just three years. Eni said it’s producing around 70,000 barrels of oil per day in the region. The company said that’s twice the rate from three years ago and comes in large part from the Melehia development west of Alexandria, which is producing about 54,000 bpd. "In January this year, Eni signed a new concession agreement to operate in the Melehia southwest block, where exploration activities on the same deep plays will start within the year," the company said in a statement. "Eni deems this concession a key element for the sustainability of […]

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Algerian gas discovery made near Libya

Spanish energy company Repsol announces natural gas discovery in area along the border of war-torn Libya. Map courtesy of Repsol. MADRID, April 20 (UPI) — Spanish energy company Repsol announced Monday it’s made a natural gas discovery in Algeria, its third in an area bordering war-torn Libya. The company is the operator in a consortium that includes French energy company GDF Suez and Algeria’s state-owned Sonatrach. The company said gas flowed from a discovery at the so-called TESO exploration well in the Sud-Est Illizi block, where it’s already had a "very successful exploration campaign." The discovery is the third in the same region. The Spanish energy company said gas flowed at a test rate of 6.1 million cubic feet per day. "Repsol aims to drill at least four more additional wells in order to appraise the previous discoveries within the Sud-Est Illizi block," it said in its statement on […]

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Abu Dhabi to invest over $25 billion in offshore oilfields -ADNOC official

ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi plans to invest over $25 billion in the next five years on boosting its oil production capacity from offshore fields, a senior official of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co said on Tuesday. The plan is part of the United Arab Emirates’ strategy of increasing its crude oil output potential to 3.5 million barrels per day by 2017-18. "We want to build ‎capacity from production and from number of wells and infrastructure. Our current plan as ADNOC (is to reach) 3.5 million bpd and to sustain it," Qasem al-Kayoumi, manager of ADNOC’s offshore division of the exploration and production directorate, told reporters. He also said the investment plan for offshore drilling activities was $2.5 billion per year. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Writing by Andrew Torchia )

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Exclusive: Naimi says Saudi oil production near record high in April

SEOUL (Reuters) – Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi says Saudi Arabia is producing near record levels of crude in April, underscoring the kingdom’s willingness to defend market share at a time when oil markets have staged a fragile recovery. There are worries that growing production from Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could snuff out a recent rebound in oil prices, particularly with economic growth in key oil consumer China the slowest in six years in the first quarter. OPEC had said its overall output surged to 30.79 million barrels per day in March, up 810,000 bpd from the previous month, with demand higher than expected due to lower prices. Naimi said that oil production in Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, was "around 10 million" bpd in April. "I have said many times we will always be happy to supply […]

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New Geological Studies Seen Giving Clearer Picture of Mexico’s Oil Potential

MEXICO CITY—An expected wave of international geological firms set to scan Mexico’s oil patch for oil and gas reserves will give the country a clearer picture of its riches, the nation’s top energy regulator said Monday in an interview. In the wake of Mexico opening its energy sector to foreign companies, the National Hydrocarbons Commission has about two dozen companies requesting permission to conduct surface exploration , such as seismic studies that can reveal oil and gas deposits below the ocean floor or in onshore areas. Those companies can use newer technologies and provide a greater number of scans that Mexico has used in the past, giving a clearer picture of the potential reserves. Some of those firms are expected to be cleared for exploration in coming weeks, in addition to four Norwegian companies that were cleared last week to cover nearly one-million square kilometers in the Gulf of […]

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New Zealand boasts of geothermal energy capacity

New Zealand Energy Minister Simon Bridges delivers keynote address at World Geothermal Congress, telling delegates his country is ready to lead an international movement. Photo courtesy of Government of New Zealand. MELBOURNE, April 20 (UPI) — New Zealand is ready to help lead an international movement toward including more geothermal energy in its renewable portfolio, the energy minister said Monday. New Zealand Energy Minister Simon Bridges delivered the keynote address to delegates gathered in Melbourne, Australia, for the World Geothermal Congress. New Zealand, Bridges said, has contributed roughly 25 percent of the growth in geothermal energy capacity over the past five years. "We are now the fifth largest geothermal power generator in the world," he said. The share of electricity generated from renewable resources in New Zealand last year was 79.9 percent, a 5 percent increase from the previous year. The government attributed the rise to the growth in […]

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China Has Even More Megacities Than You Thought

How many megacities does China have? The United Nations  puts it at six. Try 15. China is urbanizing at a staggering rate—in 35 years, it has added more than 500 million people to its cities. As a result, it looks like the world has vastly underestimated the size and scope of growth in China’s megacities, defined as those with more than 10 million people, according to a new report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development. The research used analysis based on functional urban areas, rather than cities defined by administrative borders. Besides such better-known places as Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing, the new list includes Harbin, a northeast city with a renowned annual ice and snow sculpture festival , and Nanjing, a former capital city that sits on the Yangtze River.  China’s rapid economic growth, relative to the rest of the world, is one reason for the pace of urbanization, which has raised the living standards of millions of Chinese. And the bigger the city, the more each person produces […]

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EU to File Antitrust Charges Against Gazprom

ENLARGE Margrethe Vestager said in February that she was ready to file formal charges against Gazprom in a “relatively short time span.” Photo: Olivier Hoslet/European Pressphoto Agency The European Union’s competition regulator plans to file formal antitrust charges against Russia’s state-owned gas company OAO Gazprom on Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter said Monday, a step set to escalate the standoff between Europe and Moscow. The European Commission started a formal investigation of Gazprom’s business practices in some eastern and southern European countries in September 2012, saying it suspected the company of abusing its dominant position in those countries’ natural-gas supply. The bloc’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said in February that she was ready to file formal charges against Gazprom in a “relatively short time span.” The person familiar with the commission’s case against Gazprom said that the charge sheet, known as a statement of objections, against the […]

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Halliburton Warns Of Weakness In N. America, International Operations

Halliburton warns of headwinds in its international operations and pricing pressure for its oilfield services in North America. April 20 (Reuters) – Halliburton Co warned of pricing pressure for its oilfield services in North America, its largest market, and challenges in its international operations, as an extended slump in oil prices continues to force drillers to slash spending. The company posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday, helped by higher revenue and operating income from Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. However, revenue and profit from all other regions fell due to the global slump in oil prices , which have nearly halved since peaking last June. North America, which accounted for more than half the company’s first-quarter revenue, "experienced an unprecedented decline in drilling activity," Chief Executive Dave Lesar said in a statement, adding that "Industry prospects will continue to be challenged in the coming quarters." The […]

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‘Ducks’ and Oil: No Need to Fear US Crude Supply Deluge

A tax break in North Dakota will not unleash a new wave of shale crude supply, producers say. HOUSTON, April 20 (Reuters) – Conventional wisdom holds that come June a pending $5.3 billion tax break in the No. 2 U.S. oil producing state, combined with a modest uptick in oil prices, will unleash a tsunami of new shale crude supply so big that prices may slump again. Just one problem with that scenario: oil producers say this is not going to happen. The fear of a worsening supply glut, a recurring theme of many industry research reports and conferences over the past two months, is based on a view that U.S. shale producers have built up a heavy backlog of drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) that can be turned on quickly. The assumption is that oil firms will finish work on those wells, known as "ducks" in the industry […]

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Shale as World’s Swing Producer Signals ‘Jagged’ Future for Oil

(Bloomberg) — With OPEC ceding control for the first time since the 1980s, U.S. shale oil has been anointed the world’s new “swing producer” by everyone from ConocoPhillips and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. But can America’s oil really swing it? Producers cut billions in spending, idled half the country’s rigs and kept more than 3,000 wells off the market, and it still took five months for U.S. production to start dropping. Analysts and banks say a recovery in production will also prove slower and more difficult than it would be for a single producer like Saudi Arabia. “When you think of a swing producer, you think of OPEC and you think of spare capacity that can be turned on and off,” said Trisha Curtis, director of oil and gas research at Energy Policy Research Foundation Inc. “U.S. oil can respond, but the response […]

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CERA 2015: Drilled/uncompleted wells may affect oil price volatility: CEO

Drilling wells but deferring completions may be a factor in oil price volatility in the next several years and potentially even delay the industry’s recovery, the CEO of ConocoPhillips said Monday. Even as signs are at hand that prices may be on the verge of rising, with estimated official oil production levels showing signs of flattening or slight declines, the industry has the potential to quickly bring back online large volumes of crude production, which could tamp down prices. "We’re in a bit of a more volatile world [because of] the ability of North America to respond to price signals both ways," Ryan Lance said during a news conference the opening of IHS CERAWeek in Houston. "If you get a price signal, you’ll see more supply come on," Lance said. "That certainly has the opportunity to exacerbate the problem depending on where demand is." Article continues below… Oilgram News […]

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U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions increase in past two years

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review For the second year in a row, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States have increased. However, unlike 2013, when emissions and gross domestic product (GDP) grew at similar rates (2.5% and 2.2%, respectively), 2014’s CO2 emissions growth rate of 0.7% was much smaller than the 2014 GDP growth rate of 2.4%. Energy-related CO2 emissions are the largest component of overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. On March 31, 2015, the United States officially submitted its emissions-cutting target to the United Nations, committing to reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 26%-28% from 2005 levels by 2025. This follows President Obama’s 2009 pledge to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. As discussed in a previous article , changes in CO2 emissions reflect changes in economic and energy-related indicators. The previous two years have largely followed the […]

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Canada’s Own Oil Pipeline Problem

ENLARGE The Tl’azt’en First Nation, whose Tache Reserve is on Stuart Lake in British Columbia, is fighting Enbridge’s plan to build the Northern Gateway oil pipeline alongside their territory. Photo: ALISTAIR MACDONALD/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TACHE RESERVE, British Columbia—A proposed 730-mile pipeline to ship Canadian oil to a West Coast port brings with it the promise of 4,000 or more jobs along a route that would run through impoverished indigenous communities. But Chief Justa Monk, who runs a reserve with an unemployment rate that hits 70%, wants none of them—and pledges to block the pipeline alongside the reserve’s territory. It is another hurdle in Canada’s quest to become an energy superpower, even as political struggles in Washington continue to delay a different, better-known Canadian pipeline — TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL, which would carry Canadian oil south across the U.S. to the Gulf Coast. Chief Monk’s Tl’azt’en Nation, which claims […]

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DOT Tells Oil Tankers to Slow Down

Emergency Order Restricts Speed to 40 MPH Crude by Rail The DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration issued an emergency order on Friday that establishes a maximum speed of 40 miles an hour for certain trains going through high threat urban areas. Citing “gaps in the existing regulatory scheme”, the agency beefed up the 2014 voluntary agreement by making this speed limit a requirement for trains hauling crude oil and other flammable liquids. The emergency order defines affected trains as: 20 or more loaded tank cars in a continuous block or 35 loaded tank cars of class 3 flammable liquid AND at least one DOT-111 tank car loaded with class 3 flammable liquid The emergency order states that “Speed is a factor that may contribute to the severity of a derailment or the derailment itself. Speed can affect the probability of an accident. A lower speed may allow for a brake […]

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Halliburton says has cut 9,000 jobs in wake of oil’s drop

HOUSTON (AP) — Halliburton Co. has cut 9,000 jobs – more than 10 percent of its workforce – in about six months and is considering more cost-cutting moves as falling oil prices sap demand for its drilling help. Halliburton executives disclosed the job cuts Monday on a conference call with investors. The Houston oilfield-services company reported a loss of $643 million in the first quarter. Oil prices plunged starting last summer, leading to a decline in drilling activity. Spot prices for crude have risen slightly since early January but remain about half their level of last July. Halliburton President Jeff Miller said he wasn’t ready to say the worst has passed, but that such slumps usually last about three quarters. "Once we see activity stabilize, the healing process can begin, but it takes time," he told analysts. The oil-market decline caused Halliburton to take $1.2 billion in charges in […]

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Peak Oil, Ten or So Years On

This blog began seven years and almost a thousand posts ago, and I thought it a good time to take stock. Since the blog itself was inspired by the “peak oil” movement, and since it’s been ten years, by some measures, since the peak, I wanted to assess the state of that community as well. First the personal notes: Many of my posts are reprints of my columns for our local newspaper, or for Grit and Mother Earth News magazines, short and focused on gardening and crafts. I’d like to write longer articles about broader subjects as well, however, as I have for American Conservative or Low-Tech Magazine, so I’m cutting back to twice a week – one new article every weekend, and one reprint or photo mid-week. There’s a great deal to write about, you see, and too little time. We have three generations of family living in […]

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Sluggish Oil Demand Emerges As A Potent Factor In The Peak Oil Debate

Peak oil isn’t what it used to be. That’s not simply because the theory of global oil supply peaking has been postponed courtesy of the U.S. production rebound, it is also because a second meaning to the expression is making a return, and that’s peak demand. A fresh glimpse of demand for oil peaking came last week in the release of the April edition of Oil Market Report by the International Energy Agency. While most interest was in oil supply, a natural focus given the glut which has depressed the price of oil, there was a more important factor in the report and that was the modest demand growth forecast from the agency. Sluggish Demand Growth The key figures were a 1 million barrel-day increase in worldwide oil supply during March to an 95.2 million barrels a day, and a 1.1 million barrel a day increase in demand to […]

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Oil extends gains on lower U.S. rig count, Chinese stimulus

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday, extending last week’s gains as a drop in the number of U.S. rigs drilling for crude pointed to lower supply later in the year, while China’s latest stimulus measure also underpinned the market. U.S. oil drilling rigs fell for a record 19th straight week to the lowest since 2010, data from Baker Hughes showed. While the drop slowed, suggesting the collapse in drilling could be coming to an end, Schlumberger Ltd ( SLB.N ), the world’s largest oilfield services company, said an eventual recovery in U.S. oil drilling activity may never reach last year’s frenzied pace. China’s central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves on Sunday, the second industry-wide cut in two months, adding liquidity to bolster the economy. Brent crude CLOc1 was up 70 cents at $64.15 a barrel by 0532 GMT. It settled […]

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Oil Futures Gain on China Central Bank’s Move

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures rose in Asian trade Monday after China announced a surprise cut in banks’ reserve requirements over the weekend. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $56.45 a barrel at 0433 GMT, up $0.71 in the Globex electronic session. June Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.65 to $64.10 a barrel. Over the weekend, China’s central bank announced a surprise one-percentage-point cut in banks’ reserve requirement. The move came a few days after data showed China’s economic growth decelerated to 7% year-over-year in the first quarter, the slowest pace in six years. The size and timing of this cut indicates the country’s leaders are more deeply concerned about the state of the economy than official comments previously indicated, Brian Jackson, China economist at IHS Global Insight, said. He said the move potentially unleashes 1.2 […]

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Khamenei says Iran nuclear weapons are a ‘myth’

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday the United States had created the "myth" of nuclear weapons to portray Iran as a threat, hardening his rhetoric before nuclear negotiations resume this week. Khamenei has supported the talks but has continued to express deep mistrust of the United States. As the highest authority in Iran, the withdrawal of his support could cause the negotiations to collapse. "They created the myth of nuclear weapons so they could say the Islamic Republic is a source of threat. No, the source of threat is America itself," Khamenei said in comments cited by the semi-official Fars news agency. "The other side is methodically and shamelessly threatening us militarily … even if they did not make these overt threats, we would have to be prepared," he said in an address to military commanders. Iran and six world powers including the […]

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Supreme Leader Denies Iran Seeking Nuclear Weapons

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivering a speech to military commanders in Tehran. ENLARGE Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images DUBAI—Iran’s supreme leader said it is a myth that his country is trying to develop nuclear weapons, and he accused the U.S. and Israel of posing the real threat to security in the Middle East. In remarks Sunday to mark Iran’s annual Army Day, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei exhorted troops to increase their defensive preparedness and said his country was constantly under threat of military action and wasn’t even given ample scope to defend itself. “They fabricated the nuclear weapon myth to say that the Islamic Republic is a threat,” Mr. Khamenei said, according to his official website. “No! The threat is the U.S.,” he said, accusing Washington of interfering and fomenting insecurity. The U.S. and Israel both act without any checks and “meddle in any place they find necessary,” he […]

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Oil Executives Circle Iran

Oil Executives Circle Iran thumbnail International sanctions have yet to be lifted on Iran, but Western oil executives this past week showed an appetite for doing business there at a stately hotel a few blocks from the Danube River. A little-publicized conference, the South Caspian Region Petroleum & Energy 2015 Summit, drew energy executives from Houston and London to Vienna where they shared coffee and cake with Iranian government officials on Tuesday and Wednesday. Among the international companies that sent executives were Chevron Corp. and Amec Foster Wheeler PLC, according to attendees. The presence of Western oil officials at an Iran-focused conference points to the shaping of a new business landscape in the Persian Gulf country with the prospect that economic sanctions could be lifted sometime this year. Iran and a group of Western nations led by the U.S. agreed this month to a political framework for lifting a […]

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Iraq Fighting Triggers Humanitarian Crisis Near Baghdad

ENLARGE Displaced Iraqis who fled fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State for the city of Ramadi, 60 miles from Baghdad, arrive on the outskirts of the capital on Sunday. Photo: ahmad al-rubaye/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images AMRIYAT AL-FALLUJAH, Iraq—Fighting between Islamic State and Iraqi security forces has displaced at least 90,000 civilians in the past several days, the United Nations said on Sunday, as a new humanitarian crisis unfolded on the fringes of the capital. Thousands of displaced people carried what few belongings they could across a floating bridge that forms the only connection between Anbar province—the heartland of Iraq’s Sunni minority—and Baghdad over the weekend. Most were fleeing the embattled city of Ramadi—Anbar’s provincial capital about 60 miles west of Baghdad. Fighting in Anbar intensified two weeks ago when provincial officials announced the start of a campaign to clear the province of Islamic State insurgents. Late last week, […]

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Houthi Militant Leader Vows No Surrender

ENLARGE Houthi commander Abdel Malik Al Houthi delivers a televised speech on the Al Masirah television station in San’a, Yemen, on Sunday. Photo: yahya arhab/European Pressphoto Agency Abdul Malik Al Houthi, leader of Yemen’s ruling Houthi militants under siege from a Saudi-led effort to unseat him, vowed Sunday he would continue to resist an air campaign and naval blockade that has deepened turmoil in his country. “Our fighters will not evacuate from the main cities or the government institutions,” Mr. Houthi said in a speech, broadcast by the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV channel. “Anyone who thinks we will surrender is dreaming.” The Saudi-led strikes aim to restore to power Yemen’s exiled president , Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Mr. Hadi was forced to flee last month as Houthi militants bore down on the southern port city of Aden, where he had been based. He is now in Saudi Arabia, which […]

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Exclusive: Naimi says Saudi oil production near record high in April

SEOUL (Reuters) – Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi says Saudi Arabia is producing near record levels of crude in April, underscoring the kingdom’s willingness to defend market share at a time when oil markets have staged a fragile recovery. There are worries that growing production from Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could snuff out a recent rebound in oil prices, particularly with economic growth in key oil consumer China the slowest in six years in the first quarter. OPEC had said its overall output surged to 30.79 million barrels per day in March, up 810,000 bpd from the previous month, with demand higher than expected due to lower prices. Naimi said that oil production in Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, was "around 10 million" bpd in April. "I have said many times we will always be happy to supply […]

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Venezuela proposes novel OPEC oil blending deal to fight for market share

ORINOCO BELT, Venezuela (Reuters) – Venezuela has launched talks this month on a novel plan to blend the country’s heavy crude with light oil from other OPEC allies, seeking to create a new variety that can compete against swelling U.S. and Canadian supplies. The proposal, which would expand on a pilot scheme involving Algerian oil last year, envisions supplying refineries built for medium-grade crudes rather than the light oil that has become plentiful as a result of the North American shale boom, said the head of state oil company PDVSA, Eulogio del Pino. Del Pino said he raised the idea during the Summit of the Americas in Panama earlier this month and at a meeting with ambassadors from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Caracas last week. He did not specify how other members had responded or what the next steps would be. The talks suggest that […]

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