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Opinion: Can Argentina Capitalize On Its Vast Shale Reserves?

« Tenneco developing new gasoline particulate filter (GPF) technology ahead of Euro 6c emissions regulation | Main | Golf SportWagen Alltrack to go onsale in 2016 as 2017 model » by Alexis Arthur for Oilprice.com Argentina, once a regional energy leader, is now better known for financial busts and bombastic politicians than hydrocarbons prospects. Still, with a resource potential both vast and untapped, the nation has never been far from energy investors’ minds. The question today is just how much Argentina is willing to change and how this plays into a low oil price environment that is already negatively impacting investment elsewhere. Argentina’s deliberate efforts to appease some of its international creditors, combined with an overhaul of the nation’s hydrocarbons framework have the potential to lure foreign investors back. The promise of a change of government—and potentially a more market-friendly approach—later this year should add to the country’s appeal. […]

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German Cabinet Approves Anti-Fracking Draft Law

Members of environmental activist groups perform during a protest against fracking technology in in Berlin…. ENLARGE Photo: Reuters BERLIN—Germany’s cabinet approved draft legislation on Wednesday effectively banning shale gas fracking for at least five years despite growing concern along business and western allies that the country is too reliant on gas imports from Russia. “As long as risks are unaccountable or currently can’t be conclusively assessed, fracking will remain forbidden,” Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said, alluding to concerns that the exploration technique could pollute groundwater. Germany’s draft law bans the use of hydraulic fracturing technology for drilling operations shallower than 3,000 meters, and all types of fracking in nature reserves and national parks. Test drilling for fracking, which involves using a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals to break apart rocks to release shale gas, will be allowed in certain cases for scientific research however, according to the […]

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China oil storage flows key for crude imports: Russell

LAUNCESTON, Australia, (Reuters) – The state of China’s oil storage tanks is shaping up as a key determinant of the likely path of imports by Asia’s largest fuel consumer. It’s widely accepted in the oil market that China is importing more crude than it actually uses, or re-exports as refined products, and that the extra is flowing into both strategic and commercial storage sites. What is less known is how much capacity is left in these tanks, when they are likely to be full and the rate at which new facilities are being built. A trading executive at top Chinese refiner Sinopec weighed into the issue on March 25, saying China’s commercial and strategic storage is almost full. Perhaps showing how sensitive the issue is, the executive requested not to be named despite speaking to reporters at an industry event. If the Sinopec official is correct, it almost certainly […]

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U.S. Refiners Rely on North American Oil the Most in 29 Years

U.S. refiners are relying more on North American crude than at any time since 1986 as a glut of supply makes local oil cheaper than imports from overseas. Domestic production and imports from Canada and Mexico made up 85 percent of crude processed at U.S. plants in January, the most since March 1986, according to U.S. Energy Department data. Refiners are buying locally as surging output in the U.S. and Canada helped boost U.S. stockpiles rose to 471.4 million barrels last week, the highest since 1930. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, averaged $6.26 a barrel less than international marker Brent in the first quarter, widening from $3.94 in the fourth quarter of 2014. “A lot of the refiners that are independent see that North American crude is cheaper and they can keep their costs low,” Carl Larry, director of oil and gas for Frost & Sullivan LP in […]

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U.S. crude inventories at record highs, gasoline supplies tumble: EIA

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. crude inventories rose last week to a record high for the 12th straight week, while gasoline stocks fell more than four times than expected as demand grew for the motor fuel, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose 4.8 million barrels to 471.4 million in the week to March 27, compared with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 4.2 million barrels. Gasoline stocks fell 4.3 million barrels, far more than analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 943,000-barrel drop. Gasoline demand over the past four weeks was up 1.9 percent from a year ago. "The large decline in gasoline inventories is notable, as is the four-week average demand of 9 million barrels per day, which is strong," said John Kilduff, partner, Again Capital LLC in New York. "Clearly, there is a demand response underway by consumers to […]

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Million barrels of oil per day riding U.S. rails

LONDON (Reuters) – More than 1 million barrels of crude oil move by train across the United States every day, according to data published for the first time by the government on Tuesday. The volume of crude shipped by rail has increased more than 50-fold in five years, from just 630,000 barrels in January 2010 to 33.7 million barrels in January 2015, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed in its first monthly report on movements of oil by rail ( link.reuters.com/vyt44w ). Until now, information on oil shipments has been incomplete, partly confidential and scattered across a number of sources. The Association of American Railroads, individual railroad companies, and the federal government’s Surface Transportation Board, which regulates freight rates, have all published limited data on shipments. The EIA has now brought together the confidential data from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and Canada’s National Energy Board as well as […]

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Shale Crews Being Watched From Above as Emissions Levels Tested

There is an eye in the sky above U.S. shale oil and natural gas basins. Well, more like a nose. Through April, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration will be flying above the basins from North Dakota to Texas collecting air samples to document if drilling is adding to ground-level ozone, said Joost de Gouw , a research scientist at NOAA’s Earth Systems Research Lab in Boulder, Colorado. “We do that with a focus on air quality,” said de Gouw, also a senior scientist and fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “What are the reactive trace gases that are being released? How much methane is released from these activities?” Breathing ozone triggers a variety of health problems for children, the elderly and anyone with lung diseases such as asthma. It’s produced when sunlight mixes with nitrogen oxides and […]

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BNSF makes oil-train safety commitments

New standards for crude oil transportation by rule go into force in North Dakota. File Photo by UPI/Shutterstock/Steven Frame. BISMARCK, N.D., April 1 (UPI) — BNSF Railway aims to eliminate older tank cars from crude oil service and take additional steps to improve safety in North Dakota, the state’s governor said. Starting Wednesday, the rail company will require trains hauling crude oil reduce their speeds in communities with more than 100,000 residents and work to remove all rail cars designated DOT-111 from service within a year and phase in newer CPC 1232 models. "Railroad operations, equipment and maintenance are critical elements in our overall goal to improve rail safety, and I commend BNSF for taking these significant steps," North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said in a statement. "At the same time, we must move forward on other important aspects of rail safety including the need for new federal tank […]

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Production starts in Danish North Sea

Maersk Oil starts new production operations in Danish waters of the North Sea. Photo courtesy: Maersk Oil COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 1 (UPI) — Danish energy company Maersk Oil said it started production from a North Sea platform that should provide Denmark with new reserves for the next 30 years. Maersk said it started production from the unmanned Tyra Southeast-B platform in the Danish waters of the North Sea. The facility is expected to add around 50 million barrels of oil equivalent to the Danish market for the next 30 years. Peak production is expected by 2017 through investments of more than $650 million. The investment represents the largest ever made by a Danish energy consortium, for which Maersk serves as the operator, since 2007. "This is an important step in Maersk Oil’s growth journey and it demonstrates that Denmark continues to be a core area for us," Maersk Oil […]

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California Orders Unprecedented, Mandatory Water Cuts

California Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered mandatory water cuts across the state for the first time in the history of the Golden State. WSJ’s Jim Carlton reports. Photo: Getty California’s long-running drought has officially reached crisis mode, with Gov. Jerry Brown ordering statewide water reductions for the first time ever. Under the governor’s order Wednesday, state officials said household rationing will likely be implemented by some local water agencies to meet Mr. Brown’s goal of reducing overall water use in the state by 25% over the next nine months, the equivalent of enough water for a city of six million people for one year. Much of the crackdown will focus on irrigation of lawns and other outdoor landscapes, which account for a large amount of water use, state officials said. In his order, the Democratic governor singled out large campuses, golf courses and cemeteries as places where restrictions would […]

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