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Nigeria’s Buhari praises Jonathan for peaceful handover

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian election winner Muhammadu Buhari congratulated outgoing president Goodluck Jonathan for peacefully relinquishing power on Wednesday, a day after becoming the first Nigerian politician to unseat a sitting leader at the ballot box. In an unprecedented step, Jonathan phoned Buhari to concede defeat and issued a statement urging his supporters to accept the result, a signal of deepening democracy in Africa’s most populous nation that few had expected. "President Jonathan was a worthy opponent and I extend the hand of fellowship to him," Buhari told journalists and supporters to loud applause, wearing a black cap and kaftan. "We have proven to the world that we are people who have embraced democracy. We have put one-party state behind us." The 72-year-old general, who first came to power three decades ago via a military coup, campaigned as a born-again democrat intent on cleaning up the corrupt politics of […]

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Chevron’s Exit Signals Delays in Unlocking Australia’s Shale

(Bloomberg) — Chevron Corp.’s decision to pull out of a natural gas project in Australia after a plunge in oil prices is a signal it’s going to take even longer for the nation to realize its shale ambitions. Tapping Australia’s shale oil and gas was already challenging due to high drilling costs and the remote locations of its fields, with significant production forecast to be at least several years away. An almost 50 percent drop in the price of crude over the past year makes it harder. “The pace will be considerably slower than anyone would have forecast 18 months to two years ago,” Geoffrey Cann, Australian director of oil and gas for Deloitte LLP in Brisbane, said in a phone interview. The languishing oil prices are stalling efforts to replicate the U.S. shale boom globally. Big producers ConocoPhillips, Hess Corp. and Statoil ASA have already beaten Chevron out […]

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Genuine democracy? Nigeria has chance to rewrite script

LONDON (Reuters) – The victory of opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari in Nigeria’s presidential election could mark a turning point toward genuine democracy for the country, improving the image and moral standing of Africa’s troubled giant. The defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan, whose People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has run Africa’s most populous nation since it returned to civilian rule in 1999, was the first time a Nigerian head of state lost power to an opposition challenger through the ballot box. "It’s not the result that we wanted but it’s a good day for Nigeria if we show the world we can run a credible election," said a minister in Jonathan’s government, who did not wish to be named because others in the PDP were angry about the result. Jonathan telephoned Buhari on Tuesday to congratulate him on winning this weekend’s election, a spokesman for Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) said. […]

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US Approval Moves Shell A Step Closer To Arctic Drilling

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) – The U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday upheld a 2008 lease sale in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, moving Royal Dutch Shell a step closer to returning to oil and gas exploration in the Arctic since it suffered mishaps in the region in 2012. "The Arctic is an important component of the Administration’s national energy strategy, and we remain committed to taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas leasing and exploration offshore Alaska," said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will next consider Shell’s exploration plan and perform an environmental assessment on it, which could take at least 30 days. Shell lost control of a massive oil rig called the Kulluk in 2012, which eventually ran aground. But in anticipation of returning to the region for the first time since then, Shell has already moved rigs to Alaska. […]

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Itochu to Post Loss on Samson U.S. Oil and Gas Investment

(Bloomberg) — Itochu Corp. said it will post a loss of about 38 billion yen ($317 million) on a U.S. shale oil and gas investment amid a downturn in energy prices. The loss resulting from Itochu’s 25 percent stake in Samson Investment Co. will be booked in the earnings for the fiscal year ended March 31, the Tokyo-based trader said. On a non-consolidated basis, the figure will rise to 43 billion yen. The full-year profit target of 300 billion yen hasn’t been affected, Itochu said. Itochu joined the 2011 KKR & Co.-led purchase of most of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Samson as part of the biggest leveraged buyout in the oil and gas production industry at the time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was Itochu’s third-largest acquisition in raw materials, data show. Itochu, Japan’s third-largest trading house, paid 78 billion yen, worth $1.04 billion at the time, for the […]

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North Dakota launches oil rules hoping to curb U.S. rail disasters

WILLISTON, N.D. (Reuters) – North Dakota will from Wednesday require the more-than 1.2 million barrels of crude extracted each day from the state’s Bakken shale formation be run through machines that remove volatile gases linked to recent crude-by-rail disasters. The controversial step is designed to abrogate the damage North Dakota crude oil – 70 percent of which is transported via rail – can cause during derailments. In the absence of concrete regulations from the U.S. Department of Transportation, North Dakota’s new rules become the de facto national standard on the treatment of crude before tankcar loading. "North Dakota’s crude oil conditioning order is based on sound science and represents an important step in the ongoing work to ensure that oil-by-rail transportation is as safe as possible," said Governor Jack Dalrymple, who has also been pushing federal regulators for stricter rail car designs. The new regulations require every single barrel […]

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US Lower 48 gas production falls 1.4% month on month in January: EIA

Natural gas production in the Lower 48 states totaled 82.23 Bcf/d in January, 1.2 Bcf/d, or 1.4%, from revised December 2014 output of 83.43 Bcf/d, the Energy Information Administration said Tuesday. January’s figure constitutes a nearly 9.2% increase from the January 2014 production level of 75.33 Bcf/d, the EIA said in its monthly gross production report. The Other States category — which includes regions like Pennsylvania and North Dakota, with unconventional gas production from shale plays — had the largest volumetric decrease, at 2% or 69 MMcf/d. Texas — at 1.2% or 29 MMcf/d — showed the second-largest volumetric decrease, Production fell in both regions primarily because of freezing weather, well maintenance and natural production declines, EIA said. Article continues below… The Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico had the largest volumetric increase at 4.4%, or 15 MMcf/d, with several operators reporting shut-in wells returning to production, the EIA said. […]

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New EIA monthly data tracks crude oil movements by rail

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration based on data from the Surface Transportation Board and other information Note: Crude-by-rail movements greater than 1,000 barrels per day are represented on the map; short-distance movements between rail yards within a region are excluded. PADD denotes Petroleum Administration for Defense District. For the first time, EIA is providing monthly data on rail movements of crude oil, which have significantly increased over the past five years. The new data on crude-by-rail (CBR) movements are integrated with EIA’s existing monthly petroleum supply statistics, which already include movements by pipeline, tanker, and barge. The new monthly time series of crude oil rail movements includes shipments to and from Canada and dramatically reduces the absolute level of unaccounted for volumes in EIA’s monthly balances for each region. EIA is initiating the new series with monthly data from January 2010 through the current reporting month, January 2015. CBR […]

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Obama’s Strategy on Climate Change, Part of Global Deal, Is Revealed

Photo Todd Stern, climate envoy to the United Nations, is reassuring nations about the pact. Credit Stephane De Sakutin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday introduced President Obama’s blueprint for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by nearly a third over the next decade. Mr. Obama’s plan, part of a formal written submission to the United Nations ahead of efforts to forge a global climate change accord in Paris in December, detailed the United States’ part of an ambitious joint pledge made by Mr. Obama and President Xi Jinping of China in November. The United States and China are the world’s two largest greenhouse gas polluters. Mr. Obama said the United States would cut its emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, while Mr. Xi said that China’s emissions would drop after 2030. Mr. Obama’s new blueprint brings together several domestic […]

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Investors Look for Gems in Rubble of Crude’s Collapse

ENLARGE An oil well near Denver, Colorado. The fall in crude prices has created a surge in investor interest among bargain hunters and those betting on a price rebound. Photo: Reuters The plunging price of oil and its knock-on effect on energy companies has prompted a surge of interest from bargain hunters and those betting on a price rebound. Oil rigs, shale companies and energy stocks have all suffered as a result of the slump in the oil price from more than $100 a barrel in September to below $50 earlier this year. Some investors, ranging from distressed debt specialists through traditional funds and private equity companies to hedge funds, believe markets have overshot and that the price of oil will rise. Short positions on oil, which aim to profit when the price falls, are at their lowest level for over two years. Others believe they can profit from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple