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Iranian Authorities Release Maersk Tigris

Thirty percent of the world’s seaborne oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East. But it’s often a flashpoint for both regional and global powers. DUBAI—Maersk Line said Thursday that the M/V Maersk Tigris, a cargo ship under its charter, had been released more than a week after its seizure by Iranian naval vessels raised tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement, the Danish shipping giant said it was “pleased and relieved” to learn that the ship had been freed and that, according to Rickmers Shipmanagement, which managed the vessel, its crew was in good condition. It said the ship had resumed course to its original destination, the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. According to Maersk and Rickmers, the Marshall Islands-flagged M/V Maersk Tigris was seized April 28 near the Strait of Hormuz, as it was en route from […]

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Oil Prices Rise Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report

May 8, 2015 4:57 a.m. ET By Georgi Kantchev LONDON–Oil prices fluctuated Friday ahead of the latest U.S. job report, which will determine the short-term direction of the dollar. As oil is priced in dollars, the currency’s swings have a significant impact on oil prices. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of other currencies, was recently flat after rising earlier in the session. Brent crude for June delivery rose 0.5% to $65.86 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June were trading at $59.17 a barrel recently, up 0.4% from Thursday’s settlement. "At least today, oil prices are going to follow the dollar very strongly, " said Daniel Ang, Singapore-based investment analyst with Phillip Futures. "We expect to see oil prices move depending on the U.S. nonfarm payroll data." […]

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Oil prices fall on oversupply fears, ignore record China imports

SINGAPORE Oil fell on Friday, erasing gains earlier in the session, as concerns over oversupply outweighed strong Chinese import figures. Benchmark Brent crude was at $65.31 per barrel at 0650 GMT, down 23 cents after hitting a session high of $65.75. U.S. crude was 33 cents lower at $58.61 a barrel. Oil prices already tumbled 3 percent on Thursday as a resurgent dollar erased gains from the past two sessions, and after some U.S. producers said they would ramp up drilling after months of falling activity if prices continued to rise. Analysts said that Brent seemed capped around $70 a barrel, and may be overvalued already as there was still an oversupply in crude and U.S. producers, which have sharply reduced drilling in recent months of low prices, could increase production. "U.S. producers… indicated they would ramp up drilling activity if prices continued to rise," ANZ bank said in […]

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Oil Prices Retreat on Stronger Dollar

ENLARGE Oil pump jacks work in unison, in Williston, N.D. Oil prices were lower Thursday as traders took profits. Photo: Associated Press Oil prices slumped Thursday, the biggest drop in a month, as traders reassessed the market following a strong rally a day earlier and the dollar’s appreciation. Prices had jumped to a near-five-month high Wednesday after weekly U.S. inventory data showed that crude-oil stockpiles fell from record highs. The data confirmed expectations that the glut of crude oil in the U.S. is set to shrink due to lower spending on exploration and production following last year’s plunge in prices. But stockpiles remain near the highest level in more than 80 years, and production is holding near multi-decade highs. “There’s some general concern that oil prices have run up pretty quickly from the lows here,” said Brian Hicks, a portfolio manager for U.S. Global Investors Inc. GROW -1.15 % […]

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Oil heads toward 2015 highs despite ample supply

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent crude oil headed up toward 2015 highs above $68 a barrel on Thursday after official data showed the first drawdown in U.S. crude inventories since January, evidence the market there is balancing after months of heavy oversupply. U.S. crude stocks fell 3.9 million barrels last week, the first drop in four months, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. [EIA/S] Stronger-than-expected demand growth and a slowdown in U.S. crude supply has boosted oil prices by 50 percent from a six-year low hit in January, despite ample supply. "While the latest draw and the recent slowdown in weekly builds in crude stocks have been seen as positive for the oil price, crude stocks remain exceedingly high," said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas. Brent crude was up 50 cents a barrel at $68.27 by 0845 GMT. It hit a 2015 high of […]

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Backup arrives for Baiji refinery defense

Pro-government forces take part in an operation to secure the Baiji oil refinery on April 15, 2015. (MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP/Getty Images) Recommend Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. Pro-government forces have gotten some backup in their battle for the Baiji refinery, after suffering heavy losses during a late-April offensive by the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group.IS fighters still control about half of the 36-square-kilometer refinery campus, according to several security officials in the area.Security forces had been stranded with limited ammunition and supplies, and reinforcements were unable to help: IS fighters had rigged the roads leading to the ref… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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Marathon: Libyan uncertainty remains

Uncertainty remains over Libya oil sector amid civil unrest, Marathon Oil said in a quarterly report. Photo By Dona_Bozzi/Shutterstock HOUSTON, May 7 (UPI) — There’s a "considerable" amount of uncertainty surrounding production from Libyan oil reserves, Marathon Oil said in a quarterly report. Marathon left Libya out of its forecasts in its quarterly report, noting it took no oil from Libya this year. In December, the Libyan National Oil Corp. declared force majeure, absolving itself from contractual obligations because of circumstances beyond its control, at key terminals because of civil unrest. "Considerable uncertainty remains around future timing of production and sales levels, and Marathon Oil continues to exclude production from Libya in its production forecasts," the U.S. company said in a Wednesday statement. Libya has been unable to coordinate political efforts across the wide range of groups vying for more power since civil war ended formally in 2011. Before […]

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Saudi-led forces conduct airstrikes in Yemen’s Saada

CAIRO Saudi-led forces conducted several airstrikes on Thursday against the Yemeni province of Saada, a stronghold of the Iranian-allied Houthi movement, the state news agency SPA said on Friday. The strikes targeted two Houthi control centers in Bani Maaz, destroyed a mine factory in the old quarter of the city of Saada and a communications center in the Mothalath area, the agency said. Two Houthi command centers in the province were also destroyed. Residents of Saada said the strikes had damaged the tomb of the founder of the Houthi movement, Hussein al-Houthi. There was also heavy shelling in the west of the province, on the border area between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and 13 villagers were killed in strikes on Hajja province, also near the border, locals said. The figures could not be independently verified. A Saudi-led coalition began strikes against the Houthis on March 26, aimed at pushing […]

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Saudi Arabia Considers Nuclear Weapons to Offset Iran

ENLARGE The pending deal between Iran and world powers on Tehran’s nuclear program and other security issues topped the agenda of a summit of Gulf leaders in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, at which French President François Hollande was a guest of honor. To his left is King Salman of Saudi Arabia. Photo: European Pressphoto Agency RIYADH—The nuclear deal that the U.S. and other world powers hope to reach with Iran would put a 10-year curb on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program. For some of Iran’s regional rivals, that is also becoming a deadline for developing nuclear arms of their own. In Saudi Arabia, there are widespread public calls to match Iran’s nuclear quest. The two other Middle East heavyweights, Turkey and Egypt, could also feel compelled to follow suit, senior Western and Arab officials warn. Such an arms race would further destabilize what is already the world’s […]

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Saudi-led coalition vows to hit Yemen’s Houthis despite truce offer

RIYADH/CAIRO (Reuters) – Saudi-led forces said on Thursday they would respond harshly against Yemen’s Houthi rebels following attacks on citizens in border areas, hours after the kingdom offered a five-day humanitarian truce if the Shi’ite militia stopped fighting. Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the Houthis had changed the situation by targeting cities in recent days, and vowed that the coalition would go after leaders of the rebel group. "The Houthis are now targeting the borders of the kingdom and the situation is that we will defend our citizens," Asseri told Reuters, adding that 15 people were wounded in Houthi shelling on the city of Najran on Thursday evening. "Coalition forces will deliver a harsh response starting this moment, so that those who carried out this operation will pay the price," he said earlier on Saudi state television. Asseri said Saudi-led forces would keep all […]

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Angola’s heavier crude complex facing reduced buying interest: traders

The Angolan heavier crude complex is facing reduced buying interest due to higher outright prices, high offer levels and seasonality factors, according to traders. Most of the heavier Angolan grades like Pazflor and Dalia are experiencing a lack of demand adding up to six available cargoes or 66.6% of the unplaced parcels remaining in the country’s June program, according to data collated by Platts. "Dalia and Pazflor are looking very expensive on the offer side, which pushes away potential buying interest," a Chinese buyer said. "It’s not the peak season for WAF heavier grades at this period." Furthermore, buyers will either purchase lighter grades for better yields or buy heavier grades for lower differentials, traders said. Article continues below… For over 100 years Platts has been at the forefront of pricing and news in the energy markets. Today, we publish the essential information that you need to navigate the […]

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China’s Exports Unexpectedly Fall 6 Percent

BEIJING — China’s exports unexpectedly fell 6.4 percent in April from a year earlier, while imports tumbled by a deeper-than-forecast 16.2 percent, fueling expectations that Beijing will quickly roll out more stimulus to avert a sharper economic slowdown. April imports tumbled 16.2 percent from a year earlier, following a 12.7 percent drop in March that highlighted tepid domestic demand as the world’s second-largest economy slows. That left the country with a trade surplus of $34.13 billion for the month, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected exports to rise 2.4 percent in April from a year earlier, and predicted imports would fall 12 percent. “This is bad. I expect an interest rate cut this weekend,” said economist Tim Condon at ING in Singapore. “This is going to make 7 percent (GDP) growth hard to attain. It looks like the weakness in the […]

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Obama, Bush and Understanding Changes in Oil Production

Demonstrators hold signs against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico in front of the White House in Washington, DC earlier this year. NICHOLAS KAMM/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES ROBERT RAPIER: I have friends and colleagues across the political spectrum, and among the topics on which they differ is the Obama administration’s impact on the U.S. oil industry. My friends on the right argue that the Obama administration has made life more difficult for the oil industry. There have been tougher restrictions on the industry, and President Obama has dragged his feet on approving projects that the industry wants, such as the Keystone XL Pipeline expansion. My friends on the left will point out–as President Obama himself has stressed in his State of the Union addresses–that oil production has surged under his leadership. This, they argue, directly contradicts claims that he has been bad for the […]

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Senator Murkowski plans bill to kill oil export ban

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Thursday she will unveil a bill next week that would reverse the 40-year-old ban on U.S. oil exports. Murkowski, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she would unveil the bill on Tuesday, although it was uncertain when the measure would get a vote in her committee. Murkowski has been one of the biggest supporters of reversing the ban Congress passed in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo led to fears of energy shortages. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner ; Editing by Will Dunham )

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Exclusive: Statoil U.S. execs leave for private-equity backed oil startup

WILLISTON, N.D. (Reuters) – At least five senior Statoil executives and engineers have left the Norwegian oil giant’s North Dakota unit to form their own U.S. exploration and production company backed by $500 million in private equity. The move is one of the first to show that billions of dollars waiting to finance energy deals in the wake of the last year’s crude price drop have started flowing to industry veterans eager to strike out on their own. It also highlights that the wildcatter, the nostalgic American term for investors who prospected, well by well, for oil and built their own companies, is still very much alive despite doubts the entrepreneurial practice could survive after so much land was gobbled up by the U.S. shale boom. Lance Langford, until recently the head of Statoil’s North Dakota unit, has formed Luxe Energy LLC in Austin, Texas, with equity financing from […]

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Investors Urged to Avoid Oil Sands After Alberta Election

Pipelines run toward oil storage tanks stand at the Enbridge Inc. Cushing storage terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma. Energy suppliers cut about $126 billion of expenditure following last year’s price drop of almost 50 percent, estimates Wood Mackenzie Ltd., an Edinburgh-based consultant. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg Investors may want to steer clear of oil sands developers and coal producers and buy royalty stocks and companies with assets outside Alberta. That’s the advice of portfolio managers and analysts after energy stocks declined Wednesday following the surprise election victory by the New Democratic Party in Alberta. An index of Canadian energy companies plunged the most in three months after the win by Rachel Notley’s NDP, which has pledged to boost corporate taxes, review the government’s royalty rates for energy producers and phase out coal power. Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. is among the most exposed to a potential hike in royalties and stricter environmental […]

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Oregon may end self-serve gas ban _ but only in rural areas

AP Photo SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon is one of only two states where drivers aren’t allowed to pump their own gas, but lawmakers appear ready to allow people cruising through rural areas to serve themselves. That would leave New Jersey as the last holdout with statewide restrictions. Oregon’s not ready to completely jettison its 64-year-old ban, but concerns that travelers could get stranded in places with few gas stations open in the middle of the night may bring self-service pumps to vast expanses of the state. Parts of Oregon are so remote that people unfamiliar with the landscape don’t realize hundreds of miles separate gas stations, said Rep. Cliff Bentz, sponsor of a bill that would let gas stations offer self-service fuel when there isn’t an owner, operator or employee around. Rural businesses in the middle of nowhere can’t afford to keep someone manning the pumps 24 hours […]

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Dalrymple: North Dakota needs more pipelines

North Dakota’s governor sees latest oil train incident as an example of why the state needs to build pipeline capacity. Photo by Heather Snow/Shutterstock BISMARCK, N.D., May 7 (UPI) — As emergency crews respond to the latest oil train derailment in North Dakota, the state’s governor called for the quick development of more pipeline capacity. Six tank cars carrying Bakken crude oil through Heimdal, N.D., derailed Wednesday morning. The flames forced the evacuation of the town of less than 50 people. No injuries were reported and cars not involved in the derailment were moved to a secure location. North Dakota’s crude oil production has increased to the point that there’s not enough pipeline capacity to handle the boom. That means energy companies are relying more on rail to take up the slack. North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said that, while the latest incident shows an urgent need for improved […]

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Curb gas flaring, U.S. lawmakers say

U.S. lawmakers press for better rules on controlling gas flared from federal deposits. Photo by Steve Oehlenschlager/Shutterstock WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) — The U.S. Interior Department needs to take steps to ensure gas associated with produced reserves isn’t wasted, or flared, bicameral leaders said. House and Senate Democrats issued a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewel urging her to review a report from the Government Accountability Office finding federal standards on gas capturing are behind the curve . The letter states most of the gas vented from federal lands is methane, a potent greenhouse gas. "Eliminating this waste not only would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to removing some 3.1 million cars from the road, but would generate $23 million annual for the [federal government]," the letter read. Jewell said in March her agency would propose "in the coming months" standards meant to cut emissions and reduce the […]

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Oklahoma production soars for Continental

Continental is the latest energy company to show operating costs decline in key shale basins in the United States. File Photo by Calin Tatu/Shutterstock. OKLAHOMA CITY, May 7 (UPI) — Shale production from Oklahoma basins increased 23 percent from the fourth quarter, rivaling North Dakota by nearly a quarter, Continental Resources said. In terms of production, Continental’s output from the Bakken shale in North Dakota was up 4 percent from the fourth quarter and 39 percent year-on-year to an average 135,538 barrels of oil equivalent per day. From the so-called SCOOP basin in Oklahoma, production increased 23 percent from fourth quarter and 70 percent year-on-year for an average 49,882 boe per day. Continental said last year its acreage in the SCOOP basin was a "significant" part of its growth strategy. Data from oil field services company Baker Hughes show 108 active rigs in Oklahoma and all of them are […]

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Senate Passes Bill Giving Congress Review of Iran Nuclear Deal

ENLARGE Sen. John Cornyn leaves a Republican meeting after an agreement was reached to vote on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act in Washington on Thursday. Photo: JIM LO SCALZO/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY WASHINGTON—The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill establishing Congress’s right to weigh in on global negotiations to curb Iran’s nuclear program. The 98-1 vote capped weeks of bipartisan efforts to strike a delicate deal on the legislation and then protect it from unraveling on the Senate floor in what is likely the high-water mark for congressional consensus on the nuclear negotiations. The bill from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) would prevent Mr. Obama from waiving sanctions on Iran for 30 days while Congress initially reviews a final agreement to diminish Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Lawmakers would then be able to vote on whether to disapprove of the deal, or take no action. “I […]

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Why Cheap Oil Is Bad News for U.S. Natural Gas

MATTHEW BROWN/ASSOCIATED PRESS IVAN MARTEN : Today’s low oil prices have already had a significant impact on much of the global energy landscape—including the U.S. natural-gas market. How will the U.S. market react if oil prices remain low for an extended period? Let’s start with demand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that domestic demand for natural gas would reach 770 billion cubic meters in 2020, up significantly from 690 billion cubic meters in 2014. This projection, however, was issued in early 2014— before oil prices began their descent—and assumed demand growth across all major segments. Given that oil prices have been roughly halved since mid-2014, however, some of those assumptions—specifically for exports and transportation—must be revisited. Look first at exports. The EIA projected that U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas would exceed 70 billion cubic meters in 2020, propelled by the price competitiveness of U.S. supplies in […]

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Implications of higher domestic crude production for U.S. refining

graph of U.S. crude oil supply and disposition changes, as explained in the article text Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Turner, Mason & Company In response to multiple requests over the past years, EIA is developing a series of analyses that address the implications of current limitations on crude oil exports for prices, including both world and domestic crude oil and petroleum product prices, and for the level of domestic crude oil production and refining activity. The most recent report— Implications of Increasing Light Tight Oil Production for U.S. Refining —considers how refining activity in the United States might respond to low and high scenarios of increasing U.S. light tight oil production. EIA retained Turner, Mason & Company (TM) to conduct this analysis using their refinery expertise and modeling capabilities that represent the U.S. refining system in much greater detail than is possible using the modeling framework […]

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Senate Passes Bill Giving Congress Review of Iran Nuclear Deal

ENLARGE Sen. John Cornyn leaves a Republican meeting after an agreement was reached to vote on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act in Washington on Thursday. Photo: JIM LO SCALZO/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY WASHINGTON—The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill establishing Congress’s right to weigh in on global negotiations to curb Iran’s nuclear program. The 98-1 vote capped weeks of bipartisan efforts to strike a delicate deal on the legislation and then protect it from unraveling on the Senate floor in what is likely the high-water mark for congressional consensus on the nuclear negotiations. The bill from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) would prevent Mr. Obama from waiving sanctions on Iran for 30 days while Congress initially reviews a final agreement to diminish Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Lawmakers would then be able to vote on whether to disapprove of the deal, or take no action. “I […]

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What the Senate’s Iran Legislation Means

What does the bill do? The legislation would require President Barack Obama to submit any deal with Iran to Congress within five days, and would prevent the president from waiving sanctions on Iran for 30 days while Congress initially reviewed a final agreement to diminish Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Lawmakers would then be able to vote on whether to disapprove of the deal, or they could take no action. If Congress passed a resolution rejecting any agreement, Mr. Obama would have 12 days to veto the measure. If he vetoed it, Congress would have 10 days to try to override his veto, which requires a two-thirds majority. Under the legislation, the administration would have to provide detailed reports to Congress on Iran’s terrorist activities and certify to lawmakers every 90 days that Iran is complying with the nuclear agreement. Congress is a whole branch of government. Why does it need […]

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‘Beyond petroleum’ – fracking’s collapse heralds the arrival of peak oil

This is the cleft stick within today’s global energy supply: too little ‘cheap energy’ to enable economic growth, too low a return on capital to allow investment in higher production. A few weeks ago tremors rocked the world of ‘fracking’ in the USA – though few heard them. The US Energy Information Agency (USEIA) had issued its latest Monthly Drilling Report and the news was not good. It wasn’t simply the economic failure of fracking (covered in The Ecologist last December ) and the subsequent collapse in drilling ( covered in January ). The news from the USEIA was far more grim for those who understood its deeper meaning. Their press release was very matter-of-fact: “EIA’s most recent Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) indicates a change in the crude oil production growth patterns in three key oil producing regions… The DPR estimates include the first projected declines in crude oil […]

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The Return Of Peak Oil – Worrying Signs From US And Russia

Since around 2005 many countries have increased their oil production but more have decreased. But the combined production of the United States and Russia have kept the world on a slight uptrend since that time. World oil production jumped in 2011, hardly moved at all in 2013 but it was up by more than 1.5 million barrels per day in 2014. And after such a huge gain everyone and their brother were singing “peak oil is dead’. But if you scroll down through the 37 major world oil producers it becomes obvious that a majority of nations have peaked and most of them are in steep decline. The above chart is EIA data; however, the next four charts below are JODI data with the last data point February 2015. The data on all charts is thousand barrels per day. In the last decade it has been two of the […]

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Why the World’s Appetite for Oil Will Peak Soon

The result, in my opinion, is as startling as it is world-changing: Global oil demand will peak within the next two decades. A less potent weapon The geopolitical and economic implications of peaking demand will be huge. The fall in the importance of Saudi Arabia is already palpable, with all the major powers from the U.S. to China more willing to accommodate Saudi archrival Iran. In addition, Russia’s ability to use oil as a weapon will wane, as will the economic leverage of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. As economic growth becomes increasingly disconnected from oil, world powers will likely shift their attention to other increasingly scarce resources that will be equally critical to economic well-being, such as food, water and minerals. A greater interest in Africa, for example, is already starting to emerge. For sure, peak demand is far from how the oil patch sees things. […]

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BG still happy with Shell bid as oil price rise boosts LNG

LONDON Britain’s BG Group said on Friday it was happy with Shell’s $70 billion takeover bid despite a recent upturn in oil prices that led the company to increase the profit outlook for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business. A near 20 percent rise in crude prices since Shell made its bid for BG on April 8 has raised concerns investors may question the valuation. "There is no change to our view on the offer," said BG Chief Executive Helge Lund on his first results conference call since taking the reins in early February, only weeks before Shell made its takeover offer. BG’s first-quarter results, however, also showed how deeply the drop in oil prices early this year had hit its business as it reported a 41 percent drop in core earnings to $1.6 billion from $2.7 billion the same time last year. The company’s revenue and other income […]

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Why We Have an Oversupply of Almost Everything

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article called, Glut of Capital and Labor Challenge Policy Makers : Global oversupply extends beyond commodities, elevating deflation risk. To me, this is a very serious issue, quite likely signaling that we are reaching what has been called Limits to Growth , a situation modeled in 1972 in a book by that name. What happens is that economic growth eventually runs into limits. Many people have assumed that these limits would be marked by high prices and excessive demand for goods. In my view, the issue is precisely the opposite one: Limits to growth are instead marked by low prices and inadequate demand. Common workers can no longer afford to buy the goods and services that the economy produces, because of inadequate wage growth. The price of all commodities drops, because of lower demand by workers. Furthermore, investors can no longer find investments […]

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Oil heads toward 2015 highs despite ample supply

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent crude oil headed up toward 2015 highs above $68 a barrel on Thursday after official data showed the first drawdown in U.S. crude inventories since January, evidence the market there is balancing after months of heavy oversupply. U.S. crude stocks fell 3.9 million barrels last week, the first drop in four months, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. [EIA/S] Stronger-than-expected demand growth and a slowdown in U.S. crude supply has boosted oil prices by 50 percent from a six-year low hit in January, despite ample supply. "While the latest draw and the recent slowdown in weekly builds in crude stocks have been seen as positive for the oil price, crude stocks remain exceedingly high," said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas. Brent crude was up 50 cents a barrel at $68.27 by 0845 GMT. It hit a 2015 high of […]

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Oil’s bull run hides a deep disconnect, crude traders warn

LONDON (Reuters) – While oil futures prices rebound with vigor as analysts cite strong demand, the physical crude market tells a much more cautionary tale. Tens of millions of barrels are struggling to find buyers in Europe with traders of West African, Azeri and North Sea crude blaming poor demand. The deep disconnect between the oil futures and physical markets looks similar to the events of June 2014 when the physical market weakness became a precursor for a futures price crash. "Being large physical buyers of crude we have a direct pulse of the market and feel immediately when it is well supplied, as is happening now," Dario Scaffardi, executive vice resident and general manager of independent Italian refiner Saras, told Reuters. "In the short-term, futures prices do not necessarily reflect accurately the physical market." Benchmark Brent oil futures prices LCOc1 more than halved between June 2014 and January […]

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Oil bulls drive crude to 2015 high on fall in U.S. stocks

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose more than a dollar to 2015 highs on Wednesday, as a month-long rally gained further impetus from a fall in U.S. crude stocks and conflict in the Middle East. Brent crude jumped by $1.36 to $68.88 a barrel by 0855 GMT, after hitting a 2015 peak of $69.14. U.S. crude traded $1.51 higher at $61.91 a barrel, near an intraday high of $62.05. "We haven’t seen hedge funds and money managers to be as optimistic and bullish as they are currently," said Vyanne Lai, an oil analyst with National Australia Bank. "They are at their most bullish since July last year, when the oil market fundamentals haven’t really changed that much." Industry group the American Petroleum Institution (API) said on Tuesday that U.S. crude oil stocks fell for the first time this year, giving a lift to oil prices. The API said that […]

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Oil Gains on U.S. Stockpile Report But Ends Below Day’s High

A truck passes by a drilling rig in Fort Worth, Texas. Oil prices spiked in a volatile session Wednesday as weekly data showed U.S. stockpiles fell for the first time this year, but the market gave back much of its gains amid a continued bearish backdrop. U.S. oil inventories fell 3.9 million barrels last week, the first weekly decline since Dec. 26, according to data provided by the U.S. Department of Energy. The decrease sent a surprisingly bullish signal to the market that the monthslong growth in supplies may finally be ebbing, and prices briefly touched a new high for the year. The data showed strong demand for crude from refineries, which ramped up processing rates to produce gasoline in anticipation of the summer driving season set to kick off in a few weeks. The decline in stockpiles stood in contrast to the 1.1 million-barrel increase projected in a […]

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Natural Gas Inches Lower in Calm Trading

By Timothy Puko Natural-gas prices inched downward Wednesday as calm spring weather and limited demand brought low volatility back to the market. Natural gas for June delivery settled down 0.4 cent, or 0.1%, at $2.776 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading stayed within a 7.5-cent range all day. Mild weather limits the demand to use gas for heating buildings and feeding the power plants that fuel air conditioners, often causing prices to fall and trading to slow in the spring. That has taken the steam out of the market’s most sustained rally since February as analysts have reminded traders that large surpluses are likely through the rest of May, at least. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly storage update scheduled for Thursday is likely to show a 75 billion cubic-feet addition for the week ended May 1, according to the average forecast of […]

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Big Oil’s Disruptive Climate Change

ENLARGE A drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil’s rally back above $60 a barrel does little to dispel the industry’s long-term worries. Photo: Dario Lopez-Mills/Associated Press Even as oil rallies back above $60 a barrel, obituaries are being drafted. Oil majors face questions from shareholders concerned the threat of climate change means some of the reserves underpinning the companies will never be produced. In a recent report, HSBC HSBA 1.04 % urged investors to plan for this risk of “stranded assets.” The risk is real—and doesn’t just boil down to efforts to curb climate change. One warning: Saudi Arabia’s decision to keep pumping despite the drop in oil prices. Apart from taking market share back from higher-cost rivals, the country’s oil minister has indicated concern about long-term demand in the face of technological and regulatory threats. Almost 1,400 climate policies had been enacted globally by 2013, according […]

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Global CO2 in Atmosphere Highest in a Million Years, NOAA Says

Emissions billow from the NTPC Ltd. Badarpur power station at dusk in Delhi, on April 28, 2015. Photographer: Kuni Takahashi/Bloomberg The amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere averaged more than 400 parts per million globally for the first time ever in March, according to U.S. government measurements. The recording was based on air samples taken from 40 sites around the world, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement Wednesday. It’s the highest level of the gas in at least a million years . Increasing CO2 emissions are blamed for global climate change that causes stronger storms, melting Arctic ice and rising sea levels, according to scientists. This is the first time the emissions have reached that level on a global basis — sites in the Arctic and Hawaii recorded CO2 concentrations over 400 ppm in 2012 and 2013, respectively. “This marks the fact that […]

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U.S. aims to make Iran nuclear deal immune to Russian, Chinese veto

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Washington wants to be certain that any nuclear deal between Iran and major powers includes the possibility of restoring U.N. sanctions if Tehran breaks the agreement without risking Russian and Chinese vetoes, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. United Nations sanctions and a future mechanism for Iran to buy atomic technology are two core sticking points in talks on a possible nuclear deal on which Tehran and world powers have been struggling to overcome deep divisions in recent days, diplomats said on condition of anonymity. Negotiators were wrapping up nearly a week of talks in New York on Tuesday, the latest round in 18 months of discussions aimed at clinching a long-term deal by June 30 to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for an end to sanctions. Expert-level negotiations are expected to continue for several days. The current talks have been taking place […]

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Iran launches international oil conference

Iranian government under President Hassan Rouhani expects foreign investors will rush through the doors on anticipation of the lifting of international sanctions. File Photo by UPI /Monika Graff. TEHRAN, May 6 (UPI) — Iran said Wednesday it opened its doors to international investors to gather for an oil and gas exhibition with hundreds of foreign companies in attendance. "Iran has started holding a four-day international oil and gas show to lure investment for its oil and gas projects amid hopes for the removal of sanctions on the Islamic republic," reported Shana, the official news agency for the Iranian Oil Ministry. Iran has touted its oil and gas potential since nuclear negotiations with multinational partners began in earnest earlier this year. A framework agreement that pulls Iran back from the brink of developing the technology needed to make a nuclear weapon could be formalized this summer. Iran’s government said sanctions […]

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Weak Iraqi oil demand hurts Norway’s DNO

Norwegian energy company DNO International set it was setting capacity records in the Kurdish north of Iraq, though a weakened market left it short on cash. File Photo by UPI/Maryam Rahmanian. OSLO, Norway, May 6 (UPI) — Though it reached its capacity target at an oil field in the Kurdish north of Iraq, Norwegian energy company DNO said Wednesday it suffered heavy losses. DNO said it hit a daily production record at the Tawke field of just over 150,000 barrels of oil, adding it had the installed capacity to hit the 200,000 bpd mark. "Discussions are underway with the [Kurdish] Ministry of Natural Resources to set out future production levels, including the split between export deliveries and local sales," it said in a statement. DNO said its production for the first quarter of 2014 was 45,744 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which includes oil from the Tawke field […]

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U.S. Military Worries Key Iraqi Refinery Could Fall to Islamic State

ENLARGE Smoke rises above the Beiji area in Iraq on April 16. Control of the Beiji oil refinery has been bitterly contested between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, U.S. military officials said. Photo: mohammed sawaf/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Pentagon officials said they are worried that a key Iraqi oil refinery that is held by Iraqi commandos could fall to Islamic State control in the coming days. For weeks, U.S. military officials have said that control of the Beiji oil refinery has been bitterly contested between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, who have long held nearby towns. But Islamic State fighters have made inroads in recent days, reinforcing their positions around the refinery following their loss of Tikrit to an Iraqi force backed by U.S. airstrikes, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. “It is not looking good,” said a U.S. defense official. U.S. warplanes conducted four strikes near Beiji […]

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Kurdistan receives April budget payment

U.S. President Barack Obama drops by Vice President Joe Biden’s meeting with KRG President Masoud Barzani in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 5, 2015. (PETE SOUZA/White House) Recommend 3 people recommend this. Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. The autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has received a payment of 543 billion Iraqi dinars ($445 million) from Baghdad for the month of April, as the two sides continue their attempts to implement a tenuous oil export and revenue sharing deal.Ahmed Abdulrahman, the spokesman for the KRG Ministry of Finance, said the money will be used to pay the overdue March salaries of government employees.The payment is the largest made by the federal government to Kurdistan in 2015. The K… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up […]

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There’s One Part of the World Where the Oil Industry Is Booming

A flame from a Saudi Aramco oil installion is seen in the desert near the oil-rich area of Khouris, 160 kms east of Riyadh. Photographer: Marwan Naamani/AFP via Getty Images As the oil industry tightens its belt after the worst price slump in a generation, the state-owned giants of the Middle East are taking the opposite tack. Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. are using a record number of drilling rigs and boosting production, a contrast to international companies from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which are shelving projects and slashing costs. “While oil companies around the world are cutting capital and downsizing their investment programs, Saudi Aramco continues to take a long-term view,” Chairman Khalid Al-Falih said during a March trip to China. It’s a strategy that may allow the three state-owned companies to boost their 20 percent […]

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Iran Sees $75 Oil Amid Plans for Post-Sanctions Output Boost

The silhouette of pumpjacks is seen on the site of an oil well outside Williston, North Dakota, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015. A plunge in global energy prices that has put some North Dakota oil rigs in a deep freeze has yet to chill the state’s hiring climate. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg Iran, OPEC’s fifth-biggest producer, sees $70-$75 per barrel as a suitable price for crude, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, as markets show signs of a partial recovery from last year’s collapse. “Nobody is satisfied with current prices and instabilities and fluctuations,” Zanganeh said Wednesday at a news conference in Tehran. “I think everyone is very satisfied with $70 to $75,” he told reporters later. Brent crude, an international benchmark, was trading at $67.69 a barrel Thursday at 7:46 a.m. in London. Iran would start to boost crude output in 10 days if international economic sanctions against […]

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Iranian-German Meeting Suggests New Engagement

BERLIN—Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh will meet German Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel in Berlin on Thursday, a rare encounter with a government official in Europe amid hopes a nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers could be completed. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh. A spokeswoman for Germany’s Economics and Energy Ministry declined to provide further details on the meeting, which will be closed to the press. Mr. Gabriel is also Germany’s vice chancellor and minister for economics in Chancellor Angela Merkel ’s government. Iran has been courting European Union countries to invest in its vast energy potential, offering to export its natural gas to Europe as it seeks it diversify away from Russia. German Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel. The contact would be among the highest levels of bilateral engagement so far with a European government, suggesting western nations are now willing to engage directly with Iran outside the framework […]

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Nigeria Borrows Money to Pay Government Salaries

Africa’s richest economy is borrowing money to pay salaries as it struggles through a "difficult cash crunch" brought on by halved oil prices, Nigeria’s finance minister revealed. The news comes as Nigeria prepares to welcome a new government at the end of this month and the country’s naira currency remains in a slump, hovering between 180 and 220 to the US dollar. It was trading at 160 a few months ago. Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala tried to be upbeat in a speech on Tuesday after lawmakers approved the 2015 budget – revised three times because of slashed oil prices that provide 80 percent of revenue for the government of Africa’s biggest petroleum producer. She said "revenue challenges" had prohibited the release of any funds for capital expenditure this year but that food prices and single-digit inflation remained quite stable. And she said the economy still was on course to grow […]

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Cuba insists it has oil; U.S. companies still uninterested

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba unveiled new data on Wednesday it said confirmed there were billions of barrels of oil beneath its Gulf of Mexico waters but admitted there was little interest in new exploration even with the thaw in U.S. relations. The United States and Cuba have vowed to restore diplomatic relations after more than 50 years of animosity, but the comprehensive U.S. trade embargo remains in place. While U.S. tourism, transportation and agriculture companies position themselves for Cuban business, oil companies have proven less eager since three exploratory wells came up dry in 2012. Low oil prices and new opportunities in Mexico’s liberalized oil sector are also seen depressing interest. "Despite the opening we haven’t encountered U.S. company interest," Pedro Sorzano, commercial director of state oil monopoly CubaPetroleo (Cupet), told reporters at Cuba’s annual geological sciences convention. Cuba hopes the discovery of oil offshore will free it from […]

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Indonesia Considers Rejoining OPEC

Sudirman Said, Indonesia’s minister for energy and mineral resources, in Jakarta on Oct. 26. ENLARGE Photo: Reuters JAKARTA—Indonesia is considering rejoining the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as an observer after leaving the group six years ago, a minister said Thursday. “We want to have an interaction with the market [by becoming an observer in OPEC],” the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said said. He said Indonesia has in the past been invited by OPEC to attend meetings as an observer. Indonesia discontinued its OPEC membership when it expired on Jan. 1, 2009. It has been a net oil importer since the early 2000s. The government is struggling to increase the country’s crude-oil production from about 830,000 barrels a day currently, while domestic consumption continues to rise. Indonesia’s renewed interest in attending OPEC meetings comes after a slump in oil prices since last summer that has […]

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In China, a tug of war over coal gas: Cleaner air but worse for the climate

HEXIGTEN, CHINA — Amid the rolling grasslands of northern China, a gleaming new industrial complex offers a beguiling vision for the nation’s leaders. Here, on a sandy plain among scattered flocks of sheep, a flagship plant promises to use China’s surplus coal while simultaneously delivering cleaner skies over its crowded eastern cities. Modeled on a similar and much older plant in North Dakota, the Hexigten complex in China’s Inner Mongolia transforms coal into methane by treating it with heat, steam and oxygen. It then pipes the supposedly cleaner gas to Beijing to heat and power the capital’s homes. In the past two years, with anger over the country’s smoggy skies rising and demand for coal declining, China has enthusiastically embraced coal gasification. It has proposed to build more than 50 plants like this in its sparsely populated north and west and to create by far the largest synthetic natural […]

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