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Lower 48 Oil Production to Keep Growing, but At Slower Pace

U.S. Lower 48 oil production will continue to grow, but at a much slower pace than expected this time a year ago as lower oil prices impact production and industry capital expenditures, according to recent analysis by Wood Mackenzie. However, a Wood Mackenzie analyst emphasized that the firm doesn’t expect an annual trend of declining production to occur until oil prices remain at $50/barrel for a two-year period. Lower 48 production grew by 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) during 2014, but Wood Mackenzie expects the rate of growth to decline going forward, with 675,000 bpd incremental production forecast for 2015 and 425,000 bpd of incremental production growth in 2016, Benjamin Shattuck, senior analyst for the analysis firm’s Lower 48 Upstream group, told reporters at a media briefing Friday in Houston. As a result, Wood Mackenzie estimates a long-term impact of this growth to be 800,000 bpd by the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Weak U.S. data point to modest second quarter economic rebound

WASHINGTON U.S. industrial production unexpectedly fell for a fifth straight month in April due in part to a further decline in oil and gas drilling, suggesting that the economy is growing at only a modest pace in the second quarter. The economy’s struggle to pick up steam after a dismal first quarter was underscored by other data on Friday showing a drop in consumer confidence to a seven-month low in early May and only a mild rebound in factory activity in New York state. Coming on the heels of weak retail sales and producer inflation data this week, the reports suggest the Federal Reserve will probably not raise interest rates anytime soon. "It means in the next month or so we are unlikely to see a massive rebound in growth momentum. These are not the numbers that would inspire confidence in the Fed to tighten policy," said Millan Mulraine, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Major Flaw Found in “ITER” – nuclear fusion reactor

In their paper “Elephant in the room: overlooked plasma-destroying reaction with cross section 1012 times that for fusion necessitates redesign of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ITER,”* three physicists from California Science and Engineering Corp., Irvine, CA, claim that ITER designers were unaware that the ignored fusion-preventing atomic reaction known as “charge transfer” or “CT,” had a trillion times higher cross section (probability) than that for fusion, hence it will prevent the ignition of ITER, as it did in all 160-odd tokamaks within the past 50 years.  CT’s cross section measurement in UK1 of a billion barn became known only after ITER was designed; fusion cross section is a 1/1000 of a barn.  There no mention of CT in ITER design2. EXISTENCE OF ‘CRITICAL ENERGY’.  Existence of CT gives rise to the hitherto – unknown critical energy below which reactors are inoperable; and above which – free from CT destruction […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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British secretary calls for ‘solar revolution’

Incoming British energy and climate secretary calls for more effort to build up behind solar power capacity. File Photo by UPI/Bill Greenblatt. LONDON, May 15 (UPI) — Incoming British Energy Secretary Amber Rudd told her local newspaper she aims to usher in a "solar revolution" through the new administration. British Prime Minister David Cameron tapped Rudd as the head of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, at which she’s served since last year. From 2010-12, she was a minister in the British Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. Rudd laid out part of her strategy in an interview with her local newspaper , the Hastings and St. Leonards Observer. "I want to unleash a new solar revolution," she said in the interview. "We have a million people living under roofs with solar panels and that number needs to increase." DECC last year said the country was in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Serbia backs Russian gas pipeline interests

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gets Serbian support for gas pipeline planned to Europe through Turkey. File photo by Monika Graff/UPI MOSCOW, May 15 (UPI) — The Serbian foreign minister told his Russian counterpart Friday joining a gas pipeline project through Turkey was in his country’s best interests. "We want to participate in this [Turkish Stream] project," Serbian Foreign Minister Ivaca Dacic said from Moscow. "At present, we can express our readiness for participation in this project because we need reliable gas supplies." The Kremlin said the Turkish gas project will help ensure European energy security. South Stream, a longer version of the pipeline, was envisioned as a European network before the Russian government pulled it off the table in late 2014. Russia meets about a quarter of the natural gas needs for the European economy. The majority of that runs through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine, where […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ruble Options Show Rally to End as Central Bank Starts Purchases

The chances of the ruble adding to this year’s world-beating gains have declined since Russia’s central bank said it would start buying foreign currency, options data show. There’s a 39 percent chance the currency will rise below 49 against the dollar by June 30, compared with a 44 percent chance on Wednesday, the day before the Bank of Russia announcement, options data compiled by Bloomberg show. The ruble advanced 1.1 percent Friday after Thursday’s 1.7 percent tumble as the bank said it would buy $100 million to $200 million a day to replenish reserves after last year’s plunge. The ruble is the best performer globally this year, buoyed by a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and a rebound in the price of oil. While that appreciation has enabled Russia to slow inflation and reverse some emergency interest-rate increases, it’s also cut the revenue earned from crude and other exports. “Without […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil heads for weekly gain, shrugs off ample supply; U.S. output eyed

SINGAPORE Oil prices were little changed on Friday but were set to end the week slightly higher, buoyed by a weaker dollar and forecasts for lower growth in U.S. crude output. U.S. crude is set to rise for a ninth week, which would be the benchmark’s longest winning streak since 1983. U.S. crude stockpiles have fallen from record levels, while the government has trimmed forecasts for crude output growth in 2015 and 2016. June West Texas Intermediate futures were down 6 cents at $59.82 a barrel as of 0631 GMT. July Brent crude rose 3 cents to $66.73 a barrel. Front-month Brent is on track for a weekly gain after a 1.6 percent decline last week interrupted its month-long rally. But analysts said prices have outperformed weak oil fundamentals. Supply continues to exceed demand growth, which has been curbed by a lackluster global economy. "Recent price action across a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Crude oil prices stall out

Brent crude oil prices expected to say relatively low through next year, EIA report says. Photo by tcly/Shutterstock NEW YORK, May 14 (UPI) — Expectations of a lower price for Brent crude oil kept keep indices treading water in early Thursday trading, relatively unchanged to start the day. Brent crude oil prices ended Wednesday at $66.81, down 1 percent for the day. Brent traded Thursday at $66.87, relatively stable for the month. European economy data helped the early Wednesday rally, though suggestions markets were still weighed heavily on the supply side pushed prices down through the trading day. The U.S. Energy Information Administration in a market report for May said it expected Brent crude oil prices would average around $63 per barrel, a 14.5 percent increase from its April prediction, for the second half of the year. Stronger global demand, an expected slump in U.S. oil production and continued […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil slips, economic worries offset U.S. crude stocks draw

SINGAPORE Oil slipped on Thursday as weak data from the world’s top economies raised concern about the outlook for global fuel demand, offsetting data that showed a large drawdown in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. China, the world’s top energy consumer, saw its economy losing more steam in April despite easier monetary policy, while Europe’s largest economy, Germany, slowed in the first quarter. In the United States, retail sales were flat in April, dampening hopes of a sharp rebound in growth in the second quarter. "We’ve had a round of very weak data in the last 24 hours and that’s offset the strength that we would normally expect to come through from a larger than expected draw in U.S. inventories," said Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. June Brent crude fell 18 cents to $66.63 a barrel as of 0623 GMT after settling 5 cents lower […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Natural-Gas Price Soars to Nearly Four-Month High

By Tim Puko The benchmark natural-gas price soared to a nearly four-month high, bolstered by rising demand from power generators that are pivoting away from coal. This year, utilities will retire 4.3% of the nation’s coal-fired electricity-generation capacity that is either outdated or unable to meet new environmental regulations, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. As a result, the burden of making up that shortfall will fall on gas-fired facilities, boosting overall demand and prices for gas. U.S. natural-gas inventories posted a smaller-than-expected increase last week, according to EIA data released Thursday. That coincided with above-normal temperatures in the East and Midwest, highlighting the role power-plant demand will play in the natural-gas market this summer when air-conditioning use could force generators to run hard. Natural-gas futures Thursday rallied 2.5% to $3.008 a million British thermal units, the highest level since Jan. 16 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple