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China Fires Away at Coal Power

Operators of coal-powered plants in China are in an uncomfortable position. ENLARGE Photo: Hao Tonqian/Xinhua/Zuma Press China is planning the biggest overhaul of its power industry in over a decade. And the scope for upheaval is biggest at companies that depend on coal, such as China Resources Power. In the past two months, China’s top planning body has published multiple documents stressing that market forces should decide how electricity is generated, transmitted and distributed. Specifics are still missing, and internal contradictions still rife—the documents, for instance, push renewable energy that currently survives by government rules that subvert market forces. But if enacted, these ideas would mark the next step in electricity reform after Beijing in 2002 cleaved transmission and distribution away from generation. In theory, that allowed generation companies to compete, though in practice Beijing dictated electricity prices. Now, the planners seem to want power generators free to set […]

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China

China is the world’s most populous country with a fast-growing economy that has led it to be the largest energy consumer and producer in the world. Rapidly increasing energy demand, especially for petroleum and other liquids, has made China influential in world energy markets. China has quickly risen to the top ranks in global energy demand over the past few years. China became the largest global energy consumer in 2011 and is the world’s second-largest oil consumer behind the United States. The country was a net oil exporter until the early 1990s and became the world’s second-largest net importer of crude oil and petroleum products in 2009. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that China surpassed the United States at the end of 2013 as the world’s largest net importer of petroleum and other liquids , in part because of China’s rising oil consumption. China’s oil consumption growth […]

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EOG Waiting Out Oil Prices

EOG Releases 2015 Q1 Report EOG Resources will continue to hold off on Bakken well completions  until crude prices stabilize. Pulling back, slowing down and waiting it out is the preferred strategy for oil producers looking for strategies during the current pricing crisis. During an earnings call, EOG says that they are benefiting greatly from the pull-back in activity and progress is being made to lowering cost in each phase of their operations. The company announced a first quarter loss net loss of $169.7 million. Related: EOG Reduces 2015 Capex 40 Percent Bakken Activity The slowdown in activity has allowed EOG to focus on three things in its Bakken operations Operational efficiencies and lowering well cost. Currently, a typical 10,000 foot lateral is now drilled in just over 10 days. Using new technical data from our integrated completion process to further adjust and tailor high density completion designs to specific […]

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Florida lawmakers say no to Atlantic drilling

Several hundred people line Pensacola Beach in Florida for a 2010 Hands Across the Sand protest against offshore oil drilling. Florida lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban seismic testing, in preparation for drilling, in the waters of the Atlantic. File photo by Mark Wallheiser/UPI WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) — Florida lawmakers introduced a bill to ban early oil and gas work off the state coast, saying an early push for east coast drilling was too risky. "I was involved in the cleanup efforts following the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast, and I refuse to sit by while Florida’s east coast could potentially be threatened from the devastating effects of offshore drilling," U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy , D-Fla., said in an emailed statement. "Seismic testing is the first step in the wrong direction." Seismic testing is used to get a better understanding of the reserve potential in […]

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Oil production rebounds in North Dakota

North Dakota reports a 1 percent increase in crude oil production despite low rig deployment figures. Photo by photostock77/Shutterstock BISMARCK, N.D., May 14 (UPI) — Oil production in North Dakota increased 1 percent despite obvious signs of a slowdown in the state’s shale reserve areas, state data show. The North Dakota Industrial Commission said oil production in March, the last full month for which data are available, was 1.19 million barrels per day, up from the 1.18 million bpd from February but down from the 1.22 million bpd in December, the all-time high. The increase comes despite a drop in the number of rigs exploring for or producing oil and natural gas in the No. 2 oil producer in the nation. "The drilling rig count dropped 25 from February to March, 17 more from March to April, and has since fallen 8 more from April to today," the NDIC […]

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New drilling technology could unlock old oil

Using advances in drilling technology from the United States could unlock more oil in mature basins outside of North America, IHS finds. File photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI HOUSTON, May 14 (UPI) — Analysis from research center IHS finds advances in hydraulic fracturing used in the United States could unlock oil in mature fields outside North America. IHS researchers looked into what would happen if new and advancing drilling techniques were applied to 170 mature oil fields that may have what was described as incremental hydrocarbon resources. By applying the new technology to low-productivity oil basins, IHS found there may be hundreds of billions of barrels of potential new oil. "While our analysis was an initial, high-level assessment of low productivity plays outside the U.S., we were quite surprised at the impressive potential for increased recovery using these unconventional techniques," Susan Farrell, vice president of upstream energy research at […]

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New York fracking ban closer to law

State report from New York finds uncertainty surrounding hydraulic fracturing and may pave the way to making the governor’s ban formal law. File Photo by UPI/Kevin Dietsch. ALBANY, N.Y., May 14 (UPI) — Parts of the Marcellus shale natural gas play in New York may be off limits to hydraulic fracturing because of potential adverse risks, a state review found. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned the use of hydraulic fracturing , or fracking, as a means of extracting natural gas after a years-long study by environmental and health officials. His December move triggered a review from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which found "significant uncertainty remains" regarding the risks to public health and the environment that would result from fracking in the state. Interstate movements on fracking have been fluid since a moratorium was first introduced in 2008. A federal report finds that, while the amount of […]

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U.S. Crude-by-Rail Rules Face Fresh Challenge

ENLARGE Burning oil-tank cars from a BNSF train that derailed at Heimdal, N.D., lay askew along the railroad tracks on May 6. Photo: Associated Press Environmental groups are the latest challengers to push back against the new crude-by-rail rules with filings in federal court that argue the new regulations are too weak. Earthjustice filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on Thursday on behalf of seven nonprofits, arguing the timeline to phase out dangerous older tank cars is too long and that the standard for upgrades is too weak. The Earthjustice filing also seeks lower speed limits for trains carrying hazardous flammable liquids and requirements that railroads provide more information about the routing of dangerous goods to the public. “Explosive oil trains present real and imminent danger, and protecting the public and waterways requires an aggressive regulatory response,” said Marc […]

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Slump in Oil Prices Could Drag Calgary, Edmonton into Recession

An empty lot ready for a newly built house is for sale in Calgary, Alberta, April 7, 2015. Reuters The slump in oil prices is altering the economic pecking order among Canada’s major cities, pushing cities in oil-rich Alberta from the top to the bottom, the Conference Board of Canada says. The Ottawa-based think tank says Calgary and Edmonton, which have led Canada’s cities in growth over the last several years, will fall into recession . Oil is Canada’s biggest export and the big drop in prices for that commodity is expected to be a net negative for Canada’s economy. But oil production is concentrated in the western provinces and in offshore drilling in the Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. As a result, those areas are much more vulnerable to the economic pressures created by lower oil prices, while the manufacturing-oriented economies of central Canada could […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple