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Gasoline Prices Rev Up for Summer

While gas prices have risen in recent weeks, they’re much lower than a year ago, resulting in summer vacations still on the calendar. WSJ’s Nicole Friedman explains on MoneyBeat. Just in time for the beginning of summer, gasoline prices have revved up. Prices at the pump have soared 31% since hitting a nearly six-year low in late January. Much of the increase has been spurred by a rebound in crude oil, but prices are also climbing in anticipation of strong demand ahead of the summer-driving season, which typically lasts from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Despite the recent jump, gasoline remains cheaper than in recent years. A gallon averaged $2.66 nationwide on Friday, according to motor club AAA. Prices at the pump are still more than $1 a gallon below the levels of a year ago, and many analysts forecast that gasoline will remain below $3 a gallon for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Average size of new commercial buildings in United States continues to grow

graph of average commercial building size, as explained in the article text Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) Increases in the size of commercial buildings have outpaced increases in the number of those buildings over the past decade, according to EIA’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) . EIA’s CBECS is the only nationally representative data collection for building characteristics and energy use in commercial buildings. Information about the commercial building stock in 2012 is now being released, and energy-use information is expected later this year. CBECS estimates that there were 5.6 million commercial buildings in the United States in 2012, totaling 87 billion square feet of floorspace. This level represents a 14% increase in the number of buildings and a 21% increase in floorspace since 2003, the last year for which CBECS results are available. Newer buildings tend to be larger than older […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BHI: US rig count posts smallest decline in 22 weeks

HOUSTON, May 8 OGJ Staff Writer During a week in which much of the oil and gas industry was either preoccupied with the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston or company earnings reports, the US drilling rig count snuck down just 11 more units to settle at 894 rigs working, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. The decline during the week ended May 8 represents the smallest during the 22 consecutive weeks in which the count has plunged. Over that period since Dec. 5, 1,026 units have gone offline ( OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2014 ). The total of 894 is the lowest since June 12, 2009, and 961 fewer units compared with this week a year ago. The count’s nadir during the 2008-09 downturn was 876 units on June 12, 2009. The average US rig count for April was 976, down 134 from March and 859 from April […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Study shows proposed Pennsylvania gas severance tax would be costly

HOUSTON, May 7 A proposed natural gas severance tax in Pennsylvania would have negative economic consecutives for the state, according to a Natural Resource Economics Inc. study released May 7 by the Associated Petroleum Industries of Pennsylvania (API-PA). “Higher energy taxes could put a damper on energy activity, and the commonwealth could be worse off with a new severance tax,” said Stephanie Wissman, API-PA executive director. “Natural gas development supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania, contributes $34.7 billion annually to the state economy.” The report, “The Economic Impacts of the Proposed Natural Gas Severance Tax in Pennsylvania,” analyzed the impact of Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal to implement an additional gas severance tax. Proposals include adding 5% on the gross market value of production plus a fixed fee of 4.7¢/Mcf produced and establishing an artificial floor of $2.97/Mcf regardless of the actual gas price ( OGJ Online, Mar. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US DOE sanctions LNG exports from Cove Point

The US Department of Energy reported that that it has issued a final authorization for Dominion Cove Point LNG LP to export US-produced LNG to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement with the US from its Cove Point LNG terminal in Calvert County, Md. The terminal is authorized to export LNG up to the equivalent of 770 MMscfd of natural gas for a period of 20 years. “The development of US natural gas resources is having a transformative impact on the US energy landscape, helping to improve our energy security while spurring economic development and job creation around the country,” DOE said. This increase in gas production is expected to continue, DOE said, adding that the US Energy Information Administration forecasts a record average production rate this year of 72.4 bcfd. Dominion Cove Point began construction on the export project in the fall after receiving authorization from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. Urges Greece to Reject Russian Energy Project

Photo Amos Hochstein, left, a State Department envoy, met with Nikos Kotzia, the foreign minister of Greece, in Athens on Friday to discuss a proposed pipeline that would carry Russian natural gas. Credit Yorgos Karahalis/Associated Press ATHENS — The United States, wading into the international efforts to shape Greece’s economic and geopolitical orientation, is pushing the leftist government in Athens to resist Russia’s energy overtures. A State Department envoy in Athens urged Greece on Friday to embrace a Western-backed project that would link Europe to natural gas supplies in Azerbaijan, rather than agree to a gas pipeline project pushed by Moscow. The dueling sales pitches, reminiscent of a Cold War struggle, come as debt-burdened Greece is desperate for new sources of revenue of the sort that a gas pipeline could bring. In an interview in Athens on Friday, before meeting with Greek officials, the State Department envoy, Amos J. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The “Upside Down” Peak Oil Story

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 […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Gazprom: Russia, Iran natural energy partners

Gazprom official in Tehran says interests in Russian and Iranian energy sectors are closely aligned. Photo by Igor Golovniov/Shutterstock TEHRAN, May 8 (UPI) — Iran and Russia are natural energy partners as both countries work to advance their objectives under sanctions pressure, a Gazprom official said in Tehran. Sergei Lasutenko, a representative from Russian energy company Gazprom, was in Tehran to attend an international energy exhibition. Iran said it expects foreign investors to flock to the country as sanctions pressures ease, though the Gazprom delegate said Iranian and Russian ties are aligned in part because of Western economic measures. "Russia is sanctioned too, so we have some joint interests to discuss," he said. "I look over the Iranian market and we know Iran has great experiences in working in these sanctions conditions." Iran is limited to about 1 million barrels of oil exports under a sanctions regime enacted in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BG Group joins peers with profit fall

BG Group’s QCLNG terminal, Curtis Island, Queensland, Australia. Company posts production gains from Australia and Brazil, but still keen on acquisition bid from Shell. Photo courtesy: BG Group LONDON, May 8 (UPI) — BG Group said Friday it mirrored its peers by posting a drop in core earning but an increase in production, though it was still keen on Shell’s acquisition. British energy company BG Group said earnings for the first quarter were down 41 percent to $1.6 billion. Oil prices fell by about half from the June highs above the $100 per barrel market during the first quarter, squeezing profits for most energy companies. Revenue from upstream operations, the exploration and production side of the energy sector, was hardest hit for BG Group , though the company said actual production increased during the first quarter. Total production for the British company increased by 1 percent, though from its […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia, China Sign New Economic Deals–Update

Updated May 8, 2015 11:51 a.m. ET By Andrey Ostroukh MOSCOW–Russia and China signed economic deals and a financing agreement for up to $25 billion for Russian companies from Chinese banks, as Moscow looks to seal closer ties with its southeastern neighbor given its standoff with the West. President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping oversaw the signing of an agreement here allowing domestic companies to raise funding from Chinese banks against guarantees provided by Moscow, which is cut off from global capital markets by Western sanctions. The two countries also signed a preliminary deal for Russia to supply gas via a pipeline to China, although key details remain to be resolved, as well as agreements in aviation and farming. "Today, China is our key strategic partner," Mr. Putin said, seated alongside Mr. Xi as the deals were signed. Mr. Xi is the highest-profile foreign leader in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple