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Duke To Build Natural Gas Power Plant, Retire Coal Plant

Duke said the new 650-megawatt plant will allow it to capitalize on low natural gas prices and cut its carbon dioxide emissions by about 60%. The plant would also be about 35% cheaper to operate than the 376-megawatt coal plant, based on current natural gas prices. Duke said the key parts of the plan, which also includes building a $320 million transmission substation in South Carolina, should be completed by the end of 2019. Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke operates utilities that serve more than seven million customers in the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Duke in February agreed to settle charges that it violated the federal Clean Water Act by spilling coal ash into the Dan River in North Carolina last year, and said it would pay $102.2 million in penalties and restitution. The deal with federal investigators includes a five-year probationary period with a court-appointed monitor to ensure […]

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Shell CEO Defends Arctic Drilling, Environment Record

ENLARGE Shell CEO Ben van Beurden is the latest oil-industry executive to face investors’ questions over environmental policies. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images In the company’s first annual shareholder meeting since it announced its planned tie-up with British energy company BG Group , BRGYY -1.58 % the climate issue took center stage, overshadowing the $70 billion deal announced in April. It took place after Shell’s Arctic-bound vessels were met with kayak-borne protests in Seattle last week. F ossil-fuel companies are coming under scrutiny ahead of climate-change talks in Paris later this year. CEO Ben van Beurden said the company was the first in the industry to acknowledge a link between CO2 emissions and climate change. “We have thought through a fairly pragmatic strategy to position your company with the long-term energy transition that is currently under way,” Mr. van Beurden said. On the Arctic, Mr. van Beurden said Shell was […]

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Shell vows to explore Arctic despite Seattle protests

LONDON Royal Dutch Shell will press on with a campaign to explore the Arctic for oil this summer despite protests in the port city of Seattle, chief executive officer Ben van Beurden said on Tuesday. Hundreds of environmental activists have fanned out across the Seattle Bay in recent days to disrupt the Anglo-Dutch company’s rigs from entering the port en route to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, saying drilling in the remote Arctic waters could lead to an ecological catastrophe. Van Beurden however dismissed claims that Shell’s was using Seattle’s port illegally. "The contract that we have with Fos, the maritime contractor that we have there, the lease that they have in terminal 5 we think they are legally valid and indeed have tested it and are ready to move ahead with putting the Polar Pioneer (rig) there, loading it out so it is ready for its journey to […]

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Georgia denies key permit for Kinder’s Palmetto pipeline

HOUSTON The state of Georgia’s top transportation official has denied Kinder Morgan Inc’s request for a key permit to build a $1.12 billion gasoline and distillate pipeline through the southeast part of the state. In a letter dated Monday, Georgia’s Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurray said he had determined that Kinder’s proposed 360-mile (579 km) Palmetto Pipeline is not critical enough to allow the company to condemn property and obtain easements along its route to allow its construction. "There is substantial evidence that the construction of the proposed pipeline will not constitute a public convenience and necessity," McMurray said in the letter addressed to an attorney representing Kinder in the matter, a copy of which was received by Reuters. Kinder Morgan was "evaluating all options to move forward with the project," Ron McClain, the company’s head of products pipelines, said in a statement on Tuesday. The company did […]

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BNSF Railway Abandons Plans to Buy Tanker Cars

Crude by Rail Citing ‘customer complaints’, the BNSF railway has abandoned plans to buy 5,000 crude oil tankers. Typically, leasing companies or oil companies own the tank cars that move crude along the tracks and not the railroads themselves. But last year, BNSF requested proposals from railcar manufacturers to produce cars for them that were stronger and safer cars than the current DOT standards. The company had hoped that producing cars with thicker shells, reinforced ends and thermal blankets would reduce the risks of using trains to haul oil. Over the past two years, BNSF Railway has been involved in a number of incidents including a derailment and fiery crash that caused the evacuation of a small town in North Dakota just last week. The company confirmed that the eight cars that derailed were the unjacketed CPC-1232 models that the federal government would like phased out by 2020 due […]

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Build for Rhode Island wind farm one step closer

Rhode island wind farm, billed as first offshore wind farm in the United States, is moving closer to construction phase. Photo by Teun van den Dries/Shutterstock NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I., May 19 (UPI) — A Rhode Island company will be the first of its kind to build a vessel to support the development of the inaugural U.S. offshore wind farm, planners said. Rhode Island Fast Ferry was contracted by developer Deepwater Wind to build a vessel and design the training for crew transfer. The ferry company will invest more than $4 million and employ more than 70 workers to build the vessel. "This will mean more jobs in the marine trades for Rhode Islanders and another way that the Ocean State will lead the growth of this new American offshore wind industry," Deepwater Wind Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Grybowski said in a statement. The ferry company will provide crew and […]

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Gas cheap, relatively speaking, AAA finds

Spike in U.S. gasoline prices won’t keep people off the roads this holiday weekend, AAA finds. Photo by James Steidl/Shutterstock WASHINGTON, May 19 (UPI) — While gas prices continue to rise ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, U.S. travelers are paying nearly a $1 less per gallon of gas year-on-year, AAA said. The motor club reports a national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded at $2.70 for Tuesday, up about five cents, or nearly 2 percent, from last week. More than half of all U.S. states reported an average price below the $2 per gallon mark in late 2014, though prices have been on a steady rise for most of the year. AAA finds the national average price for gasoline has increased for 33 of the past 35 days and is at a new high for the year. The motor club finds the increase in gasoline prices, […]

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Russia: Gazprom Cuts Natural Gas Production Forecast For 2015

Russia’s state-controlled natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, will cut its production plan for 2015 to 450 billion cubic meters because of decreasing demand due to warm weather, company officials said, Reuters reported May 19. The company had estimated it would produce 485.4 bcm this year. Officials say the amount of natural gas produced this year will still be more than the 444.4 bcm produced last year. Meanwhile, Gazprom says it hope to begin laying a pipeline for the Turkish Stream project in early June.

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Europe dampens Greek hopes of swift deal as clock ticks

ATHENS/BRUSSELS Greece’s European lenders on Tuesday played down Athens’s hopes of a swift end to negotiations on an aid agreement and said talks must speed up before the country runs out of cash. The sober outlook from Brussels and Berlin contrasted sharply with vigorous optimism displayed in Athens, where top officials from the new leftist government made a series of public appearances to promise that a deal was just days away. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told a talk show overnight that a deal could arrive in a week, while Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said talks were in their "final stretch". The comments helped push Greek stocks up 2.6 percent on Tuesday. But euro zone policymakers said talks were not moving nearly as fast as needed to clinch a deal in a short time. "More time and effort is needed to bridge the gaps on the remaining open issues. We […]

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Russia sidesteps sanctions with China financing: Rosneft

LONDON Russia is developing non-dollar financing and ties with China in the face of U.S. and EU sanctions, the head of Rosneft’s Swiss-based trading division, Marcus Cooper, said on Tuesday. "Sanctions are being counteracted … from a very high level," Cooper told the Platts’ Global Crude Oil Summit. Rosneft and its chief Igor Sechin, one of the closest allies of President Vladimir Putin, were hit by sanctions that prevent long-term financing, development of tight oil, Arctic and offshore deposits as part of broader measures against Russia for its actions in Ukraine. Cooper, who previously worked for BP, joined Rosneft in 2013 to help the company build its global trading platform but Rosneft’s plan to acquire Morgan Stanley’s trading division fell apart because of sanctions. The company has however maintained its output and exports at pre-sanctions levels while expanding its tally of customers. Cooper said Rosneft is working to develop […]

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Germany, France to Push for Ambitious U.N. Climate Agreement at Paris Summit

ENLARGE Environmental activists wear masks featuring French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images BERLIN—Germany and France said on Tuesday that they would push for an “ambitious, comprehensive and binding” global agreement on cutting carbon emissions this year, seeking to create impetus for a broad deal despite resistance from some developing countries. In a joint statement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande said they aim to “decarbonize fully the global economy over the course of this century” and will “commit ourselves to contribute our fair share.” Industrialized countries are leading the push to curb carbon-dioxide emissions to fight climate change. But many developing economies want a freer hand to boost energy consumption amid rapid domestic growth, as well as money to help offset economic sacrifices that might be necessary to reduce their emissions. The German […]

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Euro slides as Greek official says IMF repayment in doubt

LONDON The euro slid to a two-week low and a rally in European shares stalled on Wednesday after a Greek official said the country may not make an upcoming repayment to the International Monetary Fund. The euro’s fall follows remarks from a European Central Bank board member on Tuesday that the central bank could increase the pace of its bond-buying in May and June, bringing its losses against the dollar this week to more than 3 percent. The pause in European shares mirrored the sticky performance of Asian bourses, although the Nikkei in Tokyo jumped to a 15-year high after Japan posted surprisingly strong economic growth for the first quarter. European bank shares were in focus were in focus after Switzerland’s UBS ( UBSG.VX ) paid $545 million to settle with U.S. authorities over currency rigging. Four other global banks are expected to settle later on Wednesday. Ahead of […]

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The IMF Tells a Half-Truth

Air pollution image via shutterstock. Reproduced at Resilience.org with permission. On May 18 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a report titled “ How Large are Global Energy Subsidies? ” The question is a bit misleading: most readers, when they see the word subsidy, probably tend tothink of tax breaks or cash gifts to specific industries. The report, however, uses the term mostly to refer to environmental externalities—and not ones tied to all energy use, but ones related to fossil fuel combustion in particular. An economic externality is an impact of a commercial activity that is not reflected in the prices of goods or services traded. There can be positive externalities: if I buy organic, responsibly farmed food, I usually expect to pay more—thus the beneficial impact of my food choice upon the environment isn’t reflected in a price that would reinforce my behavior; just the opposite is true. […]

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Oil prices drop as weak fundamentals weigh on market

SINGAPORE Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday as slow economic growth and high supplies meant that markets remain oversupplied, although U.S. prices received some support from rising demand ahead of the summer driving season. Brent futures LCOc1 were down 60 cents at $65.67 a barrel by 2.12 a.m. ET, after an almost 1 percent fall on Monday on near-record Saudi exports. Goldman Sachs said Brent crude prices were due for a downward correction after a recent rally that saw prices of the North Sea benchmark jump 50 percent since its mid-January lows. "We find that the global market imbalances are in fact not solved and believe that the rally will prove self-defeating as it undermines the nascent rebalancing," the bank said in an overnight report that reiterated its downward revision of long-term oil prices on Monday. It said the ongoing oversupply, upside to U.S. production at current prices and […]

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Oil Falls as Bearish Fundamentals Outweigh Mideast Tensions

ENLARGE Iraqi oil workers at one of the al-Fakka oil wells at the border between Iraq with Iran outside Amara, south of Baghdad, on April 2. Over the weekend, Islamic State militants seized control of Ramadi, located around 110 kilometers west of the capital.EPA/STR Photo: European Pressphoto Agency Oil prices edged lower Monday after Saudi Arabia posted its highest level of monthly exports in nearly 10 years and an Iranian official said OPEC would likely decide to keep production steady at its meeting next month. The two developments added to a bearish backdrop colored by a stronger dollar that discouraged foreign buyers and data from a private forecasting agency that showed U.S. oil inventories fell less than expected last week. Taken together, they put the brakes on a surge in oil prices that have risen nearly 40% since late March on the expectation that production curtailments and a recovering […]

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Asian demand signals give oil prices stability

China continues to show strong economic appetite despite recent slow-down. OPEC said Chinese demand should pick up in the latter half of 2015. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI NEW YORK, May 18 (UPI) — Signs of strong Asian demand provided a modest lift to crude oil prices early in the trading day Monday, though major indices remain relatively stable for May. Brent crude oil prices started Monday at around $66.34 per barrel, relatively unchanged from the start of Friday trading. Brent crude oil prices started May at around $66.16 per barrel. Brent has been relatively stable amid signs of overall improvement in the global economy. Though the United States continues to stall, the European economy has shown slow but steady improvement in terms of growth in gross domestic product. China, meanwhile, continued to show signs of increasing oil demand. A subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp. signed a $330 […]

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Iran Official Doesn’t Expect OPEC to Cut Output

KUALA LUMPUR—OPEC is unlikely to cut production or change course at its next meeting in Vienna, a top Iranian oil ministry official said, according to a state news agency. In the past, Iran and countries such as Venezuela and Iraq have called for production cuts to address a market oversupplied by new output from the U.S. But Saudi Arabia, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ de facto leader and the world’s largest crude exporter, led a new policy of digging in and fighting for a market share at the cartel’s most recent meeting in November. Asked if he thought OPEC would change course at its next meeting on June 5, Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi said, “I don’t think so.” Speaking to reporters in a separate session on the sidelines of an energy conference here, Mr. Javadi suggested that not all OPEC members were happy with the outcome […]

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IMF Estimates Trillions in Hidden Fossil-Fuel Costs

ENLARGE A power plant in Changchun, northeast China’s Jilin province. The IMF released a report on Monday about the hidden health and environmental costs of fossil fuel use. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images WASHINGTON—Consumers should be paying a whopping $5 trillion more a year for energy to cover the hidden health and environmental costs of using fossil fuels, the International Monetary Fund said Monday. Vitor Gaspar, head of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department, which produced the report, called the estimates shocking and “one of the largest negative externalities ever estimated,” referring to costs that aren’t factored into prices. The fund said policy makers must start capturing those costs—valued at roughly 6% of global gross domestic product—in fuel prices now to curb the damaging effects, encourage greater energy efficiency and prevent a mounting toll on human health. The report said the costs—largely fueled by the ballooning use of coal in China […]

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Iran uses maritime confrontations to project power in Gulf

ANKARA Iran is using its sea power in the Gulf to show it will not be cowed by Washington’s newly assertive Arab allies, prompting critics to accuse Tehran of destabilizing the region. Iranian ships fired shots at a Singapore-flagged tanker which it said damaged an Iranian oil platform, causing the vessel to flee, and seized a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil route, over a debt row. The incidents coincided with a push by Washington to reassure Gulf Arab monarchies that their interests would not be threatened by a nuclear accord that Tehran and world powers are trying to reach by the end of June. In an escalating confrontation with Saudi Arabia over Yemen, Tehran criticized Arab states for recklessness and brutality in that country, where a Saudi-led coalition is attacking an Iranian-allied militia. Iran has also sent an aid ship, the Iran […]

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No contact with U.S. on oil, Iran says

Iran hasn’t been in contact with representatives in the U.S. oil sector, contract revision official says. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI TEHRAN, May 18 (UPI) — Though doors may be opening to the Iranian oil sector, the government in Tehran hasn’t been in contact with any U.S. companies, a top official said Monday. Iran aims to do away with buy-back contract offers, whereby the host country agrees to buy produced hydrocarbons at a set price, and replace them with joint venture projects in an effort to woo foreign companies back to the Iranian energy sector. Mehdi Hosseni, the head of a contract revision committee in the Iranian Oil Ministry, said nearly a dozen new exploration and production projects are envisioned under the terms of a new contract regime under review. Iran’s oil minister in early March hosted multinational corporate representatives at a four-day energy conference in Tehran. Prior to […]

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Fall of Ramadi to ISIS Highlights Iraqi Premier’s Weakening Authority

Photo Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq at the Capitol in Washington last month. Credit James Lawler Duggan/Reuters BAGHDAD — The campaign to retake Anbar Province from the Islamic State was supposed to be Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s show. The script went like this: American air power plus a ground force of Iraqi security forces and local Sunni tribal fighters would push out the militants, with Iran and its Shiite militias nowhere to be seen. Now, with Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, fully in the hands of the Islamic State , thousands of Shiite militiamen on Monday were rushing to Sunni territory to try to turn the fight around, officials said. And Mr. Abadi’s rivals within Iraq ’s Shiite political bloc, many of whom accuse him of doing too much to work with Sunnis rather than just empowering the militias, were enjoying another setback for the increasingly weakened prime […]

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Senate bills would give more coastal states offshore revenue shares

US senators introduced a trio of bills on May 11 to establish or increase shares of federal revenue with states that have federal oil and gas leases off their coasts. Measures sponsored by Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) will be discussed with 23 others dealing with energy supplies during a May 19 committee hearing. The bills would establish offshore revenue sharing in areas adjacent to their sponsors’ states. Warner’s bill, S. 1279 , differs from the other two because it’s bipartisan. Cosponsors are Virginia’s other US Senator, Timothy M. Kaine (D), as well as Republicans from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Murkowski’s bill, S. 1278 , includes a provision that directs 2.5% of qualified revenue for Alaska’s higher education institutions and workforce investment boards to provide training programs for pipeline and environmental management employees. Another 2.5% […]

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U.S. fears Shi’ite militias could worsen Iraqi sectarian fires

WASHINGTON The use of Shi’ite militias to try to take back the Iraqi city of Ramadi from Islamic State risks unleashing more sectarian bloodletting, current and former U.S. officials said, but Washington and Baghdad appear to have few other options. The prospect of Iranian-backed militias leading efforts to retake Ramadi underlines Washington’s dwindling options to defeat Islamic State in Iraq, with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s grip on power weak, a national army still in its infancy and Tehran increasingly assertive. Islamic State’s capture of Ramadi, despite months of U.S.-led air strikes and military advice, marked a fresh low for the shattered Iraqi army, which beat a chaotic retreat from the city over the weekend. Abadi immediately turned to the Shi’ite militia groups, backed by Iran, which together have become the most powerful military force in Iraq since the national army first collapsed last June in the face of sweeping […]

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Islamic State Solidifies Foothold in Libya to Expand Reach

ENLARGE An image made available by an Islamist media outlet in February purports to show Islamic State militants parading in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Islamic State leaders in Syria have sent money, trainers and fighters to Libya in increasing numbers, raising new concerns for the U.S. that the militant group is gaining traction in its attempts to broaden its reach and expand its influence. In recent months, U.S. military officials said, Islamic State has solidified its foothold in Libya as it searches for ways to capitalize on rising popularity among extremist groups around the world. “ISIL now has an operational presence in Libya, and they have aspirations to make Libya their African hub,” said one U.S. military official, using an acronym for the group. “Libya is part of their terror map now.” Islamic State’s growth as a powerful anti-Western force has militant groups […]

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ISIS Fighters Seized Advantage in Iraq Attack by Striking During Sandstorm

Photo Iraqis displaced when Islamic State fighters took control of Ramadi last week waited to cross a bridge on their way to Baghdad. Credit Ahmed Ali/European Pressphoto Agency WASHINGTON — Islamic State fighters used a sandstorm to help seize a critical military advantage in the early hours of the terrorist group’s attack on the provincial Iraqi capital of Ramadi last week, helping to set in motion an assault that forced Iraqi security forces to flee, current and former American officials said Monday. The sandstorm delayed American warplanes and kept them from launching airstrikes to help the Iraqi forces, as the Islamic State fighters evidently anticipated. The fighters used the time to carry out a series of car bombings followed by a wave of ground attacks in and around the city that eventually overwhelmed the American-backed Iraqi forces. Once the storm subsided, Islamic State and Iraqi forces were intermingled in […]

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Venezuelan Officials Suspected of Turning Country into Global Cocaine Hub

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com. http://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelan-officials-suspected-of-turning-country-into-global-cocaine-hub-1431977784 U.S. probe targets No. 2 official Diosdado Cabello, several others, on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering ENLARGE Diosdado Cabello, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, is a leading target of U.S. investigations into alleged drug trafficking and money laundering by senior officials in the South American nation, a Justice Department official said. Mr. Cabello has denied wrongdoing. Photo: Marco Bello/Reuters U.S. prosecutors are investigating several high-ranking Venezuelan officials, including the president of the country’s congress, on suspicion that they have turned the country into a global hub for cocaine trafficking and money laundering, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the probes. An elite unit of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington and federal prosecutors in New York and Miami are building […]

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Environmental Trial Tests Beijing’s Nerve on Pollution

ENLARGE Environmental groups are suing to try to restore a wooded area in Nanping, in China’s Fujian province, that they allege was illegally stripped by mine operators. Photo: Friends of Nature BEIJING—An environmental dispute involving a stone quarry in southeastern China marks the first test of a new government effort to use the courts to help clean up the country’s massive pollution problems . In a trial that began Friday in China’s southeastern Fujian province, environmental groups accused four mine operators of stripping a mountainous area of trees and causing about two hectares’ worth of damage. They are suing to either force the defendants to restore the area themselves or pay 1.1 million yuan ($177,000) for a third party to do so. For their part, the defendants have said that the group doesn’t have the right to sue and disputed the sum requested, saying that the way it was […]

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“Made in China 2025” plan unveiled to boost manufacturing

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) — China’s State Council has unveiled a ten-year national plan, Made in China 2025, designed to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power. The plan, endorsed by Premier Li Keqiang , is the country’s first action plan focusing on promoting manufacturing, a notice said on Tuesday. The plan will be followed by another two plans in order to transform China into a leading manufacturing power by the year 2049, which marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Nine tasks have been identified as priorities: improving manufacturing innovation, integrating technology and industry, strengthening the industrial base, fostering Chinese brands, enforcing green manufacturing, promoting breakthroughs in 10 key sectors, advancing restructuring of the manufacturing sector, promoting service-oriented manufacturing and manufacturing-related service industries, and internationalizing manufacturing. The 10 key sectors are new information technology, numerical control tools and […]

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Oil groups ask court to temporarily block U.S. fracking rules

WASHINGTON Two oil and gas groups have asked a federal court to block the implementation new U.S. rules for hydraulic fracturing on public lands until their lawsuit challenging the regulations is resolved. The Independent Petroleum Association Of America (IPAA) and the Western Energy Alliance filed a motion on Friday for a preliminary injunction to prevent the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management from enforcing the regulations, arguing the standards will cause their members irreparable harm. The regulations, finalized in March, would require companies to provide data on the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and to take steps to prevent leakage from oil and gas wells on federally owned land. They do not cover wells on private land. Fracking, involves the injection of large amounts of water, sand and chemicals underground at high pressure to extract fuel. In their filing with the U.S. District Court for the District […]

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Protesters gather in Seattle to block access to Shell oil rig

SEATTLE About 200 protesters gathered at the Port of Seattle on Monday to block access to a Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig headed for the Arctic this summer to resume exploration for oil and gas reserves. Holding signs reading "Shell No" and "Seattle Loves the Arctic," protesters gathered early to prevent workers from reaching the rig, one of two that Shell will store in Seattle before sending to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska. Environmental groups have planned days of demonstrations over Shell’s plans, saying drilling in the icy Arctic region, where weather changes rapidly, could lead to a catastrophic spill that would be next to impossible to clean up. They also say drilling would threaten the Arctic’s vast layer of sea ice that helps regulate the global temperature and that they say has already been disappearing as a result of global warming. "I’m joining in solidarity with the environmental […]

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Bakken Rig Count Down to 79

Rig Count Falls by One The Bakken-Three Forks rig count fell this week to 79 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday. In recent Bakken news, the SEC froze the assets of North Dakota Developments, LLC (“NDD”) and its principles, claiming they defrauded over 980 investors from 66 different countries of $62 million dollars intended to go towards Bakken man camps. Read more: Bakken Man Camps Center of Ponzi-Type Scheme The U.S. rig count fell by six, ending with 888 rigs running by midday Friday.  A total of 223 rigs were targeting natural gas (an increase of two from the previous week) and 660 were targeting oil in the U.S. (eight less than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.)    79 rigs are running in the Williston Basin across MT, ND, and SD. 79 are in ND alone. […]

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Crude-Oil Exports to Canada Kept U.S. Gulf Coast Storage Hubs Below Capacity

Crude-oil exports to Canada provided a crucial relief valve for U.S. producers this year, according to a new report from data provider Genscape Inc. Almost 19 million barrels were shipped from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Canada’s eastern coast from the beginning of the year through early May, according to Genscape. Without those shipments, storage terminals in Corpus Christi, Texas, would have run out of capacity by now, according to the report, which is slated to be released on Wednesday. Though federal law prohibits exports of most U.S. crude oil, there is an exception for shipments to Canada. As production in the U.S. and in Canada has increased in recent years, more oil has criss-crossed the border, allowing both countries to import less crude oil from outside North America. Growing U.S. oil output has raised concerns among traders that some storage locations could reach full capacity. If an area […]

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Texas Prohibits Local Fracking Bans

A natural gas-fueled drilling rig is shown earlier this year in Mentone, Texas. Texas, which has benefited from fracking, has tripled its production of oil in the past five years. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images AUSTIN, Texas—Last year, a city in North Texas banned fracking. State lawmakers want to make sure that never happens again. On Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that prohibits bans of hydraulic fracturing altogether and makes it much harder for municipal and county governments to control where oil and gas wells can be drilled. Similar efforts are cropping up in states including New Mexico, Ohio, Colorado and Oklahoma, where both chambers of the legislature have passed a bill that limits local governments to “reasonable” restrictions on oil and gas activities. This is all part of a broader legislative and judicial effort, backed by the oil industry, to limit local governments’ ability to regulate […]

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Nonpetroleum share of transportation energy at highest level since 1954

Republished May 18, 2015, 9:30 a.m. to correct an error in the graph Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review In the United States, petroleum is by far the most-consumed transportation fuel. But recently the share of fuels other than petroleum for U.S. transportation has increased to its highest level since 1954, a time when the use of coal-fired steam locomotives was declining and automobile use was growing rapidly. The recent increase can be mostly attributed to increased blending of biomass-based fuels with traditional vehicle fuels and growing use of natural gas in the transportation sector. After nearly 50 years of relative stability at about 4%, the nonpetroleum share started increasing steadily in the mid-2000s, reaching 8.5% in 2014. Of the nonpetroleum fuels used for transportation, fuel ethanol has grown most rapidly in recent years, increasing by nearly one quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) between 2000 and 2014. […]

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Texas RRC March Production Data

The Texas RRC is out with their latest Oil and Gas Production Data . Looks like oil production has leveled out with March production pretty much level with February. All RRC data is trough March 015. Texas Crude Only I always show the last 6 months or the RRC data in order to get a pretty good indication of which way data production is moving. From the data you can see that December was a very good month but January was just awful. February was a lot better and March was about the same as February. The chart above was created by Dean Fantazzini, PhD, of the Moscow School of Economics. He has developed an algorithm which predicts what the data will reflect after the final data has come in. His data suggests that Texas crude has plateaued. For more on the underlying methodology of Dr. Fantazzini see: Nowcasting Texas RRC […]

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Environmentalists Are Taking California To Court Over Illegal Oil Industry Wastewater Injection

Richard Thornton / Shutterstock.com Environmentalists filed a motion requesting a preliminary injunction today in a California court to immediately stop the daily illegal injection of millions of gallons of oil field wastewater into protected groundwater aquifers in the state. Last week, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity in Alameda County Superior Court that challenges California regulators’ emergency rules meant to rein in the state’s disastrous Underground Injection Control (UIC) program . Officials with the state’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) have admitted that their agency improperly permitted more than 2,500 wells to pump oil industry wastewater and fluids from enhanced oil recovery techniques like acidization and steam flooding into groundwater aquifers that should be protected under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Instead of shutting down the offending wells, however, DOGGR issued emergency rules last February […]

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Ukraine Says It Has Captured 2 Russian Soldiers

MOSCOW — The Ukrainian government said on Monday that it had captured two wounded Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine and would prosecute them on terrorism charges, prompting a spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin to repeat the Kremlin’s longstanding denial that any Russian troops had been deployed across the border. The soldiers were identified by Gen. Viktor Muzhenko, the chief of the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as Capt. Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Sgt. Aleksandr Aleksandrov of the Third Special Forces Brigade, which is based in Togliatti, a city in southern Russia . Russia’s denials that its active duty soldiers have been fighting in eastern Ukraine have continued despite substantial evidence to the contrary, including the funerals of young Russian soldiers killed in action. The Kremlin has acknowledged that some Russians have participated in the fighting, but says that they are volunteers who often choose to fight […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukrainian shale handcuffed, company says

Ukrainian shale explorer granted more areas for work, but says business climate too cost prohibitive to start drilling campaign. File Photo by ekina/Shutterstock LONDON, May 18 (UPI) — Junior shale explorer JXK Oil & Gas said Monday it was granted more areas for work in Ukraine, though the cost of business was still prohibitive to drilling. JXK, which has headquarters in London, said Ukrainian authorities expanded by 13 square miles its production license in the Elizavetovskoye area, to bring the total to 40 square miles. The company started a multistage hydraulic fracturing operation in Ukraine in 2013, describing it as likely the largest operation of its kind in Europe to date. The company said it was pleased with the license expansion, but was unable to continue with operations in the country. "This further award is recognition of our ability to develop the potential of our Ukrainian licenses," JKX Chief […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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English Channel to host wind farm

German energy company E.ON makes final investment decision to build wind farm in English Channel. File Photo by UPI/Shutterstock/Teun van den Dries. DUSSELDORF, Germany, May 18 (UPI) — German energy company E.ON said Monday it’s continuing its legacy as the largest European investor in wind by building a wind farm in the English Channel. E.ON said it made a final investment decision on the Rampion wind farm in the English Channel. Backed by a $374 million commitment by the U.K. Green Investment Bank, the project is expected to generate enough energy to meet the annual demand of 300,000 average households. The German company is the third-largest offshore wind energy operator, with 1.2 gigawatts of capacity on the regional grid. Since 2007, the company said it’s invested more than $10 trillion on renewable power. "Our Rampion project starts from a strong position," Mike Winkel, an E.ON board member, said in […]

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« Oil Prices Will Fall: A Lesson in Gravity

The oil price collapse is not over yet.  It is more likely that Brent price could fall back into the mid-$50 range than that it will continue to rise toward $70 per barrel.   That is because oil prices have risen based on sentiment alone. The fundamentals of supply and demand indicate a dismal reality: oil prices will fall and may fall hard in the near term.   Our present situation is like that of the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote.  He routinely ran off of a cliff and as long as he didn’t look down, everything was fine.  But as soon as he looked down and saw that there was no ground beneath him, he fell.  Hope and momentum cannot overcome gravity.  Figure 1. Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Sources: The Braiser, Dubsisms and Forbes. Neither can ignoring the data. When I look down from $60 WTI and almost $68 Brent, I see no […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US Crude Oil Consumption Peaked a Decade Ago

A world without crude oil is almost unthinkable. And yet, there are indications that such a transition is happening. OPEC is jockeying for market share. Russia is increasing production and US tight oil producers as well as their Canadian oil sands counterparts have found themselves priced out of the market. So what is going on? As humans, we tend to like to place things in neat little boxes. So we look at coal and natural gas and think electricity generation. We look at crude oil and think transportation sector. And all this is correct. But trends are emerging that are likely to turn this on its head. For instance, on shore wind and solar are gaining traction as viable energy production means. Costs are falling rapidly and Lazard now estimates that onshore wind is the cheapest provider of electricity on a levelized cost basis. Solar is not far behind […]

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Oil prices rise on Middle East fighting; OPEC output in focus

SINGAPORE Oil prices rose on Monday following fighting in Iraq and Yemen, but Iranian comments that OPEC was unlikely to cut output as well as signs of strengthening U.S. production capped gains. Front-month Brent futures LCOc1 were up 1 percent, or 65 cents, at $67.46 a barrel by 11.54 a.m. ET. U.S. crude CLc1 rose 79 cents to $60.48. Prices were supported by concerns that conflict in Iraq and Yemen could disrupt supplies after Islamic State militants said they had taken control of the Iraqi city of Ramadi in a big blow to the government. In Yemen, a Saudi-led coalition resumed air strikes against Houthi militia in Aden, a port-city on the shores of key Middle East oil routes. Despite these Middle East conflicts, analysts said oil markets remained oversupplied, and that the glut could worsen if U.S.-production picked up and output by producer-club OPEC remained strong. "Oil prices […]

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Oil Prices Rangebound as OPEC Meeting Draws Nearer

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures moved in a narrow price range in early Asian trade Monday, with gains capped by worries about a recovery in U.S. shale-oil production and as OPEC’s meeting draws closer. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at $59.77 a barrel at 0252 GMT, up $0.08 in the Globex electronic session. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.09 to $66.90 a barrel. Nymex crude ended 0.5% higher last week and has been up for three consecutive weeks, while Brent crude gained 1% last week and has been up for seven of the past nine weeks. Oil-price gains were capped due to some weak U.S. economic data from Friday and on worries U.S. shale production could recover quickly if prices kept on rising. Last week’s Baker Hughes U.S. drilling rig-count also lost momentum, falling by […]

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Iran-backed militias ‘head for Iraq’s IS-held Ramadi’

Islamic State The Iraqi government is reported to be sending Iran-backed Shia militias to Ramadi to recapture the city seized by Islamic State (IS) militants on Sunday. About 500 people are reported to have died when the Iraqi military abandoned positions in the city – only 70 miles (112km) west of Baghdad. A regional government official spoke of people fleeing Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, "in great numbers". But the US has said it is confident the capture of Ramadi can be reversed. Speaking in South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry said: "I am convinced that as the forces are redeployed and as the days flow in the weeks ahead that’s going to change." The Shia militias, known as the Popular Mobilisation (Hashid Shaabi), were key to the recapture from IS of another city, Tikrit, north of Baghdad, two months ago. But their use has raised concern […]

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Key Iraqi City Falls to ISIS as Last of Security Forces Flee

Photo Iraqi security forces withdrawing from Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, on Sunday. As the city fell to the Islamic State, militants from the group carried out executions of people loyal to the government. Credit Associated Press BAGHDAD — The last Iraqi security forces fled Ramadi on Sunday, as the city fell completely to the militants of the Islamic State, who ransacked the provincial military headquarters, seizing a large store of weapons, and killed people loyal to the government, according to security officials and tribal leaders. The fall of Ramadi, despite intensified American airstrikes in recent weeks in a bid to save the city, represented the biggest victory so far this year for the Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate, or Islamic state, in the vast areas of Syria and Iraq that it controls. The defeat also laid bare the failed strategy of the Iraqi government, which […]

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Islamic State says it has full control of Iraq’s Ramadi

BAGHDAD Islamic State militants said they had taken full control of the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday in the biggest defeat for the Baghdad government since last summer. In a statement, the group said it had seized tanks and killed "dozens of apostates", its description for members of the Iraqi security forces. Ramadi is the capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province, which is dominated by Sunni Muslims. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi signed off on the deployment of Shi’ite militias to attempt to seize back the area, a move he previously resisted for fear of provoking a sectarian backlash. Earlier, security sources said government forces evacuated a key military base after it came under attack by the insurgents, who had already taken one of the last districts still holding out. It was the biggest victory for Islamic State in Iraq since security forces and Shi’ite paramilitary groups began […]

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Iran deputy oil min says OPEC unlikely to cut output

KUALA LUMPUR The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is unlikely to implement a production cut at its next meeting in June, a senior Iranian official said on Monday. Asked if OPEC would cut output at the upcoming June 5 meeting, Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi told Reuters: "I don’t think so." Iran, along with Venezuela, has repeatedly called for OPEC to cut output to shore up low prices that have eaten into producers’ oil revenues. Javadi’s comments signal an admission that the group was unlikely to agree to a reduction, especially after its current strategy has succeeded in curbing non-OPEC output and allowed OPEC to regain market share. OPEC, led by oil kingpin Saudi Arabia, decided at a meeting in November to maintain output and keep global markets amply supplied so that low prices would force high-cost U.S. shale oil producers to cut production first. Javadi […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple