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Alberta fires threaten oil installations

More than 30 new blazes erupt in Alberta as energy companies report key installations under threat. File photo Heinz Ruckemann/UPI CALGARY, Alberta, May 28 (UPI) — Wildfires are moving closer to key oil installations in Alberta province as the government reports nearly three dozen new outbreaks in the last 24 hours. The provincial government in Alberta enacted an open-fire ban amid a persistent threat of wildfires. The government expects hot, dry conditions to continue at least through the end of the week . "In the last 24 hours there have been 33 new wildfires," the provincial government said in its latest update. "The wildfire outlook in Alberta continues to be severe." Since April 1, more than 600 wildfires have been reported , charring more than 32,000 acres of land. As of late Wednesday, there were 63 active wildfires in the province and 13 are out of control. Canadian energy […]

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Texas oil production falls

Texas oil production falters, though latest rig numbers show sector may be leveling off. File photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI AUSTIN, Texas, May 28 (UPI) — Total crude oil production in Texas in March dropped by close to 2 percent from the previous month, data from the state energy regulator show. The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s energy regulator said preliminary data from March show crude oil production averaged 2.31 million barrels per day, down from the 2.34 million bpd reported in February. A depressed crude oil market leaves energy companies with less money to invest in exploration and production. The market may be leveling off, however, as oil services company Baker Hughes reported the 373 active rigs in service in Texas for the week ending May 22 was unchanged from the previous week. The industry is nevertheless sagging. The Texas commission said it issued a total 848 […]

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U.S. labor numbers drag on oil

U.S. Labor Department reports uptick in weekly unemployment claims, sending crude oil prices into negative territory. File photo by Brian Kersey/UPI NEW YORK, May 28 (UPI) — A poor showing for the U.S. labor market sent oil prices lower in early Thursday trading, with key indices off about a half percent from the previous session. The U.S. Labor Department reported seasonally adjusted claims for unemployment at 282,000 for the week ending May 23, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average rose by 5,000 and, for the week ending May 16, the insured unemployment rate of 1.7 percent represented a 0.1 percent increase from the previous week. Weak overall demand in a market with a surplus of oil pushed crude oil markets into bearish territory, dropping below the $50 per barrel mark at times in early 2015. Markets have since recovered somewhat, though economic growth […]

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Huge drop in West Virginia coal production forecast

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University researchers predict that state coal production will drop 39 percent compared with the industry’s last high point in 2008 – less-than-encouraging news for more than 1,800 coal miners who learned last week they would likely lose their jobs. Already-struggling southern coalfield counties would bear the brunt of the industry’s downturn, with an expected 29 percent production drop in 2035, compared to 2014. The dwindling coal industry has ravaged that region with job losses, and has even necessitated cuts to government services. The report rattles off a combination of familiar economic, geological and regulatory challenges: weak export demand; less use of coal for electricity amid competition from natural gas; changes in emissions rules for power plants; and worsening geological conditions that make extracting southern West Virginia coal less productive. The dismal projections don’t even account for a federal proposal to stem carbon emissions […]

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BP Drops Fight Over $750 Million Deepwater Horizon Insurance

Boats battle the fire on the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 21, 2010. Source: U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images BP Plc won’t seek to access Transocean Ltd.’s $750 million insurance policy for the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded while drilling a BP well in 2010, sparking the worst offshore spill in U.S. history. London-based BP notified the Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday that the two companies resolved all differences over the drilling accident and spill in a confidential settlement reached May 20. BP withdrew its request for the state high court to reconsider its February decision that BP wasn’t entitled to Transocean’s insurance. The U.S. appeals court in New Orleans bounced the case to the Texas Supreme Court in August 2013 for guidance on how to interpret the insurance policy under Texas law. Earlier, it sided with BP. The Texas high court interpreted the policy and associated drilling […]

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Mexico-U.S. Seen Integrating More Power Than Oil, Moniz Says

The historic end of Mexico’s state monopoly on energy could spark more integration with U.S. power utilities than the much hyped opening of the country’s oil industry, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. The focus of Mexico’s energy overhaul “is typically on the hydrocarbons but in fact the most consequential part for further energy integration may very well be electricity,” Moniz said in an interview during the Clean Energy Ministerial conference in Merida, Mexico, on Wednesday. “American companies will clearly be coming in, and we will also see Mexican companies in the U.S.” Mexico ended the monopolies to allow foreign energy companies to operate in the country for the first time in more than seven decades. The move will enable further integration with U.S. utilities and natural gas pipelines across the border, much like links between the U.S. and Canadian gas and electricity markets, Moniz said. “Presumably we will […]

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Exxon, Chevron Say No Thanks to European Peers on Climate

Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp. Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg The biggest U.S. oil producers have dismissed the prospect of joining their European peers in forging a common stance on climate change, with Exxon Mobil Corp.’s CEO saying he doesn’t intend to “fake it.” Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp.’s go-it-alone strategy could weaken the impact of any targets, carbon goals or other climate-friendly measures endorsed by explorers including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc and Total SA. The European energy giants are coordinating a strategy ahead of the United Nations’ climate talks in Paris this December. The industry is under mounting pressure from politicians and some investors to take a leading role in fighting climate change. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said last week the onus is on energy producers to voluntarily curb emissions and encourage governments to adopt ambitious carbon limits. “We […]

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A Relic of California’s Oil Past Haunts State With Sea Spill

Oil soaked kelp and oil sheen in Santa Barbara on May 20, 2015. Photographer: Brian van der Brug /Los Angeles Times via Getty Images A pipeline the oil market had all but forgotten resurfaced like a painful memory last week, spilling 500 barrels of heavy oil into the Pacific Ocean. Line 901. A quarter century ago, it was a pipeline full of promise. Today, it’s full of — not much, really. Before it leaked on May 19, pouring viscous crude into the waters off California’s coast, the 24-inch line was schlepping 28,800 barrels a day, mostly to a small refinery near Santa Barbara, at less than a fifth of its capacity. Graphic: California’s Oil Spill It’s a relic from another time, an era that peaked in the 1990’s when drillers dove into the waters off California’s coast chasing billions of barrels lying beneath the ocean floor. The state was […]

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Ruble Trades Closest to Oil Since 2013 as Rate Cuts Damp Allure

The ruble’s movements are the closest to those of oil prices in 20 months as a series of Russian interest-rate cuts and central bank currency purchases damp its carry-trade appeal. The Russian currency fell for a third day, losing 1.6 percent to 52.8 versus the dollar as of 7:02 p.m. in Moscow, the weakest since April 22. The correlation between changes in the ruble-dollar exchange rate and moves in the price of Brent rose to 36 percent, the most since September 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The ruble is now following the dollar’s move against other currencies and oil, which is also tracking the dollar,” Andrey Mishko, a foreign-currency trader at National Standard Bank in Moscow, said in e-mailed comments. “On top of that, the central bank is buying, making the overall market positioning long dollar.” The ruble has pared its world-leading performance this year to 15 […]

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Putin Declares Soldiers’ Deaths and Wounds Secret, in War and Peace

MOSCOW — The deaths or wounds of Russian soldiers in “special operations” can be classified as military secrets, even in peacetime, President Vladimir V. Putin decreed on Thursday. The decree comes as Russia faces accusations that it is sending its soldiers clandestinely to fight in Ukraine , an allegation the Kremlin denies. Mr. Putin’s decree amended a law that previously let the military keep soldiers’ deaths or injuries secret only in times of war. Mr. Putin has repeatedly insisted that Russian soldiers are not taking part in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels have continued despite a cease-fire deal in February. At home, Russia’s political opposition says that by refusing to acknowledge that its soldiers are in combat in Ukraine, the Russian military is unjustly denying them disability payments, and denying their relatives death benefits and other awards. All the while, there are […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple