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US coal stockpiles at 165.6 million st, up 29.2% from a year ago: Bentek

US coal stockpiles totaled an estimated 165.6 million st for the week ended April 30, up 1.6% from the prior week and 29.2% from a year ago, Platts unit Bentek Energy said Friday. Utility coal consumption totaled 13.4 million st as it increased 2% with gains in the MISO and ERCOT regions, Bentek said. While recent coal consumption has been increasing, consumption is still 7% off from the same period last year. Coal production gains outweighed the increased consumption totaling 17.9 million st for the week, an increase of 6% from the prior week, Bentek said. Coal production is still down 5% on a year-to-date basis. –Jeffrey McDonald, [email protected] –Edited by Richard Rubin, [email protected] Platts Coal Trader provides the latest prices for key benchmark coals, as well as: Daily pricing for tons and allowances for SO2 and NOx emissions The exclusive Platts OTC Broker Index, a market assessment compiled […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Senate Democrats offer bill to phase out older rail tank cars

WASHINGTON, DC, May 1 Legislation to accelerate the phase-out of older rail tank cars to reduce accidental crude oil spills has been introduced by Finance Committee Ranking Minority Member Ronald L. Wyden (D-Ore.) and six other US Senate Democrats. The bill, S. 1175 , also would impose a fee of $175/shipment on older tank cars and would make a tax credit available to railroads that upgrade newer cars to the highest required safety standard. “It’s time for the [US] Department of Transportation to push faster and more aggressively to make oil-by-rail transportation safer,” Wyden said on Apr. 30. “This legislation takes a market-based approach to get unsafe cars off the tracks and safer cars on the tracks more quickly.” The bill also would use the revenue raised by the fee to help communities and first responders be better prepared in the event of a rail accident. It would establish […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The EU may soon have Gazprom and Vladimir Putin running on fumes

Tags: Gazprom | natural gas | | Ukraine | vladimir putin Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting in Abakan, the Republic of Khakassia, April 21, 2015. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin For all of President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric about Russian nationalism and economic self-reliance, he finds himself surprisingly constrained in his ability to respond to the European Commission’s action against Gazprom. The European Commission’s decision to bring antitrust charges against the Russian energy giant sparked an immediate complaint from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He loudly protested that the European Union was changing the rules in midstream. The European Union, however, was trying to send a different message to Russia: institutions matter, and Gazprom does not get a free pass around its rules. The commission charged Gazprom with abusing its dominant market position and overcharging customers in several countries. As a state-owned firm with geo-strategic implications, Gazprom is no ordinary […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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How Shale Is Becoming The Dot-Com Bubble Of The 21st Century

As I review the financials of one of the largest shale producers in the United States, Whiting Petroleum (WLL), I can’t help but notice the parallels to the .COM era of 1999 which, to some extent, has already returned to the technology and biotech sectors of today . Back then, the faster you burned cash to capture customers regardless of earnings to drive your topline, the higher your valuation. The theory was that after capturing the customers (in energy today, it is the wells) spending would slow and so would customer additions allowing companies to generate cash. By the way, a classic recent case is none other than Netflix (NFLX) which, in the past was exposed for accounting gimmicks that continue even today. It is still following this path of burning cash for the sake of customer additions, while never generating any cash in its entire existence. Cash was […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Peak Oil: One-Track Minds

One could argue that the most dangerous push in our energy/environment discussion is that which seeks to stop/limit oil production and/or divest from oil companies. That’s because our primary fuel has nowhere near a significant substitute. As such, publicly-traded oil companies are the lone bastion between us and a complete reliance on OPEC. [1] Well … sure, I guess one could argue that … “Big Oil: Leaping Tall Buildings … for Truth, Justice, and the American Way….” One could also argue this: given that oil is a finite resource becoming increasingly more challenging and expensive to locate and produce—among other inconvenient truths—perhaps we might urge industry and elected leaders to … you know … think about the future in terms other than “let’s maximize oil revenues and our bank accounts today.” Pursuing the one-track approach to our energy supply today and tomorrow has its advantages, at least for some. […]

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Kjell Aleklett Update: Peak Oil 2015-2016

What happened to peak oil? Here an older 2012 video from Swedish peak oil luminary and ASPO chairman Kjell Aleklett . At the time, when we started this blog, we were entirely in the Richard Heinberg mode of thinking, summarized as: ‘ industrial society is going to be hit very soon by a truck, that few see coming and industrial society is doomed, because the world is running out of oil quickly. ‘ We no longer think that is the case. That doesn’t mean that peak oil is not going to happen, but it is at least a little postponed and there is fossil fuel life after peak oil. On the fossil fuel supply front, we are much more optimistic than we were three years ago. Meanwhile we think that it is very well possible to have a sustainable light-weight industrial society for 100% based on renewable energy, to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Prices Post Biggest Monthly Gain Since 2009

Oilfield equipment in North Dakota can be seen in this January file photo. ENLARGE Photo: Associated Press Oil prices rose to a new 2015 high Thursday, capping their best-performing month in years, as traders bet that U.S. crude-oil supplies are near a peak. Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled up $1.05, or 1.8%, at $59.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Dec. 11. Prices rose 25% for the month, the largest monthly percentage gain since May 2009. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 94 cents, or 1.4%, to $66.78 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest level since Dec. 9. Prices rose 21% this month. Both benchmarks remain more than 40% below their June 2014 peaks. U.S. oil stockpiles rose by 1.9 million barrels last week to 490.1 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The increase […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Macroeconomics lifts crude oil prices

U.S. Labor Department data show improvements gaining traction, pushing oil prices up on the last trading day in April. File photo by Debbie Hill/UPI NEW YORK, April 30 (UPI) — Stable personal income and spending in the United States, coupled with lower unemployment, helped lift crude oil prices on the last trading day of April. The U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday personal income increased less than 0.1 percent from last month as did spending. From the Labor Department, meanwhile, comes word initial claims for unemployment for the week ending April 25 fell 34,000 to 262,000. Unemployment figures are at their lowest level in 15 years . Data suggest a slow but steady improvement in the U.S. economy, though demand may be tempered moving forward. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil standard, increased nonetheless in early Thursday trading, gaining 1 percent from the previous session to $59.16. WTI for April […]

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Oil prices to stay weak for at least a year: Reuters poll

(Reuters) – Oil is likely to stay relatively weak for at least the next year, a Reuters poll forecast on Thursday, suggesting a slowdown in oil production in the United States will not be enough to offset a global supply glut. Reuters monthly survey of 32 analysts predicted North Sea Brent crude would average $60 a barrel in 2015, up 80 cents from the projection in last month’s survey. The North Sea crude oil benchmark has averaged around $56 a barrel so far this year.     Brent prices collapsed to a low just above $45 in January from a high above $115 a barrel, and have recovered gradually over the last three months to trade close to $66 by Wednesday’s close. The price crash has forced some exploration companies to stop drilling for oil and the number of rigs operating in the United States has fallen for 20 weeks […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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NYMEX June gas futures jump 14.5 cents to $2.751/MMBtu settle

The NYMEX June natural gas futures contract settled 14.5 cents higher at $2.751/MMBtu Thursday as the market reacted to a government report showing a smaller-than-expected storage injection for the week ended April 24. US natural gas in storage rose 81 Bcf to 1.71 Tcf for the week ended April 24, the US Energy Information Administration said Thursday, below Platts’ consensus expectations of an injection of between 84 Bcf and 88 Bcf. "People got caught by surprise," said Derek Salvino, vice president of research at Tradition Energy. "When I saw the [EIA storage] number myself, I did a double take." However, Thursday’s rally does nothing to change the natural gas market’s bearish near-term fundamentals, Salvino said. "I don’t think it changes the fundamentals of injection season," he said. "We’re going to see big healthy injections." Article continues below… By the end of injection season this year, total storage stocks could […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple