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Oil Stays Under Pressure Ahead of Iran Nuclear Talks

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures remained under pressure in Asian trade Tuesday, as investors monitor the progress of the Iranian nuclear talks in Vienna and a worsening Greek debt crisis. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at $57.97 a barrel at 0258 GMT, down $0.36 in the Globex electronic session. August Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.29 to $61.72 a barrel. Oil prices had lost around 2% in the previous trading session. Greece looks set to default on its payment to the International Monetary Fund due Tuesday. Markets are also increasingly worried about the likelihood of Greece exiting the eurozone. Meanwhile, Iran has dispatched two senior officials to the nuclear talks in Vienna in a last-minute push for a breakthrough, even as U.S. officials acknowledged the talks are likely to overshoot today’s deadline. There is significant concern […]

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Oil Holds Loss Below $60 as Iran Nuclear Deal Seen Within Reach

Oil held losses below $60 a barrel as investors weighed the prospects of Iran increasing crude exports in an oversupplied market. Futures were little changed in New York after falling 2.2 percent Monday. U.S. and European diplomats meeting in Vienna said a path to a comprehensive nuclear accord with Iran can be reached within days as Tuesday’s deadline for an agreement is set to be missed. A measure of volatility in crude trading rose the most since December amid concern financial turmoil in Greece will prompt its exit from the euro area. Oil is headed for its first monthly drop since March as the Greek debt crisis prompted investors to avoid risky assets, while signs of a global glut persist. Iran, the fifth-largest producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has estimated it can double exports from about 1 million barrels a day within six months if international […]

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Greek worries push oil below $62 to three-week low

LONDON Oil fell more than $1 to below $62 per barrel on Monday, its lowest in three weeks, as Greece shut its banks and imposed capital controls, causing investors to flee from riskier assets and darkening the demand outlook. The European Central Bank froze funding support to Greece’s banks after bailout talks between the government and foreign creditors broke down at the weekend, leaving Athens with little choice but to shut the system to keep lenders from collapsing. Brent crude LCOc1 was down $1.36 at $61.90 a barrel by 0828 GMT. It fell to its lowest since June 5. U.S. crude CLc1 was down $1.25 at $58.38 a barrel, its lowest since June 9. Further weakness is likely as the situation in Greece will not be resolved until a referendum at the weekend on whether to accept conditions for a bailout, analysts said. "This may be the time when […]

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Natural Gas Prices Gain But Forecasts Remain Mild

By Nicole Friedman NEW YORK–Natural gas prices rose Monday on a slightly warmer temperature forecast, but continued cooler-than-normal temperatures across much of the country kept the price gains subdued. August futures settled up 3.5 cents, or 1.3%, at $2.805 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Hot weather boosts natural-gas demand in the summer as households and offices use more gas-fired electricity to power air conditioners. This summer, robust production has pushed the market into oversupply. A widely followed forecast released Monday called for hotter weather in the next two weeks than previously expected, boosting prices, said Gelber & Associates in a note. However, the firm added, other forecasting models are predicting that cooler temperatures will persist. Natural-gas inventories grew less than expected in the week ended June 19, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Some analysts expect that trend to continue, reducing the […]

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Rig Rout Puts Smaller Drillers in Front as Oil Majors Scale Back

Crude oil’s plunge is leaving drilling rigs idle from Africa to Latin America as the world’s biggest energy companies curtail spending and stall projects. Their smaller rivals are seizing the opportunity to gain ground. Sound Oil Plc, a Mediterranean producer one-500th the size of Eni SpA, will start exploring fields in Morocco and Italy toward the end of 2015 and early 2016, while Cairn Energy Plc and Savannah Petroleum Plc plan wells in West Africa. “Large companies have dividend and debt burdens to be taken into account when oil prices decline and their response time is slower,” Sound Oil Chief Executive Officer James Parsons said. “Smaller explorers are quick to use the opportunity of declining costs and increasing availability of rigs.” Drilling fees have dropped by about half in the past year, prompting junior oil companies to lock in contracts before rates rebound. While smaller fields can be profitable […]

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Turkey Uneasy as U.S. Support of Syrian Kurds Grows

Photo Kurdish fighters on June 15 near Tel Abyad, a strategic Syrian border town near Turkey that the fighters seized from ISIS control. Credit Rodi Said/Reuters ISTANBUL — The United States has stepped up its military support for Syrian Kurdish militias fighting the Islamic State, efforts that have angered Turkey , a longtime ally and NATO member, which is now weighing new measures to contain the ambitions of the Kurds, including a buffer zone within Syria . Ankara sees the Syrian Kurds as a serious national security threat because of their links to Kurdish nationalists in Turkey , who have waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. So it has looked on with growing concern at the expanding cooperation between the Syrian Kurdish militias and the United States military in the fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. The United States now maintains extensive […]

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U.S. Tells Iran That Preliminary Nuclear Deal Must Stand

Photo Reporters were ushered from a room where John Kerry met with Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran in Vienna on Sunday. Credit Pool photo by Carlos Barria VIENNA — The United States warned Iran on Monday, in both English and Persian, that a preliminary agreement reached two months ago in Switzerland must remain the basis for a final nuclear deal. The warning appeared to reflect concerns among American and European negotiators that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been attempting to backtrack on some crucial elements of the April agreement that was forged in Lausanne, the lakeside resort near Geneva. “We do see a path forward to get a comprehensive agreement that meets our bottom lines,” said a senior United States official, who could not be identified under the ground rules for briefing reporters. “This path forward has to be based on the Lausanne parameters. Period.” To reinforce […]

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Iranian President Brother Heads to Vienna to Join Nuclear Talks

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s brother and aide, Hossein Fereydoun, will join nuclear negotiators in Vienna on Tuesday as diplomats say an accord between the Islamic Republic and world powers is within reach. Fereydoun is traveling to the Austrian capital along with Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s atomic energy agency, Fars news agency reported. Salehi returns to the talks after undergoing intestinal surgeries last month. “This is the most crucial round of this 22-month long process,” said Ali Vaez, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group. “It is not surprising that the Iranians need to have all hands on deck.” Salehi, who studied nuclear physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1970, negotiated technical details with U.S. officials in previous rounds, including with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. Salehi and Moniz’s “chemistry has so far proven extremely effective in […]

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The US EIA releases its energy data analysis for Syria

Syria was previously the eastern Mediterranean’s leading oil and natural gas producer, however, with Syria’s oil and natural gas production declining since 2011, a report from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) states that the country’s energy sector is ‘in turmoil.’ According to the EIA, this is due to the ongoing civil conflict that began in spring of 2011. Summary of key points The report highlights that Syria’s energy sector has faced numerous challenges as a result of conflict and subsequent sanctions imposed by the US and the EU. Damage to energy infrastructure, including oil and natural gas pipelines and electricity transmission networks, hindered the exploration, development, production, and transport of the Syria’s energy resources. Syria has seen production fall dramatically, to a minor sum in comparison to pre-conflict levels. Syria is no longer able to export oil and, as a result, government revenues from the energy sector have […]

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North Oil Company leader assassinated

Gas flares burn at the Kirkuk oil field on Jan. 06, 2010. (MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images) A senior official at the state-run North Oil Company, who was last year put forward to be the next director general, was assassinated as he left work on Sunday.Two senior North Oil Company (NOC) officials confirmed the events.Unknown gunmen shot Saad Hassan Mohammed Ali, the director of the NOC Operations Division, as he left his office in the normally secured Arafa neighborhood around 1:15 p.m. local time. The shooting happened less than 100 meters from the main gate of the NOC office c… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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West Qurna 1 budget slashed by $500 million

A worker adjusts the valve of an oil pipe at the West Qurna 1 oilfield in Basra on Nov. 28, 2010. (ATEF HASSAN/Reuters) Iraq has cut the annual budget of its second-most-prolific oil project by nearly 50 percent, as part of a broader effort to reduce oil field development costs in response to a financial crisis.The joint management committee (JMC) of the West Qurna 1 oil field in Basra has decided to cut its 2015 budget from $1.6 billion to $1.1 billion."This year’s budget… had been reduced to $1.3 billion, but what was approved by the joint management committee was $1.1 billion," said Mahdi Malik, the… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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Kurdistan ramps up independent oil sales

ANKARA/ARBIL Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has ramped up independent oil sales since mid-June while cutting allocations to Iraq’s state oil firm SOMO in an escalating dispute over export rights and budget payments. Kurdistan has sold at least 9 million barrels of oil in 11 tankers from the Turkish port of Ceyhan so far in June, according to shipping data and traders, compared to 5 million it allocated to SOMO in early June after which transfers largely stopped. June became the first month of large independent sales since December last year, when Kurdistan agreed a deal with Baghdad to transfer up to 550,000 barrels per day to SOMO in exchange for Baghdad allocating Arbil 17 percent of budget payments. The deal has faced troubles ever since with Baghdad accusing Arbil of allocating smaller-than-agreed amount of oil and Arbil saying Baghdad is paying less than a half of what is due. […]

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Gulf Keystone reaches Kurdish oil sales deal

Gulf Keystone Petroleum announces new deal for domestic sales and exports from Kurdish oil field. Photo courtesy of Gulf Keystone Petroleum. LONDON, June 29 (UPI) — A new contract with the Kurdish government calls for domestic sales and exports of as much as 40,000 barrels of oil per day, Gulf Keystone Petroleum said. The company, which has headquarters in London, said it was producing more than 40,000 barrels of oil per day from the Shaikan field in the Kurdish north of Iraq. With payment commitments from the Kurdish government in hand, the company said it has a six-month contract for domestic sales and exports between 12,000 and 40,000 bpd by truck across the border to the Turkish coast. The company said it’s already received around $4.9 million from an undisclosed buyer. When noting the lack of payment from the Kurdish government, the company suspended exports by truck through Turkey […]

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Egypt’s Top Prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, Is Killed by Roadside Bomb

CAIRO — A powerful roadside bomb killed Egypt ’s top prosecutor as he drove to work Monday morning, broadening the violent insurgency that militants have been waging against the government for two years. The prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was the most senior civilian official to be killed in Egypt since the insurgency began in the fall of 2013, after the military ousted the country’s first freely elected president , Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood . The explosion hit Mr. Barakat’s small convoy around 10:30 a.m. Monday as it left the Heliopolis neighborhood near Cairo International Airport. The blast set several cars on fire and shattered windows along the street, injuring at least eight other people. Mr. Barakat sustained a lacerated liver and was rushed to a hospital, where he died from internal bleeding, according to the health ministry. The daylight assassination of one of his top officials was a […]

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Talks ongoing to restart closed Libyan oilfields, output stable: NOC

TRIPOLI Negotiations to reopen Libyan oilfields are ongoing and the level of the country’s production remains stable, a spokesman for the state National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Monday. Libyan authorities said they were trying during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began two weeks ago, to reopen pipelines for the El Feel and El Sharara oilfields and the port of Zueitina, blocked for weeks by protests and disputes. "Efforts being carried out by elders and mayors of local municipalities are still under way in order to reopen the closed oil fields. We expect good results soon," said NOC spokesman Mohamed Harari. The OPEC country is caught in a dispute between two rival governments, one internationally recognized in the east and a self-declared one that controls Tripoli, since a group called Libyan Dawn took over the capital last year. Before the 2011 civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi, […]

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Nigeria’s APC Says Government Must Scrap Oil-Industry Bill

Nigeria’s ruling party recommended the government discard a long-delayed oil-industry bill, review fuel subsidies and sell off some units of the state petroleum company. The Petroleum Industry Bill should be scrapped and replaced by a new reform bill that’s based on discussions with international oil companies to “ensure all perspectives are adequately considered,” the All Progressives Congress said in a report obtained by Bloomberg on Monday. Kayode Fayemi, the APC’s policy director, confirmed the authenticity of the document. The bill has been delayed in parliament for six years due to political wrangling and opposition by international energy companies against proposed tax and royalty terms, deterring investment into Africa’s top oil producer. The APC handed the report, which was based on closed-door meetings on May 20 and 21 in the capital, Abuja, to President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office on May 29 and is yet to appoint a cabinet. The […]

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China, Venezuela discuss 10-year cooperation plan

CARACAS, June 29 (Xinhua) — Venezuela and China on Monday assessed progress in bilateral projects and drafted a 10-year cooperation plan as part of their comprehensive strategic partnership. The plan was drafted during the 4th technical meeting of the China-Venezuela High-Level Joint Commission that opened here on Monday. Addressing the opening session of the three-day meeting, Venezuelan Vice President for Planning Ricardo Menendez said the goal of the meeting was to agree on projects that will help spur development in both nations. "We are going to be working on the topic of telecommunications," to provide computer tablets for university and primary school students, install related factories and build undersea cables to connect with other parts, such as the Caribbean, said Menendez. Also on the agenda are plans to boost Venezuelan industry by expanding cement plants, and iron, aluminum and paper manufacturing, and by bolstering infrastructure at ports and airports. […]

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Greece a sideshow to China’s main game for commodities

LAUNCESTON, Australia, With the focus on whether Greece will or won’t default on its debts or even stay within the euro zone, the important news of China easing its monetary policy again has been largely sidelined. As fascinating as the Greek machinations are, ultimately they will have little impact on commodity markets, other than the potential to boost some safe-haven demand for gold and possibly other commodities, such as agriculture, which have little correlation to equities and bonds. The real news is that the world’s largest commodity producer, consumer and importer appears to be taking more determined steps to boost its flagging growth rate. China’s central bank cut lending rates for the fourth time since November, while also trimming the amount of cash that certain banks have to hold as reserves. In a possible sign as to how serious the authorities are in getting money to flow faster through […]

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EU Leaders Urge China to Adopt Tough Climate-Change Goals

BRUSSELS—European Union leaders Monday urged China to adopt tough climate-change goals as they and other nations head toward a critical climate conference in Paris at year’s end. “Our intention is to cut emission by 40% compared with 1990, and I would strongly welcome China to take on its shoulders commitments to have the same ambition” or something similar, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said at an EU-China summit. He spoke as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stood beside him at a rare joint news conference. “Climate change is an important matter for the entire humankind, and both China and Europe have to bear particular responsibility in that respect,” Mr. Juncker said. Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said the world’s goal should be to keep the Earth’s average temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius compared with preindustrial levels, an aspiration reaffirmed earlier this month by the Group […]

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China’s Slowing Gas Demand Raises Supply Concern in Australia

China’s weakening appetite for super-cooled natural gas is raising concerns that the industry is facing a glut as global supply grows. “Downside risks appear to be growing,” according to a report Tuesday by the Office of the Chief Economist in Australia, which is predicted to become the world’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas later this decade with the start of six new projects. Lower demand for gas in China and more supply moving into the country from Russia and Central Asia, on top of a downturn in the oil market, are weighing on LNG prices. The weaker-than-expected outlook hurts suppliers in countries such as Australia and Papua New Guinea. Chinese LNG buyers will probably struggle to digest all the fuel that they have agreed to purchase, according to a Citigroup Inc. report Monday. Proposed LNG export developments face the risk of delays, the analysts wrote. China’s imports in […]

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« A Year of Lower Oil Prices: Crossing A Boundary

Figure 1. Daily crude oil prices, June 2014-June 2015. Source: EIA. (Click image to enlarge) OPEC-Non-OPEC-US & Canada_World Liquids Production Since 2008 U.S. + Canada and OPEC Liquids Production Since January 2014 Figure 4. U.S. + Canada & OPEC Liquids Production Growth, 2011-2015. Source: EIA and Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc. Figure 5. World Liquids Demand Growth. Source: BP, EIA and Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc. (Click image to enlarge) CPI WTI GT $90 26 March 2015 Figure 7. Federal funds interest rates January 2000-June 2015 and Brent crude oil price. Figure 8. World liquids production surplus or deficit and Brent crude oil price. Source: EIA and Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc. Figure 9. World liquids relative production surplus or deficit and Brent price in 2015 dollars, 2003-2015. Figure 10. Oil production from tight oil plays in the U.S. Source: Drilling Info and Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc. Figure 11. Capital available to […]

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Is Arctic oil a losing gamble?

Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of International Law and the Arctic , which was awarded the Donner Prize in 2014. Eighty-three billion barrels: That’s how much oil could be present in the Arctic, according to a high-profile U.S. geological survey report released in 2008. But the wave of excitement from the report is now receding, as some harsh realities sink in. First, 83 billion barrels is not actually that much. It would provide enough oil to satisfy world demand for just three years at our current level of consumption. Second, the report was an estimate of undiscovered reserves, based on some broad geological assumptions, since most of the Arctic has not yet been subject to exploratory drilling. Third, 83 billion includes reserves that are technically, but not necessarily economically, recoverable. This […]

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U.S. light oil exports double in May, mostly to Europe

NEW YORK U.S. exports of ultra-light crude, also known as condensate, have doubled since the start of the year, with most shipments headed to Europe, according to traders familiar with the deals and data from an energy consultant. The United States exported between 120,000 and 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate last month, according to traders and ClipperData, which tracks ships and terminal loadings, up from about 60,000 bpd at the start of the year. The condensate is lightly processed through stabilizers due to rules banning crude exports in the United States, now the world’s third-largest oil producer. The rise comes as more companies look to take advantage of the ability to ship the oil overseas, including to places like the Netherlands, France, South Korea and Brazil. "One of the main surprises is that the majority of the exports have been to Europe rather than anywhere else, when […]

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Green group’s unconventional fight against fracking

The residents of Grant Township, Pennsylvania, were worried about Little Mahoning Creek, a picturesque trout stream best fished in the spring when the water runs fast. The Pennsylvania General Energy Company had acquired a federal permit to drill an injection well down 7,000 feet about seven miles from the creek to dispose of wastewater from its natural gas hydraulic fracturing operations. Fearing the operation would harm the Little Mahoning watershed, the town’s supervisors last year passed a "community bill of rights" that blocked the well, stripped the company of its right to inject wastewater underground, and declared that the state had no jurisdiction in the matter. The ordinance, they openly acknowledged, was likely to be challenged, and defending its legality would be difficult. Driven largely by opposition to hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, communities across the United States have passed or are considering measures to assert their right […]

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Cheniere moving ahead with condensate export terminal in Texas

HOUSTON Cheniere Energy Inc is moving ahead with a $550 million export terminal in Texas that will ship processed condensate to international markets, a top executive said on Monday. In addition, the terminal will be able to export any type of domestic oil if the decades-old U.S. crude export ban is ever lifted, said Nelson Lee, director of crude trading and origination at Cheniere. "The reason why we’re going ahead with that project is we think that we will have unfettered crude oil exports in U.S at some point, and there aren’t the sort of logistics for the crude to exit the United States," Lee said at an energy conference in Houston. Lee recently joined Cheniere from BHP Billiton Ltd, where he headed condensate exports. BHP was the first company to export condensate without waiting for approval from U.S. regulators. Speaking at American Business Conferences’ North American Crude Markets […]

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New York formalizes ban on fracking, ending 7-year review

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York formalized its ban on high-volume hydraulic fracturing for natural gas on Monday, concluding a seven-year environmental and health review that drew a record number of public comments. "After years of exhaustive research and examination of the science and facts, prohibiting high-volume hydraulic fracturing is the only reasonable alternative," Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens said in announcing the decision. "High-volume hydraulic fracturing poses significant adverse impacts to land, air, water, natural resources and potential significant public health impacts that cannot be adequately mitigated." In its decision, the DEC noted that more than 260,000 public comments were submitted on its environmental impact study and proposed regulations, an unprecedented number. The agency said most of the comments urged it to severely restrict or prohibit fracking. New York is the only state with significant natural gas resources to ban fracking, which has allowed other states […]

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Activists deploy against Shell’s arctic plans

MUKILTEO, Wash., June 29 (UPI) — Activists said Monday they took to the water off the Washington state coast in kayaks to try to slow progress of a Shell drilling rig bound for arctic waters. "We know we can’t stop them," Carlo Voli, a campaigner from advocacy group 350 Seattle, said in an emailed statement. "But we can’t just watch them go; we have to do all we can to slow them down, and get people to focus on what a disaster Arctic drilling would be." Voli and others pushed off from the Washington state coast to protest against the Noble Discoverer drilling rig as it leaves for the arctic waters off the coast of Alaska. Voli and several others were arrested in early June for similar action against the rig, Polar Pioneer. Noble Discoverer suffered setbacks during a 2012 campaign off the coast of Alaska and activists said […]

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North Dakota rig data suggests stability

Rate of the decline in rig activity in North Dakota shale basins appears to be showing, data suggests. File Photo by UPI/Shutterstock/ekina BISMARCK, N.D., June 29 (UPI) — The exploration and production side of the North Dakota energy sector may be leveling off as the number of deployed rigs holds steady, state data show. State government data show 76 rigs in active service as of Monday, one less than the number reported one week ago. Oil production in April, the last full month for which data are available, was down nearly 2 percent from the previous month to 1.17 million barrels per day. An all-time high of 1.2 million bpd was reached in December. The rig count in late April was around 84, which was more than 125 lower than the historic peak reached in 2012. Energy companies are spending less on exploration and production in a weak crude […]

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Montana Considers Drilling Buffer

Montana Considering Drilling Buffers Montana’s Board of Oil and Gas Conservation is considering a proposal that will require buffers zones around homes to protect them from oil and gas drilling. Related: Dakota Access Pipeline Concerns The board heard almost two hours of testimony last week from farmers, environmentalists and oil companies who all wanted a say in whether setbacks are necessary. Many raised concerns about wastewater dangers, noise and trash that from active wells pads. Dale Nelson told local news agency that “The toxic smoke that comes out with a fire, there’s nothing you can do with it,” Nelson said. “Do you want your grandkids around something like that?” The Northern Plains Resource Council is asking for a quarter-mile setback between well pads and inhabited buildings. This is much greater than the 500 feet required by neighboring states of North Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado. Montana joins other local and […]

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Pennsylvania Governor and Fracking Sector Face Off on Budget, Regulations

A fracking rig drills for natural gas on a site in Washington Township, Pa. Since taking over from a Republican administration this year, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf repeatedly has said he supports the state’s booming shale gas industry. But lately, the industry hasn’t been sure he really does. State regulators, who have begun reviewing dozens of environmental cases the previous administration didn’t take action on, recently imposed an $8.9 million fine for a gas well they said is contaminating drinking water—the largest ever against a gas operator in state history. The state is also proposing a raft of stricter drilling rules to prevent wastewater from contaminating drinking water sources. And industry officials are upset that the Wolf administration earlier this month slashed its estimate of Pennsylvania jobs supported by the shale-gas industry to 89,000 from the previous administration’s estimate of more than 200,000. Gov. Tom Wolf, right, listens […]

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Hawaii and Vermont set high renewable portfolio standard targets

graph of renewerable portfolio standard targets, as explained in the article text Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Note: The figure includes primary renewable targets and does not adjust for additional sub-targets. Republished June 29, 2015, 9:30 a.m. to correct an error in the map. Two states recently passed legislation that would require significant increases in renewable electricity generation. On June 8, Hawaii updated legislation setting a 100% renewable portfolio standard (RPS) by 2045. On June 11, Vermont passed a bill creating a 75% RPS by 2032. Both of these RPS target percentages are higher than any other RPS target in the United States. Renewable portfolio standards are state- or local-level policies that mandate all or certain types of electricity producers to supply a minimum share of their electricity from designated renewable resources. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have RPS policies , and an additional eight states have […]

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US power industry divided over importance of Supreme Court MATS ruling

Electricity industry representatives and consultants were divided Monday on how much impact the US Supreme Court’s remand of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards to a lower court is likely to have on power markets and investments. Brian Walshe, managing director of ION Consulting in Denver, said he thinks the decision is likely to bring "significant" change in the electricity industry’s direction. "The biggest fallout will be to [Clean Power Plan] compliance strategies," Walshe said in an email. "Many utilities will now be forced to consider this ‘game of chicken’ strategy when CPP rules are announced, due to the enormity of their impact." But Tammy Ridout, American Electric Power spokeswoman, noted that the Supreme Court did not vacate the Environmental Protection Agency’s MATS rule. Article continues below… Sign up for Global Alert today. Platts Global Alert is a complete real-time information service for the global energy industry, providing breaking […]

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Michigan, Iowa utilities to go forward with coal retirements, conversions to gas

Despite the US Supreme Court’s ruling Monday against the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule, electric power utilities in Michigan and Iowa say they are moving forward with plans to close coal-fired power plants or convert existing coal burners to natural gas over the next several years. The Supreme Court Monday ruled the EPA erred by refusing to consider cost when deciding to regulate emissions of mercury from the power sector. The Michigan South Central Power Agency’s decision late last week to retire its 55-MW Endicott coal plant at Litchfield in June 2016, has nothing to with MATS, general manager Glen White said in a Monday interview. Endicott, which went into commercial operation in 1983, is equipped with a scrubber and already complied with MATS, which took effect in mid-April, White said. Article continues below… Platts Coal Trader provides the latest prices for key benchmark coals, […]

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On The Brink: Upstream Companies Increasingly Vulnerable To Collapse

Southeast Asian farmers have long battled wild monkeys tearing up their fields, devouring their crops and generally creating havoc. But that agriculture community has figured out a way to stop the primates in their tracks. Enter the Indonesian monkey trap. The farmer puts an apple in a cage with a hole just big enough for the monkey’s outstretched hand. Once the monkey grabs the apple, it can’t pull its hand out. The monkey may panic, but it won’t release the apple. It seems to believe that if it just keeps tugging, surely the cage will give way. All the monkey had to do was let go of the apple and it would’ve lived another day. And so it is with some energy companies that effectively “cannibalize” their future earnings instead of cutting their losses. Bob Gray, a partner in the energy transactions practice at Mayer Brown in Houston, used […]

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For U.S. power firms, EPA ruling barely a bump on road to natgas

For big U.S. power companies like FirstEnergy Corp, the Supreme Court’s decision knocking back landmark rules reducing air pollutants from coal-fired plants has arrived too late for them to turn away from a natural gas-fueled future. Big coal-fired generators said on Monday that they would press ahead with facility upgrades and plant closures even after the court invalidated one of President Barack Obama’s major environmental initiatives, which would set new limits on the amount of mercury and other hazardous pollutants. In a 5-4 decision, the court found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should have considered the compliance cost of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule. The EPA has estimated it would cost the power industry $9.6 billion a year to comply with the rule. While the prospect of a suspension in the rule – and increased demand for coal – cheered some investors on Monday, […]

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Tire-integrated triboelectric generator harvests electricity from rolling tire friction; est. up to +10% fuel econ

« 4 more cities sign Global Clean Bus Declaration raising total to >40K ultra-low emission buses by 2020; London to trial BYD electric double-decker | Main A group of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and a collaborator from China have developed a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that harvests energy from a car’s rolling tire friction. An innovative method of reusing energy, the nanogenerator ultimately could provide automobile manufacturers a new way to squeeze greater efficiency out of their vehicles. The TENG is a novel energy harvesting device to convert mechanical energy into electricity based on the universally known triboelectric principle—i.e., the generation of an electric charge resulting from the contact or rubbing together of two dissimilar objects. Specifically, the nanogenerator relies on the triboelectric effect to harness energy from the changing electric potential between the pavement and a vehicle’s wheels. The researchers reported their development in a paper in the journal […]

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Burket-Geneseo Shale: The Next Super Giant?

Located above the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian Basin, the Burket-Geneseo Shale “could be the next super giant field,” but the play is still well in its infancy and the current Marcellus development could jeopardize the ability of operators going back in down the road to pull those additional reserves, according to Gregory Wrightstone of Wrightstone Energy Consulting. Speaking before a crowd at DUG East in Pittsburgh, PA, on Thursday, Wrightstone said the Burket-Geneseo, which could be classified as a super giant field — 30 Tcf or greater — is often overlooked and overshadowed by the Marcellus. The Burket refers to most of Pennsylvania and the West Virginia portions, while the Geneseo is considered to cover northeast Pennsylvania and southern New York. It lies just above the Marcellus, from less than 100 feet of separation in West Virginia to more than 800 feet in northeastern Pennsylvania. It is the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Total Workers Call for Wider French Strike After Refinery Halted

A labor union representing Total SA workers has called for a France-wide strike July 2 at refineries, oil depots and crude import terminals to protest a plan to stop processing the fuel at the La Mede plant in southern France. The La Mede refinery near Marseille has been idled since June 11 due to a strike by about 15 workers led by the CGT union, which called for the additional disruptions Thursday, according to a spokesman for Total. Talks with all unions on the plan for the site continue, he said. In calling for a wider strike, the CGT wants to protest the planned “death” of crude refining at La Mede, it said in a statement Monday. The union also called for blockades of Total service stations around the country every Thursday during the summer months. Total plans to convert the unprofitable plant to produce biofuels as well as […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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With Loan Deadline Looming, Europe Offers Greece a Last-Minute Deal

BRUSSELS — Seeking to calm a whirlwind of uncertainty that has battered global markets, opened deep fissures in European unity and threatened to push Greece out of the eurozone, European leaders insisted on Monday that a deal was still possible to settle Greece ’s spiraling debt crisis . But they gave no indication that this could happen before Athens runs out of cash to pay loans due on Tuesday. With only a day left before Greece’s current bailout package expires and the deadline arrives for a loan repayment of about $1.8 billion, alarm that it might miss the payment and eventually crash out of the group of 19 countries that use the euro prompted a flurry of statements from Brussels and major European leaders. They mixed reassurance and rebukes directed at Greece’s left-wing government with grave warnings that Europe’s future was at stake. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Europe’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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No vote means isolation, Europe warns Greeks

Newspaper + Premium online Premium online Full FT.com subscription Standard online Full news & archive Registration 3 articles per month Price Monthly Annual £76.00 £13.50 per week (52 weeks in total) £42.00 £7.35 per week (52 weeks in total) £30.00 £5.35 per week (52 weeks in total) Free FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs FT Alphaville and more Unlimited access to Alphaville, the FT’s popular finance blog, plus many other FT blogs featuring comment and analysis from top columnists Gavyn Davies on macroeconomics, economic policy making & financial markets The Westminster blog covering the UK’s political scene Dispatches from FT experts in San Francisco, London & Taipei on Tech blog The World blog on international affairs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access Unlimited FT.com article access Enjoy full access to FT.com’s award-winning news, comment and analysis. With over 500 journalists reporting from over 50 countries, read our […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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European Leaders Insist Greek Deal Is Still Possible

BRUSSELS — Seeking to calm a whirlwind of uncertainty that has battered global markets, opened deep fissures in European unity and threatened to push Greece out of the eurozone, European leaders insisted on Monday that a deal was still possible to settle Greece’s spiraling debt crisis . But they gave no indication that this could happen before Athens runs out of cash to pay loans due on Tuesday. With only a day left before its current bailout package expires and the deadline arrives for a loan repayment of about $1.8 billion, alarm that Greece might miss the payment and eventually crash out of the group of 19 countries that use the euro prompted a flurry of statements from Brussels and major European leaders. They mixed reassurance and rebukes directed at Greece’s left-wing government with grave warnings that Europe’s future was at stake. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Europe’s dominant […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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UK fracking boom hits northern setback

Newspaper + Premium online Premium online Full FT.com subscription Standard online Full news & archive Registration 3 articles per month Price Monthly Annual £76.00 £13.50 per week (52 weeks in total) £42.00 £7.35 per week (52 weeks in total) £30.00 £5.35 per week (52 weeks in total) Free FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs FT Alphaville and more Unlimited access to Alphaville, the FT’s popular finance blog, plus many other FT blogs featuring comment and analysis from top columnists Gavyn Davies on macroeconomics, economic policy making & financial markets The Westminster blog covering the UK’s political scene Dispatches from FT experts in San Francisco, London & Taipei on Tech blog The World blog on international affairs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access Unlimited FT.com article access Enjoy full access to FT.com’s award-winning news, comment and analysis. With over 500 journalists reporting from over 50 countries, read our […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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4 more cities sign Global Clean Bus Declaration raising total to >40K ultra-low emission buses by 2020; London to trial BYD electric double-decker

« Wireless charging company Evatran gains $1.6M strategic investment from China Tier 1 supplier | Main | Tire-integrated triboelectric generator harvests electricity from rolling tire friction; est. up to +10% fuel econ » Four additional cities—Amsterdam, Lima, Catalonia (Barcelona) and Rome— signed up to the Global Clean Bus Declaration at the 1 st global Clean Bus Summit in London. The Global Clean Bus Declaration , developed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson in partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group , launched in Buenos Aires in March 2015 with 20 original signatories. Bus manufacturers including BYD, Volvo, Wright Bus, Optare, Mercedes, Evo Bus, and Alexander Dennis attended the London summit and committed to supporting cities in delivering fleets of new ultra-low emission buses. The World Bank and Green Investment Bank have also signed up to this commitment. Cities of the Low Emission Vehicles Network collectively forged an […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Greek worries push oil below $62 to three-week low

LONDON Oil fell more than $1 to below $62 per barrel on Monday, its lowest in three weeks, as Greece shut its banks and imposed capital controls, causing investors to flee from riskier assets and darkening the demand outlook. The European Central Bank froze funding support to Greece’s banks after bailout talks between the government and foreign creditors broke down at the weekend, leaving Athens with little choice but to shut the system to keep lenders from collapsing. Brent crude LCOc1 was down $1.36 at $61.90 a barrel by 0828 GMT. It fell to its lowest since June 5. U.S. crude CLc1 was down $1.25 at $58.38 a barrel, its lowest since June 9. Further weakness is likely as the situation in Greece will not be resolved until a referendum at the weekend on whether to accept conditions for a bailout, analysts said. "This may be the time when […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil-Market Bettors Take Money Off Table

The coming summer driving season could raise demand for oil. Oil traders have been running for the exits. Money managers moved out of bets on U.S. crude prices over the past two months as the volatility in the commodity’s price has plummeted. That has taken some of the wind out of a six-month spell that started during last year’s oil-price slide. Oil’s skyrocketing volatility roiled markets around the globe and investors jumped into bets to try to take advantage of the sharp moves. Now, oil has steadied at about $60 a barrel. Traders are debating what the next move will be as they await clearer signs on how often drivers are going to hit the road and whether producers are able to keep flooding the market with supply. The Greek debt crisis and the threat of rising interest rates also loom large, adding uncertainty to the global economy that […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Speculators Least Bullish in 10 Weeks as Iran Talks Resume

Hedge funds are the least bullish on crude in 10 weeks as talks resumed on a nuclear accord with Iran that could lift sanctions and swell supply. Money managers trimmed their net-long wagers on West Texas Intermediate by 1.3 percent in the week ended June 23, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Shorts rose 8.9 percent while long positions increased 0.7 percent. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met June 27 in Vienna. Iran says it could double oil exports from 1 million barrels a day within six months if sanctions are lifted. An agreement would come as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumps the most in almost three years and U.S. production approaches a record. “Any agreement is going to have some easing of sanctions, allowing the immediate sale of some level of crude into a market that’s already […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple