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Russian gas giant Gazprom extends reach

Russian energy company Gazprom extending global reach with a flurry of proposals brokered from St. Petersburg. Photo courtesy of Gazprom ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 19 (UPI) — Russian energy company Gazprom during an investment forum in St. Petersburg has moved to strengthen its global hand with a new deck of proposals. Gazprom this week already signed memoranda with its partners in the twin Nord Stream pipeline to Germany to potentially add two new lines to the route. The first leg of Nord Stream went into service in 2011. A year later, British energy company BP said it was considering linking the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline to British ports. Nord Stream runs through the Black Sea to Germany and is among Gazprom’s routes that avoids geopolitically sensitive territory in Ukraine. Russia meets about 20 percent of the European demand for natural gas, though more than half of those reserves […]

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Putin Takes Credit for Dodging ‘Deep Crisis’ as Slump Deepens

President Vladimir Putin gave himself credit for avoiding the “deep crisis” that faced Russia last year as tumbling oil prices combined with sanctions over Ukraine to push the economy into decline. “It hasn’t happened,” Putin said Friday in his annual address to investors at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, his premiere business event of the year. “We stabilized the situation.” Putin, 62, is facing the biggest challenge of his rule as he juggles the fallout of a pro-Russian rebellion in Ukraine with the country’s first recession in six years. The Kremlin said yesterday experts will study a proposal by a close ally to move up presidential elections now slated for March 2018, a move that could extend Putin’s 15-year rule while his approval rating continues to hover above 80 percent. The economic woes are being exacerbated by the continued conflict in Ukraine, which has provoked the worst confrontation […]

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ECB boosts emergency funding as Greek banks bleed, Tsipras calm

ATHENS/LUXEMBOURG The European Central Bank expanded emergency funding to keep Greece’s stricken banks on their feet as a steady flow of withdrawals continued on Friday ahead of a summit next week that could decide whether the country can stay in the euro. With pressure on Greece’s fragile banking system growing daily, the ECB held a teleconference and raised the cap on so-called emergency liquidity assistance, which the banks rely on to keep operating, by 1.8 billion euros, Greek officials said. That should be enough to keep the system running until euro zone leaders meet on Monday night in a last-ditch effort to reach an aid-for-reforms deal with Athens. As the country edged closer to a possible default at the end of the month, leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras assured Greeks that prophets of "crisis and terror" would be confounded, and his government would strike a deal with European Union […]

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Greece, Russia Strike Preliminary Gas Pipeline Deal

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—Greece and Russia signed a preliminary agreement Friday for cooperation on a pipeline that will bring Russian gas to Europe through Greece and Turkey. The agreement, which isn’t legally binding, was signed by the Greek and Russian Energy Ministers, respectively Panagiotis Lafazanis and Alexander Novak, on the sidelines of an economic forum. It comes amid last-ditch efforts to prevent further economic collapse in Greece and the country’s possible exit from the eurozone as Athens and its international creditors are yet to agree on the terms of a new financial bailout before Greece has to make multibillion-dollar debt repayments later this month. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is scheduled to meet with the Russian President Vladimir Putin later Friday. After a meeting between the two leaders last month, Mr. Putin, said that Russia was ready to consider financial help to Greece in exchange for Greece’s agreement to sign […]

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Greece and Its Creditors Pummel Each Other, but Fight Is Not Over Yet

Like prizefighters, the two sides of the negotiations over the Greek bailout have been circling each other, throwing punch after punch. On Friday, Greece ’s prime minister, Alexis Tsipras , headed to Russia and suggested he was looking for “safe harbors,” while the day before officials at the European Central Bank sent gasps through Athens by declaring that Greek banks might not open on Monday. It is a mesmerizing slugfest, if only because it is so out of step with the way things are usually done in the pastel corridors of the European Union headquarters in Brussels, where agreements are hashed out behind closed doors and all parties emerge with smiles and set scripts. Perhaps as never before, Europe — and indeed the world — are witnessing a messy public negotiation, where each side seems willing to predict the end of civilization as we know it unless the other […]

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Oil little changed, held down by demand outlook, shale output forecast

SEOUL Oil prices were little changed in thin trade on Friday, with a forecast of higher output by U.S. shale oil producers this year adding to worries over demand and preventing the market from extending the previous session’s gains. U.S. July crude CLc1 had lost 14 cents to $60.31 a barrel as of 0256 ET after closing up 53 cents on Thursday. Brent crude LCOc1 for August gained 3 cents to $64.29 after settling up 39 cents. "Without much change in fundamentals as well as changes to dollar strength, crude oil prices continue to move sideways. We believe that this would likely continue for today as we do not expect much change," Daniel Ang at Phillip Futures said. He added that oil prices were showing little sign of moving far from $60 and $64 for WTI and Brent respectively. U.S. shale oil producers have projected a rise in output […]

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Oil Markets Higher on Weaker Dollar

Oil prices made small gains Thursday on the back of a weaker dollar and data that suggests a decrease in crude at a key U.S. storage hub. Light, sweet crude for July delivery, the U.S. benchmark, gained 53 cents, or 0.9%, to $60.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The global Brent contract for August ended up 39 cents, or 0.6%, at $64.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. In another sign of the market’s weakening volatility, this was the first four-session stretch since October that front-month U.S. prices have moved less than 1% a day. “The market really seems centered around $60,” said Kyle Cooper, managing director of research at IAF Advisors, a Houston consulting firm. Analysts have increasingly pointed to oil finding its new balance around this price after a tumble that has dropped it more than 40% from last year’s highs. Rampant […]

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Oil up third day on dollar slump, U.S. crude draw data

NEW YORK Oil prices settled up for a third straight day on Thursday, boosted by a slipping dollar and reports that data showed a draw in crude this week at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. crude futures. The dollar fell to a one-month low against a basket of currencies .DXY after the Federal Reserve disappointed investors anxious for a clearer signal on a U.S. rate hike. The euro also got a boost from hopes for a positive end to the Greek fiscal crisis. [FRX/] Market intelligence firm Genscape reported a draw of about 870,000 barrels of crude at Cushing in the week to Tuesday, according to market sources who saw the data. Between Friday and Tuesday alone, some 1.2 million barrels were drawn. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) also cited the first weekly build in Cushing inventories since mid-April. Oil still ended off the […]

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ISIS-Imposed Fuel Embargo Threatens Syria’s Medical Centers

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Islamic State fighters are preventing fuel shipments from reaching rebel-held parts of northern Syria , causing severe shortages that are paralyzing ambulances, stopping medical centers from providing care and shutting down bakeries, according to antigovernment activists and aid workers. Adding to the misery, international aid groups said, the forces of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, are targeting medical centers in opposition areas, killing some workers and forcing facilities to shut down. The fuel shortages highlight how more than four years of war in Syria have ravaged the economy and allowed the warring parties to use the country’s scarce resources as a vise to squeeze their enemies. Since the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, seized oil-rich regions in Syria’s north and east, it has used their output to finance its efforts to build an Islamic emirate that straddles the Syria-Iraq border. Traders from elsewhere in […]

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Iran Holds Out Improved Oil-Contract Terms

TEHRAN—Iran is prepared to offer longer term and more profitable contracts to international oil and gas firms but expects substantive partnerships with Iranian companies, said oil ministry officials, signaling how the cloistered country will try to entice billions of dollars in energy investments following any nuclear deal. The new contract model, which Iran has discussed with foreign companies but not yet released in its entirety, would pay companies more for boosting production, last longer and encourage joint ventures from the earliest stages of field development, said Ali Kardor, the vice president for investment and finance at the National Iranian Oil Co. The companies will also be expected to share more technology and management expertise with their Iranian partners. “They will have the incentive to produce more, and to transfer the technology,” Mr. Kardor said. Attention has focused on Iran’s oil and gas reserves, the fourth largest and biggest in […]

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Currency volatility reflects Iraq economic woes

Money changers count wads of Iraqi dinars in Baghdad on Oct. 1, 2012. (SAAD SHALASH/Reuters) Money changers count wads of Iraqi dinars in Baghdad on Oct. 1, 2012. (SAAD SHALASH/Reuters) The value of Iraq’s currency is falling – a new symptom of the ongoing financial crisis that the government is struggling to contain.Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday called a meeting of his economic crisis team in the Cabinet to emphasize the importance of protecting the value of the Iraqi dinar."The Prime Minister stressed the need for follow-up and addressing any emerging issues, particularly maintaining the value of the dinar against the dollar in the domestic market," Ab… 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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Seeds of destruction: Yemen civil war ripping society apart

ADEN, Yemen — The crows and their haunting screams are pervasive. They scavenge through mountains of rubbish lining the streets and tear at rotting bodies lying in the no man’s land separating the two warring sides in a conflict that has decimated this once bustling seaport. Yemen’s southern port city of Aden was, until recently, a popular if slightly dilapidated holiday retreat for throngs of Yemenis. Amid rising tension on March 19, Houthi militiamen, along with renegade military units loyal to the country’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, launched an assault in the city that quickly escalated into civil war. The widespread destruction caused by months of relentless fighting has torn the heart out of Aden, including the historic old town known as Crater that nestles in the dramatic backdrop of a dormant volcano. The most densely populated area of Aden is now ghostly quiet, save for the crows […]

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Saudi Oil Minister to Meet Russia Counterpart as Pact Discussed

Saudi Arabia’s oil minister will meet his Russian counterpart in St. Petersburg to discuss energy, after which the world’s two biggest crude exporters plan on signing a cooperation pact. The countries will sign an agreement after talks Thursday between Saudi Arabia’s Ali Al-Naimi and Alexander Novak, the Russian minister said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He didn’t discuss the meeting’s agenda, which he said would focus on increasing energy cooperation. The pact won’t involve a joint oil production or export strategy, Reuters reported, citing a person it didn’t identify. Saudi Arabia is leading the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in a strategy of maintaining oil production levels at a time when the global crude market is in surplus, insisting suppliers outside the 12-nation group must help tackle the excess. Novak said as recently as June 3 that cutting crude production would hurt the oil market. The two […]

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Saudi April Crude Exports Drop as More Supply Used Locally

Saudi Arabia reduced crude oil exports in April as the world’s biggest producer used record supplies domestically for a burgeoning refining industry. Shipments fell to 7.74 million barrels a day from 7.9 million in March, the Riyadh-based Joint Organisations Data Initiative said on its website Thursday. The nation processed 2.22 million barrels a day in domestic refineries in April, the most since at least January 2002 when JODI started collecting statistics from governments. Saudi Arabia began operating a 400,000 barrel-a-day refinery at Yanbu on the Red Sea last year. Another plant with the same capacity is scheduled to begin operation in 2017 at Jazan in the country’s southwest. The kingdom’s oil-product exports rose 44 percent last year following the startup of a refinery in the Gulf port of Jubail, according to JODI data. “Saudi needs more crude to stay at home,” Kamel al-Harami, an independent oil analyst in Kuwait, […]

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Russia, Saudi Arabia to discuss broad oil cooperation agreement

ST PETERSBURG, Russia The oil ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia plan to discuss a broad cooperation agreement on Thursday at an economic forum in St Petersburg, two sources told Reuters. Saudi Arabia is the top producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the world’s top oil exporter, while Russia, which is not an OPEC member, is the second biggest oil supplier to the global markets. One source said the agreement to be discussed between Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi would not be about joint oil production or export strategy. Russia has stepped up contacts with OPEC after oil prices plunged last year, but it has dismissed any suggestion it might cut output to prop up prices. OPEC has also refused to curb its output in order to defend market share. A spokeswoman for Russia’s Energy Ministry confirmed the meeting […]

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Nigeria’s Central Bank Said to Call Meeting Friday on FX Rules

Nigeria’s central bank will meet with banking executives and currency dealers on Friday and will probably discuss foreign-exchange trading restrictions, people familiar with the matter said. While the agenda hasn’t been disclosed, officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria may consult about easing currency trading rules, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the meeting is private. Traders and bankers have called for a loosening of controls enforced by central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele to protect the currency of Africa’s biggest oil producer against a 40 percent slump in Brent crude prices in the past year. The naira has weakened 18 percent against the dollar in that period. Central bank spokesmen Ibrahim Mu’azu and Ugochukwu Okoroafor couldn’t immediately confirm whether a meeting is taking place when contacted by phone on Thursday.

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Nigeria Loses $11.5bn to Tumbling Oil Prices

The federal government and the oil and gas producing companies may have lost an estimated $11.5billion to the drop in the price of Brent crude oil from $115 per barrel in June to $68.62 yesterday, THISDAY has learnt. With Nigeria producing about 2.4 million barrels per day and exporting 2.2 million barrels per day, the country may have lost as much as $11.5 billion between June and November this year, forcing the federal government to introduce a raft of measures to shore up its revenue in the face of dwindling earning from crude oil, its main revenue source. The situation may even become more dire should the slide persist. When THISDAY called the Minister of Finance and coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala late last night for confirmation of the amount lost so far, she said: “It is not a straight forward arithmetical issue. It is pretty late […]

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Refining Magnate O’Malley’s PBF Soars on Exxon-PDVSA Deal

PBF Energy Inc. surged a record 14 percent after agreeing to buy a Louisiana crude refinery jointly owned by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Venezuela’s state-controlled oil company. The transaction, valued at $322 million, will increase PBF’s refining capacity by more than one-third and marks the Parsippany, New Jersey-based company’s first foray into the Gulf Coast, the biggest U.S. crude-processing region. It “represents a significant step in the strategic growth of PBF,” Chief Executive Officer Thomas Nimbley said in a statement on Thursday. Executive Chairman Thomas O’Malley, a former oil trader, has spent the last quarter century amassing refining assets and selling them at a premium to bigger operators. Today’s purchase involves a 189,000 barrels-a-day refining and chemicals plant in the New Orleans suburb of Chalmette, as well as a patchwork of related pipelines and storage facilities. PBF climbed to $29.97 at the close in New York in the biggest […]

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Venezuela Oil Loans Go Awry for China

HONG KONG—As Venezuela’s economy totters thanks to low oil prices and years of mismanagement, a Chinese government-owned bank is badly on the hook. China Development Bank has lent nearly $37 billion to Venezuela since 2008, helping to prop up the regime of Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, while becoming one of the Latin American nation’s biggest creditors. Venezuela says China has pledged billions more. CDB’s plan was simple. In return for its largess, Venezuela would send China millions of barrels of crude each year. Since the middle part of the last decade, the bank has doled out tens of billions in similar loans to energy companies and governments in other oil-producing countries to help secure resources for China’s expanding economy. In Venezuela, the strategy has gone awry. In recent months, CDB has extended loan maturities and eased repayment terms, allowing the country to send it less oil […]

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Foreign Groups Fear China Oversight Plan

Photo A Greenpeace investigator taking a wastewater sample in China’s Inner Mongolia region in 2013. Legislation would require foreign groups to be supervised. Credit Qiu Bo/Greenpeace, via Reuters BEIJING — A remarkable assortment of foreign organizations set up shop in China in the decades after its emergence from isolation under Mao Zedong, offering good will, money and expertise that helped link the nation more closely to the rest of the world and turn it into the global powerhouse it is today. But sweeping new legislation introduced by the government of President Xi Jinping is forcing many of these groups — including international trade associations and philanthropic foundations — to consider scaling back their activities in China or pulling out of the country entirely. The proposed law, which began circulating in draft form last month and is expected to be enacted later this year, would put foreign nonprofit and nongovernmental […]

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China’s natural gas demand sputters

For global natural gas producers, no country is as important to their future as China. An expected surge in demand over the coming two decades from China is underpinning billions of dollars of investment in new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants around the world, pipeline projects from its neighbours and unconventional gasfields at home. But demand has slowed markedly over the past 18 months casting doubt over the pace of future growth. After years of double-digit expansion, the pace of China’s gas demand growth slowed to 8.6% in 2014. And that slow growth has continued into this year. Year-on-year growth was just 7% over the first three months of this year and demand actually fell by 6% in April. The sharp slowdown has defied expectations of robust natural gas demand growth. 4 Comments on "China’s natural gas demand sputters" GregT on Thu, 18th Jun 2015 8:23 pm Why even […]

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EPA defends controversial biofuels program at Senate hearing

WASHINGTON The U.S. environmental regulator on Thursday defended its handling of the nation’s controversial renewable fuels program at a congressional hearing, the first since its new biofuels targets last month provoked a furor among corn farmers and oil refiners. At the hearing by the Senate subcommittee on regulatory affairs and federal management, U.S. lawmakers criticized the agency for years-long delays to quotas and for last month setting unattainable targets for the amount of corn-based ethanol and other biofuels that must be used in the nation’s motor fuel supply over the next two years. They also questioned the future of the decade-old Renewable Fuels Standards (RFS), which critics say has inflated prices of food and fuel at the pump. The panel will likely increase congressional attention to the pitfalls of the decade-old biofuels policy as it faces a fresh wave of criticism from policymakers, the oil industry and environmentalists. But […]

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Small U.S. frackers face extinction amid drilling drought

WEATHERFORD, Texas Oil field work was coming in fast when GoFrac doubled its workforce and equipment fleet at the beginning of last year, just one of hundreds of small oil service companies thriving on the revival of U.S. drilling. Founded in November 2011 with a loan of around $35 million, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company was by 2014 making nearly that much in monthly revenues, providing the crews and machinery needed by companies including ExxonMobil ( XOM.N ) to frack oil and gas wells from North Dakota to Texas. Executives flew to meetings across the country in a Falcon 50 private jet, and entertained customers at their suite at the Texas Rangers baseball stadium in Arlington. The firm would soon move into a 22,000-square-foot office on the 12th floor of Burnett Plaza, one of Fort Worth’s most prestigious office buildings. Eighteen months on, however, without work and unable to […]

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U.S. shale oil in slow decline

Oil production from shale formations in the United States slowing, but not as much as would be expected given low rig numbers, Bentek data show. Photo by photostock77/Shutterstock DENVER, June 18 (UPI) — While oil production from key shale formations in the United States is in decline, the drop isn’t as severe as expected given low rig counts, analysis finds. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a drilling productivity report oil production from some of the more lucrative shale basins in the United States is expected to drop by a combined 92,000 barrels per day by July. While the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas is expected to show the largest drop in terms of volume, the Niobrara shale in Colorado declines the most in terms of percent by July, federal data show . Bentek Energy, the forecasting unit of energy news site Platts, said production from Eagle […]

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Turning Drilling Waste into Roads

ND Tests New Technologies to Recycle Waste The North Dakota Department of Health has approved a pilot project to test new technologies to recycle solid drilling waste. One of the companies involved in the project is promising to revolutionize the industry by recycling Bakken drilling waste into material for roads or other uses. Nuverra has invested more than three years and $30 million into this initiative. Its process called Terrafficient can recycle 100 percent of that waste, according to company spokesperson. Recycling drilling waste is a common practice in other states, but the Bakken’s high salt content has made it more challenging to develop a process that protects the environment. Related: Recycling Waste Water is Big Business Scott Radig with the North Dakota Department of Health said “Nuverra proposes to reuse the drilling waste in three ways: mix it with gravel so the gravel will compact better and not […]

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Oilfield costs fall following decline in oil prices

U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Source: Industry Producer Price Indexes As oil prices declined—falling more than 50% from June 2014 to January 2015, before increasing slightly in spring 2015—energy production companies focused efforts on increasing operating efficiencies. While production, rig counts , and employment statistics are good indicators of the expansion or contraction of the oil and natural gas industry, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index (PPI) tracks the rates oil and natural gas service firms are receiving for goods and services used in producing oil and natural gas. Changes in the PPI can be used to examine how prices charged by firms throughout the oil and natural gas industry respond to fluctuations in commodity prices. The magnitude of PPI declines by industrial classification compared with the downturn in oil prices reflects the idea that firms most directly exposed to […]

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Oil-Sands Megaproject Era Wanes as Suncor to Imperial Scale Down

(Bloomberg) — The era of the megaproject in Canada’s oil sands is fading. Crude’s price slump, pressure to get off fossil fuels and tax increases in Alberta are adding to high costs and a lack of pipelines, prompting producers from Suncor Energy Inc. to Imperial Oil Ltd. to accelerate a shift to smaller projects. Companies are deferring new mines in favor of cheaper, bite-sized drilling programs that deliver quicker returns and require less labor. The moves will help reduce cost overruns and make Canadian companies more competitive with U.S. shale producers. The trade off will be reduced production growth and a smaller economic boost for the country’s oil patch. “Capital likes certainty and it’s a bit of an uncertain world at the moment,” Steve Williams, Suncor’s chief executive officer, said June 10 in an interview at Bloomberg’s Calgary office. With crude about 46 percent below last year’s level, companies […]

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Obama Administration to Propose New Standards for Big Trucks

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration is set to propose Friday new standards for big trucks aimed at lowering fuel costs and cutting carbon emissions as part of President Barack Obama’s broad climate-change agenda. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department will announce a suite of draft standards for big trucks, including garbage trucks, 18-wheelers and heavy-duty pickup trucks, according to a person familiar with the proposal. The standards will apply to big trucks built after 2018 and are a follow-up to the first-ever federal standards for big trucks that the Obama administration announced in 2011 that apply to models built between 2014 and 2018. The standards will also, for the first time ever, regulate trailers that are part of 18-wheelers and other big hauling trucks and issue tougher limits on the part of the truck hauling the trailer, called the tractor, according to multiple industry officials. The draft standards, […]

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Status on the Bakken ”Red Queen”

This post presents a study of developments of Light Tight Oil (LTO, shale oil) extraction for 8 companies in Bakken(ND) that as of April 2015 had added around 600 (or more) producing wells in the Bakken/Three Forks formations since January 2008. The 8 companies are; Continental Resources, EOG Resources, Hess Bakken Investments, Marathon Oil Company, Oasis Petroleum, Statoil Oil & Gas, Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation and XTO Energy . These 8 companies had around 63% of total LTO extraction from Bakken as of April 2015. The decline in the oil price has so far reduced the number of rigs drilling in Bakken and a decline in total Light LTO extraction in Bakken. This study shows there are differences in responses amongst the studied companies to the oil price decline. As with most other things, size matters, also in Bakken. Data from the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) shows […]

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Merkel says deal with Greece still possible if Athens musters will

BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that it is still possible for Greece to reach an agreement with its international creditors – the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank. In a speech in parliament, Merkel also said Germany’s efforts are focused on keeping Greece in the euro zone. Merkel, who was interrupted by hecklers from opposition parties, added that Greece must decisively implement reforms. "I’m still convinced: Where there’s a will, there’s a way," she said. "If those in charge in Greece can muster the will, an agreement with the three institutions is still possible." (Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum and Michael Nienaber; Editing by Paul Carrel )

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Two Billion People Are Running out of Water

Forget about peak oil—we should be worrying about peak water: Groundwater basins that supply 2 billion people are being rapidly depleted , according to a new study. Worse: No one knows how long those reserves will last. A research team led by scientists at the University of California, Irvine, examined the world’s 37 largest aquifers between 2003 and 2013 and found that one-third of them were “stressed,” meaning more water was being removed than replenished, according to one of two studies published Tuesday in the journal Water Resources Research . The eight worst-off aquifers, labeled “overstressed,” had virtually no natural replenishment to offset human consumption. The scientists determined the Northwest Sahara Aquifer System, which supplies water to 60 million people, to be the most overstressed. The Indus Basin aquifer of northwestern India and Pakistan is the second-most overstressed, followed by the Murzuk-Djado Basin in northern Africa. California’s Central Valley […]

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OMV, Gazprom mull pipeline expansions

Austrian energy company OMV reviews options to add new lines to existing Nord Stream gas pipeline with Russia’s Gazprom. Photo by Kodda/Shutterstock ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 18 (UPI) — Adding two new lines to the twin Nord Stream natural gas pipeline sending Russian gas to the European market is under consideration, Austrian company OMV said. Lead officials with OMV visited in St. Petersburg with Alexei Miller , the chairman of Russian energy company Gazprom, for a working meeting . Both sides signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of oil and gas fields in Russia. "The memorandum also sets forth the intentions of the parties to examine a possible cooperation in the project of construction of two lines in addition to the already existing Nord Stream pipeline," the Austrian company said in a statement. OMV is a partner in Gazprom’s twin Nord Stream pipeline running through the Baltic […]

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Wales opens mega offshore wind farm

Welsh first minister on hand for inauguration of offshore wind farm, which German energy company RWE says will put it in a leadership position in the offshore market. Photo courtesy of RWE. CARDIFF, Wales, June 18 (UPI) — With Wednesday’s inauguration of a Welsh wind farm, German energy company RWE said it’s positioned to be one of the largest wind energy providers in the world. Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones was on hand for the inauguration of the Gwynt y Mor wind farm, the second largest installation of its kinds with 160 turbines. "Local companies have been among those to benefit during construction and the site will bring high quality employment and opportunities for years to come," he said in a statement. The wind farm will have a peak operational capacity of 576 megawatts, which RWE says will be enough to meet the energy demands of about 30 percent […]

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London to end subsidies for onshore wind

British government proposes end to public subsidies for onshore wind, but Scotland, which hosts most of the regional onshore wind farms, says the move is regrettable. File Photo by UPI/Pat Benic LONDON, June 18 (UPI) — Scotland said an end to subsidies for onshore wind farms will tack on extra costs, though the British government said it’s the best deal for consumers. London announced plans to end public subsidies for new onshore wind farms starting in April 2016. Last year, the $1.2 billion in government support helped onshore wind power generate 5 percent of total British electricity and bring the region closer to its climate change goals, the British government said. "We are driving forward our commitment to end new onshore wind subsidies and give local communities the final say over any new wind farms," Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd said in a statement. "Onshore wind is […]

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Greece to Sign Russian Gas Pipeline Deal

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. ST PETERSBURG, Russia—Greece is expecting to sign a preliminary agreement for the country’s participation in Russia’s planned extension of a gas pipeline through Greek territory, Greek energy ministry officials said Thursday. Meanwhile, Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom OGZPY 0.18 % said it had reached a preliminary deal with three European energy companies to double the capacity of a gas pipeline that takes Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The potential Greek-Russian agreement, which wouldn’t be legally binding, is expected to be signed Friday during Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ visit to an economic conference in St. Petersburg. Mr. Tsipras is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday on the sidelines of the forum. The agreement on the so-called ’Turkish Stream’ gas pipeline, which would bring Russian gas to Europe through Greece and Turkey, […]

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In Eurozone, Growing Support for a Greek Exit

Of the countless writs and regulations that govern Europe’s currency club, one golden rule trumps them all: Membership is conditional. After joining the euro in 2001 and through the bailouts of the last five years, Greece has been told the same thing. To belong, it must satisfy the strict economic standards that underpin this community of 19 disparate nations. Now, as yet another Greek government resists the rule makers, the view is taking hold in Europe that its ambitious currency project would be better served if Greece just left. At its root, the euro project is an enterprise that succeeds only if its members follow the rules. Such a dire outcome is not assured, of course. Greece and its creditors could strike a deal, unlocking fresh aid and avoiding a default. Greek government officials said debt talks with creditors would continue through the weekend. And there is a chance […]

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Exclusive: Gazprom building global alliance with expanded Shell

ST PETERSBURG, Russia Gazprom is building a global strategic alliance with energy major Royal Dutch Shell that will include asset swaps and allow the Russian gas giant to penetrate new markets, its chief executive told Reuters. Gazprom, the world’s top gas producer, said on Thursday that Shell and its long-time gas buyers in Europe – Germany’s E.ON and Austria’s OMV – had agreed to build two new Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic sea to Germany. In a rare interview, chief executive Alexei Miller said the agreement with Shell also foresaw an expansion of the firms’ joint $20 billion liquefied natural gas plant on the eastern island of Sakhalin as well as global upstream asset swaps. "Documents of such significance are signed only once every five years or maybe even 10," Miller said on the sidelines of Russia’s top forum for investors in Saint Petersburg. The deal with […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pope Francis, in Sweeping Encyclical, Calls for Swift Action on Climate Change

Photo Pope Francis was greeted by crowds at St. Peter’s Square this week. Credit Filippo Monteforte/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Thursday called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change , as his much-awaited papal encyclical blended a biting critique of consumerism and irresponsible development with a plea for swift and unified global action. The vision that Francis outlined in the 184-page encyclical is sweeping in ambition and scope: He described a relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment, for which he blamed apathy, the reckless pursuit of profits, excessive faith in technology and political shortsightedness. The most vulnerable victims are the world’s poorest people, he declared, who are being dislocated and disregarded. The first pope from the developing world, Francis, an Argentine, used the encyclical — titled “Laudato Si’,” or “Praise Be to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pope Francis Aligns Himself With Mainstream Science on Climate

Photo An Indian boy with a bag filled with recyclable material at a garbage dump in Gauhati, India. Credit Anupam Nath/Associated Press The new papal encyclical on the environment is a ringing call to action, a critique of consumerism and a prophetic warning about the dangers of ignoring what Pope Francis calls “the ecological crisis.” But amid all his soaring rhetoric, did the pope get the science right? The short answer from climate and environmental scientists is that he did, at least to the degree possible in a religious document meant for a broad audience. If anything, they say, he may have bent over backward to offer a cautious interpretation of the scientific facts. For example, a substantial body of published science says that human emissions have caused all the global warming that has occurred over the past century. Yet in his letter, Francis does not go quite that […]

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A child born today may live to see humanity’s end, unless…

Tags: carbon | climate change | geoengineering | global warming A couple hugs while standing on a hilly area overlooking Cairo on a dusty and hazy day where temperatures reached 114 Fahrenheit, May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih Humans will be extinct in 100 years because the planet will be uninhabitable, according to Australian microbiologist Frank Fenner, one of the leaders of the effort to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s. He blames overcrowding, denuded resources and climate change. Fenner’s prediction is not a sure bet, but he is correct that there is no way emissions reductions will be enough to save us from our trend toward doom. And there doesn’t seem to be any big global rush to reduce emissions, anyway. When the G7 called on Monday for all countries to reduce carbon emissions to zero in the next 85 years, the scientific reaction was unanimous: That’s far too late. […]

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Day Of Reckoning For Fossil Fuel Industry

The fossil fuel industry is facing its day of reckoning – and not just because one of the world’s most prominent religious leaders, Pope Francis, is calling for action . In fact, the industry’s moment of crisis has been in the making for years, as a variety of trends – from rising production costs to cheaper renewable energy and expanding carbon-reducing rules – have taken stronger hold. Today, the fossil fuel monolith is under attack from some of the same people it used to count as its closest friends – Wall Street analysts, investors and governments – because fossil fuels are no longer a safe bet. It has become impossible to ignore the systemic financial risks inherent in the production of coal, oil and other fossil fuels. Perhaps the most glaring, pressing risks are those associated with carbon reserves still in the ground. Better known as “carbon asset risks,” […]

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Dollar Holds Retreat After Fed as GDP Miss Sinks Kiwi; Oil Slips

The dollar maintained losses after the Federal Reserve signaled the pace of monetary policy tightening will be gradual. New Zealand’s currency slid on weaker-than-expected growth data, and crude oil declined. The greenback was steady at $1.1349 per euro by 8:46 a.m. in Tokyo, following a 0.8 percent drop after the Fed statement. Forward contracts on Asian emerging-market currencies advanced. The kiwi slid 1.4 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after a 0.2 percent increase in the benchmark U.S. gauge. Copper futures climbed before Chinese data on property prices. Oil in New York declined 0.3 percent. While maintaining its forecast for rates this year, the Fed tempered its projection for 2016, with Chair Janet Yellen saying it wants to see more decisive evidence of growth and that it’s likely only gradual increases in borrowing costs will be warranted. Indonesia is expected to keep rates on hold […]

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Natural Gas: A Halloween Horror Story

With prices down by almost half in the past year, it seems impolite to raise the subject of oil in Texan country clubs. But changing the subject to natural gas wouldn’t win friends, either. Amid oil’s collapse, it is easy to forget the U.S. gas market has been struggling with shale-derived excess for years. While oil has rallied 12% in 2015, front-month gas futures are down about 2%. At around $2.90 per million British thermal units, gas is well below even its pretty dismal five-year average of $3.67. Like oil, gas inventories are high. Unlike oil, it is certain these will keep climbing—they always do over the summer. The big question is by how much. The “injection” season—when excess gas output is squirreled away ahead of winter—usually stops at the end of October. Last year, 1.97 trillion cubic feet of gas entered storage between early June and the season’s […]

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Met Coal Hits Lowest Price in a Decade

Benchmark prices for the coal used in steelmaking have plunged an additional 15% from levels that had already hit a six-year low, likely heaping more pain on several miners facing a financial brink, coal industry reports show. Japanese buyers are signing contracts that pay $93 a metric ton, the lowest price since 2004 for so-called metallurgical coal, Doyle Trading Consultants LLC and IHS Inc. IHS -0.30 % ’s “Inside Coal,” a trade publication, both said on Wednesday. Japanese steelmakers and Australian suppliers agree to contracts every quarter, setting the global benchmark. Prices have fallen more than 70% from a high of $330 a metric ton just four years ago. That spike had inspired a raft of multibillion-dollar deals among miners eager to sell at record-high prices. But their new supply flooded the market just as once-rampant Chinese demand slumped, and prices went into a tailspin that has lasted longer […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple