Category:

Turkish Airstrikes Hit ISIS Targets in Syria

ISTANBUL — Turkish fighter jets struck three Islamic State targets inside Syria on Friday in a pre-emptive measure based on intelligence about a planned attack on Turkey , a senior government official said. The airstrikes came a day after Turkish forces engaged in their first direct combat with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, on the border with Syria and gave permission for American warplanes to use two air bases in the fight against the group in Syria. As well as the airstrikes, Turkey also carried out simultaneous raids across 13 provinces on Friday, resulting in the arrests of 250 people suspected to have ties with terrorist organizations. Three F-16 jets launched guided bombs against two command centers and a meeting point for Islamic State fighters across the border from Kilis, in southern Turkey, without entering Syrian airspace, according to the prime minister’s office. “We received […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

KRG to tender three new refineries

The Lanaz oil refinery on the Gwer road west or Erbil, March 31, 2015 (PATRICK OSGOOD/Iraq Oil Report) The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is hoping to attract private bids for three new refineries with a total of 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of capacity, in an attempt to bridge the gap between uneven domestic fuel supply and rising demand.In tandem with these efforts, government officials hope to reform the structure of Kurdistan’s downstream sector, aiming to wean it from expensive subsidies.If successful, the plans could help the cash-strapped KRG save hundreds of millions of dol… 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 .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Missing: 2.7 Million Barrels of Oil

Pemex has given conflicting statements about how much output was cut. In an e-mailed response to questions on July 8, Pemex reiterated its 1.5 million-barrel estimate. In a follow-up e-mail on July 10, the company said Bloomberg’s 4.2 million-barrel calculation was also “in the order of Pemex’s estimates” and didn’t provide details to explain the difference when asked in additional messages. At the heart of the confusion appears to be what, exactly, Pemex means by lost output. The production isn’t “lost,” Pemex says, just “deferred.” “It seems like Pemex is using a word game to avoid calling production lost,” said George Baker, an oil analyst and publisher of Mexico Energy Intelligence. “If production is being deferred after an accident, then that means the infrastructure isn’t in place or in good enough condition to pump the oil, so wouldn’t that be the same thing as lost production?” It’s not the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China factories falter, commodities take the hit

An employee works on a final assembly line for CRH380B, a high speed train model, at China CNR’s Tangshan Railway Vehicle’s factory in Tangshan, Hebei province, February 11, 2015. Activity in China’s factory sector seemingly contracted at the fastest pace in 15 months in July, a preliminary private survey showed on Friday in a blow undercutting recent signs of stabilization in the struggling economy. The news came as Beijing announced it would allow its yuan currency to fluctuate more widely within its trading band as a way to support the trade sector. Fears of faltering demand in the world’s largest commodity buyer piled further pressure on resource prices, sending gold to a five-year low and copper to a six-year trough. It also added to the woes of emerging market nations already struggling with the risk of a rise in U.S. interest rates later this year. The flash Caixin/Markit China […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Shell still on arctic hot seat, advocacy group says

Greenpeace activists arrested by U.S. Coast Guard officials during protest against Shell drilling plans offshore Alaska. Photo courtesy of Greenpeace. JUNEAU, Alaska, July 23 (UPI) — Legal counsel for advocacy group Oceana said that, while pressure hasn’t stopped Shell’s slow march to arctic oil, feet can be still held to the fire. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement granted permission to Shell to drill two wells in the arctic waters off the Alaskan coast. BSEE said the permits excluded drilling into oil-bearing zones because Shell lacks a critical piece of safety equipment . Shell’s efforts to drill offshore Alaska have long been the target of advocacy groups, most recently from kayak-bound activists protesting against rig deployments from the Port of Seattle. Michael LeVine, Pacific senior counsel for Oceana, said that, given Shell’s track record in Alaskan waters, a return to the regulatory and procedural drawing board may be […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Rig company Hercules posts heavy quarterly loss

U.S. rig company Hercules Offshore expects weak market for crude oil to endure at least into 2016. Photo by num_skyman/Shutterstock HOUSTON, July 23 (UPI) — Low crude oil prices suggest activity in the exploration and production side of the energy sector will stay depressed, U.S. rig company Hercules Offshore said. From U.S. operations alone, Hercules said revenue generated during the second quarter of the year dropped 71 percent year-on-year to $40.6 million. Crude oil markets are struggling to recover from the long decline that began in June 2014, when prices were above the $100 per barrel mark. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, dropped below $50 per barrel in interday trading this week. "The latest pullback in the price of oil is likely to delay any improvement in worldwide activity levels well into 2016," Chief Executive Officer John Rynd said in a statement. In the U.S. sector, the company […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Friends and foes debate U.S. energy landscape

Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., works to steer energy policy to reflect shale boom, though industry groups say the efforts fall far short of what’s needed. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg) WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) — The American Petroleum Institute said there is still more work to do as U.S. lawmakers work to craft legislation that matches the shale energy landscape. "The last major energy legislation was crafted in 2007, and important changes are needed to unlock the full economic and security benefits made possible by America’s energy revolution," API Executive Vice President Louis Finkel said in a statement. A House energy subcommittee unanimously passed a measure to modernize U.S. energy infrastructure and "bolster America’s energy security and diplomacy." Lawmakers and industry supporters are pressing for new policies to reflect the gains in U.S. oil and natural gas production, drawn largely from shale basins in states like Texas and North Dakota. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Canada expects gas production lift

Canadian regulator expects initial shale gas production rates to increase through 2017 in western parts of the country. Photo by Steve Oehlenschlager/Shutterstock CALGARY, Alberta, July 23 (UPI) — Technological improvements in drilling into natural gas basins in Western Canada means initial production rates should increase through 2017, a regulator said. The National Energy Board said average initial production rates in gas basins in the area declined from 2000 to 2006 as most operators focused on conventional deposits. Since 2007, operators have started focusing on reserves locked in shale basins , which are harder to exploit. "Because these tight and shale formations tend to have higher initial production rates than the mature conventional resources of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, the overall average initial production rates started increasing," the NEB said in a report. "This upward trend to all initial production rates is expected to continue through 2017." A forecast […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Gazprom ‘Still Pushing for EU Antitrust Settlement’

BRUSSELS—Russian gas monopoly OAO Gazprom still aims for an amicable settlement of the European Union’s antitrust case against the company, Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said Thursday following a meeting with the EU’s competition commissioner. Mr. Medvedev said the company disagrees “in particular” with one point of the commission’s charges, which accuses the company of charging customers in some Eastern European countries excessive prices for natural-gas shipments. “Our prices are nearing a record low for our customers across Europe,” Mr. Medvedev said in a statement. Mr. Medvedev said his meeting Thursday with the EU’s Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the first since charges were filed against Gazprom in April , was “productive.” “As I have stated in the past, we prefer to settle this case amicably and will continue to engage with DG Competition [the EU’s antitrust body],” Mr. Medvedev said. “Today’s meeting provided a good framework for future discussions and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Average diesel retail price below gasoline price for first time in six years

graph of U.S. weekly average gasoline and diesel prices, as explained in the article text On July 13, the U.S. average diesel fuel retail price fell below the average regular gasoline retail price for the first time since the week of August 10, 2009. From August 2009 through June of this year, retail diesel fuel sold at an average premium of 34 cents per gallon (gal) over regular grade gasoline, with the difference reaching more than 90 cents/gal in January. The persistent price premium for diesel compared with gasoline from August 2009 until last week reflected a combination of factors including strong global demand for diesel, federal fuel taxes for diesel that are 6 cents/gal higher than those for gasoline, and the higher production cost of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) that was phased in between 2006 and 2010. Gasoline and diesel have opposite seasonal demand patterns: gasoline demand tends […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple