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World’s Oceans Could Rise Higher, Sooner, Faster Than Most Thought Possible

‘Roughly 10 feet of sea level rise—well beyond previous estimates—would render coastal cities such as New York, London, and Shanghai uninhabitable.’ NYC image via joiseyshowaa/flickr. Creative Commons 2.0. license. If a new scientific paper is proven accurate, the international target of limiting global temperatures to a 2°C rise this century will not be nearly enough to prevent catastrophic melting of ice sheets that would raise sea levels much higher and much faster than previously thought possible. Parts of [our coastal cities] would still be sticking above the water, but you couldn’t live there." —Dr. James Hansen According to the new study—which has not yet been peer-reviewed, but was written by former NASA scientist James Hansen and 16 other prominent climate researchers—current predictions about the catastrophic impacts of global warming, the melting of vast ice sheets, and sea level rise do not take into account the feedback loop implications of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil climbs on big U.S. stock draw; strong dollar caps gains

A customer prepares to fill up his tank in a gasoline station in Nice December 5, 2014. Oil prices extended gains in Asian trade on Thursday, after a larger than expected draw in U.S. crude and gasoline stocks strengthened the outlook for oil demand. But gains were capped by a stronger dollar and despite the drop in oil stocks some commentators warn of a global supply glut, with OPEC members producing 3 million barrels per day more than demand in the second quarter. U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 4.2 million barrels in the week to July 24, more than twenty times analysts’ expectations of a decrease of 184,000 barrels, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed. Gasoline stocks dropped by 363,000 barrels against analysts’ forecasts of a 512,000-barrel gain with U.S. gasoline demand up 6.2 percent from a year ago. The large draw down in stocks could be short-lived, said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Crude Oil Rises on Unexpected U.S. Stockpile Decline

LONDON—Oil prices rose on Thursday after weekly U.S. crude oil inventories posted a surprise fall offering a glimmer of hope that the oil glut might start to abate. Prices have dropped sharply in July as persistently high U.S. production, coupled with record output from other major suppliers like Saudi Arabia , met worries about slowing demand exacerbated by this month’s massive selloff in Chinese equities . Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.7% to $53.77 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading up 0.2% at $48.87 a barrel. Both contracts are still off more than 20% since their peaks earlier in the spring. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels last week defying analysts’ expectations of no change. U.S. oil production also fell, by 145,000 barrels […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Mixed Signals on U.S. Oil Output

The most important question in the oil market is whether American production is falling as prices drop. Official oil data aren’t giving a straight answer. Investors, traders and executives who rely on federal data from the Energy Information Administration are tripping over conflicting images of U.S. production that have emerged from separate EIA reports in recent months. At stake are billions of dollars of wagers on the direction of oil prices as well as potential long-term investments by energy companies. Oil prices have swooned by more than 50% over the past year, due largely to a boom in production from U.S. shale-oil fields. Many analysts say prices will only stabilize after less-economical production is squeezed out, spurring a sustained decline in output. Weekly oil-output estimates from the EIA started to show falling production in April. Separate EIA reports on shale-oil drilling have forecast production declines for months. But the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraq, Turkey: Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline Attacked

Saboteurs attacked on July 29 a pipeline transporting crude oil between the Iraqi city of Kirkuk and the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, halting the flow of oil, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said, Anadolu Agency and Reuters reported. The attack, which took place near the Iraqi border in Turkey’s Sirnak province, comes a day after militants attacked a natural gas pipeline in Agri province, near the Iranian border. The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq relies on part of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline for its own exports. The pipeline has been carrying around 300,000 barrels of oil per day, down from its maximum operational capacity of 400,000 barrels daily, because of other recent attacks, according to Iraqi government figures. As it commits to operations in Syria and Iraq, Ankara is stepping up its fight against the Kurds — a move that could have unintended consequences south of the border . […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pipeline sabotage halts Turkey exports

Turkish gendarme forces patrol the road leading to the jetty at the Ceyhan crude oil terminal on July 13, 2006. (FATIH SARIBAS/Reuters) The export pipeline in Turkey carrying crude from Iraq is expected to restart by Thursday after two acts of sabotage this week, including an incident Wednesday that Turkish officials are calling a bomb attack.Officials from Iraq’s North Oil Company (NOC) and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as well as industry officials close to the operations of the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP), said smuggling operations in Urfa, roughly 370 kilometers from the Iraqi border, took the line d… 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
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Turkish oil pipeline from Iraq bombed

Turkish struggles with militant campaigns spills over into energy sector, with two pipelines bombed in two days. File Photo by Ebrahem Khadir/ UPI ANKARA, Turkey, July 29 (UPI) — For the second consecutive day, pipelines running through southern Turkey have become the target of militant campaigns drawing attention from NATO. Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Wednesday a section of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline, running from northern Iraq to Turkish ports, was bombed in southern Sirnak province. "Just after the explosion we’ve closed the oil valves to stop extra oil flow," he was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu News Agency. "We have taken measures and the attack won’t have an effect on oil supply and demand." The pipeline from northern Iraq has a maximum capacity of around 400,000 barrels of oil per day. The bombing comes one day after an attack on a natural gas pipeline running […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Saudi Arabia to Pull Back Production After Summer

RIYADH—The world’s top crude-oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, is planning to pull back from record-high levels of production at the end of the summer when domestic energy demand subsides, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The reduction could begin as soon as September and would amount to about 200,000 to 300,000 barrels a day, bringing production to about 10.3 million barrels a day, the people said. Saudi Arabia told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that it produced 10.56 million barrels a day in June, a record high. “It is purely based on the [domestic] demand situation,” one of the people said, adding that “production is likely to hover around” 10 million barrels until the end of the year. Saudi Arabia—one of a handful of countries that generates electricity by burning crude oil—generally reduces production in the fall, when demand for the heavily subsidized energy to power […]

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BP, Total writing off oil assets in Libya

Libya has become a major headache for European oil companies as a four-year conflict forced BP to join Total in writing off millions of dollars in investments in the North African country. BP on Tuesday said it had taken an impairment of almost $600 million in the second quarter as fighting forced it to suspend an oil exploration campaign. The unexpected charge was the main reason BP’s earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates. “There is significant uncertainty on when drilling operations might be able to proceed,” London-based BP said in a statement. The charge comes three months after Total became the first European oil major to take an impairment in Libya, writing off $755 million from onshore assets. That’s an ominous sign for firms including Eni SpA and Repsol SA, which have yet to mark down the value of their assets in the country. The Libyan oil industry has […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Mexico Said to Start Annual Oil-Hedging Program as Prices Drop

Mexico started its annual program to lock in oil sales for the coming year as a shield against a further drop in prices, three people with direct knowledge said. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are among the banks involved, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. Mexico’s hedging program is probably the largest undertaken by a national government, the chief economist for the country’s Finance Ministry said in 2012. The Latin American country has started buying the puts, which gives it the right to sell oil at a predetermined price, earlier than the usual period of late August to late September, the people said. They declined to provide further details, including the price level. Mexico’s hedging program has often roiled energy markets since its introduction in 1990-91. Spokesmen for Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JPMorgan and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple