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Greece Says Bailout Terms Reached

Greece and international creditors have reached an agreement on the terms needed to provide the country with a third bailout worth up to €86 billion ($94.76 billion), although some details remain unresolved, a Greek government official said Tuesday. After talks that ran for more than 18 hours, government spokesman Theodoros Mihopoulos said in a tweet that “negotiations have been completed. There are some details left.” It wasn’t immediately clear what the outstanding details concerned or whether creditors, eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund, agree that the deal is complete. Other eurozone countries must ratify any agreement between Greece and the international institutions overseeing its bailout program. The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A German finance ministry spokesman said he couldn’t yet confirm an overall deal. Earlier Tuesday, German Deputy Finance Minister Jens Spahn said negotiations were continuing in […]

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Brent, U.S. crude fall on oversupply, poor China data

An offshore oil platform is seen at the Bouri Oil Field off the coast of Libya August 3, 2015. Crude oil futures fell on Monday, touching fresh multi-month lows after disappointing data from China over the weekend showed exports tumbled in the world’s second-largest economy. Exports fell 8.3 percent in July, the biggest decline in four months, as weaker global demand for Chinese goods and a strong yuan policy hurt manufacturers. Producer prices in July were at the lowest point since late 2009, during the aftermath of the global financial crisis, and have been sliding continuously for more than three years. China’s economy is officially forecast to grow at 7 percent this year, strong by global standards, but some economists believe it is growing at a much slower pace. "The trade data over the weekend would probably have the market a little uneasy," said Mark Pervan, senior commodities strategist […]

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Oil Prices Fall on Glut Worries

LONDON—Oil prices kicked off the week in the red and traded near multi-month lows on Monday, in response to widening concerns over excess supply and weak demand. Over the weekend, China released disappointing economic data , clouding the demand outlook for the world’s second-biggest oil consumer. Meanwhile, the number of oil drilling rigs in the U.S. rose last week, underscoring concerns that the supply glut is unlikely to abate soon. “The prospect that crude oil prices will retest the lows hit earlier in the year has caught the market off guard,” said David Hufton at brokerage PVM. “Sadly there is no relief in sight and the technical knives are out, with the years lows well within range.” Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.3% to $48.50 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.3% at […]

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Oil Futures Signal Weak Prices Could Last Years

The oil market is signaling that prices could stay lower for longer, delivering a fresh blow to hard-hit energy exploration-and-production companies. Benchmark U.S. oil futures for September delivery are nearing the six-year low hit in March. But contracts for delivery in later years have taken an even bigger hit, with prices for 2016 and 2017 already trading below their March lows. That indicates that investors, traders and oil companies see the global glut of crude oil persisting beyond this year. Companies making long-term investment decisions rely on the prices of futures contracts one or more years in advance. Producers trade futures and options contracts for coming years to lock in prices for the oil they plan to sell in those years. A number of U.S. shale-oil producers say they can profitably increase production if prices rise above $65 a barrel. On Friday, front-month oil prices fell 79 cents, or […]

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The Game of Chicken Behind Low Oil Prices

Oil prices are now near a six-year low, moving down earlier today to about $44 a barrel. Friday’s decline came on the back of an upbeat jobs report , which strengthened the dollar, lowering oil prices . The fall has been precipitous: Only a year ago, crude oil was more than $100 a barrel. Two major indicators of oil prices show that they’ve been plunging. (FRED) The slide has prompted fears the market may be oversupplied with oil. In some sense, the story is the same as when oil prices first started falling last summer: one of increased supply, paired with a slow recovery (America) and a slowdown (China) in oil-guzzling economies. But there’s another story: Amid the glut and falling prices, Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s top oil producers, reported in June its highest level of crude oil output on record. OPEC, the cartel of oil-producing countries, […]

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In Iran, Voices Rise Against Nuclear Deal

A tussle to sway public perceptions of Iran’s nuclear deal is taking shape in the Islamic Republic, pitting liberal and conservative media against each other and mirroring the fierce debate unfolding in the U.S. In the days following the signing of the deal last month in Vienna—in which Iranian negotiators agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions—Iran’s conservative media shied away from directly criticizing the accord. Instead, conservative media focused on how the pact didn’t end the enmity between Iran and the U.S. But criticism has since become bolder. An ultraconservative weekly, 9 Dey, published scathing criticism of President Hassan Rouhani’s nuclear diplomacy, arguing it had overstepped the limits that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had placed on concessions. Hamid Rasai, the publication’s managing editor and a member of parliament, denounced the Iranian media for “drooling over expressing devotion to the criminal U.S. […]

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Q&A: PKK spokesperson Zagros Hiwa

PKK spokesperson Zagros Hiwa stands in a cemetery of hundreds of PKK fighters in the Qandil mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan on Nov. 6, 2014. (DANIEL W. SMITH/Iraq Oil Report) The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) does not intend to make further attacks on the pipeline carrying oil from Iraq to Turkey’s Ceyhan port.That was the message delivered by Zagros Hiwa, spokesperson for the PKK, who spoke to Iraq Oil Report in a series of phone and email interviews over the past week."I can assure everyone that HPG is not hostile against anything related to interests of our people in southern Kurdistan [Iraqi Kurdistan], and such attacks will not repeat," Hiwa said.Th… 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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U.S. Consulate in Istanbul Targeted in Terror Attacks in Turkey

ISTANBUL—Turkish police and the U.S. consulate in Istanbul have been hit in a string of deadly attacks starting early Monday, as the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies deepen their cooperation against Islamic State and Turkey intensifies its fight against Kurdish militants. A police station in the city’s Sultanbeyli neighborhood was struck by a suicide car-bombing at about 1 a.m. local time, injuring three policemen and seven civilians, the Istanbul Police Department said in a statement. Less than six hours later, two assailants and one police officer were killed at a gunfight that erupted when the station drew fire. The U.S. consulate in the city’s Sariyer neighborhood was attacked in shortly after the assaults on the police, with two people opening fire and prompting a clash between the attackers and police. There were no injuries or deaths, and one of the assailants has been caught, according to Turkey’s state-run […]

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Kurdish Role in Fighting ISIS in Syria Is Crucial to U.S., but Is Alarming Turkey

Continue reading the main story Slide Show Slide Show|8 Photos U.S. Air Power and Kurdish Fighters Team Up to Inflict Losses on ISIS U.S. Air Power and Kurdish Fighters Team Up to Inflict Losses on ISIS CreditMauricio Lima for The New York Times HASAKA, Syria — Green drapes were drawn against the sun, cloaking the room where members of a Syrian Kurdish militia huddled around walkie-talkies, assiduously taking down GPS coordinates. Talal Raman, a 36-year-old Kurdish fighter, worked on a Samsung tablet, annotating a Google Earth map marked with the positions of the deserted apartment buildings and crumbling villas from where his colleagues were battling Islamic State fighters south of this northern Syrian town. He pinpointed in yellow the positions where his men were hunkered behind a wall, and highlighted in red the coordinates of a building next to a mosque where Islamic State fighters had taken cover. “Our […]

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Presidency crisis engulfs Kurdistan

KRG President Massud Barzani in traditional Kurdish clothes welcomes U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Erbil on July 24, 2015. (CAROLYN KASTER/Pool/Getty Images) The Kurdistan region is just nine days away from its most severe political crisis since the end of a civil war in the mid-1990s, as rival political parties remain at loggerheads over Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massud Barzani’s tenure and the power of his position.Supporters say the region needs Barzani to remain in charge to face both a fiscal and security crisis. Opponents see an opportunity to challenge the dominance of Barzani and his party.The rules for such poli… 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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In Hunt for Missing Billions, Buhari Targets Nigeria Oil Company

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images As oil minister during military rule in the 1970s, Muhammadu Buhari oversaw the birth of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. Now, as democratically elected president, he intends to break up the opaque bureaucracy, which manages the oil assets of Africa’s biggest crude producer, to ensure taxpayers get their fair share. History isn’t on his side. “No Nigerian leader, including Buhari himself from the 1980s, has managed to sanitize the oil sector,” said Philippe de Pontet, head of the Africa practice at the Eurasia Group in New York. “Buhari’s challenge is not only to depoliticize NNPC but to disentangle its vested interests and its rogue commercial operations, which won’t be easy.” For all its importance to Nigeria, the NNPC is largely inscrutable Buhari made cleaning up the 24,000-employee colossus — the largest government-owned company — a key plank in the election campaign […]

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Venezuela farmers ordered to turn over their food to the government

As Venezuela’s economy continues to worsen — its currency having entered “free fall mode,” according to the Financial Times — the desperate Maduro government has taken the extreme measure of nationalizing the nation’s food industry. Venezuelan farmers and food producers are now required to sell anywhere from 30 percent to 100 percent of their products to state-owned stores. The order covers staple foods such as rice, milk, oil, sugar and flour. Shortages and long lines in stores have become common since Venezuela’s economy began sliding into inflation — a situation that placed them at the top of the list in the world for inflation in 2014. The official inflation rate was 65 percent last year, and in the last month the currency has lost another 43 percent of its value. Oil prices once again have dropped, causing further strain on Venezuela’s struggling economy. The recent free fall of the […]

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China under mounting pressure to ease policy as economy stumbles

A woman chooses vegetables at a supermarket in Beijing, China, July 9, 2015. China is under growing pressure to further stimulate its economy after disappointing data over the weekend showed another heavy fall in factory-gate prices and a surprise slump in exports. Producer prices in July hit their lowest point since late 2009, during the aftermath of the global financial crisis, and have been sliding continuously for more than three years. Exports tumbled 8.3 percent in the same month, their biggest fall in four months, as weaker global demand for Chinese goods and a strong yuan policy hurt manufacturers. "Policy focus is definitely the (producer) deflation at this stage," said Zhou Hao, economist at Commerzbank AG in Singapore. He said China’s central bank would likely need to further cut interest rates again, having already cut four times since November in the most aggressive easing in nearly seven years. The […]

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Once Burned, Twice Shy? Utica Shale Touted to Investors As Shale Drillers Continue Posting Losses

For the past several weeks, the drilling industry — hammered by bad financial results — has begun promoting its next big thing: the Utica shale, generating the sort of headlines you might have seen five years ago, when the shale drilling rush was gaining speed. “ Utica Shale Holds 20 Times More Gas Than Previous Estimates ”, read one headline. “ Utica Bigger Than Marcellus ”, proclaimed another. The reason for the excitement was a study, published by West Virginia University, that concluded the Utica contains more shale gas than many estimates for the Marcellus shale, a staggering 782 trillion cubic feet. “This is a landmark study that demonstrates the vast potential of the Utica as a resource to complement – and go beyond – what the Marcellus has already proven to be,” Brian Anderson, director of West Virginia University’s Energy Institute, told the Associated Press. But those considering […]

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Move to Allow U.S. Oil Exports Accelerates

Big voices in the oil industry and Congress now support a move that would have been unthinkable not long ago: opening the U.S. oil industry to exports. The U.S. has long pushed for liberalized trade, with U.S.-produced crude being the biggest exception since the shock of the 1973 Arab oil embargo led Congress to ban oil exports under nearly all circumstances. The only other U.S. products banned under the same regulations are a type of tree found in Western North Americacalled Western red cedar and live horses for slaughter shipped by sea. The House now looks likely to vote as early as September to lift the oil-export ban, with Senate action anticipated early next year, which would mark a milestone few saw coming. But while freely exporting U.S. oil may come as a shock to some Americans, it probably won’t cause much of an economic stir, especially with global […]

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Pipeline overbuild forces company executives to seek new opportunities

A doubling of pipeline capacity in one of the most prolific U.S. shale plays may have gone overboard in its rush to move oil to market, top pipeline company executives said during earnings announcements over the past week. With more than 1 million barrels per day of additional pipeline capacity moving oil from the Permian Basin of West Texas added since early 2014, companies dependent on new projects to drive revenue growth are now faced with a limit. The buildout has also caused some temporary inbalances in spot prices, traders say, as pipelines flood Houston-area refiners with surplus crude. The race for new and bigger pipelines to ease bottlenecks has led to a slew of new projects coming online through 2017, even as output wanes with oil prices down nearly 60 percent from a year ago on a global supply glut. Plains All American Pipeline, one of the biggest […]

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Industry, States Set to Fight EPA Greenhouse Gas Rules

Power plants face new greenhouse gas regulations from the EPA. WASHINGTON—Industry representatives and a group of state attorneys general are preparing to file lawsuits soon to challenge Obama administration rules requiring significant cuts in power-plant carbon emissions. The move, expected in the coming weeks, would open up a legal battle by contesting the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency on a wide range of grounds, some of them little explored by the courts. The EPA issued the regulations last week under a seldom-used section of the Clean Air Act. The agency also is confronting a legislative oddity from 1990, when Congress updated the clean-air law but inadvertently enacted differently worded House and Senate amendments that are relevant to the EPA’s carbon rules. How courts interpret the amendments could determine whether the administration’s power-plant rules survive. Additional legal challenges will focus on whether the agency exceeded its powers by pushing […]

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U.S. Pump Prices Slip to Three-Month Low in Lundberg Survey

Retail gasoline prices tumbled to the lowest level in more than three months in the Lundberg Survey as crude oil dropped for a sixth straight week. U.S. drivers paid an average $2.7108 a gallon for regular gasoline at pumps across the nation in the two weeks ended Aug. 7, according to Lundberg Survey Inc. Prices fell 10.77 cents a gallon in the survey, which is based on information obtained at about 2,500 filling stations by the Camarillo, California-based company. Gasoline cost about 81 cents a gallon less than a year ago. Pump prices declined to the lowest level since an April 24 survey due to lower crude oil prices in combination with high output from refineries, according to Trilby Lundberg, the president of Lundberg Survey. U.S. refineries ran at 96.1 percent of capacity in the week ended July 31, the highest rate since August 2005. In the next survey […]

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Gazprom Profit Jumps on Weaker Ruble Even as Gas Sales Drop

Gazprom PJSC, the world’s biggest natural gas producer, said first-quarter profit rose 71 percent, beating analyst estimates, as a weaker ruble countered lower fuel prices and falling volumes. Net income climbed to 382 billion rubles ($5.9 billion) from 223 billion rubles a year earlier, the Moscow-based company said Monday in a statement. That exceeded the average 353 billion-ruble estimate from eight analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 5.7 percent to 1.65 trillion rubles. Profit at Gazprom, Russia’s biggest company by market value, rose even as oil’s slump weighed on export prices for its gas, which are linked to crude under most contracts. The company’s average June export price was the lowest since 2007, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Russian customs data. Gazprom may cut its production to a record this year as demand slows in Russia and Ukraine, the government said in July. While gas […]

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Europe Stocks Fall Third Day as Energy Drop Outweighs Tech Gain

European stocks declined for a third day as sliding energy shares outweighed a rebound in tech companies. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.4 percent to 395.63 at 10:25 a.m. in London. Tumbling media companies pulled European stocks down on Friday, while U.S.-payrolls data fueled bets the Federal Reserve will raise rates this year. Stocks gained 0.2 percent last week. Greece’s ASE Index extended its rebound to three days today, advancing 0.8 percent for the best performance among western-European markets. “While the fall in commodity prices, especially oil, could help European markets in the medium term, on a first look it’s a bad sign for a cyclical upturn,” said Christian Zogg, a fund manager who helps oversee about $10 billion at LLB Asset Management in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. “The nearer we get to the first Fed move, the more nervous the market gets, but best guess is it will stay […]

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Oil down, heads for 6th weekly loss on gasoline glut

A customer holds a nozzle to fill up his tank in a gasoline station in Nice December 5, 2014. Crude oil dipped on Friday, plumbing multi-month lows and heading for a sixth straight week of losses, as the approaching end of the U.S. summer driving season suggested a growing surplus in gasoline supply. Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes’ report that the U.S. oil rig count rose by six this week added to the bearish sentiment for crude as it signaled production could creep up from higher drilling activity. Drillers have added a total of 32 oil rigs over the past three weeks. [RIG/U] Traders and investors await Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data at 3:30 p.m. EDT to determine if money managers again had slashed their bullish exposure to U.S. crude in the week to Aug 4. Hedge funds’ net longs in U.S. crude fell to near five-year lows […]

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Natural Gas Slips as Traders See Summer Peak Passing

By Timothy Puko Natural gas made small price losses Friday as some traders see the peak of summer is passing. The front-month September contract lost 1.5 cents, or 0.5%, to $2.798 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 8.2 cents, or 3% for the week. The boost sent gas back to near dead-center of the 23-cent range it has settled in every session for nearly two months. Volatility has plummeted as bulls and bears have balanced each other out, analysts said. Bulls got support Thursday from new stockpile data showing the lowest summer addition in nearly three years. But storage levels are still healthy, 2.2% above their five-year average, and hot weather on the horizon likely isn’t extreme enough to keep demand as strong as it has been, analysts said. "At the end of the day, this market still looks like a standoff […]

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Sen. Schumer’s opposition to Iran nuclear deal draws swift backlash

U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday night he would the oppose the Iran agreement. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) The White House aggressively struck back Friday after Sen. Charles E. Schumer announced his opposition to President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, suggesting the New York Democrat could lose support to become party leader in the Senate in 2016 if he helps block the accord. The response was the latest example of the president’s take-no-prisoners approach to ensuring the survival of a pact he views as a legacy-defining achievement that could help remake the security situation in the turbulent Middle East. The White House and its allies expressed confidence that Schumer’s opposition would not be enough to derail the Iran deal. Senate Democratic aides said 15 members of the caucus have expressed support, and Schumer is the only one to publicly oppose it. But both sides acknowledged that the debate is now […]

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Fears of Lasting Rift as Obama Battles Pro-Israel Group on Iran

WASHINGTON — President Obama had a tough message for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee , or Aipac, the powerful pro- Israel group that is furiously campaigning against the Iran nuclear accord , when he met with two of its leaders at the White House this week. The president accused Aipac of spending millions of dollars in advertising against the deal and spreading false claims about it, people in the meeting recalled. So Mr. Obama told the Aipac leaders that he intended to hit back hard. The next day in a speech at American University , Mr. Obama denounced the deal’s opponents as “lobbyists” doling out millions of dollars to trumpet the same hawkish rhetoric that had led the United States into war with Iraq. The president never mentioned Aipac by name, but his target was unmistakable. The remarks reflected an unusually sharp rupture between a sitting American president […]

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Opposing Iran Nuclear Deal, Chuck Schumer Rattles Democratic Firewall

Photo Senator Chuck Schumer in Washington last month. On Thursday, he said he would vote against President Obama’s deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear program. Credit Zach Gibson/The New York Times WASHINGTON — The decision by Senator Chuck Schumer to oppose President Obama ’s deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program rattled the Democratic firewall around the accord, but supporters said Democratic defections in New York and South Florida would not be enough to bring down the agreement. Republican leaders in the House and Senate have promised a vote in mid-September on a resolution to disapprove the nuclear accord between Iran and the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Russia and China, which in itself would be a blow to Mr. Obama’s prestige. But to scuttle the Iran nuclear deal, opponents have two high hurdles. They will need 60 votes in the Senate for a resolution of disapproval to overcome a filibuster […]

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Blows for Obama as key lawmakers come out against Iran deal

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) gestures at a news conference on Amtrak funding on Capitol Hill in Washington May 21, 2015. U.S. President Barack Obama’s hopes of preserving the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers were dealt a setback on Thursday when Chuck Schumer, one of the top Democrats in the U.S. Senate, said he would the oppose the agreement. Schumer’s opposition, announced in a lengthy statement, could pave the way for more of Obama’s fellow Democrats to come out against the nuclear pact, announced on July 14, between the United States, five other world powers and Iran. The New York senator is among the most influential Jewish lawmakers in the United States. He was the first Senate Democrat to announce his opposition to the agreement. Another influential Jewish lawmaker, U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, also said on Thursday […]

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Lenders back Azeri gas project with European focus

Asian and European lenders offer support for Azeri gas project that would help diversify a European energy sector dependent on Russia. Photo by tcly/Shutterstock MANILA, Aug. 7 (UPI) — Asian and European lenders unveiled a $1 billion finance package Friday to help fund an Azeri natural gas field meant to diversify the European energy sector. The Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with support from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, announced funding support for the second stage of the Shah Deniz natural gas field off the coast of Azerbaijan. The ADB said the project is "crucial" for energy security in the European economy. "This project is one of the European Union’s highest priorities for the energy sector," EBRD Managing Director for Energy and Natural Resources Riccardo Puliti said in a statement. "It is key for energy security because it diversifies routes and […]

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With Iran’s Help, India Eludes China in Race for Gas Riches

Anyone looking for the biggest immediate impact from Iran’s nuclear deal may want to turn away from the Middle East and toward the Indian subcontinent. With U.S. sanctions easing, India is racing to build a port in Iran that will get around the fact that its land access to energy-rich former Soviet republics in Central Asia has been blocked by China and its ally Pakistan. “We’re seeing the latest manifestation of the Great Game in Central Asia, and India is the new player,” said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “It’s had its eyes on Central Asia for a long time.” While the world focuses on what Iran’s opening means for Israel and Arab nations, the ramifications are also critical for Asia. Closer Iran-India ties would allow New Delhi’s leaders to secure cheaper energy imports to bolster economic growth and […]

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Petrobras Oil Scandal Leaves Brazilians Lamenting a Lost Dream

Photo Comperj, a giant refinery and petrochemical complex built by the state oil company, Petrobras, in Itaboraí, Brazil. The unfinished project was originally planned to cost $6.1 billion, but a state audit put the price closer to $50 billion. Credit Andre Vieira for The New York Times Alberto Youssef, a convicted money launderer and former bon vivant, sat in a Brazilian jail cell in March of last year, getting ready to tell his lawyers a story. It was about an elaborate bribery scheme involving Petrobras , the government-controlled oil giant. He opened with a dire prediction. “Guys,” Mr. Youssef said, “if I speak, the republic is going to fall.” To those lawyers, Tracy Reinaldet and Adriano Bretas, who recently recounted the conversation, this sounded a tad melodramatic. But then Mr. Youssef took a piece of paper and started writing the names of participants in what would soon become known […]

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China’s July exports slump 8 percent, raises pressure for more stimulus

Piles of steel pipes to be exported are seen in front of cranes at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province March 7, 2015. Chinese exports tumbled 8.3 percent in July, their biggest drop in four months and far worse than expected, reinforcing expectations that Beijing will be forced to roll out more stimulus to support the world’s second-largest economy. Imports also fell heavily from a year earlier, in line with market forecasts but suggesting domestic demand might be too feeble to offset the weaker global demand for China’s exports. Economists had forecast exports to fall just 1 percent, after a 2.8 percent uptick in June, but the data on Saturday showed depressed demand from Europe and the first drop in exports to the United States, China’s biggest market, since March. Exports to the European Union fell 12.3 percent in July while those to the United States dropped 1.3 percent. […]

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China’s energy asset-rush stalls on crude slump, graft probes

A woman walks past the entrance of the headquarters of China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) in Beijing September 23, 2010. As global oil giants struggle with plunging earnings, Chinese state oil firms are unlikely to be waiting in the wings to buy any unwanted assets. After pouring tens of billions of dollars into foreign energy projects in the last two decades, China’s rush to purchase overseas oil and gas projects is over – at least for now – and some state firms are even looking to sell assets. China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer, invested more than $140 billion in the sector in the period from 1993, according to Thomson Reuters data. But Chinese firms have slammed the brakes on after a slide in crude prices has slashed returns on some investments and with deals coming under greater scrutiny since Beijing stepped up an anti-graft campaign two years […]

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July job gains may favor September interest rate rise

A job seeker holds literature while waiting to speak with a representative of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy at a career fair in San Francisco, California July 14, 2015. The number of U.S. jobs probably rose at a healthy pace in July and wages likely rebounded in data due on Friday, providing further signs of an improving economy that could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in September. A Reuters survey of economists forecast U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 223,000 last month, matching June’s job gains, a number which would be slightly above the monthly average for the first half of the year. Though the pace of hiring has slowed from last year, it remains double the rate needed to keep up with population growth. The Labor Department will release its closely watched employment report on Friday at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) "We expect this report […]

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U.S. adds rigs in July, Baker Hughes said

Baker Hughes reports a net gain in rig deployments across the North American energy sector. File Photo by UPI/Gary C. Caskey HOUSTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) — While down year-on-year, oil services company Baker Hughes said Friday there were a net five more rigs deployed across the United States in July than in June. Baker Hughes reported net rig counts for July . Rig counts serve as a barometer for the health of the exploration and production side of the energy sector, which has been depressed because of the low price of crude oil. Crude oil prices are down more than 50 percent from last year because of oversupplies in a weak global economy. Much of the increase in supply comes from U.S. shale oil basins. Companies operating in U.S. shale have said they’re able to produce more with fewer rigs because of the improved efficiencies. Others have started adding […]

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U.S. Oil-Rig Count Rises for Third Week

The number of U.S. oil-drilling rigs, which is a proxy for activity in the oil industry, had fallen sharply since oil prices headed south last year. The rig count had dropped for 29 straight weeks before rising for two weeks, falling, then rising again. Oil prices fell nearly 60% from June 2014 to a six-year low in March, as soaring production from the U.S. and other countries overwhelmed global demand. There are still about 58% fewer rigs working since a peak of 1,609 in October, though the pace of declines has slowed considerably recently. In late May, several U.S. shale-oil companies said they were ready to bring rigs back into service, setting up the first big test of their ability to quickly react to rising crude prices. According to Baker Hughes, gas rigs were up by four to 213 this week. The U.S. offshore rig count was up four […]

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International Rig Count Still Falling

The Baker Hughes International Rig Count is out. I have decided to try something new with the charts. That is to compare the current year’s rig count with the previous two years count and to insert, within the charts, the percent change for this year as compared to last year. Also, this is the total rig count, Oil and Gas. Also the charts are not zero based. I do this in order to better emphasize the monthly change. July usually sees a big jump in rig counts. This year there was a very tiny July increase, only a fraction of the increase we usually see for July. Rig Count Total International *The Total International rig counts does not include the USA, Canada or the FSU. The Total International rig count was down 28 in July to 1118. Last July it was up3 to 1344. Rig Count Middle East The […]

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EIA: US refinery inputs hit record high

Gross inputs to US refineries exceeded 17 million b/d in each of the past 4 weeks, according to the US Energy Information Administration . That’s a level not previously reached since EIA began publishing weekly data in 1990. The rolling 4-week average of US gross refinery inputs has been above the previous 5-year range during 2010-14 every week so far this year, reflecting both higher refinery capacity and higher utilization rates. Lower crude oil prices and strong demand for petroleum products, primarily gasoline, both in the US and globally, have led to favorable margins that encourage refinery investment and high refinery runs. Refinery margins are currently supported by high gasoline crack spreads that reached a peak of 66¢/gal on July 8, a level not reached since September 2008. “For the past several years, distillate crack spreads have consistently exceeded those for gasoline, but since May, this trend has reversed,” […]

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Plunging Oil Prices a Boon for Logistics Companies

The logistics of the oil market is proving to be a lucrative business, even as the price of crude plunges toward multi-year lows. Companies that transport and store oil and refined products, as well as manage shipping terminals reported soaring profits this week. The glut of crude driving down prices is also creating more work for petroleum logistics firms, also known as midstream companies. Higher volumes of oil being brought to market generally means more business for operators of pipelines, tanker trucks, storage tanks and marine terminals. Tesoro Logistics TLLP -0.42 % LP reported second-quarter income of $72 million on Wednesday, more than twice its net income as the same quarter a year ago, citing big gains in oil production and an improving climate for its terminal and transportation businesses. Spectra Energy Partners SEP -1.53 % and Arc Logistics Partners ARCX 0.00 % LP also posted earnings this week […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Byproduct of fracking spilled in North Dakota

Spill of product used during hydraulic fracturing reported in North Dakota near the Canadian border. Photo by David Gaylor/Shutterstock BISMARCK, N.D., Aug. 7 (UPI) — The North Dakota Department of Health reported more than 4,000 barrels of a product associated with hydraulic fracturing spilled near the Canadian border. The state said it was notified by Samson Resources of a spill of brine in Divide County, situated in the northwest of North Dakota at the Canadian border. Of the 4,260 barrels spilled, the Department of Health reported 225 barrels were recovered . No surface waters were impacted. The brine release is at least the sixth such incident reported this year. In May, Oasis Petroleum reported its fourth release of brine, known also as produced water, in the state. Energy companies inject brine, or salt water, to improve oil and gas production from shale deposits. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Canadian oil exports hit low mark for year

Canadian energy regulator reports total crude oil exports for May were at their lowest point for the year. Photo by Heather Snow/Shutterstock CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 7 (UPI) — Canada reported total oil exports for May were at their lowest level for 2015, though slight increases have emerged while the country moves into recession. The National Energy Board in Canada reported total exports through May, the last full month for which it has data. Government data show total crude oil exports for May at 2.8 million barrels per day, about 10 percent less than April and the lowest monthly total for the year. The wildfire threat is high in the Pacific Northwest, with provincial response teams in British Columbia and Saskatchewan battling the blazes. In May, producers Canadian Natural Resources and Cenovus Energy curbed production, closed facilities and evacuated staff from Alberta operations during wildfire outbreaks. Fires were as close […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Sinking diesel prices, glut alarm U.S. refiners ahead of peak season

Gas and diesel pumps along with gas prices are shown at an Exxon gas station in Carlsbad, California May 28, 2008. Falling diesel futures and ballooning supply have alarmed U.S. refiners about when, or even if, demand may pick up ahead of the peak winter season, potentially hurting crude oil prices amid the year-long rout. Futures plunged 16 percent in July, stockpiles are at four-year highs and demand is down 3.7 percent, all signs refiners’ gains from strong summer gasoline demand may not be sustained this winter. Over the past five years, diesel futures prices have risen by an average of 4 percent in July and a further 4 percent in August, ramping up ahead of the fall and winter when demand from farmers and heating oil customers rises. "That was one area that impacted us negatively in the mid-continent," said George Damiris, executive vice president at HollyFrontier Corp. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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July job gains may favor September interest rate rise

A job seeker holds literature while waiting to speak with a representative of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy at a career fair in San Francisco, California July 14, 2015. The number of U.S. jobs probably rose at a healthy pace in July and wages likely rebounded in data due on Friday, providing further signs of an improving economy that could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in September. A Reuters survey of economists forecast U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 223,000 last month, matching June’s job gains, a number which would be slightly above the monthly average for the first half of the year. Though the pace of hiring has slowed from last year, it remains double the rate needed to keep up with population growth. The Labor Department will release its closely watched employment report on Friday at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) "We expect this report […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. shale drillers struggle amid slumping prices: Kemp

Various Halliburton equipment being stored at the equipment yard in Alvarado, Texas June 2, 2015. North America’s shale drillers are struggling with the renewed slump in oil prices, despite cutting costs, boosting output, and in some cases employing hedging to improve realized prices. Stock prices for most of the main shale drillers have fallen faster than the price of U.S. light crude since the middle of April. Spot WTI has fallen 20 percent since mid-April but the share price of Pioneer Natural Resources has dropped 30 percent and Continental Resources is down almost 40 percent over the same period. Both companies increased production during the second quarter. Pioneer produced 197,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in April-June, up from 194,000 in January-March, while Continental reported output of 227,000 boepd, up from 207,000. Pioneer’s production is mostly from the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford in Texas, while Continental’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ruble’s Seventh Week of Losses Has Taken Drop Too Far for ING

The ruble fell, extending its seventh straight weekly decline, as ING Groep NV and VTB Capital said the Russian currency’s retreat with oil has gone too far. A 14 percent depreciation since the end of June, the most among 31 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg, has pushed the ruble’s relative strength index below 30 for the past week, the threshold signaling to some technical analysts that an asset is oversold. With the price of Brent crude trading near $50 a barrel, the exchange rate should be closer to 61 against the dollar, VTB Capital analysts Maxim Korovin and Tatiana Zueva said in an e-mailed note. Dmitry Polevoy, the chief economist for Russia at ING Groep NV in Moscow, echoed the view, saying the ruble’s fair value is closer to 61-62, as much as 5 percent stronger than it is currently trading. While the world’s largest energy exporter’s state budget […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine crisis: Why a lack of parts has hamstrung Russia’s military

A Russian Mi-26 helicopter: Ukraine stopped delivering engines for the military versions Russia’s defence firms have been hit not only by Western sanctions but also by a breakdown in business ties with Ukraine. For decades under Soviet rule, Russia’s strategic industries had close links with partners in Ukraine, all centrally controlled from Moscow. But relations soured last year, with Ukraine’s pivot to the West, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The EU and US banned military exports to Russia, saying Moscow was supplying the insurgents with sophisticated heavy weapons and regular troops. Moscow denied the allegations. Equipment blocked Last month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told parliament that Ukrainian components were used in the production of 186 types of Russian military equipment. That is a serious problem, he admitted, and Moscow could resolve it only by 2018. Back in June 2014, Ukrainian President […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Global Oil Supply More Fragile Than You Think

Oil pumps image via shutterstock. Reproduced at Resilience.org with permission. Many oil companies had trimmed their budgets heading into 2015 to deal with lower oil prices. But the rebound in April and May to $60 per barrel from the mid-$40s suggested that the severe drop was merely temporary. But the collapse of prices in July – owing to the Iran nuclear deal, an ongoing production surplus, and economic and financial concerns in Greece and China – have darkened the mood. Now a prevailing sense that oil prices may stay lower for longer has hit the markets. Oil futures for delivery in December 2020 are currently trading $8 lower than they were at the beginning of this year even while immediate spot prices are $4 higher today. In other words, oil traders are now feeling much gloomier about oil prices several years out than they were at the beginning of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Peak Oil and what our response should be

Peak Oil will change the way the world works and our long-held assumptions about the world around us is going to be overturned. Peak oil will render millions of people jobless. Those who depend on food made thousands of kms away from where they stay will find food very expensive. That includes all of us who stay in big cities. So the future is a bit rocky. What should our response be? The intuitive thing that people think when confronted with the problem of oil depletion is that the answer lies in oil conservation. Oil conservation is a good idea but of little help when it comes to tackling the systemic changes that peak oil brings. Why is peak oil missed by the mainstream? I see two reasons. One is human nature which likes to avoid bad news and always believes in the magical power of science and technology. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Price Outlook Still Bearish Despite Slight Gains

HONG KONG–Oil prices nudged higher in Asia trade Friday, though the near-term outlook remains bearish. Traders are awaiting U.S. non-farm payrolls data later in the day, which could signal firmer near-term demand. That would help trading sentiment as a supply overhang has been the biggest price driver over the past few months. Yet analysts say the downward slide in oil prices probably has more room before hitting bottom. “There is absolutely no fundamental strength now. It does not look like that the market will reverse any time soon,” says Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, director of Commtrendz Risk Management. Brent crude oil on London’s ICE Futures Exchange slipped below $50 per barrel this week and is now trading at $49.84 per barrel, up 32 cents from the previous settlement. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for September delivery traded at $44.93 a barrel at 0410 GMT, up 27 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple