U.S. oil imports rise as contango encourages storage: Kemp
A motorist pumps fuel into his vehicle at JJ’s Express Gas Plus station in Phoenix gas station in Phoenix, Arizona August 10, 2011. U.S. crude imports topped 8 million barrels per day (bpd) last week for only the second time this year, spurring an unexpected rise in stockpiles and sending U.S. oil prices down to a fresh post-crisis low. The United States imported 56.3 million barrels of crude in the week ending Aug. 14, up from 53.0 million barrels the week before, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The difference is equivalent to the arrival of between one and two very large crude carriers (VLCCs), tankers that can carry up to 2 million barrels each ( link.reuters.com/vas45w ). Higher imports largely accounted for the reported 2.6 million barrel increase in commercial crude stocks, though refinery processing also slipped as a result of problems at BP’s Whiting refinery in […]
Nostalgic for the Financial Crisis? Only in the Oil Business
America’s suffering shale patch is about the only place in the U.S. where there’s nostalgia for the dark days of the financial crisis. While the global economy started to unravel in 2008, it was also the beginning of the biggest oil boom in U.S. history. Domestic production, which had been steadily declining since the bust of 1986, began to climb in 2009. OPEC cut output to an average of 28.5 million barrels a day that year, putting a floor under prices. And at the heart of the shale revolution, states like North Dakota, Texas and Oklahoma enjoyed lower rates of unemployment than the rest of the U.S. Sure, crude plummeted to $32 a barrel in December 2008, but it didn’t stay there for there for long. Analysts described it as a V-shaped bust, and by May the following year oil was back above $65. Plenty of people counted on […]
Congress Likely to Repeal Oil Export Ban in 2016, Evercore Says
Legislation to repeal a 40-year ban on most domestic oil exports will probably become law in the first quarter of next year, according to analysts at Evercore ISI. A move to end the ban would probably include a condition that allows the administration of President Barack Obama to set export levels, Evercore analyst Terry Haines said in a research note Friday. While there is some congressional support to lifting the ban, some analysts said its unlikely to happen before the 2016 elections. “Obama and his regulators are likely to have a more positive view of an oil export ban repeal that empowered regulators generally to decide oil export levels,” Haines said in the note. “That sort of repeal also would be attractive to congressional Republicans and Democrats that would see it as a compromise alternative that overturns the ban and is a significant step on the road to full […]
Next Texas Energy Boom: Solar
FORT STOCKTON, Texas—A new energy boom is taking shape in the oil fields of west Texas, but it’s not what you think. It’s solar. Solar power has gotten so cheap to produce—and so competitively priced in the electricity market—that it is taking hold even in a state that, unlike California, doesn’t offer incentives to utilities to buy or build sun-powered generation. Pecos County, about halfway between San Antonio and El Paso and on the southern edge of the prolific Permian Basin oil field, could soon host to several large solar-energy farms responsible for about $1 billion in investments, according to state tax records. On a recent day, contractors for OCI Solar Power LLC erected posts for a solar farm that will be the size of more than 900 football fields. First Solar Inc. FSLR -5.51 % was negotiating to lease an adjacent property, its second project in the county. […]
Major fossil fuel-producing states rely heavily on severance taxes
graph of state government taxation sources, as explained in the article text Several states that produce large amounts of fossil fuels rely heavily on severance tax revenue—taxes based on the volume and/or value of oil, natural gas, coal, and other natural resources. On average, severance taxes accounted for less than 2% of state tax collections in 2014, but in three states—Alaska, North Dakota, and Wyoming—severance taxes provided a much larger share of total state tax revenue in that year. Pennsylvania, on the other hand, is considering a severance tax, and currently derives less than 1% of its revenues from a well head fee. Alaska. Alaska relies on revenues from oil and natural gas production for up to 90% of its budget , and consequently the state experiences fluctuations in tax receipts that reflect changing oil and natural gas prices. The Alaska Clear and Equitable Share Wellhead tax is calculated […]
BHI: US oil-directed rig count rises for fifth straight week
The overall US drilling rig count edged up 1 unit to 885 rigs working during the week ended Aug. 21, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. The oil-directed count increased for the fifth straight week, rising 2 more units ( OGJ Online, Aug. 14, 2015 ). The overall count is now down 1,011 units year-over-year. Last week 894 new well permits were issued, up from 832 permits issued during the previous week, according to an energy update by Raymond James & Associates. Utilizing a 4-week average, weekly permits issued were up 22 week-over-week. “Just like the rig count, permits are currently trending above the [year-to-date] lows, but still well below levels seen this past spring,” RJA said. “With WTI closer to $40[/bbl] than $45[/bbl], operators are likely to be reassessing any plans to ramp up activity. If prices continue to fall—or even stay flat as we are modeling—from […]
API: US petroleum demand up in July
Total petroleum deliveries, a measure of demand, rose 2.2% from July 2014 to average nearly 19.6 million b/d last month, according to the American Petroleum Institute’s most recent Monthly Statistical Report . “Demand for and production of oil and refined products grew across the board over the last year,” said API Chief Economist John Felmy. “In fact, demand for and production of oil and refined products were the highest July in 8 years, since 2007.” Gasoline demand rose 2.1% last month from July 2014 to just above 9.4 million b/d, and distillate demand rose 1.1%. US crude oil production increased 8.8% from July 2014 to an average of 9.5 million b/d—the highest July level since 1920. Natural gas liquids production averaged nearly 3.4 million b/d, marking the highest for the month on record and the new all-time record. According to the latest reports from Baker Hughes Inc., the number […]
Statoil gets nod for early phase of Johan Sverdrup
Statoil gets government approval for first phase of operations for giant Johan Sverdrup reserve field. Photo courtesy of Harald Pettersen/Statoil STAVANGER, Norway, Aug. 21 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said the first phase of development plans for the giant Johan Sverdrup oil field were approved by the government. "We are on schedule in the Johan Sverdrup development," Oivind Reinersten, Statoil’s senior vice president for development, said in a statement. "The project activities will now be stepped up, and more contracts will be awarded in the autumn." First oil is expected late 2019. Statoil said the first phase of operations at the offshore field should yield as much as 380,000 barrels of oil per day, roughly half of the expected peak production rate. A Norwegian metal worker in late June started cutting steel for the jacket, the tower support structure, for a riser platform used for Johan Sverdrup. At […]
Scotland frets over oil, but posts economic gains
Scottish government boasts of steady economic growth, but expresses concerns about external factors like the low price of crude oil. File Photo by UPI/Maryam Rahmanian EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 21 (UPI) — The Scottish government said Friday it was on a streak of slow but steady economic growth, but cautioned risks remain from low oil prices and a weak Asia. Scotland reported growth of 0.6 percent during the first quarter of the year, which it said signaled one of the longest continuous streaks of growth since 2001. "Today’s State of the Economy report shows almost three years of uninterrupted growth," Deputy First Minister John Swinney said in a statement. "The most recent figures for this year show all main sectors of the economy recorded growth." Though fiscal year 2016, the government said it expects to see $7 billion in new infrastructure investment. Despite the mid-term growth expectations, the government said […]