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US Oil Production Finally Starting to Decline

There has been very little data to post about recently and as everyone should know by now, I post primarily about data. So if there is no data there is not much to post about. Also I have been very busy for the a week now and have checked in only a couple of times. A few days ago a very racist post was posted on this blog. I completely overlooked it as I seldom scan the posts because I get an email for every post so I just read the posts in the emails. But when there is a guest post, as the one last week was, I get no emails, the guest poster gets them instead. Anyway I deleted the post and banned the poster. I also banned another poster because he accused me of deliberately letting the post stay up. That outraged me. It was the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EPA releases final Clean Power Plan; 32% reduction in CO2 from power plants by 2030

« MINI Connected app relaunches with greater focus on driving-related functions | Main | DOT releases Connected Vehicle Reference Implementation Architecture v2.0 » The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the final Clean Power Plan (CPP). The rules establish the first national standards to limit CO 2 emissions from fossil-fuel-fired power plants, with a target of a 32% reduction against a 2005 baseline by 2030. The 32% reduction target is 9% more aggressive than in the draft proposal of the CPP released in 2014. ( Earlier post .) The 2030 target is in alignment with the Administration’s earlier economy-wide emissions targets, including the goal of reducing emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 and to 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. Under the Clean Power Plan, by 2030, renewables will account for 28% of national capacity, up from 22% in the proposed rule. Carbon dioxide is the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Clean Power Plan ignores gas’s potential role, industry groups say

The Obama administration’s final rule to curb US power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions did not acknowledge natural gas’s potential contributions, officials from two national oil and gas associations initially said in separate statements following the regulation’s Aug. 3 release. “America is leading the world in reducing emissions thanks to a revolution in the production and use of gas,” said Howard J. Feldman, senior director of regulatory and scientific affairs at the American Petroleum Institute. “We can continue that progress without costly new regulations that could hurt consumers and stifle economic growth.” America’s Natural Gas Alliance Pres. Martin J. Durbin said while ANGA intends to examine the administration’s plan more closely, initial indications are that the White House discounted gas’s ability to reduce GHG emissions quickly and reliably while contributing to growth and helping consumers. “With the reported shift in the plan, we believe the White House is perpetuating the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Cracking Open Re-fracking: A Flush Rush or Idle Probing?

Squirting fluid that made hydraulic fracturing work two years ago down the same old fractured well may not be the surest way to make a buck in an industry eager to turn a profit. Then again, the folks in the lab and in the field might be onto something. The desire to charm hydrocarbons from the ground without the expense of additional drilling is strong and has lingered for decades. Re-fracking has been in practice, with mixed results, on vertical wells for years. It’s only in the last few years that engineers have started returning to the source of all those hydraulically fractured wells with re-fracking. Most estimates indicate it costs $8 million to drill and complete a new well. Re-fracking a well costs about 25 percent of that figure, which is enticing some of the largest oilfield services companies into the lab. But exactly what “best practices” might […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. Natural Gas Exports to Mexico Taking Off

Just as Space X rockets may be taking off from the beaches at Boca Chica near Brownsville, natural gas exports to Mexico look to also sky rocket in the coming years. Due to changes in Mexican law in 2013 opening the electricity market to private investment, billions of dollars in contracts have been let to build power plants, electrical distribution facilities and natural gas pipelines. In turn U.S. pipeline companies and gas producers have moved to capture the lion’s share of that market. Given the fact that Texas and Gulf Coast producers have been rapidly losing their old Northeast and Midwest markets to Marcellus producers this has proven to be a timely and vital new market. The Energy Information Agency (EIA) estimates that natural gas exports to Mexico were 3% of production in April 2015 and are expected to grow to 5% by 2030. While not nearly as important […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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North Dakota oil activity stable

Rig data show slump endures in North Dakota, though energy companies starting to improve operational efficiency. File Photo by UPI/Shutterstock/ekina BISMARCK, N.D., Aug. 3 (UPI) — The number of rigs actively exploring for or producing oil in North Dakota is holding steady, though data show overall production is rebounding slightly. State data show 74 rigs in active service as of Monday , relatively unchanged from one month ago. North Dakota is the second largest oil producer in the nation and, while diversified, its economy depends in part on the surge of oil taken from shale basins in the state. The North Dakota Industrial Commission reported oil production in May, the last full month for which government data are published, at 1.2 million barrels per day, just shy of the all-time record posted in December 2014. More than 90 percent of the oil produced in North Dakota comes from the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Obama says no challenge greater threat to U.S. future than climate change

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the Clean Power Plan at the White House in Washington August 3, 2015. President Barack Obama on Monday formally unveiled his administration’s ramped-up plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants and declared climate change the greatest threat facing the world. Speaking to a friendly crowd at the White House a few months before international climate talks in Paris, Obama said the world may not be able to reverse global warming if aggressive action to stop it is not taken. Obama rejected criticism that his plan would increase energy bills for Americans, hurt the poor, and cost jobs. "This is the right thing to do," he said.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EPA power act target of potential court action

EPA measure aimed at curbing power plant emissions draws early threats of legal action. Photo by Reinhard Tiburzy/Shutterstock WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) — The U.S. mining industry said Monday it was considering legal action in response to tighter greenhouse gas rules unveiled by the Obama administration. The final version of the Clean Power Plan, envisioned last year, sets a goal of cutting emissions of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, by 32 percent of their 2005 baseline by 2030, 9 percent more than in the original proposal. The Environmental Protection Agency said the measure will enhance public health in a way to stimulates the economy and leads to a 30 percent increase in renewable energy generation by 2030. For consumers, the EPA said the average family will save about $85 annually once the all reforms are in place. The Clean Power Plan would require states to meet specific emission […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Big U.S. coal miner Alpha Natural files for bankruptcy

Alpha Natural Resources Inc, one of the largest U.S. coal companies, became the latest in the hard-hit industry to seek bankruptcy on Monday. The move comes as President Barack Obama is expected to unveil tough new measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. Alpha blamed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy on tougher regulatory standards and policies that favor renewable energy, as well tumbling prices for its coal. Alpha is the world’s third-largest supplier of metallurgical coal used in making steel and has also been hit by a slowdown in China. Walter Energy Inc and Patriot Coal Corp also filed for bankruptcy protection this year. Energy Future Holdings Corp, a power company that also has a large coal mining business, has been in bankruptcy since 2014. Alpha Natural, with total liabilities of $7.11 billion, has reported adjusted losses for the past 14 quarters. The company said on Monday […]

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‘Perfect Storm’ Engulfing Canada’s Economy Perfectly Predictable

That’s one dark perfect storm. Oil rig photo via Shutterstock. Economists, an irrational tribe of short-sighted mathematicians, are now calling Canada’s declining economic fortunes "a perfect storm." It seems to be the only weather that complex market economies generate these days, or maybe such things are just another face of globalization. In any case, economists now lament that low oil prices have upended the nation’s trade balance: "Canada has posted trade deficits every month this year, and the cumulative 2015 total of $13.6 billion is a record, exceeding the next highest, in 2009, of $2.95 billion." But this unique perfect storm gets darker. China, which Harperites eagerly embraced as the globe’s autocratic growth locomotive , has run out of steam. As the country’s notorious industrial revolution unwinds, China’s stock market has imploded. Communist party cadres are now putting their money in foreign housing markets in places like Vancouver. Throughout […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA