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Exxon, Chevron Brace for Darker Times as Earnings Slump

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., the biggest U.S. energy producers, hunkered down for a prolonged stretch of weak prices after posting their worst quarterly performances in several years. Exxon reported its lowest profit since 2009 as crude prices fell twice as fast as the world’s largest crude producer by market value could slash expenses. Chevron recorded its lowest profit in more than 12 years after the market rout forced $2.6 billion in asset writedowns and related charges. The companies’ shares fell to multi-year lows. Stung by the worst market collapse since the financial crisis of 2008, oil explorers from The Hague to Calgary to Houston are firing staff, scaling back drilling, canceling rig contracts and reducing share buybacks to conserve cash. Chevron said the slump convinced it to lower its long-term outlook for crude prices. “This is the beginning, not the end, of the writedown process,” Paul Sankey, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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TransCanada Alberta Pipelines Set Back by Oil Rout, Keystone Lag

TransCanada Corp. is slowing work on two pipelines in Alberta because of reduced demand tied to lower crude prices and setbacks to its major oil export projects. TransCanada is indefinitely bumping back construction that was planned for earlier this year on its Heartland line from Edmonton to Hardisty since the Keystone XL and Energy East systems it would supply are delayed, executives said Friday on a conference call. Full expansion of the company’s Grand Rapids line from Fort McMurray to Edmonton, now under construction with startup planned for 2016, is being slowed as production rises more slowly in the oil sands. “A lot of the commercial underpinning for Heartland is tied to Energy East and Keystone XL,” said Paul Miller, president of liquids pipelines at TransCanada. “We do anticipate a slowing growth of throughput and build-out of the Grand Rapids system to align with the slowing pace of oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Tumbling oil prices slam profit at Exxon Mobil, Chevron

The Belgian headquarters of oil giant ExxonMobil, where Britain’s Nicholas Mockford worked, is pictured in Machelen, northern Brussels, October 27, 2012. Weak oil prices CLc1 shriveled quarterly profit at Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ) and Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ), compelling both companies to rethink operations and plan for what many expect to be a sustained period of cheap crude. Earnings at Exxon and Chevron, two of the world’s largest oil producers, also missed analysts’ expectations, adding to concerns that perhaps executives had not acted quickly enough to mitigate the impact of an over-50-percent drop in oil prices since last summer. The results also highlighted how smaller and more nimble U.S. shale oil companies had slashed costs faster and more aggressively than global majors. Some shale producers have cut back drilling by 60 percent or more. Exxon’s profit fell by more than half, with the biggest drop in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia slows rate of cuts amid ruble weakness

Russia’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points on Friday, amid signs of renewed weakness in the country’s currency, the ruble . The move by Russia’s Central Bank (CBR) was as expected, according to a poll of analysts by Reuters, and eases the pace of cuts to its key interest rate. In a statement, the bank said it took the decision "taking into account that the balance of risks shifts towards the considerable economy cooling despite a slight increase in inflation risks." The bank also forecast the Russian economy could weaken further. "Major macroeconomic indicators demonstrate further economy cooling. The Bank of Russia estimates gross domestic product (GDP) decrease in the second quarter of 2015 compared with the similar quarter last year to be more significant than that in the first quarter of 2015." "The economic situation in Russia will further depend on the dynamics […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The Aquaponics Solution

Vertical hydroponics systems at Victus Farms. In Brief Our current industrial food system is unsustainable. Demand for food continues to grow while soil erosion, groundwater depletion and climate change are constricting supply. In addition, intensive use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, water, fossil fuels, and genetic engineering are eroding human, community, and environmental health. The rise of local, sustainable food systems present solutions to many of these problems, but these approaches are unable to consistently provide quality food on an annual basis. Aquaponics holds the promise of solving this fundamental problem of local food systems, and does so while requiring far less land, water, fertilizers, pesticides, fossil fuels, and genetic engineering. This article reports on a novel, sustainable, and economically viable model for aquaponic food production year-round, even in locations with harsh winter climates. Key Concepts Our current industrial food system is environmentally and socially unsustainable. The rise of local, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple