Category:

US House Panel Passes Bill To Repeal Oil Export Ban

A US House of Representatives subcommittee passes a bill to repeal the US ban on oil exports, providing momentum in the chamber for overturning the 40-year old trade restriction. WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee passed a bill on Thursday to repeal the U.S. ban on oil exports, providing momentum in the chamber for overturning the 40-year old trade restriction. The House Energy and Power subcommittee passed the bill by a voice count. The legislation, sponsored by Republican Representative Joe Barton of Texas, is expected to be voted on by the full Energy and Commerce committee next week. Passage by the full panel would set it up for a wider vote by the Republican-led House, where it is expected to pass. The measure, however, still faces an uphill battle in the U.S. Senate. Barton said the energy landscape has changed since 1975 and repealing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

US oil producers thirsty for cash eye wastewater unit spin-offs

Some U.S. oil producers are trying to sell parts of their lucrative saltwater disposal businesses in a sign that cheap crude is already forcing cash-starved companies to sell assets so oil can keep flowing. Many oil companies rely on outside contractors, which tend to be small, privately-held companies, to inject the briny byproduct of crude production hundreds or thousands feet deep into the earth, well below the water table. But for producers which own such facilities, the high-margin business has served as a source of cost savings and steady revenue, factors that also make them appealing to yield-seeking investors in master limited partnerships (MLPs) and private equity funds. SandRidge Energy Inc and Oasis Petroleum Inc are two publicly traded oil producers openly marketing their saltwater divisions. SandRidge is planning to raise cash by listing it as an MLP and Oasis is seeking at least a partial sale. "The psychology […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Mounting distillate stocks spur US Atlantic Coast tank changes

US distillate stocks rose yet again in the week ended September 4 to the highest level since 2011, US Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday, marking the latest move in an upward trend that has pushed some East Coast storage operators to switch gasoline tanks to distillate service in recent weeks. The stocks were up 952,000 barrels to 150.90 million barrels, marking the 11th consecutive week in which the number rose and the strongest level since October 7, 2011, when they were 154 million barrels, according to the data. The ULSD stocks have built on a strong contango in the market throughout most of the summer, leading companies to buy and store product to capture cheaper prices and the carry in the market. "I don’t think we’ve had the structure [in past years] that we’ve had in the market for most of the summer," one distillate source said. "I […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ontario refineries shove foreign oil aside

Enbridge pipelines credited for shifting eastern Canadian refineries away from foreign crude oil. Photo by Heather Snow/Shutterstock CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 10 (UPI) — Refineries in Ontario have shifted from foreign to domestic supplies of crude oil in the 14 years ending in 2014, the national energy regulator said. The National Energy Board attributed pipeline developments from Enbridge for the turnaround beginning in 2000, when 46 percent of the crude oil refined in Ontario came from foreign supplies. By 2014, foreign supplies were nearly eliminated from the provincial downstream sector as more domestic crude oil moved east. In the five years ending in 2010, Enbridge expanded a pipeline system to move more western Canadian crude oil to Ontario and U.S. refineries so that, by 2010, domestic crude accounted for 79 percent of Ontario feedstock. Since 2013, Enbridge completed further pipeline expansions and overhauls. "By 2014, almost all of the crude […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Brooklyn Plans to Avoid Blackouts With Utility-Disrupting ‘Microgrids’

If you want to see how U.S. utilities could lose control of the electricity industry, keep an eye on Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood, which spent a week in the dark after Hurricane Sandy hit New York in 2012. Red Hook is planning to use a mix of solar panels, battery storage and small wind turbines to create a “microgrid” that can power local apartment buildings, businesses and a community center, as well as ensure the neighborhood can successfully endure another big storm. New York state has approved preliminary plans for 83 such microgrids . While most, including Red Hook’s, remain in the planning stages, some have drawn support from companies that include General Electric Co., NRG Energy Inc., Siemens AG and Hitachi Ltd. It’s an effort that may help erode the hold big utilities have had over U.S. power generation for more than a century. “The time for pilots […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Russia: Global Shale Output Decline Will Stabilize Oil Market

MOSCOW, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Russia’s energy minister expects that cuts in global shale oil production, which has been hard hit by lower oil prices, will help stabilize the fragile oil market. Alexander Novak also reaffirmed that Russia, one of the world’s top oil producers, would not cut its own production as it would lead only to a short-term recovery with risks of subsequent slumps in prices. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for around a third of global oil output, changed its policy in 2014 to defend market share and discourage competing supply sources, rather than cut its own output in the face of lower prices. "Shale oil has been leaving the market bit by bit. This is a good and positive signal, which allows one to say that the market will stabilize in mid-term," Novak told Rossiya-24 TV in an interview aired on Thursday. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Why Vladimir Putin Won’t Be Helping OPEC to Cut Oil Production

Few things have more potential to spook the oil market than the prospect of Russia joining forces with OPEC. Speculation that such a move was afoot last month drove crude to its biggest three-day gain in 25 years. Despite the market buzz, there are sound economic and technical reasons why this is unlikely to happen. “Russia and OPEC have talked about cooperation in cutting production many times in the past, but the results of that were always dismal and disappointing,” said Nordine Ait-Laoussine, president of Geneva-based consultant Nalcosa and former energy minister of Algeria. “Russia has assumed that when oil prices go down, OPEC countries are in a weaker position and are more likely to be the first to cut its production, and they always did.” Russia vies with Saudi Arabia and the U.S. for the title of world’s largest oil producer. When Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said last […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil prices fall as Asia’s leading economies slow further

An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, July 21, 2014. Oil prices fell on Thursday as weak Japanese and Chinese economic data fueled concerns that low levels of investment could further erode already slowing global growth. Japan’s core machinery orders fell 3.6 percent in July, official data showed, much worse than a 3.7 percent increase expected by economists, and followed a 7.9 percent month-on-month decline in June. In Asia’s biggest economy China, the producer price index fell 5.9 percent in August from the same period last year, its 42nd consecutive month of decline and the biggest drop since the depths of the global financial crisis in late 2009, data showed on Thursday. With many economies facing headwinds, ANZ bank said global growth for 2016 and 2017 would hold around 3.5 percent, revised down from the 4 percent it had previously forecast. ANZ added that […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Prices Edge Higher Ahead of Data

LONDON—Oil prices were up slightly on Monday, as traders positioned themselves ahead of the release of key U.S. supply data. Late Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, reported that U.S. oil inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels last week— a bearish sign of the continuing oversupply of crude. But market participants are awaiting data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which are typically seen as more definitive, later on Thursday. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect inventories to have increased by 1 million barrels last week. The EIA said on Wednesday that U.S. oil production fell to a nearly one-year low in August and was likely to keep falling well into 2016, an indication that the year-old price rout is affecting the country’s booming oil industry. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.2% to $47.68 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Prices Sell in Face of Lower U.S. Output

Government forecasters lowered their estimates for oil prices and oil traders sold off Wednesday despite further signs that the collapse of crude prices is putting long-term pressure on the U.S. oil boom. The country’s oil production fell to a nearly one-year low and is likely to keep falling for months longer than expected, until next September, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its monthly short-term forecast. Drilling has become unprofitable now that crude prices have fallen by more than half since 2014’s peak, the agency said. But for any cut coming from the U.S. and many other nations around the world, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will fill the void, EIA said. It raised its expectations for OPEC production, keeping world production virtually unchanged through next year. It is the latest sign that there is no end for a year-long battle to keep customers by flooding […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Get gas flowing, Noble tells Israeli government

Noble Energy wants full Israeli support for an agreement that would open up key gas basins in the Mediterranean Sea. Photo by James Jones Jr./Shutterstock HOUSTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) — Parliamentary support for a framework agreement for Israeli oil and gas development is a welcome step, but full backing is needed, Noble Energy said. The Israel Antitrust Authority ruled that Israeli energy company Delek Group and its partners at Noble Energy, which has headquarters in Texas, control all of the gas reservoirs off the nation’s coast. A compromise deal from 2014 called on Noble and Delek to sell their stakes in the Karish and Tanin fields off the coast of Israel, which combine for an average 20.5 trillion cubic feet of reserves, in exchange for maintaining their holdings in Leviathan and Tamar, two of the largest gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea. On Monday, the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Designing Secret Way to Monitor Iran’s Nuclear Program

WASHINGTON—The U.S. intelligence chief said Wednesday that the government is designing a secret way to monitor Iran’s compliance with a pending agreement aimed at curbing its nuclear program, which will go beyond scrutiny from the International Atomic Energy Agency. “We are fielding some independent capabilities, which I can’t go into…that will enable us to have good insight into the nuclear industrial enterprise of Iran, if I can call it that,” U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said at a Washington conference called the Intelligence and National Security Summit, without offering any details. Mr. Clapper, who has spent more than 50 years working in a variety of government intelligence posts, stopped short of predicting whether the Iranian government would abide by the nuclear agreement, which the White House and five other world powers brokered with the Iranians. But he said the U.S. and others would likely know if Iranians […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.N. Atomic Agency Queries Iran on Ambiguities About Past Nuclear Work

The United Nations atomic agency has sent questions to Iran in a bid to shed light on continued “ambiguities” about Tehran’s past nuclear work, the organization said Wednesday. Under an agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the organization had until Sept. 15 to submit the questions that relate to written information Tehran provided on Aug. 15 about its past nuclear activities. Iran says its nuclear program has always been purely peaceful. Many Western officials believe Iran worked in the past on gaining nuclear weapons know-how. The IAEA probe into Iran’s work has become a flash point of critics of the July 14 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers with critics saying the terms of the probe will allow Tehran to avoid a serious accounting for its past actions. “The IAEA submitted on 8 September questions to Iran on ambiguities regarding the information Iran provided […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Republican Revolt Stalls House Debate on Iran Nuclear Deal

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders on Wednesday postponed debate on President Obama’s landmark nuclear accord with Iran amid a revolt by some Republicans who claimed the White House had not disclosed secret side agreements on the deal. The delay of the historic debate because of Republican infighting opened a new twist in the White House’s effort to move forward with the accord, but it appeared it would have little impact on its prospects. Under the legislation passed this spring that gave Congress a say in the nuclear deal, lawmakers have until mid-September to approve or disapprove the accord. If they do nothing, it goes into force. On Tuesday, the administration succeeded in securing the votes needed in the Senate to block the Republican disapproval resolution on the deal in that chamber, sparing Mr. Obama from having to use his veto pen. But even as the White House seemed to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Saudi Arabia August oil output dips slightly: industry source

A gas flame is seen in the desert near the Khurais oilfield, about 160 km (99 miles) from Riyadh, June 23, 2008. Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production fell slightly by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, an industry source told Reuters on Wednesday, but still maintained historically high output levels in line with a strategy of defending market share. The world’s top oil exporter pumped 10.26 million bpd in August, while crude supplied to the market was at 10.18 million bpd, down by about 78,000 bpd from July, the industry source said. Supply to the market, both domestically and for export, may differ from production depending on the movement of oil in and out of storage. "Production is based on customers’ needs. It is an indication that Saudi is trying to match the customers’ needs," the source said. This week Saudi-based industry sources said the kingdom’s level of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Arab Gulf countries to discuss unifying oil product pricing

The six oil ministries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will meet Wednesday to discuss the possibility of unifying the prices of oil products, Kuwait’s oil ministry said in a statement late Sunday. The meeting, planned for Doha will be attended by undersecretaries from each of the ministries — from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia andthe United Arab Emirates– according to state-run KUNA news agency. The group will review a memo prepared with the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) to increase cooperation on energy and petroleum strategy. The Kuwaiti ministry highlighted the importance of the Doha meeting in light of rapid changes in the global oil industry and the need for stability, KUNA reported. No further details on the plan were given. Refined product prices in the region vary considerably with different levels of subsidies applied in each. Changing direction remains a political challenge. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Pemex 2016 Spending Budget Reduced as Woes Build After Reform

As Petroleos Mexicanos seeks investment from outside Mexico, it’s losing some support from the government. President Enrique Pena Nieto announced Tuesday that Mexico’s budget proposal would include 293 billion pesos ($17 billion) for Pemex investment in 2016, down from 366 billion pesos this year and the lowest amount allocated to the world’s ninth-largest crude producer since 2007. As the Mexican state-owned oil producer heads for an 11th straight year of production declines, it now faces a 20 percent cut in its budget for investments in oil fields next year. That puts further pressure on Pemex, which has lost money 11 quarters in a row, as foreign firms line up to bid for the right to drill in Mexican territory. With the goal of boosting supply, the company has no plans to pump less to support prices, Finance Minister Luis Videgaray said Tuesday. The reduction of the company’s investment, which […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Tanker-Rate Slump Ending as Asia Refiners Restock African Crude

For operators of very large crude carriers, the tankers that move as much as 2 million barrels of oil across oceans on a single trip, the fourth quarter can’t come fast enough. Since July, shipping rates have dropped by 47 percent after later-than-usual maintenance caused Asian refineries to close and demand to fall. Now rates are poised to reach their highest levels in a final quarter since 2008, according to analysts who point to growth in the amount of crude scheduled to be loaded from West African countries in October. Nigeria is aiming for a 9.5 percent rise in the number of barrels shipped compared with last year, while Angola’s programs show a 6.7 percent increase. The total of Nigeria and Angola’s loadings is set to be the highest for an October since records began in 2008. The most likely buyer for the added barrels is Asia, with China […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China’s crude imports are robust, details are not: Russell

A container box is loaded on to a truck at a port in Rizhao, Shandong province, August 12, 2015. If you were looking for a bright spot in China’s dismal trade numbers for August, your eyes may be tempted to focus on crude oil imports. A total of 26.59 million tonnes, equivalent to 6.26 million barrels per day (bpd) were imported, according to customs data. While this was a 13.4-percent drop from July’s 30.71 million tonnes, it’s worth bearing in mind that July was the record high in terms of tonnes and some pullback was always likely. August’s imports were up 5.6 percent from the same month last year. What’s more important is that crude imports are up 9.8 percent in the first eight months of the year compared to the same period in 2014, at 220.67 million tonnes, or about 6.63 million bpd. A gain of almost 10 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Oil Production to Fall, EIA Says

Government forecasters on Wednesday said U.S. oil production fell to a nearly one-year low and that low crude prices are likely to keep U.S. production falling through 2016. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, in its monthly short-term energy outlook, said that production fell by 140,000 barrels a day in August from the prior month. Production averaged 9.6 million barrels a day at its peak in April, the highest level since 1971, and has steadily declined since then to 9.1 million, the lowest since September. Oil traders have been closely focused on U.S. production in recent months, after a global glut of crude oil sent prices plunging in 2014. With the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries producing above its target of 30 million barrels a day, investors say U.S. production needs to fall to make the market less oversupplied. The agency has pushed back its expectations for a U.S. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Citigroup Sees U.S. Oil Output Losing 500,000 Barrels a Day

Photographer: Martin Divisek/Bloomberg A funding squeeze threatens to cut U.S. oil output by as much as half a million barrels a day by the end of the year, with shale producers among the worst affected, Citigroup Inc. said. “Capital markets thus far have plugged shale’s funding gap but are showing signs of tightening, with impacts for drilling, oil supply and global prices,” Richard Morse and Ed Morse, analysts at Citigroup in New York, said in a note. Access to high-yield credit markets for debt-strapped producers is “sharply contracting,” they said. High-cost oil producers in the U.S. have been forced to scale back in the past year after members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to maintain output to defend their market position. U.S. crude prices have dropped almost 40 percent since OPEC announced its policy change in November to trade at about $45 a barrel Wednesday. “The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Contain Iran with oil, U.S. export backers say

Contain Iran with a decision to lift the ban on U.S. crude oil exports, supporters say. Photo by Ali Mohammadi/UPI WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) — With Iran expecting to return to the global energy market, U.S. allies need a reliable source of crude oil in the way of exports, a production supporter said. The House Foreign Affairs Committee scheduled hearings Wednesday on the implications of a nuclear agreement reached in July between Iran, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany. Supporters of the agreement, which gives Iran widespread sanctions relief in exchange for nuclear assurances, describe it as a victory for diplomacy. Opponents worry about potential national security concerns for the United States and its allies in Israel. George Baker, executive director of the Producers for American Crude Oil Exports, said lifting a 1970s ban on domestic crude oil exports would send a de facto […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. residential solar capacity booming

U.S. solar industry report finds more residential use and momentum spreading across more U.S. states. Photo by Craig Russell/Shutterstock WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) — With development spreading, the U.S. residential solar power market set a record during the second quarter with new installations, an industry report said. A report from the Solar Energy Industries Association with support from green energy market adviser GTM Research finds second quarter residential solar capacity grew 70 percent year-on-year to 473 megawatts. The report finds that 10 states have installed more than 10 MW of solar power during the second quarter, up from the four reported during second quarter 2013. The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab published a survey in August of about 80 percent of all U.S. residential and non-residential photovoltaic systems installed through 2014 and found national median installed prices declined 9 percent year-on-year for residential systems, 10 percent for small-scale, non-residential systems, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Oil Production to Fall, EIA Says

Government forecasters on Wednesday said U.S. oil production fell to a nearly one-year low and that low crude prices are likely to keep U.S. production falling through 2016. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, in its monthly short-term energy outlook, said that production fell by 140,000 barrels a day in August from the prior month. Production averaged 9.6 million barrels a day at its peak in April, the highest level since 1971, and has steadily declined since then to 9.1 million, the lowest since September. Oil traders have been closely focused on U.S. production in recent months, after a global glut of crude oil sent prices plunging in 2014. With the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries producing above its target of 30 million barrels a day, investors say U.S. production needs to fall to make the market less oversupplied. The agency has pushed back its expectations for a U.S. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Federal Court Denies States’ Request to Temporarily Block EPA Carbon Rules

WASHINGTON—A federal court denied a request by more than a dozen states on Wednesday to temporarily block the Obama administration’s carbon regulations while they mount a full legal challenge to the rules. The decision is an early victory for the Environmental Protection Agency, which completed the rules last month calling for carbon emissions from power plants to be cut 32% by 2030 from 2005 levels . The regulations are the cornerstone of President Barack Obama ’s climate plan, and Wednesday’s ruling is an early legal salvo in what is expected to be a yearslong court battle over Mr. Obama’s climate agenda. Last month, 15 states asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to issue an emergency stay blocking the rules , noting that they would be required “to spend significant and irrevocable sovereign resources now” to be in a position to meet the initial deadline […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

US Cuts Crude Output Forecast as Rout Weakens Shale Boom

(Bloomberg) — The collapse of oil prices will have a slightly bigger impact on U.S. crude production this year and the next than previously estimated, the Energy Information Administration said. The agency reduced its output forecast for this year by 1.5 percent to 9.22 million barrels a day, according to its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook. It cut the 2016 forecast to 8.82 million from 8.96 million last month. “U.S. monthly crude oil production is expected to decline through the middle of next year in response to low oil prices,” EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said in an e-mailed statement. “Current low oil prices are making some U.S. oil production less profitable.” America’s shale drillers have sidelined more than half their rigs since October as they confront tumbling prices. The number of active oil rigs in the U.S. fell by 13 to 662 last week, according to data compiled by Baker […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. crude output to fall 1 million barrels in 2016 from 2015 peak: EIA

Stacked rigs are seen along with other idled oil drilling equipment at a depot in Dickinson, North Dakota June 26, 2015. U.S. oil production is set to fall slightly farther than expected a month ago, the U.S. government said on Wednesday, in a sign the year-long slump in global prices is weighing more heavily and for longer than expected on the country’s shale boom. 2016 U.S. crude oil production is expected to fall by 400,000 barrels per day to 8.96 million bpd, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Last month, the energy agency also forecasted a decline of 400,000 bpd, but at an output of 9.32 million bpd. While much of the decrease is likely a result of recently revised government forecasts showing downward supply revisions for the first five months of the year, data from the EIA’s short term energy outlook showed that U.S. oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

An Energy Firm’s Collapse Casts Ominous Sign Over Mortgage Bonds

A pair of office towers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is giving commercial real estate investors more reason to worry that the collapse in oil prices is starting to infect their market. The biggest tenant, oil and gas producer Samson Resources Corp., vacated one of the more than a dozen floors it occupied, according to a report from the firm that services a $45 million mortgage on the buildings known as the Williams Center Towers. Samson, which is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection this month, has indicated it will abandon another floor next year, and its lease gives it the right to withdraw from more space after that, according to the report. Samson’s shrinking footprint is laying bare the risks faced in cities that boomed amid the U.S. shale revolution — and are now the most vulnerable to the commodities rout. That’s increasing concern in the market for commercial mortgage […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Oil Production to Fall, EIA Says

Government forecasters on Wednesday said U.S. oil production fell to a nearly one-year low and that low crude prices are likely to keep U.S. production falling through 2016. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, in its monthly short-term energy outlook, said that production fell by 140,000 barrels a day in August from the prior month. Production averaged 9.6 million barrels a day at its peak in April, the highest level since 1971, and has steadily declined since then to 9.1 million, the lowest since September. Oil traders have been closely focused on U.S. production in recent months, after a global glut of crude oil sent prices plunging in 2014. With the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries producing above its target of 30 million barrels a day, investors say U.S. production needs to fall to make the market less oversupplied. The agency has pushed back its expectations for a U.S. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Short-Term Energy Outlook

Highlights North Sea Brent crude oil prices averaged $47/barrel (b) in August, a $10/b decrease from July. This third consecutive monthly decrease in prices likely reflects concerns about lower economic growth in emerging markets, expectations of higher oil exports from Iran, and continuing growth in global inventories. Crude oil price volatility increased significantly, with Brent prices showing daily changes of more than 5% for four consecutive trading days from August 27 to September 1, the longest such stretch since December 2008. EIA forecasts that Brent crude oil prices will average $54/b in 2015 and $59/b in 2016, unchanged from last month’s STEO. Forecast West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices in 2015 and 2016 average $5/b lower than the Brent price. The current values of futures and options contracts for December 2015 delivery ( Market Prices and Uncertainty Report ) suggest the market expects WTI prices to range from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Low natgas prices, high utility stockpiles weigh on US railroad coal volumes: executives

With myriad headwinds driving down coal shipments this year, officials with Class 1 US railroads painted a dim picture of their coal business Wednesday while speaking at the Cowen and Company 8th Annual Global Transportation Conference in Boston. In presentations broadcast online, officials with CSX, Northern Southern, Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern and Genesee & Wyoming sited low natural gas prices, mild summer weather and high utility stockpiles as the primary causes for a drop in demand. Fredrik Eliasson, CSX’s chief sales and marketing officer, said the railroad will lose about $400 million in coal business this year compared with 2014 and by the end of this year about $1.3 billion of coal revenue will have "disappeared" over the last four years. "I think it’s more and more realistic to think that where we are from a coal perspective, we’re not going to go back to kind of the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Low U.S. gasoline prices are supercharging fuel sales

A car is filled with gasoline at a gas station pump in Carlsbad, California August 4, 2015. As the summer driving season ends, U.S. gasoline prices have fallen to the lowest level for the time of year since 2004, wiping out the effect of more than a decade of rising fuel bills. The average retail price of gasoline across the United States was just $2.53 per gallon on Monday, including federal, state and local taxes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retail prices have fallen by $1 per gallon, approximately 30 percent, compared with the same time last year and have not been this low at the end of the driving season since 2004 ( link.reuters.com/mex55w ). Gasoline prices are seasonal, reflecting higher demand in summer than winter and the limited capacity of the refining system. Over the last decade, gasoline prices have generally fallen on average by […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Cheap Russian Gas Tempts EU Buyers as LNG Import Growth Stalls

Europe lowered purchases of liquefied natural gas for a third month in August as buyers boosted purchases of oil-linked fuel through pipelines from Russia. LNG imports by 10 nations in the region that receive the tanker-delivered fuel dropped 3.4 percent from a year earlier in August, after reaching a two-year high in March, according to data from Genscape Inc. Russian pipeline supplies soared about 20 percent from a year earlier in August, remaining at the highest level this year, tracking declining crude prices, according to data from Gazprom PJSC, the world’s biggest gas producer. Europe, which imports as much as 70 percent of its gas needs, has increased shipments from Russia as contract prices declined because they follow crude with several months delay. Traders bought more LNG as they waited for pipeline gas prices to drop further in the third quarter, encouraged by a slump in Asian LNG prices […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Withering Reserve Buffer Forces Russia to Waive Key Budget Rule

Russia is overhauling its approach to crafting the budget next year to safeguard reserves, highlighting the challenges it faces in steering the recession-hit economy through a downturn in oil prices. Russia used 900 billion rubles ($13 billion) in the first eight months from the Reserve Fund, one of its two sovereign wealth funds, to cover the deficit, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Wednesday at a government meeting in Moscow. The non-oil shortfall, the gap excluding revenue from the energy industry, was 11 percent of economic output in the first half, the widest in 10 years, according to Siluanov. To temper the effects of the unfolding crisis on public finances, the government is suspending the so-called budget rule in 2016, a week after announcing plans to drop three-year fiscal plans in favor of a one-year program. The rule, which went into effect in 2013 and sought to cap public spending […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

British energy sector bracing for downturn

British energy sector should brace for further staff cuts, industry body warns in an annual report. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI LONDON, Sept. 9 (UPI) — The British energy sector should brace for more staff reductions as companies take steps to endure the weak crude oil market, industry body Oil & Gas U.K. said. The industry’s lobbying group in its annual report said new spending in exploration and production is expected to fall by up to $6 billion per year over the next three years for its lowest levels since the 1970s. "This great industry of ours is facing very challenging times," the group’s chief executive, Deirdre Michie, said in a statement. Michie’s group in an early 2015 report said the market outlook was "bleak." The government’s overseer, British Oil and Gas Authority, this week called on companies to consider "all possible alternatives" to layoffs. Job losses in the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil markets rise as Asian stocks soar

A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. Crude oil prices stabilized on Wednesday as Asian stock markets caught a tailwind from a strong performance in the United States and Europe, although fuel markets remained generally dogged by oversupply. Asian shares extended a global rally on Wednesday, with markets in China stabilising and Japanese stocks posting their biggest one-day gain since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, and traders said the more upbeat sentiment had flowed into oil markets. The Brent global crude benchmark was trading at $49.64 per barrel at 0654 GMT, up 12 cents from its last settlement after jumping 4 percent in the previous session. "Stabilisation in Chinese equity markets has… played an important role," ABN Amro said on Wednesday, referring to firming Brent. In Japan, weekly crude and refined products statistics showed stable utilization rates and stock […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Prices Ride Gains in Asian Markets as Sentiment Improves

By Eric Yep Oil prices moved into positive territory with small gains in Asian trade Wednesday, buoyed by stronger sentiment across financial markets in the region. Chinese equity markets, which have been a source of volatility and uncertainty for oil and commodities prices, were broadly higher, tracking an overnight rally in U.S. stock markets. The Shanghai Composite Index was last up by 1.7%. "Oil markets continue to be driven by everything but fundamentals," consulting firm Energy Aspects wrote, adding that equity markets and macroeconomic data are in the driving seat amid seasonally low liquidity. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at $46.15 a barrel at 0336 GMT, up $0.21 in the Globex electronic session. October Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.24 to $49.76 a barrel. Oil prices have fallen by around 14% so far this year, and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Crude Prices Stay in Negative Territory; Brent Crude Rises 1.8%

LONDON—International oil benchmarks diverged on Tuesday as U.S. prices caught up with the previous day’s drop in Brent crude when U.S. markets were shut for a holiday, but behind the split the market remained focused on a recurring theme, the Chinese slowdown. On Tuesday, worse than expected trade data out of China added to fears of the slowdown in the world’s No. 2 oil consumer. Oil prices dropped to more than six-year lows last month following a slew of weak economic readings, a slide in the Chinese stock market and continued concerns about oversupply . “We experience further sell-off in [U.S.] crude oil as bearish Chinese data verified our recent concerns about how weak the Chinese economy has become,” said Myrto Sokou, analyst at Sucden Financial Research. Meanwhile, robust German exports data provided some support for Brent, the global oil benchmark, Mrs. Sokou added. Exports from Europe’s biggest economy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Democratic Support for Iran Nuclear Deal Reaches Critical Threshold

Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) said Tuesday he would endorse the Iran nuclear deal. WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Tuesday crossed a key threshold in building support for the Iran nuclear deal , winning the backing of enough Senate Democrats that he could avoid having to use a veto to advance the accord. The new support, of 42 senators, means a shift in focus in the debate over the agreement, which was reached in Vienna in July. What had been a struggle to win over undecided lawmakers turned Tuesday into wrangling over procedure. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) had been planning a formal floor debate over the Iran deal. But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) now has enough support to block the legislation—technically, a resolution disapproving the deal—on procedural grounds, and he worked Tuesday to keep Democrats in line behind the strategy. Such a move would […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran awaits Austrian energy investments

Iran welcomes Austrian president and representatives from energy company OMV to review post-sanctions trade relations. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI TEHRAN, Sept. 8 (UPI) — Iran is preparing to welcome Austrian oil and natural gas company OMV back to the energy sector as sanctions pressure eases, a deputy Iranian minister said. Austrian President Heinz Fischer arrived Monday in Tehran, leading business delegates to the country to review potential trade relations with the Islamic republic. Amir-Hossein Zamani-Nia, the Iranian deputy oil minister in charge of international affairs, told the oil ministry’s officials news site SHANA, the Iranian energy sector was opening its doors to investors . "Using new technologies, OMV is ready to double production of Iran’s oil and gas fields through enhanced oil recovery and improved oil recovery methods," he said, without specifics. SHANA reports Rainer Seele, the chief executive officer at OMV, met Tuesday with Oil Minister Bijan […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Moves to Block Russian Military Buildup in Syria

Photo Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia has expressed surprise at receiving a call Saturday from Secretary of State John Kerry warning Moscow not to expand its military role in Syria. Credit Yuri Kochetkov/European Pressphoto Agency WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday moved to head off preparations for a suspected Russian military buildup in Syria as Bulgaria agreed to an appeal from the Obama administration to shut its airspace to Russian transport planes. The planes’ destination was the Syrian port city of Latakia. The administration has also asked Greece to close its airspace to the Russian flights, Greek and American officials said, but Greece has not publicly responded to the request. The apparent Russian military preparations and the Obama administration’s attempt to block them have escalated long-running tensions between the White House and the Kremlin. Although the United States and Russia agree that the Islamic State is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Norway’s DNO Gets Paid for Kurdish Oil Exports

By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland OSLO–Norwegian oil company DNO ASA (DNO.OS) confirmed Wednesday that it has received $30 million from the regional government in Iraqi Kurdistan for oil exports from the Tawke field, boosting hopes that payments will happen on a regular basis. The regional government in Kurdistan said Monday it had authorized payouts of a total $75 million to exporting oil companies, following an announcement in August that it would start paying companies on a regular basis. The previous government payout to oil companies in the region for their exports was in December 2014. The Kurdistan government is struggling to cover its financial needs amid lower oil prices, but acknowledged that it’s unrealistic to expect international oil companies to keep producing and exporting oil at the current pace without predictable payment. Oil exports from Kurdistan are taken to the global market through a pipeline to Ceyhan, Turkey, and is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Expectations of Saudi oil shake-up stir uncertainty

A view of the Khurais oilfield, about 160 km (99 miles) from Riyadh, June 23, 2008. A shake-up of Saudi Arabia’s oil leadership by King Salman has introduced a new element of unpredictability to its energy policymaking at a moment when Riyadh is grappling with slumping crude prices and its war in neighboring Yemen. State oil giant Aramco has been without a permanent chief executive since April, when Khalid al-Falih was made health minister, and the old Supreme Petroleum Council, where energy policy was historically made, was abolished in January. While the world’s top crude exporter has always prized stability and consistency in crafting oil policy, the changes, alongside a shift in market strategy that contributed to the world price slump, have left analysts and traders guessing as to King Salman’s long-term vision. The main tenets of Saudi oil policy – maintaining the ability to stabilize markets via an […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

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 .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil Ministry names two new company chiefs

The Nahr al-Umran gas refinery in northern Basra, July 17, 2009. (ATEF HASSAN/Reuters) Iraq’s Oil Ministry has named new directors general for the state-run South Refineries Company (SRC) and North Gas Company (NGC).*The senior deputy director general of the South Oil Company (SOC), Mahmoud Abdul Amir Hashim, will be the new director general at SRC, according to a Sept. 6 Oil Ministry decree seen by Iraq Oil Report and subsequently confirmed by SOC and SRC employees. Ahmed Fadhil Dehaim, previously the head of the SOC administrative board, will replace Hashim as deputy directo… 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
Category:

Saudi-led offensive in Yemen faces dangerous new phase

Supporters of the Houthi rebel movement at a rally to protest a military offensive by the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s ousted president, Aug. 24, 2015, in Sanaa. Mohammed Huwais / AFP / Getty Images ADEN, Yemen — When young garage mechanic Aidaroos Saleh heard the familiar ping of his smartphone, he could never have imagined the journey on which the incoming message would take him. In a matter of weeks, Saleh, 22, went from fixing cars in his adopted country of Saudi Arabia to the battle front of his southern Yemen homeland. The message was an official communication, a call to arms for Yemenis in Saudi Arabia to join a fighting force that would “defend Aden” — the southern Yemeni city that descended into civil war in mid-March. Four months after he responded to the message in April, the young fighter sat cradling an AK-47 assault rifle between his […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Coalition strikes Yemen capital, more foreign troops reported arriving

A Saudi-led alliance launched more air strikes on Yemen’s capital and more foreign troops were reported to be moving into the country as the campaign to rout Houthi forces intensified. The Houthi-run state news agency Saba said that 15 citizens were killed and 77 were wounded in the attacks by warplanes on Sanaa. Medical sources said at least 15 civilians were killed in similar attacks on Monday. It was not immediately possible to independently verify the figures. The alliance, made up mainly of Gulf Arab countries, has increased air strikes on Sanaa and other parts of the country since Friday, when a Houthi missile attack killed at least 60 Saudi, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates soldiers at a military camp east of Sanaa. They were part of a force preparing to assault the capital, which the Iranian-allied Houthis seized last September. Friday’s attack was the deadliest yet for Gulf […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

New IEA chief Birol calls for ‘partnership’ with China on first official trip

The then-chief economist of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol speaks during a question and answer session at the Oil & Money conference in London in this file photo taken on October 1, 2013. The International Energy Agency’s new chief called on Wednesday for a "greater partnership" between his organization and China, the world’s largest energy consumer, in his first official trip. Fatih Birol, who took over the top post at the Paris-based IEA this month, told an audience of Chinese officials and foreign diplomats in Beijing that a top priority during his four-year tenure will be to strengthen ties with emerging powers that are non-members. "China is at the top of the list," he said. China is the world’s second largest oil importer, although it has been challenging the United States more and more for the No.1 spot, with its crude buys and the strength of its demand […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Humbled by cheap oil, Continental Resources trims budget

Storage tanks stand on a Continental Resources oil production site near Williston, North Dakota January 23, 2015. Continental Resources Inc cut its 2015 budget for at least the third time on Tuesday, as it grapples with the reality of cheap crude, but North Dakota’s second-largest oil producer said it still expects double-digit production growth this year. Founder and Chief Executive Harold Hamm canceled all of Continental’s oil hedges last fall after calling OPEC leader Saudi Arabia a "toothless tiger" in a bet that a price rebound would soon materialize. But no such sustained rebound has yet occurred, forcing thousands of layoffs across the oil industry and leading many of Continental’s peers to curb their own spending. Globally, oil companies have cut their budgets by about 20 percent this year, analysts at Barclays, the investment bank, said on Tuesday. But U.S. output has stayed quite resilient thanks to a rise […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Shell confirms has canceled Westward Ho pipeline project

Shell’s company logo is pictured at a gas station in Zurich April 8, 2015. BG Group’s bonds traded up strongly on Wednesday on the back of Royal Dutch Shell’s US$70bn offer to buy the UK firm. Royal Dutch Shell shelved its Louisiana-to-Texas Westward Ho pipeline after years of delays, reductions in scope and after other new pipelines began flowing, a spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday. "After a thorough review and as a result of changing market conditions, Shell Pipeline Company LP has decided to not proceed with the proposed Westward Ho Pipeline project," spokeswoman Kimberly Windon said. Proposed in 2011 at a top capacity of 900,000 barrels per day, Shell said Westward Ho would move Gulf of Mexico and imported crudes from the St. James, Louisiana oil hub to Houston. The leg between Nederland, Texas and Houston would move up to 500,000 bpd, and the entire project was targeted to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple