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House move on oil exports moot, White House says

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest stresses decisions on U.S. crude oil exports rest with the Commerce Department. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) — Congressional moves to repeal a crude oil exports ban are irrelevant because those decisions rest with the Commerce Department, the White House said. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a measure to lift a ban on U.S. crude oil exports. The ban was enacted in the 1970s after Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries briefly stopped exporting oil to the United States because of Washington’s support for Israel. Rep. Joe Barton , R-Texas, who introduced the bill, said the U.S. oil boom needs to benefit overseas allies as much as it has the domestic economy. "The ban on exporting crude oil imposes an estimated $200 billion – $600 billion cost to the U.S. economy, discourages crude oil production, […]

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IEA sees high risk in arctic oil

Shell has permit to start drilling into oil-bearing zones in the Burger prospect off the Alaskan coast, described once as one of the bright spots in North America. IEA says risks are too great at the moment. Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. LONDON, Sept. 18 (UPI) — The incoming executive director of the International Energy Agency said drilling for oil in arctic waters may be geologically and economically prohibitive. "I believe that arctic oil is not for today, and not for tomorrow — maybe for the day after tomorrow," Fatih Birol told The Guardian newspaper in London. "It’s geologically difficult, technologically difficult, lots of environmental challenges, and the cost of production is very, very high, especially if you look at the current oil price levels." The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in August awarded Shell with one permit to start drilling an […]

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Rig numbers not a strong production indicator

Shale oil production in the United States as companies wait for market conditions to improve, analysis finds. File photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI DENVER, Sept. 18 (UPI) — Even if rig numbers across U.S. shale oil basins hold steady, current economics means production could start to decline, a forecasting unit of Platts reported. Low crude oil prices, down about 50 percent year-on-year, means energy companies have less capital to invest in exploration and production. In Texas, the No. 1 oil producer in the nation, the state energy regulator said the 864 drilling permits awarded in August was 64 percent lower year-on-year. The rig count in North Dakota, the No. 2 oil producer, of 67 is 66 percent lower than this date in 2014. Sami Yahya, an analyst with Bentek, the forecasting unit for Platts, said energy companies are figuring out ways to save money by either drilling en masse […]

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EPA Accuses Volkswagen of Dodging Emissions Rules

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen AG VLKAY -4.52 % of deliberately dodging air-pollution rules on nearly half a million cars sold, furthering an Obama administration crackdown on auto makers for flouting regulations intended to reduce tailpipe emissions. The EPA, which unveiled the allegations with the California Air Resources Board, issued a notice on Friday alleging the German auto maker used software in the cars to get around government emissions tests. EPA officials said the software, dubbed a “defeat device,” worked to make 482,000 Volkswagen cars appear cleaner than they were. The Clean Air Act requires vehicle manufacturers to certify to EPA that their products meet federal air-pollution standards. EPA officials said Volkswagen violated two parts of the federal Clean Air Act and could face sizable financial penalties of up to $37,500 per car, or more than $18 billion. But it remained unclear whether the government would seek […]

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U.S. Oil-Rig Count Falls in Latest Week

The U.S. oil-rig count fell by eight to 644 in the latest reporting week, the third-straight decline after six consecutive weeks of increases, according to Baker Hughes Inc. BHI -3.29 % The number of U.S. oil-drilling rigs, which is viewed as a proxy for activity in the oil industry, has fallen sharply since oil prices started falling last year. The rig count dropped for 29 straight weeks before climbing modestly in recent weeks. Despite recent increases, there are still about 50% fewer rigs working since a peak of 1,609 in October. According to Baker Hughes, the number of gas rigs rose by two to 198. The U.S. offshore rig count was 31 in the latest week, unchanged from last week and down 31 from a year earlier. For all rigs, including natural gas, the week’s total was down six to 842.

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Debt service uses a rising share of U.S. onshore oil producers’ operating cash flow

graph of U.S. onshore oil producers’ debt service as a share of operating cash flow, as explained in the article text Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Evaluate Energy Note: Each quarter represents a rolling four-quarter sum. Results from second-quarter 2015 financial statements of a number of U.S. companies with onshore oil operations suggest continued financial strain for some companies. Low oil prices have significantly reduced cash flow for U.S. oil producers, and to adjust to lower cash flows, companies have reduced capital expenditures and raised more cash from debt and equity. Because of the large amount of debt accumulated from past years, a higher percentage of operating cash flow is being devoted to servicing debt. Debt service payments consist of principal repayment to creditors and typically are fixed in both amount and frequency, agreed upon before a company receives a bank loan or issues a bond. Some […]

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September cargoes help stabilize US West Coast gasoline inventories

With rising imports offsetting depleted production, sources say West Coast gasoline supply is showing signs of stabilization. The US Energy Information Administration reported gasoline imports into the US West Coast rose 48,000 b/d to 111,000 b/d for the week ended September 11. According to cFlow, Platts trade flow software, at least seven gasoline cargoes were in the Los Angeles area or en route for delivery over the past week. That helped offset sagging production and stocks in the region. Weekly production of CARBOB fell 6.7% to 6.79 million barrels for the week ended September 11, according to the California Energy Commission. CARBOB stocks fell 7.2% to 5.1 million barrels. However, one source said the supply problems that have hampered the West Coast all summer seem to have dissipated, at least for now. "The differentials seem stable," he said. "Not much trading going on." The differential for Los Angeles CARBOB […]

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Low price, increased generation use means record year for natural gas: Bentek

Record levels for production, power burn and storage injection will make 2015 a record year for natural gas, Jeff Moore, senior energy analyst at Platts unit Bentek Energy, told attendees Friday at the 38th annual Coal Marketing Days conference in Pittsburgh. Moore said that while coal plant retirements have helped fuel an increase in natural gas generation, the real driver behind in the rise in demand is the commodity’s continued low price. With the Henry Hub price staying below $3/MMBtu, natural gas generation is deployed ahead of coal, Moore said. Bentek data shows that natural gas demand has remained above five-year highs for the entire year and it predicts that trend will continue through the end of 2015. Article continues below… Platts Natural Gas Alert provides global coverage of the major natural gas and LNG markets, including real-time spot market transactions reported as deals are done and key end-of-day […]

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Clinton Would Support End to Oil Export Ban Only With Concessions

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says she would support lifting the US ban on crude exports if it meant a move toward cleaner energy. Durham, N.H., Sept 18 (Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Friday she would support lifting the 40-year-old U.S. ban on crude exports only if the measure included concessions from the oil and gas industry to move toward cleaner energy. Clinton said she had not yet seen any legislation on lifting the ban that included concessions from the fossil fuel industry, In the absence of that, "I don’t think the ban should be lifted," Clinton told reporters. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a measure scrapping the trade restriction in coming weeks, after a panel in the chamber passed the bill on Thursday. Oil drillers say the ban needs to be repealed to keep the domestic energy boom alive. Opponents […]

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