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U.S. crude inventories might be tighter than they look: Kemp

Stacked rigs are seen along with other idled oil drilling equipment at a depot in Dickinson, North Dakota June 26, 2015. U.S. oil markets have been transformed over the last decade by the emergence of oil trading and storage as a major business in its own right, separate from production and refinery operations. At the end of 2014, there were more than 390 million barrels of crude stored at refineries and tank farms as well as in transit in pipelines and barges and in storage tanks at oilfields. Commercial crude stockpiles had climbed by more than 100 million barrels since the end of 2004, almost 38 percent, according to annual data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). By the end of April 2015, commercial stocks had climbed by another 105 million barrels to a record 491 million as the oversupply in the global oil market ended up […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bosch presenting new heat pump EV thermal management system at IAA; up to 25% increase in effective range

« Toyota Tsusho becomes official partner for EFOY Pro direct methanol fuel cells in Japan | Main | DEINOVE and Tyton partner to combine bacterial fermentation solutions with energy tobacco feedstock for biofuels and bio-based chemicals » At IAA next week, automotive supplier Bosch is presenting a new heat-pump-based thermal management system for EVs that it says can enable an increase in effective range of up to 25% without modifications to the battery. In battery-driven powertrains, heating and cooling can play a significantly greater role than in gasoline or diesel engines, since without a combustion engine, the vehicle does not have a generous supply of heat. If the passenger compartment is heated using a purely electrical system drawing its power from the battery, range can be significantly reduced. As a result, there has been interest in the industry about the use of heat pumps as a lower energy-intensity solution. […]

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US House panel set to approve crude oil exports bill Thursday

A US House Energy and Commerce subcommittee is expected Thursday to approve a bill to lift all limits on US crude exports. The House energy and power subcommittee is scheduled to vote on a bill from Texas Representative Joe Barton, a Republican, to repeal these limits, which have been in place for roughly four decades. In a joint statement, Michigan Representative Fred Upton, a Republican and the full committee’s chairman, and Kentucky Representative Ed Whitfield, a Republican and the subcommittee’s chairman, said current limits on US crude exports have become "obsolete." "We have taken a thoughtful approach to reconsidering oil exports, and the time to lift the ban is now," Upton and Whitfield said. The subcommittee vote, which will be the first of its kind in the House, is expected to set up a potential full House vote as early as this month. There are enough votes in the […]

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Impact of Exxon Valdez spill on fish far greater than thought, study finds

Federal scientists may have found a link between the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and a decline of herring and pink salmon populations in Prince William Sound. In a study published Tuesday in the online journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that embryonic salmon and herring exposed to even very low levels of crude oil can develop heart defects. Herring and pink salmon juveniles that were exposed to crude oil as embryos grew slower and swam slower, making them vulnerable to predators, said John Incardona, a research toxicologist at NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, in a prepared statement Exxon Valdez: 25 years later We explore the lasting impacts of oil spills on communities and the country. "These juvenile fish on the outside look completely normal, but their hearts are not functioning properly and that translates directly into reduced swimming […]

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Heitkamp Reacts to Methane Ruling

Global Warming Debate Rages North Dakota senator, Heidi Heitkamp, pushes back against the latest federal mandate to reduce methane emissions. President Obama revealed a plan last month that would require oil and gas companies to cut methane pollution from drilling sites, distribution systems and in other areas of operation. This ruling is part of the President’s broad and aggressive plan to fight climate change, and many believe it would literally transform the energy industry. The EPA said the proposed standards will reduce 340,000 to 400,000 short tons of methane in 2025, the equivalent of reducing 7.7 to 9 million metric tons of CO2. The agency estimates the rule will yield net climate benefits of $120-150 million in 2025. Senator Henkamp is proposing bipartisan, “commonsense solutions” to reduce methane emissions including speeding up the permit approval process for gas-gathering lines and pipeline projects to reduce flaring. Heitkamp commented, “Energy production […]

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Baker Hughes: North America adds more rigs

Baker Hughes data show an increase in the number of rigs deployed across the North American energy sector. Photo by Calin Tatu/Shutterstock HOUSTON, Sept. 8 (UPI) — The number of rigs actively exploring for or producing oil and natural gas in North America increased by nearly 4 percent, Baker Hughes said Tuesday. Baker Hughes published its rig count report for August , finding a net increase in the upstream sector in North America. Energy companies in the first half of 2015 unveiled cost-savings strategies as crude oil traded at a 50 percent discount from June 2014. Low crude oil prices means less capital for exploration and production, a trend data from Baker Hughes suggests may be reversing. "The average U.S. rig count for August 2015 was 883, up 17 from the 866 counted in July 2015, and down 1,021 from the 1,904 counted in August 2014," it said. "The […]

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Gas prices should begin steady decline

Only one state — South Carolina — has an average price below $2 per gallon, though more may follow suit as refiners switch to a cheaper production process. UPI/John Angelillo GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sept. 8 (UPI) — Though refinery issues kept retail gasoline prices somewhat elevated, a switch to a different blend of gas will be a net industry win, GasBuddy.com reports. The price watchdog website reports a national average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at $2.39 per gallon, about 2.8 percent less than last week and 8 percent lower than one month ago. The national average price is 30 percent, or $1.04 per gallon, less than this date in 2014. An outage at BP’s refinery in Whiting, Ind., last month skewed the national average price higher because gas prices in the Great Lakes states spiked by up to 50 cents per gallon. Low output from […]

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Canadian Oil Sands Not Planning to Sell Future Production

Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. isn’t planning to sell future royalty production after considering the option, a company spokeswoman said. Canadian Oil Sands has enough liquidity to survive a period of low oil prices, Siren Fisekci, a company spokeswoman, said in a phone interview on Tuesday. The company isn’t pursuing any other plans at the moment to raise capital and isn’t for sale, she said. Management of the largest owner of Syncrude Canada Ltd. spoke with Holder Highfields Capital about selling some future production for upfront payment to help boost the company’s flagging shares, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier. The oil-sands producer in January cut its dividend the most since 1998 to cope with sinking crude prices. Shares of Canadian Oil Sands have declined 38 percent this year. The stock rose 3.7 percent to C$6.50 at 2:44 p.m. in Toronto.

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U.K. North Sea Oil Industry Warns Investment May Fall 80% to ’17

Investment in U.K. North Sea oil and gas projects could drop as much as 80 percent by 2017 as the collapse in oil prices forces the industry to cut back. Capital investment across the industry of 14.8 billion pounds ($22.8 billion) last year will probably decline by 2 billion to 4 billion pounds annually to 2017, Oil & Gas U.K., an industry lobby group, said in its annual economic report Wednesday. “This great industry of ours is facing very challenging times,” Deirdre Michie, Oil & Gas U.K.’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Exploration for new resources has fallen to its lowest level since the 1970s” and few new projects are gaining approval from “hard-pressed” companies, she said. The decline in crude prices of more than 50 percent over the past year has forced the oil industry to review projects and reduce operating costs. The U.K. North Sea […]

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Russia Dismantles Fiscal Rules as Oil Volatility Rattles Budget

Step by step, Russia is undoing the budget policy assembled during the past decade as it tries to ride out turmoil on the energy market. The government is halting the so-called budget rule a week after announcing plans to drop three-year fiscal plans in favor of a one-year program for 2016. That rule, which went into effect in 2013 and sought to cap public spending based on average long-term oil prices, may be modified, reinstated or dropped entirely, Economy Minister Alexey Ulyukayev told reporters Tuesday in Paris. The world’s biggest energy exporter is tearing down its fiscal mechanisms as it contends with fluctuations in the price of oil, which together with gas accounts for about half of budget revenue. Crude is down more than 25 percent from this year’s closing peak in May, helping deepen Russia’s first recession since 2009 and putting the budget on course for its widest […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple