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Canada orders Alberta pipeline closures

Canada issues suspension order for Nexen pipeline systems amid mounting safety concerns. Photo by Heather Snow/Shutterstock CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 31 (UPI) — Canadian energy company Nexen said safety was its top priority after a provincial regulator ordered dozens of pipelines closed because of maintenance issues. The Alberta Energy Regulator issued a suspension order to Nexen Energy, a Canadian subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corp., calling on the company to shut down more than 90 of its oil and gas networks after the company was found to be in non-compliance with federal regulations. The order came after last month’s report of a failure on the company’s Long Lake pipeline network in the province. About 31,000 barrels of a mixture of oil, water and sand spilled in Alberta from the system. "Given that this company has already had a pipeline failure at this site, the AER will not lift […]

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Canadian Oil Sands Halts Crude Production at Oil-Sands Giant Syncrude

A dump truck is loaded with oil sands at the Syncrude Canada Ltd. mine. CALGARY, Alberta— Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. COSWF 2.60 % , the largest owner of the giant Syncrude oil-sands project, said on Sunday that it has halted production after a fire damaged equipment at its synthetic crude oil processing facility in northern Alberta. The company said the fire, which occurred early Saturday and was extinguished without any injuries, affected pipes connected to a water treatment unit at Syncrude’s heavy oil upgrader on the site of its Mildred Lake oil-sands surface mine. The cause of the blaze is under investigation, it said. While the upgrader’s core machinery wasn’t damaged and the strip mine continues to operate, Canadian Oil Sands said in a statement issued late Sunday that “synthetic crude oil production has been temporarily suspended while a recovery and repair strategy are being developed.” Canadian Oil Sands […]

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Canada’s Oil-Dependent Alberta Province Projects Record Deficit

CALGARY, Alberta—The government of Alberta said Monday its deficit will hit record levels due to the swoon in crude oil prices and an economic slowdown and will consider increasing taxes to reduce that budgetary shortfall. Finance Minister Joe Ceci said Alberta expects the deficit to grow to an all-time high of 5.9 billion Canadian dollars ($4.5 billion) in the fiscal year that began April 1. He said the deficit could hit C$6.5 billion if oil prices remain low, reflecting the province’s reliance on crude production as its chief engine of growth. “There is no doubt that our big challenge is commodity prices that our government in Alberta does not control,” Mr. Ceci said at a news conference in the provincial capital of Edmonton. “No one expected global oil prices to reach levels that they’re at today,” he told reporters. The deficit in Alberta is a poor omen for Canada […]

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Obama to Call for More Icebreakers in Arctic as U.S. Seeks Foothold

ANCHORAGE — President Obama on Tuesday will propose speeding the acquisition and building of new Coast Guard icebreakers that can operate year-round in the nation’s polar regions, part of an effort to close the gap between the United States and other nations, especially Russia, in a global competition to gain a foothold in the rapidly changing Arctic. On the second day of a three-day trip to Alaska to highlight the challenge of climate change and call for a worldwide effort to address its root causes, Mr. Obama’s proposals will touch on one of its most profound effects. The retreat of Arctic sea ice has created opportunities for shipping, tourism, mineral exploration and fishing — and with it, a rush of marine traffic that is bringing new difficulties. “Arctic ecosystems are among the most pristine and understudied in the world, meaning increased commercial activity comes with significant risks to the […]

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Obama Makes Urgent Appeal in Alaska for Climate Change Action

Photo Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott of Alaska hugged Gov. Bill Walker, back to camera, after President Obama arrived Monday in Anchorage. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times ANCHORAGE — President Obama on Monday issued a global call for urgent action to address climate change , declaring that the United States was partly to blame for what he called the defining challenge of the century and would rally the world to counter it. “Climate change is no longer some far-off problem; it is happening here, it is happening now,” Mr. Obama said here at an international conference on the Arctic. “We’re not acting fast enough. I have come here today, as the leader of the world’s largest economy and its second-largest emitter, to say that the United States recognizes our role in creating the problem, and we embrace our responsibility to help solve it.” In remarks that bordered on the […]

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Monthly Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production

Beginning with the June 2015 data, EIA is providing estimates for crude oil production (including lease condensate) based on data from the EIA-914 survey. Survey-based monthly production estimates starting with January 2015 are provided for Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, and the Federal Gulf of Mexico. For two states covered by the EIA-914—Oklahoma and West Virginia—and all remaining oil-producing states and areas not individually covered by the EIA-914, production estimates are based on the previous methodology (using lagged state data). When EIA completes its validation of Oklahoma and West Virginia data, estimates for these states will also be based on EIA-914 data. For all states and areas, production data prior to 2015 are estimates published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly. Later in 2015, EIA will report monthly crude oil production by API gravity category for the individually-surveyed EIA-914 states. […]

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EIA: New U.S. Oil Data Shows Lower 2015 Production

NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) – The U.S. oil industry pumped less crude than initially estimated this year, according to new government data that offered the clearest look yet at the impact of drillers’ retrenchment in response to collapsing prices. The downward supply revisions were "unambiguously" bullish for a global market awash with oil, said Credit Suisse global energy economist Jan Stuart, suggesting the oft-cited resilience of U.S. shale producers to lower crude prices might have been overstated. Oil prices surged by as much as $3 a barrel on Monday, with some traders citing the new data. The Energy Information Administration said its new survey-based output data showed the United States pumped a hair below 9.3 million barrels per day in June, down by 100,000 bpd from a revised May figure. The June figure was also nearly 250,000 bpd below what the EIA had estimated a few weeks ago, […]

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Russian oil company Rosneft reports second-quarter loss

Russian oil company Rosneft boast of ‘dynamics of revenue’ after posting a loss in its second quarter results. Photo courtesy of Rosneft MOSCOW, Aug. 31 (UPI) — Russian oil company Rosneft said profits for the second quarter were down because of market and currency volatility, but performance was better than expected. Rosneft reported second-quarter profits at $1.99 billion, about 22 percent lower than the same period last year. Chairman Igor Sechin in a statement said the second half of the year was characterized by a high degree of volatility in crude oil prices and the value of the ruble, for which the decline against the U.S. dollar helped offset other market factors. "The company demonstrated better dynamics of revenues, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization and adjusted net income in the first half 2015 compared to first half 2014 taking into consideration change in average oil prices, both […]

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Russia, Venezuela to Discuss Potential Steps to Stabilize Oil Prices

MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss “possible mutual steps” to stabilize the global price for oil at a meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in China on Thursday, a Kremlin aide said, as both countries grapple with lower prices for their main export. Venezuela, a Russian ally that has been hit hard by plunging oil prices, has been pushing for an emergency meeting with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in coordination with Russia to work out a strategy to halt the recent retreat in prices, people familiar with the matter said. The Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov, didn’t expand on what potential steps could be taken but said they could be “within the context of Russia’s cooperation with OPEC.” Russia also has been hurt by lower crude prices, as oil and gas account for half of federal budget revenue. But officials have repeatedly said that Russia, which vies […]

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Russia’s Gazprom Posts 29% Net Profit Growth

MOSCOW—Russian state gas giant PAO Gazprom said net profit for the second quarter was up 29% from the same period last year as a higher ruble price made up for lower sale volumes in its most-lucrative European market. Gazprom said net profit stood at 294 billion rubles ($4.6 billion), while revenue was down 4% from the previous year at 1.27 trillion rubles. The lower sales volumes reflect the increased competition that Gazprom is facing from rivals in Russia and in Europe. Total gas production was down 9% in the first six months of the year at 221.3 billion cubic meters, Gazprom said. Sale volumes to Europe slid 7% in the first half of the year, but revenues grew 7% to 947 billion rubles as the weaker Russian currency meant the ruble price was 21% higher than for the same period last year, the company said. Sales volumes and revenue […]

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