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China’s teapot oil refineries set to export fuel for the first time: sources

Smoke rises from chimneys and cooling towers of a refinery in Ningbo, Zhejiang province August 19, 2014. Beijing will allow independent refineries to export refined fuel next year for the first time, sources said, freeing up 20 percent of China’s refining capacity for sales abroad as the government aims to cut a local glut and boost investment. The move will allow independent refineries, also known as "teapots" such as Dongying Yatong Petrochemical and Panjin Beifang Asphalt Fuel, to enter the lucrative international market for the first time, raising concerns about a fresh flood of excess diesel and other fuels into Asia. Currently only state-owned refiners, Sinopec Corp and PetroChina and some smaller state oil firms are allowed to sell abroad. In a rare meeting last week, attended by several provincial trade officials and teapot refinery executives, the Ministry of Commerce told the plants they can now apply for first-quarter […]

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U.S. GDP growth raised for third quarter

The Lower Manhattan skyline, One World Trade Center and Manhattan Bridge are seen in the background as a ferry with a U.S. flag cruises along the East River in New York September 21, 2015. The U.S. economy grew at a healthier clip in the third quarter than initially thought, but strong inventory accumulation by businesses could temper expectations of an acceleration in growth in the final three months of the year. The Commerce Department on Tuesday said the nation’s gross domestic product grew at a 2.1 percent annual pace, not the 1.5 percent rate it reported last month, as businesses reduced an inventory bloat less aggressively than previously believed. The pace of economic growth, which was also boosted by upward revisions to business spending on equipment, suggests a resilience that could help give the Federal Reserve confidence to raise interest rates next month. While consumer spending was revised down […]

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EIA: Texas oil standout for U.S. shale

Texas accounted for the bulk of the increased in proved U.S. oil reserves last year, a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration finds. File photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) — More than half of the increase in proven U.S. oil reserves came from Texas and most of that came from two shale basins, a U.S. federal report found. A full-year 2014 profile from the U.S. Energy Information Administration found total U.S. proved oil reserves of 39.9 billion barrels marked a 9 percent increase from the previous year. Total reserves for that year where their highest since 1972. "U.S. crude oil proved reserves increased in 2014 for the sixth year in a row with a net addition of 3.4 billion barrels of proved oil reserves," the EIA’s report read. Several years of oil priced above $100 per barrel made shale oil exploration and production in […]

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Analysts Forecast 1.1M-Barrel Rise in Crude Stocks

NEW YORK–U.S. crude-oil stocks are expected to show an increase in data due Wednesday from the Department of Energy, according to a survey of analysts by The Wall Street Journal. Estimates from 12 analysts surveyed showed that U.S. oil inventories are projected to have increased by 1.1 million barrels, on average, in the week ended Nov. 20. Nine analysts expect stockpiles to increase, while two expect a decline and one sees no change. Forecasts range from a rise of 4 million barrels to a drop of 2 million barrels. The closely watched survey from the Energy Information Administration is due at 10:30 a.m. EST Wednesday. Gasoline stockpiles are expected to rise by 500,000 barrels, according to analysts. Eight analysts expect a decline, with four expecting a rise. Estimates range from a rise of 2.5 million barrels to a drop of 3 million barrels. Stocks of distillates, which include heating […]

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Analysts See 4-Billion-Cubic-Feet Rise in U.S. Natural Gas Inventories

Analysts and traders expect government data scheduled for release Wednesday to show natural gas inventories rose by more than typical levels for this time of year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected to report that 4 billion cubic feet of gas were added to storage during the week ended Nov. 20, according to the average forecast of 18 analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The EIA is scheduled to release its storage data for the week on Wednesday at noon ET. For the Nov. 20 week, the median estimate is for a rise of 4 bcf. Estimates range from an fall of 5 bcf to a rise of 10 bcf. The estimate for Nov. 20 is above last year’s 141-bcf withdrawal from in storage for the same week, and more than the 36-bcf five-year average draw for that week. If the storage estimate is correct, […]

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States warn US climate plan is illegal

Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: States warn US climate plan is illegal Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no no For 4 […]

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Hedge funds’ oil shorts reach peak for the year

Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: Hedge funds’ oil shorts reach peak for the year Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no no […]

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U.S. Airlines Bet on Long Oil Slump as Millions Lost to Hedging

Two of the world’s biggest airlines are betting that oil prices won’t rally any time soon, growing more cautious after losing hundreds of millions of dollars on hedges. United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. have reduced fuel hedging as oil plunged close to a six-year low. They’ve become more like American Airlines Group Inc., the biggest global carrier, which closed its last hedging position in 2014. “There is a growing realization that American’s approach was the smarter one,” Bob Mann, president of airline consultant R.W. Mann & Co., said in a phone interview. “These programs have not met expectations, costs are very high and the results have underperformed.” Getting it wrong has been costly. Hedging losses over the past three quarters totaled $1.95 billion for Delta, the world’s third-largest airline; $650 million for United, the second largest; and $326 million for Southwest Airlines Co., the fourth-biggest […]

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Alaska Buys Out TransCanada Stake in LNG Project

Alaska paid $64.6 million to buy TransCanada Corp. TRP 1.24 % ’s stake in a proposed project to ship natural gas by pipeline from the state’s North Slope to an export terminal on the coast. The move, which was authorized by legislation passed by the state earlier this month, gives Alaska direct ownership in the project, along with partners BP BP 1.66 % PLC, ConocoPhillips COP 3.83 % and Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM 1.99 % It comes at a time when the outlook for demand for liquefied natural gas is uncertain amid a supply glut that has depressed once lofty spot market prices for the fuel. “By gaining an equal seat at the negotiating table, we are taking control of our destiny and making significant progress in our effort to deliver Alaska gas to the global market,” Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said in a statement Tuesday. The project, known […]

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Standoff over government climate study provokes national uproar by scientists

A top House lawmaker’s confrontation with government researchers over a groundbreaking climate change study is provoking a national backlash from scientists, who say his campaign represents the most serious threat Congress has posed to scientific freedom. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, has subpoenaed scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and demanded that they turn over internal e-mails related to their research. Their findings contradicted earlier work showing that global warming had paused, and Smith, a climate change skeptic, has accused them of altering global temperature data and rushing to publish their research in the June issue of the journal Science. [ NOAA chief tells lawmaker: No one will ‘coerce the scientists who work for me’ ] So far, NOAA officials have resisted Smith’s demands, and the showdown has escalated. The lawmaker has threatened to subpoena Commerce Secretary Penny […]

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Sweden sets goal of fossil-free economy

Swedish government adopts ‘minister for the future’ to steer economy toward a fossil-free economic future. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 24 (UPI) — The Swedish government said it has a "minister for the future" that aims to steer the country toward a fossil-free economy by 2030. The Swedish government said it has one of the lowest levels of emissions among members of the European Union and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. The Swedish government said it’s embarked on a path toward a fossil-free economy by 2030 . Minister for Strategic Development and Nordic Cooperation Kristina Persson, dubbed the "minister for the future" by the government, said the goal can be achieved by breaking the link between economic growth and increased emissions. "We need to do much more than what we are doing presently, and many more countries must try to achieve what we are trying […]

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Norway expects steep drop in rig activity

Norwegian government expects a decline in the number of rigs exploring for or producing oil and gas offshore in 2016. File photo by A.J. Sisco/UPI OSLO, Norway, Nov. 24 (UPI) — There should be a steep drop in the number of rigs deployed for exploration of oil and gas reserves offshore Norway, national statistics show. Lower crude oil prices are influencing exporting and importing nations alike. For Norway’s citizens, the number of jobs in the energy sector decreased by half from third quarter 2014 to third quarter 2015. Data gathered by Statistics Norway find total investments in oil, gas, manufacturing, mining and electricity for 2015 so far are $27.4 billion, down 9.4 percent year-on-year. For oil and gas alone, the year-on-year decline was 11.8 percent. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark price, is about 45 percent lower than this time last year. The decline acts as a form of […]

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Statistics Norway: Number of Active Rigs on Norwegian Shelf to Fall in 2016

The number of active rigs on the Norwegian Shelf is expected to decrease in 2016 due to low oil prices and operator processes to cut rig costs, according to a new survey by Statistics Norway. The number of active rigs on the Norwegian Shelf is expected to decrease in 2016 due to low oil prices and operator processes to cut rig costs, according to a new survey by Statistics Norway. Investments in oil and gas extraction and pipeline transport for 2016 are estimated at $19.7 billion, which is 9.3 percent lower than the corresponding estimate for 2015 given in the fourth quarter of 2014, and 5.6 percent lower than the estimate given in the previous quarter. As a result of this decreased investment, there is expected to be a “sharp decline” in the number of exploration wells drilled in the region next year, according to Statistics Norway. The investments […]

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Rosneft Reports Third-Quarter Profit on Currency Differences

Rosneft OJSC, Russia’s largest oil producer, reported a third-quarter profit after break-even results a year earlier because of a foreign currency gain even as oil prices fell. Net income attributable to shareholders reached 112 billion rubles, the Moscow-based company said in a statement on its website. It reported a foreign currency gain of 83 billion rubles as opposed to a loss of 95 billion rubles a year earlier. Revenue fell 8.4 percent to 1.27 trillion rubles. Russian oil and gas producers Novatek OJSC, Gazprom Neft PJSC and Bashneft PJSC have reported losses or a slump in profit this quarter after crude prices fell to about half of the previous year’s level. Sanctions limiting borrowing have also put pressure on Rosneft as it attempts to reduce debt raised for the $55 billion acquisition of TNK-BP in 2013.

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OPEC Seen Holding the Line as $40 Crude Looms Over Vienna

It’ll take more than $40 crude to make OPEC change its mind, analysts said before the group’s Dec. 4 meeting in Vienna. In the year since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries chose to defend its market share, and let prices sink, a 44 percent plunge in crude has slashed members’ revenues by almost half a trillion dollars. Undeterred, the group will press on with its strategy to batter rival producers when ministers meet next week, according to 30 analysts and traders surveyed by Bloomberg. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest member, appears determined to see through its plan to eliminate a supply glut by squeezing out competitors like U.S. shale drillers, even as the resulting price collapse spurs dissent from Venezuela, Algeria and Iran. The kingdom’s tactic is “having the intended effect” as non-OPEC supply heads for its steepest retreat since the fall of the Soviet Union, according to the […]

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Oil up on Saudi vow for stable prices; glut, firm dollar weigh

A woman pumps gas at a station in Falls Church, Virginia December 16, 2014. Crude oil futures rose more than one percent on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia pledged to work towards oil price stability, while a strong U.S. dollar and an expected rise in U.S. crude stocks helped to keep the gains in check. Brent futures for January LCOc1 climbed 51 cents to $45.34 a barrel as of 0745 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up 52 cents to the session’s high of $42.27 a barrel. "The focus is turning to the upcoming OPEC meeting and the hope that some production cuts will be forthcoming. OPEC member comments leading into the December 4 meeting are likely to continue to drive sentiment," ANZ said in a note on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia led a shift by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in November 2014 […]

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Goldman eyes $20 oil as glut overwhelms storage sites

Oil demand is picking up but following a spell of record falls hitting utility companies such as Telecom Plus. The world is running out storage facilities for surging supplies of oil and may soon exhaust tanker space floating offshore, raising the chances of a violent plunge in crude prices over coming weeks, experts have warned. Goldman Sachs told clients that the increasing glut of oil on the market, together with mild weather due to an abnormally strong El Nino this winter, could send prices plummeting to $20 a barrel, the so-called ‘cash cost’ that forces drillers to abandon production. “Risks of a sharp leg lower remain elevated,” it said. Oil has fallen from $110 a barrel early last year and is hovering near $40 for US crude, and $44 for Brent in Europe. The US investment bank said the overall glut in the commodity markets may take another twelve […]

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Goldman Predicts $20 Oil

Oil prices may fall another 50 percent from their current levels of about $40 a barrel if the world runs out of storage space and mild weather reduces heating demand. “Goldman Sachs told clients that the increasing glut of oil on the global market has combined with mild weather from a freak El Nino this winter. The twin-effect could send prices plummeting to $20 a barrel, the so-called ‘cash cost’ that forces drillers to abandon production,” writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the U.K. Daily Telegraph . “Risks of a sharp leg lower remain elevated,” it said. “America’s storage sites are 70 percent full, in theory leaving room for another 150 million barrels. But this is already tight enough to create regional bottlenecks,” writes Evans-Pritchard . “It will not be sufficient if OPEC continues to flood the global market in a bid to drive out rivals.” Energy producers are pumping out […]

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Oil Prices Slide on Strong Dollar, Surplus Worries

LONDON—Oil prices dropped on Monday, with U.S. crude falling around 3%, as a stronger U.S. dollar and persistent worries about the global surplus of crude continued. Other dollar-priced commodities, from copper to gold, also fell. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, rose 0.4% on Monday, as anticipation continues to mount that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise the interest rates in December . “Oil prices and the USD strength have an inverse relationship and if the USD does strengthen more, oil prices should be taking a hit,” said Daniel Ang, analyst at Phillip Futures. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 90 cents, or 2.1%, to $43.72 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down $1.30, or 3%, at $40.60 a barrel. Market participants remain nervous that […]

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Oil ends steady; Saudi pledge, glut worry causes wild ride

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, April 29, 2013. Brent settled steady and U.S. crude slightly lower on Monday after prices were whipsawed by volatility as Saudi Arabia pledged to work toward oil price stability but traders worried about a global supply glut and signs of rising U.S. stockpiles. Crude rallied early after Saudi Arabia pledged to work toward oil price stability. A run-up in U.S. gasoline and ultralow sulfur diesel (ULSD) futures also boosted the petroleum complex. But prices gave back gains on signs of a growing glut. Market intelligence firm Genscape reported a build of 2.2 million barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for U.S. crude futures for the week ended Nov. 20, traders who saw the data said. Analysts polled by Reuters forecast that data would probably show crude inventories across the United States rose by 1.1 million barrels […]

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Hedge funds turn very bearish on U.S. crude

Traders work in the crude oil and natural gas options pit on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange in New York July 18, 2011. Hedge funds and other money managers had amassed short positions in U.S. crude oil amounting to 154 million barrels by last Tuesday according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Short positions have increased more than 70 percent since the middle of October and stand at the highest level since August, the CFTC showed in its latest commitments of traders report published on Friday ( tmsnrt.rs/1NmVszh ). The number of hedge funds with reported short positions of at least 350,000 barrels in the main WTI contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit 69 last week, the largest number since April ( tmsnrt.rs/1NmVx5V ). The average hedge fund short position has increased from 1.6 million barrels in mid-October to as […]

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Stein’s law says oil prices will rise:

A service truck drives past an oil well on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, November 1, 2014. “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop,” according to Herbert Stein, former chief economist to U.S. President Richard Nixon (“What I think: essays on economics, politics and life” 1998). Stein’s law is one of the most simple but important statements in economic theory, yet it is remarkable how often it is forgotten. Stein’s law explains why oil prices crashed from the middle of 2014 after spending more than three years over $100 per barrel ( tmsnrt.rs/1SVIZk9 ). Most commentators now accept a price of $100 was unsustainable (though at the time there were plenty who predicted prices would remain at that level forever). High prices were encouraging too much new production, especially from U.S. shale, while causing consumption to fall in the advanced economies and slow in […]

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Is Saudi Global Oil Dominance Ending?

Saudi Arabia’s world oil leadership position is under duress. Although this huge Arabian Desert peninsula had been sparsely, tribally populated, when the Ottoman Empire was crumbling by the end of World War I, a combination of positive factors vaulted Saudi Arabia (named after its founder Ibn Saud) into a world oil power leadership position: 1) Five oversized oilfields in the early 1920’s, the largest ever up to that point, shot the Saudis into an oil leadership position, which it has never vacated. 2) By teaming up with the world’s largest American-dominated oil producers in the formation of the Arab/American Oil Company (Aramco), it gained political power from the recognition of incoming President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934. This relationship became so powerful that FDR, just before he died in 1945, issued a statement announcing King Ibn Saud as his chosen political leader for all “Mideast decisions,” in the World […]

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Evercore: Super Majors Ripe for Consolidation and Other Restructuring

Among the major themes of upcoming cycle will be the recovery of US land drilling, offshore restructuring and more risk to service industries, Evercore analysts say. Despite their relative safety during the downturn, large integrated oil companies must make some moves to get higher returns and more investor support, analysts at Evercore ISI said in a Nov. 13 webinar that covered a wealth of industry concerns. Doug Terreson, senior managing director and head of energy research, said that during the last merger phase, which started in 1998, companies were focused on returns at the expense of growth. That lasted until 2008, when their capital spending per shareholder distributions increased and then returns declined. “Both internal and external initiatives are available to the management teams of the super majors, which would enhance their profile with investors in the equity market,” he said. He noted that ConocoPhillips in 2009 and early […]

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Global Oil Job Cuts Top Quarter-Million as Rigs at Five-Year Low

(Bloomberg) — The number of jobs gutted from oil and gas companies around the world has now passed the 250,000 mark, with still more to come, according to industry consultant Graves & Co. "I was surprised it’s gotten this far," John Graves, whose Houston firm assists in oil and gas deals with audits and due diligence, said Friday in a phone interview. The industry has idled more than 1,000 rigs and slashed more than $100 billion in spending this year to cope with oil prices that have fallen by more than half since 2014. Oil services, drilling and supply companies are bearing the brunt of the downturn, having accounted for 79 percent of the layoffs, according to Graves. U.S. oil producers resumed their pullback on drilling this week, idling 10 rigs in an effort to cut costs and stem the rising tide of crude supplies that’s gutted oil prices […]

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US air strike ‘hits 238 IS oil trucks’ in Syria

Image caption IS receives a large portion of its funding from seized oil facilities A US air strike has destroyed more than 238 fuel trucks controlled by Islamic State (IS) militants in north-east Syria, the US military has said. It is thought the pilots found the trucks parked up together, waiting to be loaded at an oil production point near al-Hasakah and Dayr Az Zawr. Warning shots were reportedly fired to scare away the civilian drivers, before the destruction of the trucks began. IS makes large amounts of money from oil it produces from seized facilities. The US Department of Defense says it will release video of the air raid, which took place over the weekend. Last week another 116 tankers were destroyed in a previous air strike. "This was conducted in many ways identical to our last," Pentagon spokesman, Capt Jeff Davis, said on Monday. "It was proceeded […]

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Iran, Venezuela lock step on oil market woes

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his country is keen on ensuring oil market stability by cooperating with Venezuela. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI TEHRAN, Nov. 23 (UPI) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told visiting officials from Venezuela it was incumbent upon producers to improve the situation in the global energy market. "The Islamic Republic of Iran and Venezuela are friends and will do their utmost in favor of their nations’ economic development and welfare," the Iranian president told visiting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro . Iran is eyeing a return to the global energy stage as sanctions pressures ease in the wake of a July nuclear agreement reached between Tehran, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany. By the end of the year, Iran is expected to start up dozens of oil and gas projects , worth an estimated $185 billion. Production from Iran is already […]

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Saudi Arabia says ready to work with others to stabilize oil market

The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, August 21, 2015. Saudi Arabia’s cabinet said on Monday it was ready to cooperate with OPEC and non-OPEC countries to achieve market stability, days before OPEC meets to review its year-long policy of not supporting prices. Oil prices jumped $1 a barrel after the comments, even though they repeated what Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said in a speech last week. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets on Dec. 4. "The council (of ministers) … stressed the kingdom’s role in (achieving) the stability of the oil market and its continuous readiness and efforts to cooperate with all OPEC and non-OPEC countries to maintain the stability of the market and prices," the cabinet said. OPEC has been urging non-member producers such as Russia to join it in cutting supply […]

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KRG hit with $100 million court order

An engineer looks out over gas processing facilities at the Khor Mor field, which is operated by the Emirati companies Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas, in 2013. (JACOB RUSSELL/Iraq Oil Report/Metrography) A British court has ordered the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to pay gas consortium Pearl Petroleum $100 million for condensates and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced at the Khor Mor gas field over the past two years.If the KRG doesn’t settle up or apply to appeal within 14 days, the government, and potentially its senior officials, could be held liable.Executives from several international oil companies invested in Kurdistan have told Iraq Oil Report they are taking a keen in… 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 .

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Iran leader hosts Putin, says U.S. policies threaten Tehran, Moscow

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C) receives a gift from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (L) in Tehran November 23, 2015. Iran’s supreme leader, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tehran, said on Monday U.S. policies in the Middle East region were a threat to both countries and called for closer ties between Tehran and Moscow. The civil war in Syria has evolved into a wider proxy struggle between global powers, with Russia and Iran supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Western powers, Turkey and Gulf Arab states want him out. "The Americans have a long-term plot and are trying to dominate Syria and then the whole region … This is a threat to all countries, especially Russia and Iran," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to his website, at the meeting on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit in Tehran. "The United […]

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Iran Moves Toward Relief With Russian Go-Ahead to Export Uranium

Iran moved a step closer to relief from oil and banking sanctions when President Vladimir Putin decreed Russia is ready to import enriched-uranium stockpiles, allowing an agreement with world powers to take effect. Russia is willing to take any low-enriched uranium over 300 kilograms (660 pounds) in exchange for natural-uranium ore, the Kremlin said today on its website. At current stockpile levels, that amounts to about 8,000 kilograms, with a value of almost $635,000, according to the most recent spot price published by UX Consulting. The July 14 deal with world powers requires Iran to reduce its uranium stockpile by more than 96 percent. Last week, International Atomic Energy Agency officials reported Iran had accelerated compliance with other parts of the agreement, including a reduction in installed enrichment technology. Once IAEA monitors have verified that Iran has met its commitments, oil and banking sanctions that have dragged on the […]

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Shale drilling boosted U.S. oil and gas reserves in 2014: EIA

A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. Reserves of oil and natural gas in the United States shot higher last year, according to government data released Monday, setting records that reveal the extent to which a decade-long drilling boom has transformed the energy landscape. Proved reserves of natural gas rose by 34.8 trillion cubic feet (tcf), or 10 percent, to a record high of 388.8 tcf in 2014, while oil reserves rose 3.4 billion barrels, or nine percent, to 39.9 billion barrels, the highest since 1972, the Energy Information Administration said in a statement. The EIA describes proved reserves as oil and gas that can be extracted using current technology and under today’s economic conditions. The increases, which were the sixth in a row, were driven by prolific production from shale plays that, through hydraulic fracturing, have produced vast amounts of fuel, creating […]

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Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions decreased in nearly every state from 2005 to 2013

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions at the State Level, 2000-13 Note: Click to see information for all states. The United States has a diverse energy landscape that is reflected in differences in state-level emissions profiles. Since 2005, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell in 48 states (including the District of Columbia) and rose in 3 states. EIA’s latest analysis of state-level energy-related CO2 emissions includes data in both absolute and per capita terms, including details by fuel and by sector. This analysis measures emissions released at the location where fossil fuels are consumed. Therefore, to the extent that fuels are used in one state to generate electricity that is consumed in another state, emissions are attributed to the former rather than the latter. An analysis attributing emissions to the consumption of electricity, rather than to the production of electricity, would yield different results. Source: U.S. […]

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North Dakota ‘Man Camps’ Battle Pending Ban In Oil Capital

WILLISTON, N.D., Nov 23 (Reuters) – Providers of temporary housing for North Dakota’s oilfield workers are fighting a plan by the state’s energy capital to evict their "man camps," fearing it could set an example for others and add to the sector’s woes caused by a global commodity slump. Earlier this month, the Williston City Commission voted 3-2 in favor of an ordinance that would deny "man camps" occupancy permit extensions beyond July 2016. Should the ordinance pass in a final vote on Nov. 24, which appears likely, it would mark the first time since the U.S. shale boom began in 2008 that a community has evicted a "man camp," though other communities in Texas and North Dakota have blocked their arrival or expansion. Williston leaders say it is time for oilfield workers to plant permanent roots or use existing hotels for extended stays and point out to abundant […]

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Russia says to halt gas supplies to Ukraine, mulling coal cut off over Crimea

Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak (C) attends an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Tehran November 21, 2015. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow would cut gas supplies to Ukraine on Tuesday or Wednesday because Kiev had not paid up front for more gas and might also halt coal supplies to Ukraine in retaliation for a power blackout of Crimea. Alexander Novak, in comments to Vesti FM radio station, was speaking as Russian-annexed Crimea continued to rely on emergency generators to meet its basic power needs after unknown saboteurs blew up electricity pylons supplying the peninsula with electricity over the weekend. Pro-Ukrainian activists have so far prevented repairs to the damaged pylons and associated power lines. "Today or tomorrow gas deliveries will be stopped because of lack of advance payment," said Novak, saying Ukraine was in any case using very little Russian gas. […]

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Energy Downturn Spreads Beyond the Oil Patch

The prolonged slump in crude prices is rippling beyond the oil industry into areas of the North American economy that, until recently, had managed to avoid the worst of the downturn. With the crude-market decline in its 17th month and nearly a year after OPEC dealt prices a sharp blow by refusing to rein in output, lower profits and mounting losses are crimping budgets, spurring multiple rounds of job cuts and driving some energy companies to seek bankruptcy protection. Signs of that distress are spreading throughout once-booming oil-producing regions across North America. Sales of single-family homes in Houston fell 10% on the year in October, the first double-digit decline this year, according to the local association of real-estate agents. Restaurants in Texas and the Southwest have experienced a drop in revenue and customer traffic, industry tracker Black Box Intelligence said in a recent report. “While we have been seeing […]

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Feature: US EPA decision on RFS looms large for ethanol, gasoline markets

When Congress announced the US Renewable Fuel Standard a decade ago the aim was to combat the growing need for foreign oil as well as increase the production and promotion of clean, renewable biofuels. As 2016 approaches, and the Environmental Protection Agency is days away from the updated renewable volume obligations (RVO) for 2014, 2015, and 2016, the landscape that led to these implementations has changed considerably. Demand for foreign oil in the US has dropped tremendously as domestic oil production has increased to its highest level in 17 years, while the growing increase in fuel-efficient vehicles has led to total gasoline retail sales by refiners dropping to more than half of their 2005 levels. With the EPA proposing lowering the volume requirements by 20.5% (4.2 billion gallons), as well as growing support and creation of anti-RFS lobbying groups, US ethanol and gasoline traders and brokers hesitantly await the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Extreme Weather Tied to Over 600,000 Deaths Over 2 Decades

Photo Destroyed houses after a mudslide caused by Tropical Storm Erika in Montrouis, Haiti, in August. Credit Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images GENEVA — Weather-related disasters in the past two decades have killed more than 600,000 people and inflicted economic losses estimated at trillions of dollars, the United Nations said on Monday, warning that the frequency and impact of such events was set to rise. The figures were released before a United Nations-backed climate meeting, starting next Monday in Paris, at which more than 120 national leaders will try to rein in greenhouse gas emissions and slow the rise in global temperatures. According to the report from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the United States has had the highest number of weather-related disasters in the past two decades, but China and India have been the most severely affected, enduring floods that had an effect on […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Norwegian energy giant addresses climate concerns

Norwegian energy company Statoil sees change coming in energy industry, with renewables meeting most of the future demand. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI OSLO, Norway, Nov. 23 (UPI) — Oil and gas will continue playing a strong role in the global energy sector, but climate issues are sparking an industry sea change, the head of Statoil said. Most major economies have offered climate proposals ahead of the late November meetings in Paris. The U.S. government has plans to cut emissions by about 25 percent of their 2005 levels by 2025, and similar commitments have come from Europe, Russian and Scandinavian countries. Eldar Saetre, the chief executive officer at Norwegian energy company Statoil, said those commitments are not enough to keep climate change in check . "But there are weak signals that give cause for optimism," he said. "On the political side there is stronger willingness and commitment from some […]

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Ukraine Says Will Restore Power to Crimea After Pylons Blown Up

KIEV, Ukraine—Ukraine said Monday it would restore electricity to Russian-annexed Crimea within three days after pylons were blown up, but appeared to make a major concession to activists blocking repair work by imposing a temporary ban on all commercial traffic to the contested region. Pylons supplying electricity to Crimea from southern Ukraine were blown up over the weekend , leaving much of the peninsula without power. While the Ukrainian Interior Ministry still hadn’t identified suspects in the explosions, pro-Ukrainian activists—many of them from the minority Muslim community of Crimean Tatars—continued to block repair works on the pylons Monday. “We are prepared to repair the power lines within 72 hours,” Ukraine’s Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn told the Interfax news agency. “At this time, workers are unable to conduct repair works; explosives have been discovered at those [power] lines.” The activists have staked out the border between mainland Ukraine and Crimea […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EU Climate Head Warns International Agreement Far From Certain

European Union representative Miguel Arias Cañete speaks during a news conference in Quito, Ecuador. BRUSSELS—Days before negotiations for a global deal to fight climate change kick off in Paris, the European Union’s climate and energy czar warned that an agreement is far from certain. Next Monday, world leaders will open two weeks of talks in the French capital on how to protect the planet from the potentially catastrophic consequences of global warming. If successful, the Paris climate conference, also known as COP 21, could, for the first time, bind developed and developing countries into cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. But after four years of preparations, big gaps remain among the 195 governments that have to agree unanimously on any deal. At a summit of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations this month, some governments questioned central elements of the deal—including the overall target of keeping global temperatures from rising […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Prices Slide on Strong Dollar, Surplus Worries

LONDON—Oil prices dropped on Monday, with U.S. crude falling around 3%, as a stronger U.S. dollar and persistent worries about the global surplus of crude continued. Other dollar-priced commodities, from copper to gold, also fell. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, rose 0.4% on Monday, as anticipation continues to mount that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise the interest rates in December . “Oil prices and the USD strength have an inverse relationship and if the USD does strengthen more, oil prices should be taking a hit,” said Daniel Ang, analyst at Phillip Futures. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 90 cents, or 2.1%, to $43.72 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down $1.30, or 3%, at $40.60 a barrel. Market participants remain nervous that […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Commodities clobbered as dollar bulldozes higher

People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. Commodity markets were clobbered and stocks and bonds were also in the firing line on Monday as expectations for a first increase in U.S. interest rates next month in almost a decade pushed the dollar to a seven-month high. Oil fell more than 3 percent and industrial metals copper and nickel plunged, while the euro sagged to a seven-month low as the prospect of more policy easing by the ECB in Europe was compounded by a security lockdown in Brussels. European stocks .FTEU3 were down 0.5 percent despite better-than-expected euro zone data as the slump in commodities and the unrelenting appreciation of the dollar dominated sentiment at the start of the week. Copper CMCU3 slumped to a fresh six-and-a-half year low and nickel CMNI3 tumbled 4 percent to its lowest since 2003 as […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Bulls See Little Chance of Help From OPEC as Supply Grows

Hedge funds are betting OPEC won’t do anything next month to keep crude oil above $40 a barrel. OPEC ministers are likely to keep its output quota steady at a meeting on Dec. 4 in Vienna, according to analysts from JBC Energy GmbH and Societe Generale SA. Last November, Saudi Arabia led the group in maintaining production, accelerating a plunge in oil prices. Supply may swell further next year if Iran resumes sales that were halted by sanctions. “We remain at risk of falling into an even deeper hole,” Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York, said by phone. “We might be looking for the supply surplus to continue through 2016 and through the first half of 2017.” Money managers’ net-long position in West Texas Intermediate crude fell 17 percent in the week ended Nov. 17 to the lowest in more than two months, […]

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Syrian groups: Russian strikes kill over 400 civilians

Russian air strikes in Syria have killed over 400 civilians since September this year, monitoring groups say. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the death toll from September 30 – when the strikes were launched – until November 20 stood at 403 civilians, a figure that includes 97 children. What the bombing has caused Over 400 civilians killed since September this year, including 97 children. The Syrian Network for Human Rights puts the figure at at least 526 , including 137 children. Since last October, at least 42,234 air strikes have been documented. Over 22,370 ‘barrel bombs’ have also been dropped in that period resulting in death of 6,889 civilians , including 1,436 children, and injuring another 35,000 civilians. At least 100,000 people have fled from Aleppo, while another 1,000 fled an Atma displaced camp in Idlib suburbs. The Syrian conflict has killed at least 250,000 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iran says does not need OPEC permission to increase oil production

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh attends an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Tehran November 21, 2015. Iran’s oil minister said on Saturday Tehran does not need to seek permission from OPEC to increase oil production, state news agency IRNA reported. "To increase Iran’s oil production in the global market after the lifting of sanctions, we don’t need permission from OPEC or any other organization," Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying by IRNA on the sidelines of the meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Tehran. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, editing by David Evans)

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple