oil prices fell for the first time in 4 weeks this week, tumbling from a 2 year high to a one month low, on progress toward a deal that would lift sanctions on Iranian crude... after rising 0.7% to $65.37 a barrel last week amid volatility caused by the ransoming of the Colonial pipeline, the contract price of US light sweet crude for June delivery opened higher on Monday, lifted by European economic reopenings and rising U.S. demand and climbed 90 cents to settle at $66.27 a barrel, the highest oil price in over two years, as optimism built around the comeback of fuel demand, despite the persistent Covid-19 flare-ups in parts of Asia...oil prices then rose more than 1% early Tuesday amid bets that energy demand would rise steadily following reopenings of the European and U.S. economies, but plunged after headlines that significant progress had been made on a deal between Iran and the U.S., which would end sanctions and bring more supply to the market, as oil settled 78 cents lower at $65.49 a barrel...prices fell for a second day on Wednesday on the potential of Iranian supply returning, and on fears that inflation might lead the Fed to raise interest rates, with June oil tumbling $2.13, or more than 3% to $63.36 a barrel, on worries that surging Covid-19 cases in Asia would dent demand for crude...oil then slumped to the lowest in nearly a month as traders focused on the likelihood of a renewed nuclear deal with Iran and the potential removal of sanctions on the country’s crude exports, as trading in June oil expired with the contract priced at $62.05 a barrel...with oil prices on Friday referencing the contract for US light sweet crude for July delivery, which had fallen $1.41 to $61.94 a barrel on Thursday, oil rallied from an initial drop on the threat of a possible tropical storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico and settled $1.64 higher at $63.58 a barrel, but still finished the week 2.7% lower on fears that Iran was nearing a nuclear deal that would remove U.S. sanctions, possibly adding two million barrels per day of crude to the market...
natural gas prices also finished lower for the first time in seven weeks, as production rose and exports fell....after inching up 0.1% to $2.961 per mmBTU last week on strong LNG exports and lower gas field production, the contract price of natural gas for June delivery opened 2% higher on Monday and jumped 14.8 cents or 5% to $3.109 per mmBTU, on forecasts for warmer weather over the next two weeks that was expected to prompt increased air conditioning use....however, gas prices gave up two-thirds of that gain on Tuesday, falling 9.7 cents to $3.012 per mmBTU, as LNG exports fell and as traders said the Monday rally was overcooked and responded by taking profits the next day....prices slid another 4.8 cents on Wednesday on forecasts for milder weather than had been expected and on further export declines, and then fell another 3.9 cents to $2.925 per mmBTU on Thursday following a bearish government gas inventory report...an increase in production in the face of those higher inventories sent gas prices lower again on Friday, settling down 1.9 cents at $2.906 per mmBTU, and thus ending the week 1.9% lower, despite forecasts for record-breaking summer temperatures...
the natural gas storage report from the EIA for the week ending May 14th indicated that the amount of natural gas held in underground storage in the US rose by 71 billion cubic feet to 2,100 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our gas supplies 391 billion cubic feet, or 15.7% below the 2,491 billion cubic feet that were in storage on May 14th of last year, and 87 billion cubic feet, or 4.0% below the five-year average of 2,187 billion cubic feet of natural gas that have been in storage as of the 14th of May in recent years....the 71 billion cubic feet that were added to US natural gas storage this week was above the average forecast of a 67 billion cubic foot addition from an S&P Global Platts survey of analysts, but was below the average addition of 86 billion cubic feet of natural gas that have typically been injected into natural gas storage during the second week of May over the past 5 years, as well as below the 84 billion cubic feet added to natural gas storage during the corresponding week of 2020...
The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data from the EIA
US oil data from the US Energy Information Administration for the week ending May 14th showed that despite a big jump in our oil exports, we still had surplus oil remaining to add to our stored commercial crude supplies for the eighth time in thirteen weeks and for the 16th time in the past forty-three weeks....our imports of crude oil rose by an average of 923,000 barrels per day to an average of 6,411,000 barrels per day, after rising by an average of 37,000 barrels per day during the prior week, while our exports of crude oil rose by an average of 1,510,000 barrels per day to an average of 3,306,000 barrels per day during the week, which meant that our effective trade in oil worked out to a net import average of 3,105,000 barrels of per day during the week ending May 14th, 587,000 fewer barrels per day than the net of our imports minus our exports during the prior week...over the same period, the production of crude oil from US wells was reportedly unchanged at 11,000,000 barrels per day, and hence our daily supply of oil from the net of our trade in oil and from well production appears to total an average of 14,105,000 barrels per day during this reporting week...
meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing 15,116,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending May 14th, 96,000 more barrels per day than the amount of oil they used during the prior week, while over the same period the EIA's storage surveys indicated that a net of 83,000 barrels of oil per day were being pulled out of the supplies of oil stored in the US....so based on that reported & estimated data, this week's crude oil figures from the EIA appear to indicate that our total working supply of oil from net imports, from storage, and from oilfield production was 929,000 barrels per day less than what our oil refineries reported they used during the week....to account for that disparity between the apparent supply of oil and the apparent disposition of it, the EIA just plugged a (+929,000) barrel per day figure onto line 13 of the weekly U.S. Petroleum Balance Sheet to make the reported data for the daily supply of oil and the consumption of it balance out, essentially a fudge factor that they label in their footnotes as "unaccounted for crude oil", thus suggesting there must have been a error or errors of that magnitude in this week's oil supply & demand figures that we have just transcribed....since last week's EIA fudge factor was at (+67,000) barrels per day, that also means there was a 838,000 barrel per day balance sheet difference in the "unaccounted for crude oil" figure from a week ago, rendering the week over week supply and demand changes we have just transcribed meaningless....however, since most everyone treats these weekly EIA reports as gospel and since these figures often drive oil pricing and hence decisions to drill or complete wells, we'll continue to report them as they're published, just as they're watched & believed to be accurate by most everyone in the industry....(for more on how this weekly oil data is gathered, and the possible reasons for that "unaccounted for" oil, see this EIA explainer)....
further details from the weekly Petroleum Status Report (pdf) indicate that the 4 week average of our oil imports rose to an average of 5,991,000 barrels per day last week, which was 10.9% more than the 5,401,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same Covid impacted four-week period last year... the 83,000 barrel per day net withdrawal from our crude inventories included a 272,000 barrel per day withdrawal from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, space in which has been leased for commerical purposes, which was mostly offset by a 189,000 barrel per day addition to our commercially available stocks of crude oil....this week's crude oil production was reported to be unchanged at 11,000,000 barrels per day because the rounded estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was unchanged at 10,500,000 barrels per day, while a 5,000 barrel per day increase in Alaska's oil production to 456,000 barrels per day had no impact on the rounded national total....our prepandemic record high US crude oil production was at a rounded 13,100,000 barrels per day during the week ending March 13th 2020, so this week's reported oil production figure was 16.0% below that of our production peak, yet still 30.5% above the interim low of 8,428,000 barrels per day that US oil production fell to during the last week of June of 2016...
meanwhile, US oil refineries were operating at 86.3% of their capacity while using those 15,116,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending May 14th, up from 86.1% the prior week, but still well below normal for the month before the summer driving season...while the 15,116,000 barrels per day of oil that were refined this week were 17.2% higher than the 12,903,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the pandemic impacted week ending May 15th of last year, they were still 8.8% below the 16,578,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending May 17th, 2019, when US refineries were operating at a still lower than seasonal 89.9% of capacity...
with this week's increase in the amount of oil being refined, the gasoline output from our refineries increased by 165,000 barrels per day to 9,753,000 barrels per day during the week ending May 14th, after our gasoline output had increased by 442,000 barrels per day over the prior week...while this week's gasoline production was 36.1% higher than the 7,166,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the same week of last year, it was still 2.2% lower than the March 13th 2020 pre-pandemic high of 9,974,000 barrels per day, and 1.3% below the gasoline production of 9,883,000 barrels per day during the week ending May 10th, 2019....meanwhile, our refineries' production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) decreased by 102,000 barrels per day to 4,553,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had increased by 157,000 barrels per day over the prior week... and since the onset of the pandemic last year didn't appear to impact distillates' production, this week's distillates output was still 5.2% lower than the 4,804,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending May 15th, 2020...
even with the increase in our gasoline production, our supply of gasoline in storage at the end of the week decreased for the first time in seven weeks, and for the seventh time in twenty-seven weeks, falling by 1,963,000 barrels to 234,226,000 barrels during the week ending May 14th, after our gasoline inventories had increased by 378,000 barrels over the prior week...our gasoline supplies decreased this week even though our exports of gasoline fell by 161,000 barrels per day to 833,000 barrels per day while our imports of gasoline rose by 145,000 barrels per day to 1,081,000 barrels per day, because the amount of gasoline supplied to US users increased by 424,000 barrels per day to a 14 month high of 9,224,000 barrels per day....but after this week's inventory decrease, our gasoline supplies were 8.4% lower than last May 15th's gasoline inventories of 255,724,000 barrels, and about 2% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of the year...
meanwhile, with the decrease in our distillates production, our supplies of distillate fuels decreased for the 12th time in 22 weeks and for the 26th time in thirty-eight weeks, falling by 2,324,000 barrels to 134,419,000 barrels during the week ending May 14th, after our distillates supplies had decreased by 1,734,000 barrels during the prior week....our distillates supplies fell by a bit more this week because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of our domestic demand, rose by 90,000 barrels per day to 4,058,000 barrels per day, while our imports of distillates rose by 59,000 barrels per day to 267,000 barrels per day, and while our exports of distillates rose by 50,000 barrels per day to 1,193,000 barrels per day....after six consecutive inventory decreases, our distillate supplies at the end of the week were 16.8% below the 158,832,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on May 15th, 2020, and about 5% below the five year average of distillates stocks for this time of the year...
finally, in spite of the big jump in our oil exports, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage fell for the 16th time in the past twenty-seven weeks and for the 27th time in the past year, decreasing by 1,320,000 barrels, from 485,117,000 barrels on May 14th to 484,691,000 barrels on May 7th, after our crude supplies had decreased by 426,000 barrels the prior week....after this week's decrease, our commercial crude oil inventories were about 1% below the most recent five-year average of crude oil supplies for this time of year, but were still about 36.7% above the average of our crude oil stocks as of the the second week of May over the 5 years at the beginning of this decade, with the disparity between those comparisons arising because it wasn't until early 2015 that our oil inventories first topped 400 million barrels....since our crude oil inventories had jumped to record highs during the Covid lockdowns of last spring, our commercial crude oil supplies as of May 14th were 7.9% less than the 526,494,000 barrels of oil we had in commercial storage on May 15th of 2020, but still 1.7% more than the 476,775,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on May 17th of 2019, and also 10.6% more than the 438,132,000 barrels of oil we had in commercial storage on May 18th of 2018...
This Week's Rig Count
The US rig count rose for the 32nd time over the past 36 weeks during the week ending May 21st, but it's still down by 42.6% from the pre-pandemic rig count....Baker Hughes reported that the total count of rotary rigs running in the US was up by 2 to 455 rigs this past week, which was also up by 137 rigs from the pandemic hit 318 rigs that were in use as of the May 22nd report of 2020, but was still 1,474 fewer rigs than the shale era high of 1,929 drilling rigs that were deployed on November 21st of 2014, the week before OPEC began to flood the global oil market in their first attempt to put US shale out of business....
The number of rigs drilling for oil was up by 4 to 356 oil rigs this week, after rising by 8 oil rigs the prior week, thus giving us 119 more oil rigs than were running a year ago, but still just 22.1% of the recent high of 1609 rigs that were drilling for oil on October 10th, 2014....at the same time, the number of drilling rigs targeting natural gas bearing formations was down by 1 to 99 natural gas rigs, which was still up by 20 natural gas rigs from the 79 natural gas rigs that were drilling a year ago, but still just 6.2% of the modern era high of 1,606 rigs targeting natural gas that were deployed on September 7th, 2008....meanwhile, the last remaining "miscellaneous" rig, that had been drilling in Midland county Texas in the Permian basin was shut down this week, whereas a year ago two such "miscellaneous" rigs remained active..
The Gulf of Mexico rig count was down by 1 to 14 rigs this week, with all 14 of those rigs drilling for oil in Louisiana's offshore waters....that was 2 more Gulf of Mexico rigs than the 12 rigs drilling in the Gulf a year ago, when again all 12 Gulf rigs were drilling for oil offshore from Louisiana....since there are no rigs operating off of other US shores at this time, nor were there a year ago, this week's national offshore rig totals are equal to the Gulf rig counts...however, in addition to those rigs offshore, a rig continued to drill through an inland lake in St Mary parish Louisiana, while there were no such "inland waters" rigs running a year ago...
The count of active horizontal drilling rigs was up by 2 to 412 horizontal rigs this week, which was also up by 127 rigs from the 285 horizontal rigs that were in use in the US on May 22nd of last year, but less than a third of the record of 1372 horizontal rigs that were deployed on November 21st of 2014....meanwhile, the directional rig count was unchanged at 28 directional rigs this week, which was also up by 3 from the 25 directional rigs that were operating during the same week a year ago....on the other hand, the vertical rig count was unchanged at 15 vertical rigs this week, and those were also up by 7 from the 8 vertical rigs that were in use on May 22nd of 2020....
The details on this week's changes in drilling activity by state and by major shale basin are shown in our screenshot below of that part of the rig count summary pdf from Baker Hughes that gives us those changes...the first table below shows weekly and year over year rig count changes for the major oil & gas producing states, and the table below that shows the weekly and year over year rig count changes for the major US geological oil and gas basins...in both tables, the first column shows the active rig count as of May 21st, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week's count (May 14th) and this week's (May 21st) count, the third column shows last week's May14th active rig count, the 4th column shows the change between the number of rigs running on Friday and the number running on the Friday before the same weekend of a year ago, and the 5th column shows the number of rigs that were drilling at the end of that reporting week a year ago, which in this week’s case was the 22nd of May, 2020..
notice that with the addition of 2 oil rigs in the Cana Woodford, an oil rig in the Ardmore Woodford, and another oil rig in the Arkoma Woodford, the Oklahoma rig count was up by 4 this week; that's the largest increase in the state since September of 2018, and the first change in the Oklahoma rig count greater than one in more than 6 months...meanwhile, in Texas, there was an oil rig pulled out of Texas Oil District 1, which would account for the Eagle Ford shale loss, while a rig was added in Texas Oil District 2, apparently not targeting a formation that Baker Hughes documents...elsewhere in Texas, we find that two rigs were pulled out of Texas Oil District 8, which is the core Permian Delaware, while activity in other Texas districts remained unchanged...with the loss of two Permian basin rigs in Texas, that means that the two rigs that were added in New Mexico had to have been added in the far west Permian Delaware, to account for the net unchanged national Permian count....meanwhile, the natural gas rig count was down by one with the removal of a rig from Louisiana's Haynesville shale, and the additional removal of an oil rig from offshore Louisiana accounts for the two rig decrease in that state..
DUC well report for March
Monday of this past week saw the release of the EIA's Drilling Productivity Report for May, which includes the EIA's April data for drilled but uncompleted (DUC) oil and gas wells in the 7 most productive shale regions....that data showed a decrease in uncompleted wells nationally for the 11th month in a row, as both completions of drilled wells and drilling of new wells increased, but remained below the pre-pandemic levels...for the 7 sedimentary regions covered by this report, the total count of DUC wells decreased by 241 wells, falling from a revised 7,098 DUC wells in March to 6,857 DUC wells in April, which was also 21.2% fewer DUCs than the 8,698 wells that had been drilled but remained uncompleted as of the end of April of a year ago...this month's DUC decrease occurred as 513 wells were drilled in the 7 regions that this report covers (representing 87% of all U.S. onshore drilling operations) during April, up from the 464 wells that were drilled in March, while 754 wells were completed and brought into production by fracking, up from the 687 completions seen in March, and up from the pandemic hit 609 completions seen in April of last year....at the April completion rate, the 6,857 drilled but uncompleted wells left at the end of the month represents a 9.1 month backlog of wells that have been drilled but are not yet fracked, down from the 10.8 month DUC well backlog of a month ago, with the understanding that this normally indicative backlog ratio is being skewed by a completion rate that is still around 50% below the pre-pandemic norm...
both oil producing regions and natural gas producing regions saw DUC well decreases in April, and none of the major basins reported DUC well increases....the number of uncompleted wells remaining in the Permian basin of west Texas and New Mexico decreased by 121, from 3,053 DUC wells at the end of March to 2,932 DUCs at the end of April, as 245 new wells were drilled into the Permian during April, while 366 wells in the region were completed...at the same time, DUC wells in the Niobrara chalk of the Rockies' front range fell by 39, decreasing from 497 at the end of March to 458 DUC wells at the end of April, as 46 wells were drilled into the Niobrara chalk during April, while 85 Niobrara wells were being fracked....at the same time, there was also a decrease of 26 DUC wells in the Bakken of North Dakota, where DUC wells fell from 673 at the end of March to 647 DUCs at the end of April, as 26 wells were drilled into the Bakken during April, while 52 of the drilled wells in the Bakken were being fracked.....in addition, DUCs in the Eagle Ford of south Texas decreased by 23, from 1,080 DUC wells at the end of March to 1,057 DUCs at the end of April, as 51 wells were drilled in the Eagle Ford during April, while 74 already drilled Eagle Ford wells were completed....meanwhile, the number of uncompleted wells remaining in Oklahoma's Anadarko decreased by 21, falling from 856 at the end of March to 835 DUC wells at the end of April, as 24 wells were drilled into the Anadarko basin during April, while 45 Anadarko wells were being fracked....
among the natural gas producing regions, the drilled but uncompleted well count in the Appalachian region, which includes the Utica shale, fell by 10 wells, from 576 DUCs at the end of March to 566 DUCs at the end of April, as 73 wells were drilled into the Marcellus and Utica shales during the month, while 83 of the already drilled wells in the region were fracked....in addition, the natural gas producing Haynesville shale of the northern Louisiana-Texas border region saw their uncompleted well inventory decrease by 1 to 362, as 48 wells were drilled into the Haynesville during April, while 49 of the already drilled Haynesville wells were fracked during the same period....thus, for the month of April, DUCs in the five major oil-producing basins tracked by this report (ie., the Anadarko, Bakken, Niobrara, Permian, and Eagle Ford) decreased by a total of 230 wells to 5,929 wells, while the uncompleted well count in the natural gas basins (the Marcellus, the Utica, and the Haynesville) decreased by 11 wells to 928 wells, although as this report notes, once into production, more than half the wells drilled nationally will produce both oil and gas...
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Ohio legislature spending energy on energy legislation --Energy is a hot topic at the statehouse these days. The Ohio General Assembly is reviewing several proposals dealing with energy sources, including solar and wind facilities, oil, gas, and gas pipelines. The proposals raise a critical question about where control over energy production activities should lie: with the state or with local communities? The proposals offer contrasting views on the answer to that question. We reported in March that companion bills H.B. 118 and S.B. 52 were on hold due to conflicts with the proposals, which would have allowed citizens to use the referendum process to reject proposed large scale wind and solar energy developments in their communities. On May 12, the bill sponsors offered a substitute bill to the House Public Utilities Committee. The new approach in the substitute bill would allow a township to adopt a resolution designating all or parts of the township as “energy development districts.” Doing so would allow wind and solar facilities to be constructed within the designated district(s) and would prevent the Ohio Power Siting Board from approving any projects that are not within a designated district. The residents in a township, however, would have the right to petition an energy development district designation and submit it to a vote by township residents. A proposal regarding energy generation from fossil fuels and gas pipelines takes an opposite approach on local control. H.B. 192, sponsored by Rep. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) would prohibit counties, townships, and municipal corporations from prohibiting or limited the use of fossil fuels for electricity generation and the construction or use of a pipeline to transport oil or gas. About a dozen opponents testified against the bill at its third hearing before the House Energy and Natural Resources in early May, with most arguing that the proposal removes rights of local communities to control their energy sources and violates the home rule authority for municipalities provided in Ohio’s Constitution. A bill that guarantees access to natural gas passed the House of Representatives on May 6, largely along party lines. H.B. 201,sponsored by Rep. Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill), guarantees that every person has a right to obtain any available distribution service or competitive retail natural gas service from gas suppliers, and bars a political subdivision from enacting laws that would limit, prevent, or prohibit a consumer within its boundaries from using distribution services, retail natural gas service, or propane. Opponents argue that the bill violates home rule authority and is unnecessary, since no community in Ohio has ever banned the use of natural gas. The bill was referred to the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee on May 12.
Ohio lawmakers include language promoting oil and gas in budget bill – The Ohio House version of the 2022-23 state operating budget includes language that would make it state policy to “promote” oil and gas development, exploration and production.The House also added in provisions to make it easier to lease mineral rights under state lands.The state’s oil and gas industry welcomed these small, but significant, changes. Environmental groups are concerned about what it means for public transparency and protecting the state’s public lands. “It’s a thumb on the scale,” said Nathan Johnson, director of public lands at the Ohio Environmental Council. “It slants the playing field dramatically in favor of the industry.”Until now, it’s been basically impossible for any state agency to lease its mineral rights for oil and gas development, said Matt Hammond, president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association. The law, signed in 2011 under then-Gov. John Kasich, created the Oil and Gas Leasing Commission. The commission was supposed to oversee any leasing activity on state lands.The problem, for the oil and gas industry, is that no one was appointed to the commission until 2017. That only happened after the legislature tried, through the budget bill, to take away the governor’s power to control appointments to the commission. Even after the commission was staffed, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources never promulgated any rules to govern the commission. Under the language put in the House budget bill, the commission would create its own rules, including setting a standard lease to be used by state agencies.State agencies could then lease public land parcels without consulting the commission. Johnson said these changes basically render the commission obsolete and takes the leasing process out of the public eye. “It robs the public of those protections,” he said. “If we’re basically announcing a policy of drill, baby, drill in those places that Ohioans really rely on today more than they ever have, for getting out there, getting away, breathing clean air, I think that’s a sad state of affairs that we’re dealing with in Ohio right now.” According to the bill, the commission would still accept nominations for parcels to be leased and approve bids.The provisions would allow state leasing revenue to be used more broadly. The current law says those funds need to be reinvested into the public lands. The budget bill would have that money be put into a general administrative fund.The new process would also allow oil and gas companies to submit title work to streamline the process, Hammond said. That’s something the state is required to do now, but the industry is better equipped to do, he said. The state Senate is still crafting its own version of the budget bill. Hammond said if this language gets through with the final budget, leasing could happen on state lands immediately.In some areas, drilling can’t happen because of private land’s connection to public lands. When natural gas prices recover, it may make financial sense for producers to lease large swaths of land in state parks or state forests, Hammond said.
Letters to the editor - 05/20/2021 - chagrinvalleytoday.com - - Amendment could threaten parks. This is a message from Protect Geauga Parks. Changes to legislation would promote drilling in Ohio parks.The Ohio House slipped a last-minute provision into the budget bill that aggressively promotes fracking/drilling on state public lands.This legislation would make it state policy to “promote” oil and gas drilling on Ohio’s public lands. Worse yet, it mandates that leasing revenues be used to promote more drilling.Hunters, fisherman, boaters, hikers, campers — anyone using the public lands — will be negatively impacted.Private gas wells and fracking are not what public land is about. There are plenty of private properties to drill on.Fortunately, you can help!Call and email the three senators below. Simply say: “Please remove the proposed language changes to HB 110 regarding oil and gas leasing on public lands.”
- Senator Matt Dolan, Chair, (614) 466-8056 or dolan@ohiosenate.gov
- Senator Theresa Gavarone, Vice-Chair, (614) 466-8060 or gavarone@ohiosenate.gov
- Vernon Sykes, Ranking Member, (614) 466-7041 or sykes@ohiosenate.gov
Our public lands are for all to enjoy . . . not for a few to destroy.
Utica Midstream event in Canton recognizes future trends call for less carbon – The focus remains on oil and natural gas, but companies drilling in the Utica Shale recognize the trend toward alternative fuels and energy sources.Hydrogen was mentioned several times during the ninth annual Utica Midstream program Thursday at the Holiday Inn, Belden Village.Liquid hydrogen has been used as a fuel to power batteries, including in public transportation vehicles.The Utica Midstream featured presenters from companies involved in collecting, processing and transporting oil and natural gas. The Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and Shale Directories have been presenting the meetings, as well as similar events for upstream and downstream operations.Speakers included representatives from major pipeline companies that have seen their business change because of oil and natural gas produced through shale drilling. The oil and gas produced in the Utica Shale and other shale plays around the country is being used as feedstock of plastics as well as for fuels.This year's conference caught the attention of environmental groups, which announced plans to protest at the event. That effort was canceled because turnout numbers were too low, an organizer said in an email.The groups remain concerned oil and gas drilling threatens the environment and results in public health problems. Ben Hunkler, an organizer with Concerned Ohio River Residents, said economic studies show that "new gas development is a non-starter, and one that would only exacerbate the severe body burden of fossil fuel extraction."
Utica Shale Academy continues to grow — With 38 students on the list to possibly graduate from the Utica Shale Academy this year, the fledgling school continues to nearly double in size and improvements to the financial balance each year. During Tuesday’s board meeting, Superintendent Bill Watson said the school graduated 20 students a year ago and nine the year before that. There are currently 87 students enrolled and 28 of those have completed everything in preparation to graduate. The other 10 are working toward it. Graduation is in early June, but Watson indicated some students may have to finish in July.Additionally, the board approved a five-year forecast that shows the Shale Academy had a fiscal year end balance of $98,196 in the summer of 2020 and is on pace to have a balance of $235,883 at the end of this June. Over the next four years, Treasurer Bob Barrett estimates an increase each year bringing the end of fiscal year balance in 2025 to $806,948. He said this will hold true if the enrollment remains the same.Board President Karl Blissenbach noted the school is “considerably more solid than we were a year ago.”Although Watson acknowledges it will be difficult to continue doubling indefinitely, he believes by continuing to double enrollment, the school will be doing fine.The school has included several students from other schools trying to catch up on missed credits through the virtual learning academy.
Gulfport Energy Corporation Successfully Emerges From Chapter 11 --Gulfport Energy Corporation today announced that it has successfully completed its restructuring process and emerged from chapter 11 protection. As contemplated by Gulfport’s Plan of Reorganization (the "Plan") that was confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on April 28, 2021, Gulfport has exited bankruptcy with a new Board of Directors; a strengthened balance sheet, with $853 million of total debt representing more than $1.2 billion of deleveraging through the Chapter 11 process; and approximately $135 million of liquidity. At emergence, Gulfport’s net-debt-to-EBITDA is approximately 1.5x. Please refer to Gulfport’s emergence presentation for more details which will be provided in a Form 8-K and can also be found on the Company’s Investor Relations site: https://ir.gulfportenergy.com. Gulfport Energy is an independent returns-oriented, gas-weighted, exploration and development company and is one of the largest producers of natural gas in the contiguous United States. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Gulfport holds significant acreage positions in the Utica Shale of Eastern Ohio and the SCOOP Woodford and SCOOP Springer plays in Oklahoma.
Chesapeake Looking to Build Lower 48 Natural Gas Supply, Searching for New CEO --Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. expects to up the natural gas mix in its production portfolio to 85% in 2022 from 77%, executives said Wednesday in the first quarter earnings call. The recently restructured company expects its gas production to hit 715-735 Bcf this year. Capital expenditures are set at $670-740 million, executives said. At one time the largest natural gas producer and biggest leaseholder in the Lower 48, Chesapeake succumbed to bankruptcy last June. In February it completed a restructuring process, erasing an estimated $7.8 billion in debt.The company is now looking for a new CEO to replace Doug Lawler. “We expect it to take several months and we’ve planned for several months,” interim CEO Michael Wichterich told investors. He told analysts “we want change now, we want fresh perspective now.”Chesapeake achieved production of 436,000 boe/d in the first quarter. The company is operating seven rigs across its portfolio, with three rigs in Appalachia, three rigs in the Haynesville Shale and one rig in South Texas.The company generated $409 million of operating cash flow and ended the quarter with $340 million of cash on hand. The company also declared an annual dividend on common shares of $1.375/share. The dividend is to be paid quarterly, with the first payment to be payable on June 10, 2021.Wichterich highlighted cost per lateral foot efficiencies. In Appalachia, “we’re pretty proud to get $700-750 a foot; in 2019 it was $985 a foot. Now during bankruptcy, this says the team continues to execute.” In the Haynesville, “we are seeing really good base production support in all the fields,”
Report: Alaska natural gas production could harm Marcellus LNG exports - Appalachian natural gas producers are looking forward to liquid natural gas exports as a new growth market to serve many power-hungry Asian markets. But a new report says that competition from a far-away shale play in Alaska could make that more difficult. Shale CEOs have talked up the opportunities for Appalachian natural gas for LNG, shipped via pipeline to either the Gulf Coast or a Dominion export terminal in Cove Point, Maryland. Big markets are Mexico as well as Asia and Europe, including South Korea, Japan, Spain and the United Kingdom. But a new report from West Virginia University said that domestic natural gas basins will be impacted by the development of natural gas in the Alaska North Slope and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Pipeline projects could bring natural gas from the Alaska North Slope, even without tapping into ANWR. The report predicts a jump from zero to 1.9 million trillion cubic feet of natural gas production from Alaska’s north Slope, which would be about 6% of the country’s entire natural gas production. Alaska coming online with large amounts of natural gas would impact the domestic market, which at the moment has been struggling with too much supply anyway. Yet Alaska’s natural gas production provides a unique opportunity in LNG. The reason? “Transportation cost is a big factor,” Carr told the Business Times on Friday. For LNG exports to get from the Gulf Coast or Cove Point to Asia, they all have to go a long way via ocean, either taking smaller ships through the Panama Canal or larger ships around the horn of Africa. “It takes more time and the cost of shipping is based on how many days the ship takes,” Carr said. With Alaska, on the other hand, it’s a straight shot from there to Asia. “It’s important for Alaska … (and) important for Appalachia in a negative way,” Carr said. “It’s another competitor and a competitor that is geographically in a better position.” The report said that increased production in Alaska would have a negative impact on prices for other natural gas producers, particularly in the Marcellus and Utica shales, which is the biggest area for natural gas production in the U.S., and also cutting down on LNG exports from Cove Point and the Gulf Coast. The report said that increasing production in Alaska isn’t needed with the United States’ position as an exporter of both oil and gas. “This unnecessary production could harm the nation’s continental producers by causing additional existing production to shut in due to suppressed prices tied to associated gas from petroleum production,” the report said.
TENORM: Stories on Fracking's Radioactive Waste - PUBLIC HERALD - Public Herald -- Below is a complete list of Public Herald’s investigations covering or mentioning fracking’s radioactive waste, a.k.a. TENORM (technically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material), since the beginning of the publication in 2011. Public Herald’s three documentary films — 1. Triple Divide 2. Triple Divide [Redacted] 3. INVISIBLE HAND — each include reporting on fracking’s TENORM waste.
Pipeline protester arrested after 5½-hour blockade in Giles County - A protester from West Virginia was arrested Tuesday after blockading a path to a Mountain Valley Pipeline worksite, according to the Virginia State Police. Sydney M. Browning, 28, of Whitesville was found attached to the interior of a disabled 2000 Isuzu Rodeo that was blocking a right of way used by MVP crews, authorities said. The demonstration was reported by pipeline security staff about 5:40 a.m. along Doe Creek Road, about 1.5 miles from U.S. 460 in Giles County. In addition to the SUV, which had flattened tires and was painted with slogans like "Who Killed The World?", about a dozen activists were nearby, officials said. Appalachians Against Pipelines said the protest was able to halt pipeline work for about five and a half hours. The move was the latest in a series of efforts designed to delay construction and add cost to the controversial, 303-mile natural gas pipeline project. In a statement shared by the protest group, Browning, whom other activists referred to as Max, said: “Often, when people who fight extraction talk about the world ahead, we talk about it in terms of the coming apocalypse caused by catastrophic climate change. There is no doubt that unchallenged extraction and consumption are pushing our ecosystems to the brink. Corporations, MVP included, and the so-called leaders that enable and protect them are the answer to that question painted on this blockade, ‘Who killed the world?’”The state police said a team of specially trained troopers was dispatched to open the SUV. Its doors had been welded shut, and its windows covered by rebar. The state police charged Browning with the misdemeanor offenses of trespassing, obstruction of justice, interfering with the property rights of another and obstructing free passage. Traffic citations were also issued for operating an uninsured vehicle, coasting a vehicle and failing to have a vehicle registered. Appalachians Against Pipelines said Browning remained in custody as of 4 p.m. Tuesday with bail set at $2,500.
LG&E can condemn Bullitt County land for pipeline, judge rules - Louisville Gas & Electric Co. can condemn key parcels of land in Bullitt County for a proposed natural gas pipeline, a judge ruled Tuesday. The order by Bullitt Circuit Judge Rodney Burress found that LG&E met its requirements under Kentucky’s eminent domain law, while dismissing landowners' claims of fraud and collusion as irrelevant to the condemnation cases. Buress noted that some of LG&E's representatives "may have been overzealous" in their dealings with property owners, but he found no evidence that the company didn't negotiate in good faith. And he ultimately agreed that the line is “necessary to improve natural gas service for residential and commercial customers in Bullitt County by increasing capacity and improving reliability.” The decision affects seven of the eight condemnation cases involving the pipeline plan; a separate lawsuit, against Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, is pending in Bullitt Circuit Court. Eric Farris, the attorney for Bullitt County Economic Development Authority, called the ruling a "really significant development for Bullitt County as a whole." Thomas Clay, an attorney representing some landowners, said Wednesday that he and other lawyers are considering their next steps, which could include appealing to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. "Some of the tactics that were used to gain approval from some of the land owners in Bullitt County for this pipeline, I think they deserve scrutiny," he said. LG&E spokeswoman Natasha Collins said in a statement that the private, publicly-regulated utility continues to pursue the remaining permits and other approvals needed to start construction, including permits from Kentucky Division of Water and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. LG&E’s plan to run a 12-mile natural gas pipeline across Bullitt County has run into opposition from some landowners who don’t want a high-pressure line crossing their property. They’ve refused to sell easements for the project, leading to the condemnation lawsuits filed in 2019. Some of the most vigorous opposition has been from Bernheim, which owns land that the pipeline would cross north of the popular forest and recreation area. It is planning a wildlife corridor there. Opponents also have raised concerns about a process that kept key details about the route and opportunities for public input hidden until after state utility regulators approved the project.
Judge: LG&E can take Bullitt County landowners' property for pipeline --A judge ruled this week that Louisville Gas and Electric Co. can take control of pieces of property that several Bullitt County landowners don't want to give up so the utility can advance its plans to build a natural gas pipeline. Bullitt Circuit Court Judge Rodney Burress ruled LG&E is legally allowed to secure easements on the property owners' land so it can install a 12-mile-long pipeline that would start in eastern Bullitt County and end near Interstate 65. "I think it's incredibly disheartening for us," Kimberly Brown, one of the landowners involved in the legal dispute, told The Courier Journal Thursday. More: 'This line terrifies me': Deadly pipeline explosion stokes Bullitt homeowners' fears John Cox, a Louisville attorney representing Brown and a couple other landowners, said this battle isn't over, despite the new ruling. "We have the ability to appeal this," he said Thursday. "There’s also numerous environmental questions that may be challenged." LG&E’s plan to take control of these parcels of land revolves around the concept of eminent domain, which refers to the right of a government (or, in certain cases, a utility company) to take private property for a public use. In these types of cases, Cox said, "Most of the time landowners just get run over by the utility. And that's not going to happen here, so we'll continue fighting..." Landowners involved in this dispute argued LG&E's pipeline would serve a private rather than a public use, saying it primarily would supply natural gas to Jim Beam's distilleries in Clermont and Boston, Ky., per court records. "There is no question that Jim Beam stands to benefit greatly from this pipeline project," the judge said in his ruling. "Nevertheless, the Court finds this project would undoubtedly serve the broader public in addition to greatly benefiting Jim Beam."
With $900K tax break, Rensselaer gas-fired power plant will keep operating— Helped by a $900,000 reduction in its property tax bill, the operator of a gas-fired power plant here says it will continue to operate, despite earlier talks of a possible closure.“Empire wants to stay open and be an integral part. We’re going to be needed. As new renewables come on you’re going to need a plant to firm the renewables when there is no sun or wind,” said Dan Hudson, CEO of the Texas-based Empire Generating Co. LLC.Hudson had earlier said they might not be able to stay open without some kind of financial break, given the current low natural gas prices and the declining subsidies they get.The Rensselaer County Industrial Development Agency, or IDA, then agreed to reduce their PILOT, or payment in lieu of tax bill, from $2 million to $1.1 million, which Hudson says has kept the plant operating for now.The reduction has pinched municipal and school budgets but officials say it’s better than losing the plant entirely. Rensselaer school Superintendent John Kardash said the PILOT reduction translates into a $300,000 cut in their property tax revenue.
NESE pipeline developer receives two-year extension; environmentalists are disappointed in the ruling -Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC, (Transco) received a two-year extension of time to construct and place into service the expansion facilities authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the Northeast Supply Enhancement project (NESE) as of May 19. The Williams Company operates the Transco pipeline, a 10,000-mile interstate transmission pipeline system that transports much of the natural gas consumed in the northeastern United States. The system includes more than 50 compressor facilities and currently features more than 500 miles of pipe and five compressor facilities in New Jersey, according to information provided by Williams regarding the NESE project. The NESE project is a proposed $1 billion enhancement of existing Transco infrastructure in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York that includes a proposed new compressor facility in Franklin Township, known as Station 206. The facility would feature two natural gas-fired turbine compressor units with a combined output of 32,000 horsepower. The preferred location is a 52-acre tract about 1 mile south of the intersection of Route 27 and Route 518; the 16-acre site would be surrounded by a wooded buffer, according to the company. For more than five years, residents have expressed concerns because of the proximity of the proposed compressor station to the Trap Rock Industries rock quarry in Kingston; the potential for clay byproducts to be disturbed during construction; the possibility of leaks, fires and explosions; and quality of life disruptions due to health and environmental concerns. “It is completely shameful that Transco is back, again. FERC has granted them two more years to try to get permits even though both New Jersey and New York denied their permits last year. Now, New Jersey needs to step up and use the 401 Water Quality Certificate to stop this project once and for all,” Taylor McFarland, chapter coordinator of Sierra Club New Jersey, said in a prepared statement. “We’ve beat Transco twice, and we’re going to keep fighting until we beat them again. This project is completely unnecessary. The gas companies get the money, New York gets the gas, and we get the pipe. We must continue to fight to stop this project to protect the public health and safety, and the environment.”
Lawmakers: NC needs more fuel pipelines :: WRAL.com — In the wake of a gas pipeline shutdown last week that prompted panic buying and widespread gas shortages, state lawmakers on Tuesday signaled a renewed push to bring more fuel pipelines into North Carolina.The Colonial Pipeline was offline for five days following a ransomware attack on May 8. Drivers quickly lined up at gas stations across North Carolina to fill up, draining available supplies and raising frustration and anxiety levels for those unable to get to a pump. At one point last week, three of every four gas stations in North Carolina reported being out of fuel.Many stations still had no gas on Tuesday, although the supply situation was steadily improving and the long lines have disappeared.The pipeline provides almost all of the gas used in North Carolina, and energy industry executives told state lawmakers Tuesday that North Carolina similarly has a single supply pipeline for natural gas, making the state vulnerable to outages."The Colonial Pipeline disruption could have been much worse, and it's foolish to presume North Carolina will not face a more severe energy supply shock in the future," Sen. Brent Jackson, R-Sampson, told members of the Senate Agriculture, Energy and Environment committee. "It could happen next week, next year [or] next decade, but it's a question of when and not if."While the electric grid has increased its defenses against hackers, the pipeline industry is more vulnerable. If either of North Carolina's pipelines was to be disabled for a longer period of time, Jackson said, the economic and public safety fallout would be huge."The bottom line is, we should treat the fallout of the Colonial Pipeline attack as a warning and prepare accordingly," he said.
Experts: 1 pipeline each for NC natural gas, fuel a concern — North Carolina is particularly susceptible to energy interruptions because gasoline and natural gas supplies originate mainly from two pipeline systems, energy industry experts told a state Senate committee Tuesday. Representatives of utility giants Duke Energy and Dominion Energy were among those who addressed the chamber’s energy panel in light of this month’s ransomware cyberattack upon the Colonial Pipeline. North Carolina motorists were hit particularly hard — 43% of the state’s gas stations remained out of fuel Tuesday afternoon, according to GasBuddy. Up to 75% of each day’s supply of refined petroleum products in North Carolina run through the Colonial Pipeline, said David McGowan, executive director of the North Carolina Petroleum Council. And the Transco pipeline is currently the lone interstate natural gas transmission line for North Carolina. Both lines move products south to north. Natural gas increasingly fuels electric generation. A lack of diverse distribution and redundancy in distribution networks make widespread outages for electricity and natural gas hard to overcome quickly, whether from natural disasters or cyberattacks, said Ed Finley, the former chairman of the North Carolina Utilities Commission. “When it goes out, people’s lives are disrupted,” Finley said, adding that the inability for consumers and businesses to turn on electricity and natural gas “would be crippling to the state’s economy.” Finley said hardening the electrical grid against physical damage and cyber attacks should be considered. Duke Energy, which uses natural gas to generate 30% of its electricity during the coldest weather, has backup fuels at most of these plants, said Nelson Peeler, a company senior vice president. But the diesel fuel immediately available only would last a couple of days, he said. Efforts to diversify natural gas supplies in North Carolina, particularly by moving the fuel from deposits in the north, have stalled in recent years. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, proposed by Dominion Energy and Duke, was canceled last summer after legal challenges, construction delays and ballooning costs. And a proposed extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline from Virginia into North Carolina is in jeopardy after the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality denied a water quality certification. Rusty Harris, a Dominion Energy vice president, said that without expanding natural gas being piped into North Carolina, the utility may have to look to creating more storage facilities to plan for an interruption. Harris and Peeler said separately that alternative forms of energy, such as solar, wind or a greener form of natural gas, can diversify fuel sources. But they cautioned the technology or economics don’t yet make them a reasonable or reliable substitute. “The message from today’s hearing couldn’t be clearer: North Carolina’s reliance on a single pipeline is a critical vulnerability,” .
Liberty Utilities angles for 20-year natural gas contract - Last year, Liberty Utilities withdrew what had turned into a very contentious proposal to construct a large, expensive pipeline called the Granite Bridge Project. Critics said it was too big, too expensive, and that it would harm the environment. It led to protests and drew fierce opposition from climate-change activists who oppose building new fossil fuel infrastructure. In the wake of that failed proposal, Liberty has put forward another project that is now being considered by the Public Utilities Commission — a 20-year agreement to increase its natural gas capacity in the state by about 20 to 25 percent through a purchase agreement with Tennessee Gas Pipeline. The company says it needs to increase its capacity in order to meet customer demand. The new proposal was put forward in January, and it has been proceeding quietly ever since, with none of the dramatic opposition that Granite Bridge garnered. But some environmental advocates still oppose the 20-year contract as an unacceptable option in the face of climate change. “This is a major step in the wrong direction,” said Nick Krakoff, a staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation. The foundation is one of the parties involved in the docket at the utilities commission. While burning natural gas emits less carbon dioxide than coal, methane leaks can occur while the gas is moving through the pipelines, harming the environment. Methane leaks can also happen when the gas is being extracted. A 2020 study by the Environmental Defense Fund looked at natural gas produced in the Permian Basin in Texas and found that 3.7 percent of the gas extracted was leaking into the atmosphere. Once methane is released into the environment, it is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. From Krakoff’s standpoint, 20 years is a long time; he is pushing for a shorter contract. Along with climate change activists, he has argued that the issue is urgent.
U.S. natgas soars to 3-month high on rising air conditioner use (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures jumped 5% to a three-month high on Monday on forecasts for warmer weather over the next two weeks that is expected to prompt power generators to burn more gas to meet rising air conditioning use. Traders noted that was the biggest daily percentage gain since the Texas freeze in mid February. They noted the price gain came despite a slow but steady increase in production and small declines in exports this month even though gas prices in Europe and Asia were soaring. Front-month gas futures NGc1 rose 14.8 cents, or 5.0%, to settle at $3.109 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their highest close since Feb. 17. Speculators, meanwhile, boosted their net long gas futures and options positions on the New York Mercantile and Intercontinental Exchanges for a second week in a row last week to their highest since early March. They were acting on expectations U.S. prices would rise as exports return to record highs with gas prices in Europe TRNLTTFMc1 near their highest since 2018 and Asia JKMc1 over $10 per mmBtu.
June Natural Gas Futures Fizzle After Biggest Advance as Prompt Month; Cash Prices Fall -- Natural gas futures on Tuesday gave back a big chunk of the gains made in a weather-driven surge a day earlier. Analysts said forecasts remained bullish for gas demand, but the Monday rally was overcooked and traders responded by taking profits the next day. The June Nymex contract dropped 9.7 cents day/day and settled at $3.012/MMBtu. A day earlier, the prompt month surged nearly 15 cents. July fell 8.6 to $3.078 on Tuesday. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. declined 2.5 cents to $2.810. The most intense heat currently in the 15-day forecast lies early next week, and analysts look for sustained cooling demand to arrive by June. But near-term conditions remained mild Tuesday, and analysts said markets may need confirmation of summer demand to arrive before futures rally further. “Underlying bullish sentiment is strong,” EBW Analytics Groups said Tuesday. While prices were bound to fall back near the $3.00 level this week, “additional gains are likely as soon as sustained hot weather arrives.” Temperatures were generally comfortable across the Midwest and into the East on Tuesday. But “demand will increase late this weekend into the middle of next week as strong upper high pressure builds over the eastern U.S.,” NatGasWeather said. The firm also noted that liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes pulled back to near 10 Bcf early Tuesday after eclipsing the 11 Bcf level to start the previous day – likely due to ongoing maintenance work at multiple Gulf Coast exports facilities. Planned maintenance is common in May, however, and analysts are increasingly confident in robust LNG demand through the summer cooling season, suggesting any further declines this month will likely prove to be blips. European stockpiles are low after a combined harsh winter and chilly spring across much of the continent, driving the need for U.S. exports. Demand from Asia for American deliveries of the super-chilled fuel is also steadily strong. LNG feed gas volumes have topped the 11 Bcf level repeatedly this spring – hanging near all-time highs.
U.S. natgas slips on mild weather forecast, export declines (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures slipped on Wednesday as exports dipped and on forecasts for milder weather and lower demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. Traders noted gas prices were also following oil futures lower. U.S. crude fell more than $2 a barrel on renewed global demand concerns as coronavirus cases in Asia rise, among other things. O/R Front-month gas futures NGc1 fell 4.8 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $2.964 per million British thermal units. Data provider Refinitiv said gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states averaged 90.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in May, up from 90.6 bcfd in April. That is still well below November 2019's monthly record of 95.4 bcfd. With the coming of summer air-conditioning use, Refinitiv projected average gas demand, including exports, would rise from 81.1 bcfd this week to 84.2 bcfd next week. The forecast for next week, however, was lower than Refinitiv projected on Tuesday because the latest outlook was for milder weather that should reduce the amount of gas power generators burn to keep air conditioners humming. The amount of gas flowing to U.S. LNG export plants averaged 10.9 bcfd so far in May, down from April's monthly record of 11.5 bcfd. The decline was due to short-term issues and normal spring maintenance at a few Gulf Coast plants and the gas pipelines that supply them.
US gas storage injection falls below average as tight market balance persists | S&P Global Platts - US natural gas storage fields added 71 Bcf last week, marking the fourth straight below-average injection this season that comes as tighter supply-demand fundamentals in the US market endure. Inventories edged up to 2.1 Tcf for the week ended May 14, the US Energy Information Administration reported May 20. The addition to US stocks was less than the 84 Bcf injection reported during the corresponding week in 2020 and below the five-year average build of 86 Bcf, according to EIA data. As a result, stocks were 391 Bcf, or nearly 16%, below the year-ago level of 2.491 Tcf and 87 Bcf, or 4%, less than the five-year average storage level of 2.187 Tcf. While still bullish, the mid-May inventory build outpaced levels anticipated by an S&P Global Platts survey of analysts, which predicted a 67 Bcf injection earlier this week. Following the release of the EIA's storage report, the NYMEX Henry Hub prompt-month futures contract fell about 5 cents from its previous settlement price as the market absorbed news of the slightly larger-than-anticipated build. By early afternoon, the June contract retraced some of its mid-morning losses to finish trading at $2.93/MMBtu — down about 4 cents on the day, S&P Global Platts data showed. In the second week of May, the US market balance tightened compared with the prior week, as abnormally low US temperatures boosted late-season heating demand across much of the Lower-48 states. During the week, total US demand averaged nearly 80 Bcf/d — up over 800 MMcf/d, or about 10%, compared with the week prior. The weekly gain was propelled mostly by lower temperatures in the Midwest and the Northeast, where residential-commercial demand was up sharply. In the Midwest, population-weighted temperatures averaged just 50.1 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 9 degrees below normal, during the week ended May 14. As a result, gas-fired heating demand climbed nearly 1.2 Bcf/d compared with the week prior. In the Northeast, a smaller but still significant drop in temperatures lifted heating demand there some 600 MMcf/d. Along with smaller gains in other regions, the total US residential-commercial figure climbed more than 2.3 Bcf/d during the week, Platts Analytics data shows. Stronger demand in the week ended May 14 was only partially offset by a 300 MMcf/d increase in domestic production which climbed to an average 90.5 Bcf/d. Imported pipeline supply from Canada was also up last week by about 240 MMcf/d but was mostly offset by a 180 MMcf/d increase in exports to Mexico. Compared with pre-pandemic production levels at over 95 Bcf/d, upstream supply remains depressed and will likely keep the US domestic market balance significantly tighter this injection season.
U.S. natgas futures ease to fresh 3-week low as output slowly rises (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures eased to a fresh three-week low on Friday as production continued to edge higher and exports slip. The price decline came despite forecasts that warmer weather in coming weeks will boost the amount of gas power generators burn to keep air conditioners humming. Front-month gas futures NGc1 fell 1.9 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $2.906 per million British thermal units, their lowest close since April 27. That also put the front-month down for a fourth day in a row for the first time since early March and down almost 2% for the week after gaining more than 16% during the prior five weeks. Data provider Refinitiv said gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states averaged 90.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in May, up from 90.6 bcfd in April. That is still well below November 2019's monthly record of 95.4 bcfd. With the summer air conditioning season approaching, Refinitiv projected average gas demand, including exports, would rise from 81.3 bcfd this week to 84.8 bcfd next week and 86.1 bcfd in two weeks. That was similar to Refinitiv's forecasts on Thursday. The amount of gas flowing to U.S. LNG export plants averaged 10.9 bcfd so far in May, down from April's monthly record of 11.5 bcfd. The decline was due to short-term issues and normal spring maintenance at a few Gulf Coast plants and the gas pipelines that supply them. U.S. pipeline exports to Mexico, meanwhile, averaged 6.0 bcfd so far in May, just off April's monthly record of 6.1 bcfd, Refinitiv data showed.
Weekly Natural Gas Cash Gains Defy Weather, but Futures Languish Absent Summer Heat - The continuation of moderate weather ahead of what is expected to be a record-breaking summer did little to stop spot gas price gains during the week of May 17-21. NGI’s Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. climbed 5.5 cents to $2.745. June Nymex futures, meanwhile, blew past $3.00 early in the period as weather models teased at intense heat arriving in the coming days. However, a quick retreat in the amount of projected demand sapped momentum, while the latest storage data sealed its fate. The June contract closed the week at $2.906, off 20.3 cents from Monday’s close.The gains in the spot gas market occurred even as widespread heat failed to materialize across the United States. Even in Texas, where conditions are typically hot and humid by this time of year, heavy rains throughout the week kept daytime temperatures in the 70s and 80s.East Coast markets posted the largest increases week/week as pipeline maintenance events upstream in Appalachia restricted gas flows.Algonquin Citygate spot gas prices averaged $2.570 for the May 17-21 period, up 28.0 cents on the week. Transco Zone 6 NY was up 20.0 cents to $2.505.In the Southeast, Transco Zone 5 spot gas prices averaged $2.945 for the week, an increase of 6.0 cents week/week.Henry Hub added only a penny on the week to average $2.890, while OGT in the Midcontinent slipped 4.0 cents to $2.660.A handful of Texas markets also landed in the red this week, with Agua Dulce and Houston Ship Channel each sliding 6.5 cents to $2.875 and $2.880, respectively.
Natural Gas, America’s No. 1 Power Source, Already Has a New Challenger: Batteries – WSJ -- Vistra Corp. owns 36 natural-gas power plants, one of America’s largest fleets. It doesn’t plan to buy or build any more.Instead, Vistra intends to invest more than $1 billion in solar farms and battery storage units in Texas and California as it tries to transform its business to survive in an electricity industry being reshaped by new technology.“I’m hellbent on not becoming the next Blockbuster Video, ” said Vistra Chief Executive Curt Morgan. “I’m not going to sit back and watch this legacy business dwindle and not participate.”A decade ago, natural gas displaced coal as America’s top electric-power source, as fracking unlocked cheap quantities of the fuel. Now, in quick succession, natural gas finds itself threatened with the same kind of disruption, only this time from cost-effective batteries charged with wind and solar energy.Natural-gas-fired electricity represented 38% of U.S. generation in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA, and it supplies round-the-clock electricity as well as bursts during peak demand. Wind and solar generators have gained substantial market share, and as battery costs fall, batteries paired with that green power are beginning to step into those roles by storing inexpensive green energy and discharging it after the sun falls or the wind dies.Battery storage remains less than 1% of America’s electricity market and so far draws power principally from solar generators, whose output is fairly predictable and easier to augment with storage. But the combination of batteries and renewable energy is threatening to upend billions of dollars in natural-gas investments, raising concerns about whether power plants built in the past 10 years—financed with the expectation that they would run for decades—will become “stranded assets,” facilities that retire before they pay for themselves. Across the country, much of the growth in renewable energy to date has been driven by state mandates that have required utilities to procure certain amounts of green power, and by federal tax incentives that have made wind and solar more economically competitive.But renewables have become increasingly cost-competitive without subsidies in recent years, spurring more companies to voluntarily cut carbon emissions by investing in wind and solar power at the expense of that generated from fossil fuels. And the specter of more state and federal regulations to address climate change is accelerating the trend
It's Time to Kick Gas – McKibben --We’re used to the idea that CO2—one carbon atom, two oxygen atoms—is a dangerous molecule. Indeed, driving down carbon-dioxide emissions has become the way that many leaders and journalists describe our task. But CH4—one carbon atom combined with four hydrogen atoms, otherwise known as methane—is carbon dioxide’s evil twin. It traps heat roughly eighty times more efficiently than carbon dioxide does, which explains why the fact that it’s spiking in the atmosphere scares scientists so much. Despite the pandemic lockdown, 2020 saw the largest single increase in methane in the atmosphere since we started taking measurements, in the nineteen-eighties. It’s a jump that, last month, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called “fairly surprising and disturbing.” If there’s any good news, it’s that the spike in methane doesn’t—yet—seem to be coming in large percentages from the runaway melt of methane-ice formations beneath the polar oceans or those in tundra soils. That would be a nightmare scenario because there wouldn’t be anything we could do about it—it’s global heating on automatic. Two decades ago, people thought that natural gas, though a fossil fuel, might help slow climate change because, when you burn it in a power station, it produces less carbon than burning coal does. Now we understand that natural gas—which is primarily made of methane—leaks unburned at every stage from fracking to combustion, whether in a power plant or on top of your stove, in sufficient quantities to make it an enormous climate danger. But plugging leaks isn’t enough: we’ve got to stop producing natural gas as quickly as possible, and replace it with renewables that generate neither carbon nor methane. As I wrote last month, that’s now entirely possible; sun and wind power have become so cheap so fast that they’re more economical than gas, and batteries are coming down the same kind of cost curve, so nightfall is no longer the problem it once was. But there are other reasons to kick gas. A report from Australia’s Climate Council, released last week, finds that the health impact of having a gas cooktop in your home is roughly equivalent to having a cigarette smoker puffing away in the corner, and accounts for about twelve per cent of childhood asthma. “It’s odourless, it’s invisible, it’s a bit of silent enemy,” the C.E.O. of Asthma Australia said. “People might feel differently if they understood that their gas appliances were emitting a range of toxic substances.” That is why the gas industry has lobbied so hard to prevent that perception. In at least fourteen U.S. states, the industry lobby is pushing bills that would prevent local governments from restricting the use of gas; a particular threat comes from the new appliances—chiefly air-source heat pumps and water heaters, and induction cooktops—that are now widely available and increasingly cheap. Indeed, leaked documents obtained last week by E&E News show that fifteen big gas utilities have mounted a Consortium to Combat Electrification. “If you’re going to bend this curve, and we bend it quickly, there are going to be casualties. Some will transform, some will consolidate, some will go away.”
Ted Cruz cites pipeline attack to push natural gas bill --Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz cited recent fuel shortages following the Colonial pipeline hack to justify immediate passage of legislation to codify Trump-era regulations on liquefied natural gas shipments by rail.
‘Colonial Pipeline resumes normal operations after ransomware hack - Colonial Pipeline resumed normal operations on Saturday after a ransomware attack forced the pipeline to shut down last week, the company announced. The pipeline is now delivering fuel to states that had experienced gas shortages at the same capacities as before the extortion scheme hit the critical pipeline, which runs from Texas to New York and carries roughly 100 million gallons of fuel per day. Colonial Pipeline restored limited services on Wednesday but said it would take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal. "Our team members across the pipeline worked safely and tirelessly around the clock to get our lines up and running, and we are grateful for their dedicated service and professionalism during these extraordinary times," the company said."Colonial has and will continue to put safety and system integrity first and will invest the required resources to maintain safe and reliable operations of our pipeline." According to crowdsourced data collected by GasBuddy, gas stations in 13 states and the District of Columbia were still experiencing fuel shortages as of 9:12 A.M. ET on SaturdayPatrick De Haan, a senior petroleum analyst at Gasbuddy, said in a tweet Thursday that it could take between two and 14 days for fuel services to be fully restored depending on the state. The hacker group DarkSide, which was responsible for the ransomware attack that shut down the pipeline, claims to be shutting down after it lost access to the infrastructure needed to carry out its extortion operations. Security experts warn that cyber criminal groups often disband and return under different names, and it therefore can't be determined if the disruption to DarkSide's infrastructure is legitimate or permanent.
Colonial Pipeline confirms it paid $4.4M to hackers (AP) — The operator of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline confirmed it paid $4.4 million to a gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems. Colonial Pipeline said Wednesday that after it learned of the May 7 ransomware attack, the company took its pipeline system offline and needed to do everything in its power to restart it quickly and safely, and made the decision then to pay the ransom. “This decision was not made lightly,” but it was one that had to be made, a company spokesman said. “Tens of millions of Americans rely on Colonial – hospitals, emergency medical services, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, airports, truck drivers and the traveling public.” Colonial Pipeline’s CEO, Joseph Blount, told The Wall Street Journal he authorized the payment because the company didn’t know the extent of the damage and wasn’t sure how long it would take to bring the pipeline’s systems back. The FBI discourages making ransom payments to ransomware attackers, because paying encourages criminal networks around the globe who have hit thousands of businesses and health care systems in the U.S. in the past year alone. But many victims of ransomware attacks, where hackers demand large sums of money to decrypt stolen data or to prevent it from being leaked online, opt to pay. “I know that’s a highly controversial decision,” Blount told the Journal. “But it was the right thing to do for the country.” Blount said Colonial paid the ransom in consultation with experts who previously dealt with the group behind the attacks, DarkSide, which rents out its ransomware to partners to carry out the actual attacks. Multiple sources had confirmed to The Associated Press that Colonial Pipeline had paid the criminals who committed the cyberattack a ransom of nearly $5 million in cryptocurrency for the software decryption key required to unscramble their data network.
PIPELINE HACK: Panels set votes, hearings on cybersecurity concerns -- Monday, May 17, 2021 -- The House Homeland Security Committee will vote on legislation this week meant to protect pipelines from cyberattacks.
SECURITY: Cantwell preps hearing on pipeline cyberattack -- Tuesday, May 18, 2021 -- Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairwoman Maria Cantwell is planning a hearing on the Colonial pipeline hack, while also pressing the Department of Homeland Security on its track record overseeing pipeline security.
Colonial Pipeline shipment scheduling hit by network issues Colonial Pipeline's is having network issues preventing shippers from planning upcoming shipments of fuel, the company said, just after the system reopened after a week-long ransomware attack. Last week's closure of the 5,500-mile (8,900-km) system was the most disruptive cyberattack on record, preventing millions of barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from flowing to the East Coast from the Gulf Coast. Colonial has been using its shipper nomination system to schedule batches of fuel deliveries to bring flows back to normal. A prolonged outage could prevent shippers from scheduling deliveries - once again hampering fuel delivery across the U.S. southeast and east coasts. Despite the nomination issues, market sources familiar with the matter said barrels currently in the line are continuing to flow.
Colonial Pipeline's customer communications system back online after experiencing problems - — Colonial Pipeline's communications system for shippers came back online late May 18 after experiencing problems for most of the day, again disrupting operations even though the petroleum products artery is up and running again after being halted for nearly a week following a cyberattack. Refined products shippers were unable to make nomination changes on Colonial for most of the day, despite the line resuming normal operations May 13, sources said. Colonial halted all pipeline operations May 7 because of a ransomware attack, restricting the primary artery for gasoline and refined products from delivering more than 100 million gal/d of fuels. Colonial stretches more than 5,500 miles from the Houston refining hub to New York Harbor, supplying about 45% of all the gasoline and diesel fuel consumed on the East Coast. A combination of regional shortages and panic-buying caused 50% or more of gas stations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, and Washington to run out of fuel, and some regional shortages were continuing May 18. "Colonial has restored service to our nominations system, and customers can once again place nominations," Colonial said in a statement after 1900 GMT. "Our internal server that runs our nomination system experienced intermittent disruptions this morning due to some of the hardening efforts that are ongoing and part of our restoration process. These issues were not related to the ransomware or any type of reinfection," Colonial said earlier. "The Colonial Pipeline system continues to deliver refined products as nominated by our shippers."
Rep. Slotkin Warns of Vulnerability to Cyberattacks After Colonial Pipeline Hack --National security experts say the recent hack affecting a major U.S. pipeline is just one in a wave of recent cyberattacks. Earlier this month, a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline shut down a major gas line that carries fuel to millions from Texas to New York. This shutdown sparked panic buying and price gouging along the East Coast. While picturing the devastation of a terror attack or mass shooting is easy, visualizing a cyberattack is more difficult. But that does not make virtual attacks any less serious a threat to national security. Rep. Elissa Slotkin is a Democrat representing Michigan’s Eighth Congressional District. She is the chairwoman of the Intelligence and Counterterrorism subcommittee within the House Committee on Homeland Security. Slotkin says whether it is ransomware or an attack for disruption, the U.S. needs to ensure that its infrastructure is protected from these cyberattacks. Slotkin says the recent pipeline cyberattack has proven to the average American that the U.S. is exceptionally open to cyberattacks. “The way we control our infrastructure has modernized and it’s more online. It’s more network, and in general we think that’s a good thing. Except it just exposes all these vulnerabilities.” According to Slotkin, most members of Congress think about cybersecurity policies from two perspectives, the first being defense. “What would happen if, in Lansing, we had a major cyberattack on the state? What would happen if in the middle of winter, there was an attack on Michigan’s electrical grid and 26 elderly people froze to death in their home?” Slotkin says these scenarios are what the U.S. needs to prepare for. Slotkin says the second way of thinking about cybersecurity is through offense, which is more “sticky and complicated” because the U.S. has no doctrine for cyber war. “What the public I think sees, people can hack us, people can attack us in the cyber realm and there’s no response. And what I will tell you is yes, there is some response, it’s just we’re not there as a nation, as a government, on how to respond to these attacks effectively,” she says.
Granholm expresses openness to pipeline cyber standards after Colonial attack -Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Wednesday threw her tentative support behind the idea of mandatory standards to secure pipelines in the wake of the debilitating ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline earlier this month. When asked by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) during a hearing whether pipelines should be subject to similar strict mandatory security standards that the electric sector is, Granholm testified that the U.S. is currently “inadequate” on pipeline security. “I think that this is an example potentially of that,” Granholm said of the attack on Colonial Pipeline. “If we had had standards in place, would this particular ransomware attack have been able to happen? You know, I’m not 100 percent sure.” “I do know that having good cyber hygiene on the private side as well as on the public side is a critical basic defense, and for entities that provide services to the public like that, especially critical services like energy, I think it’s an important consideration for this committee for sure,” she added. She also pointed to the fact that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has established cybersecurity standards for the electric grid and suggested that the federal government could do the same for pipelines, boosting current Transportation Security Administration (TSA) authorities. “FERC issued mandatory cybersecurity standards for electricity for electricity owners and operators ... TSA has voluntary guidelines, and one wonders whether it’s time we match what we’re doing on the electric side with what we’re doing on the pipeline side,” she said. Granholm’s remarks appear to differ from those made by President Biden last week on cybersecurity standards, in which he rejected the idea of mandated cybersecurity standards. “The bottom line is that I cannot dictate that the private companies do certain things relative to cybersecurity,” he said at the time. The hearing came a week after Colonial Pipeline began to restart operations following a devastating ransomware attack earlier this month on its IT system, with the company temporarily shutting down the pipeline to protect operational controls. Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount confirmed to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the company paid the hackers, who President Biden said last week were likely based in Russia, the equivalent of $4.4 million to regain access to encrypted systems and get the pipeline up and running again.
19 GOP AGs urge Biden to reinstate Keystone, protect energy infrastructure in wake of Colonial Pipeline attack - Nineteen Republican attorneys general sent a letter to President Biden calling on his administration to support energy infrastructure, including reinstating the Keystone XL Pipeline permit, in light of the cyberattack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline. On Tuesday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter with 18 of his GOP colleagues from around the country to Biden, saying the "aftermath" of the cyberattack that took the Colonial Pipeline offline "has been alarming." The attorneys general likened the price increases, "fuel shortages and gas lines" Americans are currently experiencing to "those seen in the Carter administration" and said the situation shines light on the "widespread disruption and public panic" when a fuel pipeline goes down. "Americans depend upon safe and secure energy supplies, which is why we must build and maintain robust energy infrastructure that is resilient in the face of accidents and sabotage," wrote the attorneys general. "A temporary shutdown of one pipeline’s full-capacity operations shouldn’t bring half the country to the brink." The group said the "safe and clean energy sources" America needs includes the Keystone XL Pipeline – which Biden canceled via executive order – and pointed out that Biden supported pipelines when he served as former President Obama's vice president. "But your administration’s current approach exchanges those fact-based conclusions for the faddish preoccupations of your coastal elite constituencies," the group stated in the letter. "Indeed, hours after you took office, you purported to kill thousands of jobs, extinguish billions in economic opportunity, and jeopardize American energy independence because of the ‘message’ Keystone XL sends to the global community – whatever that means," they added. The attorneys general lambasted Biden for his "impulse to bow to an extreme climate agenda untethered to scientific fact or reality." Additionally, they said the decision to cut the pipeline "undercuts" American energy independence while damaging relations with "geopolitical allies like Canada," who would benefit from the pipeline.
PolitiFact | No, the East Coast gas shortage isn’t related to the Keystone Pipeline or Biden’s order - A fuel shortage hit the East Coast on May 7 after the Colonial Pipeline was shut down following a cyberattack, but some people on social media blamed the fuel woes on President Joe Biden’s order halting construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project in the Great Plains."When you can't find gas, remember who executively ordered the Keystone Pipeline to close," a Facebook post read on May 10.Similar claims linking the Colonial and Keystone pipeline issues have been made elsewhere on Facebook and by politicians on Twitter, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about ourpartnership with Facebook.)The post gets a few things wrong. First, Biden’s order didn’t close the Keystone Pipeline; it’s still operating. Second, Keystone doesn’t supply gasoline; it carries Canadian crude oil to U.S. refineries. Third, the gasoline shortages are due to a problem with the operator of the Colonial Pipeline, not a lack of crude oil — or anything connected with Keystone or Keystone XL.The Colonial Pipeline, which runs for 5,500 miles from Houston to New Jersey, supplies the East Coast with 45% of its gasoline. When a ransomware attack targeted the computer network of the Georgia-based company that operates the pipeline, the company decided to halt all operations in order to contain the attack. The temporary shutdown of the pipeline resulted in fuel shortages and price hikes throughout the East Coast.Keystone XL would have been an extension to the still operationalKeystone Pipeline, which stretches for 2,687 miles from Hardisty, Alberta, in Canada to Illinois and Texas. The extension would have created another to carry crude oil from Alberta to U.S. refineries and terminals and expanded the network’s capacity. Construction on the Keystone XL project began on April 7, 2020, and less than 100 miles of the 1,179-mile extension was completed by the time President Biden issued an executive order revoking the construction permit on Jan. 20, 2021.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer Pushes Enbridge Pipeline Shutdown as US Faces National Gas Shortage - Amid the national gas shortage the U.S. is facing, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer continues her pursuit to shut down the Enbridge pipeline. In a Washington Post op-ed on Friday, the Democrat Governor explained that the Line 5 pipeline, which was owned and operated by Enbridge Inc., has pumped crude oil for 70 years through the cross-section of Lake Michigan and Huron and the Straits of Mackinac. The Michigan Governor also mentioned that the two 4.5 mile sections are ticking time bombs in the area.According to Fox News, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer stated that oil and water do not mix, especially when the latter involves the Great Lakes. She mentioned that it is the repository of more than 20 percent of the fresh water in the world.Whitmer also added that she is taking every action that she can have to shut them down to protect the two Great Lakes. She also shared that she wants to protect jobs that depend on them.Line 5 is part of a network that moves crude oil and other petroleum products from Western Canada. It transports around 540,000 barrels daily.Also, Whitmer mentioned that the incident in 2010 alerted the whole nation because of the dangers imposed by a possible oil spill after Line 6B of the Enbridge pipeline ruptured is what she is attempting to avoid.However, the recent Colonial Pipeline hack, which shut down the entire 5,500-mile stretch and caused the scramble at the gas pump, drove prices to record highs and caused major shortages. Reports even mentioned that a gas station raised its regular gas prices to $7 per gallon.In November, Whitmer filed a lawsuit against Enbridge that notifies the state of Michigan that it would allow the pipeline 180 days to cap oil flow operations. The governor threatened to disgorge the company of all profits unjustly earned upon refusal to comply. But Enbridge replied that they will continue pumping until a court orders them to stop. Whitmer also concluded that running pipelines through the water of the Great Lakes is and always has been a dangerous threat. She also emphasized that she will not sit idle as the time bomb keeps ticking.
Michigan Line 5 opponents serve ‘eviction notice’ at Enbridge pumping station — On the day after a state deadline for Enbridge to shut down its Line 5 pipeline in Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac, hundreds of tribal and environmental activists served an “eviction notice” to the Canadian energy company at its McGulpin Point pumping station.Sean McBrearty, campaign coordinator for the nonprofit Oil and Water Don’t Mix, read the symbolic order before posting it on the pumping station gates on Thursday. The demonstration followed a two-mile march on the second day of protests around Enbridge’s May 12 deadline to cease sending oil through its 68-year-old Line 5 pipeline on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. “Enbridge has a history of not only neglecting the environment but neglecting their duty under the law,” McBrearty told Energy News Network. “They’re doing that again today by operating without an easement.”After serving the eviction notice at the pumping station, protesters continued down the road as tribal members performed traditional songs and dances. The procession stopped at the edge of the waterway linking Lake Michigan to Lake Huron — a place of cultural and spiritual significance to the Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, and other tribal nations in the Great Lakes States.“This is a sacred place. It’s our Jerusalem,” said Nathan Wright, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a main organizer of the demonstrations. “We as Anishinaabe have a responsibility to protect this place. We’re here to let Enbridge know their time is up.” Enbridge continues to run Line 5 as it challenges Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s shutdown order in court, arguing that pipeline decommissioning decisions must be made at the federal level and that the governor does not have that authority. Some Republican lawmakers also oppose the shutdown, citing the pipeline’s economic impact. The governor, meanwhile, has threatened to start seizing the company’s profits if it continues to operate the pipeline, which moves up to 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids each day from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario.
Ohio lawmakers make plea to keep Line 5 open, citing potential Toledo-area job losses -- Four Ohio lawmakers — including a Republican and two Democrats from northwest Ohio — pleaded with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday to back down from her effort to close the controversial Line 5 pipeline that runs along the Straits of Mackinac. So far, Governor Whitmer has given no indication she is willing to do that. Ohio Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R., Bowling Green) opened a news conference in Columbus by saying the attempted closure “at best, is a mistake by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and, at worse, is an attack on Ohio workers.” Their thoughts echo words reiterated in Toledo earlier this month by Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and other high-ranking Ohio officials over the past couple of years before that, including Gov. Mike DeWine, Attorney General Dave Yost, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, and Oregon Mayor Mike Sefarian. The bipartisan consensus is that Toledo-area refineries operated by BP-Husky Toledo and PBF Energy Toledo Refining Co. have the potential of losing 1.200 jobs if Ms. Whitmer succeeds. The pipeline also serves northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. Enbridge has thus far refused to comply with Ms. Whitmer’s May 12 shutdown deadline, which the governor announced last November. Her office gave no response to The Blade about the latest plea or about two symbolic resolutions in the Ohio General Assembly calling for that pipeline to remain open. Neither House Resolution 13 nor Senate Resolution 41 have any authority in the matter. Both were passed to express the Ohio lawmakers' opinion about the Line 5 controversy. Neither require Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature, and they don’t require the same language. The Ohio House resolution was passed in March by a 73-10 vote. The Ohio Senate has not taken a vote on the resolution introduced into that chamber.
Gretchen Whitmer's Pipeline War -- Wall Street Journal editorial - The cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline has led to surging gasoline prices on the East Coast. But that isn’t stopping Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from trying to shut down another crucial pipeline, no matter the harm across the Midwest and Canada. Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 transports more than half a million barrels a day of oil and natural gas liquids through Canada and the Great Lakes region. Late last year Ms. Whitmer moved to revoke and terminate an easement that lets the pipeline operate for 4.5 miles across the Straits of Mackinac. She’s seeking a state court injunction to force Enbridge to shut down Line 5 and “permanently decommission” the pipeline. Ms. Whitmer claims Enbridge has created an “unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life.” But the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the federal regulator that oversees Line 5, said in January that it is “presently aware of no unsafe or hazardous conditions that would warrant shutdown of Line 5.” No mode of moving energy is risk-free, but pipelines are much safer than rail. Enbridge says that over two decades Line 5 has seen five incidents that resulted in the release of 882 gallons of product. Compare that to the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster, where a train carrying oil derailed, spilling some 1.6 million gallons and causing an explosion that killed some 47 people. Refineries in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania would lose much of their crude oil supply. United Steelworkers Local 912 President Justin Donley has warned that closing Line 5 would jeopardize the Toledo Refining Company, which isn’t equipped to receive oil by truck. The result would be a “devastating loss of income” for nearly 350 union workers and “further economic collapse of the Northern Ohio/Southern Michigan economy,” he said.Ms. Whitmer is also causing a foreign policy flap. A 1977 treaty between the U.S. and Canada bars a “public authority in the territory of either” signatory nation from taking actions that would have the effect of “impeding, diverting, redirecting or interfering with in any way the transmission of hydrocarbon in transit” by pipeline between the two countries. The treaty makes exceptions for emergencies or natural disasters and temporary shutdowns for safety concerns, but not for gubernatorial whim.The Canadian government raised these treaty concerns this month in an amicus brief filed in U.S. federal court. Refineries in Ontario depend on the pipeline, and so does the Toronto Pearson International Airport for jet fuel. “A Line 5 shutdown would severely disrupt the supply and increase the price consumers pay for fuel across Quebec and Ontario,” the Canadians argued, adding that “in western Canada, the loss of Line 5 would have a devastating impact on the industry and economy.”
Offshore Worker Dies in Gulf of Mexico - Fieldwood Energy has confirmed that a fatal incident occurred on May 15 involving a contractor at the Eugene Island 158 #14 offshore facility in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The incident was said to have happened during a non emergency casing pressure test on a shut in well. No other personnel were injured and the shut in well remains secure and poses no threat of environmental harm, the company noted. Fieldwood Energy said details of the incident are still being established and revealed that an investigation into the incident is currently underway. “Fieldwood Energy is committed to safe operations, and the health and well-being of our entire workforce is a top priority,” the company said in a statement posted on its website, adding that it was “deeply saddened” by the event. “We have notified and are working with the appropriate regulatory agencies. We have no additional details to share at this time,” Fieldwood Energy went on to note in the statement. Fieldwood Energy is one of the largest operators in the GOM, according to its website. The company produces more than 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from assets in the shallow continental shelf and deepwater U.S GOM and Gulf Coast region and has expanded to develop new assets in the territorial waters of Mexico, Fieldwood Energy notes on its site.
NTSB Releases Report on Capsized Gulf of Mexico Vessel - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published a preliminary report as part of its ongoing investigation of the fatal capsizing of the Seacor Power liftboat, which occurred on April 13, near Port Fourchon, Louisiana.According to the report, the Seacor Power departed Port Fourchon at about 1:30 p.m. on April 13 and was bound for the oil and gas lease area Main Pass Block 138 in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). At about 3:30 p.m., as the vessel transited the open waters of the GOM, a rain squall passed over the liftboat, and as visibility dropped and winds increased significantly, the crew decided to lower the vessels legs to the seafloor to hold it in position until the storm passed, the report outlined.The crewmember at the helm attempted to turn the Seacor Power into the wind as the legs began to descend, but before the turn was completed, the liftboat heeled to starboard and capsized, the report revealed. Several people were able to escape onto the exposed, port side of the Seacor Power deckhouse but high winds and seas that had built to 10 to 12 feet prevented rescuers from reaching those who remained on the vessel, according to the report. Some were said to be washed into the water and six were eventually rescued, with one survivor suffering a serious injury, the report highlighted.The report noted that there were 19 people aboard the U.S.-flagged, 175 foot long vessel at the time of the accident. Six people were rescued by the Coast Guard and Good Samaritan vessels, six people died in the accident, and seven remain missing.NTSB investigators interviewed survivors, other personnel who previously crewed the Seacor Power, representatives for the owner and charterer, vessel inspectors and surveyors, and search and rescue responders. When the Seacor Power is salvaged, NTSB investigators intend to return to inspect the vessel and collect further evidence.The NTSB emphasized that information in its report is preliminary and subject to change as the investigation progresses. As such, it says no conclusions about the cause of the accident should be drawn from the report.
U.S. shale oil output to climb for first time in 3 months in June -EIA (Reuters) - U.S. oil output from seven major shale formations is expected to climb by 26,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June to 7.73 million bpd, the first rise in three months, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a monthly forecast on Monday. The biggest increase is set to come from the Permian, the top producing basin in the country, where output is expected to rise by 54,000 bpd to about 4.59 million bpd, the highest since March 2020. Output in nearly every other large basin such as the Bakken in North Dakota and Montana, as well as the Eagle Ford in South Texas is expected to decline. In the Bakken, production is expected to drop by about 7,000 bpd to 1.1 million bpd, the lowest since July 2020. Natural gas production from the major shale basins was expected to decline for the third month in a row in June for the first time on record, according to EIA’s drilling productivity report going back to 2007. Total gas output will decline about 0.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) to 83.6 bcfd in June. That compares with a monthly record high of 86.9 bcfd in December 2019. Gas output in Appalachia, the biggest shale gas basin, was expected to decline 0.1 bcfd to 34.2 bcfd in June, its lowest since October 2020. That compares with a monthly record of 35.6 bcfd in December 2020. If correct, that would put output in Appalachia down for a record sixth month in a row. Gas output in the Haynesville area, meanwhile, will rise 0.1 bcfd to a record 12.8 bcfd in June. EIA said producers drilled 513 wells and completed 754 in the biggest shale basins in April. That left total drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells down 241 to 6,857, their lowest since October 2018.
Oil drillers and Bitcoin miners bond over natural gas -(Reuters) - On U.S. oil patches stretching along the Rockies and Great Plains, trailers hitched to trucks back up toward well pads to capture natural gas and convert it on the spot into electricity. The trailers - carrying pipes, generators and computers - are called “mining rigs.” But their owners aren’t there to drill for oil. They are using stray natural gas unwanted by oil companies to power their search for another treasure: cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies are virtual coins exchanged without middlemen, such as central banks, to purchase goods and services. Extracting the currency from cyberspace, however, requires vast amounts of often-expensive electricity. Supercomputers must run constantly in a race against other “miners” to solve complex math problems in order to unlock digital vaults holding the currency. Placed in mobile trailers, these supercomputers run as hot as 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius), and in the cold of western North Dakota, people stay warm just by sitting near them, cryptocurrency miners say. The miners are increasingly sending these rigs out to oil fields because it’s one of the cheapest ways to obtain the energy they need. Oil and natural gas come from the same wells, but at these sites, drillers are seeking crude oil and have no pipelines to get the gas to market. That typically forces them to burn it off in a process called flaring - creating carbon dioxide emissions - or to vent it into the atmosphere directly as methane. "The sweet spot for us is stranded, low volumes of gas that don't justify a pipeline," said Steve Degenfelder, land manager at Wyoming-based producer Kirkwood Oil and Gas LLC, which has formed an alliance with Bitcoin miners. Oil companies face pressure from investors and government officials to reduce emissions that lead to global warming. Sometimes they give the gas away for free to cryptocurrency miners; other times they sell it. Story continues
Prices rebound, but oil may no longer be king - Oil and gas companies are emerging from the global pandemic more resilient to market downturns, but will most certainly be a smaller driver of economic growth for the Houston region in the coming years. The first three months of 2021 saw most oil majors and large independents post their first profitable quarter since the novel coronavirus broke out last year, offering the clearest sign yet that the industry is rebounding from the worst oil bust in decades. The rollout of COVID -19 vaccines is filling restaurants, airports and vacation destinations across the country, bolstering demand for crude. “Today, we’re seeing this rebound, which is happening faster than we thought and for some sectors, rising to higher levels than anticipated,” Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods told analysts this month. “One thing is for sure, these margins and prices will continue to move.” West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, has rebounded to around $65 a barrel, a price at which many producers can turn a profit. A year ago, crude prices had plunged into negative territory for the first time in history as the pandemic forced most Americans home and slashed demand for petroleum products such as gasoline and jet fuel. However, oil companies aren’t taking $65 oil as a sign to drill, baby, drill. Despite returning to profitability and growing revenues, most oil companies have promised to hold down spending for new drilling projects — which may disappoint the tens of thousands of oil workers laid off during the pandemic. EOG CEO Bill Thomas told analysts this month that supply and demand will dictate the Houston shale producer’s growth plans — not the price of a barrel of crude. Companies are exercising restraint in part because the economic recovery from the pandemic remains tenuous. New coronavirus strains are running amok in countries such as India, while the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. is slowing. OPEC and its allies are gradually ramping up production to meet growing demand, putting pressure on U.S. producers. Oil executives have also promised capital discipline as part of an industry-wide effort to woo investors back to the sector after years of lackluster performance. Instead of spending to drill new wells and boost production, oil companies are focused on paying down debt and boosting returns through increased dividends and share buybacks.
Averting crisis: Path to weatherize Texas power plants and some gas wells set under compromise bill — Texas would require weatherization of electrical generating plants and some natural gas wells and related pipelines and compressors under a compromise bill that House leaders unveiled Tuesday. But in a concession to the oil and gas industry, a revised omnibus electricity measure would reduce how many natural gas facilities must be upgraded. A newly created interagency “supply chain security and mapping committee” would identify which chunks of the natural gas industry actually feed power generators – and only those would have to be weatherized, under rules to be set later. Environmentalists and consumer advocates, while wincing over the Texas natural gas industry’s clout, were relieved that the House’s version of the session’s major grid-overhaul bill took a softer approach to renewable energy than a Senate-passed version did. The House version, approved unanimously by the House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday, would remove language that would potentially force wind and solar power companies to pay billions for replacement power needed when the grid faces maximum demand. That change on “ancillary services” was hailed by Austin Democratic Rep. Donna Howard and spokesmen for groups such as Environment Texas, Public Citizen and the U.S. Green Building Council’s Texas chapter. Senate Bill 3, which advances to the House Calendars Committee, constitutes the Legislature’s single most far-reaching response to this year’s winter storm.
Texas's Oil and Gas Industry Is Defending Its Billions in Subsidies Against a Green Energy Push – On a spring morning more than three decades ago, Don Henderson, a lawyer closely allied with the fossil-fuel industry, introduced a bill to slash the tax on natural gas wells deemed particularly tough to develop. “They can be huuuuuuge wells,” he told the finance committee. If these wells were so alluring, why did taxpayers need to offer Texas drillers a handout? Because, Henderson explained, the wells were “expensive and chancy.” So much for the image of risk-taking and self-sufficiency that the state’s oil and gas industry liked to tout. The federal government had long given producers of these wells a tax break, but that was to be phased out the following year. Henderson insisted that the state act to keep its oilmen competitive. “We need to continue to give an incentive to Texas producers,” he warned, noting that the type of wells targeted by the subsidy accounted for “a large part of the natural gas reserves of this state.” The committee unanimously approved the tax break, which was easily passed by the full Legislature. At first, the largesse spread slowly. In 1997 it applied to wells producing just 3 percent of Texas gas, costing the state a paltry $23 million. But then the fracking revolution hit, unleashing unimaginable quantities of gas from previously tough-to-crack rock. The many wells that could be tapped by the high-dollar technology qualified gas producers for a gusher of a handout. Of course, fracking ballooned not just expenses but also profits. By 2009, with the fracking frenzy in full swing, 61 percent of all the gas produced in Texas benefited from the tax break. Its cost to other state taxpayers that year, according to a University of Texas study: $1.5 billion, or $169 per household in the state. Since then, continued tech improvements have made producing fracked gas ever cheaper. Yet tax breaks, like old soldiers, seldom die, and Texas’s so-called high-cost gas-well subsidy remains on the books. All of which made a bit rich the supposedly righteous fury aimed during this spring’s state legislative session at subsidies for wind and solar energy. That anger, expressed through a handful of bills intended to raise the costs of renewables, blamed the death and economic devastation wreaked by the statewide February blackouts on lapses in wind and solar power. Never mind that state inquiries have shown that the major culprit in crashing Texas’s main electricity grid was the freezing not of renewable energy equipment but of the system that distributes gas to fuel power plants. And never mind that Texas is well positioned to profit from renewables, thanks to its ample wind and sun, its investment in transmission lines to move clean electricity, and the applicability of much of its oil and gas expertise to new challenges such as installing offshore wind turbines and drilling for geothermal energy.
Texas bars city climate plans from banning natural gas as fuel source --Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a bill into law that prohibits Texas cities from banning natural gas as a fuel source for new construction and utility services.House Bill 17, which Abbott signed Tuesday, according to the Texas Legislature’s online portal, is a response to a trend in progressive California cities. Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont, argued that banning natural gas would restrict consumer choices. Deshotel was not immediately available for comment Tuesday, but he previously told The Texas Tribune that he filed the bill in response to “what is happening on the West Coast,” where cities have passed energy efficiency plans that prohibit new subdivisions from offering natural gas heating, requiring instead that new homes be heated by electricity.Using electricity to heat homes rather than natural gas reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The bulk of emissions from residential and commercial buildings in San Francisco are attributed to burning natural gas, which spurred the city’s efforts to mandate a transition, Inside Climate News reported in November.In Austin, the city’s initial climate action plan would have virtually eliminated gas use in new buildings by 2030, but it was altered after Texas Gas Service opposed the measure, the Texas Observer reported in March.The new law, which takes effect immediately, prevents cities or municipalities from “discriminating” against any particular fuel source.At least a dozen similar bills were filed in states including Kansas, Minnesota andOhio.
Deep earthquakes in Texas driven by shallow wastewater injection - Virginia Tech geoscientists have found that shallow wastewater injections can drive widespread deep earthquake activity in oil and gas production fields. The team came up with the finding after studying the Delaware Basin in western Texas, one of the most productive and unconventional hydrocarbon fields in the United States. Well drillers dispose of large volumes of brine-- a toxic wastewater byproduct of oil and gas production-- by injecting them into subsurface formations where it can drive earthquakes. Since 2010, the Delaware Basin has seen a major increase in shallow wastewater injection and widespread deep seismicity, including the recent M5.0 event near Mentone. Most of the tremors were relatively small, but some were large and widely felt. "It is quite interesting that injection above the thick, overall low-permeability shale reservoir can induce an earthquake within the deep basement, despite a minimal hydraulic connection," said lead author Guang Zhai, a postdoctoral research scientist in the Department of Geosciences, who is also part of the Virginia Tech College of Science and a visiting assistant researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. "What we have found is that the so-called poroelastic stresses can activate basement faults, which is originated from the fluid injection causing rock deformation." Study co-author Manoochehr Shirzaei, an affiliated faculty member of the Virginia Tech Global Change Center, added, "This finding is significant because it puts poroelastic stresses in the spotlight as the main driver for basinwide earthquakes in the Basin." Predicting the amount of seismic activity from wastewater injection is troublesome, said Zhai, because it involves numerous variables, including injection depth. Although deep injection is known to be the dominant reason behind fluid pressure increase, it is still questionable how shallow injections cause earthquakes.The team looked at how varying amounts of injected brine disturbed the crustal stresses deep under the Delaware Basin and how the disturbances lead to earthquakes. "Fluids such as brine and natural groundwater can both be stored and move through rocks that are porous," Zhai explained. The researchers used data analytics and computer modeling to imitate the large volume of fluid extraction from shale reservoirs from more than 1 500 shale production wells from 1993 to 2020, with 400 wells injecting brine in sandstone formations from 2010 to 2020. They found that the basinwide earthquakes mainly take place where the deep stress increases due to shallow injection. This indicates that there is a causal link between deep earthquakes and shallow fluid injection via elastic stress transfer.
US oil, gas rigs fall 12 to 543 on week, as industry focuses on recovering oil demand— The US oil and gas rig count fell 12 to 543 on the week, rig data provider Enverus said May 20, despite oil prices that have persisted above $60/b and drilling activity that has generally headed up in 2021. Analysts are painting a generally optimistic picture for the rest of the year as oil demand continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. But for the week ended May 19, rig losses prevailed in most of the eight largest domestic basins, with the Permian Basin of West Texas/New Mexico down four to 237 and the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas down three to 41. The natural gas-prone Marcellus Shale, mostly in Pennsylvania, lost two rigs to 33, while the Haynesville Shale, a dry gas play in east Texas/northwest Louisiana, and the Utica Shale, largely sited in Ohio, each shed one rig for respective totals of 50 and 11.The natural gas rig count lost six units in the past week for a total 120 – four in the Haynesville and two in the Marcellus. The total domestic fleet was also down six oil rigs to 423. . The only major domestic basin to gain rigs this week was the SCOOP-STACK in Oklahoma, which pushed the play's total to 22 – the highest level of activity for that play since mid-April 2020. Both the Bakken Shale of North Dakota/Montana and the DJ Basin mostly in Colorado were unchanged for the week at 17 and 14 rigs, respectively. For the same week ended May 19, crude prices remained strong, although down a bit, while gas prices were largely static, according to S&P Global Platts estimates. WTI averaged $64.86/b, down 32 cents, while WTI Midland averaged $65.17/b, down 20 cents and Bakken Composite, $62.84/b, down 81 cents. Natural gas prices at Henry Hub averaged $2.90/MMBtu, up 1 cent, while at Dominion South, the average was $2.21/MMBtu, down 5 cents.
Is DEEPROP A Missing Ingredient For More Efficient Fracking In Shale Wells? The shale revolution has occupied the first 20 years of the new century. The key to success was technology – a long horizontal well (up to two miles long) fracked up to 40 times along its length. Each fracking operation basically cracked up the shale rock around the horizontal well, and by using up to 40 separate fracking operations, the shale was cracked up along the entire length of the horizontal well. Oil or gas molecules could find their way to a crack, and then hustle along a series of crack conduits to the horizontal well. Voila! a commercial well. But one important step is missing. After fracking operations cease, the crack conduits tend to close under the intense stress of the rock. If they close, the oil and gas has no preferred pathways, and the well is not profitable.The traditional antidote has been to inject proppant – a variety of sand - into the well. The sand grains act to prop open the cracks and stop them from closing. For shale oil or gas wells, what operators found out quickly was that conventional 20-40 sized sand, used for decades in fracking operations, could not be pumped into the cracks because the cracks in shale were too thin in width. It was like trying to fit walnuts into a crack in the sidewalk. They had to reduce the size of the proppant and found by trial and error the best sand was a mix of 100-mesh and 40-70.For over 20 years, this has been the status quo. But in 2014, the position waschallenged: finer sand should have an advantage because it would fit into smaller cracks and hold them open, and this would allow even more molecules of gas or oil to get to the wellbore.The report told of a study of gas production from five shale wells, where the correlations implied that using more 100-mesh proppant in the fracking recipe led to greater gas production. But others argued theoretically for less 100-mesh sand because it was weaker than 40-70 mesh sand and less resistant to crushing by higher stresses trying to close the fractures.In the last few years, a new type of proppant has come along. Its smaller in size than 100-mesh, rounder, and stronger, and it’s called DEEPROP. It is sometimes called microproppant because of its small size: 400-500 mesh (about 0.05 mm or 1/20 of a millimeter). DEEPROP is a tiny microproppant material that has been shown to increase well productivity by between 20-40% in multi-year trials, in over 250 wells in 6 major US shale plays. Mesh size of the proppant is 400-500 (0.05 mm). The particles are made of ceramic and are spherical. DEEPROP allows operators to place proppant in smaller fractures, further from the wellbore and it has been shown to slow flowrate decline and increase estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) from a shale gas or shale oil well.
IEA’s First 1.5°C Climate Model Rejects New Fossil Fuel Extraction --For years, we've seen fossil fuel companies and governments justify their fossil fuel expansion plans – from the TransMountain tar sands pipeline expansion to Arctic oil drilling to the Adani coal mine – on the backs of scenarios from the International Energy Agency (IEA).This was possible because, until today, the world's most influential energy modeling agency had not produceda scenario actually aligned with the full ambition of the Paris Agreement goals. That's true no longer.Now, after years of pressure from climate advocates, investors, businesses, and diplomats, the IEA has finallyreleased its first ever fully-fledged energy scenario aligned with the urgent goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C). As with past IEA modeling efforts, this new scenario needs some fixes (more on that below), and we're still analyzing all of its implications. But one conclusion in particular stands out to us at Oil Change International (OCI).In its Summary for Policymakers, in a bolded headline, the IEA finds that, "There is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply in our net zero pathway."They add, "Beyond projects already committed as of 2021, there are no new oil and gas fields approved for development in our pathway, and no new coal mines or mine extensions are required."This is huge. An agency that has consistently boosted new oil and gas development in its flagship annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) is now backing up the global call to stop the expansion of fossil fuel extraction.Big Oil and Gas companies and the governments of fossil fuel-producing countries have lost one of their key covers for claiming that developing new oil and gas reserves is fully consistent with their commitments to "net zero" or the Paris Agreement. People around the world who have been demanding that governments, banks, and other financial institutions stop enabling the expansion of oil, gas, and coal extraction can point to the IEA's "authoritative" analysis reaching the same conclusion. Of course, the IEA is behind the curve. OCI has been analyzing the disconnect between new fossil fuel development and the Paris goals since 2016. We found then that already operating or under construction oil and gas fields and coal mines contain enough fossil fuel reserves to push the world well beyond 1.5 degrees of warming. The implication was as clear then as it is now: The world must stop digging new holes, and focus instead on managing a rapid and equitable wind down of already developed extraction.
The Renewables vs Oil Spend of Majors - BP and Total have the biggest announced renewables targets to 2030 among the oil and gas majors, according to Rystad Energy, which highlights that the companies are aiming for 50 gigawatts (GW) of capacity.This is more than double that of any other major during the same period, with Eni, Shell, Equinor, and Repsol all targeting under 20 GW of renewables capacity, Galp aiming for 10 GW and Chevron aiming for well under five GW, Rystad outlines.If we take BP and Total’s 50 GW target by 2030 as their renewables investment benchmark, the companies will have to spend roughly $5 billion to $6 billion per year on new projects within renewables to reach their targets, according to Vegard Wiik Vollset, Rystad Energy’s vice president of renewable energy.In comparison, Vollset highlighted that BP’s planned capital expenditure (CAPEX) on oil and gas projects to 2030 is $8 billion per year and Total’s planned CAPEX on oil and gas projects to 2030 is around $10 billion per year. Going by the figures above, on average, BP’s annual oil and gas spend would be around 37.5 percent to 25 percent higher than its annual renewables spend to 2030 and Total’s annual oil and gas spend would be around 50 percent to 40 percent higher than its annual renewables investment during the same period..“Whereas the European majors have already made strategic shifts into renewables, the U.S. majors have yet to make any material investments within renewables energy,” Vollset added.Commenting on what the potential percentage breakdown of investment among the majors may look like to 2050, Emma Richards, a senior oil and gas analyst at Fitch Solutions, noted that it would be hard to gauge as CAPEX projections tend to be short run.“Net zero ambitions can offer a guide, but what this means in terms of spending on renewables versus oil and gas will depend on a host of factors, not least the deployment of carbon capture technologies and the use of carbon offsets,” Richards told Rigzone.
Analysis finds $8.1 billion gap in New Mexico bonding requirements, clean up costs for oil and gas - Oil and gas infrastructure could leave the state with a hefty price tag for cleanup if companies go bankrupt, according to a new analysis completed by the Center for Applied Research. The analysis found an $8.18 billion difference between the bonds for the infrastructure in the state and the cost of cleaning up the sites. Companies issue bonds to provide financial assurance that the sites will be cleaned up in case of bankruptcy. The Center for Applied Research is an economic consulting firm that focuses on “resource valuation and market analysis pertaining to tribal lands and state trust lands,” Chad Linse, an economist with the organization, told NM Political Report in an email. According to the report, it will cost approximately $8.38 billion to clean up the oil and gas infrastructure currently located on state and private lands in New Mexico. The amount of money available through the required financial assurances, or bonds, is $201.42 million. That leaves the approximately $8.18 billion gap. Some of the infrastructure does not have any bonding requirements. This includes compressor station sites, freshwater frac ponds and storage facilities or warehouses. Additionally, companies with a larger number of wells pay less per well. For example, operators with more than 100 wells carry an average of $127 in bonds per well. Meanwhile, a company operating a single well would have an average of $13,203 in bonds for that well. The report states that market volatility is common in the petroleum industry and it is not uncommon for an operator to file bankruptcy in the middle of operations. This is particularly true if there is an economic downturn or if demand for petroleum decreases. Related: With oil’s future uncertain, orphaned wells on public lands could become a big problem for New Mexico “We have completed several studies related to the oil and gas industry’s use of New Mexico state trust lands in the past,” Linse said. “However, this is the first study we have undertaken looking at financial assurance requirements for oil and gas infrastructure.” Linse said the Center is hopeful that its findings will be useful during discussions about bonding policies in New Mexico.
Rare FERC move sparks heated debate over commission's role assessing pipeline climate impacts | Utility Dive --Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioners on Thursday resparked the debate about whether federal regulators should take climate change into account when considering the environmental impacts of a gas pipeline project. Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve two pipeline projects proposed by the Northern Natural Gas Company in Minnesota and the Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company in Nevada, after reviewing their respective climate impacts. The projects were poised to be rejected by FERC before Commissioner James Danly, who briefly chaired the commission under President Donald Trump, proposed a last minute amendment to avoid setting a precedent on examining climate impacts — and to secure his own vote. FERC for the first time in March considered how a proposed pipeline project's downstream emissions would impact the climate, ultimately determining they were not significant enough to deny certification. But the two projects put in front of the commission on Thursday had "significantly higher" emissions impacts, according to Chairman Richard Glick, leading him and Commissioner Allison Clements to oppose, in part, the certifications.Last minute changes to FERC orders are legal, but rare, and Thursday's amendment sparked a heated debate during the monthly commission meeting over whether the timing of such a change was appropriate. "I talked to you many times yesterday. I talked to you again this morning. You didn't even mention [the amendment] once," said Glick. "You didn't share it with anyone." "This is not a game," said Commissioner Neil Chatterjee. "People are watching this, the markets are watching this. We are toying with these companies. If this sentence is what it would have taken to have gotten us the three votes, it should have been offered before the meeting." The amendment offered a single sentence, tacked onto each of the certificate orders for the two pipelines: "The forgoing analysis of greenhouse gas emissions is offered for informational purposes only, does not inform any part of this order’s holding, and shall not serve as precedent for any future certificate order." Without this sentence, Danly said he couldn't support the certification process, because the commission in this case and in the previous case was departing from precedent without acknowledging the departure in a meaningful way. It's "unfair" to make such changes while FERC is in the midst of a broader review of how it approves gas infrastructure, Danly said.
PUBLIC LANDS: Barrasso bill would unlock nearly 100K acres in Wyo. -- Friday, May 21, 2021 -- -Nearly 100,000 acres of federal lands in Wyoming would return to less restrictive uses under a new proposal from Sen. John Barrasso.
North Dakota regulators approve McKenzie County pipeline project - North Dakota regulators have approved a pipeline project in McKenzie County that will direct more Bakken crude to a Wyoming oil hub. Bridger Pipeline plans to convert 27 miles of an oil gathering pipeline into a transmission line. It also will build an additional 2.4 miles of pipe to extend the line, which will run from Johnson’s Corner east of Watford City to Bridger’s Wilson Station south of the town. Other pipelines will transport the oil to Guernsey, Wyoming, and then to market in other states. Gathering lines tend to be smaller, collecting oil from wells, whereas transmission lines tend to be larger, taking oil from central locations such as a terminal or storage facility to market. The state Public Service Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to authorize the project. Commission Chair Julie Fedorchak said she sees it as a sign of the Bakken’s recovery following the oil downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. “Any time these companies are adding more infrastructure and spending money, I think it shows a belief this play is here for the long haul,” she said. “I feel that it sends a strong message this company and others are still pretty hopeful and confident in the future of the Bakken.” She said commissioners “feel very comfortable” with Bridger’s pipeline monitoring plans after discussing them with the company at a hearing earlier this year. Fedorchak referenced past sloughing issues the company has faced, saying Bridger has since focused more on land stability and pipeline monitoring. Bridger is part of True Companies. A pipeline operated under a different True Companies subsidiary leaked 12,615 barrels or 530,000 gallons of oil in Billings County in 2016 when a hill slumped.
DAPL cites Colonial Pipeline outage as reason to remain open -The owners of the Dakota Access Pipeline cited the recent Colonial Pipeline outage from a cyberattack and a May 16 train derailment in Iowa as reasons to keep the major Bakken Shale crude oil artery open as it faces a potential court-ordered shutdown. The DAPL court filing on May 17 also quotes US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm talking about the urgency to get the Colonial petroleum products pipelines back online -- and not relying too long on alternate truck or rail transport -- when she said, "Pipe is the best way to go." Colonial was down for about a week, triggering more than half of all fueling stations in several Southern states to run out of gasoline amid panic-buying, and they are only slowly being replenished as of May 17. There is an ongoing sense of urgency for DAPL proponents to state their case because US District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia is expected to rule in the coming days or weeks whether to close the 570,000 b/d pipeline while the US Army Corps of Engineers completes a court-ordered environmental review that could put the pipeline in proper legal standing. That Environmental Impact Statement study is not expected to be finalized until March 2022. Pipeline operator Energy Transfer also is appealing to the US Supreme Court. This effort comes after the April 23 denial of the rehearing en banc request from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit which means the previous ruling stands: The four-year-old pipeline is operating without a legal water-crossing easement. The DAPL case is closely watched by industry and environmental observers alike because it could potentially set a standard for attempting to close existing pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure. The new DAPL court filing contends Granholm's comments are "instructive on the severe disruption of a pipeline shutdown, as well as the relative superiority of pipeline transportation over rail or truck." Colonial is the primary supplier of gasoline to the South and East Coast, while DAPL moves the most Bakken crude to refineries. DAPL ships more than 40% of Bakken oil and is responsible for 4.5 percent of all daily U.S. crude production, the filing noted. "Thus, DAPL -- like Colonial -- is a vital component of the supply chain for petroleum and petroleum products in the United States. And, as is the case with Colonial, rail and truck are inferior alternatives due to their limited availability in the short term, and the greater economic, environmental, and safety costs they impose," the court filing concluded, also highlighting a May 16 Union Pacific derailment in Iowa involving a train carrying petrochemicals.
Judge allows DAPL to keep flowing during environmental review | INFORUM - The decision comes as a relief to a North Dakota oil industry that has been on edge over the fate of DAPL for the better part of a year, as well as a discouraging blow to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and environmental activists who have vigorously opposed the pipeline since its construction began in 2016. — The same federal judge who almost a year ago ordered an immediate shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline ruled Friday, May 21, that the embattled project can keep running through the completion of an extensive environmental review.The much-anticipated decision allowing the pipeline to continue operations even though it lacks a key legal permit comes as relief to a North Dakota oil industry that has been on edge for the better part of a year. It's also a major blow to Indigenous and environmental activists who had hoped that the court's prior position on the pipeline could foreshadow another shutdown order.U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's ruling also comes in the wake of decisions by officials in President Joe Biden's administration to punt on opportunities to shutter the pipeline themselves, leaving its short-term future in the hands of the court."The Court acknowledges the Tribes' plight, as well as their understandable frustration with a political process in which they all too often seem to come up just short," Boasberg wrote. But he added that "judges may travel only as far as the law takes them and no further. Here, the law is clear, and it instructs that the Court deny Plaintiffs' request for an injunction."
NoDAPL Legacy: A pivotal moment of togetherness for Indigenous peoples -Five years have passed since the world watched as the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe stood against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline just north of their tribal land. And, the pipeline continues to be a source of division to this day. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes a new environmental report on the pipeline, new research by the American Petroleum Institute shows that shuttering the pipeline would cut oil production from the Bakken shale region, killing thousands of jobs and costing state and local governments millions in tax revenues generated by energy production. For Monday’s report, we are exploring a different conversation. NoDAPL united thousands of water protectors, including representatives from more than 300 tribal nations. It’s easy to look back on NoDAPL as a divisive time where one side was pitted against the other, but in all actuality, it was a time of togetherness for Indigenous communities. Alayna Eagle Shield was there when thousands of water protectors began arriving to camp. “I had always heard about it growing up that we were going to come together again, I just didn’t know it would be in my lifetime or my kid’s lifetime,” said Mni Wiconi Clinic and Farm Co-Executive Director Eagle Shield. People from all over the world who knew traditional medicines and healing practices came together. Integrating everything from medicinal herbs, to acupuncture, to even midwifery. A baby was born at camp. “That’s something we’ve been told over and over by our elders. Don’t say that we’re bringing back these ways, or we’re going back to this because they’ve never left. They’ve always been here. They’ve just been in a different state,” explained Eagle Shield.
North Dakota PSC Approves Bridger Pipeline -- May 21, 2021 -The ND Public Service Commission approved a crude oil pipeline conversion project this week that can serve as an alternative route for North Dakota oil producers to deliver Bakken crude to market.The Bridger Pipeline project originates near Johnson’s Corner in McKenzie County, and runs 29.4 miles southwest to Bridger’s Wilson Station located seven miles south of Watford City where it interconnects with Bridger’s existing crude oil transmission network. The projects consists of 2.4 miles of new pipeline and the conversion of an existing 27-mile gathering line. The $21 million, 8-inch pipeline project will be capable of transporting up to 50,000 barrels of oil per day to a Wyoming hub, which interconnects with other pipelines that would move the crude to refineries in the Midwest or Gulf Coast. PSC Chair Julie Fedorchak noted that the pipeline runs through some rough terrain prone to landslides, but said she is comfortable that the company is familiar with potential hazards and is prepared to deal with them.
Porter blasts oil CEOs: 'Declined to answer to the American people' --Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) on Wednesday chastised oil company executives who declined her invitation to testify before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, saying they “declined to answer to the American people.” Porter, who chairs the subcommittee, invited the CEOs of ExxonMobil, Devon Energy and EOG Resources to testify at a hearing, which was titled, “Misuse of Taxpayer Dollars and Corporate Welfare in the Oil and Gas Industry.” All three, as well as officials with the trade group Western Energy Alliance, ultimately declined. “I have long said that congressional hearings are opportunities for representatives and witnesses to be in conversation with Americans. Yet, despite receiving billions in taxpayer subsidies, every witness that we invited today from the oil and gas industry declined to answer to the American people,” Porter said, responding during Wednesday’s hearing. Porter particularly pointed to tax breaks meant to encourage fossil fuel production, what she described as “outdated” royalty rates and rental fees for public lands drilling as well as coronavirus-related aid. Exxon also declined to participate in a separate Senate hearing that took place last month. Exxon spokesperson Casey Norton told The Hill last week in an email, “We provided our responses to the members of Congress, and we will continue to engage with them on the important issue of climate change.” Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, told The Hill via email last week that the group had a board meeting at the same time, but also characterized the hearing as political. “I’ve willingly participated in many hearings over the years, and am always happy to engage in a rational dialogue with Congress on important energy issues. But this hearing has no clear goals with a Chair who’s more interested in scoring messaging points than discussing issues, so I didn’t feel inclined to rearrange my schedule,” Sgamma said. Asked for additional comment on Wednesday, she also pushed back on Porter's remark about taxpayer subsidies, saying in an email that the industry "pays many times over in state, federal and local taxes (corporate, income, severance, property, etc.) and royalties... what are incorrectly claimed to be subsidies." EOG and Devon didn’t respond to The Hill’s request for comment last week, and none of the companies immediately responded to The Hill’s request for additional comment on Porter’s remarks on Wednesday.
Third oil worker dies from COVID-19 outbreak at Canadian Natural Resources’ Alberta worksite - The massive COVID-19 outbreak at Canadian Natural Resources’ Horizon oil tar-sands worksite in northern Alberta claimed another worker’s life Tuesday, bringing the publicly acknowledged death toll among the workforce to three. With the local health system collapsing, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, where the Horizon mine and most other Canadian oil tar-sands operations are located, declared a local state of emergency late last month. Since then infections and deaths have continued to surge. The latest victim was a worker in his 60s, who had two children and seven grandchildren. He had been employed at CNRL’s Horizon site as a pipefitter from late March. Alberta has been ravaged by a third wave of the pandemic directly attributable to the Canadian ruling class’ policy, implemented by the federal Liberal government and with especial gusto by the province’s United Conservative Party (UCP) government, of prioritizing corporate profits over saving lives. Currently Alberta has among the highest per capita infection and active COVID-19 case rates in North America, and in proportionate terms Wood Buffalo is the hardest-hit region in Alberta. According to local public health officials, there are currently 30 workplace and 19 school outbreaks in Wood Buffalo, and 31 COVID-stricken patients are hospitalized at the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre (NLRHC) in Fort McMurray, Wood Buffalo’s principal population centre. Eight of the 31 are in intensive care (ICU), but just during the past week 16 other ICU patients were transferred from NLRHC to Edmonton hospitals. Across the province, there are 241 COVID patients in ICUs. In anticipation of a continuing wave of infection and death, the UCP government is hastily building more field hospitals, even as it orders schools across the province, with the lone exception of those in Wood Buffalo, to reopen next Tuesday. Throughout the pandemic oil-sands mining operations and the work camps that support them have been designated an essential service by the hard-right, Jason Kenney-led UCP government, and have thus been exempt from any restrictions on their operating at full-tilt. When the government was recently compelled to announce a new rule that workplaces with 10 or more infections must close, the energy sector was excluded as an “essential service.”
Big Gun, Part 2 - Why Natural Gas Production Took Off In British Columbia’s Montney Region --The Montney Formation in British Columbia and Alberta is exclusively responsible for the turnaround in Western Canada’s natural gas production in the past decade. Gas production in the Montney — a vast area with extraordinary reserves — has doubled in that time, with most of that growth coming from the BC side of the formation. This phenomenal growth story stems from a few key factors, including steadily improving gas well performance and increasing wellbore length, coupled with access to an established network of gas pipelines. Today, we delve into what has made BC’s portion of the Montney such as standout.After the acclaimed oil sands of Alberta, the Montney Formation is probably the most talked about geologic play in Western Canada in the past 20 years. Mostly known for its immense reserves and growing production of natural gas, the Montney has risen to prominence in the context of both the Canadian and broader North American gas markets. Within a few years, its reserves will also begin feeding the currently under construction LNG Canada liquefaction plant and export terminal on the BC coast, extending the access of Montney gas to overseas markets. In Part 1 of this series, we said that the immense Montney Formation straddles the provincial boundary between BC and Alberta (yellow-outlined region in Figure 1) and covers about 50,000 square miles (~130,000 square kilometers), making it about two-thirds the size of the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico. Joint studies between the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) and the provincial energy agencies of BC and Alberta have estimated remaining recoverable reserves for the Montney at 567 Tcf, with about 342 Tcf in BC and 224 Tcf in Alberta. We noted that the Montney is sandwiched between the Duvernay Formation and the Alberta Deep Basin, areas that also have considerable hydrocarbon reserves.
U.S. halts operations at Caribbean oil refinery after breakdowns U.S. regulators ordered the Limetree Bay refinery on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, to cease operations for at least 60 days, throwing the multibillion-dollar overhaul of the massive plant into jeopardy. The Caribbean refinery has suffered several financial and operational setbacks since its private equity owners sought to restart the 1,500 acre (607-hectare) facility idled since 2012. It voluntarily stopped processing this week after showering nearby homes with an oily mist for the second time this year. The incident exceeded the plant's permit for sulfur dioxide emissions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. The EPA ordered the facility closed "due to multiple improperly conducted operations that present an imminent risk to public health" and signaled it might take further action. A Limetree spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. On Thursday, a malfunction in a processing unit led the company to send staff to inspect local properties. It advised residents not to drink from rainwater cisterns. Its former owners filed for bankruptcy in 2015, facing heavy losses and U.S. Clean Air Act violations that required millions of dollars in upgrades. In 2016, Boston-based private equity firm Arclight Capital Partners acquired it and recruited other investors including EIG Global Partners that put about $3 billion into a plan to begin processing 210,000 barrels per day of crude into gasoline, diesel and fuel oil. Conditions at the old facility caused delays, as did the COVID-19 pandemic. After an extensive overhaul, operators last year began restarts that led to a fire. Oil rained on nearby homes for the second time in four months. "These repeated incidents at the refinery have been and remain totally unacceptable. Today, I have ordered the refinery to immediately pause all operations until we can be assured that this facility can operate in accordance with laws that protect public health," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
Shell secures investor backing for its energy transition plan, but a growing minority rebel -— Royal Dutch Shell shareholders on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted in favor of the oil giant's energy transition plans at its annual general meeting, though a growing minority defied recommendations and insisted the company do much more to tackle the climate emergency.Shell said that the company's own resolution received 88.74% of shareholder votes. The Anglo-Dutch oil major's board had requested support for its Energy Transition Strategy — a vote that was the first of its kind in the energy sector.The result, while non-binding, was widely expected and ostensibly provides Shell with a shareholder mandate to proceed with its plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. However, 11% of shareholders voted against Shell's own climate plans. This contrasted with 19 other resolutions put forward at the online AGM, where up to 99% of investors followed management advice.To be sure, U.K. corporate governance code stipulates that any shareholder vote above 20% requires the company to go back to investors to discuss their concerns.What's more, it is perhaps a sharp increase in the number of shareholders choosing to support a separate motion on Tuesday that could be a catalyst for greater action. Shareholders rejected a second climate resolution put forward by activist investor Follow This by a vote of 69.53%. The Dutch group put forward the motion urging investors to vote with them to compel the company to be much more ambitious with its climate policy.Speaking to CNBC ahead of the vote, Follow This founder Mark van Baal had said he was confident a larger proportion of shareholders would back their proposal at Shell's AGM. This prediction has now been proven correct, with more than 30% of investors backing their motion — a marked improvement from a vote of 14.4% last year.In 2016, just 2.7% of investors supported Follow This' climate motion at Shell's AGM."This year for the first time, Shell put forward its own climate plan for a vote — and yet again, shareholders are sending a strong signal that Shell will have to set new targets. Shell's policy falls short of what is needed to protect investors from devastating climate change," Follow This' van Baal said in a statement shortly after the vote. He added the company would now have to revise its targets once again.
Oil Demand Is Rebounding Fast In Europe --Traffic on Europe’s highways and in the biggest cities has been rising in recent weeks as economies reopen, suggesting a rebound in road transportation fuel demand.Traffic on highways in Spain and France, one of the largest car markets in Europe, is now only slightly off the pre-COVID levels from 2019, according to data from highway operators quoted by Bloomberg.Many European countries have been gradually reopening over the past month while advancing vaccination rates prompt more people to travel on the roads. This is bullish news for gasoline and diesel demand, which is expected to be the first to recover to pre-pandemic levels, especially compared to the lagging aviation fuel demand.Traffic in European capitals is also intensifying, with traffic in 15 capitals reaching the busiest this year, according to data from location technology company TomTom NV cited by Bloomberg.Fuel sales in the United Kingdom surged this month to their highest level since the first lockdown in March last year, suggesting that the reopening that began in April is already resulting in higher oil demand and economic growth. With domestic restrictions easing, many European countries are now working to reopen to tourists from abroad in time for the summer vacations. As of Sunday, Italy is allowing tourists on “COVID-free flights” where passengers are tested before departure and on arrival regardless of whether they have received a vaccine or not. The more important thing is that those travelers, including those from the United States, Canada, and Japan, are not subject to quarantine upon arriving in Italy. This week, ambassadors to the EU from its 27 member states endorsed the proposal of the European Commission that the European Union open its borders to vaccinated tourists. The ambassadors decided that tourists should show vaccination certificates that they have been given a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency. The EU was also negotiating on Thursday the potential use of COVID certificates to open up tourism during the summer season.
Russia sells largest independent oil refinery in bankruptcy case -Russia's largest standalone oil processing plant, the Antipinsky oil refinery, was sold for almost 111 billion roubles ($1.50 billion) as part of bankruptcy proceedings, an online sale platform showed. The online platform showed that a company called Rusinvest completed the purchase of the plant located in West Siberia. Most of Russia's oil refineries are controlled by big oil companies, such as Rosneft and Lukoil. The refinery, which has a capacity of 7.5 million tons per year, filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after having halted operations on several occasions because of a lack of funds to pay for crude oil deliveries. Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, had been the refinery's main creditor.
Cyclone Sinks Indian Barge, 96 Still Missing -The Indian Navy launched a search operation for 96 missing people onboard barge P305 operated by state-run explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). The barge first went adrift and subsequently sank at an offshore oilfield near Mumbai Tuesday morning after cyclone Tauktae, categorized as "extremely severe," barreled through the country's western coast, according to Bloomberg. "Long-range maritime surveillance aircraft were assisting the rescue effort but bad weather was hampering operations," Indian Navy Spokesman Vivek Madhwal said. He said a total of 273 people were onboard the P305 barge, and 177 were rescued in a night-long operation, with 96 still missing.The offshore oilfield is about 95 nautical miles off the west coast of Mumbai in the Gulf of Cambay. The barge went adrift after Tauktae crossed the region with winds gusting above 115 mph. The storm made landfall Monday at 830 pm local time on the Gujarat coast, a state on the western coast of India. Indian warships were deployed Tuesday to rescue hundreds of people from two other ONGC barges, which went adrift in the storm, Madhwal said.ONGC vessels, Indian Navy ships, and vessels of the Indian Coast Guard joined forces on Tuesday to search for survivors. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the national weather forecaster, said the cyclone was one of the hardest to hit the Gujarat coast since 1998. Meanwhile, residents of Mumbai and Gujarat experienced a powerful cyclone, the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane, with flooded streets, wind-damaged properties, fallen trees, and widespread power outages.
India scours sea after barge sinks, 2nd adrift in wake of cyclone - The Indian Navy was rushing to rescue crew members from a sunken barge and a second cargo vessel that was adrift Tuesday off the coast of Mumbai after a deadly cyclone struck the western coast. The navy said it had rescued 177 people of the total 400 on the two barges in the Arabian Sea. Three frontline warships, maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters were part of the rescue operations and were scouring the sea, the Navy said. Both barges were working for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, the largest crude oil and natural gas company in India. The company confirmed that the vessels were in distress and rescue operations were ongoing on its website. Cyclone Tauktae, the most powerful storm to hit the region in more than two decades, packed sustained winds of up to 130 miles per hour when it came ashore in Gujarat state late Monday. Four people were killed in the state, raising the storm's total to 16. Residents emerged from relief shelters Tuesday to find debris strewn across roads, trees uprooted and electricity lines damaged. In Maharashtra, six people were killed Monday but the state's capital, Mumbai, was largely spared from any major damage even as heavy rains pounded the city’s coastline and high winds whipped its skyscrapers. Over the weekend, the cyclone had killed six people in Kerala, Karnataka and Goa states as it moved along the western coast. Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics The cyclone has weakened, but the India Meteorological Department forecast heavy rainfall for many parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra in the coming days. Ahead of the cyclone, about 150,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas in Maharashtra and Gujarat states. S.N. Pradhan, director of India’s National Disaster Response Force, said social distancing norms were being followed in evacuation shelters and rescue teams were clearing debris from affected areas. Both states, already among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, had scrambled disaster response teams, fearing the storm could endanger India’s fight against the coronavirus, with supply lines cut, roads destroyed and lockdown measures slowing relief work. Tropical cyclones are less common in the Arabian Sea than on India’s east coast and usually form later in the year. But experts say changing climate patterns have caused them to become more intense, rather than more frequent.
Iran Awards $1.8B Gas Field Contract to Petropars - -- Iran’s Petropars Ltd. will be awarded a $1.78 billion contract by the National Iranian Oil Co. to develop the giant Farzad-B gas field that was previously intended to be tapped by a group of Indian companies. Petropars will produce 28 million cubic meters of gas a day from the offshore deposit within five years, according to the agreement, the Iranian oil ministry’s official Shana news service reported, with the contract to be signed on Monday. Farzad-B is estimated to hold reserves of around 500 billion cubic meters. An Indian consortium led by ONGC Videsh Ltd. was engaged in talks with Iran to develop the field but disagreements over investment volume and gas prices delayed progress and negotiations stalled completely after the U.S. reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018. Prior to those penalties, Iran had intended to jointly develop several major oil and gas projects with foreign energy companies as part of a push to modernize its industry and improve expertise and know-how. Farzad-B is the latest major energy project awarded to Petropars following the exodus of foreign companies from the Islamic Republic’s oil and gas industry. Last year, it took over the development of an offshore phase of Iran’s South Pars field after its partners Total SA and China National Petroleum Corp. quit the $5 billion project because of sanctions. Iran is priming its oil fields -- and customer relationships -- so it can increase production and exports as it inches closer to an agreement with the U.S. that could lift sanctions on its economy and revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
Israel, Palestine Tension Heightens Energy Risk - Following escalating tension between Israel and Palestine, ports and offshore infrastructure remain at “heightened risk” with attacks and associated damage a “realistic possibility”. That’s according to Dryad Global, which added that attacks against bespoke targets including port, energy, and offshore infrastructure are “highly likely” to feature in any protracted engagement. In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, Dryad Global noted that tensions between Israel and Palestine had risen “substantially” in the past 12 days. “Following the eviction of 12 Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East-Jerusalem, protests erupted which resulted in violent clashes between protesters and security forces,” Dryad Global said in the statement. “In the last 48 hours there has been a significant escalation of force which has seen Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ) conduct multiple indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israeli cities,” Dryad Global went on to say. The statement highlighted that a rocket attack on an oil facility near the port of Askhelon had occurred and that Chevron had shut in and depressurized the Tamar platform. Dryad Global noted, however, that it was understood that Chevron continued production from its offshore asset at the Leviathan field, whose platform is further north offshore Israel. According to a supplement to Chevron’s 2020 annual report, last year, net daily production from the Tamar field averaged 173 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, with 51 million cubic feet per day attributed to the company. Chevron noted in the report that progress continued on the Tamar SW development, which it highlighted consists of one well tied back to Tamar. The lease for the field covers approximately 15,000 net acres and the current term expires in 2038, Chevron revealed.
Saudi Aramco to co-lead report on cyber resilience in oil industry - Aramco, Siemens Energy and the World Economic Forum (WEF) have launched a co-lead report on Cyber Resilience in the oil and gas industry. The report, “Cyber Resilience in the Oil and Gas Industry Playbook”, establishes a blueprint for boards and business leaders to evaluate cyber risk and enhance cyber resilience across the industry. More than 40 senior executives from the oil and gas industry contributed by identifying cyber resilience best practices and offered new solutions that will help board directors mitigate cyber threats, protect supply chains and improve overall security in the sector. The playbook sets out six principles to help the oil and gas companies advance their approach to cybersecurity, and complements the World Economic Forum’s ten broader cyber resilience principles which apply to all organizations. The six principles of cyber-resilience for the oil and gas industry:
- Cyber-resilience governance
- Resilience by design
- Corporate responsibility for cyber resilience
- Holistic risk management approach
- Ecosystem-wide collaboration
- Ecosystem-wide cyber-resilience plans
Basim Al-Ruwaii, Chief Information Security Officer at Aramco said, “As a founding partner of the WEF Center for Cybersecurity, Aramco is proud to have collaborated with the World Economic Forum and business leaders from across the oil and gas sector to create this playbook, which aims to set the industry standard for improving cyber resilience. Establishing and aligning cybersecurity practices across the industry enhances our collective resilience efforts and allows us to present a united front against cybercrime and other critical security threats.”
Aftermath of Colonial outage to drive oil prices this week - The lingering impact of the Colonial fuels pipeline closure and emerging concerns about U.S. inflation could drive the price of crude oil this week, analysts said. The 5,500-mile-long Colonial pipeline is delivering fuel following its recovery from a May 7 ransomware attack that idled operations on a network that meets about half of the East Coast’s demand for refined petroleum products. After allegedly paying off the hackers with some $5 million, company said Thursday, “It will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal.” Looking to this week, Giovanni Staunovo, a commodities analyst for Swiss investment bank UBS, said the outage will show up in US federal data on commercial petroleum inventories a sharp drop in gasoline levels. The Energy Department reports inventories on Wednesday. “That said, the data will contain a lot of noise, with plunging oil product inventories at the East Coast, and rising ones at the Gulf Coast, where refineries are located,” he said. Inventory levels serve as a barometer for energy demand, with inventories falling when demand is high and rising when its low. In this case, trends may be harder to read because of the one-time event. “The Colonial situation should lead to a pinch on inventories but it’s transient,” said Abhi Rajendran, a research director at Energy Intelligence The only major move on crude oil prices last week was on Thursday, after the company announced volume increased on the pipeline. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark for the price of oil, declined 3.4 percent on Thursday, but ended the week up 1 percent to finish trading Friday at $65.37 per barrel. Elsewhere, emerging inflationary pressures are creeping up in the U.S. economy and that could spoil the otherwise optimistic mood. Cecilia Rouse, the chairperson of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said Friday that inflation was increasing at a rapid pace because the economy is coming off unusual lows during the pandemic.
Oil climbs 1% on economic recovery hopes despite fresh Asian restrictions --Oil prices rose more than 1% on Monday, lifted by European economic reopenings and rising U.S. demand after prices fell earlier due to surging coronavirus cases in Asia and underwhelming Chinese manufacturing data. Brent crude ended the session up 75 cents, or 1.1%, at $69.46 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled 90 cents, or 1.4%, higher at $66.27. The British economy reopened, giving 65 million people a measure of freedom after a four-month COVID-19 lockdown. With accelerating vaccination rates, France and Spain have relaxed COVID-related restrictions, and on Saturday, Portugal and the Netherlands eased travel restrictions. The promise of economic growth has supported oil prices in recent weeks, although the pace of inflation has kept many investors concerned that interest rates could rise, which could hit consumer spending. "The news is not all negative on the demand front as the U.S. saw air travel jump on Sunday to 1.8 million people, the highest total since March 2020," s United Airlines announced it will add 400 daily flights to July for European destinations, Moya noted. Summer travel bookings rose 214% from 2020 levels, the airline said, adding it planned to fly 80% of its U.S. schedule compared with July 2019. Investors remained worried about the coronavirus variant first detected in India. Some Indian states said on Sunday they would extend lockdowns to fight the pandemic, which has killed more than 270,000 people there. Domestic sales of gasoline and diesel by Indian state refiners plunged by a fifth in the first half of May from a month earlier. Singapore is preparing to close schools this week and Japan has declared a state of emergency in three more prefectures. China's factories slowed their output growth in April and retail sales significantly missed expectations as officials warned of new problems affecting the recovery in the world's second-largest economy. China's crude oil throughput rose 7.5% in April from the same month a year ago, but remained off the peak seen in the last quarter of 2020. Signs of rising supply also capped oil's gains.
Brent Oil Tops $70 On Reopening Optimism - Oil prices rose on Tuesday amid bets that energy demand will rise steadily following reopenings of the European and U.S. economies. Brent crude futures for July settlement climbed 0.9 percent to $70.07 per barrel, trading above $70 for the first time since March 15. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for June delivery were up 0.8 percent at $66.80. New York State will no longer require masks in most public spaces for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Amid improved coronavirus case numbers, New Jersey is fully lifting its pandemic-related travel restrictions and quarantine requirements. Germany has decided to allow vaccinated travelers or people who have recovered from the virus to skip testing and quarantine. The French government is moving forward with its plans to almost completely end coronavirus restrictions by June 30. Elsewhere, Britain's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell again, reinforcing market expectations that the economy will bounce back strongly, helped by its fast pace of vaccine rollout and plans to ease lockdown measures. Limiting oil's upside is the prospect of a revival of Iran's nuclear deal that would allow the OPEC producer to fully restart exports. COVID-19 cases seem to be falling in India, though the daily death count is still on the rise.
Oil Prices Falter on Iran Negotiation Reports -- Oil sunk as investors weighed developments in ongoing talks between world powers on a revival of the Iran nuclear deal, which would bring more supply to the market. Futures in London fell 1.1% on Tuesday after a Russian envoy in Vienna said significant progress has been made in efforts to broker an agreement between Iran and the U.S, the BBC Persian news channel reported. However, the same diplomat, Mikhail Ulyanov, subsequently took to Twitter to play down reports that a major announcement on the matter was likely on Wednesday. “I said that significant progress have been achieved, in my view,” Ulyanov said in the tweet. “That is true. But unresolved issues still remain and the negotiators need more time and efforts to finalise an agreement on restoration of JCPOA.” A return to the 2015 nuclear deal could allow for the removal of U.S. sanctions on the Persian Gulf country’s crude exports, raising the prospects of more crude coming back to the market. Iran has already been preparing to ramp up global oil sales, though the flow of additional crude may be gradual even if a deal is struck. ”The devil is in the details,” said Tom Finlon of Brownsville GTR LLC, a trading and logistics firm based in Houston. Despite “periodic comments on progress,” talks have been at “an impasse on substantive issues, so it’s not going to be that easy.” Prices were already weak earlier in the session after Brent futures failed to sustain a rally past the key psychological $70-a-barrel mark, which it hasn’t closed above since May 2019. Meanwhile, concerns are lingering around the worsening Covid-19 crisis in India. The South Asian country’s gasoline exports soared 85% in the first half of May from the same period last month, according to Vortexa, as fuel sales there wane. Prices Brent for July settlement lost 75 cents to end the session at $68.71 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate for June delivery fell 78 cents to settle at $65.49 a barrel. Despite crude’s decline on Tuesday, oil is joining other commodities in a blistering rally this year. Crude prices are up more than 30% as raw materials emerge as a hedge against inflation. Much of Wall Street is calling for higher prices, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. talking up the prospects of $80 a barrel oil. At the same time, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are boosting supply to meet rebounding demand.
WTI Tumbles To $61 Handle After Russian Envoy Comments (Again) On JCPOA Deal --It's deja vu all over again in oil markets as the Russian Envoy Mikahil Ulyanov is once again commenting optimistically on the likelihood of a JCPOA deal occurring. Additionally, Iran's lead negotiator, Abbas Araghchi commented in a statement that "draft texts are mostly drafted for a return to the nuclear deal." And Oil is extending losses from the DOE crude build as traders eye the potential for a recovery in the nation’s exports. API:
- Crude +620k (+1.7mm exp)
- Cushing -53k
- Gasoline -2.837mm (-1.2mm exp)
- Distillates -2.581mm (-300k exp)
DOE
- Crude +1.32mm (+1.7mm exp)
- Cushing -142k
- Gasoline -1.963mm (-1.2mm exp)
- Distillates -2.324 (-300k exp)
After the prior two weeks' draws, analysts expected a modest crude build in the last week as Colonial shutdown issues ripple through the energy complex. API reported a small build, and the official DOE data showed a bigger build (as products drew down more than expected) As expected, we saw a giant weekly build in Gulf Coast gasoline inventories with the Colonial Pipeline down. Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Energy Analyst Vince Piazza noted that the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline likely only had a temporary effect on U.S oil inventories, as some refineries used floating storage and others cut activity to navigate the interruption until operations resumed on May 15. US crude production remains 'disciplined' despite the recent surge in prices and rig counts now back at their highest since April 2020...
Oil prices dive $2 on fears of Asian pandemic, possible U.S. rate hikes (Reuters) -Oil prices dropped over $2 a barrel on Wednesday to their lowest in three weeks, on worries that surging COVID-19 cases in Asia would dent demand for crude and that U.S. inflation fears could prompt the Federal Reserve to slow economic growth with interest rate hikes. Traders also cited rumors that the Iran nuclear talks were making progress, which could boost global crude supplies and depress prices. Brent (LCOc1) futures fell $2.05, or 3.0%, to settle at $66.66 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $2.13, or 3.3%, to settle at $63.36. Earlier in the day, WTI was down more than 5%. That was the lowest close for both benchmarks since April 27. On Tuesday, Brent rose to a 10-week high over $70 a barrel in intraday trade on optimism oil demand would surge with the reopening of U.S. and European economies. It retreated on fears of slowing fuel demand in Asia where surging COVID-19 cases prompted new restrictions in India, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand. "The global picture for demand is probably the most divided it has been since the start of the pandemic, with an improving demand picture in the West versus a deteriorating outlook in Asia," said Sophie Griffiths, market analyst with OANDA, noting the mixed picture fed volatility. Analysts have said Iran could provide about 1 million to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in additional oil supply if a deal is struck. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said oil prices were stable and the market had roughly balanced. Speculation the Fed might raise rates weighed on the outlook for economic growth and prompted investors to reduce exposure to oil and other commodities, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and stocks. A "number" of Fed officials appeared ready to begin considering changes to monetary policy based on continued rapid progress in the economic recovery, according to minutes of the U.S. central bank's April meeting. Data since then may have already changed the landscape. The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, gained against a basket of currencies a day after closing at its lowest since January. A stronger dollar can weigh on oil prices because it makes the commodity more expensive for holders of other currencies. Oil prices declined despite U.S. data showing a smaller-than-expected 1.3 million barrel build in crude inventories, a bigger-than-expected 2.0 million barrel decline in gasoline stockpiles and a 5% increase in gasoline use to pre-pandemic levels
Oil Prices Continue Losing Streak - Oil slumped to the lowest in nearly a month as traders focused on the likelihood of a renewed nuclear deal with Iran and the potential removal of sanctions on the country’s crude exports. Futures fell 2.1% in New York on Thursday, posting a third straight decline in the longest losing streak since March. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said world powers have accepted that major sanctions on his country will be lifted. But he said diplomats are still discussing “details and finer points” before there’s “a final agreement.” The prospect of a return of Iranian supply is also being reflected in Brent’s prompt timespread. The spread’s backwardation narrowed to just a few cents, a sign that market tightness may be easing. Oil is “in a holding pattern until we get to June, because that’s when Europe’s going to start to reopen and the U.S. driving season will have officially kicked off,” said Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Management. “Between now and then, the main influences will be Iran headlines as a headwind” and signs of further improvement in the U.S. market as a supportive factor. Crude futures’ tumble pushed the benchmark to close below its 50-day moving average for the first time since late April, a bearish signal that may invite more sellers into the market. While a timeline for a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal remains unclear, Iran has already been boosting its exports and Indian refiners have signaled they would be willing buyers. India’s largest refiner said it will definitely restart buying Iranian oil when U.S. sanctions are lifted, and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. said Iran has been offering the nation’s refiners discounts on crude oil and expects these terms to be available after sanctions are withdrawn. “There continue to be positive statements out of Vienna from various participants, including Iran, that a deal is at hand,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC. “Even though we know they have already been ramping up their exports, it is adding to negative market sentiment.” West Texas Intermediate for June, which expired Thursday, fell $1.31 to settle at $62.05 a barrel. The more-active July contract declined $1.41 to end the session at $61.94 a barrel. Brent for July settlement lost $1.55 to settle at $65.11 a barrel, the lowest since April 13
Oil rallies for the session amid possible Gulf of Mexico storm, prices fall for the week -- Oil futures rallied on Friday (link), finding support from a potential storm in the Gulf of Mexico. Prices still posted a loss for the week as traders continued to eye developments toward an Iran nuclear deal. The "possibility of the return on Iranian oil," pressured prices for the week, said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group. On Friday, however, prices got a boost from concerns about a weather system developing in the Gulf of Mexico (link), he said. "A tropical disturbance is a reminder that [Atlantic] hurricane season is upon us, and it seems to want to start early." Next week, oil traders are likely to "focus on the Iran deal, but also get a sense of the demand expected for the Memorial Day Holiday -- the unofficial kickoff to the summer driving season," said Flynn. West Texas Intermediate oil for July delivery rose $1.64, or nearly 2.7%, to settle at $63.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, prices based on the front-month contract, fell about 2.7%, according to FactSet data.
Oil Down 3% For Week As Fears Of An Iran Deal Offset Gain For Day -– Oil prices rose on Friday but still ended the week about 3% down on fears that Iran was nearing a nuclear deal that could remove U.S. sanctions, possibly adding two million barrels per day of crude to the market. Speculation of a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico, where the bulk of U.S. energy installations are located, helped oil prices to rebound from Thursday’s losses triggered by worries over the Iranian situation. But the gain wasn’t enough to offset the slide for the week. “Much of the energy market has priced in more Iranian crude output later this summer,” said Ed Moya, head of research for the Americas at online trading platform OANDA. , the benchmark for U.S. oil, settled up $1.64, or 2.6%, at $63.58 per barrel. For the week though, WTI lost 2.7%. , which acts as the global benchmark for oil, settled up $1.33, or 2%, at $66.44. For the week, Brent fell 3.3%. WTI and Brent rose on the day as a weather system forming over the western Gulf of Mexico showed a 40% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours, according to data from the U.S. National Hurricane Center. “This early storm prompted traders to buy crude ahead of the weekend in anticipation of potential production shut-ins,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. But the concerns over Iranian crude ramp-up were greater. World powers negotiating to bring Tehran back into a nuclear accord canceled by former U.S. President Donald Trump have accepted that major sanctions imposed since 2018 on the Islamic Republic’s crude exports be lifted, President Hassan Rouhani told Iranian television on Thursday. “Finer points” were being worked to finalize a deal, Rouhani said, even as European diplomats insisted that success was not guaranteed and that tough issues remained in the talks. At stake is an additional supply of some 500,000 to 2 million barrels of crude that could enter the market anytime between the next three to 18 months, those in the know say. Iran has said previously that it could return “within months” to its peak oil production of nearly 4 million barrels a day once the sanctions on its oil are lifted. Sources familiar with the country’s crude output currently estimated its production at around 2 million barrels daily. Analysts say the additional supply from Iran, whenever that comes, will force a reconfiguration of global oil supply that could be more bearish than bullish — especially with questions about demand resurfacing after new coronavirus flare-ups in No. 3 oil consumer India.
Top EU Negotiator "Quite Sure" Iran Nuclear Deal Will Be Reached Next Week --At the end of the latest round of talks (the fourth) in Vienna on Wednesday a top European Union envoy has said that the reviving of the Iran nuclear deal is now "shaping up". Enrique Mora, the EU's top negotiator for the Vienna nuclear talks, says he's "quite sure" a deal will be reached at a moment the text is being drafted, and as talks adjourn for a week.Documents outlining both Iran's compliance and the United States' return to the JCPOA nuclear deal are now said to be"mostly drafted" - according to Iranian statements, with the exception of "complicated differences". A "final round" of talks are now set for next week, with the Iranian side hoping for a deal to be reached prior to the Iranian presidential election in June, after which Hassan Rouhani will step down due to term limits.The Islamic Republic's chief negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, assessed on Wednesday that "I think good headway has been made with the talks over the past two weeks. A few key issues have remained, and they need further consideration, and decisions should be made about those issues in the capitals."This next week is being described essentially as a period where negotiators will go back to their respective capitals to prep for the final definitive meetings. Remaining "red lines" are expected to be decided on. The Guardian summarizes the three main remaining issues expected to be resolved by any agreement reached as follows:
- the precise sanctions the US is prepared to lift;
- the time Iran is allowed to reverse its steps away from the deal;
- ...and how to handle the knowledge Iran has acquired in the many months in which it has not been in full compliance with the deal, including its enrichment of uranium to 60% purity.
Israeli Missiles Destroy Gaza Building Housing Foreign Media Outlets -- A high-rise building in Gaza City where Associated Press and Al-Jazeera are based was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes Saturday, as the worst violence between Israel and Palestinian militants since 2014 continues to escalate. Israeli planes carried out airstrikes on Gaza and Hamas militants responded by firing rockets into Israel, as the violence between the two sides continued for a fifth night. A 12-story building that housed apartments and other offices in addition to the media organizations was toppled by Israeli missiles after the building’s owner received a warning by telephone from the Israeli military one hour before the attack that it would be struck. AP staffers and other building occupants evacuated the building immediately, but Al-Jazeera continued to broadcast the airstrikes as the building collapsed. “Al-Jazeera will not be silenced,” an on-air anchorwoman said. “We can guarantee you that right now.” AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said in a statement the news organization was “shocked and horrified” over Israel’s attack on the building, while noting it received a warning from Israel. Pruitt said AP is seeking information from Israel and the U.S. State Department about the attack, from which a dozen staffers “narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life.” “The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today,” Pruitt warned. 'Human shields' The Israeli military said without evidence it destroyed the building because intelligence operatives within the Islamist militant group, Hamas, were using media offices as “human shields.”
Israel continues “full force” attacks on Gaza, backed by US and several Arab states - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized Israel’s heaviest airstrikes on Gaza City yesterday, insisting that the war will go on “as long as necessary” and that attacks on Gaza would continue in “full force.” Israel “wants to levy a heavy price” from Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood group that rules Gaza, he added.Netanyahu proceeds with his criminal war on a largely defenceless people with the full backing of US President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly declared for “Israel’s right to defend itself.” On Sunday the US, for the third time in a week, blocked the United Nations from issuing a toothless call for a cease-fire. This was despite a warning from UN secretary general António Guterres to the imperialist powers that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict threatened to spiral out of control, fostering extremism and communal violence not only in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel but across the region. On Sunday evening, Biden said he was telephoning Netanyahu but refused to call for a cease-fire.Joining the US for the first time in all but openly siding with Israel are the four Arab states who have signed the Abraham Accords normalizing relations with the Netanyahu government—the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. “In what appeared to be a state-backed response, the hashtag ‘Palestine is not my cause’ circulated in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait over the weekend,” the Guardian reported.The attacks on Gaza overnight Sunday/Monday were more intense, covering a broader area and lasting longer than the bombardment the previous night in which 42 Palestinians were killed. A reported 54 fighter jets dropped 110 precision munitions on 35 targets in 20 minutes. Casualties in Gaza already stand at over 200, including two doctors, at least 35 women and 58 children, and about 1,300 wounded since Israel started its bombardment of the besieged enclave last Monday. Over 700 homes and 80 buildings have been destroyed, displacing 34,000 people who now lack the most basic necessities of life, including food. There have been 10 deaths in Israel, including two children and a soldier, killed in some 3,100 projectiles launched from Gaza.Civilians have borne the brunt of the Israeli attacks. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the raids had targeted houses and government buildings, including a four-storey home near al-Shifa hospital, Gaza's main medical facility. According to other local media reports, the airstrikes also hit the main coastal road west of the city, security compounds and open spaces, while Gaza’s power distribution company said the airstrikes had damaged a feeder line from the only power plant to much of southern Gaza City.
Netanyahu war on Gaza continues as imperialist powers and Arab states feign ceasefire efforts -The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued its murderous assault on Gaza overnight Wednesday, pounding central Gaza and the al-Rimal neighbourhood in an effort to destroy Hamas’s network of tunnels, destroying homes and killing at least nine people. The IDF also shelled “a number of targets” in southern Lebanon after four rockets were fired from Seddiqine, a village near the coastal city of Tyre, into northern Israel—the third such flare up since the start of the war on Gaza on May 11. At least 20 of Hamas’s military leaders have been assassinated, with IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman admitting, “Throughout the operation we have tried to assassinate Mohammed Deif. We've tried to kill him several times.” Deif is the head of Hamas’s military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and has escaped numerous assassination attempts. Israel’s sophisticated weaponry has killed at least 227 Palestinians, including 63 children and 36 women, and injured 1,530 others since May 10, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. This contrasts with the toll from the Palestinians’ largely home-made projectiles that have killed 10 Israelis, including two children and a soldier, as well as two Thai migrant workers. Speaking to foreign diplomats Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that he had no interest in reaching a ceasefire with Hamas until he had achieved his objective of obliterating Hamas and further degrading Gaza. A further military escalation on Gaza was possible, he said, as Israel seeks to “degrade Hamas’ capabilities.” He added, “You can either conquer them, and that’s always an open possibility, or you can deter them, and we are engaged right now in forceful deterrence. But I have to say we don’t rule out anything.” That was taken to mean that eradicating Hamas as a political force and re-occupying Gaza were also being considered. Netanyahu can maintain his bellicose stance, despite mass popular opposition globally to his criminal war on Gaza, his plans to drive out the Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem and sending fascistic goons to terrorise Israel’s Palestinian citizens because he knows he has Washington’s backing. He stressed that he “appreciate[d] the support of our friend, US President Joe Biden, for the State of Israel’s right to self-defence.” Biden has three times blocked the UN Security Council from issuing a non-binding statement criticizing Israel and calling for a halt to the war, has agreed a $735 million arms package for Israel and called for a ceasefire only at some unspecified time. On Wednesday, Biden issued an equally meaningless plea for a “de-escalation.” Netanyahu also has the support of the European powers who, despite their handwringing and calls for a ceasefire, refuse to denounce Washington or oppose its support for the Zionist State and its criminal war.
Israel Is Wiping Out Entire Palestinian Families on Purpose -- Fifteen Palestinian nuclear and extended families lost at least three, and in general more, of their members, in the Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip during the week from May 10 through to Monday afternoon. Parents and children, babies, grandparents,siblings and nephews and nieces died together when Israel bombed their homes, which collapsed over them. Insofar as is known, no advance warning was given so that they could evacuate the targeted houses.Wiping out entire families in Israeli bombings was one of the characteristics of the war in 2014.On Saturday, a representative of the Palestinian Health Ministry brought listed the names of 12 families who were killed, each one at its home, each one in a single bombing. Since then, in one air raid before dawn on Sunday, which lasted 70 minutes and was directed at three houses on Al Wehda Street in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza, three families numbering 38 people in total were killed. Some of the bodies were found on Sunday morning. Palestinian rescue forces only managed to find the rest of the bodies and pull them out from the rubble only on Sunday evening.Wiping out entire families in Israeli bombings was one of the characteristics of the war in 2014. In the roughly 50 days of the war then, UN figures say that 142 Palestinian families were erased (742 people in total). The numerous incidents then and today attest that these were not mistakes: and that the bombing of a house while all its residents are in it follows a decision from higher up, backed by the examination and approval of military jurists.An investigation by the human rights group B'Tselem that focused on some 70 of the families who were eradicated in 2014, provided three explanations for the numerous nuclear and extended families that were killed, all at once, in one Israeli bombing on the home of each such family. In any case, what stands out is the difference between the fate of the buildings that were bombed with their residents inside, and the "towers"—the high-rise buildings that were shelled as of the second day of this latest conflict, during the daytime or early evening. Reportedly, the owners or the concierge in the towers got prior warning of an hour at most that they must evacuate, usually via phone call from the army or Shin Bet security service, then "warning missiles" fired by drones. These owners/concierges were supposed to warn the other residents in the short time remaining.
Israel cracks down on Palestinian general strike, continues bombing Gaza - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded with brutal repression to a Palestinian general strike across the occupied West Bank and Arab towns in Israel. The strike, a “day of rage”, was called by the Arab Follow-up Committee to protest the bombing of Gaza and worsening repression in East Jerusalem. The committee urged solidarity “from the sea to the river.” Supported by both Hamas and Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, it was the first by Palestinians in both the occupied territories and Israel. The historic action saw the shuttering of all Palestinian workplaces, businesses, shops and schools. Security forces responded with lethal force, killing three Palestinians and wounding at least 63 more in the West Bank. Troops fired tear gas and live ammunition at hundreds of Palestinians burning tyres and hurling stones at the Beit El military checkpoint at Al-Birah near Ramallah, killing one Palestinian and wounding 70 more. Heavy clashes were reported in other towns and cities, including Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus and Budrus. On Monday, Israeli soldiers had shot and killed a Palestinian teenager at the al-Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, preventing ambulances reaching the 18-year-old Obaida Akram Jawabra, while on Tuesday soldiers killed Fayyad Zahda in Hebron, claiming he was carrying weapons. In East Jerusalem, police used water cannon to disperse protesters in Sheikh Jarrah. They cracked down violently on protesters inside the Old City and around the Damascus Gate. Middle East Eye reported that Israeli police beat, pepper sprayed and removed the hijab of one of its correspondents, Latifeh Abdellatif, while she was filming the detention of a young boy. When Palestinians stepped in to protect Abdellatif, leading to scuffles with the police, several of them were arrested. Later, Israel’s police commissioner Yaakov Shabtai said his forces had restored calm after “riots in the Arab sector.” Foreword to the German edition of David North’s Quarter Century of War Johannes Stern, 5 October 2020 After three decades of US-led wars, the outbreak of a third world war, which would be fought with nuclear weapons, is an imminent and concrete danger. Israel renewed its criminal bombardment of Gaza’s defenceless Palestinians early Tuesday morning, firing 100 bombs and missiles against 65 targets described as a network of tunnels. Several buildings in Gaza city, including a six-storey block housing the Islamic University, were hit. It brings the total number of airstrikes since May 11 to 1,500. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged international pressure for a cease-fire, but “all in all, we are receiving very serious backing, first of all from the US.” US President Joe Biden has refused to call for an immediate halt to the war, reluctantly stating Monday evening he now “supports” a ceasefire but with no timetable. Asked whether a ceasefire was being discussed, a senior Israeli official said, “There is no such thing right now. There is no negotiation. There is no proposal. There is nothing on the table.”
Israel may cut power to Gaza, official warns ahead of tunnel strikes --Israel’s intelligence minister warned Tuesday that power to the Gaza Strip could soon be cut off — as the country’s military geared up for an “intensive night” of additional airstrikes against the region’s terror tunnels. Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen told Israel’s Channel 20 that he favored shutting down electricity to Gaza as the worst conflict in years stretched into its ninth day. “I think the next thing we should do – and I’ll raise this in the Cabinet – is to shut off electricity in Gaza,” he said in Hebrew, according to a video clip posted on Twitter. Cohen added, “There was no discussion about a cease-fire in the Cabinet.” “The international pressure is increasing but we owe it to our citizens,” he said. On Sunday, the Guardian reported that the power supply to Gaza had already been cut by more than half after six of 10 power lines were destroyed by Israeli strikes. “There are some border areas completely cut off from electricity,” Mohammed Thabet, a spokesperson for the Gaza Electricity Distribution Co., told the British news outlet. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said it had an “intensive night ahead of us” Tuesday amid planning for aerial attacks on “new locations” of Gaza’s sprawling tunnel network, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Israel: An Apartheid State Created & Propped Up By the West - by Riaz Haq --As Israeli military pounds Gaza and kills large numbers of Palestinian men, women and children yet again, the western media and politicians are busy white-washing the Israeli crimes by repeating the same old mantra: "Israel has a right to defend itself". There's little mention of the decades-long occupation and continuing brutalization of the Palestinian people by the Israelis. Nor is there any discussion of how the West is culpable in this long-running injustice. The foundation of the state of Israel as we know it now was laid when the British government issued a public statement in 1917 called the "Balfour Declaration" in support of the creation of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. The Balfour Declaration was contained in a letter of November 2, 1917 from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. Winston Churchill disparaged Palestinians who had been living in the region for centuries as "dogs". Churchill said, "I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place." Churchill's racist comments have clearly established here that the Israeli settler colonialism in the Middle East is no different than the European settler colonialism in America and Australia. A large number of European Jews, including victims of Nazi persecution, poured into Palestine before the end of the Second World War. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven out of their land and their homes and by these European Jews who had the full support of the West. Miko Peled, Israeli author of "The General's Son", has detailed and documented the history of forced mass expulsions of Palestinians by armed Jewish gangs during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The following quote from an interview with The Middle East Monitor captures the essence of what Peled has been saying: "In hindsight, that was catastrophic for the Palestinians, because a lot of it has to do with why we are here today – the fact that they dropped the struggle."
No Matter How Powerful Israel’s Military Becomes, It Still Can’t Win -Israel is the most powerful state in the Middle East. Its military forces may not match the likes of Egypt or Turkey in numbers, but the might of its training, equipment, technologies and nuclear weapons make it unassailable. Given its long-developed capabilities in public order control, such a position should also apply to its control of radical dissent within its own borders, as well as in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.Gaza may not be occupied in the conventional sense but it is a small territory with two million people living behind borders controlled by Israel. It lacks a port, its sole airport was destroyed many years ago and its Mediterranean coastline is patrolled by Israelis at all times. It is essentially an open prison.The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has persistently claimed that his country is indeed safe, that it has nothing to fear from the Palestinians and that the settlements can and should expand as Israel has established good relations with key Gulf states.More importantly, President Joe Biden’s administration has done little to repeal Donald Trump’s pro-Israel changes. There is no sign of moving the US embassy back from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, the US consulate in East Jerusalem that gave Palestinians a direct link to Washington has remained closed since 2019, as has the Palestinian office in Washington since 2018. There has been little pressure over the settlement expansion, and even the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) has only had $230m of its previous $380m US financial support restored. Taking all these elements into account, Israel should feel safe and secure – but in practice it doesn’t. Instead, an apt summary is of a state that is impregnable in its insecurity. It is impregnable in the sense that it cannot be defeated but insecure in that the underlying threats will not go away, as evident in the current violent confrontations. The threats stem from the underlying anger in Palestinian circles, especially in the occupied territories, as Netanyahu’s government moves ahead to get more settlers into East Jerusalem. This is seen in Palestine as straightforward ethnic cleansing, further encouraged by the far-Right Jewish parties that Netanyahu depends on for power.
United Nations meets Thursday to address 'rapid deterioration' in Mideast --The United Nations General Assembly will meet Thursday as violence between Israel and the Palestinians continues to escalate in the Middle East, Reuters reported Monday, citing General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir.Niger and Algeria, which chair the Organization for Islamic Cooperation group in New York, asked the 193 General Assembly member states to meet publicly “in light of the gravity of the situation and its rapid deterioration,” according to Reuters.The U.N. Security Council, made up of 15 countries, gathered publicly for the irst time Sunday amid the rising conflict between Israel and Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., the wire service noted. The council, according to Reuters, has not been able to release a public statement on the conflict because the U.S., which is strongly allied with Israel, is fearful that any formal communication may hurt behind-the-scenes diplomacy. China, however, said on Sunday that it would again try to persuade the council to agree on a statement. Violence between Israeli forces and Hamas has escalated in the past week. The tensions began with Israeli police action at Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, and were exacerbated by an impending, and since-postponed, Supreme Court hearing on a potential eviction order in a predominately Palestinian neighborhood in Jerusalem. Hamas began firing rockets into Israel on May 10. Gaza health officials, according to Reuters, said that 201 Palestinians have died in the conflict since it erupted last Monday, including 58 children and 34 women. Ten people have died in Israel, including two children, the wire service noted.
Egypt indicates a truce agreement between Israeli and Hamas forces - Israel and Hamas forces in Gaza may be edging closer to a cease-fire tonight, after 10 days of open war.Egyptian mediators say there's a truce agreement in principle. A top Hamas official says he expects fighting to stop in a day or two. Pressure to end the conflict built today, with 227 Gazans and 12 Israelis killed so far.In a telephone call before leaving the White House this morning, President Biden stepped up pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease the fight with Hamas in Gaza.The White House said Mr. Biden told his Israeli counterpart that he expected significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire, the administration's most assertive public language yet. Later, Netanyahu seemed to rebuff the president, saying he is determined to continue this operation until its aim is met. Briefing foreign ambassadors to Israel, he said the aim is to return calm for Israelis and blunt attacks from the militant group.
Tensions will likely grow as China seeks bigger role in the Arctic - China's ambitions to take a more significant role in the Arctic will likely lead to growing tensions, according to risk consultancy firm Control Risks. China has developed a "prominent presence" in the region since joining the Arctic Council as an observer in 2013, Oksana Antonenko, director at Control Risks, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia." The Arctic Council is made up of eight Arctic States — Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States. It is an intergovernmental group that seeks to promote cooperation among the Arctic states as well as inhabitants of the Arctic. Their goal is to ensure the Arctic region, which faces harsh climates and extreme weather conditions, is protected and sustainably developed. In 2018, Beijing announced plans to build the "Polar Silk Road" — a network of Arctic shipping routes. It has also previously referred to itself as a "near-Arctic state," a proposition that ignited some controversy. Antonenko said Arctic states are concerned about China "playing a much more assertive role unilaterally." At the same time, Russia — which is facing Western sanctions targeting energy exploration in the Arctic — is getting funding from China. "China is providing investment, and therefore wants to take a much more significant role in allowing … transportation by the northern sea route," she said ahead of the Arctic Council's ministerial meeting on Thursday. "We're likely to see, potentially, growing tensions between China and the littoral states in the Arctic," she said. Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Moscow Center said Russia has "expanding interest" in developing large energy projects in the Arctic, but doesn't have the necessary capital. "It sees China as a potential investor and as a potential … market for hydrocarbons," said Gabuev, a senior fellow and chair of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific program. Arctic Council members want China to remain an observer in the group: Expert Despite growing cooperation, Russia doesn't want China to become a full member of the Arctic Council, he said. "Russia worked together with the U.S. and other full members in order to make the observers basically voiceless," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Wednesday. "They sit at the table in the Arctic Council, but they don't have real power and I think that this is a shared interest between all of the Arctic powers," he added.
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