oil prices ended little changed this week, as concerns about a Covid related slowdown were offset by the passage of the infrastructure spending package in Congress... after falling 7.7% to $68.28 per barrel last week as US crude inventories rose unexpectedly and rising Covid cases prompted global economic restrictions, the contract price of US light sweet crude for September delivery opened lower on Monday after a report on the damaging effects of climate change signalled “code red” for humanity, and extended its losses to over 3% on the back of a firmer U.S. dollar and concerns that new coronavirus-related restrictions in China could slow a global recovery in fuel demand, before settling down $1.80 at $66.48 a barrel, the lowest level in 2½ months, as traders worried that travel restrictions and delayed office reopenings would limit fuel consumption...but oil prices reversed that drop completely on Tuesday, as traders appeared to shrug off worries about the spread of COVID-19, and instead cheered Senate passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure package, with oil recovering all of Mondays losses to close $1.81 higher at $68.29 a barrel, boosted by an IEA forecast that U.S. fuel consumption would grow by 10% this year...oil prices slid early Wednesday after the EIA reported a smaller than expected draw on US crude supplies and a surprise increase in distillates inventories, and after Biden pushed OPEC to boost production faster than their current pace, but recovered to close 96 cents higher at $69.25 a barrel, as the dollar weakened, boosting prices of commodities priced in the currency, and consumer prices increased modestly, reducing concern about an unwinding of the Fed stimulus...however, oil prices turned lower Thursday, after monthly reports from OPEC and the IEA both highlighted demand concerns, and settled 16 cents lower at $69.09 a barrel as both reports also increased their forecasts for 2nd half supplies...oil prices continued lower on Friday as the fast-spreading delta variant continued to cloud the short-term demand outlook, and settled 65 cents lower at $68.44 a barrel after a near record plunge in US consumer confidence readings, but still ended the week with a fractional gain after weathering concerns from banks and the International Energy Agency that the spread of coronavirus variants is slowing oil demand...
natural gas prices, on the other hand, finished lower as forecasts cooled and inventories rose more than had been expected...after rising 5.8% to $4.140 per mmBTU last week on forecasts for hotter weather and on low gas supplies for this time of year, the contract price of natural gas for September delivery opened higher on Monday but turned lower to close down 8.0 cents at $4.060 per mmBTU after long-range weather forecasts cooled while LNG demand remained well off recent highs... prices rebounded 2.9 cents on Tuesday on increasing heat in the forecast for the current week and modest changes to the supply/demand balance, but fell back 3.0 cents to $4.059 mmBTU on Wednesday as analysts looked for wind generation to curb the bullish effect of peak summer heat in the forecast for the week...natural gas prices fell again on Thursday after the latest EIA storage figure came in on the higher side of expectations, and as much cooler temperatures were expected this weekend...prices then fell 7.2 cents more on Friday as a series of storms was forecast to move in over the weekend, capping temperatures and lowering cooling demand, and thus finished the week off 6.7% at a three week low of $3.861 per mmBTU, despite expectations that LNG exports would rise as Gulf of Mexico plants boosted output after finishing maintenance work...
the natural gas storage report from the EIA for the week ending August 6th indicated that the amount of natural gas held in underground storage in the US rose by 49 billion cubic feet to 2,776 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which still left our gas supplies 548 billion cubic feet, or 16.5% below the 3,324 billion cubic feet that were in storage on August 6th of last year, and 178 billion cubic feet, or 6.0% below the five-year average of 2,954 billion cubic feet of natural gas that have been in storage as of the 6th of August in recent years...the 49 billion cubic foot increase in US natural gas in storage this week was more than the median forecast for a 44 billion cubic foot addition from a S&P Global Platts survey of analysts, and more than the average addition of 42 billion cubic feet of natural gas that have typically been injected into natural gas storage during the same week over the past 5 years, but less than the 55 billion cubic feet that were 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 August 6th indicated that after a sizable increase in our oil exports and a modest increase in our oil refining, we needed to withdraw oil from our stored commercial crude supplies for the tenth time in twelve weeks, and for the 26th time in the past thirty-eight weeks….our imports of crude oil fell by an average of 36,000 barrels per day to an average of 6,396,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 75,000 barrels per day during the prior week, while our exports of crude oil rose by an average of 759,000 barrels per day to an average of 2,663,000 barrels per day during the week, which meant that our effective trade in oil worked out to a net import average of 3,732,000 barrels of per day during the week ending August 6th, 795,000 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 reportedly increased by 100,000 barrels per day to 11,300,000 barrels per day, and hence our daily supply of oil from the net of our international trade in oil and from domestic well production appears to total an average of 15,032,000 barrels per day during this reporting week…
meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing 16,197,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending August 6th, 277,000 more barrels per day than the amount of oil they used during the prior week, while over the same period the EIA’s surveys indicated that a net average of 64,000 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 and from oilfield production was 1,101,000 barrels per day less than what was added to storage plus 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 (+1,101,000) 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 omission 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 (+711,000) barrels per day, that means there was a 390,000 barrel per day balance sheet difference in the crude oil fudge figure from a week ago, thus rendering the week over week supply and demand changes indicated by this report fairly useless….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 reasonably 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 6,608,000 barrels per day last week, which was 16.3% more than the 5,680,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same four-week period last year…the 64,000 barrel per day net increase in our crude inventories was all added to our commercially available stocks of crude oil, while the quantity of oil stored in our Strategic Petroleum Reserve remained unchanged….this week’s crude oil production was reported to be 100,000 barrels per day higher at 11,300,000 barrels per day because the EIA"s rounded estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was 100,000 barrels per day higher at 10.900,000 barrels per day, while a 24,000 barrel per day increase in Alaska’s oil production to 395,000 barrels per day had no impact on the rounded national production total….US crude oil production had hit a pre-pandemic record high of 13,100,000 barrels per day during the week ending March 13th 2020, so this week’s reported oil production figure was 13.7% below that of our production peak, but 34.1% above the interim low of 8,428,000 barrels per day that US oil production had fallen to during the last week of June of 2016…
meanwhile, US oil refineries were operating at 91.8% of their capacity while using those 16,197,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending August 6th, up from 91.3% of capacity the prior week, but still somewhat below normal utilization for summertime operations…while the 16,197,000 barrels per day of oil that were refined this week were 10.5% higher than the 14,658,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the pandemic impacted week ending August 7th of last year, they were still 6.4% below the 17,302,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending August 9th, 2019, when US refineries were operating at what was a seasonally normal 94.8% of capacity…
even with this week’s increase in the amount of oil being refined, the gasoline output from our refineries was somewhat lower, decreasing by 190,000 barrels per day to 9.961,000 barrels per day during the week ending August 6th, after our gasoline output had increased by 1,011,000 barrels per day over the prior two weeks…while this week’s gasoline production was still 3.8% higher than the 9,600,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the same week of last year, it was still 2.8% lower than the gasoline production of 10,203,000 barrels per day during the week ending August 9th, 2019….meanwhile, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) increased by 8,000 barrels per day to 4,885,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had increased by 138,000 barrels per day over the prior week…with 5 straight decreases before those increases, this week’s distillates output was just 0.2% more than the 4,789,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending August 7th, 2020, and 3.8% below the 5,077,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending August 9th, 2019..
with the decrease in our gasoline production, our supply of gasoline in storage at the end of the week decreased for the eighth time in nineteen weeks, and for the 18th time in thirty-nine weeks, falling by 1,401,000 barrels to a forty-two week low of 227,469,000 barrels during the week ending August 6th, after our gasoline inventories had decreased by 5,291,000 barrels over the prior week...our total gasoline supplies decreased by less this week because the amount of gasoline supplied to US users decreased by 345,000 barrels per day to 9,430,000 barrels per day, and because our imports of gasoline rose by 84,000 barrels per day to 925,000 barrels per day while our exports of gasoline rose by 121,000 barrels per day to 746,000 barrels per day…after this week’s inventory decrease, our gasoline supplies were 7.9% lower than last August 7th's gasoline inventories of 247,084,000 barrels, and about 3% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of the year…
meanwhile, with the modest increase in our distillates production, our supplies of distillate fuels increased for the seventh time in eighteen weeks and for the 19th time in 34 weeks, rising by 1,767,000 barrels to 140,511,000 barrels during the week ending August 6th, after our distillates supplies had increased by 832,000 barrels during the prior week….our distillates supplies rose by more this week even though the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of our domestic demand, rose by 116,000 barrels per day to 3,734,000 barrels per day, because our exports of distillates fell by 218,000 barrels per day to 1,084,000 barrels per day, and because our imports of distillates rose by 23,000 barrels per day to 185,000 barrels per day…but after eleven inventory decreases over the past eighteen weeks, our distillate supplies at the end of the week were still 20.9% below the 177,655,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on August 7th, 2020, and about 6% below the five year average of distillates stocks for this time of the year…
finally, with the big increase in our oil exports and the pickup in refining, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage fell for the 15th time in the past twenty-five weeks and for the 27th time in the past year, decreasing by 448,000 barrels over the week, from 439,225,000 barrels on July 30th to 438,777,000 barrels on August 6th, after our commercial crude supplies had increased by 3,627,000 barrels the prior week…after this week’s decrease, our commercial crude oil inventories were still about 6% below the most recent five-year average of crude oil supplies for this time of year, but were more than 30% above the average of our crude oil stocks after the first week of August over the 5 years at the beginning of the past 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 and remained elevated thereafter, our commercial crude oil supplies as of this August 6th were still 14.6% less than the 514,084,000 barrels of oil we had in commercial storage on August 7th of 2020, and a bit less than the 440,510,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on August 9th of 2019, but still 5.9% more than the 414,194,000 barrels of oil we had in commercial storage on August 10th of 2018…
This Week's Rig Count
The number of drilling rigs active in the US increased for the 40th time out of the past 47 weeks during the week ending August 13th, but was still down by 36.9% from the pre-pandemic rig count….Baker Hughes reported that the total count of rotary rigs running in the US increased by nine to 500 rigs this past week, which was also up by 256 rigs from the pandemic hit 244 rigs that were in use as of the August 14th report of 2020, but was still 1,429 fewer rigs than the shale era high of 1,929 drilling rigs that were deployed on November 21st of 2014, which was a week before OPEC began to flood the global oil market in an attempt to put US shale out of business….
The number of rigs drilling for oil was up by 10 to 397 oil rigs this week, after rising by 2 oil rigs the prior week, and it’s now 225 more oil rigs than were running a year ago, while it’s less than a quarter 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 was down by one to 102 natural gas rigs, which was still up by 32 natural gas rigs from the 70 natural gas rigs that were drilling during the same week a year ago, but still just 6.4% of the modern era high of 1,606 rigs targeting natural gas that were deployed on September 7th, 2008….in addition to oil and gas rigs, a horizontal rig that Baker Hughes classifies as "miscellaneous' is drilling in Kern county California, while a year ago there were no such "miscellaneous' rigs reported to be active...
The Gulf of Mexico rig count was down by one to 13 rigs this week, with 12 of those rigs drilling for oil in Louisiana’s offshore waters and one drilling for oil in the Alaminos Canyon offshore from Texas….that was the same number of rigs that were drilling in the Gulf a year ago, when 10 Gulf rigs were drilling for oil offshore from Louisiana and three were deployed for oil in Texas waters….in addition to those Gulf of Mexico rigs, this week we also had a vertical rig start drilling for natural gas off the shore of the Kenai peninsula in Alaska, which is the first offshore Alaska drilling in almost two years; as a result, the national offshore rig count is now 14, up from 13 offshore rigs a year ago..
In addition to those rigs offshore, we now have two rigs drilling through inland bodies of water in Louisiana this week. whereas there were no such “inland waters” rigs running a year ago…the new “inland waters” startup is a rig drilling for oil in the Haynesville shale through a lake in DeSoto parish in the northwestern corner of the state, just south of Shreveport, while we also continue to have a rig drilling through an inland body of water in Terrebonne Parish of southern Louisiana...
The count of active horizontal drilling rigs was up by 7 to 456 horizontal rigs this week, which was more than double the 211 horizontal rigs that were in use in the US on August 14th of last year, but was less than a third of the record of 1372 horizontal rigs that were deployed on November 21st of 2014…..in addition, the vertical rig count was up by 2 to 17 vertical rigs this week, and those were also up by 4 from the 13 vertical rigs that were operating during the same week a year ago….on the other hand, the directional rig count was unchanged at 27 directional rigs this week, and those were still up by 3 from the 24 directional rigs that that were in use on August 14th 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 August 13th, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (August 6th) and this week’s (August 13th) count, the third column shows last week’s August 6th 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 14th of August, 2020...
since we know there was an offshore natural gas rig startup in Alaska this week, for the state to show the loss of a rig means that two of the oil rigs that had been drilling on the North Slope were apparently shut down at the same time...similarly, since we know we have an inland water oil rig start up in the Haynesville shale this week, the net lost of 1 Haynesville rig means that two of the natural gas rigs that had been operating in that basin were concurrently shut down...since land rigs in northern Louisiana were only down by one, that means that the rig that was pulled out of adjacent Texas Oil District 6 had to have been operating in the Haynesville...but Louisiana's rig count is still down by one despite the offsetting Haynesville shale activity because the Gulf of Mexico rig that was shut down had been drilling in the state's offshore waters...
meanwhile, the details on the Permian basin in Texas from the Rigs by State file at Baker Hughes shows that three rigs were pulled out of Texas Oil District 8, which is the core Permian Delaware, but that two oil rigs were added in Texas Oil District 8A, which encompasses the northern counties of the Permian Midland, while another oil rig was added in Texas Oil District 7C, which includes the southern counties of the Permian Midland...hence, since the Texas Permian count is apparently unchanged, and since the national Permian count was up by two, that means that two of the rigs that were added in New Mexico must have been set up to drill in the far west reaches of the Permian Delaware in that state...
elsewhere in Texas, we find two rigs were added in Texas Oil District 1 and two more rigs were added in Texas Oil District 2, which together would account for the Eagle Ford shale increase, while at the same time a rig was pulled out of Texas Oil District 3, which had been drilling into a basin not tracked by Baker Hughes...finally, there was also a rig added in Texas Oil District 10, which could have been in the Granite Wash basin if one of the Granite Wash rigs recently added in nearby Oklahoma were shut down at the same time, certainly a possibility since the Oklahoma rig count is down one despite the addition of a Cana Woodford oil rig in the central part of that state...the only other change that shows up on our tables in the addition of four rigs in the Bakken shale of the Williston basin, which included two rigs in North Dakota and two in Montana, the first drilling in Montana since November of last year, and the first time two rigs were deployed in the state in 19 months...
meanwhile, there were more natural gas rig changes than the aforementioned offshore gas rig added in Alaska and the two gas rigs pulled out of the Haynesville; first, one of this week's Eagle Ford rig additions was targeting natural gas, which means the Eagle Ford now has four natural gas rigs deployed in addition to 32 oil rigs drilling in that basin...meanwhile, there was also a natural gas rig startup in Oklahoma's Arkoma Woodford, which was offset by the shutdown of the lone oil rig in that basin at the same time...and lastly, two natural gas rigs were removed from "other basins" that Baker Hughes does not name; which possibly could be the previously unidentifed rigs pulled from Oklahoma and from Texas Oil District 3...
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Radioactive loads enter landfills - Republic Services Carbon Limestone Landfill is one of the eight landfills in Ohio currently receiving waste from unconventional oil and gas operations, according to information acquired by Public Herald from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The company is the second-largest provider of nonhazardous solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and energy services in the United States, as measured by revenue, according to its website. In 2019, the landfill received more than 1.3 million tons of waste — including radioactive fracking waste, according to Public Herald.In Ohio, TENORM (technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material) disposal at landfills falls under the Ohio Revised Code, which states that a solid waste facility cannot accept or transfer TENORM if it contains radium-226, radium-228, or any combination of the two at more than 5 picocuries per gram (pCi/g) over the natural background.Not much testing has been done on TENORM waste in Ohio, but much of the TENORM waste arriving at Ohio landfills is from the Marcellus Shale — the same shale waste that has been tested in a 2016 Pennsylvania TENORM study. In that study, radium levels from fracking waste in the Marcellus were detected as high as 13 pCi/g, more than 2.5 times greater than the Ohio code permits. The average load for combined radium reported in the study from 18 samples was 5.847 pCi/g, again exceeding the Ohio code of 5 pCi/g. But even though Ohio’s TENORM code places a strict standard on radioactive waste disposal, the state hasn’t produced documentation to Public Herald of measurement and enforcement for radium at landfills.“It is an extremely, overwhelmingly strong bet that the waste and disposal practices in Ohio are seeing a great deal of material that exceeds the limits,” Ohio attorney Terry Lodge said.
Disposal of radioactive fracking waste alarms activists - Youngstown Vindicator - Everyone knows that oil and gas wells produce oil and natural gas, but these wells also produce radioactive material being disposed of in communities alongside household trash.The Environmental Protection Agency defines the radioactive portion of this waste as TENORM (technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material). Though Ohio has strict regulations governing radioactive waste that comes across its borders, the state code doesn’t require the kind of extensive testing necessary to adequately measure radioactivity in TENORM waste, Public Herald reports.Surrounding Youngstown are four separate facilities processing radioactive fracking waste. According to Public Herald, they are:
- * Carbon Limestone Landfill, Republic Services, Lowellville;
- * Mahoning Landfill, Waste Management, New Springfield;
- * Wastewater treatment plant in Lowellville;
- * “Chief’s order” facility called Ground Tech Inc. in Youngstown. Chief’s order facilities have special permission to operate outside of existing law, critics say.
Lynn Anderson said she has spent nearly a decade working with FrackFree Mahoning Valley to keep Poland Township and the surrounding area safe from radioactive contamination. But the fight against the industry often seems unwinnable, Anderson said. “People’s lives matter. You can’t sacrifice them for corporate profit,” she said. Never before has the nation undertaken an experiment with radioactive material like the one happening now across the country thanks to technological advances in hydraulic fracturing, a deep, water-intensive, chemical-laden process to extract hard-to-reach fossil fuels.The formations being fracked in Appalachia, including Ohio, from the Marcellus and Utica Shales, happen to be the hottest in the country — as in the most radioactive, researchers have said.In 2020, Harvard scientists revealed that radiation downwind of unconventional fracking development is significantly higher than background levels and moreso in the Marcellus and Utica Shale due to the higher uranium content of those formations.According to the industry, every part of the oil and gas continuum involves radioactivity. A 1982 report commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute stated: “[a]lmost all materials of interest and use to the petroleum industry contain measurable quantities of radionuclides that reside finally in processing equipment, product streams, or waste.”Oil and gas companies drill deep into the earth and blast water and chemicals into bedrock to access minerals. The process produces waste that includes drill cuttings, synthetic drilling muds, fracking chemicals, and naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) that would otherwise stay locked underground.That waste is taken to facilities across the country, and in Ohio that includes local landfills, where rain filters through trash, carrying contaminants with it.In landfills, the contaminated rainwater called “leachate” is transported to local sewage treatment facilities, which add the liquid to sewage for processing before dumping the leftovers into local waterways. But sewage is not treated for radioactive materials, so whatever TENORM goes into the facility also goes into the river, eventually. Or, TENORM can be lodged in sludge and filters making them radioactive for any material they come into contact with.
Ohio oil and gas waste migrated, but drinking water safe for now, state says - Though oil and gas industry waste fluids migrated in 2019 beyond their original Ohio disposal site, a new report from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says nearby drinking water wells were not affected. The department previously confirmed hydraulic fracturing waste from a class II injection well in Washington County showed up in 28 nearby gas-producing wells. "Naturally occurring fissures exist between the Ohio shale formation and the Berea sandstone formation, allowing wastewater to migrate between formations and into the production wells," according to ODNR records. While the state agency has said it's "unlikely that wastewater will migrate farther — including into underground sources of drinking water due to the composition of the rock layers and other factors," an expert says it's possible. The state paid an environmental firm, Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc. (GES), a little more than $50,000 to test private water wells of those who live near the affected area, according to a report GES issued in June. There were 596 parcels along with 48 private water well locations that were identified within one-half mile radius of nine oilfield wells. The company analyzed samples for chloride and bromide, essentially salt, to detect if the well water contained waste fluids — called "brine" in the industry — that's present in horizontal hydraulic fracturing, a method that came into widespread use by the oil and gas industry in the 2010s to extract fuel from shale formations deep underground. "GES does not believe that ... water wells that were sampled during this investigation were impacted by brine associated with the Redbird injection well," according to the report. However, waste water from hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, will continue to migrate, said Amy Townsend-Small, an associate professor of environmental science and geology at the University of Cincinnati who conducts research on hydraulic fracturing and its effects on groundwater. Water samples were taken more than a year after the initial reports of the waste migrating. It's possible that samples were taken at the wrong location because it's challenging to determine the location many months after, she said. "Are they going to provide ongoing monitoring? Because one-time sampling may not be sufficient," Townsend-Small said.
Ascent Res. 2Q: Drilled 23 Wells, Produced 1.95 Bcfe/d, Lost $617M - Ascent Resources, originally founded as American Energy Partners by gas legend Aubrey McClendon, is a privately-held company that focuses 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. The company issued its second quarter 2021 update earlier this week. The company produced 1.95 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (Bcfe/d) during 2Q (91% natural gas). Ascent generated $38 million of free cash flow, but like other M-U drillers, hedging bets on derivatives resulted in a big loss of $617 million for the quarter.During 2Q Ascent operated four drilling rigs and one fracture stimulation crew. The company spud (drilled) 23 wells, hydraulically fractured 17 wells, and turned to sales 26 wells with an average lateral length of 12,247 feet.Of the 26 new wells brought online, 23 were located in the dry gas or lean gas areas, while the other three wells were located in the liquids-rich window.As of June 30, 2021, Ascent had 635 gross operated producing Utica wells.The company is one of the lowest-cost producers in the M-U. Ascent’s well costs averaged approximately $546 per lateral foot during 2Q, a 12% reduction compared to 1Q. Ascent’s official update for 2Q, with an overview of the financials:
Summit Midstream 2Q: Volumes Up Some, Profits Down Some - Summit Midstream Partners, formed in 2009 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, operates natural gas, crude oil, and produced water gathering (pipeline) systems in several unconventional shale plays, including the Marcellus and Utica. Last week Summit issued its second quarter 2021 update. The company’s Utica Shale segment continued to be the star performer. Flows through the company’s pipeline system are up, although revenues were down slightly from the same period a year ago. Summit averaged 1,441 MMcf/d (million cubic feet per day) in natural gas throughput during 2Q, up from 1,391 MMcf/d in the second quarter of 2020, as Utica Shale production remained strong. Operated natural gas volumes increased 7.1% relative to the first quarter of 2021, largely due to continued strong performance from the four Utica Shale wells connected in the first quarter of 2021 and 20 new wells that were turned to sales during the second quarter of 2021 across the Utica Shale, Williston Basin and Marcellus Shale segments. Here’s a chart showing average daily throughput by reportable segment for 2Q21. The Utica and Marcellus segments grew.
First major US hydrogen-burning power plant nears completion in Ohio - Touted as a first-of-its-kind power plant in the United States, the Long Ridge Energy Generation Project, a 485-MW facility being equipped to run on a mix of natural gas and carbon-free hydrogen, is nearing completion at the site of a former aluminum smelter on the banks of the Ohio River."We are currently in the startup phase," Bo Wholey, president of Long Ridge Energy Terminal, an affiliate of Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors, said in an Aug. 11 email. The power plant in Hannibal, Ohio, will be "fully operational" in early September, with hydrogen to be introduced in November, Wholey added.The facility first will burn a fuel blend that includes 5% hydrogen in a General Electric Co. H-class gas turbine. The plant is intended to transition to 100% green hydrogen over the next decade by relying increasingly on renewable energy to power electrolysis machines that split water into its hydrogen and oxygen elements.The project has access to industrial byproduct hydrogen for initial testing, according to Long Ridge, but the company is partnering with New Fortress Energy for the green hydrogen transition. It is also exploring underground salt formations for large-scale hydrogen storage."Having multiple pathways to generating carbon-free energy is a high priority, and we believe, extremely valuable," Fortress CEO Joseph Adams told investment analysts during a July 29 earnings call. The $600 million project, underpinned by seven- and 10-year fixed-price power sale contracts, is two months ahead of schedule, Adams said.The hydrogen-natural gas generation project is the centerpiece of an intended sweeping makeover of the industrial site, where Long Ridge also plans to develop a 125-acre data center campus with 300 MW of capacity. Advocates hope the project marks the beginning of a new era for hydrogen in helping to decarbonize the power sector and other areas of the economy.Major global equipment suppliers Mitsubishi Corp., Siemens and Wärtsilä Oyj, numerous big U.S. electric and gas utilities and a host of project developers are also placing big bets on hydrogen. Several additional U.S. natural gas-hydrogen hybrid power projects are underway, the largest of which is the Intermountain Power Agency's planned conversion of an existing coal plant into an 840-MW combined-cycle gas facility by 2025 that would combust up to 30% hydrogen and gradually move to only green hydrogen. Most of the plant's output is under contract with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. But the Union of Concerned Scientists and other clean energy groups have pushed back on burning hydrogen. They have flagged concerns over dangerous nitrogen oxide emissions that occur even with green hydrogen, even though they are supportive of hydrogen fuel cells, which can produce power without combustion.
Study finds blue hydrogen worse than gas or coal -- The carbon footprint of creating blue hydrogen is more than 20% greater than using either natural gas or coal directly for heat, or about 60% greater than using diesel oil for heat, according to joint research by Cornell and Stanford universities in the US. The paper, which was published in Energy Science and Engineering, warned that blue hydrogen may be a distraction or something that may delay needed action to truly decarbonise the global energy economy. A research team claimed blue hydrogen requires large amounts of natural gas to produce and said that even with the most advanced carbon capture and storage technology, there are a significant amount of CO2 and methane emissions that won’t be caught. Professors from the universities calculated that these fugitive emissions from producing hydrogen could eclipse those associated with extracting and burning gas when multiplied by the amount of gas required to make an equivalent amount of energy from hydrogen. The paper comes hot on the heels of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report claiming methane has contributed about two-thirds as much to global warming as CO2 and as many governments are looking to invest in hydrogen production. Robert Howarth, a Cornell University professor and co-author of the study, said: “Political forces may not have caught up with the science yet. Even progressive politicians may not understand for what they’re voting. Blue hydrogen sounds good, sounds modern and sounds like a path to our energy future. It is not.” The UK is high up on the list of countries aiming to put blue hydrogen at the core of its energy transition agenda. UK energy consultancy Xodus recently launched a new report urging a bolder vision to enable the country to become a global leader in the adoption of hydrogen. The researchers, on the other hand, recommended a focus on green hydrogen, which is made using renewable electricity to extract hydrogen from water, leaving only oxygen as a byproduct. “This best-case scenario for producing blue hydrogen, using renewable electricity instead of natural gas to power the processes, suggests to us that there really is no role for blue hydrogen in a carbon-free future. Greenhouse gas emissions remain high, and there would also be a substantial consumption of renewable electricity, which represents an opportunity cost. We believe renewable electricity could be better used by society in other ways, replacing the use of fossil fuels.”
Frackers, Shippers Eye Natural-Gas Leaks as Climate Change Concerns Mount – WSJ —Drones darted in patterns above natural-gas wells in the hills of southwest Pennsylvania, as workers atop water tanks pointed specialized cameras, and a helicopter outfitted with a laser-light detection system swooped in low. All searched for an invisible enemy: methane. The American gas industry faces growing pressure from investors and customers to prove that its fuel has a lower-carbon provenance to sell it around the world. That has led the top U.S. gas producer, EQT Corp. and the top exporter, Cheniere Energy Inc., to team up and track the emissions from wells that feed major shipping terminals. The companies are trying to collect reliable data on releases of methane—a potent greenhouse gas increasingly attracting scrutiny for its contributions to climate change—and demonstrate they can reduce these emissions over time. “What we’re trying to really do is build the trust up to the end user that our measurements are correct,” said David Khani, EQT’s chief financial officer. “Let’s put our money where our mouth is.” Natural gas has boomed world-wide over the past few decades as countries moved to supplant dirtier fossil fuels such as coal and oil. It has long been touted as a bridge to a lower-carbon future. But while gas burns cleaner than coal, gas operations leak methane, which has a more potent effect on atmospheric warming than carbon dioxide, though it makes up a smaller percentage of total greenhouse gas emissions. EQT’s fracking site in Mannington, W.Va., is powered by a turbine rather than conventional diesel engines, which are more typical. The control room at EQT’s field office in Canonsburg, Pa. Oil-and-gas companies use setups like this to remotely monitor—and even run—some operations. Investors, policy makers and buyers of liquefied natural gas, known as LNG, are rethinking the fuel’s role in their energy mix because of concerns about methane emissions, which were highlighted this week as a significant contributor to climate change by a scientific panel working under the auspices of the United Nations. Those concerns, pronounced in Europe and increasingly in Asia, are a problem for LNG shippers, as some of their customers signal plans to ease gas consumption over time. In a policy draft last month, Japanese regulators said the country would have LNG make up 20% of its projected power generation by 2030, down from a prior target of 27%. The European Union has been weighing how to pressure LNG shippers to cut emissions. It could, for example, include LNG among the imports subject to a recently proposed carbon border tax.
PennEast aims to complete first phase of natgas pipe in 2022, despite right-of-way delay (Reuters) - PennEast Pipeline said on Thursday it still expects to complete the first phase of its $1.2 billion natural gas pipe in Pennsylvania in 2022 even though it put off acquiring rights of way for the project due to legal and regulatory hurdles. PennEast, which seeks to complete the pipeline's second phase from Pennsylvania into New Jersey in 2023, is just one of several long-delayed projects facing opposition from Northeastern states as the region transitions from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of power, like wind and solar. "Given the uncertainty on timing to resolve the remaining legal and regulatory hurdles, PennEast believes it is not prudent to complete the acquisition of the rights of way in the pending actions in Pennsylvania, as it might not be necessary for some time," PennEast said in a statement. That "uncertainty" caused PennEast partner New Jersey Resources Corp NJR.N last week to announce a $72.7 million after-tax impairment charge related to its investment in the project. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Third Circuit decision that blocked PennEast from using federal eminent domain rules to seize New Jersey state-owned or controlled land. That victory cleared one hurdle, but more remain. In addition to completing the rights of way, PennEast still needs permits from environmental Pennsylvania and New Jersey regulators and others before it can start construction. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved PennEast's request to build the pipeline in January 2018. The company had hoped to complete the project in 2019. The 120-mile (193 kilometer) pipe is designed to deliver 1.1 billion cubic feet per day of gas from the Marcellus shale to customers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Seneca FY3Q: More Drilling to Fill New Pipeline Capacity - Last Friday National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), the parent company for Seneca Resources and Empire Pipeline, issued its latest quarterly update for the quarter ending June 30 (NFG’s third fiscal quarter, everyone else’s second quarter). The exciting news from the update is that with two pipeline projects getting completed this year, Seneca Resources is ramping up its Marcellus/Utica drilling program to take advantage of selling more gas at higher prices.NFG’s FM 100 pipeline project, coming online this year, extends an existing pipeline network in northwestern Pennsylvania to flow an extra 330 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of Marcellus gas to Williams’ mighty Transco Pipeline.A companion project at Williams called the Transco Leidy South expansion is also underway and due to be done this year. Leidy South will carry 600 MMcf/d from Pennsylvania to Atlantic Seaboard markets. Partial capacity on the system was brought online late last year (see Two Williams Projects Online Early: Leidy South & Southeastern Trail). The rest of the Leidy South expansion will be online by the end of this year. All of which means Seneca is ready to drill and complete more wells, to take advantage of their pre-reserved capacity along these pipelines: “For the remainder of the year, we are on track with our plans to ramp up production to fill Leidy South and capture premium winter pricing,” said Seneca President Justin Loweth during a conference call with analysts on Friday. He added: “We have begun the process of accelerating our completion pace and now have two active completion crews, which is a level of activity we expect to continue throughout the first half of fiscal 2022.” NFG/Seneca’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 begins in October.Seneca plans to produce 335-365 Bcfe (billion cubic feet equivalent) in FY 2022, some 25 Bcfe higher than 2021. The new production will come online beginning later this FY (prior to October) and into the beginning of next FY (after October and into early 2022). Seneca produced 83.1 Bcfe during 3Q, a huge increase of 27.1 Bcfe (48%) from the prior year. The improvement was primarily from a 27.3 Bcf increase in natural gas production, largely related to the purchase of Shell’s Marcellus assets last year–450,000 acres, 350 producing Marcellus and Utica shale wells in Tioga County. During 3Q Seneca drilled 12 new wells.
Activists, Chuck Schumer Protest National Grid’s Brooklyn Pipeline Ahead of Rate Hike Vote - The state’s Department of Public Service is expected to vote Thursday on whether to hike gas rates for National Grid customers in the city—an increase that would help fund a controversial fracked gas pipeline the utility company is constructing in Brooklyn. On Friday afternoon, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined other legislators, community members and environmental activists in Greenpoint to express his opposition to the National Grid North Brooklyn Pipeline Project. “There are a lot of reasons why this is a bad idea,” he said, citing both environmental justice concerns and that the new pipeline is in violation of the state’s progressive climate legislation. The press conference, held in an industrial corner outside the National Grid facility, was in advance of the expected vote Thursday by DPS to increase the utility company’s gas rates. Construction of the seven-mile fracked gas pipeline, which runs from Brownsville up to Greenpoint, was paused in May following multiple protests by environmental justice groups. But the state is still considering rate hikes—which National Grid estimates would increase customers’ monthly bills by $5.56 (or 3.77 percent) in the proposal’s second year and $4.89 (or 3.26 percent) in the third—would fund the work already done on the pipeline. If approved, the company would raise gas prices for its 1.9 million customers in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Southeast Queens, said Lee Ziesche, organizer with the nonprofit Sane Energy. Ziesche learned about the pipeline in 2019 while looking through public records filed with the Department of Public Service. She, along with more than a dozen environmental groups, mobilized to protest its construction. They gained the support of City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Mayor Bill de Blasio, leading National Grid to temporarily halt the project. But by the time the mayor came out against the pipeline in December 2019, four of the five pipeline’s sections had already been completed and begun transporting gas. Schumer declared his opposition to the project while standing among organizers Friday, claiming that the pipeline is in direct defiance of the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), ambitious legislation passed in 2019 aimed at transitioning to clean energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “This pipeline violates the precepts of the CLCPA. How can we pass a law and then let them undo the law?” He was joined by Senator Julia Salazar, who told City Limits she’s opposed to both the pipeline and the rate hike. “It’s unhealthy and it’s unnecessary,” she said. “Let’s not grant a rate increase for something nobody wanted in the first place.”
New Yorkers Will Pay for New Gas Pipeline Through Brooklyn With Utility Bill Hike - New York state regulators voted unanimously this morning to increase 1.9-million residents’ utility bills to fund a controversial fracked gas pipeline running through Brooklyn. The New York State Public Service Commission’s (PSC) 7-0 approval of the rate hike comes after years of debate over the funding of National Grid’s Metropolitan Reliability Infrastructure (MRI) project, dubbed the North Brooklyn Pipeline by local activists. The seven-mile long route, construction of which has already been permitted and is nearly completed, runs primarily through Brownsville, Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Thursday’s vote was over a joint proposal written in May by National Grid, the Long Island Power Authority, and the Department of Public Service, among others, that included rate increases for New Yorkers ($129-million of which will fund pipeline construction); energy efficiency enhancements; limitations on oil and gas marketing; and educational efforts around emissions reductions. “This reflects a solid, creative and responsible work on the part of staff,” said PSC commissioner John Maggiore of the joint proposal before voting yes for its passage in Thursday’s public hearing. “I also think this reflects a point in time and the evolution of this state towards greater reliance on renewable energy sources.” “This case is a gift that will keep on giving,” added PSC Chair John B. Howard following the vote. Though construction on the pipeline began in 2017, New York environmentalists say they were not aware of its existence until 2019, at which point opposition to the project mounted quickly. Over the last year-and-a-half, activists have staged rallies, marches, lock-ups and sit-ins along the pipeline route as the first four phases of its construction were underway. Most recently, the No North Brooklyn Pipeline campaign, apartnership between environmental groups Sane Energy Project, the Brownsville Residents’ Green Committee, Newtown Creek Alliance, and more, launched a gas bill strike across the city, urging New Yorkers to withhold $66 (an estimate of what consumers would be paying over time if the rate hike is approved) from their monthly National Grid payments in opposition to the pipeline.
New York state questions plan to boost capacity at Iroquois pipeline site in Athens— New York environmental officials have some pointed questions for the federal government about plans to upgrade a natural gas pipeline that runs through this Greene County community.The dispute, though, isn’t about plans for a new pipeline. It instead focuses on what might have earlier been an uncontroversial change to an existing line.The proposal by the Iroquois Pipeline Operating Company for adding compressors to their 414-mile eponymously named natural gas line brings into sharp focus the new considerations that state policymakers are weighing regarding energy infrastructure after passage of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act which sets ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals in New York state.The enhancement by compression project would add a new 12,000-horsepower compressor to the 10,000-horsepower one already in place at the Athens pumping station. Additional compressors are also planned in Dover in Dutchess County and Brookfield, Conn, the latter of which is near company’s headquarters.Iroquois says the expansion would let them increase the flow of gas which runs from the Canadian border through upstate New York and Connecticut to supply New York and Long Island.Iroquois, as well as the utilities that would distribute the gas to customers — ConEd and National Grid’s KeySpan unit — have argued the extra fuel is needed to keep up with demand downstate.It would also offset the need for dirtier oil-burning sources, according to the company.Projected for completion in 2023, the company also says they will use the latest technology to capture methane leaks and use high-efficiency compression equipment.The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees most aspects of such pipelines, has been moving the project through its review process.But a number of environmental organizations oppose the upgrade. Rather than making it easier to use natural more gas, they say any new energy initiatives should focus on solar, wind and other carbon-free sources.
West Milford NJ compressor station deal OK'd. What's next? — Township officials Wednesday approved a deal with Tennessee Gas Pipeline regarding the company's plan to build a new compressor station near the Monksville Reservoir. The agreement strikes a taxable value of $17.5 million for the property, a former quarry off Greenwood Lake Turnpike. It also requires the pipeline company to fund $10 million in general liability and excess liability insurance, initial and follow-up emergency response training and $20,000 in gas detection equipment for the municipality. In addition to more than $655,000 in expected annual property taxes for 2022, the company agreed to pay the township $200,000. The payment would come in two lump sums: $20,000 within 60 days and $180,000 when the station is federally authorized for service. Mayor Michele Dale said the goal of the agreement is to best position the township in the likelihood that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves the project later this year. The federally regulated project would install a 19,000-horsepower turbine to push more gas through Tennessee Gas Pipeline's North Jersey infrastructure. Combined with two additional compressor station upgrades, it would provide enough capacity to end Consolidated Edison's moratorium on natural gas connections in Westchester, New York, records show. West Milford residents and environmental advocates have derided the project for its lack of local benefit. Food & Water Watch organizer Sam DiFalco called the agreement "an abdication of the council’s responsibility to protect their constituents." "For months, residents have spoken out against this project, out of genuine concern for protecting the health and safety of their communities," she said. "No amount of money that the town can get from this dirty energy project will make up for a major accident, fire, or a leak of toxins into the Monksville reservoir, a critical source of clean drinking water to millions of New Jersey residents." Local government officials in Bloomfield, Hamburg, Montague, Ringwood, Wantage and Vernon have adopted resolutions opposing the project.
Environmentalists push FERC on MVP environmental review plans, carbon impacts -A large coalition of environmental groups pressed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to pursue a more extensive review of the Mountain Valley Pipeline's amendment project, days before the commission was scheduled to release its environmental report for the natural gas pipeline. If granted, the lengthy filing backed by 19 groups including Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance could add to the timeline for environmental review of the 303-mile, 2 Bcf/d natural gas pipeline project. MVP has been seeking to restore permits and resume construction after legal and regulatory setbacks stalled progress (CP16-10, CP21-57).MVP, which would provide an added outlet for Appalachian gas supplies, in February proposed alternative water crossing methods for about 70 miles of the route. FERC had scheduled release of the environmental assessment for the amendment project for Aug. 13.MVP spokeswoman Natalie Cox, in an Aug. 6 email, said, "The MVP project team continues to expect its [environmental assessment] from the FERC in mid-August."The environmental groups, however, argued Aug. 3 that FERC erred legally in issuing a scoping notice July 1 that said it had decided on an EA.The supplemental EIS must analyze impacts of the amendment, along with MVP's requested Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers, they argued."FERC's environmental review must examine, on a crossing-by-crossing basis, alternative stream crossing methodologies — including the broader use of trenchless methods," and must fully consider cumulative effects of hundreds of stream crossings including those in the same stream or watershed, they wrote. The groups also targeted climate impacts, saying FERC must revisit its analysis given new executive orders and the Army Corps' involvement as a cooperating agency. FERC cannot rely on the "deficient and outdated discussion in its 2017 FEIS," they contended.
2 Mountain Valley Pipeline protesters locked themselves to drilling equipment (WSET) — Two Mountain Valley Pipeline protesters were arrested Friday morning after reportedly locking themselves to drilling equipment.The incident happened early Friday morning in Lawn, West Virginia, in Greenbrier County, where the Mountain Valley Pipeline crosses underneath Interstate 64. Activist group Appalachians Against Pipelines says the protesters halted work at the site for more than two hours before two protesters were extracted and arrested around 8:30. By 9:30, bail had not been set."In the expansive timeline of industrial extraction, halting work for a single day might feel molecular, but today’s action is anything but isolated," stated one of the people locked to the drill. "Today’s action stands in community with all that has transpired, all those that will continue to resist, painting a larger picture of the resiliency of grassroots organizing in Appalachia, the overwhelming value of direct action in rural spaces. As I write and as you read, 303 miles of Appalachian soil is being held captive by the Mountain Valley Pipeline. As pipeline construction intrudes upon the ground under the pads of our feet, we are reminded of the long history of rural communities, of Appalachian flora and fauna reduced to a mere commodity for the sake of bolstering a capitalistic agenda." The other person who took action today stated: "Today I am taking action against the MVP. For me, the only option is to take direct action against this pipeline which is tearing through the beautiful mountains of Appalachia. I am taking action today not only to oppose this pipeline, but as a part of a broader movement working to abolish the systems of capitalism, white supremacy, cis hetero patriarchy, and all the other systems that are destroying this earth. I am also taking this action in solidarity with Indigenous water protectors and allies fighting Enbridge’s Line 3 up in so-called Minnesota." Neither protester has been identified, and law enforcement has not yet commented on the arrests. The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a 42-inch diameter, 300-plus mile, fracked gas pipeline that runs from northern West Virginia to southern Virginia, with a 70-mile extension into North Carolina.
Mountain Valley Pipeline protesters arrested after locking themselves to drill tracks - Two people locked themselves to the drill tracks of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Greenbriar County, West Virginia Friday morning. They are at a construction site 30 minutes outside Beckley, just beyond the intersection of Lawn Road and Route 27. In a press release from Appalachians Against Pipelines, the two protesters issued these statements
- Statement 1: “As I write and as you read, 303 miles of Appalachian soil is being held captive by the Mountain Valley Pipeline. As pipeline construction intrudes upon the ground under the pads of our feet, we are reminded of the long history of rural communities, of Appalachian flora and fauna reduced to a mere commodity for the sake of bolstering a capitalistic agenda.”
- Statement 2: “Today, I am taking action against the MVP. For me, the only option is to take direct action against this pipeline which is tearing through the beautiful mountains of Appalachia.”
There’s also a banner on site that reads “MVP is dead. Doom to the Pipeline.” Work on the pipeline has halted and Greenbriar County Sheriff deputies are on scene. UPDATE: The protesters have been removed and arrested, according to Appalachians Against Pipelines.
Sherriff: Two arrested in Mountain Valley Pipeline protest — Law enforcement officials say two people have been arrested after they were found chained to pipeline construction equipment in Greenbrier County.Local news outlets report that the two were found Friday morning in the Dawson area secured to pipeline equipment with chains and a welded pipe.According to the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s office, local fire department officials helped extract the pair, who were below ground level in a hole. Deputies say one individual voluntarily climbed out, while the other refused and had to be lifted out.The two have both face charges of trespassing, obstructing an officer and conspiracy. It was not immediately known if they had an attorney.Known as the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the project has faced various legal challenges from environmental groups because construction has led to violations of regulations meant to control erosion and sedimentation. The 303-mile pipeline will take natural gas drilled from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations and transport it through West Virginia and Virginia
Environmental Activists Halt Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction - Environmental activists temporarily shut down construction of the already over-budget and behind scheduleMountain Valley Pipeline in southwestern Virginia on Monday. Organizers with the group Appalachians Against Pipelines said 10 people locked themselves to construction equipment to protect native species threatened by the controversial pipeline that would carry fracked gas — primarily methane — more than 300 miles from West Virginia to southern Virginia. "Right now we're looking at a future with extreme water shortages, accelerating difficulty in growing food, mass human displacement due to natural disasters and manmade disasters caused by pipelines like these," said Mandy, one of the protesters. The temporary construction comes as activists across the state areramping up pressure to block the pipeline.
Nearly 100 protesters block work on Mountain Valley Pipeline; some are arrested - A crowd of nearly 100 crashed a construction site early Monday morning, loudly voicing their opposition to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. When police arrived at the scene off U.S. 460 in eastern Montgomery County and ordered them to leave, about 80 protesters obeyed, forming a procession as they marched, sang and chanted “Doom to the Pipeline.” About 10 activists remained, chained to heavy equipment and other objects. They were arrested and taken to jail, authorities said. Although human blockades along the construction right of way have become almost routine over the past three years, Monday’s demonstration was the largest of its kind so far to temporarily block work on the natural gas pipeline. Organized by Appalachians Against Pipelines and Arm In Arm, a national organization combating climate change, the protest drew local and out-of-state residents to denounce the project’s environmental damage, use of eminent domain and contribution to global warming. “President Biden, Gov. Northam and Mountain Valley Pipeline officials have been told that clearly the world and civilization as we recognize it cannot survive more conduits of fossil fuels,” said Jim Steitz of Charlotte, North Carolina. “I will not consent to that, and that’s why I’m here,” Steitz said by telephone from the protest site, which was quickly closed off by a large contingent of officers from the Virginia State Police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.As of 2 p.m., five men and two women had been been taken in a jail van to the magistrate’s office in Christiansburg, according to Lt. Mark Hollandsworth of the sheriff’s office. Appalachians Against Pipelines later said that 10 people had been arrested. After the crowd dispersed, police briefly shut down U.S. 460 in both directions as the procession crossed the highway and formed a support line along the road for the protesters who remained.Many of them waved anti-pipeline signs, drawing honks of support from some motorists and quizzical looks from others.
FERC requests more evidence of reliability impacts as Spire STL pipeline seeks temporary approval --
- Spire STL Pipeline and stakeholders across its Missouri territory are continuing their push for federal regulators to approve temporary operations of the facility while the project assesses its path forward following a potentially detrimental court ruling.
- The pipeline has been in service since 2019, but in June, a federal court of appeals vacated the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order that allowed the project to move forward, finding the commission did not sufficiently examine evidence of self-dealing and project need. Spire in July requested FERC grant it a temporary certificate of public convenience and necessity while the company sorts out what the court ruling will mean for the pipeline. FERC responded on Friday requesting more information from the company, including on the alleged reliability impacts of closing the pipeline.
- Missouri regulators, the governor, the attorney general and various labor and business groups have echoed Spire's call for a temporary certificate in comments filed with FERC over the past month. But environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) which brought the pipeline company to court in the first place, say the proposal for temporary certification has "serious deficiencies."
Chesapeake to buy Haynesville gas producer for $2.2bn - -Chesapeake Energy will acquire natural gas producer Vine Energy through a $2.2bn cash and stock transaction that will expand Chesapeake's footprint in the prolific Haynesville shale.Under the terms of the deal, Chesapeake will increase its Haynesville net acreage to 348,000, up from 225,000 acres, and its Haynesville output will nearly triple. The combined company will have net Haynesville output of 1.6 Bcf/d (45mn m³/d), the largest of any producer in the field, Chesapeake said.The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Vine shareholders will receive a total of $15/share of consideration, consisting of 0.2486 shares of Chesapeake common stock and $1.20/share of cash.The transaction gives Chesapeake the scale to become the "dominant supplier" of natural gas to the US Gulf coast, Mike Wichterich, Chesapeake's interim chief executive said.The transaction marks the first major acquisition by Chesapeake since it restructured and emerged from bankruptcy protection in February. Chesapeake has since focused on developing its gas assets in the Haynesville in northern Louisiana and the US Appalachian region, home to the prolific Marcellus and Utica shales.Development of the Haynesville has increased sharply this year as Nymex prompt-month gas prices this summer climbed above $4/mmBtu, rebounding from last year's sub-$2/mmBtu levels. In addition, the Haynesville is close to key demand centers along the US Gulf coast and to LNG export terminals.The combined company will produce 415,000-435,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) this year, and 575,000-595,000 boe/d next year, Chesapeake said. Vine had first quarter production of 945mn cf/d and was expecting to increase output to more than 1 Bcf/d during the second quarter.Chesapeake's second quarter output was 433,000 boe/d, 77pc of which was gas. Output was up by 3pc from a year earlier. Chesapeake plans to operate 10-12 rigs next year, eight or nine of which will develop the company's gas asset while the others will develop the company's oil assets. The company operated seven rigs during the second quarter.
Sweeping Infrastructure Bill Goes Big on Energy Transition, Leaves Natural Gas Wanting - The $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. Senate Tuesday with bipartisan support includes a big boost in spending on renewable energy, the power grid and programs to broadly promote lower greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change. The massive bill contains more than $550 billion in new spending. About $110 billion of that is for physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges, the largest share. But the legislation also invests $73 billion to modernize the nation’s aging electricity grid with new transmission lines that could transport renewable energy from sources such as solar and wind to rural communities in an effort to hasten the adoption of cleaner energy sources, a pillar of President Biden’s agenda.The bill would also invest more than $20 billion in environmental remediation, financing programs to advance the transportation and storage of hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide, among other efforts.Natural gas advocates applauded the legislation’s broad intentions – both the money tagged for traditional infrastructure and to encourage evolution in energy – with one outsized caveat: Gas must have a stated role in the nation’s energy foundation for years to come.The bill “creates new, game-changing programs for deploying low-carbon energy solutions and the pipeline and storage infrastructure that will deliver those solutions,” said Interstate Natural Gas Association of America CEO Amy Andryszak. However, she added, while Biden acknowledged the importance of natural gas during his campaign in 2020, the Senate-passed legislation does not account for the enduring role of gas that most in the energy sector expect would be necessary for decades to come.“Any serious plan to both address global climate change and develop a modern, reliable and affordable energy system must include natural gas as a foundational fuel,” Andryszak said.
U.S. natgas slips on drop in crude prices, lower demand forecasts (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures slipped to a near one-week low on Monday due to a drop in oil prices and forecasts for less demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. Traders noted the gas price decline came despite an outlook showing the weather will remain hotter-than-normal through late August. Front-month gas futures NGc1 fell 8.0 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $4.060 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their lowest close since Aug. 3. Oil prices dropped 2%, extending last week's steep losses on the back of a rising U.S. dollar and concerns new coronavirus-related restrictions in Asia, especially China, could slow a global recovery in fuel demand. O/R In the power market, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), grid operator for most of the state, projected hot weather this week would push peak demand over the current high for the year of 72,856 megawatts (MW) on July 26. The forecast peaks, however, were expected to fall short of the grid's all-time high of 74,820 MW in August 2019. Data provider Refinitiv said gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states had risen to an average of 92.0 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in August from 91.6 bcfd in July. That was still well below the all-time high of 95.4 bcfd in November 2019. With hotter weather expected, Refinitiv last week projected average gas demand, including exports, would rise from 93.4 bcfd this week to 94.4 bcfd next week as power generators burn more fuel to meet rising air conditioning use. Those forecasts, however, were lower than Refinitiv projected on Friday. The amount of gas flowing to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants has slipped to an average of 10.3 bcfd so far in August due to reductions at the Cameron and Sabine plants in Louisiana, down from 10.8 bcfd in July and a record 11.5 bcfd in April.
Wind Generation Seen Limiting Bullish Impact of Heat as Natural Gas Futures Slide -Natural gas futures fell in early trading Wednesday as analysts looked for wind generation to curb the bullish effect of peak summer heat in the forecast this week. As of around 8:50 a.m. ET, the September Nymex contract was down 5.6 cents to $4.033/MMBtu. From a national gas-weighted degree day standpoint, widespread heat over the eastern half of the country this week will result in the hottest stretch of the summer, according to Bespoke Weather Services. “Muting the bullish effect of the strong heat, however, remains much higher wind versus what we saw last week and the week before, although the wind declines back to low levels by Friday and into the weekend,” Bespoke said. “Heat pulls back into early next week, but into the final third of August, another round of above normal heat is favored in the Midwest and East.” EBW Analytics Group analysts told clients early Wednesday that they expect the peak summer temperatures to help technical support for the September contract hold above $4. Also supporting the front-month is the strength of winter-month contracts bolstered by the storage deficit, according to the firm. “Simultaneously, though, a major dip” in liquefied natural gas (LNG) feed gas demand in the Gulf Coast, which was “partially reversed” in Wednesday’s data, and “very high wind generation (expected to fade soon) have kept prices at Henry Hub in check, limiting the ability of futures to move higher,” the EBW analysts said. “How long this deadlock persists could depend upon this week’s storage report and continued forecast shifts.”
US working natural gas volumes in underground storage rise 49 Bcf: EIA - US working gas storage volumes increased by 49 Bcf for the week ended Aug. 6, slightly more than what the market expected as the NYMEX Henry Hub winter strip declined following the announcement. he build brought the US storage total to 2.776 Tcf, the US Energy Information Administration reported Aug. 12. The injection was more than the 44 Bcf addition expected by an S&P Global Platts' survey of analysts. Responses to the survey ranged from injections of 38 Bcf to 56 Bcf. The storage build was more than the five-year average build of 42 Bcf but less than the 55 Bcf injection in the corresponding week of last year. The Platts Analytics' supply and demand model proved closest at 47 Bcf. The analysts' survey has proved close to the mark over the past four weeks, missing the EIA estimate by an average of 4.5 Bcf. US storage volumes now stand 548 Bcf, or 16.5%, less than the year-ago level of 3.324 Tcf and 178 Bcf, or 6%, below the five-year average of 2.954 Tcf. The injection was much stronger than 13 Bcf added the week prior. Supplies were flat on the week with offsetting changes in production and imports from Canada, according to Platts Analytics. Downstream, however, total demand fell by 4.5 Bcf/d, driven mainly by a 4.3 Bcf/d decline in gas-fired power demand week on week. US power burns tumbled more than 5 Bcf/d year on year in July, because of higher natural gas prices and milder weather. Population-weighted temperatures have come in roughly one degree below the 10-year normal, while prices have tracked $2/MMBtu higher this July versus last. The NYMEX Henry Hub September contract slipped 14 cents to $3.91/MMBtu during trading Aug. 12. The winter strip, November through March, shed 16 cents to averaged $4.03/MMBtu, representing a net decline of 20 cents from one week prior. This kept the seasonal price spread flat at roughly 10 cents, which has been exceedingly small this summer to date. Spreads from this summer to next winter are now trading slightly above 10 cents/MMBtu, still not enough to clear storage cycling costs and prioritizing spot gas over future reliability in the event of a cold winter. Platts Analytics' supply and demand model currently forecasts a 35 Bcf injection for the week ending Aug. 13, which would measure 7 Bcf less than the five-year average.
U.S. natgas futures slide to 3-week low on forecasts for less hot weather (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell to a three-week low on Friday on forecasts for less hot weather and lower cooling demand than previously expected and despite expectations U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will rise as Gulf of Mexico plants boost output after finishing maintenance work. Demand for U.S. LNG has been growing in Europe and Asia, where gas prices were almost quadruple U.S. prices. Front-month gas futures NGc1 fell 7.2 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $3.861 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their lowest close since July 19. For the week, the contract was down about 6%, its biggest weekly percentage loss since February. Last week it gained almost 6%. In the Atlantic basin, Tropical Depression Fred was expected to strengthen into a storm as it marches toward South Florida on Saturday. Traders noted Fred would likely result in cooler weather and power outages that would reduce gas demand but not affect output much since Florida produces almost no gas. Data provider Refinitiv said gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states rose to an average of 92.0 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in August from 91.6 bcfd in July. That compares with an all-time high of 95.4 bcfd in November 2019. Refinitiv projected average U.S. gas demand, including exports, would rise from 92.2 bcfd this week to 92.8 bcfd next week as LNG exports increase, before sliding to 92.4 bcfd as the weather turns less hot and air conditioning use declines. The forecast for next week was a little lower than Refinitiv expected on Thursday. The amount of gas flowing to U.S. LNG export plants was expected to jump to a four-week high of 10.9 bcfd on Friday from an eight-week low of 9.3 bcfd on Tuesday as several Gulf Coast plants, including Cameron and Sabine in Louisiana and Freeport in Texas, returned to near full service. That compares with an average for LNG feedgas of 10.2 bcfd so far in August, 10.8 bcfd in July and a record 11.5 bcfd in April. With European and Asian gas both trading over $15 per mmBtu, compared with around $4 for the U.S. fuel, analysts said buyers around the world would keep purchasing all the LNG the United States can produce. Prices at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands, the European benchmark, hit a record high on Wednesday. U.S. pipeline exports to Mexico have slipped to an average of 6.3 bcfd so far in August from 6.6 bcfd in July and a record 6.7 bcfd in June.
Oil dispersants used in BP disaster must undergo EPA health, safety review, judge rules -- After almost 30 years of delays and a range of health and environmental concerns raised by scientists, a federal judge has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to update its rules for the chemical dispersants that were used during BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court in San Franciso agreed Monday with environmental groups that the update is long overdue. “I find that the EPA breached its non-discretionary duty to issue the final rule” and “delayed unreasonably” a process that scientists have been calling for since the mid-1990s, Orrick wrote. Orrick, an appointee of President Barack Obama, gave the EPA a May 31, 2023 deadline to update and finalize its rules. Citing past delays by the agency, Orrick also ordered the agency to file status updates every 180 days.Over the past four years, a flood of new research has blamed dispersants for a host of problems, including lingering human health effects from the BP disaster more than a decade ago.“We are delighted, although not really surprised, with the court’s finding that oil spill response regulations enacted more than 15 years before the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster are no longer aligned with current science and technology,” said Sumona Majumdar, a lawyer for Earth Island Institute, one of the groups that sued the EPA last year. “We urge the EPA to quickly issue a final rule that properly regulates these dangerous chemicals.”
Shreveport City Council approves ordinance calling for moratorium on oil, gas operations — The Shreveport City Council has approved an ordinance similar to one that failed to pass at last week’s Caddo Parish Commission meeting, which called for a moratorium on oil and gas operations and asked the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources to meet with concerned citizens.The ordinance proposed by Tabatha Taylor (District A) was voted 5-2 during a meeting on Tuesday. In late July, Caddo Parish Commissioner Ken Epperson similarly called for a six-month moratorium on drilling activity in his district after numerous complaints about noise and pollution. The resolution asked for meetings between the public and oil & gas operators and called on the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources to enact a six-month moratorium on drilling and fracking until the nuisance issues could be reached. After discussion during Thursday’s meeting, during which a motion by Commissioner John Atkins to take the request for a moratorium out failed, the resolution itself failed to win the necessary majority of the commission’s approval in a 6-6 vote along party lines.
Cheniere Sees Record LNG Exports, but Commodity Price Exposure Leads to Losses -Cheniere Energy Inc. reported record liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from its terminals in Louisiana and Texas during the second quarter, when demand surpassed expectations as the global market tightened further. The largest U.S. gas exporter loaded 139 cargoes, or 496 TBtu of LNG, in the second quarter. Results shattered a previous record of 133 cargoes set in 1Q2021 and were up from the 78 cargoes exported during the same period last year. An improving outlook for the global gas market prompted Cheniere to revise its 2021 financial guidance upward. The company is now guiding for distributable cash flow of $1.8-2.1 billion, compared with the previous range of $1.6-1.9 billion.“The continued strengthening of the LNG market is yielding higher netbacks on open volumes,” said CEO Jack Fusco. “For context, since our first quarter earnings call in May, spot margins doubled and our portfolio optimization team has been able to capitalize on that with our open volumes.”The company has continued to debottleneck production through maintenance optimization and churn out higher volumes from its trains at the Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass terminals. It anticipates producing extra LNG through the second half of the year. Cheniere has also had success this year signing fixed-fee LNG sales agreements with multiple buyers for its excess volumes. The deals total 12 million metric tons of LNG to be delivered between 2021 and 2032, further underscoring “the strength in the LNG market today,” Fusco said. A cold winter that spilled into the spring and left natural gas inventories tight in Europe and Asia forced buyers to bid up prices for restocking. The trend has continued because of high cooling demand across the Northern Hemisphere this summer. Stronger-than-normal demand in South America amid a drought and global LNG production disruptions have also left the market short of cargoes.
Energy Transfer Says Jump in Gas Prices, Strength in NGL and Refined Products Boost 2Q2021 Results - U.S. midstream giant Energy Transfer LP said its natural gas storage and pipeline operation along with its natural gas liquids (NGL) business helped drive stronger second quarter 2021 earnings.Energy Transfer, whose pipelines held up amid Winter Storm Uri in Texas last winter when others’ did not, said Tuesday in reporting earnings that it continued to collect fee income from natural gas transports to meet demand during the historic deep freeze. It also benefited from rising natural gas prices this summer amid robust domestic cooling demand.Second-quarter earnings in Energy Transfer’s intrastate transportation and storage business rose 20% from a year earlier. It reported an increase of $52 million in transportation fees, with $39 million due to revenue related to Uri.The company also has ramped up its NGL and refined products transportation business to meetmounting global demand amid the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. It said earnings in the division rose about 9% from a year earlier.Energy Transfer said NGL and refined products terminal volumes rose nearly 60% from a year earlier. In addition to the pandemic recovery and higher throughput volumes, it cited increased export volumes at its Nederland Terminal in Texas due to the initiation of service on its propane and ethane export pipelines late in 2020.“The NGL segment is just unbelievably exciting. We can’t say enough about our team and all the effort we put together at the end of 2020,” co-CEO Marshall McCrea said Tuesday during a call with analysts.Total 2Q2021 revenue more than doubled from a year earlier to $15.1 billion. The company said its net income rose to $908 million from a $292 million loss a year earlier.
Midstream approach to renewables takes shape as more firms announce investments -Under pressure from shareholders and policymakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, U.S. pipeline companies are firming up strategies for investing in existing renewable fuels facilities and decarbonizing oil and gas projects already under construction. In terms of acquisitions, the wave of clean energy-oriented M&A that industry experts expected to materialize following Kinder Morgan Inc.'s decision to buy renewable natural gas developer Kinetrex Energy for $310 million is beginning to take shape. Days after U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for all-electric cars to make up 50% of new sales in the country by 2030, refiner Phillips 66 announced plans Aug. 9 to purchase a 16% stake in Novonix Ltd., which supplies materials for lithium-ion batteries. Phillips 66 will feed its existing business into Novonix's synthetic graphite manufacturing facility and expand that asset's capacity. "[Phillips 66's] production of specialty coke, which is used to make anode material for batteries, supports the development of a fully domestic supply chain for sales into the rapidly growing U.S. EV market," analysts at energy investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. told clients Aug. 10. "The acquisition bolsters PSX's commitment to pursue lower-carbon solutions." On Aug. 9, Tallgrass Energy LP closed the acquisition of a 75% membership interest in Escalante H2Power, which is developing a hydrogen-to-power project at the Escalante generating station in New Mexico. The company plans to convert the retired coal-fired power plant, owned by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc., into a clean hydrogen-fired power generating facility as gas utilities advance hydrogen pilot projects to decarbonize pipeline networks. While many midstream management teams have expressed interest in potentially blending limited amounts of hydrogen into existing gas pipelines, they have also maintained that retrofitting them for that purpose does not necessarily make financial sense. Midstream and end-use infrastructure will be another major challenge for blending, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics, since compressor stations, meters, natural gas turbines, furnaces, water heaters and gas burners would all need to be recalibrated to account for hydrogen's higher burn speed and lower calorific content.
Permian Basin Gets Vote of Confidence With Infrastructure Plan - The region at the heart of the once-booming U.S. shale industry is signaling confidence in a nascent recovery after the pandemic crushed demand and curtailed oil and gas drilling.The Permian Basin, which straddles West Texas and New Mexico, has grown over the past decade to produce more oil than Iraq. But it has struggled to cope with some of the effects of its expansion over the past decade: roads crumbling from a heavy volume of 18-wheelers, a lack of doctors, skyrocketing house prices and rents, and a lack of qualified workers.A coalition of energy companies, along with state and local partners, plans to spend $844 million on roads, education, workforce development, housing, broadband and health care in the region, according to the Permian Strategic Partnership, which assembled the group. The Texas Department of Transportation is providing most of the funds, while companies including Chevron Corp. and Halliburton Co. are also kicking in.The move gives some much-needed reassurance over the shale industry’s future after a dramatic contraction last year that came as virus shutdowns curtailed travel and sent the U.S. economy into a tailspin. The Permian, which produces more than a third of the crude oil and over a tenth of the natural gas in the U.S., is showing a modest recovery in production and jobs, even as other shale regions flatline and U.S. oil and gas companies focus on returning capital to investors rather than raising output. Texas’s transportation department is providing $675 million for roads and related projects, while the State of New Mexico is contributing $13 million, according to figures provided by the partnership. Companies, which range from multinationals including Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell Plc to large independents such as EOG Resources Inc. and service providers like Halliburton, are spending $48.5 million.
Oxy Looks to Ramp Permian Carbon Capture by Early 2024, Consider More JVs in Lower 48 - The world’s largest direct air capture (DAC) facility, designed to zap up to 1 million metric tons/year of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the Permian Basin, is tracking to start up by early 2024, Occidental Petroleum Corp. CEO Vicki Hollub said Wednesday. Oxy, as it is better known, issued its second quarter results on Wednesday. The Houston-based independent posted solid results across its U.S. and international holdings, with stronger profits and improved efficiencies. Several analysts, though, were keen to hear more about a project that has yet to break ground. Oxy in February pulled the trigger for the first phase offront-end engineering design (FEED) to build what would be the world’s largest DAC, a CO2 capture project set for West Texas. “The FEED study should be done, and we should have final investment decisions in the early part of next year,” Hollub said. “We hope to begin construction by the end of 2022 or beginning of 2023…It should be then online toward the end of 2023 or into 2024. It will be up and running certainly by 2024.”If the project captures 1 mmty of CO2, that would be around 5% of what Oxy sequesters every year through its enhanced oil recovery (EOR) business, also centered in the Permian.Oxy is partnering on the DAC facility with developer 1PointFive Inc. through Oxy Low Carbon Ventures LLC. Initial funding is from Rusheen Capital Management LLC. The unique technology was created by Carbon Engineering Ltd., in which Oxy is an equity owner. Questions still remain about the overall costs to build the facility. Financing overall has not been finalized, but Hollub said “there are multiple ways to fund it. “One is to make investment in the facility itself. Second is to commit to taking the CO2 credits. Third is to commit to purchasing the oil that’s generated from the CO2 that goes into enhanced oil recovery.“We’re working through that now and talking to a lot of interested parties. We should have more information on how we’re going to do that by early next year. But there’s definitely a lot of interest in making this happen.”“It’s for the U.S. and for the world. Direct air capture needs to happen successfully and happen in a big way. And so that’s generating the interest in the parties that want to be contributing to it and then get to participate in the results of it.”
Exxon Accelerates Deleveraging, Targets Sale Of Shale Gas Properties By End Of 2021 -Traditional oil and gas company-turned ESG darling Exxon (we're only half joking) is heading into the second half of 2021 with momentum. Not only has the oil giant benefitted from the tailwind of increased oil demand and rising prices, but now it is looking to accelerate its deleveraging by selling its shale assets. The company has restarted marking its shale gas properties in an attempt to "reduce debt taken on last year," according toReuters. Exxon is following through on plans it set three years ago to raise $15 billion from asset sales by December 2021. The pandemic threw a wrench in the gears for most of 2020, as the company had to deal with the dual threat of a demand zap coupled with lower oil prices. On top of that, the company was struggling to address its image as a oil and gas company in the midst of a historic adoption of stock market virtue signaling ESG investing. Exxon lost a record $22.4 billion in 2020, but has committed to making its dividend and deleveraging its priority.So far this year, the company has achieved sales and has pending sales totaling about $2.7 billion. Overall, it has reached about $5 billion of its $15 billion sales goal. The company has paid off more than $7 billion in debt this year. Exxon has about $60 billion in debt it now must deal with as a result. Its XTO Energy shale unit is looking to sell almost 5,000 natural gas wells in the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas, the report says. Exxon has turned focus from these underperforming assets to newer wells in Guyana, offshore Brazil and - believe it or not - Texas's Permian Basin.
US oil, gas rig count jumps 14 to 617 on week as companies sound upbeat note - The US oil and gas rig count jumped 14 to 617 on the week, energy analytics and software company Enverus said Aug. 12, the highest activity level since early April 2020 as upstream companies concluded second-quarter earnings calls on an upbeat note. Oil rigs landed at 474, up 11, while natural gas-directed rigs were at 143, up three for the week ended Aug. 11. Horizontal rigs leaped forward by eight to 469 – also the highest that rig classification has been since mid-April 2020. "Looking ahead, we continue to expect relatively modest incremental horizontal activity improvement over the balance of Q3 2021, followed by a stronger ramp-up over the course of Q4," boutique investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt said in its Aug. 9 daily investor note. Geographically, the basin with the biggest weekly change was the Bakken Shale of North Dakota/Montana, which gained three rigs for a total 25. That is the highest activity level in that play, where the rig count has been fairly rangebound in recent weeks, since late April 2020. The gas-prone Haynesville Shale of East Texas/Northwest Louisiana picked up two rigs in the past week, for a total 57 rigs. And gaining a single rig were the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas and the SCOOP-STACK play in Oklahoma, making totals of 41 and 30, respectively. In addition, the giant Permian Basin of West Texas/New Mexico lost one rig, as did the Marcellus Shale, mostly sited in Pennsylvania, leaving totals of 257 and 31, respectively. The DJ Basin of mostly Colorado and the Utica Shale were unchanged, at 15 and 13 rigs, respectively. E&P operators' quarterly earnings calls for Q2, most of which wrapped up over the past week, reflected a growing confidence in continued oil price strength and stability. Producers appeared not to be tempted by higher oil prices in recent months – even though those prices came down a bit in the last week. For example, WTI NYMEX oil prices averaged $68.28/b, down $3.23, while WTI Midland averaged $68.39/b, down $3 and Bakken Composite prices averaged $67.56/b, down $2.93, according to S&P Global Platts. But natural gas prices gained strength, averaging $4.14/MMBtu, up 15 cents, while at Dominion South they weighted in at $3.72/MMBtu, up 55 cents. Overall, E&Ps spent around 25% of their full-year budgets in Q2, or around 47% in the first half of 2021, while completing roughly 30% higher planned onshore wells (about 51% in H1 2021), Credit Suisse analyst William Janela said in an Aug. 11 investor note.
Noble agrees to pay $1 million penalty for oil spills -Noble has reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. Noble, which includes Noble Energy, Inc., Noble Midstream Partners LP and Noble Midstream Services, LLC, announced on Tuesday that they have agreed to pay $1 million and take actions to prevent future spills. “EPA will continue to make sure facilities like the State M36 and Wells Ranch Facilities comply with the federal requirements that safeguard our communities and our rivers and streams,” said Suzanne Bohan, director of EPA Region 8’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. “This agreement will help prevent future oil discharges to Colorado’s waters by requiring Noble to invest in improved spill containment and response measures at all tank battery sites operating in floodplains.” The violations include discharging oil from the State M36 Facility into the Poudre River in 2014 and not following prevention and response regulations for oil spills at the Wells Ranch and State M36 Facilities. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which pays for the oil and hazardous substances clean up, will receive the $1 million. Required containment and prevention measures include: installation of steel oil-spill containment berms, remote monitoring sensors and anchoring active tank batteries in Colorado floodplains. Response training, drills and exercise programs must be implemented at the Wells Ranch facility.
'Game changer'? Deal on orphaned wells sparks debate - Lawmakers are poised to make a historic investment to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells, but the $4.7 billion fund tucked into the bipartisan infrastructure proposal is missing a key reform sought by some Democrats. Democratic lawmakers have pushed for increased bonding on federal oil and gas development and for pressure on states to shore up their bonding regulations in return for federal dollars. “This funding is a useful first step, but it is crucial that we continue to work towards passing bonding reform,” said Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), whose bill, the "Oil and Gas Bonding Reform and Orphaned Well Remediation Act," S. 2177 would increase bonding rates on federal and tribal lands. He added: “Doing so would ensure we hold companies operating on public lands to the same high standards that responsible operators already follow.” Calls for bonding reform, echoed by many large environmental groups, are part of an attempt to stop abandoned wells from costing taxpayers in the future by ensuring that industry secures the cost of reclamation up front. Risk of abandonment will grow in the coming years, advocates say, especially as the world shifts toward cleaner fuels. “There is a concern, which is valid, that we may have many more orphan wells in the future,” said Adam Peltz, a senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund who supported the infrastructure funding as an important step. Orphaned well cleanup has garnered support on both sides of the aisle and proved a popular talking point for Biden officials. They say it addresses methane emissions harmful to the climate, while keeping oil and gas workers employed. But bonding at the national level has fallen along partisan lines, with Republican lawmakers from fossil fuel states saying the high cost of bonding can depress drilling. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), acknowledged the exclusion of tougher bonding measures from the infrastructure package.
Republicans ask court to compel Biden administration to sell drilling leases - More than a dozen Republican-led states are asking a court to compel the Biden administration to sell leases for offshore drilling, arguing that the Interior Department is not following a court order requiring it to end a leasing pause. In a court filing on Monday, the states argued that the administration is not following a June injunction that ended its pause on issuing leases on new parcels of land for public lands and offshore drilling. “Defendants have violated the Court’s June 15 Order by their continued application of the Pause to refuse to hold new onshore lease sales or Lease Sale 257,” they wrote, referring to a specific offshore lease sale that was canceled in February. They added that the court should “order Defendants to comply with the law and this Court’s injunction by holding Lease Sale 257.” Under the pause — which was said to be temporary but had no announced end date — ongoing drilling on public land and water continued, and the Interior Department continued to issue permits for new drilling on land that it had already leased. In their filing, the states specifically ask the court to reinstate Lease Sale 257, which would have auctioned off about 78 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for drilling. A spokesperson for the department declined to comment on this week’s court briefing. In testimony late last month, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland argued that even without having held sales, the administration was in compliance with the court order, citing the work that goes into organizing the sales. “We are complying with the court order right now. As we speak, the department is working. As I mentioned, there’s a lot of work that goes into even having a lease sale and so they are complying with the court order,” Haaland said.
Environmentalists push lawsuits after impact statement released on $3 billion rail project that would quadruple Uinta Basin’s oil output - An oil-hauling railway for the Uinta Basin took a big stride forward Friday with the release of an environmental impact statement (EIS) identifying a preferred route for the 85-mile line that would connect Utah’s oil patch with the national rail network. The Uinta Basin Railway, proposed by a group of energy-producing Utah counties, would move crude from a load-out near Myton west through Indian Canyon to a connection with the Union Pacific line at Kyune near the top of Price Canyon. Four to 11 100-car trains would travel the route each day, enabling the basin’s oil production to quadruple, increasing daily output to 300,000 barrels according to the EIS. The controversial project is under review by the federal Surface Transportation Board, which is expected to issue a final decision in the coming weeks that would allow permitting and construction to begin. The single-track railway would cross stream at 443 places, affecting 61 miles of streams, and could negatively affect 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat. But worse, according to environmentalists, it would promote increased fossil-fuel development at a time when the nation needs to be reducing climate-altering emissions of greenhouse gasses. The EIS takes only a cursory look at the impacts associated with increased drilling in the Uinta Basin, whose airshed already violates federal standards for ozone, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. “This document essentially ignores critical environmental issues by making plans to study them later, behind closed doors,” said Wendy Park, a senior attorney with the group. “Utahns are already choking on wildfire smoke, facing historic drought conditions and suffering sweltering heat waves. This colossal waste of public funds advances a filthy oil train that will only make our climate emergency worse.”
Oil pipeline protest in Green Bay aimed at stopping construction, protecting land and water (WBAY) - Protestors in Green Bay want the construction of two oil pipelines that run through Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan to stop.Action 2 News spoke with protestors on August 7 at City Deck about their environmental and safety concerns, while the energy company responsible says they’ve done everything to minimize them.“These pipelines are constantly leaking,” protest organizer and member of the JOSHUA Environmental Justice Task Force, Justice Peche, said. “There has never been a pipeline that doesn’t leak. They’re destroying the wild rice fields out in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. They’re violating treaty rights by destroying these lands that the First Nations have the rights to hunt, fish, and gather on.”The Line 3 and Line 5 pipelines are being repaired and expanded by Enbridge, one of the leading energy delivery companies in North America.“This Line 3 issue, we are involved because it is an international issue,” Bobbie Webster, chair of the JOSHUA Environmental Justice Task Force, highlighted. “It affects climate change, it affects treaty rights it affects human rights and it’s something that should concern all of us.”Line 3 travels about 1,100 miles from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. Line 5 picks up where Line 3 leaves off and continues into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to transport crude oil and natural gas liquids. In a statement released on August 6, Enbridge said Line 3 construction permits include conditions that specifically protect wild rice waters. Their pipelines have coexisted with Minnesota’s most sacred and productive wild rice stands for over seven decades, Enbridge added.
An Oil Company Paid Police $2 Million to Defend Its Pipeline From Protests - Enbridge is funding police who have violently responded to protests of its Line 3 pipeline. A Canadian Oil company has given Minnesota law enforcement $2 million to fund the policing of protests against construction of its pipeline, Motherboard has learned. Calgary-based oil giant Enbridge set up a fund called the Public Safety Escrow Trust in May, 2020 as part of its permitting process for the Line 3 pipeline route, which carries tar sands oil from Edmonton, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. The funds in this account have been used to reimburse costs associated with “maintaining the peace” around the pipeline, including for officer wages, lodging, and boom trucks, according to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and Line 3 permits. On July 29, a group of unarmed environmental activists protesting the pipeline in Thief River Falls, Minnesota were tear gassed, shot with rubber bullets, and arrested.“It was a really brutal scene,” Tara Houska, an Ojibwe lawyer and activist who was arrested at the protest, told Motherboard. “The level of force being used, partnered with the very close range that law enforcement was facing us, led to some pretty serious injuries … It was really an extreme level of force, partnered with a really punitive and oppressive style of jailing.”The nearby Marshall County Sheriff’s Department filed a reimbursement request for expenses associated with that day’s patrol, a spokesperson for the Minnesota PUC confirmed to Motherboard. According to the utility regulator, between June 8 and July 31, the Sheriff's Department was reimbursed $20,057.90 by Enbridge for personnel expenses associated with Line 3 assists. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department did not respond to a request for comment. Enbridge's proposed 340-mile pipeline is an expansion of Line 3, a 1960s-era line. The company began construction on the Minnesota stretch of the route in December, 2020. Part of the pipe runs through waterways, including the Red River and the Mississippi River, which are home to wild rice paddies tended to by local communities.
Minnesota Cops Block Records on Surveillance of Pipeline Opponents -FOLLOWING CRITICAL STORIES about the policing of anti-pipeline activists, a Minnesota law enforcement agency barred a federally affiliated body from releasing documents through the state’s public records laws, according to documents obtained by The Intercept.The Minnesota Fusion Center, a police intelligence-sharing partnership affiliated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is sidestepping the state’s freedom of information law by citing security concerns, though it had in the past released records related to its policing of pipeline opponents. The fusion center is refusing to release any public records pertaining to activities, including surveillance, against opponents of the energy firm Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline until after it is constructed, according to one of the documents.The unusual policy came after The Intercept and other media outlets published stories documenting law enforcement surveillance and coordination with private security during protests against Line 3, part of a trend in which aggressive policing against pipeline opponents across the U.S. was reported by media. Many of the news stories concerning Minnesota police activities were based on records provided under the Minnesota Data Practices Act and reporting on anti-pipeline struggles in other states has relied on similar public transparency laws.“It is a little unprecedented for a police agency to refuse to disclose records concerning its activities like this with respect to one specific construction project,” said Freddy Martinez, a transparency law expert and policy analyst for the group Open the Government. “I’ve never seen something quite like this.”Big Wind, a Northern Arapaho tribal member opposing the pipeline said police are attempting to cover up their activities because freedom of information requests have exposed damaging and embarrassing information about them that has helped further the struggle against the pipeline.“Freedom of information requests are how lots of things came to light about the police working with private mercenaries during Standing Rock, and also about how Enbridge is paying the police here in Minnesota,” said Big Wind, who is affiliated with the anti-pipeline Namewag Camp. “We know there is still a lot of information about what Enbridge and the police are doing to us here that they don’t want to be revealed.”The policy enacted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which oversees the fusion center, asserts that it is withholding Line 3-related records to prevent “terrorists,” “criminals,” and “those who would create public safety hazards” from having access to them, according to a document obtained by The Intercept through a public records request.
Protesters against Line 3 tar sands pipeline face arrests and rubber bullets -- More than 600 people have now been arrested or received citations over protests amid growing opposition to the Line 3 oil sands pipeline currently under construction through Minnesota. Native American tribes including the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and indigenous-led environmental organisations such as Honor the Earth are leading opposition efforts in court and on the ground, mobilizing ‘water protectors’ to try to halt the project.Kelly Maracle, 57, a member of the Tonawanda Seneca and Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, was one of seven women arrested on 19 July while protesting the construction of the pipeline by the energy firm Enbridge. Maracle, Honor the Earth executive director Winona Laduke and four other women chained themselves together at a right of way crossing on the Shell River in northern Wadena county, Minnesota. For about three hours, the women sat chained together in front of a line of police.Police officers arrested them on trespass charges and they were released two days later, while LaDuke was imprisoned an extra night in jail over charges related to previous actions. Enbridge is paying the salaries of the police officers who are providing security during the construction of the pipeline, as a part of a deal with the state: The pipeline was approved in exchange for a promise that taxpayers would not have to foot the bill for policing the expected protests.Maracle explained she got involved as a water protector in the fight to stop Line 3 for her grandchildren. For Maracle and other water protectors camping along the Line 3 construction route, the confrontations are becoming increasingly dangerous. On 30 July, water protectors at Line 3 were subjected to pepper spray and rubber bullets during a series of arrests, and protesters who’ve been jailed havereported mistreatment from officers such as lack of proper food, solitary confinement and denial of medications. Maracle noted the police presence at camps has increased in recent weeks, including more frequent police raids, sweeps, surveillance and helicopter flybys. “It’s a climate crime,” said Winona Laduke, executive director of Honor the Earth, who lives on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. “This is the largest tar sands pipeline in the world being built in the time of drought in Minnesota and catastrophic fires in Ontario and Manitoba.” Opponents of Line 3 have cited concerns over the environmental impact of constructing the pipeline on new routes through ecologically sensitive areas in Minnesota, as well as violations of US treaty rights with Native American tribes. And they object that expanding the tar sands gas pipeline will bring profit to a multinational corporation based in Canada, but will do nothing for the nearby communities. “It’s running this pollution through our country, and then exporting it. So there’s no benefit for us. We’re just getting the pollution,” “This line is not a replacement. It’s a reroute and an expansion… So they decided to bring it through tribal land on people who don’t have a voice and don’t have the political power to stop it.” Enbridge’s Line 3 oil sands pipeline is a 1,097-mile crude oil pipeline extending from Edmonton in Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. In the US, most of the pipeline’s route is being built in Minnesota, where construction of Line 3 isreplacing an existing 282-milepipeline with a new 330-mile route. The project received federal approval under the Trump administration, and the Department of Justice under Joe Biden has supported the decision in court, rejecting arguments from Native American tribes and environmentalists that the US Army Corps of Engineers did not properly assess the environmental impacts of the pipeline.
Line 3 Drew Thousands of Protesters to Minnesota This Summer. Last Week, Enbridge Declared the Pipeline Almost Finished - - In the dense coniferous forests of northern Minnesota, they’ve shown up nearly every day to chain themselves to equipment and block traffic on roads, chanting “water is life.” Not a week has passed this summer that activists haven’t used their bodies to stymie construction of Line 3, an oil pipeline that would deliver energy-intensive Canadian crude from the tar sands of Alberta to the Midwest. But those efforts don’t appear to be stopping the project, which has steamrolled forward since obtaining its final permits late last year. All but the Minnesota section of Enbridge Energy’s 1,031-mile pipeline has been finished, and now the Canada-based energy giant says that that remaining work is 80 percent complete. The company said it’s on track to wrap up Line 3, including the 337 miles that run through Minnesota, by the end of the year. Activists haven’t admitted defeat, at least not publicly, and press releases calling on people to join the frontline demonstrations continue to get widely disseminated among social media feeds and in email inboxes. “We have to be brave. We have to stand strong,” Tara Houska, a prominent Indigenous leader in the anti-pipeline movement, said in a July 30 press release. “We have to try. Actions, not words.” And last Wednesday, in the latest attempt to derail the pipeline through legal action, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe tribe sued Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources, arguing that when the agency granted Enbridge permission to divert nearly 5 billion gallons of water as part of Line 3’s construction work, it violated a 2018 tribal law that gives certain rights to wild rice plants. But the lawsuit’s implications remain uncertain, and legal scholars said that tribal court cases affecting state law are quite rare. “Tribal court decisions are binding in the tribal nation they are decided in,” Kathryn Fort, the director of the Indian Law Clinic at Michigan State University’s College of Law, told Reuters. “Beyond that, it gets very situation specific.” Once operational, the pipeline would pump 760,000 barrels of crude oil per day across 14 counties in northern Minnesota. And Indigenous activists say any spill from the pipeline could easily contaminate the hundreds of bodies of water it crosses, where local tribes fish, gather wild rice and perform cultural traditions. Indigenous and environmental activists say the pipeline not only poses a grave risk to Minnesota’s environment but hinders the state’s transition to clean energy and violates the long-held treaty rights of Native tribes that depend on the land for their cultural identities and livelihood.
MPCA reports more drilling mud spills along Line 3 route - Enbridge has spilled more drilling mud along the Line 3 construction route in northern Minnesota than previously reported — 28 spills so far this summer, creating at least 10,000 gallons of muck.State pollution regulators confirmed the totals Tuesday in a response to DFL lawmakers who called for a halt to drilling and demanded an accounting of the spills.Meanwhile, in a move that has alarmed Line 3 opponents, Enbridge has been buying water from the city of Park Rapids for dust suppression in the weeks since the state restricted the company's use of water from drought-stricken lakes and rivers. The company said it has also used water from Bagley.The health of the region's water supply has been at the heart of searing controversy surrounding Enbridge's replacement oil pipeline, which is now more than 80% complete. It will carry tar sands oil from Canada 340 miles across northern Minnesota to Superior, Wis.In a letter Monday to DFL lawmakers, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Commissioner Peter Tester said the water pollution permit issued to Enbridge doesn't allow it to release drilling fluid "to any wetland, river or other surface waters." He said those spills are "under active enforcement investigation."The letter also said that the MPCA has increased the number of independent environmental monitors at sites and "required additional containment and response equipment" at active horizontal drilling sites.For example, the agency now requires fabric barriers called "turbidity curtains" to catch silt and sediment when Enbridge drills beneath rivers.A memo from Enbridge attached to the MPCA letter lists emergency gear the company has stationed at drilling sites, such as 70 straw bales, 800 sandbags, pumps and a small boat.Tester said in the letter that information on active investigations isn't public. But the MPCA was releasing some information to dispel "widespread rumor" about the Line 3 on social media.The letter and attached table detailed 28 inadvertent releases of drilling fluid from June 8 to Aug. 5, with individual spills ranging from 10 gallons to as much as 9,000 gallons. One spill occurred in the Willow River, 13 spills happened in wetlands, and 14 were on land, although in one instance the spill flowed into a wetland. All the spills involved Barakade Bentonite, a brand name for the sodium bentonite clay base that is mixed with water to create drilling mud, MPCA spokesman Darin Broton said. Many releases also involved one or more additives identified as Power Pac-L and Sandmaster, Power Soda Ash and EZ Mud Gold. Drilling mud can be considered a pollutant if it enters water, Broton said.
Winona LaDuke Feels That President Biden Has Betrayed Native Americans - The New York Times -- Right now in northern Minnesota, the Canadian oil-and-gas-transport company Enbridge is building an expansion of a pipeline, Line 3, to carry oil through fragile parts of the state’s watersheds as well as treaty-protected tribal lands. Winona LaDuke, a member of the local Ojibwe tribe and a longtime Native rights activist, has been helping to lead protests and acts of civil disobedience against the controversial $9.3 billion project. “I spend a lot of time,” she says, “fighting stupid ideas that are messing with our land and our people.” So far the efforts of LaDuke, who is 61 and who ran alongside Ralph Nader as the Green Party’s vice-presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000, have been in vain. The Biden administration declined to withdraw federal permits for the project, a stance that Line 3 opponents see as hypocritical given the president’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline as well as his vocal support for climate action. “I have had the highest hopes for the Biden administration,” LaDuke says, “only to have them crushed.” Not long after we spoke, LaDuke was arrested and jailed for violating the conditions of her release on earlier protest-related charges, which required her to avoid Enbridge’s worksites. She has since been released. How do you understand Biden’s decision to allow the construction of Line 3? He’s hellbent on destroying Ojibwe people with this pipeline. Why do we get the last tar-sands pipeline, Joe? It’s kind of like when John Kerry went and testified to Congress against the Vietnam War and said, Who’s going to tell that soldier that he’s the last one to die for a bad war? Who’s going to tell those Ojibwes that they’re the last ones to be destroyed for a bad tar-sands pipeline? What’s right about this? I organized people to vote for Biden. I drove people to the polls through seas of Trump signs. I drove Indian people to vote who hadn’t voted in 20 years. And what did we get from Joe? A pipeline shoved down our throats.He doesn’t have animosity, but he’s privileging a Canadian multinational. He knows that this pipeline runs right through our reservations. They know, and have a choice of what they’re going to support. I think it’s a trade-off for him: I canceled Keystone, and so we’ll just let this one go through, because it’s a replacement pipe. It’s not. It’s a new pipe. It’s horrendous. It’s a violation of not only the treaties but also every ounce of common sense. It’s a drought right now. But Enbridge put in an amendment: They get five billion gallons of water out of a region where rivers are 75 percent below normal. What’s with that? There was not a federal environmental impact statement on this pipeline, and the Biden administration just said we don’t need to do one. I mean, why?
Wyo drilling rig count triples during Biden leasing pause - The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil and gas in Wyoming tripled since President Joe Biden announced a pause on leasing federal minerals for development more than five months ago. Oil and Gas companies were operating five rigs in Wyoming the week of Jan. 29 when Biden announced a pause to review oil and gas leasing policies and royalty rates. This week, drillers, roughnecks and tool pushers were staffing 15 rotary rigs, according to Baker Hughes, a leading energy technology company.During the ongoing pause, the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has granted 1,984 drilling permits to energy companies, according to commission records. That’s almost double the 1,059 issued during the same five months — February to June — in 2020.The activity somewhat erodes fearful statements exclaimed by the energy industry, its supporters and communities reliant on extraction that followed Biden’s executive order in January.The Bureau of Land Management stopped at least two scheduled lease sales in Wyoming this year, sales that historically have earned Wyoming millions of dollars earmarked for education and other services.But the industry has ample federal leases to develop, according to a 41-page report by the Conservation Economics Institute. The Natural Resources Defense Council funded the study, which was endorsed by various conservation groups, including Wyoming’s Powder River Basin Resource Council.
Despite promises, Biden admin pushing pro-fossil fuel agenda -Not long after taking office, the incoming Joe Biden administration was treated to a shower of media praise in response to the Interior Department’s announcement that it would halt new oil and gas leasing on public lands. Some conservation and environmental groups lauded the move, claiming it would have significant impacts, such as “improv[ing] the health of our communities, our climate and our wild places.” Overwhelmingly, coverage favored rose-tinted glad-handing and dispensed with the facts—namely that the administration’s move was mostly symbolic, temporary in nature, and would have no impact whatsoever on the enormous surplus of oil and gas leases already existing on public lands. In truth, there was no reason to believe, let alone report, that it would have any meaningful impact on fossil fuel production on U.S. public lands.Months later, the administration has not only laid bare the empty reality of its January move, it has proceeded to approve new oil and gas permits on public lands at a staggering pace. According to a recent analysis of government data by the Associated Press, the Biden administration has approved roughly 2,500 new drilling permits and is on pace to approve roughly 6,000 permits by year’s end. That number of approvals for new fossil fuel production on public lands would eclipse anything seen during the Trump years and would be the highest number of new permits issued in one year since 2008, during the Bush administration.Lest the administration's actions be misconstrued as administrative backlog-clearing after which the Interior Department can implement its desired agenda, in June Biden’s much-celebrated Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland told lawmakers that the Biden administration had no plan to make permanent its highly touted halt of new oil and gas leasing on public lands. During a meeting of the Natural Resources Committee, Haaland said, “I don’t think there is a plan right now for a permanent ban,” adding that “gas and oil production will continue well into the future.”
The Planet Can’t Survive a Repeat of Barack Obama’s Climate Denialism --The new IPCC report confirms that if the Biden administration gives us a repeat of Obama’s climate denialism and refusal to aggressively cut back emissions, the climate crisis will radically escalate, devastating the lives and livelihoods of workers around the world.after yesterday’s news cycle you didn’t feel a pang of doom, you’re either a zen master, a recluse living in a news vacuum, or a nihilist. The new United Nations report on climate change predicts an actual bona fide apocalypse unless our civilization discards our fetish for incrementalism, rejects nothing-will-fundamentally-change fatalism, and instead finally takes the crisis seriously.The bad news is that we’ve been here before during the last era of Democratic supremacy, and if the Obama Era we sleepwalked through now repeats itself, we’re done. It’s that simple.The glimmer of good news is that we still have a bit of time left to defuse the worst parts of the climate bomb, and at least one part of the political dynamic may finally be changing.But if we allow corporate media and the political class to erase our memory of how we arrived here, then history will probably recur and we will all burn. its core, the climate crisis is a product of bipartisan corruption and greed. Politicians bankrolled by oil and gas interests ignored scientists’ warnings and financed a fossil fuel economy knowing full well that it would destroy the ecosystem that supports all life on the planet.Republicans were more explicit about their corruption, actively denying the scientific facts and resurrecting their own version of a Flat Earth Society that reassured voters that nothing has to change and everything will be fine. Democrats settled on a different, but similarly pernicious, form of climate denialism: They acknowledged the science and issued progressive sounding press releases about the environment, and then they continued supporting fossil fuel development.This strategy worked for many MSNBC-addled liberals, who seem to most value rhetorical flourish. Focused on the red-versus-blue war, they want politicians who deliver inspiring speeches that make them feel smart, smug, and superior to the troglodyte Republicans — but they seem to care far less about whether the words eventually become legislation, policy, and law.The cynical formula crescendoed in the presidency of Barack Obama, who campaigned in climate poetry and then governed in fossil fuel prose.When Obama won the 2008 election, liberals lauded him for declaring: “Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all. Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”Little noticed was the concurrent Obama-Biden pledge to “promote the responsible domestic production of oil and natural gas,” “prioritize the construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline,” and extract “up to 85 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil remains stranded in existing fields.And so four years after that campaign, Obama delivered a speech in Cushing, Oklahoma which perfectly summarized his actual legacy — and which future post-apocalypse historians (if any survive) will likely see as one of the pivotal moments in the cataclysm: “Under my administration, America is producing more oil today than at any time in the last eight years,” he said in a speech promising to boost pipeline capacity to flood the world with even more fossil fuels. “Over the last three years, I’ve directed my administration to open up millions of acres for gas and oil exploration across 23 different states. We’re opening up more than 75 percent of our potential oil resources offshore. We’ve quadrupled the number of operating rigs to a record high. We’ve added enough new oil and gas pipeline[s] to encircle the Earth and then some. So we are drilling all over the place — right now.”
White House calls for probe of 'divergences' between oil price and gasoline costs + The White House on Wednesday called for a probe into gasoline prices, citing “divergences” between oil prices and what people are paying at the pump. National Economic Council Director Brian Deese wrote a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan asking her to look into any potential illegal conduct or anti-competitive practices that have occurred. “During this summer driving season, there have been divergences between oil prices and the cost of gasoline at the pump,” Deese wrote. “While many factors can affect gas prices, the president wants to ensure that consumers are not paying more for gas because of anti-competitive or other illegal practices." He asked the FTC to look into what he described as an “asymmetrical phenomenon” in which gasoline prices rise during oil price spikes more quickly than they fall in price drops. FTC spokesperson Betsy Lordan confirmed that the commission received Deese's letter but declined to comment on its contents "at this time." Lordan did note that the agency would need to work with others including the Justice Department and state attorneys general for any such probe. The letter comes as both oil and gasoline prices have increased in recent months, with loosened coronavirus restrictions leading to more travel. New data from the Labor Department on Wednesday showed that gas prices are up more than energy prices over the past year, with gasoline jumping 42 percent and energy climbing 24 percent. Meanwhile, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan called on the group of oil-producing countries known as OPEC+ to increase their production amid pandemic-related cuts. “Higher gasoline costs, if left unchecked, risk harming the ongoing global recovery,” Sullivan said in a statement. Industry analysts told The Hill that they don't think an FTC probe would reveal any irregularities. "I think they're jawboning," said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service. "I wouldn't want to say this was about PR, but I don't think the investigations are going to reveal much."Instead, he cited high labor costs, a driver shortage and refinery closures as contributing factors. Republicans have repeatedly hammered Democrats over rising gas prices and inflation in general, seeking to tie them to President Biden’s economic and energy agenda.
API supports carbon pricing, but its allies remain skeptical - When Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) got wind in March that the American Petroleum Institute would come out in support of carbon pricing, he felt the nation’s oil lobby was bending to liberal pressure. “I’ve been disappointed in lots of corporations and corporate organizations that have found it really important, evidently, to curry some favor with the Biden administration,” Cramer told host Larry Kudlow on Fox Business Network. “And I’m afraid that’s what’s going on here with the API.” He soon heard from API President Mike Sommers. “They called to try to explain themselves to me,” Cramer told E&E News, attributing Sommers’ call to his Fox appearance. “Michael Sommers and I had a good long talk, and I said to him, ‘North Dakota’s largely made up of independents, not made up of multinationals, and understand that everybody has a different position, I understand yours as long as you understand mine.’” API told E&E News that the policy was approved unanimously by its board, which includes independent producers and other sectors of the industry. Cramer may have gotten more direct outreach on API’s carbon pricing proposal than the average decisionmaker in Washington. But like the rest of Congress, API didn’t change Cramer’s mind. In the five months since API released its Climate Action Framework and, for the first time, endorsed the idea of putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions as the main way to fight climate change, the national conversation on carbon pricing has barely nudged. No carbon pricing legislation has moved in Congress. No lawmaker has announced a change in their position on the matter, with Republicans still overwhelmingly opposed to the idea and many Democrats supportive, but only in combination with other policies like regulations or subsidies.
Pro-fossil fuel Facebook ads viewed 431 million times -- in one year - Big Oil is strategically using Facebook to blitz Americans with a steady stream of messages designed to delay the extinction of fossil fuel use, according to new research.Pro-fossil fuel ads were viewed more than 431 million times on Facebook's (FB) US platforms in 2020 alone, a report released Thursday by InfluenceMap found.Despite that vast reach, the oil-and-gas industry spent just $9.6 million on the ads, according to InfluenceMap, a think tank focused on energy and climate change."The oil and gas industry is using a more sophisticated playbook to undermine climate action, which involves the use of more subtle and nuanced messaging tactics," the report found. Out of the 25 organizations InfluenceMap studied, the biggest users of paid ads on Facebook's US platforms were ExxonMobil (XOM) and the American Petroleum Institute, the industry's powerful trade group. Exxon and the API accounted for a staggering 62% of the ads analyzed by researchers.
Cramer’s amendment would prohibit fracking ban - Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee member, has introduced an amendment to prohibit the Biden administration from releasing rules or guidance banning hydraulic fracturing. The Senate will vote on it for Senate Democrats’ fiscal year 2022 budget resolution.“Democrats enacting a ban on fracking would weaken national security, increase global emissions, and take more money out of the pocketbooks of hardworking Americans,” said Cramer.“If they reject our amendment to their reckless tax-and-spend proposal, Senate Democrats would be admitting that imposing their radical agenda on the American people is more important than lowering costs for their constituents, protecting our national security, or even decreasing the world’s carbon footprint. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.”In March 2021, when the Senate debated the fiscal year 2021 Budget Resolution offered by Senate Democrats, an identical amendment was introduced by Senator Mike Braun, R-Ind. It received the support of every Senate Republican and the following seven Senate Democrats: Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, both of Colorado; Bob Casey of Pennsylvania; Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luj’n, both of New Mexico; Joe Manchin of West Virginia; and Jon Tester of Montana.
Oil spill reported in McKenzie County - The North Dakota Oil and Gas Division was notified of an oil spill occurring Sunday, Aug. 8, at the Gunslinger Federal 1-12-1H well, about 13 miles northwest of Keene, North Dakota. Slawson Exploration Company, Inc. reported that 260 barrels of crude oil and 390 barrels of produced water were released due to an equipment failure/malfunction. The product was contained on-site and cleanup is underway. A state inspector has been to the location and will monitor any additional cleanup required.
Oil, brine spill at McKenzie County well site -- — Almost 11,000 gallons of crude oil and more than 16,000 gallons of produced water spilled on a well site northwest of Keene in McKenzie County on Sunday, Aug. 8, according to a report from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. Produced water, or brine, is a byproduct of fracking that is highly saturated with salt and can contain fracking fluids, hydrocarbons and other contaminants damaging to local ecology and agricultural land. New Town-based Slawson Exploration Company operates the well site and reported the release of 260 barrels of oil and 340 barrels of brine to the state's Oil and Gas Division, attributing the spill to equipment failure. The spill was discovered when an employee arrived and noticed gas leaking from a building on the well pad. Immediately, the company killed its natural gas flares and shut in the oil wells, finding later that equipment had washed out, allowing for the oil and brine spills. All of the fluids were contained to the well pad, where cleanup is underway, according to the Department of Environmental Quality.
North Dakota Farmers Fear Environmental Damage From Fracking Boom That Made Some Rich - Both Dakotas pretty much gave themselves over to the extraction industry over the last couple of decades. It was there that fracking got to be the hot new thing. Now, the bills are coming due, and crows doth sit upon the drilling rigs.Fracking has also accelerated life on the surface. Some landowners have made millions of dollars from selling the rights to oil beneath their land to major corporations. And struggling agricultural crossroads, including Watford City, the county seat 20 miles southeast of Novak’s farm, have found new life as boomtowns. During the past decade, a new high school and hospital, and housing developments sprawling from Main Street into the prairie, have arisen to serve the more than 10,000 people who have come from afar to work in the McKenzie County oil field. But installing an industry atop an agricultural zone has brought less-heralded changes, too, including an elaborate system to deal with the saltwater, which is actually a polluted mix of naturally occurring brine, hydrocarbons, radioactive materials and more. Billions of gallons of it are produced by oil drilling and pumping each year. Tom Haines’ begins his story with an account of how one of the saltwater tanks got hit by lightning, whereupon it burst, sending its toxic contents spilling down washes and gullies and into a river, a lake, and one farmer’s groundwater. This was not an unusual occurrence.The damage to [Larry] Novak’s land, while dramatic, isn’t uncommon in the North Dakota oil fields. More than 50 saltwater spills happen each year in McKenzie County, when tanker trucks crash, pipelines leak, or well pads or disposal sites catch fire or otherwise malfunction. Many spills are contained on well pads and at disposal sites. But others drain into fields, farmyards and roadways. Novak worried about his pasture, a water source for cows, deer, pheasants and more. And he feared the cumulative impact of so many saltwater spills in a county that is home to hundreds of streams and springs, and where farmers and ranchers often rely on water wells for livestock and themselves. This, of course, puts the residents of the oil-rich state in the same bind as the poor folks down in Cancer Alley in Louisiana: What do you want, your job or your drinking water? Of course, in North Dakota, a lot of people got rich before being forced into that choice.
The Petro-Hunt Fires Are All Out North Of Charlson — August 9, 2021 --The last two to be put out had burned for sixteen days.
Judge orders EPA to update rules for dispersants used on oil spills - Alaska Public Media - A federal judge ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to revise its regulations on oil dispersants, siding with Cook Inletkeeper and other plaintiffs that the current regulations don’t reflect updated research on how toxic those chemicals can be. Clean-up crews used dispersants in large quantities after the 1989 Exxon-Valdez spill and 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but they haven’t been used in U.S. waters in over a decade, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Cook Inletkeeper Advocacy Director Bob Shavelson said he’s never seen them used in Cook Inlet. But, he said, it’s important to make sure it stays that way. “I think if you have a large oil spill, that’s one of the tools in the tool kit that would come out rather quickly,” he said. Dispersants break oil down into smaller parts that mix with water, which gets slicks off the surface of the ocean during spills. But research has since shown dispersants to be more damaging to humans and marine species than previously thought. Meanwhile, the EPA has not updated its regulations on oil dispersants since 1994. U.S. District Judge William Orrick said the EPA’s failure to update that part of its contingency plan in the face of updated science violates the Clean Water Act. Shavelson said the ruling could be especially significant to communities in the Arctic. “The concern is that as climate change ensues, as we see more of an ice-free Arctic, we’re going to see more shipping in areas that are dark and rough weather,” Shavelson said. “And it’s going to be very difficult to use traditional tools to clean up spills. So the oil companies and shipping companies are going to prefer to spray dispersants and just disperse it.” The EPA will have to finalize its new regulations on dispersants by May 31, 2023, per the agency’s own suggestion. The judge asked the EPA to file status reports on the process every 180 days until it is published.
Joe Biden blasted by Alberta for demanding more OPEC oil after cancelling Keystone XL - Wounded after U.S. President Joe Biden cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline that would have shipped Alberta crude to the United States, the province snapped at the White House’s call on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Wednesday to raise production faster than planned. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was also critical of the Biden Administration. “The same US administration that retroactively cancelled Canada’s Keystone XL Pipeline is now pleading with OPEC & Russia to produce & ship more crude oil,” the premier tweeted. “This comes just as Vladimir Putin’s Russia has become the 2nd largest exporter of oil to the US.”
Canada Imported Cheaper, Lower Volumes of US Oil Amid Covid Pandemic - The Covid-19 pandemic cut the volume and value of Canadian oil imports from the United States but did not stop the northbound flows, according to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) and IHS Markit. Canadian imports from the United States fell 20% year/year in 2020, to 550,000 b/d from 693,000 b/d in 2019 before global oil trade withered in the pandemic, CER records showed.Depressed volumes and prices because of the pandemic inflicted a 40% cut on the total value of Canadian oil imports from all sources, down to C$11.5 billion ($9.2 billion) in 2020 from C$18.9 billion ($15.1 billion) the year before.About four-fifths of the value reduction eroded American sales. U.S. production was 77% of Canadian oil imports in 2020, up from 72% in 2019, according to CER. Canadian refineries relied on imports for 40% of their supplies.IHS said Central and Eastern Canadian refineries rely heavily for oil from Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia on international pipelines that cross U.S. territory, such as Enbridge Inc.’s contested Line 5 through Michigan.“The relationship is truly symbiotic, with both nations relying on one another to meet domestic demand each day,” said IHS North American crude oil markets director Celina Hwang. The IHS report is the latest in a series of industry studies by the consulting firm.Re-exports of Western Canadian oil that flows across the northern United States to reach refineries in the eastern provinces run at about 480,000 b/d, according to IHS.
Reports of an oil spill in Gulf of Paria - Trinidad Guardian --Environmental group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) is reporting another oil spill in the Gulf of Paria, today. The group posted videos in its social media pages showing the spill in the waters of the Gulf, and warned “all fishers, seafarers and mariners to be on the lookout for this oil”. “Fishermen and Friends of the Sea have received reports of an oil spill in the vicinity of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery stretching all the way to Claxton Bay. At the moment the oil is moving in northerly direction and is approximately one nautical mile from the coast,” the group said in its Facebook post. FFOS says it has alerted the relevant authorities about the spill, namely the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) and the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries. “Our Authorities must initiate the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) with the utmost urgency before this heavy crude reaches onshore,” FFOS said, in addition to demanding full transparency on this current spill, as it noted, “every drop of hydrocarbon has an ever-lasting impact on our marine ecosystem”. “We are calling on the Authorities to make public, the cause of the spill, volume, nature of the hydrocarbon spilled, and those who are responsible. Furthermore, pray that our Government/EMA act in the interest of our environment and prosecute this polluter.” According to FFOS, since 2015, there have been in excess of 377 oil spills in this country, but “no one has ever been charged or prosecuted.
Black Sea Oil Spill 400 Times Bigger Than Claimed, Russian Scientists Say - The Moscow Times -An oil spill off the coast of the Black Sea is at least 400 times larger than originally claimed, Russian scientists said Wednesday, citing satellite images. A Russian-Kazakh consortium said Monday that 12 cubic meters of oil had spread over 200 square meters on Saturday when a Greek-flagged tanker was taking on oil at a terminal in southern Russia. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium's statement added that the situation was “normalized” by Sunday and did not pose a threat to local wildlife or humans. But the Russian Academy of Science’s (RAN) space research institute said a satellite image taken on Sunday showed the size of the oil spill to be almost 80 square kilometers, with a 19-kilometer oil slick stretching from the shore to the open sea.“The spill is much larger than claimed,” it said in a statement on its website.World Wildlife Federation (WWF) Russia experts say the spill has spread across 94 square kilometers and caused billions of rubles in damages. The environmental group warned that the oil has already reached the shores of national parks and other protected areas and that most of the oil had dissolved in the water, posing a threat to living organisms and beaches. “The events are unfolding according to the worst-case scenario,” WWF Russia’s fuel and energy policy director Alexei Knizhnikov told The Insider news website. Video published to social media showed a visible layer of oil on the water's surface at a dolphinarium near the resort city of Anapa. Staff can be seen installing sorbent booms to protect the dolphins.
Russian investigators probe big Black Sea oil spill - Authorities initially estimated that the spill covered only about 200 square meters (2,153 square feet), but Russian scientists said Wednesday after studying satellite images that it actually covered nearly 80 square kilometers (nearly 31 square miles). WWF Russia has estimated that about 100 metric tons of oil have spilled into the sea. The Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, said Thursday it was conducting a probe on charges of inflicting significant damage to marine biological resources. The committee said it performed searches at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and inspected the area for damage. Russian media said traces of oil were spotted along the scenic Black Sea coast, including Abrau-Dyurso and a dolphin aquarium in Bolshoy Utrish, 25 kilometers (15 miles) to the west, where workers urgently put up barriers to protect the mammals. The spill’s oily film was also spotted in the resort city of Anapa, further west down the coast. Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of the Krasnodar region, sought to downplay the impact of the spill, saying that he and other officials flew over the area in a helicopter and saw no trace of it at sea. “Quick measures were taken to eliminate the consequences,” Kondratyev said, according to the Interfax news agency. The governor later met with the head of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, who assured him that the sea has remained clean thanks to quick efforts to contain the spill.
Oil lifting temporarily suspended from CPC Marine Terminal due to oil seepage accident - Oil lifting was temporarily suspended from Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) Marine Terminal due to the oil seepage accident, Trend reports citing CPC. Oil seepage occurred on 7 August 2021 at 04:49 p.m Moscow time at CPC Marine Terminal in Yuzhnaya Ozereevka during the loading of the Minerva Symphony tanker (Greek flag, port of registry is Piraeus) from the Single Point Mooring (SPM 1). In accordance with the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan, CPC-R immediately took necessary emergency response measures. To contain the consequences of the incident, resources and equipment of the professional emergency response unit were promptly engaged (17 vessels), booms were deployed, four skimmers and oil storage tanks were used. Interaction with the discipline governmental regulatory authorities was arranged. The oil spill was contained and the oil spill response was completed by 10:42 p.m. Moscow time on 7 August. The Black Sea water area is being monitored. Independent laboratories are engaged to measure the condition of the water and air, they take samples from the territories adjacent to the Marine Terminal. The spill area amounted to 200 square meters, the volume is approximately 12 cu.m. The cause of the incident was the destruction of the internal space of the hydraulic damper which is an integral part of the SPM (supplier – IMODCO, MONACO). Oil lifting was temporarily suspended from CPC Marine Terminal while the emergency was being dealt with. According to the information as on the morning of 8 August, the situation was back to normal and posed no hazard to the local population or flora and fauna of the Black Sea. CPC has set up an ad hoc commission to investigate the causes and conditions of the incident. The increase focus of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium on assuring safe operation and readiness to emergencies allowed to contain the oil and mitigate its consequences within the shortest time.
Gas leak from ONGC pipeline triggers panic in South Tripura (PTI) Gas leak from a pipeline of the state-run ONGC at Dhananjoynagar in South Tripura district triggered panic on Friday, officials said.Locals saw in the morning that gas was gushing out of the pipeline.They immediately informed the Fire Services and local authorities.A team of technical experts from ONGC was rushed to the spot and the leakage was plugged, bringing the situation under control, officials said. Belonia Sub-divisional Magistrate Manik Lal Das, who visited the site, said the situation in the area is normal.
Cargo ship splits in two after running aground in Japan port - — A cargo ship broke into two pieces after running aground in a northern Japanese port and is spilling oil into the sea, Japan's coast guard said Thursday. All 21 Chinese and Filipino crew members were safely rescued by the coast guard, said the ship's Japanese operator, NYK Line. The 39,910-ton wood-chip carrier Crimson Polaris went aground Wednesday while sailing inside Hachinohe Port. It managed to free itself from the seabed, but suffered a crack which widened and eventually caused the vessel to split into two early Thursday, the coast guard said. Officials were trying to contain the oil spill. The amount of oil leaked is under investigation, NYK Line said in a statement. The broken hull of the Panamanian-registered ship has drifted about 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) off the coast, it said. (AP)
Oil spill from Crimson Polaris reaches Japan coast - An oil spill from a wood chip carrier, Crimson Polaris, that split in two after it ran aground at the Hachinohe Port on Wednesday, has reached Japanese shores. According to the Japanese Coast Guard, heavy oil that spilled from the Panama-flagged vessel reached the coast of Misawa City on Friday morning local time. The stranded oil has spread around 24 km north of the coastline, but the extent of any environmental impact remains unclear as the authorities continue to tackle the oil spill.The 49,500 dwt ship operated by Japan’s NYK Line had about 1,550 metric tonnes of heavy oil and about 130 metric tonnes of diesel oil on board, but the amount of oil that spilled into the ocean has not been identified. “The Maritime Disaster Prevention Center is trying to control it using oil-treatment agents and adsorption mats,” NYK Line said.The Crimson Polaris, owned by MI-DAS Line, an affiliate of Doun Kisen, broke apart at 4,15 hrs local time on Thursday. The vessel’s split hull is about 4 km offshore Japan. A crack that initially occurred between the No. 5 cargo hold and the No. 6 cargo hold at the rear of the vessel worsened, and the hull eventually split into two, NYK Line explained.The bow is floating and held by an anchor chain, and the stern appears to have become stranded on the seabed. MI-DAS Line is said to be in discussions with relevant authorities and salvage companies concerning towing and treatment of the separated hull.The 2006-built vessel, with 21 crewmembers on board, grounded and sustained structural damage on Wednesday morning as it was unable to navigate due to bad weather. The cause of the accident is currently being confirmed, and investigative authorities are interviewing the captain.
China’s Biggest Oil Refiner Sinopec Seen Cutting Runs as Delta Hits - China’s biggest oil refiner is scaling back operations as Beijing’s aggressive response to the delta virus variant saps demand for road and aviation fuel, according to an analyst. State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., commonly known asSinopec, is cutting run rates at some plants by 5% to 10% this month as compared with July levels, Jean Zou, an analyst at Shanghai-based commodities researcher ICIS-China, said in an interview. The analytics firm tracks refinery operations, maintenance plans and processing margins across China.
Africa Needs to Spend $15.7 Billion on Refineries to Curb Emissions -African nations need to spend about $15.7 billion on their refineries to curb emissions and meet climate-change targets as demand for oil and gas surges, according to an industry lobby group.Governments on the continent should focus on reducing sulfur levels in petroleum products because Africa’s consumption of fossil fuels will rise quickly in the coming decades even as the supply of clean energy expands, said Anibor Kragha, executive secretary of the African Refiners and Distributors Association, or ARDA. The pan-African body, based in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital of Abidjan, promotes the interests of the downstream oil industry.A “leapfrog” switch by African nations from oil and gas directly to renewables isn’t realistic, Kragha said in an emailed response to questions. “Africa needs a unique energy transition roadmap.”Governments in wealthier nations have set ambitious targets for a rapid shift to renewable energy to slash carbon-dioxide emissions, with many countries and companies making commitments to achieving so-called net-zero by 2050. Africa has accounted for about 2% of cumulative global emissions, according to the International Energy Agency, a figure the Paris-based organization sees rising to only as much as 4.5% by 2040.Africa’s overall energy consumption is set to increase at twice the pace of the global average as populations and economies grow, the IEA said in a 2019 report. Demand for oil and gas in Africa is expected to double to at least 7 million barrels per day and 317 billion cubic meters respectively by 2040, even as the contribution of renewables is forecast to soar more than tenfold from its current low base, according to IEA estimates.ARDA’s immediate priority is facilitating Africa’s switch to “cleaner” petroleum products, Kragha said. The group is working with the African Union to introduce harmonized measures across the continent that cap sulfur volumes in gasoline and diesel to 10 parts per million by 2030. That would bring it in line with existing limits in major economies including the U.S., the European Union, China and India.The 15 governments of the Economic Community of West African States have already adopted an ARDA proposal to implement policies to phase out imported and manufactured fuels with more than 50 ppm, Kragha said.
Shell to pay $111m over decades-old oil spills in Nigeria --Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay around €95m (£80.4m/$111.6m) to communities in southern Nigeria over crude oil spills in 1970, lawyers involved in the case have said.The decision is the latest involving Opec-member Nigeria’s oil-producing south where communities have long fought legal battles over oil spills and environmental damage.“The order for the payment of [$111m] to the claimants is for full and final satisfaction of the judgement,” a local spokesman for Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria said on Wednesday. Lucius Nwosa, a lawyer representing the Ejama-Ebubu community in Rivers state, confirmed the decision.“They ran out of tricks and decided to come to terms,” the lawyer said. “The decision is a vindication of the resoluteness of the community for justice.”The company said it maintained the spills were caused by third parties during Nigeria’s 1967-70 civil war when much damage was done to oil pipelines and infrastructure.“It is a confirmation of the issues we have raised about Shell’s environmental devastation of Ogoni and the need for a proper remediation of the land,” the MOSOP organisation for the local Ogoni people said in response. After a 13-year legal battle, a Dutch court in January this year ordered Shell to compensate Nigerian farmers for spills that polluted much of their land in the Niger Delta.The court ordered Shell to compensate three out of four farmers who lodged the case in 2008. The case has dragged on so long that two of the Nigerian farmers have died since it was first filed.
Aramco posts nearly 300% leap in second-quarter profit on global demand recovery - Saudi state oil giant Aramco reported a stunning 288% increase in net income to $25.5 billion for the second quarter, while maintaining its dividend of $18.8 billion, as big oil benefits from higher prices and a recovery in worldwide demand. Aramco's net income of $25.5 billion for the quarter compares to $6.6 billion in the same quarter of 2020. The result beat expectations, with analysts expecting a median net income of $24.7 billion for the quarter. "Our second quarter results reflect a strong rebound in worldwide energy demand and we are heading into the second half of 2021 more resilient and more flexible, as the global recovery gains momentum," Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said in a company statement published Sunday.Aramco said net income for the first half of the year was $47.2 billion,compared to $23.2 billion in the first half of 2020, representing a 103% increase. The company said the results were supported by the global easing of Covid-19 restrictions, vaccination campaigns, stimulus measures and accelerating activity in key markets. "While there is still some uncertainty around the challenges posed by Covid-19 variants, we have shown that we can adapt swiftly and effectively to changing market conditions," Nasser said.Aramco said free cash flow was $22.6 billion in the second quarter and $40.9 billion for the first half of 2021, compared to $6.1 billion and $21.1 billion, respectively, for the same periods in 2020. This is significant, because free cash flow has now risen above the quarterly dividend of $18.75 billion for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Aramco already pays the world's largest dividend, but the improving outlook has prompted some analysts to call for higher payouts."A dividend increase is needed to stay competitive," BofA analysts said in a research note ahead of the earnings release. "Higher oil prices and OPEC+ driven production increases should support a significant free cash flow increase over the next couple of years," it added. Aramco responded by saying its dividend is staying at the "normal level" for the quarter, but it would "advise later" as to whether it would stick to the current payout plan. Aramco, which is majority-owned by the Saudi Arabian government, is a key source of revenue for the kingdom. "All of this will be reviewed with our board, and we will decide at a later date regarding any additional dividend distribution," Nasser said.
‘Code red’ climate report sends oil prices sinking - Oil prices tanked on Monday morning driven by investors selling off holdings after the publication of a landmark report on the damaging effects of climate change signals “code red” for humanity. International benchmarks WTI and Brent Crude plummeted 4.1 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively. A barrel of either benchmark costs well below $70. A landmark new climate report from the UN is 'code red' for humanity, secretary-general Antonio Guterres said today. A new report examining the potential trajectory of climate change and its impacts on humanity was published by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this morning. The study found that the scale of recent changes to the world’s climate system were “unprecedented over many centuries to many thousands of years”. It also said that it was “unequivocal” that “human influence” had contributed to the world’s warming. Scientists warned that human activity is the primary driver of climate change and indicated that an international agreement to keep temperatures under 1.5C will be breached by 2040 in all scenarios. The report did highlight that if nations are able to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade, the worst effects of climate change could be avoided, suggesting that reliance on oil to facilitate economic activity will start to ease, causing demand to drop sharply. Oil company shares in London fell along with crude, BP shares were down 2.3 per cent, while fellow major Shell was down 1.9 per cent this lunchtime.
Oil Futures Sink as Virus Batters Asia's Top Oil Importer -- Oil futures nearest delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange dropped more than 2% in ending the first session of the new trade week, sending the international crude benchmark to just above $69 per barrel (bbl) and the U.S. crude benchmark to just below $66.50. The losses came amid a one-two punch of a strengthening U.S. dollar index joined with tightening restrictions on mobility and businesses operations in China and other southeast Asian countries that are leading to weaker fuel consumption. At settlement, NYMEX September West Texas Intermediate futures dropped $1.80 or 2.5% to $66.48 per bbl after briefly touching $65.15 per bbl, and Brent crude futures for October delivery settled at $69.04 per bbl, shedding $1.66 on the session. Both contacts declined more than 7% last week. NYMEX September RBOB contract fell 2.21 cents for a $2.2348-per-gallon settlement, paring a decline to an intrasession low of $2.1730 per gallon, and NYMEX September ULSD futures declined 4.24 cents or 2% to $2.0421 per gallon. Crude shipments to China -- Asia's leading oil importer -- shrunk more than 5% in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2020, said the China's Customs Bureau this morning, with China's new year beginning on Feb. 13. Beijing imported 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) less crude oil since last month's daily average and almost 3.3 million bpd below that level reported last year when Chinese refiners stocked up on crude. Another year of cupped soybeans is inspiring another wave of rumored causes, but scientists say... Imports of other commodities that are sensitive to economic expansion, including iron ore and cooper, also declined sharply, hammered by extreme weather and tightening COVID restrictions in several industrial hubs in China. Last month, Beijing reintroduced curbs on international and domestic travel, suspending flights and railroad services between COVID hotspots. City officials have ordered mass testing of residents in response to a rapidly spreading Delta variant, but many analysts believe that Beijing will have to pivot from its "zero tolerance" containment strategy sooner rather than later. Domestically, the seven-day average for new infections jumped above 110,000 cases daily as of Aug. 8 -- the highest point since mid-February, as the Delta variant sweeps through unvaccinated Americans. The United States averaged about 11,000 cases a day in late June.
Oil prices fall 4% more after global Covid surge -Oil prices slid Monday, building on last week's steep losses, as rising Covid cases prompted fears of a demand slowdown. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined more than 4% at one point to trade as low as $65.15, a level not seen since May. The contract recovered some of those losses during afternoon trading and ultimately settled 2.64% lower at $66.48 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude settled at $69.04 per barrel for a loss of 2.35%, after hitting a low of $67.60. "The biggest challenge for oil markets remains the uncertainty around COVID as the 'delta variant' has made for the highest daily case counts since early 2021," Bank of America said. Last week, both contracts dipped more than 7% for their worst week since October. The slide came amid demand worries as well as a surprise buildup in U.S. crude inventory. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude stocks rose by 3.6 million barrels in the prior week, while analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting a 2.9 million barrel draw. Gasoline stocks, however, declined by a larger-than-expected 5.3 million barrels. Data out of China also weighed on crude on Monday. The country's export growth unexpectedly slowed in July, while imports rose 28.1% from a year earlier. This was below forecasts that called for a 33% increase. China, the world's second largest oil consumer, imported 9.7 million barrels per day in July, the fourth straight month below 10 million bpd, according to analysts Commerzbank. "The price slide is continuing [Monday] amid growing concerns about demand again," the firm wrote in a note to clients. "Market participants are watching the rising coronavirus figures in Asia with considerable alarm, as this could prompt the Chinese government to take drastic measures in line with its strict zero Covid strategy." A possible slowdown in demand as portions of the world reinstate lockdown measures follows a production boost this month by OPEC and its allies. In April 2020, the group implemented record production cuts of nearly 10 million bpd as the pandemic sapped demand for petroleum products. Oil has slowly recovered and WTI is still up 40% for 2020. In July, the contract traded as high as $76.98, a price not seen since 2014.
WTI Rallies as Traders Eye Stock Draw, Infrastructure Bill - (DTN) -- Recouping a portion of their steep losses from the previous two sessions, oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange rallied more than 2% on Tuesday. The gains came as traders positioned ahead of the weekly release of U.S. inventory data, with expectations for nationwide crude and gasoline inventories to have fallen last week amid peak demand for summer travel, while the passage of an infrastructure package by Senate lawmakers fueled additional buying interest. On the session, NYMEX September West Texas Intermediate futures rallied $1.81 or 2.9% to settle at $68.29 per barrel (bbl), and international crude benchmark for October delivery advanced $1.59 to $70.63 per bbl, with both benchmarks reversing off Monday's 2 1/2-month low settlements. NYMEX September RBOB contract rallied 3.31 cents to $2.2679 gallon, and NYMEX September ULSD futures surged 3.81 cents to $2.0802 gallon at settlement. Tuesday's higher settlements were spurred by a combination of bullish factors, including the bipartisan passage of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by the U.S. Senate that is seen bolstering employment and fuel consumption in the second half of the year joined with upbeat demand forecasts from the Energy Information Administration for the remainder of 2021 despite an uptrend in COVID-19 infections in oil-consuming behemoths like China and the United States. Support was also lent by expectations for the weekly change in commercial oil stocks, with U.S. crude oil stocks expected to have fallen by 600,000 bbl in the week ended Aug. 6, with gasoline stockpiles seen declining 1.8 million bbl from the previous week. Stocks of distillates are expected to have risen 100,000 bbl from the previous week. Refinery run rates likely rose by 0.4% to 91.7% of capacity. The closely watched inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute will be released 4:30 p.m. EDT, followed by Wednesday's release of official supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In its monthly Short-term Energy Outlook released Tuesday afternoon, the EIA projected gasoline consumption would average 8.8 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, still 500,000 bpd below the level seen in the second half of 2019.
Oil recovers from three-week low as market shrugs off surge in Delta infections - Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recouping some of their losses in the previous session, as rising demand in Europe and the United States outweighed concerns over an increase in COVID cases in Asian countries. Brent crude gained $1.59, or 2.3%, to settle at $70.63 per barrel and U.S. oil settled $1.81, or 2.7%, higher at $68.29 per barrel. Both contracts dropped around 2.5% on Monday, but analysts believe the pandemic setback will not last for long. "This turbulence should remain temporary, not the least as Western world oil demand is back at, or above, pre-pandemic levels and is draining global supplies," said Nortbert Ruecker, analyst at Swiss bank Julius Baer. U.S. crude, gasoline, and other product inventories are likely to have dropped last week, with gasoline stocks forecast to fall for a fourth consecutive period, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday. Crude oil inventories are expected to have fallen by about 1.1 barrels in the week to Aug. 6, according to the average estimate of six analysts polled by Reuters. In the United States, the Senate is set to vote on the passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill later on Tuesday, which if passed would boost the economy and demand for oil products, analysts said. Successful vaccination programmes in the West and encouraging economic data come in sharp contrast to rising infections in the East. In Australia, police are on the streets to enforce COVID-related restrictions, while some cities in China, the world's top crude oil importer, have stepped up mass testing as authorities try to stamp out a new surge of the virus. "The lockdowns (in China) could instigate a momentary pause in price action, but as COVID-19 cases are expected to abate quickly given the relatively low number of infections, the downside may be fleeting," said StoneX analyst Kevin Solomon. Economic data this week, especially the U.S. Consumer Price Index on Wednesday, will provide guidance on how hard the virus will hit global and regional oil consumption, analysts said.
WTI Slides After Small Crude Inventory Draw, Distillates Surprising Build -Oil prices have erased much of yesterday's gains after headlines reported the U.S. called on the OPEC+ alliance to revive production more quickly, as it appears the Biden White House is starting to panic over the highest gas prices in seven years...U.S. retail gasoline prices are running at about $3.18 a gallon at the pumps, up more than a dollar from last year at this time, according to the American Automobile Association. Which is ironic given that the call for OPEC+ to boost production also seems a quick turnabout from Thursday's executive order calling for hybrid and electric cars to make up 50% of U.S. auto sales by 2023.The White House on Wednesday also directed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which polices anti-competitive behavior in domestic U.S. markets, to investigate whether illegal practices were contributing to higher U.S. gasoline prices."During this summer driving season, there have been divergences between oil prices and the cost of gasoline at the pump," Biden's top economic aide, Brian Deese, wrote in a letter to FTC chair Lina Khan.He encouraged the FTC to "consider using all of its available tools to monitor the U.S. gasoline market and address any illegal conduct."Additionally, some Asian buyers are taking less Saudi crude as delta spreads.For now, all eyes on inventories and demand to see if Delta is having an impact (as Southwest Airlines CEO says it is). API:
- Crude -816k (-600k exp)
- Cushing -413k
- Gasoline -1.114mm (-2.4mm exp)
- Distillates +673k (-600k exp)
DOE
- Crude -448k (-600k exp, Whisper +1.27mm!)
- Cushing -325k
- Gasoline -1.401mm (-2.4mm exp)
- Distillates +1.767mm (-600k exp)
After last week's unexpected build, analysts expected a return to crude builds (and API affirmed that expectation last night, albeit small), although BBG users 'whsipered' of a 1.27mm barrel build. Crude did manage a draw however, of only 448k barrels while Distillates saw a notable build of 1.767mm barrels which may be a warning signal for demand...
Oil turns positive, clawing back losses after White House calls on OPEC to boost production - Oil prices reversed losses to trade in the green on Wednesday, after the White House called on OPEC and its allies to increase oil production to support the global recovery from the pandemic. Futures for West Texas Intermediate crude settled 1.36% higher at $69.25 per barrel. Earlier in the session the contract dipped more than 2% and traded as low as $66.67 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude advanced 1.15% to $71.44 per barrel. Oil prices moved lower Wednesday morning after CNBC reported that the White House said that OPEC+ needs to increase production. "Competitive energy markets will ensure reliable and stable energy supplies, and OPEC+ must do more to support the recovery," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement obtained by CNBC. The group agreed in July to increase production by 400,000 barrels per day, but that would leave output well below pre-pandemic levels. OPEC+ cut production by 10 million barrels per day in the middle of 2020. U.S. producers also scaled back production as demand dropped sharply. The White House said July's deal is "simply not enough." In recent months, consumer gas prices have climbed in the U.S. as the economy has reopened. The Biden administration is also asking the Federal Trade Commission to monitor the domestic market for potential illegal activity that could be adding to the rising prices. The national average for a gallon of gas stood at $3.186 on Tuesday, according to AAA, up by just over $1 in the last year.
Oil Up; Weak US Draws, White House Pressure on OPEC Limit Gains - Oil prices rose on Wednesday, helping market longs extend their recovery from a dismal week. But gains were limited somewhat by disappointing drawdowns in U.S. stockpiles. The market was also under pressure briefly after President Joe Biden pushed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, to boost production faster than the current pace of 400,000 barrels per month planned by the 23-nation group. “We've told OPEC that the output cuts implemented during the pandemic should be overturned,” Biden told a White House media briefing. Analysts, however, said they weren’t sure how much success the administration would have in pressuring OPEC+, especially with crude prices having declined about 10% or more from this year’s highs amid waning summer demand for oil and a renewed spike in Covid cases. Erlam noted that OPEC+ was no stranger to the White House trying to interfere in its decision making process, with former president Donald Trump being a constant critic of the group during his term. New York-traded U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark for U.S. oil, settled up 96 cents, or 1.4%, at $69.25 per barrel. WTI lost 7.7% last week, its sharpest weekly loss since October 2020. London-traded Brent, the global benchmark for oil, rose 85 cents, or 1.2%, to $71.48 per barrel by 2:50 PM ET (18:50 GMT). Brent lost 7.4% last week. Weekly consumption in U.S. crude oil and gasoline was less than expected during the week ended July 6, data from the Energy Information Administration showed, as demand slid in the twilight stretch of summer and amid a renewed spike in coronavirus infections. U.S. crude inventories fell by 448,000 barrels in the week to August 6, the EIA said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Analysts tracked by Investing.com had expected a drawdown of 750,000 barrels instead. The EIA reported a smaller-than-expected crude draw as U.S. imports declined by 36,000 barrels per day from the previous week. But exports of U.S crude spiked by almost 760,000 bpd to 2.66 million. That suggested Production of U.S. crude, on the other hand, rose by 100,000 bpd to 11.3 million. Gasoline stockpiles also fell less than expected, sliding by 1.4 million barrels against a forecast 2 million, the EIA data showed. Distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, had the best numbers of the lot, drawing down by almost 1.8 million versus an expected 500,000 barrels.
Oil Up On Weaker Dollar | Rigzone - Oil rose as a weaker dollar offset a government report that showed a smaller-than-expected decline in crude stockpiles in the wake of a viral resurgence. Futures advanced more than 1.4% after falling as much as 2.4% earlier when the U.S. called on the OPEC+ alliance to revive production more quickly. The dollar weakened, boosting the appeal of commodities priced in the currency, with data showing consumer prices increased at a more moderate pace in July, reducing concern about an unwinding of some of the stimulus. “The dollar index is helping out all the commodities and it slipped to the negative side of the equation after the data release today, helping to support the crude market as well,” says Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA. Prices were under pressure earlier in the session after the U.S. called on the OPEC+ alliance to revive production more quickly. The world’s largest oil-consuming nation has seen gasoline prices firmly above $3 a gallon in recent months, putting pressure on drivers who are back on the road as pandemic restrictions ease. The Energy Information Administration report also showed gasoline stockpiles fell with strong draws in New York Harbor as well as on the West Coast, though overall demand for the fuel slumped. The lackluster shale supply growth is set to tighten markets as the third financial quarter unfolds. “We saw a lighter- than- expected crude oil draw, and exports that haven’t matched what we saw 12 months ago. All of that is a strong indication that delta is still having an impact on global demand.” Prices West Texas Intermediate for September delivery rose 96 cents to settle at $69.25 a barrel in New York. Brent for October gained 81 cents to end session at $71.44. The coalition agreed last month to restart the remaining offline supplies in careful installments, of 400,000 barrels a day each month. The tentative pace seemed in line with the market, which has seen prices soften in recent weeks as the delta variant prompts fresh lockdowns in China and other key fuel consumers in Asia. However, oil prices haven’t come down fast enough to substantially lower retail gasoline in the U.S., which have been at a seven-year high this summer and source of consternation for the White House.
WTI Dips on IEA Demand Downgrade, Non-OPEC Supply Growth -- Nearby-delivery-month oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange held lower in afternoon trade Thursday. This followed the overnight release of monthly oil market reports from the International Energy Agency and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries forecasting rapidly growing oil production outside the 13-member cartel and stalling recovery in global oil demand as the COVID-19 impact drags on well into the second half of 2021. The IEA said Thursday morning that global oil demand recovery had gone into reverse midsummer with an estimated monthly fall of 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) on the back of a resurgent pandemic in China, Indonesia, Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia. The agency downgraded its estimate of 2021 demand growth by 100,000 bpd to 5.3 million bpd, while forecasting oil consumption next year would average 99.4 million bpd -- still 1.5 million bpd below the fourth quarter 2019. "Growth for the second half of 2021 has been downgraded more sharply, as new COVID-19 restrictions imposed in several major oil consuming countries, particularly in Asia, look set to reduce mobility and oil use," said IEA. While OPEC didn't make any revisions to its demand forecasts and actually raised its global growth estimates to 5.6% this year and 4.2% in 2022, it significantly upgraded its non-OPEC supply estimates. Non-OPEC oil production is now expected to expand by 1.1 million bpd in 2021 to average 64 million bpd, with the United States, Russia, Canada and Norway seen as main drivers of that growth. Put together with the IEA's demand forecast downgrades, Thursday's two reports paint a picture of an oil market that isn't as tight as forecast a few weeks ago. While the market will remain slightly undersupplied this year, rising supply in 2022 could once again leave the market in surplus. In currency markets, U.S. dollar index pushed higher against a basket of foreign currencies to settle above 93-level after weekly unemployment claims fell for the third straight week through Aug. 7 to the lowest since March 2020 at 375,000. Elsewhere, the Producer Price Index, which measures inflation on a wholesale level, increased more than expected last month, up 1% to 7.8% year-on-year growth. "Nearly three-fourths of the July increase in the final demand index can be traced to a 1.1% advance in prices for final demand services," said BLS, with the index for final demand goods up 0.6%. The jump in PPI index contrasted with Wednesday's release of inflation data at the consumer level, which showed a slight moderation last month.
Delta Variant Dents Oil Demand Recovery While OPEC Expects More Supply – WSJ - The economic impact of the Covid-19 Delta variant and rebounding output mean that expectations of global oil demand outstripping supply are fading, the IEA and OPEC said Thursday.In its closely watched monthly market report, the International Energy Agency said that the worsening of the pandemic, as well as revisions to historical data, mean its global oil demand outlook has been “appreciably downgraded,” with some of this year’s forecast recovery shifted to 2022.Investors have become concerned about falling commodities demand in China, where Beijing authorities last week canceled all large-scale exhibitions and events for the remainder of August. That, and other measures aimed atslowing the spread of the Delta variant, has in recent days spooked traders who were already worried about the fragile nature of China’s economic recovery.The IEA cut its 2021 global oil demand growth forecast by 100,000 barrels a day, while upgrading its 2022 forecast by 200,000 barrels a day. Both the IEA and OPEC expect the world’s thirst for oil to return to pre-pandemic highs in the second half of next year. The Paris-based IEA said the timing of the variant’s spread has coincided with planned supply increases from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies “stamping out lingering suggestions of a near-term supply crunch or supercycle.” OPEC, in its own report, significantly upgraded supply-growth estimates for its non-cartel counterparts for both 2021 and 2022. The Vienna-based cartel raised its 2022 supply-growth forecast by 840,000 barrels a day to 2.9 million barrels a day.While OPEC expects Russia to increase its production by a million barrels a day next year, it said “the U.S., with year-on-year growth of 0.8 million barrels a day, together with Brazil, Norway, Canada and Guyana, will be the other key drivers.”As the Delta variant sweeps the globe, scientists are learning more about why new versions of the coronavirus spread faster, and what this could mean for vaccine efforts. The spike protein, which gives the virus its unmistakable shape, may hold the key. Illustration: Nick Collingwood/WSJOil prices suffered a blow Wednesday, after the White House urged OPEC to boost oil production, saying planned increases are insufficient to fuel the post-pandemic economic recovery. The remarks came as the U.S. tries to tamp down rising consumer prices, particularly that of gasoline. Crude prices edged lower Thursday, with Brent crude oil—the global benchmark—falling 0.2% to $71.31 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. gauge, dropping 0.2% to $69.09 a barrel. U.S. crude is down 6.6% this month, with the price rally seen in much of 2021 foundering, largely due to worries about the Delta variant.
Oil Ends Lower Friday On Demand Concerns From Delta Variant Spread - Oil dipped, trimming a weekly advance, as the fast-spreading delta variant continues to cloud the short-term demand outlook. Futures closed nearly 1% lower on Friday in New York, narrowing a weekly gain to 0.2%. The latest Covid-19 wave is leading to tighter curbs on movement across the globe, though there are mixed assessments on its impact. The International Energy Agency reduced its demand forecasts for the rest of the year, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts only a transient hit to consumption. “The news surrounding delta is a bit worse than we expected, and the short-term view is becoming increasingly concerning as cases rise,” says Jay Hatfield, portfolio manager at AMCP, the InfraCap MLP exchange-traded fund. “Long-term indicators are still relatively bullish on oil, but for the near future, the delta variant and its hit to demand isn’t looking like it will burn itself out.” Delta has interrupted a rally that pushed oil prices more than 50% higher in the first half of the year as major economies such as the U.S. began moving again. A critical concern is the flare-up in China, where authorities have taken an aggressive approach to containing the outbreak. While the overall number of cases in the country are still in the hundreds, the spread of the variant to more than 17 provinces is raising international concerns about China’s near-term mobility. West Texas Intermediate for September delivery fell 65 cents to settle at $68.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for October dropped 72 cents to end the session at $70.59 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. The oil market’s structure has also weakened. Brent’s prompt timespread narrowed to 39 cents in backwardation -- a bullish signal where near-dated contracts are more expensive than later ones. That compares with 92 cents at the end of July. Global oil demand “abruptly reversed course” last month, falling slightly after surging by 3.8 million barrels a day in June, the IEA said in its monthly market report on Thursday. The drop in consumption comes as OPEC+ hikes output with a goal to steadily revive all of the production halted during the pandemic.
Oil Futures Lower Friday on Lingering Demand Concerns-- Nearby delivery month oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange accelerated losses in afternoon trade Friday. All of the contracts, however, closed the volatile week with gentle gains despite the relentless spread of the coronavirus Delta variant and a potential tightening of quarantine restrictions in coming weeks across industrialized economies and as peak summer demand for transportation fuels winds toward its end. While the seasonal decline in gasoline consumption in the United States and European Union is typical between August-September, this year could see a steeper drop due to the lack of commuting to work and the rising tally of COVID-19 infections. DTN Refined Fuels data showed U.S. gasoline demand down 2.6% during the week ended Aug. 6 compared to the same week two years ago, which was a further weakening from a 2.0% deficit relative to 2019 levels reported just the week prior. The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts gasoline consumption won't return to pre-pandemic levels even next year, averaging about 9 million barrels per day (bpd), some 300,000 bpd below 2019 levels. The relentless rise of COVID-19 infections and souring consumer sentiment might provide some clues for the trajectory of gasoline consumption in the coming weeks. The University of Michigan on Friday morning reported the consumer sentiment index plunged a staggering 13.5% in early August to a level that was just below the April 2020 low of 71.8. The losses in confidence were widespread across income, age and education subgroups and observed across all regions. Moreover, the losses covered all aspects of the economy, from personal finances to prospects for the economy, including inflation and unemployment. Following the shocking reading, the U.S. dollar index tumbled 0.57% against a basket of foreign currencies to finish at 92.510 but failed to lend support to the front-month West Texas Intermediate futures contract. NYMEX September West Texas Intermediate futures fell $0.65 to settle at $68.44 per barrel (bbl), and international crude benchmark Brent contract for October delivery declined 72 cents to $70.59 per bbl. NYMEX September RBOB contract dropped 1.28 cents to $2.2626 per gallon and NYMEX September ULSD futures plunged 2.60 cents or 1.2% to $2.0779 per gallon. Friday's lower settlements came as traders weighed flagging demand outlook against increased vaccination rates in the U.S. and globally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed U.S. daily count of administered vaccines nearly doubled in the last four weeks from an average of 400,000 dozes at the start of July to 828,760 as of Aug. 6. Despite increased vaccination rates and reinstated mask mandates, the seven-day moving average of new daily infections still rose 33.7% from the prior week to 89,977, stoking concerns over the worsening progression of the pandemic in the fall months.
US Intelligence Revises Afghan Estimate: Kabul To Be Overrun "Sooner Than Feared" - Previously a widely reported US intelligence assessment from June predicted that after the US troop exit from Afghanistan is complete (which at this point has essentially been accomplished), the densely populated capital of Kabul could fall within six months. US defense officials have now greatly revised that estimate after this past week which saw the Taliban overrun no less than eight provincial capital cities within a mere week. Officials told The Washington Post Kabul's fall could likely occurwithin the next 90 days, according to a new military intelligence assessment, with some officials offering the more dire prediction of one month.The revised bleaker assessment comes a day after a senior EU official was widely cited as saying 65% of the country's territory is now under Taliban control, much of it gained without significant resistance, given the many reports of US-trained national forces fleeing in retreat. Further, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby conceded there's "not much" the US can do at this point if the Afghan Army isn't willing to put up more of a fight.The Washington Post writes Wednesday, "The Biden administration is preparing for Afghanistan’s capital to fall far sooner than feared only weeks ago, as a rapid disintegration of security has prompted the revision of an already stark intelligence assessment predicting Kabul could be overrun within six to 12 months of the U.S. military departing, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter."The outlook is such that US officials are said to be debating whether to even keep the sprawling, high-secured embassy in Kabul open; however, they assure plans remain the same to keep it in operation with hundreds of additional military security personnel guarding it. Amid the daily bad news reports of a rapid Taliban offensive to retake the country, President Biden says he has no regrets. "Look," Biden began at a White House press briefing, "we spent over a trillion dollars over 20 years. We trained and equipped, with modern equipment, over 300,000 Afghan forces." He indicated plans remain the same to declare 'mission accomplished' by the highly symbolic 9/11 anniversary.
Afghanistan war: Taliban back brutal rule as they strike for power BBC - The Taliban fighters we meet are stationed just 30 minutes from one of Afghanistan's largest cities, Mazar-i-Sharif. The "ghanimat" or spoils of war they're showing off include a Humvee, two pick-up vans and a host of powerful machine guns. Ainuddin, a stony-faced former madrassa (religious school) student who's now a local military commander, stands at the centre of a heavily-armed crowd. The insurgents have been capturing new territory on what seems like a daily basis as international troops have all but withdrawn. Caught in the middle is a terrified population. Tens of thousands of ordinary Afghans have had to flee their homes - hundreds have been killed or injured in recent weeks. The displaced people hoping for safety in Kabul I ask Ainuddin how he can justify the violence, given the pain it's inflicting on the people he claims to be fighting on behalf of? "It's fighting, so people are dying," he replies coolly, adding that the group is trying its best "not to harm civilians". I point out that the Taliban are the ones who have started the fighting. "No," he retorts. "We had a government and it was overthrown. They [the Americans] started the fighting." Ainuddin and the rest of the Taliban feel momentum is with them, and that they are on the cusp of returning to dominance after being toppled by the US-led invasion in 2001. "They are not giving up Western culture… so we have to kill them," he says of the "puppet government" in Kabul. Shortly after we finish speaking we hear the sound of helicopters above us. The Humvee and the Taliban fighters quickly disperse. It's a reminder of the continuing threat the Afghan air force poses to the insurgents, and that the battle is still far from over.
Israel Pays For Bibi’s Successful Campaign Against The JCPOA Iran Nuclear Agreement - In the last few days for the first time in many years, northern Israel has been on the receiving end of rockets fired out of southern Lebanon, the territory under the control of the Shia Hezbollah group long supported by Iranian interests, although apparently, some think that it was Palestinians living in this area who fired the rockets. Even if it was, clearly this would not have happened without approval from Iran.Also in the last few days, an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf controlled by the Israelis has been attacked by drones apparently from Iran. Israel has been suddenly on the receiving end of attacks either approved by Iran or actually from Iran. Why now?The obvious reason is that Iran got a new hardline president, al Raisi, on Tuesday. He is showing his hardline credentials, and the word is out that this is showing Iran’s unhappiness at the economic sanctions it is under due to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear agreement, with so far, much to my unhappiness, President Biden has failed to get the US and Iran back into the agreement.Of course, probably the worst enemy of the agreement, who played a major role in convincing then President Trump to withdraw from the agreement, was former Israeli PM, Bibi Netanyahu. He openly wanted Iran to be under economic sanctions to make it harder for it to arm Israel’s enemies among its neighbors. But now the ultimate result of that has arrived: Iran attacking Israel. Bibi’s campaign has come home to roost.
Israel launches aerial strikes on Lebanon escalating covert war on Iran Israel has launched a series of air strikes on Lebanon in a marked escalation of hostilities in response to the launching of a handful of rockets by militant groups in the south of the country. It is the first time that Israel has admitted conducting air strikes against Lebanon since 2014, although its fighter planes have for years breached Lebanese airspace on an almost daily basis as it prosecutes its covert war on Iran and its allies, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, in Syria. The strikes come in the wake of mounting tensions between Israel and Iran following the drone attack, which Washington, London and Tel Aviv have attributed to Iran, on the oil tanker MV Mercer Street. The tanker is operated by an Israeli-owned shipping company and was sailing in international waters off the coast of Oman. F-16I Soufa Multirole Fighter in flight (Wikimedia Commons/Israeli Air Force) That attack, which killed the ship’s Romanian captain and British security officer, was likely in response to the long-running, covert offensive by Israel’s naval, air, security, intelligence and cyber forces against Iran. While the United States and Britain said they would work with their allies to respond to the attack, Israel said it reserved the right to act alone if necessary. Tensions rose further when several ships were delayed in the Gulf of Oman last Monday, after one of them appeared to hit a mine at sea. Later, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported the end of a “potential hijack” of one of the ships by armed attackers, in a sequence of events that are far from clear. On Wednesday, Israel launched 92 rounds of artillery fire against targets in south Lebanon, reportedly hitting an open area near the town of Mahmoudiya in the Marjayoun district and causing a fire in a nearby village. This assault was in response to what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said were three rockets fired into Israel by Palestinian militants in the area earlier that day, without identifying the Palestinian group it held responsible. One of the rockets was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system, with two rockets landing inside Israel, sparking fires near Kiryat Shemona. It marked the sixth such incident in the last three months, including three sets of rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon during Israel’s 11-day war on Gaza in May and a further three since then, after reported Israeli airstrikes on Syria, meaning that there were more incidents on Israel’s northern border than on its border with Gaza.
Iran is reducing its supply and the series of towers destruction is escalating.. Iraq is facing a fierce war to deprive it of electricity - The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced that Tehran has reduced the export of gas for operating power stations, at a time when the series of “systematic” destruction of the country’s power towers continues. The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced that Iran has reduced the export of gas for operating power stations in the country, while the series of destruction of power towers continues, describing the destruction process as "systematic" in conjunction with a severe heat wave of up to 50 degrees Celsius. The ministry's spokesman, Ahmed Moussa, said that this reduction affected the rates of electricity production, and led to the loss of about 2,600 megawatts. For his part, the Executive Director of the Iranian Electricity Management Company announced the suspension of the export of electricity to Iraq, and said that this decision comes due to the need to meet the needs of his country internally. Tehran is demanding Baghdad to pay about $4 billion in debts owed by the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, which is prohibited from paying any dollar amounts to the Iranian side due to US sanctions. Simultaneously, electric power transmission towers in Iraq are falling one after another, as a result of detonating them with explosive devices, causing the power to be cut off in large areas of the country. The General Company for Northern Electricity Transmission announced the destruction of 7 electricity transmission towers linking the governorates of Kirkuk and Salah al-Din, as a result of being targeted with explosive devices. The company affiliated with the Ministry of Electricity said, in a statement published on its Facebook page, today, Tuesday, that an act of sabotage targeted the Kirkuk-Baiji line, in the Riyadh district, south of Kirkuk, which led to the downfall of 7 electric power transmission towers. And she indicated in her statement, that "27 towers were bombed in the governorates of Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salah al-Din within one week." Moussa returned to say, in an interview with the government channel, that the Ministry of Electricity is being subjected to old and recent attacks, noting that there are indiscriminate and systematic attacks targeting areas of power.
The Disturbing Rise of the Corporate Mercenaries - When the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated by agents of the Saudi government in 2018, it caused an international scandal. Now, it turns out that his killers were trained in the US. In June, The New York Times reported that four Saudis involved in the killing had received paramilitary training from Tier 1 Group, a private security company based in Arkansas.This was no renegade operation, however. Tier 1 Group, whose training had approval from the US State Department, is part of a burgeoning global industry. Corporate mercenaries – or, more properly, private security and military companies – are increasingly taking over functions that were once carried out by states, with grave implications for human rights and democracy worldwide. It’s big business, too: Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity fund that owns Tier 1 Group, also owns a string of arms manufacturers. In April 2010, Cerberus merged with DynCorp International, one of the world’s largest corporate mercenary companies.Mercenaries – soldiers for hire – have existed for centuries, but this new breed is different. TheObservatory Shock Monitor, which tracks the impact of privatised war, argues that the corporate mercenaries stand out because of the internationalised, business-like services they provide. These companies are registered in one state but often work in another, offering their services via slick websites and a network of offices and facilities around the world. In the countries where they operate, they employ both foreign and local personnel. And the services they offer go far beyond the traditional role of mercenaries: from acting as security guards and patrolling public spaces, to military combat and operational support, to humanitarian work, clearing landmines or rescuing hostages. In short, they’re a replacement for a whole set of functions traditionally carried out by states, with access to the kind of military equipment that modern armies have at their disposal.As state security functions have gradually been privatised under neoliberalism, corporate mercenaries have reshaped the way that power is exercised, as well as tapping into a new source of profit.States have increased their reliance on private security contractors not only for international conflicts, but to strengthen their coercive power domestically. Corporate mercenaries have begun to focus on emerging sectors in the field of national security, such as protecting critical infrastructure from terrorism and cyber attacks, managing migration flows, running prisons and detention centres, and policing-like tasks including the ‘neutralisation’ of activists opposing the interests of states and multinationals.
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