gasoline supplies fall to a 47 month low; distillate supplies fall to an 18 month low…

oil prices slipped slightly this week for the first time in ten weeks on higher domestic supplies and on prospects for Iranian crude exports, but still posted new seven year highs intraday on Monday and at Tuesday's close...after rising 2.5% to a 7 year high of $83.76 per barrel last week following across the board withdrawals from US oil & product inventories, the contract price for US light sweet crude for November delivery opened the week higher and rose to a 7 year intraday high of $85.41 a barrel early Monday, its highest level since October 2018, after Goldman Sach said that natural gas to fuel oil switching would add at least 1 million barrels per day to oil demand this year, but retreated in the afternoon to close unchanged as traders focused on talks between Iran and the European Union, which could lead to a return of Iranian supplies to global markets...oil prices drifted sideways early Tuesday, as traders balanced concerns over slowing economic growth undermined by rising inflation and flare-ups in COVID-19 infections in Asia and the European Union against prospects of a tightened global oil market in the fourth quarter. but then rallied in the afternoon to settle 89 cents higher at $84.65 a barrel, their highest close since October 2014, supported by a global supply shortage and strong demand in the US, the world's biggest consumer...oil prices dipped in off-market trading late Tuesday following an American Petroleum Institute report of a surprise build of crude inventories, and then fell sharply in early trading on Wednesday, as the API also reported across-the-board builds in domestic crude and petroleum product supplies last week, and ultimately settled down $1.99, or 2.4%, at $82.66 a barrel after the EIA showed U.S. crude oil stockpiles grew even more than API had reported, even as fuel inventories dropped and tanks at the nation’s largest storage hub neared empty...oil prices extended those losses into early trade Thursday, with December crude trading below $82 per barrel, amid prospects for the potential return of Iranian crude oil exports, after Tehran agreed to restart nuclear talks with Western powers next month, but recovered to end trading 15 cents higher at $82.81 a barrel after the OPEC+ Joint Technical Committee forecast an even tighter global oil market through the fourth quarter...that recovery extended into Friday's trading as oil opened up and traded nearly $1 higher, supported by expectations that Opec+ would maintain production cuts when they meet next week, before settling with a gain of 76 cents at $83.57 a barrel, with US traders more concerned about the large rundown in available stocks at the Cushing distribution hub...nonetheless, December crude still ended the week 0.2% lower, ending a streak of nine consecutive weekly gains -- the longest on record -- as rising domestic crude inventories, the potential for revived Iran nuclear talks, and a retreat by natural-gas futures dragged crude prices further away from multiyear highs, even as October's trading ended with crude priced 11% higher than the prior month..

meanwhile, natural gas prices finished higher for the first time in four weeks on increasingly cooler forecasts...after falling 2.4% to $5.280 per mmBTU last week as warm weather persisted over most of the US and kept demand for heating low, the contract price of natural gas for November delivery opened more than 2% higher on Monday and soared 61.8 cents, or nearly 12%, to $5.898 per mmBTU, on short covering ​following an initial rally on forecasts calling for cooler weather than had been expected....but prices fell back 5% early Tuesday as a wave of profit taking set in, before recovering to end just 1.6 cents lower at $5.882 per mmBTU, on midday forecasts calling for colder weather and higher heating demand over the next two weeks than was previously expected....after again sliding early on Wednesday, prices again rallied and ended 32​.0 cents, or more than 5% higher, on an increasingly bullish weather forecast, as lows of teens to 30s were expected to increase in coverage over the northern US and down the Plains, ​while trading in the November natural gas contract expired at a three week high of $6.202 per mmBTU...with media coverage now ​referencing the contract price of natural gas for December delivery, which had closed Wednesday priced at $6.198 per mmBTU, Thursday saw natural gas prices tumble 41.6 cents, or nearly 7% to $5.782 per mmBTU, first on a drop in European gas prices amid reports that Russia would begin increasing​ gas supplies to the continent in November , and then on a storage report than came in a bit below expectations....natual gas prices shed another 35.6 cents on Friday to end the week at $5.426 per mmBTU, as European natural gas prices again fell more than 11%, and as a mid-November warm-up was forecast for the Lower 48 following a bout of early-month cold...nonetheless, natural gas prices had already posted larger gains earlier​, and hence ended 2.8% higher on the week, while the December gas contract, which had ended last week priced at $5.461 per mmBTU, actually ​ended 0.6% lo​wer...

The EIA's natural gas storage report for the week ending October 22nd indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage in the US rose by 87 billion cubic feet to 3,548 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which still left our gas supplies 403 billion cubic feet, or 10.2% below the 3,951 billion cubic feet that were in storage on October 22nd of last year, and 126 billion cubic feet, or 3.4% below the five-year average of 3,674 billion cubic feet of natural gas that have been in storage as of the 22nd of October in recent years...the 87 billion cubic foot increase in US natural gas in working storage this week was a bit less than the average forecast for a 90 billion cubic foot addition from a S&P Global Platts survey of analysts, but well more than the average addition of 62 billion cubic feet of natural gas that have typically been injected into natural gas storage during the same week over the past 5 years, and far more than the 32 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 October 22nd indicated that after a modest increase in our oil imports and a modest decrease in our oil exports, we had surplus oil to add to our stored commercial crude supplies for the fourth time in five weeks and for the for the ninth time in the past thirty weeks….our imports of crude oil rose by an average of 430,000 barrels per day to an average of 6,254,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 169,000 barrels per day during the prior week, while our exports of crude oil fell by an average of 273,000 barrels per day to an average of 2,787,000 barrels per day during the week, which meant that our effective trade in oil worked out to a net import average of 3,467,000 barrels of per day during the week ending October 22nd, 703,000 more barrels per day than the net of our imports minus our exports during the prior week…over the same period, production of crude oil from US wells was reportedly unchanged at 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 have totaled an average of 14,767,000 barrels per day during the cited reporting week…

Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 15,048,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending October 22nd, 58,000 more barrels per day than the amount of oil they processed during the prior week, while over the same period the EIA’s surveys indicated that a net of 454,000 barrels of oil per day were being added to 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 734,000 barrels per day less than what was added to storage plus 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 (+734,000) 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 balance sheet 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....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 fell to an average of 6,277,000 barrels per day last week, which was still 15.2% more than the 5,450,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same four-week period last year…the rounded the 454,000 barrel per day net increase in our crude inventories came as 610,000 barrels per day were added to our commercially available stocks of crude oil, which in turn was partly offset by a 156,000 barrels per day withdrawal of oil that had been stored in our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of an emergency loan of oil to Exxon in the wake of hurricane Ida….this week’s crude oil production was reported to be unchanged at 11.300,000 barrels per day as the EIA's rounded estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was unchanged at 10,900,000 barrels per day, while an 11,000 barrel per day increase in Alaska’s oil production to 442,000 barrels per day had no impact on the reported 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 pre-pandemic 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...

US oil refineries were operating at 85.1% of their capacity while using those 15,048,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending October 22nd, up from 84.7% of capacity the prior week, but below normal utilization for early autumn refinery operations…the 15,048,000 barrels per day of oil that were refined this week were still 12.4% more barrels than the 13,388,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the pandemic impacted week ending October 23rd of last year, but 5.9% less than the 15,998,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending October 25th, 2019, when US refineries were operating at what was then also a below normal 87.7% of capacity...

With the increase in the amount of oil being refined this week, the gasoline output from our refineries was also a bit higher, increasing by 12,000 barrels per day to 10,072,000 barrels per day during the week ending October 22nd, after our gasoline output had increased by 455,000 barrels per day over the prior week.…this week’s gasoline production was also 10.7% more than the 9,095,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the same week of last year, but still 1.1% less than the gasoline production of 10,184,000 barrels per day during the week ending October 25th, 2019….at the same time, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) increased by 164,000 barrels per day to 4,581,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had decreased by 289,000 barrels per day over the prior week…after this week’s increase, our distillates output was 11.0% more than the 4,126,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending October 23rd, 2020, but 7.8% less than the 4,970,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending October 25th, 2019..

Despite the increase in our gasoline production, our supply of gasoline in storage at the end of the week decreased for the fifth time in eight weeks, and for fifteenth time in twenty-seven weeks, falling by 1,993,000 barrels to a 47 month low of 215,746,000 barrels during the week ending October 22nd, after our gasoline inventories had decreased by 5,368,000 barrels over the prior week...our gasoline supplies decreased this week even though the amount of gasoline supplied to US users fell by 311,000 barrels per day to 9,323,000 barrels per day because our imports of gasoline fell by 113,000 barrels per day to 493,000 barrels per day, and because our exports of gasoline rose by 280,000 barrels per day to 813,000 barrels per day…after this week’s inventory decrease, our gasoline supplies were 4.6% lower than last October 23rd's gasoline inventories of 226,124,000 barrels, and about 3% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of the year…

Even with the increase in our distillates production, our supplies of distillate fuels decreased for the eighth time in nine weeks and for the 20th time in 29 weeks, falling by 432,000 barrels to an 18 month low of 124,962,000 barrels during the week ending October 22nd, after our distillates supplies had decreased by 1,913,000 barrels during the prior week….our distillates supplies fell by less this week than last because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of our domestic demand, fell by 409,000 barrels per day to 3,869,000 barrels per day, while our imports of distillates rose by 123,000 barrels per day to 325,000 barrels per day, and while our exports of distillates rose by 199,000 barrels per day to 1,099,000 barrels per day...after twenty inventory decreases over the past twenty-nine weeks, our distillate supplies at the end of the week were 20.0% below the 156,228,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on October 23rd, 2020, and about 8% below the five year average of distillates stocks for this time of the year…

Meanwhile, after the increase in our oil imports and the decrease in our oil exports, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage rose for the sixth time in the past twenty-two weeks and for the 18th time in the past year, increasing by 4,268,000 barrels over the week, from 426,544,000 barrels on October 15th to 430,812,000 barrels on October 22nd, after our commercial crude supplies had decreased by 431,000 barrels over the prior week…after this week’s increase, our commercial crude oil inventories remained about 6% below the most recent five-year average of crude oil supplies for this time of year, but were still more than 28% above the average of our crude oil stocks at the fourth weekend of October 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 for most of the year after that, our commercial crude oil supplies as of this October 22nd were 12.5% less than the 492,427,000 barrels of oil we had in commercial storage on October 23rd of 2020, and are now 1.8% less than the 438,853,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on October 25th of 2019, but are still 1.1% more than the 426,004,000 barrels of oil we had in commercial storage on October 26th of 2018…

Finally, with our inventory of crude oil and our supplies of all products made from oil still near multi year lows, we are continuing to track the total of all U.S. Stocks of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products, including those in the SPR....we find that total oil and oil product inventories, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and those held by the oil industry, rose by 3,269,000 barrels this week, from 1,844,183,000 barrels on October 15th to 1,847,479,000 barrels on October 8th, and they are now 5,852,000 barrels higher than the six year low of five weeks earlier... 

This Week's Rig Count

The number of drilling rigs active in the US increased for the 49th time out of the past 58 weeks during the week ending October 29th, but they remained 31.4% below the pre-pandemic rig count....Baker Hughes reported that the total count of rotary rigs running in the US increased by two to 544 rigs this past week, which was also 248 more rigs​ than the pandemic hit 296 rigs that were in use as of the October 30th report of 2020, but was also still 1,385 fewer rigs than the shale era high of 1,929 drilling rigs that were deployed on November 21st of 2014, 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 1 to 444 oil rigs this week, after they had fallen by 2 oil rigs the prior week, but there are still 223 more oil rigs active now than were running a year ago, even as they still amount to just 27.6%​ of the 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 up by 1 to 100 natural gas rigs, which was still up by 28 natural gas rigs from the 72 natural gas rigs that were drilling during the same week a year ago, but still only 6.2% of the modern era high of 1,606 rigs targeting natural gas that were deployed on September 7th, 2008….last year's rig count also included 3 rigs that Baker Hughes had classified as "miscellaneous', while there are no such "miscellaneous' rigs running this week...

The Gulf of Mexico rig count was unchanged at thirteen rigs this week, which is still short of the 14 rigs deployed in the Gulf the week before Hurricane Ida approached, with twelve of this week's Gulf rigs drilling for oil in Louisiana waters and another drilling for oil in Alaminos Canyon, offshore from Texas....the Gulf rig count is still equal to that of a year ago, when 12 Gulf rigs were drilling for oil offshore from Louisiana and one was deployed for oil in Texas waters…​and since there is now no drilling off our other coasts, nor was there a year ago, the Gulf rig count is equal to the national totals..

In addition to those rigs offshore, we continue to have two water based rigs drilling inland; one is a directional rig targeting oil at a depth of over 15,000 feet, drilling from an inland body of water in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, near the mouth of the Mississippi, and the other is drilling for oil in the Galveston Bay area, and hence the inland waters rig count of two is up from one from a year ago..

The count of active horizontal drilling rigs was up by one to 483 horizontal rigs this week, which was nearly double the 254 horizontal rigs that were in use in the US on October 30th of last year, but was just 35.2% of the record 1,374 horizontal rigs that were deployed on November 21st of 2014..…at the same time, the vertical rig count was also up by 1 to 39 vertical rigs this week, and those were also up by 9 from the 20 vertical rigs that were operating during the same week a year ago….meanwhile​, the directional rig count was unchanged at 32 directional rigs this week, and those are still up by 10 from the 22 directional rigs that were in use on October 30th 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 October 29th, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (October 22nd) and this week’s (October 29th) count, the third column shows last week’s October 22nd 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 30th of October, 2020...

as you can see, not much changed this week; the Colorado rig addition was an oil rig in the Niobrara chalk of the Rockies' front range, and the North Dakota rig addition was an oil rig in the Williston basin's Bakken shale... the Rigs by State file at Baker Hughes reveals that two rigs were added in Texas Oil District 8, which is the core Permian Delaware, while two rigs were out of Texas Oil District 7C, which would be the southern counties of the Permian Midland, and hence there was no net change in the Texas Permian...there was a natural gas rig added in the Haynesville shale in Texas Oil District 6, but there was also a rig pulled out of the Haynesville shale in northwest Louisiana, so there was no net change in the Haynesville shale either...meanwhile, this week's natural gas rig increase came as a natural gas rig was added somewhere in the Permian, while an oil rig was pulled out at the same time...

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Legislators hear of water woes from pipeline neighbors - — “All I want is good water,” said military veteran and Johnstown, Cambria County, resident Ron Shawley. Shawley told three elected officials, reporters and the public, during Wednesday morning’s event at the state Capitol Rotunda, about living 20 feet from a pipeline. Shawley blamed Mariner East pipeline builder Sunoco/Energy Transfer for fouling his drinking water during ongoing pipeline construction at the event, “Standing for the Right to Clean Water: Stories from the Mariner East Pipeline Project.”“I was led to believe that this gas company would take care of me,” Shawley said.Shawley claims that the pipeline builder went off-course while digging and laying pipe and hit his well.“If you work with us, we will work with you,” he said he was told by the pipeline builder.Shawley, and two others who spoke at the rally, hail from across the state and live nearby to pipeline construction. They have refused to sign non-disclosure agreements. Shawley was told that if he signed he would give up his right to speak with politicians or the media.The Johnstown resident called for Gov. Tom Wolf to put a stop to construction since the governor “must certainly know what is going on” with at least 150 wells fouled statewide.The 1930s era active pipeline right-of-way stretches 350 miles from Marcellus shale deposits in Ohio, West Virginia and across the breadth of Pennsylvania, to the Marcus Hook Refinery in Delaware County. The pipeline is designed for the shipment of the by-product of fracking for overseas production of plastics. The three elected officials called for the Department of Environmental Protection and Wolf to pull the ME2 DEP permits until what they say are damaged wells are restored, and for fellow legislators to enact tougher laws.The representatives called for adherence to the state Constitution, which guarantees clean water and air.Also noted by the public officials was Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s lodging of 48 counts of environmental crimes following a grand jury investigation. Sunoco/ET could only be fined, with no criminal time served, if convicted.

Philadelphia Gas Works’ Natural Gas Pricing Called Anti-Competitive by District Energy Supplier - Natural Gas Intelligence - Vicinity Energy, which specializes in district energy systems for buildings and campuses, has filed a formal complaint with Pennsylvania regulators alleging that Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) has anti-competitive natural gas pricing. Headquartered in Boston, Vicinity has 19 district energy systems nationwide. District energy entails producing thermal energy at a central facility and transporting it to buildings via underground piping. Vicinity said Monday its complaint, filed with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). alleges that PGW’s gas pricing is “anti-competitive and designed to make district energy steam…significantly more expensive for customers.” Vicinity said its existing contract with PGW, first executed in 1996, expires at the end of next year. It said it has helped to ensure its customers in Philadelphia’s city center receive “clean, reliable and affordable steam service.” Under a new contract offer made last February, PGW would continue to transport gas to Vicinity’s Grays Ferry combined heat and power (CHP) plant in South Philadelphia. However, the price would be hiked by more than 1,000%, Vicinity said. It also noted that it purchases the natural gas from third-party suppliers. “In its formal complaint to the PUC, Vicinity contests the drastic increase in the cost to transport gas through PGW’s pipelines and claims it is anti-competitive, unreasonable and an attempt to impose significant anti-competitive pressure on Vicinity’s mission critical energy services,” the company said. As “PGW’s largest customer,” Vicinity said it consumes gas at the CHP plant to generate electricity and steam. The electricity is supplied to the PJM Interconnection LLC’s electric grid. The steam is used to heat and cool buildings and provide for critical processes such as sterilizing labs and surgical equipment in hospitals. “Because the steam is a byproduct of the CHP process, it is a clean, low-carbon and efficient alternative to directly consuming gas onsite in individual buildings,” said Vicinity. Vicinity also maintains PGW’s new contract offer would cause it to shift from firm gas delivery to interruptible supply scenario. “If permitted, this provides PGW with the ability to suspend the supply of gas to Vicinity at any time, which would interrupt the co-generation of electricity and steam in its plant,” said Vicinity. “While Vicinity Energy has backup options (including dual-fuel steam generators, portable steam generators and fuel oil reserves) and system redundancies, interruptible supply is unacceptable to Vicinity and the needs of its customers, including major hospitals, research labs, universities and government buildings.” Vicinity said it has repeatedly sought to resolve the dispute and outreach efforts continue. However, it claimed that a “huge divide” remains between both parties as PGW has refused to “provide any justification or substantiation of their proposed increases.”House Bill 2581 is changing the way oil and gas is being valued in the Mountain State | WTRF - The valuation of oil and gas wells is changing in West Virginia.On Tuesday night, those property owners were invited to a presentation by the Ohio County Commissioners to hear from the state’s acting deputy tax commissioner.House Bill 2581, which was passed by both the house and senate and signed by Governor Justice earlier this year, was the focus of discussion.The house bill changes the way oil and gas in the Mountain state is being valued. This change in valuation affects the oil and gas producers as well as the property owners who own their mineral rights.Both the property owners and producers are worried about an increase in their tax billsAt this point, according to the Ohio County Assessor’s Office, property owners are mostly frustrated because they don’t understand how the minerals on their property are being valued by the state of West Virginia.The legislative rule-making committee is currently taking property owners comments under advisement before publically releasing just how this tax valuation will look.For those people who want to express their concerns, Winter encourages them to go to www.wvsos.com.

WV landowners want property back from the ACP - Jeff Mills enjoys growing Christmas trees across from his front yard. A few cows live on a hill behind his house. But in 2015, he got some unwelcome news. Mills learned that his 290-acre property was in the path of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, a natural gas pipeline planned to stretch hundreds of miles from West Virginia to North Carolina. An offshoot from the larger pipeline was supposed to run near the side of the Mills’ house. Mills didn’t want the pipeline on his property. But ACP had the power — called eminent domain — to take it anyway. Federal regulators gave ACP that power as part of their approval of the project. So Mills, like many, said he agreed to negotiate. But in July 2020, companies Dominion Energy and Duke Energy announced they were canceling the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Now, Mills and other landowners face a different question: What’s next for the land that used to be theirs? In Doddridge County, the Mills’ property remains physically untouched, though contractors had already started clearing trees nearby when news of the pipeline’s cancellation broke. But there’s still an orange banner in one tree and a wooden stake in the ground, constant reminders that this swath of property doesn’t belong to him anymore. And it’s the uncertainty of what could happen to that easement that Mills says he’s nervous about. “A different company, a different pipeline … it’s not over,” Mills said. When Dominion Energy proposed the 600-mile ACP in 2015, the company said it was needed to diversify the region’s energy mix as more coal-fired plants retire. Construction began in 2017, after the project was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But after years of legal battles — mostly from environmental groups arguing FERC had overlooked impacts on climate change, and on local water systems and utilities — the companies pulled the plug on both the main pipeline and the smaller Supply Header pipeline, the offshoot that was going to run across the Mills property in Doddridge County. “At that point, a lot of times people throw in the towel,” said Megan Gibson, an attorney who advocates for landowners with the Washington, D.C.- based Niskanen Center. “‘We’re done, we won, the pipeline’s dead.’ For landowners, that’s obviously not true.” Among the three states, FERC documents say the proposed pipeline would’ve crossed more than 2,600 easements, covering nearly 4,300 acres of land — all of which Duke and Dominion now own the rights to. In Doddridge County, gravel covers land where developers were working on a canceled pipeline. Photo by Emily Allen. Some landowners have miles of the pipeline already installed on their properties. Contractors for Duke and Dominion also cleared trees along more than 110 miles across West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, leaving about half of the felled trees on the property. “Even if there’s nothing visible out on the land, there’s a public record out at the courthouse that restricts that landowner’s rights and that property’s value,” Howell said. “The easements all prohibit building a structure. That means if you want to put a barn there, you cannot. If you want to put a house or shed there, you cannot. And the company has the right to come onto the property to do what they want.”

Pipeline's efforts to unmask critics by subpoena met with silence from Facebook - Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC does not appear to have found a friend in Facebook. The company building a natural gas pipeline through Southwest Virginia filed a subpoena in a civil case, asking Facebook to reveal the identities of the people who set up its Appalachians Against Pipelines page anonymously. Two months later, it is still waiting for a reply. At a hearing last week in Roanoke’s federal court, attorney Seth Land said the company has not heard back from Facebook. He declined to elaborate after the hearing, referring questions to a company spokeswoman. “As a matter of policy, we do not share detailed information regarding litigation strategy,” Natalie Cox wrote in an email. Mountain Valley contends in court papers that it needs to know the names, emails and phone numbers of those who manage the Appalachians Against Pipelines Facebook page to address “serious safety issues” raised by protesters at a construction site. The company asked for the records as it tries to determine what role the anti-pipeline group played in encouraging opponents to show up Aug. 11 at the Bent Mountain property of John Coles and Theresa “Red” Terry. Mountain Valley says the protesters risked the safety of themselves and pipeline workers by standing within 50 feet of loaded explosives that were being using to blast a path through bedrock for the buried pipeline. It is seeking an injunction that would require observers to maintain a safe distance in the future. Issued Aug. 20, the subpoena asked that Facebook respond by Sept. 17. While Mountain Valley says it needs the information to ensure public safety, others counter that the subpoena is nothing more than an effort to unmask and intimidate the company’s anonymous critics. “MVP is harassing grassroots political opponents by seeking personal information about activists working to protect those harmed by an unnecessary and dangerous fracked gas project,” Appalachians Against Pipelines said in a statement. A representative for the group said last week that it has received no communications from Facebook about the subpoena. An attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation — a San Francisco-based nonprofit that advocates for privacy and free speech on the internet — has said it has concerns about a company seeking to unmask its critics without good cause. If Mountain Valley is to get the information it wants, it would have to show a legitimate need that outweighs the right of Appalachians Against Pipelines organizers to remain unidentified, according to Bennet Kelley, a lawyer who runs the Internet Law Center in Santa Monica, California. “Anonymous speech has long been protected speech, going back to the Federalist Papers,” Kelley said, referring to the writings of America’s founders, who used the pen name “Publius” in newspaper pieces to avoid retaliation for their support of the U.S. Constitution.

Pipeline protesters face judge in Montgomery County (WDBJ) - Opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline who were arrested during a protest in August were in court Monday.Ten defendants were convicted of misdemeanors and fined, but they won’t be spending time in jail.In their agreement with prosecutors, each of the defendants was found guilty of a single misdemeanor, obstructing free passage of others.“I’m disappointed that the governments that are supposed to protect us are instead punishing us,” said Peatmoss Ellis, one of the defendants. “We’re here today out of love and concern for the future and the future generations to come.”They were charged during an August 9 protest on Cove Hollow Road, an action that blocked pipeline construction crews for several hours.Their civil disobedience, they said, was an act of conscience fueled by their concern about climate change.“We’re going through a climate disaster and people must take decisive action,” said Alex Williams. “I know that I was on the right side of history,” added Jim Steitz. “The people building this pipeline will not be able to say that.” Mountain Valley Pipeline spokesperson Natalie Cox released the following statement Monday evening.“While we respect the opinions of those who oppose the MVP project and natural gas infrastructure in general, there is no excuse for the unlawful actions taken by these activists,” she wrote in an email. “We believe there is common ground for all Virginians – and, indeed, all Americans – to reject the kind of attention-seeking, criminal behavior promoted by certain project opponents such as those engaged in these types of activities.”Each of the ten defendants received a suspended jail sentence and a fine of $150.They are prohibited from going on MVP property or easements for 12 months, and the judge ordered them to stay out of Montgomery County for a year.

Franklin County landowners settle lawsuit against Mountain Valley Pipeline -Six Franklin County landowners whose property was swamped by muddy runoff from the Mountain Valley Pipeline three years ago have settled their lawsuit against the company.Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in a brief order filed in Roanoke’s federal court.Brought in May 2018, the lawsuit sought damages for three couples who live a short distance from Cahas Mountain Road, which was buried in about eight inches of mud that washed from a construction site during heavy rains.The runoff continued downhill to land owned by Wendell and Mary Flora, leaving a blanket of sediment and muddy water that covered hayfields and made its way into nearly streams, the lawsuit alleged. Glenn and Linda Frith and Michael and Frances Hurt, who live less than half a mile away, claimed they suffered similar harm from erosion caused by a several-day storm that started May 15, 2018.The lawsuit accused Mountain Valley of creating a nuisance, damaging property that it had not acquired through eminent domain and trespassing by virtue of the soil, water and mud that it allowed to invade its neighbors’ land.Total damages exceeded $9,000 and were likely to increase with future rains, according to documents filed at the time by Isak Howell, an attorney for the nonprofit law firm of Appalachian Mountain Advocates.Mountain Valley spokeswoman Natalie Cox declined to comment Monday, saying the settlement was confidential. Howell also declined to comment. What happened on Cahas Mountain Road — which was closed for a day while bulldozers removed the mud from the rural highway — was one of the more publicly visible examples of environmental damage caused by building a massive pipeline on the steep slopes of Southwest Virginia.In the days before the rainfall started, regulators received calls from citizens who were concerned that heavy equipment being used to remove downed trees and clear a 125-foot-wide swath for the buried pipeline was exposing the land to potential runoff problems.After the storm, Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality ordered that construction in the area be halted until proper erosion control measures were established. Although work was allowed to resume several days later, DEQ later cited Mountain Valley for hundreds of other infractions along the pipeline’s 107-mile route through six Virginia counties.About $2.5 million in fines have been imposed by DEQ and its counterpart in West Virginia, where the natural gas pipeline starts.

Activists Want Regulators to Consider Environmental and Racial Justice Implications of the Mountain Valley Pipeline - State officials are about to make a key decision that could have environmental ramifications for generations to come. But, the decision could also have racial justice implications. In the next few weeks, the State Water Control Board will vote on whether to grant certification to the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would carry fracked natural gas 300 miles from northern West Virginia to Southside Virginia. Environmentalists are raising concerns about water quality, but social justice advocates are also speaking out. Kidest Gebre at Virginia Interfaith Power and Light says the proposal would perpetuate patterns of environmental racism. "The Southgate compressor station, the Lambert compressor station, is sited near a community that's an African American community as well as there's an African American family living right next to the proposed compressor station," Gebre says. "So that makes it an environmental racism and an environmental injustice concern." Harry Godfrey at Virginia Advanced Energy Economy says it's important to ask questions about how views about race influence decisions about infrastructure. "Where were right-of-ways established 10, 20, 50 or 100 years ago? And if you had a society that said these communities are not as important as those communities you can get into these scenarios where we bake in infrastructure decisions that can lead to inequitable outcomes," says Godfrey. Members of the Water Control Board will be hearing from advocates for and against the pipeline as they approach a final decision later this year.

Williams Leveraging Natural Gas Footprint to Advance RSG, RNG and Zero-Carbon Initiatives - The natural gas industry may no longer equivocate about whether to responsibly produce and transport lower carbon fuel, as customers are lining up in North America and abroad, according to a Williams executive. At the LDC Natural Gas Forum held earlier in October in New Orleans, Williams’ Angela John shared the midstream infrastructure giant’s strategy to capture opportunities from low- and net-zero carbon fuels. John joined Williams earlier this year as Business Development director for the company’s New Energy Ventures unit. Certifying supply as differentiated or responsibly sourced gas (RSG) is gaining momentum, offering companies a big opportunity, John said.“RSG gives us a great opportunity” to demonstrate “authenticity,” as the company has committed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. “RSG can be a proof point for our climate commitment progress as well,” she told the audience.Energy initiatives are expanding within the framework of environmental, social and governance (ESG). Using differentiated gas demonstrates those commitments to the all-important investor community too. There are various ways to certify gas, which when done well, provides transparency across the “full value chain,” John said. It also ensures “our social licence to operate…We need to solidify natural gas’ place in the clean energy future.”

New York State Denies Permit for New Astoria Power Plant - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on Wednesday denied a controversial proposal for a new, fracked gas power plant in Astoria—a victory for environmental activists who say the project is not in line with the state’s energy emission goals. In 2020, Astoria Gas Turbine Power, LLC—a subsidiary of the energy company NRG—applied for a Clean Air Act Title V air permit as part of its plans to build a fossil fuel–fired turbine generator in the northwest Queens neighborhood. The plant would replace a 50-year-old high-polluting “peaker plant” with a more modern fracked gas facility, according to NRG, which also said the company plans to eventually switch the plant to generate renewable energy. But DEC said that the project was not in line with the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2019 and aims to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050. The agency told City Limits in August that at that time, NRG had not provided sufficient evidence that the project would comply with the CLCPA, but public comment on the proposal was still open for two and half more weeks. In all, DEC said it received more than 6,600 comments about the plan, which inspired multiple protest rallies by environmental groups and community organizers. Approximately 85 percent of those public comments were in opposition to the proposal, according to the state. “The proposed project would be inconsistent with or would interfere with the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits established in the Climate Act,” said the DEC in a statement Wednesday. “Astoria NRG failed to demonstrate the need or justification for the proposed project notwithstanding this inconsistency.” The decision earned praise from Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and environmental groups. “Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, and we owe it to future generations to meet our nation-leading climate and emissions reduction goals,” said Hochul in a statement, adding that she “applauded” the DEC’s decision.

DEC denies natural gas power plants based on its climate law, a first for New York — The state Department of Environmental Conservation denied two proposed natural gas power plants by citing New York's new climate law, signaling a precedent-setting moment for a state with aggressive environmental goals. "Both would be inconsistent with New York’s nation-leading climate law, and are not justified or needed for grid reliability," DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a tweet Wednesday. "We must shift to a renewable future." The denial of the two proposed plants, Astoria Gas Turbine Power in Queens and Danskammer Energy Center in Newburgh, marked a milestone in the implementation of the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The proposed plants would "interfere with the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits established in the Climate Act," Seggos said in a statement. The state is seeking to bring greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below the 1990 levels by 2030, and 85 percent below the 1990 levels by 2050, according to its climate law. The energy plant proposals conflict with more long-term goals of the state's climate law, according to the denial letter from DEC. "Constructing and operating a new fossil fuel-fired power plant accomplishes the exact opposite and perpetuates a reliance on fossil fuels," the letter to Astoria Gas said. The decision was celebrated by environmental advocates, who were looking toward the permit renewals as a test of how the state would implement its climate law. "This is a major victory and a first interpretation," said Roger Downs, conservation director of the Sierra Club Atlantic chapter. Downs was speaking at an Assembly hearing on how "proof of work" cryptocurrency mining at coal plants in the state comports with the climate act. At the hearing, DEC and the Public Service Commission declined to attend, Chair Steve Englebright said. He harangued the agencies for not showing up. The permit denial was announced minutes before the hearing in Albany.

Federal Govt. to Investigate North BK Pipeline Approval Process -- For more than a year, Brooklyn activists have been fighting against the completion of National Grid’s North Brooklyn natural gas pipeline, arguing that its construction discriminated against communities of color.Now, after filing a federal civil rights complaint in August, the groups opposing the pipeline have got the attention of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.The EPA said it will investigate the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s actions in approving the pipeline following the complaint filed by Brownsville Green Justice, the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Coalition of Young Professionals, Mi Casa Resiste, and the Indigenous Kinship Collective.The complaint says that DEC was aware of National Grid’s alleged violations during the construction of the pipeline — which runs through predominantly communities of color — which allegedly included failing to notify community members of the project and bypassing critical safety and health regulations.Despite these issues, the complaint alleges that DEC failed to conduct the appropriate environmental reviews and allowed the project to proceed, adding that it would not have given its approval if the project been planned in predominantly white communities.Phases 1-4 of the pipeline are completed and currently transporting fracked gas through the Brownsville, Ocean Hill, Bushwick, East Williamsburg and Williamsburg neighborhoods. The Greenpoint portion of the pipeline and project has been halted.The EPA said in a letter that it would investigate why DEC failed to conduct an environmental review of the entire pipeline and only issued a “negative declaration” declaring no adverse impact for a small subsection of the project, and it would also look into why DEC failed to properly engage and consult impacted communities in the review process.The EPA also said that it would refer investigation of National Grid and the Department of Public Service, which are also named in the complaint, for consideration to the Departments of Justice, Transportation, and Energy.

Natural Gas Issues Could Impact New England This Winter - — Federal energy regulators predict natural gas may be in short supply for New England this winter. New England electric generators are more dependent on natural gas than any other fuel, with about 52 percent of generation produced by natural gas facilities. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s annual assessment of winter energy markets and reliability, in extreme winter conditions the region’s commercial and industrial sectors may have to curtail activities and there may be outages in the natural gas and electric sectors. But the report notes there should be ample fuel supplies to produce enough power to meet demand under expected conditions. The report does say greater exports of liquified natural gas into the global market, reduced reserves and limited pipeline capacity could negatively impact New England. Due to limited pipeline capacity, New England relies on LNG to bolster the fuel supply during peak winter months, but now will be competing for those supplies with the global market, particularly East Asia and Europe, according to federal regulators. During the winter months natural gas use for heating is a higher priority on pipelines as providers enter into long-term firm transmission contrasts with operators, but most power generators do not and that also impacts prices, regulators noted. They also said there is little storage capacity in New England which also impacts prices and system reliability. Natural gas prices have doubled from what they were a year ago in much of the country, according to the assessment, but at the Algonquin Citygate hub near Boston, the price is four times higher than last year heading into the winter.

Massachusetts Regulators Approve New LNG Import Facility - Alternatives to the new Mass. LNG facility, such as expanding interstate natural gas pipelines, are more harmful to the environment, EFSB's Andre Gibeau said.

West Milford NJ: Passaic County postpones opposition to compressor — County commissioners again pushed pause on plans to oppose a pipeline company's proposal to construct a new natural gas compressor station near the Monksville Reservoir. Despite receiving dozens of letters and public comments in opposition to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline's East 300 Upgrade Project this year, Commissioner Director Pat Lepore said he unilaterally pulled the resolution to give supportive stakeholders an opportunity to "state their case" at the commission's Nov. 9 meeting. "I just wanted to be fair with them and let them prepare," Lepore said. "They come. They make their case. They're open to questions from the board, and the board makes a decision at that time." Pending Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, the East 300 Upgrade Project would push more gas through North Jersey to feed Consolidated Edison's connections in New York State. The project involves compressor station upgrades in Wantage and Pennsylvania. The West Milford station would be new. This spring, West Milford resident Terry Duffy was among the county commissioners who voiced their objections to the project — namely the proposed 19,000-horsepower compressor proposed for a former quarry in West Milford. A resolution in opposition was created. Commissioners, however, pulled the resolution, declining to take a stance as officials in West Milford negotiated with pipeline officials regarding safety assurances, insurance and compensation. The town was one of several where construction of an affiliated pipeline loop a decade earlier destabilized hillsides and silted waterbodies. West Milford, Wantage and other area residents have opposed the East 300 Upgrade primarily over fears of air pollution, water contamination, noise and environmental impacts associated with the gas' end use. Pipeline officials have said the proposed compressor turbine in West Milford will be electric-driven and produce little noise or emissions. They also said new gas hookups fueled by the new compressors may displace some more highly-polluting heating oil systems.

AES wants customers to pay extra as Eagle Valley power plant sits offline for 6 months - Just days shy of its three-year anniversary in April, AES Indiana’s Eagle Valley natural gas plant conked out — the result of human and technical error. Six months later, it is still offline as the utility works to repair the issues.To make up for the shortfall, AES Indiana, formerly Indianapolis Power & Light, had to buy roughly $1.2 million worth of power from the grid. And, now, AES wants you — the customer — to pay for it.The company has officially asked state regulators to raise bills to cover that cost. That would mean customers would pay more for a power plant they already have been paying for despite sitting idle.AES is asking to pass along the full $1.2 million. That means customers would pay roughly an extra $1 per month over six months. The utility, in its filings to the state utility regulatory commission,wrote that it "took appropriate steps to mitigate the duration and costs of the outage” and therefore, the regulators should allow the costs incurred from this incident to land on customers’ bills.Consumer advocates and environmental groups, however, are pushing back. “It’s like paying for a mortgage while you can’t live in your house,” said Kerwin Olson, executive director of the Citizens Action Coalition. “Customers are basically paying the mortgage for Eagle Valley while the plant isn’t running." And now, he said, those same customers are being asked to pay for the hotel they’re being forced to stay in.Indiana regulators held a technical conference on Thursday and have also scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Nov. 12, both to help the commission better understand the situation and the information in support and opposition of the request. A decision in this case likely is expected near the end of November, according to a spokeswoman with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

Eversource Gas asks for $33 million for a second pipeline in Springfield; doesn’t plan to change its property tax views - While still owing millions of dollars in property taxes to municipalities in Massachusetts, Eversource is asking for roughly $33 million to install a secondary natural gas pipeline in Springfield and Longmeadow that will be funded, if approved, by ratepayers. In addition to the outstanding taxes owed by the energy giant, there has been growing opposition to the pipeline from residents stating health and safety concerns in addition to questions regarding who will pay the project’s multi-million dollar price tag. “Just step back and look at the safety record for natural gas,” said William Akley, president of the Gas Business at Eversource. “It is by far one of the safest means of energy available.” “It certainly not as safe as renewable energy,” said Verne McArthur, Springfield Climate Justice Coalition member. “We had an explosion here in Springfield, I think 8 or 10 years ago when it was Columbia gas. They blew up Lawrence. There was just a fire in Marshfield, which burned for 9 hours because of Eversource’s confusion over the location of the shutoff valves.” Almost exactly 1 year ago on Oct. 9, 2020, Eversource purchased the former Columbia Gas of Massachusetts for $1.1 billion. Eversource reported full-year 2020 earnings of $1.205 billion, up from the previous year’s earnings of $909.1 million. This included after-tax costs of Columbia Gas’ Massachusetts operations, which includes facilities in Springfield, Brockton and Lawrence.

FERC's Glick urges power plant owners to line up fuel supplies as gas prices soar - Increasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are contributing to rising U.S. natural gas prices by decreasing domestic supply, which could have a major effect on New England’s energy markets this winter, according to FERC staff.Average forward natural gas prices across U.S. trading hubs for the upcoming winter have more than doubled from a year ago, to $5.63 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), with prices more than quadrupling, to $18.18/MMbtu, at the Algonquin hub near Boston, FERC staff said Thursday in its annual winter energy market and reliability assessment.Although regions across the country have reserve margins of at least 26%, FERC Chairman Richard Glick warned that that metric of adequate power supply may no longer be valid in the face of extreme weather, which can knock large numbers of power plants offline.With natural gas prices climbing across the United States, during FERC's monthly meeting, Glick urged generators with capacity obligations to arrange fuel contracts and start the winter with sufficient fuel supplies.All planning regions across the U.S. expect to have more than enough generation capacity to meet their needs, but fuel supplies could be a problem, according to FERC staff."Fuel availability remains critical to reliability of the bulk power system this winter," a FERC staffer said during the commission’s monthly meeting. "Regions with high levels of natural gas generation may experience scarcity of natural gas supplies, especially in the Northeast."FERC staff said natural gas demand is expected to average 111 billion cubic feet a day (Bcfd) this winter, up 2.5% from the same period last winter. The increase is mainly driven by a 21% jump in LNG gross exports, they said.The warning about high natural gas prices this winter comes as the Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a trade group for manufacturers, is urging the Department of Energy to limit LNG exports to keep gas prices in check this winter.During the meeting, Glick asked FERC staff members to what extent LNG exports were affecting domestic natural gas prices. Expectations for rising LNG exports are already reflected in forward natural gas prices, they said. Also, the price risk from selling LNG to other countries is limited to how much the U.S. can export, according to staff. The U.S. currently can export 10.8 Bcfd, but with two LNG facilities preparing to come online, exports could reach 12.3 Bcfd this winter, staff said at the meeting. In New England, soaring natural gas prices are partly driven by the region’s limited natural gas pipeline capacity and competition for LNG cargoes in light of rising worldwide energy prices, FERC staff said."New England's dependence on natural gas and rising global LNG demand are expected to have a significant impact on New England natural gas markets" staff said.Extremely cold temperatures in New England present challenges for natural gas supply, electricity markets and electric reliability, according to FERC staff.Although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting a warmer-than-normal winter for most of the U.S., and reserve margins appear adequate, cold snaps can affect power supply, Glick said."The reality is that reserve margins aren't necessarily guarantors of reliable operation," Glick said, pointing to mid-February blackouts in Texas and other states.Glick said he is bothered that generators in ISO New England (ISO-NE) get capacity payments but don’t necessarily take steps to make sure they have enough fuel for the coldest winter days, even under the grid operator's pay-for-performance capacity framework. Local natural gas utilities typically contract for firm pipeline deliveries, but natural gas power plants in New England generally don’t use firm contacts, which can limit their deliveries in the winter, staff said. FERC’s report indicates the U.S. is facing gas scarcity, according to Commissioner James Danly. At the same time, FERC has delayed approving natural gas projects and injected uncertainty into the natural gas sector, he said."It seems to be fashionable to ignore what you would call the reliability consequences of the increased penetration of intermittents into the electric system, but those consequences are real, and when paired with gas scarcity, it really does not bode well for the stability of the electric system," Danly said.

FERC Projects $5.63 Henry Hub Natural Gas Price for Winter - Despite projecting higher-than-average temperatures across much of the United States this winter that would typically dampen gas-fired power demand, FERC last week predicted rising natural gas prices for the period. Winter Futures Prices A newly released Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report, “2021-2022 Winter Energy Market and Reliability Assessment,” anticipates an average Henry Hub futures price of $5.63/MMBtu for November through February 2022. The price forecast represents a $2.85, or 103%, increase from the winter 2020-2021 settled futures price, FERC said in the report. Among various hubs, FERC stated that it expects the highest winter 2021-2022 futures prices at the Algonquin Citygate hub near Boston: $18.18 — a sharp increase from $4.20 last winter. The Commission report cited limited New England pipeline capacity and stiffening global competition for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes as key factors driving its Algonquin price projection. “High expected natural gas prices in New England this winter could incentivize more LNG imports into the region,” FERC researchers said. The FERC outlook predicted U.S. natural gas production to average 94 Bcf/d this winter — a 3.2 Bcf/d increase from the corresponding period in 2020-2021. In terms of average winter demand, the report assumed a 2.5% year/year increase to 111 Bcf/d. “This forecasted demand increase primarily is due to an anticipated increase of 21% in LNG exports relative to last winter,” FERC stated. The Commission expects rising seasonal gas demand across the commercial, residential and industrial/other sectors. Not all of FERC’s winter gas projections point upward, however. Researchers are projecting an 8% decline in power burn against the winter 2020-2021 figure. Moreover, it cited the recent Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast that gas storage inventories will begin winter 2021-2022 at 3,572 Bcf, 5% below the five-year average. More dramatically, propane storage levels are poised to start the season 20% below the five-year average, FERC added.

Lower 48 Natural Gas Giant EQT Posts Sharp 3Q Loss, but Dealmaking to Cut Transport Costs -- EQT Corp., which on Thursday reported a larger year/year loss for the third quarter, said that it expects a pair of 2021 deals to lower its firm gas transportation costs by about 5 cents/Mcfe going forward. In one deal, EQT reached an agreement to sell down up to 525 million Dth/d firm transportation capacity on its Mountain Valley Pipeline to an undisclosed entity, while retaining Southeast market access. The second transaction would allow EQT to increase gas deliveries to Rockies and Midwest markets via a new firm capacity deal on the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) EQT, which now boasts 930 million Dth/d of firm REX transportation, said it would enjoy a “significantly discounted reservation rate” on REX capacity through March 2025.The nation’s largest U.S. natural gas producer attributed the 3Q2021 loss to a one-time charge related to hedging. In other words, EQT made a bad bet on the direction of natural gas prices during the quarter. Other quarterly losses included depreciation and depletion increases, along with higher transportation and processing expenses.“Our reasons for hedging 2022 production at the levels we did while continuing to keep 2023 exposure open is simple,” said CEO Toby Z. Rice. “We believe that regaining our investment grade rating and reducing absolute debt levels best positions EQT shareholders to fully capture the thematic long-term tailwinds in the commodity.” The Pittsburgh-based independent is not alone in reporting a missed hedging opportunity for the third quarter. Royal Dutch Shell plc also revealed that ithad been stung during the period by a hedging strategy with limited spot gas market exposure. EQT’s executive team had also faced scrutiny over its hedging strategy in July. According to EQT, increased sales of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL) and oil, higher investment income and a higher income tax benefit partially offset the most recent quarterly loss.“Since we last reported in July, we’ve seen a fundamental shift in the natural gas market,” said Rice. “Current world events demonstrate the critical importance that natural gas will play in our energy future. EQT reported $1.784 billion in natural gas, NGL and oil revenue, or 495 Bcfe total, for 3Q2021. It attributed the $1.185 billion improvement from 3Q2020 to a 129 Bcfe increase in volumes for the period — but at a consistent $2.33 average realized price for both reporting periods. For the third quarter, total operating costs were $1.25/Mcfe, with a year-to-date well cost of $680/lateral foot in the southwestern portion of the Marcellus in Pennsylvania. It also had $297 million in capital expenditures, up $49 million year/year, as well as $99 million in FCF, which was up $52 million. In addition, EQT had $48 million in net cash from operating activities, which was down $136 million year/year.

Rising U.S. natural gas prices aren’t just a supply issue but a policy one - Natural gas prices in the United States and across the globe are forecast to reach highs this winter not seen since before the shale revolution changed the dynamics of U.S. energy markets. And while it’s true that demand is currently outpacing supply, that’s not because the country has suddenly run out of natural gas. As USA Today reports: “Are we going to run out of natural gas? Not anytime soon. [Tortoise Capital’s Rob] Thummel called the U.S. the Saudi Arabia of natural gas and estimated that the nation has a 100-year supply underground. But what about the infrastructure needed to transport natural gas? That’s in short supply. Basically, the U.S. doesn’t have enough export facilities, pipelines and storage to quickly increase capacity, Thummel, said. What’s more, he added, investors have rewarded energy companies in recent years for returning cash to shareholders rather than investing in new production. This confluence of events is undermining access to the fuel used to run your furnace.” In fact, Potential Gas Committee’s recent biennial analysis of U.S. natural gas reserves found the United States has nearly 3,368 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas: “The Atlantic Area ranks as the country’s richest resource area with 39 percent of total U.S. gas resources, followed by the Mid-Continent with 18 percent, the Rocky Mountains with 17 percent, and the Gulf Coast (including the Gulf of Mexico) with 16 percent.” According to PGC, most of the nation’s natural gas resources can be found in the Atlantic Area of the country, home to the prolific Marcellus and Utica shales

Volatile Natural Gas Markets Forecast for 18 Months or Longer, Along with More U.S. LNG Export Projects - The U.S. natural gas markets are going to see big swings for at least the next year and a half, with production volumes exiting this year at about the same rate as when the year began, according to an IHS Markit expert. HH IHS Markit’s Jack Weixel, senior director of the Gas, Power and Energy Futures practice, offered his take about the swings in the global market, as well as the outlook for U.S. pipeline infrastructure growth, at the recent LDC Natural Gas Forums conference in New Orleans. “I think that volatility is here to stay for a minimum of 18 months,” he told the audience. Domestic gas production this year has been “stagnant…We’re going to basically exit 2021 at the same volumes that we entered it…It takes producers some time to ramp,” and activity has remained sluggish. “You really need to have stability of supply — and growing supply — to meet this growing demand,” Weixel said. “It’s one of the very unique things about this market.” The price volatility going forward “may not all be weatherization issues” like the shocking Winter Storm Uri last February “because I think that’s being resolved in a lot of places. But certainly, where there are fuel shortages, you will see price spikes.” Lower 48 liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility expansions are set to continue on the Gulf Coast to help supply thirsty overseas markets. IHS Markit, mirroring other analyst forecasts, predicts the Calcasieu Pass LNG facility in Louisiana will be online by year’s end. The TransCameron pipeline that feeds the project was cleared by federal regulators earlier this year to enter service. “We’re actually already seeing flows to Calcasieu Pass,” Weixel said. “We can see the justification for more buildout, certainly, to these Gulf Coast facilities as global demand increases…at least through the end of 2024.” A massive amount of gas is still to be unearthed in the Lower 48. Moving it to end users, though, is no longer a sure thing. “It’s becoming increasingly more challenging to build pipelines in this country in general,” Weixel said. “There’s a new kind of political reality…Things are changing.” Meanwhile, gas pipeline projects proposed or underway in the Lower 48 are dwindling. “In 2017, we saw a peak of 24.2 Bcf/d of new pipeline and 2,100 line miles,” he said of the Lower 48. “But since then, we haven’t hit that peak yet in either capacity additions or line miles.” Projects led by exploration and production (E&P) companies have dried up, in parallel with their cutbacks in capital expenditures and new development. “There wasn’t going to be as much coming out of the ground, so they didn’t invest as much transportation to get it to different places,” Weixel said of the E&Ps. “But I think you also have to recognize that there’s more sophisticated activist engagement” by investors keen to enact environmental, social and governance initiatives. “You also have to recognize the cultural shift toward a ‘green’ movement…Those things are…important, and I think they’ll become more important as we go forward.” To date this year, U.S. pipeline expansions still have exceeded 2020 levels and “are approaching 2019 levels.” By year’s end, around 11 Bcf/d net pipe expansions are expected, along with 1,500 new line miles.

Energy crisis makes multi-year contracts fashionable again --U.S. manufacturers and other large energy users are starting to lock in natural gas and power costs for at least three years or longer to buffer against price surges this winter, a practice that went out of vogue with the shale boom. With gas prices more than doubling from a year earlier during the annual shopping season for winter fuel, many factories are securing prices until 2024 to help mitigate impending surges, according to consultancy and fuel procurement firm Unified Energy Services LLC. Some are contracting power and gas even later into this decade to guard against near-term and longer-term shocks. That industrial consumers are getting into long-term energy contracts again shows just how seriously companies are taking Europe’s energy crisis. The U.S. is more reliant on natural gas than ever, and Europe’s energy crunch could have spillover effects. Normally U.S. natural gas companies could offset an international supply crunch, but domestic producers aren’t likely to expand because they’re under pressure to better manage their own cash after years of low returns. “If we have a harsh winter, we could have prices we’ve never seen before,” Unified Energy Services LLC Chief Executive Officer Michael Harris said. New England gas is already trading at about $20 per million British thermal units for January, quadruple the U.S. benchmark, and Harris says it could easily jump to $200 if the region has to compete with Europe for imports. When consumers contract gas and power for years, they pay an average price that buffers against price spikes. Right now U.S. gas prices are plummeting in April 2022 so the risk may be limited. Harris works with lot of manufacturers backed by private-equity firms and they are trying to cap energy bills as they face surging costs for other raw materials, he said.

U.S. natgas jumps nearly 12% on cooler forecasts, short covering (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures soared almost 12% to a near three-week high on Monday on expectations liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will rise and forecasts calling for cooler weather and higher heating demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. This month has already seen record volatility with futures soaring to their highest close since 2008 on Oct. 6 before collapsing 25% by the middle of last week. But no matter how high U.S. futures have climbed, global gas was still trading about six times over U.S. prices, keeping demand for U.S. LNG exports strong as utilities around the world scramble to refill stockpiles ahead of the winter heating season and meet current energy shortfalls causing power blackouts in China. Front-month gas futures for November delivery rose 61.8 cents, or 11.7%, to settle at $5.898 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). That was their biggest daily percentage increase since September 2020 and was the contract's highest close since Oct. 5 when it settled at its highest since December 2008. In addition to the November contract, which expires on Wednesday, prices for the rest of the winter futures (December-March) also gained over 10% on Monday. Over the past three weeks, speculators have cut their net long positions on the New York Mercantile and Intercontinental Exchanges to their lowest since July 2020 on growing expectations the United States will have more than enough gas in storage for the winter, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Analysts expect U.S. gas inventories will reach 3.6 trillion cubic feet (tcf) by the start of the winter heating season in November, which they said would be a comfortable level even though it falls short of the 3.7 tcf five-year average. U.S. stockpiles were currently about 4% below the five-year (2016-2020) average for this time of year. In Europe, analysts say stockpiles were about 15% below normal. Data provider Refinitiv said output in the U.S. Lower 48 states has risen to an average of 92.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in October, up from 91.1 bcfd in September. That compares with a monthly record of 95.4 bcfd in November 2019. Refinitiv projected average U.S. gas demand, including exports, would rise from 89.4 bcfd this week to 91.6 bcfd next week as more homes and businesses turn on their heaters. Those forecasts were higher than Refinitiv projected on Friday. Refinitiv said the amount of gas flowing to U.S. LNG export plants has averaged 10.4 bcfd so far in October, the same as in September, but was expected to rise in coming weeks as some liquefaction trains exit maintenance outages.

U.S. natgas jumps over 5% to three-week high on cooler forecasts U.S. natural gas futures jumped over 5% to a three-week high on Wednesday in extremely volatile trade ahead of the front-month’s contract expiration on forecasts for colder weather and higher heating demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. That price increase came despite a slow rise in U.S. output and a 5% drop in European gas prices after Russian President Vladimir Putin told Kremlin-controlled energy giant Gazprom to start pumping gas into European gas storage once Russia finishes filling its own stocks, which may happen by Nov. 8. Gas prices around the world have soared to record highs over the past couple of months as utilities scramble for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to refill low stockpiles in Europe and meet rising demand in Asia, where energy shortfalls have caused power blackouts in China. U.S. futures followed those global gas prices higher – reaching a 12-year high in early October – on expectations demand for U.S. LNG exports would remain strong. But gas remains much cheaper in the United States than in Europe or Asia, where the fuel was trading about five times higher than in the United States. That’s because the United States has more than enough gas in storage for the winter and ample production to meet domestic and export demand. In addition, U.S. export plants were already producing LNG near full capacity so no matter how high global prices rise, the United States could not export much more of the super-cooled fuel. U.S. stockpiles were currently about 4% below the five-year (2016-2020) average for this time of year. In Europe, analysts say stockpiles were about 15% below normal. On its last day as the front-month, gas futures for November delivery rose 32.0 cents, or 5.4%, to settle at $6.202 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). That was the contract’s highest close since Oct. 5, when it settled at its highest since December 2008. The December contract, which will soon be the front-month, was up 20 cents to $6.20 per mmBtu. The spread between the December and November futures has been on a wild ride this month, rising from 14-cent premium for the December contract at the start of the month to a 30-cent premium for the December contract on Oct. 20 before the November contract soared on its last day to close at a small premium over December on Wednesday. Data provider Refinitiv said output in the U.S. Lower 48 states has averaged 92.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in October, up from 91.1 bcfd in September. That compares with a monthly record of 95.4 bcfd in November 2019. Refinitiv projected average U.S. gas demand, including exports, would rise from 90.7 bcfd this week to 92.7 bcfd next week as more homes and businesses turn on their heaters. Those forecasts were higher than Refinitiv projected on Tuesday.

November Natural Gas Expires at $6.20 on Colder Forecasts; Cash Gains Continue -- That roar heard throughout the U.S. gas market on Thursday was that of natural gas futures, which went out like a lion Wednesday as yet another shift in the latest weather data led to continued volatility. The prompt month rolled off the board at $6.202, up 32.0 cents on the day. The December contract, which moves to the front of the curve on Thursday, climbed 19.5 cents to $6.198. Spot gas prices also rallied in the wake of powerful storms that hit the West and East coasts. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. jumped 23.5 cents to $5.785. Despite Wednesday’s positive expiration for the November futures contract, gains did not come easy. Forecasts called for mostly mild conditions through the remainder of the week and into the weekend. NatGasWeather said the lack of widespread freezing low temperatures or highs in the 90s would do little to bolster demand. November futures plunged to a $5.770 intraday low before rebounding on the latest weather model runs. NatGasWeather said the Global Forecast System trended a little chillier overnight for next week and then continued to add demand in the midday run. This pushes the Nov. 1-7 outlook toward the bullish side, according to the forecaster, as lows of teens to 30s were set to increase in coverage over the northern United States and down the Plains. “The pattern Nov. 8-11 still favors national demand easing to lighter levels,” NatGasWeather said. “However, as we’ve been mentioning, the theme going back to last week has been for seemingly bearish/mild days in the 12- to 15-day period to add demand as they roll into forecast days 6-11.” This could continue to occur as the upper pattern favors ways in which colder Canadian air can sneakily slide into the Midwest and interior Northeast for the Nov. 8-12 period. The forecaster also noted that there would be stronger cold shots into Europe in the coming couple of weeks, resulting in a drawdown of storage that already is precariously light ahead of winter. Rystad Energy noted that even with milder-than-normal temperatures over the past week, storage levels in Europe have started to decline. Analysts noted a 0.5% drop week/week in inventories. “An earlier start of withdrawals compared to previous years may limit downside to easing Title Transfer Facility prices,” Rystad senior analyst Wei Xiong said.

EIA Reports Ho-Hum 87 Bcf Build in Natural Gas Storage; Futures Still Sharply Lower -- The Energy Information Administration (EIA) delivered no surprises on Thursday, reporting an on-target 87 Bcf injection into storage inventories for the week ending Oct. 22. Natural gas futures were already sharply lower ahead of the EIA report on returning production and stronger wind generation. The November Nymex contract was down 30.0 cents to around $5.900/MMBtu just ahead of the report. As the print crossed trading desks, the prompt month slipped to around $5.870 and by 11 a.m. ET was at $5.846, off 35.2 cents from Wednesday’s close. Bespoke Weather Services said the 87 Bcf injection once again reflected loose supply/demand balances versus the five-year average. This is a common theme outside of a week earlier in a month that featured very low wind, according to the forecaster. [Plan Ahead: NGI’s Forward Look forward curves deliver affordable, robust natural gas futures pricing with curves going out 10 years at 70 locations. Learn more. ] Analysts appeared to have a good handle on the EIA figure. Ahead of the report, a Bloomberg survey showed injection estimates ranging from 77 Bcf to 94 Bcf, with a median injection of 88 Bcf. The same range was seen in a larger Reuters poll of 17 analysts, in which a median injection of 86 Bcf was produced. The same range of projections in a Wall Street Journal survey averaged at a 85 Bcf injection. NGI modeled a much larger 94 Bcf increase in stocks. For reference, EIA recorded a 32 Bcf increase last year and the five-year average is a 62 Bcf build. Broken down by region, the South Central led with a 36 Bcf increase in storage inventories, including a 21 Bcf build in salt facilities and a 15 Bcf addition to nonsalts, according to EIA. Midwest stocks rose by 25 Bcf, and East stocks increased by 23 Bcf. Pacific and Mountain inventories were up by the single digits. Total working gas in storage as of Oct. 22 was 3,548 Bcf, which is 403 Bcf below year-ago levels and 126 Bcf below the five-year average, EIA said. Looking ahead to next week’s EIA report, Bespoke said early indications pointed to a 65 Bcf injection, which also would be loose to the five-year average. “All of this simply means we will need more cold in order to sustain these price levels or move higher.”

Domestic, Global Factors Drag Natural Gas Futures Below $5.50; Cash Recedes Further -- Natural gas futures extended a dramatic sell-off at the close of the week as global gas prices continued to slide and a mid-November warm-up was forecast for the Lower 48 following a bout of early-month cold. With production rising further and storage improvements continuing, the December Nymex contract tumbled 35.6 cents to $5.426/MMBtu. January slid 34.2 cents to $5.529. Spot gas, which traded Friday for gas delivery on Monday, also faltered again. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. dropped 31.0 cents to $5.080. After Thursday’s 41.6-cent plunge at the front of the Nymex curve, futures’ early slide was a bit surprising. However, U.S. prices took their cue from Europe, where Dutch Title Transfer Facility prices stumbled for a second day on growing optimism that Russia would begin sending more gas to Europe in early November. The continued declines occurred in the face of an increasingly chillier outlook regarding the upcoming cold shot targeting the eastern United States. This is in response to a brief ridge spike up into northwest Canada, according to Bespoke Weather Services. However, as this feature collapses and Pacific flow returns, temperatures should moderate and evolve back warmer than normal, first in the middle of the nation, then spreading into the East. “We would not rule out some risk of another colder turn toward the end of the month, however, as the look of the pattern is one that suggests volatility may well be the rule, as opposed to warm or cold having the ability to ‘lock in,’ for now,” Bespoke said. The projected volatility in the November weather pattern could mean storage injections continue beyond the end of the traditional injection season. Some small builds are likely in the coming weeks as mild weather is set to bookend the early November blast of cold. The continued restocking ahead of winter would bode well for supplies that struggled to reach historical levels throughout the summer but gained considerable traction in the past two months. On Thursday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported another stout increase in inventories, this time a plump 87 Bcf for the week ending Oct. 22. The print was in line with estimates and well above the five-year average 62 Bcf injection for the period. Total Lower 48 working gas in underground storage ended the week at 3,548 Bcf, 3.4% below the five-year average of 3,674 Bcf, according to EIA. Wood Mackenzie said the latest EIA print implied 1.1 Bcf/d of looseness in the market when adjusting for degree days and normal seasonality. Wind generation came in slightly below normal for the week.

U.S. natgas falls over 6% on drop in European prices, rising output (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell over 6% on Friday to a one-week low, pressured by rising U.S. output and sinking global gas prices after Russia said it would send more fuel to Europe, factors that offset support from rising liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and forecasts for colder weather and soaring heating demand. Gas prices in Europe slid more than 11% for a second day in a row after Russian President Vladimir Putin this week told Kremlin-controlled energy giant Gazprom to start pumping gas into European storage once Russia finishes filling its own stocks, which may happen by Nov. 8. Since the summer, global gas prices have soared to record highs as utilities scrambled for LNG cargoes to refill low stockpiles in Europe and meet rising demand in Asia, where energy shortfalls have caused power blackouts in China. U.S. futures also climbed, reaching a 12-year high in early October on a strong demand outlook for U.S. LNG exports. In Europe and Asia, gas was trading about four times higher than U.S. prices because the United States has more than enough gas in storage for winter and ample production to meet domestic and export demand. Analysts expect U.S. gas inventories will top 3.6 tcf by the start of the winter heating season in November, which they said would be a comfortable level even though it falls shy of the five-year average of 3.7 tcf. U.S. stockpiles were currently about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year. In Europe, analysts said stockpiles were about 15% below normal. After falling almost 7% on Thursday, gas futures fell 35.6 cents, or 6.2%, on Friday to settle at $5.426 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its lowest close since Oct. 22. For the week, the contract was up about 3% after falling about 6% during the prior three weeks. For the month, the contract was down about 8% after rising about 90% during the prior six months. Data provider Refinitiv said output in the U.S. Lower 48 states has averaged 92.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in October, up from 91.1 bcfd in September. That compares with a monthly record of 95.4 bcfd in November 2019. On a daily basis, however, output was on track to reach 93.9 bcfd on Friday, its highest since July, according to preliminary data from Refinitiv. Refinitiv projected average U.S. gas demand, including exports, would rise from 90.0 bcfd this week to 93.1 bcfd next week and 101.8 bcfd in two weeks as more homes and businesses crank up their heaters. The forecast for next week was higher than Refinitiv projected on Thursday. The amount of gas flowing to U.S. LNG export plants has averaged 10.5 bcfd so far in October, up from 10.4 bcfd in September. On a daily basis, however, feedgas to LNG export plants was on track to reach 11.9 bcfd on Friday, its highest level since May, according to preliminary data from Refinitiv.

Gas utilities make fewer leak repairs in 2020 as monitoring technology improved - Leak repairs by large U.S. gas utilities dropped 6.6% in 2020 compared to 2019, as companies reaped the benefits of better technology and earlier pipeline repair and replacement. The number of repairs declined to 457,838, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis of federal data from natural gas utilities with at least 5,000 miles of distribution mains and service lines. It was the first year-over-year drop in the group's repair activity recorded in the available data since 2017. For instance, CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp., which repaired the most leaks in 2020 and operated the largest system in the group, saw repair activity decline from 58,087 leaks in 2019 to 56,392 leaks in 2020, a 2.9% reduction. The company said a significant contributor was likely its experience using Picarro Inc.'s vehicle-mounted leak detection technology. Because the method is more efficient and sensitive than traditional detection methods, CenterPoint identified more leaks during its initial cycle of surveys in recent years, CenterPoint Energy Inc. spokesperson Ross Corson said. As the company completes additional survey cycles, it expects to identify fewer leaks due to the burst of leak repair activity in the first cycle, Corson explained. The data appeared to bear that out. CenterPoint reported an 11.4% increase in leak repairs in 2019. It posted a 2.9% decline in repairs in 2020, the year it went through a second cycle of Picarro surveys. The data covers CenterPoint's footprint across Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The company recently deployed Picarro technology in its Ohio and Indiana service territories, which it acquired in 2019. It was unclear to what extent COVID-19 lockdowns played a role in the decline in repair activity. Gas utilities have generally reported that system integrity work continued at pace in 2020, supported by the federal designation of utility employees as essential workers and industry efforts at the state and local level to ensure access to service territories.

Zurik: State hopes to have oil tank warning rule passed by end of the year - Eight months after an explosion of an oil tank in Southwest Louisiana killed a teenage girl, a state agency hopes to have a new rule in place soon that could prevent another child from being injured or killed. The proposed rule to add warning signage and fencing around the tanks was proposed following the February 28 death of Zalee Day Smith in Ragley, La. The rule changes, proposed by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Conservation, would apply to tank batteries located within a city, close to a highway, home, school or church, like the one that killed Smith. The safety measures would include forcing companies to build a fence at least four feet high around the tank site with a lock attached. The rule also states hatches not used for pressure relief are to be sealed and warning signage to be placed next to the tank or ladder. The Office of Conservation held a public hearing and allowed letters to be submitted about the rule change. Three letters were received in support of the changes, no comments were submitted against the rules.

Texas adds 2,900 oil exploration and production jobs in September - Oil exploration and production companies in Texas added 2,900 jobs in September as the industry continues to recover from the pandemic-driven oil bust. Since employment reached a low a year ago, the state’s upstream sector has recovered 23,600 jobs, more than a third of the 60,000 jobs lost during the pandemic. The state has 181,100 drilling and extraction workers, about 18 percent fewer than the 220,300 before the pandemic began in January 2020, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission and analyzed by the Texas Oil and Gas Association, an industry trade group. Texas’ oil and gas industry has added jobs for five consecutive months since April, and August upstream employment was 15 percent higher than the same period a year earlier, TXOGA said. “These jobs are not only among the highest paying jobs in Texas, these workers also play a direct role in our nation's energy security and our pursuit of a cleaner, stronger, better future," TXOGA President Todd Staples said. "We need policies that encourage continued domestic production to meet increased demand here and around the globe. More production means more jobs and more economic opportunities for Texans." Oil companies laid off tens of thousands of workers statewide last year after oil demand and prices plunged amid economic lockdowns and travel restrictions. Over the past 10 months, however, jobs have steadily returned to the oil patch amid growing crude demand as vaccines have helped businesses reopen and boosted travel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, was trading at $84.85 a barrel on Monday morning, up from $48 a barrel in January. Texas oil and gas companies posted 8,703 new job listings in September, according to the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association. Houston had the most job listings: 3,070; followed by Midland with 477 and Odessa with 473. Some of the companies with the most job postings include Halliburton with 669, Baker Hughes with 601 and National Oilwell Varco with 590, according to the trade association. Job postings include maintenance and repair workers, tractor-trailer truck drivers and retail sales people. Oil executives and trade groups expect their industry will enjoy a multi-year boom as petroleum demand recovers from the pandemic and exceeds supplies after years of under-investment in new wells.

Matador Profits Soar On Higher Oil, Natural Gas Production, Prices Matador Resources Co. nearly doubled its third quarter earnings versus the same period last year, citing improved commodity prices and operational efficiency. The Dallas-based independent operates primarily in the Permian Basin’s Delaware sub-basin, which accounted for 93% of total production in 3Q2011. Matador also operates in the Eagle Ford and Haynesville/Cotton Valley shale plays.For the fourth quarter, Matador expects to complete nine new wells at its Greater Stebbins Area in Eddy County, NM, which should be turned to sales late in the period.At the Stateline asset, also in Eddy County, Matador plans to complete 11 wells that are part of a grouping dubbed the Voni wells. These should be turned to sales starting in mid-February 2022, Foran said. “Although we expect higher-than-usual production volumes to be shut in while we complete these new wells during the fourth quarter…this production should be deferred for only a short time, and these fourth quarter completion operations should set us up for a great start to 2022.”At Matador’s Rodney Robinson leasehold in Lea County, NM, Matador expects to drill nine wells by year-end.

Altus Midstream deal with private equity could signal more midstream targets | S&P Global Market Intelligence --The announcement of a planned merger between Altus Midstream Co. and a private equity-backed company marked the sort of deal-making that small oil and gas midstream companies might pursue as the giants of the sector feel investor pressure to return money to shareholders instead of buying companies and assets, according to industry experts.The all-stock deal between Altus and the parent company of EagleClaw Midstream, BCP Raptor Holdco LP, announced Oct. 21, would create the biggest natural gas processor in the Delaware Basin, with an estimated enterprise value of $9 billion.The development came at a time when midstream corporate M&A has been less active than consolidation among exploration and production companies. Midstream transactions in recent years have been insufficient to shrink the sector to the size that experts say it should be."We have just been hearing about it for years, and then we never get anything too big," Miller/Howard Investments Inc. portfolio manager John Cusick said in an interview. "But maybe this is a way for some of the smaller ones to build some scale by taking some [private equity] assets on. It could be an interesting way to get bigger."A widening split between small and large pipeline companies has not stimulated sectorwide consolidation. Meanwhile, obstacles to M&A for smaller midstream companies include a limited ability to issue equity and difficulty in buying other publicly traded companies, according to Cusick.The Altus deal is a type of transaction that has been used to help smaller midstream companies to stay afloat. Going public by merging with an existing company has been an option for private equity-backed midstream platforms in search of an exit, CBRE Clarion Securities portfolio manager Hinds Howard said in an email.

Lengthy lawsuit over land: City takes next steps in million-dollar dispute for Kaw Lake pipeline — The city could be on the hook to pay millions for one of the final pieces of the Kaw Lake water pipeline puzzle.By next summer, the city of Enid could go to a jury trial in order to settle an eminent domain dispute for the first time, officials said, rather than pay a Garfield County landowner $2.755 million recently awarded as just compensation for his property.The award would be the largest the city’s ever had to pay to acquire a condemned property under eminent domain.However, city officials disagree with the amount, which is almost entirely made up of costs from a lease terminated during the city’s lawsuit that court-appointed commissioners determined last June. “We don’t think that award’s correct,” City Manager Jerald Gilbert said Thursday, so the city intends to go to mediation with the property owner over the amount — if that attempt fails, then go to jury trial. In order to build a 50-foot stretch located around the middle of the planned 70-mile-long raw water pipeline, attorneys for the city have been attempting to invoke eminent domain to acquire a perpetual land easement and a temporary easement northeast of Garber. Landowner Robert Anderson, an Enid resident, had refused to grant the city right of way to his 120-acre property, so the city filed a petition to condemn the property in district court a year ago. In May 2019 — a month after Anderson entered his lease agreement — he was sent a letter by Gilbert offering him $4,782.55 for the easements, rounded up to $4,800. The city’s land services agent Steve Smith then contacted Anderson two months later with the easement request, again offering $120 per rod for 39.85 rods. Anderson’s son, former state Sen. Patrick Anderson, who has been representing him in court, said the city has repeatedly ignored his father’s requests to find an alternate path for the pipeline segment.“Instead, the city of Enid chose to be a bully and force its way across my father’s property through the process of eminent domain,” Anderson said. The city’s legal actions during the condemnation lawsuit resulted in an award amount much higher than original offers, according to both the Andersons and June’s final report from condemnation commissioners. Robert Anderson had initially been offered $4,800 for the parcel located on his 160 acres, but this amount ballooned to $2.755 million after a solar farm company already leasing Anderson’s property for future construction canceled its agreement, rather than also be sued in condemnation.Three phases of electrical lines cross the property, but no pipelines of gas or any other kind are located anywhere on Anderson’s acreage, which he has owned for 50 years.“He wants it to remain that way,” Patrick Anderson said. “It was uniquely situated and uniquely attracted to solar farm use.”

U.S. stockpiles in Cushing reaching historically worrying levels - Stockpiles at the biggest U.S. crude depot are quickly approaching critically low levels. The last time that happened, crude cost more than $100 a barrel. The storage tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma, require a minimum level of oil to maintain normal operations, which traders generally believe is around 20 million barrels. Unusually for this time of year, stockpiles declined more than 4 million barrels over the past two weeks to 31 million and are expected to keep dropping rapidly due to the world’s insatiable demand for U.S. light sweet crude. It’s a stunning reversal from last year when the pandemic prompted a glut of oil so big that traders resorted to storing it in tankers at sea. The drawdown, driven by a rapid demand recovery, has been exacerbated by an energy crisis that has sent European and Asian buyers on the hunt for cheaper barrels. Over the coming weeks, stockpiles are likely to fall further to the operational low, traders at some of the biggest oil merchants in the world said, prompting the market to turn even more bullish. “Crude oil could justifiably trade to the next level higher on the storage drought at Cushing alone,” “Forget about fuel switching, whether OPEC+ adds additional barrels, or dollar weakness: if Cushing continues to slide, it could get ugly quickly.” The rapid depletion of Cushing signals just how tight global oil supplies are and threatens to drive prices even higher from their current levels. Surging oil prices are already driving costs up for road fuel, freight activity and air travel and stoking inflation just as many countries are only just recovering from the pandemic-driven economic slump. At the current rate of draws it could be just weeks away from Cushing being effectively out of crude, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts including Natasha Kaneva said in a report. Demand for Cushing oil surged because it was the cheapest in the world and stockpiles declined very quickly, according to a senior trader at one of the biggest U.S. crude exporters. Demand for U.S. barrels is higher than ever, the person added, noting that South Korea will have bought the most U.S. crude in their history in November. Asian buyers, including India and Taiwan, are still in the market to purchase U.S. crude cargoes loading in early November, according to traders, highlighting the rush to secure supplies. The global energy crisis has made the light, sweet, crude from Cushing more attractive on the global market because it has less sulfur than some other types of oil that must be processed through units at refineries called hydrocrackers. Hydrocrackers rely on hydrogen usually generated from natural gas — the cost of which has surged to record highs in parts of Europe and Asia recently. So far, there are no signs of a slowdown. Inventories at Cushing fell by a further 1.9 million barrels between Friday and Tuesday, traders said, citing data from Wood Mackenzie.

Banks loosen purse strings for shale drillers amid oil rally --Banks are gradually offering more credit to U.S. shale oil and natural gas producers as the industry recovers from last year’s contraction and energy prices rally. So-called borrowing bases will increase as much as 20% during the imminent round of talks between drillers and lenders, according to most respondents in a survey conducted by law firm Haynes & Boone LLP. The findings indicate a continued improvement after the dire conditions experienced in the oil and gas sector last year, when the pandemic and global gluts led to a slump in energy prices and prompted banks to cut back on lending. The previous Haynes & Boone survey, published in April, indicated borrowing bases would remain flat or rise 10%. Lending against crude and gas reserves, a key source of capital for explorers, typically sees semi-annual retederminations, in which bankers reassess their commitments. To take one recent example, HighPeak Energy Inc., a Texas producer, disclosed Monday in a filing that its borrowing based was raised to $195 million from $125 million. Almost two-thirds of respondents in the Haynes & Boone survey also said they expect public equity markets to reopen for E&P companies next year, after being largely shut to them since 2018.

Berkshire Hathaway Gas Pipeline Was Behind Massive Methane Plume in U.S. - - A pipeline operator owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy spewed a powerful plume of greenhouse gas in Oklahoma last week with the same heat-trapping ability as the annual emissions from thousands of cars. Northern Natural Gas estimates it released about 21.8 million cubic feet of natural gas over approximately three hours while fixing a leak in its pipeline that stretches across the U.S. The discharge was one of the worst emission releases seen in the country this year, and had the same short-term climate-warming impact as the annual emissions from more than 7,700 U.S. vehicles. “In performing Northern Natural Gas’ integrity management program to ensure safe and reliable pipeline operations, a very small leak was discovered on a pipeline and was repaired Oct. 22,” company representative Mike Loeffler said in an email after Bloomberg inquired about it. “To enable the minor repair, a small amount of natural gas was released from a section of Northern Natural Gas’ pipeline facilities near the Kansas-Oklahoma border.” Methane, which is the primary component of natural gas, has more than 80 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide over the short term and halting intentional releases and accidental leaks of the gas could do more to slow climate change than almost any other single measure. About 75% of methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry can be cut by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

Protest exposes Line 5 security risk - The Mining Gazette --The protest at a Line 5 pumping station in Michigan’s Thumb appears to have been frivolous — a dozen or so young activists mostly hanging out in a parking lot listening to music — but it exposes serious security risks for the petroleum pipeline. A group calling itself “Up Hell’s Creek Camp” descended on the pumping station and were left alone there for more than an hour by both the operator, Enbridge Inc., and local authorities in Tuscola County. One of the group shimmied under a locked, chain-link gate with a pipe wrench, which he applied to a fixture that may or may not have been a shut-off valve — Enbridge isn’t saying — while the rest of the bunch, mostly teens and young adults, watched from the lot. One of them played an electric guitar and sang. When they arrived, they alerted both Enbridge and the Tuscola County sheriff of their intentions and began a social media live-stream. Sheriff deputies were initially uncertain where to find the site, while Enbridge temporarily shut down the pipeline and says all appropriate steps were taken to secure the line. The pipeline has an automatic shut-down system in case of tampering. By the time the Tuscola officers arrived, the protesters were gone. A few apparently were stopped in their vehicles and questioned, but there’s no indication anyone was arrested or charged. The sheriff’s department has not returned phone calls from The Detroit News.It’s not what actually happened Wednesday, but what might have happened that is worrisome. Line 5 carries 540,000 barrels of petroleum products a day from Canada through Michigan.And yet this pumping station was so loosely secured that it was breached by an unsophisticated band of kids.Imagine the damage that could have been done by a more malicious group intent on disrupting the pipeline’s flow, or even destroying it.Enbridge is embroiled in a legal fight with the Whitmer administration over the section of Line 5 that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The governor wants to shut it down; Enbridge wants to encase it in a concrete tunnel deep below the lakebed.The dispute moved to the U.S. State Department after Canada filed a treaty complaint.Enbridge doesn’t help its case by being so careless with security. It should know Line 5 is a target, and should have better safeguards in place at all of the facilities along the pipeline.It certainly should respond with more urgency when a threat is telegraphed in advance, as was the case Tuesday.Likewise, law enforcement in communities that host Line 5 infrastructure should have emergency response plans in place to deal with threats. Given the animosity toward Line 5, anything can happen at any time. The Woodstock nature of Tuesday’s protest may be amusing. But next time, the pipeline attackers might not be so mellow.

FBI joins investigation into Line 5 tampering that led to shutdown - Authorities confirmed Friday the FBI joined an investigation into a Line 5 tampering incident involving protestors in Tuscola County that shut down the controversial pipeline Tuesday. Federal investigators will assist the local sheriff’s team to track down participants in the livestreamed trespassing incident. No arrests have yet been made in the probe. “Detectives are investigating and attempting to locate those who were involved. Basically, nobody was at the scene when officers arrived,” said Undersheriff Robert Baxter from Tuscola County.Environmental activist group Up Hell’s Creek on Tuesday staged a protest at a valve site along the Line 5 pipeline route near Vassar, where an unidentified and masked person crawled under a security fence and used a pipe wrench to crank closed a safety valve. The group called both 911 and Enbridge before trying to shut down the pipeline. Enbridge officials said they shut down the petrochemical pipeline because of the “reckless and dangerous” interference and for the safety of the public, first responders and the protestors themselves.The undersheriff said there is no continued safety risk to the community and there was no release from the pipeline.Special Agent Mara R. Schneider of the FBI’s Detroit Division confirmed the agency will assist in the investigation at the request of the sheriff’s office.“The FBI routinely offers assistance to our law enforcement partners, to provide additional manpower and specialized resources, if they become necessary,” she said.. Lillian Ellis, 28, of Highland Park, a nonbinary transgender person who goes by peatmoss, took part in the Tuesday demonstration and said the protestors would prefer FBI investigators spend their time and resources looking into cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and children tied to pipelines in other states. “I’m not surprised. The role of the FBI is often to protect capital and capital interests,” peatmoss said, even when those assets are owned by Canadian companies like Enbridge.The protestors said they tried to interrupt the pipeline in solidarity with Indigenous communities that have for years called for the infrastructure to be shut down. Those calls were spurred by fossil fuels impacts on the climate crisis and a four-mile underwater segment that sits on the Great Lakes bottomlands through the Straits of Mackinac. Longtime Line 5 opponents and tribal leaders this week said they could not condone the protestors’ activity and believed Line 5 would be shut down through legal channels. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year ordered Enbridge to shut down the flow through the underwater section of the pipeline by May 12 and Attorney General Dana Nessel sued to enforce the order. Enbridge has refused to comply while the matter works through the courts. Whitmer spokesman Bobby Leddy said it would not be appropriate for the governor to comment on the active investigation. Enbridge intends to build a tunnel through the bedrock beneath the straits to replace the underwater segment of the more than 600-mile-long pipeline that transports crude and liquid natural gas from Wisconsin through both of Michigan’s peninsulas and ending in Sarnia, Ontario. The tunnel plan remains under state consideration.

Crestwood Expanding in Williston, Permian with $1.8B Oasis Midstream Takeover -Crestwood Equity Partners LP said Tuesday it has agreed to pay $1.8 billion in equity and cash, including debt, for Oasis Midstream Partners LP, expanding its foothold in two of the Lower 48’s prized oil basins. The deal expands Crestwood’s midstream footprint in the Williston Basin and the Permian Basin’s Delaware sub-basin. The firms said the combination would bring together “significant” crude oil, produced water, and natural gas gathering and processing asset. The announcement coincided with the reporting of Crestwood’s third quarter earnings results. During a conference call to discuss results, Crestwood general partner CEO Robert Phillips said the acquisition would position the Houston company “as a top three midstream company” in the Williston’s Bakken Shale. He noted that natural gas capture rates are improving in the Bakken, “which bodes well for increased gathering and processing volumes in the future…” The transaction, slated to close in early 2022, would largely be equity-financed, with about 33.8 million newly issued Crestwood common units and $160 million cash. Phillips said the deal “enhances our competitive position in the Williston and Delaware basins…and substantially expands the long-term contract acreage and inventory dedications of our gathering and processing portfolio. “Importantly, we are completing this transaction during a period when macro oil and gas fundamentals are exceptionally supportive of upstream development and there is increasing demand for midstream infrastructure and services.” CFO Robert Halpin concurred. He told analysts “the outlook for 2022 in light of the commodity price environment is very favorable. We continue to see uptick in rigs across every basin in which we operate to varying degrees… “We continue to see increases in completion activity expectations from our producers” in the Bakken, Powder River Basin (PRB) and in the Delaware, “and we think all of that is going to add to the outlook for ‘22 and beyond going forward.” Crestwood and Oasis are both master limited partnerships. Oasis Midstream was formed by sponsor Oasis Petroleum Inc., a Houston-based independent exploration and production company that operates primarily in the Williston’s Bakken Shale. “The combination of Crestwood and Oasis Midstream creates a midstream leader well positioned with size, scale and a diversified customer base,”

Landowners say shortcomings apparent in North Dakota's abandoned oil well plugging program – A landowners group says cleanup of some abandoned oil wells the state sought to plug using federal coronavirus relief money is incomplete, and costs at times far exceeded what's considered typical. The Northwest Landowners Association released a report on the abandoned well plugging program Tuesday after sifting through numerous publicly available documents and other records obtained from the state. “While well-intentioned, this program mostly leaves the landowner and North Dakota taxpayers holding the bag,” Chairman Troy Coons said.The North Dakota Oil and Gas Division set out last year to plug hundreds of abandoned wells and reclaim the sites, aiming to put them back into agricultural use and employ hundreds, if not thousands, of oil workers. Numerous workers in the oil patch lost jobs last year or had their hours cut after the coronavirus pandemic hit and sent oil prices plummeting.State leaders designated $66 million in federal CARES Act funding for plugging abandoned wells, $16 million of which appeared unlikely to be spent by the deadline so was ultimately redirected to reimburse companies for the cost of acquiring water used in the fracking process. Officials authorized another $6 million to finish cleanup work this year. Those efforts are ongoing.

350 gallons of oil spill into Milwaukie creek — A cleanup effort is underway after an oil spill dumped gallons of oil into Kellogg Creek and Kellogg Lake in Milwaukie. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) are working to contain the spill and rescue any impacted wildlife. An oil containment boom — a temporary floating barrier — and absorbents have been deployed on the lake and river to contain and capture the oil. One duck was rescued covered in oil; another duck that was rescued died. Ray Hoy, the acting state-on-scene coordinator for the Oregon DEQ, said officials have seen at least a half dozen other wildlife that had been oiled. . "When they do see them, they try to contain and collect them. However, birds fly and move about pretty quickly, so they're difficult to catch." The spill was first reported on October 13, a day after a fire broke out in the rear of D&C Motor Company's service shop on Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard. Security camera footage the motor company shared with KGW shows a man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt walking in and out of the shed that contains the oil drum. In the video, the man is seen walking out with a tray that is smoking, but it's unclear what is on that tray. Moments later, he brings the tray back into the shed and the shed starts to release heavy smoke. Fire investigators said they can't call the fire arson because they don't see the man physically light the fire, but lose control of it. The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is investigating it as reckless burning. The fire damaged five cars and ruptured the oil drum. A spokesperson for D&C Motor Company said that the oil drum could hold 350 gallons, but said the drum wasn't completely full. They're not sure how much oil spilled into the creek. Clackamas Fire said a good portion of it burnt in the fire or was contained to the parking lot. The remaining oil washed down into a storm drain, then into a catch basin, eventually making its way to Kellogg Creek.

OC oil spill opens window on systemic failures — Amplify Energy’s 3-1/2 hour delay in shutting down its pipeline after a low pressure alarm was just the first indication of systemic failures contributing to California’s most recent offshore oil spill. Signs of the spill were reported to the Coast Guard even earlier, as numerous residents either smelled the odor, or saw an oil slick as early as 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 1. But Amplify’s operational failure was enabled by governmental failure at every level, from local to national, as quickly became evident. On Oct. 6, Capital and Main reported that the City of Long Beach had signed a 20-year lease with Amplify on a pumping station in June 2020 “that could extend the pipeline’s life through 2040,” when it would be more than 60 years old — about double the initial expected lifetime, according to Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “A lot of platforms and pipelines when they were constructed in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, the oil companies said their expected lifespans is 30 years, and were already well past that for most of these new platforms and pipelines,” Monsell told Random Lengths News. “It’s high time to shut it all down, and start decommissioning it all.” In fact, the 1985 environmental impact report for the Plains All American Pipeline that ruptured in 2015 “determined that the risk of a spill more than doubles as the pipeline aged from 20 to 40 years,” Monsel wrote on Oct. 8, when CBD filed a notice of intent to sue the Joe Biden administration if it fails to “reexamine the offshore oil industry’s threat to California’s endangered species and their habitats,” in light of the oil spill as well as well new information not previously considered, as called for in the Endangered Species Act. This was but one of a series of actions CBD has been involved in trying to hold the Biden administration to his campaign promises of vigorous action to combat catastrophic climate change. The Biden administration’s inconsistent actions reflect a deeper pattern of systemic failures, primarily with respect to flawed environmental analyses under the Donald Trump administration, and the Biden administration’s failure to re-examine them. Two leading examples are the Willow Master Development Plan in the Western Arctic, which would have resulted in up to 250 wells producing an estimated 590 million barrels of oil over 30 years, and Lease Sale 257, the largest off-shore lease sale in history, covering 80 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico, projected to produce up to 1.1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over the next 50 years. Both were approved under Trump, using a modeling approach that ludicrously concluded that not drilling for massive quantities of oil would result in more greenhouse gases. After a court rejected this approach in the Arctic case in mid-August, the Biden administration announced it would reexamine the Trump plan. But it has since scheduled Lease Sale 257 for Nov. 17, despite being sued to stop by CBD and others.

Democrats hope to hold Big Oil 'accountable' - Democrats are gearing up for what could be a showdown with Big Oil during a congressional hearing Thursday. Executives from Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron and Shell, as well as two major industry groups, will testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in a hearing on what Democrats have dubbed a “disinformation campaign” to prevent climate action. It comes after a long-term effort from lawmakers to get major energy firms to testify on Capitol Hill in recent months. Expected to testify are Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods, BP America Chairman David Lawler, Chevron CEO Michael Wirth, Shell Oil Company President Gretchen Watkins, American Petroleum Institute (API) President Mike Sommers and Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne Clark. Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) told The Hill in a Wednesday interview that she’s hoping to get “accountability” from the witnesses. “It was only when climate change became undeniable that the fossil fuel industry began an organized, concerted, billion-dollar campaign to greenwash their role in the crisis,” Maloney said. “We intend to hold them accountable and hope that they’ll be part of the solution, instead of part of the problem,” she added. The chairwoman also described a continuing investigation, saying the event would be “the first of several hearings that we’re planning.” The hearing comes amid some tension between the witnesses and the committee, as the hearing’s advisory said that the witnesses “failed to adequately comply” with requests for documents. Maloney elaborated on the accusation Wednesday, telling The Hill that “a lot of the documents that they gave us are already out there available to the public.” “We asked specifically for internal communications of key executives, including CEOs, which we have not received, and we also asked specific questions about how much money they’re paying to front groups and the PR firms they hired to peddle ... misinformation.” The witnesses have said they are providing documents to the committee, although they did not provide specifics when presented with Maloney’s comments. A spokesperson for Exxon said it has “been in communication with committee staff for months and have cooperated with the request for documents.” A spokesperson for Shell said the company “delivered to the Committee thousands of pages of documents that speak directly to Shell’s position on climate change over several decades, our strong support for the Paris Agreement, and our efforts to be an industry leader in the transition to a lower-carbon future.” Representatives for both BP and the API sounded similar notes, stating that they were working with the committee and have provided “thousands” of pages of documents. Lawmakers, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the leader of the panel’s Environment Subcommittee, have repeatedly invoked a 1994 hearing with tobacco executives, after which executives were probed for potentially lying. “For the first time in history, the industry will have to answer to Congress and the American public for lying about the realities of the climate crisis and the environmental damage caused by their products,” Khanna told The Hill in a statement Tuesday. “Finally, Big Oil will have to tell the truth about their continued practices of deception through third party organizations and shadow groups,” he added. “It’s my hope that our committee’s hearing will set up the fossil fuel industry’s Big Tobacco moment.”

Lawmakers study Big Tobacco perjury before Big Oil showdown - In April 1994, seven top tobacco CEOs testified to Congress that they didn’t believe nicotine was addictive. Two years later, they were all under federal investigation for potentially lying under oath and no longer leading their embattled cigarette companies. Democrats believe the oil industry and trade association leaders appearing tomorrow at a high-profile hearing on climate change disinformation could meet a similar fate. “The evidence is so incontrovertible that they’re going to really have a strong choice,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), whose Oversight subcommittee is hosting the event. “Do they risk coming close to the line, to committing perjury, and go the way of the tobacco executives? Or do they do a full mea culpa and admit all of the wrongdoing and commit to change?” But the political landscape today could make it harder for Khanna and Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) to have the same swift impact as their counterparts did nearly three decades ago, according to congressional experts. Maloney and Khanna, whose perjury warning came during a call this week with the political action group Our Revolution, will face challenges from the unusual nature of the event. While they plan to preside over the hearing from behind the imposing dais of the hearing room, no witnesses will be seated at the table below them. Because of remote hearing rules instituted at the beginning of the pandemic, the heads of Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., BP America Inc., Shell Oil Co., the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will all testify remotely. That’s despite the fact that API and the Chamber are both based in Washington (E&E Daily, Oct. 25). Democrats had initially asked the officials to appear in person. But Republicans on the committee objected, accusingthe majority of treating the executives differently than other recent witnesses “simply because Democrats do not like them or want a photo opportunity.”

'This hearing is the start': Fossil fuel execs to testify - Four top oil executives will appear before the House Oversight Committee this week in a landmark moment for environmental activists who have spent years calling for investigations of the industry.The witnesses, who are appearing voluntarily at the hearing Thursday and offering virtual testimony, are some of the biggest names in the industry. Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Darren Woods, BP America Inc. CEO David Lawler, Chevron Corp. CEO Michael Wirth and Shell Oil Co. President Gretchen Watkins will testify alongside American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne Clark.“What we hope to get out of it is to stop the funding through third-party groups of climate disinformation,” said Environment Subcommittee Chair Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is leading the inquiry with full committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.).The committee said in a news release that the companies have not fully complied with the request for documents and communications that lawmakers sent last month (Greenwire, Sept. 16). But Khanna said the panel has been “inundated with experts, researchers, third-party groups ever since we announced the hearing.”“The documents we’re going to continue to pursue,” Khanna said in an interview Friday. “But there is so much evidence that is of concern that they would be very hard-pressed to be evasive.”The hearing marks a major moment in an investigation Khanna has been pursuing for months, in hopes of going after Big Oil the same way Congress targeted the tobacco industry in the 1990s.Public attention was raised this summer when Greenpeace U.K. released a video showing Exxon lobbyist Keith McCoy discussing the company’s influence strategy with an activist he believed to be a headhunter from a Middle East energy fund (E&E Daily, July 1).McCoy has since parted ways with the company, but the sting video reverberated (Energywire, Sept. 28). The Oversight panel has sought closed-door testimony from the former Exxon lobbyist, and the incident got the company suspended from the Climate Leadership Council, a group that advocates carbon pricing with support from major businesses.Notably, McCoy said in the video that Exxon supports a carbon tax as a "talking point" but does not really believe Congress would ever enact the policy. He also said Exxon funded "shadow groups" to cast doubt on climate science.Khanna acknowledged that the committee is still pursuing an interview with McCoy, but he stressed that the hearing is only the beginning of his inquiry. “The important thing to realize is that this hearing is the start of the investigation, not the end, not the culmination, just like the tobacco hearings,” Khanna said.

Oil Executives Grilled Over Industry’s Role in Climate Disinformation - At a heated hearing on Thursday, Democrats had some big questions for the chief executives of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and Shell: Would they pledge to stop lobbying against efforts to reduce emissions? And were they willing to tell their powerful trade groups to stop working against electric vehicles? None of the executives agreed. Instead, the leaders of the four major oil and gas companies touted their support for a transition to clean energy and said they had never engaged in campaigns to mislead the public on the role of fossil fuel emissions in global warming. All four acknowledged that the burning of their products was driving climate change, but also told lawmakers that fossil fuels are not about to disappear. “Oil and gas will continue to be necessary for the foreseeable future,” said Darren Woods, C.E.O. of Exxon Mobil. “We currently do not have the adequate alternative energy sources.” Democrats responded with forceful language in the more than six-hour hearing. “Some of us actually have to live the future that you all are setting on fire for us,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York told the executives. Democrats had hoped to recapture the drama of the tobacco hearings of the 1990s, where lawmakers put the C.E.O.s of cigarette companies on the hot seat and each executive told the country that smoking was not addictive. There was shouting, shaming, and one demonstration involving a jar of M&Ms to make the point that the companies were investing relatively little in renewables, about 1 percent of their total capital expenditure, according to the International Energy Agency. But the executives — Mr. Woods of Exxon Mobil, Gretchen Watkins of Shell, Michael K. Wirth of Chevron and David Lawler of BP — seemed to have learned from the tobacco hearings as well, sticking to their scripts, emphasizing their concerns over global warming and citing their internal targets for cutting emissions. The four executives, as well as Suzanne Clark from the United States Chamber of Commerce and Mike Sommers from the industry group American Petroleum Institute, appeared on video screens, not in person, out of concerns over the pandemic. Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform questioned the premise of the hearings, calling it a distraction from more important problems facing the nation and said the oil executives should be thanked for decades of keeping homes warm and lights blazing. “I’ll tell you what’s frustrating, is a member of Congress telling American oil and gas companies to reduce production,” said Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, adding that he felt those companies should instead be commended for increasing production. “God bless Chevron,” he said. The hearing marked the first time oil executives were pressed publicly to answer questions, under oath, about whether their companies misled the public about the reality of climate change by obscuring the scientific consensus: that the burning of fossil fuels is raising Earth’s temperature and sea levels with devastating consequences worldwide, including intensifying storms, worsening drought and deadlier wildfires. It came as President Biden urged lawmakers to vote to approve a $1.85 trillion climate and social policy package. On Monday Mr. Biden will speak to world leaders at a United Nations summit in Glasgow to make the case that the United States is cutting emissions, and to urge other nations to do more.

Oil companies downplay early climate knowledge under fire from Dems - Leaders of the U.S. oil industry refused to concede that their companies had ever misled the public about the link between burning fossil fuels and global warming during a tense House hearing on Thursday. The hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee was billed as “Fueling the Climate Crisis: Exposing Big Oil’s Disinformation Campaign to Prevent Climate Action,” and Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) set the tone early. "I want each of you to affirm that your organization will no longer spend any money either directly or indirectly to oppose efforts to reduce emissions and address climate change," she said. The executives did not directly say they would do so, and Maloney accused one of them of filibustering. She soon moved on after declaring none of them were willing to take her “pledge.” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), chair of the House Oversight Committee’s environmental subcommittee, repeatedly pressed Exxon CEO Darren Woods on statements by then-CEO Lee Raymond in 2002, in which he denied a link between fossil fuel combustion and climate change. These comments, Khanna noted, came decades after 1978 internal reports from Exxon scientists warning of such a link. While Woods acknowledged the connection between burning fossil fuels and warmer temperatures, he maintained Raymond’s comments had been consistent with then-current science despite the internal research. Meanwhile, he also claimed that the company didn't have any "unique" understanding of climate science. "I am not aware of any unique understanding that we had on the science. We engaged with the broader community and worked with them to advance our own understanding and as time passed and scientific understanding evolved, so did our position," he said. Numerous ongoing lawsuits and news reports have alleged that the companies knew about climate change for decades, but took a contrary position in public. BP America Chairman David Lawler stated that his company was aware as early as the 1980s of reports of climate change, but said there was "debate." “There was a lot of science, there was a lot of debate that was published during that time period, but I would say that BP focused on the landmark IPCC study in 1996,” Lawler said, referring to the United Nations’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The BP and Exxon executives testified alongside top brass from Shell, Chevron and key lobbying groups the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Chamber of Commerce. Maloney announced at the end of the hearing that she would be issuing subpoenas to the oil interests, which she said failed to provide requested financial documents and internal communications. “I do not take this step lightly,” she said. “We need to get to the bottom of the oil industry’s disinformation campaign, and with these subpoenas, we will.” The Small Businesses Behind Every F-35

After historic hearing, panel to issue subpoenas to oil companies - House Oversight and Reform Chair Carolyn Maloney said yesterday that she intends to subpoena four major oil companies and two trade organizations for documents and communications as part of her committee’s investigation into climate misinformation. The subpoenas, expected to be formally issued in the coming days, would be a major step, extending the reach of a congressional probe of the fossil fuel industry that could last well into next year. “I see no choice but to continue our committee’s investigation until we see the truth,” Maloney (D-N.Y.) said at the end of a high-profile hearing with Big Oil executives and trade groups. Democrats had requested a massive trove of internal documents from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP America Inc., Shell Oil Co., Chevron Corp., the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose top executives appeared before the committee virtually and offered hours of testimony yesterday. The committee initially requested documents by Sept. 30 (Greenwire, Sept. 16). When the companies did not fully comply, Maloney said, they were warned that the panel would take further action if they did not produce sufficient paper ahead of yesterday’s hearing. “Unfortunately, none of the six entities can produce the substantial portion of the key documents the committee requested,” Maloney said. “Instead, they produced reams of other documents, many of which were publicly available.” The companies, Maloney said, offered up thousands of pages — but not the kind of behind-closed-doors information about climate science and misinformation funding that Democrats had been looking for. “One entity sent in 1,500 pages printed from their own website, available publicly, along with 4,000 pages of newsletters filled with industry press releases,” Maloney said. “Others sent us thousands of pages of publicly available annual reports and the companies’ postings on Facebook and LinkedIn.”

How decades of disinformation about fossil fuels halted U.S. climate policy -- In April, President Biden unveiled the United States' most ambitious plan ever to cut emissions that drive climate change, and he urged other nations to follow. Now, days before Biden prepares for a pivotal climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the White House's keystone legislative plan to tackle climate disruption appears to be dead, sunk by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.It's the most recent in a string of defeats to aggressive climate action that stretches back more than 25 years.The U.S. has contributed more heat-trapping pollution than any country over time and has been the prime driver of global climate change. The national debate about how to address the problem has raged for decades, but progress toward a solution has been slow. Whenever presidents or Congress have introduced measures to slash emissions to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, they've been repeatedly derailed.In 1997, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the first international treaty to cut greenhouse gases. A sweeping 2009 bill to reduce emissions never came to a vote in the Senate because it did not have enough support and was doomed to fail. In2017, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate accord, the only country to reject the agreement.The same headwinds have stopped nearly every effort, including Biden's, to make systemic cuts to emissions: a powerful fossil fuel lobby that has spent vast sums of money to influence lawmakers while simultaneously sowing public doubt about the science of climate change.On Thursday, House Democrats will look into what they describe as the oil industry's decades of disinformationand misrepresentation to delay climate action. They have called executives from Exxon Mobil, BP America, Chevron Corp. and Shell Oil to testify. The meeting, Democrats say, is modeled on a historic hearing more than 25 years ago that held the tobacco industry to account for misleading the public about the harmful effects of smoking.Two names likely to come up at the hearing are Charles and David Koch, the conservative petrochemical magnates. They have poured millions of dollars into efforts to discredit the science of climate change. The brothers have given over $145 million to climate-change-denying think tanks and advocacy groups between 1997 and 2018. The Kochs were joined in their efforts by Exxon, which has given nearly $37 million over the same time to spread climate misinformation. A senior Exxon lobbyist in Washington was caught on tape in June describing the company's campaign to cloud the science. "Did we aggressively fight against some of the science? Yes," said Keith McCoy in a sting operation by Greenpeace U.K. "Did we hide our science? Absolutely not. Did we join some of these 'shadow groups' to work against some of the early efforts? Yes, that's true. But there's nothing illegal about that. You know, we were looking out for our investments. We were looking out for our shareholders."

The U.S. oil supply is still out of balance -Robert Rapier -You may find it curious that the price of oil is still above $80 a barrel. This is also why gasoline prices are at the highest levels since 2014. But, there is a good explanation for it. In January 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic began to sweep across the U.S., domestic oil production was 12.8 million barrels per day (BPD). Production remained at that level for a couple of months despite the double-whammy of a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, and growing demand destruction as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the situation was untenable. The price of oil eventually fell to zero and then kept going. That forced some producers into bankruptcy, resulting in the largest short-term oil production drop in U.S. history. Production declined all the way to 9.7 million BPD in May 2020 (which was the month after oil prices went negative), but has since bounced back to 11.3 million BPD. Meanwhile, U.S. oil demand has jumped back above 21.8 million BPD, which is where it was prior to the Covid-induced plunge. This loss of supply and recovery of demand is the biggest reason we have $80/bbl oil today when it was only $60/bbl just before the pandemic. The loss of supply has caused the U.S. to lose its briefly-held status as a net exporter of petroleum and petroleum products. That number had trended down from a high of 13 million BPD of imports in 2005 all the way to over a million BPD of exports in 2020. Now we have returned to net importer status, most recently importing a net average of 1.3 million BPD over the past four weeks. But there are some signs that help may be on the way. In January 2020 there were nearly 700 rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. By the summer of 2020, that number had fallen below 200. The rig count has steadily recovered over the past year to reach 445 — the highest level since the pandemic started. The downside is that it can take months at a minimum for new drilling activity to turn into oil production. So don’t rush out and buy that gas guzzler just yet.

A Cold Winter Could Double Natural Gas Prices And Send Oil To $100 - Crude oil could hit $100 per barrel if the winter turns out cold, one analyst has warned, adding that natural gas prices could double from current levels. BMO Capital Markets oil and gas research managing director Randy Ollenberg told Bloomberg that "We're in a really weather-sensitive situation here where we could see natural gas prices really, even, double from here if we get some really cold weather and we could see crude oil prices break through US$100.""There could be some pretty significant increases in pricing here if we do get some really cold weather early – so, in December," Ollenberg said. "We're talking about cold weather in Europe and Asia, that's really where it's critical."However, if the weather turns out to be mild during the winter, prices will correct during the first quarter of next year, the analyst also said.Ollenberg is not alone in this bullish outlook. In a separate interview with Bloomberg, Ira Epstein from asset manager Linn and Associates said he expectedWest Texas Intermediate to hit $90 by the end of the year on strong demand for oil coupled with not enough new supply.The sentiment was echoed by Goldman Sachs, too. The investment bank, which earlier this month revised up its price forecast for Brent to $90 per barrel by year-end, now says it could top $90 per barrel. The bank cited utilities' switch from gas to oil as a factor for this revision as it could potentially add 1 million bpd to global demand for oil."While not our base-case, such persistence would pose upside risk to our $90/bbl year-end Brent price forecast," Goldman analysts said, adding there was further space for oil to grow, too. "We would need prices to rise to $110 /bbl to stifle demand enough to balance the market deficit we currently see in 1Q22 given our expectation that OPEC+ continues on the current path of +0.4 mb/d per month increases in quotas."

Energy cannibalism is happening so fast that the collapse of the oil industry will derail renewables - French scientists warn that the oil industry is collapsing so fast it will derail renewables, Nafeez Ahmed wrote in Byline Times. In just 13 years, a team of French government energy scientists found that global oil production could enter "a terminal and exponential decline, accompanied by the overall collapse of the global oil and gas industries over the next three decades.' This collapse could derail any effort to transition in time for green energy to fill the gap, leaving a world of nearly 8 billion people in some form of economic collapse that will be impossible to escape.It's not that the earth doesn't have plenty of fossil fuels locked below the surface to exploit. But, the oil industry has to use more and more energy to extract additional sources of oil and gas. The low-hanging fruit of easily accessible oil exploitation is long gone with the exception of Arabia. The industry is finding extraction more brutal to remove energy from oil reserves miles below the ocean surface, exploiting the world's carbon sinks such as the Amazon and the Congo, and the risky extraction from thawing permafrost and drilling in the Arctic ocean. “The oil industry is increasingly eating itself to stay alive. The oil and gas industries are consuming more and more energy exponentially to keep extracting oil and gas. That's why they've entered a downwards spiral of increasing production costs, 'diminishing profits, rising debt, and irreversible economic decline.”The transition to green energy requires massive amounts of carbon to build the infrastructure and for the installation of the technology. If the oil industry collapses, it will jeopardize the transition. The key to understanding all this is in how the new study, published in Elsevier’s Applied Energy journal, applies the concept of ‘Energy Return On Investment’ (EROI).Pioneered by systems ecologist Professor Charles Hall (whom I worked with on my book Failing States, Collapsing Systems) EROI measures how much energy you must use to extract energy for a given resource or technology. The metric works as a simple ratio that estimates the quantity of energy you can get out for every single unit of energy that’s put in. So obviously, the higher the ratio the better, because it means you can get more bang for your buck.Their research found that 15.5% – more than a tenth – of the energy produced from oil worldwide is already necessary to keep producing all the oil.Yet this is getting worse, not better. Since the production of the easiest-to-get conventional oil slowed down and plateaued around fifteen years ago, we’re increasingly relying on forms of difficult-to-extract unconventional oil that uses greater amounts of energy for more complex techniques like fracking.By 2024 – within the next four years – the amount of energy we are using for global oil production is going to increase to 25% of energy production. In other words, the world will be using a quarter of the energy produced from oil just to keep producing that oil.But instead of getting more efficient, fossil fuel technologies are getting less efficient – which is why the quantity of energy we need to keep producing oil is exponentially increasing.By 2050, fully half of the energy extracted from global oil reserves will need to be put back into new extraction to keep producing oil. The authors have an interesting name for this self-defeating phenomenon: they call it, “energy cannibalism.”

Canadian oil producers eye new pipeline route to Gulf Coast as Marathon reverses Capline conduit - Canadian oil producers may soon enjoy higher prices for the crude they sell into the U.S. as a major south-to-north pipeline is in the final stages of a reversal — an under-appreciated event that could lift the prospects of the domestic oil industry. Ohio-based Marathon Pipelines LLC filed tariffs for transportation of crude oil on its Capline pipeline from Patoka, Ill. to St. James, Louisiana for rates effective Oct. 25, according to RBN Energy, an energy markets consultancy. Capline was the largest south-to-north flowing pipeline in the United States with a capacity of 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, but owner Marathon Petroleum has been working to reverse the flow since 2017, which would allow both heavy and light oil to flow from a storage hub in the U.S. Midwest to a major refining centre on the Gulf Coast. The company website notes that the reversal will be completed this year. “They’re doing line fill right now,” analyst Randy Ollenberger said of the Capline, adding that he expected the pipeline to shrink Western Canada Select discounts relative to West Texas Intermediate oil prices to US$10 per barrel. A barrel of WCS traded up 1.67 per cent Thursday to US$67.08, which implies a US$15.50 per barrel discount relative to the WTI price of US$82.58 per barrel. “We don’t know who has contracts on the Capline, but we do think that everybody benefits in the sense that the spread comes in. You don’t have to be physically shipping on the Capline to benefit,” Ollenberger said, adding that he expects to see the impact of the line on the bottomlines of Canadian producers in the second quarter of 2022. Oil producers contacted by the Financial Post said they expected the project would improve the returns of their barrels. “I’m excited about it. I think the Capline reversal would certainly be a positive for Canadian producers and improve pipeline optionality, specifically for the heavier producers, but it’ll de-weight the entire pipeline system in Canada,” Grant Fagerheim, president and CEO of Whitecap Resources Inc., told the Financial Post, referring to problems where Canadian oil exports have exceeded pipeline capacity in the past. Fagerheim said he would look at using the Capline to move more of his company’s oil to the U.S. Gulf Coast, adding the option of delivering oil to either the U.S. Midwest or the U.S. Gulf Coast provides some “insurance” for the oilpatch by providing a diversity of markets. To use the Capline, Canadian oil producers will need to ship their crude on Enbridge Inc.’s Mainline pipeline system to the U.S. Midwest, and then switch to the Enbridge’s Southern Access pipeline connected to the Patoka oil storage hub, which provides direct access to the Capline and a straight shot to the refineries of the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Capline reversal is coming into service in tandem with Enbridge’s 760,000-bpd Line 3 replacement project, which the Calgary-based pipeline giant completed in September and is now fully operational. The Capline rates range from $1.75 per barrel for shippers committing to move more than 100,000 barrels per day on the line to $3.75 per barrel on a spot basis. For years, Canadian oil producers sold the majority of their barrels to refiners in the U.S. Midwest. TC Energy Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline was proposed as a way to reduce the dependence on that market by taking 830,000 bpd directly to the U.S. Gulf Coast, which is home to the world’s largest concentration of heavy oil refineries.

Alberta Probing Funding Sources of Oilsands Foes - Opposition to Canadian oil and gas pipelines has grown into an international environmental protest industry from a modest 2008 beginning as “The Tar Sands Campaign,” according to an Alberta government inquiry into foreign funding of home-grown fossil fuel foes.The 657-page Report of the Public Inquiry Into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns found that C$1.28 billion ($1 billion) in documented cross-border support for the resistance movement is “likely understated” given slack disclosure rules.Inquiry commissioner J. Stephens Allan wrote that the two-year, C$3.5million ($2.8 million) investigation detected no illegal activity. However, he stressed that campaigning nonprofit groups and charities contend with far fewer regulations than oil and gas pipeline companies.“The movement and the organizations that are part of it appear to function much like an industry unto themselves, attracting various sources of funding and employing large personnel and capital to promote their objectives,” said Allan.“Many of them have had a history of moving from cause to cause, from salmon farming, to forestry, to water, to oil and gas, to agriculture. There is no doubt these are all important issues to humanity, but these organizations sustain and grow themselves and their management with brilliant marketing campaigns.” The report and a supplementary analysis by Deloitte Forensic Inc. traced links among 16 U.S. foundations and 31 Canadian organizations, using 2000-2018 tax returns to map money trails. Foreign aid to the Canadian groups over the 19-year period ranged from C$76,979-$429 million ($61,583-$343 million), the investigation found. The use of cross-border cash earmarked for Canadian environmental activities remains a mystery. “I was ultimately not able to trace with precision the quantum of foreign funding applied to anti-Alberta energy campaigns,” said Allan. “This is due in large part to the fungible nature of money — once funds are deployed to an organization in some manner, they are deployed to advance the mission and campaigns of the organization, which are often varied and complex, and cannot be readily traced to any particular activity or initiative.”

Expropriation of oil and gas companies: Quebec must respect its own legislation and pay fair value -The government of Quebec has just announced its intention to expropriate the rights of companies which, in good faith and strongly encouraged by the government, have over the decades invested several hundred million dollars in Quebec. These investments notably led to the discovery of the Utica Shale, a huge gas field that could meet Quebec's consumption needs for more than a hundred years and whose value of gas is calculated in the hundreds of billions of dollars.The Hydrocarbon Act makes it clear that the rights are real property rights as described in the Chapter H-4.2. Division II. 15. The exploration, production and storage rights conferred by a licence and the right to produce brine conferred by an authorization are immovable real rights. Further, the laws of Quebec are clear on expropriation. Here are extracts from the Civil Code of Quebec and the Expropriation Act:

• 952. The owner cannot be forced to cede his property, except by means of expropriation made in accordance with the law for a cause of public utility and in return for fair and prior compensation.
• 58. Compensation is set on the basis of the value of the expropriated property and the damage directly caused by the expropriation.

TotalEnergies CEO says gas price spike unlikely to be sustained | Reuters - The chief executive of French company TotalEnergies said on Saturday the recent gas price spike had been caused by a strong demand rebound post COVID-19 and prices were likely to stabilise after winter. “I don’t think it (gas price hike) is sustainable. Gas prices could come back after winter time,” Patrick Pouyanne said, speaking at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum. Excluding oil and gas was not the right approach to energy transition, he said, arguing that a lack of investment in hydrocarbons could itself create a crisis. “Where is the right balance between the energy of the present and building the future? Yes, we need to invest more and more in decarbonised energy, but at the same time we need the people of this planet to receive reliable, affordable energy,” he said. “If we don’t invest enough, we have crisis.”

U.S. LNG Shipments Are Falling at Just the Wrong Time - Production issues at two of the largest U.S. liquefied natural gas export terminals threaten to reduce shipments just as an energy crisis hits Europe and Asia, where buyers are desperately trying to rebuild depleted inventories ahead of winter. Freeport LNG is experiencing a wax buildup in its pipelines due to impurities in the gas it receives, said people with direct knowledge who asked not to be identified. As a result, LNG shipments from the Texas export terminal will be reduced for the remainder of October through November, the people said. Freeport officials declined to comment.

“Surging Energy Prices May Not Ease Until Next Year” – IMF blog - An unprecedented combination of factors is roiling world energy markets, rekindling the memories of the 1970s energy crisis and complicating an already uncertain outlook for inflation and the global economy.Energy futures indicate that prices are likely to moderate in the coming months. Spot prices for natural gas have more than quadrupled to record levels in Europe and Asia, and the persistence and global dimension of these price spikes are unprecedented. Typically, such moves are seasonal and localized. Asian prices, for example, saw a similar jump last year but those didn’t spill over with an associated similar rise in Europe. Our expectation is that these prices will revert to more normal levels early next year when heating demand ebbs and supplies adjust. However, if prices stay high as they have been, this could begin to be a drag on global growth.Meanwhile, ripple effects are being felt in coal and oil markets. Brent crude oil prices, the global benchmark, recently reached a seven-year high above $85 per barrel, as more buyers sought alternatives for heating and power generation amid already tight supplies. Coal, the nearest substitute, is in high demand as power plants turn to it more. This has pushed prices to the highest level since 2001, driving a rise in European carbon emission permit costs.Given this backdrop, it helps to look back to the start of the pandemic, when restrictions halted many activities across the global economy. This caused a collapse of energy consumption, leading energy companies to slash investment. However, consumption of natural gas rebounded fast—driven by industrial production, which accounts for about 20 percent of final natural gas consumption—boosting demand at a time when supplies were relatively low.Energy supply, in fact, has reacted slowly to price signals due to labor shortages, maintenance backlogs, longer lead times for new projects, and lackluster interest from investors in fossil fuel energy companies. Natural gas production in the United States, for example, remains below precrisis levels. Production in the Netherlands and Norway is also down. And Europe’s biggest supplier, Russia, has recently slowed its shipments to the continent.Weather has also exacerbated gas market imbalances. The Northern Hemisphere’s severe winter cold and summer heat boosted heating and cooling demand. Meanwhile, renewable power generation has been reduced in the United States and Brazil by droughts, which curbed hydropower output as reservoirs ran low, and in Northern Europe by below-average wind generation this summer and fall.

Energy crisis divides European nations before emergency meeting --European Union energy ministers are set for another spat over how to cushion consumers and companies from soaring power and natural gas prices, with political and legal constraints leaving little room for immediate action. At an emergency meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday, the ministers will discuss how the EU could complement measures already taken by member states and what could be done in the medium term to prevent future price shocks. Several countries are calling for the EU to come up with new intervention tools, but a group of nations including Austria, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands are poised to argue that the hike is temporary and should not lead to hasty changes to the bloc’s energy laws and its ambitious climate reforms, according to a new joint statement. “As the price spikes have global drivers, we should be very careful before interfering in the design of internal energy markets,” the countries, which also include Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg and Latvia, said in the document shared with other governments before the ministerial meeting. The unprecedented energy crisis has become one of the hottest issues as the 27-nation bloc heads into the winter season, with households facing double-digit increases in electricity bills and some industrial giants curtailing production. Tuesday’s gathering follows a discussion last week about the crisis at a summit with EU leaders, who brushed off calls by some countries for quick fixes to the bloc’s laws and the Green Deal strategy to make the economy sustainable. Most countries have already cut taxes or approved subsidies to help households and companies, and there are few remaining tools that are technically possible and politically palatable. “I don’t see a lot of margin for maneuver for countries to come up with something concrete and new,” said Maximo Miccinilli, head of energy and climate at FleishmanHillard EU. “Is this council going to be a game changer for these negotiations? My answer is no -- it will be about preparing for the mid-term.” With varying energy sources and industrial strengths, countries in the bloc differ on how to blunt the impact of the crisis. Nations including Spain and Greece have called for creating a common platform to purchase natural gas. France is urging a review of the power market design and Poland wants immediate changes to the EU carbon market to curb speculation.

Is there an "energy crisis"? Not really — fossil fuels are collapsing, and it's high time - Carl Pope - The Economist calls it "The Energy Shock." Forbes and the Wall Street Journal go further, resurrecting a term from the 1970s: "Energy Crisis." The media is hyperventilating. But what is going on, really? I'd describe it as the first fossil fuel collapse of the clean energy transition, or even as proof that cleaner and faster means cheaper and stable energy." That's quite different from the Economist subhead, which pushes the idea there are "grave problems with the transition to clean energy." What does the evidence show? First, renewable wind and solar increased their contribution to global energy supply by a record 8% in 2021, providing 8,300 TeraWatt hours (TWH) of clean, cheap power. Wind generation globally grew by 17%, in spite of poor winds in parts of Europe. Overall, renewable power delivered 30% of the world's electrons in the first year of pandemic recovery. This clean energy growth occurred despite the fact that governments provide $600 billion per year to subsidize the use of fossil fuels. This new wind and solar power was cheaper than coal and gas in virtually every case. Indeed, the only major exceptions — meaning economies where fossil fuel generation is still cheaper than renewables — are Russia and Mexico (cheap gas), along with Japan and Indonesia (cheap coal). Current spikes in energy prices are primarily the result of market manipulation, which is hampering an adequate response to rapid economic recovery from the pandemic. We've seen this play before. A similar set of price spikes followed the 2008 financial crisis: Oil prices jumped by 68%, seaborne coal by 88% and U.S. natural gas by 33%. Indeed, volatile prices that jump up and down dramatically are normal for fossil fuels. For the last 15 years, the Brent oil price index and the U.S. Henry Hub gas benchmark have both varied year to year by more than 20% — and the Newcastle index for exported coal has leaped by a shocking 47% in an average year. Unlike fossil fuel energy, renewable power displays intrinsic price stability. Even a partial market share for renewables reduces an economy's vulnerability to fossil-fuel price volatility, and the larger that share grows, the greater the buffer. Electric utilities in Sweden, because of that country's large renewable power share, don't much care about the price of gas. The biggest single factor in the market failure we see at the moment is manipulation: The consortium of oil-producing nations known as OPEC+ has withheld crude oil, while Russia has restricted exports of natural gas. Massive pre-pandemic losses on shale gas and oil has deterred investors, understandably enough, from renewing their commitment to rapidly depleting shale wells. Energy markets overall are inadequately designed and lack buffers against volatility caused by factors like these.

Russia close to using natural gas as weapon in Europe’s gas crunch -- U.S. President Joe Biden’s global energy security adviser said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is getting close to using natural gas as a political tool if Russia is holding back fuel exports to Europe as it suffers an energy crunch. “I think we are getting close to that line if Russia indeed has the gas to supply and it chooses not to, and it will only do so if Europe accedes to other demands that are completely unrelated,” Amos Hochstein, Biden’s adviser, told reporters, when asked if Putin was using gas as a weapon. Hochstein said gas prices in Europe have been driven higher not just by events in the region but also by a dry season in China that has reduced energy output from hydropower and increased global competition for natural gas. Still, while several factors have led to the European gas crisis, Russia is best placed to come to the aid of Europe, he said. “There is no doubt in my mind, and the (International Energy Agency) has itself validated, that the only supplier that can really make a big difference for European energy security at the moment for this winter is Russia,” Hochstein said. Russia can increase upstream production of gas, and should do it quickly through existing pipelines, he said. Putin has rejected suggestions that Moscow was squeezing supplies for political motives, saying it will increase flow as much as partners ask. Putin has blamed record high prices on the EU’s energy policy and said Russia can boost supplies to Europe once its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline gets approved. Yuriy Vitrenko, the head of Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz, this month said Russia was trying to blackmail Europe into certifying its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline by keeping fuel supplies low. The pipeline, which Washington opposes because it would circumvent Ukraine, is finished but needs approvals from Germany to start delivering Russian gas under the Baltic Sea to Europe. Approvals from Germany and the European Commission for Nord Stream 2 will likely take until March, so if Russia says it can quickly boost gas flow through Nord Stream 2, it should be able to do so now through existing pipelines, Hochstein said. “You can’t have it both ways,” Hochstein said.

What’s Behind Saudi Arabia’s Pivot To Natural Gas? - Saudi Aramco’s request for bids from local and international companies to build out a water desalination plant project in the Jafurah shale gas field brings back into focus the Kingdom’s claims to be at the forefront of the global energy transition towards cleaner energy through the reduction of carbon emissions. As with many of its biggest claims regarding its oil industry – analyzed most recently here – this claim regarding its drive towards cleaner energy is also extremely misleading, and would also appear to align with the country’s alleged attempts to lobby the UN to play down the need to move rapidly away from fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia announced with much fanfare early in 2020 that it is to spend at least US$110 billion on the Jafurah gas project, with the intention being that it would become the world’s third-largest gas producer by 2030, after the U.S., and Russia, and a net exporter of gas by that time. As even Aramco has noticed that Saudi Arabia does not have abundant freshwater supplies - its chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, keenly observed early on that ‘we are not rich with water’ – the company will use seawater instead for the fracking process, hence the new contracts for a desalination plant. According to the Saudis, the Jafurah field has an estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of gas (TcF), a figure that should be taken in the context of all other Saudi energy reserves estimates but let us pretend for the purposes of debate that it is true. In the meantime, Aramco has natural gas reserves supposedly of 319.5 trillion cubic feet (TcF), according to figures released in 2019. This number had bewilderingly increased from the previous 302.3 TcF just a year before and even more bewilderingly just a couple of years before it had been 233.8 TcF. Nonetheless, again, for the purposes of this debate, let us pretend that this figure is true as well. The plan is for Aramco to start production from Jafurah in 2024 and to reach 2.2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of gas by 2036. In 2018, just before the hike in gas reserves estimates and without Jafurah in production, Aramco produced around 8.9 Bcf/d of natural gas. With this amount of gas being produced and used in Saudi Arabia’s energy mix at that time, it was still the case that from 2015 to 2018 the amount of highly polluting fuel oil that the Kingdom used in domestic power generation increased from 400,000 bpd to 500,000 bpd, Richard Bronze, a cross-energy analyst for global energy consultancy, Energy Aspects, in London, told OilPrice.com. This supposed move to gas, in turn, was part of Saudi Arabia’s broader drive to pretend that it was moving towards a cleaner energy program. A key part of this was its statements that it was also aiming for compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) global sulfur cap for marine fuel being cut to 0.5 percent from 3.5 percent, the target date for which was the end of 2020. Despite the comments around that time from Saudi Aramco’s senior vice president of downstream operations, Abdulazziz al-Judaimi, that the company’s fully-owned refining assets were already 85 percent IMO-compliant, Saudi Arabia was one of the very few places in the world that actually imported fuel oil at that point, according to Bronze. This meant that it could legitimately – sort of – state that it was decreasing its own production of the dirty fuel oil product.

Exxon Debates Abandoning Some of Its Biggest Oil and Gas Projects - Exxon Mobil Corp.’s remade board of directors is debating whether to continue with several major oil and gas projects as the company reconsiders its investment strategy in a fast-changing energy landscape, according to people familiar with the matter. Members of the board—which includes three directors successfully nominated by an activist investor in May and two other new members—have expressed concerns about certain projects, including a $30 billion liquefied natural gas development in Mozambique and another multibillion-dollar gas project in Vietnam, the people said. Oil and gas prices are at multiyear highs, and the world is experiencing a shortage of fossil fuels as economies emerge from the pandemic. But it takes years for such energy megaprojects to produce additional supplies, and more years after that for the investments to pay off. Exxon board members are weighing the fate of future projects as the company is facing pressure from investors to restrain fossil-fuel investment to limit carbon emissions and return more cash to shareholders. Environmentalists and some government officials are also pressuring the company to produce less oil and gas. The discussions are taking place as part of a review of the oil company’s five-year spending plan, on which the board is set to vote at the end of this month, the people said. It isn’t clear whether the board will make a final call on the Mozambique or Vietnam projects during the current review, according to the people. Both projects face potential political obstacles, and some Exxon board members have expressed concerns about whether they would return the billions in upfront investment they would require, some of the people said. The board meetings have been cordial, the people said. As part of the review, Exxon is analyzing the expected carbon emissions from each project and how they would affect the company’s ability to meet pledges to reduce emissions, people familiar with the matter said. The annual projected emissions from the Mozambique and Vietnam projects were among the highest in Exxon’s planned pipeline of oil and gas projects, according to a pre-pandemic internal analysis by Exxon, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Norton said the analysis of projected carbon emissions the Journal viewed was several years old and didn’t include the impact of Exxon’s most recent emission reduction plans and other post-Covid-19 changes. The discussions over the projects represent a new dynamic for Exxon’s board, said people familiar with the matter. Engine No. 1, the hedge fund that led a campaign that replaced three Exxon board members earlier this year, argued Exxon was investing in low-return projects and lacked a coherent strategy to chart a transition to lower-carbon fuels amid growing concerns about climate change. The activist was successful in part because it was able to win support from some of the company’s largest investors, including BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group. The asset managers said one of the reasons they supported the Engine candidates was that Exxon’s board lacked energy expertise and independence. The Mozambique project, called Rovuma, would tap vast reserves of natural gas off the coast of the southern African country, then chill them to a liquid state at an onshore plant to be exported around the world. It is one of the largest projects in Exxon’s portfolio, and its proximity to India could give Exxon an opportunity to export gas to a fast-growing market. But Mozambique lacks infrastructure and is fighting an Islamic State-linked insurgency that has claimed more than 3,000 lives. TotalEnergies SE halted construction of a $20 billion gas project there in March after violence erupted near its construction site. Exxon spent $2.8 billion to acquire a stake in the Rovuma project but has delayed a final investment decision for several years. 

Saudis have ‘huge concern’ over falling global oil supply capacity Saudi Aramco said oil-output capacity across the world is dropping quickly and companies need to invest more in production. It’s a “huge concern,” Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said in an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. “The spare capacity is shrinking.” His comments come with crude prices having soared 70% this year to around $85 a barrel. Many major consumers, including the U.S., Japan and India, have called on producers to pump more. The supply deficit in oil markets could worsen in 2022 if the coronavirus pandemic eases and more people fly, he said. “If there’s aviation pick up next year, that spare capacity will be depleted,” he said. “It’s now getting to a situation where there’s limited supply -- whatever is left that’s spare is declining rapidly.” Several oil and gas traders have criticized governments and climate activists for calling on companies to stop investing in fossil fuels, saying that will cause shortages of energy in the coming decade. Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, is investing billions of dollars to raise its daily capacity to 13 million barrels from 12 million. It expects to complete the project by 2027. Many Wall Street banks and OPEC+ members doubt there will be supply shortages next year. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has said oil markets will shift to a supply surplus of 1 million barrels by March from a deficit of around 1.5 million barrels now. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister told Bloomberg on Saturday there could be a “huge uplift” in crude inventories in 2022. “We still have Covid,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, justifying OPEC+’s refusal to ease deep supply cuts it began last year any faster. “We still have jet fuel limited in terms of growth. If you do more now, you’re accelerating the problem.” The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners are increasing daily output by 400,000 barrels each month. The 23-nation group, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, next meets on Nov. 4 to decide whether to change strategy.

Peak Oil Demand Forecasts Turn Sour As Demand Keeps Growing -In the mind of many a news consumer, oil is on its way out. So is coal. So is gas, although that one might stick around for a little longer. We are, after all, moving into a new era of clean energy, and while it will take us some time to get there, it’s our only option for a future. And fossil fuels have no place in that future.The latest oil, gas, and coal price rally, therefore, must have come as a shock to that hypothetical news consumer. It turns out, this rally said, that news does not always reflect reality. Neither do oil and gas price forecasts. Remember when there was a gas glut, as recently as last year? Everyone said it would persist, keeping prices low. But it didn’t. The glut ended quite suddenly this year.Predicting oil—or, apparently, gas—prices is a notoriously uncertain business. This, however, is not stopping hundreds if not thousands of people from doing it on a daily basis, with varying degrees of success. Right now, most forecasters seem to expect prices to continue rising because there are simply too many factors working to support them.Over the longer term, predicting oil prices becomes even more challenging. Right now, it is especially challenging because few forecasters appear to have anticipated the current rally, and now a flurry of revisions are being made, according to a New York Times report. The revisions are not about average oil prices this year and next, however. They concern peak oil demand: one of the few necessary conditions for every net-zero scenario.The dominant narrative is that the renewable energy rush will kill off oil demand growth in a few years, a decade at most. Yet this narrative never foresaw the current rally for some reason. It never factored in the possibility of a surge in the demand for coal, not just in the usual place—emerging economies—but in countries such as the United States, where coal consumption is on track to rise for the first time since 2014. The energy crunch this year disrupted a lot of narratives.

Wall Street projects a “higher for longer” era for oil prices --Could the era of cheap oil supply be gone for good? That’s the conclusion of some of the biggest commodities desks on Wall Street, where banks have been lifting their long-term price forecasts, often by $10 or more. While the U.S. shale boom brought about a “lower-for-longer” mantra, the market is now fixated on climate change and the dwindling appetite to invest in fossil fuels. Instead of growing supply, companies are under pressure to limit their spending, causing a structural under-investment in new production that — the argument goes — will keep oil prices higher for longer. “My advice to clients is that you want to stay long oil until you know where that equilibrium price is” that brings new supplies online, said Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “We know it’s above these levels because we haven’t had a big uptick in capex and investment.” The notion of a supply gap is nothing new. Since prices crashed in 2014, analysts have talked up the potential for demand to outstrip production as a result of underinvestment. But the rout in energy prices from Covid-19, combined with pressing environmental concerns, offer reason to think this time is different. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs globally may have recovered from the lows of when oil prices turned negative last year, but they are still down more than 30% on the start of 2020. Current figures are about as low as they were in 2016, according to Baker Hughes Co., despite headline crude prices being near a seven-year high. Among the banks seeing higher prices for longer, Goldman says $85 for 2023. Morgan Stanley bumped what it calls its long-term forecast up by $10 to $70 this week, while BNP Paribas sees crude at almost $80 in 2023. Other banks including RBC Capital Markets have talked up the prospect of oil being at the start of a structural bull run. Such estimates imply that a commodity vital to the global economy has become structurally more expensive. Oil price expectations underpin hundreds of billions of dollars of equity valuations for major international oil companies like Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc. There’s an ever-dwindling appetite to lend on the part of investors too. In the last week alone, the largest French banks said they would curb the financing of the shale oil and gas industry from early next year. Ecuador recently had to double the amount of banks that could provide it with credit guarantees as financial institutions shunned crude harvested from the Amazon.

Oil prices soar, bullish hedge funds hold their nerve: Kemp - (Reuters) - Petroleum futures and options saw another influx of hedge fund inflows last week as renewed bullishness about output restrictions overcame concerns about the already-high level of prices. Hedge funds and other money managers purchased the equivalent of 10 million barrels in the six most important futures and options contracts in the week to Oct. 19 (https://tmsnrt.rs/3EbVOVf). Funds have been net buyers in seven of the last eight weeks, adding a total of 188 million barrels to their positions since Aug. 24, according to records compiled by exchanges and regulators. The most recent week saw buying in NYMEX and ICE WTI (+23 million barrels), U.S. gasoline (+8 million) and European gas oil (+9 million), but sales of Brent (-24 million) and U.S. heating oil (-7 million). Most of the increase came from creation of new bullish long positions (+11 million barrels), which outnumbered the establishment of new bearish shorts (+1 million), indicating funds still expect prices to rise further. Portfolio managers have amassed a net long position of 865 million barrels across all six contracts (77th percentile for all weeks since 2013) with long positions outnumbering shorts by almost 7:1 (86th percentile). Bullish long-short ratios are led by middle distillates (97th percentile) and crude (79th percentile) while gasoline is less stretched (72nd percentile). The distribution is not surprising, since distillates are best placed to benefit most from strong demand from the manufacturing and freight transport sectors, as well as any fuel-switching this winter as a result of record high gas prices in Europe and Asia. Portfolio managers remain bullish about the potential for price increases even though crude oil prices have already climbed significantly. Front-month Brent futures have risen by more than 22% over the last two months, a rate of increase in the 95th percentile for all similar periods since 1993. But traders expect producers will continue to restrict output, leaving it lagging growth in consumption, lowering oil inventories even further in the months ahead.

A Global Oil Shortage Is Inevitable -Chronic underinvestment in new oil supply since the 2015 crisis and the pressure on oil and gas companies to curb emissions and even “keep it in the ground” will likely lead to peak global oil production earlier than previously expected, analysts say. This would be a welcome development for green energy advocates, net-zero agendas, and the planet if it weren’t for one simple fact: oil demand is rebounding from the pandemic-driven slump and will set a new average annual record as soon as next year. The energy transition and the various government plans for net-zero emissions have prompted analysts to forecast that peak oil demand would occur earlier than expected just a few years ago. However, as current investment trends in oil and gas stand, global oil supply could peak sooner than global oil demand, opening a supply gap that would lead to increased volatility on the oil market, with spikes in prices, and, potentially, structurally higher oil prices by the middle of this decade and beyond. “On current trends, global oil supply is likely to peak even earlier than demand,” Morgan Stanley’s research department wrote in a note this week carried by Reuters. “The planet puts boundaries on the amount of carbon that can safely be emitted. Therefore, oil consumption needs to peak,” analysts at Morgan Stanley said. The problem with the world is that oil consumption – wishful thinking, investor pressure, and all – is not peaking. Nor will it peak until the end of this decade at the earliest, according to most estimates. OPEC expects global oil demand to continue to grow into the mid-2030s to 108 million barrels per day (bpd), after which it is set to plateau until 2045, as per the cartel’s latest annual outlook. Some other analysts expect peak demand at some point in the late 2020s. Investment in new supply, however, is severely lagging global oil demand growth. Demand is growing again after the 2020 COVID crisis and, contrary to some expectations from early 2020 that the world’s oil consumption would never return to pre-pandemic levels, demand is currently just a few months away from hitting and exceeding those levels. Supply, on the other hand, looks constrained beyond the OPEC+ deal horizon. New investment last year slumped to a decade-and-a-half low. Last year, global upstream investment sank to a 15-year low of $350 billion, according to estimates by Wood Mackenzie from earlier this year. Investment is not expected to materially pick up this year, either, despite $80 oil. That’s because supermajors stick to capital discipline and pledge net-zero emission targets, part of which some of them plan to reach by curbing investment and developments in non-core little-profitable new oil projects. U.S. shale, for its part, is not rushing this time to “drill themselves into oblivion,” as Harold Hamm said in 2017, as American producers look to finally reward shareholders after years of plowing cash flows into drilling and chasing production growth. Considering that oil demand will still grow, at least for a few more years, underinvestment in new supply would be a major problem in the medium and long term. Despite the energy transition, demand will not just vanish, and new supply will be needed for years to come to replace declining production and reserves. The oil industry will need massive investments over the next 25 years in order to meet demand, according to OPEC. The industry will need cumulative long-term upstream, midstream, and downstream oil-related investments of $11.8 trillion by 2045, OPEC says.

WTI Crude Climbs to $85 a Barrel for the First Time Since 2014 (Bloomberg) -- West Texas Intermediate crude rose above $85 a barrel for the first time since 2014, another landmark in a global energy crunch that has seen prices soar.Oil has jumped in recent weeks as natural gas prices hit records. The surge in gas could add at least 1 million barrels a day to oil demand, according to Goldman Sachs, which sees global consumption on the cusp of returning to pre-pandemic levels. That comes as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are adding back output only gradually into a market where stockpiles are steadily declining. The advance in oil prices is the latest leg higher in a surge in broader energy costs that is adding inflationary pressure to the global e conomy as policymakers begin to taper stimulus. WTI futures rose as much as 1.5% to $85.04 a barrel at 8:23 a.m New York time. Brent also extended gains.

Oil prices reach multi-year highs on tight supply - Oil prices reached multi-year highs on Monday before steadying, as tight global supply and strengthening fuel demand in the United States and beyond supported prices. Brent crude futures gained 46 cents to settle at US$85.99 a barrel. The contract reached a session high of US$86.70 a barrel, its highest level since October 2018. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were unchanged at US$83.76 a barrel after reaching US$85.41 a barrel, the highest since October 2014. Both benchmarks have climbed by around 20per cent since the start of September. U.S. crude has risen for nine straight weeks, while Brent has risen for seven. "The global energy supply crunch continues to show its teeth, as oil prices extend their upward march this week, a result of traders pricing in the ongoing rise in fuel demand – which amid limited supply response is depleting global stockpiles," said Louise Dickson, senior oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy. Goldman Sachs said a strong rebound in global oil demand could push Brent crude prices above its year-end forecast of US$90 a barrel. The bank estimated gas-to-oil switching could contribute at least 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to oil demand. After more than a year of depressed fuel demand, gasoline and distillate consumption is back in line with five-year averages in the United States, the world's largest fuel consumer. Oil prices have also been bolstered by worries over coal and gas shortages in China, India and Europe, which spurred fuel switching to diesel and fuel oil for power. "The reason we're seeing strength today is many fold, but amongst them is fuel switching," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. In India, refiners' crude oil throughput in September edged higher from the previous month, government data showed on Friday, as refineries boosted output to meet surging demand.

Oil Settles Flat On Iran Discussions - Oil erased gains after hitting $85 a barrel for the first time since 2014 with traders focused on upcoming talks between Iran and the European Union that may lead to a revival of a 2015 nuclear deal. Futures in New York ended Monday’s session unchanged after earlier rising as much as 2%. Iran and the European Union will hold discussions in Brussels on Wednesday, the Islamic Republic’s lead negotiator said. The meeting is a prelude to the resumption of broader talks in Vienna on how to revive the pact that gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. The U.S. special envoy for Iran said talks were at a “critical phase,” and a period of “more intense diplomacy” to end the standoff was approaching. “As long as they are talking, there is a chance a deal gets done,” said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA. Still, over the past 12 months oil has more than doubled there appears to be little end in sight for the rally. Wall Street has been steadily upping its views of the market, expecting prices to trade higher for longer. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says consumption is on the cusp of returning to pre-Covid levels, while the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies have been restrained in easing the draconian supply cuts imposed in 2020 to salvage prices. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg Television over the weekend that producers shouldn’t take the rise in prices for granted because the coronavirus pandemic could still hit demand. OPEC+ is raising daily production by 400,000 barrels each month, and has resisted pressure to do more. The oil market’s tightness has been exacerbated by some members failing to reach their output quotas. Meanwhile, Russia expects OPEC+ to increase its output by 400,000 barrels per day at its Nov. 4 meeting, as previously agreed, Reuters reported, citing Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Prices: WTI for December delivery was unchanged, settling at $83.76 a barrel in New York. Brent for December settlement rose 46 cents to end the session at $85.99 a barrel. Despite weaker headline futures prices, the oil market’s structure remained strong. West Texas Intermediate crude for immediate delivery traded more than a dollar higher than the next month on Monday as traders pay premium prices to secure supplies, a bullish structure known as backwardation. Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the biggest storage hub in the U.S., are rapidly shrinking, and supplies fell another 2.84 million barrels last week, according to traders, citing Wood Mackenzie data.

Oil Futures Wobble with Growth Concerns in Focus, USD Slips - Nearby month oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude traded on the Intercontinental Exchange moved mixed in early trade Tuesday, with all contracts erasing some of their early week gains as traders balance concerns over slowing economic growth undermined by rising inflation and flare-up in COVID-19 infections in Asia and parts of the European Union against prospects of tightening the global oil market in the fourth quarter. U.S. economic growth likely slowed to 2.7% in the third quarter from 6.7% expansion seen from April-July period, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. A combination of a tight labor market, disrupted supply chains, and spread of the Delta variant of coronavirus are all seen weighing on economic activity in the final months of the year and into early 2022. The Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank is less optimistic on third-quarter growth, estimating gross domestic product gained a mere 0.5%, down from a 1.2% expansion rate seen on Oct. 15. While Thursday's third quarter GDP release will likely disappoint, the deeper forces that have pressured growth this fall have accelerated further in the final months of the year. New outbreaks of COVID-19 infections in China and Russia coupled with a record run in natural gas and coal prices stands to exacerbate risk of global stagflation. Next, investors will turn their focus to consumer confidence index for October, to be released by the Conference Board at 10 a.m. ET. Consensus calls for consumer's outlook to have eroded further this month after plunging to a near decade-low at the end of the summer. The Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board is expected to drop to 108.3 in October from September's 109.3. The U.S. Dollar Index, which gauges the greenback's value against a bundle of foreign currencies, reversed lower in early hours Tuesday after nearly touching 94-level in overnight trade. Near 7:30 a.m. ET, NYMEX West Texas Intermediate futures for December delivery gained $0.24 to trade at $84 per barrel (bbl), and the international crude benchmark Brent contract traded little changed at $86.11 bbl. NYMEX November RBOB advanced 1.43 cents to $2.5305 gallon and front-month ULSD futures edged up to $2.5684 gallon. Earlier in the week, oil futures found limited support from comments by Saudi oil minister Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Salman who indicated OPEC+ should stick to their policy of measured production increases next month, adding that global demand recovery is far from complete. "We are not out of the woods. We need a careful approach. This crisis is contained but not necessarily over,"

Oil benchmarks settle at highest since 2014 on short supply (Reuters) -Oil prices edged up to their highest since 2014 on Tuesday, supported by a global supply shortage and strong demand in the United States, the world's biggest consumer. The rally came ahead of U.S. inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, on Tuesday and the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. Analysts expect the latest weekly U.S. oil inventory data to show a 1.9 million-barrel build in crude stocks. Brent futures rose 41 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $86.40 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended 89 cents, or 1.1%, higher at $84.65. Those were the highest closes for both global benchmarks since October 2014. "The energy crunch is still nowhere close to subsiding, so we expect prevailing strength in oil prices in November and December as supply lags demand and as OPEC+ stays on the sidelines," said Louise Dickson, senior oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy. OPEC+, comprising of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies like Russia, is currently raising production by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) each month, but has pushed back against calls to boost output faster in response to the surge in prices. "Crude prices continue to rise and pleas to OPEC to increase production continue to fall on deaf ears. The only thing that will get OPEC+ motivated is if private U.S. operators signal, they will increase production," said Edward Moya, senior market analysts at OANDA, noting "a jump to $90 oil seems likely." Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said Brent was likely to push above its year-end forecast of $90 a barrel, while Larry Fink, chief executive of the world's largest asset manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), said there was a high probability of oil reaching $100. With oil and gas prices at multi-year highs, U.S. shale producers are poised to deliver the strongest earnings since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, so long as they did not lock in sales tied to much lower prices. While China's red-hot power and coal markets have cooled somewhat after government intervention, energy prices remain elevated worldwide as temperatures fall with the onset of the northern winter. Gasoline and distillate consumption in the United States is back in line with five-year averages after more than a year of depressed demand, and the market will be closely watching U.S. inventory levels.

WTI Dips After Unexpected Crude Inventory Build -Oil prices rebounded from weakness yesterday afternoon with WTI testing back above $84.50 ahead of tonight's API inventory data to seven year highs."There is little that can tilt oil prices away from their upwards momentum on the short term, as the only real supply source of significance is OPEC+, and there doesn't seem to be much mood for policy change on that front for the moment," said Louise Dickson, senior oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy, in daily market commentary."There are only two offramps to the current bout of oil price volatility and one is OPEC+ taking supply action, but the group has repeatedly said it does not plan on altering its strategy," said Dickson. There's also the chance that "another round of COVID-19 breakouts and lockdowns could again dim the demand outlook," she said. "But it seems to be a last resort strategy for many economies that are tired of repeating the unpopular economy-damaging process."So all eyes on stocks and supplies...API

• Crude +2.318mm (-100k exp)
• Cushing -3.734mm - biggest draw since January 2021
• Gasoline +530k (-2.7mm exp)
• Distillates +986k (-2mm exp)

Last week saw a surprise crude inventory build (and product builds) but offset by a huge draw at Cushing...

Oil Futures Fall After Bearish APIs With USD Rangebound -- Nearby delivery oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude traded on the Intercontinental Exchange fell sharply in early trade Wednesday, sending U.S. crude benchmark as much as 1.5% lower after the American Petroleum Institute reported across-the-board builds occurred in domestic crude and petroleum product supplies last week, while the U.S. dollar index moved mixed ahead of the release of the key economic data. Near 7:30 a.m. ET, NYMEX West Texas Intermediate futures for December delivery dropped more than $1 to $83.61 per barrel (bbl) after topping $85 bbl earlier this week, and the international crude benchmark Brent contract declined $0.94 to trade near $85.44 bbl. NYMEX November RBOB retreated 3.68 cents or 1.5% to $2.48 gallon and the front-month ULSD contact dropped 3.60 cents to $2.5413 gallon. Oil complex came under selling pressure on Wednesday after industry data from the API reported U.S. commercial crude oil inventories unexpectedly increased 2.318 million bbl in the week ended Oct. 22, more than four times calls for a 500,000 bbl build. Unexpected build was accompanied by builds in gasoline and distillate fuels stocks that increased by a combined 1.5 million bbl in the reviewed week. DTN Refined Fuels Demand data showed gasoline demand in the United States increased 1.1% through the week ended Oct. 22, while down just 0.5% against the comparable pre-COVID level in 2019. Diesel demand surged 3.5% from the prior week last week and strengthened 6.9% relative to the same week in 2019. Crude stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub -- the biggest U.S. crude depot, meanwhile, plunged by a massive 3.73 million bbl after declining by more than 4 million bbl in the prior two weeks. If realized, the drawdown would press Cushing stockpiles below 30 million bbl for the first time since October 2018 when inventories fell to near operational low levels. Minimum operational capacity at the storage tanks in Cushing are estimated between 16 million and 22 million bbl. Historically, Cushing inventories have been seen as a good barometer for how tight the physical market is, while heavily affecting WTI's market structure, with the six-month calendar spread widening to $7.23 bbl at settlement Tuesday -- near Friday's $7.32 bbl better than eight-year high. Analysts suggest that global shortages of natural gas in European Union and Asia have made the light, sweet crude from Cushing more attractive on the global market because it contains less sulfur than some other types of crude oil that must be processed through units at refineries called hydrocrackers. Hydrocrackers rely on hydrogen usually generated from natural gas -- the cost of which has surged to record highs in parts of Europe and Asia recently. Natural gas prices surged to record highs in the EU and Asia amid depleted inventories, lower-than-expected output from renewable energy sources, and swift reopening of economies. The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies summarized this confluence of factors, noting it creates "this perfect storm." Analysts at Goldman Sachs estimate global oil demand has already jumped to 99 million bpd this month and will soon top pre-COVID levels, with excess demand from gas-to-oil switching in power generation contributing to at least 500,000 bpd of that consumption. Should winter 2022 prove colder-than-expected, this would most certainly lead to big price spikes for natural gas and coal that would quickly spill over into the oil complex.

WTI Holds Losses After Big Crude Build, Cushing Stocks Plunge --Oil prices tumbled overnight following a surprise crude build reported by API, but WTI has rebounded this morning after tagging a $82 handle to top $84. "There is little that can tilt oil prices away from their upwards momentum on the short term, as the only real supply source of significance is OPEC+, and there doesn't seem to be much mood for policy change on that front for the moment," said Louise Dickson, senior oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy, in daily market commentary."There are only two offramps to the current bout of oil price volatility and one is OPEC+ taking supply action, but the group has repeatedly said it does not plan on altering its strategy," said Dickson. There's also the chance that "another round of COVID-19 breakouts and lockdowns could again dim the demand outlook," she said. "But it seems to be a last resort strategy for many economies that are tired of repeating the unpopular economy-damaging process."All eyes will be on the crude data as well as Cushing's offsets as refiners “are drawing down on Cushing at a pretty incredible pace right now,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group. “We’re getting close to empty.” DOE

• Crude +4.27mm (-100k exp)
• Cushing -3.899mm - biggest draw since January 2021
• Gasoline -1.99mm (-2.7mm exp)
• Distillates -432k (-2mm exp)

Crude stocks rose far more than expected and more than API reported last week, but products saw inventories fall and Cushing stocks plunged...

Oil drops more than 2% as U.S. stockpiles rise sharply --Oil prices fell on Wednesday after U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose more than expected, even as fuel inventories dropped and tanks at the nation’s largest storage hub emptied further. The bigger-than-expected rise in U.S. crude stocks gave some investors an impetus to unload long positions after strong gains in recent weeks brought both the Brent and U.S. crude benchmarks to multi-year highs. Brent oil futures ended down $1.82, or 2.1%, to $84.58 a barrel, after closing at a seven-year high on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down $1.99, or 2.4%, to $82.66 a barrel. “We’ve had a reasonable pullback on profit-taking more than anything, but still $80 for (WTI) is a strong number,” said Gary Cunningham, director of market research at Tradition Energy. Both benchmarks closed on Friday with a seventh straight weekly gain as major producers hold back supply and demand rebounds after the easing of pandemic restrictions. Crude oil inventories rose by 4.3 million barrels last week, according to the U.S. Energy Department, more than the expected 1.9 million-barrel gain. Gasoline stocks dropped by 2 million barrels, lowering them to levels not seen in nearly four years, as U.S. consumers grapple with rising prices to fill their vehicles’ tanks. Storage at the WTI delivery hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, is more depleted than at any point in the past three years, with prices for longer-dated futures contracts pointing to supplies staying at those levels for months. Oil has advanced of late on the expectation that nations like China and India will respond to shortages in coal and natural gas by switching to crude-derived products for power generation and heating. Such demand could boost overall crude consumption by more than half a million barrels of oil a day.

Oil Futures Sink on Iranian JCPOA Talks, US Growth Outlook -- Nearby delivery oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent crude traded on the Intercontinental Exchange extended heavy losses into early trade Thursday, sending the front-month West Texas Intermediate contract below $82 per barrel (bbl) amid prospects for the potential return of Iranian crude oil exports on the global market after Tehran agreed to restart nuclear talks with Western powers next month, and a weaker-than-expected demand recovery in the United States and Asia under pressure from a sharp slowdown of economic growth. The U.S. economy's post-pandemic recovery likely slowed markedly in the three months ending in September, with global supply chain disruptions, rising inflation, and a resurgent Delta wave of infections seen limiting that growth. Economists forecast U.S. gross domestic product expanded at 2.7% in the third quarter, down from a 6.7% growth rate seen from the April-to-June period. If confirmed in data to be published Thursday morning from the U.S. Department of Commerce, that would mark the weakest growth rate since the U.S. economy suffered a historic contraction in the second quarter 2020. The Federal Reserve most recent Summary of Economic Projections showed that policymakers have already revised their 2021 full-year growth forecast to 5.9%, down from 7% seen earlier this year. Inflation in the third quarter spiked well above the Fed's target range of 2% despite fading base effects of the pandemic and government stimulus, weakening the case for "transitory" inflation. Unusually strong demand for consumer goods coupled with a tight labor market have driven inflation to a 13-year high 5.4% in September. "The risk is clearly now to longer and more-persistent bottlenecks, and thus to higher inflation," said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in his congressional testimony earlier this month, adding that supply-chain bottlenecks weren't improving. U.S. consumers are now paying an average of $3.29 gallon for gasoline, the highest level in seven years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Oil complex came under selling pressure on Wednesday amid a one-two punch of potential increase in Iranian crude oil exports after Tehran announced its return to nuclear talks and larger-than-expected build in U.S. commercial crude supplies last week, indicating the market might be not as tight as previously thought. Commercial crude oil supplies spiked 4.3 million bbl in the week ended Oct. 22, showed data from U.S. Energy Information Administration, well above calls for a 500,000 bbl increase. Larger-than-expected build came on the back of subdued refining activity and sluggish fuel demand. While the headline crude build was bearish, another large drop in Cushing inventories -- the delivery point for WTI futures, was drawn down to 27 million bbl -- the lowest since stock level since October 2018. Total petroleum products increased 4.4 million bbl last week. Meanwhile, Iran's chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri-Kani, said Wednesday that Iran will restart nuclear discussions before the end of November, opening the door for potential lifting of U.S. sanctions on its crude exports. Talks between the country and world powers to restore the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action had been suspended in June ahead of Iranian presidential elections. Tehran doesn't disclose its crude export data, but assessments based on shipping data suggest a fall from about 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2018 to as low as 200,000 bpd. "Iran will return to its pre-sanction crude production level as soon as U.S. sanctions on Iran are lifted," said Iranian oil minister Javad Owji earlier this month.

WTI Futures Back On Rise Again Oil eked out a gain with OPEC and its allies expecting a tighter global oil market in the fourth quarter. Futures in New York closed higher by 0.2% on Thursday, erasing earlier losses. World oil inventories will decline by an average of 1.1 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter, according to a person familiar with preliminary figures evaluated by the OPEC+ Joint Technical Committee. That compares with a forecast reduction of 670,000 barrels a day. Fuel demand will be slightly higher and supply from outside OPEC+ a little lower than previously anticipated, the data show. Meanwhile, stockpiles at the biggest U.S. storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, continue to rapidly shrink. Supplies fell another 1.81 million barrels last week, according to traders citing Wood Mackenzie data. Crude has eased off of multiyear highs in recent days yet still remains elevated. European natural gas prices dropped after President Vladamir Putin signaled that Russia will send extra gas to the continent next month. Plus, Iran and the European Union agreed to restart negotiations on a revival of the 2015 nuclear accord, signaling a greater prospect of Iranian barrels coming back to the market. Still, by the end of the year, stockpiles in developed economies will stand 158 million barrels below average, a bigger deficit than the 106 million projected a month ago, the figures evaluated by the OPEC+ Joint Technical Committee show. The committee will report to OPEC+ ministers, who meet on Nov. 4, to consider another production increase. The group has found itself increasingly under pressure from governments worldwide to further boost supply. Earlier this month, Nigeria and joined Saudi Arabia said that the group must resist pressure to raise oil production faster until the coronavirus pandemic abates. Traders believe the cartel will stay the course, in fear of making the same mistakes of overproduction in March of 2020. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery rose 15 cents to settle at $82.81 a barrel in New York. Brent for December settlement fell 26 cents to settle at $84.32 a barrel. Meanwhile, the U.S. is pushing for higher production as oil prices remain elevated. U.S. Senior Advisor for Global Energy Security Amos Hochstein said the global economy is facing an energy crisis at the IEF Special Gas Market Dialogue. This comes as the White House has attempted to pressure OPEC+ to increase output as demand for crude rebounds due to the global economic recovery and gasoline prices increase.

Oil prices rebound, edge up ahead of next week's Opec meeting --US crude prices settled higher on Friday, turning positive after an early decline, supported by expectations that Opec+ would maintain production cuts.However, Brent and US crude oil benchmarks both declined on the week after reaching multi-year highs on Monday.Brent crude rose 6 cents to settle at $84.38, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 76 cents, or 0.9%, to $83.57. "While more Iranian supply may come online, it looks like Opec+ is unlikely to raise production which is giving strength to the market today," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York.Prices have been pressured since Wednesday by a report that US crude stocks rose by 4.3 million barrels in the latest week. Iran has said talks on reviving the international deal on its nuclear programme will restart by the end of November, bringing it a step closer to boosting oil exports.Crude has surged in 2021 as economies recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, but prices are on track to fall this week, with Brent facing its first weekly decline in about two monthsUS energy firms added oil and natural gas rigs for a 15th month in row in October as oil prices soared to fresh seven-year highs, spurred by rising oil prices to its highest since count April 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.Exxon and Chevron are looking to add drilling rigs in the Permian basin after sharply cutting crews and output in the region last year, the companies said Friday. Chevron said it will add two drilling rigs and two completion crews this quarter.On Thursday, Algeria said a crude output increase by Opec+ in December should not exceed 400,000 barrels per day because of market uncertainties and risks. The alliance, which is gradually unwinding last year's record output cuts, meets on 4 November. British and European gas prices continued to fall on Friday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia could start pumping gas into European storage.

U.S. oil prices end longest-ever streak of weekly gains as natural gas retreats - Oil futures declined on Friday, with U.S. prices ending a streak of nine consecutive weekly gains -- the longest on record -- as rising domestic crude inventories, the potential for revived Iran nuclear talks, and a retreat by natural-gas futures dragged crude prices further away from multiyear highs.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, together known as OPEC+, "reduced inventories to relatively low levels at a time when economic growth and oil demand were robust," he said. That, combined with the loss of oil production and refinery output in the U.S. due to Hurricane Ida, which reached the U.S. Gulf Coast in late August, tightened markets, he said. However, "it seems likely that even without renewed outbreaks of COVID, supply will outpace demand early in the New Year," For now, traders awaited the latest decision on oil production by OPEC+ at its meeting on Thursday. At its meeting in early October, the group decided to keep its current plan in place to gradually raise output each month by 400,000 barrels a day. On Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery rose 76 cents, or 0.9%, to $83.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. benchmark suffered a 0.2% weekly fall, ending a nine-week streak of gains, the longest ever for front-month contracts, based on records data back to April 1983, according to Dow Jones Market Data.For the month, WTI crude was up more than 11% after settling earlier this week at a more than seven-year high. December Brent crude , the global benchmark, tacked on 6 cents, or nearly 0.1%, at $84.38 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. The front-month contract, which expired at the end of the session, fell 1.3% for the week, but climbed 7.5% for the month. January Brent , the most actively traded contract, rose 6 cents, or almost 0.1%, to $83.72 a barrel."The sharp rise in U.S. crude oil stocks and the expectation of nuclear talks being resumed with Iran have temporarily eased concerns about supply to some extent, leading to profit-taking," . "This does nothing to change the tight market situation, however. The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that U.S. crude inventories rose 4.3 million barrels last week.Also Wednesday, Iran indicated that it plans to resume talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear deal, which could pave the way for the removal of U.S. sanctions that were reimposed by the Trump administration after it pulled Washington out of the agreement in 2018.Futures for the petroleum products finished Friday on a mixed note, with the November contracts expiring at the end of the session. November gasoline added 1.1% to $2.462 a gallon, down 0.8% for the week, but up over 9% for the month. November heating oil fell 0.8% at $2.496 a gallon, ending 1.7% lower for the week, but notching a monthly climb of 6.6%.Despite the rise in overall U.S. crude inventories last week, supplies in Cushing, Okla., the delivery hub for Nymex futures, continued to fall and were on pace to empty tanks by the end of the year, analysts said.In other Nymex trading, natural-gas futures turned lower for the week after falling sharply Friday and Thursday on news Russian President Vladimir Putin told Gazprom to ship more natural-gas westward to European customers.It is weather that will determine the next move in natural gas "as a cold start to the winter draw season could see prices continue to grind higher on bullish supply concerns, while more moderate temperatures will see stockpiles continue to rebuild in the weeks ahead," said Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research.December natural gas lost 6.2% to $5.426 per million British thermal units, with front-month contract prices down 0.6% for the week, losing 7.5% for the month.

Crude Achieves 11% Monthly Gain As China Scrambles To Solve Its Energy Crunch - Yet more evidence that demand is outpacing global supply occurred on Friday as oil posted further gains as well as an 11 percent monthly gain – with analysts noting that even more demand recovery is ahead in the weeks and months ahead. West Texas Intermediate rose 76 cents to settle at $83.57 per barrel, while Brent for December settlement climbed 6 cents to $84.38 per barrel (the more active January contract added 6 cents to end the session at $83.72 per barrel). Pierre Breber, chief financial officer at Chevron Corp, pointed out that as commuting and air travel picks up, there's "strong demand across our products with more recovery expected" during the current quarter. Also, as analysts continue to debate the possibility that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies will increase output to lessen the severity of the expected energy crunch this winter, Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp.'s better-than-expected earnings reported on Friday also suggested the possibility of increased output. Chevron in fact reported its highest quarterly profit in eight years, with net income of $6.11 billion, or $3.19 per share, compared with a loss of $207 million, or 12 cents per share, a year ago. But the majority opinion is that OPEC is the key to alleviating the crude shortages, and Bloomberg on Friday noted that "Behind closed doors an intense campaign is being waged to convince OPEC+ to speed up its output increases," with "the U.S., India, Japan, and other consuming countries are putting the strongest diplomatic pressure on the cartel in years." However, OPEC de facto leader Saudi Arabia has so far refused to comply, stating that its current monthly 400,000 barrel per day (bpd) additions are enough at a time when the pandemic is retreating but could experience flare-ups that would impact demand. This view was shared by Alexander Novak, deputy prime minister of Russia: he earlier told media, "Demand [for oil] can decline as there is still uncertainty." Still, even the height of the Delta variant did nothing to dent demand, which may be why China reportedly canvased independent and state oil refiners last week for solutions to its energy shortage, which is already causing diesel to be rationed ahead of winter. The National Development and Reform Commission asked questions such as whether refiners can raise processing rates to produce more fuel, whether they can import more diesel and gasoline, and if they can obtain crude at a reasonable price. China's crude stockpiles were at 919 million barrels as of October 24, or 59 percent of the nation's storage capacity.

EIG shortlisted as possible buyer for Aramco gas pipelines - sources - (Reuters) – U.S.-based energy investor EIG has been shortlisted as a potential buyer of Saudi Aramco’s gas pipelines, part of a sale that could exceed $17 billion and is likely to be completed later this year, three sources familiar with the matter said.Aramco is looking to sell a significant minority stake in its gas pipelines, other sources have previously said.In addition to EIG, private equity firms such Apollo could also be potential buyers, two of the sources said.EIG, Aramco and Apollo did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

11 killed, more than a dozen wounded in Iraq attack: report An attack in Iraq resulted in 11 dead and more than a dozen wounded, security sources told AFP. A local security source told AFP it is believed the Islamic State group attacked a village in eastern Iraq, killing 11 and injuring 13. Another source said the village was where many security service members lived. Both the sources told AFP most of the villagers were part of the Bani Tamim tribe. One of the sources stated the village has been secured and a search is out for those who attacked the village. The attack follows an Islamic State group bombing in Uganda that killed at least one person Saturday. Iraq said the group had been defeated in 2017 but a 2021 UN report stated there were 10,000 active Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria. Two other attacks by the Islamic State group occurred in Iraq in recent months, according to AFP. The country said earlier in October it had arrested the financial overseer of the Islamic State group, Sami Jasim.

Turkey extends Syria and Iraq military missions by two years --Turkey’s parliament has extended the military’s mandate to launch cross-border operations in Syria and Iraq by two more years. The motion was first approved in 2013 to support the international campaign against ISIL (ISIS) and has since been renewed annually. However, Tuesday’s decision marked the first time that the motion was extended by two years, giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a longer mandate to pursue campaigns against Kurdish fighters in the restive region. It also marked the first time the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) voted against the measure, ahead of an important general election due by June 2023. “You don’t tell us what it is about. You say [it will be valid] for two years and tell us to vote for it. Why?” CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu asked Erdogan in an address to his party members in parliament. The CHP party voted against the deployment of Turkish forces in Iraq in 2003, but had otherwise backed Erdogan in his various international campaigns. The new motion allows the military to carry out cross-border operations against groups deemed by Ankara as “terrorist organisations”.

ISIS bride convicted in Germany of 'crimes against humanity' --A German court has convicted the wife of an ISIS fighter for "crimes against humanity and attempted war crimes" in the death of a 5-year-old Yazidi girl, The Washington Post reports.Jennifer Wenisch, a 30-year-old German citizen, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail after a Munich court ruled that she did not intervene when her husband left the girl chained in the desert heat to die of thirst, the Post said. Wenisch travelled to Syria in 2014 to join ISIS and later married Iraqi national and ISIS fighter Taha al-Jumailly. The Post reported that Wenisch and her husband bought the child and her mother as domestic slaves to take care of their house in Fallujah in 2015. After the child fell ill and wet the bed, Wenisch's husband chained her in the hot sun outside their home and left her to die of thirst. The child's mother testified at the trial for over 11 days and recalled being "forced to witness the child's death." Her husband is currently on trial in Frankfurt and is awaiting his own verdict, the BBC added.The court said Wenisch, as a member of ISIS, assisted in the "destruction of the Yazidi religion" and "enslavement of the Yazidi people."