refinery utilization rate is lowest in 56 weeks; refinery throughput is lowest in 55 weeks; distillates production is lowest in 56 weeks; US gasoline supplies at a new 35 month high; gasoline imports at a 2 year low
US oil prices fell for the first time in three weeks on concerning economic news out of China, a surprise increase in US oil supplies, and on hopes for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas….after rising 6.5% to a 13 week high at $73.25 a barrel last week following Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian Baltic Sea fuel exports, Houthi missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, and a larger than expected draw from US crude supplies, the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for March delivery surged in overseas trading Sunday after three U.S. soldiers were killed and 40 were wounded in a drone attack on U.S. troops in northeastern Jordan, and thus opened 90 cent higher in New York on Monday, but turned lower after stalling near two month highs as new troubles in China’s ailing property sector fueled demand concerns and settled $1.23 lower at $76.78 a barrel after after traders repriced the risk of broader escalation of hostilities in the Middle East following mixed messages from the Biden administration on a potential military response to the deadly drone attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan…oil contracts sold off early in the Tuesday session and extended their previous losses on demand concerns after a Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of a major Chinese property developer, but turned higher in afternoon trading to settle $1.04 higher at $77.82 a barrel after Biden said he "has made up his mind about the response," but did not specify whether the US would hit targets in Iran, or hit its proxies across the region…oil prices traded lower early Wednesday after a diffusion index showed that manufacturing activity in China contracted for the fourth consecutive month in January, then deepened losses during the afternoon session on a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories, as producers ramped up output following frigid weather this month and oil prices settled $1.97 lower at $75.85 a barrel as the reaction to the bearish inventory report was joined by a strengthening U.S. dollar following hawkish remarks by Fed Chairman Powell, who pushed back against cutting interest rates in March…oil prices climbed as much as 1.1% early Thursday, as traders weighed risks from potential U.S. retaliation to a deadly attack in Jordan against signs of robust supplies, but sold off sharply early in the afternoon after unsubstantiated reports of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and after a power outage forced a large U.S. refinery to shut down, and finished $2.03 lower at $73.82 a barrel as the negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire was seen to ease the tensions across the Middle East that have kept oil markets on edge in recent weeks…oil prices rose about 1% in early trading Friday following equities higher after a blowout US jobs report, but then reversed to settle $1.54 or 2% lower at $72.28 a barrel on hope for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, with both sides reportedly closing in on a tentative deal to exchange hostages, & thus finished down 7.3% for the week…
Meanwhile, natural gas prices fell for the 2nd time in seven weeks and traded at a nine month low on ongoing mild weather and a switch to the lower priced March contract…after rising 7.7% to $2.712 per mmBTU last week on a near record withdrawal of gas from storage and on forecasts for slightly cooler weather heading into February, the contract price for natural gas for February delivery opened 23 cents lower on the last day of trading for that contract Monday, as forecasts for mild demand persisting into mid-month and healthy production directed prices lower, and expired down 22.2 cents on the day at $2.490 per mmBTU, while the March contract, which would take over as the prompt month Tuesday, fell 12.1 cents to settle at $2.054 per mmBTU. as warmer forecasts and rebounding production volumes weighed on longer term outlooks…with markets now quoting the contract price for natural gas for March delivery, that contract opened 3 cents higher and then stalled, as recovering production and moderate forecasts kept a lid on any rallies, but hung on to settle 2.3 cents higher at $2.077 per mmBTU as an outage at Freeport LNG left more gas in the country at the same time that U.S. output was rising as wells returned to service after freezing during extreme cold in mid-January…natural gas opened 6 cents higher Wednesday and rose to as high as $2.158 by midday, as whispers of an end of month return to arctic conditions caught trader’s attention, but backed off to settle just 2.3 cents higher at $2.100 per mmBTU on warmer than normal forecasts through at least mid-February, keeping heating demand lower than usual for this time of year…natural gas prices traded slightly higher early Thursday up until a storage report that fell in line with expectations directed prices lower, with March gas settling 5.0 cents lower on the day at $2.050 per mmBTU, as warmer weather was expect to precede any shift to cold….natural gas traded in a narrow range Friday following what was expected to be the last big storage withdrawal report of the season, but managed to settle 2.9 cents higher at $2.079 per mmBTU on forecasts for the return of seasonally colder weather and higher heating demand later this month…natural gas prices still finished 23.3% lower for the week, largely on the shift to the March contract, while the March contract itself, which had finished the prior week at $2.175 per mmBTU, finished 4.4% lower..
The EIA's natural gas storage report for the week ending January 26th indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage in the US fell by 197 billion cubic feet to 2,659 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which still left our natural gas supplies 54 billion cubic feet, or 2.1% above the 2,605 billion cubic feet that were in storage on January 26th of last year, and 130 billion cubic feet, or 5.1% more than the five-year average of 2,529 billion cubic feet of natural gas that were typically in working storage as of the 26th of January over the most recent five years…the 197 billion cubic foot withdrawal from US natural gas working storage for the cited week was close to the average 200 billion cubic feet withdrawal from supplies that had been forecast by analysts polled by Reuters, but was more than the 141 billion cubic feet that were pulled from natural gas storage during the corresponding fourth week of January 2023, and was also more than the average 185 billion cubic feet withdrawal from natural gas storage that has been typical for the same mid winter week over the past 5 years…
The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data from the EIA -
US oil data from the US Energy Information Administration for the week ending January 26th showed that after another drop in our oil refining, a decrease in our oil exports, and a rebound in production from US wells, we had surplus oil to add to our stored commercial crude supplies for the third time in nine weeks, and for the 13th time in the past 33 weeks….Our imports of crude oil rose by an average of 25,000 barrels per day to average 5,605,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 1,840,000 barrels per day the prior week, while our exports of crude oil fell by 540,000 barrels per day to average 3,894,000 barrels per day, which combined meant that the net of our trade in oil worked out to a net import average of 1,711,000 barrels of oil per day during the week ending January 26th, 565,000 more barrels per day than the net of our imports minus our exports during the prior week. At the same time, transfers to our oil supply from Alaskan gas liquids, natural gasoline, condensate, and from unfinished oils averaged 685,000 barrels per day, while during the same week, production of crude from US wells increased by a rounded 700,000 barrels per day to 13,000,000 barrels per day. Hence our daily supply of oil from the net of our international trade in oil, from transfers, and from domestic well production appears to have averaged a rounded total of 15,396,000 barrels per day during the January 26th reporting week…
Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 14,848,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending January 26th, an average of 428,000 fewer barrels per day than the amount of oil that our refineries reported they were processing during the prior week, while over the same period the EIA’s surveys indicated that a rounded average of 304,000 barrels of oil per day were being added to the supplies of oil stored in the US... So, based on that reported & estimated data, the crude oil figures provided by the EIA for the week ending January 19th appear to indicate that our total working supply of oil from net imports, from transfers, and from oilfield production was 243,000 barrels per day more than what was added to storage plus our oil refineries reported they used during the week…To account for that difference between the apparent supply of oil and the apparent disposition of it, the EIA just inserted a rounded [-243,000] barrel per day figure onto line 16 of the weekly U.S. Petroleum Balance Sheet, in order to make the reported data for the supply of oil and for the consumption of it balance out, a fudge factor that they label in their footnotes as “unaccounted for crude oil”, thus suggesting there was an error or omission of that size in the week’s oil supply & demand figures that we have just transcribed... However, since most oil traders react to these weekly EIA reports as if they were accurate, and since these weekly figures therefore often drive oil pricing, and hence decisions to drill or complete oil wells, we’ll continue to report this data just as it's published, and just as it's watched & believed to be reasonably reliable 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)….(note there is also an aging twitter thread from an EIA administrator addressing these errors, and what they had hoped to do about it…the errors have since gotten larger; Reuters recently addressed that issue here..)
This week's rounded 304,000 barrel per day average increase in our overall crude oil inventories came as 176,000 barrels per day were being added to our commercially available stocks of crude oil, while 127,000 barrels per day were being added to our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the ninth SPR increase in sixteen weeks. following nearly continuous withdrawals over the prior 39 months... Further details from the weekly Petroleum Status Report (pdf) indicate that the 4 week average of our oil imports fell to 6,211,000 barrels per day last week, which was 5.9% less than the 6,599,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same four-week period last year. This week’s crude oil production was reported to be 700,000 barrels per day higher at 13,000,000 barrels per day because the EIA's rounded estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was a rounded 700,000 barrels per day higher at 12,600,000 barrels per day, while Alaska’s oil production was 8,000 barrels per day higher at 433,000 barrels per day but still added the same 400,000 barrels per day to the EIA's rounded national total as it did last week...US crude oil production had reached a pre-pandemic high of 13,100,000 barrels per day during the week ending March 13th 2020, so this week’s reported oil production figure was 0.8% below that of our pre-pandemic production peak, but still 34.0% above the pandemic low of 9,700,000 barrels per day that US oil production had fallen to during the third week of February of 2021.
US oil refineries were operating at 82.9% of their capacity while processing those 14,276,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending January 26th, their lowest utilization in 56 weeks, and down from their utilization rate of 92.6% two weeks earlier, apparently due to damage from the arctic cold that penetrated to the Gulf Coast in mid January... the 14,848,000 barrels per day of oil that were refined this week were the least in 55 weeks, 0.8% less than the 14,961,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during week ending January 27th of 2023 (after the refinery-freeze-offs following the Christmas 2022 blizzard), and 6.8% less than the 15,924,000 barrels that were being refined during the prepandemic week ending January 24th, 2020, when our refinery utilization rate was also at a lower than normal 87.2%..
Even with the decrease in the amount of oil being refined this week, gasoline output from our refineries was considerbly higher, increasing by 956,000 barrels per day to 9,281,000 barrels per day during the week ending January 26th, after our refineries' gasoline output had decreased by 1,040,000 barrels per day to a 35 month low during the prior week. This week’s gasoline production was still 1.7% less than the 9,443,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the storm impacted week of last year, but 1.3% more than the gasoline production of 9,158,000 barrels per day during the prepandemic week ending January 24th 2020....on the other hand, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) decreased by 115,000 barrels per day to a 56 week low of 4,385,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had decreased by 402,000 barrels per day during the prior week. With this week’s decrease, our distillates output was 6.5% less than the 4,692,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending January 27th of 2023, and 11.1% less than the 4,979,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending January 24th 2020..
With this week's increase in our gasoline production, our supplies of gasoline in storage at the end of the week rose for the 10th time in eleven weeks, increasing by 1,157,000 barrels to a new 35 month high of 254,134,000 barrels during the week ending January 26th, after our gasoline inventories had increased by 4,912,000 during the prior week. Our gasoline supplies rose this again week even though the amount of gasoline supplied to US users rose by 264,000 barrels per day to 8,144,000 barrels per day, and even though our exports of gasoline rose by 316,000 barrels per day to 1,033,000 barrels per day, and even though our imports of gasoline fell by 228,000 barrels per day to a two year low of 400,000 barrels per day…Even after twenty-seven gasoline inventory withdrawals over the past forty-nine weeks, our gasoline supplies were 8.3% above than last January 27th's gasoline inventories of 234,598,000 barrels, and about 1% above the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of the year…
With this week's decrease in our distillates production, our supplies of distillate fuels fell for the second time in ten weeks, decreasing by 2,541,000 barrels to 130,795,000 barrels over the week ending January 26th, after our distillates supplies had decreased by 1,417,000 barrels during the prior week. Our distillates supplies fell again this week as the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of our domestic demand, fell by 28,000 barrels per day to 3,757,000 barrels per day, and as our exports of distillates rose by rose by 9,000 barrels per day to 1,129,000 barrels per day, while our imports of distillates fell by 63,000 barrels per day to 138,000 barrels per day...Even with 25 inventory decreases over the past forty-six weeks, our distillates supplies at the end of the week were 11.2% above the 117,590,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on January 27th of 2023, but were still about 5% below the five year average of our distillates inventories for this time of the year...
Finally, after the increase in our oil production and the decreases in our oil refining and our oil exports, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage rose for the 11th time in twenty-six weeks and for the 23rd time in the past year, increasing by 1,234,000 barrels over the week, from 420,678,000 barrels on January 19th to 421,912,000 barrels on January 26th, after our commercial crude supplies had decreased by 9,233,000 barrels over the prior week... With this week’s modest increase, our commercial crude oil inventories slipped to about 5% below the most recent five-year average of commercial oil supplies for this time of year, but were still 31.1% above the average of our available crude oil stocks as of the fourth weekend of January over the 5 years at the beginning of the past decade, with the big difference between those comparisons arising because it wasn’t until early 2015 that our oil inventories had first topped 400 million barrels. After our commercial crude oil inventories had jumped to record highs during the Covid lockdowns of the Spring of 2020, then jumped again after February 2021's winter storm Uri froze off US Gulf Coast refining, but then fell in the wake of the Ukraine war, only to jump again following the Christmas 2022 refinery freeze offs, our commercial crude supplies as of this January 26th were 6.8% less than the 452,688,000 barrels of oil left in commercial storage on January 27th of 2023, but 1.6% more than the 415,143,000 barrels of oil that we still had in storage on January 28th of 2022, while still 11.3% less than the 475,659,000 barrels of oil we had in commercial storage on January 29th of 2021, after 2020’s pandemic precautions had left a lot of oil unused…
This Week's Rig Count
In lieu of a detailed report on the rig count, we are again just including below a screenshot of the rig count summary from Baker Hughes...in the table below, the first column shows the active rig count as of February 2nd, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (January 26th) and this week’s (February 2nd) count, the third column shows last week’s January26 th 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 period a year ago, which in this week’s case was the 3rd of February, 2023...
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Encino Gives Evolution 3-Yr Contract Extension for Utica E-Fracking -- Marcellus Drilling News -- Evolution Well Services announced a three-year extension of their current electric fracturing partnership with Encino Energy after achieving operational efficiencies and milestones in 2023. Evolution uses “e-fracking” technology. Traditional fracking uses diesel-fueled engines to produce electricity to power pressure pumps for hydraulic fracturing operations. E-fracking uses natural gas from the well pad (or CNG or LNG) to power turbines to create electricity. E-fracking uses a different type of “engine” and different fuel. E-fracking fleets are roughly half the size of traditional diesel fleets — and a whole lot quieter.
Shell CEO Says PA Cracker Not Fully Online Until 2025/26, Cost $14B -Marcellus Drilling News - Yesterday, Shell’s new CEO, Wael Sawan, spilled some major beans about the company’s ethane cracker in Monaca (Beaver County), Pennsylvania. Sawan’s comments about the cracker came during a quarterly conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s performance during the fourth quarter of 2023. Until yesterday, Shell had steadfastly declined to disclose how much money it spent to build the Monaca ethane cracker facility. Sawan said yesterday the number was a massive $14 billion, far more than the estimated $6-$10 billion that had been bandied about for years.
27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 22 – 28 --Marcellus Drilling News -- There were 27 new permits issued to drill in the Marcellus/Utica during the week of Jan. 22 – 28, versus 20 permits issued during the prior week. Pennsylvania issued 19 new permits last week. Ohio issued 5 new permits. West Virginia issued 3 new permits last week. Olympus Energy scored the most new permits with 7, all of them in Westmoreland County, PA. Apex Energy came in second with 6 new permits, also in Westmoreland. In fact, Westmoreland County, in southwestern PA, received 15 new permits last week, by far the most of any county. Tags: Allegheny County | Antero Resources | Apex Energy | Ascent Resources | Belmont County | Butler County | CNX Resources | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Guernsey County | Gulfport Energy | INR | Jefferson County (OH) | Laurel Mountain Energy | Lycoming County | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Range Resources Corp | Tyler County | Westmoreland County
Equitrans to Drill 2 New Gas Storage Wells in Greene County, PA | Marcellus Drilling News - Equitrans, the builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline project, is more than just a one-trick (one pipeline) pony. Equitrans owns 940 miles of FERC-regulated, interstate pipelines that have interconnect points to seven interstate pipelines and multiple local distribution companies (LDCs). The transmission and storage system is supported by 43 compressor units, with total throughput capacity of approximately 4.4 Bcf per day and compression of approximately 136,000 horsepower, and 18 natural gas storage reservoirs, which have a peak withdrawal capacity of approximately 820 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day and a working gas capacity of approximately 43 Bcf. Two of Equitrans’ 18 storage reservoirs — Hunters Cave and Swarts, both in Greene County, PA — are getting a fundament makeover.
Penn LNG CEO Says Philly Export Project on Hold, “Not Dead Yet” - Marcellus Drilling News On Monday, we told you the mayor of Chester, PA (a suburb of Philadelphia), Stefan Roots, boldly proclaimed that an LNG export project planned for his community called Penn LNG is “dead in the water” (see Chester, PA Mayor Claims PA LNG Export Project for Philly “Dead”). He bases his claim on Joe Biden’s recent declaration that all LNG export projects are “on pause” (see White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports). The radical-left Roots has been against the Penn LNG project from the beginning. However, the CEO of Penn America Energy, which plans to build the Penn LNG project, says it’s “not dead yet.”
CNX Exploring LNG, CNG, Hydrogen Opportunities to Drive Appalachian E&P Growth - CNX Resources Corp. expects efficiencies and new wells in the Appalachian Basin to help lower costs and maintain natural gas output in the years ahead as it explores alternative fuels. CNX, the first Lower 48 exploration and production (E&P) company to report fourth quarter earnings, said strong execution of last year’s program, along with more Utica Shale wells coming online in central Pennsylvania, should help drive capital lower moving forward. The company expects production volumes of 570-590 Bcfe this year. It also expects to spend $575-625 million. Heading into 2025, management is aiming to maintain production at 580 Bcfe, with annual spending set to fall below $500 million.
New York legislators propose ban on use of carbon dioxide to extract gas – WSKG - New York legislators introduced a bill on Friday to ban the use of carbon dioxide to drill and extract natural gas from the ground. The proposed legislation comes in response to a Texas-based company's plan to use carbon dioxide to drill for natural gas in the Southern Tier’s Marcellus and Utica Shales. The company, called Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions, has been asking landowners to lease their land. The state already prohibits high-volume hydraulic fracking, which uses water to extract gas from the ground. Legislators sponsoring the new bill say it builds on the previous ban, which the state formalized in 2015.“It’s legislation that will simply expand our current definition of fracking, to include not being able to use carbon dioxide as another medium to do dangerous fracking in New York state,” said Assemblymember Anna Kelles, the bill’s lead sponsor in the assembly.The actor Mark Ruffalo, who has long been involved in the movement to ban fracking in the state, joined the lawmakers for the announcement.“This is a fight we're willing to have,” Ruffalo said. “It's ridiculous that the gas industry is now trying to get around our fracking ban by using an experimental form of extracting gas out of shale with carbon dioxide.” Scientists and environmental advocates who joined the press conference emphasized that using carbon dioxide to drill and extract gas poses potential health and environmental risks to nearby communities. The process requires drilling into shale, which can put underground aquifers and water sources at risk of contamination. The rupturing of other pipelines that carry carbon dioxide has also resulted in serious health concerns.In December, more than 90 environmental, public health, and community organizations sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul and other officials calling for a ban on the practice.Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
New York Democrats want to ban CO2 fracking in state budget - The fight to ban fracking in New York is back.State lawmakers on Friday introduced new legislationto expand the state's ban of the controversial drilling process to extract natural gas to include a newer practice that uses carbon dioxide to extract methane and circumvents the current policy.Fracking was first prohibited in the state a decade ago, and permanently banned in the 2021 state budget.Top Democrats in the Legislature want to expand the law to bar the use of CO2 as a medium to frack natural gas in New York. Texas-based company Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions has its sights set on drilling from the reserves of natural gas in upstate's Marcellus and Utica shales — using carbon dioxide instead of water."This is hydrofracking called by a different name," said bill sponsor Sen. Lea Webb, a lifelong Southern Tier resident. The legislation would make it illegal to push methane out of shale using high-pressure liquified carbon dioxide. Environmental advocates argue the practice requires horizontal drilling into shale, which releases toxic hydrocarbons like methane and cancer-causing vapors that threaten the public health of workers, surrounding communities and the environment."The fracking process, the extraction of methane, regardless of the solution used is the problem," said Assembly sponsor Anna Kelles, a Democrat from Ithaca. "This is just the current form."Southern Tier Solutions has sent letters to landowners in Broome, Chemung and Tioga counties offering a $10 lease for them to make a profit after they extract methane and storage CO2 on their properties. Last month, company president Bryce Phillips told Spectrum News 1 the company will strive to lease as many as 1 million acres to support up to a dozen 300 megawatt power plants, and to help power the Micron semiconductor chip manufacturing facility in Syracuse.Southern Tier Solutions has declined to publicly say how many people have signed leases with the company, or who is funding its operations."We have to do something and we most certainly will," Webb said during a virtual press conference Friday. "It is important folks even know what this means."As the company looks to expand across the state, Democrats focused on reducing New York's carbon emissions want to stop the practice before it takes off.Lawmakers like Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo wrote to the state Department of Environmental Conservation about the company's plans, and argue its project is not in keeping with the state's emission reduction goals set under the Climate Act. The agencyresponded Dec. 8 in a letter that the CO2 fracking process the company describes on its website has not been tried in New York to date.Democrats leading the charge to include the proposal in the budget, including Senate Finance Committee chair Liz Krueger, are hopeful they've started the push early enough to get in front of the issue, citing little coordinated support of the company or pushback to expanding the ban."I see no organized resistance to this," Lupardo said. "I don't necessarily see the [oil and gas] industry rallying around this group. I think we're going to want to get this on an agenda as soon as possible before it gets any additional traction."Academy Award-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo is again bringing the issue into the spotlight to push back against the natural gas industry. Ruffalo was a staunch advocate who fought to ban fracking in the state in the late 2000s until it first became law in 2014. "Make no mistake about it: If they start in the Southern Tier, that's not where this is going to end," Ruffalo told reporters Friday. This is going statewide because the Marcellus and Utica shales cover most of this state." Gov. Kathy Hochul has not indicated if she supports the proposal, but it could make budget negotiations depending on what the Legislature includes in the Assembly and Senate's counter budget proposals.Republican lawmakers who stood against the original fracking ban are already taking issue with expanding it. Sen. Tom O'Mara, ranking member of the Finance Committee, said it's too soon to ban the practice, and setting regulations should be left to scientists and experts — not elected officials."This is one aspect that's new that should be explored," O'Mara said Friday. "And it should be reviewed by scientists, not by knee-jerk, far-left wing Democrat members of the New York state Legislature in Albany."O'Mara represents Chemung and Tioga counties where the Southern Tier is soliciting landowners, including many communities adjacent to the Marcellus and Utica shales. He says the project could be a potential boost to the declining upstate economy."Across the Southern Tier where we're a very struggling economy, to not be able to take advantage of the most abundant natural resource that we have is very concerning to me," O'Mara said.
Environmentalists demand Northeast governors oppose gas pipeline expansion project - A multistate coalition of over 90 environmental organizations is demanding that the governors of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York publicly oppose a proposal to expand a major natural gas pipeline in the Northeast.Known as “Project Maple,” the expansion project would substantially increase the capacity of the Algonquin Gas Transmission line, which carries fracked natural gas from northern New Jersey through New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and into Massachusetts where it connects to another pipeline at the Weymouth Natural Gas Compressor Station.The company behind the project, Enbridge, says piping more natural gas into the region will help stabilize energy prices, make the electric grid more reliable and help states meet their climate goals by burning less oil on cold days. But the coalition opposing the project — which includes groups like the Sierra Club, the Acadia Center, the Conservation Law Foundation and 350 Mass — disagrees.“More pipelines will only exacerbate our existing fracked-gas dependence, raise our energy bills, and harm our communities,” the coalition members wrote in letters they recently delivered to the four governors. “In order to mitigate the climate crisis, and to protect our communities, the amount of fossil fuels burned must be decreased immediately and [states must implement] policies that ensure the just and rapid transition to a cleaner, renewable energy-powered regenerative economy.”Andrea Honore, a resident of Weymouth, was one of the environmental activists who hand-delivered the letter to Gov. Maura Healey’s office this week.“Maura Healey had a record as [Attorney General] of standing up against gas and oil companies,” she said. “Now as governor, we would like to know how she plans on addressing Project Maple.”As recently as last fall, Gov. Healey has said, “No new fossil fuel power plants. No new fossil fuel transmission lines,” but Honore says language like that is cold comfort. Project Maple, she pointed out, would not technically be a “new” fossil fuel pipeline.When pressed on where Healey's administration stands on Project Maple, Maria Hardiman, a spokeswoman for Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, wrote in an email that the administration is “concerned that a large gas pipeline expansion will not address reliability issues in a way that is consistent with our net-zero emissions limits.” And while this is not an explicit promise to oppose Project Maple, Hardiman noted that the project is still in the planning phases and may not turn out to be viable. She also pointed out that late last year, the state’s Department of Public Utilities issued a landmark ruling intended to reduce the state’s reliance on natural gas and encourage the shift to cleaner sources of energy.
Why a natural gas storage climate ‘disaster’ could happen again - On a November afternoon in 2022, a 57-year-old well tapped into an underground natural gas storage reservoir in western Pennsylvania started leaking, fast enough that people a few miles away heard a loud, jet engine-like noise. By the time the leak was stopped nearly two weeks later, roughly 16,000 metric tons of methane had escaped into the atmosphere, the equivalent of more than the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 300,000 gas-powered cars. The blowout of a well at the Rager Mountain gas storage field was the worst methane leak from underground storage since Aliso Canyon in California in 2015. That incident forced thousands of people from their homes and sickened many of them, taking four months to contain. In 2021, 35,000 plaintiffs in one class-action lawsuit were awarded up to $1.5 billion in damages. While not as large or imminently dangerous to residents, the Rager Mountain leak was a “disaster,” according to one Pennsylvania regulator. Bloomberg labeled it the United States’worst climate disaster that year. The natural gas that leaked methane in Pennsylvania and California is not stored in tanks but in giant underground geological formations accessed by multiple wells. There are about 400 such storage fields across 32 states.According to a new report, there are thousands more potential opportunities for a similar situation across the country. The new analysis of data collected by federal regulators suggests there are as many as 11,446 storage wells in the country with the same key risk as the wells that failed at Rager Mountain and Aliso Canyon: They have only a single barrier to failure.“That population is a lot larger than we had estimated, or other researchers had estimated with state [data],” says Greg Lackey, an author on the study and researcher at the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. All but one of Pennsylvania’s 49 gas storage fields has at least one potential single point of failure well, researchers found.Natural gas is primarily made up of methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short-term. Methane leaks from oil and gas infrastructure are under increasing scrutiny in the United States and worldwide, as stopping them represents a relatively cheap and effective way to prevent greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of global warming. Leaks from gas storage are only one part of the industry’s methane problem. Such facilities also are at risk of dramatic blowouts that are hard to control because they are connected to large, pressurized reservoirs of gas.
Lawsuit Against WV’s 2022 Forced Pooling Law Still Alive, for Now - Marcellus Drilling News - Hopefully, we’re near the end of an effort to overturn a bill passed in early 2022 by the West Virginia legislature, Senate Bill (SB) 694, which finally brought forced pooling for shale wells to the Mountain State after eight years of trying (see WV House Passes Forced Pooling Bill, Done Deal When Gov Signs). A lawsuit brought by two West Virginia landowners seeking to overturn the state’s forced pooling (i.e., unitization) law was put on pause by a federal judge in December 2022 (see WV Landowner Lawsuit to Block Forced Pooling Law Dealt Another Blow). The federal judge said the lawsuit belongs in state court and that he did not have jurisdiction over the case. West Virginia officials disagreed and appealed the ruling to the next rung up the federal court ladder (see WV Appeals Lawsuit re Forced Pooling Law to Higher Fed Court). It took a while, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled two days ago that the federal district court judge didn’t do his job right (he DOES have jurisdiction) and bounced the matter back to him for resolution.
Ohio woman charged after latching to Mountain Valley Pipeline equipment - — An Ohio woman is now facing several charges after locking herself to equipment at the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) construction site for nearly eight hours, in Giles County, on Monday morning. Virginia State Police (VSP) told WFXR that on Jan. 29 shortly after 7 a.m., troopers were notified that a group of protestors was gathered near Pocahontas Road in the Jefferson National Forest. State police said when authorities arrived, they found 42-year-old Madeline S. Ffitch, of Millfield, Ohio, attached to a drill. We’re told Ffitch used a “sleeping dragon” device to affix to the drill. As a result, a crew of specially-trained troopers responded to the scene to safely remove here from the device. According to VSP, Ffitch was checked by medics at the scene and was taken to the Giles County Magistrate Office.She was charged with the following:
- Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle
- Trespassing
- Two counts of Obstruction of Justice
- Interfering with Property Rights of Another
Ffitch is being held without bond in the New River Valley Regional Jail.Following these events, Appalachians Against Pipelines released the following statement from Ffitch stating that she is trying to ensure the safety of Appalachian families.I think being a parent has helped me be more fearless, more bold, get my priorities straight with what’s important. I take my cues from other mothers who make great sacrifices everyday to protect their children and families…And I also have a huge amount of respect that Appalachian families, especially Appalachian women, have been pushing for years to make sure there is clean water and clean air for their children to drink and breathe in a place that is too often seen as a sacrifice zone. I think mothers have common sense, fearlessness, and a no-nonsense sensibility to bring truth to power.”This protest is one of many that have occurred at the Mountain Valley Pipeline construction sites over the last four years. Work on the pipeline has been blocked by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. However, in July of 2023, the Supreme Court allowed construction to resume.The natural gas pipeline is being built through Virginia and West Virginia. The system spans approximately 303 miles and will be regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.In response to the recent protest, organizers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline project said these dangerous activities must end.“In keeping with stringent security protocols, unauthorized persons are not permitted to access the right-of-way during construction or to be within the marked limits of disturbance. As we have consistently stated, the safe construction and operation of the MVP project remains our top priority and ensuring public safety is paramount,” said a spokesperson with the MVP.
2nd source of Hemlock oil spill found, EPA concerned on how removed material was disposed (WJRT) - Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency have recently found a second pipe leaking oil, contributing to an oil spill in the Hemlock area. There are now concerns some of the material wasn't disposed of properly. With the second pipe located, the cost of the clean-up is also going up. The spill is now creating flooding problems. "This is a major spill. This is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill oil tank that got a hole punched in it. This is pretty significant," is what an EPA official told Saginaw County Public Works Commissioner Brian Wendling. The EPA says the source of that “significant” oil leak is on the property of C & J Bark Haulers in Hemlock, as oil was leaking from a sump pump into the McClellan Run drainage ditch for quite some time. The leak is bigger than first thought. "They found a second outlet pipe to the drain,” says Wendling. “EGLE (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy) required them to shut that off, which created some water issues out front on M-46.” Doing so has caused flooding problems on nearby properties along M-46. "As a result, what has happened is caused some of this oil to start surfacing all over the place on the property," says Wendling. The latest EPA report on the leak indicates a total of 23,000 gallons of what is described as oily-liquid waste was transported and disposed of at a treatment facility in Kalkaska. The report also states that a semi-truck was hauling some of the excess water away from the site. An EPA official followed the semi-truck to see where it was dumping the water, which may have pollutants in it. The official saw the truck dump the oily water into another drainage ditch about two miles from the site. "Sounds like that was actually dumped into another county drain,” says Wendling. “We just found that out, so EGLE is requiring some testing of that.” The EPA did not respond to questions about that possible illegal dumping situation. The owner of the C & J Bark Haulers said in the past that the company is cooperating with the investigation. The original cost of the clean-up was set at $200,000, but it's now up to $850,000 and expected to climb.
3K gallons of oil recovered from Michigan trucking firm spill - — Federal regulators say they have recovered more than 3,000 gallons of oil and counting after the material escaped a Saginaw County truck yard. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials say the source of a large volume of oil they’ve spent the past month recovering from county drain in the Richland Township is “without a doubt” an adjacent trucking company named C&J Bark Haulers. “There’s definitely some type of historic release that’s been happening from that facility,” said Jon Gulch, EPA on-scene coordinator. “Then some type of spill happened at the end of December that caused that major amount of oil to leave the site.” As of mid-January, the EPA has spent more than $500,000 cleaning up a serious spill that state regulators discovered Jan. 3 after village of Hemlock residents began reporting oily odors. Most recovered oil has come from a county drain named McClellan Run, but Gulch said large volumes remain to be cleaned up from the truck yard and an adjacent railroad ditch. The material is a blend of fuel and lubricant oils of the type that would be used in vehicles and heavy equipment. Exactly what caused the spill is undetermined. The site features “many, many semi trucks,” he said. Gulch said C&J Bark Haulers ownership are letting EPA and responding agencies stage cleanup equipment on the company’s property, but that’s the extent of cooperation. “They’ve expressed to me that they don’t feel they are responsible and that they aren’t going to do any off-site cleanup,” Gulch said. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and EPA have been coordinating cleanup off the company’s property. Gulch estimated an additional 5,000 gallons of oil must yet be recovered from a railroad ditch, which was receiving oil from a sump pump that’s now plugged. The EPA constructed an underflow dam to stop floating oil, which has been collected from the drain’s north branch with absorbent pads and vacuum trucks. The McLellan drain, which was rebuilt about five years ago, connects to the Shiawassee River and Saginaw River via Swan Creek. Oil had been tracked more than a mile downstream. According to EPA, a significant amount of contamination remains on the C&J property itself, where oil was documented as “bubbling out of the soil,” according to EGLE. Brian Wendling, Saginaw County Public Works Commissioner, said the county has taken a backseat role in the cleanup, but wants to see the drain and adjacent properties restored. “The county cannot take on any costs and I don’t expect any of the landowners out there to bear any expense for this,” he said. Gulch said the cleanup was hampered by freezing weather and snow accumulation this month, but the stretch of milder weather ahead should re-accelerate removal efforts. According to EPA documents, the closure of sump pumps on the C&J property coupled with recent snowmelt has caused some flooding around the site. The company has used tanker trucks to remove excess water, but EPA officials followed one truck on Jan 25 and watched it dump its oily water load into a local waterway about two miles away. Another truck was stopped afterward. “The facility will need to be cleaned up at some point or it’s just going to keep releasing to the environment into an area we just cleaned,” Gulch said. Gulch said the scale is “more than I typically have responded to from oil spills from just a facility.” “It was a significant amount of oil that left the site at some point.”
Drilling Permits on the Uptick in Lower 48 Natural Gas Plays - Drilling permits in the natural gas-rich Marcellus, Utica and Haynesville shale plays showed strong month/month growth in December 2023 but remained 16% below the December 2022 total, according to the latest tally by Evercore ISI. The three formations, which together supply about 53% of Lower 48 gas output, had a combined issued permit count of 359 in December 2023, versus 283 in November and 427 in December 2022. The Marcellus permit total was 122, up from 107 in November but down from the year-earlier level of 189, said the Evercore team led by James West.
US weekly LNG exports down to 20 shipments - US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports decreased in the week ending January 24 compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.The agency said in its weekly natural gas report that 20 LNG carriers departed the US plants between January 18 and 24, seven vessels less compared to the week before.Moreover, the total capacity of these LNG vessels is 76 Bcf, the EIA said, citing shipping data provided by Bloomberg Finance. Average natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals increased by 5.6 percent (0.7 Bcf/d) week over week, averaging 13.2 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana increased by 14.2 percent (1.1 Bcf/d) to 9.1 Bcf/d, while natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Texas decreased by 11.7 percent (0.4 Bcf/d) to 3.2 Bcf/d. The agency said that natural gas deliveries to terminals outside the Gulf Coast were essentially unchanged at 0.9 Bcf/d. Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped seven cargoes and the company’s Corpus Christi facility sent four shipments during the period under review. Sempra Infrastructure’s Cameron LNG terminal shipped three LNG cargoes, while the Freeport LNG terminal, Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass terminal, and the Cove Point facility each shipped two cargoes during the week under review. The Elba Island LNG terminal did not ship cargoes. Last week, Texas and Louisiana experienced a cold snap, which affected operations at the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi plants, the Cameron LNG terminal, and the Freeport terminal, according to reports. This report week, the Henry Hub spot price fell 43 cents from $2.87 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $2.44/MMBtu this Wednesday, the agency said. The price of the February 2024 NYMEX contract decreased 22.9 cents, from $2.870/MMBtu last Wednesday to $2.641/MMBtu this Wednesday, it said.
Europe continues to be main destination for US LNG shipments -- France was the top destination for US liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for the second straight month in November as Europe continues to receive the majority of volumes produced at US liquefaction plants, according to the Department of Energy’s newest monthly report.The DOE report shows that US terminals shipped 58.9 Bcf of LNG to France in November, 47.6 Bcf to the United Kingdom, 36.2 Bcf to the Netherlands, 31.2 Bcf to Turkiye, and 26.1 Bcf to South Korea.These five countries took 51.8 percent of total US LNG exports in November.In October, France was also the top destination for US LNG exports.Prior to this, the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG supplies for five months in a row. The Netherlands was the number one destination for US LNG supplies during January-November last year and the country is followed by France, the UK, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Germany, Italy, China, and India, the DOE data shows.The US exported in total 386.2 Bcf of LNG in November to 28 countries, up by 28 percent compared to the same month last year and down 1 percent from the prior month, the DOE report shows.Europe received 267 Bcf, or 69.1 percent, of these volumes, Asia received 101.4 Bcf, or 26.3 percent, and Latin America/Caribbean received 17.8 Bcf, or 4.6 percent.US terminals shipped 124 LNG cargoes in November, the same as in the prior month.Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant sent 42 cargoes and its Corpus Christi terminal shipped 18 cargoes, while the Freeport LNG terminal shipped 19 cargoes and Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant sent 23 shipments during November.In addition, Venture Global’s Calcasieu plant sent 13 cargoes, Elba Island LNG sent 3 cargoes, and Cove Point LNG dispatched 6 shipments.According to DOE’s report, the average price by export terminal reached 7.23/MMBtu in November and 7.35/MMBtu in the January-November period.Moreover, the report said that in the period from February 2016 through November 2023, the US exported 5508 cargoes or 17,514.2 Bcf to 41 countries.The DOE data shows that South Korea remains the top destination for US LNG with 568 cargoes, followed by Japan with 445 cargoes, France with 442 cargoes, the UK with 421 cargoes, and Spain with 417 cargoes.
US pauses decisions on LNG export terminals - The Biden administration will “temporary pause” pending decisions for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals. “My administration is announcing today a temporary pause on pending decisions of liquefied natural gas exports – with the exception of unanticipated and immediate national security emergencies,” the White House said in a statement. The US will pause pending decisions on exports of LNG to non-FTA countries until the Department of Energy can update the underlying analyses for authorizations. “During this period, we will take a hard look at the impacts of LNG exports on energy costs, America’s energy security, and our environment. This pause on new LNG approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time,” the statement said. This move, which comes as President Joe Biden enters an election year, has been reported in several media reports this week and it could potentially delay final investment decisions on several projects. The projects include Venture Global’s CP2 LNG terminal, which is awaiting the final approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and also the non-FTA export authorization from the Department of Energy. Responding to media reports earlier this week, a spokeswoman for Venture Global said that “such an action would shock the global energy market, having the impact of an economic sanction, and send a devastating signal to our allies that they can no longer rely on the United States.” “The true irony is this policy would hurt the climate and lead to increased emissions as it would force the world to pivot to coal,” she said. Texas-based Energy Transfer is also planning to take a final decision this year to build its Lake Charles LNG export facility in Louisiana, depending on the export approval by the DOE. Moreover, Commonwealth LNG also aims to take FID this year on its 9.3 mtpa LNG facility under development in Cameron, Louisiana.
Climate groups notch big win on LNG - Environmental groups are heralding the Biden administration’s pause on pending and future applications to export liquefied gas as a major win for climate activism. The White House announced the pause Friday, pledging in a statement from President Joe Biden to “heed the calls of young people and frontline communities who are using their voices to demand action from those with the power to act.” DOE’s pause doesn’t affect currently approved exports.Multiple environmental and advocacy organizations used the word “monumental” in statements to describe the Biden administration’s pause on LNG export approvals, which is expected to last several months. Gulf Coast front-line groups Friday canceled a planned, three-day sit-in next month at the Energy Department after the White House’s announcement.“This pause is a significant achievement because it paves the way for potential rejections and slows down the projects, making it harder for them to secure financing,” said Roishetta Ozane, founder of the environmental justice group Vessel Project of Louisiana, in a statement. On a press call Friday, Bill McKibben, founder of climate action group Third Act, said he hopes that the administration’s decision is a “beginning to the end” to treatment of the Gulf Coast as a sacrifice zone, that “maybe this campaign has helped start to wake people up around the country to understanding just what kind of abuse and damage has gone on down there.” Later, McKibben said the pause is the “imposition, really for the first time, of a climate test for new fossil fuel infrastructure and that climate test won’t be passed” by any LNG export projects.On the same call with reporters, Travis Dardar, a commercial fisherman in Louisiana who has reached out to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on X, said he’s excited about the White House pause but noted a pause can be “unpaused at any time.” Dardar is among a wide coalition of groups that oppose the Calcasieu Pass 2 project, proposed by developer Venture Global. The project — known as CP2 — is still awaiting approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which so far hasn’t put the export terminal on its agenda.Senior administration officials on Thursday said the pause wouldn’t affect CP2, but the pause could include CP2 if FERC, an independent agency, approved the project. That’s because DOE said Thursday the pause applies to “current and future” pending applications until the review is finished.LNG Allies, an industry group, said the White House’s pause on LNG approvals is not aligned with a pledge the Biden administration made to the European Union after Russia launched its war against Ukraine in February 2022.Fred Hutchison, president and CEO of the group, said there’s still “substantial European interest in additional U.S. LNG contracts,” pointing to deals signed in recent months.“That interest won’t dissipate during a formal ‘pause’ in U.S. government decisionmaking to conduct more studies,” Hutchison said Friday.The administration’s pause does not affect the United States’ ability to supply allies in Europe and Asia, Granholm said Thursday on a call with reporters.“Through existing LNG production and export infrastructure, the U.S. has — and will continue — to deliver for our allies,” according to a fact sheet from the White House.Former President Donald Trump’s campaign panned the move. Biden “has once again caved to the radical demands of the environmental extremists in his administration,” said Karoline Leavitt, campaign press secretary, in a statement. “This decision to block the approval of new facilities to export American natural gas is one more disastrous self-inflicted wound that will further undermine America’s economic and national security,” she said, promising a different approach from Trump, if elected.
Inside Biden's climate test for LNG - The Biden administration is taking a fresh look at what U.S. liquefied natural gas exports mean for climate change. And the review could push the Energy Department to make President Joe Biden’s temporary pause on new LNG approvals permanent.Experts say the review will likely focus on two key assumptions that DOE has made under both the Trump and Biden administrations: that gas is a relatively clean fuel and that U.S. exports would replace other fossil fuels abroad, but not renewables.DOE’s current assertions on both issues came from a 2019 National Energy Technology Laboratory report, which found that “cradle-through-delivery” emissions from LNG exports are negligible. But experts see serious flaws with its methodology.The climate test announced by Biden last week could reverberate through global energy markets. If DOE finds that LNG exports are a significant driver of rising temperatures, it would be harder for the department to justify future export projects based on public interest. The Natural Gas Act requires that DOE make such a determination before approving export projects — a provision intended to safeguard U.S. consumers from high gas prices.If the department updates its analysis to attribute hefty carbon emissions to LNG facilities, that change, coupled with higher social cost of greenhouse gas figures recently adopted by the administration, could show that the climate harms of new projects greatly outweigh their economic benefits.“There’s a reason that we’re so happy and the oil and gas lobby is so panicked,” said Jeremy Symons, an environmental consultant and former EPA climate policy adviser. “And that is both of us know the same thing: These projects just won’t stand up to this kind of scrutiny.”The national lab’s cornerstone report in 2019 on life-cycle greenhouse gases of LNG relies on data from EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which covers about 8,000 oil and gas sources, and from an annual inventory of emissions and carbon sinks the U.S. submits to the U.N. climate body.Environmentalists have long criticized those programs for relying on industry-furnished data based on assumptions about equipment leak rates that didn’t track with emissions levels detected through independent aerial surveys.Symons, who published a paper in November on the climate consequences of LNG exports, noted that several peer-reviewed studies based on empirical data were published in the last several years. Many of them showed that leak rates from production, processing and transmission are substantially higher than the lab’s report estimates.“Methane leaks at every stage of the process in our data has been slow to catch up, but we know a lot more now about what’s happening now,” Symons said.The Biden administration is now engaged in a broader overhaul of its assumptions about the life-cycle emissions of gas. So far, that has included tough new Clean Air Act standards and a proposal to increase default leak rates at oil and gas operations. The latter policy, which is due to be final this year, could greatly increase both the number of oil and gas operations required to report methane — the main ingredient in natural gas — and the volume of emissions they report. A forthcoming report by Cornell University ecology professor Robert Howarth, currently undergoing peer review, found that U.S. LNG exports have higher life-cycle emissions than coal, when the updated data was used.Max Sarinsky, an attorney with the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University Law School, said if the Energy Department updates its analytical assumptions for gas, it could significantly change its calculus on approving new projects. “The harder piece of it is thinking through more seriously how exporting gas will affect the energy mix globally — and particularly in the countries that we’re exporting to — and what that could mean for the pace of renewables going forward,” said Sarinsky. The 2019 report acknowledged that gas has a climate footprint. The reason it asserted that exporting it abroad is neutral for the climate, or even mildly positive, hangs on another assumption: that an influx of U.S. gas to foreign markets will push aside other kinds of fossil fuels, but not renewable power.To reach that conclusion, the federal laboratory analyzed U.S. LNG’s potential to compete with three kinds of fuel: regional coal, LNG from other countries, and Russian gas transported by pipeline to Europe or Asia.“The use of U.S. LNG exports for power production in European and Asian markets will not increase global [greenhouse gas] emissions from a life cycle perspective,” the laboratory said. DOE has repeated that assertion when approving LNG export projects under both the Trump and Biden administrations. LNG projects that have already been approved in the U.S. won’t be affected by Biden’s pause last week. The projects that will be would have come online around the end of this decade. And their owners expect them to remain in operation for decades — well past when scientists say the world must stop burning fossil fuels.White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi on Friday linked the pause to last month’s agreement by nearly 200 nations to transition away from fossil fuels.
Biden’s Natural Gas Export Freeze Draws Fire From Moderate Democrats - -- President Joe Biden’s move to pause liquefied natural gas export approvals won praise from progressives and climate activists - but some moderate Democrats from gas producing states are saying not so fast. A group of 10 Democratic House lawmakers from states including Texas, Alaska and California sent a letter to Biden asking him to “refocus” his policies on LNG exports. “The United States must continue to lead the way in ensuring the security of our own energy supplies and those of our allies,” the lawmakers, led by Texas Representative Marc Veasey, wrote in the letter made public Friday. “Every molecule of US LNG exported helps limit the growth of global emissions and provides energy security around the world.” Senate Democrats from the battle-ground state of Pennsylvania, the second-largest natural gas producing state in the US, were more pointed in their criticism. “While the immediate impacts on Pennsylvania remain to be seen, we have concerns about the long-term impacts that this pause will have on the thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry,” Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman said in a joint statement Thursday. “If this decision puts Pennsylvania energy jobs at risk, we will push the Biden administration to reverse this decision.” The Biden administration announced it was pausing the approval of licenses to export LNG while it scrutinized the affect of the shipments on climate change and other factors amid a campaign by environmentalists and others who have come to view the projects as a symbol of the president’s green credentials. Opponents of the massive export terminals, which include environmentalist Bill McKibben, who successfully led a push to block the Keystone XL pipeline a decade ago, argue the infrastructure will lock in the use of fossil fuels for decades to come. “We don’t have time to keep pretending that natural gas is a climate solution,” Representative Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, said during a Capitol Hill press conference where frontline environmental leaders declared victory in securing the pause. “We don’t have time to keep pretending that LNG is clean energy.” But critics of the moratorium, which threatens to disrupt billions of dollars in LNG export projects from companies such as Commonwealth LNG and Energy Transfer LP, have dismissed it as a political ploy to help Biden get the votes of young progressive voters angered by the president’s decision to approve the Willow drilling project in Alaska as well as his support for Israel. It also puts lawmakers from natural gas producing states in a politically tough position. Senator John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat who once drank fracking fluid to vouch for the safety of the drilling technique, said he needed more information before deciding if he supported a move being pushed by Republicans to strip the Energy Department’s role in approving LNG export licenses entirely. “I’d like to get the facts of the issue before I start making decisions on whose authority should be expanded or limited,” Hickenlooper said in an interview. Biden’s LNG export pause will be scrutinized at a pair of House and Senate hearings next week, including one led by Senator Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who hasn’t been shy about opposing Biden administration policies that hurt his state’s abundant supply of both coal and natural gas. But Manchin, who has expressed concern about the impact of exporting LNG on domestic prices in the past, issued a statement following the White House’s LNG moratorium announcement that stopped short of saying he opposed the move. “I have always said that our first concern must be protecting American consumers and growing American businesses, and we need a safety valve in place to ensure Americans aren’t unnecessarily stuck paying a premium for the abundant resources we’re blessed to have,” Manchin said. “But as the superpower of the world, we also have a responsibility to our allies and trading partners who, in our absence, may have no other choice but to turn to countries that don’t share our values.”
Opinion | Biden’s natural gas curbs aren’t good for the climate or the world - The Washington Post - By the Editorial Board -- Currently accounting for 22 percent of global primary energy consumption, natural gas will remain crucial to the world’s energy mix through 2050, even as alternative energy use grows, according to the latest International Energy Agency projections. Though it’s a fossil fuel and, as such, a source of carbon dioxide emissions, gas still provides baseload grid power needed to complement renewable electricity, and it’s generally cleaner than coal. Unfortunately for the world, Russia produces much of this vital resource, as Europe discovered to its dismay when President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine — with an army that had been funded by earnings from Russian gas exports. Fortunately for the world, the United States has emerged as the top exporter of the supercooled form known as liquefied natural gas, or LNG. In fact, after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration launched a largely successful effort to help allies substitute American LNG, delivered via ships, for pipelined Russian gas. “The United States now plays a critical balancing role in the global LNG market, adding supply and flexibility that has boosted global energy security,” in the words of a recent Center for Strategic and International Studies report.On Friday, however, that same Biden administration ordered a de facto halt to the approval of new facilities for exporting the resource to countries with which the United States does not have free-trade agreements — a category that includes all of Europe. It’s an election-year sop to climate activists that will do much more to unsettle vital U.S. alliances than to save the planet. At issue were federal permits for LNG projects planned on the Gulf of Mexico coast. One of these, known as Calcasieu Pass 2, or CP2, has already secured financing, and the company that owns the Louisiana facility had signed a 20-year contract to supply Germany. But under the new Biden administration policy, approvals could be delayed through the November election, while regulators apply heightened scrutiny to the impacts on carbon emissions and domestic energy costs.To be sure, the eight LNG export projects currently in operation will remain unaffected, as will 10 projects already approved and under construction. In the short run, there will be little disruption to Europe’s economy or, for that matter, to what is generally a well-supplied market around the world. The problem is what might happen beyond that in, say, the next quarter-century. “If additional U.S. LNG export capacities don’t materialize, it would risk increasing and prolonging the global supply imbalance,” warned Eurogas, the trade association for Europe’s natural gas industry. “This would inevitably prolong the period of price volatility in Europe and could lead to price increases with the consequent implications that would have for economic turmoil and social impact.”The main short-run damage the administration’s obviously political decision does is to the United States’ reputation for rational, fact-based policymaking, and for wise consideration of climate control in the context of geopolitics. You cannot change demand for energy by destroying supply: If the United States did indeed curtail LNG exports, it would just drive customers into the arms of competitors such as Australia, Qatar, Algeria and, yes, Russia. Quite possibly, some potential customers would choose to meet their needs with coal instead.
Biden’s 'Pause' on LNG Exports Is Impulsive and Destructive | Cato at Liberty Blog - On January 26, the Biden administration announced it would pause new approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. The official news followed several leaked stories—including one prominent article by The New York Times—that triggered criticism from LNG supporters and praise from climate activists.The announcement appears to be a concession to the “keep it in the ground” movement and the 65 federal lawmakers who asked for the policy change in November 2023. However, some pragmatic progressives see the pause as misguided: “The urgency of the energy transition cannot excuse counterproductive purity tests,” wrote Elan Sykes and Neel Brown of the Progressive Policy Institute.From the libertarian perspective, the pause is unwise energy policy, an encroachment on free trade, and a continuation of the Biden administration’s use of uncertainty as a political weapon against energy suppliers. Let’s dig in. LNG is the liquefied version of natural gas (mostly methane, CH4). Shippers cool the gas to approximately negative 260 degrees Fahrenheit to make it a liquid that is portable via tanker ships. International trade in LNG has spiked in part because of the abundant natural gas resources in the United States, which were enabled by technological improvements in unconventional production from shale formations.The United States did not export significant quantities of LNG until about 2015, so one might say the industry is in uncharted waters. The aggressive growth in LNG exports (particularly relative to historic levels of imports) can be seen in the graph below. (Source.)Although the large quantities of exports are new, the legal apparatus is not. Specifically, under the Natural Gas Act (NGA), the Department of Energy (DOE) must approve any import or export of natural gas. Congress passed the NGA in 1938, so the statute predates the organization of the DOE itself, which was formed by Congress in 1977 by the DOE Organization Act.Before the DOE was established the responsibilities in this section of the NGA were carried out by the Federal Power Commission (renamed in 1977 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC). Now the two agencies each regulate different parts of the LNG industry. DOE explains their roles as follows:The NGA directs DOE to evaluate applications to export LNG to non‐FTA [Free Trade Agreement] countries. … Typically, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has jurisdiction over the siting, construction, and operation of LNG export facilities in the US In these cases, FERC leads the environmental impact assessments of proposed projects consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act, and DOE is typically a cooperating agency as part of these reviews. Obtaining a DOE authorization to export LNG to non‐FTA countries is an important step for most projects in their path toward financing and construction.The Biden administration said the DOE will now scrutinize applications to export LNG through the lens of climate change and other factors in determining whether additional US LNG exports are in the public interest. The White House stated:The current economic and environmental analyses DOE uses to underpin its LNG export authorizations are roughly five years old and no longer adequately account for considerations like potential energy cost increases for American consumers and manufacturers beyond current authorizations or the latest assessment of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Today, we have an evolving understanding of the market need for LNG, the long‐term supply of LNG, and the perilous impacts of methane on our planet.The DOE has never denied an LNG export application, so this is a big shift in public policy.
LNG Sector Tallies Permit Pause Impact to Earnings as Contract Holders Raise the Alarm - The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) pause on new export project permits is not expected to impact the bottom lines of LNG equipment manufacturers in the mid-term, but others across the value chain are still assessing the temporary suspension’s potential effects. Following last week’s decision by the Biden administration to pause DOE approval of worldwide exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas, market speculation has swirled about the future of global supply and U.S. export capacity. The authorization freeze potentially impacts more than a dozen pending export projects on DOE’s docket, but is likely to immediately delay at least 10 proposed terminals in the United States and Mexico that haven’t reached a final investment decision.
IGU Decries Pause on U.S. LNG Export Permits Amid Growing Backlash - One of the world’s leading natural gas trade groups on Tuesday joined a growing chorus of stakeholders denouncing President Biden’s decision to pause U.S. LNG export permits, saying the move would derail global energy security and jeopardize decarbonization. The International Gas Union (IGU), which represents more than 150 members across the value chain in 80 countries that cover 90% of the global gas market, said America’s role as the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter has revolutionized the global gas market. The country’s flexible contracts that allow LNG to be delivered anywhere in the world helped keep the global energy system afloat after Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Europe beginning in late 2021, the group argued.
Pilot, Seapath secure land for Galveston LNG bunkering facility - Pilot LNG and Libra Group’s maritime unit Seapath have secured land for their planned LNG bunkering facility in Galveston, Texas.According to a statement by the two firms, their joint venture Galveston LNG Bunker Port (GLBP) has signed a lease agreement with the City of Texas City for 140 acres of land on Shoal Point in Galveston County. The land is located adjacent to the Texas City Ship Channel and in close proximity to the maritime centers of Texas City, Galveston, and Houston.Pilot and Seapath announced the LNG bunkering project in September last year.The two firms said then that they will initially invest about $150 million in the dedicated LNG bunkering facility in the US Gulf Coast.Pilot and Seapath anticipate announcing the final investment Decision (FID) details of the GLBP project by the second half of 2024, with operations starting in late 2026. Since the project was announced in September, GLBP has assembled a “top team of advisors” and continues its ongoing front-end engineering and design development for the project, the statement said.The project includes two tanks each with a capacity of 3 million gallons and two trains able to produce up to 600,000 gallons per day.Moreover, the first phase of the GLBP project is expected to produce 300,000 gallons per day of LNG for sale into the marine bunker fuel market in the Galveston Bay, and Western Gulf of Mexico region.GLBP estimates it will file applications with the necessary federal and state agencies to permit, construct, and operate the small-scale LNG terminal for marine fuel in early 2024, the statement said.
Houston says Driftwood LNG SPA and equity talks 'moving well' - Tellurian’s commercial activities are “moving well and at pace” as the company continues to work with Bechtel on the site at its Driftwood LNG project in Louisiana, according to Tellurian’s co-founder and chairman, Martin Houston.These commercial activities include SPA (sales and purchase agreement) discussions, equity discussions, and now, “some new approaches”, Houston said in his second letter to shareholders dated January 29.“I am pleased with progress and whilst I will not be drawn on dates or outcomes, I would say that we have clear internal timelines and anticipate some near-term decision points,” he said.In December, Tellurian appointed Houston as the chairman replacing Charif Souki, who has left the Driftwood LNG terminal developer.Houston said in his first letter to shareholders in December that Tellurian hired a financial adviser to assist with shaping commercial structures as well as balance sheet management.The company appointed investment banker Lazard, and in the meantime there was a press report that Tellurian was also looking into a potential sale of the company.Houston said in the new letter that “focus of the Lazard engagement is on commercial matters.”“While it is our policy not to comment in the media on M&A matters, we are aware of a misleading headline in a press report last week regarding our financial advisor,” he said.“Let me clarify: first and foremost, the purpose of hiring Lazard was to give us advice on unlocking the value of our asset base and to help expand our thinking. For customers and potential equity investors, we want to widen the commercial aperture. We believe Driftwood LNG is a powerful platform: our timeline, EPC contract, existing sitework, and fully permited status have high value in a growing LNG market,” Houston said.
Europe Demand to Drive $223B Gas Investment in Next Decade: Study - Europe’s demand for gas is driving $223 billion in new investment to produce the fuel globally during the next decade, according to a new study that casts a spotlight on the region’s broad carbon footprint even as it tries to rein in emissions. Two US liquefied natural gas companies — Venture Global LNG Inc. and Cheniere Energy Inc. — are set to lead spending on new developments going forward, climate activist group Global Witness said in its report, which analyzes data from Rystad Energy. Industry heavyweights TotalEnergies SE and Equinor ASA are also high on the list. Overall, the fossil fuel industry is set to invest $1 trillion in gas production for Europe through 2033, it said. The findings add to indications that Europe’s gas demand is set to continue its upward trajectory — despite efforts to slash emissions — as it rebuilds its energy framework after Russia cut most supplies in the fallout of war in Ukraine. Europe’s consumption of the fuel is forecast to grow by 3 percent this year — slightly higher than the global average, though lower than the world-leading 4 percent rate in Asia, according to the International Energy Agency. Although gas produces less pollution than other fossil fuels, its projects worldwide are under increasing scrutiny for their effects on climate change, raising questions about which facilities will ultimately get built. The Biden administration on Friday halted approval of new US licenses to export LNG while it studies the climate effects, a move that could disrupt billions of dollars in investment. The Global Witness study was compiled before that decision. Europe relies heavily on imported gas from the US and Qatar, the world’s top LNG suppliers. It’s also looking to boost production within its own borders to serve as a bridge during the energy transition. Germany, the region’s largest economy, is considering support for a massive expansion of its fleet of gas plants, which could ultimately burn hydrogen. “Europe is hurtling down a dangerous path by doubling down on fossil gas,” said Dominic Eagleton, senior fossil fuels campaigner at Global Witness. He called on the European Commission to set 2035 as a phase-out date for the fuel. Forecast production for Europe would lead to 6.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere until 2033 — equivalent to more than two decades-worth of France’s annual emissions, according to the group. Its study analyzes forecast operating and capital expenditures for gas production, compiled by researcher Rystad. The report covers demand and projects for all of Europe, not just EU nations, excluding Russia. Top spenders on total gas infrastructure for the region include some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, it said. Europe has generally been at the forefront of regional efforts to tame climate change. Next month the commission, the EU’s executive branch, will put forward its recommendation for an emissions-cut target of 90 percent by 2040, while acknowledging that fossil fuels will still continue to play a role, according to people familiar with the matter. The question is whether the deals signed by energy companies match up to those ideals. In the run-up to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last year, the EU declared it will push for a global phase-out of fossil fuels well before 2050. Two days later Shell Plc signed a 27-year agreement to buy Qatari LNG for the Netherlands. TotalEnergies signed a similar contract. Global Witness’ analysis shows that those two companies, alongside Exxon Mobil Corp., Equinor and Eni SpA are set to spend a total of $144 billion on the gas supplies Europe needs over the next decade.
US natgas prices plunge to 9-month low on new front-month, mild forecasts (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures plunged to a nine-month low on Tuesday after the lower-priced March contract became the front-month and on forecasts for milder weather and lower heating demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. Analysts also noted that U.S. industrial demand for gas was depressed, primarily due to the ongoing outage of a liquefaction unit at Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas. The Freeport outage leaves more gas in the country at the same time that U.S. output is rising as wells return to service after freezing during extreme cold in mid-January. That Arctic freeze boosted gas demand to a daily record high and cut both U.S. gas output and feedgas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports plants to one-year lows. On its first day as the front month, gas futures NGc1 for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 2.3 cents, or 1.1%, from where that contract closed on Monday to settle at $2.077 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). That, however, was the lowest close for the front-month since April 13, 2023, and put it down about 17% from where the February contract closed when it was still the front-month on Monday. That was the biggest daily percentage drop for the contract since it fell by 26.0% on Jan. 28, 2022, and pushed the front-month into technically oversold territory for the first time since mid December. Rising price volatility has increased interest in gas trading in recent weeks, boosting open interest on the NYMEX to a 28-month high of 1.45 million contracts on Jan. 26. Financial company LSEG said gas output in the Lower 48 states fell to an average of 103.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in January, down from a monthly record high of 108.0 bcfd in December. On a daily basis, however, gas output was on track to jump 15.1 bcfd from Jan. 17-30 to a preliminary three-week high of 107.1 bcfd on Monday. That was almost enough to replace the 17.2 bcfd drop in output from Jan. 8-16 to a 12-month low of 90.5 bcfd on Jan. 16, which was due primarily to freeze-offs and other cold weather events. Meteorologists projected temperatures in the Lower 48 states would remain warmer than normal through at least Feb. 14. LSEG forecast U.S. gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, would remain around 125.4 bcfd this week and next. The forecast for this week was higher than LSEG's outlook on Monday, while its forecast for next week was lower. Gas flows to the seven big U.S. LNG export plants fell to an average of 13.9 bcfd so far in January, down from a monthly record of 14.7 bcfd in December. Analysts said U.S. LNG feedgas would likely not return to record levels until U.S. energy firm Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas returns to full power likely in mid- to late-February.
US natgas edges up from 9-month low on Friday, but still down 23% for week (Reuters) -U.S. natural gas futures edged up about 1% on Friday onforecasts for the return of seasonallycolder weather and higher heating demand later this month, a day after prices closedat a nine-month low. That put thefront-month down about 23% for the week after it gained about 8% last week and dropped about 24% two weeks ago. Traders noted prices gained on Friday even though the weather is expected to remain warmer than normal through mid-February, gas output was risingas more wells return to service after a mid-January freeze, and theamount of gas flowing to the nation's liquefied natural gas (LNG)export plants remainedlow due to a unit outageat Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas. Front-month gas futures NGc1 for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rose 2.9 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $2.079 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).On Thursday, the contract settled at its lowest since April 13, 2023. That kept the front-month intechnically oversold territory for a fourth day in a row. Risingprice volatility has increased interest in gas trading in recent weeks, boosting open interest in NYMEX futures to 1.48 million contracts on Jan. 31, the most since February 2020 for a second day in a row. In other news, a top U.S. Energy Department official will testify at the Feb. 8 Senate Energy Committee hearing looking into President Joe Biden'spause on new approvals for LNG exports. Financial company LSEG said gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states rose to an average of 104.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in February from 102.0 bcfd in January. That was still below the monthly record high of 106.3 bcfd in December. Meteorologists projected temperatures in the Lower 48 states would remain warmer than normal through at least Feb. 15 before turning near normal on Feb. 16-17. LSEG forecast U.S. gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, would slide from 126.6 bcfd this week to 125.1 bcfd next week and 124.5 bcfd in two weeks. The forecast for next week was lower than LSEG's outlook on Thursday. Gas flows to the seven big U.S. LNG export plants rose to an average of 14.0 bcfd so far in February, up from 13.9 in January. That was still below the monthly record high of 14.7 bcfd in December. Analysts said U.S. LNG feedgas would likely not revisit record levels until Freeport LNG returns to full power, which is expected to occur in mid- to late-February. The U.S. became the world's biggest LNG supplier in 2023, ahead of recent leaders Australia and Qatar, as much higher global prices fed demand for more exports due in part to supply disruptions and sanctions linked to Russia's war in Ukraine. Gas was trading around $9 per mmBtu at both the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark in Europe TRNLTTFMc1 and the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) benchmark in Asia JKMc1.
Fed Keeps Borrowing Costs High, Maintaining Wildcard for Natural Gas Infrastructure Development, Prices - Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers on Wednesday, citing the resilience of the U.S. job market and broader economy, left interest rates at elevated levels. This, in turn, could deter borrowing and new investment at a time when natural gas producers are bracing for long-term growth to meet a surge in global LNG demand. At issue: The Fed pushed up its benchmark rate multiple times over the course of 2022 and last year – more than doubling borrowing costs. It did this as part of an effort to tame spending and curb inflation that reached a 40-year high of 9.1% in mid-2022. The interest increases made a big impact. The inflation rate stood at 6.5% at the end of 2022 and fell to 3.4% at the close of last year. Still, inflation continues to hover well above the Fed’s preferred 2% rate...
Baker Hughes won $5.6 billion in LNG equipment orders last year - US energy services firm Baker Hughes booked record $5.6 billion of LNG equipment orders in 2023. The company said the outlook for LNG FIDs over the next few years “remains strong”. Following record LNG equipment orders of some $3.5 billion in 2022, Baker Hughes booked $1.4 billion in LNG equipment orders in the first quarter of 2023, $900 million in the second quarter, and almost $2.5 billion in the third quarter.In October, Baker Hughes said it is on track to book almost $9 billion of LNG equipment orders across 2022 and 2023, or about $5.5 billion for just 2023. During the fourth quarter of this year, Baker Hughes booked about $800 million of LNG orders, including for Adnoc’s planned LNG export terminal in Al Ruwais, boosting the total to about $5.6 billion for the entire 2023. “In 2023, we were extremely pleased to book almost 80 Mtpa of LNG orders, which outpaced FIDs of 57 Mtpa,” CEO Lorenzo Simonelli told analysts during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday. “This variance was the result of the timing difference between orders and FIDs, which has been accentuated by the tightening LNG equipment market,” Simonelli said. Simonelli said the outlook for FIDs over the next few years “remains strong”, and the company see projects progressing across all markets. “For 2024 specifically, we expect LNG FIDs of around 65 Mtpa. However, it is important to note this includes a couple of major LNG orders that were booked during 2023, he said. “As we look out to 2025 and 2026, we could see between 30-60 Mtpa of FIDs annually, bringing total potential LNG FIDs to between 125 Mtpa and 185 Mtpa through 2026,” he said.
‘How to greenwash’: propane industry tries to rebrand fuel as renewable - Members of a propane industry lobbying group strategized to downplay the full climate impacts of propane and market it as “renewable” or “clean energy”, recordings reviewed by the climate newsletter Heated and the Guardian reveal.The Propane Education & Research Council (Perc), a US lobbying group, has spent nearly $30m over the last two years on advertisements for fossil fuel, according to data compiled by Drilled, a multimedia reporting project focused on climate accountability. The ads often promote propane, the vast majority of which is a by-product of natural gas or crude oil refining, as a form of clean and renewable energy.But in a public November 2022 meeting recorded by the Energy and Policy Institute, Perc board members acknowledged that that characterization was inaccurate.“Twenty-five percent [of people consider] natural gas to be renewable, in this millennial and gen Z bucket,” an unidentified Perc board member said. “There’s a perception out there – not reality, but that’s perception. We can attach to that for propane.” “You can’t say natural gas is renewable,” Perc board member Leslie Woodward cautioned.“Perception,” the unidentified board member repeated.Erin Hatcher, Perc’s senior vice-president of communications and marketing, agreed that propane should be perceived as clean energy. “We don’t want to be in that coal bucket,” she is heard saying on the recording. “We want to be in that clean energy bucket.”In a comment to Heated and the Guardian, Hatcher said she “did not recall any kind of comment” about mistaking propane as renewable. “Our concern about perception is that all fuels are demonized.”She added: “There’s no attempt to mislead whatsoever. It’s to educate, because the narrative that predominates the news is that there’s only one way to a clean future, and we don’t believe that.” Woodward did not respond to requests for comment, and Hatcher said she couldn’t identify the other board members who spoke at the meeting.To stabilize a safe climate, scientists say the world’s energy systems must reach net-zero greenhouse emissions by the year 2050. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said achieving net zero by 2050 will require “a substantial reduction of overall fossil fuel use”.Propane is a fossil gas, commonly liquified for use in heating and cooking. Typically a by-product of natural gas or crude oil refining, propane can also be made from non-fossil sources like plant, seed and animal oils – though currently, only 0.04% of it is, according to estimates from the EPA and the US Energy Information Administration. Propane – even “renewable propane” made from plants or cooking oil – emits carbon dioxide and other environmentally harmful fossil fumes. Propane made from fossil fuels emits less carbon than coal or diesel, but more than natural gas when burned as fuel, according to the US Energy Information Administration. In 2022, CO2emissions from propane in the US were a tiny fraction of the carbon emissions from other fossil fuels, but that’s because the US consumes far less propane than gas and oil – not because propane is necessarily cleaner.Still, Perc has invested millions in a multiyear strategy to rebrand propane from what it’s called a “dirty fossil fuel” to a so-called clean energy source. According to Drilled, Perc’s annual ad spending increased more than 17-fold from 2021 to 2022-23, from $1.7m to nearly $30m.In 2022 and 2023, Perc bought ads touting the “clean energy” potential of propane across 450 media properties, according to Drilled’s data, including more than $9m on YouTube channels, including YouTube Kids; $4.7m on Fox News; $2.6m on Southern Living; $1.5m on NBC; $979,000 on USA Today; and $746,000 on ESPN.A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, said the company bans ads that deny climate change, or ads that claim human beings or greenhouse gases don’t contribute to global warming. “This policy does not prohibit other climate-related topics, including promotions of various energy sources,” the spokesperson said.
UWF research unveils potential cons of using 'COREXIT' dispersants in oil spill cleanups | WEAR -- It was the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history. The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in 2010 released 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf. The clean-up is still underway to this day. In 2016, the University of West Florida conducted a unique study on the spill and how dispersants, which are used to help break down the oil, have impacted the cleanup. Because of its complexity, it was published only days ago. "Because it's a unique study we've been able to generate information that nobody else, to our knowledge, has been able to do," Dr. Wade Jeffrey said. There are some species of bacteria that eat and break down oil. "Some people will say just completely leave them alone and the bacteria will do their thing," Jeffrey said. But companies have tried to aid this process by adding dispersants, which help break down bigger amounts of oil, so that it's easier for bacteria to eat it. "COREXIT" is one type of dispersant used. Dr. Jeffery and UWF conducted a study to see how COREXIT affected the bacteria in the Gulf. "How they respond, that's been the harder part. So this study is the first of its kind," Jeffrey said. What they found is that COREXIT seemed to cause some adverse effects in the bacteria, especially on surface waters where there is more sunlight. "We found that COREXIT, the dispersant, creates a stress response in the bacteria when we combined it with sunlight then that stress response increased even more," Jeffrey said. This makes it harder for it to eat and break down the oil, as well as hurt the other species of bacteria that do not break down oil. "I think this data shows that maybe putting COREXIT on surface waters is not a good approach, it creates more problems that may be greater than the benefits that it produces," Jeffrey said. Basically, seeing out how bacteria is affected by dispersants can help researchers figure out the best way to treat future spills, while having smaller -- if any -- impacts on the environment. "Maybe instead of using COREXIT, just using a simple soap would work," Jeffrey said. "Just to examine other chemicals or treatments that may give you a longer better terms result with creating the other deleterious effects." The study included international collaborators from France, Belgium, Germany and Scotland, led by Dr. Sabine Matallana-Surget from University of Stirling in Scotland. Dr. Jeffrey says he hopes this study will be a gateway for future research. Click here for the link to the full study.
Oil in, water out: Lawmakers timid about tackling booming oil and gas industry - New Mexico In Depth -- New Mexico legislators’ latest run at regulating the oil and gas industry by updating the 90-year-old Oil and Gas Act illuminated the continuing struggles faced with trying to craft rules for an industry that produces nearly half the state’s revenue. Their efforts at finding a balance continue to leave environmentalists frustrated with the ripple effects, including costs, that they see reaching frontline communities and ecosystems. Before its first hearing Thursday, lawmakers struck a requirement that oil and gas infrastructure be more than a third of a mile from schools, health facilities, multifamily housing, occupied homes, and at least 300 feet from waterways from a bill heard by the House Energy, Environment & Natural Resources committee. “I know there’s a lot of disappointment about that, and I share that disappointment,” said Rep. Matthew McQueen, D-Galisteo, chairman of the committee and a co-sponsor of the bill. McQueen presented a “substitute” bill during Thursday’s committee meeting. Substitute bills often come together following behind-closed-doors negotiations among lawmakers, lobbyists and various other parties. “The setback requirements were a sticking point,” McQueen said. Thursday’s decision removed a buffer intended to protect communities from environmental hazards. Living near oil and gas wells has been linked to higher levels of exposure to pollutants including toxic particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, and volatile organic compounds that may affect health. But oil and gas industry representatives say there’s redundancy in this rule, and that the links between health issues and nearby oil and gas wells remain unproven. “Setbacks aren’t needed because communities in the Permian and the San Juan basins already have setbacks,” said Frederick Bermudez, vice president of communications for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. “Additionally, setback distances aren’t based on scientific necessity.” Thursday’s decision to remove the language about buffers also means New Mexico’s already vulnerable waters are denied a potential layer of protection, particularly after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that found the Clean Water Act doesn’t apply to intermittent waterways, like streams that flow only seasonally or in sections, as well as arroyos, cienegas, and playa lakes. That decision carved out 95% of waterways and wetlands in the state from protection under that federal clean water law. As revised, the bill still would increase bonding requirements for oil and gas wells on state lands from $250,000 to $10 million, shifting the likely financial burden of cleaning up abandoned wells from taxpayers to the oil and gas industry. The legislation would also firm up methane rules that require oil and gas well operators to capture 98 percent of natural gas produced beginning in 2027. Fees and civil penalties are also increased. Oil and gas industry representatives and other pro-business interests spoke against the bill, arguing that it will force companies out of business or out of state, kill jobs, disproportionately hammer small producers, and gut state revenue. “Our overriding concern is that there continue to be burdensome regulations, fees and rules imposed on the industry that is currently providing about 40% to 50% of the state’s budget,” Carla Sonntag, president and CEO of the New Mexico Business Coalition, said at the committee meeting. “We’re seeing that the state is happy to take the money from this industry but it frequently is raising barriers and constraints that cause more harm to our operators.” In addition to the setbacks the bill would have required for homes and other buildings, it would have called for buffers of 660 feet from streams that flow year round as well as wetlands and irrigation structures, and 300 feet away from smaller streams that flow only part of the year.
New Mexico Bureau of Land Management Office Scraps Proposed Fossil Fuel Regulations -- On Dec. 22, the last day before the longest federal holiday of the year, the federal Bureau of Land Management’s field office in Farmington, New Mexico, announced (quietly, via a webpage update) a project cancellation that did the seemingly impossible: It united both conservation groups and oil and gas producers — in bafflement.“It’s not an acceptable outcome,” said Mike Eisenfeld, energy and climate program manager at San Juan Citizens Alliance. “If I was the oil and gas industry, I’d be livid.” “I do not pretend to know what the BLM is thinking,” said Jason Sandel, executive vice president of Aztec Well Servicing, an oilfield services company in Aztec, New Mexico. He said he hadn’t heard of the announcement until asked about it for this story. Sandel is also a board member with the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, and when he asked others in the industry their thoughts, he said, “‘We don’t know’ was more of the response I got.”The catalyzing event was an announcement from the Farmington Bureau of Land Management office that work on an update and amendment to the district’s Resource Management Plans had been scrapped, with no replacement or path forward announced. The update, conducted in partnership with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, would have been selected from among one of four multifaceted options — or a continuation of the status quo — as outlined in a two-volume, 976-page tome, 10 years and countless meetings in the making. Whichever plan was eventually chosen would have rewritten the playbook for vetting new oil and gas development over more than 4 million acres of federal, private and Native lands in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. Broadly speaking, the options ranged from halting all new oil and gas development in the area to dramatically increasing production. The office currently operates under a plan that dates to 2003, a time before resource- and labor-intensive, hydraulically fractured horizontal drilling techniques were widely used in the culturally and environmentally sensitive region. In particular, a new plan would have updated how the agency factored in Native cultural interests when approving developments.The Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs worked together to create the four update options, with the former taking the lead. They worked together because any update would cover development in the Navajo Nation and the so-called checkerboard area of intermixed federal, private and Native lands along the eastern edge of the Navajo Nation in northwest New Mexico.The Bureau of Land Management announcement listed five main reasons for dumping the plan after a decade of work:
- Interest in renewable energy projects has increased in recent years;
- Same for outdoor recreation;
- Other, active cultural preservation initiatives from both tribes and the bureau itself superseded plan options;
- Last June the Department of Interior (of which the bureau is a part) set aside 336,404 acres of land surrounding Chaco Culture National Historic Park, a site sacred to Native people across the region, from any future oil and gas development;
- Fossil fuel production across the district has declined overall in recent years.
However, a review of oil and gas production records kept by the state Oil Conservation Division shows that while the annual amount of natural gas produced and its value dropped by more than 50% between 2003 and 2023, oil production grew by 240% in that period while its total annual value rose ninefold. (2023 data is incomplete because the state gives companies a month and a half to file production reports.)“We’re pleasantly surprised they scrapped the plan,” said Miya King-Flaherty, Wild New Mexico organizing representative with the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter. She said the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs’ preferred proposal could have allowed more than 3,000 new oil and gas wells to be drilled in the region. “What remains to be seen is what now?” she said. “Drilling in the region was already controversial, and the … planning process was fraught with frustration.”Meanwhile, operations continue under the 2003 plan, which “allows industry to move at the speed of last century’s status quo,” says Atencio. “BLM is working with 20th century data rather than keeping up with the times.”
Backlash greets New Mexico governor's $500M proposal to treat fracking wastewater — Environmental activists pushed back on Jan. 22 against an initiative from the governor of New Mexico that would finance the treatment and recycling of oil-industry wastewater, warning that the plan relies on unproven technologies and might propel more water-intensive fracking for oil and natural gas.Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is seeking legislation and regulatory changes that would allow the state to finance buying and selling treated water that originates from the used, salty byproducts of oil and natural gas drilling or from underground saltwater aquifers.The aim is to help preserve freshwater sources by providing a new source of recycled water for industrial uses, at the same time helping an arid state attract businesses ranging from microchip manufacturers to hydrogen fuel producers.An array of environmental and social-justice groups gathered outside the Statehouse to denounce the governor's plan as a handout to the oil and natural gas industry that won't necessarily decrease pressure on the state's ancient underground aquifers.
Oil and gas gave big in 2023. The industry flexed its muscles this week. - New Mexico In Depth - Large oil and gas companies gave nearly $800,000 in the past 12 months to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, partisan legislative political action committees and individual state lawmakers, according to a partial review of campaign finance reports filed by lobbyists.That amount almost certainly will grow in coming months due to a quirk in New Mexico’s disclosure laws. Elected officials don’t have to report contributions they received in the last quarter of last year until this spring. The amount of money the industry showers on elected officials offers a glimpse into the influence it has at the state capitol during legislative sessions. The industry’s ability to shape legislation was on full display Thursday when a House committee substantively stripped a bill of new regulationsthat would have required oil and gas infrastructure to be set back more than a third of a mile from schools, health facilities, multifamily housing, occupied homes, and at least 300 feet from waterways. The political giving reflects the industry’s outsized dominance in a state that ranks second in oil production nationally and where more than 40% of funding for New Mexico’s state budget can be tied directly to the industry. The money spread around to New Mexico’s elected officials has been well-documented, as has its power. A March 2020 report by Common Cause New Mexico and New Mexico Ethics Watch detailed the largess over the years 2017-2019, with almost $12 million funneled into political campaign coffers, and more than a million more was given by October of that year. New Mexico In Depth also has documented the political spending and the push and pull over regulation through the years. In 2019, the first year Lujan Grisham took over as governor from Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, there was a push by environmentalists to implement greater regulations for the oil and gas industry, but in the end, the oil and gas industry had little to fear. The industry far exceeds other industries in its political giving, and has for many years. During the 2022 election, New Mexico In Depth reported on a new round of giving, pointing out the donations in particular of the biggest player, Chevron Corporation.Chevron continued its pattern of big spending in 2023, as did other large oil and gas companies, a review of lobbyist reports filed with the Secretary of State’s office shows. Lobbyists are required to file reports in May, October and January. Patrick Killen, a lobbyist for Chevron USA, contributed $479,000 on behalf of the company to Lujan Grisham, several legislative political action committees and individual state lawmakers, according to May and October campaign finance reports. Randi Valverde, a lobbyist for Marathon Oil and Permian Resources, donated $122,500 in the last quarter of 2023 to a mix of state lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans. Matthew Jaramillo, a lobbyist for Exxon Mobil, gave lawmakers $93,000. Gabrielle Gerholt, a registered lobbyist reporting just one employer – ConocoPhillips – gave contributions in 2023 totaling $90,000.
2 Energy Companies Face $7.4 Million Penalty After Oil Spill On Tribal Land --The Justice Department and EPA issued two energy companies with a $7.4 million penalty after more than 300,000 gallons of crude oil spilled on tribal land. In July 2022, an underground leak was discovered at Skull Creek in northeast Cushing. Skull Creek feeds into the Cimarron River, whose aquifer provides water for agriculture and irrigation, and is owned by the Sac and Fox Nation. Tuesday the EPA said the spill 'severely hampered' water quality and aquatic environment, adding the settlement is an important step in holding companies accountable. Clean-up continues in the area, with Sac and Fox tribal monitors overseeing the effort. In addition to the multi-million-dollar payment, both companies have been ordered to improve pipeline integrity and expand their spill notification efforts to Tribal Governments. Company officials told News 9 that the failed piece of the pipeline was sent to a lab to be analyzed, and the pipeline was returned to service ten days after the spill with reduced pressure.
Loveland approves first oil drilling plan with restrictions - Inside the Capitol, state Environment Department Secretary James Kenney briefed a state Senate budget-writing on the administration's plan to underwrite the project with up to $500 million in bonds over a two-year period, to spur private investment in water-treatment and desalination infrastructure.Approval from the Legislature is necessary under a construction-spending bill that has not yet been introduced. The state's annual legislative session ends on Feb. 15.The Environment Department is proposing a new regulatory framework for reusing oil-industry wastewater and desalination of naturally occurring brine. On Monday, it also announced a related request for technical and economic briefings by people in business, academia, government agencies — or other interested individuals.
Texas Oilman Jim Finley's Key Role In Utah's Oil Boom - Jim Finley is a bit of a ghost. Outside of oil industry circles, few people have probably ever heard of the man. He rarely speaks in public.One exception was in October 2021, when Finley, the CEO of Texas-based Finley Resources, presented to a coalition of seven oil-producing counties in eastern Utah. Following his speech, coalition board members and staff applauded Finley for his investments in Utah’s oil-rich Uinta Basin, and thanked him for making time to speak. One person noted that he is a particularly difficult man to get hold of.“Sometimes nobody knows where I am,” Finley said. “On purpose,” someone else chimed in. Finley chuckled.The Texas oilman has played a key role in spearheading the kind of oil boom that has long evaded the remote basin. In just over a decade, he’s become one of the top producers in the Uinta and is now playing an outsize role in shaping Utah’s energy future. Finley has thrown his support behind a controversial rail line that would make it easier for him and the basin’s five other producers to export oil to out-of-state markets, while simultaneously boosting export capacity via trucking and existing rail. He has his fingers in every aspect of basin production, from drilling oil and mining sand for hydraulic fracturing to operating a transloading facility and a growing fleet of oil trains. Powerful political allies have helped him expand his empire, primarily by funneling public money toward infrastructure projects that benefit the oil sector. Chris Kuveke, a researcher at BailoutWatch, a watchdog group that provided HuffPost with extensive research on Finley’s portfolio and operations, called Finley “the mastermind” of the basin’s current oil boom.“He has a long history of using campaign finance and lobbying as influence to get his projects where he wants them to be,” Kuveke said. “He knows what he’s doing. He has a serious track record of influencing the industry that he wants to grow, being a linchpin. And that’s what he’s doing in the Uinta.”Finley and other producers’ long-term vision for the Uinta could lead to as much as 350,000 barrels of crude oil being railed from Utah to Gulf Coast refineries every day, roughly tripling current basin production andincreasing U.S. annual carbon emissions by 1%.Oil and gas industry players and longtime observers, including two who requested anonymity to speak plainly about the Uinta’s trajectory, credited Finley for the basin’s recent growth.“He kind of broke the seal,” a current industry official told HuffPost, adding that other basin producers have followed Finley’s lead in shipping oil out of state.A retired industry professional called Finley the “puppetmaster” of Utah energy policy, and admitted to having “a degree of rueful admiration” for how he’s secured public funds for his ventures.“It is a classic story of using ‘other people’s money’ — in this case, that of Utah taxpayers — while leaving them stuck with the environmental and public health bill,” the retired professional told HuffPost..
Crude oil spills at Mountrail County well site --- A tank leak is blamed for the spill of 12,600 gallons of crude oil at a well in Mountrail County in northwestern North Dakota. Liberty Resources Management Co. reported the Friday incident to the North Dakota Oil and Gas Division on Monday. The spill happened at a well about 15 miles from Powers Lake when a valve on the tank failed due to recent extreme weather, according to the spill report on file with the state. The 300 barrels of oil were contained on-site, and cleanup is underway, according to the state. At the time of the report 175 barrels of oil had been recovered. A state inspector has been to the location and will monitor additional cleanup.
Alaska Looking to Secure Vital Natural Gas Supplies Via Cook Inlet - As reserves in the Cook Inlet Basin dwindle, Alaska leaders are warning of natural gas shortages as early as 2027. Natural gas production in the basin has fallen to about 70 Bcf/year, according to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The reduced production was cited for shuttering operations at the Agrium Kenai Nitrogen Plant in 2007. The Kenai LNG facility also suspended operations in 2016. Enstar Natural Gas Co. President John Sims in a recent interview said supplies near-term could provide enough gas for the 150,000 customers. However, Sims told the Anchorage Daily News that he is “really, really concerned” about having enough supply around 2028.
Canadian Court Blocks Part of Quebec's Ban on O&G Drilling | Marcellus Drilling News -- The province of Quebec, Canada, with a huge supply of Utica Shale gas sitting beneath it, passed a new law in April 2022 — Bill 21 — outlawing all oil and natural gas production throughout the province (see Quebec Pulls Trigger & Commits Energy Suicide – Bans All O&G Prod.). It was a breathtaking grab of totalitarian power. It’s also energy suicide. Quebec said it would pay a piddly US$79.5 million to expropriate the oil and gas drilling rights of companies owning those rights in the province. A number of companies sued…
Petrolympic welcomes the Québec Superior Court's decision to suspend provisions of Bill 21- Petrolympic Ltd. is pleased to report on the decision made by the Québec Superior Court (Civil Division) to stay some provisions of Bill 21, the Act ending exploration for petroleum and underground reservoirs and production of petroleum and brine (the “Act”), for the duration of the judicial proceedings. In its ruling, the Court concluded to the legitimacy of Petrolympic’s claim that some provisions of the Act represent a serious legal matter which, if not stayed immediately, would cause serious or irreparable harm to the Company. The Court also ordered provisional execution despite appeal of this ruling, meaning that the judgement will be enforced even if the Attorney General files an appeal. This exceptional measure aims at preserving the Company’s rights while it continues to work toward a fair solution to the situation. Mendel Ekstein, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Petrolympic, commented: “We welcome this ruling as a crystal-clear message that the law must be fair. Petrolympic is not fighting Québec here, it is merely standing for its rights against an Act that we consider unfair and that unnecessarily harms the Company’s interests. We are also looking forward beyond the judicial proceedings, as we mean to continue contributing to the development of Québec’s energy resources.” Apart from its mining assets, Petrolympic holds in Québec an interest in a total of 753,058 hectares (1,860,839 acres) of oil and gas exploration licences in the St. Lawrence Lowlands and in the Gaspe Peninsula/Lower St. Lawrence region. In the St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Company’s joint venture properties encompass a large part of the prolific Utica shale gas play. A study by the Geological Survey of Canada in 2016 has estimated an original gas in place of 183 Tcf for the whole Utica Shale in the St. Lawrence Lowlands. The Company’s holdings in this area consist of a 30% interest in 216,933 hectares (536,051 acres) through a joint venture with Ressources et Énergie Squatex (“Squatex”), a 12% interest in 8,000 hectares (19,768 acres) through the Farmout Agreement with Canbriam Energy Inc. (now Pacific Canbriam Energy Ltd.), and a 100% interest in 55,951 hectares (138,247 acres). In the Gaspe Peninsula/Lower St. Lawrence region, the Company also holds several high-profile assets including the Massé Structure, that is held in joint venture with Squatex. The resource assessment for this structure indicates a potential of 53.6 BCF of gas and 52.2 million barrels of oil over a probable average area of 5.2 km2, for an oil equivalent total of 61.1 million barrels (MMBOE). These results have been announced in a press release dated May 17, 2016 (the full version of which can be found on www.sedarplus.ca under Petrolympic’s profile). The Company’s holdings in this region consist of a 30% interest in 431,160 hectares (1,065,415 acres) through a joint venture with Squatex and a 100% interest in a block of exploration licenses referred to as the Mitis and the Matapedia properties and totaling 41,014 hectares (101,347 acres).
Trans Mountain expansion runs into 'technical issues,' completion delay possible - The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is facing delay yet again. The Crown corporation building the massive project, which had previously stated it expected to have the pipeline in-service near the end of the first quarter, said Monday it has once again run into construction challenges in B.C. In a statement on its website, Trans Mountain Corp. said Monday it has encountered "technical issues" and needs additional time to determine the "safest and most prudent actions for minimizing further delay." The company said the technical issues were discovered between Jan. 25 and Jan. 27 during construction work in the Fraser Valley between Hope and Chilliwack, B.C. "Trans Mountain is fully focused on the completion of the pipeline and will not be providing (media) interviews at this time as it works towards the anticipated in-service date in the second quarter of 2024," the company stated. The Trans Mountain pipeline is Canada's only oil pipeline to the West Coast and its expansion will increase the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels per day from 300,000 bpd currently. Its construction, which is more than 98 per cent complete, has been underway for more than three years. Canadian oil producers have already begun ramping up production in expectation of the additional export capacity, which is expected to improve the prices Canadian oil companies receive. But Trans Mountain Corp. has been racing against the clock as it deals with difficulties drilling through hard rock in B.C. Its initial request to use a different size of pipe for the location in question was denied by the Canada Energy Regulator due to concerns around pipeline quality and integrity. Trans Mountain Corp. then asked the regulator to reconsider, saying in December that the project could face a worst-case scenario of a two-year delay in completion if it was not allowed to alter its construction plans. After an oral hearing in Calgary earlier this month, the regulator then agreed to allow a pipeline variance, as long as Trans Mountain Corp. abided by a number of conditions, including testing and documentation requirements for the pipe materials. The Trans Mountain pipeline is owned by the federal government, which purchased it in 2018 in an effort to get the expansion project over the finish line after it was scuttled by previous owner Kinder Morgan Canada. The project's costs have spiralled through the course of construction from an original estimate of $5.4 billion to the most recent estimate of $30.9 billion. Trans Mountain Corp. has blamed the ballooning costs on a number of things, including evolving compliance requirements, Indigenous accommodations, stakeholder engagement and compensation requirements, extreme weather, the COVID-19 pandemic and challenging terrain.
Alberta Water Agency Cuts Access for Fracking as Prairie Drought Continues - A water management agency in Alberta is cutting off access for oil and gas fracking operations as the province prepares for another summer of severe drought and a University of Saskatchewan water scientist raises serious concerns about groundwater levels.The Mountain View Regional Water Services Commission banned fracking operations from using water from its treatment plant on the banks of the Red Deer River northwest of Innisfail, in central Alberta. That decision came after the province issued its warning about a possible severe drought this year, Carstairs Mayor Lance Colby, who also chairs the water commission, told the Globe and Mail.Carstairs is one of six communities that use water from the Anthony Henday Water Treatment Plant, the Globe reports.“Everybody’s on the same page,” Colby said. “We know and understand what we can and can’t do with water, so there was no pushback when we passed the motion that the towns make sure that water isn’t being used on fracking.”There’s been no data until now on how much Mountain View water is being used for fracking, but now municipalities will be paying closer attention to bulk water sales, the Globe adds. “Our main goal is to make sure we supply the water to the residents,” Colby said. “Our mandate was never to supply water for fracking.”The Alberta government is also opening negotiations to “secure significant and timely reductions in water use,” Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said in a news release. “This effort will be the largest water-sharing negotiation to have ever occurred in Alberta’s history.” Global News says some 25,000 businesses and organizations across the province currently hold licences for 9.5 billion cubic metres of water, enough to fill 3.8 million Olympic swimming pools.Those conversations are playing out as University of Saskatchewan water scientist John Pomeroy warns of declining groundwater levels in many parts of the province.The Marmot Creek well in Kananaskis Country has been there for generations, adjacent to a popular ski resort in what The Canadian Press describes as an Alberta mountain playground. It’s one of the few groundwater monitoring wells that Alberta has in the mountains. Away from any human influence, it’s a good indicator of what’s actually happening.“The lowest water levels are all in the last seven years and the levels are much lower now than they were in the ’70s and ’80s,” Pomeroy told CP.“It’ll be a climate signal that we’re seeing.”As predicted by climate change models, drought is desiccating the Prairies, especially southern Alberta. The province has already warned municipalities to plan for another dry summer, is preparing help for farmers, and aims to mobilize firefighting teams early.
Chevron to Sell Canadian Shale Stake - Chevron Corp. has decided to exit shale rock production in Canada as it refocuses investment on tight assets in the United States. The US energy major is divesting its 70 percent stake in the Duvernay play in the oil province of Alberta. “Chevron will be soliciting and reviewing expressions of interest, but there are no assurances of any sale”, San Ramon, California-based Chevron said in a recent statement. Chevron produced 126 million cubic feet of natural gas and 17,500 barrels of condensate and natural gas liquids from its Duvernay leaseholdings in 2022, according to data from the website of its Canadian arm. The unconventional, liquids-rich formation holds hydrocarbons at a depth of up to 4,000 meters (13,123.4 feet). Chevron’s extraction method for these resources employs horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Chevron’s assets in the play, or a group of fossil fuel prospects in one area, span 245,000 net acres, Chevron Canada says. “The business holds significant value in both its current production as well as potential growth opportunities, which we expect to be attractive to other companies with complementary portfolios”, Chevron said. KUFPEC Canada Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co., holds the remaining 30 percent interest. “Chevron is committed to safely delivering the affordable, reliable, ever-cleaner energy Canada and the world needs”, Chevron added. Chevron plans to offload assets for as much as $15 billion in pre-tax proceeds through 2028. It bared this plan when announcing a deal to merge with Hess Corp. last October. Chevron’s $60-billion all-stock, debt-inclusive acquisition of its New York City-headquartered competitor follows its absorption of similarly smaller US oil and gas rivals Noble Energy Inc. and PDC Energy Inc., completed 2020 and 2023 respectively. In a statement announcing the Hess deal, Chevron said, “With a stronger portfolio after closing, Chevron expects to increase asset sales and generate $10 to $15 billion in before-tax proceeds through 2028”. The companies expect to complete the transaction June 2024. The Federal Trade Commission launched a probe into the agreement last December, both firms confirmed in regulatory disclosures December. Following the agreement Chevron said for 2024 it would allot two-thirds of its expected upstream capital budget of about $14 billion for US operations. The US portion includes around $6.5 billion for tight portfolio assets, of which $5 billion is for the Permian basin. Downstream capital spending is pegged at $1.5 billion.
Canada Pension Plan Pours $100M into Fracking, LNG, as Biden Puts Industry Under Microscope -The pension fund that manages retirement savings for more than 21 million Canadians allowed US$100 million of those funds to be invested in industries now under the microscope after the Biden White House announced it would apply a climate test to liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, a research and advocacy group says.The C$576-billion Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) placed the investment in 2022 with Kimmeridge Fund VI, which the board describes as “a U.S.-based alternative asset manager focused exclusively on the energy sector.” Those funds flowed through to natural gas fracking operations in Texas and the proposed Commonwealth LNG terminal on the Louisiana coast, Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health said on social media last week.Commonwealth was first put forward to U.S. regulators in July, 2017, was approved in November, 2022, and a final investment decision on the project was expected by the end of March, Offshore Technology reports. With capacity to export 9.3 million tonnes of LNG per year, Commonwealth would be almost the size of the 11.3-million-tonne Calcasieu Pass 2 project that will now be subject to a climate review, one of 17 new export terminals the U.S. gas industry is trying to bring online.“This is an alarming example of @cppinvestments indirectly pouring Canadians’ pension savings into an oil & gas expansion project that fuels the #climatecrisis and faces escalating regulatory, reputational, legal, transition, and financial risks,” Shift wrote Friday.“It also underscores a lack of transparency in Canada’s pension sector, with our retirement savings being quietly funneled into private equity funds with virtually no reporting from the CPPIB on how the money is eventually used for fossil fuel projects,” Shift added. “The CPPIB claims that it’s committed to climate action. But its continued investment in fossil fuel expansion projects is putting our shared climate and our pension savings at risk, while undermining the CPPIB’s own #netzero emissions commitment.”Shift Senior Manager Patrick DeRochie said the investment in Commonwealth LNG amounts to “chump change” compared to the size of CPPIB’s fund. But it’s still enough to produce an extra 50 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.“With the amount of expertise they have, the sophistication with which they could assess climate risk, I don’t get how no one at the fund is looking at this problem,” he told The Energy Mix. CPPIB’s “finance wizards are investing a $576-billion portfolio on behalf of more than 20 million Canadians, and there’s no one there who thinks about how dumb and how risky it is to invest $100 million into dumping another 50 million tonnes of carbon pollution into the atmosphere.”“It’s gobsmacking,” he added. “It makes me wonder what planet CPP investment managers live on.”CPPIB’s media office did not respond to an email requesting comment on the criteria it would apply to an investment like Commonwealth LNG, how it would weigh the climate risks involved, and whether its assessment of those risks is shifting as international agencies call for an end to new fossil fuel extraction projects. DeRochie said he couldn’t comment on what they’re thinking because they haven’t been responding to his overtures, either.“We’ve had very few conversations with CPPIB investment managers, despite numerous attempts to reach out to them,” he said. “There hasn’t been an open door.”After seeing half of Canada on fire last year, whole cities evacuated, one town burned to the ground, and hundreds dead in heatwaves, DeRochie said CPPIB is funnelling its fossil investments through secretive private equity funds that make it very difficult to follow the dollars. “We essentially get no reporting from some pension funds in private equity, and it takes years of closely tracking where this money is going to have any idea of how it’s eventually being used,” he said. That amounts to a “serious transparency problem” that should have financial regulators like the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions paying attention.“It’s going to take regulation to require them to align their climate and energy transition plans with what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency are saying is required to avert catastrophic climate change,” DeRochie said. “Every dollar a pension fund puts into fossil fuel expansion is a dollar that’s not being used to finance the energy transition that we so badly need,” and works against a “liveable future for their own members.”In the wake of last week’s White House decision, climate hawks have been declaring the win, while Politico points out the extensive fracking and LNG export activity still going on in the U.S. Canadian oil and gas companies are “reacting with dismay” to the news, The Canadian Press reports, while repeating industry claims that gas is a less emissions-heavy replacement for coal—a line that hasn’t stood up well in several years of studies.“Given the highly integrated nature of the North American energy market, CAPP is disappointed in the White House decision,” Lisa Baiton, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, told CP in an email Friday. Baiton is also a former member of CPPIB’s Global Leadership Team.“Our immediate view is any delay in the development of U.S. liquefied natural gas is a loss for the U.S., our allies, for U.S. jobs, and for efforts to cut emissions around the world,” added Enbridge Inc. spokesperson Gina Sutherland
Mexico Natural Gas Production Hits Highest Level Under AMLO, Though Still Outpaced by Imports - Mexico’s natural gas production averaged 4.3 Bcf/d in 2023, the highest full-year figure since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, aka AMLO, took office in December 2018. The amount was up from 4.09 Bcf/d recorded in 2022, and 3.81 Bcf/d in 2019, data from upstream regulator Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) show. Crude oil production, meanwhile, averaged 1.65 million b/d, the second-lowest total of the López Obrador era. The discrepancy between gas and crude is largely due to state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos’ (Pemex) development of the Quesqui and Ixachi onshore gas fields, discovered in 2019 and 2017, respectively. Quesqui was Mexico’s leading gas producing field in December at 638 MMcf/d, while Ixachi placed third with 375 MMcf/d.
Mexico LNG Export Projects Jolted by U.S. Permit Freeze – Spotlight - Mexico’s nascent LNG market could be impacted by the decision of U.S. authorities to pause export licenses as they review methodology and guidelines. The liquefied natural gas export projects planned in Mexico, which amount to as much as 6 Bcf/d, would use U.S. natural gas as feed stock. As such, they require U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approval for exports to nations that lack free-trade agreements (FTA) with the United States. NGI’s Mexico GPI spoke to LNG developers and participants in the natural gas market to get a sense of potential ramifications. The projects most obviously impacted have yet to receive DOE permits. However, even Mexico LNG projects that have U.S. authorizations could be forced to speed up plans or face reapplying for permits under unknown...
Escalating Geopolitical Tensions Push European Natural Gas Prices Higher – LNG Recap - Escalating tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over U.S. LNG exports combined Monday to push European natural gas prices higher. Despite weak fundamentals, “geopolitics remain in focus” for the global energy market, said Schneider Electric analyst Robbie Fraser. Three U.S. servicemen were killed in a drone strike in Jordan over the weekend that was linked to Iran. While crude prices retreated Monday, the risk of an oil price spike and its impact on other commodities remains, especially given Iran’s link to the Houthi militants attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The United States has pledged a response to Sunday’s drone strike. The security situation in the region has forced dozens of natural gas and propane carriers to avoid the Red Sea and take the longer route round Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, which can add about nine days to the normally 18-day trip to Europe.
Global gas demand set for stronger growth in 2024 despite geopolitical uncertainty, says IEA -- Growth in global gas demand is set to pick up this year due to colder winter temperatures and easing prices, with emerging economies leading the increase in consumption, but geopolitical risks and supply-side concerns could trigger renewed price volatility, according to the International Energy Agency.In 2023, global gas demand rose by just 0.5%, as growth in China, North America and gas-rich countries in Africa and the Middle East was partially offset by declines in other regions, the IEA said in its latest Gas Market Report.As pandemic restrictions loosened and economic activity returned, China regained its position as the world’s largest LNG importer (although China’s LNG imports in 2023 were still below 2021 levels) as natural gas demand grew by 7%. In contrast, natural gas consumption in Europe fell by 7%, reaching its lowest level since 1995. This decline was compounded by the rapid expansion of renewables and an increased availability of nuclear power weighing on natural gas demand in both Europe and mature markets in Asia, driving prices lower, the agency said.According to the IEA, in 2024, global gas demand is forecast to grow by 2.5%, or 100 billion cubic metres (bcm). Expected colder winter weather in 2024, compared with the unusually mild temperatures experienced in 2023, is likely to bring increasing demand for space heating in residential and commercial sectors.“The global gas market is entering a new period as the world gradually emerges from an energy crisis that had profound impacts on both the supply and demand sides,” said Keisuke Sadamori, IEA Director of Energy Markets and Security. “We expect to see solid growth in global gas demand this year as prices have come down to relatively manageable levels. But the speed at which this new demand can be met will be critical, particularly as supplies are tight and substantial new LNG capacity will only come online after 2024,” he said in a statement.Natural gas prices have fallen sharply following the record highs seen in 2022, which is also supporting the recovery in gas demand. While prices remain well above historical averages, demand in price-sensitive industrial sectors will see a return to growth, according to the report. In power generation, gas use is forecast to increase only marginally, as higher gas burn in the Asia Pacific region, North America and the Middle East is forecast to be partly offset by reduced demand in Europe, the report said.On the supply side, gas availability remained relatively tight in 2023, as the increase in global LNG production fell short of expectations. As such, production growth was not sufficient to offset the continued decline of Russian piped gas deliveries to Europe. The growth in supply was also highly concentrated geographically, with the United States becoming the world’s largest LNG exporter, accounting for 80% of additional LNG supply in 2023.
Shell CEO Says Global LNG Demand Underpinned by Energy Security, Thirsty Asian Markets --An “exceptional” performance for Shell plc’s Integrated Gas trading unit, in parallel with higher LNG volumes, once again propelled profits in the final three months of 2023, with volumes set to climb higher as an Australian export project restarts, CEO Wael Sawan said. The London-based major reported sharply lower fourth quarter profits year/year, notably lacking the natural gas price volatility wrought in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas trader held steady on volumes. Look for that to continue in 2024, as Shell is set to restart the Prelude floating LNG project in Australia following a major turnaround.
China Seen Driving LNG Demand Growth Amid Various Supply Constraints - Global natural gas demand is set to rise by 2.5% or 100 billion cubic meters (Bcm) in 2024 versus 2023, likely accompanied by increased price volatility, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This compares to a demand increase of 0.5% recorded in 2023, the global energy watchdog said in its latest quarterly Gas Market Report. Demand growth this year “is expected to be concentrated in fast-growing markets in Asia Pacific and gas-rich countries in Africa and the Middle East,” researchers said. “The increase in gas demand will be supported by industry, as well as the residential and commercial sectors – assuming a return to average winter weather conditions following mild seasonal weather in 2023.” The global LNG trade, meanwhile, is forecast to grow by 2.5%, or 100 billion cubic metres (bcm).
China to Hike the Price of Gasoline and Diesel -China will raise retail prices for gasoline and diesel starting today, to reflect the increase in international crude oil prices, Xinhua has reported. The price hike will be around $28 per ton for both fuels, the state news agency reported, citing a statement by the National Development and Reform Commission. The price hike is part of China’s standard response to higher international oil prices. Brent crude topped $80 per barrel earlier this month and both it and WTI posted their first monthly gain in January amid the intensifying crisis in the Red Sea and an escalation between the U.S. and Iran. The gain comes despite continued concern about China’s economic growth prospects, which deepened after Beijing reported that manufacturing activity in the country shrank for the fourth month in a row in January. "Economic momentum remained muted as the deflationary pressure persists," one analyst from Pinpoint Asset Management told Reuters and added that he expected the Chinese central bank to cut rates in the first half of the year in order to boost domestic consumption. "It is not clear if the latest rise in the PMIs reflects a further improvement in January or simply the easing of sentiment effects that have been weighing on the surveys," another expert told Reuters. "Either way, it adds to evidence that growth momentum in China is in the midst of a renewed recovery, albeit one that remains on shaky foundations and is unlikely to be sustained once current policy support is pared back," Evan Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics, said.
Shell Makes FID to Convert Hydrocracker, Halt Processing in Wesseling -Shell Deutschland GmbH is halting crude oil processing at the Wesseling site in Germany by 2025 and converting its hydrocracker into a production unit for base oils. Shell has made a final investment decision (FID) to convert the hydrocracker at the Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland into a production unit for Group III base oils, used in making high-quality lubricants such as engine and transmission oils. Crude oil processing will continue at the Godorf site, the company said in a news release Friday. Shell’s Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland is located near Cologne and is composed of two sites: Wesseling and Godorf. It currently has capacity to process over 17 million metric tons of crude oil per year, with 7.5 million metric tons being processed at the Wesseling site. The new base oil plant is expected to start operations in the second half of the decade. It will have a production capacity of around 300,000 metric tons per year, equivalent to around 9 percent of current EU demand and 40 percent of Germany’s demand for base oils, Shell said. The high degree of electrification of the plant, as well as the halt of crude oil processing at the Wesseling site, is expected to reduce Shell’s scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by around 620,000 metric tons per year, the company added. The company had earlier invested in a 10-megawatt electrolyzer to produce renewable hydrogen and a biomethane liquefaction plant at the Rheinland park. Group III base oils are mineral base oils with a very high viscosity index, produced by hydrocracking technology. The market for high-quality engine and transmission oils, as well as e-fluids and cooling fluids, some of which are made from these base oils, is expected to grow, Shell noted
Lukoil shuts oil pipeline in Russia's northwest after decompression (Reuters) -Russian oil producer Lukoil has shut its oilfield pipeline in northwestern Komi Republic after a decompression, the state-run RIA news agency reported on Wednesday citing a company statement. Decompression was detected on an oil pipeline in Yarega within the borders of the administrative centre of Ukhta. The company is currently repairing the pipeline and there is no threat of an oil spill, RIA reported. Lukoil did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Brazil investigates alleged oil spill from tanker in 2023 (Reuters) - Brazil is looking for information on an alleged September 2023 tanker oil spill off its northern coast, after non-governmental organization Arayara Institute on Thursday said satellite images showed an apparent 170-square-kilometer (66-square-mile) spill. According to a preliminary assessment, the potential leak may have originated from a Panamanian vessel, Arayara Institute, which is focused on environmental issues, the institute said in a statement. The executive secretary at Brazil's environment ministry, Joao Paulo Capobianco, told journalists in Brasilia the government was seeking more details and monitoring the "alleged oil spill". Capobianco said preliminary information the government gathered pointed to a potential oil spill located in international waters off Brazil's coast, though the information needed to be corroborated. The government planned to contact the International Maritime Organization and was coordinating with the Brazilian Navy to ascertain what vessels were present in the area around the time of the alleged incident.
India's Crude Oil Imports Edge Higher In December -- India's crude oil imports rose in December on firm demand, data from Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) showed on Monday. Crude imports in December rose 1.1% year-on-year to 19.83 million metric tons, the data showed, up 7.4% on a monthly basis. Fuel consumption in India, the world's third-biggest oil importer, rose to a seven-month high in December. "There is a general economic pick up, which is a contributor to rising imports," said Prashant Vasisht, vice president and co-head, corporate ratings at ICRA. Crude futures lost over 10% in 2023 in a tumultuous year of trading marked by geopolitical turmoil and concerns about the oil output levels of major producers. [O/R] Besides growing Indian oil demand, lower crude prices also supported imports, said Giovanni Staunovo, analyst at UBS. India's imports of Nigerian crude jumped from November to December, as the country took advantage of Nigeria's large overhang of cargoes, data showed. Data from the PPAC website also showed product imports decreased 4% to 3.89 million tons from December last year, while product exports were 2.5% higher over the same period to 5.84 million tons.
Iraq oil supplies to India surge - India’s import of crude oil reached a multi-year high of 4.9 million barrels a day in January and increased 13% from December 2023, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Indian refiners cumulatively had imported 4.3 million barrels a day in December. The country imported 1.20 million barrels a day of Russian crude in January, down by 9% to from 1.32 million barrels a day imported in December 2023 as it continues to face issues in the delivery of Sokol grade of crude oil from the latter, as per Vortexa. Iraq, on the other hand, filled in for lacking Russian supplies and came close to becoming the top supplier with a 13% rise in its supplies to 1.11 million barrels a day in January. “There has been no Sokol crude being discharged in India in January, the second month in a row,” said Serena Huang, analyst at Vortexa. The disruption in Sokol imports is due to US sanctions on Sun Ship Management, whose vessels have been largely involved in the transport of Russian Sokol crude to India, she added.
Iraq’s oil export revenues exceed $8.3 billion in December - Iraqi News – The Iraqi Ministry of Oil confirmed on Sunday that oil export revenues through December surpassed $8.3 billion. According to final statistics issued by the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), the total exports of crude oil during December were more than 108.05 million barrels, with revenues exceeding $8.31 billion. SOMO data revealed that the total quantities of crude oil exported during December from oil fields in central and southern Iraq were 107,592,532 barrels, and the quantities exported to Jordan were 464,058 barrels. The average price per barrel was $76.91, compared to $82.36 in November, when the total exports of crude oil were more than 102.97 million barrels, with revenues exceeding $8.48 billion. In October 2023, Iraq’s total exports of crude oil were more than 109.54 million barrels, with revenues exceeding $9.59 billion. The average daily quantity exported from Iraq in September exceeded 3.43 million barrels per day. Iraq exported more than 106.12 million barrels in August, with total revenues of $8,997,851. Iraq’s total exports of crude oil in July were more than 106.75 million barrels, with revenues estimated at $8.3 billion. The country’s oil export revenues in June were about $7.11 billion, compared to more than $7.3 billion in May.
Oil spill disaster impacts threatened pelicans in India The IFAW-Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) team was called on this January to provide technical expertise to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary (BMAD) on the rehabilitation and veterinary care of 10 spot-billed pelicans rescued from the Ennore oil leak disaster in Chennai, India. Spot-billed pelicans are listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List. They are also the only species of pelicans known to breed in India. However, over the past month, their population along the Chennai coast has been severely affected by the recent oil spill, part of the aftermath of the cyclone Michaung. Reported first on 4 December, an oil spill from the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) spread quickly along the Kosasthalaiyar River, the Ennore Creek, and into the sea. The floods, resulting from the cyclone Michaung, aided in the quick spread, causing a serious threat to wildlife and fishermen in the backwaters. Species inhabiting the area include large and median egrets, pond herons, cormorants, grey herons, stilts, Caspian terns, painted storks, and spot-billed pelicans. At its height, the team observed nearly 50-60 pelicans in the area in one day, and we predict there were as many as 200 pelicans affected. ‘Pelicans float [on] the surface and dive to catch fish, and this has been the reason why they have been the most affected species in this event,’ said Rudra Mahapatra, IFAW-WTI ERN responder. ‘The team also identified black-winged stilts and painted storks with oil sludge covering their legs. Other diving birds like cormorants and darters too have been affected.’ Tamil Nadu government promptly acted to contain the damage with ‘close to 900 personnel, including trained sea cleaning agencies and local fishermen, deployed to remove 105.82 kiloliters of oily water and 393.5 tonnes of oily sludge from the Enoore Creek’, as per an official statement by Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary of the Environment, Climate Change, and Forest Department. The (ERN) acts as a platform for expert and amateur rehabilitators and those working for wildlife conservation, including wildlife veterinarians, forest officials, biologists, and others, to exchange, share, and contribute their knowledge and professional skills in the care of animals in crisis and distress. ERN personnel trained in bird rescue, treatment, and rehabilitation deployed to the Ennore oil spill to join responders from BMAD in rescuing affected birds. Sadly, the pelicans can only be captured when they become weak, a process that requires diligent monitoring day to day. ’Once a bird is captured, it is given hydration, and the basic cleaning of orifices is done on the field,’ . ‘On being brought to the temporary enclosure, they are thoroughly cleaned using vegetable oil and liquid detergents capable of removing oil.’ The birds are initially tube-fed with fish broth before they start feeding on their own on live and dead fishes. The team has installed inflatable water tubs on sandy flooring for the birds inside the enclosures. There are also branches provided for them to perch upon. Ultraviolet lamps and sometimes blowers are used to provide warmth to the birds when required. Carcasses of cormorants and pelicans have also been recovered from the creek. There has been a high mortality of fish as well. To help large birds, the team established feeding stations by bringing in fresh fish from outside—the same species found in backwaters. ‘There are at least 20-25 more pelicans that need to be rescued and attended to,’ added Dr. NVK Ashraf, chief veterinarian with Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). ‘Once they are cleansed of oil and oil debris, they should be made fit to survive in the wild. The process is going to take some time.’
Reps urge oil companies to contain oil spillage in Southern Ijaw - The House of Representatives has called on the Management of all companies who own facilities along the coastal areas to immediately contain and stop the oil leakages in some communities of Southern Ijaw area of Bayelsa State. The House has also mandated its Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) to synergize with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to carry out an extensive investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the Spillage. The committee is also to ascertain which company’s Facility is responsible for the Spill, remediation activities put in place to contain the Spillage and future occurrence, assess the extent of devastation and impact to the Coastal Communities of Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency and Report to the House for further legislative action. The further called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), National Oil Pollution Management Agency (NOPMA), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Federal Ministry of Environment to pay assessment visits on the site with a view to ascertaining the level of environmental damage and recommend appropriate remedial measures. These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance on the need to contain oil spillage in order to forestall further environmental damage in the affeected area, sponsored by Hon. Rodney Ambaiowei on Tuesday. He noted that Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency and several constituencies of the South-South Nigeria host Oil Installations, Facilities and companies in the Oil exploration, exploitation and production process in Nigeria, adding that several Oil companies like FIRST E& P, Connoil, NEPL, SPDC and NIGDEL UNITED OIL Company have pipelines and other facilities which traverses many coastal communities in Southern Ijaw. The lawmaker expressed shock that on the 3rd of January, 2024, the people of Foropah, Ekeni and Ezetu Kingdoms woke up to a devastating oil spillages from the atlantic which has destroyed their only source of livelihood, which is fishing and Farming, saying findings reveal that the Oil Spillage is occasioned by the leakages from the facilities operated by the following companies.
Nigeria oil enters unclear new era after Shell's onshore asset sale -Shell's exit from Nigeria's onshore oil sector highlights risks oil majors face in Africa's biggest exporter but has raised hopes that local firms could reverse the output decline from the Niger Delta, industry officials and analysts said. Shell – which pioneered Nigeria's oil industry – is the most prominent Western company to exit the Delta, a region blighted by pollution, oil theft and pipeline vandalism. Those issues have for years stymied investment – and throttled production and government finances. The company's sale of its subsidiary to five mostly local firms fits an ongoing trend of Western energy companies divesting onshore Nigerian oil fields. Exxon, Italy's Eni, Norway's Equinor and China's Addax have struck deals to sell assets in the country in recent years. "Nigeria has had well-established problems in policy in the oil sector, and the FX policy concerns have put constraints on investments. That's probably partially why you have seen the majors pulling out, and disinvesting to some extent," said Andrew Matheny, senior economist with Goldman Sachs. "It explains a significant portion of the decline in oil production in recent years." President Bola Tinubu took office last May pledging to remove obstacles faced by producers, including ending crude theft and pipeline vandalism. But seven months into his presidency, the asset sales, which were well underway before his election, highlight the inexorable changes to the country's oil sector. "If companies are now leaving the less capital-intensive onshore operations to focus on offshore operations, it sends a perfect picture of the risk involved in doing business in Nigeria," said Seyi Awojulugbe, a senior analyst at security consultancy SBM Intelligence in Lagos.
Iran’s oil exports rise 50% in 2023, reaching 5-year high: report - Tehran Times - Iran's crude oil exports grew by roughly 50 percent in 2023 to a five-year high of about 1.29 million barrels per day (bpd), with the vast majority going to China, Nikkei Asia reported. The report, citing the International Energy Agency (IEA), put Iran’s oil production at 2.99 million bpd last year, 440,000 barrels more than in 2022. As reported, IEA predicts a further rise of 160,000 barrels of Iran’s oil exports in 2024. This increase is expected to contribute to a less tight market, alongside increases by the U.S. and Brazil. The IEA sees global supply rising by 1.5 million bpd to an all-time high this year. The Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security forecasts the supply-demand balance flipping from a shortfall of 110,000 bpd last year to a 600,000-barrel surplus in 2024. Brisk Chinese demand is encouraging Iran to ramp up production. Roughly 90 percent of Iran's crude oil exports went to China, data from European research firm Kpler shows. While OPEC members and Russia have been coordinating output cuts, Iran is not subject to quotas despite being part of the bloc, due to its sanctions-fueled economic struggles. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's administration has been building ties with Beijing amid the tensions with the U.S. and Europe. Raisi and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in China last February and agreed to call for U.S. sanctions to be lifted. China's 40-plus small and midsize independent refiners often buy oil from Iran with yuan, according to Reuters and other sources. Iranian crude traded at an average discount of $13 to Brent last year.
OPEC oil output falls in January on new cuts, Libya --OPEC oil output in January registered the biggest monthly drop since July, a Reuters survey found, as several members implemented new voluntary production cuts agreed with the wider OPEC+ alliance and unrest curbed Libyan output.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 26.33 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, down 410,000 bpd from December, the survey found. December's total strips out Angola, which has left OPEC.The latest decline marks a further drop in market share for OPEC, which began curbing output in late 2022, in order to support the market and counter increased output from non-OPEC countries such as Brazil and the United States.In January, the biggest decline came from Libya, one of the OPEC members not required to restrain output, after unrest prompted the shutdown of the Sharara oilfield, one of the country's largest.
Rising US oil production frustrates OPEC⁺ cuts (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas drilling has slowed in response to the fall in prices over the last 18 months, but that has not yet translated into slower production, keeping prices under pressure. Exploration and production firms have continued to increase output despite drilling fewer wells, by concentrating on the best sites, accelerating drilling times and boring longer horizontal sections for each well. In the oil market, efficiency gains have frustrated efforts by Saudi Arabia and its allies in OPEC⁺ to drain global oil inventories and boost prices. In gas, where there is no equivalent of OPEC⁺, continued production growth has kept prices close to three-decade lows in real terms. The critical question is how much longer efficiency gains can keep driving significant output growth without an increase in prices and drilling. Front-month U.S. crude futures averaged $77 per barrel (49th percentile for all months since the start of the century) in November 2023, down from a high of $121 (82nd percentile) in June 2022, after adjusting for inflation. The slide in oil futures resulted in a slowdown in drilling activity with the expected delay of around five months, reflecting the time taken to finish drilling wells currently underway and for short-term contracts to expire. The number of active rigs drilling for oil averaged 498 in November 2023 down from a high of 623 in December 2022, according to weekly counts published by oilfield services company Baker Hughes. But production continued to increase and set a new monthly record of 13.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in November 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Chartbook: U.S. oil and gas production. Production from the Lower 48 states excluding federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico hit 11.0 million b/d for the first time (“Petroleum supply monthly”, EIA, January 31, 2024). Lower 48 output had increased by 873,000 b/d (9%) compared with the same month a year earlier and there was no sign of growth decelerating significantly. Total production from the Lower 48 and other areas was up by 28 million barrels in November 2023 compared with the same month in 2022. For the first 11 months of 2023, total production increased by 337 million barrels compared with the same period in 2022. Persistent growth in U.S. production is one reason prices have remained around $70-80 despite multiple rounds of output cuts by Saudi Arabia and its allies. Front-month U.S. futures prices had fallen to an average of $3.06 per million British thermal units (12th percentile since 2000) in November 2023 down from $9.24 (79th percentile) in August 2022, after adjusting for inflation. The number of active rigs declined to an average of 117 in November 2023 from a high of 162 in September 2022, according to Baker Hughes. In contrast to oil, production growth has slowed, though not as much as might be expected given the sharp deceleration in drilling. Dry gas production climbed to a seasonal record of 3,178 billion cubic feet (bcf) in November 2023, according to the Energy Information Administration (“Natural gas monthly”, EIA, January 31, 2024). Production was 111 bcf (4%) higher than in the same month a year earlier but growth had slowed progressively from 168 bcf (6%) in February 2023. With no equivalent of OPEC⁺ to act as swing producer and support prices, gas prices have fallen more heavily than oil, with price signals playing a much bigger role in rebalancing the market. But like oil, persistent production growth has kept gas prices under pressure; they slid further to $2.54 (5th percentile) in December and $2.81 (9th percentile) in January 2024. Ironically, OPEC output cuts have intensified the downward pressure on gas prices. By keeping oil prices artificially elevated it has kept U.S. oil output higher than it would otherwise have been and in turn boosted production of associated gas from oil wells.
In Shocking Reversal, Saudi State Unexpectedly Orders Aramco To Drop Oil Capacity Expansion Plans Oil traders were stunned this morning, when - in a huge reversal to its prior plans - the Saudi state ordered Aramco to stop work on expanding its maximum sustainable capacity to 13 million barrels daily, instead keeping it at 12 million bpd, ensuring that peak capacity will remain lower than projected rising demand for years to come, effectively pressuring oil prices much higher over the long run (unless of course the world figures out cold fusion in the next few years). The company said in a statement today that its maximum sustainable capacity is determined by the state under a law from 2017. Aramco added that it would update its capital spending plans for the year in accordance with the new government directive in March when it announces its 2023 financial results.Saudi Arabia currently has capacity for 12 million and is producing about 9 million a day, after it curbed output as part of OPEC+ efforts to revive the global oil market and prevent a surplus. Back in 2021, Saudi Arabia’s state oil company said it was working to boost its production capacity to 13 million barrels daily, a capacity expansion it predicted would come fully online by 2027 and in chunks, chief executive Amin Nasser said at the time.The surprise move comes after the world’s biggest oil exporter had said in November that it was progressing “very well” with the multibillion-dollar project to boost capacity to 13 million barrels a day by 2027 as demand in China and India continues to grow. The Saudi giant, the world’s biggest oil firm and the largest oil exporter globally, was working as fast as it could to reach that production capacity expansion, the executive said, noting that upstream investment has a long lead time.According to Bloomberg, the change in the investment plan ordered by the Saudi government comes at a time when Aramco has significantly increased dividend payments to the state, its primary owner. The kingdom is running a fiscal deficit as it spends tens of billions of dollars on efforts to diversify the economy into areas such as sports and tourism.The decision will take out a significant portion of the supply buffer that traders were expecting for later this decade, a gap that may be hard to fill by others. Maintaining additional spare capacity is expensive, especially when the country is already producing well below its maximum rate and demand growth is likely to slow with the energy transition. Ironically, Aramco’s CEO has often warned the market that the industry is underinvesting in new oil supply, which, regardless of many scenarios, will continue to be needed for decades. Well, as of today the biggest underinvestor is none other than Aramco, whose move is seen as either a draconian attempt to contain supply capacity in the face of growing Indian and Chinese demand, or - according to the bears - a signal that said demand will simply not materialize.
Drone Attack by Iran-Backed Militants on U.S. Troops in Northeastern Jordan - The oil market gapped higher on the opening on Sunday evening from $78.26 to $78.90 after three U.S. service members were killed and about 40 were wounded in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants on U.S. troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border. The crude market quickly rallied to a high of $79.29 before it backfilled its gap in overnight trading. The market continued to trend lower despite the attack and any potential U.S. response that is likely to cause fears of wider conflict in the Middle East. The oil market erased some of last week’s sharp gains as it extended its losses to $1.60 and posted a low of $76.41 ahead of the close. The March WTI contract settled down $1.23 at $76.78 and the March Brent contract settled down $1.15 at $82.40. The product markets ended the session in negative territory, with the heating oil market settling down 95 points at $2.8339 and the RB market settling down 6.56 cents at $2.2285. The U.S. Energy Department said the Biden administration has awarded Strategic Petroleum Reserve contracts for 3.1 million barrels of oil worth more than $242 million to Exxon, Macquarie, Phillips 66 and Sunoco.On Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. officials said three U.S. service members were killed and at least 34 wounded in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants on U.S. troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border. It is the first deadly strike against U.S. forces since the Israel-Hamas war started in October, and marks a major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East. President Biden asked for a moment of silence for the three killed service members during a campaign event in South Carolina, adding: "We shall respond." He said "Have no doubt - we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing." U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin echoed that threat. He vowed that the U.S. would take “all necessary actions” to defend its troops. He and other senior officials briefed Biden earlier in the day on the attack. U.S. troops have been attacked over 150 times in Iraq, Syria and Jordan as well as on warships in the Red Sea, where Houthi fighters in Yemen have been firing drones and missiles at them. On Monday, Iran's mission to the United Nations said in a statement that Tehran was not involved in the attack. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization of hardline Iran-backed militant groups, claimed attacks on three bases, including one on the Jordan-Syria border. While the United States has thus far maintained an official line that Washington is not at war in the region, it has been retaliating against the Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria and carrying out strikes against Yemen’s Houthi military capabilities.U.S. National security spokesman, John Kirby, said the United States does not want a wider war with Iran or the region, adding that the administration believes a single drone was responsible for targeting U.S. service members in Jordan over the weekend. He said President Biden was looking at how to respond to the Jordan attack. On Monday, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they had fired a rocket at U.S. warship Lewis B. Puller in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday.The North Dakota Pipeline Authority said less than 5% of North Dakota’s oil output remained shut in due to extreme cold weather and operational challenges. It said oil output in North Dakota was estimated to be down 10,000 bpd to 40,000 bpd.
Oil Erases Gains as Middle East Turmoil Escalates Erasing overnight gains, West Texas Intermediate futures and Brent crude stalled near two-month highs Monday morning after a weekend attack on a U.S. military base in northeast Jordan killed three U.S. service men and left dozens injured in a clear escalation of ongoing tensions across the Middle East. Additionally, Houthi militias struck an oil tanker carrying Russian fuel through the Gulf of Aden this weekend, forcing markets to reprice the risk of safe passage for Russian barrels through the Red Sea. Both WTI and Brent jumped 1.5% in Asian trading following Sunday's attack on U.S. military outpost Tower 22, located on the border between Jordan and Syria. The deadly attack marked the first time U.S. troops have been killed in the Middle East since the beginning of the war in Gaza. Pentagon officials have since said the drone was fired by one of the Iran-backed militias in Syria, but it is still being determined which militia group specifically is responsible. President Biden on Sunday vowed to hold those responsible for the attack accountable, saying that while facts are still being gathered, "We know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq." For his part, Iran's Foreign Minister Nasser Kanaani denied Tehran's involvement in Sunday's attack, saying, "The regional resistance groups do not take orders from Iran," according to state news agency IRNA. Iran has either backed or sponsored over a dozen militia groups operating throughout the Middle East, including in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. . Oil futures have since erased overnight gains as investors assessed the degree of Iran's involvement in the attack on the U.S. outpost and a potential response from the Biden Administration. For the oil markets, a direct attack on a Russian oil tanker passing through the Gulf of Aden this weekend could have a more meaningful impact as it casts a shadow on safe passage for some 1.7 million barrels of Russian crude oil flowing through the Red Sea each day. So far, Russian oil flows have been unaffected by the ongoing conflict but that can change any moment as violence escalates. Near 7:45 a.m. EST, front-month Brent for March delivery on ICE traded at $83.51 barrel (bbl) after spiking to $84.80 bbl overnight. West Texas Intermediate futures for March delivery were little changed near $77.97 bbl. NYMEX February ULSD futures slipped $0.0062 to $2.8372 gallon and February RBOB futures declined $0.0150 to $2.2791 gallon. Limiting upside for the oil complex, the U.S. dollar strengthened 0.11% against the basket of foreign currencies to trade near 103.345 as investors digested the latest round of inflation data in the United States. The Personal Income and Outlays report -- a preferred inflation measure by the Federal Reserve, rose 2.6% in the 12 months ending in December, matching the annual increase in November. But the core PCE index dropped by a much steeper margin to 2.9% from November's 3.2% annual gain. This marked the lowest reading since before the pandemic. Interestingly, the retreat in inflation happened even as the personal consumption index surged 0.7% -- a much larger gain than expected by markets. Meanwhile, U.S. gross domestic product increased by a solid 3.3% during the final three months of 2023, well above the average growth rate of 2.3% from 2015-2019. Stronger-than-expected macroeconomic data again prompted repricing rate cuts this year, with investors almost equally split over the odds for the first rate cut in March. The Federal Open Market Committee will hold its first policy meeting of 2024 on Jan. 31.
Why oil prices are falling despite 'grave escalation' of Middle East crisis -- A drone strike Sunday killed three U.S. troops in Jordan over the weekend, raising the potential for further violence in the oil-rich Middle East, but the news failed to spark a lasting rise for crude prices on Monday. The deaths of three Americans represents a "grave escalation," in the Middle East conflict. "While the Pentagon may label any response as 'proportionate,' it's evident that participating U.S. forces will aim to neutralize threats decisively." Meanwhile, attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group have prompted ongoing U.S. airstrikes in Yemen, he said. "Iran's actions risk inviting a more robust U.S. air campaign against its regional assets, highlighting the precariousness of the situation and the potential for further escalation." Biden has said the U.S. "shall respond" to the attack, and "hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing." Biden met Monday with his national security team to discuss the latest developments regarding the attack. Biden and oil But Anas Alhajji, an independent energy expert and managing partner at Energy Outlook Advisors, told MarketWatch that the Biden administration is "most likely to retaliate without affecting the oil markets." In a post on X Sunday, he said the Biden administration "cannot retaliate for the attack on the U.S. base on the Jordanian-Syrian border in a way that increases oil prices. Anything above $85 Brent is a danger zone in an election year." Everyone knows that the Biden administration does not want oil prices to increase above current levels, he told MarketWatch. In Monday dealings, global benchmark Brent crude for March delivery (BRN00) (BRNH24) traded at $82.66 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, down 89 cents, or 1.1%, after settling Friday at the highest since early November. U.S. benchmark March West Texas Intermediate crude (CL.1) (CLH24) fell 75 cents, or 1%, to $77.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. U.S. negotiators, meanwhile, have made progress toward an agreement under which Israel would pause military operations against Hamas in Gaza for two months in return for the release of m ore than 100 hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. That's contributed to lower prices for oil, Chinese oil demand, "or the lack thereof is still key concern" as well. That helps to explain "why the upside is limited" for oil. China's crude imports had fallen to a four-month low of 10.37 million barrels per day in November before rising rose 10% month on month in December to 11.44 million barrels per day, S&P Global Commodity Insights reported, citing data from China's General Administration of Customs. China is the world's largest importer of crude oil. Earlier this month, data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed that gross domestic product expanded 5.2% in 2023, finishing the year at one of the lowest levels in decades. On Monday, in another sign of China's economic woes, a Hong Kong court ordered property-development giant Evergrande Group to liquidate after railing to reach a restructuring deal with creditors. China showed a massive increase in oil demand from 2022 to 2023, said Alex Hodes, energy analyst at StoneX, but that was due to the removal of COVID-19 restrictions and "not 'natural' growth." China has been an "opportunistic buyer in the oil market - filling up inventories when prices were distressed and this has provided a lower limit on where prices can go, along with OPEC cutting production," he said. For now, U.S. benchmark WTI oil prices are running into technical resistance at the 100-day moving average, which is "likely one of the biggest drivers of the price move lower," Hodes told MarketWatch. The 100-day moving average for the March WTI contract was at $77.82 Monday, FactSet data show. Looking at the bigger picture, Hodes said his outlook for oil this year is a "tale of two halves." The first half of the year is likely to see oil markets tighten in "response to the OPEC+ production cuts in place and geopolitical premium in the market," he said. In the latter half of the year, it is likely that markets "loosen and prices retrace," Hodes said, "setting the stage for an overall sideways market on the year." Any potential supply disruptions could be "alleviated by OPEC's large amount of production capacity on the sideline...which could be brought on in a moments notice," he said, estimating that amount at around 6 million barrels per day. "This should help dampen volatility in supply disruptions."
The Real Estate Crisis in China Fueled Concerns Over its Oil Demand - On Tuesday, the oil market traded within its recent trading range after the market sold off early in the session and later retraced its earlier losses. The crude market continued to trade lower and extended its previous losses on demand concerns after a Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of China’s property developer Evergrande. The real estate crisis in China fueled concerns over its oil demand. The market sold off to a low of $75.85 early in the session. However, the market bounced off its low and retraced all of its losses. The crude market traded back over the $78.00 level amid concerns surrounding the conflict escalation in the Middle East after a drone attack launched by Iran-backed militia killed U.S. service members in Jordan over the weekend. U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he made a decision on how to respond to the drone attack, although he did not elaborate on his decision. Also, earlier in the morning, Saudi Aramco said it received a directive from the government to maintain its maximum sustainable capacity at 12 million bpd and not continue increasing its capacity to 13 million bpd, which would leave the country with a lower production buffer in the future in the event of supply shocks. The oil market posted a high of $78.14 in afternoon trading. The March WTI contract settled up $1.04 at $77.82 and the March Brent contract settled up 47 cents at $82.87. The product markets ended the session mixed, with the heating oil market settling down 2.71 cents at $2.8068 and the RB market settling up 3.22 cents at $2.2607.A Department of Energy document showed that the U.S. is seeking to buy about 3 million barrels of U.S. produced sour crude for the SPR for delivery in June.U.S. President Joe Biden said he has made up his mind on how to respond to a drone attack that killed U.S. service members in Jordan. He did not elaborate on his decision, which came after consultations with top advisers at the White House. He said the U.S. does not needs a wider war in the Middle East, echoing comments from other officials that the U.S. does not want a war with Iran. Meanwhile, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. could have a tiered response to the drone attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan that could involve multiple actions rather than a single action. J.P. Morgan said the spreading conflict in the Middle East remains the most visible and growing risk for energy markets.The Kremlin, when asked about potential U.S. strikes on Iranian interests, said tensions in the Middle East were high and that steps were needed to de-escalate rather than destabilize the wider region.The U.S. State Department said the U.S. will not renew an expiring general license for Venezuela’s oil and gas sector unless there is political progress between President Nicolas Maduro's government and the opposition.Saudi Aramco said it would cut its planned maximum sustainable oil production capacity to 12 million bpd, down from 13 million bpd. A source said the move in no way reflects a change of view on future oil demand scenarios nor stems from any technical issue, but was simply a directive from the government.
Oil Reverse Losses as Markets Await US Response in Mideast -- Following choppy trading for most of the session, West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude futures eked out solid gains during the afternoon session Tuesday as market participants await a U.S. response to a deadly drone attack on a military outpost in Jordan as the Biden administration weighs options on how to retaliate against Iran-backed militias without triggering a wider conflict in the Middle East. John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications for the National Security Council, told reporters aboard Air Force One Tuesday that the United States is considering a "tiered approach, not a single action, but essentially multiple actions" in response to Sunday's attack on a U.S. military base that left three service members dead and dozens injured. There have been more than 159 attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East since the outbreak of the Gaza War on Oct. 7. President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he "has made up his mind about the response," but did not provide any details on whether the United States would hit targets in Iran or its proxies across the region. Iran has either backed or sponsored over a dozen militia groups operating throughout the Middle East, including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. Preliminary evidence suggests the drone strike that killed three U.S. servicemembers on Sunday was launched from Iraq by the "Islamic Resistance of Iraq," an umbrella group backed by Iran. Domestically, oil traders await the release of weekly U.S. inventory reports beginning with a private survey from the American Petroleum Institute scheduled for 4:30 PM ET, followed by the official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Wednesday morning. Consensus of analysts surveyed by the Wall Street Journal reveal commercial crude stockpiles likely fell by 800,000 bbl during the week-ended Jan. 26. This would follow an outsized 9.2 million bbl drawdown reported in the prior week that pressed nationwide inventories to 5% below the five-year average. In refined fuels, gasoline inventories are seen to have increased 1.4 million bbl, while distillate supplies are expected to have fallen 800,000 bbl in the reviewed week. Refinery runs are seen to have risen 1.7% for the week ended Jan. 26 to 87.2% of capacity, according to the survey. The muted start to Tuesday's trading session came as market participants digested the latest economic data out of the Eurozone, showing the 19-country bloc narrowly missed a recession last year. The Eurozone's gross domestic product was essentially flat at 0% during the final three months of 2023, following a 0.1% contraction reported in the second quarter, showed data released overnight from Eurostat. A rebound in the peripheral economies of Belgium, Spain, and Portugal, helped to mitigate a depressed growth across Europe's largest economies -- Germany and France. Germany in particular has become "Europe's sick man," having reported a contraction for the second consecutive quarter. A combination of high energy prices, slowing global trade, and record-breaking interest rates have been a drag on an export-oriented manufacturing-based German economy last year and the outlook doesn't look so bright in 2024. China, Germany's largest trading partner, is struggling to recover and return to its pre-pandemic growth rate and Russia, a former energy supplier for the German industries, has all but severed its trade ties with Berlin. The International Monetary Fund forecasts Germany will be the only G7 economy that shrank in 2023, contracting 0.9%, while growth is expected to remain well below the average of 1.4% for advanced economies in 2024. At settlement, the international crude benchmark Brent for March delivery gained $0.47 to $82.87 bbl, with the next-month April contract narrowing its discount to $0.37 bbl. WTI March futures increased $1.04 to $77.82 bbl. NYMEX February RBOB futures advanced $0.0322 to $2.2607 gallon, with the front-month ULSD contract an outlier, declining $0.0271 to $2.8068 gallon.
Data Showing That Manufacturing Activity in China Contracted for the Fourth Consecutive Month in January --The oil market remained pressured on Wednesday amid some weak economic data from China and an unexpected build in crude stocks. The market posted a high of $78.11 in overnight trading before it erased some of Tuesday’s gains. The market traded lower on data showing that manufacturing activity in China contracted for the fourth consecutive month in January. It was the latest sign of the country’s economy struggling to regain momentum after a court ordered the liquidation of property developer Evergrande. The market remained pressured throughout the session as the EIA reported an unexpected build in crude stocks of 1.2 million barrels on the week. It retraced little more than 38% of its move from $69.56 to a high of $79.29 as it sold off to a low of $75.52 in afternoon trading. The March WTI contract settled down $1.97 at $75.85 and the March Brent contract settled down $1.16 at $81.71. The product markets were mixed, with the heating oil market settling up 14 points at $2.8082 and the RB market settling down 7.74 cents at $2.1833. The EIA said U.S. weekly gasoline stocks increased by 1.2 million barrels in the week ending January 26th to 254.1 million barrels, the most since February 2021. U.S. Midwest gasoline stocks increased by 900,000 barrels to 60.7 million barrels, the highest level since February 2022. The EIA also reported that U.S. weekly field production increased by 700,000 bpd on the week to 13 million bpd as wells returned to service after freezing during extreme cold in mid-January.The U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces struck and destroyed Yemen’s Houthi surface-to-air missile which was prepared to launch. It stated that “U.S. forces identified the missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that it presented an imminent threat to U.S. aircraft.”Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, said that current oil prices adequately reflect current market situation, while global oil demand is widely seen increasing by about 2 million bpd. The EIA reported that U.S. crude oil production in November increased 0.6% to a new monthly record of 13.31 million bpd. The EIA reported that U.S. crude oil exports fell to 3.967 million bpd in November from 4.112 million bpd in October, while total refined oil product exports increased to 2.882 million bpd in November from 2.811 million bpd in October. U.S. total oil demand in November increased by 2.5% or 496,000 bpd on the year to 20.71 million bpd. Distillates demand in November fell by 1.2% or 48,000 bpd to 4.011 million bpd and gasoline demand increased by 0.2% or 18,000 bpd to 8.845 million bpd.IIR Energy reported that U.S. oil refiners are expected to shut in about 1.8 million bpd of capacity in the week ending February 2nd, cutting available refining capacity by 225,000 bpd.The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but took a major step towards lowering them in coming months in a policy statement that tempered inflation concerns with other risks to the economy and dropped a longstanding reference to possible further hikes in borrowing costs.
Oil, Stocks Fall After Powell Dismisses Rate Cut in March - Oil futures nearest delivery deepened losses during the afternoon session Wednesday as a bearish inventory report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) was joined by a stronger U.S. dollar. It followed hawkish remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell who pushed back against cutting interest rates in March. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) left the federal funds rate unchanged at a 5% by 5.25% target range, delivering no surprise to the markets. FOMC "does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range for the fed funds rate until it has gained full confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward a 2% target," according to the FOMC policy statement released this afternoon following the committee's two-day policy meeting. However, Powell's comments during the news conference after the rate announcement signaled the Fed's reluctance to cut interest rates soon. "We are looking for greater confidence that inflation is moving towards 2%. We need to see more good data. We had six months of good inflation data. The question is: Does it send us a true signal that we are in fact on a sustainable path towards 2%?" said Powell. The economy finds itself at the crossroads of strong growth, a solid labor market and falling inflation -- a rare mixture of ingredients that have caused many economists to scratch their heads. U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 3.3% clip during the fourth quarter of 2023, driven mainly by strong consumer demand. The labor market, although showing some signs of rebalancing to pre-pandemic norms, added an average of 190,000 new jobs during the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, inflation has come down significantly to an average of 2.6% on an annualized basis, according to the latest Personal Consumption and Expenditure Index. While Powell acknowledged progress with inflation, he cautioned against easing monetary policy too soon, seemingly dismissing the likelihood of a March rate cut. Following Powell's remarks, the U.S. dollar index rallied against a basket of foreign currencies, although still ending weaker at 103.089. Front-month West Texas Intermediate settled near a session low at $75.85 per barrel (bbl), down $1.97. The international crude benchmark Brent contract for March delivery expired $1.16 lower at $81.71 bbl, with the next-month April contract expanding its discount against the expired contract to $1.16 bbl. NYMEX February RBOB futures dropped back $0.0774 gallon to expire at $2.1833 gallon, with the next-month contract finishing the session at $2.2312 gallon. Moving in the opposite direction, NYMEX February ULSD contract firmed $0.0014 to settle at $2.8082 gallon, with the March contract edging $0.0086 higher at $2.7852 gallon. Wednesday's inventory report released midmorning by the EIA was mostly bearish for the oil complex, showing commercial crude oil inventories unexpectedly increased last week as crude production rebounded and refinery run rates continued lower following disruptions from an Arctic blast earlier this month. Refinery runs turned sharply lower during the week ended Jan. 26, falling 2.6% to the lowest run rate since December 2022 at 82.9% of capacity. Domestic refineries processed 428,000 barrels per day (bpd) less crude less week with crude inputs at 14.848 million bpd. Gulf Coast refineries decreased crude throughputs for the second straight week, averaging 7.758 million bpd last week which likely reflects an earlier start to the spring maintenance season. Domestic oil production, meanwhile, rebounded much quicker than initially expected, with operators recovering 700,000 bpd of shut-in crude from the prior week to lift output to 13 million bpd. Despite the turn lower in refinery runs amid maintenance, gasoline stocks continued to build amid weakness in domestic demand. Gasoline supplied to the U.S. market, a measure of demand, recovered 264,000 bpd from the prior week to 8.144 million bpd. Gasoline stockpiles increased 1.2 million bbl to 254.1 million bbl compared to expectations for a 1.4 million bbl build. Distillate inventories decreased 2.5 million bbl during the week ended Jan. 26 to 130.8 million bbl -- roughly 4% below the five-year average. Implied demand for middle distillates stalled near a depressed level of 3.757 million bpd.
Oil prices drop 2% on unsubstantiated ceasefire reports, refinery shutdown (Reuters) - Oil prices fell over 2% on Thursday after unsubstantiated reports of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and after a power outage forced a large U.S. refinery to shut. A Qatari official told Reuters there was no ceasefire yet, but repeated that Hamas had received a ceasefire proposal made earlier this week positively. Brent crude futures dropped $1.85, or 2.5%, to settle at $78.70 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $2.03, or 2.7%, to $73.82. Tensions in the Middle East have recently boosted oil prices. Attacks by Yemen-based Houthi forces on vessels in the Red Sea have persisted, driving up costs and disrupting global oil trading. The Houthi group also said it would keep up attacks on U.S. and British warships in what it called acts of self-defense. Meanwhile, BP Thursday said it was in the process of shutting down its 435,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery after a power outage. The City of Whiting said the power outage prompted visible flaring as products were burned off. Earlier, two OPEC+ sources said the group would decide in March whether or not to extend voluntary oil production cuts in place for the first quarter, after a ministerial panel meeting made no changes to the group's output policy. OPEC+ currently has 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of voluntary oil production cuts, announced in November. Oil prices had climbed in earlier trading after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said interest rates had peaked and would move lower in coming months, with inflation continuing to fall and an expectation of sustained economic growth. Lower interest rates and economic growth help oil demand. Powell declined to promise that rate cuts would come as early as the Fed's March 19-20 meeting, as investors had hoped. The U.S. also released on Thursday data showing worker productivity grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter, keeping unit labor costs contained and giving the Fed another boost in the fight against inflation. U.S. manufacturing stabilized in January amid a rebound in new orders, but inflation at the factory gate picked up.
Oil price news: oil drop deepens as Gaza talks push crude below key price levels - Oil slumped as talks to pause the Israel-Hamas war reduced crude’s geopolitical risk premium, with the decline accelerating after the commodity slipped below key technical levels. West Texas Intermediate fell 2.1 per cent to settle around US$72 a barrel. Futures are down 7.3 per cent since last Friday — the biggest weekly tumble since early October. Early negotiations to halt bombardments and release hostages are bolstering prospects for a resolution to the four-month conflict, which has threatened Middle East energy flows. Headlines on the talks and oil’s drop below its 200-day and 50-day moving averages triggered trend-following algorithms, exacerbating the decline. Meanwhile, there have been several indications that world markets remain adequately supplied. On Friday, WTI’s prompt spread — the difference between its two nearest contracts — flipped as much as 5 cents into contango, a bearish structure that shows weakening demand for near-term barrels. Embedded Image The spillover from the war in Israel and Gaza, most notably disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea, has been among the key drivers pushing crude futures higher this year. Still, Yemen-based Houthi militants continue to target merchant shipping in the Red Sea region, and the U.S. has been hinting at its response to a drone assault that killed American troops in Jordan. Meanwhile, fuel markets, which have been most impacted by the disruption in the Middle East, saw a dramatic dropoff in prices after news of a potential ceasefire. Gasoil futures fell more than 4 per cent on Friday, while diesel fell to $2.66 a gallon, the lowest since mid-January. Prices: WTI for March delivery slipped 2.1 per cent to settle at $72.28 a barrel in New York. Brent for April settlement slid 1.7 per cent to $77.33 a barrel.
WTI, Brent Slide 2% on USD, Hope for a Ceasefire in Gaza -- New York Mercantile Exchange oil futures and Brent crude traded on the Intercontinental Exchange lost 2% in value during Friday's session, with all petroleum contracts registering weekly losses amid a one-two punch of a stronger U.S. dollar following a blowout employment report for January showing much stronger-than-expected job growth, and hope for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, with both sides reportedly closing in on a tentative deal to exchange hostages. Oil traders continued to unwind a geopolitical risk premium tied to the conflict in the Middle East after Qatari officials, who mediated talks between Hamas and Israel, said both sides have given initial approval for a ceasefire agreement. "We tried to blend things together to come up with some sort of reasonable ground that brings everybody together," said Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at Washington's Atlantic Council think tank on Monday. While no oil supplies have been disrupted since the outbreak of the war on Oct. 7, the risk of hostilities spilling over into the broader Middle East region kept oil traders on edge. The fear is highlighted by actions by Iranian-backed militias in the Middle East, notably the Houthis in Yemen, who have consistently attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea region since October, forcing some oil tankers to undertake costly rerouting around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, spiking freight rates. In financial markets, the U.S. dollar spiked 0.88% against a basket of foreign currencies to finish the volatile week at a 1-1/2 month high 103.781, as investors reacted to job growth of 353,000 by the U.S. economy in January, far exceeding expectations for a 170,000 gain. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7% for the third consecutive month. The January employment report typically sees large seasonal adjustments for prior months which are designed to smooth out monthly volatility, with a consensus calling for a sizable downward revision for both November and December. Therefore, it was quite a surprise for markets when the Bureau of Labor Statistics instead revised jobs gains higher for both November and December by a combined 126,000. BLS also reported average hourly earnings in January rose 19 cents or 0.6% to $34.55, lifting annualized wage growth to 4.5% at the start of 2024. January's employment report offered further testament to the strength of the U.S. economy, with the International Monetary Fund earlier this week revising higher its forecast for U.S. gross domestic product for 2024 by 0.6% from its October outlook to 2.1%. However, strong job growth and higher wages add to inflationary pressures, complicating the Federal Reserve's path to lowering interest rates. The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday left the federal funds rate unchanged in a 5% by 5.25% target range and signaled it would not be rushed into lowering rates unless either inflation starts cooling more rapidly or the labor market starts shedding jobs. In reaction to the data, investors all but priced out the likelihood for the FOMC to cut the federal funds rate in March, with odds for a May rate cut having also fallen sharply. "I think we could still see rate cuts certainly this year but how many and how quickly those start I think today's report is a reminder not to get ahead of ourselves on that," said Esther George, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas, adding that "I'd be resetting my own expectations around how soon rate cuts should come and say the economy has held up pretty well." At settlement, West Texas Intermediate futures for March delivery dropped back $1.54 to $72.28 bbl, while international crude benchmark Brent April futures declined $1.37 bbl to $77.33 bbl. NYMEX March RBOB futures fell $0.0473 to $2.1475 gallon, while the March ULSD contract eroded $0.0529 to $2.66 gallon.
Oil posts weekly losses as US data dents hopes for near-term rate cuts (Reuters) - Oil prices fell by about 2% on Friday and posted weekly losses after U.S. jobs data shrank the odds of imminent interest rate cuts in the world's largest economy, which could dampen crude demand. Faltering growth in China and the possibility of some easing of tensions in the Middle East also reduced prices. Brent crude futures settled at $77.33 a barrel, shedding $1.37, or 1.7%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $72.28 a barrel, falling $1.54, or 2%. Both benchmarks lost roughly 7% on the week. High interest rates, which tend to dampen economic growth and oil demand, in major economies like the United States and the euro zone appear to be here to stay in the near term. Data on Friday showed U.S. employers added far more jobs in January than expected, reducing the chances of near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts. The dollar jumped against all major currencies as a result. Also keeping oil prices lower was an outage at BP's 435,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana, following a power loss that disrupted operations on Thursday, said Bob Yawger of Mizuho. Power at the refinery had been restored by midday on Friday, but sources said BP had not yet set a date for restarting the plant. "You end up with barrels with no place to go that could be shoved into storage," Energy services firm Baker Hughes, opens new tab said the U.S. oil rig count, an early indicator of future supply, held steady at 499 this week. Money managers raised their combined futures and options oil position in New York and London by 18,082 contracts to 117,226 in the week to Jan. 30, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said. Across the Atlantic, a European Central Bank policymaker also suggested it was too early to cut interest rates in the euro zone. Concern over China's economic recovery persisted, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting that the country's economic growth would slow to 4.6% in 2024 and decline further in the medium term to about 3.5% in 2028. The weekly loss for oil prices was already in motion after unsubstantiated reports of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas caused prices to settle more than 2% lower on Thursday. Mediators are awaiting a response from Hamas to a proposal drafted last week with Israeli and U.S. spy chiefs and passed on by Egypt and Qatar for the war's first extended ceasefire.A pause could ease political risk looming over Gulf and Red Sea shipping lanes, which are key for global energy flows.On Thursday, sources said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, together known as OPEC+, had kept its output policy unchanged. The group will decide in March whether to extend the voluntary oil production cuts that are in place for the first quarter, the sources said.OPEC+ has output cuts of 2.2 million bpd in place for the first quarter, as announced in November.
Chevron stops oil exports via the Red Sea - US oil giant Chevron is sending cargoes of Kazakhstan’s Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) Blend oil to Asia via Africa’s Cape of Good Hope rather than through the Red Sea to avoid the risk of disruption by Yemen’s Houthis. The Iranian-linked Houthis have intensified attacks on US shipping despite airstrikes by the US and UK on the group in Yemen, prompting vessels to avoid the volatile Red Sea and Suez Canal, the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia. The CPC Blend crude is usually initially loaded at the Russian Black Sea terminal of Yuzhnaya Ozereevka near Novorossisk, before being shipped out of the Black Sea, into the Mediterranean and then towards Asia through the Suez Canal. The vessels will now head west through the Mediterranean and then around the west flank of Africa towards the south, a far longer voyage that will drive up shipping costs.In reality, most of the CPC Blend crude is from Kazakhstan, but some is from Russian companies, industry sources told Reuters. While Chevron cargoes are avoiding the route, the Russian-sourced CPC Blend will still travel via the Red Sea. Since the outbreak of the Red Sea skirmishes, CPC Blend supplies to Asia have more than halved from 1.2 million tonnes (t) in December to 550,000t in January.
Russia’s 14 oil tankers stuck in South Korean port due to US sanctions- : Several tankers loaded with 10 million barrels of Russia's Sokol grade crude oil are stranded oí the coast of South Korea, unsold due to US sanctions and payment issues, as reported by two traders and shipping data. More than a dozen vessels, including 11 Aframax vessels and three very large crude carriers (VLCCs), are currently stuck around South Korea's port of Yosu, representing a signiðcant challenge for Moscow and causing a disruption to Russian oil exports. The volumes, equivalent to 1.3 million metric tons, account for over a month's production of the Sakhalin-1 project, a former ñagship venture of US major Exxon Mobil. Exxon Mobil exited Russia in 2022 after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, impacting production levels at Sakhalin-1. Sakhalin-1, initially established under a production sharing agreement, saw a decline in output following Exxon Mobil's departure, and the project has not fully recovered since then. The challenges in selling Sokol grade oil are notable disruptions to Russian oil exports, posing a signiðcant issue for Moscow in the face of Western sanctions. Last year, the United States imposed sanctions on various vessels and companies involved in transporting Sokol. The stranded vessels near South Korea are facing diîculties in ðnding buyers due to the impact of these sanctions. Washington has underlined that its sanctions aim to reduce revenues for President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military in Ukraine without disrupting global energy markets. The stored oil volumes on the stranded tankers represent 45 days of production from Sakhalin-1, which typically produces around 220,000 barrels per day (bpd). Some very large crude carriers (VLCCs), including La Balena, Nireta, and Nellis, are acting as ñoating storage for the Russian Sokol oil grade. Payment problems have also led to delays in Sokol oil shipments to the Indian Oil Corp (IOC), forcing India's largest reðner to tap into inventories and purchase additional oil from the Middle East. The disagreement over the currency used for payment is causing further complications in the oil trade between Russia and India. Neither IOC nor Rosneft, the Russian oil major, responded to Reuters requests for comments on the situation.
Ukraine's strikes hurt Putin's attempts to reassure Russians -- The wail of air raid sirens is commonplace in Belgorod, a Russian border city whose residents are on edge following a Ukrainian missile attack on a New Year’s holiday weekend that left dozens of people dead and injured.A spectacular explosion rocked a huge fuel export terminal on the Baltic Sea southwest of St. Petersburg this month from a Ukrainian drone, forcing the energy company Novatek to suspend operations for several days.Last week, an apparent drone attack in the Black Sea port of Tuapse in the southern Krasnodar region hit one of Russia’s largest refineries and ignited a fire, while another big refinery in the Volga River city of Yaroslavl, north of Moscow came under attack early Monday, but officials said there was no damage.There also have been strikes on a gunpowder factory in the Tambov region and arms producers and military facilities in the Bryansk, Smolensk and Tula regions.Attacks like these are dealing a heavy blow to President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to reassure Russians that life in the country is largely untouched by the nearly 2-year-old war.“Ukraine has increased its capacity to strike back against Russia,” Michael Kofman, a military expert with the Carnegie Endowment, said in a recent podcast.“You see increased Ukrainian attacks against Russian critical infrastructure, retaliatory attacks against cities like Belgorod and greater strikes against Russian military base in Crimea,” he said.
3 U.S. Service Members Killed, Others Injured in Jordan Following Drone Attack > Three U.S. soldiers were killed yesterday in Jordan, while more than 40 other service members were injured following an uncrewed aerial system attack at a military base near the Syrian border. Those service members were in Jordan to support Operation Inherent Resolve, which is the U.S. and coalition mission to ensure the defeat of ISIS. The three soldiers killed are Sgt. William Jerome Rivers of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett of Savannah, Georgia. All three were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, Fort Moore, Georgia. The attack occurred in the early morning at the logistics support base located at Tower 22 of the Jordanian Defense Network. Approximately 350 U.S. Army and Air Force personnel are deployed to the base. The three soldiers were killed when a one-way uncrewed aerial system impacted their container housing units. "I am outraged and deeply saddened by the deaths of three of our U.S. service members and the wounding of other American troops in an attack last night against U.S. and coalition forces, who were deployed to a site in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border to work for the lasting defeat of ISIS," Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement released yesterday following the attack. "These brave Americans and their families are in my prayers, and the entire Department of Defense mourns their loss." During a briefing at the Pentagon today, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that in addition to the three deaths, more than 40 service members were also injured in the attack. Of those, eight had to be evacuated.
U.S. beefing up air defenses at base in Jordan where 3 soldiers were killed in drone attack - The U.S. is sending additional air defenses to the base in northeast Jordan where three American soldiers were killedin a drone attack on Sunday, according to a U.S. official. The outpost that was hit had not been the target of previous attacks and thus its air defenses were not as strong as U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria that have been under constant threat of attack since October, the official said. The air defense system heading to the outpost is designed to intercept drones. About 350 U.S. Army and Air Force personnel are stationed at the outpost, known as Tower 22, according to the Defense Department. The Pentagon said Monday that the number of wounded had risen to more than 40 after a drone strike hit their sleeping quarters in the pre-dawn hours on Sunday. "People were actually in their beds when the drone impacted," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday. Singh said the attack was inconsistent with prior strikes because it hit living quarters and was early in the morning. The Defense Department is investigating how the drone evaded air defenses, she said. "We are trying to figure out how a one-way attack drone was able to evade air defenses and was able to kill three of our service members and injure dozens more," she said. Tower 22 did not have the same air defenses as the special forces base located about 15 miles north in al-Tanf, Syria, which has been under frequent attack. The deadly attack on Tower 22 was the first time a drone had landed on the Jordanian side of the border. Since Oct. 17, there have been at least 165 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria and now Jordan by Iranian-backed groups.
Report: Drone that killed US troops in Jordan mistaken for US drone (AP) — U.S. forces may have mistaken an enemy drone for an American one and let it pass unchallenged into a desert base in Jordan where it killed three U.S. troops and wounded dozens more, officials said Monday.Details of the Sunday attack emerged as President Joe Biden faced a difficult balancing act, blaming Iran and looking to strike back in a forceful way without causing any further escalation of the Gaza conflict.As the enemy drone was flying in at a low altitude, a U.S. drone was returning to the small installation known as Tower 22, according to a preliminary report cited by two officials, who were not authorized to comment and insisted on anonymity,As a result, there was no effort to shoot down the enemy drone that hit the outpost. One of the trailers where troops sleep sustained the brunt of the strike, while surrounding trailers got limited damage from the blast and flying debris. While there are no large air defense systems at Tower 22, the base does have counter-drone systems, such as Coyote drone interceptors. Aside from the soldiers killed, the Pentagon said more than 40 troops were wounded in the attack, most with cuts, bruises, brain injuries and similar wounds. Eight were medically evacuated, including three who were going to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The other five, who suffered “minor traumatic brain injuries,” were expected to return to duty.
US Hawks Demand War With Iran After Attack on American Troops in Jordan - Warhawks in the United States wasted no time agitating for direct military conflict with Iran after a drone attack on a military base just inside Jordan's border with Syria on Sunday killed three American troops and injured dozens more.Both Republican and Democratic members of Congress called on U.S. President Joe Biden to quickly respond with strikes inside Iran, whichdenied any connection to Sunday's attack."The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran's terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East," said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a longtime supporter of war with Iran. "Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief."Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) called Iran "an existential threat to the U.S. and our allies in the region" and said Tehran "must be held accountable for the murder of three U.S. soldiers."That sentiment was echoed by a number of lawmakers, including Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).United Against Nuclear Iran, a group chaired by former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, also demanded "a decisive U.S. military response against targets inside Iran." "The U.S. should attack and destroy Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military and intelligence targets in Iran, as well as missile and drone bases where the Iranian regime’s proxies are trained," the group said."Those who have consistently counseled only violence to address the crisis unleashed on October 7 should be ashamed of the disastrous outcomes they have so far reaped."Biden claimed in a statement Sunday that "radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq" were responsible for Sunday's drone attack, but acknowledged that the U.S. is "still gathering the facts.""Have no doubt—we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner [of] our choosing," the president said.U.S. forces stationed in the Middle East have faced increasingly frequent attacks since Israel launched its large-scale war on the Gaza Strip following the deadly Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7. Sunday marked the first time since October that American troops have been killed in a Middle East attack.The Biden administration has blamed the attacks on Iran-aligned militias and responded with airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, intensifying concerns that the U.S. is fueling a regionwide conflict. The administration has also launched a series of unauthorized strikes in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.Despite the above, the Pentagon continues to insist that the U.S. is "not at war in the Middle East." Contrary to the growing calls for a military response to attacks on U.S. troops, analysts and progressive lawmakers have argued that the only way to halt the escalating violence in the region is to secure a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces armed by the U.S. have killed more than 26,000 people in less than four months. The Biden administration has repeatedly stonewalled international efforts to secure a cease-fire.
Iran Denies Role in Drone Attack That Killed Three US Troops - Iran has denied involvement in the drone attack in northeastern Jordan that killed three American troops and wounded at least 34.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the resistance factions in Iraq and Syria were targeting US forces due to the US-backed Israeli massacre in Gaza, not because Tehran is directing them.“As we have clearly stated before, the resistance groups in the region are responding [to] the war crimes and genocide of the child-killing Zionist regime and… they do not take orders from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said. “These groups decide and act based on their own principles and priorities as well as the interests of their country and people.”US bases in Iraq and Syria have come under attack about 160 times since mid-October due to President Biden’s support for Israel. An umbrella group of Shia militias known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has taken credit for many of the operations. It’s unclear which specific Iraqi militias are members of the group.The Islamic Resistance in Iraq took credit for attacks on US troops in Syria on the same day three Americans were killed in Jordan. The group said they targeted areas near the Syria-Jordan border but did not say they targeted a US base inside Jordan.US officials say the attack hit Tower 22, a US base just inside Jordan on the Syrian border that supports the US occupation of eastern Syria. A Jordanian spokesman initially denied the attack targeted Jordan’s territory and claimed it hit the Al Tanf garrison across the border in Syria. But Jordan later released a statement that condemned a “terrorist attack” that killed three Americans who were stationed inside Jordan in an “advanced position” very close to the borders with Syria.
Pentagon Admits It Has No Evidence Iran Was Behind Drone Attack That Killed 3 US Troops in Jordan -The Pentagon on Monday said Iran “bears responsibility” for the drone attack in northeastern Jordan that killed three US troops but admitted it has no evidence that Iran was directly involved. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the responsibility fell on Iran due to its support for Iraqi Shia militias the US believes carried out the attack.“In terms of attribution for the attack, we know this is an [Iran]-backed militia. It has the footprints of Kataib Hezbollah, but [we’re] not making a final assessment,” Singh said at a press conference. “Iran continues to arm and equip these groups to launch these attacks, and we will certainly hold them responsible.”When asked if the US knew Iran and Iranian leaders were “actually behind this attack, as in planned, coordinated, or directed it,” Singh admitted the US had nothing to show that.“We know that Iran certainly plays a role with these groups, they arm and equip and fund these groups. I don’t have more to share on — terms of an intelligence assessment on if leaders in Iran were directing this attack,” she said.Singh was again asked about the claim that Iran was behind the attack and said the US just knows that “Iran funds these groups” and had nothing more to add. Later in the press conference, she said Iran “bears responsibility” for the killing of three American soldiers.Also on Monday, The New York Times reported that US intelligence officials have no evidence Iran had advanced knowledge of the attack. “American intelligence officials say that while Iran provides weapons, funding and sometimes intelligence to its proxy groups, there is no evidence that it calls the shots — meaning it may not have known in advance about the attack in Jordan,” the report reads.Iran has strongly denied it was behind the attack and said the resistance factions were targeting the US forces in the region due to its support for the Israeli slaughter in Gaza. Since mid-October, US bases in Iraq and Syria have come under attack about 160 times, and the US has never produced evidence to show Iran was directing the operations.
Senators Call for US to Bomb Iran in Response to Drone Attack in Jordan - Some US senators are calling for direct strikes on Iran in response to thekilling of three American troops in a drone attack in Jordan near the Syrian border.President Biden blamed the attacks on “Iran-backed militants,” referring to Iraqi Shia militias. But the militias are known to act independently, and there’s no evidence Iran was involved. But Iran hawks in the Senate are jumping at the opportunity to start a war with Iran.“The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East. Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said in a statement.In a post on X, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called for the Biden administration to “strike targets of significance inside Iran.” He added: “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) also took to X to call for war with Iran. “Target Tehran,” he wrote.The New York Times reported last week that President Biden thought it was only a matter of time before an American soldier was killed in the region and that he might target Iran directly in response. Since mid-October, US forces have come under attack in Iraq and Syria over 150 times.
US seizes upon deaths of troops in Jordan to justify escalation against Iran -- The deaths of three US Army reserve soldiers in Jordan Sunday have been used to launch a campaign within the US political and media establishment for military escalation targeting Iran. The Biden administration claimed the attacks were carried out by Kataib Hezbollah, a militia group the US asserts is backed by Iran. Iran has denied any link to the attacks. More than 45,000 US troops are deployed in the Middle East, associated with decades of US wars throughout the region that have collectively killed over one million people. The attack on US troops deployed on the other side of the world is being used to justify long-planned military escalations. Blaming the attack on a “radical Iran-backed militant groups,” US President Joe Biden declared, “We will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing.” Over the past two months, US imperialism has provoked a regional war in the Middle East, having already launched multiple strikes on Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Now, the US military is threatening to directly attack Iran, which would engulf the entire region in a bloodbath. The Biden administration is playing with fire, creating the conditions for a catastrophe. It has systematically provided funding, logistical support and political cover for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, knowing full well that this would provoke retaliation against US forces deployed throughout the region, whose deaths would be used as a pretense for further military escalation. In response to all criticism of its provocative actions, the Biden administration has responded by declaring that it has no intention of waging war against the countries it is militarily encircling. Asked repeatedly at Monday’s press briefing whether the US government is “actively considering potential attacks inside Iran,” White House National Security spokesman John Kirby repeatedly replied, “We are not looking for a war with Iran.” Notably, on January 12, Kirby used the exact same language with regard to Yemen, declaring, “We’re not interested in a war with Yemen.” And yet, the United States has carried out dozens of missile strikes inside Yemen over the past three weeks, on over half a dozen separate days. It seems that the best predictor of what country the US military will illegally bomb next is the one the US government declares it has absolutely no intention to wage war against. The most ridiculous version of this argument was presented in a White House briefing on January 16. A reporter noted repeated US statements that “we’re not looking to expand this conflict,” and asked, “How do you square that” with US attacks on Yemen that had just been carried out. To this, Kirby made the following response: It’s a very simple equation: By removing military capability from the Houthis, we are making it harder for them to conduct these attacks. ... So, the very act of taking these strikes, knocking out their capability—in some cases before they could use it—that is, by definition, taking the tensions down. In this Orwellian language, any US attack on the military forces of any country is an act of “de-escalation.” And if the United States military were to attempt to destroy China’s and Russia’s military capacity by attacking all of their bases with nuclear weapons, that would be the most de-escalatory act of all. These absurd verbal gymnastics are an attempt to cover up the White House’s far-reaching plans for military escalation from the American population, which overwhelmingly opposes further US military intervention in the Middle East.
The Tower-22 Strike in Jordan Triggers US, Israel Into All-Front War – The Arabs and Iran Are Ready, the Russians Too - The Hamas offensive of October 7 caught the Israel Defence Forces asleep at their posts. This weekend’s drone strike against Tower-22, a US troop base in northeastern Jordan, caught the US Army troops asleep. The response, according to President Joseph Biden’s statement, is that “we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing….we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.” General Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, repeated: “Iran-backed militias are responsible for these continued attacks on U.S. forces, and we will respond at a time and place of our choosing.” The details of the Tower-22 attack, and Iran’s reinforcement at the Strait of Hormuz, reveal that the Arabs and the Iranians are ready and waiting. The Russians too. The drone attack on the US troop base known as Tower-22, in the northeastern corner of Jordan, caught the US forces, reportedly reservists, asleep. The base reportedly holds 350 Army and Air Force personnel. At least three have been confirmed killed; eight have been evacuated with life threatening injuries, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM); about three dozen have beencounted as wounded. The operational success of the strike for the attackers is strategic. Tower-22 is a logistics, supply, and rear guard post for the Al-Tanf base which US troops are operating thirty kilometres north across the border in Syria. The attack demonstrates that both Tower-22 and Al-Tanf, Jordan and Syria, are newly vulnerable to weapons which the US forces have failed to detect and neutralize. Just as significantly, the massive US airbase called Muwaffaq Salti, 230 kilometres west across Jordan, is also vulnerable now. For analysis of how these bases, and other anti-Palestinian targets in Jordan, are connected and targeted by the Axis of Resistance, read this from October. Biden’s statement said only “we are still gathering the facts of this attack”.Reporters of the New York Times were told by their official briefers that “the drone strike in Jordan on Sunday demonstrated that the Iran-backed militias — whether in Iran or Syria, or the Houthis in Yemen — remained capable of inflicting serious consequences on American troops despite the U.S. military’s efforts to weaken them and avoid tumbling into a wider conflict, possibly with Iran itself.”The newspaper added a warning against escalation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon: “ ‘We don’t want to go down a path of greater escalation that drives to a much broader conflict within the region,’ Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Sunday. Asked in a pre-recorded session on ABC News’s This Week whether he thought Iran wanted war with the United States, General Brown, echoing assessments from the U.S. intelligence agencies, said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ ”The official line in Washington on Sunday evening, according to its New York platform, is that “the Americans killed on Sunday were the first known fatalities from hostile fire in the region since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas…It was unclear on Sunday why air defences at the outpost failed to intercept the drone, which former military commanders said appeared to be the first known assault on the location since attacks on U.S. forces began soon after the Oct. 7 incursion.”
Are US, Iran already at war? -- More than 160 attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, 37 clashes in the Red Sea with the Houthis — and now five dead U.S. service members. America’s mounting proxy battle with Iran over the past three months is spurring questions about whether the countries are at war. It’s also raising questions about whether the U.S. can continue to hit back at Iranian-backed militia groups without seeking congressional authorization. The Biden administration argues it has successfully contained the Israeli war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas to Gaza and that there is not a wider conflict. But the sheer number of attacks on U.S. forces points to tensions spinning out of control. “It is already a larger conflict. It’s a question of degrees,” said Robert Murrett, a retired Navy vice admiral. But he said the fighting is “not out of control yet.” “Calling it a war is probably overstating things,” said Murrett, now a professor at Syracuse University. “But the tensions, the hostilities that exist between Iran and [the U.S.] are at the highest level they’ve been for some time.” The tit-for-tat battles reached a boiling point after a Sunday attack in Jordan, which the U.S. has said likely came from an Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq, Kata’ib Hezbollah. A suicide drone exploded in a housing unit at the Tower 22 base near Iraq and Syria, killing three Army soldiers. The U.S. also lost two sailors during a covert mission off the coast of Somalia to intercept Iranian missiles bound for the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. While the mission was a success, two sailors died after falling into the rough waters. The deaths sparked mourning across the U.S. and calls for more action, particularly among Republicans, some of whom urged Biden to strike back inside Iran. Washington is already deploying significant resources to defend ships in the Red Sea from the Houthis and to carry out airstrikes in Yemen and Iraq, none of which have deterred the militia groups from stopping their attacks. The latest Houthi attack came Tuesday night, when a cruise missile launched from Yemen into the Red Sea came within a mile of a U.S. destroyer before it was shot down — the closest such an attack has come to an American vessel, CNN reported. And U.S. forces on Wednesday morning destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile that the group was preparing to launch into the waterway, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. Even the Biden administration admits the situation is veering dangerously close to a powder keg moment. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday warned that the “incredibly volatile” environment in the Middle East is as dangerous as it’s been in the region “since at least 1973, and arguably even before that.” President Biden has vowed to respond to the Jordan attacks, but the commander in chief also stressed he was trying to prevent the conflict from escalating. “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East,” Biden told reporters Tuesday. “That’s not what I’m looking for.” When asked if the wider war was already here, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said she was “not discounting that tensions are high in the region by any means.” “These Iranian-backed groups are targeting our military members with the intention of trying to kill them,” she said at a Monday briefing. “But we don’t seek a war.” Iran also appears to be trying to pull away from a growing conflict. Iranian officials quickly denied any responsibility for the Jordan attack, claiming that Tehran does not give direct orders to the militia groups it backs.
Iran denies role in deadly drone attack on U.S. troops in Jordan as Iran-backed group claims strikes nearby - Iran has denied it was behind a drone strike that killed three U.S. troops at a military base in northeast Jordan on Sunday, but an Iran-backed militia based in Iraq said it had carried out four attacks in the area. "Regional resistance factions do not receive orders from Iran, and Iran does not interfere in the decisions of the resistance to support Palestine or defend itself," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said at a press briefing Monday.The Iran-backed militia group Islamic Resistance in Iraq put out a statement Monday saying it had targeted a U.S. garrison at al-Tanf, just across the Jordan-Syria border from the U.S. Tower 22 base that came under attack over the weekend, as well as two other U.S. bases in the region and an Israeli oil facility.Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh on Monday blamed the attack on an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed militia and said the U.S. was trying to determine which one."Iran continues to arm and equip these groups to launch these attacks, and we will certainly hold them responsible," Singh said.A U.S. defense official said initial reports indicated that a drone flew in low and slow at the same time that a U.S. drone was returning to the Tower 22 base from a mission. Because the auto-response features of the air defense system were turned off to avoid shooting down the returning American drone, there was little to no warning of the incoming attack.Most of the roughly 350 U.S. troops at the base were still in their sleeping quarters when the attack occurred in the early hours of the morning. The accommodations on the base offer very little structural protection from an incoming attack. More than 40 people were injured in the attack, Singh told reporters Monday.
Biden says he has decided on response to deaths of U.S. soldiers in Jordan - President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he has made a decision on how to respond to the drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers and injured dozens of others at a base in northeast Jordan.As Biden departed the White House on Tuesday morning, a reporter asked him whether he had made a decision in response to the attack by Iran-backed militants Sunday. He replied, "Yes."Biden vowed Sunday to retaliate and “hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner [of] our choosing" for the deadly attack, which injured more than 30 soldiers.Asked whether he holds Iran responsible for the attack, he said he does “in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it.”The attack led to the first U.S. deaths at the hands of Iranian-back militant groups since the Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7. The explosives-laden drone blew up near a shelter where some troops slept at a logistics support base in northeast Jordan, two U.S. officials told NBC News. Eight of the injured were evacuated from the country to receive higher-level care and are stable, U.S. Central Command said Sunday. Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied the country’s involvement in the drone strike.“Iran had no connection and had nothing to do with the attack on the U.S. base,” the mission said in a statement Monday published by the state news agency IRNA, Reuters reported.“There is a conflict between U.S. forces and resistance groups in the region, which reciprocate retaliatory attacks,” it added.In a statement Sunday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Al-Shaddadi base in Syria, Al-Rukban and Al-Tanf bases at the Syria-Jordan border and the Zevulun naval facility in Israel. It is unclear whether the Islamic Resistance in Iraq is responsible for the attack on U.S. troops in Jordan.
Report: US Plans Weeks-Long Bombing Campaign Against Iranian Targets - US officials told NBC News that the US is planning to launch a weeks-long bombing campaign in the Middle East in retaliation for the drone attack in northeast Jordan that killed three American soldiers. The officials said that the targets are expected to include Iranian targets outside of Iran, and the campaign will involve strikes and cyber operations. Other reports have said the US is considering targeting Iranians in Iraq and Syria or the Iranian navy.While the potential targets are not inside Iran, direct attacks on the Iranian military could provoke a full-blown war between the US and Iran. The US is considering taking this course of action even though the Pentagon admitted it has no evidence Iran was directly involved in the drone attack in Jordan.The Pentagon has said the Jordan attack had the “footprints” of Kataib Hezbollah, one of the main Shia militias in Iraq. The US says that Iran is responsible only because it arms Kataib Hezbollah and other Shia militias. US officials told The New York Times that while Iran arms and funds the Shia militias, there’s no evidence Tehran is “calling the shots.”White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that US intelligence suggests the drone attack was carried out by the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a shadowy umbrella group of Iraqi Shia militias.The Islamic Resistance has taken credit for many of the 160 attacks that have been launched against US forces in Iraq and Syria since mid-October. The attacks started in response to US support for the Israeli slaughter in Gaza.
Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Suspends Military Operations Against US - Kataib Hezbollah, one of the main Shia militias in Iraq, has announced it’s suspending operations against US troops in Iraq and Syria.“We announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces,” Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement on Tuesday. The group said it was suspending the operations because it did not want to cause “embarrassment to the Iraqi government.”The Pentagon said it would ignore the announcement and that it would not change the US response to the drone attack in northeastern Jordan that killed three US troops. The Pentagon has said the attack had the “footprints” of Kataib Hezbollah, but the group has not taken credit.The US is also blaming Iran for the attack since it arms Kataib Hezbollah and other Iraqi militias, but the Pentagon has admitted it has no evidence Tehran was directly involved.According to Al Mayadeen, Kataib Hezbollah said Iran was not involved in its operations. “Our brothers in the Axis [of Resistance], especially in Iran, do not know the specifics of our jihadist work, and they have repeatedly declared opposition to our escalation against the US forces in Iraq and Syria,” said the group’s leader, Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi.Al-Hamidawi said Kataib Hezbollah would continue to work to defend Gaza through other means. US bases in Iraq and Syria have come under attack about 160 times since mid-October, according to the Pentagon. Most attacks have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a shadowy umbrella group of Iraqi Shia militias. The US has blamed Kataib Hezbollah for some of the other recent attacks and targeted the group with airstrikes.Kataib Hezbollah was founded in 2003 following the US invasion of Iraq and is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of Iraqi militias that was formed in 2014 to fight ISIS. The US and the PMF were on the same side during major battles against ISIS, and the PMF is still part of the Baghdad government’s security forces.
Iraqi Militia Suspends Attacks on US Forces, Paving Way for Troop Withdrawal - A militia group that the Biden administration blamed for the deadly attack on U.S. forces stationed at a shadowy base in Jordan said Tuesday that it would stop targeting American troops in Iraq, a move that could clear the way for the withdrawal of U.S. soldiers more than two decades after the 2003 invasion.“We announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces—in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government,” Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, the leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah, said in a statement. “Our brothers in the Axis, especially in the Islamic Republic of Iran, they do not know how we conduct our Jihad, and they often object to the pressure and escalation against the American occupation forces in Iraq and Syria.”Pentagon officials have specifically named Kata’ib Hezbollah as one of the groups behind the drone attack on U.S. troops in Jordan over the weekend. U.S. President Joe Biden and administration officials have said they ultimately hold Iran responsible for the attack, accusing that country’s government of funding and arming Kata’ib Hezbollah and other militia groups in the region.Kata’ib Hezbollah’s leader said in his statement that the group has launched attacks on U.S. forces at its “own will, and without any interference from others.” Biden administration officials have admitted they have no evidence that Iran directed the Jordan attack.Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he has decided how to respond to the Jordan attack but declined to provide any details.Asked during a media briefing about Kata’ib Hezbollah’s statement, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said he doesn’t “have a specific comment to provide, other than actions speak louder than words.”The drone attack on American forces in Jordan came a day after the U.S. and high-ranking Iraqi officials held their first round of formal talks on the process of removing the roughly 2,500 U.S. troops still deployed in the country.Analysts have argued that the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria has dramatically increased the likelihood of a broader regional war. The Intercept‘s Ken Klippenstein reported Tuesday that U.S. military personnel in Iraq received a memo this month instructing them to be “on standby to forward deploy to support troops in the case of on-ground U.S. involvement in the Israel-Hamas war.”Hisham al-Rikabi, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani,toldCNN on Tuesday that Kata’ib Hezbollah’s vow to suspend its attacks on U.S. forces “is the result of efforts made by” Iraq’s government to “ensure the smoothness of the negotiation process and in order to complete the withdrawal [of U.S. troops] from Iraq.”The New York Timesreported Tuesday that Kata’ib Hezbollah had previously ignored the Iraqi government’s requests to stop attacking U.S. forces, “but once the attack in Jordan on Sunday took American lives, Mr. Sudani demanded a complete halt from Kata’ib Hezbollah.”“Mr. Sudani reached out directly to Iran, according to a military strategist for the Revolutionary Guards who works closely with the Axis groups in Iraq,” theTimes added.Erik Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, said in response to al-Rikabi’s comments that, “if true, this is the least bad outcome.”
Report: Iraqi Government, Iran Pressured Kataib Hezbollah to Stop Attacking US - The Iraqi government and Iran pressured Kataib Hezbollah and other Iraqi Shia militias to suspend attacks against US forces in an effort to de-escalate tensions in the region, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq’s main Shia militias, announced on Tuesdaythat it was suspending operations against the US because it didn’t want to “embarrass” the Iraqi government. In its statement, Kataib Hezbollah said Iran had “repeatedly declared opposition to our escalation against the US forces in Iraq and Syria.”The announcement came as the US is preparing to respond to the drone attack in northeastern Jordan that killed three US troops. The US has not formally blamed Kataib Hezbollah but said the attack had the group’s “footprints.” The White House said on Wednesday that intelligence pointed to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a shadowy umbrella group of Shia militias that Kataib Hezbollah is believed to be a part of.The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed most of the 160 attacks that have been launched against US forces in Iraq and Syria in response to US support for the Israeli slaughter in Gaza. The group has not officially taken credit for killing the three US troops but said it launched attacks in Syria near the Jordanian border that day.According to Reuters, killing US troops in Jordan was a step too far for the Iraqi government. Farhad Alaadin, adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, confirmed that the Iraqi government worked to de-escalate and get Kataib Hezbollah to agree not to attack the US.“Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has been hard at work in the past few days, engaging with all relevant parties inside and outside Iraq,” Alaadin said, according to The Cradle. “All sides need to support the efforts of the Prime Minister to prevent any possible escalation.”
US Navy Ship Had Close Call With Houthi Missile in the Red Sea - The US Navy destroyer USS Gravely had a close call with a Houthi missile in the Red Sea on Tuesday night, US officials told CNN. The officials said a cruise missile launched by the Houthis came within one mile of the Gravely, the closest one has come to a US warship. That means the missile got past the Gravely’s sophisticated Aegis defense system. The missile was downed by the Gravely’s Close-In Weapon System (CWS), a machine gun that’s designed for close-range interceptions and is one of the ship’s last lines of defense. The incident highlights the danger to US warships and Navy sailors deployed in the Red Sea to combat the Houthis. While a Houthi missile or drone has not successfully hit a US warship yet, it could just be a matter of time as the situation in the region continues to escalate. The US launched more strikes against the Houthis early Thursday morning Yemen time, marking at least the 12th time the US has bombed Yemen since President Biden started his new war against the Houthis on January 12. US Central Command claimed the strikes targeted a Houthi drone station. The escalations continued throughout the day on Thursday as CENTCOM said it downed a Houthi drone and destroyed a drone boat. Later, the Houthis targeted a British-linked cargo vessel, but CENTCOM said the missiles impacted the water and did not hit the ship. Since the US and the UK launched their first round of strikes against the Houthis, the situation has escalated dramatically. The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, began targeting American and British commercial shipping and have vowed their operations won’t stop until the US backs down and Israel’s slaughter in Gaza ends.
US military shoots down Iranian drones, Houthi missiles, over Gulf of Aden -- The USS Carney shot down three Iranian drones and one antiship ballistic missile Wednesday launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The Houthi missile was headed toward the Gulf of Aden at about 8:30 p.m. local time. Forty minutes later, the USS Carney shot down three Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles nearby. The U.S. Central Command said there were no injuries or damage reported. The attack comes amid an uptick in tensions in the region. Houthis have been targetingcommercial ships and vessels in the Red Sea, prompting U.S. forces to respond with a series of precision strikes The Houthis say the attacks, which began in November, are intended to protest the Israel-Hamas war in the region, but many of the recent ships attacked have no direct ties to Israel. As a result, shipping companies have been forced to find alternative shipping routes, driving up oil prices and delaying the delivery of goods, raising concerns about the effect on the global economy. U.S. officials said earlier this week that U.S. troops have come under fire from Iranian-backed groups more than 160 times since late October. The attack also comes just a few days after three U.S. service members were killed and about 40 others injured in a deadly drone strike in Jordan on Sunday. Biden has pledged to respond to the attack in a “time and manner of our choosing” but has also made clear he does not seek a larger war.
US Launches 11th Round of Strikes Against Houthis in Yemen - The US launched more strikes against the Houthis on Wednesday, marking at least the 11th time the US has targeted Yemen since President Biden started the bombing campaign on January 12. US Central Command claimed the strikes targeted a Houthi surface-to-air missile. “US forces identified the missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that it presented an imminent threat to US aircraft,” the command said. Yemen’s Al-Masirah TV reported US and British strikes north of the city of Sadaa. The UK has joined the US for some of the bombings in Yemen, but CENTCOM did not say Britain was involved in the latest round. Also on Wednesday, the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, said they fired missiles at the US Navy Destroyer USS Gravely. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said US warships will continue to be targeted “within the legitimate right of defending our country, our people, and our nation.” CENTCOM said the USS Gravely shot down one Houthi anti-ship missile on Tuesday night, but it’s unclear if it was the same incident mentioned by Sarea. Some members of Congress have criticized Biden for bombing Yemen without authorization and say he’s violating the Constitution. President Biden has acknowledged his bombing campaign was not working to deter the Houthis but vowed it would continue anyway. Since the first round of strikes against the Houthis, the situation has escalated dramatically as the Houthis began targeting American commercial shipping in response. The Houthis have made clear they would only stop attacks on Israel-linked commercial shipping if the slaughter in Gaza comes to an end.
Israeli Airstrikes Hit Damascus, Several Reported Killed - Israeli airstrikes hit targets south of the Syrian capital of Damascus on Monday, killing and injuring a number of people, Syria’s SANA news agency reported.Both Syria and Iran denied reports that said the strikes killed Iranian nationals or Iranian military advisors. Just over a week ago, Israeli airstrikes on a residential building in Damascus killed five members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).“In today’s attack of the Zionist regime fighter jets on Damascus, no Iranian advisory center in Syria was targeted,” Iran’s ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, said of the Monday strikes. “None of the Iranian nationals or military advisers have been martyred.”Iran’s PressTV reported that at least two civilians were killed by the Israeli airstrikes. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven people were killed, including one Syrian who was described as an “escort” for a member of the IRGC. But the reports are not confirmed.Israel has bombed Syria with impunity for years and has significantly stepped up its strikes on the country since October 7. The strikes are part of what appears to be a strategy by Israel to provoke a wider war in the region that would get the US directly involved.
Hamas Reasserting Control Over Areas of Northern Gaza - Hamas militants have returned to northern Gaza and are mobilizing against Israeli forces and establishing a system of governance, The Guardian reported Tuesday, citing Israeli officials, Gaza residents, and aid officials.“We are hearing more, unfortunately, of the recovery of [an] insurgency in both central and northern Gaza … We’re hearing more and more that Hamas are doing policing in northern Gaza and governing trade, and that is a very bad outcome,” said Eyal Hulata, a former Israeli national security advisor.The Israeli military recently withdrew from some areas of the northern Gaza Strip and claimed it had taken out Hamas’s military structure in the area, saying only “pockets of resistance were left.” But the re-emergence of organized Hamas members in the area highlights the Palestinian group’s resilience and the unrealistic nature of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of “eradicating” Hamas.The Guardian quoted Michael Milstein of the Institute for National Security Studies, an Israel-based think tank, who said Hamas had survived Israel’s brutal bombing campaign and ground operation in the north. “Hamas control these areas. There is no chaos or vacuum because it is the workers of Gaza municipality or civil rescue defense forces, who are effectively part of Hamas, who are enforcing public order. Hamas still exists. Hamas has survived,” he said.
Israel Plans to Attack Lebanon Because Israel Is Not Winning Against Hamas – by Yves Smith - Israel is not winning against Hamas. So it plans to take on a much tougher opponent, Hezbollah, which will be the result of executing on its plan to enter and occupy Lebanon up to the Litani River. This is not the way clear-thinking people operate.But as Alastair Crooke explains (more on this soon), the Israelis recognize that they are no longer feared militarily in their ‘hood. Maintaining that fear is fundamental to Israeli citizen’s sense of security. Proof comes via Israel having had to pull its citizens out of the border to Gaza and Lebanon and not having been able to turn things around so they can return. Although I cannot prove a negative, Crooke and some Twitterati maintain that this effective loss of territory very much puts Israel on the back foot, since Israel historically has used buffer zones as an interim step in increasing the area under its control, and understands the risks when that process goes the other way. Despite the assumption by many military experts at the start of the Israel campaign in Gaza, that the IDF would prevail given its much greater resources and ease of resupply, here we are, over 100 days in, and Israel is not all that much closer to victory, save in exterminating the Palestinian population in Gaza, as opposed to eliminating or at least crippling Hamas. Israel has not killed any of the leadership of Hamas’ military wing. Israel has not rescued any hostages. It is not clear how many Hamas fighters Israel has killed, but its claim of 10,000 versus the 27,000 dead reported in Gaza seems unreasonably high, particularly given admissions that schemes like flooding the tunnel system have not worked very well. Hamas has been retaking Northern Gaza after Israel claimed to have secured it. And on top of that, as an article in today’s Links pointed out, Israel is having to husband its artillery use in Gaza in light of global shortages. So they plan to take on Hezbollah with less than a full magazine?There are signs of dissent within Israel over where to go in the war. More and more family members of hostages have been getting sympathetic coverage in the press and support from some officials for their demand that Israel negotiate with Hamas now to get the hostages back. A new story in Christian Science Monitor recounts a key rupture: The cracks in what had been near universal public unity supporting Israel’s war aims in the conflict’s first few months have even reached the five-person wartime Cabinet tasked with prosecuting the campaign against Hamas.In a bombshell television interview on Israel’s Channel 12 this month, Gadi Eisenkot, a centrist politician and former military chief who joined Mr. Netanyahu’s wartime coalition in October, said the welfare of the hostages had to take precedence.The government, he added, needed to stop “selling fantasies” to the public that their release would be achieved through force alone. And the dissent continues:
Global ammunition shortage forces Israel to limit bombings -- A surge in ammunition usage during the wars in Gaza and Ukraine has triggered an unprecedented global shortage across all types of ammunition. And while the IDF avoids public discussion of the issue, Major General Eliezer Toledano acknowledged last month a reduction in air attacks, underscoring the imperative to "manage the economy of armaments" in anticipation of a protracted war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed these concerns, articulating the need for U.S. support with a succinct plea: "We need three things from the U.S.: armaments, armaments, armaments." In a recent press conference, Netanyahu declared Israel's intent to diminish reliance on global sources, a challenging objective that has raised skepticism about its feasibility.Despite the defense establishment's limited public discourse on the matter, it is actively addressing the ammunition shortage. Last week, Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir finalized a substantial deal with the U.S. government, securing hundreds of millions of dollars for the supply of aerial ammunition. Over 25,000 tons of weapons have been delivered to Israel via approximately 280 aircraft and 40 ships from the U.S. since the onset of the conflict. Simultaneously, the Israeli defense industry is working diligently to replenish the IDF's stocks.Recent reports from Calcalist reveal that Israeli companies postponed supplying weapons exceeding $1.5 billion to global customers, redirecting resources to meet the IDF's combat requirements. In the last three months alone, the Defense Ministry has ordered weaponry worth more than 10 billion shekels ($2.7 million) from these companies. Importantly, the shortage does not result from budget constraints; rather, it stems from a scarcity of supply. The Treasury does not impose restrictions on the IDF's ability to purchase any type of ammunition. The heightened demand for armaments is attributed to the IDF's extensive bombing campaigns in Gaza since the war's inception. The military recently announced the targeting of 30,000 sites in Gaza. A security source informed Calcalist that the IDF's firing rate in the ongoing conflict mirrors that of a "superpower," comparable only to the demonstrated capabilities of the U.S. Foreign media extensively covers the Gaza campaign, labeling it one of the most intensive in history and drawing comparisons to the scale of bombings witnessed in Germany during World War II.
IDF Troops Occupy, Burn Gaza Homes in Likely War Crimes -- Israeli troops invading the Gaza Strip are occupying and then burning Palestinian homes there, apparent war crimes that follow literally incendiary calls by some Israeli leaders to "burn Gaza"—actions and words under consideration in the South African-led genocide case before the International Court of Justice.The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Wednesday that IDF soldiers have burned hundreds of Gaza homes and everything in them, on direct orders of their commanders. Some Israeli troops have posted videos on social media showing them taking part in home burnings and describing their actions as revenge for fellow soldiers' deaths or the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Israeli forces have also occupied homes, according to the newspaper. In one case, soldiers spared a home so that other IDF troops could use it, leaving a note reading, "We are not burning the house so you can enjoy it, and when you leave—you'll know what to do."According to Haaretz:Until last month, the army's combat engineering corps mostly used mines and explosives, and in some cases heavy machinery such as D9 bulldozers, to demolish structures. Setting fire to homes belonging to noncombatant civilians, for the mere purpose of punishment, is forbidden under international law.The U.S. has recently appealed to Israel, demanding that its forces stop destroying public buildings such as schools and clinics in Gaza, claiming that continuing to do so would harm the everyday life of Gazans who seek to return to their homes after the war.An analysis reviewed by the BBC found that at least half of all buildings in Gaza—between 144,000-175,000 structures—have been destroyed or damaged by Israeli forces since October 7. This has been a major factor in the displacement of what the United Nations says is more than 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people, and has prompted debate by experts over whether Israel is committing domicide, or the systemic destruction of homes with the objective of rendering Gaza uninhabitable.Previous reports have documented Israeli troops burning humanitarian aid supplies including food meant for starving Gazans, vandalizing Palestinian businesses, and ransacking homes.IDF troops have also burned homes in the illegally occupied West Bank, where settlers from expanding apartheid colonies have also attacked Palestinian people and property. For decades, Israel's policy of destroying the homes of relatives of Palestinian resistance fighters has been condemned as illegal collective punishment.Several Israeli leaders including Deputy Knesset Speaker Nissim Vaturi, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, have called for the destruction, burning, and even nuclear annihilationof Gaza. Some of their statements have been entered as evidence in the South African-led genocide case against Israel at the ICJ in The Hague.According to Palestinian officials and international humanitarian groups, Israeli forces have killed, wounded, or left missing more than 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem since October 7.
Israel Ministers Call for Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza at Settler Conference - Members of the Israeli government—including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—attended a far-right conference on Sunday calling for the "resettlement" of Gaza and increased Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The conference, at which both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich repeated calls for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza, came days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to "take all measures within its power" to prevent its military from committing genocide in Gaza."The colonial meeting in Jerusalem poses a blatant challenge to the International Court of Justice decision, accompanied by public incitement to forcibly displace Palestinians," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry wrote on social media."These are the people who are making policy in Israel, and these are the people who were calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza."Sunday's conference, titled "Conference for the Victory of Israel—Settlement Brings Security: Returning to the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria," was organized by the right-wing Nahala organization, according to Haaretz and Al Jazeera. The group argues for an expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, even though these settlements are illegal under international law, as Reuters explained.Israel also held settlements in Gaza for 38 years before withdrawing them in 2005. At Sunday's conference, Smotrich said that settlers who had left Gaza as children had returned as soldiers during Israel's ongoing bombardment and invasion of the enclave."We knew what that would bring and we tried to prevent it," Smotrich said of the 2005 withdrawal. "Without settlements, there is no security."Ben Gvir also said that he and others had warned against leaving Gaza."If we don't want another October 7, we need to return home and control the land," he said, as Reuters reported further. He also called for Israel to "encourage emigration" of Palestinians out of Gaza. Both Smotrich and Ben Gvir have made similar statements in the past, with Smotrich saying in December, "What needs to be done in the Gaza Strip is to encourage emigration," as Al Jazeera reported at the time.
Israel seeks destruction of Palestinian refugee agency and establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza - Israel responded to the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling last Friday, requesting it to “take all measures within its power” to avoid acts of genocide, by redoubling its efforts to starve the Palestinians and planning for the repopulation of Gaza with Jewish settlements. The same day that the ICJ’s preliminary findings were issued, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that Israel had provided the organisation with information alleging that 12 of its employees had taken part in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led incursion and participated in massacres. One was accused of kidnapping a woman, another of handing out ammunition and a third of taking part in the massacre at a kibbutz where 97 people died. Seven were said to be teachers at UNRWA schools and two worked at the schools in other capacities. Israel initially said that its “information” on the 12 was the result of its interrogation, i.e. torture, of captured “militants”. It then changed its story, stating that intelligence services had monitored their cell phones. The move was a carefully planned counterblast to the ICJ. Israel had in fact handed its information to UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini last Sunday, January 21. He flew to New York for discussions with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres before informing donors midweek and then making his announcement on Friday just as the ICJ was delivering its verdict. UNRWA announced it would fire the employees in question and refer them for criminal investigation. Nine were fired and two are reported dead. In sharp contrast to the months of polite appeals for Israel to abide by international law while it has murdered 30,000 Palestinians and reduced Gaza to rubble, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken immediately suspended funds to UNRWA. The was followed in quick succession by the UK, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Finland, Canada, Australia and Switzerland. The European Union called on UNRWA to investigate all its staff to “confirm that they did not participate in the attacks.” Israel’s accusations and attempts to permanently delegitimise UNRWA have escalated since then. The Wall Street Journal and the Jerusalem Post reported that Israel had presented American officials with intelligence estimates that around 1,200 of the 12,000 people UNRWA employs in Gaza (other estimates of UNRWA’s employees range up to 30,000) “have links to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, enough to warrant the suspension of funding to UNRWA. And about half have close relatives who belong to the Islamist militant groups.” A senior Israeli government official commented, “UNRWA’s problem is not just ‘a few bad apples’ involved in the October 7th massacre… The institution as a whole is a haven for Hamas radical ideology.” This is the answer of Israel and its backers to the meaningless appeal by the ICJ for it to “take immediate and effective measures immediately to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.UNRWA handles most of the humanitarian aid to 2 million displaced people in Gaza, part of its providing of services to six million men, women and children in 58 refugee camps spread over Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and East Jerusalem and Gaza. Lazzarini pleaded, “I am shocked such decisions are taken based on alleged behaviour of a few individuals and as the war continues, needs are deepening and famine looms.” A US statement accepted that “UNRWA plays a critical role in providing lifesaving assistance to Palestinians, including essential food, medicine, shelter, and other vital humanitarian support,” and that “Their work has saved lives.” This only confirms that the imperialist powers are working with Israel to starve the Palestinians, kill thousands more and force them into exile.
Palestinians in Gaza see UNRWA funding cuts as 'death sentence' -- Palestinian mother Mazouza Hassan stood aghast at the potential threats to the work of the U.N. agency that handles most aid in Gaza after some Western states suspended funding to it over allegations employees took part in the Hamas attack on Israel. "We are thrown into tents and our children need to be vaccinated and pregnant women need to give birth ... Where will these people go?" said Hassan, one of the 85% of Gaza residents made homeless by Israel's military campaign in Gaza. The war has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian catastrophe, leaving its shelled-out population at risk from famine and disease with the medical system in collapse, schools turned into shelters and much of the population living in tents. For many of Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was already critically important even before the latest Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. UNRWA ran Gaza's schools, primary healthcare clinics and other social services. As the main conduit for aid in the tiny, crowded enclave it now stands to many Palestinians as a last barrier between them and total disaster. An UNRWA spokesperson said the agency would not be able to continue such operations after February if funding were not resumed. More than 10 countries including major donor the United States have suspended funding. "UNRWA is our future and our life from the beginning until today. Who will support us?" Hassan said, standing near her children in Rafah at the southern end of the Gaza Strip. The agency employs about 13,000 people in Gaza, part of a total workforce of about 30,000 working with Palestinian refugees around the Middle East. Israel has alleged that 13 of UNRWA's Gaza employees took part in the surprise Hamas incursion into Israel that killed more than 1,200 people and triggered the conflict. A dossier Israel has produced says a total of 190 UNRWA staff have also been militants with Hamas or Islamic Jihad. The agency has said it has fired some staffers and is investigating Israel's allegations. Israel's assault on Gaza since Oct. 7 has killed at least 26,600 people, say health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, prompting a South African charge of genocide, denied by Israel, at the International Court of Justice.
2 Qatari aircraft carrying aid for Palestinians in Gaza heads to Egypt's El Arish -Two Qatar Armed Forces aircraft arrived Monday in the city of El Arish in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, carrying 41 tons of aid consisting of medical supplies, provided by the State of Qatar, bringing the total number of aircraft sent to 72, carrying a total of 2,144 tons of aid. The aid is part of the State of Qatar's full support to the brotherly Palestinian people currently subjected to difficult humanitarian conditions.
Pediatrician Details 'Cataclysmic' Reality for Gaza Kids Under Israel Assault -- In what one historian called "an understated plea for the world to not look away," a pediatrician who has provided care across the globe and in numerous war zones described in an interview with The New Yorker on Tuesday how over two weeks working in a hospital in Gaza recently, she saw firsthand how Israel's U.S.-backed assault on the blockaded enclave has created conditions unlike anything she has witnessed elsewhere.Dr. Seema Jilani, a senior technical adviser at the International Rescue Committee, told journalist Isaac Chotiner about the life-and-death decisions doctors in Gaza are being forced to make on a daily basis, even as they try to keep their own families safe from Israel's relentless air and ground attacks.Jilani arrived in central Gaza for a two-week assignment around Christmas Day and immediately began working alongside Palestinian doctors at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, where she worked to save as many lives as she could as the facility faced a dwindling supply of medical equipment and medications including morphine—forcing them to rely on over-the-counter drugs like Motrin to provide pain relief to people with serious injuries and burns."Within the two weeks that I was there, I saw it go from a semi-functional hospital to a barely or nonfunctional hospital as a result of increasing violence in surrounding areas," Jilani told The New Yorker.The U.S.-born pediatrician, who has treated civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan previously, described a one-year-old boy who was among the first patients she treated at Al-Aqsa:His right arm and right leg had been blown off by a bomb, and flesh was still hanging off the foot. He had a bloodstained diaper, which remained, but there was no leg below. I treated the baby while he lay on the ground. There were no stretchers available because all the beds had already been taken, considering that many people were also trying to use the hospital as a shelter or safe space for their families. Next to him there was a man who was on his last breaths. He had been actively dying for the last twenty-four hours, and flies were already on him. All the while, a woman was brought in and was declared dead on arrival. This one-year-old had blood pouring into his chest cavity. He needed a chest tube so he wouldn't asphyxiate on his own blood. But there were neither chest tubes nor blood-pressure cuffs that were available in pediatric sizes. No morphine had been given in the chaos, and it wasn't even available. This patient in America would've immediately gone to the O.R., but instead the orthopedic surgeon bandaged the stumps up and said he couldn’t take him to the operating theater right now because there were more pressing emergencies. And I tried to imagine what was more pressing than a one-year-old with no hand and no legs who was choking on his own blood. So that, to me, was symbolic of the impossible choices inflicted on the doctors of Gaza, and how truly cataclysmic that situation is. Doctors and nurses in Gaza are trying to provide care in a state of "chaos," Jilani told the magazine, with patients arriving at the few remaining functional hospitals "on makeshift stretchers, if you're lucky, or by an ambulance that was overflowing with people, [or] via donkeys." Jilani's organization also posted a video of her speaking about her time in Gaza, where she saw one physician pitching in at the hospital after he had visited a friend who was there. "That's the level of devastation but the level of commitment that the Palestinian healthcare forces is having right now," said Jilani.
Indian navy rescues Iranian fishing boat hijacked by Somali pirates - India's navy said Tuesday it had freed an Iranian fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates, the second in as many days, after the latest attack on Indian Ocean shipping. The warship INS Sumitra "compelled the safe release" of the 19 Pakistani crew members and the Iranian-flagged Al Naeemi fishing vessel, the spokesman said. A total of "11 Somali pirates" had taken the crew hostage, the navy said. Photographs released by the navy showed Somali pirates wielding AK-47 rifles standing on the boat, and another with a navy helicopter hovering overhead. Further photographs showed commandos boarding the fishing boat in the dark, then standing with rifles over a group of pirates, the men kneeling at their feet with their hands tied behind their backs on the ship's deck. The rescue took place overnight Monday off the Somali coast, some 850 nautical miles (1,574 kilometres) west of the Indian city of Kochi. It came just 36 hours after India said its forces had freed 17 crew members of the Iranian-flagged Iman fishing vessel, also taken by Somali pirates. In a third case, commandos from the Seychelles on Monday freed the Sri Lankan fishing vessel Lorenzo Putha-4 and safely rescued its six-man crew. That boat had been hijacked three days earlier by Somali gunmen about 840 nautical miles (1,555 kilometres) southeast of Mogadishu, the capital of impoverished and war-ravaged Somalia.
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