Oil and Gas Issues

[Sigmetnow]

Gasoline pipeline leaks 250,000 gallons, causing states of emergency in Alabama and Georgia
Gasoline prices on the East Coast are expected to spike.

A pipeline leak of at least 250,000 gallons of gasoline in a rural Alabama county is expected to affect fuel prices in the coming days across multiple southern states and the East Coast.

The leak already prompted two states of emergency Thursday stemming from fuel shortage concerns.

The oil leak was first discovered a week ago in rural Shelby County — just southeast of Birmingham, Alabama. It forced the pipeline company, Colonial Pipeline, to shut the line last Friday, hampering gasoline deliveries in various states including Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.

In response to expected gasoline shortages, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal issued states of emergency, AL.com reported. As of Thursday evening, the leaking section of the pipeline remains unexcavated over safety concerns. Spills and gasoline leaks can contaminate soil, groundwater, surface water, and air. Gasoline fumes can also be toxic. Though the line has been shut off, gasoline still in the pipeline may be leaking.

The gasoline is being held in a mine water retention pond and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff at the site say residents are not in danger because the site is far from homes. The gasoline is also unlikely to breach the retention pond and enter nearby Cahaba River, Alabama’s longest free-flowing stream, the EPA told local media. The cause of the leak is unknown.

https://thinkprogress.org/alabama-pipeline-leak-prompts-gas-shortages-22f90461bc1f

[Sigmetnow]

Did an Industry Front Group Create Fake Twitter Accounts to Promote the Dakota Access Pipeline?

A DeSmog investigation has revealed the possibility that a front group supporting the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) — the Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now (MAIN) — may have created fake Twitter profiles, known by some as “sock puppets,” to convey a pro-pipeline message over social media. And MAIN may be employing the PR services of the firm DCI Group, which has connections to the Republican Party, in order to do so.

http://www.desmogblog.com/2016/09/15/dakota-access-pipeline-fake-twitter-accounts-dci-group

[Sigmetnow]

Fuel 'too dirty' for Europe sold to Africa

For a long time countries relied on colonial-era standards, which have only been revised in recent years.

Another issue is that in the countries where there are refineries, these are unable, for technical reasons, to reduce the sulphur levels to the standard acceptable in Europe. This means that the regulatory standard is kept at the level that the refineries can operate at.

Some governments are also worried that cleaner diesel would be more expensive, therefore pushing up the price of transport.

But Mr De Jong argued that the difference was minimal and oil price fluctuations were much more significant in determining the diesel price.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37373414

[Darvince]

 

And the list of people surprised:
-
-

[Sigmetnow]

Gasoline pipeline leaks 250,000 gallons, causing states of emergency in Alabama and Georgia
Gasoline prices on the East Coast are expected to spike.

A pipeline leak of at least 250,000 gallons of gasoline in a rural Alabama county is expected to affect fuel prices in the coming days across multiple southern states and the East Coast.

The leak already prompted two states of emergency Thursday stemming from fuel shortage concerns.

Gas prices spike as fuel shortages hit Southeast

Colonial Pipeline said Monday that it expects to finish construction this week on a bypass that will allow it to restore full service. In the meantime, gas is being detoured through an undamaged second line that usually handles diesel and jet fuel.
...
The problems so far don't appear severe.
Authorities in Tennessee and South Carolina said there have been no widespread fuel shortages. ...

A section of the pipeline has been closed since Sept. 9 after a spill of roughly 250,000 gallons was discovered.  The pipeline provides gasoline for an estimated 50 million people on the East Coast each day, according to company estimates. The cause of the leak has yet to be determined.

The closure has set off an industry-wide scramble as suppliers seek alternative ways to transport gasoline to the East Coast.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/18/investing/gas-prices-shortage-pipeline-leak/index.html

[Sigmetnow]

Oil [price] Rises as OPEC May Hold Formal Meeting Next Week in Algiers
West Texas Intermediate for October delivery rose 32 cents, to $43.62 a barrel.

The surplus in global oil markets will last for longer than previously thought, persisting into late 2017 as demand growth slows and output proves resilient, the International Energy Agency said on Sept. 13 in its monthly report. Just last month, the agency predicted the market would start returning to equilibrium this year.

Gasoline [price] tumbled after the projected restart of Colonial Pipeline’s Line 1 was moved forward to Wednesday.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-19/oil-halts-gains-amid-signs-supply-rising-from-libya-nigeria

[Sigmetnow]

Mothballing the World's Fanciest Oil Rigs Is a Massive Gamble

In a far corner of the Caribbean Sea, one of those idyllic spots touched most days by little more than a fisherman chasing blue marlin, billions of dollars worth of the world’s finest oil equipment bobs quietly in the water.

They are high-tech, deepwater drillships -- big, hulking things with giant rigs that tower high above the deck. They’re packed tight in a cluster, nine of them in all. The engines are off. The 20-ton anchors are down. The crews are gone. For months now, they’ve been parked here, 12 miles off the coast of Trinidad & Tobago, waiting for the global oil market to recover.

The ships are owned by a company called Transocean Ltd., the biggest offshore-rig operator in the world. And while the decision to idle a chunk of its fleet would seem logical enough given the collapse in oil drilling activity, Transocean is in truth taking an enormous, and unprecedented, risk. No one, it turns out, had ever shut off these ships before. In the two decades since the newest models hit the market, there never had really been a need to. And no one can tell you, with any certainty or precision, what will happen when they flip the switch back on.
...
Nearly half of the world’s available floating rigs are out of work today, and most observers expect that number will climb further. Not only are the drillship operators’ customers -- the likes of ConocoPhillips and Total SA -- slashing spending in high-cost offshore areas and canceling work contracts early, but new rigs that were ordered in recent years keep rolling out of shipyards. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates as much as $56 billion worth of offshore rigs, capable of drilling in everything from shallow water to oceans more than two miles deep, are still under construction.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-19/at-500-million-a-pop-it-s-an-oil-gamble-that-has-no-precedent

[Sigmetnow]

Securities and Exchange Commission is latest regulator to investigate Exxon Mobil's accounting practices

The SEC's probe appears to follow the lead of an investigation launched by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who said last week that he's looking into whether the company has misled investors with dodgy accounting practices.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) said in a statement Tuesday that is "fully complying with the [Securities and Exchange Commission's] request for information," saying the regulatory agency is "the appropriate entity" to review how the company has valued its assets.

Schneiderman's office is looking into why Exxon has not downgraded the estimated value of its oil reserves -- even as oil prices have faced a two-year decline. His office is also investigating whether the company has properly accounted for the impact of heightened greenhouse gas regulations on its business.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/20/news/companies/exxon-mobil-sec-investigation/

[Sigmetnow]

The Dakota Access Pipeline Fight: Where Does the Standoff Stand?
After several judicial rulings and an Obama administration directive, construction has paused in North Dakota but the future is far from certain.

A federal appeals court ordered a halt last Friday to construction of the Dakota Access pipeline near the Missouri River just upstream from the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota. It is the latest in a series of recent decisions by federal agencies and courts concerning the future of Dakota Access, a proposed pipeline that would transport crude oil nearly 1,200 miles from North Dakota to Iowa.

The rulings have thrown some hurdles into the path of the pipeline following an extended protest by the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes that have joined their efforts. ...

This link has a guide to the latest judicial and executive actions and what they mean for the future of the pipeline:
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20092016/dakota-access-pipeline-fight-standoff-standing-rock-sioux-obama-administration

[Sigmetnow]

Joining Trend, NY Suspends Review of Oil Train Terminal Permit in Albany
Another fight over energy infrastructure ramps up, as state regulators require company to address environmental justice, safety and climate change concerns.

New York environmental regulators have suspended their review of two proposals to renew and expand operations at a Port of Albany oil terminal until Global Partners LP addresses a laundry list of concerns over environmental, public health, safety and climate change.

Officials at the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) told the company in a letter on Sept. 16 it has three months to provide plans for the following:

- limiting the oil terminal's odors and emissions from toxic pollutants, such as benzene
- addressing high noise levels and safety risks associated with oil trains coming to the facility
- reducing the terminal's climate footprint, among other issues.

DEC also informed Global Partners that it is combining the company's renewal and expansion proposals and treating it like an application for a new project. This dramatic step means even after the company provides the extra information requested by the state, the application will undergo a public comment period and be considered for a comprehensive environmental and climate impact review.

The full review process could take years.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23092016/oil-train-crude-by-rail-new-york-environmental-justice-climate-change-tar-sands-global-partners

[Sigmetnow]

BP's plan to contain oil spill in Great Australian Bight labelled 'flimsy'

BP’s publicly available plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight don’t give a clear indication of where it would get all the people, boats and aircraft needed to contain a major oil spill in the remote waters 300km off the coast of South Australia, according to the Wilderness Society.

BP says it is confident its plans “are appropriate” but says “the regulator will ultimately determine if this is the case”.

BP has proposed to drill for oil inside a commonwealth marine reserve. Its first two environmental plans were rejected after the regulator found they did not meet its requirements. A decision about its third plan is expected to be made next week.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/26/bp-drilling-plan-great-australian-bight-lacks-detail-on-managing-oil-spills

[Sigmetnow]

OPEC Divided on Production Cut Before Algiers Talks
Talks could yield a freeze deal, an output cut, or nothing at all.

Algeria Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa has shuttled between Tehran, Paris and Moscow as he prepares to host the talks this week. He has urged a 1 million barrel-a-day cut in world supply and said prices below $50 a barrel can’t continue.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-26/opec-members-take-up-positions-on-freeze-before-algiers-talks

[AbruptSLR]

The linked article indicates that a new 6 billion barrel oil field discovery in Alaska will extend the functional life of the Trans-Alaska pipeline:

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/05/texas-oil-company-announces-big-offshore-alaska-discovery.html

Extract: "Dallas-based Caelus Energy Alaska LLC announced a find of 6 billion barrels of light oil on its state leases in the Arctic Ocean waters of Smith Bay about 450 miles northwest of Fairbanks.

Chief Operating Officer Jim Musselman called the discovery exciting for the state, which receives a majority of its revenue from the oil industry.

"It has the size and scale to play a meaningful role in sustaining the Alaskan oil business over the next three or four decades," Musselman said of the discovery in a prepared statement.

The Smith Bay development could deliver 200,000 barrels per day of light oil to the trans-Alaska pipeline, increasing volume and reducing the average viscosity of oil, which would help extend its viability, the company said."

[Sigmetnow]

 Animal Experts Say Methane [Flare] from Meadowlands Landfills Is Burning Birds Tail Feathers and Wings.

Birds with burnt tail feathers and wings are turning up near the Meadowlands and animal experts suspect the New Jersey landfills are to blame.

Don Torino, President of the Bergen County Audubon Society, says that methane from old landfills is sending dangerously hot gases into the air and harming birds.

"It's almost invisible at times, it burns at 1,700 degrees, and they are flying through it getting their wings injured, their tail feathers injured, and that prevents them from hunting, even though some it may not initially kill, eventually it will," Torino said.

http://abc7ny.com/pets/animal-experts-say-methane-from-nj-landfills-burning-birds/1545191/

[AbruptSLR]

The linked article is entitled: "North Sea oil spills reach record high"

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14791148.North_Sea_oil_spills_reach_record_high/?ref=twtrec

[Sigmetnow]

BP has announced it will not proceed with plans for exploration drilling in the Great Australian Bight, offshore South Australia.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-11/bp-withdraws-from-great-australian-bight-drilling/7921956

[Sigmetnow]

Oklahoma governor asks the state to pray for oil

It’s been a tough year for the oil industry. Prices earlier this year reached a 12-year low and, despite some gains, recovery has been elusive. In fact, things have remained so dire that Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) has deemed October 13 “Oilfield Prayer Day.”

https://thinkprogress.org/oklahoma-asks-residents-to-pray-for-oil-6af9d74c7d40

[budmantis]

Oklahoma governor asks the state to pray for oil

It’s been a tough year for the oil industry. Prices earlier this year reached a 12-year low and, despite some gains, recovery has been elusive. In fact, things have remained so dire that Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) has deemed October 13 “Oilfield Prayer Day.”

https://thinkprogress.org/oklahoma-asks-residents-to-pray-for-oil-6af9d74c7d40

Perhaps they can enlist the help of Johann Tetzl, who could sell indulgences from the god of oil.

[Sigmetnow]

It's Official: Injection of Fracking Wastewater Caused Kansas’ Biggest Earthquake

The Wichita Eagle noted from the study that this man-made quake, which hit 40 miles southwest of Wichita and felt as far away as Memphis, likely came from just one or two nearby wells. The publication ominously noted that, "one of those two wells, operated by SandRidge Energy, is still injecting water at the same level as when the earthquake occurred two years ago."

The USGS scientists believe that the 4.9-magnitude earthquake was triggered by wastewater injection for the following reasons:
• There had not previously been similar earthquakes in the area.
• There were waste-water injection wells nearby.
• The earthquake activity started after the amount of water injected in the wells increased.
• There's a piece of earth that could be activated by changes in pressure.

http://www.ecowatch.com/fracking-wastewater-kansas-earthquake-2045480679.html

[Sigmetnow]

Fossil Fuel Production Emits More Methane Than Previously Thought, NOAA Says

Emissions of planet-heating methane from fossil fuel production are between 20 and 60 percent higher than widely cited estimates, including those used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the science body whose assessments influence climate action around the world.

That is the main finding of a peer-reviewed study published last week in the journal Nature. It is one of the most exhaustive analyses of long-term global methane emissions and methane carbon isotope records, with implications for climate policy worldwide. The two-year study was done by 11 researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/11102016/noaa-study-says-fossil-fuel-industrys-contribution-global-methane-problem-more-thought

[AbruptSLR]

The linked article is entitled: "After Lean Years, Big Oil May Emerge Stronger Than Ever".  I think that it is a mistake to underestimate Big Oil's ability to continue removing oil & gas from the ground even in the face of economic, regulatory and political challenges:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/19/business/energy-environment/after-lean-years-big-oil-may-emerge-stronger-than-ever.html?_r=0

Extract: "After a heart-stopping plunge in the price of crude over the last two years, along with slashed dividends and the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs, the biggest oil companies are proving surprisingly adept at again pumping profits, as well as oil, out of the ground."

[AbruptSLR]

The linked article is entitled: "Federal Report Urges Shoring Up Aging Natural Gas Storage Facilities to Prevent Leaks".  It indicates that unless we increase expenditures to shore-up aging natural gas storage facilities, then we can expect an increase in natural gas leaks like the Aliso Canyon leak.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20102016/federal-report-natural-gas-facilities-prevent-leaks-methane-aliso-canyon-porter-ranch

Extract: "The Aliso Canyon leak, which emitted about 90,000 metric tons of methane into the air and forced thousands of residents to evacuate Los Angeles' Porter Ranch community, was traced to a common and problematic "single-point-of-failure" well design.

The new report, published almost a year after the Aliso Canyon leak began, was written by an interagency task force created after the leak drew nationwide alarm and became the largest methane leak from a gas storage facility in the U.S. The task force includes experts from the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and various national labs.

The report provides suggestions for improving storage well safety, emergency planning, mitigating greenhouse gases and addressing public health concerns. The report recommends that new facilities be built with double-barrier designs to help prevent leaks. Aging facilities like the 40-year-old Alison Canyon should be similarly retrofitted to contain leaks."


See also the linked report entitled "Ensuring Safe and Reliable Underground Natural Gas Storage":

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/10/f33/Ensuring%20Safe%20and%20Reliable%20Underground%20Natural%20Gas%20Storage%20-%20Final%20Repor..._0.pdf

[Sigmetnow]

Demand should peak by 2030, and oil should not reach $100/barrel again.

When Does ‘Too Much Oil’ Become the Problem?

The WEC’s scenario depends, of course, on finding an alternative to crude oil as a transportation fuel. In two of its three scenarios, demand for oil peaks in 2030: “Despite growing demand for transport fuels, new technologies and competition from alternatives drive diversification and lead demand to slow beyond 2030.”

The implications for big oil companies like Exxon are not in big-ticket, long lead-time projects in ultra-deepwater and harsh environments. The current cycle, according to a Bloomberg report of Tillerson’s comments, has “confirmed the viability of a very large [shale] resource base in North America” that can “serve as enormous spare capacity” to meet future demand.

There are two implications of this. First, prices are very unlikely to reach $100 a barrel again. Second, North American shale has displaced Saudi oil as the “swing producer” and has virtually broken any remaining vestige of power that OPEC holds over global oil markets. An OPEC production cut of half a million barrels a day may raise crude prices to $55 a barrel, but the impact of the cut is probably limited to that or just modestly more.

http://247wallst.com/energy-economy/2016/10/21/when-does-too-much-oil-become-the-problem/

[Sigmetnow]

Offset for 20 years, or 100 years, of global warming effects.

"California has ordered Southern California Gas Company (SoCal Gas) to mitigate the climate impacts of the leak, but regulators and the company disagree on how to calculate the damage."

Federal Report Urges Shoring Up Aging Natural Gas Storage Facilities to Prevent Leaks
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20102016/federal-report-natural-gas-facilities-prevent-leaks-methane-aliso-canyon-porter-ranch

[budmantis]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/22/us/dakota-access-pipeline-arrests/index.html

Extract: Activists and law enforcement clashed this weekend in North Dakota over construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

[Sigmetnow]

Electric car revolution may drive oil ‘investor death spiral’
The multi-trillion-dollar ‘big crash’ could start as soon as 2023, Bloomberg warns.

Advanced batteries could “tip the oil market from growth to contraction earlier than anticipated,” concludes the credit rating agency Fitch in a new study. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has already told investors to expect the ‘big crash’ in oil by 2028 — and as early as 2023.

Fitch Ratings agency warns that if recent technology trends continue, we may see an “investor death spiral” as first the smart money — and then everyone else’s — sell off oil company assets (bonds and stocks). That would in turn increase the industry’s costs for both debt and equity — while oil prices would be stuck at low levels as the world hits peak demand.

This would affect industries whose stocks and bonds are cumulatively valued in the trillions of dollars. In particular, Fitch notes, “an acceleration of the electrification of transport infrastructure would be resoundingly negative for the oil sector’s credit profile.”

https://thinkprogress.org/oil-investor-death-spiral-35773e131250

[Sigmetnow]

WaPo:  In a loss for ExxonMobil, NY Supreme Court orders oil giant to produce climate documents
https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/791445831949946880

[budmantis]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37790839

"Riot police move in on North Dakota pipeline protesters".

"Riot police have arrested more than 100 protesters as they cleared them all off private land in the path of the Dakota Access Pipeline".

[Sigmetnow]

U.S. Could Follow Australia in Singing Export Blues on Gas

Americans wondering what life with liquefied natural gas exports will bring can look to eastern Australia for a worst-case scenario.

As Australia is set to overtake Qatar as the world’s largest exporter of LNG, its domestic market is showing growing vulnerability to price spikes. In July, with cool weather boosting heating demand, Australians in the southern state of Victoria paid more for domestic gas than customers in Japan did for super-chilled Australian gas shipped 4,400 miles (7,000 kilometers) on tankers.

The reason: Exports are locked into set production systems and long-term contracts that can’t be easily adjusted, and companies get a premium for the international deals they arrange. Now, with U.S. consumers increasingly dependent on natural gas as coal and nuclear plants disappear, lawmakers and energy analysts say the country may also be at risk as U.S. exports reach 13.5 billion cubic feet a day in 2020.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-27/u-s-could-follow-australia-in-singing-export-blues-on-gas

[wili]

Budm reported a headline which contained the phrase: "...as they cleared them all off..."

The msm are presumably getting this language straight from the fossil-death-fuel industry.

One "clears off" trash, which is how the ff thugs are treating them and apparently how the msm sees them.

Why not, "Heavily militarized cops brutally attacked peaceful citizens protecting our water and land"?

[Sigmetnow]

Bad for the environment -- and for OPEC's plans to limit production in order to boost prices.


Brazil plans to build up oil output in 2017

Head of the petroleum and gas department at the country's Ministry of Energy Marcio Felix said in the OPEC talks in Vienna Brazil will participate as an observer.

"I cannot give exact figures, but the Brazilian production will grow several next yeas," he said. "This is the plan."
...
During an informal meeting at the 15th International Energy Forum in Algiers on September 28, the OPEC member-countries reached an agreement on limiting oil production to 32.5-33.0 million barrels per day.

http://tass.com/economy/909586

[Sigmetnow]

Exxon Enters No Man's Land
Slowly, in fits and starts, Exxon's investors are pushing it to take better account of climate-change risks.

At ExxonMobil's annual shareholders meeting in May, Rex Tillerson, the silver-haired chief executive officer and chairman of the biggest oil company in the world, did something he hadn't before in his last 10 such presentations: He addressed climate change head-on.

For several minutes, he talked about Exxon's investments in biofuel and carbon-capture technologies, its efforts to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 8.8 million tons since 2011, equivalent to taking 2 million cars off the road, and how its scientists have spent decades studying climate change, a risk he said "warrants thoughtful action."

Tillerson had no choice but to address the elephant in the room. Six months earlier, Exxon had come under investigation by New York's attorney general for allegedly misleading the public on climate change. Its shareholders wanted answers, too.

With the Paris agreement on climate ratified in December 2015, investors are increasingly confident that governments will act to reduce carbon emissions. That could put billions at risk for oil companies' biggest shareholders—pension funds, institutional investors, and large asset managers—as the industry faces its worst downturn in a generation, with oil prices half what they were in 2014.

No company has more to lose than Exxon. Though widely seen as the best-run oil company in the industry, it's also been the slowest among its peers to face up to the risks that climate change poses to its business. Slowly, in fits and starts, investors are trying to push it to take better account of those risks. ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-28/exxon-enters-no-man-s-land

[budmantis]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/29/us/dakota-pipeline-standing-rock-sioux/index.html

"Not all Standing Rock Sioux are protesting the pipeline".

I saw this article and decided that I'd post it, just to give a different perspective to the pipeline issue.

[TerryM]

CNN must rely on Big Oil for much of their advertising revenue.


Terry

[budmantis]

CNN must rely on Big Oil for much of their advertising revenue.


Terry

That may be true Terry, but isn't it the role of the media to present all sides of a story? Even if CNN is in the pocket of BIG OIL, there may be a significant minority of people that live on this reservation that are not against the pipeline per se. If so, are they also in BIG OIL's pocket? Or do they have an honest difference of opinion from the protesters? I don't like what is going on with this oil pipeline and I would prefer to see exploration and infrastructure spending on fossil fuels come to a complete stop. I do however want to see the picture as it is from every angle.

[Sigmetnow]

Perspective.

[Sigmetnow]

 

Pipeline Blast in Alabama Injures 7

At least seven workers were injured Monday when an explosion occurred along the Colonial Pipeline in rural Alabama, not far where it burst last month, authorities said.

The explosion sent flames soaring over the forest about a mile west of where the pipeline burst in September, Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement. That rupture led to gasoline shortages across the South.

People within 3 miles of the blast site were being evacuated, the governor said.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/photo/pipeline-blast-alabama-injures-7-n675971

[Sigmetnow]

Exxon “Enters No Man’s Land”

The world’s largest listed oil company, Exxon, announced [Friday] that it was going to have to cut its reported proved reserves by just under a fifth – by 19 per cent.

It would be the biggest reserve revision in the history of the oil industry. It is yet another sign that Big oil is in big trouble.
...
Importantly, most of Exxon’s de-booked reserves, about 3.6bn barrels, will be at the company’s dirty Kearl oil sands project in Canada. The reduction would account for over three quarters of the reserves. Not only are tar sands very energy intensive, but they are expensive to produce.

In a low oil price, carbon-constrained world, they are stranded assets.

“For the oil sands, this is a tipping point,” argues Andrew Logan, director of the oil and gas program at the ethical investment organisation, Ceres. “Why would any company invest billions of dollars in a new oil-sands project now, given the near certainty that the world will be transitioning away from fossil fuels during the decades it will take for that project to pay back?”

http://priceofoil.org/2016/10/31/exxon-enters-no-mans-land/

[budmantis]

Perspective.

Perspective indeed!

[budmantis]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37834334

"What is Standing Rock and why are 1.4 million 'checking in' there?

Yet another story about the "Dakota Access Pipeline" and those that oppose it. Makes me wonder if there will ever come a time when these and other Native Americans will be left alone to do what they wish, without interference on what is left of their native lands?

[AbruptSLR]

The linked article is entitled: "Oil Falls on ‘Most Bearish Report of All Time’".  The lower prices will likely increase oil consumptions:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-prices-slip-as-production-deal-prospects-fade-1478085559

Extract: "Oil prices dropped sharply Wednesday as weekly inventory data revealed a much larger-than-expected increase in crude-oil stockpiles.

U.S. crude futures fell $1.58, or 3.39%, to $45.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, fell $1.55, or 3.22%, to $46.59 a barrel."

See also:
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/02/why-crude-oil-stockpiles-surged-this-week--and-why-they-may-keep-rising.html

Extract: "But this is not simply a demand story, according to Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData. Global crude loadings for export were at a record in October, he noted.

"Most of the large exporters in the world have all been increasing exports in the last month, and this crude has to go somewhere. Even though U.S. production is ticking higher again, we're still seeing strong imports," he told CNBC."

[Sigmetnow]

Oil Production Could Have Caused Century-Old California Earthquakes

Hough and Page found that oil and gas production in the Los Angeles Basin may have caused four out of the five major earthquakes in the region during that time. The largest—the 1933 Long Beach earthquake—was magnitude 6.4, killed 120 people and caused $50 million in damage (in 1933 dollars). Their study, published today in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, explains that the majority of those big earthquakes occurred close to oil wells, often soon after production began.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/oil-production-could-have-caused-century-old-california-earthquakes/

[Sigmetnow]

U.S. Lawmakers call for investigation of pipeline company after deadly explosion

“This is an unacceptable situation, and we are concerned that the number, frequency, and severity of significant incidents on Colonial’s system over the past five years could be symptomatic of severe underlying problems with the system and the company’s management of that system,” the lawmakers wrote. They also noted that the accident was the “third major incident on Colonial’s system in just over a year and the seventh in less than five years.”

https://thinkprogress.org/house-democrats-call-for-investigation-colonial-pipeline-d0e2ccc17b3c

[Sigmetnow]

Natural gas traders have decided this winter will be warm.  They've guessed wrong before.

Gas Traders Are Giving Up on U.S. Winter Before It’s Begun

Autumn warmth has spooked the gas market, pushing prices to the biggest weekly drop since January on concern that a mild winter will leave the market struggling to absorb a glut of the heating fuel. A bad weather bet can have dire consequences for traders: A wrong-way wager on the March-April spread contributed to the collapse of hedge fund Amaranth Advisors in 2006.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-04/gas-traders-are-giving-up-on-u-s-winter-before-it-s-begun

[Sigmetnow]

U.S.:  A magnitude 5.0 earthquake next to one of the worlds largest oil storage facilities. What could possibly go wrong? 

Earthquake Causes Damage in Central Oklahoma

A 5.0-magnitude earthquake centered near one of the world's key oil hubs brought down building facades and shattered windows.

The temblor triggered fears that key infrastructure may have been damaged and century-old buildings left unsafe in the latest Oklahoma town rattled by increasingly strong quakes.

Cushing Assistant City Manager Jeremy Frazier told a news conference late Sunday that a few minor injuries were reported. He said the damage appeared to be contained to downtown, where piles of debris sat at the base of some commercial buildings.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/earthquake-causes-damage-central-oklahoma-n678811

[Sigmetnow]

Why Oklahoma Can't Turn Off Its Earthquakes
Even new fracking wastewater regulations can't prevent the big ones.

Last year, Oklahoma experienced more than 1,000 earthquakes measuring at least 3.0 in magnitude; that's up from fewer than two in 2008. The state is now the most seismically active in the continental U.S. Seismologists believe the quakes there are the result of wastewater injection wells used by the oil and gas industry.
...
Even so, might the latest tremblers serve as a wake-up call to the industry that more must be done to prevent what could ultimately become a national catastrophe? "I don't think this changes anything," said Kim Hatfield, vice chairman of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, a trade group of oil and gas producers. The industry still strongly opposes any moratorium on wastewater disposal, said Hatfield.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-08/why-oklahoma-can-t-turn-off-its-earthquakes

[Sigmetnow]

OPEC Boss Warns of Oil-Market Instability If No Deal on Output

OPEC’s chief warned of prolonged instability in the oil market if the producer group and other major crude suppliers fail to act jointly to limit output and curb a global glut.

An inability of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to implement the deal it reached in Algiers in September will have “negative consequences on the already fragile state of the industry,” OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said Tuesday at a briefing in Abu Dhabi. Markets are “eagerly awaiting” combined action by OPEC and non-OPEC producers, he said.

“Failure to jointly act with our non-OPEC colleagues and friends in accordance with the Algiers accord will further elongate this period of very low growth, this period of instability in the market, and will put forward, further, the re-balancing process,” Barkindo said, adding that he didn’t wish to sound “like a prophet of doom.” ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-08/opec-boss-warns-of-oil-market-instability-if-no-deal-on-output

[Sigmetnow]

So much for reduced output....

Total, China Join First Iran Gas Deal Since Sanctions Eased

...Iran is seeking to revive an energy industry crippled by international sanctions.

The agreement signals Iran is trying to fast-track projects to boost oil and gas production amid low prices, analysts said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-08/total-china-share-iran-s-first-gas-deal-since-sanctions-eased

[Sigmetnow]

Oil and Gas Industry Ensnarled in Spate of Oklahoma Earthquakes

The tremors now come daily.

Earthquakes are rippling through Oklahoma with an intensity so persistent they are almost considered normal.

Already 46 quakes large and small, have struck the region since the start of the month. But now the swarms are becoming harder to ignore.
...
For a state where roughly one-quarter of jobs are tied to the energy industry, stakeholders are in the midst of a difficult reckoning over what must be done to keep the ground from shaking.

"The oil and gas industry basically owns the state," said Oklahoma state Rep. Cory Williams (D-Stillwater). "Policymakers don't want to do anything that appears to harm the jobs created by the oil and gas sector and so they don't want to do anything that even appears to be a regulation."
...
Oklahoma policy makers were initially slow to link the disposal wells to the increase in tremors. Few said directly that the energy sector was contributing to the problem, according to Oklahoma state Rep. Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie).

"Up until very recently there was a great reluctance to take that conversation seriously," Murphy added. "But the dialogue has changed. Now almost everyone knows and understands the correlation between earthquakes and wastewater injection."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oil-gas-industry-ensnarled-spate-oklahoma-earthquakes-n682511

[Sigmetnow]

"Total" Oil company announces installation of solar panels at 5,000 gas stations

Total, the major French multinational oil and gas company, announced today a $300 million investment to install about 200 MW of solar capacity at 5,000 gas stations around the world. The investment is being presented as a way for Total’s operations to reduce its carbon footprint....

https://electrek.co/2016/11/15/oil-company-solar-panels-gas-stations-convert-ev-charging-station/