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Tracking the Energy Industry |
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Spiro, Spero
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Tracking the Energy Industry |
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Dum
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Pricing / SupplyOctober 3, 2004
Light
sweet crude passes US$50 in New York trading
AFP: Oil prices rebounded higher on Friday, with prices in New York closing above US$50 a barrel for the first time, as traders fretted about Nigerian oil production amid a threatened rebel uprising... September 29, 2004
Oil
prices push past US$50 mark
AP: Traders bid oil to new highs in after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange in a reaction to the slow recovery of US oil production that was damaged by Hurricane Ivan and unrest in key producers Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Nigeria... September 28, 2004
OPEC
president says cartel can still raise output
AFP: OPEC is capable of increasing oil output levels by a further 1.5 million barrels per day to help ease pressure on the market but new supplies may not lower prices, the organization's president said yesterday... September 27, 2004
Bush
Set to Open Oil Reserve Spigot
Reuters: With oil near $50 a barrel, the Bush administration is set to allow oil refineries to borrow from the government's emergency petroleum stockpile to make up for supplies disrupted by Hurricane Ivan... one of the loans would be for 100,000 to 200,000 barrels, and the other for 1 million to 2 million barrels... September 27, 2004
Iran:
Gasoline is imported to end worries
IranMania: A huge gasoline consignment weighing 30,000 tons is imported by National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in order to avert fuel shortages across the country, Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported... September 27, 2004
Wild
oil ride rewrites trading rules
Reuters: Oil's startling price surge this year has actually driven many traders to the sidelines as wild intra-day swings magnified by powerful speculative funds confound traditional trading strategies, market sources say... September 27, 2004
Qatar:
oil price jump market-manipulated
Khaleej Times: "I do not think there is any kind of oil shortage, there are no long queues at gas stations," said Al Attiy. "Further talks in this regard will take place in Cairo in December when Opec will be having an extra ordinary meeting to discuss the issue..." September 26, 2004
Price
of oil up 73 percent compared with a year ago
AP: The amount of excess oil production available worldwide is about 1 percent of total demand of about 82 million barrels a day, leaving the industry little breathing room in the event of a prolonged supply interruption, according to many analysts... September 24, 2004
Crude
Oil May Rise as U.S. Supplies Near 29-Year Low
Bloomberg: US crude-oil stockpiles fell 9.1 million barrels to 269.5 million in the week ended Sept. 17, the US Energy Department said. Supplies are 5.8 million barrels from being the lowest since September 1975. It was the first time since 1988 that inventories had dropped for eight straight weeks... September 24, 2004
NZ:
Electricity demand reaches record levels
Scoop: National demand growth this year, however, has surged higher again following the conservation campaigns of 2001 and 2003 and is running at 5% year-on-year. Weekly demand peaked at a record 842 GWh during the week ended 31 August... September 23, 2004
Oil's
'fear premium' pegged at $10-$15
CBS Marketwatch: "Around $5 of the estimated $15 premium is due to the weak U.S. dollar," Sieminski said. He then tacked on $2 to $3 for each of several factors: Hurricane Ivan, the situation with Yukos in Russia, the kidnappings and insurgency in Iraq, worries over oil supplies and the threat of terrorists destabilizing Saudi Arabia... September 21, 2004
Bad
finances force Yukos to reduce its oil exports to China
NY Times: It appears to be the first time that Yukos' ability to transport oil has been affected by its tax dispute with the Russian government, which has frozen most of its bank accounts... September 20, 2004
Arguments
erupt over petroleum capacity
AFP: At a seminar in Vienna last week, organised by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil world's principal players - producer and consuming countries, oil companies and analysts - discussed the contentious issue at length... September 19, 2004
Supply
fears drive crude oil futures up 3.9 percent
NYT: Even as the deadly weather system sputtered over North Carolina, turning into a tropical storm, traders said they expected supply snags in the aftermath due to import disruptions and damage to a natural gas pipeline... September 9, 2004
Heat
is off the oil market: IEA
AFP: The heat has gone out of the underlying forces in the oil market and only short-term factors are keeping the oil price at about 40 dollars per barrel, the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded... September 9, 2004
World
oil inventories seen building
Reuters: The IEA, which advises 26 industrialised nations on energy policy, assessed likely demand for crude oil from the OPEC cartel in the fourth quarter at 28.3 million barrels per day, compared to August production of 29.3 million barrels per day... September 9, 2004
Energy
Bills Soar in Europe as Wholesale Costs Bite
Reuters: Millions of consumers face higher prices this winter as utilities pass on gains in wholesale costs, which have shot to record levels on the back of rampant oil and coal prices, and tightening environmental laws... August 29, 2004
High
oil prices here to stay: IEA
Australian Broadcasting: "What we feel is that the spare capacity in Saudi Arabia has pretty much thinned out to very low levels and this is because, probably just because the investments haven't been put in to maintain spare capacity, which has become fairly costly to do..." - Antoine Halff August 29, 2004
Ceasefire
in Najaf helps to steady global oil prices
AFP: Analyst John Kilduff at Fimat said reports about sabotage in Iraq kept the market on edge about the prospect of increasing supplies from the country... August 27, 2004
Traders
wonder about oil-price bubble
AP: Conversations with brokers revealed that they are stepping back to assess potential supply problems more critically and on an individual basis, rather than lumping them all together, which tends to result in a more emotion-laden analysis... August 27, 2004
OPEC
expects oil prices to fall to $30 per barrel
Jakarta Post: Purnomo said members of OPEC were producing more oil than the official quota in an effort to cool down an overheated market. Currently, the cartel's oil production reaches 30 million bpd, consisting of a quota of 26 million, two million from Iraq, and two million in overproduction... August 27, 2004
Impact
Of Oil Output Fall At Ageing Fields Seen As Acute
Dow Jones: Oil production is now in decline in at least 18 major producing countries including the US, UK and OPEC members Indonesia and Venezuela, and total production from this group is falling by around 1 million barrels a day every year, according to the latest data.... August 27, 2004
BP
restarts Texas City ultraformer - Texas
Reuters: The restart, which began Sunday, of the unit at the 470,000 barrel per day refinery comes after 4-1/2 months of repairs. An ultraformer produces blending components that boost octane in gasoline... August 26, 2004
OPEC
looses its grip on oil prices
AFP: The cartel's surplus capacities, which formerly conferred its role as the giant producer and market power despite the fact that OPEC produces only about 40 percent of the world's supply, have dwindled... August 26, 2004
World
oil price spike hits Chinese market
China Daily: China Wednesday raised the price of refined oil products for the first time in three months to reflect the oil price spike on the international market. The move also spells out relief for domestic refineries that have been suffering losses because of rising crude oil costs... August 25, 2004
Kuwait
Foreign Minister Discusses Oil
AP: "The oil prices have been driven up by speculation. It's been driven by people who are outside the region," Sheik Mohammed said. "Still, they are high and the producers are not responsible for this." August 25, 2004
Iraq
Oil Exports Cut in Half After Attack
AP: Oil exports out of southern Iraq average about 1.85 million barrels a day. The oil official said Wednesday's sabotage cut exports to 900,000 barrels. The country's southern pipelines export 90 percent of Iraq's oil... August 26, 2004
Crude
Oil Little Changed After 3.9% Plunge on Gasoline Supply
Bloomberg: ``The fact that we did not see inventory levels diminish at all is very telling,'' said David Aleman, managing director of Axis Trading Co. in Beverly Hills, California. ``The higher prices have taken some of the demand out of the market''... August 25, 2004
Central
bankers seek to dispel oil price concerns
AFP: ECB president stressed there was no reason to revise the eurozone's growth forecasts due to soaring oil prices. "Everything else being equal elsewhere, the higher price of oil is not good for growth and price increases, but we are not in 1974 nor the beginning of 1980, when we had the big oil shocks," Trichet said... August 25, 2004
US
Coal Prices Increase dramatically
PEi: A resurging U.S. economy combined with double digit economic growth in China, where coal produces electricity to manufacture its growing steel industry, has spurred greater demand for coal. In some instances, coal prices have nearly doubled... August 25, 2004
US
may use oil reserve if half imports lost-Cheney
Reuters: Vice President Dick Cheney's comments during an Iowa campaign appearance on Tuesday marked the first time the administration has given a specific example of the type of emergency that would cause it to use the stockpile... August 25, 2004
British
Gas rise 'is a body blow'
BBC: British Gas customers will be badly hit by the company's price hikes, with thousands put at risk of "fuel poverty," a consumer group has warned... August 24, 2004
UK:
Why are power prices on the rise?
BBC: Centrica, the company that owns British Gas, says depletion of the North Sea and Irish Sea gas reserves is taking its toll with the company having to import more supplies. That, coupled with surging crude oil prices... August 24, 2004
Sweating
barrels: Strategic Petroleum Reserves
Houston Chronicle: With crude oil at near-record prices (although not in constant dollars) and the tab at the pump not that far off historic highs, it must be tempting to go splashing about in the underground reserve that was established almost 30 years ago in reaction to an Arab embargo... August 24, 2004
Rising coal price will not cause natural gas price to rise, according
to Wood Mackenzie
PEi: Breaking with conventional thinking on the effects of coal price on gas price, new research by Wood Mackenzie finds that rising spot Central Appalachian coal (CAPP) prices will not lead to a meaningful increase in demand or price for the already tight natural gas market... August 24, 2004
Fighting
in Iraq triggers higher prices
AP: World oil prices rose yesterday as sporadic clashes between US troops and Shiite militiamen flared in major producer Iraq... August 22, 2004
Crude
oil may rise on supply threats
Bloomberg: Crude oil futures in New York, after passing US$49 a barrel, may rise further next week on increasing concern that shipments will be curtailed just as demand accelerates, a Bloomberg survey of traders and analysts showed... August 20, 2004
Analysts say new crude oil highs emotion-driven
NY Times: Fear, not fact, is powering world oil prices to all-time highs, defying even positive news such as a peace deal in the Iraqi flashpoint city of Najaf, analysts said... August 18, 2004
Oil price increases caused by politics, bad planning
Guardian: The US must shoulder some blame for sky-high oil prices. The world's biggest user has made no effort to wean itself off cheap gasoline and its foreign policy has made matters worse. Other factors are... August 18, 2004
Higher
oil prices may be the norm
Guardian: CSFB said oil could spike at US$50 to US$60 a barrel within the next year, while Deutsche Bank said that this year is poised to be the sixth successive year in which analysts have underestimated the strength of crude oil prices... August 15, 2004
Oil
gushes to new highs as demand strains producers
AFP: New York's benchmark light sweet crude for delivery in September leapt US$1.08 to a record high settlement of US$46.58 a barrel. It spiked at an all-time high of US$46.65... August 15, 2004
Oil
companies may be dragging their feet
AFP: Raw figures for the for the top 10 companies compiled by oil industry consultant Wood Mackenzie show a drop from US$45.9 billion in 1998 to US$36 billion in 1999. The total did not return to 1998 levels until 2001, before accelerating last year to US$57.6 billion.... August 15, 2004
Iraqi
fears of sabotage shut crucial oil pipeline
AFP: Crude exports from Basra's two main offshore terminals, the only outlet for Iraqi oil, have been slashed in half, costing the government at least US$30 million a day in lost revenue... August 13, 2004
High
oil prices to hit stocks hard
Guardian: Investment bank Goldman Sachs on Wednesday warned of the potentially damaging effect for stock market investors of high oil prices, dubbing the process "the revenge of the old economy..." August 12, 2004
IEA says oil demand stronger than believed Reuters: the revisions to world
demand estimates since 2002, mainly in non-OECD countries, have pushed
the forecast for this year up by 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 82.2
million bpd, the agency said in its monthly Oil Market Report...
August 11, 2004
Bloomberg: The group currently holds
about 500,000 barrels a day of "effective" spare capacity, most
of which lies in Saudi Arabia, the IEA said. OPEC will add a further 370,000
barrels a day to its capacity by the end of the year...
August 11, 2004
Reuters: US oil prices hit a fresh
record yesterday, just short of US$45 a barrel, as violence in Iraq
disrupted output and exports from that country's southern fields, compounding
fears that tight global supplies may be inadequate to meet demand...
August 11, 2004
Market stunned as Cairn Energy hits more oil in India The Scotsman: Gammell has said in the past that he believes recovery rates of up to 25 per cent could be possible across the entire Mangala complex. That would push the total reserves in the field to 400 million barrels - equivalent to four months combined production from the entire North Sea.... August 11, 2004
Oil
is power
Guardian: Without question, rising oil prices add to the problems facing policymakers. The difficulty they have is that the initial impact is inflationary, pushing up prices and costs, while the second-round effects are deflationary, affecting consumer incomes and corporate cash flow... August 10, 2004
ASPO: Great oil party is coming to an end MidEast Online: The association maintains that the peak after which oil production begins to decline is much closer than is commonly thought, standing somewhere between 2008 and 2010 for oil and 2013 for gas... August 9, 2004
Oil demand will soon outstrip supply: Dr Ali Samsam Bakhtiari, Nat. Iranian Oil Australian Broadcasting: "The supplies side is limited. We are reaching the limits of the planet very soon. We can't produce much more oil than we are producing today. I am talking about two to three years from now..." August 9, 2004
Contract boosts Talisman's Indonesian sales CBC News: Talisman's share of the sale is about 810 billion cubic feet over the life of the contract. The gas will be sold for $1.91 US a thousand cubic feet. Gas was trading for $5.69 a thousand cubic feet in New York on Monday... August 9, 2004
Husky says White Rose field a go CBC News: The well, called White Rose B 07 2, can produce between 25,000 and 35,000 barrels a day (b/d), based on pressure measurements and flow rate information, Husky said Monday... August 8, 2004
Iran
refuses to lower LNG price for India
India Express: Iran has refused to lower the price of liquefied natural gas it plans to sell India arguing that it was offering the most competitive price at $ 2.22 per million British thermal unit(mBtu)... August 8, 2004
Oil
prices reach all-time highs, then settle down
AFP: A Moscow court ruled that Russian justice ministry bailiffs had no right to freeze the assets of Yuganskneftegaz, Yukos's largest oil producing subsidiary, accounting for around 60 percent of its output... August 7, 2004
Oil
prices show no sign of dropping
Reuters: Oil prices hit fresh records yesterday, climbing close to US$45 after a fire at a big US refinery and a renewed threat to Russian oil major underlined the strain on world supplies... August 6, 2004
Oil
futures rebound on OPEC chief's assurances
AP: Traders said they had misgivings about the announcement, which contradicted a statement on Tuesday by OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro saying the group couldn't pump any more oil in the immediate future... August 5, 2004
We'll be looking at $50 oil, and likely
by next winter
Economides / Oligney: Expect oil to flirt with $50, creeping up to that level next winter, once OPEC's impotence becomes apparent. There should be no illusions after the past few years. The oil cartel has been rendered virtually powerless to affect oil prices in a big way... August 4, 2004
OPEC
warning as oil hits new peak
CNN: "OPEC can do nothing," Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil told reporters in Algiers. Analysts warn any disruption to supply could send prices surging again... August 4, 2004
Crude
oil prices surge to new high of US$44/barrel
Reuters: "The oil price is very high, it's crazy. There is no additional supply," OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in Jakarta... August 2004
Simmons
hopes he's wrong
Petroleum News: But if he's right in his belief that Saudi Arabia's giant oil fields might already have peaked and could start into rapid decline in as few as three years, somebody better have a "Plan B" ready or there's no way, he says, to avoid a world energy cataclysm... July 25, 2004
Oil
prices rise on terrorism fears
AFP: New York's benchmark contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, climbed BrentUS$0. 31 to US$41.67 a barrel. Brent North Sea for September advanced US$0.26 to US$38.27... July 22, 2004
Crude
oil futures follow natural gas higher
FT: September Nymex WTI gained $1.07 to an intra-day high of $41.65 a barrel shortly after the weekly inventory showed a small build in natural gas storage as US industry and consumers switch on more air-conditioning units to combat the summer heat... July 17, 2004
A
Closer Look: An insider speaks out
Belfast VS: Simmons, who regards natural gas as the world's single best source of energy, classifies the U.S. natural gas supply as in "serious shape" with declining production throughout the country... July 11, 2004
Oil
prices slip after OPEC soothes market
AFP: World oil prices slipped Friday, dragging New York crude just below US$40 a barrel, as OPEC ministers soothed a nervous market by renewing a vow to boost output... July 10, 2004
No
pleasant surprises in the new oil order
AsiaOnline: ...The kingdom's actions may in fact constitute an implicit fait accompli, an acceptance of their inability to increase production substantially beyond current levels, bringing the days of peak oil production ominously closer... July 9, 2004
Saudi may pump less oil this month
MENFA: An industry report indicated that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, may pump 8.75 million barrels of oil a day this month, 3.8 percent less than planned, because of rising US oil stockpiles, Gulf Times newspaper reported... July 8, 2004
Total
resumes production in Nigeria
AP: Energy giant Total S.A.'s subsidiary said it was pumping oil and gas again Thursday, ending a six-day shutdown over fears that a threatened oil union strike could bring violence... July 8, 2004
Big
deepwater world oil reserves to be found
Reuters: Oil consultants Wood Mackenzie and Fugro Robertson said new finds could swell deepwater reserves by 114 billion barrels from 50 billion now... July 8, 2004
Nine
reasons the peak now looks more imminent
Richard Heinberg: Since the publication of The Party's Over we've seen: 1) Sharply declining discovery figures for 2002 and 2003 2) Increasingly pessimistic assessments from ASPO... July 8, 2004
Skids
are greased for oil crisis
Plain Dealer: What Hubbert got right is the human tendency to believe that everything will muddle along approximately as it is, and to assume that short-term fixes will repair all problems, even oil-supply problems... July 5, 2004
China's
proven oil reserves at 6.5 billion tons
AFP: Energy-hungry China had proven oil reserves - crude oil classified as practical to extract - totalling 6.5 billion tons at the end of 2003, the Ministry of Land and Resources said Monday... July 5, 2004
Car-crazy
Asia will keep a gas fill-up at $40
Mercury News: WORLD DEMAND IS OUTPACING DISCOVERIES... Oil analysts point to the surge in demand from China and the rest of Asia as the largest single factor behind the recent rise in world oil prices. China alone accounts for nearly half the growth in world demand for oil this year... July 4, 2004
Iran Number-Two Position For World Oil Reserves
Tehran Times: Minister of Oil Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said here on Saturday that a new gas field discovered in the southwestern Khuzestan province holds 251 billion cubic meters of gas. Zanganeh told reporters that 176 billion cubic meters of gas could be recovered from this new field... July 4, 2004
Crude
prices fall; pipeline in Iraq `cut'
AFP: Oil prices slipped on Friday as traders locked away profits from a two-day surge, but the market still worried about tight US inventories and a financial crisis at Russian energy giant Yukos... July 2, 2004
Natural-gas
power plant cleaner than coal, but costlier
Denver Post: Calpine Corp.'s $300 million plant in Weld County runs on natural gas - a fuel admired for its cleanliness but reviled for its fast-rising cost... July 1, 2004
Output
levels adequate: Saudis
Reuters: Top world oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which has boosted supply to cool prices, believes the market has now fallen to a fair value and sees no reason to change its production level, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said yesterday... June 30, 2004
Al-Naimi sees kingdom's continued role as key supplier of last resort
OGJ: Saudi Arabia is intent on reaffirming its role as the world's linchpin oil supplier for as long as that hydrocarbon can be economically produced. And the kingdom sees that day extending decades beyond that claimed by advocates of the view that the world faces an imminent peak and steep decline in oil production... June 24, 2004
Oil
prices retreat; Oslo intervenes in Norwegian strike
AFP: Oil prices retreated Friday as the Norwegian government stepped in to resolve a strike that has hit output from the world's third-largest exporter... June 25, 2004
The
Crude Awakening
FinancialSense: One of the biggest bottlenecks - one that can't be overcome quickly or easily - in the industry, is the lack of refining capacity in Canada and the United States... June 24, 2004
Oil
exploration of Great Barrier Reef pushed by Australia
Reuters: Australia has increased tax concessions to encourage oil exploration in the far reaches of the Great Barrier Reef, angering environmentalists who warn an oil spill could destroy the world's largest living reef system... June 23, 2004
U.S.
crude supplies near 2-year high
MarketWatch: Earlier, the Energy Department reported a 2.5 million-barrel climb in crude inventories for the week ended June 18. Total stocks stand at 305.4 million, or 7.8 percent above the year-ago level, the data showed... June 23, 2004
SEC
leans to voluntary code on oil reserves
FT: US regulators have for now ruled out changing their controversial rules on oil industry reserves amid fall-out from the Shell scandal and would prefer companies voluntarily to reveal more details... June 21, 2004
Peak
Oil Revisited - The Bill Collector Calls
FTW: For almost the entire year between the Paris and Berlin conferences the icons of the mainstream press - the ones known and employed to mold public and business perception - had been acknowledging Peak Oil's reality... CNN, the BBC, the New York Times, the Economist... June 21, 2004
Oil
Prices Are Spiking: Has Supply Hit Its Peak?
Fortune: In 1956 a grouchy, iconoclastic Shell Oil geologist named M. King Hubbert forecast that U.S. oil production would peak by the early 1970s. The general reaction to his prediction was disbelief and ridicule, until, that is, the early 1970s, when he turned out to be right... June 21, 2004
Oil-workers'
strike slashes Norway's output 10 percent
Bloomberg: A Norwegian oil-workers' strike that's cutting daily output from the world's third-largest oil exporter by more than 300,000 barrels entered its third day yesterday with little chance of a resolution, the nation's oil industry association said... June 20, 2004
Oil
prices rise again on security fears
AFP: New York's main oil contract rose Friday as nerves tightened over bloody insurgent attacks in Iraq and the beheading of a kidnapped American worker in Saudi Arabia... June 20, 2004
Would
More Drilling in America Make a Difference?
NY Times: The United States sits atop just 3 percent of the world's proven oil reserves, but burns one quarter of global production. Sixty percent of what it uses daily is imported... June 18, 2004
Some
Issues in Forecasting Natural Gas Prices
Lukens: when market uncertainty is a concern for the producers, the production allocation is such that the current price will be higher and future prices will be lower. We also found that major price variations in the last thirteen years have been caused by weather conditions and therefore cannot be cyclical... June 15, 2004
Asian
growth straining oil supplies, experts caution
AFP: Asia must speed up its economic liberalization to woo energy investment and ensure sufficient and affordable long-term supplies in a turbulent world market, oil experts said at a key regional conference here yesterday... June 13, 2004
Oil
prices fall as Nigerian general strike suspended
Reuters: Oil prices eased yesterday as Nigerian unions called off a general strike without disruption to supplies from Africa's biggest oil exporter... June 6, 2004
After
the Oil Runs Out
Washington Post: For every 10 barrels of conventional oil consumed, only four new barrels are discovered... June 6, 2004
Oil
prices lose nearly 10 percent since recent high
Reuters: Oil prices dropped nearly 10 percent from recent record highs on Friday as rising stockpiles in the US and the promise of more OPEC barrels soothed worries of a summer supply crunch... June
4, 2004
OPEC agrees to boost production by 2 million bpd Reuters: OPEC yesterday agreed to raise output by 2 million barrels a day (bpd), or 8 percent, in a bid to ease oil prices from US$40 a barrel, Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said... June 3, 2004
Oil prices hit fresh record highs Reuters & AFP: Fears that militant attacks will destabilize Saudi Arabia drove crude prices to record highs yesterday in their biggest jump in more than a year, shoving Asian stock markets lower... June 2, 2004
Oil rises further on terror fears
AP: World oil prices rose in Asian trading yesterday on fears of possible supply disruption following the weekend's terrorist attacks in oil kingpin Saudi Arabia, dealers said... May 31, 2004
Phantom
reserves
Globe and Mail: No one is looking for those missing barrels -- because they likely never existed, according to the securities officials who have rewritten the rule book for the half-art, half-science of estimating reserves of oil and natural gas deep underground... May 31, 2004
China
becoming major coal exporter
AFP: Since it improved the quality of coke coming from its coal mines, China is now in a dominant market position, leaving European steel makers in a predicament... May 26, 2004
OPEC decision eases oil prices Reuters: Oil traders doubted whether the rise in production would be enough to tame soaring crude prices ahead of the peak driving season in the US... May 24, 2004
OPEC delays decision on proposal to boost production
Bloomberg: At a meeting in Amsterdam yesterday, the organization's members delayed a decision until their official meeting in Beirut on June 3. Venezuela opposes raising the output ceiling and Iran, OPEC's second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, expressed concern that prices might drop later in the year... May 23, 2004
Stepped-up
Saudi
Arabian
production
eases
oil
prices
AP: The Saudi oil ministry said the country has pledged to increase its production to calm jittery energy markets and normalize gasoline prices... May 17, 2004
Oil
price out of OPEC's
reach
AFP: Despite an expected production increase later this week, OPEC may not be able to pump enough oil to bring down prices that have been skyrocketing due to instability in the Middle East and increased world demand...
May 15, 2004
A
crude oil shock would
bring a rude awakening
NY Times: So far, the current world oil crunch doesn't look at all like the crises of 1973 or 1979. That's why it's so scary...
May 14,2004
OPEC
seeking to avoid 1973
repeat
AP: OPEC is concerned that soaring oil prices could slow global growth, but believes current 13-year highs are largely out of its control, the group's president, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, said yesterday...
May 12, 2004
China
to raise electric rates
AFP: China said yesterday that it plans to allow the country's two power grid firms to raise electricity prices for the second time this year to help fund billions of yuan to upgrade the networks... May 11, 2004
Chinese
Petroleum mulls month's end oil
price hike
Taipei Times: The state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (Taiwan) said yesterday that it does not rule out the possibility of hiking oil prices at the end of the month if world oil prices keep on surging, an official said yesterday...
May 10, 2004 Oil
refiners seeing profits
rise
Globe and Mail: (Canada) An unprecedented flood of hundreds of consumer complaints in the past two weeks about the soaring cost of gasoline has sparked a Competition Bureau probe into whether the oil industry is conspiring to fix pump prices...
May 10, 2004 As
oil supply evaporates, gas
storage expands
Guardian: Humbly Grove used to be one of Britain's biggest onshore oilfields. It is about to become one of the country's largest gas storage facilities...
May 10, 2004 Oil
Drops $1 on Saudi Calls for Supply
Reuters: World oil prices fell from their 13-year peaks of $40 a barrel on Monday as leading world exporter Saudi Arabia said OPEC should raise supply to stop high prices hurting world economic growth...
May 9, 2004 Gasoline
prices expected to rise
AP: With the peak summer driving season just around the corner, the price of oil climbed to US$40 a barrel on Friday and analysts said US motorists should brace for more expensive gasoline in the days ahead... May 6, 2004
OPEC's
shocking oil reserve boondoggle
Canadian Energy Viewpoint: Campbell is also far from sanguine about the current state of world oil reserves. He provides significant evidence that oil reserves are being grossly overstated by OPEC... May 5, 2004
Oil
prices soar to 13-year high amid concern over
supply
Reuters: World oil prices forged to their highest level for 13 years on Tuesday as Middle East violence stoked concern over supply security with US fuel inventories already running low... April 27, 2004
Oil
prices rise on fears of attacks on Iraqi
resources
Reuters: Oil prices rose yesterday after the foiled weekend attempts to bomb Iraq's key Basra crude export terminal revived fears of more attacks on the country's oil infrastructure... April 25, 2004 Oil
prices slip as traders cash in
Reuters: US crude futures in New York settled down US$0.25 to US$36.46 a barrel while in London, Brent crude fell US$0.30 to US$33.09 a barrel... April 5, 2004 US
oil companies say SEC asking reserves questions
Reuters: The three biggest U.S. oil companies have confirmed the Securities and Exchange Commission is asking questions about their reserves as the industry faces closer scrutiny after Royal Dutch/Shell Group slashed its reserves estimates...
April 4, 2004 Fears
of a supply crunch heighten, confusing traders
Reuters: Oil prices ended mixed on Friday as the market continued to digest news that Washington was considering requests to temporarily waive rules requiring cleaner-burning gasoline that have contributed to fears of a supply crunch... March 30, 2004 Oil
price will bow to human nature
Times Online: If there is hope for an easing in the rising oil market, it lies in the damage higher energy costs wreak. A $10-per-barrel rise in the price of oil is estimated by analysts to trim economic growth by one quarter of a percentage point, thereby reducing demand for crude... March 29, 2004
Gas
shortage strains South America
Pravda: Lack of investment in Argentina threatens a shortage in Uruguay and Chile, while multinational lenders are supporting a controversial project in southern Peru... March 26, 2004
Bush
rejects tapping US oil reserves
Reuters: The White House on Wednesday fended off calls to tap emergency oil reserves to stem record-high gasoline prices as surging energy costs prompted Democrats to open a new avenue of attacks on President George W. Bush... |
