Free Republic

...Mr. Hoban expects between 100 and 150 of the leased vehicles to be returned to his Capitol City Nissan dealership on a monthly basis over the next two years as their leases expire. The problem: used Leafs aren’t attracting much demand. With gas prices down 33% from a year ago, and buyers cooling toward electric vehicles, some auto makers are offering deep discounts or attractive leases on battery-powered vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Nissan, for instance, slashed the price of a new Leaf by $6,400 in 2013 and is now offering a $199-a-month lease, or $3,500 cash back and 0% financing...

A Canadian National Railway Co train carrying crude oil that derailed near the northern Ontario community of Gogama early on Saturday is still on fire, the company said late on Sunday. The derailment is CN's second in the region in just three days and the third in less than a month. It was the latest in a series of North American derailments involving trains hauling crude oil, raising concerns about rail safety. "Fire suppression activities are beginning, as is construction of the track diversion," CN spokesman Mark Hallman said in an email, adding that responders were working in shifts around...

The licensees in the Johan Castberg and Snorre 2040 licences have decided to spend more time on the projects. “Castberg and Snorre 2040 are two major and important projects in our portfolio, and it is important that we find sound and robust development solutions for them,” says Ivar Aasheim, Statoil’s senior vice president for field development on the NCS. Statoil and its partners have put in an extensive effort to develop cost-effective solutions for the projects. “We see that our efforts have yielded results, and we are focused on reaping the full benefits of this in a way that ensures...

A CN Rail train carrying crude oil derailed early Saturday in northern Ontario, causing numerous tank cars to catch fire and spill into a local river system, officials said. It was the third CN oil train derailment in northern Ontario in less than a month, and the second in the same area, renewing concerns about the safety of shipping crude oil by train and further suggesting that new safety requirements for tank cars carrying flammable liquids are inadequate. CN said the cars had been retrofitted with protective shields to meet a higher safety standard known as the 1232. The new...

The plunge in gasoline prices has generated a windfall for American drivers. But so far, there's little evidence those savings are producing a widely anticipated boost in consumer spending. So where is all that money going?... Even though prices didn't fall until late last year, Americans saved some $14 billion on gasoline last year, or an average $115 per driver, according to estimates from AAA. The group figures if pump prices stay tame, those savings could amount to as much as $75 billion this year. That kind of saving—if consumers spend it elsewhere—could provide a powerful boost to the U.S....

About 9,300 oil and gas workers lost their jobs in February, as low crude prices spurred energy companies to lay down rigs and lay off employees. The 1 percent decline in oil and gas payrolls adds to the 1,900 jobs that were already shed in January and may just be the beginning of things to come. Producers have been able to blunt some of the pain from the plummet in crude prices — down from a high of $107.26 last June — by stashing oil in storage tanks around the country. But available storage space is filling up, and analysts...

...Deep_Borehole_Disposal and is pretty easy for some nuclear waste. Especially some highly radioactive materials that have sat in some fairly small capsules for almost 40 years. ...topic of discussion in Washington this week when Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz answered questions from Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) at a House Science, Space and Technology committee hearing. The answer from Moniz was positive. He discussed a pilot project that would demonstrate the idea of deep borehole disposal using these capsules. Deep borehole disposal is simple. Drill a very deep hole – 3 miles or so – put the waste in it and...

Islamic State militants have set fire to oil wells in the Ajil field east of the city of Tikrit to try to hinder aerial attacks aimed at driving them from the oilfield, a witness and military source said. Black smoke could be seen rising from oil field since Wednesday afternoon, said the witness, who accompanied Iraqi militia and soldiers as they advanced on Tikrit from the east. Before the Islamic State took over the field in June it produced 25,000 barrels per day of crude that were shipped to the Kirkuk refinery, as well as 150 million cubic feet of...

Despite falling oil prices, production cutbacks and persistent safety concerns, rail officials plan to continue shipping millions of gallons of volatile crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota through Texas, according to updated records provided by state officials on Wednesday. Average weekly volumes reflect little change from a first batch of disclosures released last week. Those disclosures, dated last summer, provided a limited view of forecasted shipments. Volumes in Harris County remain the highest, an average topping out at six million gallons a week. Federal emergency orders — approved last spring after a series of fiery derailments involving...

The National Right to Work Foundation announced Wednesday that three employees at LyondellBasell filed unfair labor practice charges against the United Steelworkers Union. The charges allege that union officials from Steelworkers Local 13-227 are harassing workers who are going back to work. The charges were filed Monday with the National Labor Relations Board, according to the foundation that is providing free legal help. The foundation accused an unnamed local union official of making threats toward workers who continue to work during the strike. The group also alleges that union officials have allowed a union Facebook page to threaten union-represented employees...

At Delta Airlines' Philadelphia refinery, the local chapter of the United Steelworkers Union (USW) and Monroe Energy (a Delta subsidiary) have called in a federal mediator to resuscitate talks between the two parties in the hopes of averting the spread of the largest US oil worker strike in 35 years to the US east coast. National negotiations between Shell (on behalf of the oil companies) and the USW are set to resume Wednesday. In April 2012, Delta acquired the Trainer refinery (located near Philadelphia in Delaware County, PA) from Phillips 66 through subsidiary Monroe Energy for $180 million . The...

Shell Canada Ltd. has withdrawn its regulatory application for the proposed Pierre River heavy oil mine north of Fort McMurray. The Pierre River Mine (PRM) application outlined a proposal for 200,000 b/d. The project “remains a very long-term opportunity for us, but it’s not currently a priority,” said Lorraine Mitchelmore, Shell Canada president and executive vice-president, heavy oil. “We will continue to hold the leases and can reapply in the future when the time is right,” she said. PRM had been joined with an application for a 100,000-b/d expansion of the Jackpine Mine, but Shell separated the applications in 2009....

Two major oil-ports in eastern Libya, Es Sidra and Ras Lanuf, were hit by an air-raid on Tuesday launched by the Islamist armed forces, according to security sources. A warplane fired rockets at oil facilities in Es Sidra and the airport in Ras Lanuf but caused no severe damage or casualties, an official from the Petroleum Facility Guard (PFG) said. The Islamist armed alliance Libya Dawn did not confirm the attack. Since mid-December, Libya Dawn militants have mounted assaults trying to seize the oil terminals, aiming to cut off any oil income to the internationally recognised government and parliament, now...

The administration released in late January its draft five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing, the game plan for what areas will be open for exploration and how they will be managed. By no small coincidence, opponents of offshore exploration are now beating the drum to close off areas to oil and gas and put the emphasis entirely on wind power. As a country, we cannot take an either/or approach to our energy needs by picking just one source, whether it is wind or hydrocarbons. That is why the Administration’s stated goals of an “all of the above” energy...

LyondellBasell announced Tuesday that it has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the United Steelworkers union, alleging that union representatives have made threats against employees who have returned to work and have used abusive language in social media. The company also contends it has witnessed threatening behavior at the gates of its Houston refinery as employees arrive to work, according to a letter to employees from Kevin Brown, executive vice president of global manufacturing, refining, global engineering services and global projects. The company filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board. “This action by the USW is extremely...

Magellan Midstream Partners and Plains All American Pipeline are teaming up on a new $850 million, 550-mile pipeline to carry crude oil from Colorado to Cushing, Oklahoma. The new pipeline, called the Saddlehorn, will be built and owned by the Saddlehorn Pipeline Co., a 50-50 joint venture between the two companies. In an announcement Friday, Plains and Magellan said the new line has binding commitments from producers Noble Energy and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., and that Anadarko has an option to obtain a 20 percent stake in the venture. The line could be in service by mid-2016 if permitting and construction...

Because of the long timelines associated with Gulf of Mexico (GOM) projects, the recent downturn in oil prices is expected to have minimal direct impact on GOM crude oil production through 2016. EIA projects GOM production to reach 1.52 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2015 and 1.61 million bbl/d in 2016, or about 16% and 17% of total U.S. crude oil production in those two years, respectively. The forecasted production growth is driven both by new projects and the redevelopment and expansion of older producing fields. Five deepwater projects began in the last three months of 2014: Stone Energy-operated...

The Keystone XL pipeline got an emphatic endorsement Monday from a powerful backer of President Barack Obama who questioned the handling of the file. To billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the delay is a thumbing of the nose at Canada. "I would have passed Keystone," Buffett said in an interview with CNBC. "I think that we have an enormous interest in working with Canada, as they have in working with us. That oil is going to get sold. If we make it more difficult for them, who knows how they'll feel about making things more difficult for us someday." Because Buffett...

Georgia lawmakers may eliminate a tax break for all airlines buying jet fuel at the world’s busiest airport. A bill filed in the House would cut the exemption at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport. Supportive lawmakers say it would help the state get federal money for aviation improvements throughout the state. They also argue the credit shouldn’t be kept in place forever....

The European edition of The Wall Street Journal has said in an editorial that Tesla Motors should stop accepting federal and state subsidies. “Last year Tesla made a roughly $150 million killing from selling ZEV credits. That’s up from $130 million in 2013, $32 million in 2012, and $3 million in 2011. All told in 2014 Tesla sold about $216 million in credits,” the newspaper said. It goes on to say, Capitalism needs visionaries, but its reputation suffers when companies worth billions soak middle-class taxpayers for profits. Turn off the taxpayer tap, Mr Musk. It would earn you more friends...