Free Republic

SACRAMENTO -- State lawmakers on Wednesday took the first steps toward raising taxes and fees on motorists and further restricting Californians' tobacco use as the Legislature convened special sessions aimed at solving the state's transportation and health care funding crises. Members of a Senate committee tackling a huge backlog of roadway maintenance endorsed legislation that would generate $4 billion annually for repairs by increasing the gas tax 12 cents a gallon and boosting annual vehicle registration fees $35 for most cars. Fees for all-electric vehicles would go up $100.

Pioneer is the first oil and gas company to sign a long-term wastewater supply contract with Odessa, a city of about 110,000 people. The Dallas-based company recently began construction on a pipeline network that will transport the treated water from the city's sewage plant to one of its oilfields about 20 miles away. "The money has been approved," said Stephen McNair, president of Pioneer's water management group. Pioneer's goal is to eliminate the use of fresh water in fracking in 5 to 10 years, said McNair. The municipal reclaimed water the company intends to use comes from sewage plants that...

OPEC next gathers December 4 in Vienna, just over a year since Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi announced at the previous OPEC winter meeting the Saudi decision to let the oil market determine oil prices rather than to continue Saudi Arabia’s role of guarantor of $100+/bbl oil. Despite the intense financial and economic pain this decision has inflicted on Saudi Arabia, its fellow OPEC members, and other oil producers, the Saudis have given no indication they plan to alter course. In fact, Saudis have downplayed the impact of lower prices on their country, asserting that the kingdom has the financial...

Lightning struck an electrical transformer at the Valero refinery in Texas City Thursday morning, causing a fire. Officials with Texas City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) told Houston's ABC affiliate Channel 13 that the lightning strike occurred just before 6:20 am CST this morning. Firefighters on the scene told local media that there is currently oil burning inside of a container at the facility. Derek Duckett, Texas City Emergency Management Coordinator, told the Houston Chronicle that firefighters can't douse the fire with water due to the potential danger from electrical shock. They are now containing the fire to the transformer...

The chief environmental regulator in the United States had some blunt words of reality regarding the administration’s climate change regulations. The Clean Power Plan that will require drastic cuts in 47 states’ carbon dioxide emissions – consequently shifting America’s energy economy away from affordable, reliable coal – will adversely impact poor, minority families the most. When speaking about the higher energy prices caused by the administration’s climate regulations on power plants, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said, “We know that low-income minority communities would be hardest hit.”

The United Church of Canada plans to invest nearly $6 million into alternative energy sources that it acquired from selling all of its assets in fossil fuels. The denomination views the move as a bold step toward stewarding the gift of creation. "Care for creation and concern for the way that climate is impacting the most marginalized populations made this move an act of justice, of faith, and of solidarity with First Nations and other impacted communities," said Christine Boyle, General Council commissioner of the United Church and a veteran climate advocate, according to the National Advocate. The church will...

At this point in the GOP primary race, with several months of Donald Trump constantly speaking his mind sans filter, can we really, honestly say that anything coming out of his mouth is shocking or surprising? You wouldn’t think so, but yet somehow, The Donald finds a way to still maintain political “shock jock” status with his comments. During an interview with CNN, anchor Chris Cuomo asked Trump how he would respond to Pope Francis saying capitalism is “toxic.” Here’s how the real estate mogul responded. From TheBlaze: When CNN host Chris Cuomo ssked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump how...

Springer Publishing, one of the world’s leading publishers of Science, Technology and Medicine (STM) books and journals, issued an announcement this week that 64 different professional articles, primarily in the medical field, had been retracted. It turns out that the vaunted peer review process, designed to ensure that multiple sets of experts evaluate the quality of the work before it hits the presses, had fallen apart. The peer reviews in some cases were found to be “highly suspicious” with bogus email addresses and questionable credentials. Springer confirms that 64 articles are being retracted from 10 Springer subscription journals, after...

The United States should consider allowing “strategic” crude exports to allies abroad while renegotiating the nuclear deal with Iran, Sen. Robert Menendez said. The New Jersey Democrat’s comments, part of a speech Tuesday at Seton Hall University to explain his opposition to the agreement, marked a shift in his approach to oil exports. Menendez historically has opposed moves to loosen the longstanding ban on exporting U.S. crude. But on Tuesday, Menendez highlighted oil exports as a geopolitical tool — a way for U.S. oil to compete in markets that might be customers for Iranian crude if the nuclear accord is...

There’s a “conceivable reality” U.S. oil prices may plummet to a new 11-year low of $33 a barrel or lower this year, according to a Citigroup report released Wednesday as oil prices dipped to a six-year low near $40.50 per barrel. The new “How low can oil go?” report contends that capital markets are “getting nervy” and one of the only ways to stop this downward trend is for North American shale companies to lose more access to capital during the next phase of borrowing negotiations in October, called redetermination. In February 2009, closing U.S. oil prices last bottomed out...

The real winner of President Barack Obama’s so-called “war on coal” isn’t the EPA, nor is it the natural gas industry. It’s liberal billionaire George Soros.Last week, Obama’s EPA announced sweeping regulations for U.S. power plants, forcing them to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions 32 percent by 2030. The news sent shockwaves through the coal industry, sending stocks tumbling and forcing the industry’s two biggest players to consider bankruptcy filings.That’s where liberal billionaire Soros steps in. In the days after the Clean Power Plan was announced, Soros bought more than 1 million shares of Peabody Energy and 553,200 shares of...

The pubbies need a grand organizing technological vision like Kennedy's man on the moon speech in 1961 or Reagan's star wars speech in 1982. Bill Gates could persuade Donald Trump in about 20 minutes that 10 years of federal spending on 4th generation nuclear reactors and desalination R&D-- or about 18 billion annually would collapse the cost of water desalination and transport thereby making it economically and commercially practical to desalinize seawater on any seacoast in the USA, Mexico and the world --and transport it 1000 miles inland to water commercially competitive crops. This would turn America's deserts green and...

The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on August 10 set a record for electricity demand, topping 69,000 MW twice during the afternoon. The peak came as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted that Texas also set a record for gas power burn—natural gas usage in its power sector—reaching an average 4.5 Bcf/d through August 11. The peak came during a recent heat wave, with temperatures across the state topping 100F. Though reserves briefly fell below 2,500 MW, ERCOT was able to weather the episode without any system emergencies. Wholesale prices peaked at $2,250/MWh during the hour period of greatest...

The Balance Between Crude Oil Supply And Demand Posted By: Guest PostPosted date: August 19, 2015 11:11:56 AMIn: BusinessNo Comments The Balance Between Crude Oil Supply And Demand by Causeway Capital Management Executive Summary: The Current Supply/demand Imbalance From peak to trough, crude oil prices plunged about 60% in 2014 – and slid again recently, testing lows of earlier this year. Excess supply, combined with a market expectation for softening global demand, has weighed on oil prices. Unlike past behavior, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has not cut production to support the market price. This appears to...

With West Texas Intermediate crude now below $42 a barrel, the edifice of America’s oil and gas boom is finally crumbling. The number of companies in bankruptcy or restructuring has increased, and the clouds will only grow darker in the months ahead. Declining revenues, evaporating earnings and shrinking values of oil and gas reserves will put the crunch on oil companies’ ability to refinance loans, let alone borrow new cash or sell shares. Last week two companies showed that having a heroic name is no defense. Hercules Offshore, a Gulf of Mexico drilling contractor, announced it had reached a prepackaged...

Oil prices will stay low for years to come, derivatives markets say, keeping a lid on inflation and helping boost global growth. Oil has more than halved in value over the last year, thanks to huge oversupply, and many oil companies, particularly in the United States, say they may soon have to rein in production, tightening supply, unless the market recovers. That has led many analysts to predict that oil - on average around 5 percent of companies' costs - will see price rises later this year or in 2016, pushing up inflation. But oil derivatives tell another story. Contracts...

Amid high uncertainty in the global oil market, EIA has lowered crude oil price forecasts in the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), expecting West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices to average $49 per barrel (b) in 2015 and $54/b in 2016, $6/b and $8/b lower than forecast in last month's STEO, respectively. Concerns over the pace of economic growth in emerging markets, continuing (albeit slowing) supply growth, increases in global liquids inventories, and the possibility of increasing volumes of Iranian crude oil entering the market contributed to the changed forecast. Since the beginning of 2015, North Sea Brent has traded...

The Republican frontrunner joined the rest of the GOP field in saying that he would support the North American pipeline. "If I am elected President I will immediately approve the Keystone XL pipeline. No impact on environment & lots of jobs for U.S." Trump tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

We've reported frequently on the global upstream industry's "race to Iran" ahead of the lifting of western sanctions expected late this year or early 2016. But there's also a "downstream race" underway, with several IOCS attempting to bag lucrative contracts to repair and modernize the country's oil refineries once sanctions are eased. Uptick In Downstream Discussions Representatives of Iran's National Petrochemical Company, its state-run oil refining firm NIORDC, and the privately-owned Persian Oil and Gas are engaging in discussions with several global companies to secure projects to repair a petrochemical and refining sector that has been ailing since the imposition...

Denmark's first potential fracing project has been cancelled, as France's Total said it is pulling out of its shale gas exploration project in northern Denmark after failing to discover adequate deposits. Insufficient Deposits The Danish Energy Ministry said late Monday that the French supermajor's shale gas exploration in the Vendsyssel district in northern Jutland has been permanently shutdown. Total said it did not encounter sufficient shale gas deposits to render its efforts worthwhile, hence shutting down what would have been Denmark's first fracing project ever. The Energy Agency said in a press release, "The drilling results have not fulfilled the...