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The oil industry needs to sue Obama and George Soros for Corruption and Collusion. Obama's biggest individual political campaign donor, George Soros, was reported to be desperately buying up energy companies such as Pioneer Natural Resources, which were reflected in his 1st quarter filings for 2014. The filings for 2014 first 1st quarter were notably large and focused, even for Soros. They were focused in the Energy sector, specifically those associated with the Eagle Ford Basin location. In June 2014, for example, it was reported, "Both Soros’ top stock and the stock of which he is buying the most is...

Obama’s inability to make a decision on Keystone has finally yielded a result – Canada has made the decision for him. Breitbart reports Canada has just approved the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project – a major pipeline to ship Canadian oil to Asia. The Canadian oil will still be burnt – in Asia, instead of America. All the jobs and energy security which Canadian oil could have delivered to America, will instead be delivered to Asia. Rather than purchasing crude from a friendly and allied neighbor, the United States will most likely need to continue its reliance upon hostile sources like...

Claiming it could no longer abide the Obama administration's five-year refusal to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline designed to bring 830,000 barrels a day of much-needed Alberta shale oil to U.S. refineries, the Canadian government recently approved plans for a huge new pipeline and port project to ship that oil to Asia instead.

After over four decades, it looks like America is getting back into the oil export business again. For the first time since the 1970s, Washington has opened the door to sending more U.S. crude oil abroad. Of course, the United States has been exporting oil products for some time now. In fact, America is now the largest exporter of products like gasoline, low sulfur heating oil, and diesel fuel in the world. But until now, companies were hamstrung when it came to the raw material itself. Of course, there have been a few exceptions. Very heavy California crude, which has...

Energy boom fuels economic growth in Midwest states     The drilling rig floor is slick with grease and oil in Watford City, N.D., Dec. 17, 2013. Jim Gehrz / Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT By Patrick Gillespie McClatchy Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- While the national business outlook remains tepid, the energy sector is driving fast economic growth in some states.A drilling boom for oil shale and natural gas has spurred prosperity throughout the middle of the United States. Despite having mostly smaller economies compared with coastal states, these states will continue growing for at least five more years, energy economists project,...

The cliffs at Kimmeridge, on England's south coast, have on occasions been known to smoulder or even burst into flames in hot weather. That is because, unlike the famous white chalk cliffs of Dover, they are made of oil shale, a soft rock that has hydrocarbons trapped in its pores. The world's oil-shale beds may contain the equivalent of up to nine times as much oil as all of its conventional wells.

Did the Obama administration just quietly lift the four-decade old ban on U.S. crude oil exports? Not quite. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported that the Commerce Department issued a private letter ruling allowing Pioneer Natural Resources and Enterprise Products Partners to export unrefined crude oil that comes from the Eagle Ford geological region of Texas.

Peak Oil’s Revenge A slew of events over the past few months have driven the price of oil higher.The ISIS incursion in Iraq has set up the entire Middle East for a multinational civil war. It’s not hard to envision a reign of destruction across the Arab Peninsula to the oil producing regions of Iran.Russia, the world’s largest producer of hydrocarbons, is stirring up nationalism and sending rebel groups into Ukraine.China just sent four jack-up rigs into disputed waters off Vietnam to look for oil.And two days ago, the Obama administration made it legal to export very lightly refined crude...

The remnants of the peak oil community cling avidly to the belief that oil production has already peaked and that high prices prove this. “Look at the data” seems to have become a catechism amongst them, and it can be hard to dissuade them otherwise, especially by considering more than one variable as explaining oil supply and price. Most anyone can understand that high oil prices are no more an indicator of resource scarcity than the occasional spike in coffee, pork or orange juice prices. Things happen that can cause prices to rise for a period before supply and demand...

A business association whose members include some of the world’s biggest energy companies is urging the administration to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, arguing that the southern portion of the project already has shown the positive economic impact the project will have on the country. The group commissioned a study on the economic effect of the 485-mile portion of Keystone pipeline known as the Gulf Coast Extension, which opened earlier this year linking Oklahoma and Texas. The study highlights benefits the project had on local businesses like restaurants and hotels along the route. It notes that during construction, TransCanada...

Much hoopla has erupted since Kurdistan sold a $106 million load of crude oil to a buyer in Israel. Here was justice at last for the long-suffering Kurds, forgotten in the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement that divided the Middle East and seemed to give every other major nation its own home, including some nations not previously considered nations. That is the 50,000-foot view, though, and wholly neglects the fate of the first tanker to set sail with Kurdish oil. (The Israeli sale was the second shipment.) The United Leadership left the Turkish port of Ceyhan on May 22. But a combination...

NEW YORK (AP) — Companies are taking advantage of new ways to export oil from the U.S. despite government restrictions, and in the process helping the U.S. become an ever bigger exporter of petroleum on the world stage. The Obama Administration has opened the door to more exports — without changing policy — by allowing some light oils to be defined as petroleum products like gasoline or diesel, which are not subject to export restrictions. Although U.S. production has boomed in recent years, the nation still consumes far more crude oil than it produces and remains heavily dependent on imports....

The decision to allow two Texas companies to export condensates looks like a win for Eagle Ford Shale crude producers at the expense of refiners and companies planning to build processing plants along the Gulf coast. Today's selloff in refiners reflected concern that the groups will lose some of their competitive edge if condensate exports become common: Valero Energy (VLO), the largest U.S. refiner, dropped 8.3%, PBF tumbled 10.72%, PSX fell 4.2%, and HFC slid 6.7%. Oppenheimer notes that Pioneer Natural Resources PXD, DVN, MRO, COP and MUR produce the most Eagle Ford condensate, and could benefit if U.S. condensate...

Must-know: Recent activity and growth in the Permian Basin By Avik Chowdhury - Disclosure • Jun 25, 2014 1:00 pm EDT The Permian Basin and U.S. energy independenceAs we’ve seen, the Permian Basin has been one of the primary drivers of domestic oil growth and has been heralded as one of the pillars to move the U.S. closer to energy independence. The following statistics convey a sense of the recent growth and activity in the region.Recent growthThe chart below shows the growth in oil produced from the Permian Basin over the past few years. Production in the region had bottomed...

Wildlife advocates want a federal judge to order faster action on a recovery plan for imperiled Canada lynx. ... Officials also say that lynx face a relatively low degree of threat compared to other protected species. The Fish and Wildlife Service was forced to come up with a timeline on the recovery document when Molloy last month expressed frustration with the government's progress. The judge said the "stutter-step" approach by federal officials necessitated court intervention. The lawsuit pending before Molloy was brought by Friends of the Wild Swan, Rocky Mountain Wild, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and the San Juan Citizens Alliance....

The Obama administration has cleared the way for two energy companies to sell an ultralight variety of oil overseas after minimally processing it, a decision that tests the limits of a long-standing ban on exporting U.S. crude. The move, which came in private classification orders issued by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, effectively confirms that hydrocarbon known as condensate qualifies as a petroleum product once it has been processed in a distillation tower, and therefore is not barred by the 39-year-old ban on crude exports. Unlike unprocessed crude, companies can freely sell gasoline, diesel and other petroleum...

ienna (AFP) - Coinciding with a visit to Vienna by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian energy giant Gazprom on Tuesday signed a deal with Austria's OMV approving the EU country's section of the controversial South Stream pipeline. The crisis in Ukraine has made the planned pipeline bringing Siberian gas to the European Union -- bypassing Ukraine -- a new focus of tensions between Moscow, Brussels and Washington. EU member Bulgaria earlier this month said it was suspending work on building its section of the multi-billion-euro (-dollar) project following pressure from the EU and the United States. The European Commission has...

Exxon Mobil officials are not commenting on reports that the company has evacuated from Iraq amid growing instability due to militants. The company has undertaken a “major evacuation” of its staff, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing comments from Dhiya Jaffar, head of Iraq’s state-run South Oil Co. A spokesman from Exxon Mobil told FuelFix that the company does not comment on security issues. Iraq instability: Insurgents capture largest Iraq oil refinery Jaffar also said BP had evacuated about 20 percent of its staff in Iraq. Officials from BP did not respond immediately to questions from FuelFix about the reported evacuation. “We...

More than 4,600 oil and natural gas wells were completed in Oklahoma last year as part of a domestic boom that is affecting many parts of the nation, according to reports filed with state regulators. Corporation Commission records indicate companies applied for more than 6,000 drilling permits for the second consecutive year. That figure is up from about 4,100 permits in 2009, The Oklahoman reported Sunday. Mike Terry, president of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, said horizontal drilling has opened vast new resources across the country and has renewed activity in Oklahoma’s historic oil fields. “The Mississippi Lime in northern...

Sunni rebels in Iraq say they have fully captured the country's main oil refinery at Baiji, north of Baghdad.The refinery had been under siege for 10 days with the militant offensive being repulsed several times. The complex supplies a third of Iraq's refined fuel and the battle has already led to petrol rationing. Insurgents, led by the group Isis, have overrun a swathe of territory north and west of Baghdad including Iraq's second-biggest city, Mosul. They are bearing down on a vital dam near Haditha and have captured all border crossings to Syria and Jordan. A rebel spokesman said the...