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Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has harvested the first barrels of petroleum at its deep-water Lucius project in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the biggest startups expected in the U.S. offshore region this year. The Woodlands-based oil explorer’s massive Lucius production facility includes a 23,000-ton truss spar, which is a 110-foot-diameter floating cylindrical hull that can handle up to 80,000 barrels of oil and 450 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. The Lucius field, named after an heir to the Roman throne, houses 300 million barrels of oil equivalent about 230 miles offshore in 7,200 feet of water. The...

Iran sees no sign of a shift within OPEC toward action to support oil prices, its oil minister said, adding its oil industry could ride out a further price slump to $25 a barrel. The comments are a further sign that despite lobbying by Iran and Venezuela, there is little chance of collective action by the 12-member OPEC to prop up prices - entrenching the reluctance of individual members to curb their own supplies.

Canada-based Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) and Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE: EPD) celebrated Jan. 16 the beginning of delivery of Canadian tar sands crude oil to the Houston area through a new pipeline system. While the Keystone XL pipeline remains mired in political debate, Enbridge and Enterprise on Dec. 21 delivered the first high-volume Canadian crude to Freeport, Texas through the newly completed Seaway Pipeline system twin loop and the new Flanagan South pipeline. The two pipeline systems connect in Cushing, Oklahoma, with the new Seaway loop delivering up to 450,000 barrels of oil a day of Canadian crude...

(Updates with output from Shabwa field, Belhaf gas facility stopping) Jan 19 (Reuters) - Oil companies in Yemen's Hadramout and Shabwa provinces, including the main gas export facility at Belhaf, have suspended operations amid protests over the seizure of a presidential aide by Shi'ite fighters who control the capital Sanaa, local officials said on Monday. The Shi'ite Houthis seized President Abd-Rabbu Mansur Hadi's chief of staff, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, a native of the southern Shabwa province, on Saturday amid a dispute over a proposed new constitution that threatens to bring down the government. "Several oil firms with small production...

For China's shipyards, the oil rig market that was supposed to be a blessing is in danger of becoming a curse. As crude prices slide, oil producers are slashing new project spending. With a near 40 percent slice of a global market worth tens of billions of dollars, Chinese rig builders that offered juicy financing terms and discounts to leapfrog Asian rivals in recent years are now the most exposed to a slowdown. Diversifying to pull out of a downturn in traditional shipbuilding, China's state and privately owned yards have lured orders away from regional peers, building scores of rigs...

Despite an oversupply of crude oil that has halved trading prices and led the U.S. to consider lifting a 40-year-ban on crude exports, completing the northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline remains a priority, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Friday in Beaumont. “We know that as global demand goes up, prices will go up,” Cornyn, R-Texas, said. “I think we ought to take advantage of the opportunity we’ve been given because great innovative drilling techniques devised in the United States and the great natural resources we have … help grow our economy and help keep America safe.” Cornyn delivered...

BNSF Railway more than tripled the number of trains it moved through Nebraska with a million gallons of oil or more aboard late last year and has changed its route to bypass Lincoln, at least for some trains. Reports filed with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency show that late last year BNSF expanded the number of oil trains it was required to report from three per week in July to a range of seven to 14 per week. Railroads must report trains that carry at least a million gallons of oil -- about 35 tank cars -- from the Bakken...

More than 40,000 upstream oil and gas jobs in Texas could be lost as energy sector activity here continues to slow, said Karr Ingham, the economist who compiles the monthly Texas Petro Index tracking the industry’s economic indicators. The latest data point that spells trouble for the industry: data released Friday indicating that that the number of rigs operating in the U.S. was down 74 this week, the rig count’s biggest one-week decline in more than six years. “We’re now at the point where there’s likely to be some damage inflicted on the Texas economy,” Ingham said. “I’d sure be...

Recent rapid growth in U.S. production of light tight oil has raised interest in understanding how U.S. refineries, many of which are configured to process heavier crude oil, might accommodate increased volumes of domestic light crude. The U.S. refinery fleet, which is distributed across Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADDs), varies both within and across regions in capacity, quality of crude oil inputs, utilization rates, and sources of crude supply. More than 50% of the country's refinery capacity and most of the country's heavy crude processing capacity is located in the Gulf Coast (PADD 3). The region's 51 operating refineries...

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is apparently causing headaches for his fellow Republican senators once again by pushing what many consider a sensible policy at what some call an inopportune time, according to a Sunday story in the Washington Examiner. Instead of repealing Obamacare or curtailing immigration, Cruz is proposing an amendment to the Keystone XL Pipeline authorization bill that would lift the 39-year ban on crude oil exports. The question, which many Republican senators have, is this the right time and is Keystone XL the right vehicle?As has previously been the case, Cruz has the facts on his side. The...

I am guessing you don’t know one of the major things resident Obama was doing while snubbing France and world leaders who convened in Paris to express solidarity in the civilized world’s war against radical Islamic terrorism. I assure you it was something close to his heart — as opposed to fighting Islamic jihad. It was something that will thrill the anti-business, anti-energy extreme environmentalists but will not warm the hearts of American businesses and energy producers, and it is not good news for America’s currently overhyped economy. Yes, you heard me right; despite all the faux euphoria projected by...

Users of diesel fuel - mostly the nation's truckers - haven't seen diesel prices fall as much as gasoline, but that's about to change. Diesel "is slowly joining the party," with prices nationally declining an average of 44 cents a gallon in the last month, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at consumer website GasBuddy.com. DeHaan expects diesel prices to continue to fall by 35 to 50 cents a gallon nationally in the next month or so. That aligns with the Energy Department's view, which expects diesel to average $3.07 a gallon this year, down from an estimated average of...

Caterpillar Inc. shares tumbled Monday as the company became the latest victim of the sliding price of oil. Caterpillar’s stock CAT, -0.55% tumbled almost 6% after J.P. Morgan downgraded it to underweight from neutral on concerns about the company’s direct exposure to oil and gas, and indirect exposure to mining, U.S. construction and emerging markets. The maker of diggers and dozers’ direct exposure to the sector is equal to about $6.5 billion, or 12% of revenue, while its indirect exposure may be as much as 15% of revenues, analysts wrote in a note. That means almost 30% of its total...

Billy Campbell’s three-year-old is spinning around in a Peppa Pig plastic rocket in the middle of Aberdeen’s Union Square shopping mall. It is not hard to believe that the wider Aberdonian population is in a similar spin given the crisis that has struck the Granite City’s key industry: oil and gas. Ed Davey, the energy secretary, and Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, have both rushed to Britain’s oil capital in the last 48 hours to reassure the city that they are aware of looming problems – problems that, the Bank of England governor warned on Wednesday, will deliver a “negative...

Even as gasoline prices plummeted and the overall energy price index calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics declined, electricity prices bucked the trend in the United States in 2014. Data released today by the BLS indicates that the electricity price indexes hit all-time highs for the month of December and for the year. 2014 was the most-expensive year ever for electricity in the United States. The annual price index for electricity, published by BLS today, was 208.020. That was up from 200.750 in 2013. ... The average price for a kilowatt hour of electricity in the United States was...

Shortages of basic goods in crisis-hit Venezuela has created a lucrative new profession... queuing to buy things for other people. The country is experiencing a recession triggered in part by a scarcity of hard currency - which limits imports of essential goods. As a result, there are shortages of nearly a third of all basic goods and as well as tumbling oil prices, inflation ballooned to 64% last year. Krisbell Villarroel is one of many people who make a living by waiting in line to buy everything from milk and sugar to diapers and shampoo.

The drop in the price of oil will cost 9,000 workers at Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) their jobs. The company disclosed: In response to lower commodity pricing and anticipated lower exploration and production spending in 2015, Schlumberger decided to reduce its overall headcount to better align with anticipated activity levels for 2015. Schlumberger recorded a $296 million charge associated with a headcount reduction of approximately 9,000. Unfortunately for the workers, the oil services company had good reason. Although fourth-quarter revenue rose 6% to $12.5 billion and operating income by 7% to $1.9 billion, the company believes the situation has deteriorated:

Ahead of President Obama’s upcoming State of the Union (SOTU) address, American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Jack Gerard discussed ways for the president to take a leadership position on the oil and gas industry in the United States. The energy industry has gone from scarcity in the 20th century to abundance early in the 21st century, generating billions in tax revenue, creating millions of new jobs and providing a boost to manufacturing, Gerard said, thus necessitating a new way of thinking about energy. The change also offers the country an opportunity to achieve a level of energy security...

Wages for workers in the U.S. oil and gas industry last year grew at slower rate than the rest of the country for the first time since at least the 2007 recession, according to salary data from PayScale. The company, which tracks salary, benefits and compensation information, showed that oil and gas salaries in 2014 grew just 0.9 percent over the previous year. That’s compared to a 1.35 percent average growth rate over the same time period for the 16 other industries PayScale analyzed. The data showed that oil and gas wages have grown at a slower rate every year...

Yes friends, never let it be said that this administration isn’t beholden to special interests to the detriment of the middle class.The oil shale boom has helped create a surplus of oil that has entered the market and driven prices down to under $2 a gallon. It is an economic boon to hard pressed families and businesses who use a lot of fuel. It is also a testament to how well markets work.And that’s why government is about to intrude in that market and jack the prices back up. This time under guise of your out-of-control EPA: In spite...