Here's a typical RCE daily mail.
Quote:
The Daily Bulletin - July 31, 2014
By Editors
TODAY’S TAKEAWAY: SANCTIONS - THE STANDOFF IS ON
Will the sanctions on Russian energy make a difference, even bringing Vladimir Putin to his knees as some have suggested? The Moscow Times takes a dim view today, arguing that the sanctions only hurt on paper. “While the EU's harshest sanctions against Russia to date do target major sectors of the Russian economy, great care has been taken to avoid damaging the energy industry, where Europe is loath to disrupt supplies of vital Russian gas. Late on Tuesday, the Council of the European Union published an agreement on sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia into ceasing its alleged support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. A finalized list of sanctions is due to be published Thursday and to go into force on Friday. One of the most anticipated measures is a ban on the sale of energy-related equipment and technology to Russia. Being highly dependent on Western supplies, the energy sector would have suffered a painful blow were such sanctions applied at maximum force. But industry experts on Wednesday doubted that the sanctions the EU has agreed on can inflict immediate damage to the Russian energy sector.” Remember, the time when the U.S. could bring Russia to its knees with a few sanctions dates from a time when Russia produced much less energy.
CAN THE SHALE BOOM SAVE THE ECONOMY?
Conservatives are usually optimistic about energy production and the economy but James Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute has some sobering news. The shale boom, he says, is only a “sector” revival and isn’t going to do that much for the economy as a whole. “Even with an unexpectedly strong second-quarter GDP report, the current economic recovery is the weakest since World War II. Even worse, many long-term forecasts — including those from the Congressional Budget Office, Federal Reserve, and White House — see future growth far slower than the postwar average. But the economy would be even weaker, and those forecasts gloomier, if not for the shale revolution. Here is Goldman Sachs economist Jan Hatzius: ‘… we estimate that the overall impact from the increase in US energy supply on real GDP growth is currently in the range of 0.2-0.3pp per year. Most of this is due to the direct effects from increased energy output and drilling activity, while the spillovers to other industries or via lower household energy bills have been more modest.’ So, lots of energy industry investment and output. But a sector story rather than a macro story.” Talk about pessimism. But it might be true.
AND WHILE WE’RE ON THE SUBJECT OF PESSIMISM . . .
The Economist has done an evaluation of the various “alternatives” to coal-generated electricity and found that that wind and solar are the most expensive while hydro, nuclear and natural gas offer sizable cost benefits. “Subsidies for renewable energy are one of the most contested areas of public policy. Billions are spent nursing the infant solar- and wind-power industries in the hope that they will one day undercut fossil fuels and drastically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being put into the atmosphere. The idea seems to be working. Photovoltaic panels have halved in price since 2008 and the capital cost of a solar-power plant—of which panels account for slightly under half—fell by 22% in 2010-13. In a few sunny places, solar power is providing electricity to the grid as cheaply as conventional coal- or gas-fired power plants. But whereas the cost of a solar panel is easy to calculate, the cost of electricity is harder to assess. It depends not only on the fuel used, but also on the cost of capital (power plants take years to build and last for decades), how much of the time a plant operates, and whether it generates power at times of peak demand. To take account of all this, economists use “levelised costs”—the net present value of all costs (capital and operating) of a generating unit over its life cycle, divided by the number of megawatt-hours of electricity it is expected to supply.” But what’s a little subsidy when the future of the planet is at stake, right?
SHOULD GLOBAL WARMING BE WEIGHED IN GAS EXPORTS?
Global warming has become the environmentalists’’ dream, an all-purpose tool for opposing just about anything the human race wants to do to better its condition. A few years go a book entitled The World Without Us caused a big sensation in the environmental community – a world with no human beings, wouldn’t it be wonderful? (Always making an exception for present company, of course.) So now environmentalists are starting to swing the axe of global warming against natural gas exports. Never mind that gas is supposed to be an improvement over coal and oil in emissions. Never mind that it might help Europe and other parts of the world avoid complete dependence on Russia (which will surely supply the gas if we don’t). Let’s worry about methane leaks. “A fight is brewing over whether Energy Department regulators should weigh the impact of liquefied natural gas on climate change before granting companies permission to ship the product abroad,” reports Ben Gemen in National Journal. “The dueling pressures on the department from industry officials and green groups are part of a wider dispute over whether natural gas is a friend or enemy in battles against global warming. Natural gas emits far less carbon dioxide than coal when burned to create electricity. But leaks of the potent greenhouse gas methane along the production, processing, and transit chain eat into that advantage—and how much is a matter of fierce dispute. Right now, part of the battle over gas and climate is playing out in public comments on an Energy Department report about exports of liquefied natural gas.” If we follow environmentalists long enough, we might end up with what Dinesh D’Souza describes: “A World Without America.”
THE SAGA OF THE KURDISH TANKER CONTINUES
A Texas judge has issued a reprieve on the order that the Kurdish tanker that is trying to sell its oil should be seized and confiscated. “A tanker loaded with one million barrels of Kurdish oil may escape seizure from the U.S., as it sits far enough off the shore of Texas to be out of the jurisdiction of the court that ordered U.S. Marshals to seize it,” reports Walter Russell Mead in today’s American Interest. “Yesterday, a Texas judge ordered the seizure after the central Iraqi government sought legal recourse for what it sees as a kind of rogue sale. The semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan has been exporting crude via Turkey in recent months, and loading that oil onto tankers on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Baghdad has vigorously disputed these actions, keen to keep the Kurds under the umbrella of the central government, and yesterday seemingly won a victory against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the Texas court. But as Reuters reports, the ship’s cargo may survive to be sold another day: `A U.S. judge said on Tuesday her court “has no jurisdiction” over a tanker near Texas loaded with Kurdish crude oil because it is some 60 miles offshore, meaning the order she issued earlier to seize the $100 million cargo cannot be enforced at this time.’” Now how about letting somebody in Texas buy that oil and give the Kurds a break.
INSURANCE TESTS FIND ELECTRIC VEHICLES NONE TOO SAFE
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has issued its test results for electric vehicles and found them none too good. Basically, EVs suffer the problem of all compacts – they’re too small and light to withstand significant crashes. “Among the most recent group of 12 small cars to undergo the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s small-overlap frontal crash test, only the Mini Cooper Countryman earned the highest rating of Good,” reports Cheryl Jensen in The New York Times. “Pulling in the next highest rating, Acceptable, were the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, the Ford C-Max Hybrid, the Mitsubishi Lancer and the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ twins (models built after December 2013). The Hyundai Veloster and the Scion xB (models built after February 2014) earned a Marginal rating. The vehicles that received the lowest rating, Poor, were the Fiat 500L, the Nissan Juke, the Nissan Leaf and the Mazda 5. (All but one of the vehicles tested were 2014 models; the FR-S was a 2015.)” Well, they still get good gas mileage. You can’t have everything.
Here's a daily from EIA.
Quote:
TODAY IN ENERGY: Monday, July 28, 2014
Natural gas injection season continues on pace for record refill
Nearly midway through the summer storage injection season, working gas in storage is on pace to meet EIA's expectations for a record overall build. The current Short-Term Energy Outlook projects a record build of close to 2,600 billion cubic feet (Bcf) from the beginning of April through the end of October, which would put inventories at 3,431 Bcf at the end of October.
See graph and read more...
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Here's a weekly EIA. Longer than usual because it also includes some monthly reports.
Quote:
THIS WEEK AT EIA
(07/24/2014 - 07/31/2014)
This email list provides a summary and links for every U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) product released this week. You can sign up for many of these separately and receive instant notification of when the product was released at:
http://www.eia.gov/tools/emailupdates/
REGULARLY SCHEDULED WEEKLY RELEASES:
Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (7/28/2014)
Presents average weekly retail on-highway diesel fuel prices for the U.S., 8 regions, and the State of California and average weekly retail gasoline prices at the national and regional levels, and for selected cities and States.
The Coal News and Markets Report for week ended 7/25/2014 (7/28/2014)
Contains information for the week and spot prices:
This Week in Petroleum (7/30/2014)
Provides analysis, data, and charts of the latest weekly petroleum supply and price data.
Weekly Petroleum Status Report, Data for Week Ending 7/25/2014 (7/30/2014)
Contains timely information on supply and selected prices of crude oil and principal petroleum products in the context of historical data and forecasts.
Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (7/31/2014)
Contains weekly estimates of natural gas in underground storage for the United States and three regions of the United States.
Natural Gas Weekly Update (7/31/2014)
Contains weekly updates of natural gas market prices, latest storage level estimates, recent lower 48 NOAA weather data, and other market activity or events.
Coal Production for Week Ended 7/26/2014 (7/31/2014)
Contains an overview of U.S. weekly coal production.
OTHER RELEASES THIS WEEK:
Monthly Natural Gas Gross Production Report (07/31/2014)
Monthly natural gas gross withdrawals estimated from data collected on Form EIA-914 (Monthly Natural Gas Production Report) for Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, other states and Lower 48 states. Alaska data are from the state of Alaska and included to obtain a U.S. total.
Nonhydro renewables now routinely surpass hydropower generation (07/31/2014)
April marked the eighth consecutive month that nonhydro renewable generation exceeded hydropower generation. Only a decade ago, hydropower—the historically dominant source of renewable generation—accounted for three times as much generation in the United States as nonhydro renewable sources (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, and municipal solid waste).
Natural Gas Monthly (07/31/2014)
The July Natural Gas Monthly, with data through May 2014, has been released. • Preliminary dry gas production for May 2014 of 2,166 billion cubic feet (Bcf) or 69.9 Bcf/day is the highest on record for any month. • Preliminary total consumption for May 2014 dropped to 1,803 Bcf or 58.2 Bcf per day from April’s revised 65.1 Bcf/day. This represents a 3.4% increase from last May’s 1,744 Bcf or 56.3 Bcf/day, and is the second highest on record for the month. • Deliveries to electric power consumers for May 2014 (647 Bcf or 20.9 Bcf/day) are the second highest on record for May, an increase of 5.6% from May 2013. Other deliveries to consumers volumes were more in line with those from prior years: Residential deliveries (196 Bcf or 6.32 Bcf/day) increased only slightly from last May (194 Bcf or 6.26 Bcf/day); commercial deliveries (173 Bcf or 5.6 Bcf/day) rose 3% from May 2013 (168 Bcf or 5.4 Bcf/day); and industrial deliveries (607 Bcf or 19.6 Bcf/day) increased 2% from last May (597 Bcf or 19.3 Bcf/day).
Monthly Biodiesel Production Report (07/31/2014)
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released new data today showing national and regional monthly biodiesel production for May 2014. In addition to biodiesel production, data included producer sales, producer stocks, and feedstock inputs.
Oil prices drive projected enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide (07/30/2014)
In the 2014 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2014), EIA projects that the price of oil will largely determine whether to use carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies to extract additional crude oil from existing producing fields.
Electricity Monthly Update (07/30/2014)
This issue contains data for May 2014 as well as a feature article on how electricity consumption for irrigation affects average industrial electricity prices in farm states.
Petroleum Supply Monthly (07/30/2014)
Supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products on a national and regional level. The data series describe production, imports and exports, movements, and inventories.
Company Level Imports (07/30/2014)
Imports data at the company level collected from the EIA-814 Monthly Imports Report.
As cash flow flattens, major energy companies increase debt, sell assets (07/29/2014)
Cash from operations for major energy companies has flattened in line with flat crude oil prices, which have had the lowest price volatility in years. Based on data compiled from quarterly reports, for the year ending March 31, 2014, cash from operations for 127 major oil and gas companies totaled $568 billion and major uses of cash totaled $677 billion, a difference of almost $110 billion.
Monthly Energy Review (07/28/2014)
EIA's most comprehensive report on recent integrated energy statistics. Preliminary data indicate that in April 2014, U.S. primary energy production totaled 7.0 quadrillion Btu, a 7% increase from April 2013.
Electric Power Monthly (07/28/2014)
Data in the July 2014 Electric Power Monthly (EPM ) are for May 2014, during which net generation in the United States rose 0.3 percent from the May 2013 level. Consumption of coal for power generation fell 1.0 percent compared to May 2013. The average retail price of electricity for May 2014 was up 2.6 percent from what it had been in May 2013.
Natural gas injection season continues on pace for record refill (07/28/2014)
Nearly midway through the summer storage injection season, working gas in storage is on pace to meet EIA's expectations for a record overall build. The current Short-Term Energy Outlook projects a record build of close to 2,600 billion cubic feet (Bcf) from the beginning of April through the end of October, which would put inventories at 3,431 Bcf at the end of October.
Biofuels are included in latest U.S. Navy fuel procurement (07/25/2014)
Recently the Department of Defense (DoD) released its annual procurement for bulk fuels to be delivered to its facilities in the eastern and inland United States and Gulf Coast. For the first time, this procurement requests military-specification diesel fuel and jet fuel that are blended with biofuels. The biofuels components, however, are optional and will only be accepted if certain cost and performance requirements are met. A similar procurement for the Rocky Mountain and West Coast regions is expected to be released later this year.
OPEC Revenues Fact Sheet (07/24/2014)
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that, excluding Iran, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earned about $826 billion in net oil export revenues in 2013. This was a 7% decrease from 2012 earnings, but still the second-largest earnings totals during the 1975-2013 period for which EIA has tracked OPEC oil revenues. OPEC earnings declined largely for two reasons: a drop in OPEC oil production in 2013 (largely because of the supply disruption in Libya), and a 3% decline in average crude oil prices.
U.S. petroleum refineries running at record levels (07/24/2014)
U.S. refineries have been processing record volumes of oil recently. Refinery inputs hit a record-high 16.8 million barrels per day in each of the past two weeks. Refineries in the Midwest and Gulf Coast in particular pushed the total U.S. input volume upward, as these refiners' access to lower-cost crude oil, expansions of refining capacity, and increases in both domestic demand and exports contributed to higher refinery runs.
Wholesale Market Data (07/24/2014)
Wholesale market data for natural gas and electric power are now available and updated through July 22, 2014. Data contain peak prices, volumes, and the number of transactions at eight selected ICE (IntercontinentalExchange) electricity trading hubs and eight corresponding natural gas hubs covering most regions of the United States.
Algeria Country Analysis Brief (07/24/2014)
Algeria is the leading natural gas producer in Africa, the second-largest natural gas supplier to Europe, and is among the top three oil producers in Africa. Algeria is estimated to hold the third-largest amount of shale gas resources in the world. However, gross natural gas and crude oil production have gradually declined in recent years, mainly because new production and infrastructure projects have repeatedly been delayed.
Upcoming reports & publications
2014 EIA Energy Conference
Energy conferences - North America and rest of world
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Statistics: Posted by CBMD — Fri Aug 01, 2014 4:32 am