OilPrice.com Daily News Update

The Staggering Scale of Oil Theft in Nigeria

admin@namecake.com (John Daly) — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:49:38 GMT

That corruption is associated with oil production is acknowledged to be a worldwide problem.But the scale of corruption in Africa is in a class by itself, particularly in Nigeria. As black Africa’s largest oil producer, OPEC member Nigeria currently exports just over two millions barrels per day (bpd), and for decades this has proven irresistible to the country’s corrupt elements.The scope of the thievery is staggering. In October 2006 Nuhu Ribadu, head of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated that…

Humanity is Reaching its Limits - Oil, Debt, Population, etc.

tverberg@oilprice.com (Gail Tverberg) — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:37:35 GMT

The world is clearly reaching many limits. This graphic below shows how I see man interacting with natural systems, back before man discovered fire and back before man became intelligent enough to kill off whole species.Figure 1. My view of man’s relationship to natural systems, in the beginning.In these earliest days, human systems were a part of the natural system. Humans behaved like other animals, and fit easily into the natural order. There weren’t many humans–probably under 100,000 total in the whole world.This is the way…

New Directions for North American Energy Infrastructure

(Hadaf Zubi) — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:22:16 GMT

On Thursday, May 17th the Financial Times reported that Royal Dutch Shell CEO Peter Voser has said he expects US natural gas prices to double by 2015, but remain under pressure in the short term. Voser made these comments based on the fact that he sees more and more transportation options stemming from NatGas. The recent low in the price of NatGas of $1.90 on April 20th is probably the lowest price of the year, due to production shut-ins triggered after the closes below $2 from the 17th to the 20th of April.Voser is correct in his assumption that…

Federal Support needed as Consumers want Clean Energy without the High Prices

huntga@oilprice.com (Gary Hunt) — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:19:17 GMT

Clean energy is something everyone is ‘for’. Few people are in favour of dirty energy. But the problem is the definition of what is clean depends upon who you ask. We will say we are in favour of clean renewable energy, when polled, until a wind producer tries to site a wind turbine near us, or spreads out a sea of photovoltaic panels across the desert—or worse says a high voltage transmission line is needed to bring that clean, renewable energy from its remote location to serve demand in the load centres of…

Lunch with Paul Krugman

(Mad Hedge Fund Trader) — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:14:25 GMT

The first thing I noticed when Paul walked in was the few extra pounds and silvery tinge to his hair he acquired since I saw him last. He's clearly spending too much time behind a computer writing those acidic columns for the New York Times. We're all short dated options in the end, I thought.We met at my favourite San Francisco restaurant, Gary Danko's (click here for their site at http://www.garydanko.com/), where one can get a once in a lifetime, bucket list type meal for about $300 for two, but only if you get the cheaper wine. Ideally located…

How Fracking Threatens the Health of the Mortgage Industry

cobbi@oilprice.com (Kurt Cobb) — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:03:38 GMT

One fact ought to tell you all you need to know about the risks faced by homeowners signing leases for natural gas drilling on their property: Wells Fargo & Company, both the largest home mortgage lender in the United States and a major lender to the country's second largest producer of natural gas, Chesapeake Energy Corp., refuses to make home loans for properties encumbered with natural gas drilling leases.This salient fact comes from an article (PDF) written for the New York State Bar Association Journal by attorney Elisabeth N. Radow. Written…

Clean Tech Industry Needs Federal Cash due to Lack of Private Investors

envfinan@oilprice.com (Environmental Finance) — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:56:52 GMT

The US government must step in to finance clean energy research and development as the private markets continue to shy away from such investments, experts said.Energy innovators are being thwarted by a lack of financing at key stages of development, finding themselves in the ‘valley of death’, said Norman Augustine, the retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin based in Bethesda, Maryland and a member of the American Energy Innovation Council, a coalition of seven business leaders that recently put out a report about the government’s…

Underground Pipe has been Leaking Jet Fuel for 40 Years at US Air Force Base

kennedyc@oilprice.com (Charles Kennedy) — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:54:53 GMT

Jet fuel from the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque has been leaking from 40 years. The leak was first discovered in 1999, and so far 400,000 gallons of fuel have been removed from the area, and efforts to aggressively clean up the problem will continue.State geologist William Moats initially calculated the spill at about 8 million gallons, but after reviewing new data from Air Force monitoring wells he has upped his estimate to 24 million gallons, but has also said that the true extent of the spill can be verified until it has been remediated.The…

Europe set to Spend a Record $500 Billion on Oil Imports this Year

peixej@oilprice.com (Joao Peixe) — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:52:28 GMT

Despite recent declines in oil prices, they still remain at incredibly high levels around the world, which has driven up spending on oil for all nations. Europe is set to pay a record amount on oil this year according to IEA executive director Maria Van der Hoeven.The EU is on track to spend more than half a trillion dollars on imported oil in 2012. Between 2000 and 2010 the continent spent an average of $182 billion on oil, last year that figure grew to $488 billion due to high oil prices, but as the prices have continued to grow it is predicted…

Solar Trade Wars: Victory for US Manufacturers, Loss for Solar Overall?

corporate@oilprice.com (Jen Alic) — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:36:17 GMT

Solar manufacturing lobbyists have won the latest round of a trade war with China, but the entire solar industry could pay dearly for a victory that could see heavy US tariffs on Chinese solar panels make solar pricing inaccessible and lead to a significant loss of industry jobs.In the end, it comes down to the fact that solar power is finally becoming affordable and widely accessible, which is good news for green energy ambitions; but that good news is coming at the expense of US manufacturers. The tariffs may turn the tables in favor of the manufacturers…