LINCOLN, Neb. - The Canadian company that wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline is taking steps to circumvent one of the major roadblocks in Nebraska.But in seeking approval Monday for the same contentious route through the state, TransCanada could create another round of lengthy delays in an already drawn-out process.It also indicates a new push for the $8 billion Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline in a state where opponents have repeatedly thwarted efforts to build the project. President Barack [Read more]
As oil wealth dwindles, Saudi Arabia faces change
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — At a gas station in Saudi Arabia's second largest city of Jiddah, drivers are fueling up their cars at just 45 cents a gallon — four times less than the price of water. To make that possible, the kingdom spends up to $10.7 billion per year on gasoline subsidies. It also offers a range of perks and welfare support to its citizens such as free healthcare and education, including thousands of scholarships to expensive Western universities. Such largesse, however, [Read more]
Keystone XL pipeline developer shifts course in Nebraska, drops eminent domain claims
LINCOLN, Neb. - The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline is shifting course in Nebraska and will withdraw lawsuits seeking to gain access to the property of landowners who oppose the project, the company announced Tuesday.TransCanada Inc. said it will abandon its current efforts to invoke eminent domain through the courts and will reapply for state approval despite having received the go-ahead from former Republican Gov. Dave Heineman in 2013.Heineman approved the project under a now-contested [Read more]
Shell ceases Alaska Arctic drilling, cites disappointing results from exploratory well
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Royal Dutch Shell has abandoned its long quest to become the first company to produce oil in Alaska's Arctic waters, darkening the nation's long-term oil prospects and delighting environmental groups that tried to block the project.After years of effort, Shell is leaving the region "for the foreseeable future" because it failed to find enough oil to make further drilling worthwhile.The company has spent more than $7 billion on the effort, slogged through a regulatory gauntlet [Read more]
Alaskans could get record oil payout checks at $2,000 each
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Oil prices are so low, they’re hovering at benchmarks not seen in years, plunging oil-dependent Alaska into a crippling budget deficit. But the industry’s woes won’t affect the payout from the state’s oil investment account to Alaskans even though state government has been scrambling to pay the bills. In fact, most predictions put the yearly oil check at near record levels, about $2,000 for nearly every man, woman and child who lives in the 49th state. Last year’s [Read more]
In a Mideast upset by cheap oil, more crude may enter market
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Across a Mideast fueled by oil production, low global prices have some countries running on empty and scrambling to cover shortfalls, even as more regional crude is on tap to enter the market. While some Gulf nations rest on ample reserve funds, embattled Iraq is desperate to scrounge up more money for its fight against the extremist Islamic State group as protesters demand repairs to its failing power grid. Contrast that to neighboring Iran, whose nuclear [Read more]
Cleanup of North Dakota oil spill slowed by lack of natural gas to power special equipment
BISMARCK, N.D. - The cleanup of a massive 2013 oil spill in northwestern North Dakota is being hampered by a lack of natural gas needed to power special equipment that cooks hydrocarbons from crude-soaked soil, a state regulator said.Crews have been working around-the-clock to deal with the Tesoro Corp. pipeline break that spilled more than 20,000 barrels of oil into a Tioga wheat field two years ago this month.Bill Suess, an environmental scientist with the state Health Department, said [Read more]
Shell president: ‘Oil will be required for a long time’
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The president of Shell Oil Co. said exploratory drilling off Alaska’s northwest coast is going well despite stormy weather last week that caused the company to halt operations for a few days. And in an interview this week with The Associated Press Marvin Odum said he expects further protests against the company’s plans for Arctic drilling like the ones in Seattle and Portland where activists in kayaks tried to block Shell vessels. Arctic offshore drilling is bitterly [Read more]
US oil prices rise another 6 per cent after 10 per cent surge on Thursday
NEW YORK - Oil prices surged again Friday, a day after recording their biggest gain in more than six years.U.S. crude rose 6.3 per cent to finish at $45.22 per barrel after climbing 10.3 per cent on Thursday. That was the biggest one-day jump for U.S. oil since March 2009. The gains ease some concerns about the economic impact of falling oil prices on oil-producing regions and the economy at large.Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils imported by U.S. refineries, rose 5.2 per cent to [Read more]
Oil posts biggest one-day gain since 2009, but analysts don’t anticipate sustained rally
NEW YORK - Oil soared more than 10 per cent Thursday, its biggest one-day gain since March 2009, lifted by resurgent global stock markets and a report showing the U.S. economy grew faster than previously reported in the second quarter.U.S. oil rose $3.96, or 10.3 per cent, to $42.56 in New York. That is the biggest gain since March 12, 2009, when oil gained 11 per cent. Brent crude rose 10.3 per cent to $47.56 a barrel in London.Oil had fallen to a 6 1/2 year low because of a global supply glut [Read more]