Oilfield Daily News

When oil crossed $120 a barrel for the first time in May 2008, oil cornucopians knew they were in trouble. Prices had quadrupled in just five years, yet had failed to bring new production online. Regular crude had flatlined around 74 million barrels per day (mbpd). The case for peak oil was looking stronger with every new uptick in crude futures.

Full article at: http://oilprice.com/article-there-will-be-no-economic-recovery-as-the-era-of-cheap-oil-comes-to-an-end.html

Europe should promote spending on infrastructure to deliver natural gas to consumers from new sources of the fuel from Africa, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, Eni SpA Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni said.

The natural gas pipeline projects in southern Europe, South Stream and Nabucco, should combine to cut costs, Scaroni said. Eni is an equal partner in South Stream with OAO Gazprom, the world’s largest producer of gas. Nabucco shareholders include Austria’s OMV AG and Germany’s RWE AG.

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China supplies most of the rare earth minerals found in technologies such as hybrid cars, wind turbines, computer hard drives and cell phones, but the U.S. has its own largely untapped reserves that could safeguard future tech innovation.

Those reserves include deposits of both “light” and “heavy” rare earths – families of minerals that help make everything from TV displays to magnets in hybrid electric motors. A company called U.S. Rare Earths holds the only known U.S. deposit of heavy rare earths with a concentration worth mining, according to a recent report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

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Diplomacy and energy are never far apart in the Persian Gulf. So, as American officials seek new international sanctions against Iran this week, it’s probably wise for them to remember how much the world’s global energy map has changed over the past decade.

Iran’s leaders certainly do, and they’ve been counting on their increased ties with Asian countries, especially China, as their trump card against efforts to hem in their nuclear program.

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(Bloomberg) — Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. energy company, must pay $1.2 million to 16 Louisiana workers who claimed they were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation when they were cleaning used oil drilling pipes, a jury said.

A state court jury in Gretna, Louisiana, yesterday awarded the men amounts ranging from $10,000 to $175,000 each, finding that they face an increased risk of cancer as a result of their exposure to naturally occurring radioactive material in the used pipes between 1977 and 1992.

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TORONTO — World-renowned economist Jeff Rubin says unless supply chains are willing to pay for triple-digit oil prices, they’d better start thinking closer to home.

Speaking at a conference hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to discuss the findings of its “Transportation and Logistics 2030” survey, Rubin said it’s likely companies will soon have to pay for the carbon footprint they leave behind.

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The European Commission added to its economic stimulus program with the largest-ever package of grants to energy infrastructure, including support for the Nabucco pipeline project that will help Europe diversify its sources of natural gas.

Full article at: http://www.oilprice.com/article-eu-offers-31-billion-for-energy-infrastructure-projects-including-caspian-pipeline.html

Jobs data indicating that U.S. economic recovery might be picking up steam finally pushed crude oil futures decisively over the stubborn $80 a barrel threshold. Nymex’s benchmark West Texas Intermediate settled Friday at $81.50 a barrel, a seven-week high, after topping $82 in intraday trading.

Full article at: http://oilprice.com/article-us-jobs-data-propels-crude-oil-above-80-a-barrel.html