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| Complex deal sets new OPEC target of 24.485 million b/d |
|  December 18, 2008
OPEC on December 17 agreed what is probably the biggest and certainly one of the most complicated output cut agreements in its history, announcing a new 24.845 million b/d target for those 11 members bound by production pacts.
Read the full story... |
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| European energy security: energy a casualty of Georgia conflict
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| 
September 2,
2008
What lessons can be learned from the Georgian war? It wasn't fought over energy, although energy issues have long featured in the strategic thinking of the principal protagonists, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Read
the full story...
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| Diesel and gasoline: the impact on refining margins
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| 
August 18,
2008
Unquestionably the most visible part of the modern oil industry is the filling station. Our abject reliance upon diesel and gasoline, its influencing of every aspect of our lives, from job choices, to food prices, to social activities, renders the filling station the unlikely backdrop to a shared global experience.
Read
the full story...
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US ethanol prices swaying with changing supply picture |
| 
August 11,
2008
Ethanol prices fell 10 cents/gal on August 6, 2008, in Chicago, pushed lower by dramatically weaker corn prices, market sources said.
August trade in Chicago at the benchmark terminal Argo rated $2.14-2.15/gal. The Platts assessment on August 5 was $2.24-2.25/gal.
Read
the full story...
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Swaps sellers aim to sustain tanker earnings amid
rising fuel costs |
| 
July 2,
2008
Freight forward agreements (FFAs) on crude tankers
for the coming year have gained upward momentum
as swaps sellers aim to sustain tanker earnings
amid rising costs for bunker fuel and players
extrapolate the unprecedented strength of spot
freight rates into the future, industry sources
said.
Read
the full story...
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| India's
D6 gas production to commence September |
|  June
26, 2008
India's giant D6 gas block in the eastern offshore
Krishna Godavari Basin is expected to start
production in September at a rate of 25 million
cu m/day (about 882,500 Mcf/day) and supplies
will be prioritized for the country's underutilized
urea and power plants, the oil ministry said
late June 25.
Read the full story... |
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| Crisis
for US airlines as oil prices defy gravity |
| 
May 20,
2008
Fuel costs are the biggest catalyst in the latest
flurry of consolidations in the US airlines
industry, analysts say, and may bring about
more trouble as with the exception of a few,
none of the airlines has prepared for today's
cost environment.
Read
the full story...
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| Iraq:
The year of transfer? |
|  April
24, 2008
Iraqi oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani said
April 23 that the recent government crackdown
in the southern oil hub of Basra had been a
success and had created a safer environment
for the oil industry.
Read the full story...
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| Next-generation
biofuels begin to emerge |
 April
16, 2008
The production of biofuels has tripled from 4.8
billion gallons in 2000 to 16 billion gallons
in 2007, but still only accounts for less than
3% of total global transportation fuel supply,
according to a report from the Economic Research
Services division of the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA).
Read the full story... |
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| IEA
says world needs bigger cushion on oil inventories |
|  April
14, 2008
The world oil market needs a bigger oil stock
"buffer" to cope with geopolitical tension,
even though inventory levels are already above
five-year averages, the International Energy
Agency said March 11.
Read the full story... |
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| Crude
oil market round-ups |
|  February
8, 2008
In a special series of podcasts, Platts European
oil team discuss what's been moving the West
African, North Sea and Urals crude markets in
the week beginning February 4.
Read the full story... |
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| Obama taps ethanol backer for USDA
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|  December 22, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama made a strong move in support of ethanol and other non-petroleum biofuels the week ended December 19, naming former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, a major renewable-fuels advocate, to be his agriculture secretary.
Read the full story... |
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| EU industry recommends selection criteria for CCS projects
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|  November 17, 2008
The EU Parliament's proposal to give large-scale CCS demonstration projects up to 500 million free EU ETS carbon allowances from the program's new entrant reserve from 2013 does not have enough support from EU governments to be accepted.
Read the full story... |
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Financial meltdown -- the implications for energy |
| 
October 24,
2008
The latest chapter in the US financial crisis has started to claim victims in the energy world. US investment banks were/are active in many energy markets around the world, from European power and gas to crude oil derivatives and the physical delivery of jet oil and gasoline.
Read
the full story...
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After slow start, wave energy approaches commercial scales |
|  August 5, 2008
The burgeoning wave energy sector, which has endured ups and downs in recent years through initial testing of devices and uncertain government support, has recently set sail with new projects that have brought the industry to the brink of commercial development.
Read the full story... |
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Forward power price bull run takes a breather |
|  July
30, 2008
The bull run of 2007-2008 came to a halt mid-July as the forward power curve responded to falling oil and coal prices. Also down was CO2, dipping below Euro25/EU Allowance from early July highs of Euro29.70/EUA.
Read the full story... |
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| Huge
investments needed to meet US power demand growth |
|  June
4, 2008
US utilities and their customers are feeling
the pinch. Amidst the credit crunch, huge investments
are needed to meet power demand growth, but
inflation is rife across the supply side.
Read the full story... |
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| Negative
outlook for mergers could turn around |
|  May
8, 2008
Analysts were unanimous in agreement at the
Edison Electric Institute International Utility
Conference back in March 2008 that there would
not be much cross-Atlantic merger and acquisition
activity in the US power sector this year.
Read the full story... |
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| Rebalancing
with gas and wind |
|  May
1, 2008
Continuing uncertainty about the future carbon
environment as well as ongoing concerns over
security of supply seem to be outweighing fears
about tightening supply-demand margins, according
to Platts Energy in East Europe's latest power
plant tracker.
Read the full story... |
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| Congress
analyzes cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide
|
|  March
4, 2008
A program to control carbon dioxide emissions
through a cap with an emissions-allowance trading
program that includes a "safety valve" would
be "significantly more efficient" than an inflexible
annual cap on CO2.
Read the full story... |
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| NERC
chief applauds Florida restoration efforts |
|  February
27, 2008
NERC CEO Rick Sergel on Feb. 27 applauded the
efforts on Feb. 26 by Florida utilities to restore
power after a system disturbance led to the
loss of about 12 power plants and cut power
to millions of customers.
Read the full story... |
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| Prosperous
solar PV sector confronts specter of looming investment
'bubble' |
|  February
27, 2008
The solar photovoltaic industry since 2000 has
established the best track record for growth
among all energy sources, oil and gas included.
Read the full story... |
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| EC
sets out new targets for emissions, renewables |
|  January
24, 2008
The European Commission on January 23 set out
detailed proposals for meeting its target to
cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020.
Read the full story... |
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| Emissions
trading -- time to get serious |
|  January
2, 2008
The Kyoto Protocol's five-year compliance period
begins in 2008. Industrialized nations around
the world have pledged to cut carbon emissions,
but the job seems to get harder, not easier.
Can market mechanisms make the crucial difference?
Read the full story... |
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| The southern corridor: competition for gas |
| 
November 20, 2008
Projects to bring gas from the Caspian region to Europe all have problems. One has gas but no Turkish transit rights, another has those but no gas, while the third, and the largest, has neither. And that is the one that the EC is devoting most time to.
Read the full story...
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Financial meltdown -- the implications for energy |
|
October 24,
2008
The latest chapter in the US financial crisis has started to claim victims in the energy world. US investment banks were/are active in many energy markets around the world, from European power and gas to crude oil derivatives and the physical delivery of jet oil and gasoline.
Read
the full story... |
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| FERC rejects effort to stop Rockies Express-West tests |
| 
September 24, 2008
After a brief skirmish involving several gas shippers on the Rockies Express Pipeline, FERC on September 2 denied a petition to stop Kinder Morgan from conducting hydrostatic tests on the pipeline.
Read the full story...
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| High
oil prices destroying European gas demand |
| 
July 9, 2008
High oil prices are destroying gas demand directly
or indirectly, leading to consumer outrage in
Europe. But not only might they be short-lived;
but there are other, painless, ways of reducing
industrial and residential demand too.
Read the full story...
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| Shale
boom to help US meet growing gas demand |
|  May
28, 2008
It's been more than a century since the first
natural gas wells were sunk in the United States
- shallow holes in the rigid shale formations
of Appalachia.
Read the full story
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| Calls
to curb oil market speculators may spill into
gas, industry fears |
| 
May 14, 2008
Talk of curbing speculative trading in petroleum
markets has the potential to bleed into the
gas market, according to industry insiders,
who warned that, despite the historically high
price of commodities, the reining in of such
players could have devastating effects on energy
trading.
Read the full story...
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| Western
markets are poised to prosper in 2008 |
|  March
17, 2008
With 2008 in full swing, Rocky Mountain market
watchers agree that some significant pricing
and infrastructure events from 2007 continue
to exert their influence.
Read the full story
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| LNG
regas capacity is outstripping new liquefaction
plant at a rapid rate |
|
 March
12, 2008
The ratio of regasification capacity to LNG
liquefaction is set to grow rapidly over the
next five years.
Read the full story... |
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| World
gas prices reflect regional splits |
|  February
5, 2008
Wholesale spot prices in Asia, Europe and North
America are moving further apart this winter,
not converging.
Read the full story...
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| Analysts warn of 'bearish outlook' in coal industry |
| 
December 10,
2008
After individual companies announced cost or production cutbacks in the first week of December, industry analysts said that the coal producers' fortunes are clearly heading downward.
Read
the full story...
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| Newcastle, Australia-based coal futures contracts introduced by three institutional players |
| 
November 27,
2008
Successful investing is anticipating the anticipations of others, according to the English economist, John Maynard Keynes.
However, not even Keynes could have anticipated the demand-driven factors that have propelled international coal prices to record highs over the last 18 months or foreseen the speed at which those prices would unwind.
Read
the full story...
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| Coal
- a derivatives market on the brink of change |
|  April
15, 2008
Coal is re-emerging as a vital generation feedstock
fuel with plentiful global reserves. A global
seaborne steam coal market split between the
Atlantic and Pacific basins has been complemented
by a thriving financial derivatives market.
Read
the full story... |
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| DOE
gets approval for nuclear energy loan guarantees |
|  January
7, 2008
With the spot price of uranium having slid through
the month of July, there are differences among
analysts about how low the price will drop before
it once again rises, as most expect it will.
Read the full story...
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Styrene monomer cash-margins positive after five months in negative territory |
| 
September 8,
2008
Cash margins for non-integrated Asian styrene monomer producers turned positive for the first time in five months on steep declines in the price of benzene and ethylene in recent weeks, Platts data show on September 5.
Read
the full story...
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US ethanol prices swaying with changing supply picture |
| 
August 11,
2008
Freight forward agreements (FFAs) on crude tankers
for the coming year have gained upward momentum
as swaps sellers aim to sustain tanker earnings
amid rising costs for bunker fuel and players
extrapolate the unprecedented strength of spot
freight rates into the future, industry sources
said.
Read
the full story...
|
|
|
| Ethanol
stocks high, prices static |
 February
15, 2008
Ethanol prices in Europe have been static in the
first part of 2008 as high stock levels have reduced
spot trading activity.
Read
the full story... |
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Carmaking collapse cuts commodities consumption
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|  December
18, 2008
Chances are when you've visited a car dealership shopping for a new vehicle, you were focused on the overall fit, finish and performance. Not immediately evident were the more than 30 key materials and commodities that went into making it.
Read
the full story...
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| China's copper semi-products consumption slows in bearish market
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|  November
13, 2008
China's copper semi-finished products consumption continues to slow down amid the current dismal economic outlook despite the government's economic stimulus plan, industry sources said on November 12.
Read
the full story...
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| Aluminum
hits all-time record highs despite weak demand
|
|  July
15, 2008
Aluminum may have been responding to two different
events in the week ending July 11 when it hit
a succession of all-time price highs, but the
market remains divided over the medium-term
direction, given that world fundamentals point
to weak demand and rising stock levels.
Read
the full story...
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| A
treacherous year for steel buyers |
|  June
26, 2008
If you are a steel buyer, 2008 has so far been
a treacherous year. Consider the following...
Since late December 2007 through early June
2008, the Platts-assessed price of hot-rolled
coil (HRC) in the US market is up 88%.
Read
the full story...
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| Gold
prices soar to record levels as rally continues |
|  January
16, 2008
Someone once said there's this odd thing about
the future -- it never gets here. But if exchange-traded
steel futures contracts ever take off, 2007
may be looked back on as the pivotal year.
Read
the full story...
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Swaps sellers aim to sustain tanker earnings amid
rising fuel costs |
|
July 2,
2008
Freight forward agreements (FFAs) on crude tankers
for the coming year have gained upward momentum
as swaps sellers aim to sustain tanker earnings
amid rising costs for bunker fuel and players
extrapolate the unprecedented strength of spot
freight rates into the future, industry sources
said.
Read
the full story... |
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