Reuters -- * Democrats say bill would ensure Keystone benefits US

* Republicans have been pushing to approve pipeline

* Republican says U.S. needs more exports

By Ayesha Rascoe

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Democrats unveiled legislation on Friday that would block export of any oil transported by the Keystone XL pipeline, as they challenged claims that the delayed project would boost U.S. energy security.

 (read more)

physorg.com -- As the United States transitions away from a primarily petroleum-based transportation industry, a number of different alternative fuel sources—ethanol, biodiesel, electricity and hydrogen—have each shown their own promise. Hoping to expand the pool even further, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have begun to investigate adding one more contender to the list of possible energy sources for light-duty cars and trucks: compressed natural gas (CNG).

Compressed natural gas is composed primarily of methane, which when compressed occupies less than one percent of the volume it occupies at standard pressure. CNG is typically stored in cylindrical tanks that would be carried onboard the vehicles it fuels.

Because the domestic production of natural gas  (read more)

Wired Magazine -- The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) is launching a campaign to help cars lose weight in order to gain efficiency and performance.

By bringing together members of the aluminum and plastics/composites industries, CAR hopes that automakers will reap the benefits of new lightweight materials to meet stricter fuel economy standards without sacrificing acceleration or handling.

While overall fuel economy has increased dramatically in the past few decades, so has the weight of passenger vehicles. MIT economist Christopher Knittel recently found that the average vehicle’s curb weight increased 26% between 1980 and 2006. If today’s powertrains were fitted to cars as light as the Chevettes and Civics of yore, the average fuel economy of cars sold in the US would be as high as 37 mpg in 2012.  (read more)

Forbes -- Exxon Mobil announced that the gas flow from its two exploratory wells drilled in Poland did not justify bringing them into production. [1]

Analysts have speculated that the technical challenges associated with shale exploration in the country made it commercially non-viable to explore the resources.

If so, this would be a major setback for Exxon’s plans to expand shale exploration in Europe as Poland has some the best shale prospects in the region and the government has been eager to exploit the resources to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Competitor Chevron is also drilling exploratory wells in Poland.
 (read more)

Mywesttexas.com -- "We were involved in drafting the bill," pointed out Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. "Our members were supportive of the bill, we think it's the right thing to do. Transparency is good and we think being transparent will help dispel some of the myths around hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing has become an overused, misused word."

Nye said many Texas operators werealready voluntarily reporting hydraulic fracturing chemicals since the FracFocus website went live on April 1, 2011. "In fact," she said, "as of January 31, 2012, of the 10,914 total wells nationwide voluntarily reporting disclosures on the FracFocus website, 4,169 of the wells are in Texas."  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog --
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a "strong possibility" that Israel will strike Iran's nuclear installations this spring, it was reported today.

That belief, is based on intelligence data gathered by NBC News that was produced by unidentifed military and civilian experts to assess the likelihood of an Israeli attack on Iran; the potential impact on the middle east, the U.S., and the global economy.
Here is an excerpt from that report:
Q: What are the chances Israel attacks Iran?

A: Officials agree the chances for an Israeli attack on Iran are at least 50-50, maybe higher. More than one former official has suggested the possibility is as high as 70 percent, but events can move...  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- An article by a Londer Finance newspaper spells out what I've been trying to let our GasBuddy family know- that I believe rejection of the Keystone pipeline will allow Canadian oil prices to remain at huge discounts to other global crude oils.

Now the proof is here in the pudding according to the LSE:

"Canadian heavy crude differentials began to slide two days ago, falling from the low $20s a barrel under benchmark West Texas Intermediate to as much as $32 a barrel under WTI on Friday."

See? The above paragraph is showing that the price of Canadian crude oil is falling- even faster than changes in other types of higher quality crude oil!

The same story goes on to say "Traders of Canadian crude had...  (read more)

The Nation --
Lincoln, Nebraska

Long before the Occupy movement swept the country—more than two years ago—a revolt began in one of the reddest states in America. Farmers and ranchers in Nebraska, many of them longtime conservatives, got angry about corporate influence on a single issue that has since captivated the entire state and upset national politics: the Keystone XL pipeline.

 (read more)

Kuwait Times -- British gas prices are likely to become more volatile and prone to spikes over the next few years after the UK has moved from self-sufficiency to increasing dependence on imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar.

The latest UK government data show Qatari LNG imports were equivalent to 52 percent of the gas consumed over the first nine months of 2011, up from 11 percent for 2009 as a whole.
Qatar also accounted for 85 percent of UK LNG supplies between January and November last year, with Nigeria a weak second at just 5 percent. Britain’s gas market is exposed to diversions of Qatari ships to countries that pay more, to shipping restrictions or unplanned outages on production facilities.  (read more)

Kuwait Times -- Iran has agreed to be paid 45 percent of revenue from its Indian oil exports in rupees, to be deposited with an Indian bank beyond the reach of new US and European sanctions, a report said Thursday.
The two countries have chosen UCO Bank, headquartered in the eastern city of Kolkata, for the rupee transactions to settle part of India's $12.68-billion annual oil bill, The Indian Express reported.
India currently pays for 20 percent of its oil imports from Iran in rupees, with the remainder settled in euros at the Turkish bank, Turkiye Halk Bankasi.
There are concerns that the Turkish route will be closed by tough new European sanctions on oil exports from Iran imposed over the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear programme.
India has said it will continue to buy crude from Iran despite moves  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog --

If Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley gets his way he might be the last and only person smiling in Maryland.

This week O'Malley said he wants to raise the state's gasoline tax by applying Maryland's 6% sales tax to every gallon of gasoline. His plan would have a 2% per year phasing in of the tax at the wholesale level.

Maryland's state average today is $3.51 per gallon. Baltimore's average is $3.48 and closer to the governor in Annapolis, if he drives around his neighborhood he could see retail prices ranging anywhere from $3.49 to $3.65 per gallon.

Marylanders currently pay combined federal and state taxes of 42 cents per gallon. If the state legislature approves O'Malley's proposal, that...  (read more)

Detroit News -- General Motors extended-range electric Chevrolet Volt had its worst sales month since August, as negative publicity over fire risks hurt vehicles sales in January.

GM sold just 603 Volts - above its sales in January 2011, but far below GM's best-ever sales month in December, when GM sold 1,529 Volts.

Last week, GM North America President Mark Reuss said sales of the Volt have been hurt by bad publicity.

Reuss said bad publicity from the government's investigation into fire risks of post-crash Volts is "definitely a component" of the decline in sales.

GM sold about 7,700 in 2011, below GM's target of 10,000. GM abandoned its sales target of 45,000 for 2012 last month, saying it would match "supply to demand."

GM was outsold by Nissan Motor Co.'s all-electric Leaf in 2011  (read more)

Wilmington News-Journal -- Four members of the California Public Utilities Commission approved a proposal that allows PG&E to charge residential customers an initial fee of $75, plus $10 each month, to opt out of the company's highly contested $2.2 billion SmartMeter program.  (read more)

Bloomberg -- Oil fell to the lowest in six weeks as U.S. crude stockpiles increased more than estimated and gasoline use fell to a 10-year low. Brent crude in London was at the biggest premium to New York oil in 12 weeks.

Futures declined for a fifth day, losing as much as 1 percent after an Energy Department report yesterday showed crude supplies in the U.S. rose by 4.2 million barrels last week. Inventories were projected to increase 2.6 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Talks on Iran’s nuclear program have made little progress, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a speech in Beijing today.

“The bears worried about poor demand after last night’s data and prices weakened,” said Christopher Bellew, a senior broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London, who expects Brent cru  (read more)

Alaska Dispatch -- Yet another bill to allow oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is moving through the U.S. House of Representatives, but history would suggest it's doomed to fail.

So why does Alaska's Congressman Don Young keep trying?

"I'm not only eternally optimistic; if you don't keep trying you're never going to get anything done," Young told Alaska Dispatch Wednesday.

His attempts to open ANWR's coastal plain to drilling so far have amounted to nothing.

During his nearly four decades in office, the House has passed 11 of his ANWR drilling bills, Young said. All but one died in the Senate. The only one that made it through Congress died ignominiously on President Bill Clinton's desk.

"Everyone says, 'What do you keep doing this for? The Senate's not going to pass it,'"...  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- The Energy Information Administration released its weekly report on the condition of petroleum inventories in the United States today.

Here are some highlights:

CRUDE INVENTORIES:
Crude oil inventories increased by 4.2 million barrels to a total of 338.9 million barrels. At 338.9 million barrels, inventories are 4.2 million barrels below last year (-1.2%) and are in the upper limit of the average range.

GASOLINE INVENTORIES:
Gasoline inventories increased by 3.0 million barrels to 230.1 million barrels. At 230.1 million barrels, inventories are 6.1 million barrels, or 2.6% lower than last year. Here's how individual regions and their gasoline inventory fared last week: East Coast (+2.7mb); Midwest ...  (read more)

cbc -- Canadians in Eastern Canada may see more Alberta oil coming their way in the near future.

That's according to Mark Corey, one of Canada's top federal bureaucrats in charge of energy policy.

Corey, assistant deputy minister for the energy sector with Natural Resources Canada, was testifying Tuesday at a House of Commons committee looking into oil and gas pipelines and refineries in Canada.He told MPs that as oil production in Alberta increases, companies will start to find it in their economic interest to send it to refineries in Eastern Canada.

"As oil production ramps up in Western Canada you will likely see the market respond and in fact we are already seeing the markets respond."He was responding to a question from NDP MP Claude Gravelle who wanted to know why Prime Minister Stephen  (read more)

CNN Money -- Chrysler Group reported its first annual profit since 2005 Wednesday, capping a comeback a little more than two years after a federal bailout, a bankruptcy filing and a takeover by Italian automaker Fiat.

The automaker, which includes the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands, earned $183 million in 2011, compared with a loss of $652 million in the prior year.

And the company said that even better times are ahead, as it forecast it will make about $1.5 billion this year, with an 18% jump in revenue.

Chrysler took a charge of $551 million during the year related to refinancing in order to pay off the higher-interest loans it received from the U.S. and Canadian governments during the 2009 bailout. Despite the loan repayment, taxpayers lost about $1.3 billion of the $12.5 billion in bailout fund  (read more)

The Associated Press -- DALLAS -- The United Steelworkers union and Shell Oil have as announced a tentative deal on a new three-year contract covering Shell refinery workers across the United States.

The deal was announced in statements issued by the two sides Tuesday night, hours before a midnight Tuesday deadline to reach a new agreement or risk a strike.

The tentative deal must still be ratified by the 30,000 workers it covers at 168 workplaces across the nation, including 69 refineries representing about 64 percent of the nation's refining capacity.

The deal also will be used as the model for other refiners such as Exxon Mobil, Marathon, Valero and ConocoPhillips to match.

The USW is North America's largest industrial union with about 850,000 members in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.  (read more)

Reuters -- Honda Motor Co slashed its annual profit guidance to the lowest level in three years as it counted the cost of natural disasters in Japan and Thailand and a strong yen. But it forecast a healthy rebound next year.

Japan's No.3 automaker was the slowest to recover from the supply chain disruptions after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and it was the only carmaker whose factory was inundated by historic floods in Thailand, Southeast Asia's export hub.

Honda cut its expectations for operating profit for the business year to March 31 by a quarter to 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion), below the average forecast of 24 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S of 283 billion yen. It marks a drop of 65 percent compared with year-earlier profits.  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- Calgary's oil boom is bringing unprecedented growth to Alberta and prominently positioning Canada on the main stage of the world's energy superpowers.

Blooomberg News reported last month that the population of Canada's main oil-producing region has soared 37 percent to about 3.7 million in the past decade as companies such as ExxonMobil and Statoil ASA have attracted workers from China, Venezuela and the Phillippines to develop the largest oil reserves outside of the Middle East.

"Most people around the world believe that it has been a fairly parochial jurisdiction," said Alberta Premier, Alison Redford. "We are now going through a generational change in politics and business. We have an ability to embrace the world...  (read more)

Houston Chronicle -- Union officials are drawing up strike rosters while refineries prepare for possible shutdowns as a Wednesday deadline looms on nationwide contract talks covering 30,000 refinery and chemical workers - including 4,600 in the Houston area.

Negotiators with the United Steelworkers International and Shell Oil Co. met into the evening Monday on a contract to replace one that expires at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

One analyst warned that a strike that closed refineries could boost gasoline prices.  (read more)

By ERIKA KINETZ - AP Business Writer -- MUMBAI, India -- India has joined China in saying it will not cut back on oil imports from Iran, despite stiff new U.S. and European sanctions designed to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program.

"It is not possible for India to take any decision to reduce the import from Iran drastically because, after all, the countries which can provide the requirement of the emerging economy, Iran is an important country amongst them," India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters Sunday in Chicago.

India and China together accounted for 34 percent of Iran's oil exports from January to September of 2011 - slightly more than Europe, according to International Energy Agency data.  (read more)

Bloomberg -- Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The premium for California-blend gasoline in Los Angeles strengthened amid maintenance at West Coast refineries that may crimp supplies.

Carbob increased 0.5 cent to a premium of 9 cents a gallon against gasoline futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 4:05 p.m. East Coast time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Chevron Corp. said in a notice with California regulators last week that it would flare gases at its refinery in El Segundo, California, today through Feb. 2. Alon US Energy Inc. closed the 55,000-barrel-a-day Paramount oil refinery in Southern California for planned work that may last for a month, according to two people familiar with the maintenance.  (read more)

USA Today -- Could entertainment-related computers in cars -- navigation, phones and the like -- be hacked, providing an entry point to manipulate computers controlling safety functions

It's an interesting question posed by Bloomberg News in a report about the possibility that entertainment systems could be manipulated.

"There clearly is a vulnerability," said Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, based in Arlington, Va. "All these electronics we're bringing into cars seem to exacerbate that."

A National Academy of Sciences panel, including Lund, elevated the concerns in a report Jan. 18 reviewing U.S. regulators' work in finding the cause of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

While safety and entertainment systems are intended be separate, ...  (read more)