European court to decide if Arctic drilling violates human rights

(Bloomberg) --The European Court of Human Rights is asking Norway to respond to charges by activists that allowing new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic during an environmental crisis may breach fundamental freedoms. In a document seen by Bloomberg, the court will give the Norwegian government an April 13 deadline to comment, in writing, on the...

China slashes fuel export quotas in first 2022 tranche

(Bloomberg) --China slashed its fuel export quota by more than half in the first batch of allocations for 2022, highlighting the nation’s strategy of progressively limiting overseas sales. A total of 13 million tons were issued, including both general trade and tolling issuances, according to refinery officials who have direct knowledge of the...

NexTier stock jumps as frac demand swells revenue

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) --NexTier Oilfield Solutions Inc. soared more than 20% after the frac provider disclosed higher-than-expected quarterly sales, signaling an acceleration in U.S. shale drilling. The Houston-based provider of pumps that blast water, sand and chemicals underground to crack open oil-soaked rocks said fourth-quarter revenue more t...

OPEC commits to more oil supply as global demand grows

(Bloomberg) --OPEC and its allies agreed to revive more halted production as the outlook for global oil markets improved, with demand largely withstanding the new coronavirus variant. The 23-nation alliance led by Saudi Arabia and Russia approved the 400,000 barrel-a-day increase scheduled for February at a meeting on Tuesday, according to a sta...

U.S. claims title of world’s largest LNG exporter

(Bloomberg) --The U.S. became the world’s No. 1 exporter of liquefied natural gas for the first time ever last month, as deliveries surged to energy-starved Europe. Output from American facilities edged above Qatar in December after a jump in exports from the Sabine Pass and Freeport facilities, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloo...

Lack of gas infrastructure sends New England’s power prices soaring

(Bloomberg) --Electricity prices in New England jumped on Tuesday as a frigid start to the day spurred demand when the cost of natural gas used to fuel power plants soared. New England is frequently the most sensitive region to gas-supply constraints because it’s geographically at the end of the massive U.S. pipeline network. Attempts to build...