Surging gasoline prices bring back memories of past energy wars : NPR
Oil
JPMorgan says $185 oil is in view if Russian supply hit persists | Markets – Gulf News
Brent crude could end the year at $185 a barrel if Russian supply continue to be disrupted, JPMorgan Chase & Co wrote in a note Thursday.
Oil prices have skyrocketed, with Brent crude approaching $120 earlier Thursday as traders shun Russian oil after Moscow invaded Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden is facing calls to ban Russian imports of energy but so far has not imposed full blown sanctions on oil. VDO.AI
Currently, 66% of Russian oil is struggling to find buyers, JP Morgan analysts including Natasha Kaneva said in the note.
In the short term, the scale of the supply shock is so large that oil prices need to reach and stay at $120 a barrel for months to incentivize demand destruction, the analysts said, assuming there would be no immediate return of Iranian crude barrels.
"As sanctions have widened and the shift to energy security takes on an urgent priority, there will likely be ramifications for Russian oil sales into Europe and the US, potentially impacting up to 4.3 million barrels per day," the analysts wrote.
NPR
Oil prices are swinging dramatically, with recent peaks pushing close to a major milestone: $100 a barrel.
The possibility of Russia invading Ukraine is the driving force, but there's more at play than the risk of war. And complicating predictions further, the possibility of a deal with Iran is hovering in the background.
Here's what to know as crude prices hover within striking distance of the triple digits last seen in 2014.
NPR
The report recommends hiking federal royalty rates for oil and gas drilling, which have not been raised for 100 years. The federal rate of 12.5% that developers must pay to drill on public lands is significantly lower than many states and private landowners charge for drilling leases on state or private lands.
The report also said the government should consider raising bond payments that energy companies must set aside for future cleanup before they drill new wells. Bond rates have not been increased in decades, the report said.
The Bureau of Land Management, an Interior Department agency, should focus leasing offers on areas that have moderate to high potential for oil and gas resources and are close to existing oil and gas infrastructure, the report said.
Invasive “jumping” worms are here to stay – Vox
Onondaga Creek’s future murky as mudboils dump 20 tons of silt, sand every day (video, photos) – syracuse.com
In a single day, these bubbling mudboils spew 20 tons of silt and sand into the creek and all the way down into Onondaga Lake. The sediment causes a number of problems beyond making the stream unsuitable for trout. It builds up to 4 feet near the lake, which could be causing some of the flooding in Syracuse seen in the past few years. It also flows into Onondaga Lake, degrading water quality in a lake that the county and Honeywell have poured at least $1 billion into cleaning up.
Onondaga Creek Mudboil Study – Onondaga Nation
The result was the accelerated discharge from increasingly active mudboils. A mudboil is not a common phenomenon in nature. It is quite rare, occurring only where pressurized groundwater penetrates upward through overlying materials with enough velocity to transport sediments along with it. Mudboils are so rare that scientists have been coming to Onondaga Creek to study them for decades, providing ample information over time. ?The first documented mudboil erupted in Tully Valley in the late 1880s, just years after solution mining began.? And since most of this pressured water was passing through the deep salt chambers, the Tully mudboils are particularly unique because over time they came to reflect the brine pressure source and became very salty.