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September 16, 2011

Energy Data Highlights

Crude oil futures price 9/13/2011: $90.21/bbl up$4.19 from week earlier up$13.02 from year earlier Natural gas futures price 9/13/2011: $3.980/mmBtu up$0.042 from week earlier up$0.040 from year earlier Retail gasoline price 9/12/2011: $3.661/gal down$0.013 from week earlier up$0.940 from year earlier Crude oil inventories 9/9/2011: 346.4 mmbbl down6.7 mmbbl from week earlier down11.0 mmbbl from year earlier Weekly coal production 9/3/2011: 20.986 million tons down0.167 million tons from week earlier down0.825 million tons from year earlier http://www.eia.gov/

Natural Gas/ Power News

EIA Storage Release 9/1/11 (Actual): +64 Bcf Previous Week: +55 Bcf -4.2% Change from 1 Year Ago -1.9% Change 5-year Average

Natural Gas: Boom or Bust Natural gas, in many ways, is a tough form of energy to beat. http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/natural-gas-article-for-ge/

Conoco Tries to Fuel More Natural-Gas Use ConocoPhillips is launching a campaign for natural gas to play a greater role in meeting U.S. energy needs, even as it plays a diminished role in the energy giant's portfolio because of weak prices driven by a supply glut.With the initiative, "Power in Cooperation," Houston-based Conoco is staking out a position on a major domestic energy issue, touting the country's massive natural-gas resources as a job-creating, clean-burning energy source, while trying to address concerns about its impact on the environment. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190353280457656891328224747 4.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy Japan hopes to buy LNG from U.S. by 2015 Japan hopes to start buying liquefied natural gas from the United States after a project there starts exporting LNG in 2015, as the country looks to secure a steady supply amid growing demand for the fuel, a trade ministry official said on Wednesday. Japan's demand for natural gas is expected to rise for years to come, with its LNG imports climbing at a record pace this year as utilities ramp up gasfired generation to offset a drop in nuclear utilisation following the Fukushima crisis. http://www.sharenet.co.za/news/Japan_hopes_to_buy_LNG_from_US_by_2015/708f 4e271b1011c2c88e4c92443b13cb Australia's Norwest Energy gets approval to fracture shale gas well Australia's Norwest Energy has received approval from the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum to hydraulically fracture stimulate the Arrowsmith-2 shale gas well, the company said Wednesday in a release to the Australian Securities Exchange. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/7350157 EPA says it tried to help Luminant avoid plant shut downs Dallas-based Luminant said Monday it was shutting down two of its coal-fired power generation units at the end of the year because it wasnt possible to retrofit them to meet new air quality standards set to go into effect on Jan. 1. The move has been telegraphed for a while Luminant has been the most vocal of the Texas power plant operators about the pending Cross State Air Pollution Rules ever since the final version was released in July with the surprise inclusion of Texas for sulfur dioxide reductions. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/09/13/epa-says-it-tried-to-help-luminant-avoid-plantshut-downs/ Natural Gas/ Power News EIA Storage Release 9/1/11 (Actual): +64 Bcf Previous Week: +55 Bcf -4.2% Change from 1 Year Ago -1.9% Change 5-year Average Gas Trading in Netherlands Outpaces Peers as LNG Arrives: Energy Markets The Netherlands natural-gas market is growing faster than its peers, fending off competition from Germany to be mainland Europes largest as the country starts importing liquefied fuel for the first time. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-15/gas-trading-in-netherlandsoutpaces-peers-as-lng-arrives-energy-markets.html

Deloitte sees higher US natural gas prices, more LNG imports US natural gas prices could exceed $8/MMBtu by 2022 and the country's LNG imports could rise by almost 3.5 Bcf/d by 2030, consultant Deloitte said in a report Wednesday. The study puts prices substantially higher than NYMEX futures prices and raises questions about the recent rush by US LNG import terminals to begin exporting domestic shale gas. "Exporting LNG from North America to Europe and Asia, while tempting now, may not prove to be profitable over the long term, especially if future technological advancements do not continue to significantly drive down the cost of producing shale gas," the report said. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/NaturalGas/6478397

Green/ Alternative Energy News

US fuel ethanol production, consumption growth slows During the first five months of 2011, US fuel ethanol production increased 59,000 b/d compared with the same period in 2010, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday in analysis posted on its website. The year-onyear January through May increase represented a slower rate of growth compared with 2010 when production during the first five months of the year was 194,000 b/d higher than the same period in 2009. Output for all of 2010 was 154,000 b/d higher than in 2009, EIA said. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/6478387

Crude Oil News

OPEC Daily Basket Price 9/14/2011 $107.91 (9/13/2011 $108.42) Recent Rig Counts Last Count Change Cou from Prior nt Count -10 -2 +33 Date of Prior Count 2 Sept 11 2 Sept 11 July 2011 Change Date of from Last Last Year's Year Count +304 +132 +81 10 Sept 10 10 Sept 10 August 2010

Area U.S. Canada Internatio nal

9 Sept 1958 11 9 Sept 11 515

August 1183 2011

http://investor.shareholder.com/bhi/rig_counts/rc_index.cfm

Crude Oil Advances a Second Day in London on European Support for Greece Oil rose for a second day in London after German and French leaders said theyre certain Greece will remain in the euro zone, tempering concern that the regions debt crisis will damage fuel consumption. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-15/crude-declines-for-a-second-day-onu-s-fuel-supplies-economic-outlook.html

Goldman Sachs Maintains Crude Oil, Copper Forecasts Even as Risks Increase Brent crude and copper may rally as global economic growth led by emerging markets remains adequate to drive an expansion in raw-materials demand, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) said, sticking with forecasts for price gains. We remain constructive on commodities, Allison Nathan, an analyst at Goldman for more than a decade, said in an interview today. Still, risks to our bullish views have risen, said Nathan, citing Europes sovereign-debt problems and a mixed bag of economic data from the United States. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-15/goldman-sachs-maintains-crude-oilcopper-forecasts-even-as-risks-increase.html Oil up over $114, equity rally supports Oil traded at over $114 on Thursday, up over $2, buoyed by a rally in European equities, a weaker dollar, and an improvement in risk appetite after euro zone leaders reiterated their commitment to keeping Greece afloat. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/markets-oil-idUSL3E7KF0IJ20110915 Crude Oil Falls While Brent Gains on Euro Debt Worries Brent crude rose on Wednesday on hopes the euro zone's debt crisis would ease, while U.S. oil futures fell following data showing a surprise increase in U.S. product inventories. The premium of Brent crude to U.S. futures increased to about $1.50 a barrel as data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed large increases in U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles last week due to poor demand. Brent prices gained as the euro rose on comments about possible new euro zone bonds to help ease the region's debt troubles. http://www.cnbc.com/id/44510898 Oil Drilling Rebounds in Gulf After Spill The Gulf of Mexico has staged a comeback as a source of oil for big energy companies, little more than a year after the Obama administration largely shut down drilling in the wake of the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The burst of activity comes as the government prepares to toughen its oversight of offshore drilling. On Wednesday, federal regulators probing the Deepwater Horizon disaster issued a report that recommended numerous changes. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190449170457657105252551486 0.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection Traders split on knife-edge oil market outlook The crude oil market is witnessing a titanic battle: some macroeconomic hedge funds are betting on a drop in prices yet most physical traders are placing wagers that prices will rise. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/80f37400-df64-11e0-845a00144feabdc0.html#axzz1XvY50VJL TransCanada likely to miss 2013 start for Keystone XL pipeline Even if the US approves the Keystone XL pipeline in the next few months, an expected lawsuit by environmental opponents could force TransCanada to miss its 2013 target for starting the system, Deutsche Bank said Wednesday. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/6478388 New pipeline plans abound for Kinder Morgan, Valero, Shell Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Valero Energy say they will build and operate a new 136-mile, 16-inch pipeline to transport gasoline, jet fuel and diesel from refineries in Norco, La. to an existing hub in Collins,

Miss. The Parkway Pipeline will have an initial capacity of 110,000 barrels per day with the ability to expand to over 200,000 bpd. It will bring fuels to Southeastern markets served by the Plantation Pipe Line, which Kinder Morgan owns a 51 percent stake in and operates. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/09/14/new-pipeline-plans-abound-for-kindervalero-and-shell/ China oil demand growth to slow more on weak economic outlook China's oil demand growth is expected to decelerate further in the third and fourth quarters, after slowing down in August, due to the combination of a weak economic outlook and a high base of comparison for the second half of 2010, analysts from Bernstein Research and HSBC said in separate research reports. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/8344954 Nigerian NPDC Has 350 Million Barrel Oil Reserves, Guardian Says Nigerian Petroleum Development Co., the exploration unit of the state-owned oil company, has 350 million barrels of crude reserves, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing Managing Director Abiye Membere. The exploration arm, also known as NPDC, currently pumps 102,000 barrels of crude and condensate a day and plans to raise output to 265,000 barrels a day within four years, the Lagosbased newspaper said. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-27/nigeria-s-oil-explorer-expectsoutput-to-reach-250-000-barrels-in-3-years.html

Weather
Tropical Storm MARIA http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT4+shtml/151143.shtml 6 to 10 Day Outlooks

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