Jude Hislop

Chemical Activity Barometer cools, signals slowdown of economic activity

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Leading economic indicator shows marked deceleration from second quarter The Chemical Activity Barometer, a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), dropped 0.4 per cent in Sept., following a revised 0.2 per cent decline in Aug. The chemical industry has been found to consistently lead the U.S. economy’s business cycle given its

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EPA refinery rule is much improved but remains costly – API

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American Petroleum Institute says refineries voluntarily reducing emissions for decades under existing regulations The Environmental Protection Agency has made substantial improvements in the final refinery sector rule, but new regulations could still cost up to $1 billion, according to API Downstream Group Director Bob Greco. “EPA analyses, supported by extensive industry monitoring data, show that air

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Shale gas development in China aided by government investment

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China invested heavily in joint ventures in US shale plays to gain valuable expertise The Chinese government is encouraging shale gas production with government aid, helping to significantly lower well costs, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Although reliance on natural gas imports has increased in the Chinese energy market, future shale gas production in China would help

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Asia developing natural gas regional trading hubs to improve market performance

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Several Asian countries – including Japan, China, Singapore – developing regional trading hubs to increase price formation transparency Asia is developing regional trading hubs so that prices are determined by market forces rather than contracts indexed to crude oil or petroleum product prices. The declines in crude oil prices between August 2014 and January 2015 had a

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Texas oil and gas production rise again in July compared to 2014

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July 2015 Texas crude oil production averaged 2,456,481 barrels daily AUSTIN – Texas crude oil production in July was up over 2014 by over 200,000 barrels daily and gas production increased as well, according to Texas Railroad Commission figures released Friday. Production for July 2015 as reported to the Texas Railroad Commission is 76,150,903 barrels of crude

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Clean Power Plan: Obama announces $1 billion of loan guarantees

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Clean Power Plan supports distributed renewable energy projects, additional funding for solar power generation President Barack Obama today announced more than $1 billion to drive innovation and accelerate the clean energy economy, according to the Department of Energy. As part of the President’s Clean Power Plan, DOE’s Loan Programs Office is making up to one billion dollars in

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India’s coal industry in flux as government sets ambitious production targets

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Forest clearances, environmental permits, land acquisition challenges remain obstacles to rapid development of India’s coal industry Coal consumption in India, particularly in the electric power sector, is outpacing India’s domestic production. From 2005 to 2012, India’s coal production grew by only 4.7% per year to about 600 million metric tons while the country’s coal-fired electric

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