The Energy East pipeline project proposes to convert part of the TransCanada Mainline natural gas system and add new pipeline in eastern Canada to connect oil receipts in Alberta with refineries in Ontario, Quebec and on the Atlantic seaboard. The proposal competes with existing plans by Enbridge to feed eastern Canadian refineries with light crude but does offer the prospect of supplying heavy crude for export from Canada’s East Coast. In this, Part II of the series on the project, the author reviews destination markets.

The TransCanada Energy East project proposes converting 1865 miles of the natural gas Mainline system and constructing 870 miles of new pipeline to deliver at least 500 Mb/d of crude oil to eastern Canada from Alberta. The pipeline conversion could solve two problems. It would bump up tariff revenues on the huge 7 Bcf/d Mainline that has been sucking air for years (it only moved 2.4 Bcf/d in 2012). And it would provide a route to Eastern markets for rising production volumes of landlocked Canadian crude. Today in the first of a two part series we examine prospects for this project.

While the Australian LNG sector has massive financial potential, ballooning development costs, driven by the prodigious strength of the Australian dollar, are continuing to chip away at profit forecasts. But despite the emergence of such a challenging macroeconomic environment, the national government is unlikely to offer concerned investors any respite, says an energy expert with research and consulting firm GlobalData.

Most rated US exploration and production (E&P) issuers continue to carry stable outlooks and will continue to remain stable at least for the remainder of this year, said Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in an industry report card published May 17, 2013, titled "Outlook On US Exploration And Production Industry Remains Stable On Strong Oil Prices."

European Commission investigators raided the trading offices of three major oil companies and a price reporting agency this week amid complaints about price-fixing and collusion in the global crude oil, refined products, and biofuels markets. At issue is the means of settling the markets on a daily basis and how these companies participate in the process.

Oil and gas executives are increasingly optimistic about the global economy and industry jobs, according to Ernst & Young’s 8th Global Capital Confidence Barometer.

The proposed $2 Billion Kinder Morgan Freedom pipeline project is conducting an open season for shipper commitments from West Texas to California. The California refining market has long operated like an island within the US and has so far received few supplies from new domestic production. To proceed with the project Kinder need shippers to make long term commitments but today’s unsettled markets place a premium on flexibility. Today we conclude our two-part analysis of the chances that the pipeline will get built.

Kinder Morgan is conducting an open season to convert an El Paso Natural Gas pipeline to crude oil service from the Permian Basin in West Texas to California refineries. The ”Freedom Pipeline” project would cost as much as $2 Billion. Before going ahead they need to convince crude producers in the Permian and/or refiners in California to make long term commitments to the pipeline. Today we begin a two part assessment of the chances that this pipeline will get built.

So far this year, Canada’s oil and gas industry is continuing to expand, but at a less healthy pace than it has enjoyed recently, says a report published May 8 by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.