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January 12, 2012

Energy Data Highlights

Crude oil futures price 1/10/2012: $102.24/bbl down$0.72 from week earlier up$12.99 from year earlier Natural gas futures price 1/10/2012: $2.941/mmBtu down$0.052 from week earlier down$1.458 from year earlier Retail heating oil price 1/9/2012: $3.934 /gal up$0.091 from week earlier up$0.572 from year earlier Crude oil inventories 1/6/2012: 334.6 mmbbl up5.0 mmbbl from week earlier up1.5 mmbbl from year earlier Weekly coal production 12/31/2011: 19.194 million tons down1.097 million tons from week earlier up0.167 million tons from year earlier Crude Oil News OPEC Daily Basket Price 1/11/2012 112.90 (OPEC Daily Basket Price 1/10/2012 112.98)

Natural Gas/ Power News

EIA Storage Release 1/5/12 (Actual): -76 Previous Week: -81 Bcf +11.4 % Change from 1 Year Ago +15.2% Change 5-year Average Financial chiefs plan increased spending on shale in 2012 Shale drilling in North America will continue to attract more capital and fuel the surge in oil and gas mergers and acquisitions in 2012, according to a survey of chief financial officers by consulting firm BDO USA. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/01/11/financial-chiefs-plan-increased-spending-onshale-in-2012/ Chrysler to Begin Natural-Gas Truck Sales Chrysler Group LLC, the automaker controlled by Fiat SpA (F), plans to begin selling natural gas- powered pickups in the U.S. this year, said Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of both automakers http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/chrysler-to-begin-selling-natural-gaspowered-pickups-to-fleets-this-year.html Wholesale electricity prices mostly lower in 2011 Average, on-peak day-ahead electricity prices were lower across most of the United States in 2011. The largest exception was in the ERCOT region (most of Texas) where sustained, widespread, extreme heat resulted in record-breaking load levels and unprecedented prices. Significant hydroelectric supply in the Northwest lowered average wholesale power prices in the Northwest and Northern California. http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=4530 Outlook negative for merchants, independent power producers: S&P The 2012 outlook for US merchant and independent power producers is negative, according to a new analysis by Standard & Poor's Ratings Service that pointed to a continued weak economy, low natural gas prices and no significant coal plant retirements until 2014. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/3887276

Green/ Alternative Energy News Southern Tops Ranking of U.S. Carbon Emitters as New Rules Loom The federal governments first-ever public accounting of the sources of greenhouse gases puts the spotlight on Southern Co. (SO) and other power companies that will soon face regulation of those emissions. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/southern-co-plants-top-emitters-ofgreenhouse-gases-epa-says.html Green Energy Too Many Subsidies, Too Little Performance Any politician who talks of a green, utopian US where wind and solar produce most of our energy, electric cars put power back into the grid, green fields of corn produce clean fuels, and millions of Americans work in green technology factories is creating a fanciful vision so far detached from reality it should really be called

a lie. Such tales are designed to encourage a public that is increasingly despondent about the future, but the policy moves that have been made in support of these fantasies have cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. Much of it is money that will not be repaid, because a whole whack of the companies and industries that accepted green grants, loan guarantees, and tax credits have turned out to be complete failures. http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2012/01/green-energy-subsidies.html Natural gas is U.S. bridge to green energy of future I was heartened to see U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse corrected by the Providence Sunday Journal's PolitiFact for his "mostly false" assertion "that the development of solar power and other forms of renewable energy will 'get us off' foreign oil." It won't. Not by a long shot, and not anytime soon. http://www.valleybreeze.com/2012/01/10/north-providence/natural-gasis-us-bridgeto-green-energy-of-future Vestas Cuts 2,335 Jobs, More at Risk in U.S Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS), the worlds biggest wind turbine maker, said it will halt production at one factory and cut 2,335 jobs amounting to 10 percent of its staff as it tries to become more competitive with Chinese suppliers http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-12/vestas-to-cut-2-335-jobs-worldwidemore-at-risk-in-u-s-this-year.html Oil Advances From Lowest This Year on Nigeria Disruptions, Iranian Tension Oil rose from the lowest settlement in almost two weeks in New York on concern that a strike in Nigeria and the threat of sanctions against Irans nuclear program will curb crude supplies. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/oil-trades-near-lowest-this-year-onrising-stockpiles-german-contraction.html Oil up on Iran, Nigeria supply worries Brent crude rose more than $1 to over $113 on Thursday on worries a showdown between Iran and the West in the Middle East Gulf and a strike in Nigeria could disrupt oil supplies. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/us-markets-oilidUSTRE7AD06820120112 Oil Declines After U.S. Fuel Inventories Climb as German Economy Contracts Oil fell as U.S. crude and fuel supplies climbed more than expected and concern mounted that a contracting German economy will drag Europe into recession. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/crude-oil-falls-after-decrease-ingerman-growth-bolsters-recession-concern.html

Exploration investment on the rise for 2012 Exploration and production investment in the United States is expected to grow 11 percent in 2012, driven by horizontal drilling for oil and gas in the shales. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/01/11/exploration-investment-on-the-risefor-2012/ China Snubs Geithner on Iran Oil, Japan May Cut Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithners efforts to tighten economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program won backing from Japan a day after China rejected limiting oil imports from the country http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-12/japan-considering-gradual-cut-iniran-oil-imports-as-sanctions-calls-rise.html China Gets Cheaper Iran Oil as U.S. Picks Up Tab for Hormuz Strait Patrols China stands to be the biggest beneficiary of U.S. and European plans for sanctions on Irans oil sales in an effort to pressure the regime to abandon its nuclear program. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-12/china-gets-cheaper-iran-oil-as-u-spays-tab-for-hormuz-patrols.html Economy, ethanol rules drop US gasoline demand to lowest level since Feb 2003 More stringent ethanol-blending rules for gasoline, which require annual increases in the dilution of vehicle fuel, and ongoing economic uncertainty were cited as reasons for the lowest US gasoline demand in nine years. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/3887537 Former Shell executive says signs point to $5 gas The former president of Shell Oil Co. told Fuel Fix today that $5-a-gallon gas is inevitable unless the U.S. economy slows, forcing rising gasoline prices down. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/01/11/former-shell-exeuctive-says-signs-point-to-5gas/ Recent Rig Counts Date of Cou Change from Prior nt Prior Count Count Unchanged 140 -5 29 Dec 11 29 Dec 11 Novembe Change from Last Year +307 -61 +62 Date of Last Year's Count 7 Jan 11 7 Jan 11 December

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