Songbirds decline as Wyoming oil and gas soars: study
A study led by Anna Chalfoun, an avian ecologist with the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, is thought to be the first to shed light on how the energy boom in the Intermountain West is affecting songbirds that rely on sagebrush for feeding, mating and nesting.The research, published in a recent edition of The Journal of Wildlife Management, may aid in shaping the design of future oil and gas fields in Western states.Sagebrush ecosystems there have been fragmented or otherwise altered to allow for development of everything from cities to wind farms.Energy activities have ramped up for two decades on sage-covered public lands in southwestern Wyoming, where biologists have already tracked damage to the habitat of game birds such as the greater sage grouse.Now Chalfoun and University of Wyoming colleagues are sharpening the focus on migratory songbirds like Brewer’s sparrows and sage sparrows, both classed as sensitive species by the Bureau of Land Management. The birds are suffering range-wide declines of up to 3 percent a year, the study said.The scientists linked dwindling numbers of those sparrows and vesper sparrows in two gas fields and an oil field in Wyoming to the density of drilling wells, which the study used to gauge the level of petroleum exploration and production in a given area.Researchers found the steepest declines where the presence of wells, roads and human activity was greatest.HUMAN ACTIVITYThe Jonah field south of Pinedale, Wyoming, ranks among the most highly concentrated and productive natural gas fields in North America, according to the BLM.There, scientists found comparatively higher losses among the Brewer’s sparrow and the sage sparrow, with the estimated rate of decline at six birds for every 10 additional wells per square kilometer.But energy development did not affect all songbirds alike. For unknown reasons, the number of horned larks rose with well density in one gas field, and sage thrashers appeared unaffected by the industry, the study showed.While habitat loss and alteration were cited as factors in the decline of sagebrush sparrow species, it was also possible that heavily developed areas opened the way for invading predators, like raccoons.”One hypothesis is areas with human activities attract generalist predators,” Chalfoun told Reuters.Environmentalists like Erik Molvar of the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance said the BLM, which regulates oil and gas production on federal lands, should demand drilling methods that lessen damage to sagebrush.An example is directional drilling, which requires fewer wells and a smaller footprint. A BLM official said the agency recognizes the impacts of energy development in environmental assessments for proposed projects.BP America, which owns wells in the Jonah field, is said to be a leader in applying techniques like directional drilling.”We can produce more energy without impacting as much habitat,” Daren Beaudo, BP spokesman, said in a statement.Encana Oil & Gas Inc. said geologic and economic factors drove that company to employ conventional methods like vertical drilling in its Jonah field operations. That method demands more wells and more traffic.Spokesman Doug Hock said Encana did not dispute the data in the study, and was eyeing directional drilling for a new natural gas project in Wyoming that would allow for no more than 3,500 wells over 10 years.”We’re going to continue to monitor future studies as they are done for opportunities to look at further mitigation,” he said.
WRAPUP 1-Slovakia clears way for euro zone rescue fund
* Eurogroup’s Juncker says troika report on Greek aid by
mid-next week* Juncker says hopes sixth tranche for Greece will be
approvedBy Martin Santa and John O’DonnellBRATISLAVA/BRUSSELS, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Slovakia finally
ratified new powers for the euro zone’s rescue fund on Thursday,
the last country to do so, clearing the way for a bolder effort
to arrest Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, which threatens global
financial stability.The vote came 10 days before a European Union summit called
to approve a “comprehensive strategy” to fight the crisis,
expected to include action to reduce Greece’s debt burden, a
plan to strengthen European banks and measures to stop contagion
spreading to larger euro zone economies.The Slovak parliament approved the plan to bolster the
European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) after voting to
hold early general election as demanded by the opposition. A
junior partner in the ruling coalition brought the four-party
centre-right government down on Tuesday by abstaining in a
confidence motion linked to increased powers for the EFSF.Weeks of haggling over the EFSF in Slovakia and over
Finnish demands for collateral on loans to Greece unsettled
financial markets and highlighted the fragility of a euro zone
decision-making system that requires unanimous agreement.Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the Eurogroup euro zone
finance ministers, said he hoped Greece would be granted the
money it needs and was expecting a report supporting that from
the troika: the European Central Bank, International Monetary
Fund and the EU.”We’ll be given the troika report by mid-next week… I
don’t know all the elements of content of the reports that will
be given by the troika, but I’m really optimistic that we’ll
decide to have the sixth tranche being launched,” he said after
a meeting in Brussels with Greek Prime Minister George
Papandreou and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.The United States, Japan, non-euro Britain and other major
powers have voiced impatience with Europe’s sluggish crisis
management and appealed for more decisive action to avert danger
to global economic recovery.In another potential boost for the euro zone, sources
preparing for a G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Paris said
most of the BRICS emerging economies favour bolstering the IMF’s
capital base to contribute to a financial rescue for Greece.”We have said this before and have conveyed this again, that
if emerging economies and the BRICS are called upon to
contribute, we can do it via the International Monetary Fund,”
one of the sources said. “India is open to it, China and Brazil
are also okay with the idea as well.”Russia and South Africa are the other BRICS countries.Under an emerging plan due to be approved at the Oct. 23 EU
summit, banks could be given up to six months to strengthen
their capital, allowing them time to raise funds privately in
the hope of averting another damaging credit crunch.EU officials said weak banks may get this time to bolster
their balance sheets and shore up investor confidence after a
rapid health check is concluded.”A three- to six-month deadline is being considered,” said
one EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying that
banks were being encouraged to tap private investors or sell
assets rather than turn to governments. “No decision has been
taken.”The timing leaves questions about how soon banks might need
to take writedowns on Greece and withstand the possible fallout
from a Greek default.Athens is trapped in a deep recession and fighting to
control a public debt expected to reach 162 percent of gross
domestic product this year, which many economists predict will
end in default.RELIEFThe Slovak decision was a huge relief for policymakers keen
to start using the 440 billion euro ($600 billion)fund’s new
scope to buy government bonds, recapitalise banks and give
precautionary loans to states at risk of being shut out of
capital markets.”The EFSF provides us with a stronger, more flexible tool to
defend the financial stability of the euro area,” European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council
President Herman Van Rompuy said in a joint statement.The European Central Bank has so far borne the brunt of
financial firefighting, buying 163 billion euros in peripheral
sovereign bonds to try to stabilise markets and bring down the
borrowing costs of Italy and Spain, the third and fourth largest
economies in the euro area.Outgoing ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet has made clear
the bank is keen to shed that burden once the enhanced rescue
fund is fully operational, although EU officials say ECB support
will still be needed in the capital markets.”After the successful completion of all political approval
procedures, the EFSF and its Board will finalise quickly all
necessary guidelines and procedures to be able to use the new
instruments in the near future,” Klaus Regling, the chief
executive of the fund said in a statement.The EFSF said that any decision to leverage the fund would
not endanger its triple-A credit rating, based largely on
Germany, France and other AAA-rated euro zone sovereigns.Christophe Frankel, its chief financial officer, said: “Any
decision to use EFSF’s capacity more efficiently will not lead
to an increase in guarantee commitments from the Member States
and there will therefore be no consequence on the EFSF’s triple
A credit rating.”EU officials said the most promising option for leveraging
the fund would be to use it to insure the first 20 percent of
losses on euro zone sovereign bonds to enhance security for
investors buying Italian or Spanish bonds.Juncker repeated on Thursday that private sector holders of
Greek bonds may have to accept bigger losses than the 21 percent
agreed in July.EU officials say private bondholders are likely to face
losses of up to 50 percent on the value of their holdings in a
renegotiation of a “voluntary” agreement on private sector
participation in a second Greek bailout package.Germany and other north European creditor states want banks,
insurers, pension funds and wealth management funds to
contribute more than the 50 billion euros envisaged in the July
21 deal to make Greece’s debt more sustainable, they say.The EFSF’s Regling said Italy and Spain had the capacity to
raise their own financing on the markets. He also voiced
confidence that Ireland, one of three euro zone states under
EU/IMF bailout programmes, would be able to return to debt
markets in 2013.
MONEY MARKETS-Low demand for ECB dollar swap, funding stress capped
* Money mkt stress capped but more relief unlikely in near
termBy William JamesLONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Low demand at the ECB’s first
offer of long-term dollar funding since 2010 reflects the high
cost of borrowing from the central bank and shows that whilst
dollar funding remains scarce, most banks still have some market
access.Banks borrowed $1.4 billion at the first of three dollar
liquidity offerings announced last month in a bid to stave off
pressure in money markets caused by a growing reluctance to lend
U.S. currency to euro zone banks.The take-up was below the $5 billion predicted by a Reuters
poll of money market traders, but in line with many analysts’
view that the 1.08 percent rate and steep collateral haircuts
made the ECB funding expensive relative to market rates.”It’s not surprising to see a small demand because the
implied cost of obtaining that funding via the ECB is higher
than the market,” said Morgan Stanley strategist Elaine Lin.”It shows that there are only a limited number of banks that
are not able to get any market access. Anybody who has access
would rather use the market than the ECB.”Six banks bid for the three-month loans and one bidder
borrowed $500 million at the regular seven-day tender.In September, U.S. money market funds’ reluctance to lend to
euro zone banks because of exposures to troubled Greece grabbed
investors’ attention, causing a spike in dollar funding costs
and a sharp fall in banking shares.Since then the cost of swapping euros into dollars — a key
barometer of market stress — has eased off its most expensive
levels, in part thanks to the ECB’s liquidity provision. The
three-month euro/dollarcross currency basis swap
last stood at around -90 basis points, compared to -115 bps on
Sept. 12.BANKING RECAP RELIEF LIMITEDThe decision to implement three-month dollar tenders along
with one-year euro liquidity offerings has capped the risk that
banks could face a reoccurance of the 2008 funding drought,
justifying a modest easing of prices, analysts said.But further improvement in money market conditions —with
banks lending freely to each other, rather than depending on the
ECB —would require greater progress on plans to recapitalise
the region’s banks, and was unlikely to come in the near term.French and German leaders have pledged to introduce a
sweeping new plan by early November to shore up banks and draw a
line under Greece’s worsening fiscal problems. Risk-appetite in
other assets classes has improved on the back of the promise,
but interbank markets remain more circumspect.”I’d don’t think (recapitalisations are) particularly
something that will ease funding costs for the remainder of this
year, even if we do get details fleshed out in the next week or
so before the G20 summit,” said Simon Smith, chief economist at
FxPro in London.”Such recapitalisation will take time… trying to raise
that capital before year-end will be difficult and so it will
fall into next year.”Highlighting the importance of interbank funding markets to
the wider economy, a lobby group of top European companies said
a repeat of the 2008 credit crunch could drive the region into
recessionEurope’s continuing sovereign debt crisis was sapping the
continent’s credibility and causing major businesses to worry
about making new investments, said Leif Johansson, chairman of
phone maker Ericsson and head of the European
Roundtable of Industrialists
