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IEA Says Seasonal Demand Could Push Up Oil Prices

By Sarah Kent The International Energy Agency warned Thursday that a seasonal upswing in demand could put upwards pressure on oil prices in the near-term. “If seasonal cycles in crude and product demand are any guide, the recent easing of prices may be relatively short‐lived,” the agency said in its monthly report on the oil market. Since the beginning of the month, the price of December Brent crude futures on London’s ICE Futures exchange has fallen just over 1%. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for December delivery has fallen nearly 3%. At 0841 GMT December Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange was $0.52 higher at $107.64 a barrel. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at $93.80 a barrel, down $0.08 in the Globex electronic session. Although the Paris-based organization, which advises developed countries on […]

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Iranian Crude Sales Fall to 21-Month Low as Biggest Buyers Cut

Iran, the fifth-largest crude exporter as recently as 2011, sold the least in 21 months in October as China , India , South Korea and Japan curbed purchases amid Western sanctions targeting the nation’s nuclear program. Imports from the Persian Gulf state fell by 45 percent to 715,000 barrels a day last month from September, the International Energy Agency , a Paris-based adviser to 28 nations, said in an e-mailed report today. The shipments, which the IEA estimates from tanker tracking, media reports and customs’ data, would be the smallest since January 2012. U.S. sanctions from the start of last year meant buyers of Iranian oil had to limit purchases or risk having their banks excluded from America’s financial system. Almost all the world’s tankers were barred from hauling the Gulf state’s fuel six months later when European Union rules took effect because the ships were insured by companies […]

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Iran hardliners block Rouhani’s domestic reforms

Hassan Rouhani ©AP Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran Hassan Rouhani , Iran’s centrist president, may have regime backing in his efforts to reach an agreement with major powers over his country’s nuclear programme, but he is struggling to implement domestic reform as hardliners block his attempts to expand civil liberties. Mr Rouhani is not a reformist but largely owes his surprise victory in the June presidential election to pro-reform groups who mobilised voters in the hopes that his promises of moderation could bring more social and political freedom and improved economic conditions after eight years of suppression under president Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. But while the president and his government have the strong support of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader and ultimate decision maker, in foreign policy and nuclear negotiations, they remain unprotected in the tense power struggle with hardliners on domestic issues. “A complicated power struggle is going […]

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Israel-US relations battered by split over Iran

Netanyahu For much of the past week, Benjamin Netanyahu has taken every opportunity to slam a proposed nuclear agreement with Iran , but the Israeli prime minister’s most barnstorming performance was a Sunday speech to the Jewish Federations of North America. “It is a bad and dangerous deal that affects our survival,” he told the group, who held their annual convention in Jerusalem. Iranian designs for a nuclear bomb that could reach the US were “the plan coming to a theatre near you”. “Is that what you want?” he asked the audience, who responded “No”. “Well do something about it. We are.” No nuclear deal has yet been signed by Iran and the six world powers involved in the talks, but the negotiations have opened up a crisis between Israel and the US . The public and aggressive lobbying of Washington by Mr Netanyahu, who has had a turbulent […]

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Attacks Across Iraq Kill Dozens

BAGHDAD — A series of bomb blasts and gunfire attacks swept Iraq on Wednesday, mostly targeting Shiites who were marking one of their holiest religious events. At least 27 people were killed in nine attacks that stretched to the northern cities of Tikrit and Mosul and to the regions west of Baghdad and Falluja. The attack with the largest number of casualties was in Baquba, north of Baghdad, as a group of Shiite pilgrims began observing Ashura, the solemn religious commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. As Shiite mourners hit themselves in unison in a traditional public demonstration of grief, three improvised bombs ripped through the crowd, killing nine people and wounding 35, medical and security officials said. “We were crying on the death of our Imam Hussein, and now our sadness is turned into the death of the brothers that were […]

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Bombs in Iraq kill 9 Shiites at religious ritual

AP Photo BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say a twin bombing has killed nine Shiites in a town south of Baghdad as they were marking a somber religious ritual. A police officer says two bombs exploded simultaneously in Hafriyah, about 50 kilometers (32 miles) from the Iraqi capital, as a group of Shiites were observing the Ashoura. The annual ritual commemorates the 7th century death of Prophet Mohammed’s grandson. The officer says the bombing also wounded 31 people. A medical official confirmed the causality figures. Both spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to media. Ashoura attracts hundreds of thousands of Shiites. It’s often targeted by Sunni extremists who consider Shiites to be heretics. Violence has spiked in Iraq since April with more than 5,500 killed, according to U.N. figures. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be […]

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Putin mulls gas pipeline to South Korea through North Korea

MOSCOW, Nov. 13 (UPI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said the best option for a pipeline to deliver natural gas from Russia to South Korea is a land route through North Korea. “It is much cheaper and safer, of course, to construct a land pipeline, political problems put aside,” he said in a Tuesday interview with the Korean Broadcasting System. “Should this [pipeline] be realized, [the overland route] would certainly be the optimal solution.” Russian natural gas company Gazprom backed away from an option to build a pipeline through the ocean in 2012, the Platts energy news service reported Tuesday. Putin, in his interview, said it was too expensive to build that type of pipeline because of the depth of the region’s waters. Putin said he wasn’t trying to interfere directly in lingering tensions on the Korean Peninsula but if both sides can agree on the terms of a […]

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Syrian Forces Recapture Damascus Suburb From Rebels

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian government forces recaptured a suburb south of Damascus on Wednesday and continued battles to push insurgents out of long-held territory outside the northern city of Aleppo, in what appeared to be a major push to gain ground ahead of proposed internationally sponsored peace talks. State news media showed government troops entering Hujeira, the latest in a string of suburbs south of Damascus where the government has made inroads in recent days, trying to sever supply lines between rebel-held towns that form an arc around the capital. Despite rebel claims to be tightening a noose around the seat of power, and government claims that the army would soon push rebels out of the suburbs, the front lines around the capital have changed little over the past year, with rebel and government forces dug in within a few hundred yards of each other in many places. The […]

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Libya: Cyrenaica Severs Ties With State Oil

Tripoli — Libya’s eastern zone had already declared political autonomy. This week, it also broke from the state-run oil company. Speaking in Ajdabia, “Political Bureau of Cyrenaica” (PBC) head Ibrahim Said al-Jadhran announced the formation of the “Libyan Oil and Gas Corporation”. “The wealth belongs to the entirety of Libya,” he told the press on Sunday (November 10th). The Executive Bureau of Cyrenaica issued a resolution to form the new company, which will begin operations in Tobruk before moving to Benghazi. “We are waiting for the reaction of the territories of Tripoli and Fezzan. We hope they co-operate with us,” Executive Bureau chief Abed Rabbo al-Barasi said. “After that, we will sell oil and will keep the shares of the territories of Tripoli and Fezzan from the oil sales, and we will not touch those proceeds,” he said. The move comes a fortnight after al-Barasi announced 24 portfolios for […]

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East Libya breakaway blocks bid to reopen oil ports

BENGHAZI, Libya, Nov. 13 (UPI) — Efforts to revive Libya’s oil industry, crippled by militia fighting and post-revolution chaos, have suffered a major setback with a unilateral declaration of a self-rule by the oil-rich Cyrenaica region in the oil-rich east. Leaders of the autonomy movement in the eastern region, whose capital Benghazi was the cradle of the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi , said Monday they have already set up a shadow government and established a regional oil company to handle exports separately from the shaky central government in Tripoli. Oil fields, pipelines, terminals and ports in the east, where 60 percent of Libya’s oil is produced, have been closed in a wave of protests that began in July with a strike by armed guards in the oil fields and grew into a blockade of most of the country’s energy industry. In Cyrenaica, the original economic […]

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Egypt: Russia too important to be US substitute

AP Photo CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s foreign minister sought to downplay speculation of a major shift in his country’s foreign policy, saying during a top-level Russian visit Thursday that Moscow was too important to be a substitute for the United States as Cairo’s key ally and backer. The remarks by Nabil Fahmy came after talks with his visiting counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who is leading the Russian delegation to Cairo. “We look forward to cooperation with Russia in multiple fields and that is because of Russia’s significance in the international arena,” Fahmy said at a news conference. “We look forward to strong, continuous and stable relations with Russia. We seek to energize a relation that is already in existence.” When asked whether Russia would replace the U.S. as his country’s chief ally, Fahmy said Egypt was not looking for a “substitute for anyone.” “Russia’s weight is too heavy to be […]

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Morsi supporters sentenced to 17 years for Al-Azhar protest in Egypt

An Egyptian court sentenced 12 supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi to 17 years in prison for taking part in a violent student-led protest, state media reported. The official MENA news agency reported that the protesters were convicted of attacking the headquarters of the Islamic Al-Azhar institution during the protest. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement said on its website that all those sentenced were students at Al-Azhar’s university. The men were arrested after protesters in October tried to storm Al-Azhar’s head office, which supported the military’s overthrow of Morsi. The men will be allowed to post 64,000 Egyptian pounds ($9,300) bail while they appeal the sentences. More than 1,000 people, most of them Morsi supporters or opponents of  the military-led coup, have been killed in clashes with police since he was removed in July. Thousands have been arrested, with many going to trial. Fourteen suspected Morsi supporters who were on […]

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PDVSA to Sell $4.5 Billion in Bonds Amid Pre-Election Shortages

Petroleos de Venezuela SA will sell $4.5 billion in bonds this week in the first issuance by a state entity since May 2012 as the government seeks to bolster shrinking reserves and curb the world’s fastest inflation. PDVSA, as the state oil company is known, will sell debt privately to selected state and private buyers to pay off debts and boost output, company President Rafael Ramirez told reporters in Caracas today. The securities will have several maturity dates, he said, without providing more details. The government is seeking to boost dollar supply to pay for imports and offset a shortage of locally produced goods that has helped spur 54 percent annual inflation. President Nicolas Maduro dispatched the military to take over a retail chain last weekend and warned other businesses to cut prices to “fair” levels as the country gears up for municipal elections next month and the Christmas […]

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Japan Poised to Import Jet Fuel as Refinery Cuts Boost Prices

Japan ’s two biggest airlines are poised to import jet fuel for the first time in at least six years as the country’s shrinking refining capacity pushes up domestic prices. Japan Airlines Co. (9201) and ANA Holdings Inc. (9202) may begin buying the aviation fuel from abroad starting in April for overseas flights from Tokyo’s Narita airport , according to officials at the carriers. For the first time in a decade, the companies are paying domestic refiners a premium to regional benchmark prices in long-term supply contracts. JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. and Idemitsu Kosan Co. will shut refineries next year amid closures that have reduced Japan’s processing capacity by 27 percent in the past thirty years. That’s driving up the cost of domestic jet fuel and prompting airlines to look further afield for supplies. “We are likely to begin full-scale jet imports in fiscal 2014 or after,” […]

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Ex-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urges zero nuclear power

TOKYO, Nov. 13 (UPI) — A former Japanese prime minister has urged the government to abandon plans to restart the nation’s nuclear power generating plants. Speaking at the Japan Press Club in Tokyo Tuesday, Junichiro Koizumi , who served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006 and led the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, said, “I think we should go to zero nuclear power now.” All 50 of Japan’s working reactors remain offline, pending safety checks after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami. Shinzo Abe , the current prime minister and LDP leader, wants to have Japan’s reactors brought back online after the country’s nuclear regulatory agency declares them safe. He’s also in favor of selling Japan’s nuclear technology to other countries. “Restarting the reactors will only result in the buildup of more nuclear waste materials,” Koizumi said. Koizumi had, […]

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China National Offshore Oil Corp. plans Canadian LNG hub

HONG KONG, Nov. 13 (UPI) — China National Offshore Oil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Li Fanrong said his company is considering a liquefied natural gas export hub in British Columbia. “LNG export is the most attractive option for maximizing the value of our Canadian shale gas business,” Li said in a statement Tuesday. CNOOC’s Canadian subsidiary, Nexen Energy, reached an agreement with the provincial government of British Columbia to examine the potential for a liquefied natural gas export terminal near Prince Rupert, a port city on British Columbia’s northern coast. The agreement gives Nexen and its joint venture partners, Japan’s Inpex Corp. and JGC Corp., exclusive rights to pursue long-term access to the land needed for the LNG terminal. “With robust financial capacity, a track record of efficient, innovative and responsible development and significant LNG expertise, Nexen and our joint venture partners are well positioned to pursue this opportunity,” […]

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Philippines pleas for action on climate change

WARSAW, Poland, Nov. 12 (UPI) — Amid the devastating destruction of Typhoon Haiyan, the Philippines has called for immediate action on climate change. In an emotional speech Monday at the opening of the United Nations climate talks in Warsaw, Poland, Yeb Sano, commissioner for the Philippines climate change commission and head of the Philippines delegation, called the climate crisis “madness” and said he would refuse to eat until progress is made. During the two-week meeting, representatives from some 190 countries aim to forge a new global climate agreement that will take effect in 2020. “In solidarity with my countrymen who are struggling to find food back home, I will now commence a voluntary fasting for the climate” during the meeting “until a meaningful outcome is in sight,” Sano said. “What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness, the climate crisis is […]

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New Chinese Panel Said to Oversee Domestic Security and Foreign Policy

BEIJING — China’s new national security committee is mainly based on the Washington model. It will put at the disposal of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, a highly empowered group of security experts who can work the levers of the country’s vast security apparatus — and presumably respond more nimbly than the country’s multilayered party, police and military bureaucracies have been known to do. But the Chinese body, which was announced at the conclusion of a party meeting this week, will apparently differ from the American National Security Council in one crucial aspect: The Chinese version will have dual duties with responsibility over domestic security as well as foreign policy, Chinese experts say. That means the new body will deal with cybersecurity as well as the unrest in China’s Tibet and Xinjiang regions, where resistance against the Han majority population is continuing, according to Shi Yinhong, a professor of […]

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China reduces retail gasoline, diesel prices

Singapore (Platts)–14Nov2013/507 am EST/1007 GMT China has reduced the retail prices of gasoline and diesel effective midnight Friday by Yuan 160/mt ($26.09) and Yuan 155/mt, respectively, the National Development and Reform Commission said Thursday. At the pump, the resulting adjustment will average Yuan 0.13/liter for diesel and Yuan 0.12/liter for gasoline, the NDRC said. China last reduced both gasoline and diesel retail prices by Yuan 75/mt on November 1. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram News Oilgram News brings you fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news on and including: Industry players, upstream and downstream markets, refineries, midstream transportation and financial reports Supply and demand trends, government actions, exploration and technology Daily futures summary Weekly API statistics, and much more Request a trial to Oilgram News The government sets benchmark retail prices for gasoline and diesel. Under the existing oil product pricing mechanism introduced in […]

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EIA Sees 2014 US Natgas Output Up From 2013 Record High

More EIA Sees 2014 US Natgas Output Up From 2013 Record High NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday raised its estimate for domestic natural gas production in 2014, expecting output next year to be up more than 1 percent from 2013’s estimated record-high levels. In its November Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA said it expected marketed natural gas production in 2014 to rise by 0.74 billion cubic feet per day from 2013 to 71.03 bcf per day. That would be up 0.6 bcfd, or 0.9 percent, from its October outlook of 70.43 bcf daily. If the forecast is realized, it would be the fourth straight year of record production. The agency noted that output over the last few months has hit record high levels even as prices declined. Growth has mostly been driven by rising production from the Marcellus shale play in […]

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Wyoming formally adopts baseline water testing requirement

Wyoming’s state government formally adopted a requirement on Nov. 12 for oil and gas producers to test nearby water bodies before and after drilling their wells, effective Mar. 1, 2014. Landowners must give their consent for operators to sample the permitted or adjudicated water sources, the state’s Oil & Gas Conservation Commission said. These sources include domestic, stock, industrial, irrigation, municipal, or other permitted uses of water, it indicated. Gov. Matt Mead (R), who has made baseline water testing part of his energy strategy, thanked everyone who submitted comments, and specifically cited the Environmental Defense Fund and Petroleum Association of Wyoming for their constructive input. “This is another example of Wyoming leading the nation in striking the right balance between producing needed energy and protecting our natural resources,” Mead said. “We’re going to see how this rule is going to be implemented now. We know that since we have […]

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Redford sees rail problems entering the Keystone XL debate

Some US officials raised greenhouse gas concerns as increasing amounts of Alberta’s heavy crude oil move by rail while approval of the Keystone XL pipeline’s cross-border permit continues to be delayed, Premier Allison Redford said after concluding her fifth Washington visit to lobby for the project. “A lot of that product is being transported by rail at the moment, and that is something that is receiving quite a bit of attention in the United States, partly because we know that transportation by rail leads to higher greenhouse gas emissions than a pipeline would,” The Financial Post reported Redford as saying. The premier met with officials at the US Department of State , which is expected to conclude its environmental impact statement early in 2014 on TransCanada Corp.’s revised application for a cross-border permit, as well as US Senate and House leaders. The proposed 1,179-mile pipeline would move diluted bitumen […]

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Report blasts Wal-Mart for greenhouse-gas emissions

A new report is taking mega-retailer Wal-Mart to task over its alleged high level of carbon-dioxide emissions. Wal-Mart is one of the biggest and fastest-growing polluters in the nation, despite the company’s 2005 pledge to become an environmental leader, according to a report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). The retail giant emits 45 million metric tons of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent), slightly more than Target, at 42 million metric tons, and significantly more than Costco, at 16 million metric tons, according to the report. “The scale of Wal-Mart’s energy efficiency and renewable power measures is not up to the scale of their business or their growth,” Stacy Mitchell, the author of the report, told Al Jazeera. “They been placing solar powers on the rooftops and getting some wind power and so on, but Wal-Mart only derives 4 percent of its energy from renewable energy sources.” Mitchell, a […]

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Railroads Seek Tank-Car Upgrades

The nation’s railroads are asking safety regulators to require that all existing tank cars that carry crude oil, ethanol and other flammable liquids be modified or upgraded to better withstand accidents or be “aggressively” phased out of service. They are stopping short of recommending a deadline for the changes to the U.S. tank-car fleet or estimating the cost of the retrofits, which would be needed on 78,000 older tank cars and modifications to some of the 14,000 newer cars that don’t already comply with its suggested changes. The groups said they would leave those deadline and cost details to the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration, the federal agency responsible for regulating tank-car safety, which is beginning to craft new rules on tank cars. Trade groups representing the railroads—the Association of American Railroads and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association—plan to make their request Thursday. Two troubling […]

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Alaska mulls hydraulic fracturing rules

JUNEAU, Alaska, Nov. 13 (UPI) — Alaska state laws could be revised so companies can protect their trade secrets for hydraulic fracturing fluid, Cathy Foerster, a state drilling regulator said. Foerster, chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said the state could revise its rules on hydraulic fracturing, known also as fracking, in early 2014. “We’ve made some changes in what we proposed earlier, the most significant being that we will allow hydraulic fracturing contractors to protect the proprietary formulas of their frac fluids as trade secrets,” she said in an interview with energy information provider Platts, published Tuesday. Foerster said advocacy groups would have to pursue chemical formulas by issuing a challenge in the state’s courts. Fracking is a controversial drilling practice used to produce oil and natural gas from shale. Some of the chemicals used in the process are considered toxic. Energy companies say they […]

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North Dakota natural gas wasted, lawsuit says

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 13 (UPI) — An attorney for landowners in North Dakota said a lawsuit against energy companies in the state could force them to stop wasting gas tied to oil production. Britton Monts of Austin, Texas, said the suit against companies that burn off some of the natural gas associated with oil production because there isn’t enough pipeline infrastructure to accommodate gas deliveries might force them to review their options. “There’s so much waste going on,” Monts said in a Dallas Morning News report. North Dakota landowners who lease their land to energy companies are seeking royalties they would receive if the gas wasn’t burned off. They sued 10 U.S. and international oil companies. Two of the companies, XTO Energy and Marathon Oil, have headquarters in Texas. XTO Energy spokeswoman Suann Lundsberg told the newspaper the company was “reviewing the specific allegations.” A 12-page report published in […]

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EIA: U.S. oil imports at historic lows

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) — The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday total petroleum imports into the United States were at their lowest level since February 1991. The EIA, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said domestic oil production averaged 7.7 million barrels per day last month. “Monthly estimated domestic crude oil production exceeded crude oil imports in October for the first time since February 1995, while total petroleum net imports were the lowest since February 1991,” the agency said in its short-term market report. The agency said North America was the largest source of new oil production outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Including Canadian production, the EIA said it expects North American production to increase by 1.1 million bpd next year. For OPEC members, the EIA said its production declined by 800,000 bpd to 35.9 million bpd this year and should stay at that level […]

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U.S. Crude Production Beat Imports in October, EIA Says

U.S. crude oil production exceeded imports in October for the first month since February 1995, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. Output averaged 7.74 million barrels a day, the Energy Department’s statistical unit said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook . Crude oil net imports were 7.57 million, down from 7.92 million the previous month. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have unlocked supplies in shale formations in North Dakota , Texas and other states. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, has dropped to below $95 from above $110 in September as domestic output reached a 24-year high. “It’s something we’ve been forecasting since earlier this year,” said Tancred Lidderdale , an economist with the EIA in Washington who helped write the report. “Crude-oil production from shale-oil has been steadily growing over the last few years and it’s expected to continue to grow.” For the year, production […]

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Insight: Russia fears return of fighters waging jihad in Syria

NOVOSASITLI, Russia (Reuters) – A scrawny 15-year-old this summer became the first from his deeply religious Muslim village in Russia’s southern Dagestan province to die fighting alongside rebels in Syria. Some regard him as a martyr for joining the rebels in the fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who is supported by Russia. Moscow now fears that hundreds of Russian-born militants it says are fighting in Syria will return experienced in warfare to join an insurgency in Dagestan and its other North Caucasus provinces by militants fighting for an Islamic state. Violence in the region claims lives almost daily. Fifteen men from Novosasitli alone have died in shootouts with Russian forces in the last four years, locals say. Analysts say fighters could also try to strike during the 2014 Winter Olympics in February in nearby Sochi. President Vladimir Putin, who has staked his reputation on the Games, has said […]

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Ukrainian natural gas demand slumps

KIEV, Ukraine, Nov. 13 (UPI) — Ukrainian Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky said Wednesday his country needed less natural gas than expected because of lower demand. Stavytsky said Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz has enough gas on hand to keep domestic needs satisfied through the end of the year without imports from Russia. “The demand for gas is almost 45 percent lower than Naftogaz had planned,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying. The Russian news agency said he attributed the lower demand to warmer weather in Ukraine. Naftogaz said it secured 113 billion cubic feet of natural gas from Russian energy company Gazprom in October and has stopped the gas imports for the rest of the year. Contractual disputes between Ukraine and Gazprom prompted Russia in 2009 to cut off natural gas supplies and Ukraine says it’s paying more for Russian gas than its regional counterparts under the terms of a […]

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Euro-Zone Recovery Falters

FRANKFURT—The euro-zone economy barely expanded in the third quarter, raising fresh concerns that the region faces a mix of stagnation, weak prices and high unemployment that threatens to hold back activity for the foreseeable future. Gross domestic product in two of the bloc’s three biggest economies—France and Italy—contracted. Growth in Europe’s largest economy, Germany, slowed sharply. Euro-zone GDP expanded 0.1% from the previous quarter, or 0.4% at an annualized rate, the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat said Thursday. That is down sharply from roughly 1.2% annualized growth in the second quarter. The euro-zone economy contracted for six-straight quarters from late 2011 through the first three months of this year. Germany’s GDP increased 1.3% in the third quarter from the preceding period on an annualized basis, according to calculations by J.P. Morgan matching economists’ forecasts. That marked a significant slowdown from the second quarter, when German GDP swelled 2.9% annualized, […]

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German Growth Slips as French Economy Contracts

FRANKFURT — The euro zone economy marked time in the third quarter of the year, growing just 0.1 percent from the second quarter, disappointing hopes that the region was finally recovering after five years of recession or very slow growth. The economy of the 17-country currency bloc stagnated as output slowed in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, and declined in France, the second largest, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union, reported from Luxembourg. On an annualized basis, Europe’s 0.4 percent growth compares poorly with the United States’ annualized 2.8 percent third-quarter growth and the 1.9 percent Japan reported Thursday. China, the world’s fastest growing major economy, expanded at a robust 7.8 percent rate in the third quarter. The overall European Union, made up of 28 countries, grew 0.2 percent from the second quarter, and 1 percent on an annualized basis, Eurostat said. There was some positive news, as […]

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Peak Energy

I never cease to be amazed by how many people misunderstood (or more likely, never read) The Limits To Growth . Paddy Manning at Crikey has an article both outlining a recent example and being one itself, as Paddy infuriatingly describes “Limits” as making a forecast rather than what it actually did – which was describe a set of scenarios based on a range of assumptions – Beware Hugh Morgan and the climate sceptic zombie attack! . If Hugh Morgan is saying it, it must be wrong. Recall the businessman’s previous campaign against the High Court’s Mabo decision — which extended to a defence of terra nullius and warnings that Australia’s territorial integrity was under threat — or his glowing 2010 endorsement of the young Australian Workers’ Union boss Paul Howes as a future Labor leader, after his starring role unseating a first-term prime minister. And so it was again yesterday with Morgan’s […]

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Bit Tooth Energy

I have written in earlier posts about the problems that the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System (TAPS) will face, as production declines below 500,000 bd. The conclusions from that post are pictorially summarized in a graph in the recent edition of the Oil and Gas Journal. Figure 1. Declining throughput through TAPS showing the points of concern ( OGJ ) Looking at current figures, in September the pipeline had an average throughput of 524,181 bpd against the year-to-date average of 528,092 bpd. It has just passed below the upper limit at which operational difficulties can be anticipated, due in part to the flow being too slow to keep the temperature high enough to prevent wax from separating from the fluid, and starting to block valves and critical infrastructure. Because of the long lead times, and high capital requirements for the development of new fields in the Arctic, and the likely probability […]

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Oil near $93 after sharp fall as high supply eyed

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Oil hovered above $93 a barrel Wednesday after a sharp plunge the day before in anticipation of high U.S. crude supplies. Benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery was up 30 cents to $93.34 a barrel at midafternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dived $2.10 to close at a five-month low of $93.04 on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, added 49 cents to $106.04 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London. Oil prices tumbled Tuesday amid expectations that U.S. crude stocks will rise for the eighth straight week. Data for the week ended Nov. 8 due later Wednesday is expected to show an increase in crude oil stocks of 1.8 million barrels, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. A report by the Paris-based International Energy […]

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WTI Trades Near Five-Month Low as U.S. Supplies Seen Rising

West Texas Intermediate was little changed after closing at the lowest price in more than five months before data that’s forecast to show U.S. crude inventories rose to the highest level since June. Futures fell 2.2 percent yesterday in New York . Global oil markets are well-supplied, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Crude stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil user, probably gained for an eighth week, a Bloomberg News survey shows before a report the Energy Information Administration expects to release tomorrow. The market is “looking for the inventories to rise again,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen, said by phone. Prices may be reaching a low after a “dramatic selloff” that started in August, he said. WTI for December delivery was at $93.29 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange , up 25 […]

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Natural Gas Rises For Sixth Straight Session on Cold Weather

–December Nymex Futures Settle Up 4.3 cents, or 1.2%, at $3.617 –Prices Up Nearly 5% in Last Six Trading Sessions –Uncertain Outlook For Continued Gains as Uneven Start to Season Begins By Christian Berthelsen Natural gas prices climbed for a sixth straight day on Tuesday, as the eastern U.S. felt its first deep chill of the season and expectations for higher gas-fired home heating demand rose. Gas futures for December delivery ended the day up 4.3 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $3.617 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Front-month prices have now gained 17.2 cents, or nearly 5%, in the last six sessions, the longest string of gains since late September to early October of last year. The gains have been driven by the onset of fall weather in key regions including the Midwest, the northeast and the eastern seaboard, that drive natural […]

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Medium-Term Oil Market Report 2013

  Benchmark Brent and WTI oil futures eased in September and early October following plans for Syria to dispose of its chemical weapons and direct talks between Iran and the US at the UN General Assembly. The US government shutdown added downward pressure on prices. Brent was last trading at $110/bbl and WTI at $101.25/bbl. Global oil supplies declined by 625 kb/d to 91.12 mb/d in September on steeply lower OPEC output. Non-OPEC supply growth for 2013 is forecast to average 1.1 mb/d, to 54.7 mb/d, rising to a near-record 1.7 mb/d next year. OPEC crude supplies slipped below 30 mb/d for the first time in almost two years, led by steep drops in Libya and Iraq. Output fell by 645 kb/d to 29.99 mb/d despite Saudi output topping 10 mb/d for a third month running. The ‘call on OPEC crude and stock change’ was raised by 100 kb/d to 29.6 mb/d for 4Q13. Recent […]

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IEA sees unbalanced energy market

PARIS, Nov. 12 (UPI) — Emerging trends in the way in which energy is produced and consumed creates a U.S. advantage but problems elsewhere, the IEA said in a report Tuesday. The International Energy Agency published its World Energy Outlook report for 2013. It said Asian and European consumers are paying nearly twice as much for their sources of energy than their U.S. counterparts. “Lower energy prices in the United States mean that it is well-placed to reap an economic advantage, while higher costs for energy-intensive industries in Europe and Japan are set to be a heavy burden,” IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol said in a statement from Paris. In terms of supplies, the IEA said it expects the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will lose influence in the next decade because of rising output from North America and Brazil. Nevertheless, the Middle East, which the IEA said was […]

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Oil markets balanced, OPEC says

VIENNA, Nov. 12 (UPI) — The global supply of oil increased in October in part because of production from countries outside the Middle East, OPEC said in its monthly market report. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries published its monthly market report Tuesday. “Preliminary figures indicate that global oil supply increased 480,000 barrels per day in October to average 90.37 million bpd,” the report said. “Non-OPEC supply saw growth of 470,000 bpd while OPEC crude production was almost unchanged.” Trends in North America mean the U.S. and Canadian economies are relying less on foreign producers to meet their oil and natural gas needs. OPEC said in its report the share of its crude oil in global production declined to 33.1 percent in October. OPEC said its members produced, on average, 29.89 million bpd in October, a slight increase from the previous month’s report. Libya’s recent national security and labor […]

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‘The Age of Easy Oil Is Over’

By Alexis Flynn Here’s your morning jolt of news, insight and analysis on the global energy business. Send us tips, suggestions and complaints:  [email protected] Click here to receive this morning email newsletter OIL’S WILD FRONTIERS “The age of easy oil is over.” Once a mantra beloved of energy execs at countless industry conferences, that six-word sentence is the founding principle for a new breed of wildcatters who are prepared to skirt the geological and political edge in search of oil. Among the vanguard of companies striking out into disputed lands is none other than former BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, whose Genel Energy is present in two of the most geologically promising—and politically fraught—parts of the world: Kurdistan and the self-declared state of Somaliland. As The Wall Street Journal’s Justin Scheck, Alexis Flynn and Idil Abshir report: Global wildcatters like Mr. Hayward are playing a growing role in the […]

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Predicting what the energy landscape will look like in 20 years

Consider how the energy landscape has changed in the past 20 years. In 1993, the price of oil was a bit over $18 a barrel; it’s around $100 a barrel now. In 1993, the life of a cellphone battery was hardly a concern because there were only 34 million cellphone subscribers world-wide, compared with more than 6.8 billion today. The battery for electric cars mattered even less: It would be another three years before the General Motors EV1 went into production and a year after that before the first Prius went on sale in Japan. Wind farms were a novelty, and solar energy barely registered in the statistics. And how about these numbers: Since 1993, China’s consumption of oil has more than tripled, and its electricity consumption has quintupled. Now, try to imagine what the energy landscape will look like 20 years from now. That’s what this Journal Report […]

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Iran foreign minister blames West for nuclear talks breakdown

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hit back at U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry late on Tuesday and blamed divisions between Western powers for the failure of talks over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program in Geneva last week. Responding to remarks by Kerry in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Zarif said that blaming Iran only served to undermine confidence in the negotiations which are set for another round on November 20. The United States, the European Union and Iran worked intensively together for months on a proposal to help end the 10-year stand-off over Iran’s nuclear program, diplomats said, but talks in Geneva between Tehran and six world powers to agree the deal ended on Saturday without agreement. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Paris could not accept a "fool’s game" – in other words, a weak deal with Iran. Diplomats from other Western nations at first […]

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Iran’s Full Return to Oil Market Remains Perilous, Barclays Says

The breakdown of negotiations between the U.S. and world powers highlights how difficult it will be for Iran to make a full return as an oil exporter in the near future, according to Barclays Plc. The six-nation negotiating group in Geneva didn’t agree during Nov. 9 talks with Iran on alterations to its nuclear program that would allow financial sanctions to be eased. Even had the talks been more successful, the U.S. Congress has little appetite to lift measures banning imports of Iranian crude and is considered proposals to tighten sanctions further, Miswin Mahesh, a London-based commodities analyst at Barclays, said today in an e-mailed report. “Given the constellation of forces that could stymie a grand bargain, we contend that the path to Iran’s full return to the oil market remains quite perilous,” Mahesh said. The failure of the talks prompted December Brent crude futures to climb 1.2 percent […]

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Iran Talks Face Resistance in U.S. Congress

WASHINGTON — After having come tantalizingly close over the weekend to an agreement to freeze Iran’s nuclear program , the Obama administration is gingerly weighing a threat to the talks potentially more troublesome than the opaque leadership in Tehran: Congress. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet behind closed doors on Wednesday afternoon with members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to try to head off a new round of stiff sanctions on Iran that administration officials fear could derail the talks in Geneva. In addition, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.; Mr. Kerry; Wendy R. Sherman, the administration’s chief negotiator; and David S. Cohen, under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, are scheduled to brief Senate Democratic leaders that day in a full-court press to win backing of the diplomatic initiative. But the administration is running headlong into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu […]

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Iran is negotiating with the wrong US officials

John Kerry To understand the dynamics involved in U.S. policy on Iran, it is important to mark the difference between direct and indirect economic sanctions. Direct sanctions bar specific individuals and companies from conducting international trade, using the global banking system or traveling abroad and in some cases result in asset freezes. Most direct sanctions are established and enforced by executive order, and the president has some leeway in easing these sanctions. However, they are not the sanctions that are allegedly crippling Iran’s economy. Indirect sanctions, on the other hand, are based in U.S. law and cannot easily be offered up as bargaining chips in the current negotiations. These sanctions are sometimes called business-choice sanctions or extraterritorial sanctions. They are meant to affect Iran’s overall economy rather than punish or stop illicit proliferation activities, which is the focus of direct sanctions. Indirect sanctions work by offering firms a choice […]

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Shell, Iraq, Near $11 Billion Deal to Build Petrochemical Complex

BAGHDAD— Royal Dutch Shell RDSB.LN -1.04% Royal Dutch Shell PLC B U.K.: London GBp 2142.50 -22.50 -1.04% Nov. 13, 2013 10:08 am Volume : 896,164 P/E Ratio 9.87 Market Cap GBp133.72 Billion Dividend Yield 5.35% Rev. per Employee GBp3,388,700 11/08/13 Kashagan Giant Oil Field Won’t… 10/31/13 Refining Hurts Big Oil, But Ex… 10/31/13 Two Alberta Oil-Sands Projects… More quote details and news » RDSB.LN in Your Value Your Change Short position PLC and the Iraqi government are nearing a deal to build an $11-billion petrochemical facility in southern Iraq, according to the government here, the latest large-scale move by the oil major into Iraq’s energy sector. Shell has already invested heavily in helping Iraq exploit its bountiful crude and natural-gas reserves. The company has been developing Iraq’s giant Majnoon oil field, which produced its first oil last month and is now pumping some 200,000 barrels a day, according to […]

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Triple bombing kills 8 Shiites in eastern Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say a triple bombing targeting Shiites observing a key religious ritual killed at least eight people in the country’s east. A police officer says three bombs went off simultaneously on Wednesday near a group of Shiites commemorating the 7th century death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein. The attack in the city of Baqouba, a former al-Qaida stronghold, also wounded 35 people. The ritual is a yearly mourning period known as Ashoura, which draws hundreds of thousands of Shiites. It’s often targeted by Sunni extremists who consider Shiites to be heretics. The officer says two children, aged 9 and 10 years, were among the dead. A medical official confirmed the casualty figure. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, […]

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Bombings target Iraq police, pilgrims, killing 19

TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) – At least 19 people were killed in bomb attacks targeting Iraqi police and pilgrims on Wednesday, police and medical sources said, just before the end of a Shi’ite Muslim religious festival. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which coincided with the holy ritual of Ashura, when Shi’ites commemorate Imam Hussein who died more than 1,000 years ago. The 10-day ritual ends on Thursday. Shi’ites are considered apostates by hardline Sunni Islamist insurgents who have been regaining momentum in Iraq this year. Security personnel are also a prime target for Sunni militants linked with al Qaeda, which seeks to destabilize Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government and foment intercommunal conflict. In the deadliest attack, 10 people were killed when a suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into a police checkpoint in the town of al-Alam near Tikrit, police said. Sunni Islamist and other insurgents have […]

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