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California Cuts Oil-by-Rail Shipments by 29% in Third Quarter

Oil delivered by rail to California, the world’s ninth-largest economy, tumbled 29 percent in the third quarter as shipments from Canada were halted and deliveries from states including North Dakota dropped. The most populous U.S. state received 531,766 barrels of crude in rail-cars from July through September, down from 748,802 barrels in the prior three months, data posted on the state Energy Commission’s website show. Rail imports from Canada dropped to zero after totaling 76,648 barrels a quarter earlier. North Dakota, where fields in the Bakken formation are producing a record volume of crude, cut rail deliveries by 17 percent. Third-quarter rail shipments were up 9.5 percent from a year ago as West Coast refiners, facing declining supplies from California and Alaska, build rail offloading terminals to reach a glut of oil being extracted from shale formations in the middle of the country. Alaska supplied 12 percent of California’s […]

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Russian PM plays down 'gas war' talk, warns Ukraine on EU

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he saw no reason for Moscow to cut gas supplies to Ukraine over an unpaid bill for now, playing down talk of an imminent "gas war" that might disrupt flows to Europe. In an interview with Reuters, he denied Russia’s demands for payment had anything to do with opposition to Ukraine signing agreements with the European Union this month which would mark a historic shift away from former imperial master Moscow. But the 48-year-old ex-president said the "special relationship" between the two former Soviet republics would change if Ukraine moved closer to Europe and that Kiev should no longer come to Moscow seeking loans. Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said on Tuesday that Ukraine, which is dependent on supplies of Russian gas, had failed to settle a $882 million bill for August deliveries and demanded it be paid urgently. Medvedev […]

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Russian PM plays down ‘gas war’ talk, warns Ukraine on EU

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he saw no reason for Moscow to cut gas supplies to Ukraine over an unpaid bill for now, playing down talk of an imminent "gas war" that might disrupt flows to Europe. In an interview with Reuters, he denied Russia’s demands for payment had anything to do with opposition to Ukraine signing agreements with the European Union this month which would mark a historic shift away from former imperial master Moscow. But the 48-year-old ex-president said the "special relationship" between the two former Soviet republics would change if Ukraine moved closer to Europe and that Kiev should no longer come to Moscow seeking loans. Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said on Tuesday that Ukraine, which is dependent on supplies of Russian gas, had failed to settle a $882 million bill for August deliveries and demanded it be paid urgently. Medvedev […]

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French energy company Total investing in Canadian oil project

PARIS, Nov. 1 (UPI) — French energy company Total said it decided to proceed with an investment in an oil sands project in Canada, that is expected to yield 180,000 barrels per day. Total said it expected to spend more than $13.5 billion in the four years it should take to develop the Fort Hills oil sands mining project in Alberta, approximately 55 miles north of Fort McMurray. “With an expected mine life in excess of 50 years based on current planned production rates, Fort Hills represents more than 3 billion barrels of resources and strengthens Total’s global portfolio by adding geographic diversity and long-plateau production with limited geosciences risk,” Yves-Louis Darricarrere, president of upstream operations for Total, said in a statement. Total has been involved in Canadian operations for 15 years. Last year, it was associated with the production of about 12,000 barrels of oil per day in […]

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Russia to Transfer Detained Greenpeace Activists

MOSCOW — Russia, unexpectedly and without explanation, is preparing to transfer 30 crew members of a Greenpeace International ship from a detention center in the far northern city of Murmansk to a jail in St. Petersburg, the organization said Friday night. The reason for transferring the detainees, who have been held since their ship was seized on Sept. 19 after an open seas protest against oil drilling in the Arctic, was not immediately clear, and a spokesman for Russia’s prison system declined to comment. In a statement , Greenpeace said it also did not know the reason for the transfers, which were expected to begin soon. The move came after the authorities in Murmansk completed charging the 30 people who were aboard the ship, the Arctic Sunrise, with hooliganism, a crime punishable by up to seven years in prison. Greenpeace noted earlier on Friday that, technically, all remain charged […]

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South Stream gas pipeline construction begins in Bulgaria

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Nov. 1 (UPI) — The start of construction of the South Stream gas pipeline in Bulgaria marks the launch of one of Europe’s largest energy projects, Gazprom’s chief said. “A landmark event has taken place today: Construction started on the Bulgarian section of the South Stream gas pipeline, the most large-scale and important project in Europe,” Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller said in a statement Thursday. “This project is a key element of energy security of the whole European continent.” South Stream is meant to add diversity to Russia’s export routes through Europe. A contractual dispute between Gazprom and its counterparts in Ukraine, which hosts most of Russia’s gas for Europe, adds a layer of risk to conventional routes, officials say. Miller said the direct connection to Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, means geopolitical risks associated with transit countries are eliminated “forever.” Bulgarian consumers will receive […]

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Austrian company OMV takes over North Sea oil, gas fields

VIENNA, Nov. 1 (UPI) — Austrian energy company OMV said it completed a $2.65 billion transaction to take over North Sea oil and gas production areas from Norwegian rival Statoil. OMV said it acquired a 19 percent stake in the Gulfaks field and a 24 percent stake in the Gudrun field, both on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, and also took on shares in the Rosebank and Schiehallion fields, located west of the Shetland Islands. “The transaction is a key part of OMV’s strategy of focusing on exploration and production in politically stable markets and will be a substantial factor in achieving our 2016 targets,” OMV Chief Executive Officer Gerhard Rois said in a statement Thursday. “We are thereby bolstering our position in the heart of our North Sea growth region.” OMV said the production contribution from the acquired assets should reach 58,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by […]

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Gazprom eyes gas foundation in Far East market

MOSCOW, Nov. 1 (UPI) — Russian gas company Gazprom said Friday it was teaming up with gas processing company SIBUR to build a processing plant in the Far East. “Gazprom is planning to construct a gas processing plant in Belogorsk [near northeast China] with the annual capacity of up to 2.1 trillion cubic feet, where ethane and other valuable components will be stripped from natural gas,” the company said in a statement. “SIBUR, in its turn, intends to create a gas chemical complex technologically connected with the gas processing plant for the purpose of processing ethane.” Gazprom provided no financial terms for the deal. The company said the partnership would draw gas from the Chayandinskoye and Kovyktinskoye fields, which contain a combined 95 trillion cubic feet of estimated gas reserves. Gazprom has focused its efforts on meeting the energy demands of expanding Asian economies. “The joint activities will result […]

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Saudi Arabia, Emirates lead charge on Mideast solar power

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 1 (UPI) — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of the world’s leading oil producers, are spearheading a Middle Eastern drive to develop solar energy, with plans for projects requiring $1.5 billion in investment by the end of 2014. The program, designed to free up for export increasing amounts of oil and gas being used domestically for power generation, got a major endorsement from the Arab Forum for Environment and Development Monday. It urged Arab states to re-evaluate their relationship with oil, the economic mainstay of the Arab world since the 1950s, and phase out state energy subsidies to focus investment in developing renewable energy. “Oil and gas are important, they will continue to be important,” said Najib Saab, the forum’s secretary-general. “We call for more careful use of oil and gas and for more serious development of renewable energy.” Saudi […]

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Oil Rises on China Factory Data

Crude-oil futures were higher in Asian trading hours Friday after two sets of data showed an expansion in manufacturing activity in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at $96.44 a barrel at 0543 GMT, up $0.06 in the Globex electronic session. December Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.37 to $109.21 a barrel. China’s slowing manufacturing landscape has weighed on oil demand and any uptick in manufacturing activity supports oil prices, particularly Brent. Both the official purchasing managers’ index, an indicator for the performance of large and state-owned companies, and the private HSBC PMI, an indicator for small and medium enterprises, showed an expansion, although some analysts remained skeptical. The PMI data suggests the recovery momentum might be slightly stronger than what markets had expected and the reading should be positive for […]

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WTI Fluctuates Near Four-Month Low as China Manufacturing Gains

West Texas Intermediate swung between gains and losses near a four-month low as an increase in China ’s manufacturing index countered concern about rising crude supplies in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures fluctuated in New York after capping a 5.8 percent drop in October, the most in a year. China’s Purchasing Manager’s Index (CPMINDX) was 51.4, the highest in 18 months and more than the median estimate of 51.2 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. A separate manufacturing indicator also climbed. Prices are poised for a fourth weekly decline amid an expansion in U.S. crude stockpiles . “The numbers over the past month for China have all been good but they’ve failed to hold up oil,” said Jonathan Barratt , the chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin in Sydney. “Inventories keep building; there’s just too much oil.” WTI for December delivery was at $96.51 a […]

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Natural Gas Futures Decline For Fourth Straight Day

–Slide in natural gas futures extends to a fourth straight session –Supplies are above five-year-average amid forecasts for warmer temperatures, high production –Traders waiting for first real cold snap, consultant says By Brett Philbin NEW YORK–Natural gas futures slid for the fourth straight session Thursday after a government inventory report showed a supply glut, booming production and an uncertain weather forecast at the start of the winter heating season. Natural gas for December delivery settled 3.9 cents lower, or 1.1%, to $3.581 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have declined roughly 4% this week as market participants are fearful that temperatures could stay above normal next month. “Right now it’s a waiting game,” said Richard Soultanian, co-president of NUS Consulting Group, a Park Ridge, N.J., energy consulting firm. “There is no fundamental reason to see a sustainable increase in the price of natural […]

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EIA: OPEC October Oil Output Down 100,000 Barrels a Day Vs. September

-Saudi Arabian output off 300,000 b/d in month, to 9.8 million barrels a day -Unrest in Libya cuts output by one million barrels a day compared with a year earlier -OPEC October output 29.7 million barrels a day, EIA estimates By David Bird NEW YORK–Crude-oil output from OPEC dropped 100,000 barrels a day in October from September as a slight gain in still-reduced flows in Libya partly offset a 300,000-barrel-a-day drop in output from Saudi Arabia, a U.S. government report released Thursday estimated. Production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries averaged 29.7 million barrel a day in October, down 1 million barrels a day from a year earlier due to labor unrest that has disrupted normal Libyan oil flows, the Energy Information Administration said. The EIA, the analytical and statistical wings of the Energy Department, said output from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, averaged 9.8 […]

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OPEC Exports to Drop as U.S. Output Gains, Oil Movements Says

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut crude exports through mid-November as rising U.S. output allows the nation to curb purchases from the Middle East and Africa , according to Oil Movements. OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil, will reduce sailings by 80,000 barrels a day, or 0.3 percent, to 23.78 million barrels in the four weeks to Nov. 16, the tanker tracker said today in a report. That compares with 23.86 million in the period to Oct. 19. The figures exclude two of OPEC’s 12 members, Angola and Ecuador. “There’s a lot of non-OPEC supply coming to the market” from the U.S. and North Sea, Roy Mason , the company’s founder, said by phone from Halifax, England . OPEC shipments are “weak because of American production,” he said. OPEC exports are set to increase in the second half of next month as heating […]

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Shell Third-Quarter Profit Falls 31%

LONDON— Royal Dutch Shell RDSB.LN +0.60% Royal Dutch Shell PLC B U.K.: London GBp 2172.50 +13.00 +0.60% Nov. 1, 2013 8:39 am Volume : 816,123 P/E Ratio 9.02 Market Cap GBp141.05 Billion Dividend Yield 5.28% Rev. per Employee GBp3,340,510 10/31/13 Refining Hurts Big Oil, But Ex… 10/31/13 Two Alberta Oil-Sands Projects… 10/31/13 Heard on the Street: Shell’s L… More quote details and news » RDSB.LN in Your Value Your Change Short position PLC Thursday reported a 31% decline in third-quarter profit, largely because of weak refining margins and increased exploration-and-production expenses. Shell posted profits on a “current cost of supplies” basis—a figure that factors out the impact of inventories, making it equivalent to the net profit reported by U.S. oil companies—of $4.25 billion, down from $6.15 billion in the same period last year. Shell reported revenue of $116.51 billion, up from $112.12 billion a year earlier. “We are facing […]

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Exxon Mobil Profit Down 18% on Refining Weakness

Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM +0.91% Exxon Mobil Corp. U.S.: NYSE $ 89.62 +0.81 +0.91% Oct. 31, 2013 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 18.96M AFTER HOURS $ 89.86 +0.24 +0.27% Oct. 31, 2013 7:59 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 222,037 P/E Ratio 11.70 Market Cap $390.91 Billion Dividend Yield 2.81% Rev. per Employee $5,208,800 10/31/13 Refining Hurts Big Oil, But Ex… 10/31/13 No Pipeline? Exxon Thinks Abou… 10/31/13 Exxon Mobil Profit Down 18% on… More quote details and news » XOM in Your Value Your Change Short position on Thursday said its third-quarter earnings fell 18%, as profits at its downstream segment plunged on significantly weaker refining margins, masking growth at its exploration and production business. Exxon Mobil reported net income of $7.87 billion, or $1.79 a share, down from $9.57 billion, or $2.09 a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 2.4% to $112.37 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters […]

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Marathon Petroleum's Profit Falls Amid Higher Costs

Marathon Petroleum Corp. MPC -1.17% Marathon Petroleum Corp. U.S.: NYSE $ 71.66 -0.85 -1.17% Oct. 31, 2013 4:01 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 4.80M AFTER HOURS $ 71.80 +0.14 +0.20% Oct. 31, 2013 7:29 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 34,639 P/E Ratio 10.49 Market Cap $22.70 Billion Dividend Yield 2.34% Rev. per Employee $3,317,680 10/31/13 Marathon Petroleum’s Profit Fa… 10/10/13 Jury Sides With BP in 2010 Tex… 09/27/13 Breaking Up Is the Thing to Do… More quote details and news » MPC in Your Value Your Change Short position said its third-quarter profit fell 86% as the refining-and-pipeline company recorded higher costs that masked a rise in revenue. Refiners had been taking advantage of cheap, domestically produced oil, which has helped margins. But oil prices rose earlier this year as data showed a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude-oil supplies. Marathon Petroleum, which was spun off from Marathon Oil Corp. MRO […]

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Marathon Petroleum’s Profit Falls Amid Higher Costs

Marathon Petroleum Corp. MPC -1.17% Marathon Petroleum Corp. U.S.: NYSE $ 71.66 -0.85 -1.17% Oct. 31, 2013 4:01 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 4.80M AFTER HOURS $ 71.80 +0.14 +0.20% Oct. 31, 2013 7:29 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 34,639 P/E Ratio 10.49 Market Cap $22.70 Billion Dividend Yield 2.34% Rev. per Employee $3,317,680 10/31/13 Marathon Petroleum’s Profit Fa… 10/10/13 Jury Sides With BP in 2010 Tex… 09/27/13 Breaking Up Is the Thing to Do… More quote details and news » MPC in Your Value Your Change Short position said its third-quarter profit fell 86% as the refining-and-pipeline company recorded higher costs that masked a rise in revenue. Refiners had been taking advantage of cheap, domestically produced oil, which has helped margins. But oil prices rose earlier this year as data showed a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude-oil supplies. Marathon Petroleum, which was spun off from Marathon Oil Corp. MRO […]

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Tehran Faces Water Rationing Unless Usage Drops: Minister

Iran may be forced to impose water rationing in Tehran should the capital’s residents fail to cut consumption by about 20 percent, Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said. Water rationing is under consideration in part as levels of reservoirs outside Tehran have fallen due to a sharp decline in rainfall this year, Chitchian told reporters after a Cabinet meeting yesterday, according to the Tehran Times newspaper. His comments follow those by President Hassan Rouhani, who this week called for a national water-conservation plan to address Iran’s “historic” water shortage. Overuse of city tap water should be curbed, the farm industry must become more efficient and use irrigation, and protecting underground sources and preventing illegal drilling of wells is needed, said Rouhani, who took office in August. Iran, holder of the fourth-largest proven oil reserves whose population has grown to 77 million amid recent dry spells, will struggle to meet […]

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Algeria readies for natural gas overhaul

LONDON, Oct. 31 (UPI) — British energy services provider Petrofac announced it secured a $650 million contract to work to extend the life of a natural gas field in Algeria. Petrofac said it secured the 32-month engineering contract through a partnership with Italian contractor Bonatti. The company said the work is for construction and commissioning of new processing facilities at the Alrar natural gas field in southeast Algeria, in service since 1987. “This development builds on Petrofac’s long history of successful execution in Algeria where we have been operating successfully for more than 15 years,” Subramanian Sarma, managing director for the company’s onshore division, said in a statement Wednesday. Petrofac offered no reserve estimate for Alrar. It’s working alongside BP and others at a complex in southern Algeria expected to produce more than 300 billion cubic feet per year beyond 2013. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said natural […]

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Iraqi PM to ask Obama for more aid to stop attacks

AP Photo WASHINGTON (AP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (NOO’-ree ahl-MAHL’-ih-kee) is expected to appeal to President Barack Obama for more U.S. assistance in beating back the bloody insurgency consuming his country. Obama and al-Maliki will meet at the White House Friday. The Iraqi prime minister’s new aid requests come nearly two years after his government refused to let American forces stay in Iraq with legal immunity after the nine-year war formally ended. Violence started rising in Iraq within months of the U.S. troop departure at the end of 2011. The State Department says at least 6,000 Iraqis have been killed in attacks so far this year. The White House says Obama will raise concerns about the violence in Iraq and ways to reduce it during his meeting with al-Maliki. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or […]

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Marathon makes oil, gas find in Kurdish Iraq

HOUSTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) — U.S. energy company Marathon Oil Corp. said it made a discovery of oil and natural gas reserves while working in the Kurdish north of Iraq. Marathon said it made the discovery while working in the Harir block, located 40 miles northeast of Erbil, administrative center for the semiautonomous regional Kurdish government. The company, which has headquarters in Texas, said its initial testing yielded more than 11,000 barrels per day of “high quality oil” and approximately 72 million cubic feet per day of non-associated natural gas. Lee Tillman, chief executive officer for Marathon Oil, said in a statement the Kurdish north of Iraq has proved itself a major regional producer. “As the first large U.S. publicly traded company to enter in October 2010, Marathon Oil is pleased to have a strong presence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” he said Wednesday. The semiautonomous Kurdish government […]

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Israel launches attacks on military sites in Syria

Israel’s air force attacked two military sites inside Syria on Wednesday evening, US military sources confirmed, marking the latest of several such covert strikes on the country’s northeastern neighbour this year. The sites are near the port city of Latakia and the capital Damascus, according to a person briefed on the matter, who said the US military believed that it was Israel that attacked. Confirmation of the attack late on Thursday followed earlier reports of sightings of Israeli jets in Lebanon and at least one explosion in Syria. Israel’s military, which has struck targets in Syria several times this year, declined to confirm or deny that it carried out the strikes. “We never comment on foreign reports,” an Israel Defence Forces spokeswoman said. Nagham Ghadri, a member of the Syrian National Coalition, the Turkey-based opposition group, said that activists in Latakia had reported hearing a huge explosion coming from […]

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Islamist Rebels Take Fight to Suburbs of Syrian Capital

DAMASCUS, Syria—Islamist rebels, including some with links to al Qaeda, are fast gaining strength in suburbs encircling the Syrian capital, despite a chemical-weapons attack two months ago on one of their strongholds. Since early September these groups have claimed responsibility for several suicide-bomb attacks against regime targets in and around Damascus. They have dramatically increased mortar and rocket attacks on regime-held residential neighborhoods within the capital and have raided nearby towns and villages inhabited by minorities, including Christians. Last week, these rebels blew up a gas pipeline feeding a power plant on the outskirts of Damascus, causing a complete blackout in the capital and most of Syria for several hours before the damage was repaired, according to government officials and residents. While riven by leadership rivalries and competing agendas, the Islamist rebels share the goal of toppling President Bashar al-Assad and establishing Islamic rule. Their strengthening around Damascus further […]

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Largest camp for Syrian refugees becoming a city

AP Photo ZAATARI CAMP, Jordan (AP) — The manager of the region’s largest camp for Syrian refugees arranges toy figures, trucks and houses on a map in his office trailer to illustrate his ambitious vision. In a year, he wants to turn the chaotic shantytown of 100,000 into a temporary city with local councils, paved streets, parks, an electricity grid and sewage pipes. Zaatari, a desert camp near Jordan’s border with Syria, is far from that ideal. Life is tough here. The strong often take from the weak, women fear going to communal bathrooms after dark, sewage runs between pre-fab trailers and boys hustle for pennies carting goods in wheelbarrows instead of going to school. But with Syria’s civil war in its third year, the more than 2 million Syrians who fled their country need long-term solutions, said Kilian Kleinschmidt, who runs Zaatari for the U.N. refugee agency. “We […]

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Petrobras pegs success to Libra oil field

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 31 (UPI) — Production from the offshore Libra area in Brazil is expected to help Petrobras reach its long-term objectives, the company’s president said. State-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro, known also as Petrobras, said it expects the first oil to be extracted from the Libra area in 2020. Company President Maria das Gracas Silva Foster said investments in Libra will be more significant as 2020 draws nearer. Oil workers with Petrobras staged a strike in mid-October to protest the auction for Libra. They wanted better wages and opposed a congressional measure for outsourcing of workers. Royal Dutch Shell, French energy company Total, China National Petroleum Corp., China National Offshore Oil Corp., and Petrobras, won a 35-year production sharing contract last week for the Libra field in the Santos Basin off the coast of Brazil. Foster said in a statement Wednesday the terms of the auction were “clear, […]

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Eike Batista's Empire Soared, Then Melted Into Bankruptcy

RIO DE JANEIRO—In 2006, Eike Batista strode into Rio’s opulent Copacabana Palace hotel for cocktails with a Canadian pension fund looking to play Brazil’s rise. The Brazilian entrepreneur captivated his hosts with a brazen pitch: He aimed to be the world’s richest man, and investors along for the ride would prosper, too. “The way he says it, it doesn’t sound crazy,” says Brian Gibson, then a senior vice president with the Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, which organized the reception. “As an investor, you are looking for someone who is hungry,” Mr. Gibson says. “I didn’t know if he was going to be the richest or not, and I didn’t care.” Mr. Batista didn’t make it. Instead, he presided over one of the most breathtaking rise-and-fall stories in the history of business. Starting in 2006, Mr. Batista publicly listed five startups in five years, creating a Brazilian commodities empire from […]

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Eike Batista’s Empire Soared, Then Melted Into Bankruptcy

RIO DE JANEIRO—In 2006, Eike Batista strode into Rio’s opulent Copacabana Palace hotel for cocktails with a Canadian pension fund looking to play Brazil’s rise. The Brazilian entrepreneur captivated his hosts with a brazen pitch: He aimed to be the world’s richest man, and investors along for the ride would prosper, too. “The way he says it, it doesn’t sound crazy,” says Brian Gibson, then a senior vice president with the Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, which organized the reception. “As an investor, you are looking for someone who is hungry,” Mr. Gibson says. “I didn’t know if he was going to be the richest or not, and I didn’t care.” Mr. Batista didn’t make it. Instead, he presided over one of the most breathtaking rise-and-fall stories in the history of business. Starting in 2006, Mr. Batista publicly listed five startups in five years, creating a Brazilian commodities empire from […]

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China factory activity picks up in October, recovery seen gradual

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s giant manufacturing sector strengthened further in October, two surveys showed on Friday, though mixed signals in important areas including export orders suggest any recovery in the world’s second-largest economy will be gradual. The overall message of stabilization is good news for the government as it readies a series of economic reforms at the Communist Party’s third plenary meeting from November 9-12. China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reached an 18-month high of 51.4 in October, beating a forecast of 51.2 in a Reuters poll [ID:nL3N0IJ3MW]. A separate HSBC/Markit final PMI rose to a seven-month high of 50.9. Both surveys were above the 50 line separating growth from contraction, but gave differing readings on new orders and new export orders — falling in the official PMI and rising in the HSBC/Markit PMI. "The PMI data for October shows a continued increase, indicating a preliminary stabilization in […]

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China manufacturing data surges to strongest in 18 months

A worker assembles car doors for the Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. Emgrand EC7 sedan on the production line at the company’s factory in Cixi, Zhejiang Province, China China’s manufacturing sector accelerated in October to its strongest reading in 18 months, suggesting continued expansion in the world’s most important manufacturing sector. The improved headline official purchasing manager’s index is likely to boost market sentiment towards China and China-dependent assets such as the Australian dollar, but sub-indices for new orders and new export orders dipped last month, raising concerns that momentum might not be sustained for the rest of the fourth quarter. The official PMI came in at 51.4 in October, compared with 51.1 in September, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The closely watched index has been positive for more […]

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China's teapot refiners expand aggressively to stay operational

Singapore (Platts)–1Nov2013/503 am EDT/903 GMT China’s independent teapot refineries in eastern Shandong province have significantly expanded their capacities in the last few years ahead of an end-2013 deadline set by the government to eliminate smaller plants. In an effort to cool overheated growth and promote efficient use of resources in the sector, Beijing had mandated the closure of small plants in the independent refining sector in the last few years. It originally wanted teapot refineries with under 1 million mt/year (20,082 b/d) of topping capacity to shut by the end of 2011, but intensified this in March of the same year by decreeing further consolidation, mandating the closure of refineries with crude distillation capacity under 2 million mt/year by the end of 2013. 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 […]

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China’s teapot refiners expand aggressively to stay operational

Singapore (Platts)–1Nov2013/503 am EDT/903 GMT China’s independent teapot refineries in eastern Shandong province have significantly expanded their capacities in the last few years ahead of an end-2013 deadline set by the government to eliminate smaller plants. In an effort to cool overheated growth and promote efficient use of resources in the sector, Beijing had mandated the closure of small plants in the independent refining sector in the last few years. It originally wanted teapot refineries with under 1 million mt/year (20,082 b/d) of topping capacity to shut by the end of 2011, but intensified this in March of the same year by decreeing further consolidation, mandating the closure of refineries with crude distillation capacity under 2 million mt/year by the end of 2013. 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 […]

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China seen replacing Russia as central Asia’s outside energy force

China potentially could supplant Russia as the main energy broker in central Asian countries that don’t have their own significant fossil fuel resources, suggested 10 graduate fellows from the region at Johns Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies. But the relationship would be more commercial than geopolitical, the Fall 2013 Rumsfeld Fellows in the Silk Road Studies Program at SAIS’s Central Asia-Caucasus Institute added. Several countries in the region are aggressively pursuing waste energy and other biogas alternatives as well as hydropower, they said. “So the question becomes what the development of local firms pursuing green technology means alongside China’s presence,” said S. Frederick Starr, the institute’s chairman who moderated the discussion. “The people in this region are more resourceful than some outsiders believe. What’s happening on the smaller scale may mean more and be a bigger response to the fear of Chinese dominance than they expect.” An […]

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ONGC Risks First Loss on Oil as Discounts Climb: Corporate India

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) , India’s most-profitable company, is at risk of incurring a loss at its crude oil business for the first time as subsidy payments and production expenses rise. The cost of producing crude oil has increased 5 percent, while buyers are paying 4 percent less for the product, squeezing margins, according to Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva. ONGC may give 137 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) as discounts on its crude oil sales to government-run refiners including Indian Oil Corp. (IOCL) for the three months through Sept. 30, Vasudeva said. That’s 11 percent higher than a year earlier. “The narrowing margins at some point is going to affect our growth, our capex, and our business,” Vasudeva, 59, said by phone from New Delhi . “It’s difficult to sustain, difficult to plan for the future.” Pretax margins at ONGC, which is responsible for bolstering India’s energy supplies, have […]

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Shell moves ahead with 80,000 bpd project in Alberta, Canada

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Oct. 31 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday it was moving ahead with a project in Alberta, Canada, expected to produce 80,000 barrels of oil per day. “I’m pleased we’re moving ahead with this important project,” Lorraine Mitchelmore, a vice president in charge of heavy oil developments, said in a statement. “Our decision to invest in Carmon Creek has been carefully studied with the goal of designing a project that is competitive from a commercial, technological and environmental perspective.” Shell owns a 100 percent stake in the Carmon Creek facility. Heavier grades of Canadian oil are too thick to flow naturally so Shell will use a steam injection system to heat the oil and reduce its viscosity. “Once the project is up and running the aim is to virtually eliminate the need for freshwater use for steam generation through recycling of water produced with the […]

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No Pipeline? Exxon Thinks About Taking the Train

REUTERS By Daniel Gilbert Exxon Mobil Corp.’s ambition of boosting production depends in large part on wringing more crude from the oil sands of Western Canada. One challenge: Getting that crude to market to get paid. With room on Canadian oil pipelines in short supply, and the future of the proposed Keystone XL project in doubt , Exxon is considering building a rail terminal in Edmonton, Alberta to haul crude into the U.S. on trains, a company executive said on Thursday. “We are looking at a number of logistical opportunities that we have,” David Rosenthal, Exxon’s head of investor relations, said of routes out of the oil sands, including Keystone XL. “But, as would be prudent, we are looking at other options” like the rail terminal. Some big refiners have pooh-poohed the importance of TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline expansion, which would carry crude to the hub of refineries […]

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Canada Approves ConocoPhillips Test Oil Drilling in Arctic North

CALGARY, Alberta—Canada’s federal energy regulator on Wednesday approved an application by ConocoPhillips COP +0.11% ConocoPhillips U.S.: NYSE $ 73.33 +0.08 +0.11% Oct. 31, 2013 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 5.44M AFTER HOURS $ 73.30 -0.03 -0.04% Oct. 31, 2013 6:27 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 118,539 P/E Ratio 12.16 Market Cap $89.59 Billion Dividend Yield 3.76% Rev. per Employee $3,383,200 10/31/13 What WSJ Canada Is Reading Thu… 10/31/13 ConocoPhillips’ Profit Jumps o… 10/30/13 Canada Approves ConocoPhillips… More quote details and news » COP in Your Value Your Change Short position to begin exploratory drilling for oil in the Northwest Territories, the first such permission granted for hydraulic fracturing of horizontally drilled wells in the Canadian Arctic north. The National Energy Board authorized the company to drill two exploratory wells near the town of Norman Wells, which is 684 kilometers (425 miles) northwest of the provincial capitol of Yellowknife. ConocoPhillips […]

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Phillips 66 to Build Texas Terminal to Export Propane, Butane Overseas

Phillips 66 PSX -1.23% Phillips 66 U.S.: NYSE $ 64.43 -0.80 -1.23% Oct. 31, 2013 4:05 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 3.57M AFTER HOURS $ 64.43 0.00 0.00% Oct. 31, 2013 5:11 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 212,797 P/E Ratio 11.11 Market Cap $39.86 Billion Dividend Yield 2.42% Rev. per Employee $11,771,600 10/31/13 Phillips 66 to Build Texas Ter… More quote details and news » PSX in Your Value Your Change Short position plans to build a terminal in Texas aimed at exporting propane and butane overseas to meet growing demand for those inexpensive fuels, which are being produced in the U.S. alongside oil and natural gas. The company’s terminal will be built at the company’s existing site in Freeport, Texas, on the coast south of Houston, and will be capable of exporting 4.4 million barrels of fuel a month. “There are attractive markets outside of the United States for […]

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EIA: U.S. August Lower 48 Natural-Gas Output Up 0.3% to Record High

By David Bird NEW YORK–U.S. natural-gas output in the Lower 48 states climbed 0.3% in August from an upwardly revised July level to a record high of 74.82 billion cubic feet per day, preliminary government figures released Thursday show. The Energy Information Administration data show August output was up 3.1% from a year earlier. That is the largest year-on-year growth for any month since output rose by 5% on this basis in September 2012. The EIA revised July output up to 74.62 billion cubic feet per day from the preliminary level of 74.52 billion cubic feet per day reported a month earlier. The biggest rise in output in August came from what EIA refers to as “other states,” or those outside the traditional producing areas of Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. Output from this region rose 2.4%, or 0.64 billion cubic feet per day, as new wells […]

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Chevron inks shale gas deal in Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine, Oct. 31 (UPI) — The Ukrainian government announced it approved a draft agreement with Chevron for shale natural gas extraction in the western part of the country. Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said under the draft deal Chevron would invest $350 million in shale exploration at the Oleske field in western Ukraine, the National Radio Company of Ukraine reported Wednesday. NRCU reported the field is expected to hold more than 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The announcement comes after Russian energy company Gazprom said Ukraine was late in paying off its natural gas debt. Gazprom cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine most recently in 2009 because of payment concerns. Ukraine says it’s paying more for Russian gas than its regional counterparts. Ukraine is one of the Eastern European countries thought to be rich in shale natural gas. The government said there may be enough natural […]

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Poland, Wedded to Coal, Spurns Europe on Clean Energy Targets

BELCHATOW, Poland — They call it Poland’s biggest hole in the ground. The coal mine here is more than eight-and-a-half miles long, nearly two miles wide and as deep in parts as three football fields. Enough coal comes out of it to fuel Europe’s largest coal-fired utility plant, whose chimneys loom in the distance. “The entire world population could fit in this hole,” Tomasz Tarnowski, an administrator here, said in a bit of proud hyperbole as he led a group of reporters on a walk near a towering mound of brown coal about halfway into the mine. Poland is Europe’s coal colossus. More than 88 percent of its electricity comes from coal. Belchatow is one of its huge sources and the largest carbon emitter in Europe. (There’s no “belch” in Belchatow — it is pronounced bel-HOT-oof.) This month, a United Nations conference on climate change will be held in […]

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US will always remain a crude oil importer

Eagle_Ford_Play_Jan2009_Jul2013 Page added on October 31, 2013 US shale oil has so far replaced 2 mb/d of its crude oil imports which peaked at around 10 mb/d in 2005. If this effort can be doubled the US would still need to import around 6 mb/d. US crude oil imports vs production History: US crude imports skyrocketed in the early 1970s after the US peak. High oil prices as a result of the 1 st and 2 nd  oil crises in 1973 and 1979 triggered a recession and therefore a drop in oil demand and a reduction in crude oil imports. After Alaska’s peak crude imports increased again until the 3 rd  oil crisis which started in 2005. Despite the shale oil boom which began in serious in 2011, the US still imports around 2 mb/d (25%) from the Persian Gulf and 3.5 mb/d (44%) from OPEC. So there would […]

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