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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple