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NE US spot natural gas up as much as $8.15/MMBtu on lower temps

Some US Northeast spot natural gas prices jumped as much as $8.15/MMBtu in trading Monday as forecasts called for temperatures well below seasonal norms. Boston was expected to see snow and a high of 25 Fahrenheit on Tuesday with a low of 16 degrees following a mild weekend with highs in the mid-50s. Tuesday’s high is 16 degrees below normal for this time of year. New York’s forecast called for snow showers and a high of 35 on Tuesday, several degrees below normal. Bentek forecast total Northeast load to rise to 25.3 Bcf on Tuesday, from 17 Bcf Monday. Tennessee zone 6-200 leg jumped $8.15 to average in the lower $13.80s/MMBtu on IntercontinentalExchange, with prices at the Algonquin Gas Transmission city-gates up $8.01 to average in the lower $13.70s/MMBtu. Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Zone 6 New York was up $1.14 to average in the lower […]

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Iran parliament mulls changing country's capital

The Iranian parliament is considering a proposal to pick another city as the nation’s capital and move the seat of the government from the overcrowded and heavily polluted Tehran. Iran’s official news agency IRNA said Tuesday that if the lawmakers accept the proposal, a council would be set up and spend the next two years studying which alternate location would be best. There was no indication in the proposal what locations could be considered. The greater Tehran area has a population of 12 million and suffers from a score of urban problems such as heavy pollution, traffic jams and a high crime rate. Its residents have tripled in number over the past decade as more and more Iranians moved into the city in search of jobs and a better life. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, […]

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Iran parliament mulls changing country’s capital

The Iranian parliament is considering a proposal to pick another city as the nation’s capital and move the seat of the government from the overcrowded and heavily polluted Tehran. Iran’s official news agency IRNA said Tuesday that if the lawmakers accept the proposal, a council would be set up and spend the next two years studying which alternate location would be best. There was no indication in the proposal what locations could be considered. The greater Tehran area has a population of 12 million and suffers from a score of urban problems such as heavy pollution, traffic jams and a high crime rate. Its residents have tripled in number over the past decade as more and more Iranians moved into the city in search of jobs and a better life. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, […]

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Egypt Pays Down International Energy Debt

Egypt has made a partial payment on the money it owes to international energy firms in a bid to revive confidence in its flagging hydrocarbon sector, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. Egypt has an energy debt of around $6.4 billion. It has been paying hefty premiums for its crude supplies due to the weak Egyptian pound and dwindling foreign currency reserves. It has also been facing a slowdown in oil and gas exploration activities due to continuing civil unrest following the removal of president Hosni Mubarak from office in 2011. "Some companies already received last week some payments as part of a $1.5 billion deal we agreed to pay before the end of this year," an Egyptian oil official who asked not be named told The Wall Street Journal. "The rest of the $1.5 billion will be paid to the companies this week as […]

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Bomb kills 12 at Egypt police compound

A bomb blast tore through a police compound in Egypt’s Nile Delta on Tuesday, killing 12 people and wounding 134 in one of the deadliest attacks since the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. The army-backed government vowed to fight "black terrorism", saying the blast an hour after midnight in the city of Mansoura north of Cairo would not derail a political transition plan whose next step is a January referendum on a new constitution. With eight policemen among the dead, the blast pointed to the risk of militancy moving to the densely populated Nile Valley from the Sinai Peninsula, where attacks have killed some 200 members of the security forces since Mursi’s downfall. "We face an enemy that has no religion or nation," Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, the survivor of an assassination attempt in September, said while inspecting the scene of the blast, […]

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South Sudan rebel leader sets out conditions for talks

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sought urgently on Monday to nearly double the size of the U.N. peacekeeping force in South Sudan, while rebel leader Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir both indicated they were ready to talk to try to end a deepening conflict that has killed hundreds of people. A government official, however, said South Sudan would not meet Machar’s demand that detained opposition leaders be released. Ban asked the U.N. Security Council to send 5,500 more peacekeepers to South Sudan as soon as possible to protect civilians from the growing violence in the world’s newest country. There are now some 6,700 U.N. troops and 670 police officers making up the U.N. force in South Sudan. The 15-member council met to discuss the crisis and is due to vote on a resolution approving the increase in peacekeeping troops on Tuesday. "As long as these […]

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South Sudanese Rebels Claim Capture of Oil-Producing State

Rebel forces loyal to deposed South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar said they captured crude-producing Unity state as the government evacuated some oil workers and plans a partial shutdown of facilities. Fighters led by General James Kong Chol seized Bentiu, the state capital, and other parts of the northern region on Dec. 21 and have aligned themselves with Machar, Chol said in a phone interview yesterday. It’s the second state to fall to anti-government forces after President Salva Kiir’s administration lost control of Bor, capital of Jonglei province, to a group headed by General Peter Gatdet Yak on Dec. 18. Chol and Yak previously headed government forces in the two states. “We’re controlling the area of Unity state,” Chol said from Bentiu. “My government planned to kill me and I have nowhere to go. I decided to join Riek Machar.” Fighting broke out […]

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'Mass ethnic killings' in South Sudan

New details are emerging of alleged ethnic killings committed during more than a week of violence in South Sudan. A reporter in the capital Juba quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly from the Nuer ethnic group, were shot by security forces. Another man in Juba reported that gunmen from the Dinka tribe were shooting people in Nuer districts who did not speak the Dinka language. South Sudan’s government has denied it is behind any ethnic violence. The reports emerged as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the Security Council to add 5,500 UN troops to the 7,000-strong force in South Sudan. Rebels supporting sacked former vice-president Riek Machar have seized major towns over the past week. Tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting. ‘Eyewitness account’ The journalist […]

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‘Mass ethnic killings’ in South Sudan

New details are emerging of alleged ethnic killings committed during more than a week of violence in South Sudan. A reporter in the capital Juba quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly from the Nuer ethnic group, were shot by security forces. Another man in Juba reported that gunmen from the Dinka tribe were shooting people in Nuer districts who did not speak the Dinka language. South Sudan’s government has denied it is behind any ethnic violence. The reports emerged as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the Security Council to add 5,500 UN troops to the 7,000-strong force in South Sudan. Rebels supporting sacked former vice-president Riek Machar have seized major towns over the past week. Tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting. ‘Eyewitness account’ The journalist […]

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Zhengzhou Coal Chairman Steps Down Amid Corruption Probe

State-owned Zhengzhou Coal Industry Group Co. Chairman Meng Zhongze has resigned after becoming the target of a corruption investigation. He is the latest senior official to find himself in the cross hairs of a crackdown on corruption in China. The government has launched a series of corruption investigations across the country’s energy and resources sector this year, targeting senior officials at China National Petroleum Corp. and Yunnan Tin Co. 000960.SZ +0.27% Yunnan Tin Co. Ltd. A China: Shenzhen ¥ 11.05 +0.03 +0.27% Dec. 24, 2013 3:01 pm Volume : 1.84M P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap ¥12.80 Billion Dividend Yield 1.18% Rev. per Employee ¥1,379,850 10/09/13 Goldman Sachs Pops Up in China… 10/08/13 Bribery Charge Leveled at Chin… More quote details and news » 000960.SZ in Your Value Your Change Short position , among others. Zhengzhou Coal’s listed unit, Zhengzhou Coal Industry and Electric Power Co., said in a statement […]

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