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Gulf Keystone feeling bullish about Iraqi oil

Though gross production for 2013 slumped, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, active in the Kurdish oil sector of Iraq, said Thursday it had a successful year. The company, which has headquarters in London, said gross production for 2013 declined more than 40 percent from the previous year to 496,921 barrels of oil. Its sales, all of which came from the Shaikan reserve area in the Kurdish north of Iraq, generated $6.7 million in revenue last year, compared with $32.2 million in 2012. Chief Executive Officer Todd Kozel, however, said 2013 was a successful year for the company because it transitioned from an exploration company to a development and production company in large part because of its stake in Kurdish oil. "We continue to be encouraged by the recent positive political developments in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where the fast pace of economic development was maintained in 2013, not solely but […]

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Saudi Arabia Appoints Prince Muqrin as Second in Line to Throne

Saudi Arabia named Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz as second in line to the throne, the latest royal promotion as King Abdullah confronts unprecedented political instability in the Middle East and economic changes at home. Muqrin, the king’s half-brother who was born in 1945, was made second crown prince alongside his duties as second deputy prime minister, the official Saudi Press Agency said yesterday, citing a royal decree. King Abdullah named his defense minister and half-brother Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, born in 1935, crown prince in June 2012, making the traditionalist former governor of Riyadh next in line to become king. “By many accounts, Prince Muqrin is a close and trusted adviser to King Abdullah,” said Fahad Nazer, a political analyst at Vienna, Virginia-based JTG, and a former official at the Saudi embassy in Washington . “His relative youth, extensive experience in government and knowledge of the West make him […]

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Nigeria: Shell Declares Force Majeure On Forcados Facility After MEND Attack

The Management of Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, SPDC, on Thursday said it had declared a force majeure on the lifting of crude from its Forcados facility in Warri, Delta State. The SPDC’s spokesperson, Precious Okolobo, in an email to PREMIUM TIMES, stated that the action was taken on Tuesday to allow for repairs on the 48-inch crude export pipeline. Mr. Okolobo noted that the subsea line was shut when a leak was discovered on March 4, leading to suspension of SPDC and third party crude oil exports through the terminal. A part of the mail read: "The SPDC Joint Venture declared force majeure on lifting of Forcados blend effective 0900hrs on Tuesday, March 25, 2014, due to ongoing repairs on the 48-inch crude export line at Forcados Terminal in the Western Niger Delta. The subsea line was shut when a leak was discovered on March 4, 2014, leading to […]

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Oil price rises on Nigeria supply woes, US growth

The price of oil rose Friday amid signs of stronger economic growth in the U.S. and possible disruptions to Nigerian crude exports. Benchmark U.S. crude for May delivery was up 20 cents to $101.48 a barrel at 0740 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.02 to $101.28 on Thursday. Concerns are growing in energy markets about supply from Nigeria, which produces about 2.5 million barrels of oil daily, after reports of sabotage at a pipeline, where leaks have forced Shell Nigeria to halt exports from its Forcados terminal since March 4. Meanwhile, the recovery in the U.S. economy signals greater demand ahead. The Commerce Department raised its economic growth estimate for the last quarter of 2013 to 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent, largely because of higher consumer spending. Brent crude, a benchmark for international varieties of oil, fell 13 cents to $107.70 […]

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Tullow upbeat about Kenyan oil prospects

British energy explorer Tullow Oil said Thursday some of its oil reserve areas in Kenya were poorly developed, though it remained upbeat about the potential. Tullow announced exploration results from Blocks 10BB and 13T, which it operates in parity with Africa Oil Corp. Tullow said it encountered a "poorly developed oil bearing reservoir" in Block 13T, though deploying rigs elsewhere in the nearby Amosing discovery would target an area it said "may be one of the largest discoveries in the basin to date." African Oil Corp., in a separate statement , said early 2013 testing from both blocks yielded a flow rate of about 5,000 barrels of oil per day. Angus McCoss, exploration director for Tullow, said in a statement early exploration results from Kenya were in line with expectations. "Our focus remains on continuing to explore and appraise our first successful basin, as well as stepping out into […]

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Argentina Cuts Utility Subsidies as Fiscal Deficit Swells

Argentina reduced government subsidies on natural gas and water by an average 20 percent in a bid to narrow the largest fiscal deficit in more than a decade. The government could save as much as 13 billion pesos ($1.6 billion) and will use proceeds to cover utility company costs and finance social spending, Economy Minister Axel Kicillof and Planning Minister Julio De Vido said today at a press conference in Buenos Aires. The cuts won’t apply to industrial users. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has boosted social spending since taking office in 2007 and left utility rates largely unchanged amid average annual inflation of about 25 percent, straining the finances of power distribution companies and leading to periodic blackouts. Argentina, which has subsidized utilities since 2003, wants to cut aid from about 5 percent of gross domestic product to 2 percent of GDP and make higher income earners pay […]

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Most Chinese Cities Fail Minimum Air Quality Standards, Study Says

Only three of the 74 Chinese cities monitored by the central government managed to meet official minimum standards for air quality last year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced this week, underscoring the country’s severe pollution problems. The dirtiest cities were in northern China, where coal-powered industries are concentrated, including electricity generation and steel manufacturing. The ministry said in its announcement, posted on its website on Tuesday, that in the broad northern region that includes the large cities of Beijing and Tianjin as well as the province of Hebei, which surrounds Beijing, the air quality standards were met on only 37 percent of days last year. Beijing, with 20 million people, did so on only 48 percent of days, […]

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China may opt for 'two children' policy in future, says senior official

After decades of enforcing a one-child policy, China may in the future allow every couple to have two children, a senior family planning official has said. China’s national health and family planning commission will study the impact of a universal two-child rule, its head of research, Ma Xu, told state news agency Xinhua, adding that there was no specific timetable for the decision. Experts said it was inevitable that China would make the shift, but probably not for several years. While most couples face large fines if they have more than one child, there are several exemptions, notably for ethnic minorities and rural residents. China recently relaxed its tight birth control rules slightly , allowing couples to qualify for a second birth if one of the partners was an only child; previously, both had to be without siblings. The move affects a relatively small proportion of families, but experts […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China may opt for ‘two children’ policy in future, says senior official

After decades of enforcing a one-child policy, China may in the future allow every couple to have two children, a senior family planning official has said. China’s national health and family planning commission will study the impact of a universal two-child rule, its head of research, Ma Xu, told state news agency Xinhua, adding that there was no specific timetable for the decision. Experts said it was inevitable that China would make the shift, but probably not for several years. While most couples face large fines if they have more than one child, there are several exemptions, notably for ethnic minorities and rural residents. China recently relaxed its tight birth control rules slightly , allowing couples to qualify for a second birth if one of the partners was an only child; previously, both had to be without siblings. The move affects a relatively small proportion of families, but experts […]

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Japan's Answer to Fukushima: Coal Power

Japan is turning into a rare bright spot in the world coal market, stepping up coal-fired power generation to replace nuclear plants that went offline after the 2011 Fukushima accident. Plans by Japanese companies to spend billions of dollars on new coal-fired plants offer a striking contrast with the U.S., which has effectively blocked new coal plants using existing technology over concerns about global warming. And they show how deeply Japan’s energy picture has changed since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors. On Thursday, Kyushu Electric Power Co. said it would restart a long-frozen project to build a one-gigawatt coal-fired unit in southern Japan. Other utilities including Co. have announced similar plans for more coal-fired power. If the plans all come to fruition, Japan’s coal-fired power capacity would increase to around 47 gigawatts over the next decade or so, up 21% from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple