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Natural Gas Prices Extend Slide on Stockpile Data

Natural-gas futures fell for a second straight session Friday, with traders still selling after a larger-than-expected increase in stockpiles of the fuel. Prices for the front-month May contract declined 5.8 cents, or 1.2%, to $4.647 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the largest percentage decline since April 14. Trading on the June contract surpassed May on Friday, the expiration day for May options. May futures expire Monday. The June contract declined 6.5 cents, or 1.4%, to $4.658/mmBtu. Analyst Jim Ritterbusch called it "bearish spillover" from Thursday, when the U.S. Energy Information Administration released weekly storage data. The amount of gas going into stockpiles last week exceeded Wall Street’s expectations by 7 billion cubic feet, easing some of traders’ concern that supply shortages next winter would push up prices. Prices dropped steadily from an eight-week intraday high after the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Global upstream oil and gas spending continues to favor exploration and development

Annual reports from 42 oil and natural gas companies that have reported data on upstream expenditures since 2000 show that spending on exploration and development throughout the world increased by 5% ($18 billion) in 2013, while spending on property acquisition fell by $17 billion. Total upstream spending by these companies was relatively flat in 2013 (plus 0.4%) after a period of strong growth (averaging 11% per year) from 2000 to 2012. The reports, which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, show that the slight increase in spending in 2013 was driven by expenditures to explore and develop fields acquired in earlier years. In the past two years, flat oil prices and rising costs have contributed to declining cash flow for this group of companies. Continued declines in cash flow, particularly in the face of rising debt levels, could challenge future exploration and development. However, reduced spending […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraqi Militants Stage Political Rally, Then Bombs Go Off

A campaign rally at a ramshackle old soccer stadium on Friday afternoon began with open-air theater that crossed centuries of Shiite lore, from the martyrdom of a revered religious figure to the fight today against Sunni extremists, played by actors dressed as fighters for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a radical Islamist group. It ended with an outbreak of violence, three explosions, one after the other, in the parking lot, as thousands of people were leaving: a car bomb, a suicide bomber and a roadside bomb. More than 30 people were killed and many others wounded in an attack that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria said in a statement it had carried out. The bombings struck a rally held by a Shiite militant group, Asaib Ahl al-Haq , that is trying to transform itself into a political force by fielding candidates in Iraq’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shiite rally bombing sparks reprisals in Iraq

A multiple bomb attack that killed at least 33 people at a campaign rally for a militant Shiite group likely unleashed a series of apparent sectarian attacks in Iraq, signaling the start of a new wave of Sunni-Shiite bloodletting ahead of elections next week, security officials said Saturday. An al-Qaida breakaway group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on the Baghdad rally, which drew about 10,000 backers of Asaib Ahl al-Haq. It said on a militant website that the bombings were to avenge what it called the killing of Sunnis and their forced removal from their homes by Shiite militias. The authenticity of the claim could not be independently verified. A senior Asaib Ahl al-Haq official said the 33 dead included 10 group members who had fought in the Syrian civil war. Its members fight with forces loyal to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia's Lukoil eyes new oil in Iraq

Russian oil company Lukoil is considering joining a joint venture to develop the Nassiriya oil field in Iraq, the company’s board of directors said.Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil company, said its board of directors were considering a joint venture with its counterparts at Russia’s state-owned exploration and production company Zarubezhneft to develop the oil field and help build an associated refinery. Lukoil is already involved in developments of the West-Qurna 2 project in southern Iraq. The company said it recently signed an agreement with the Iraqi Ministry of Industry to estimate the prospects for building a plant that would utilize gas associated with the oil field. First oil was produced from West Qurna-2 in March. It reached a daily production reach of 120,000 barrels and has an estimated 34 billion barrels worth of recoverable reserves. Iraqi oil production from January to February, the last […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia’s Lukoil eyes new oil in Iraq

Russian oil company Lukoil is considering joining a joint venture to develop the Nassiriya oil field in Iraq, the company’s board of directors said.Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil company, said its board of directors were considering a joint venture with its counterparts at Russia’s state-owned exploration and production company Zarubezhneft to develop the oil field and help build an associated refinery. Lukoil is already involved in developments of the West-Qurna 2 project in southern Iraq. The company said it recently signed an agreement with the Iraqi Ministry of Industry to estimate the prospects for building a plant that would utilize gas associated with the oil field. First oil was produced from West Qurna-2 in March. It reached a daily production reach of 120,000 barrels and has an estimated 34 billion barrels worth of recoverable reserves. Iraqi oil production from January to February, the last […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iranian natural gas pipeline is 75% complete

Iran is on track to complete construction work on a 100 km pipeline, which will transport natural gas to Iraq, in the next four months. Alireza Gharibi, Managing Director of Iranian Gas Engineering Development Company, stated that the pipeline is now 75% complete, with 80 km already built. Construction work on the Iraqi section will be carried out on schedule. The new pipeline begins in Chahar Meleh village in the Ilam Province, western Iran, and runs to the city of Naftshahr, which is located on the Iran-Iraq border. Gharibi noted that the pipeline would carry 5 million m3/d of natural gas in the first stage and 10 million m3/d in the second stage. Iran signed the first agreement with Iraq for the delivery of natural gas on 21 July 2013 in Baghdad. Rostam Qassemi, former Iranian Oil Minister, signed the agreement for the delivery of 25 million m3/d of gas […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Saudi Sniffs at Spreading Health Crisis

The Kingdom is accused of suppressing the spread of news about the deadly MERS virus, but failing to stop the spread of the virus itself Saudi Arabia’s doctors are having no luck stopping the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus from sweeping the country, but the government is doing much better at preventing news of the disease from spreading. In an effort to  control  information related to the virus spreading across the country, the government has ordered Saudi media outlets to quote only official sources on the disease. In parallel, the Saudi Ministry of Health issued a notice last week threatening health workers with prison for disclosing any health ministry information. With each passing day, the number of reported cases of MERS, known in the kingdom as “coronavirus,” is growing—and along with it, public anxiety. According to experts, over the last month, MERS cases in Saudi Arabia have […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ghana: "Ghana Managing Oil Revenues Well"

A UNITED States non-governmental organization, praised Ghana for managing oil revenues properly. The Revenue Watch Institute, the NGO, has released research indicating that the Ghana Petroleum Funds meet 13 of 16 good governance fundamentals. Researchers concluded that the funds feature clear deposit, withdrawal and investment rules, effective oversight, and other essential attributes of good governance. "Together, the Ghana Stabilization Fund and the Ghana Heritage Fund manage more than US$450 million," said Emmanuel Kuyole, Africa Regional coordinator for Revenue Watch. "Thanks to strong legal provisions, citizens have information on how much is deposited, invested and earned. This transparency is a significant gain. Too much sunshine does not spoil anything." Revenue Watch economic analyst, Andrew Bauer, presented the research in Accra. He said Ghana’s good management of its saved funds demonstrates compliance with the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act. "This must also extend to the act’s requirement […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ghana: “Ghana Managing Oil Revenues Well”

A UNITED States non-governmental organization, praised Ghana for managing oil revenues properly. The Revenue Watch Institute, the NGO, has released research indicating that the Ghana Petroleum Funds meet 13 of 16 good governance fundamentals. Researchers concluded that the funds feature clear deposit, withdrawal and investment rules, effective oversight, and other essential attributes of good governance. "Together, the Ghana Stabilization Fund and the Ghana Heritage Fund manage more than US$450 million," said Emmanuel Kuyole, Africa Regional coordinator for Revenue Watch. "Thanks to strong legal provisions, citizens have information on how much is deposited, invested and earned. This transparency is a significant gain. Too much sunshine does not spoil anything." Revenue Watch economic analyst, Andrew Bauer, presented the research in Accra. He said Ghana’s good management of its saved funds demonstrates compliance with the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act. "This must also extend to the act’s requirement […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple