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Statoil splits oil sands with Indonesian partners

Norwegian energy company Statoil said Thursday it paid an Indonesian counterpart $200 million to split up oil sands interests in Alberta, Canada. Statoil and PTT Exploration and Production divided their interests in the Kai Kos Dehseh oil sands project in Alberta. Both sides under the terms of the agreement take full control of individual development projects within the area of interest, with Statoil taking on two and the Indonesian company taking on three areas. "At the closing of this transaction, Statoil paid to PTTEP the sum of $200 million plus a working capital adjustment amount of $219 million," the Norwegian company said in a statement . The Indonesian company joined Statoil at the Kai Kos Dehseh oil sands project in 2010. Statoil’s overall production from Canadian oil sands declined 6.3 percent from 2012 to 15,000 barrels of oil per day. The company attributed the decline to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. Blames Outsiders as Ukraine Rebel Attack Kills 14

Pro-Russian rebels downed a military helicopter in eastern Ukraine, killing a general and 13 troops, as a spokesman for U.S. President Barack Obama blamed “outside” assistance in providing weapons. Insurgents used a shoulder-fired missile to shoot down an Mi-8 transport chopper amid heavy fighting in Slovyansk, 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the Russian border, Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov told Ukraine’s parliament yesterday. “We are concerned that this indicates separatists continue to have access to advanced weaponry and other assistance from the outside,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington . Ukrainian forces used aviation and artillery assets to “destroy” the rebel unit that downed the helicopter, the Interior Ministry ’s National Guard unit said in a statement. The surge in fighting produced a new round of finger-pointing between the U.S. and Russia. Russia demanded that Ukraine halt its “fratricidal war” and withdraw troops from the mainly Russian-speaking region […]

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Statoil: Last Greenpeace activists in custody

Norwegian energy company Statoil said Thursday the Greenpeace activists who boarded a drill ship headed for arctic waters are in custody. More than a dozen demonstrators boarded a rig contracted by Statoil from Transocean that was bound for work in the northern reaches of the Barents Sea. Around half of them surrendered their campaign voluntarily this week and Statoil said the seven activists who remained behind are in the custody of Norwegian police. "Statoil is very pleased that the illegal action on the rig now has ended without anyone being injured," the company said in a statement . The Norwegian company said the rig, Transocean Spitsbergen, is now on its way to the Hoop reserve area in the Barents Sea. Its permit for drilling, however, depends on the Norwegian government’s decision on a Greenpeace complaint. The action from Greenpeace included a campaign against Russian energy company […]

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Kremlin awaits Ukrainian gas decision

An agreement on gas debt between Ukraine and Russian energy company Gazprom may be finalized by the end of the week, a negotiator said Thursday. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak met this week with European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger and Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan to discuss ongoing debt issues. A proposal brokered during this week’s meetings calls on Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz to pay $2 billion by Friday and another $500 million by June 7 to settle its outstanding debts. A source close to the negotiations told Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti a deal is expected before the week’s end. "There will be no official information [about Ukraine’s decision] today," the source said on condition of anonymity. "Possibly, [the announcement will be made] after a meeting on Friday." The state news agency says Naftogaz owes about $4 billion to Gazprom, a figure disputed by […]

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Ukraine Moves Toward Gas Debt Compromise with Russia

By Alexander Kolyandr MOSCOW–Ukraine took a step toward compromise over its huge gas debt to Russia Thursday, approving a measure that would allow the state gas company Nafotgaz to pay off $2 billion to Moscow this week as agreed in a tentative deal mediated by the European Union. Kiev still hasn’t officially confirmed it will make the payment, despite Moscow’s threat to demand prepayment for future supplies starting next week, a move that could lead to a cutoff of shipments. Officials from Ukraine, Russia and the EU are scheduled to meet in Berlin Friday for more talks on a compromise. The Ukrainian government on Thursday formally increased the charter capital of Naftogaz, a technical step necessary to allow the government to transfer the money to the company to make the payment. However, a Naftogaz spokesperson couldn’t immediately comment on whether the payment would be made. Moscow and the EU […]

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Oil Steady Ahead of U.S. Stockpile Report

Crude-oil futures bounced back in Asian trading hours Thursday after dropping overnight, and were steady ahead of a weekly report that is expected to show higher U.S. oil supplies. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at $102.96 a barrel at 0515 GMT, up $0.24 in the Globex electronic session. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.11 to $109.92 a barrel. Data late Wednesday from the American Petroleum Institute showed a 3.5-million-barrel rise in U.S. oil stockpiles for the week ended May 23. The more definitive stockpile data from the U.S. Energy Infomation Administration is due later Thursday and analysts expect inventories to have increased by 100,000 barrels last week. Oil stocks are bloated in the U.S. and China, which together will account for a fourth of the 2.4 million-barrrel-a-day seasonal rise in global refinery runs between May […]

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WTI Trades Near One-Week Low After U.S. Stockpiles Grow

West Texas Intermediate traded near its lowest closing price for a week after the American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude supplies expanded. Brent was steady in London as Russia called for an end to violence in Ukraine. Futures were little changed in New York after paring earlier gains of as much as 0.4 percent. Total U.S. crude inventories expanded by 3.49 million last week, the industry group said. Government data today may show a total gain of 500,000 barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey . Russia called for “emergency” measures to halt violence in eastern Ukraine after separatist militias suffered the heaviest casualties of their insurgency. “The only thing that’s going to drive crude today is inventories,” Michael Hewson , market analyst at CMC Markets Plc, said from London. “You’ve got a pinch point at Cushing, but that doesn’t affect the overall supply for the U.S.” WTI […]

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Natural Gas Closes at Five-Week High on Warm June Forecasts

Natural-gas prices jumped to a five-week high Wednesday after a second day of gains on forecasts for a warm June. Prices for the front-month June contract settled up 11.4 cents, or 2.5%, to $4.619 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The June contract expired Wednesday. The more actively traded July contract settled up 10.4 cents, or 2.3%, to $4.615/mmBtu. Most forecasts, including from the National Weather Service, are showing strong chances for above-normal temperatures for the next two weeks. High temperatures lead to air conditioners switching on, driving more demand for power and gas. That has pushed the market up 4.9% in two days even as traders expect that drillers produced the year’s largest surplus last week. "I’m a little surprised with the" gains, said Gene McGillian, a broker and analyst at Tradition Energy. "The market is really showing its […]

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Analysts See 110 Billion-Cubic-Feet Addition to U.S. Natural Gas Inventories

Analysts and traders expect government data scheduled for release Thursday to show natural gas inventories rose by 18% more than average for this time of year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected to report that storage levels rose by 110 billion cubic feet of gas during the week ended May 23, according to the average forecast of 21 analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The EIA is scheduled to release its storage data for the week on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EDT. For the May 23 week, the median estimate is for an addition of 110 bcf. Estimates range from an increase of 100 bcf to an increase of 115 bcf. The estimate for May 23 is more than the 88 bcf added to storage for the same week last year and the 93 bcf five-year average injection for that week. If […]

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Gas Prices and Global Consumption

Cheap gas makes people use too much of it — that’s the takeaway from a study in this month’s American Economic Review . In “The Economic Cost of Global Fuel Subsidies,” Lucas Davis, a associate professor at Berkeley’s Haas Business School , uses World Bank data  to show that countries with consumer fuel subsides have higher fuel consumption. Crude and refined oil are traded internationally, so their wholesale prices are similar everywhere. What causes such a great variation in price — from $0.08 a gallon in Venezuela to $9.61 in Turkey — are taxes and subsidies. Mr. Davis determined countries’ subsidies by calculating the difference between domestic consumer prices and international spot prices, and factoring in distribution, transport and retail costs. Basically, if what people pay at the pump is less than the cost of the fuel and its related costs, he considers the fuel subsidized. Without […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple