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Gaza toll soars as Israel 'days' from completing tunnel hunt

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel pressed ahead with its Gaza offensive saying it was days from achieving its core goal of destroying all Islamist guerrilla cross-border attack tunnels, but a soaring Palestinian civilian toll has triggered international alarm. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Wednesday approved continuing the assault launched on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Israel also sent a delegation to Egypt, which has been trying, with Washington’s blessing, to broker a ceasefire. A military source said some 16,000 reservists were being called up at short notice in the coming hours to relieve a similar number who would be stood down. Gaza officials say at least 1,361 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the battered enclave and nearly 7,000 wounded. Fifty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza clashes and more than 400 wounded. Three […]

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Gaza toll soars as Israel ‘days’ from completing tunnel hunt

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel pressed ahead with its Gaza offensive saying it was days from achieving its core goal of destroying all Islamist guerrilla cross-border attack tunnels, but a soaring Palestinian civilian toll has triggered international alarm. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Wednesday approved continuing the assault launched on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists. Israel also sent a delegation to Egypt, which has been trying, with Washington’s blessing, to broker a ceasefire. A military source said some 16,000 reservists were being called up at short notice in the coming hours to relieve a similar number who would be stood down. Gaza officials say at least 1,361 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the battered enclave and nearly 7,000 wounded. Fifty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza clashes and more than 400 wounded. Three […]

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IMF says China's economy to grow 7.5 pct in 2014

China’s economy is expected to grow at about 7.5 percent this year with inflation kept below 3 percent, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday. Despite slower investment and possible deeper adjustment in real estate activity, measures taken by authorities to support growth are "expected to bring it in line with the annual target of around 7.5 percent," the Washington-based institution said in its annual Article IV Consultation Staff Report for China. "Consumption and the labor market are holding up well, and the global recovery is expected to support activity going forward. Inflation is forecast to remain below 3 percent," the report added. Meanwhile, China’s external imbalances have fallen, said the IMF, as the current account surplus declined to 1.9 percent of GDP last year. Executive directors of the Fund agreed that China’s growth prospects are threatened by declining efficiency of investment, a […]

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IMF says China’s economy to grow 7.5 pct in 2014

China’s economy is expected to grow at about 7.5 percent this year with inflation kept below 3 percent, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday. Despite slower investment and possible deeper adjustment in real estate activity, measures taken by authorities to support growth are "expected to bring it in line with the annual target of around 7.5 percent," the Washington-based institution said in its annual Article IV Consultation Staff Report for China. "Consumption and the labor market are holding up well, and the global recovery is expected to support activity going forward. Inflation is forecast to remain below 3 percent," the report added. Meanwhile, China’s external imbalances have fallen, said the IMF, as the current account surplus declined to 1.9 percent of GDP last year. Executive directors of the Fund agreed that China’s growth prospects are threatened by declining efficiency of investment, a […]

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Rosneft, PDVSA sign agreements for offshore projects

OAO Rosneft and Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) have signed a cooperation agreement for offshore projects in the Rio-Caribe and Mejillones blocks, the second stage of the Mariscal Sucre gas project ( OGJ Online, July 3, 2013 ). The companies intend to continue negotiations on key technical requirements and commercial and legal terms for establishment of joint ventures to develop Rio-Caribe and Mejillones. The parties also agreed to set up joint ventures for engineering, construction, and well servicing, and held negotiations on LNG plant construction. The signings took place during a visit to Caracas by Rosneft Pres. Igor Sechin. Rosneft and PDVSA have five joint oil production projects in Venezuela: Carabobo-2 and 4, Junin-6, PetroMonagas, Boqueron, and Petroperija.

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Nigeria Loses N342 Million Daily As Eni Shuts Down Pipeline

Nigeria will be losing about N342.4 million ($2.14 million) daily, as Italian oil firm, Eni, yesterday, shut down its 20,000 barrels per day crude oil pipeline in Nigeria. The shut down, according to the company, is due to sabotage on the pipeline, which had led to the interruption of 4,000 barrels a day it gets from its 20 per cent share in Nigerian Agip Oil Company. Wall Street Journal reported that Eni’s disclosure confirmed information from a local activist, who stated that pipeline had been blown up late Sunday. The activist had previously said Eni’s local operation is in a dispute with former security contractors on the project, a claim Eni spokesman failed to confirm or deny. "Uncertainty coming from places like Libya and Iraq has been offset by the fact. Physical cargoes of oil in the Atlantic Basin, Nigeria for one, remain well supplied," Dominick Chirichella, analyst at […]

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Eni Says Some Oil Production Shut in Nigeria After Sabotage

LONDON—Italian oil giant Eni SpA said on Wednesday it had shut off some crude production following sabotage on a Nigerian pipeline, in a reminder oil- supply disruption risks continue beyond hot spots such as Libya and Iraq. An Eni spokesman said a pipeline it operates in the central part of Nigeria’s Niger Delta had been shut, leading to the interruption of 4,000 barrels a day it gets from its 20% share in Nigerian Agip Oil Co. That implies an overall disruption of 20,000 barrels a day form the affected part of the whole venture. Eni’s disclosure confirmed information from a local activist, who said the pipeline had been blown up late Sunday. The activist has previously said Eni’s local operation is in a dispute with former security contractors on the project. The Eni spokesman didn’t confirm or deny the dispute. Though the disruption is small, it comes at a […]

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Cash-Poor Venezuela Weighs Sale of Citgo

Venezuela, strapped for cash at home and staring down costly litigation overseas, is considering a deal for its U.S.-based refinery company Citgo Petroleum Corp. as well as a stake in a refinery run with Exxon Mobil Corp. , according to a Citgo document and people familiar with the matter. People close to Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PdVSA, say the state-run oil giant is in the early stages of considering a deal for Houston-based Citgo, which operates three refineries. It is separately shopping its 50% stake in the Chalmette refinery in Louisiana, a process that is further advanced, they said. A July 15 bond prospectus for Citgo states that PdVSA "is currently seeking to monetize its ownership interest in us." A spokesman for PdVSA said he had no information on any potential asset sales. Exxon also declined to comment. PdVSA, the principal source of hard currency in Venezuela, is […]

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U.S. Oil Imports May Fall as Gulf Prices Drop Below Brent

U.S. crude imports may drop from last week’s two-month high as prices on the Gulf Coast , home to 51 percent of refining capacity, slipped below Brent. Imports climbed 337,000 barrels a day in the week ended July 25, the Energy Information Administration reported today. Light Louisiana Sweet crude on the Gulf traded below Brent, benchmark for half of global oil trade, for a fourth day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. LLS surged $4.52 a barrel above Brent on July 23, the biggest premium in one year, as strong refinery demand depleted crude inventories in the Gulf region. For the past year, the grade averaged $4.26 cheaper than Brent. Refineries slowed their operation last week amid rising fuel inventories. “This is a short-term reaction,” said James Williams , an economist at WTRG Economics, an energy research firm in London , Arkansas . “But it’s not going to hold. […]

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Hess plans IPO to fund Bakken plans

Hess Corp. said Wednesday it would use a new corporate structure to support its growth objectives in the Bakken oil reserve area of North Dakota. The company said it would form a master limited partnership that would make an initial public offering in the first quarter of 2015. "Hess intends to use the master limited partnership as the primary midstream vehicle to support its Bakken production growth," the company said in a statement . Hess in January said it plans to spend $2.85 billion of the $5.8 billion budgeted this year for exploration and production on exploiting shale reserves, mostly in North Dakota. The company said the master limited partnership would work largely toward development of a natural gas processing plant and rail terminals in North Dakota. Oil production from the Bakken and Three Forks area of North Dakota topped the 1 million barrel per day mark for the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple