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Rosneft reviews next steps following sanctions

Russian oil company Rosneft said it may have to postpone some projects because of "volatility" associated with economic sanctions. Washington announced another set of tough new sanctions on Russia in coordination with its allies in the European Union. U.S. President Barack Obama said the sanctions would target Russian banks and exports of goods and technology for the Russian energy sector in response to Moscow’s position on crises in Ukraine. "If Russia continues on its current path, the cost on Russia will continue to grow," he said . The pressure comes more than a week after Washington issued sanctions against the financial arm of Russian gas company Gazprom, gas producer Novatek and oil company Rosneft. Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin , himself the target of U.S. sanctions, said the company’s strategy was impeded by sanctions. "We work under different conditions and are ready for volatility linked […]

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Rosneft Moves to Thwart EU Sanctions With Norwegian Rigs

A Norwegian drill rig owner is supplying Russian oil giant OAO Rosneft (ROSN) and Exxon Mobil Corp. with the kind of high technology that will be barred under U.S. and European Union sanctions taking effect as soon as tomorrow. Though the EU said it will deny export licenses for equipment intended for deep-water and arctic oil production, Rosneft’s six rig leases from Seadrill Ltd. (SDRL) ’s North Atlantic Drilling (NADL) unit, signed July 29, appear to thwart sanctions intended to block Russian oil companies from obtaining Western drilling expertise. Seadrill’s unit can proceed with the Rosneft contracts, worth $4.25 billion, because they were signed before the sanctions take effect, said Rune Magnus Lundetrae, Seadrill’s chief financial officer. The drilling contracts show how the latest round of international sanctions may have only minimal impact on Russia ’s oil industry, at least in the short-term. “This is not exactly a full, […]

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Moscow fights back after sanctions; battle rages near Ukraine crash site

Russia fought back on Wednesday over new U.S. and EU sanctions imposed over Ukraine even as G7 leaders warned of further steps, while Ukraine’s government accused pro-Russian rebels of placing land mines near the site of a crashed Malaysian airliner to prevent a proper investigation. Russia announced a ban on most fruit and vegetable imports from Poland and said it could extend it to the entire European Union, a move Warsaw called Kremlin retaliation for new Western sanctions over Ukraine imposed on Russia on Tuesday. Moscow called the new EU and U.S. sanctions "destructive and short-sighted" and said they would lead to higher energy prices in Europe and damage cooperation with the United States on international affairs. The confrontation between Russia and the West entered a new phase this week, with the United States and European Union taking by far the strongest international steps yet against […]

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British shale company to set new bar

British shale gas pioneer Cuadrilla Resources said Wednesday it’s confident it can kick-start a new industry in the country in a safe manner. Cuadrilla in June deposited 21 chapters of environmental studies with the Lancashire County Council associated with plans for up to four shale gas exploration wells in the area. The company produced an 8-minute video with environmental consultant group Arup outlining the information in the documents. Cuadrilla Resources Chief Executive Officer Francis Egan said the industry would start off on the right foot. "We know shale gas exploration can be done safely, securely and in an environmental responsible way, and we will do that," he said in a statement . Protests against Cuadrilla’s early shale efforts in the village of Balcombe last year became unruly. Last week, officials in the area balked on a separate drilling application. Less than a week later, the British […]

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Royal Dutch Shell Profit Jumps

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said second-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year earlier as the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas group benefited from higher production of liquid petroleum and higher prices for certain products. Shell said Thursday that profit for the period came in at $5.15 billion on a current cost-of-supplies basis—a measure similar to profit reported by U.S. oil companies—compared with $2.39 billion in the same period last year. Excluding one-time items, current-cost-of-supplies profit was $6.13 billion, up 33% from $4.60 billion last year. Second-quarter sales were $115.27 billion, up slightly from $114.35 billion a year earlier. "Our financial performance for the second quarter of 2014 was more robust than year-ago levels but I want to see stronger, more competitive results right across […]

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WTI Trades Near Two-Week Low Before Stockpile Data

West Texas Intermediate crude rebounded from the lowest price in two weeks before government data that may signal the strength of fuel consumption in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil user. Brent was steady in London . Futures gained 0.6 percent in New York . U.S. crude inventories probably shrank by 1.25 million barrels to 369.8 million, a Bloomberg News survey showed before Energy Information Administration data today. Supplies dropped by 4.4 million barrels nationwide and by 914,000 at the main storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma , the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group in Washington , was said to have reported yesterday. “The API inventories report yesterday was fairly bullish for the market, after showing a large unexpected decline of 4.4 in crude oil stocks, offering upside momentum to the WTI contract,” Myrto Sokou, senior analyst at Sucden Financial Ltd. in London, said by e-mail. WTI for September […]

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Third Oil Tank on Fire After Shelling Near Libya Airport

Clashes between rival militias near Libya ’s national airport set a third fuel storage tank ablaze as worsening violence in the country prompted the U.S and Germany to evacuate their nationals. A call by the Libyan government for a temporary truce to tackle the fire was ignored, with militias continuing to shell the area where the fire has raged all week. The government has requested international assistance, and said that Italy had offered to help, a claim subsequently denied by the Italian foreign ministry. “However, Italy continues to evaluate all of the options to furnish aid to Libya,” the foreign ministry said in statement today. The two-week long battle outside the airport has damaged the terminal, control tower and planes parked at the facility as a weakened central government battles armed groups including Islamists and separatist militias. Libya, which holds Africa’s largest crude reserves, has been engulfed in violence […]

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Libya Says Italy to Help Fight Depot Blaze

Libya says seven fire-fighting planes are being sent by Italy and the Italian energy giant ENI to douse the inferno at a Tripoli oil depot. Fighting between militias nearby has prompted more residents to flee. Tunisian media said Tuesday that thousands of Libyans had crossed into Tunisia to escape crossfire near Tripoli rival militias that sparked the depot blaze. The fire had spread to a second storage site on Monday. Libya’s interim government said the Italian government and ENI were sending the planes to stem the blaze. It began on Sunday night, when a rocket hit a large fuel container, compounding two weeks of fighting between the rival militias near Tripoli’s main airport. Flights have been suspended. A local air base was used instead on Monday. France, Portugal and the Netherlands became on Tuesday the latest nations to ship out their citizens or close their embassies in Tripoli. Canada, […]

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Fighters overrun Libyan special forces base

A coalition of armed groups has overrun a major Libyan army base held by allies of a renegade general in the eastern city of Benghazi. Special forces troops of the Saiqa brigade, loyal to Khalifa Haftar, abandoned their base in southeast Benghazi on Tuesday after coming under attack, military officials and residents said. "We have withdrawn from the army base after heavy shelling," Saiqa official Fadel al-Hassi told Reuters. The battle killed at least 30 people, according to agency reports. We have withdrawn from the army base after heavy shelling. Saiqa special forces official Fadel al-Hassi. Benghazi has suffered months-long battles between militias and forces allied with Haftar, who launched a campaign aimed at crushing what he calls "terrorists" and "extremists" including Ansar al-Sharia. According to the official Twitter account of Ansar, a group inspired by al-Qaeda and dominant in Benghazi, said it had taken over the base. In the fighting, a jet crashed after Haftar’s […]

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Oil Market Losing Faith in Libya’s Ability to Ramp Crude

Escalating conflicts in Libya are thwarting a revival of oil output from Africa ’s largest crude reserves after a yearlong blockade of eastern ports, just as Societe Generale SA and Barclays Plc predict rising demand. While the government said in early July that traders could buy cargoes again from Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, the biggest blocked ports, neither has shipped anything. In Tripoli, the capital, firefighters are still battling a blaze at a fuel-storage depot caused by clashes between militias that have been struggling for political power in the three years since the ouster and killing of longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi . Brent crude futures have been trading as if supplies would be ample. Near-term contracts are priced at a discount to deliveries later in the year, a pattern known as contango, since July 8, the longest stretch in four years. Societe General and Barclays are among the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple