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Iraqi Army comes under attack in Haditha

The Islamic State’s Anbar Division released a series of photos that purport to document the overrunning of Iraqi Army bases in the city of Haditha. Nineteen photographs captioned with "Charging at a number of barracks of the Savafid army in the city of Haditha" were released yesterday on the jihadist group’s Twitter feed. At least one military outpost appears to have been overrun in the attack. The exact location of the base was not disclosed. The photographs show a convoy of Islamic State technicals, or pickup trucks with machine guns mounted in the beds, advancing through the desert, stopping, and taking up position to fire on the outpost. The Islamic State deployed at least one mortar team during the attack. At one point, a squad of Islamic State fighters is photographed entering the base. The Iraqi combat outpost appears to have been manned by troops. The bodies of several […]

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Libya's Largest Oil Field to Make First Export

The first export from Libya’s largest oil field Sharara is due later Monday but production has fallen since last week , an official said. The expected shipment is the first tangible sign that a recent recovery in the country’s troubled oil industry could translate into extra supplies to global markets. Eni’s West Libyan Gas Project, Wafa oil field in Libya-the French firm also owns a share of the Sharara oil field that is due to make its first export on Monday 21 July. European Pressphoto Agency The reopening of two key Eastern terminals and of the Sharara field have been overshadowed by the pullout of oil expatriates following escalating violence in Tripoli’s airport . But a spokesman for Libya’s state-run National Oil Co. said that "shipment will start today" for Sharara’s oil. The field, located in Western Libya, resumed production 12 days ago but its initial supply was used […]

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Libya’s Largest Oil Field to Make First Export

The first export from Libya’s largest oil field Sharara is due later Monday but production has fallen since last week , an official said. The expected shipment is the first tangible sign that a recent recovery in the country’s troubled oil industry could translate into extra supplies to global markets. Eni’s West Libyan Gas Project, Wafa oil field in Libya-the French firm also owns a share of the Sharara oil field that is due to make its first export on Monday 21 July. European Pressphoto Agency The reopening of two key Eastern terminals and of the Sharara field have been overshadowed by the pullout of oil expatriates following escalating violence in Tripoli’s airport . But a spokesman for Libya’s state-run National Oil Co. said that "shipment will start today" for Sharara’s oil. The field, located in Western Libya, resumed production 12 days ago but its initial supply was used […]

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Clashes between rival militias in Libya kill 47

Clashes between rival Libyan militias fighting for control of the international airport in the capital, Tripoli, have killed 47 people over the past 24 hours, Libya’s Health Ministry said. The ministry said on its website late Sunday that the fighting also left 120 people wounded. It also said it had not yet received the full casualty report. The weeklong battle over the airport is being waged by a powerful militia from the western city of Zintan, which controls the facility, and Islamist-led militias, including fighters from Misrata, east of Tripoli. The clashes resumed Sunday after cease-fire efforts failed. Television footage broadcast Sunday showed a mortar shell striking a Libyan Arab Airlines plane and a column of black smoke billowing from inside the airport, which has been closed since last Monday. Libya is witnessing one of its worst spasms of violence since the ouster of longtime dictator […]

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Can Libya remain united?

Libya is evidently disintegrating as the daily escalation of violence is aimlessly continuing and it seems that there is no hope insight for a ceasefire of some sort. The situation is getting progressively from bad to worse, by the hour, as Libya is quickly heading back almost to the time of pre-unification of the country in the middle of the previous century. Many observers are rushing to history books to inquisitively review that part of Libya’s past in an attempt to understand what is currently happening in the country and in which direction is it going. One day in late 1991, my brother-in-law, the late Mansour Rashid Al Kikhya, first foreign minister of Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya, briefed me about that period of his country’s history, which he and a few hundred other young Libyans had aspired to build. They had in their sight the task of rebuilding a modern […]

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Libya truce shattered by fresh fighting

Fighting between powerful militias battling for control of Tripoli’s airport broke out again Friday, just hours after they had agreed a truce, an airport official and witnesses said. The clashes came a day after the government sought the United Nations’ help to prevent the country from becoming a “failed state.” “The airport was once again today hit by mortar fire which struck the security offices,” but caused no casualties, airport security official al-Jilani al-Dahech told AFP. Airport security forces returned fire, he said without giving further details. Libya’s main international airport has been closed since Sunday, with rockets causing damage to aircraft and the main terminal building amid warnings by officials that the facility could remain closed for months. The violence erupted when Islamist gunmen from the city of Misrata attacked anti-Islamist fighters from the city of Zintan who have been controlling the airport for the past […]

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Gunmen kill 21 Egyptian military border guards near Libya

Gunmen killed 21 Egyptian military border guards near the frontier with Libya on Saturday, highlighting a growing threat from an area that security officials say has become a haven for militants seeking to topple the Cairo government. Security officials said the assailants were smugglers. But an army spokesman said on his Facebook page that "terrorists" – the term authorities use to describe Islamist militants – were behind the attack. He said a weapons storage facility was blown up by a rocket-propelled grenade in an exchange of fire, killing the soldiers and wounding four others. The attack took place in Wadi al-Gadid governorate, which borders both Sudan and Libya. Two smugglers were killed in clashes with the guards, security officials said. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has repeatedly expressed concerns about militants who have capitalized on the chaos in Libya and set up operations along the border. […]

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Toll Climbs in Fight for Syrian Gas Field

More than 100 people were killed in two days in a continuing fight between government forces and militants for control of a gas-production facility east of Homs, according to opposition activists and media outlets aligned with the regime. Among the casualties as of Sunday evening were at least 65 members of the regime’s forces, according to Syrian opposition activists, while the rest were fighters from the extremist group Islamic State. The fighting erupted after gunmen from Islamic State mounted an attack late Wednesday on the Al-Shaer gas field and production facility, located in the desert about 150 miles northeast of the capital Damascus. Over 270 guards, workers and members of a pro-regime paramilitary group known as the National Defense Force were killed in the initial attack […]

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Armed bandits demand water in dry northern India

Armed bandits are threatening villagers with death unless they deliver 35 buckets of water each day in northern India, where water is scarce thanks to an ongoing drought and a poor supply. So far, 28 villages have been obeying the order, taking turns to deliver what the bandits are calling a daily "water tax," police said. "Water itself is very scarce in this region. Villagers can hardly meet their demand," officer Suresh Kumar Singh said by telephone from Banda, a city on the southern border of central Uttar Pradesh state and caught within what is known in India as bandit country. Though the number of bandits has declined drastically in recent decades, India’s bandit tradition, which began more than 800 years ago when emperors still ruled, has continued in the hard-to-reach forests and mountains of the Bundelkhand region. The area is cut off from supply […]

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China Boosts June Net Diesel Exports to Highest in Four Years

China raised its net diesel exports to the highest level in four years as domestic demand trailed output growth amid a slowing economy. Overseas sales of the fuel in the world’s largest energy consumer exceeded imports by about 440,200 metric tons in June, according to data e-mailed by the General Administration of Customs in Beijing today. That’s the highest since May 2010. “China is expected to export 300,000 to 400,000 tons of diesel a month regularly as domestic production grows faster than demand,” Chen Li, an analyst with ICIS-C1 Energy, said by phone from Guangzhou. China’s diesel demand is estimated to grow 0.3 percent to 1 percent this year, while output will expand about 1 percent, the Shanghai-based consultant said last month. The nation may export a record 3 million tons of the fuel this year, exceeding the previous high of 2.87 million tons in 2010, ICIS-C1 said. China […]

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Fukushima: Bad and Getting Worse

Fukushima: Bad and Getting Worse Fukushima’s radiation disaster is “far from over” There is broad disagreement over the amounts and effects of radiation exposure due to the triple reactor meltdowns after the 2011 Great East-Japan Earthquake and tsunami. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) joined the controversy June 4, with a 27-page “Critical Analysis of the UNSCEAR Report ‘Levels and effects of radiation exposures due to the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East-Japan Earthquake and tsunami.’” IPPNW is the Nobel Peace Prize winning global federation of doctors working for “a healthier, safer and more peaceful world.” The group has adopted a highly critical view of nuclear power because as it says, “A world without nuclear weapons will only be possible if we also phase out nuclear energy.” UNSCEAR , the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, published its deeply flawed […]

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West Raises Pressure on Russia in Downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

The U.S. accused Russia of hiding evidence after the downing of Flight 17 and cited video posted on social media. An image from footage released by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry purports to show a truck carrying a missile system out of Ukraine toward Russia. Associated Press The U.S. leveled its most-explicit allegations yet of Russia’s involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and subsequent efforts to conceal evidence, and European leaders threatened broad new sanctions against Moscow, marking a turning point in the standoff between the West and the Kremlin. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday warned Russian President Vladimir Putin "for the last time" to accede to Western demands to disarm pro-Russian separatists and stabilize Ukraine. (Follow the latest updates on the Malaysia Airlines crash in Ukraine.) Officials in Europe, meanwhile, departed from their initially muted reaction as anger grew across the continent over the […]

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Collapse is Inevitable

There has been considerable discussion lately as to whether or not total collapse of the world’t economies will happen in the relatively near future. I think that is the wrong question. Let me explain. Ecological collapse of the world’s ecosystem is a lead pipe cinch. It is already well underway and instead of slowing down, it is gaining momentum fast. Here are just a few examples from recent news. ‘Peak soil’ threatens future global food security “Under business as usual, the current soils that are in agricultural production will yield about 30 percent less than they would do otherwise by around 2050.” Surging food consumption has led to more intensive production, overgrazing and deforestation, all of which can strip soil of vital nutrients and beneficial micro-organisms, reduce its ability to hold water and make it more vulnerable to erosion. Such factors, exacerbated by climate change, can ultimately lead to […]

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Oil Futures Ease Back as Geopolitical Fears Fade

Oil futures inched lower Friday as markets calmed and traders awaited new developments from Ukraine and the Middle East. Light sweet crude futures for August delivery slid 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $103.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Brent September contract lost 65 cents, or 0.6%, to $107.24 a barrel, on the ICE futures exchange. News that a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet may have been shot down by Russian-backed separatists, according to statements made by the White House Friday , has raised concerns that the U.S. may expand the round of sanctions it announced earlier in the week, with European countries following suit. The sanctions so far have targeted large Russian energy firms like Rosneft and Gazprom without cutting them off from world markets completely, but harsher conditions may be imposed if the investigation finds Russia at fault. "There’s growing outrage against Russia, particularly in […]

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Crude Posts First Weekly Gain in a Month on Ukraine

West Texas Intermediate crude capped its first weekly gain in a month after a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was downed in Ukraine and Israel sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip. WTI has climbed 3.2 percent since July 15, when it dropped below $100 for the first time in two months. The Boeing Co. 777 crashed in the main battleground of Ukraine’s civil war, threatening to escalate the worst crisis between the West and Russia since the end of the Cold War. Israel’s movement of troops and tanks into Gaza marks the first significant ground operation in the coastal enclave since 2009. “The geopolitical threat was discounted too quickly and has rapidly been priced back in,” John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy, said by phone. “The events in eastern Ukraine and in the Middle East are a reminder […]

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Natural-Gas Prices Fall to Seven-Month Low

Natural gas fell to a seven-month low. Bloomberg News Natural-gas prices tumbled to a seven-month low on Thursday, falling below $4 a million British thermal units, after a government report showed U.S. stockpiles last week increased at an above-average pace. A mild summer in the nation’s biggest gas-consuming regions has eased concerns about supplies. Worries flared up last winter, when extremely low temperatures translated into record demand for the heating fuel. This summer, unseasonably cool weather across swaths of the U.S. has damped the use of power-thirsty air conditioners, limiting the use of natural gas in generating electricity. "This is significant and extraordinary weather in that it’s so cold," said Teri Viswanath, a natural-gas strategist at BNP Paribas SA in New York. "This summer is largely being written off." Prices for the front-month August contract settled down 16.5 cents, or 4%, to $3.954 […]

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OPEC Says Oil Production, Market Share Fell in 2013

OPEC said Friday its crude production and market share fell last year as a boom in U.S. shale dents demand for its oil. In an annual statistical report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said its collective crude production was down 2.5% during 2013 on an annual basis. OPEC’s share of total global production in 2013 averaged 43.4%, down from the 44.6% in 2012, it said. Global oil production and demand rose last year but was largely captured by OPEC’s rivals, notably a rise in nonconventional U.S. production. The group said in early July demand for its oil will continue to decline next year, when it is likely to fall by 300,000 barrels a day. In the report, OPEC also said its members’ petroleum export revenue fell to $1.112 trillion in 2013 from $1.208 trillion the previous year. Among the most significant increases in reserves, Iraq’s crude oil […]

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Iran shuts border to oil tankers from Kurdistan

Iran shuts border to oil tankers from Kurdistan Iranian authorities have shut the border to tanker trucks from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, cutting off a major avenue for oil sales.The ban, put in force on July 10, may complicate the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) efforts to achieve economic independence, and also represents a setback for producing companies that need to sell their oil. At times, Iran had been providing a route to market for more than a quarter of the region’s oil production.The ban covers all trucks ca… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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Iran nuclear talks given four month extension

Iran and six world powers have agreed to a four-month extension of negotiations on a nuclear deal with Tehran after failing to meet a July 20 deadline due to "significant gaps" between the two sides, the European Union and Iran said on Saturday. "There are still significant gaps on some core issues which will require more time and effort," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a joint statement, the Reuters news agency reported. Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China had set a July 20 deadline to complete a long-term agreement that would resolve the decade-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. But diplomats said they were unable to overcome significant differences on major sticking points. "We will reconvene in the coming weeks in different formats with the clear determination to reach agreement on a Joint Comprehensive Plan […]

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Sanctions Nearly Halve Iran Oil Export Revenue in Two Years, OPEC Says

LONDON—Sanctions have nearly halved Iran’s petroleum export revenue in the past two years, OPEC data showed Friday, as the impact of international restrictions on its oil deepens. Iran has been locked in talks with six world powers to reach a final understanding over its controversial nuclear program. But despite the signature of an interim deal in November, the two sides have failed to make significant headway, leaving Iran’s economy in tatters. In its annual statistical report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said revenue generated by Iranian petroleum exports fell to $61.92 billion in 2013, down 46% from $114.75 billion in 2011. International sanctions banning sales of Iranian oil to the European Union and limiting them in Asia cut the country’s petroleum exports by 42% in 2013 compared with the previous year. Though oil sales had already fallen in 2012, the drop in volumes had been largely compensated […]

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U.S. 'comfortable' with Iran's oil exports

The U.S. federal government is "comfortable" with the amount of crude oil exported from Iran, a spokeswoman for the State Department said. Iran secured consent to export around 1 million barrels of oil per day as part of a November agreement to curb its nuclear activity. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Iran has been operating according to the terms of agreement. "We feel comfortable that the crude oil exports of Iran are remaining in the million to 1.1 million barrel a day average," she said during her regular press briefing Thursday. Iran this week brushed off reports from the International Energy Agency saying its crude oil exports were in decline. IEA in its latest monthly market report suggested Iranian crude oil exports were down considerably. Psaki said Iran isn’t skirting its international obligations, though Washington is monitoring the situation closely. "The secretary [of state] […]

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U.S. ‘comfortable’ with Iran’s oil exports

The U.S. federal government is "comfortable" with the amount of crude oil exported from Iran, a spokeswoman for the State Department said. Iran secured consent to export around 1 million barrels of oil per day as part of a November agreement to curb its nuclear activity. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Iran has been operating according to the terms of agreement. "We feel comfortable that the crude oil exports of Iran are remaining in the million to 1.1 million barrel a day average," she said during her regular press briefing Thursday. Iran this week brushed off reports from the International Energy Agency saying its crude oil exports were in decline. IEA in its latest monthly market report suggested Iranian crude oil exports were down considerably. Psaki said Iran isn’t skirting its international obligations, though Washington is monitoring the situation closely. "The secretary [of state] […]

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Islamic state killed 270 during Syrian gas field takeover: monitor

Militant group Islamic State killed 270 soldiers, guards and staff when they captured a Syrian gas field on Thursday in the bloodiest clashes between the al Qaeda offshoot and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, a monitoring group said on Saturday. The anti-Assad Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Thursday that 90 people had been killed and that many were missing after the attack against the Sha’ar gas field east of Homs in central Syria. The Observatory, which monitors violence in Syria through a network of sources in the country on both sides, quoted "trusted sources" as saying on Saturday that the Islamic State had "killed and executed" 270 people during the assault. It said at least 40 Islamic State fighters were killed in the offensive. Islamic State has made rapid gains in Syria, mostly by seizing territory from rival rebel groups, using weaponry brought in from […]

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ISIS Forces Last Iraqi Christians to Flee Mosul

BAGHDAD — By 1 p.m. on Friday almost every Christian in Mosul had heard the Sunni militants’ message — they had until noon Saturday to leave the city. Men, women and children piled into neighbors’ cars, some begged for rides to the city limits and hoped to get taxis to the nearest Christian villages. They took nothing more than the clothes on their backs, according to several who were reached late Friday. The order from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria came after Christians decided not to attend a meeting that ISIS had arranged for Thursday night to discuss their status. “We were so afraid to go,” said Duraid Hikmat, an expert on minorities who had done research for years in Mosul. He fled two weeks ago to Al Qosh, a largely Christian town barely an hour away, but his extended family left on Friday. Since 2003, when […]

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Saudi Crude Exports Fell to Lowest Since 2011

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, shipped the least crude in almost three years in May as domestic refineries processed record amounts and power plants also increased consumption, official data showed. The nation exported 6.99 million barrels a day in May, down from 7.45 million barrels a month earlier, according to data Saudi Arabia submits to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative in Riyadh. The shipments were the smallest since September 2011. Crude production rose to 9.71 million barrels a day from 9.66 million in April. Saudi Arabian refiners processed 2.14 million barrels a day of crude in May, the highest since at least January 2002, the year when JODI started collecting data from member governments. Crude processing in May went up from 1.85 million barrels a day in April, the data showed. “The record refining volume shows that Saudi Arabia is fulfilling its plans to become a major […]

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Israel warns of widening ground war in Gaza

Israel intensified its 11-day campaign against Hamas by sending in tanks and troops late Thursday after becoming increasingly exasperated with unrelenting rocket fire from Gaza on its cities, especially following Hamas’ rejection of an Egyptian cease-fire plan earlier in the week.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel was preparing for a possible widening of its ground war in the Gaza Strip, a day after its troops crossed into the territory and the death toll from the 11-day-old operation, including that of the first Israeli soldier, rose. Israel called up 18,000 reserve troops overnight as it began what it described as a targeted operation to wipe out tunnels from which Hamas and other militant groups operate, a gambit Mr Netanyahu said might be broadened into a bigger ground war. More On […]

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A Push Into Gaza, but the Ground Has Shifted

As Israeli troops once again operated inside the Gaza Strip on Friday, the risks of a deep entanglement, a failure to curb the rocket fire, and the condemnation of civilian casualties were all too apparent. Twice before, Israel has battled Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that dominates Gaza, and twice before, Israel has halted under international pressure without eliminating the threat of rocket fire. But this time, officials and analysts say, the landscape is different. Israel has publicly framed a clear agenda targeting tunnels it says militants built to store weapons or stage attacks on its territory. This time, a weakened Hamas cannot turn to Egypt for respite. This time, Western leaders appear more patient: President Obama expressed concern Friday about “the loss of more innocent life” but also said no nation should be subjected to a hail of rockets or underground incursions. The start of the […]

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Opening of Mexican Energy Sector Takes Step Forward

Mexico’s Senate voted Friday to give Mexican companies a greater role in energy projects under the landmark opening of the country’s oil and gas sectors, tightening the national content rules that President Enrique Peña Nieto had proposed and partly satisfying demands of local industry groups and ruling party members. The Senate set a bar of 25% mandatory Mexican content in each new energy project starting from 2015, progressively increasing that to at least 35% by 2025. President Enrique Peña Nieto’s energy proposal sent to Congress in April required at least 25% by 2025. The new national content rules decided by the Senate, which are widely expected to be ratified by the lower house, are still more attractive for private companies than other major oil producers in the region such as Brazil, and critically exclude deep-water projects, analysts said. The rules for deep waters will be set later by […]

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Asia-Pacific taking on most OPEC crude

Asia-Pacific economies took on more crude oil from OPEC in 2013 than any other region in the world, the organization said in an annual report published Friday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Asia-Pacific economies imported an average 14.3 million barrels of OPEC crude oil per day in 2013, or 59.3 percent of the oil exported by member states. Asian economies are growing at a faster rate than other major markets. OPEC said in its 97-page annual report oil demand rose most notably in China, Thailand and Indonesia. Europe, which is still struggling to emerge from recession, took an average 4.1 million bpd of OPEC crude last year, or 17.2 percent of its output, while North American imported an average 3.9 million bpd, or 16.3 percent of OPEC’s crude. Oil production from North America, the United States in particular, has increased to the point that markets there are […]

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India's Oil and Gas Jewel Needs Polish

Bloomberg News India’s government calls Oil & Natural Gas Corp. one of its "nine jewels," sparkling state-owned assets with brilliant potential. New Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to sell part of these family jewels before he does anything to help realize that potential. The government, which owns more than two-thirds of ONGC, may float 5% of the shares sometime after October, according to officials this week. Last week’s Indian budget has aggressive targets for revenue, including for selling stakes in state firms that, in theory, investors would love to get a hold of. India’s largest energy producer by output is such a company, boasting low costs and low debt. Yet this crown jewel needs polish due to the country’s oil and gas subsidy programs, which saddles ONGC with huge costs. The […]

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India’s Oil and Gas Jewel Needs Polish

Bloomberg News India’s government calls Oil & Natural Gas Corp. one of its "nine jewels," sparkling state-owned assets with brilliant potential. New Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to sell part of these family jewels before he does anything to help realize that potential. The government, which owns more than two-thirds of ONGC, may float 5% of the shares sometime after October, according to officials this week. Last week’s Indian budget has aggressive targets for revenue, including for selling stakes in state firms that, in theory, investors would love to get a hold of. India’s largest energy producer by output is such a company, boasting low costs and low debt. Yet this crown jewel needs polish due to the country’s oil and gas subsidy programs, which saddles ONGC with huge costs. The […]

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Obama Moves Closer to Seismic Testing for Oil in Atlantic

The Obama administration took a step toward allowing oil and gas drilling off seven Atlantic Coast states for the first time in decades, establishing guidelines for seismic testing that would gauge offshore reserves. The decision today doesn’t authorize the tests, done by ships towing guns that blast high intensity sound waves into the water. The Interior Department will consider applications for testing in light of safety standards to mitigate risks to ocean life, the head of the agency’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said. Environmental groups criticized the action, saying tests would pose serious risks to species including sea turtles and the right whale and could lead to drilling in a region that has been off-limits to oil exploration since the early 1980s. “Not only is seismic exploration a gateway drug to offshore drilling, it is a major assault on our ocean itself, with far-reaching impacts on marine mammals […]

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U.S. gets low energy-efficiency marks

The United States ranked 13th, ten spots behind the entire European Union, in terms of energy efficiency, a Washington policy center reported. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked the United States 13th out of 16 major economies it reviewed on energy efficiency indices. The European Union as a whole ranked No. 3, with Germany taking the top spot. "The United States, long considered an innovative and competitive world leader, has allowed other nations to surpass it," the report said. The 16 economies rated by ACEEE make up 81 percent of the global gross domestic product and more than 70 percent of the global electricity consumption. Countries were ranked on 31 different metrics. Out of 100 possible points, Germany led with 65 points based in part on efficiency in its industrial sector. It was a three-way tie between France, Italy and the European Union as a whole for […]

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EDF signs U.S. LNG sales and purchase deal

French energy company EDF agreed to buy liquefied natural gas from an export facility being developed in Texas, Cheniere Energy announced. Cheniere’s subsidiary, Corpus Christi Liquefaction, said it entered into a sale and purchase agreement with the French energy company. EDF under the terms of the agreement agreed to purchase 380,000 tons of liquefied natural gas from the second phase, or train, of the LNG export facility under development in Corpus Christi. Another 770,000 tons of LNG would come from Train 3 once it’s developed. The export terminal in Corpus Christi would have three trains with a net production capacity of 13.6 million tons of LNG per year. "EDF is the first foundation customer on Train 3 of our Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project being developed in Texas," Chairman Charif Souki said in a statement Thursday. The terms of the EDF agreement extend for 20 years and deliveries are expected […]

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Did the US Commerce condensate export rulings mean nothing?

Two US Commerce Department rulings giving a pair of Eagle Ford players legal backing to export processed condensate have been viewed as a dramatic loosening of America’s 40-year ban on crude exports, or at least a sign that long-awaited export policy changes were near. But what if these private letter rulings really only impact the companies that received them and nothing more? Is it possible that the much ballyhooed Commerce decisions permitting Enterprise Product Partners and Pioneer Natural Resources to export processed lease condensate will mean relatively nothing in the overall export debate? According the lawyer for Enterprise, the effect of these decisions has been vastly overstated. The rulings impact a very specific type of condensate, processed through very specific facilities, and really nothing more. And the idea that these rulings could open the door to the export of hundreds of thousands of barrels of very lightly processed crude […]

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Schlumberger sees 'strong' upstream activity in second-half 2014: CEO

Oil services provider Schlumberger sees a "strong" outlook for upstream activity in the second half of 2014, with its international businesses expanding in all geographic markets and North America offering growth opportunities, particularly in onshore shale plays, its CEO said Friday. As the global economy continues to recover, the global oil market is relatively tight, although solid demand has been offset in part by pockets of supply uncertainty due to political events in parts of the world, Paal Kibsgaard said during a second-quarter earnings call. But in general, Brent crude that is holding above $100/barrel should encourage investment in oil-directed activity as US production continues to grow, Kibsgaard said. In 2014, "we continue to expect well-related E&P investment levels to grow north of 6%, driven by more development than production-focused activities," he said. Meanwhile, "exploration spending will be largely flattish in 2014 driven by lower seismic spending as international […]

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Schlumberger sees ‘strong’ upstream activity in second-half 2014: CEO

Oil services provider Schlumberger sees a "strong" outlook for upstream activity in the second half of 2014, with its international businesses expanding in all geographic markets and North America offering growth opportunities, particularly in onshore shale plays, its CEO said Friday. As the global economy continues to recover, the global oil market is relatively tight, although solid demand has been offset in part by pockets of supply uncertainty due to political events in parts of the world, Paal Kibsgaard said during a second-quarter earnings call. But in general, Brent crude that is holding above $100/barrel should encourage investment in oil-directed activity as US production continues to grow, Kibsgaard said. In 2014, "we continue to expect well-related E&P investment levels to grow north of 6%, driven by more development than production-focused activities," he said. Meanwhile, "exploration spending will be largely flattish in 2014 driven by lower seismic spending as international […]

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California reopens two injection wells; nine remain shut

California regulators Friday authorized the reopening of two injection wells, out of 11 ordered temporarily shut two weeks ago on fears of potential pollution to underground water sources. Earlier this month, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources issued orders to seven oil production companies to immediately shut 11 wastewater disposal wells to avoid potential harm to aquifers in Kern County. There are more than 1,500 such wells in California. In a statement Friday, DOGGR said "since the initial orders were issued, two of the 11 wells have been authorized to resume operations following division review." The agency did not identify the wells that had been ordered shut in, or those that were authorized to reopen. Article continues below… Gas Daily Gas Daily offers the most detailed coverage of natural gas prices at interstate and intrastate pipeline and pooling points in major U.S. markets. Gas Daily keeps you […]

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Baker Hughes: US drilling rig count decreases to 1,871

The US drilling rig count dropped 4 units to settle at 1,871 rigs working during the week ended July 18, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. All four of those units were land rigs, which relinquished 5 overall to 1,796. Offshore rigs edged up a unit to 57. Rigs drilling in inland waters were unmoved from last week at 18. Gas rigs rose 4 units to 315, cutting into a 9-unit fall in oil rigs to 1,554. Rigs considered unclassified edged up a unit to 2. Horizontal drilling rigs jumped 23 units to 1,288 while directional drilling rigs relinquished 5 units to 217. Canada’s rig count leaped 66 units to 381, a 57-unit gain from this week a year ago. A vast majority of those rigs targeted oil, which jumped 48 units to 226. Gas rigs increased 18 units to 155. Major states, basins North Dakota and Louisiana each gained […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Baker Hughes Says New Technology To Lift N. American Results

Baker Hughes Inc, the world’s third-largest oilfield services company, said it expects strong growth in North America as oil and gas producers turn to its new technologies to reduce drilling time and cut costs. The company, whose services include seismic surveys that determine where oil lies under the earth’s surface and hydraulic fracturing of wells, launched 47 new products and services in the second quarter. "In North America, the trend of customers spending incremental op-ex towards production-related technologies is unfolding as we expected," Chief Executive Martin Craighead said on a post-earnings call. "We predict strong growth in this area for the foreseeable future." Technologies developed in the last year or two contribute between 35-50 percent to the company’s revenue, Craighead said. Oil and gas companies, under increasing pressure from shareholders, are looking to increase production at lower cost, prompting oilfield service providers to […]

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Russia's Rosneft to court Eastern investors

Russian oil producer Rosneft will be among the key participants in an international investment conference in the Far East, state media said Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin and special envoy to the Far East Yuri Trutnev said last month they expected the region would attract as much as $65 billion in new investments. Russian interests have pivoted to the East, where Asian market improvements translates to greater demand from the energy products supporting the Russian economy. The region’s government said it’s hosting an investment conference to strengthen ties to Asian economic powers like China. Delegates from Rosneft, the largest oil producer in Russia, are in attendance, state news agency RIA Novosti reported . Island nations in the Asia-Pacific like Japan import nearly all of their oil and natural gas. Rosneft President Igor Sechin said last year the Far East is "one of the key regions" for new business operations. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia’s Rosneft to court Eastern investors

Russian oil producer Rosneft will be among the key participants in an international investment conference in the Far East, state media said Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin and special envoy to the Far East Yuri Trutnev said last month they expected the region would attract as much as $65 billion in new investments. Russian interests have pivoted to the East, where Asian market improvements translates to greater demand from the energy products supporting the Russian economy. The region’s government said it’s hosting an investment conference to strengthen ties to Asian economic powers like China. Delegates from Rosneft, the largest oil producer in Russia, are in attendance, state news agency RIA Novosti reported . Island nations in the Asia-Pacific like Japan import nearly all of their oil and natural gas. Rosneft President Igor Sechin said last year the Far East is "one of the key regions" for new business operations. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Set for First Weekly Gain in Four on Ukraine, Gaza

West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude headed for the first weekly gain in a month after a Malaysian Air passenger jet was downed in Ukraine and Israel sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip. WTI futures rose as much as 0.7 percent in New York, extending a 2 percent increase yesterday that was the biggest gain since June 12. The Boeing Co. 777 crashed en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam in the main battleground of Ukraine’s civil war, threatening to escalate the worst crisis between the West and Russia since the end of the Cold War. Israel’s movement of troops and tanks into the coastal enclave marks the first significant ground operation in Gaza since 2009. “Rising prices yesterday and today reflect the political situations in Gaza and Ukraine, and of course there’s potential to go higher,” said Gerrit Zambo, an oil trader at Bayerische Landesbank in Munich, […]

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NYMEX August gas futures fall below $4/MMBtu on bearish storage data

NYMEX August natural gas futures fell below $4/MMBtu early Thursday in intra-day trading for the first time since early January as storage data came in strongly above analyst estimates. As of 10:54 am EDT (1454 GMT), the contract traded at $3.970/MMBtu, down 14.9 cents from Wednesday’s close. The US Energy Information Administration reported an injection of 107 Bcf. Analysts had estimated an injection in the range of 95 to 99 Bcf. The number was also well above the 62 Bcf build last year and the 65 Bcf five-year average, as mild-temperatures depressed cooling demand. Working gas in storage was 2.129 Tcf as of July 11, according to EIA estimates. Stocks were 608 Bcf less than last year at this time and 727 Bcf below the five-year average of 2.856 Tcf. The storage data pushed the contract well below the $4/MMBtu mark, which has held since January 10 as the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Prices Rise on News of Plane Crash in Ukraine

Oil prices jumped on news that a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane went down in eastern Ukraine , as traders worried the crash could become a potential flash point that presented another threat to global crude supplies. Israel’s decision to send ground troops into the Gaza Strip also lent support to prices, which in recent weeks have been bolstered by flare-ups in the Middle East, the world’s biggest oil-producing region. U.S. oil futures closed $1.99, or 2%, higher at $103.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That’s the largest one-day dollar and percentage gain since June 12, when Islamists launched an uprising in Iraq. Prices continued to climb after the close of the regular trading session, recently hitting an intraday high of $103.61. Oil prices are at their highest in more than a week. Some traders said they were inundated with buy orders as news of the plane […]

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Natural-Gas Prices Drop on Greater-than-Expected Surplus

Natural-gas futures tumbled to a seven-month low Thursday, dropping below $4 a million British thermal units for the first time since December, following a government report showing greater-than-expected U.S. supplies. Producers added 107 billion cubic feet of gas to storage for the week ended July 11, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The addition was eight bcf larger than what analysts and traders had expected, and 42 bcf larger than the five-year-average addition for that week of the year. Natural gas for August delivery recently dropped by 15 cents, or 3.6%, to $3.969 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The selling is adding to a month of losses. Steady surpluses have convinced money managers to sell out, with prices now down 16.7% since June 12. Traders use the EIA update to gauge how quickly stockpiles are recovering from high demand […]

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Libya rebels attack Tripoli's main airport

Several shells have hit the terminal of Libya’s main airport as rival armed groups fought in Tripoli for a fifth straight day, and gunmen assassinated a female politician in the country’s east. In another sign of growing turmoil, air controllers on Thursday halted work in Tripoli, shutting off much of the oil-producing country from international traffic. Tripoli International Airport has been a battlefield since fighters attacked it with heavy guns on Sunday to wrest control from a rival militia which has been based there since the fall of Libya’s late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The conflict is fuelling worries that Libya is on the point of turning into a failed state where a weak central government is powerless to control the militias which helped oust Gaddafi in 2011. The airport fighting pits brigades from Misrata, a western coastal town, against rival fighters from Zintan in the northwest. On […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libya rebels attack Tripoli’s main airport

Several shells have hit the terminal of Libya’s main airport as rival armed groups fought in Tripoli for a fifth straight day, and gunmen assassinated a female politician in the country’s east. In another sign of growing turmoil, air controllers on Thursday halted work in Tripoli, shutting off much of the oil-producing country from international traffic. Tripoli International Airport has been a battlefield since fighters attacked it with heavy guns on Sunday to wrest control from a rival militia which has been based there since the fall of Libya’s late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The conflict is fuelling worries that Libya is on the point of turning into a failed state where a weak central government is powerless to control the militias which helped oust Gaddafi in 2011. The airport fighting pits brigades from Misrata, a western coastal town, against rival fighters from Zintan in the northwest. On […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil output cut at Libya's el-Feel field

LONDON–Oil production has been slashed at Libya’s el-Feel field, an oil official said Thursday, as a crude output recovery in the country starts to fizzle. The reopening of two key oil ports and a production restart at the country’s largest oil field, Sharara, drove international oil prices to a three-month low last week. But after ramping up to a five-month high, Libya’s oil production started falling again earlier Thursday. Now output is set to decline further after staff cut production at the 130,000 barrel-a-day el-Feel field, which is operated by an Eni SpA joint venture. Eni didn’t return a request for comment. "The field only has five wells under operation, other wells are totally closed," a person at the joint venture said, citing mounting insecurity. Staff are also considering shutting the field altogether, he said. An outbreak of violence in Tripoli–the worst in six months–led to fear of new […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple