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British shale bid rejected

LONDON, Sept. 11 (UPI) — A shale pioneer in the United Kingdom said Thursday it was disappointed, but not surprised, by the rejection of its oil and gas exploration bid. Celtique Energie said its application to explore shale oil and natural gas reserves in the South Downs National Park in southern England was rejected. "We are disappointed by today’s decision by the South Downs National Park Authority," Geoff Davies, Chief Executive Officer of Celtique Energie, said in a statement. "However, we are not surprised, given the authority’s public stance regarding oil and gas exploration in National Parks, both in Sussex and elsewhere." The company said it believed the untapped oil and natural gas reserves thought to be present in the area would be nationally significant . The British government has endorsed shale reserves as part of a diverse energy mix. Shale campaigns in the country are in their infancy, […]

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Support for Scots’ independence slips behind with days to go: poll

EDINBURGH (Reuters) – Supporters of keeping Scotland in the United Kingdom have clawed back a 4 percentage point lead over separatists, a YouGov poll showed on Friday, with less than a week to go before Scots vote in a referendum on independence. The YouGov survey for The Times and Sun newspapers put Scottish support for the union at 52 percent versus support for independence at 48 percent, excluding those who said they did not know how they would vote. "The ‘no’ campaign has moved back into the lead in Scotland’s referendum campaign," YouGov President Peter Kellner said in a commentary on the survey. "This is the first time ‘no’ has gained ground since early August." The indication that support for keeping the United Kingdom intact has drawn slightly ahead in Scotland is of only meagre comfort to unionists; the broader picture painted by recent surveys is that the vote […]

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BASF Buys Oil, Gas Assets From Statoil to Secure European Supply

BASF SE (BAS) ’s oil and gas arm agreed to buy assets from Norway’s Statoil ASA (STL) for $1.25 billion, diversifying energy supplies for Germany’s biggest chemical maker as relations between Europe and Russia worsen. BASF’s Wintershall is acquiring a share in two producing fields, two development projects, the Polarled pipeline project and a share in four exploration licenses, the Ludwigshafen, Germany-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. Wintershall’s daily production in Norway will increase 50 percent to about 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent. The Norwegian deal will make BASF, Germany’s largest industrial user of gas, less reliant on supplies from Russia as the U.S. and European Union ratchet up sanctions in response to the conflict in Ukraine. An asset swap with OAO Gazprom (OGZD) , agreed to in 2012 and expected to close this autumn, was set to boost Russia’s share of BASF’s supply to more than […]

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Russia Weighs Response as U.S. and EU Add More Sanctions

Russia threatened retaliation against a U.S. and European Union decision to stiffen sanctions against Moscow because of Ukraine and may ban some imports including clothing and used cars. The EU added 15 companies , including OAO Gazprom (OGZD) Neft, OAO Rosneft (ROSN) and OAO Transneft, and 24 people to the list of those affected by its sanctions against Russia. European companies and taxpayers “will have to pick up the costs” for the penalties, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin , told Interfax yesterday. The U.S. will “deepen and broaden” its measures against Russia’s financial, energy and defense industries, President Barack Obama said yesterday. The moves raise the level of confrontation and follow reprisals last month, when the Russian leader banned a range of food imports after an earlier round of U.S. and European penalties. Putin denies any involvement in the fighting that broke out after he […]

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Sanctions Over Ukraine Put Exxon at Risk

When Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson detailed a deal to drill for oil in Russia’s Arctic Sea two years ago, he predicted that the project would strengthen the ties between the U.S. and Russia. Instead, Exxon has wound up in the cross hairs of U.S. foreign policy, which could threaten one of the company’s best chances to find and tap significant—and much needed—amounts of crude oil. The U.S. on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Russia’s financial, defense and energy sectors in a bid to punish the Kremlin for stoking the military conflict in Ukraine. Details of the sanctions, designed to match new measures imposed by the European Union , are set to be released Friday. A U.S. official said the new penalties would affect Exxon’s current drilling in the icy Kara Sea with its Kremlin-controlled partner, OAO Rosneft , though the extent of the impact was unclear […]

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Poland Resumes Gas Deliveries to Ukraine

By Patryk Wasilewski WARSAW–Poland resumed deliveries of natural gas to Ukraine on Friday, after supplies from Russian to Poland fell below ordered level earlier this week, the country’s gas network operator said. Poland’s state-controlled PGNiG SA said earlier this week that deliveries from Russia’s OAO Gazprom were 20-24% below increased order levels on Monday and Tuesday, and 45% below on Wednesday. Gazprom said it was delivering unchanged amounts of gas through Monday-Tuesday. PGNiG said it was compensating for the difference by increasing supplies from Germany and the Czech Republic. Before the halt of supplies to Ukraine, Poland supplied about 4 million cubic meters of gas a day to it neighbor, with most of it originating in Russia. Kiev was forced to import gas through Poland and Slovakia after Gazprom halted supplies to Ukraine amid a dispute over prices and unpaid bills. The dispute has been seen as part of […]

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EU Widens Sanctions on Russian Companies, Individuals Over Ukraine Crisis

By Frances Robinson And Laurence Norman BRUSSELS–The European Union extended its sanctions on Russia and rebels in eastern Ukraine on Friday, adding 15 companies and 24 individuals to its blacklist and imposing new measures against the country’s oil and defense sectors, in an effort to target those dealing with the separatists. The measures, initially approved on Monday, reinforced steps taken in July restricting trade, commerce and financial links with Russia. They will indirectly affect companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., which works with state-controlled oil companies in Russia. Under the widened sanctions list, it is "prohibited to directly or indirectly purchase, sell, provide investment services for or assistance in the issuance of, or otherwise deal with transferable securities and money-market instruments with a maturity exceeding 30 days." As previously reported in The Wall Street Journal, three state-controlled oil companies–OAO Gazpromneft, the oil unit of OAO Gazprom; oil pipeline operator company […]

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With Gas Cut Off, Ukraine Looks West

UZHGOROD, Ukraine — Keeping Ukraine warm keeps Andriy Kobolev up at night. Mr. Kobolev, the head of Ukraine’s state energy company, Naftogaz , is scrambling to keep gas flowing into his country as winter looms. Russia’s energy giant, Gazprom, had provided a little more than half of Ukraine’s total gas supply, but suspended its shipments in June in the face of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military, citing a price dispute. Europe — itself dependent on Russia but also expanding sanctions on the country — has not been able to fill the gap. That means Ukraine will have to cut its energy use sharply or risk running dry, which could lead to more civilian deaths when the weather turns cold, and could further batter the country’s economy. “The situation is very difficult,” Mr. Kobolev said in a recent interview. “Since we have no choice, […]

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If oil prices stay low for long, Putin and OPEC are headed for trouble

Oil plunged today below $100 a barrel, a psychological threshold that, if it holds, threatens the rulers of Russia and numerous OPEC states that rely on higher prices to mollify their populations. A critical question, then, is whether we are looking at a sustained period of lower prices or a blip before a swing back up. The price of Brent crude—the type that dominates international trade—fell as low as $99.36 today, its lowest price in 14 months. (West Texas Intermediate, the oil produced in the United States, plummeted to $91.70 a barrel, frighteningly close to its own $90 threshold.) Voices from OPEC said they are not alarmed and that prices will go back up over the next few months when Winter demand commences. Bernstein’s Oswald Clint told Quartz that the long-term trend is for prices to rise, supported by higher costs to produce oil and constrained supply. But there is reason for OPEC members […]

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Bernstein cuts 2015 US natural gas price forecast 11% to $4/Mcf

Washington (Platts)–10Sep2014/414 pm EDT/2014 GMT US natural gas supplies, primarily from wet gas plays, will continue to outpace any increase in demand in 2015, Bernstein Research said Wednesday as it cut its 2015 price forecast 11% to $4/Mcf from $4.50/Mcf. Bernstein said gas production associated with oil and liquids drilling will continue to stay at its frantic pace until oil prices move lower and meanwhile, the associated gas from oily and wet plays is outstripping any demand for the commodity. Bernstein’s model says gas production will increase a net 3 Bcf/d in 2015 while demand will only grow 1.2 Bcf/d, primarily from the retirement of coal power plants. In the first half of 2014, gas production grew 4.1 Bcf/d over the same period last year, Bernstein said. Article continues below… Gas Daily offers the most detailed coverage of natural gas prices at interstate and intrastate pipeline and pooling points […]

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