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Nigeria’s Oil Export Slides to 1.83 Million Barrels Per Day

NIGERIA’S oil export programme may have continued on the downward swing, as indications emerged that the nation would only export 1.83 million barrels per day in October. According to the loading schedules, Nigeria will export about 1.83bpd of crude oil in October, down from 1.94 million bpd exported in September. Traders said some Angolan crude grades have been cleared for October loading, while Nigerian cargoes appeared to be finding buyers more slowly. Nigeria’s Qua Iboe offers to be at dated Brent plus $2.00, unchanged. A trader said cargoes were likely to be sold at dated Brent plus $1 to plus $1.50. Sources however said that, about four Qua cargoes loading in October have traded, leaving as many as eight still looking for buyers. However, Brazil emerged the largest buyer of Nigeria’s crude oil, overtaking India that occupied the position in the first quarter of this year. The development followed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Venezuelan President Replaces Oil Minister Rafael Ramírez

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro speaks at a news conference in Caracas on Tuesday. Reuters CARACAS—Rafael Ramírez, who has overseen Venezuela’s oil industry for more than a decade, was removed from that role late Tuesday in a cabinet shake-up announced by President Nicolás Maduro. As part of the shake-up, Mr. Ramírez was appointed foreign minister. Venezuela’s then-energy minister, Rafael Ramírez, attends an OPEC meeting in December 2011 in Vienna. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Mr. Ramírez had served as Mr. Maduro’s top economic adviser and was scheduled to lead an investor roadshow this month in New York in search of financing for the cash-strapped government. He was one of the most vocal proponents of economic overhauls such as slashing domestic gasoline subsidies and simplifying a cumbersome foreign-exchange system, two areas where the government has been bleeding money. The cabinet changes come as Mr. Maduro’s approval rating has tumbled to 35.4% as he […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Build starts on Russia-China gas pipeline

Russian President Vladimir Putin was on hand for the launch ceremony for construction of the Power of Siberia natural gas pipeline. A contract between Russian natural gas company Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp. is for 30 years and calls for 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year . "The new trunk gas pipeline will help considerably strengthen economic cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries, first of all, with our key partner China," he said. Gazprom officials have expressed interest in moving deeper into a growing Asian economy in an effort to offset a stagnant European Union. Europe, for its part, has sought to break the Russian grip on the regional energy sector by securing new sources of natural gas, notably from Azerbaijan. Putin said the new 2,500-mile gas pipeline to China will tie the Russian energy sector to both poles of the economic world . "This [pipeline] will […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Halliburton to Settle Deepwater Horizon Claims for $1.1 Billion

The Deepwater Horizon explosion and sinking in 2010 led to the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Getty Images Halliburton Co. will pay $1.1 billion to Gulf Coast residents, local governments and businesses affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, moving to limit its liabilities ahead of a court ruling that could have increased its costs. The settlement announced Tuesday by the company and plaintiffs’ lawyers includes claims for punitive damages brought by the commercial fishing industry and others affected by the spilled crude. The amount is less than the $1.3 billion Halliburton has set aside for its costs stemming from the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Some legal analysts say the settlement will eliminate most of the oil-field-services company’s liability from the incident. The deal comes as Halliburton, BP PLC and Transocean Ltd. await a ruling from U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Petroleum Supply Monthly and Other News

The EIA’s Petroleum Supply Monthly  has just come out. That report gives production from individual states as well as offshore production. The below chart is thousand barrels per day with the last data point June 2014. GOM BSEE For February, March and April there is about 60 thousand barrel per day difference between what the EIA and BSEE reports. Eventually the EIA and BSEE will be the same and it will be the EIA data that suffers the greatest revisions. I believe they have the June GOM numbers quite a bit too high here. Texas 1 The EIA is still tweaking its guess as to what Texas production will be when it finally comes in. Largest changes in US Production, May to June, in thousand barrels per day: Alaska             -40 Colorado          20 GOM             […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Aided by refined product growth, Houston leads US in exports

Bolstered by $35.3 billion in refined petroleum and coal product exports, the Houston metropolitan area shipped the most goods to foreign markets of any US metro region, the US Commerce Department said Tuesday. Overall, the Houston area exported $115 billion of goods in 2013, the most of any region for the second year in a row after it exported $110.3 billion in 2012. The New York metropolitan region exported $106.9 billion in goods in 2013, the second most of the 387 US metropolitan regions. Overall, $1.4 trillion in goods was exported from all US metropolitan regions last year, Commerce said. Despite the increase in refined petroleum product exports from Houston, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker downplayed the role that oil and gas has had on US export growth, pointing out that only a third of Houston’s record export levels are oil and gas related. "What’s exciting about the whole export […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Dominion heads 1.5-bcfd Atlantic Coast gas pipeline joint venture

Dominion , Duke Energy , Piedmont Natural Gas , and AGL Resources have formed a joint venture to build and own the proposed 1.5-bcfd Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The 550-mile natural gas pipeline would move Marcellus and Utica shale gas from Harrison County, W.Va., southeast through Virginia, with an extension to Chesapeake, Va., and then south through central North Carolina to Robeson County. The main pipeline would have a 42-in. OD in West Virginia and Virginia, and 36-in. OD in North Carolina. The lateral to Chesapeake-Hampton Roads, Va., would measure 20-in. in diameter. Dominion plans three compressor stations for the pipeline, one at its West Virginia starting point, one in Buckingham County, Va., and one near the Virginia-North Carolina border. The partnership, called Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, will own the pipeline initially proposed by Dominion as the Southeast Reliability Project. It is designed in part to meet demand identified in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine rebels say they are poised to recapture Donetsk airport

BRUSSELS/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – EU officials proposed sanctions on Tuesday to starve Russian firms of cash as punishment for Moscow’s role in Ukraine, where rebels said they were storming Donetsk airport, potentially their biggest prize since turning the war’s tide last week. Western countries accuse Moscow of sending armored columns of troops into Ukraine, where the momentum in a five-month war shifted last week decisively in favor of pro-Russian rebels, who are now advancing on a new front towards a major port. Russia denies its troops are involved in fighting on the ground, in the face of what Western countries and Ukraine say is overwhelming evidence. In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby estimated there were thousands of Russian forces inside Ukraine. “You want to talk provocative? Let’s talk about a few thousand Russian troops inside eastern Ukraine, continuing to support separatists, with heavy weapon systems, and more […]

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Statoil cleared to move controversial rig

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority said the company received consent to move the Transocean rig, Spitsbergen, to a license area in the Barents Sea, where the water depth is approximately 1,400 feet. "In its decision to grant permission under the Pollution Act, the Norwegian Environment Agency has determined that Statoil may not drill in oil-bearing strata before Sept. 18," the regulator said. "This condition has been set to allow for appeals before the riskiest part of the operation gets under way." More than a dozen Greenpeace demonstrators took part in a protest against Statoil’s drilling plans for arctic waters by boarding the Transocean rig in May. Around half of them surrendered their campaign voluntarily and Statoil said the seven activists who remained behind were arrested by Norwegian police . Greenpeace said drilling operations in the region present a threat to regional species and the environment. Statoil in August abandoned an […]

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Ukrainian President’s Office Announces Cease-Fire With Russia

KIEV, Ukraine — President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine reached an agreement with Russia on Wednesday for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, the presidential office said in a brief announcement on its website. The Ukrainian announcement said the agreement had come during a telephone call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. “The conversation resulted in an agreement on a lasting cease-fire in Donbass,” or eastern Ukraine, said the announcement, which consisted of three sentences. The two presidents agreed on the steps needed to establish peace, it said. No other details were given. But Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s press secretary, said Mr. Putin had not negotiated a cease-fire with Mr. Poroshenko because Russia was not a party to the conflict in Ukraine’s southeast. “Putin and Poroshenko did indeed discuss steps which could facilitate a cease-fire between the militias and the Ukrainian military,” Mr. Peskov was quoted as saying […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple