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Islamic State torches oil field near Tikrit as militia advance

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Islamic State militants have set fire to oil wells northeast of the city of Tikrit to obstruct an assault by Shi’ite militiamen and Iraqi soldiers trying to drive them from the Sunni Muslim city and surrounding towns, a witness said. The witness and a military source said Islamic State fighters ignited the fire at the Ajil oil field to shield themselves from attack by Iraqi military helicopters. The offensive is the biggest Iraqi forces have yet mounted against IS, which has declared an Islamic caliphate on captured territory in Iraq and Syria and spread fear across the region by slaughtering Arab and Western hostages and killing or kidnapping members of religious minorities like Yazidis and Christians. Black smoke could be seen rising from the oil field since Wednesday afternoon, said the witness, who accompanied Iraqi militia and soldiers as they advanced on Tikrit from the east. […]

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Senate majority leader decides not to fast-track Iran bill

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite Politics Video Buy AP Photo Reprints Latest News WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday decided to postpone action on a bill giving Congress a chance to review and vote on any deal the U.S. signs with Iran over its nuclear program. The move comes at a time delicate negotiations are at a critical juncture between the U.S. and its partners and Tehran. Democrats, many of whom backed the legislation, had loudly criticized McConnell for scheduling a Tuesday test vote on the bill. They accused him of playing politics in bypassing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee process and said it was better to move slowly to ensure bipartisan support for the measure. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., a co-sponsor of the bill, announced that he was so outraged at McConnell’s decision to fast-track the bill that he would vote against moving ahead on […]

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John Kerry Seeks to Calm Arab States Unsettled by Iran Talks

ENLARGE U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud at Diriya Farm, on March 5 in Diriya, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Getty Images RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said after meetings with Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday that Gulf Arab countries support international talks over Iran’s nuclear program, but remain concerned about Tehran’s regional influence. Mr. Kerry met in Saudi Arabia with top officials of six Arab nations, addressing concerns about the effect of the nuclear talks on the balance of power in the region. Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said at a news conference with Mr. Kerry afterward that the U.S. had provided assurances that it would continue to focus on Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region. “He has been very clear in the assurances he gave,” Prince Saud said. He added that Iran’s influence in the […]

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Iran would sell more oil if Western sanctions lifted: Mehr agency

ANKARA (Reuters) – Iran said oil prices would not rise above $60 a barrel until 2016 and that it would increase crude exports if Western sanctions over its nuclear program were lifted, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Friday. "We’re not expecting oil prices to go over $60 until 2016. What will happen after that is not clear," Mehr quoted National Iranian Oil Co’s head of international affairs, Mohsen Ghamsari, as saying. "When sanctions are lifted, it is our natural and legal right to increase our oil sales in an effort to raise market share." U.S. and EU sanctions that came into force in 2012 prohibit the import, purchase and transport of Iranian petroleum products. World powers are in talks with Iran to try to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from the sanctions that have crippled the major oil exporter’s economy. "Sanctions […]

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As World’s Hottest Economy Unravels, Nigerians Feel the Squeeze

Zoology student Samuel Pelumi works on his laptop outside his home alongside the Lagos Lagoon. In a four-day sweep through Nigeria early last year, Aberdeen Asset Management’s Kevin Daly detected trouble. Yes, the country was a rising African power and yes, it had become the world’s fastest-growing major economy, but things weren’t quite right. An Islamic insurgency was heating up in the north and there were early signs that a nasty presidential campaign was brewing. Then financial disaster struck. Oil, the lifeblood of the country, collapsed in a breath-taking free fall. Daly had seen enough. By November, he had sold all of his Nigerian government bonds. Back in Lagos again last month for a fresh look, Daly found a country ravaged by crisis from all sides: the bloody clashes with Boko Haram insurgents had intensified; the violence had spurred authorities to postpone elections the president was in danger of […]

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Falkland Oil and Gas Says Drilling Has Begun on Zebedee Well

By Alex MacDonald LONDON–U.K.-listed Falkland Oil and Gas Limited (FOGL.LN) said Friday that Premier Oil, the operator of the Zebedee prospect in the Falklands islands, had begun drilling the first exploration well of the current drilling campaign at the prospect. The well is located on license PL004b, in which Falkland oil and gas has a 40% working interest. Falkland Oil and Gas said there is a 10% to 50% chance that the well will be successful. The well is targeting estimated gross resources of 281 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which 112 million barrels of oil equivalent would be net to Falkland. "The Zebedee prospect, if successful, will significantly increase the hydrocarbon resources of the Sea Lion field complex within our license area," said Falkland CEO Tim Bushell. Falkland has a market capitalization of GBP169 million or $258 million. Write to Alex MacDonald at [email protected]

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BNSF Train Carrying Crude Oil Derails in Illinois

ENLARGE Flames and smoke can be seen at the site of an oil train’s derailment near Galena, Ill., on Thursday. Photo: Mike Burley/TH Media A BNSF Railway Co. train carrying crude oil derailed and began to burn Thursday afternoon near Galena, Ill., just over the state line from Wisconsin and 160 miles west of Chicago. The company said the train consisted of 103 modern railcars loaded with oil from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale, along with two cars carrying sand. Several cars derailed and two of the cars were on fire Thursday night, local officials said. The derailment took place in a rural area and there were no injuries reported, according to BNSF. The cause of the derailment wasn’t immediately known, and federal investigators were heading to the scene. Local officials called for a one-mile voluntary evacuation around the derailment. This is the third derailment of a train carrying crude […]

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Canadian Crude Exports by Rail Drop in Latest Quarter

CALGARY—Canada’s national energy regulator said Thursday exports of crude oil by rail dropped in the latest quarter, a sign that lower oil prices have made shipments by rail less attractive to some Canadian crude producers. Crude-by-rail exports declined 5% to 173,342 barrels a day in the fourth quarter, down from 182,396 barrels a day in the previous three month period but still above the 148,929 barrels a day exported in the last quarter of 2013, according to National Energy Board data. A slide in oil prices to six-year lows has crimped oil producers’ profit margins and made it uneconomical for some to ship by rail. Last month, Suncor Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc., two of Canada’s largest oil sands producers, both said they have stopped shipments of crude-by-rail to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The U.S. imports more oil from Canada than from any other country. Despite an overall […]

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EIA: US petroleum product exports rise for 13th consecutive year

HOUSTON, Mar. 5 03/05/2015 US exports of petroleum products averaged a record 3.8 million b/d in 2014—an increase of 347,000 b/d from 2013—based on data from the US Energy Information Administration’s Petroleum Supply Monthly . In particular, exports of motor gasoline, propane, and butane increased, offsetting a decrease in exports of distillate , EIA said. EIA noted that the combination of record-high US refinery runs, which averaged 16.1 million b/d in 2014, and increased global product demand allowed US product exports to rise for the 13th consecutive year. Most of these exports were sent to Central and South America, followed by exports to Canada and Mexico. In fact, product exports from the US increased in every region except the Middle East, which declined to 47,000 b/d in 2014 from 55,000 b/d in 2013, EIA said. Exports of motor gasoline (including finished gasoline and blending components) in December 2014 set […]

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