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U.S. oil stockpiles rise twice as much as expected in week: EIA

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. crude stocks rose more than twice as much as expected last week, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories fell, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose by 10.3 million barrels in the last week to 444.37 million, compared with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 4.2 million barrels. "Overall, it’s another bearish data point in an already bearish fundamental environment," said Dominick Chirichella, senior partner, Energy Management Institute, New York. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 536,000 barrels, EIA said. U.S. Gulf Coast crude oil stockpiles last week reached their highest level since the EIA began keeping records in 1990, up 5.4 million barrels to 219.9 million barrels in the region with the majority of the nation’s refining capacity. "It shows that all the cuts in capex spending and rig counts have not […]

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Natural Gas Prices Mark Biggest Gains in Nearly Two Weeks

By Timothy Puko Natural gas prices made their biggest gains in nearly two weeks, as strong winter demand and dwindling stockpiles boosted prices. Natural gas for April delivery settled up 5.7 cents, or 2.1%, at $2.769 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It’s the largest percentage gain and first back-to-back winning sessions since Feb. 20. Cold has been so severe that a rush of late-season heating demand likely drained 225 billion cubic feet out of storage last week, according to The Wall Street Journal survey of 15 analysts. That would be double the average drain for that week of the year, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency plans to release its official data on storage levels on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Last week’s 219-bcf drain set a new high for a week in the second half of February. "This […]

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Shell’s Ollila Says Society Must Find ‘Middle Way’ on Climate Change

LONDON— Royal Dutch Shell PLC Chairman Jorma Ollila is joining Chief Executive Ben van Beurden in backing efforts to limit carbon emissions ahead of international climate talks in Paris later this year. Mr. Ollila was set to tell employees Wednesday that society must find a “middle way” that “doesn’t threaten economic growth,” according to a transcript of a speech the company disseminated. “Shell has been open and firm in its advocacy of cleaner-burning natural gas, carbon capture and storage,” which takes carbon from combustion and stores it in places like underground reservoirs “and carbon pricing. And we’re hopeful that policy makers will recognize the value of all three at the gathering in Paris later this year,” the transcript says. Shell, which is heavily invested in big, long-lived natural gas projects, has been increasingly vocal in calling for energy companies to participate with policy makers in addressing climate change. Mr. […]

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Exxon CEO says oil prices will stay low

The world should “settle in” for a period of relatively weak oil prices, the chief executive of ExxonMobil has said, with US shale production more resilient than many people had expected. More On this topic IN Oil & Gas Rex Tillerson’s comments came as the world’s largest listed energy company said it would cut capital spending by 12 per cent this year even while increasing its oil production by 7 per cent, in a sign of how the industry is pushing to cut costs in response to the plunge in crude prices. Mr Tillerson told an annual meeting for analysts in New York that oil prices had crashed because demand growth in China and elsewhere had slowed, while US supplies were “coming like a freight train”. Those conditions could persist, he suggested. “My view is people need to kind of settle in for a while,” he said: “There’s a […]

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John Kerry Flies to Saudi Arabia to Discuss Iran Nuclear Talks

MONTREUX, Switzlerland — Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to take on the challenge of explaining a potential deal over Iran ’s nuclear program to the American-allied conservative monarchies of the gulf. In the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Mr. Kerry plans to meet with King Salman and to consult with foreign ministers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, who are also flying there. Like Israel, which opposes the potential deal, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations in the region see Iran as an opponent. They are concerned about the terms of the deal, which would be limited in duration and would allow Iran to retain some of its nuclear infrastructure. Mr. Kerry met here in Switzerland for three days of talks that also included the United States energy secretary, Ernest J. Moniz, and Ali Akbar Salehi, the director of Iran’s Atomic […]

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U.S. Strategy in Iraq Increasingly Relies on Iran

WASHINGTON — At a time when President Obama is under political pressure from congressional Republicans over negotiations to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, a startling paradox has emerged: Mr. Obama is becoming increasingly dependent on Iranian fighters as he tries to contain the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria without committing American ground troops. In the four days since Iranian troops joined 30,000 Iraqi forces to try to wrest Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit back from Islamic State control, American officials have said the United States is not coordinating with Iran, one of its fiercest global foes, in the fight against a common enemy. That may be technically true. But American war planners have been closely monitoring Iran’s parallel war against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, through a range of channels, including conversations on radio frequencies that each side knows the other is […]

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Iran Flexes New Clout Beyond Its Borders

As head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani used to dwell in the shadows. But now his face is all over social media as Iran works to expand its influence in the Mideast. Photo: ISNA/Associated Press BAGHDAD—Not long ago, Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite troops known as the Quds Force, was one of the spy world’s most covert operators. Now, his smiling face is everywhere: arm-in-arm with Iraqi officials on TV, rubbing shoulders with the militiamen fighting Islamic State across social media, and in public meetings with Iraqi families liberated by Iran’s allies. Mr. Soleimani surfaced this week in Samarra, Iraq, to bolster the morale of Iraqi troops and militiamen embarking on a fight to free the nearby city of Tikrit, now controlled by Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Mr. Soleimani’s high profile underscores Iran’s transformation in the way it does business in the […]

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Iran Talks Closer on One-Year Nuclear ‘Breakout’ Demand

ENLARGE U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry takes a break from a bilateral meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Montreux, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Photo: Associated Press MONTREUX, Switzerland—An understanding is emerging between Iran and six major powers that a final nuclear deal between the two sides must be structured around a key demand of the U.S. and its European partners: that Tehran stay at least a year away from amassing enough fuel for a nuclear weapon, according to people familiar with the negotiations. The understanding about Iran’s so-called breakout time, if it can be nailed down as part of a broader package, could open the way to a final nuclear agreement in coming weeks, although diplomats warned again on Wednesday that difficult obstacles remained in the way of a deal. The breakout period has been one of the critical questions in the talks. Last year, negotiations […]

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Libya Declares Force Majeure Over Oil Fields in Central Region

Libya on Wednesday declared a force majeure related to 11 oil fields in the center of country, after a string of attacks against the facilities by the radical group calling itself Islamic State. In a statement posted on its website, state-owned National Oil Co. said it was no longer able to ensure security in the 11 fields and declared force majeure on them, a move guaranteeing legal protections from claims against any future disruptions. In recent weeks, the North African country’s oil industry—once the lifeblood of its economy—has been in the cross hairs of an armed conflict. The country is pumping about 500,000 barrels of crude oil a day, three times less than its peak output. The Dahra oil field, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) southeast of Tripoli, was attacked late on Tuesday, hours after two other oil facilities were targeted by the militants. Col. Hakim Maazab, a commander […]

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Libyan Oil Guards Prepare to Take on Islamic State

By Benoît Faucon Oil guards in Libya are getting ready to take on suspected Islamic State militants, their commander said Wednesday, following a third attack on oil fields overnight. In recent weeks, the North African country’s oil industry–once the lifeblood of its economy–has been in the cross hairs of an armed conflict. Colonel Hakim Maazab, who heads the brigade that is in charge of guarding oil fields in central Libya, told The Wall Street Journal that the Dahra oil field, about 500 kilometers southeast of Tripoli, was attacked Tuesday night by suspected Islamic State militants, hours after two other oil facilities were targeted by the same group. Col. Maazab said his brigade had sent reinforcements to the nearby Zella airport and a military aircraft had arrived to assist them. "We will go to Dahra today," he said. A Libyan oil official familiar with the situation in the fields said […]

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