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Oil Companies Begin to Give Up on Yemen

A Houthi fighter in front of the U.S. Embassy in San’a, Yemen’s capital. ENLARGE Photo: Associated Press The political upheaval in Yemen has dealt a powerful blow to the country’s oil industry, forcing companies to abandon productive oil patches and evacuate staff as a rebel group consolidates power. Houston-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. , which has been operating in Yemen for nearly three decades, flew its staff out of the country in January, executives and local officials said, after gunmen stormed its compound in the capital, San’a, where Houthi militants have tightened their grip on power. Since then, executives and local officials said, Norway’s DNO AS A, Dove Energy Group of Dubai and Nexen Inc., which is owned by China’s Cnooc Ltd. , are all moving to relinquish their rights to blocks that produce thousands of barrels of crude a day. Meanwhile, Austrian energy company OMV AG , which produces […]

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Nigeria: Fuel Scarcity – Nigerian Govt to Pay U.S.$30 Billion Exchange Rate Differentials to Marketers

A man fills in a car at a fuel station (file photo). Photo: Shell The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said on Wednesday that the Federal Government had agreed to pay 30 billion dollars foreign exchange differentials owed to oil marketers. Ms. Okonjo-Iweala made this known on Wednesday in Abuja while briefing journalists after a meeting with the Central Bank, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, major oil markers and depot owners. "The Federal Government has addressed all contentious issues with the marketers, such as the issue of the foreign exchange rate differentials. "The Federal Government has agreed to pay the 30 billion dollars exchange rate differentials owed the marketers over the last couple of months. "It is already in the process of offsetting the N185 billion debts owed the marketers with the issuance of the Sovereign Debt Note (SDN)," she said. Ms. Okonjo-Iweala added that the Federal Government had […]

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China lowers GDP growth target to ‘around 7%’

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and Premier Li Keqiang stand during opening of the annual full session of the National People’s Congress, the country’s parliament, at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing March 5, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Lee (CHINA – Tags: POLITICS) China will target economic growth of “around 7 per cent” this year, Premier Li Keqiang told parliament on Thursday, signalling that the leadership expects the country’s economy to slow further following the slowest expansion for 24 years in 2014. The country, which has enjoyed some of the fastest growth rates in the world in the past two decades or so, is now slowing as it approaches middle-income levels. Mr Li reiterated Beijing’s refrain that economic development has entered “a new normal”. Illustrating the breadth of issues Beijing is grappling with, Mr Li’s 3 per cent target for consumer price inflation is a far cry from January’s […]

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5 Takeaways From China’s State-of-the-Nation Speech

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Share With a state-of-the-nation speech, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced an era of slower growth , saying “China’s economic development has entered a new normal.” The nearly 100-minute speech inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Thursday outlined the Chinese government priorities for the coming year. The overriding imperative: generating enough growth to keep people happy while the government guides a transition away from smokestack industries to services.    1 China’s ‘new normal’ is slower, but not slow. The lowered growth target of about 7% is the lowest in over a decade, but still — Chinese state media reminded — fast for a major economy. A willingness to see an economic free-fall after years of heady growth it isn’t. Mr. Li several times cited the need to keep the economy humming along. He said maintaining “medium-high-level growth” is crucial to boosting living standards, creating jobs […]

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China Lowers Growth Target to About 7%

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang spoke at the opening of the National People’s Congress on Thursday…. ENLARGE Photo: Zuma Press BEIJING—China lowered its economic growth forecast to about 7% for 2015 at the opening of the country’s biggest political event of the year, ushering in what leaders have dubbed a “new normal” of slower growth in the world’s second-largest economy. The move signaled Beijing won’t take dramatic action to raise the growth rate above last year’s level, which at 7.4% was its lowest level in nearly a quarter-century. At the same time, its leaders signaled concerns that an even sharper drop in growth risks higher unemployment and social unrest. In remarks before the country’s lawmakers on Thursday, Premier Li Keqiang listed the challenges to the Chinese economy, including sluggish investment growth, overcapacity, deflationary pressure and increasing public demand for better social services. The new target “takes into consideration what is […]

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Union says it will resume talks Monday with U.S. refining companies

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Labor leaders and oil company representatives will resume face-to-face talks on Monday in Houston in a bid to agree on a new contract that would end the biggest U.S. refinery strike in 35 years, the United Steelworkers union said on Wednesday. The strike, now in its second month after starting Feb. 1, has dragged on as both sides fail to reach agreements over wage increases and how to curb worker fatigue, which is tied to accidents. The protracted strike has prompted at least some workers in Texas to return to their jobs. Companies have told laborers they will not receive bonuses unless they show up for work. The USW said it held a conference call on Wednesday with officials from Royal Dutch Shell as it presses for higher wages and what it calls tighter safety practices. Shell’s U.S. unit, which is leading the talks for oil […]

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Pain at the pump to continue, AAA says

Sign up for our daily Energy Newsletter Gas prices have increased for more than a month for one of the longest streaks in years. UPI/Bill Greenblatt WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) — While U.S. gasoline prices remain relatively low, the recent trend in increases is the longest in more than two years, motor club AAA reports. The national average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded for Tuesday is $2.44, up two cents from the previous day. Prices have increased for 36 straight days, the longest streak since February 2013. AAA spokesman Avery Ash said gasoline prices are still historically low , but the price trend is a growing source of frustration for motorists. Prices are up because of refinery issues and AAA expects increases to continue. "Gas prices likely will rise higher in March as refineries conduct seasonal maintenance," he said in a Monday briefing. "The good news […]

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Override of Obama’s Keystone Veto Fails in Senate

ENLARGE Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said construction of the Keystone pipeline would pump billions into the U.S. economy. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News WASHINGTON—The Senate Wednesday defeated a Republican-led effort to override President Barack Obama’s veto of legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline , the latest twist in a yearslong saga over the contentious project. In a 62-37 vote, the Senate didn’t get the required 67 yes votes necessary to override Mr. Obama’s veto of the bill, which would have authorized a Canadian company to construct the 1,179-mile pipeline. The project has been under review by the Obama administration for more than six years. Mr. Obama vetoed the legislation, not the pipeline itself. The administration retains the ultimate decision. The pipeline, which would carry up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day mostly from Canada’s oil sands to existing pipelines in Steele City, Neb., crosses an international […]

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U.S. Refiners, Striking Workers Digging In for Protracted Battle

U.S. refiners and striking union workers are digging in for a protracted battle that could last through the spring. Even as the two sides returned to the bargaining table Wednesday for a new round of talks on salaries and safety, some refinery operators say they are training replacement employees to take over for union workers at their plants. A spokeswoman for Shell said discussions ended Wednesday with an agreement to resume talks next week. In a letter addressed to employees Tuesday, LyondellBasell Industries said it had filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging the United Steelworkers has threatened and harassed people trying to cross picket lines. “We have been told of threats against returning employees, abusive language being used in texts and social media, and we have witnessed threatening behavior at the gates to the Houston Refinery as employees arrive for work,” the company said in […]

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