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Oil edges further above $65 on U.S. inventory drop, Iraq

LONDON Oil rose further above $65 a barrel on Thursday, gaining for a second day, supported by expectations that a global supply glut is starting to ease and by fighting in Iraq. The U.S. government’s supply report on Wednesday showed crude inventories declined for a third week. Stockpiles had been at record levels due to excess supply, raising concern that storage capacity was getting tight. [EIA/S] Brent crude LCOc1 was up 23 cents at $65.26 as of 0828 GMT, after earlier falling as low as $64.83. U.S. crude CLc1 was up 22 cents at $59.20. "Brent is getting a bit of impetus from the threat Islamic State is posing in Iraq," said Christopher Bellew, senior broker at Jefferies Bache. "I can see prices moving up further from here on geopolitics towards $70." In Iraq, the city of Ramadi fell to Islamic State on Sunday in the most significant setback […]

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NYMEX June natural gas futures settle at $2.949/MMBtu, up 3.4 cents

NYMEX June natural gas futures settled 3.4 cents higher at $2.949/MMBtu Thursday as the market reacted to a government storage report that showed an inventory build below expectations. US natural gas in storage rose 92 Bcf to 1.99 Tcf for the week ended May 15, the US Energy Information Administration said Thursday. The net injection was below consensus expectations of an injection between 93 Bcf and 97 Bcf. In the corresponding week last year, the EIA reported a 106-Bcf injection, while the five-year average is an 89-Bcf injection. "The smaller than expected [EIA injection] number popped us above $3.00[/MMBtu], but the market is finding some resistance above [that price level]," said Gene McGillian, senior analyst at Tradition Energy. McGillian said that there are a couple of factors creating that resistance. The first is that production levels remain very high, despite a recent slowdown in the rate of production growth, […]

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Natural Gas Price Rises on Forecasts for Warm Weather, Growing Demand

By Timothy Puko Natural gas prices rose slightly on Thursday, as warmer weather and rising power-sector demand keep encouraging traders. Prices for the front-month June contract gained 3.4 cents, or 1.2%, to $2.949 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gas prices are up 18% since they hit a nearly three-year low on April 27. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday that storage levels grew by 92 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 15. That is 5 bcf less than the 97-bcf average of forecasters surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The EIA update is widely considered one of the best measures of supply and demand for the natural-gas market. This figure would indicate slightly smaller supply or larger demand than expected. And it suggests the market has become more balanced from how it was two to four weeks ago, said […]

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Oil Giants Band Together to Add Voice to Climate Debate

Europe’s largest oil companies are banding together to forge a joint strategy on climate-change policy, alarmed they’ll be ignored as the world works toward a historic deal limiting greenhouse gases. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA, BP Plc, Statoil ASA and Eni SpA are among oil companies that plan to start a new industry body, or think tank, to develop common positions on the issues, according to people with knowledge of the matter. So far the largest U.S. companies — Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. — have decided not to participate, the people said, asking not be named before a public announcement expected as early as next month. Efforts to reduce fossil-fuel investments and spur renewables such as solar and wind power have gathered pace in the past two years with oil companies sitting largely outside the debate. One aim of the European producers will be to push […]

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Gaddafi’s home town falls to Islamic State in anarchic Libya

SIRTE, Libya Standing guard at his frontline post, Libyan soldier Mohammed Abu Shager can see where Islamic State militants are holed up with their heavy weaponry less than a kilometer away. The militants have effectively taken over former dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s home city of Sirte as they exploit a civil war between two rival governments to expand in North Africa. "Every night they open fire on us," said Abu Shebar, who with comrades on Sirte’s western outskirts holds the last position of troops belonging to one of the two warring Libyan governments, the General National Congress, which controls the capital Tripoli and most of the west of the country. "They are only active at night," he said, pointing to the militants’ position in a house just down the road blocked by sandbags. He sleeps in a shed next to his firing positions where used tank shells litter the ground. […]

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Obama cites ‘personal interest’ in locking down Iran deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he has a personal stake on ensuring that negotiations with Iran produce an agreement that keeps Tehran from producing a nuclear weapon over the long-term. He says in an interview with The Atlantic that if Iran has a nuclear weapon in 20 years he would be held accountable. "Look, 20 years from now, I’m still going to be around, God willing. If Iran has a nuclear weapon, it’s my name on this," he said. "I think it’s fair to say that in addition to our profound national security interests, I have a personal interest in locking this down." Critics of an agreement say the president is so determined to burnish his legacy that he will accept a less-than-ironclad commitment from Iran. The talks involve Iran, the U.S., four other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany – a group call […]

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Iran sets oil sights on Asia

Iran expects to tap deeper into Asian oil market if sanctions are lifted as the result of ongoing nuclear talks. UPI/Stephen Shaver TEHRAN, May 21 (UPI) — Iran will be among the top oil suppliers for Asian consumers if sanctions are lifted as the result of nuclear talks, Iran’s deputy oil minister said. Iran is expecting an influx of foreign cash, should sanctions lift as the result of ongoing nuclear negotiations with six world powers. Under the terms of joint deal reached in November 2013, oil exports are limited to around 1 million barrels per day and to just six countries: China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. Iran’s deputy oil minister, Rokneddin Javadi, said that while efforts would be made to diversify exports, the Asian market would remain a top priority . "Before the sanctions were imposed, Asian countries were the leading consumers of Iran’s oil," he […]

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Saudi Oil Minister Says World Can’t Abandon Fossil Fuels

ENLARGE Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, left, speaks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius during the Business Climate Summit in Paris, France. Photo: Bloomberg News Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Thursday that he sees a great future for solar power but that the world can’t abandon fossil fuels in the short term Mr. Naimi, speaking on a panel in Paris, addressed questions about whether the world’s oil-and-gas companies should move on to other forms of energy in the face of climate change linked to human carbon emissions. He said it wouldn’t make economic sense to make a dramatic move now. “You say decarbonize. Are you willing to have me go back home and shut all the oil wells? Can you afford that today?” Mr. Naimi said at the Business and Climate Summit in Paris, broadcast by Bloomberg. “What will happen to the [oil] price if […]

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South Sudan Repels Rebels’ Oil-Field Attack

ENLARGE File pictures showing South Sudan President Salva Kiir, left, and the leader of South Sudan’s largest rebel group and former Vice-President Riek Machar. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images KAMPALA, Uganda—South Sudan’s army has repelled a rebel attack on oil fields in Upper Nile state, allowing the country’s only functional crude oil facility to remain open, officials said Thursday. After capturing the Upper Nile state capital Malakal over the weekend, several thousand rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar pushed toward the oil fields. But government troops backed by helicopter gunships, tanks and armored cars successfully defended one of the country’s major economic assets. “The rebels have been defeated” said military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer. “Oil fields are fully under our control”. By Wednesday evening both sides had lost dozens of fighters, but government troops beat back the rebel assault, the army and witnesses said. The rebel assault was […]

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