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Shell U.S. Unit Name May Drop ‘Oil’ as Alternatives Proliferate

The U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc may soon drop the word “oil” from its name in a move that would signal its transition to other sources of energy, an executive said. With Shell Oil Co.’s parent focusing more on natural gas and looking at other energy alternatives, the “oil” in the name “is a little old-fashioned, I’d say, and at one point we’ll probably do something about that,” Marvin Odum, director of the company’s upstream Americas business, said Thursday at the Toronto Global Forum. “The increasing returns and the profile of some of the renewable-energy companies is absolutely true,” Odum said in an interview with Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief emeritus of Bloomberg News. “The good news about that is it’s a clear signal that the transition is actually here.” The Anglo-Dutch parent, Europe’s biggest oil company, began producing more natural gas than oil two years ago, a trend […]

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U.S. gasoline demand roars back to life: Kemp

A man gets gasoline at a BP station in St. Louis, Missouri January 14, 2015. Consumption of gasoline in the United States is surging according to estimates prepared by the Energy Information Administration. More than 9.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline were supplied to domestic customers over the last four weeks. Consumption is running about 480,000 bpd above the 2014 level and 250,000 bpd above the 10-year seasonal average ( link.reuters.com/wuh25w ). The amount supplied to domestic customers has to be estimated from refinery production, imports, exports and stockpiles so it is subject to some estimating errors but the data all paint a consistent picture of strong demand. Refineries are running flat out to meet fuel demand from motorists. U.S. refineries have been processing a near-record 16.5 million bpd of crude in recent weeks,1 million bpd higher than the seasonal average ( link.reuters.com/zuh25w ). Gasoline production is […]

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U.S. jobless claims rise to highest level since February

Job seekers listen to prospective employers during a job hiring event for marketing, sales and retail positions in San Francisco, California, in this file photo taken June 4, 2015. New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits rose last week to their highest level since February, suggesting some slowdown in the labor market recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 297,000 for the week that ended July 4, the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday. Even with the rise in claims, the latest report marks the 18th consecutive week of new filings below 300,000, which is considered consistent with a firming labor market. The previous week’s claims were revised to 282,000, showing that 1,000 more people filed than initially reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected new applications to fall to 275,000 last week. The four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes out […]

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Saipem loses Russian pipe-laying contract

Italian energy services contractor Saipem loses contract to build pipeline for Russian energy company Gazprom. Photo courtesy of Saipem. MILAN, Italy, July 9 (UPI) — Italian energy services company Saipem said Thursday it received word from Gazprom its contract to build a natural gas pipeline through Turkey was cancelled. The Italian company said it received official notice late Wednesday that its contract to build part of the South Stream natural gas pipeline for Europe was pulled under a termination for convenience clause . "The termination for convenience is a standard contractual clause which provides for the termination of the agreement in the absence of a contractual breach, with compensation determined in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract," the company explained. Russian officials in mid-December confirmed South Stream, touted as the answer to European transit woes, was no longer viable as envisioned in 2007. Instead, Russian energy […]

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Ukraine raises gas imports from Slovakia: company

Ukraine will take about 21 percent more gas from Slovakia to boost deliveries to underground storage after the country suspended imports from Russia over a pricing dispute, transport monopoly Ukrtransgaz said on Friday. Ukraine plans to import 16.5 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas on Friday from Slovakia, up from daily imports of 13.6 mcm so far this month, a spokesman for the company said. He said Ukraine pumped 27 mcm of gas per day from July 1-9 and collected 12.2 billion cubic meters of gas in reserves as of July 10. Ukrainian energy officials say Ukrtransgaz must store about 60 mcm of gas per day to ensure it has enough gas to meet demand during the winter and to guarantee the transit of Russian gas to European consumers. With Ukraine’s economy close to bankruptcy because of years of economic mismanagement and fighting against pro-Russian rebels in the country’s […]

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Greek Plan Accepts Austerity to Get Debt Relief

Photo Pensioners wait outside of a National Bank of Greece branch in Athens on Thursday. Credit Yannis Kolesidis/European Pressphoto Agency ATHENS — Only a day after grim predictions of financial and social collapse in Greece , a scramble appeared underway to work out the details of a new bailout package to bring the country back from the brink of falling out of the euro. As details of the new offer emerged, it appeared that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was capitulating to demands on harsh austerity terms that he urged his countrymen to reject in the referendum last Sunday, like tax increases and various measures to cut the costs of pensions. But Mr. Tsipras sought a three-year bailout loan totaling 53.5 billion euros (about $59 billion) and asked creditors to commit to discussing restructuring the nation’s massive debt. The amount was more than it would have been without a nationwide […]

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Greek Bailout Assessment Could Come Friday, Official Says

A vendor waits for customers outside his shop in central Athens on Friday. BRUSSELS—Greece’s creditor institutions could make an assessment on the country’s eligibility for new bailout on Friday, a eurozone official said, as a deadline to avoid a possible Greek financial meltdown draws near. The institutions that have been overseeing Greece’s bailouts—the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund—may come out Friday with their assessment of Greece’s request for help from the eurozone’s rescue fund, said a spokesman for the chairman of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers. That assessment will also take into account the latest overhaul proposals from Greece, the spokesman added. The institutions’ assessment still needs to be discussed and approved by eurozone finance ministers, who may push for tougher criteria to avoid having to take aggressive action of reducing Greece’s debt. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who presides over meetings of eurozone finance […]

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EU’s Tusk urges debt relief as part of Greek deal

The European Union’s chairman joined growing international calls for Greece to be granted debt restructuring as part of any new loan deal if it delivers convincing reforms to avert imminent bankruptcy. The call was an implicit challenge to Germany, Athens’ biggest creditor, which has so far ruled out any write-offs as illegal and taken a restrictive view of reprofiling the debt to help Greece over a major repayment hump this year. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was finalizing a tough package of tax hikes and pension reforms to send to euro zone authorities by midnight in a race to secure agreement at the weekend on a third financial rescue for his country. European Council President Donald Tusk, who is to chair a special euro group summit on Sunday that will decide Greece’s fate, hoped the plans would be concrete and realistic. "The realistic proposal from Greece will have to […]

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KRG extending control over Kirkuk oil exports

KRG President Massoud Barzani (L) meets with Kirkuk Gov. Najmaldin Karim (R) in Kirkuk on June 8, 2015. (STAFF/Iraq Oil Report) Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is pushing to control all oil sales from Kirkuk province – a further sign that a cooperative oil export and revenue sharing deal with Baghdad has disintegrated.The federal North Oil Company (NOC) is continuing to pump about 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Kirkuk fields into Kurdistan’s autonomous pipeline to Turkey, according to both federal and KRG oil officials. But for more than two weeks, none of that oil has been transferred bac… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil prices bounce on China stock rebound, strong economic data

A man fills up his 1976 Chevy Nova with gasoline at a PDVSA gas station in Caracas January 12, 2015. Crude oil prices bounced on Thursday on strong economic data from Japan and Germany, and as Chinese stocks picked up after the government launched new steps to halt a rout in its share markets. Front-month U.S. crude futures were up 84 cents at $52.49 per barrel at 0652 GMT, but remain almost 7.5 percent lower than the end of last week. Brent crude was 9 cents higher at $57.72 a barrel, though still 4 percent below last Friday. Chinese stocks rallied on Thursday after the securities regulator banned shareholders with large stakes in listed firms from selling, in Beijing’s most drastic step yet to stem a sell-off that has roiled global financial markets. The police are also investigating clues pointing to potentially "malicious" short-selling of Chinese shares, state news […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple