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Nigeria: Revealed – “In Three Years, NNPC Generated N8.1 Trillion, Gave Nigeria N4.3 Trillion, Pocketed the Balance”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, generated about N8.1trillion between 2012 and May 2015, but paid only N4.3trillion to the federation account, Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, said Monday, citing new details from the federal economic council meeting. The balance of the oil money — about N3.8trillion — was withheld and spent by the NNPC unilaterally without approval or National Assembly appropriation, the governor told journalists. Also, the governor confirmed at the meeting that from November 2014, about $2.1billion was withdrawn from the excess crude account without the approval of the National Economic Council, NEC. Mr. Oshiomhole, who, alongside the governors of Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and Zamfara governor, Abdulazeez Yari, briefed journalists, said following the discovery, the NEC has set up a four-member committee to comb the books of the NNPC to confirm its remittances and how the excess crude account was utilised. President Muhammadu Buhari dissolved […]

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Asian imports of Iran oil hit highest this year as nuclear talks drag

TOKYO Asian imports of Iranian crude rose to the highest level this year in May, although buyers may have to curb any further increases if negotiators up against a deadline fail to reach a final deal on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. A deal between Iran and six world powers would resolve a 12-year standoff over the Islamic nation’s nuclear work in exchange for relief from sanctions, which could eventually send millions of barrels flooding into an already saturated market. Iran has as much as 40 million barrels of oil stored in tankers and aims to increase output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) within a month of sanctions being lifted and up to 1 million bpd within six or seven months. Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China reached a tentative framework for a nuclear pact on April 2 but several issues remain unresolved. They have […]

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China starts work on Russian gas pipeline

China starts work on natural gas pipeline extending to Russia, touting the low-carbon benefits of switching away from coal. File Photo by UPI/Hamid Forotan/ISNA BEIJING, June 30 (UPI) — Construction on the Chinese side of a natural gas pipeline linking to Russia began in western Heilongjiang province, a Chinese energy company said Tuesday. Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli gave the ceremonial order to start construction on the pipeline during a video conference with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev , the China National Petroleum Corp. said. Russian energy company Gazprom has a 30-year sales agreement with CNPC that calls for 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year through the pipeline. With a European economy looking to break the Russian grip on the region’s energy sector, the Kremlin has shifted focus on building successful trade relations with Asia-Pacific economies. Gazprom in early 2015 received a AAA rating , the […]

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China June factory, services surveys fuel hopes economy leveling out, no quick rebound seen

BEIJING Activity in China’s factory sector expanded slightly in June though not as much as expected, while growth in the services sector sped up, official surveys showed, offering some signs that the world’s second-largest economy may be starting to slowly level out after a raft of support measures. Beijing has rolled out a flurry of steps since last year, including interest rate cuts and more infrastructure spending, but analysts remain wary about the outlook given the still-weak property market, erratic global demand for China’s exports and fears of a collapse in its wild stock market. The government is due to release second-quarter gross domestic product data on July 15 and many economists expect growth to dip below 7 percent, which would be the weakest performance since the global financial crisis. "In general, the softness in the manufacturing sector remains, requiring more policy recalibration", Liu Li-Gang and Zhou Hao at […]

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U.S. Supreme Court fires warning shot across EPA’s bow: Kemp

LONDON In a rare defeat for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered it on Monday to reconsider whether the EPA’s regulations on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants are appropriate and necessary. While the EPA considered the costs and benefits of various regulatory options later in the rule-writing process, the court faulted it for not considering compliance costs at the beginning to determine whether regulation was appropriate in the first place. The ruling is unusual because so far the federal courts, including the high court, have been deferential to the EPA’s attempts to write ambitious rules to curb pollution from power plants. While the courts have become increasingly aggressive in invalidating regulations issued by other federal agencies, the EPA’s air pollution regulations have mostly survived judicial scrutiny. Starting with “Massachusetts versus EPA” in 2007, the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the EPA’s authority […]

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BP’s chief economist sees U.S. shale weathering oil surplus

BRUSSELS Shale output in the United States will prove resilient to low oil prices likely to be prolonged by the prospect of half a million barrels per day of Iranian crude making its way back to the market, BP’s chief economist said on Tuesday. Talks in Vienna between world powers trying to end sanctions on Tehran in return for limits on Iran’s most sensitive nuclear activities could bring a significant increase in Iranian oil exports. BP’s Spencer Dale, however, told Reuters that it would probably take time for any easing of sanctions to filter through to oil markets if an Iran deal is agreed. His "hunch" was that the outcome of the talks would be closer to U.S. demands that restrictions should be eased after a period of monitoring rather than the rapid change sought by Iran. U.S. and European Union sanctions ban their companies from buying Iranian oil. […]

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Canada Surprise April Contraction Opens Door to 2nd Rate Cut

Canada’s economy shrank for the fourth straight month in April as oil and mining slumped and a rebound in manufacturing remained elusive, opening the door to a second interest-rate cut from the central bank this year. Output shrank 0.1 percent to an annualized C$1.65 trillion ($1.33 trillion) in the month, Statistics Canada said Tuesday, confounding economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent expansion in a Bloomberg survey. Oil and gas, mining and quarrying fell 2.6 percent in the month, the sixth consecutive decline as crude’s slide continued to hammer Canada’s resource-rich economy. The data failed to show the strength in non-energy exports and consumer spending the Bank of Canada was counting on to take over as drivers of growth after output shrank at an annualized 0.6 percent in the first quarter, and raises the pressure to cut interest rates again at the July 15 meeting. “They shouldn’t wait any longer, […]

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July 4th gas to be cheapest since at least 2010

U.S. holiday travelers will see some of the lowest gas prices in at least five years, according to motor club AAA. UPI/Bill Greenblatt WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) — Though seasonally high, U.S. holiday goers are expected to pay the lowest price for gas during the July 4th weekend in at least five years, motor club AAA said. The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline for Tuesday was $2.77, down a fraction of a percent from the previous day. AAA said prices at the pump tend to drift lower in the days preceding the July 4th holiday, though this year prices are set to be the lowest for the holiday in at least five years. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports gasoline prices averaged $2.76 for the first week of July 2010 and $3.58 for the same week in 2011. AAA said the average price for […]

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SCOTUS says no to Gulf of Mexico spill appeals

U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear challenges filed by companies protesting charges stemming from Deepwater Horizon tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. UPI/U.S. Coast Guard WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) — The Supreme Court refused to hear two separate cases filed by BP and Anadarko Petroleum challenging fines related to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The nation’s highest court let stand a decision from a circuit court of appeals in New Orleans, which in June 2014 said the companies are liable for penalties under the Clean Water Act. The cases filed against the federal government by BP and Anadarko were Nos. 14-1217 and 14-1167, respectively. Anadarko held a minority stake in the Macondo well beneath the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Carl Barbier, the judge overseeing the case in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana, ruled BP […]

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North Dakota refinery completed

North Dakota leaders tout economic benefits of new oil refinery processing Bakken crude. Photo by Oskari Porkka/Shutterstock BISMARCK, N.D., June 30 (UPI) — The completion of a new refinery in North Dakota will help bring jobs to the state while ensuring U.S. energy security, Gov. Jack Dalrymple said. MDU Resources Group and Calumet Specialty Products Partners, which has headquarters in Indiana, announced the completion of the Dakota Prairie refinery, characterized by the state as the first environmentally friendly refinery build in the country in nearly 40 years. "The Dakota Prairie refinery is another example of the great progress we’re making in North Dakota to create good jobs, diversify our economy and to help meet the energy needs of our state and the nation," Dalrymple said in a statement. North Dakota’s economy is leading others in the nation and its unemployment rate has hovered below the national average rate of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple