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Iran sees no oil interest yet from U.S. companies

Though it’s expecting renewed international interest. Iran’s oil minister says there’s been no outreach yet from U.S. energy companies. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI TEHRAN, Aug. 10 (UPI) — After outlining the terms of new oil contracts in a future post-sanctions era, the Iranian Oil Ministry said it hasn’t seen any interest from U.S. companies. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said "all international" energy companies can present bids for projects in Iran’s oil industry, though some are remaining on the sidelines . "We have received no requests from any American company so far," he said. Claudio Descalzi, the chief executive officer of Italian energy company Eni, was among the hundreds of representatives who joined Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on an official visit to Tehran last week. Eni had a $550 million deal to help Iran develop its Darkhovin oil field, expected to produce 160,000 barrels per day, before […]

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Kenyan Oil-Pipeline Accord With Uganda Paves Way for Exports

Kenya and neighboring Uganda agreed on the route of a planned oil pipeline, ending months of debate on the link that will export crude from companies including Tullow Oil Plc. The pipeline will pass through the Lokichar basin in northern Kenya, Manoah Esipisu, spokesman for Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, said Monday by phone from the Ugandan capital, Kampala. The countries had also discussed building the link through southern Kenya and the capital, Nairobi. The agreed design will be the cheapest to develop, according to an e-mailed statement from the Ugandan presidency. Tullow has found oil in both countries, with Uganda estimating finds at 6.5 billion barrels and Kenya at 600 million barrels . The planned $4.5 billion pipeline to the Indian Ocean will allow the U.K. company to start exports from joint ventures with Africa Oil Corp. and Total SA. China’s Cnooc Ltd. is also a partner in Uganda. […]

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Panama Canal sets draft restrictions due to El Nino-related drought

The Panama Canal Authority said it will temporarily lower the maximum allowable draft for vessels transiting through the Panama Canal in September due to El Nino-related droughts, the first such restriction in nearly 20 years. The maximum allowable draft will be lowered to 11.89 meters (39 feet), from the current level of 12.04 meters (39.5 feet) from September 8, in a move that could affect almost 20% of vessels transiting the canal. "These temporary and preventive measures are due to an anticipated climatic variability event related to El Nino … it has triggered a drought in the Canal Watershed, causing the water levels of Gatun and Alhajuela Lakes to fall substantially below their average for this time of year," the Panama Canal Authority, or ACP, said in shipping advisory Friday. El Nino is a phenomenon marked by a warming of sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific and can […]

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Japan Returns to Atomic Club With Restart Amid Public Opposition

Protesters take part in a rally outside Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai nuclear power plant in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima prefecture, Japan on Aug. 9, 2015. Source: Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images Japan is rejoining the group of nations using atomic power as it sweeps aside public opposition and fires up one of the reactors shuttered for safety upgrades after the Fukushima nuclear disaster more than four years ago. Kyushu Electric Power Co. will begin bringing online the No. 1 reactor at its Sendai facility on Aug. 11, start power generation as early as Aug. 14 and return it to normal operations next month, the company said in a statement. Two of its reactors on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu are the first to pass tougher safety checks set by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the agency created after the Fukushima disaster, and to overcome legal challenges. “The Sendai restart is obviously a very […]

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China Moves to Devalue Yuan

BEIJING—China’s central bank devalued its tightly controlled currency, causing its biggest one-day loss in two decades, as the world’s second-largest economy continues to sputter. Chinese authorities said the change would help drive the currency toward more market-driven movements. The move also signaled the government’s growing worry about slow growth . A shift toward a weaker currency could help flagging exports at a time when many other efforts to boost the economy haven’t proven very effective. China’s yuan has been on an upward track for a decade, during which the country’s economy grew to be the second largest in the world and the currency gained importance globally. The devaluation Tuesday was the most significant downward adjustment to the yuan since 1994, when as part of a break from Communist state planning, Beijing let the currency fall by one-third. China sets a midpoint for the value of the yuan against the […]

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China central bank devalues the yuan after poor economic data

An employee seals a stack of yuan banknotes at a branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Huaibei, Anhui province April 6, 2011. China devalued the yuan CNY=SAEC on Tuesday after a run of poor economic data, guiding the currency to its lowest point in almost three years. The central bank described the move as a "one-off depreciation" of nearly 2 percent, based on a new way of managing the exchange rate that better reflected market forces. "Since China’s trade in goods continues to post relatively large surpluses, the yuan’s real effective exchange rate is still relatively strong versus various global currencies, and is deviating from market expectations," the bank said in a statement. "Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the yuan’s midpoint pricing to meet the needs of the market." China manages the exchange rate through an official midpoint, from which it can vary 2 […]

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China grants independent refiners licenses to import crude oil

Smoke rises from chimneys and cooling towers of a refinery in Ningbo, Zhejiang province August 19, 2014. China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Monday it will grant licenses to two independent refineries to directly import crude oil, shortly after the companies won import quotas, as Beijing continues to open up the tightly state-controlled sector. Beijing has already widened the pool of companies to which it will award quotas for imported crude, starting early this year to boost private participation in the oil trade ahead of a planned launch of a crude oil futures contract. Most quota winners still have to nominate a state-affiliated trading company as agent for any shipments. But Shandong Dongming Petrochemical Group [SDHLYD.UL] and Panjin Beifang Asphalt Fuel Co have now been approved for licenses to import crude on their own, according to a short statement posted on the ministry’s website (www.mofcom.gov.cn). The approval came just […]

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U.S. shale oil output forecast to fall 75,000 barrels per day in September: EIA

A pumpjack drills for oil in the Monterey Shale, California, April 29, 2013. U.S. oil production from the largest shale plays was forecast to fall by some 75,000 barrels per day in September from August, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Monday. Eagle Ford production was set to fall by 56,000 bpd to 1.48 million bpd while production from the Bakken was set to drop 27,000 bpd to 1.16 million bpd. Production from the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico bucked the trend and was forecast to rise by 8,000 bpd to 2.04 million bpd. Meanwhile, new well oil production was seen to rise 6 bpd to 333 bpd for the Permian and 26 bpd to 792 bpd in the Eagle Ford. It was set to rise 4 bpd to 692 bpd in the Bakken. (EIA corrects new-well oil production per rig to 688 […]

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Sanchez Energy boasts of hefty production gains

Sanchez Energy takes major hit during the second quarter, but maintains optimism about future production growth. File photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI HOUSTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) — Despite reporting a half billion loss in the second quarter, U.S. shale player Sanchez Energy said its total production was up 164 percent year-on-year. Chief Executive Officer Tony Sanchez said in a statement Monday his company plans to cut capital spending by $50 million for the year, but still increase its production target by 4 percent, or about 2,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. "The 2016 capital budget is expected to maintain production consistent with 2015 levels and will likely lead to some moderate year-over-year growth," he said. Low crude oil prices leave energy companies with less money to spend on exploration and production. Some of those companies are boasting of production gains by crediting improved efficiencies in well operations. Sanchez […]

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