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Russia sends jets to Syria, resumes US military talks – officials

A man rides a motorcycle near damaged buildings in Maarat Al-Nouman, south of Idlib September 17, 2015. Picture taken September 17, 2015. Russia has sent fighter jets to Syria, U.S. officials said, raising the stakes in a military buildup that has put Washington on edge and led Friday to the first talks between U.S. and Russian defense chiefs in over a year. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, eyeing the possibility of rival U.S. and Russian air operations in Syria’s limited airspace, agreed in a call with his Russian counterpart to explore ways to avoid accidental military interactions. The coordination necessary to avoid such encounters is known in military parlance as "deconfliction." "They agreed to further discuss mechanisms for deconfliction in Syria and the counter-ISIL campaign," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said after the call, referring to the campaign by the U.S. and its allies against Islamic State militants. The former […]

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Nigeria Plans to Renegotiate Existing Oil-Production Contracts

IBADAN, Nigeria–Nigeria will seek to renegotiate the fiscal terms of existing production-sharing contracts with some international oil and gas companies to seek more favorable terms, the new head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said. “In the weeks and months ahead, the corporation will be renegotiating the contracts to extract as much benefits as possible for Nigeria,” said NNPC chief Ibe Kachikwu, according to a statement. Speaking in Paris ahead of the state visit of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Kachikwu said: “The NNPC is allowed to make use of the window which creates space for renegotiation.” The major African oil exporter is facing hefty budget pressures after international oil prices plunged and as the Buhari administration looks for funds to execute an ambitious reform program. The new government had been expected to seek to renegotiate some contracts. Since assuming office in May, Buhari has sought to overhaul the NNPC […]

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New Libyan Oil Company Stalls

MALTA—A host of energy firms have so far refused to do business with the U.N.-backed Libyan government until a peace treaty is signed, another blow to the institution’s bid to build a new National Oil Co. and tap into the country’s petroleum reserves. The government, based in Libya’s eastern city of Baida, gathered more than 30 energy firms and traders at an upmarket hotel in Malta on Wednesday. It was another bid to lure business away from the country’s long-established National Oil Co. in Tripoli, where a coalition of militias known as Libya Dawn holds power. The old National Oil Co. says it is an independent company, a view the United Nations endorses. The Dawn-led government has appointed its own oil minister, but has kept the company’s pre-war management in place. But no oil companies or traders signed on with the eastern government’s new firm, also called National Oil […]

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IMF: Egypt’s gas good for growth

A natural gas find off the Egyptian coast will help stimulate the nation’s economy, the International Monetary Fund said. File photo by Ahmed Jomaa/UPI WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) — The discovery of a major deposit of natural gas off the Egyptian coast should help ensure positive economic growth, the International Monetary Fund said. Members of the IMF met in Cairo with Egyptian Central Bank Gov. Hisham Ramez, Finance Minister Hany Dimian and other representatives to discuss planned economic policies and developments. The issuance of a $1.5 billion bond helped lead to 4.2 percent growth in the Egyptian economy. Chris Jarvis, head of mission for the IMF, said the major gas find made by Italian energy company Eni will help stimulate the Egyptian economy in the medium term. Eni announced a discovery of gas in a deepwater prospect off the Egyptian coast last month. With an estimated 30 trillion cubic […]

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U.S. accuses Volkswagen of clean air violations

A volkswagen automobile sits for sale on a car lot in Carlsbad, California August 28, 2015. U.S. and California environmental regulators on Friday accused Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) of deliberately circumventing clean air rules on nearly 500,000 diesel cars and the company could face penalties of up to $18 billion. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleged that Volkswagen used software in four-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars from model years 2009 to 2015 to circumvent emissions testing of certain air pollutants. "Put simply, these cars contained software that turns off emissions controls when driving normally and turns them on when the car is undergoing an emissions test," Cynthia Giles, an enforcement officer at the EPA, told reporters in a teleconference. The feature, known as a "defeat device," results in the cars emitting as much as 40 times emissions allowed under clean air rules meant to ensure public health […]

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As U.S. lawmakers press to end oil export ban, traders say no hurry

Oil barrels sit empty at a recycling yard in Longmont, Colorado February 2, 2015. U.S. lawmakers may now be only months away from lifting a four-decade-old ban on most oil exports, relieving a trade constraint that as recently as a year ago seemed at risk of choking off a domestic drilling boom. At the same time, the outlook for oil prices in 2016 and beyond suggest it may be years before traders care. U.S. benchmark crude oil futures for March have strengthened swiftly this week to their firmest versus global benchmark Brent since the early days of the U.S. shale oil boom, all but eliminating the price gap that would have made exports profitable. The momentum for change in Washington is at odds with the shifting outlook for global oil markets. A key House of Representatives committee on Thursday easily passed a bill to repeal the ban, setting up […]

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Iran to unveil new oil contracts in coming weeks: Shana

Iran will unveil new oil development contracts in the coming weeks aiming to attract foreign investors and oil buyers once sanctions on its energy sector are lifted, the Oil Ministry’s website Shana reported on Friday. Under a deal reached with six major powers in July, the OPEC producer agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for an end to economic sanctions imposed on the country over its disputed nuclear work. The sanctions imposed on Iran in 2012 have choked Tehran’s oil production. Output is down a million barrels per day (bpd) since the start of 2012 at 2.7 million bpd, depriving it of billions of dollars in oil revenue. Now they are widely expected to be lifted in 2016, Iran needs Western oil companies to help to revive its giant, aging oilfields and develop new oil and gas projects and the new oil contracts are part of its […]

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Samson bankruptcy highlights M&A plans in offshore oil industry

The most significant bankruptcy of the current oil downturn has shone a spotlight on what is perhaps the most oversupplied corner of the energy world: the market for offshore rig services. Samson Resources Corp, an independent oil producer bought just four years ago for $7.2 billion, said in its late Wednesday filing for creditor protection that a 60 percent crude price slide CLc1 LCOc1 had upended its business. In the offshore space, restructurings and asset sales are widely seen as likely and some chief executive officers are now openly talking about acquisitions. Paragon Offshore Plc ( PGN.N ), which has an outdated fleet, said on Thursday it has hired Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a well-known restructuring firm, and the investment bank Lazard. And Vantage Drilling Co, which has a hefty debt load, has also said it retained financial adviser Lazard to explore options. Vantage did not provide additional comment. […]

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U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for third week on weak crude prices: Baker Hughes

Stacked rigs are seen along with other idled oil drilling equipment at a depot in Dickinson, North Dakota June 26, 2015. U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for a third week in a row this week, data showed on Friday, a sign that the latest crude price weakness was causing drillers to put on hold plans announced several months ago to return to the well pad. Drillers removed eight rigs in the week ended Sept. 18, bringing the total rig count down to 644, after cutting 23 rigs over the prior two weeks, oil services company Baker Hughes Inc said in its closely followed report. That was the biggest three-week decline since May. Those reductions cut into the 47 oil rigs energy firms added in July and August after some drillers followed through on plans to add rigs announced in May and June when U.S. crude futures averaged $60 […]

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Exxon Said to Be on the Hunt for West Texas Shale Bargains

Exxon Mobil Corp. is adjusting the way it structures shale acquisitions as the global energy giant expands in West Texas, the largest U.S. oil-producing region. Executives with Exxon’s shale-drilling unit, XTO Energy, are meeting with small, closely held producers in the Permian Basin to negotiate possible purchases and joint ventures, according to three people familiar with the talks. The company is expanding its use of a new strategy first deployed in the region last year that offers operators a cut of future proceeds rather than big upfront stock or cash payouts, say the people, who asked not to be named because the meetings were private. Stung by the 58 percent plunge in U.S. oil prices since June 2014, many drillers face stark choices: shut down rigs to conserve capital and wait out the bust, or surrender some independence to a deep-pocketed savior in exchange for a shot at a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple