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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011
To download the full report (PDF document) please click here SPECIAL PDF REPORT - THREAT OF IRAN SANCTIONS WORRIES OIL MARKET Iran aims to sell its biggest Asian customers oil at higher prices and on tougher terms, even as it faces the prospect of fewer sales as Western nations mull sanctioning the economic lifeline of the world's fifth largest crude exporter.
For Reuters reports on the meet, click here COLUMN: Race for 2012 crown set with final oil forecasts: Kemp
--John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Leading oil analysts have issued a clutch of mostly small downgrades for 2012 Brent prices in the latest Reuters survey, but for the most part banks and traders stuck with earlier predictions.
Predictions in the December survey are particularly important because they are the last out-of-sample forecasts before the forecast period begins, so they provide the best test of accuracy.
Euro-gloom saps geopolitics' power over oil-Campbell
-- Robert Campbell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. --
NEW YORK , Dec 21 (Reuters) - Much to the consternation of the most ardent oil bulls, nothing seems capable of lifting crude out of its euro-zone-crisis-induced funk.
It used to be the case that the merest hint of political strife that could have even a modest indirect impact on oil flows was enough to get the market going.
Brent steady above $107; U.S. stocks, euro zone eyed
SINGAPORE, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Brent futures were steady above $107 a barrel, as investors weighed a sharp drop in U.S. crude stocks against persistent worries the euro zone debt crisis would curtail global oil demand.
"I was surprised by the size of the drawdown, which is helping support oil prices," said Ken Hasegawa, a derivatives manager with brokerage Newedge in Tokyo. "But there's still a lot of uncertainty over Europe."
FOREX-Euro rises vs dollar, risk appetite seen shaky
LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The euro rose against the dollar drawing support from higher European stocks, although the rally was seen limited by ongoing concerns the euro zone debt crisis could intensify next year.
"We are seeing a little bit of short-covering and equity markets are in positive territory opening up. There is a little bit of risk appetite this morning," said Niels Christensen, FX strategist at Nordea.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, euro gain but debt concerns linger
LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Financial stocks led European share markets higher in thin trade, while the euro rose, on hopes the nearly half a trillion euros in three-year funds that banks have borrowed from the region's central bank will ease current funding strains.
"In the longer-term the liquidity provided yesterday is not going to solve the debt crisis, it is not going to help southern European countries with their problems in getting control of their public debt," said Niels Christensen, FX strategist at Nordea.
TOP NEWS:
CNPC's Sichuan gas well explodes, one person missing
BEIJING, Dec 22 (Reuters) - A gas exploration well in southwestern Sichuan province owned by top Chinese oil and gas firm China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) exploded and caught fire early on Thursday morning, in the latest disaster to hit the country's energy sector.
CNPC, parent of PetroChina , said one person was missing and one was lightly injured, but the Xinhua News Agency reported that four people had been hospitalised after the accident and one was missing.
Taiwan October crude imports up 12 pct from September
Dec 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan's October crude imports rose 12 percent to their highest volume this year, as the country purchased more crude from Kuwait, Angola and Iran, government data showed on Wednesday.
Taiwan bought 28.6 million barrels of crude in October, up from the previous month's 25.4 million barrels.
Ohio natgas lines to link Utica and Marcellus with consumers
Dec 21 (Reuters) - A consortium of natural gas producers and electric utilities on Wednesday announced plans to build a natural gas pipeline network that would connect prolific shale gas fields in Ohio with consuming regions as production balloons.
Spectra Energy Corp , American Electric Power and Chesapeake Energy will build the Ohio Pipeline Energy Network (OPEN), which would connect the Utica and Marcellus plays with the Texas Eastern pipeline that runs from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the northeast, a joint statement said.
Eagle Ford shale Sep. output at record high-Bentek
NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Oil and condensate output from the prolific Eagle Ford shale prospect rose to yet another record high in September, data from consultancy Bentek Energy showed on Wednesday.
Total crude oil and condensate output in the unconventional prospect rose by 120,000 bpd to just under 375,000 bpd during the month, Bentek data showed.
Exxon plans to merge fuels, lubricants divisions
Dec 21 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp plans to merge two of its products divisions, a sign of the times for big oil companies, which generally are sharpening their corporate focus on the growing challenges of exploration and production.
The largest U.S. oil company said on Wednesday it expects its Lubricants & Petroleum Specialties Co to merge with its Fuels Marketing Co, effective Feb. 1, 2012, subject to board approval.
Colonial board OKs expansion of main gasoline line
Dec 21 (Reuters) - Colonial Pipeline Co plans a 10 percent increase in the capacity of its main gasoline line from Houston to North Carolina, the compan said in a news release Wednesday.
An estimated 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of capacity will be added to Colonial's Line 01, which runs from Houston to Greensboro, North Carolina, during the first quarter of 2013.
Major traders win 9 pct of Libyan oil exports
LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Libya has agreed to supply oil to four major European trading houses in 2012, a senior National Oil Corporation (NOC) source said, amounting to at least 9 percent of its crude exports, in a break from a policy of restricting sales to refiners.
Glencore and Swiss-based trading giants Vitol, Gunvor and Trafigura together will receive around 70 cargoes, the NOC source said on Wednesday, as Libya expands its pool of customers.
Cuba oil, gas production little changed in 2011
HAVANA, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Energy dependent Cuba produced oil and gas equivalent to almost four million tonnes of crude in 2011, or about the same amount as the last few years, state-run media said on Wednesday.
It did not say how much was oil and how much was gas, but the government reported production in 2010 of 3.1 million tonnes of oil and 1.1 million cubic meters of natural gas.
REFINERY NEWS: Japan's JX restarts 100,000 bpd Mizushima CDU
TOKYO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Japan's top oil refiner, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, said it restarted the 100,000 barrels per day No.2 crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Mizushima B refinery in western Japan on Wednesday, nearly a month after an unplanned shutdown.
The CDU had been shut since Nov. 26 due to repair work on the refinery's secondary units. A company spokesman declined to comment on whether the repair work had finished.
PBF to add hydrocracker at Delaware City refinery
HOUSTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - PBF Energy announced plans on Wednesday to add a hydrocracking unit at its 182,200 barrel-per-day (bpd) Delaware City, Delaware, refinery, enabling the plant to expand its crude slate to include higher-sulfur oil, according to a statement from the company.
The $1 billion, three-year project will also include a hydrogen plant and increase distillate production from the refinery, the company said.
Colonial to expand main gasoline line capacity
Dec 21 (Reuters) - Colonial Pipeline said it plans to expand the capacity of its main gasoline line north of Collins, Mississippi by 100,000 barrels per day and work is slated to be complete and in service during the first quarter of 2013.
A similar increase in capacity of Line 03 went into operation earlier this year, and a 75,000-bpd capacity enhancement on main distillate line has partially finished, with full completion due mid-2012.
Alon reports compressor offline at Big Spring refinery
Dec 21 (Reuters) - Alon USA Energy reported an off-Gas compressor was off-line for maintenance at its 67,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Big Spring, Texas, according to a notice filed with state pollution regulators.
The filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality listed a diesel hydrotreater and a gasoil hydrotreater as sources of emissions.
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