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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2011
To download the full report (PDF document) please click here COLUMN: US Congress hands energy industry historic victory: Kemp --John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - In a crushing demonstration of the growing power of domestic energy producers, and waning influence of environmental groups, Congress is poised to enact legislation fast-tracking approval for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
It is a stinging defeat for environment groups that have lobbied fiercely against the Keystone extension, and comes little more than a month after the president had sought to take the heat out of the issue by postponing approval beyond the next election pending a review of alternative routes through Nebraska. MARKET NEWS: Brent above $108 on supply worries, US data supports
SINGAPORE, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose slightly to trade above $108, supported by supply disruptions in Syria and Iranian naval exercises in a key shipping lane, while improved U.S. home sales data and year-end short-covering also supported prices.
"Syria could be a support factor for the time being, but we will not see a big climb or rocket high prices because of that," Ken Hasegawa, a derivatives manager with brokerage Newedge in Tokyo, said.
FOREX-Euro struggles, at risk from Italy auction
LONDON, Dec 27 - The euro hobbled near an 11-month low against the dollar and remained at risk of more selling if Italy struggles to sell government debt later in the week, highlighting how the euro zone debt crisis has worsened.
"I think there could be some downside risks for the euro. (Thursday's auction) will be more of a test of the market, given that the bonds auctioned are longer maturities," said Sverre Holbek, currency strategist at Danske Bank in Copenhagen.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares ease in thin trade, US data awaited
TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Asian shares eased as investors squared positions in thin volume before U.S. markets reopen after a long weekend and investors see fresh data that could offer clues about prospects for the world's largest economy.
"With U.S. and European players in holiday mood, there is no incentive except for year-end position adjustments," said Hirokazu Yuihama, senior strategist at Daiwa Capital Markets.
TOP NEWS: Pertamina to build fuel terminal on Sambu Island
JAKARTA, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Indonesian state oil and gas company Pertamina plans to build a new fuel terminal on Sambu Island to secure national fuel stocks, a company official said on Tuesday.
The facility, which is expected to be ready in 2013, will include a fuel storage terminal with a 300,000-kiloliter capacity and three ports for transport. Pertamina has not announced the contractor for the project.
Ecuador says oil output up slightly in 2011
QUITO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - OPEC-member Ecuador increased crude production in 2011 by 3 percent to just over 500,000 barrels of oil per day, the Ministry for Non-renewable Natural Resources said on Monday.
After taking office in 2007, Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa introduced reforms to increase state revenue from the oil industry, which led companies to freeze investments.
Afghanistan cabinet OKs oil deal with China's CNPC
KABUL, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's cabinet cleared the way for the war-torn state to sign a deal with China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) for the development of oil blocks in the Amu Darya basin, the Afghan president's office said on Monday.
The deal covering drilling and a refinery in the northern provinces of Sar-e Pul and Faryab will be the first international oil production agreement entered into by the Afghan government for several decades.
Cairn to start Sri Lanka oil exploration 2nd phase
COLOMBO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Cairn India said it intended to start the second phase of oil exploration in Sri Lanka's offshore Mannar basin after completing the first phase and successfully discovering gas and condensate.
"Cairn Lanka's successful drilling programme ... has established a working petroleum system in the frontier Mannar Basin," Cairn India said in a statement on Monday, referring to its wholly owned subsidiary in Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh state firm says finds more gas reserves
DHAKA, Dec 26 (Reuters) - State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) said on Monday that it had discovered significant new gas reserves at a field in the country's northeast.
"We will be able to extract up to 40 million cubic feet of gas per day from the newly found well at Fenchuganj in Sylhet district, 280 km (175 miles) from Dhaka," Mortuza Ahmad Faruque, managing director of BAPEX, told Reuters.
Turkey, Azerbaijan sign pipeline deal, cost estimate $5 bln
ANKARA, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline project, which will carry Azeri gas across Turkey to Europe, has a capacity of around 35 billion cubic metres (bcm) and can carry 16-24 bcm annually, officials from Turkey and Azerbaijan said on Monday.
"The initial capacity of the pipeline may be 35 bcm, with the probability of increasing to 60 bcm," Azeri Energy Minister Natik Aliev said during the signing of a memorandum of understanding in Ankara.
China's 1st deepwater surveyor to scour South China Sea
BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) - China will soon put its first deepwater survey vessel into use in the South China Sea, an official with China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL) said, part of an effort by the world's top energy consumer to tap its underexplored deep waters.
Ocean Oil 708, with a capacity to work in water depths of 3,000 metres and a drilling depth of 600 metres below the seabed, is one of the deepwater equipment that leading offshore oil and gas developer CNOOC planned to expand its deepwater capability.
Japex delays Canada oil sand investment decision
TOKYO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Japan Petroleum Exploration said on Monday it was delaying a final investment decision (FID) on its Hangingstone oil sand expansion project in Canada to around mid-2012 from its previous plan of this winter due to a delay in Canadian government approval.
The company said it had hoped to receive permission for the development by the end of the year, but it now expects government approval to take another six months.
REFINERY NEWS: Japan's JX sees Jan crude refining down 3 pct yr/yr
TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Japan's top oil refiner JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp plans to refine 6.38 million kilolitres (1.29 milion barrels per day) of crude oil in January for domestic consumption, down 3 percent from a year earlier, a company executive said on Tuesday.
JX Nippon, the wholly owned downstream oil subsidiary of JX Holdings Inc , also said it planned to refine 5.6 million kl in December, down 13 percent on the year and slightly lower than an estimate of 5.9 million kl given last month.
Exxon Baytown refinery HCU malfunctions - filing
HOUSTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - A hydrocracking unit malfunctioned on Saturday at Exxon Mobil Corp's 560,640-barrels-per-day Baytown, Texas refinery, a notice the refinery filed with Texas pollution regulators showed.
The malfunction was due to a loss of steam on a recycle compressor on the HCU, which produces diesel and gasoline, according to the notice filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Exxon's Baytown refinery is the United States' largest.
Valero restarting Houston refinery unit - filing
HOUSTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Valero Energy Corp's 88,000-barrels-per-day Houston refinery was restarting a wet gas recovery compressor after making repairs, a notice the refinery filed with Texas pollution regulators showed.
Valero was investigating the cause of the compressor's malfunction, according to the notice filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Western starts El Paso refinery gasoline unit
HOUSTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Western Refining's 122,000 barrel per day (bpd) El Paso, Texas, refinery was starting a gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit on Sunday, according to a notice filed with Texas pollution regulators.
Start-up of the FCC was expected to last through Monday, according to the notice filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
BEYOND THE HEADLINES: Oil fund BlueGold loses focus, sinks deep into red
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Respected commodities hedge fund BlueGold has veered from its energy-focused strategy, betting almost half its money on equities and other trades that are worrying investors as it turns in its first down year.
The London-based fund, founded by former Vitol oil traders Dennis Crema and Pierre Andurand, is heading for a negative annual return, losing 34 percent through mid-December. Its asset base is down to $1.2 billion from $2 billion about a year ago.
Kazakh leader reinforces power with oil sackings
ALMATY, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's decision to fire his son-in-law for mishandling an oil workers' strike is a signal to would-be successors that the veteran leader is not ready to relinquish his firm grip on power in the Central Asian state.
By removing Timur Kulibayev from the top job at the sovereign wealth fund, 71-year-old Nazarbayev is unlikely to appease the families of those killed when police opened fire during clashes that killed 16 in a western oil region last week.
Petronas in talks with oil majors for petchem tie-up -sources
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Petronas is in talks with several global oil majors including Shell and Exxon Mobil to develop petrochemical plants within its $20 billion refinery complex in southern Malaysia, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Malaysia's national oil company is also talking to Japanese firms Itochu Corp and Mitsubishi Corp as well as to Dow Chemical Co -- the largest U.S. chemical maker -- as it seeks to tap surging Asian demand and diversify its earnings, the sources told Reuters.
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