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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 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 Brent rises above $107 on econ recovery hopes
SINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures rose above $107, gaining for a third straight day, after upbeat U.S. data pointed to a recovery in demand growth in the world's biggest oil consumer amid fears of a disruption in supplies.
"There are two main things that are solid indicators of a revival in the United States. One is employment and the other housing," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp.
U.S. stock index futures rise; Oracle eyed
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.62 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.61 percent at 0910 GMT.
Oracle Corp will be in the spotlight after it posted after the bell on Tuesday earnings that fell short of Wall Street's forecasts for the first time in a decade as software and hardware sales sputtered, stoking fears a global recession will hurt tech spending. Shares of the company traded in Frankfurt were down 6.8 percent.
FOREX-Euro rallies, ECB tender seen boosting confidence
LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The euro rose on speculation many euro zone banks would apply for cheap loans offered by the European Central Bank, which may improve risk demand if it is seen to help lenders boost their finances and ease pressure on indebted European states.
"It's possible we might see these levels today, as the ECB auction may give back more confidence to the market," said Antje Praefcke, currency strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks and euro gain ahead of ECB tender
LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - European stocks rallied and the euro was well bid as investors priced in an improvement in the economic outlook and looked forward to a big take up by banks of the European Central Bank's first-ever offer of three-year loans.
"A significant uptake is all but guaranteed and that's something that could continue this 'risk-on' (mood)", said Robert Rennie, chief currency strategist at Westpac in Sydney.
TOP NEWS:
Workers return to Kazakh oilfield under armed guard
ALMATY, Dec 21 (Reuters) - KazMunaiGas Exploration Production said on Wednesday it expects to meet its reduced oil production target for the year after police deployed armed security around the oilfield closest to the scene of Kazakhstan's deadliest riots in decades.
The London-listed oil producer said its Uzenmunaigas operations in western Kazakhstan were unscathed by the violence in the nearby town of Zhanaozen, where a months-long protest by sacked oil workers erupted into riots on Dec. 16.
Thai PTTEP wins bid for 2 Myanmar oil blocks-minister
BANGKOK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Thailand's top oil and gas explorer, PTT Exploration and Production Pcl (PTTEP) , has won bids for two onshore petroleum blocks in Myanmar, Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthanphan said on Wednesday.
"We won two, that's for sure," Pichai told reporters after a visit to Myanmar, adding the blocks were close to the capital, Naypyitaw.
Aramco to boost oil drilling rigs to pre-2009 levels-sources
KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, Dec 21(Reuters) - State oil giant Saudi Aramco plans to raise the number of drilling rigs it operates to pre-crisis levels of at least 130 by the second quarter of 2012 as it strives to maintain production capacity levels, industry sources said.
Aramco had seen a sharp decline in rig count from 130 to 104 after the global economic crisis hit demand in 2009.
Cyprus gas deposits may exceed expectations-reports
NICOSIA, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Gas deposits in a plot off Cyprus could exceed expectations with potential reserves of up to 13 trillion cubic feet (tcf), Cypriot newspapers reported on Wednesday.
Cyprus, which has its block under concession to U.S. based Noble Energy , is anticipated to formally announce deposit estimates in the coming days.
Japan crude stocks rise 1.5 pct to 2-mth high
TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Japan's commercial crude inventories last week rose 1.5 percent to a two-month peak, reflecting increased imports as crude throughput rose to a four-month high.
Kerosene stocks fell for the second time in the past three weeks as the peak winter season began, after hitting a three-year high in the week to Nov. 26.
China end-Nov fuel stocks up, first rise in six months
BEIJING, Dec 21 (Reuters) - China's refined oil product inventories at the end of November rose 3.6 percent from a month earlier, the first rise in six months, the official Xinhua news agency said in a newsletter on Wednesday.
The country's commercial crude oil stocks at the end of November fell 1.34 percent from end-October, marking their second drop in a row after four consecutive gains, the China Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals reported.
Enbridge, Enterprise expand Gulf Coast pipeline plans
Dec 20 (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc and Enterprise Products are seeking to expand their U.S. Seaway pipeline network in the race to ease a crude oil supply glut in the Midwest by shipping it to the Gulf Coast refining hub.
The companies will be seeking binding commitments from shippers to expand their Seaway pipeline partnership, which will carry crude produced in Canada and North Dakota from Cushing, Oklahoma to Houston, Texas once it is reversed, according to a joint press statement released on Tuesday.
S.Korea firms to invest $12 bln in oil, gas development next yr -gov't
SEOUL, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Over 50 state-run and private firms in South Korea, heavily dependent on energy imports, plan to invest a record-high combined $11.8 billion next year to develop oil and gas resources, the ministry of knowledge economy said on Wednesday.
The world's fifth-largest crude oil importer and second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer has been boosting overseas resources development as like regional peers it grapples with inflation driven by costlier energy and commodities.
REFINERY NEWS: Chevron reports flaring at Richmond refinery
Dec 20 (Reuters) - Chevron Corp reported flaring and the release of sulfur dioxide at its 245,271-barrels-per-day refinery in Richmond, California, in a filing with state regulators on Tuesday.
Chevron told California pollution regulators that the flaring was due to a plant upset, according to the Contra Costa County Health Department.
Enbridge to ration space on Line 5 in January
Dec 20 (Reuters) - Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge said on Tuesday it would ration space on Line 5 for January due to high nominations and capacity restrictions.
The company, whose pipelines carry the bulk of Canada's crude exports to the United States, said shipments on Line 5 -- running from Superior in Wisconsin to Sarnia in Ontario -- would be apportioned by 22 percent.
Aramco halting Riyadh refinery in Jan for maintenance
KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco plans to partially shut its 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) Riyadh refinery in January for planned maintenance, trading sources said.
The crude distillation unit (CDU) will be shut for at least 10 days from Jan. 11, one trading source said. It could remain offline up to 30 days, a second one added.
BEYOND THE HEADLINES: China shows no qualms over price of Iran oil showdown
BEIJING/SINGAPORE, Dec 20 (Reuters) - China has made an audacious move to force Iran to sell it cheaper crude, disrupting the flow of over 10 percent of the Islamic Republic's exports by cutting January imports in half.
In contrast to other top Asian buyers worried about what sanctions mean for crude flows from the world's fifth-largest exporter, China has shown no public qualms about the risk that a disruption will drive up the cost of oil.
Amerisur confident on targets, eyes expansion
LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Amerisur Resources is confident of lifting its Colombian oil production more than tenfold by the end of 2012, generating cash to fund expansion elsewhere in South America, the oil firm's chairman said in an interview.
Amerisur is on track to start drilling the first well in a planned nine well programme at its Platanillo block in southern Colombia early next year, which it believes will boost production to 5,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from the current level of around 400 bopd.
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