Inside Oil - Wednesday December 28 2011

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2011  To download the full report (PDF document) please click here           MARKET NEWS:   Oil rises on Iran warning on Strait of Hormuz NEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Oil rose for a sixth straight session on Tuesday as Iran's threat to stop oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz added to concerns about potential threats to supplies from the region.   "The geopolitical fear premium with the Iran comments and also the U.S. consumer sentiment rising to an eight-month high make it hard to be short oil during this holiday week," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.  NYMEX-Natgas futures end mostly lower in seesaw session NEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures mostly ended lower on Tuesday in a seesaw session, as the milder change in noon computer weather models and concerns about record-high supplies outweighed early short covering ahead of the January contract expiration on Wednesday.  "There's a lot of supply out there. Shale gas is a big part of that, and that's not going to change anytime soon," a Houston trader said, adding he did not expect recent gas rig declines to slow record high gas production until later next year, too late to boost prices this winter.  COMMODITIES-Oil jumps on Iran threat; soy up on Argentine weather NEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Oil rallied on Tuesday on Iran's threat to close a Middle East crude shipping route in response to possible Western embargoes on Iranian oil, while soybean and grain prices surged on weather woes in Argentina.  "The geopolitical fear premium with the Iran comments and also the U.S. consumer sentiment rising to an eight-month high make it hard to be short oil during this holiday week," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.  GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares fall in thin trade, oil slips after jump on Iran TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Asian shares eased on Wednesday in low volume with many market players away for year-end holidays, while oil slipped after surging the day before on concerns about supply disruptions after Iran threatened to stop the flow of oil from the Gulf.  "More people wanting to bring their positions to neutral ahead of the new year's holidays than looking for bargains is keeping prices depressed in low volumes," said Tetsuro Ii, the president of Commons Asset Management.     Judge rules BP not negligent in Alaska spill SEATTLE, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A federal judge ruled that BP  was not negligent in the case of a 2009 oil spill and did not violate the terms of its probation from an earlier accident thus escaping further punishment.   The decision is a victory for the oil giant as it attempts to rebuild its image after taking the bulk of the blame for the largest U.S. offshore oil spill last year in the Gulf of Mexico.   US WCoast Products-California gasoline up on refinery work HOUSTON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - California cash gasoline and diesel differentials showed gains in thin trading on Tuesday on planned work at refineries in the region.  Differentials for San Francisco Bay market unleaded ethanol-blend CARBOB gasoline for January delivery gained 2.5 cents per gallon to 22 cents over February RBOB futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange, traders said.   POLL-U.S. crude stocks seen down on seasonal draws Dec 27 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil inventories are expected to have fallen for a seventh straight week as refiners delayed imports to draw down stockpiles for year-end tax considerations, a Reuters poll ahead of weekly supply data showed on Tuesday.   Averaging the views of six analysts, crude stockpiles were expected to be down 1.6 million barrels in the week to Dec. 23, the preliminary survey showed.    Tesoro warns of planned flaring at Wilmington, CA, refinery Dec 27 (Reuters) - Tesoro Corp  warned of planned flaring at its 96,860 barrel-per-day Wilmington, California, refinery, according to a filing with state pollution regulators on Tuesday.  The flaring would take place from Dec. 28-30, the company said in the notice with South Coast Air Quality Management District.   Saudi would replace Iran crude if EU embargoes-sources DUBAI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and other Gulf OPEC states are ready to replace Iranian oil if further sanctions halt Iranian crude exports to Europe, industry sources said on Tuesday.  Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi had said that Saudi Arabia had promised not to replace Iranian crude if sanctions are imposed.   Shell says Nigeria oil spill contained ABUJA, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell  said on Tuesday that an oil spill offshore Nigeria, the largest in the oil-producing African nation since 1998, has been contained after less than 40,000 barrels leaked into the Atlantic.  The December 20 spill, which Shell said happened while a tanker was loading oil, led to the shutdown of the company's 200,000 barrel per day (bpd) Bonga facility, about 120 km off the coast of the West African nation.   Iran to harm itself if disrupts oil flow- delegates DUBAI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Iran would harm itself if it disrupts the flow of oil from the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf OPEC delegates told Reuters on Tuesday.  Iran's first vice-president warned on Tuesday that the flow of crude could be stopped from the crucial Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf if foreign sanctions are imposed on its oil exports.   Endeavour buys U.K. oil fields assets for $330 mln Dec 27 (Reuters) - Endeavour International Corp  said its unit has agreed to buy ConocoPhillips'  interest in three producing U.K. oil fields for $330 million, bulking up the U.S. oil and gas exploration company's North Sea assets.  Shares of Endeavour shot up as much as 13 percent to a three-week high of $7.23 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.     BEYOND THE HEADLINES:   Iran threatens to stop Gulf oil if sanctions widened TEHRAN, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Iran threatened on Tuesday to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with economies dependent on Gulf oil.  Western tensions with Iran have increased since a Nov. 8 report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog saying Tehran appears to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be pursuing research to that end. Iran strongly denies this and says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.   Green groups find success fighting shale oil boom WASHINGTON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A resurgent green movement is launching a multi-pronged counter-attack against the shale oil and gas boom in the United States that could slow, though ultimately not stop, development.  Building upon their unexpected success in the battle against the Keystone XL pipeline, a renewed onslaught from environmentalists is putting the shale industry on the defensive while adding to costs, limiting expansion and potentially scuttling major projects.       EVENTS TO WATCH TODAY (GMT)   JAPAN PAJ WEEKLY OIL INVENTORY DATA WEEKLY (0300)   U.S. API WEEKLY CRUDE STOCKS WEEKLY (2130)   U.S. API WEEKLY DIST. STOCKS WEEKLY (2130)   U.S. API WEEKLY GASOLINE STK WEEKLY (2130)   S.KOREA INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT YY NOV 2011 (2300)   MORE INFORMATION   Learn more about our products and services for Commodities Professionals click here Contact Thomson Reuters click here To subscribe to this and other Commodities News Briefs click here  Join our market Forums. To find out more click here: • Oil Forum • Ags Forum • Base Metals Forum • Gold Forum • European Power & Gas  Forum • North American Power & Gas Forum     Knowledge Network: Interactive training for your Thomson Reuters desktop. Find out more click here    Find out about Thomson Reuters Commodity Indices   If you have any subscription queries please email: Vijay Vora   THOMSON REUTERS thomsonreuters.com   Privacy Statement: To find out more about how we may collect, use and share your personal information please read our privacy statement.   You may instruct us to remove you from one or more of our Commodities News Briefs by clicking here.