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COLUMN:
Oil speculators stay cautious on Iran risk: John Kemp
--John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Escalating tensions between Iran and the West have so far drawn only a small amount of extra speculative money into oil-linked futures and options contracts.
Far fewer hedge funds and other money managers are wagering on a big price increase than after the Libyan civil war last year, according to position data released by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and exchanges.
MARKET NEWS:
Brent rises above $113 on Iran's threats; EU eyed
SINGAPORE, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Brent crude edged up above $113, spurred by tensions over Iran's nuclear programme and unrest in Nigeria, but persistent worries about the strength of Europe's economies capped gains.
"Despite demand conditions being relatively weak, oil prices are still above $100 because of the geopolitical tensions. There is a floor on prices at the moment," said Natalie Robertson of ANZ.
FOREX-Euro higher but faces pressure this week
TOKYO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The euro held its ground in Asia but faces pressure later this week ahead of Italian and Spanish debt auctions.
"With so many euro short positions already, there is only so far that the euro can be pushed down before short-covering gives it some temporary respite," said Koji Fukaya, chief currency analyst at Credit Suisse in Tokyo.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Euro dips, stocks edge up in nervous trade
LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - European stocks rose but the euro stayed under pressure, with markets nervous about the outlook for the region's economy and banks, prospects for government debt sales and a slowdown in the export-focused Chinese economy.
"There's short-covering and a bit of risk appetite with positive equity markets overnight," said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen.
TOP NEWS:
Genel says to pump more oil from Kurdistan field
LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Oil firm Genel Energy said it planned to pump significantly more oil by the end of 2012 by expanding facilities at its oil field in Kurdistan.
The company, established last year when the bid vehicle of former BP chief executive Tony Hayward bought Turkey's Genel Enerji, said that it aimed to lift production from the Tawke field to 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) by the end of 2012 from the current level of around 60,000 bopd.
Centrica leaves North Sea well due to technical issues
OSLO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - British energy firm Centrica abandoned an exploration well in the North Sea before it could reach the reservoir level because of technical problems, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Tuesday.
Centrica is the operator of production license 405, about 13 kilometres east of the Ula field in the southern North Sea with a 40 percent stake, while Suncor Energy holds 30 percent, Spring Energy has 15 percent and Faroe Petroleum has 15 percent.
China's Wen to visit key Mideast energy powers
BEIJING, Jan 10 (Reuters) - China's Premier Wen Jiabao will visit three key Middle Eastern oil and gas suppliers -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar -- from the weekend, amid signs that Beijing wants to expand its options in the face of U.S. sanctions aimed at Iran.
An announcement on Tuesday from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wen would meet host leaders to "thoroughly exchange views on developing bilateral relations and on international and regional issues of common concern".
Jubilant to invest $80 mln in Myanmar oil and gas block
MUMBAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - London-listed explorer Jubilant Energy expects to initially invest $70 million to $80 million on an onshore oil and gas block it was recently awarded in Myanmar, a senior company official said.
The India-focused energy company is in talks with the Southeast Asian country to buy stake in another block, and hopes to finalise a decision in a few weeks, Chief Financial Officer Vipul Agarwal told Reuters.
Australia's Ichthys seals LNG deals as final investment looms
CANBERRA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Australia's Ichthys liquefied natural gas project has sealed more sale contracts, including with Taiwan's CPC Corp, ahead of a final investment decision on the $30 billion project that is due within days.
The Ichthys project, in the Timor Sea off the coast of Australia's Northern Territory, is being developed by Japan's Inpex and French energy company Total , and is expected to help push total exports of Australia's booming LNG industry ahead of the current top exporter Qatar.
China's Dec crude imports up 5 pct on yr, off Nov peak
BEIJING, Jan 10 (Reuters) - China's crude oil imports in December rose five percent from a year earlier to 5.16 million barrels per day (bpd), easing off from November when imports hit their second-highest on record, preliminary customs data showed.
For the whole year, China brought in 253.78 million tonnes of crude oil, or about 5.08 million bpd, an increase of 6 percent over 2010.
Saudi to supply full Feb crude to Asia -sources
TOKYO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude exporter, will supply full contracted volumes of crude oil in February to at least two Asian term buyers, unchanged from January, industry sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
"As usual, there were no cuts," the source said. "It was as expected."
U.S. say oil rig bound for Cuban waters looks good
HAVANA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A Chinese-built drilling rig to be used in the first major exploration for oil in Cuba's offshore waters looks good to go, U.S. officials said on Monday after a safety inspection of the massive platform docked in Trinidad and Tobago.
The rig, known as the Scarabeo 9, was found to "generally comply with existing international and U.S. standards" by which its operator, Spanish oil giant Repsol YPF , "has pledged to abide," the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, said in a news release out of Washington.
REFINERY NEWS:
Shell reports fuel gas release at Norco, LA, refinery
Jan 10 (Reuters) - Shell Oil Co reported a release of untreated fuel gas on Monday at Motiva Enterprises' 234,700 barrel-per-day Norco, Louisiana refinery, according to a filing with regulators.
The filing with National Response Center on Tuesday said the refinery was "attempting to rectify the issue to stop the release."
Citgo reports loss of boiler at Lake Charles refinery
Jan 10 (Reuters) - HaCitgo Petroleum Corp reported the loss of a boiler at its 429,500 barrel-per-day refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as a result of excessive rains, according to a filing with regulators.
The filing with the National Response Center said the refinery was trying to get the boiler back up.
Exxon reports flaring, breakdown at Torrance refinery
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil reported unplanned flaring due to a breakdown at its 149,500 barrels-per-day refinery in Torrance, California, in a filing with state regulators.
The filing with the South Coast Air Quality Management District late Monday showed the flaring event to last from Jan. 10-11.
BP Washington refinery begins coker overhaul -filing
HOUSTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - BP Plc's 225,000 barrel per day Ferndale, Washington, refinery began the planned overhaul of a coking unit on Monday, according to a notice filed with Washington state pollution regulators.
The notice said the work was expected to last through Jan 31, according to the notice filed with the Northwest Clean Air Agency.
BP Texas City overhauls alky unit -sources
Jan 9 (Reuters) - HOUSTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - BP Plc's 406,570 barrel per day Texas City, Texas, refinery was overhauling an alkylation unit, sources familiar with refinery operations said on Monday.
Gulf Coast refined products traders said they understood the work, which began earlier this month, would last about another three weeks.
BEYOND THE HEADLINES:
S.Korea, China battle to be king of the LNG shipyard
SEOUL/SINGAPORE, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The battle between South Korea and China to own Gaztransport & Technigaz, a firm that develops systems for storing liquefied natural gas (LNG) on ships, could ultimately be one of survival for Korean shipbuilders after the country lost most of its market share in the building of standard ships to China.
South Korean shipbuilders could take the unprecedented step of joining forces to compete against China in acquiring the French firm, with the winner poised to dominate the lucrative LNG carrier market for years.
China's commodities import robust despite ebbing demand
SHANGHAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - China's imports of crude oil and key industrial commodities proved resilient in December, with copper shipments bucking expectations and rising about 13 percent on the month to a record high.
But analysts said the headline numbers did not reflect actual consumption, with the figures likely distorted by a rush to stock up ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in January, fulfillment of term contracts and use of copper as a financing tool.
India's HPCL to double Saudi crude imports-sources
NEW DELHI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - India's state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp will double the volume of Saudi crude it imports in an annual deal beginning in April, two industry sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday, in a move that could replace some of its Iranian supplies.
Indian refiners are looking for ways to gradually replace their imports of Iranian oil, given that global sanctions could shut a mechanism through Turkey's Halkbank that allows them to make payments to Tehran.
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