NYMEX-Natural gas ends down slightly in 7th straight loss
NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures took a modest breather after Tuesday's steep slide but still ended down slightly on Wednesday for a seventh day, pressured by mild extended weather forecasts and record high supplies despite a brief cold snap this week.
"The upcoming inventory withdrawals are likely to continue to underperform for the foreseeable future ... unless of course real winter weather shows up and stays around for an extended period of time," Energy Management Institute's Dominick Chirichella said in a report.
Euro Coal-Prices make modest gains
LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices rose by up to 75 cents a tonne on Wednesday, helped by light buying interest, with South African cargoes seen supported for now.
"We've seen some interest on both the physical and paper side, which has kept things firm and it's up between 50 and 75 cents today," one trader said, referring to swaps trading.
COMMODITIES-Gold, copper end up on possible IMF help
NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Many commodities fell or posted only modest gains on Wednesday, as concerns about Europe's financial woes ahead of Greek debt-restructuring talks overshadowed data indicating U.S. economic strength.
"We could be right back to asset-allocation type selling in a fairly short order," said Frank McGhee, head precious metals trader at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares hit 2-month highs on IMF hopes
TOKYO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose to a two-month high and the euro firmed on Thursday after news that the International Monetary Fund was seeking to boost its resources to tackle the euro zone debt crisis helped to ease worries about Europe's funding difficulties.
Venezuela, Argentina to form oil joint venture
CARACAS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Venezuela and Argentina will form a joint venture to invest $2.2 billion in an Orinoco Belt oil project hoped to produce 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Wednesday.
The government of President Hugo Chavez is counting on massive investment and development of the vast southern heavy crude belt to boost production and draw foreign investment to the OPEC member.
US rejects Keystone oil pipeline; Republicans fume
WASHINGTON/CALGARY, Alberta, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The Obama Administration rejected the Keystone oil pipeline on Wednesday, a move that Republicans decried for sacrificing jobs and energy security in order to shore up the president's environmental base before elections.
U.S. President Barack Obama said the administration denied TransCanada's application for the $7 billion Canada-to-Texas oil sands pipeline because there was not enough time to review an alternate route that would avoid a sensitive aquifer in Nebraska -- within a 60-day window set by Congress.
NZ Refining lowers 2011 profit forecast again
WELLINGTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - New Zealand Refining Ltd , the country's only refinery, cut is forecast for the previous year's profit because of declining refining margins.
The company said it expected a profit of between NZ$32 million and NZ$36 million ($25.6 million to $28.8 million) for the year to Dec 31.
Anadarko CEO says natgas will rebound from $2.50
HOUSTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Anadarko Petroleum Corp Chief Executive Jim Hackett said on Wednesday that he doesn't expect U.S. natural gas prices to hover around $2.50 per million British thermal units "for an extended period of time."
The head of the independent oil and gas producer told reporters at an energy conference in Houston that he sees natural gas prices rebounding to $5 to $7 per BTU over the long term.
PDVSA says restarting El Palito cat cracker
CARACAS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA said on Wednesday that it had begun restarting the catalytic cracking unit at its 146,000 barrel-per-day El Palito oil refinery.
The unit was taken offline on Jan. 3 for repairs following a problem in its valve system. It was supposed to be a five-day maintenance shutdown that ended up lasting two weeks.
BP sees China as top oil user in 2027
LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - China will drive the world's growth in oil demand in the next two decades and in 2027 will overtake the United States as the world's top oil consumer, BP Plc said on Wednesday.
BP, in its Energy Outlook 2030, also said oil was set to be the slowest-growing fuel in the next 20 years, restrained by higher prices and a gradual move towards market rather than subsidised fuel prices in emerging economies.
Italy gas pipeline fire injures three
MILAN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Three maintenance workers were injured when a powerful blast rocked a gas pipeline in northerwestern Italy, causing a fire that reached nearby houses, firefighters said on Wednesday.
The fire, now extinguished, broke out at the pipeline owned by Italy's gas grid operator Snam Rete Gas near the city of Massa Carrara.
Shell teams with Tullow to boost oil exploration
LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc is enlisting the help of expert independent explorer Tullow Oil Plc to find major new oil fields in the Atlantic in a nod to the poor record of big companies in striking gushers.
Tullow said on Wednesday the partnership would seek "transformational" discoveries in "underexplored frontier basins".
BEYOND THE HEADLINES:
Apollo, Riverstone in $7 bln El Paso asset bid
NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Private equity firms Apollo Global Management LLC and Riverstone Holdings LLC have teamed up to bid around $7 billion for all of El Paso Corp's exploration and production assets, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The move is the latest sign that oil and gas assets are attracting greater interest from private equity firms who are challenging energy producers that have been buying up lucrative shale rock fields, such as those in El Paso's portfolio.
Warm winter cuts oil demand 300,000-400,000 bpd
LONDON/NEW YORK Jan 18 (Reuters) - Frost has not lasted long on the ground this winter, and heating oil demand in the United States and Europe has also been melting away.
The unseasonably warm winter in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere has cut at least 300,000 barrels per day from global oil consumption since November, according to the latest analyst estimates, likely stopping oil prices of more than $100 a barrel from climbing even higher.
Nigeria protests up pressure to reform oil sector
LAGOS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A week of protests over fuel prices has put Nigeria's government under more pressure than ever to make good on long-unfulfilled promises to reform its notoriously inefficient and corrupt energy sector, and this time it will be harder not to act.
The powerful oligarchs in charge of the oil industry, Africa's largest, have been attacked in the media and pilloried at rallies after their abrupt withdrawal of the fuel subsidy on New Year's Day unleashed protests that crippled the economy.
Sudan says oil deal with south depends on security pact
KHARTOUM, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Sudan will continue to take a share of oil from South Sudan to compensate for what it calls unpaid transit fees and said an oil deal was unlikely without an agreement on border and security issues, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.
South Sudan became Africa's newest nation in July under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war between north and south, but many issues remain unresolved, including oil, debt and violence on both sides of the poorly-defined border.
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