TOP Oil Market News: Oil Falls on Libya Peace Plan; Hydropower ?

Make Money Blog$/The following is a selection of the most important news affecting the oil market.Oil Drops Most in a Week in New York on Libya Peace Plan ReportOil dropped the most in a week after reports the Arab League is studying a plan to end the violence in Libya, which has cut crude supplies from Africa’s third biggest producer.

TOP MARKET NEWS
Khomeini, Chavez Examples Show Libya Output Drop: Chart of Day
Libyan oil production may not return to recent levels if Muammar Qaddafi is overthrown, following a trend set by fellow OPEC members Iran and Venezuela when their own governments last changed, according to a Baker Institute analyst.
Hydropower ‘Stealing’ Share From Natural Gas: Energy Markets
U.S. natural gas prices are poised to extend their longest- ever decline as heavier-than-normal rainfall boosts hydropower generation from plants in the Pacific Northwest, cutting demand for gas-fired electricity.
Tankers From Libya Anchored off Gulf Coast, Vessel Data Show (1)
Two oil tankers bound from Libya are anchored off the U.S. Gulf Coast near Port Arthur, Texas, according to Bloomberg vessel tracking data, five days after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the North African country.

Oil May Rise to $105 After Chart ‘Breakout’: Technical Analysis
Oil may climb to $105 a barrel in New York after last week’s “breakout” on technical charts, even as the risk of a pullback is increasing, according to Cameron Hanover Inc.
Qatar’s Tasweeq Offers Condensate Cargoes for May Loading
Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Co., or Tasweeq, is offering to sell deodorized field condensate and low-sulfur condensate for May loading from Ras Laffan, according to a company notice e-mailed to buyers.

Oil Volatility Rises as Nymex Futures Surge to 29-Month High
Oil options volatility increased after the underlying futures surged to the highest level in 29 months on concern that the unrest curbing exports from Libya will spread to other countries in the region.

Norway Drillers Hit Worst Dry Spell in Decades as Reserves Wane
Statoil ASA and Eni SpA are among companies with plans to drill a record number of wells in Norway’s far north this year to help the world’s second-largest gas exporter to sustain output. So far, they’ve struck out.

Shale-Gas Rush Divides Pennsylvania Town, Testing Obama’s Plans
The Pennsylvania homes of Karl Wasner and Arline LaTourette sit atop the Marcellus Shale, a geologic formation that stretches from Tennessee to New York and holds vast deposits of natural gas.
Taxpayers Beat Wall Street as Biggest Lenders on Clean Energy
Government-backed development banks in Europe, Brazil and the U.S. arranged the most funding for clean energy projects in 2010, taking up the slack left by commercial lenders during the credit crisis.

Debt, Foreign Oil Imports Biggest U.S. Threats, Conrad Says (1)
Dependence on foreign oil and the federal deficit are the two biggest threats to the U.S., said Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.
Ethanol Output in U.S. Declines 0.7%, Energy Department Says
U.S. ethanol production fell 0.7 percent to 882,000 barrels a day last week, the lowest level since November, according to the Energy Department.

U.S. DOE Weekly Petroleum Status Report for Feb. 25 (Text)
Following is the text of the weekly Petroleum Status Report from the U.S. Department of Energy:
Glencore May Still Pick Merger With Xstrata Over IPO, FT Says
Glencore International AG may seek to merge with Xstrata Plc, in which it owns a 34 percent stake, rather than move ahead with an initial public offering, even after formally launching the sale, the Financial Times reported, citing bankers and investors familiar with the process.

Vitol Ranked Ahead of JPMorgan as Developer of Emission Credits
Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil trader, was ranked as 2010’s most productive developer of projects yielding tradable emission credits, according to a survey by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

U.S. Oil Supply: Comparison of Weekly API, DOE Figures (Table)
The following table provides a comparison between the U.S. Department of Energy’s crude-oil statistics for the week ended Feb. 25 and the data from the American Petroleum Institute, an industry-funded group.

OPEC
Saudi Arabia Said to Offer Europe Refiners Extra Oil This Month
Saudi Arabia offered two European refiners additional cargoes of Arab Light crude for loading in March to make up for the loss of Libyan oil, two officials involved in the negotiations said.
Debt-Free Saudi Arabia Default Swaps Worst Performing in 2011
Credit-default swaps on Saudi Arabia are the worst performing sovereign contracts this year, even though the kingdom has no debt to insure, as investors hedge the risk of political turmoil in the world’s biggest oil supplier.

IEA Says 1 Million Barrels a Day of Libya Oil Output Is Shut (1)
Libya shut as much as 1 million barrels a day, or two- thirds, of its oil production amid civil unrest in North Africa’s third-largest crude producer, the International Energy Agency said.
REFINERIES Map global refinery outages
Sinopec Shuts Jingmen No. 1 Crude Refining Units for Maintenance
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., also know as Sinopec, has shut its No. 1 crude distillation unit, a catalytic cracker and a propylene unit at its Jingmen refinery for maintenance, the company said in its online newsletter today.

PDVSA to Restart Cardon Refinery After “Small” Fire (1)
Petroleos de Venezuela SA halted operations at its 310,000- barrel-a-day Cardon refinery in Falcon state after containing a “small” fire in a processing unit.

PDVSA’s Cardon Refinery Halted on Fire, Investigating to Restart
Petroleos de Venezuela SA said that a “small” fire in a unit at the Cardon refinery halted production and that the plant will be restarted after an investigation into the incident, according to an e-mailed statement.

Husky Says Will Finish Lloydminster Upgrader Repair Late March
Husky Energy Inc. expects to finish repairs on its Lloydminster oil-sands upgrader in Saskatchewan later in March, after cold weather delayed the work, Graham White, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail.

Exxon Beaumont Refinery Reports Crack in Process Equipment
Exxon Mobil Corp. reported a small crack yesterday in process equipment at its Beaumont refinery in Texas, according to a filing with state regulators.

Flint Hills Starts Work on Olefins Unit at Port Arthur Plant (1)
Flint Hills Resources LLC started maintenance to replace a de-ethanizer reboiler associated with a light olefins unit at its chemical plant in Port Arthur, Texas, according to a filing with state regulators.

BP Texas City, Texas, Refinery Reports Flaring From Ultracracker
BP Plc reported emissions from an ultracracker at its Texas City refinery in Texas, according to a filing with state regulators.

NIS Refinery Posted 2010 Profit After Loss on Output Gain (1)
Naftna Industrija Srbije AD, the Serbian refiner majority owned by OAO Gazprom Neft, said it posted a profit last year on increased production and improved efficiency.
Syncrude Said to Cut 200,000 Barrels From March Output Forecast
Syncrude Canada Ltd. cut 200,000 barrels from its estimated March production forecast, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

OTHER OIL MARKET NEWS
Bharat Petroleum Said to Buy Replacement Cargo for Libya Oil
Bharat Petroleum Corp., India’s second-largest state-run refiner, bought an oil cargo from the Middle East after failing to get a shipment from Libya, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Oil Product Shipping Costs to Japan Are Unchanged
The cost of shipping a gallon of gasoline, jet fuel or other so-called clean petroleum products from the Middle East to Japan was unchanged at 7.64 U.S. cents yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The cost is based on a cargo of 55,000 metric tons.
Two Tankers From Libya Anchored off Gulf Coast, Vessel Data Show
Two oil tankers bound from Libya are anchored off the U.S. Gulf Coast near Port Arthur, Texas, according to Bloomberg vessel tracking data, five days after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the North African country.
Abu Dhabi Raises All Official Crude Selling Prices for February
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. raised the official selling prices for all grades of crude oil in February, according to an e-mailed statement today.
Algeria’s Sonatrach Pulls Workers From Libya, Yosberides Says
Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-run energy company, has evacuated its staff from neighboring Libya because of the turmoil there, Yosberides newspaper reported, citing a Sonatrach official it didn’t identify.
Poland Wants EU-Level Talks If Oil Remains Above $100 a Barrel
Poland, which will assume the rotating presidency of the European Union in July, wants to hold EU-level talks on the oil price if it remains above $100 a barrel for more than a month, Economy Minister Waldemar Pawlak told reporters in Warsaw today.

TOP ENERGY STORIES
Qaddafi Counterattacks in Rebel-Held East After UN Rebuke (2)
Libyan forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi counterattacked against rebels on the east coast where much of the country’s crude is refined or shipped abroad, and the leader said his control of oil reserves is secure.
Rebels Weather Qaddafi’s Bombs On Port, Seek Foreign Airstrikes
Muammar Qaddafi’s warplanes bombed rebels as his ground forces fought unsuccessfully for a main Libyan oil port and opposition leaders appealed for foreign nations to launch airstrikes against regime mercenaries.

Asian Stocks, Currencies Advance on Growth Optimism; Oil Falls
Asian stocks and currencies rose, led by South Korea, on reports showing improving economic growth. Oil futures fell for the first time in three days.
Listrik Reaches Agreement for 75% of This Year’s Coal Supply (1)
PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, Indonesia’s state power utility, has secured about 75 percent of this year’s coal supply from domestic producers, Primary Energy Director Nur Pamudji said.
PPL’s U.K. Power Purchase Is Move Away From Volatile Earnings

PPL Corp.’s $5.6 billion purchase of E.ON AG’s U.K. power grid will move the Pennsylvania power producer away from riskier wholesale electricity markets and toward more predictable revenue.
Asia Gasoil Margin Rises; Fuel Oil Discount Widens: Oil Products
Asia gasoil’s premium to crude has surged to a 28-month high as demand for transportation fuels has climbed and refiners are shutting plants for maintenance. Fuel oil’s discount widened to the most since November 2008.
Santander Says Clean Energy Mergers May Top $55 Billion in 2011
The pace of clean energy industry mergers may accelerate this year as smaller operators seek buyers that can fund work in developing markets such as Brazil, said Banco Santander SA, last year’s top takeover adviser.

JBIC Plans to Help Finance Inpex, Toshiba Energy Projects (1)
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation is considering helping fund overseas projects worth $40 billion led by Inpex Corp. and Toshiba Corp., as Japan’s government aims to boost exports of equipment and technology.

OTHER MARKETS
Asian Stocks, Currencies Advance on Growth Optimism; Oil Drops
Asian stocks and currencies climbed, led by South Korea, on improving economic growth. Oil futures declined for the first time in three days after a report that the Arab League was studying a plan to end the Libyan violence.

Euro Near Highest Since November Versus Dollar on ECB Outlook
The euro rose toward its strongest since November against the dollar on speculation the European Central Bank will emphasize its readiness to raise interest rates as price pressures increase.

BOJ Easing to Make Yen ‘Worst’ Currency, Morgan Stanley Says
The yen is likely to fall because the Bank of Japan will probably take more monetary easing measures and investor concerns over the government’s fiscal policies may increase, according to Morgan Stanley.
Asian Stocks Rise as Oil Falls, Economic Data Boosts Sentiment
Asian stocks advanced, rebounding from yesterday’s retreat as reports showed improving economic growth and crude oil retreated from a 29-month high.

Topix May Surge 19% by April on Foreign Inflows: Chart of Day
The longest streak of net foreign inflows to Japan’s stock market since 2005 may boost the Topix index 19 percent by the end of April, if history is a guide, according to Monex Group Inc.

Food Prices to Extend Record, Led by Corn, Wheat, UBS Says (1)

Food prices will extend gains even as harvests expand, as exporters need to rebuild stockpiles, tightening global supplies and driving corn, wheat and soybeans higher, UBS AG said.

Cotton Sales Surge in Australia as U.S. ‘Sold Out,’ Group Says

Cotton buyers have purchased more than 80 percent of the coming harvest from Australia, the fourth-largest shipper, stepping up the pace of advance sales as a shortage pushes prices to a record, an industry executive said.

Congress Approves Temporary Budget Bill, Avoids Shutdown (2)
The U.S. Congress approved a budget bill that will prevent a government shutdown for now while lawmakers negotiate over Republican demands to further cut federal spending this year.
China Signals Potential Opposition to No-Fly Zone Over Libya
China joined Russia today in signaling potential opposition to imposing a no-fly zone over Libya if fighting continues between protesters and forces loyal to leader Muammar Qaddafi.

SPORTS
Ferguson Faces 2-Game Ban for Ref Rant, Guardian Says: Roundup
The following is a roundup of soccer stories from U.K. newspapers, with clickable links to the Web.
NFL Union, Owners Meet as Deadline for Labor Accord Nears (1)

The National Football League and its players’ union are continuing negotiations to avoid a shutdown of the U.S.’s most- watched television sport a month after the Super Bowl drew the biggest audience in U.S. television history.

INDIA DAYBOOK: Food Inflation, Mukherjee, Jaguar Land Rover
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said higher global crude oil prices are a concern as they could boost the nation’s subsidy bill. Likely adjustments to the oil subsidy bill remain “a conjecture at this point,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg UTV.
source: bloomberg.com

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