The following is a selection of the most important news affecting the oil market.
Oil Rises for First Time in Three Days as Alaskan Pipeline Shuts
Oil climbed for the first time in three days after an Alaskan pipeline carrying about 15 percent of U.S. crude output was shut following a leak.
TOP OIL MARKET NEWS
Alaskan Pipe Shutdown Cuts Oil Output by 95 Percent (Update3)
BP Plc and its partners in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System that carries 15 percent of U.S. crude output can’t say when production will return to normal after a leak two days ago.
Morgan Stanley Says Oil to Remain High, Will Breach $100 in 2011
Crude oil will remain high this year and breach $100 a barrel because of shrinking spare capacity in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Morgan Stanley said in a research note today.
West Africa-to-India Crude Cargoes Rise 61%, Clarkson Data Show
Indian oil companies arranged to collect 61 percent more crude oil from West Africa last month, according to vessel charters collated by the research unit of Clarkson Plc, the world’s largest shipbroker.
Caspian BTC February Crude Loadings to Fall 9.8% From January
Exports of Azeri Light crude from a port in Turkey will tumble 9.8 percent next month, according to a loading program obtained by Bloomberg News.
China’s Net Crude Imports Climb After Diesel Shortage (Update1)
China, the world’s biggest energy user, increased net imports of crude oil by 1.4 percent in December from a month earlier as refineries maintained high operating rates to ease a diesel shortage.
Shale Oil Drillers Strike Rising Costs in Flight From Gas Slump
U.S. natural-gas companies are getting hit with the highest costs in four years as they shift more production to oil to escape low gas prices.
Aramco Cuts Crude Prices, Iraq Buys Gasoline: Persian Gulf Oil
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest state-owned oil company, cut official prices for most of its crude for shipment next month, raising the formula only on Extra Light and Super Light grades to Asia. Iraq awarded gasoline and gasoil supply contracts for the first half of 2010. Refineries in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain plan to shut for maintenance in the next several weeks.
Hedge Funds Raise Bullish Gas Bets Most in Year: Energy Markets
Hedge funds almost doubled bets on gains in natural gas as futures climbed to the highest level since August on forecasts for colder-than-normal weather.
China’s Once-Subsidized Drivers Face Gasoline Hit: Chart of Day
China, the world’s biggest new-car market, may raise gasoline prices by 20 percent this year to promote energy efficiency, according to Mirae Asset Securities Co., straining once-subsidized drivers who paid less than Americans to fill their tanks barely two years ago.
Waste Heat as Clean as Wind Deserves U.S. Help, GE Group Says
The gray steam rising from the smokestacks of industrial plants is an energy resource as green as a wind turbine or a solar panel, according to General Electric Co., the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers union.
OPEC
Saudi Aramco to Supply Asia Full February Oil Volumes (Update1)
Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s largest state-owned oil company, will supply full contractual volumes of crude to China and South Korea for loading in February, according to refinery officials in the region.
REFINERIES Map global refinery outages
Reliance Said to Shut FCC at India Refinery This Month (Update1)
Reliance Industries, owner of the world’s largest refining complex, plans to shut a fluid catalytic cracker at its facility in western India at the end of this month, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Petroplus Reichstett Refinery Output Back to ‘Normal,’ Cgt Says
Petroplus Holding AG’s Reichstett oil refinery output is back to “normal” after workers ended a strike, according to a representative of the CGT union at the site.
