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Daily News and Commentary From OilSlick.com

Tanker Market Expected to Rebound
The oil tanker business was a black hole for profits in 2009 as weak demand pushed rental rates below costs in some cases. Morten Amtzen, CEO of Overseas Shipholding Group, said he was celebrating that 2009 was over saying it was the most challenging in the last 30 years. Continue reading
Total Closes Flanders Refinery Permanently
Total, Europe's third-largest oil company, has permanently closed its Flanders refinery after shuttering the facility in September due to weak demand for the company's downstream products. The refinery, which lost $178 million last year, will be dismantled through 2013, Bloomberg News reported. Continue reading
Helix Energy To Part With Oil And Gas Business
Helix Energy Solutions Group, an oil services provider, said on Monday it is looking to sell all of its oil and gas business to focus on becoming a contract services provider with an emphasis on deepwater well and subsea infrastructure. Helix has been parting with assets since 2008 to focus on contract services. Continue reading
Shell, PetroChina Bid For Arrow May Block Competing Offers
A $3 billion joint offer by Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's second-largest oil company, and PetroChina to acquire Australia's Arrow Energy may be big enough to block competing offers from Chinese state-run companies or other Chinese groups, according to press reports. News of the overture for Arrow broke on Sunday evening. Continue reading
Exxon Mobil May Make Another Big Buy In The Next Decade
Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, will probably make another large acquisition within the next decade, according to a Deutsche Bank note. Major oil producers are struggling to cope with dwindling reserves and for cash-rich companies like Exxon, acquisitions make sense as an avenue for bolstering reserves. Continue reading
Oil Hits $82.41 on Expectations for Stronger Demand
Crude prices rallied on Monday morning to $82.41 as the expectations rally continued. In theory a better than expected jobs report that showed less jobs lost than analysts had predicted, means crude demand is about to increase sharply. I think that is a stretch of the imagination but evidently there are plenty of vivid imaginations at work. Continue reading
PetroChina Eyes Scottish Refinery
PetroChina, China's biggest oil company, is in the process of acquiring Scotland's only oil refinery. The acquisition would mark PetroChina's first foray into Europe's refining market. While the talks have already commenced with Ineos Group Holdings Plc, the refinery's owner, they are said to be in early stages. Continue reading
Cnooc, Total Make Final Uganda Proposals
China's Cnooc and France's Total, Europe's third-largest oil company, made their final proposals to Uganda's government to develop three oil blocks there. A final decision is expected to be made by the government by the end of March. Tullow Oil of the U.K. has nominated Total (TOT) and Cnooc (CEO) as its preferred partners in Uganda. Continue reading
China Oil Output To Rise 1%-2% In 2010
China National Petroleum Corp., China's state-owned oil firm, said the country's oil output will rise 1% to 2% this year, slightly below a previous forecast of 2%, but still above the 0.5% growth rate targeted by China's planning ministry. Last year, oil output fell 0.4% to 189.49 million tonnes, or 3.79 million barrels per day, Reuters reported. Continue reading
Gabon To Start State-Run Oil Firm
Gabon is planning to start a state-run oil company in the hopes of bolstering the African nation's oil industry. Currently, a partnership that is majority controlled by France's Total (TOT) accounts for about 25% of Gabon's daily production of 240,000 barrels of oil. Continue reading
Shell, PetroChina Make Joint Bid For Arrow
Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's second-biggest oil company, and PetroChina have made a $3 billion joint bid for Australian coal-seam gas producer Arrow Energy. Arrow said its shareholders would receive $4.03 in cash and stock in a new company that would focus on Arrow's international business. Continue reading
OGX Petroleo Discovers More Oil In Campos Basin
Brazilian oil producer OGX Petroleo & Gas Participacoes SA has made its third oil discovery in Brazil's Campos Basin. The company controlled by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista said a 230-foot column found hydrocarbons at the OGX-6 well. OGX owns 100% of the BM-C-41 block where the well lies. Continue reading
U.S. Rig Count Up 23 This Week
Oil services firm Baker Hughes (BHI) said the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by 23 this week to 1,396. There were 926 rigs exploring for natural gas, 456 exploring for oil and 14 listed as miscellaneous. Continue reading
Oil Prices Rebound on Terror Warning
Crude oil prices rebounded from a intraday drop after the Singapore Navy warned of threats against oil tankers in Malacca Strait. Continue reading
Cnooc Close To Completing Iraq Oil Deal
China's Cnooc is close to finalizing a deal to develop Iraq's 2.5 billion-barrel Missan oil-field after completing talks with Iraq's government and agreeing to terms laid forth by the country's oil ministry. Cnooc and its partners are looking to develop three Missan fields in southern Iraq. Continue reading
Petrobras Gets Approval To Buy Repsol-Statoil Block
Petrobras, Brazil's state-run oil company, has received approval from Brazil's energy regulator, the ANP, to purchase a 30% stake in a Campos Basin block managed by Spain's Repsol and Norway's Statoil. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed and Petrobras did not comment on the transaction. Continue reading
Nigerian Militants Strike Again
Two days after striking an oil pumping station owned by Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's second-largest oil company, Nigerian rebels are claiming they attacked an oil facility in the Niger Delta operated by Italy-based Agip. There has been no independent confirmation of the attack, according to press reports. Continue reading
Oasis Petroleum Files For $350M IPO
Oasis Petroleum, an independent oil and natural gas explorer, has filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering that may raise up to $350 million. Texas-based Oasis said it would use proceeds from the IPO to reduce its debt load and to fund exploration projects. Continue reading
Iran Winning Friends Around the World
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was met by Brazilian President Lula Da Silva and before the topic could even be discussed the president said we will "not push Iran into a corner." The president rebuffed a U.S. appeal for new sanctions saying, "we will not bow down" to gathering international pressure. Continue reading
BP Looks To Add $3 Billion To Bottom Line
BP, Europe's largest oil company, is aiming to add $3 billion in profits and replace 1 million barrels per day of oil output over the next four years as the company bolsters its upstream operations to stave off production declines. BP is trying to stay ahead of rival Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's number two oil producer, and bring its equity valuation more in line with that of Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil firm. Continue reading
Peak Oil Facts

Peak Oil - The term Peak Oil is very over used and misunderstood. Peak oil does not mean the end of oil production. Peak Oil, A Brief Description

Saudi Arabia - The largest oil producer on the planet is also the most secretive about their production and reserves. Saudi Arabia, Smoke and Mirrors

China - Much is said about China's growing oil demand with consumption in China up +250% over the last four years. China, A Bear on the Prowl

Oil Production - It is very tough to get accurate numbers on global oil production since OPEC chooses not to release any data. Global Oil Production

Oil Demand - Global oil demand is a very hard number to pin down but it is safe to say that demand will exceed supply very soon. Global Oil Demand

Bakken Shale - What about the trillions of barrels in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota? Bakken Shale

Read more about Peak Oil here: Peak Oil Facts




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