TOP Oil Market News: Crude Declines; Hedge Funds Raise Oil Bets

The following is a selection of the most important news affecting the oil market.
Oil Declines on Speculation China Measures Will Cool Fuel Demand
Oil dropped, failing to extend last week’s rally, as steps by China to cool its economy stoked speculation demand may slow in the world’s biggest energy user.
TOP MARKET NEWS
Trans Alaska Oil Pipeline Resumption Delayed by Ongoing Repairs
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. plans to start its Trans Alaska Pipeline today after repairs to the line that carries 11 percent of U.S. crude production took longer than scheduled.
Hedge Funds Raise Oil Bets Most in Five Weeks: Energy Markets
Hedge funds raised bullish bets on oil by the most in five weeks as crude reached the highest level in more than two years amid signs that the global economic recovery is gaining momentum.
Hyundai Oilbank Completes Building New Plant in Daesan
Hyundai Oilbank Co., South Korea’s fourth-largest refiner, completed building a 2.6 trillion won ($2.3 billion) plant in Daesan, south of Seoul. The company plans to start commercial production at the plant in May after a test-run, Hyundai Oilbank said in an e-mailed statement today.
Asia Gasoil Rises on Crack Spread; Fuel Oil Gains: Oil Products
Asia gasoil swaps climbed to the highest since October 2008 as the crack spread widened, signaling increasing refining profit. Fuel-oil swaps also rose to a 27-month high.
China’s Unipec Said to Suspend Diesel Imports for Second Month
China International United Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the country’s biggest oil trader, will halt diesel imports for a second month in February, according to a company official with knowledge of the plan.
Vietnam Cuts Import Duties for Petroleum Products From Jan. 14
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance lowered import duties for some petroleum products from Jan. 14, the ministry said on its website.
China Finds 38 ‘Super-Thick’ Oil, Gas Deposits, Daily Reports
Geologists have identified 38 oil and gas deposits in part of the South China Sea, China Daily reported, citing a government official.
OPEC
Iran Says $100 Oil Would Not Be Cause for OPEC to Meet (Update1)
Iran, which holds the rotating presidency of OPEC, sees no need for the producer group to hold an emergency meeting if crude prices rise to $100 a barrel, echoing a view that Kuwait’s oil minister expressed last week.
REFINERIES Map global refinery outages
BP Has Gas Release at Whiting Oil Refinery, NRC Filing Shows
BP Plc’s Whiting Refinery in the U.S. released sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from a flare stack because of a transmitter malfunction, according to a filing with the National Response Center.
Mitsui Chemicals Starts Naphtha Cracker at Chiba Plant, Rim Says
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. restarted the naphtha cracker at its in Chiba plant near Tokyo, RIM Intelligence reported on its website.
Flint Hills Corpus Christi Refinery Has Unit Close: State Filing
Flint Hills Resources LLC had a shutdown in a sulfur recovery unit at its Corpus Christi West refinery in Texas that led to emissions being released, according to a filing with state regulators.
Shell Restarting Unit at Scotford Upgrader in Alberta, Canada
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it is restarting a unit at its Scotford refinery in Alberta, Canada, according to a message left on a community hot line today. No effect on production is expected.
Bahrain Refinery Plans Maintenance Shutdown Starting in February
Bahrain Petroleum Co., the state- owned company operating the island kingdom’s only refinery, is planning a partial shutdown at the crude oil processing facility for maintenance from Feb. 16 until early April.
Exxon, Mitsui OSK Award LNG Contract to China State Shipbuilder
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. chose a unit of China State Shipbuilding Co. to build four liquefied natural gas carriers in China, the U.S.’s largest oil company said today.
Exxon Says Torrance Plant Running Normally After Fire (Update1)
Exxon Mobil Corp. said its Torrance, California, refinery is operating normally after a fire today, according to Kevin Allexon, a company spokesman.
OTHER OIL MARKET NEWS
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 7.97 U.S. cents yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The cost is based on a cargo of 55,000 metric tons.
IEA Head Tanaka Says Current Oil Price ‘Alarming’
The current price of oil is “alarming” and OPEC countries should be more flexible in managing crude supply, Nobuo Tanaka, the head of the International Energy Agency, said in Abu Dhabi today.
TOP ENERGY STORIES
BP Deal Regains Reserves Lost in Post-Spill Sales at Half Price
BP Plc’s $7.8 billion share swap with OAO Rosneft will replace almost all the reserves it sold to pay for the Gulf of Mexico spill at less than half price.
BP Boosts Ex-Yukos Assets After Khodorkovsky Sentence Extended
BP Plc will boost its holdings in the former assets of Yukos Oil Co. through its share swap with Russia’s state-run oil producer, two weeks after ex-Yukos chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s sentence was extended by six years.
Ruble Gaining Most in Seven Months on Oil Rally: Russia Credit
Russia’s currency is gaining the most in seven months and the cost to protect government debt payments is tumbling as the rising price of oil lifts confidence in the economy of the world’s biggest energy exporter.
BP, Rosneft Swap Shares to Form Arctic Alliance (Update1)
BP Plc agreed to swap a $7.8 billion stake in the company for 9.5 percent of Russian state oil producer OAO Rosneft as part of a drive to extract billions of barrels of petroleum from above the Arctic Circle.
BP Wins Oil Exploration Permits Off Australian Coast (Update1)
BP Plc received four permits to explore for oil off southern Australia less than a year after the company’s Gulf of Mexico spill, the worst in U.S. history.
TNK-BP Russian Holders Object to BP-Rosneft Share Swap, FT Says
BP Plc’s 10 billion-pound ($15.8 billion) share swap with Rosneft Oil Co. may be in breach of its agreement with the Russian TNK-BP shareholders’ group, Alfa- Access-Renova, the group says, the Financial Times reported.
Hyundai Oilbank Completes Building $2.3 Billion Plant (Update1)
Hyundai Oilbank Co., South Korea’s fourth-largest refiner, completed building a 2.6 trillion-won ($2.3 billion) heavy oil upgrading plant to raise output of higher-priced, cleaner- burning fuels.
Ugandan Leader Wants U.K. to Compensate Oil Region, Vision Says
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni wants the United Kingdom to contribute compensation funds to the east African nation’s Bunyoro region for colonial ‘ills,’ the New Vision newspaper reported today, citing the Ugandan leader.
China Power Capacity Gains 10% as Consumption Rises, Xinhua Says
China’s power-generation capacity gained 10 percent last year, matching the increase in 2009, as consumption rose, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
OTHER MARKETS
Asian Stocks Decline on China Reserve Increase; Euro Weakens
Asian stocks fell, snapping five weeks of gains, after China took more steps to keep its economy from overheating. The euro weakened before European finance chiefs meet today to revamp their debt-crisis strategy.
Euro Weakens on Debt Concerns as Finance Chiefs Prepare to Meet
The euro fell against the dollar, snapping a five-day gain, on concern the region’s debt crisis will worsen even as European finance ministers meet today to hammer out a new strategy to stem the contagion.
SNB May Report Record 2010 Loss as Euro Slump Erodes Reserves
Switzerland’s central bank said it may have posted a record loss in 2010 as the euro’s slump eroded the value of its currency reserves.
Asia Stocks Fall as Anti-Inflation Policies Pose Growth Threat
Asian stocks fell, snapping five consecutive weeks of gains, amid speculation countries throughout the region will need to do more to tame inflation.
Cheapest Stocks Get Cheaper as 10% Global Rally Discounts Movil
Even after global stocks rallied 10 percent last year, valuations around the world fell the most in a decade, leaving companies in Norway, Italy and Mexico the cheapest of all.
‘Nervous’ Hedge Funds Cut Bullish Gold Bets After Decade Rally
Hedge funds reduced their bullish bet on a gold rally to the lowest level since July 2009 after the metal climbed for 10 straight years.
Tin May Surge to $40,000, Malaysia Smelting Predicts (Update1)
Tin, the best performer last year of the six principal base metals traded in London, may rally to a record $40,000 per metric ton as global supply may lag behind demand until at least 2013, according to Malaysia Smelting Corp.
Tunisia to Announce Accord on Unity Government, Al Jazeera Says
Tunisia’s Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi said he may announce a coalition government today following Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s abdication as president and flight to Saudi Arabia.
’Baby Doc’ Duvalier Back in Haiti After Long Exile
Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier returned Sunday to Haiti nearly 25 years after a popular uprising against his brutal dictatorship forced him into exile, a surprising and perplexing move that comes as his country struggles with a political crisis and the stalled effort to recover from last year’s earthquake.
SPORTS
‘King’ Kenny’s Return Fails to Inspire Liverpool to Derby Win
The banners proclaimed the return of “The King.” Yet Kenny Dalglish’s presence in the home dugout for the first time since he quit as Liverpool manager 20 years ago wasn’t enough to inspire victory over neighbor Everton.
‘King’ Kenny’s Return Fails to Inspire Liverpool to Derby Win
The banners proclaimed the return of “The King.” Yet Kenny Dalglish’s presence in the home dugout for the first time since he quit as Liverpool manager 20 years ago wasn’t enough to inspire victory over neighbor Everton.
Barcelona Moves Four Points Clear in Spain; Lazio Wins in Italy
Barcelona beat Malaga 4-1 to move four points ahead of archrival Real Madrid at the top of Spain’s soccer standings.
ENERGY PRICES
Last Chg %Chg Exch Contrac
---- ---- ---- ---- ------- WTI Crude ($/Bbl) 91.12 -0.42 -0.5 Nymex February Brent Crude ($/Bbl) 98.28 -0.10 -0.1 Ice Februar Gasoil ($/Ton) 818.25 +2.50 +0.3 Ice Marc Gasoline (c/Gal) 249.25 -0.21 -0.1 Nymex Februar Natural gas ($/MMBtu) 4.49 +0.01 +0.2 Nymex Februar Dated Brent ($/Bbl) 98.02 -0.09 -0.1 OTC 21 Day Heating Oil 263.81 -0.71 -0.3 Nymex Februar
Other markets:
Last %Chg
----- ----- Dollar Index 79.38 +0.4 Gold ($/Oz) 1,360.50 -1.9 MSCI World Index 1,306.82 -0.2