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Crude Oil near a six-month high amid Iran Tensions
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novena_33
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01-Apr-2007 17:02
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opps...more problem for UK or the oil co? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6514181.stm A British oil worker has been kidnapped in Nigeria, the Foreign Office said. The man was kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday off the coast of the Bayelsa state, in southern Nigeria. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in contact with the Nigerian authorities to try to bring this to a swift and peaceful conclusion." One unconfirmed report said the worker, who has not been named, was kidnapped from the Bulford Dolphin rig, 40 miles off the Niger Delta. Six Britons, one American and a Canadian were kidnapped from the Bulford Dolphin rig last June and were released two days later. The Niger Delta, which accounts for all of Nigeria's crude exports, has been hit by a wave of abductions and attacks on oil facilities since 2005 The militants want oil companies to negotiate on a range of issues affecting local people, who see little benefit from the oil industry. Issues they want addressing include employment for local people and the environmental impact of drilling, industry analysts said. An upsurge of attacks on foreign oil interests has cut Nigeria's oil production by around 25%. |
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scotty
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31-Mar-2007 17:52
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I don't think any war will result from this.... the US and UK cannot afford a second war in the region. It will be catastrophic for them and the global economy. Iran knows this and that's why they are provoking this incident. |
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mirage
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31-Mar-2007 13:56
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Crude Oil Is Steady Near a Six-Month High Amid Iran Tensions By Mark Shenk March 30 -- Crude oil was little changed, near a six-month high, as 15 British naval personnel seized in the Persian Gulf remained in Iranian custody for an eighth day, heightening concern the standoff will threaten oil shipments. U.K Prime Minister Tony Blair said today Iran would face ``continuing isolation'' until the servicemen are freed. The March 23 seizure of the crew in a waterway separating Iran and Iraq has increased tensions, which were already elevated because of United Nations sanctions that were imposed on Iran in an effort to end the country's nuclear program. ``We're seeing the risk premium coming back,'' said Christopher Edmonds, managing principal at Energy Research & Capital Partners in Atlanta. ``In October Iran and Iraq had settled down and you saw prices decline. The seizure of the British sailors and the new sanctions has reminded traders of potential risks to the flow of oil.'' Crude oil for May delivery fell 16 cents to settle at $65.87 a barrel at 2:51 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures ended yesterday's session at $66.03 a barrel, the highest close since Sept. 8. Prices are up 5.8 percent this week and 7.9 percent this quarter. Oil is down 1.9 percent from a year ago. Iran has the second-biggest proved oil reserves and is the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Almost a quarter of the world's oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Negotiations Iranian and U.K. officials have held talks aimed at ending the crisis, Iran's embassy in London said today in an e-mailed statement that included criticism of the UN Security Council's role in trying to resolve the dispute. Yesterday, the council said Iran should release the U.K. service personnel and called for an ``early resolution to this problem.'' ``It's in everyone's interest to find a solution to this,'' said Rick Mueller, an analyst with Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Tilburg, the Netherlands. ``There will be a search for a mutually honorable way to get the sailors back. If and when the sailors are returned prices should fall into the mid $50s.'' A U.S. Navy spokesman in Bahrain said there was ``no truth'' to a report that American investors in Bahrain were told to leave because of the possibility of a conflict with Iran. A report on the Debkafile Web site, citing ``U.S. financial sources,'' said investors on the island were told to ``pack up business operations and leave.'' ``The Debkafile report was denied, which appears to have caused a little selling,'' said Phil Flynn, a commodities trader for Chicago-based Alaron Trading. ``Not many people are going to want to go home short this weekend with all of the tension in the region.'' Shorts are bets that prices will fall and longs are bets that prices will rise. Nuclear Program A day after the capture, the UN Security Council voted unanimously on a second resolution condemning Iran's nuclear program and stiffening the sanctions that were imposed in December. The U.S. and some European governments accuse Iran of using nuclear-power development to disguise a weapons program. ``OPEC is not powerless, but there is no reason to do anything at this point,'' Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah said today in Paris. ``There's no shortage of supply. The rise is related to geopolitical tensions.'' The 10 members of OPEC that are subject to production quotas agreed at meetings in October and December to lower output by 1.7 million barrels a day and stem a slump in prices from a record $78.40 a barrel on July 14. At its last meeting March 15 it agreed to keep production limits stable. Nigerian Pipeline A Royal Dutch Shell Plc pipeline in Nigeria that was shut following a spill earlier this month has returned to production at full capacity. The company's Nigerian venture, known as Shell Petroleum Development Corp., has lost about 477,000 barrels of production a day following attacks by militants that started in February 2006. ``This morning, production returned to the normal level of 187,000 barrels a day,'' Shell spokesman Wim van der Wiel said by phone from The Hague today. The spokesman said he couldn't say what caused the spill which occurred on March 4. Brent crude oil for May settlement rose 22 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $68.10 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange, the highest close since Sept. 1. |
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