Oil & Gas 01 (May 08 - Jul 08)

[blid2def]

And his brother will be joining in the show 4 years from now.

[kennynah]

who knows.... who's responsible

19 Jun 2008 07:57 GMT
Shell shuts down Nigerian oil field after attack


LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Royal Dutch Shell says it has shut down production at a Nigerian oil field that produces about 200,000 barrels per day after a militant attack.

A Nigerian militant leader says his group launched a rare attack against one of the company's offshore oil installations, more than 65 miles from land.

The fighters said they weren't able to enter a computer control room that they had hoped to destroy to cripple production.

The militant leader spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid punishment by authorities. The account could not be immediately verified.

A spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell PLC confirmed an attack, but gave no details. The spokesman, Olav Ljosne, said production had been stopped from the field.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[winston]

Another "expert" predicting oil to two decimal places. As if when they predict things to two decimal places, it looks as if it was modeled in a very scientific manner and gives them a lot of credibility
==============================================

Goldman raises 2008 oil price forecast to $117.40
Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:13am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Thursday raised its 2008 average Brent crude oil price forecast to $117.40 a barrel from a $108 due to tight supplies.

"We have increased our price forecasts to reflect a continued tightening of global crude oil supply/demand fundamentals and the resulting higher oil prices," the U.S. investment bank said.

Goldman expected Brent crude would rise to an average $140 in 2009 and peak at $150 in 2010.

Prices would ease to an average $140 in 2011 and $85 in 2012, the bank said.

[kennynah]

here we go...the full report in english...

*********

19 Jun 2008 15:24 GMT
China to raise petrol, diesel, electricity prices - Xinhua

BEIJING (Thomson Financial) - China will raise petrol and diesel prices from Friday, the official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the country's top economic planner.

Petrol and diesel prices will go up by 1,000 yuan ($145) per tonne, while aviation kerosene will increase by 1,500 yuan a tonne, the National Development and Reform Commission announced late Thursday, according to Xinhua.

The average electricity price will be raised by 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour from July 1, but urban and rural residents and the farming and fertiliser production sectors will be exempt, it said.

The Chinese government, which has made taming inflation its top economic priority, imposes strict controls on energy prices due to fears that higher fuel or power costs could fan inflation, which is already near 12-year highs.

But the centralised pricing system and rising international crude oil prices have left domestic oil majors such as Sinopec saddled with huge refining losses and led to mounting calls for the government to loosen its price controls.

The price of oil has overtaken $130 a barrel, and has even flirted with $140, with some analysts saying the possibility of hitting $200 a barrel is not far away.

China accounts for around 40 percent of the growth in global oil consumption, to fuel its rapidly expanding economy.

Investment bank China International Capital Corporation, or CICC, said a reform in the energy pricing system would benefit not only China but the whole world.

"The international crude oil price largely depends on China's energy pricing policy because China accounts for around 40 percent of the increment of global oil consumption," it said in a research note.

CICC cited a detailed simulation which showed what would happen if China raised its oil product prices by 50 percent around mid-2008 to put the domestic refining gross profit margin in line with international levels.

Under this scenario, international oil prices would decline to $110 per barrel by the end of 2008, and $90 one year later.

By contrast, if China continued to control domestic oil product prices, international crude oil price would hit $200 per barrel, according to the simulation.

While seeking to reduce its oil subsidies, the government is likely to be wary about the effect of higher fuel prices on inflation and possible public discontent.

China's consumer price index rose by 7.7 percent last month, easing only slightly from April's 8.5 percent and still hovering near 12-year highs.

Vice President Xi Jinping is due to attend a crucial international energy conference in Saudi Arabia at the weekend in a bid to look for a solution to the challenges caused by soaring oil prices.

[blid2def]

The average electricity price will be raised by 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour from July 1, but urban and rural residents and the farming and fertiliser production sectors will be exempt, it said.

Eh... so basically it means all households not affected lah? Urban and rural residents - you're either urban or rural right? Or it means sub-urban residents die, bear the brunt?

[kennynah]

i saw that too....and i too had the same thots...

whoTF belongs to neither rural nor urban?? besides the sub-urban...and what is sub-urban? outside 60 to 150 km radius from major cities?

[blid2def]

But hor, I think think - F lah, this is translated; so maybe something lost (or added) in the translation. Hehe lemme go see the original...

[kennynah]

oh c'mon, u mean xinhua got no english language abled journalist?

[blid2def]

oh c'mon, u mean xinhua got no english language abled journalist?

But this translation dunno from where... there's a Q&A on Xinhua.net, here's what it says:

问：这次电价调整，对物价总水平有何影响？

答：总体看，这次电价调整对物价总水平的影响不大。电价调整对居民消费价格指数的影响分为直接影响和间接影响。其中，居民电价调整直接影响居民消费价格指数；其他用户的电价调整不直接影响居民消费价格指数，但会通过其终端产品价格或服务价格变化，间接影响居民消费价格指数。这次居民生活用电价格没有调整，不会对居民消费价格指数产生直接影响。

The urban and rural term translates from "城乡".

问：这次电价调整的基本思路和主要内容是什么？

答：这次疏导电价矛盾的基本思路：一是从严掌握，部分补偿电力企业成本增支；二是优化政策，促进电厂脱硫和可再生能源发展；三是区别对待，主要提高工商企（事）业用电电价；四是完善结构，推进城乡用电同价和工商企业用电同价。这次电价调整，全国销售电价平均每千瓦时提高２．５分钱，平均涨幅４．７％。其中对居民生活用电和农业生产、化肥生产用电价格未作调整。特别需要指出的是，为支持地震灾区开展生产自救，对四川、陕西、甘肃省受灾严重的县（市）电价不作调整。同时，还对电网销售电价结构进行了调整，主要包括：一是全面推行城乡用电同价。目前尚有个别地区未实现城乡居民用电同价，少数地区未实现城乡各类用电同价。这次调价要求各地尽快全面实现城乡用电同价。二是推进工商业用电同价。根据国务院关于鼓励第三产业发展的意见，适当降低商业电价水平，逐步将现行非普工业、非居民照明、商业电价归并为工商业电价，并在此基础上执行峰谷电价等需求侧电价管理制度。三是适当调整电价结构。进一步拉大各电压等级差价，并对实行两部制电价的用户，适当提高基本电价在电价总水平中的比重。

So one of their objectives is to establish same rates in and outside of cities, while another is to reclassify some uses of electricity as industrial usage, blah blah.

[kennynah]

luckily got english writeup....else, by the time flip the chinese dictionary, the f*cking war is over.