Oil & Gas 01 (May 08 - Jul 08)

[kennynah]

now...that's an idea...

i agree that VIX options are relatively cheap now..

[HengHeng]

no prob .. win liao blanja kopi can liaoz.

[kennynah]

kopi with barlendy oso can

the french at it again....

*******

22 May 2008 09:38 GMT


French fishermen resume Marseille oil blockades
PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Striking fishermen resumed a blockade of oil depots near France's largest port of Marseille on Thursday despite a 110-million-euro aid package offer from the government to cope with high fuel prices.

Protesting fishermen blocked Total's 155,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) La Mede refinery and Exxon Mobil's 115,000 bpd Fos-sur Mer refinery near Marseille, Total said.

Fishermen disrupted cross-Channel traffic on Wednesday as they stepped up their two-week blockade of French ports and oil depots.

Fishermen's leaders called for an end to the protests after the government promised to release 110 million euros this year out of a promised three-year 310 million euro package. And Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier said the previously announced 310 million euro aid plan would be accelerated.

But Frederic Mateo, from a union representing Marseille trawler crews, said the government promise was not enough to cushion the cost of diesel fuel, which has shot up to 70 euro cents a litre, from 40 cents in November.

Mateo said fishermen had resumed a blockade of the area's four main oil depots, at Fos-sur-Mer, Berre, La Mede and Lavera.

Fishermen are meeting Thursday morning to discuss whether or not they should continue the protests.

[kennynah]

22 May 2008 14:56 GMT

DOE says natural gas supplies rose last week
WASHINGTON (AP) - Natural gas in storage in the U.S. rose last week but is 0.2 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, a government report said Thursday.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural-gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states rose by 85 billion cubic feet to more than 1.61 trillion cubic feet for the week ending May 16.

The inventory level was slightly below the five-year average of nearly 1.62 trillion cubic feet, and well below last year's storage level of about 1.92 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.

In morning trading, natural gas for June delivery fell more than 2 cents to about $11.62 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

[kennynah]

price and volume do not LIE....or at least this is what most trading literature will have us subscribe to...

and if this is indeed true....then see Proshares Ultrashort Oil&Gas(DUG), an ETF that mimics the opposite to how Oil&Gas equities perform....

recap.... on 22/23may, Crude Oil hit 135pbl...all time high...but yet...since Wed (21May), DUG seem to be telling us a different story...

does this mean, that we are soon seeing a major correction to Oil prices???

[kennynah]

22 May 2008 18:20 GMT
UK Energy Min: PM Brown Seeking Increase In OPEC Supply


LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.K. Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said Thursday that Prime Minister Gordon Brown is working with other leaders to persuade the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase oil production.

"The Prime Minister is working with international partners to get OPEC to free up supply in order to counter rising oil prices and would be raising this at the forthcoming E.U. (European Union) and G8 summits," Wicks told British Broadcasting Corporation's Radio 4.

The summit of the financial heads of the Group of Eight leading nations takes place in Japan next month. The European Council of E.U. leaders also meets next month.

Wicks' comment comes as the price of the front-month July crude contract surged to top $135 per barrel, a fresh record, for the first time.

In recent days, Brown has turned up his rhetoric about OPEC and the surge in oil prices, promising to bring "pressure" on the organization.

He has pressed the G8 to push for discussions between oil producers and consumers in order to tackle production and supply difficulties.

Since sterling is one of the few major currencies not to have risen against the dollar in recent months, the U.K. is facing the full brunt of the rise in dollar-denominated oil prices.

Surging energy prices are one reason why the Bank of England may find it hard to reduce interest rates despite a slowing economy. U.K. Finance Minister Alistair Darling said earlier this week that inflation was now a "threat" to economic stability.

[HengHeng]

short gbp/usd and its stocks.

[kennynah]

23 May 2008 04:57 GMT


India Oil Secretary: Mulling Fuel Price Hike, Product Import Tax Cuts
NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- India's federal government is considering a slew of measures such as a fuel price hike and reducing import duty on some fuel products like gasoline and diesel to check the losses of state-run fuel retailers which sell products at government-mandated prices, Oil Secretary M.S. Srinivasan said Friday.

The quantum of the price hike and other measures will be worked out today, Srinivasan told reporters after meeting executives of oil companies.

The final decision will be taken in 4-5 days, he added.

[kennynah]

this is an example of no understanding...= garbage info...

import and then export...doing what here????

W : u know what's happening bo??? u china guru...
******

23 May 2008 10:02 GMT


OIL DATA: China Customs Updates Apr Jet Kerosene Trade Data
BEIJING -(Dow Jones)- The General Administration of Customs Friday updated China's April jet kerosene import and export data.

China imported 541,340 metric tons of jet kerosene in April, up 45% on year.

Imports for the first four months of this year rose to 1.99 million tons, up 18% on year.

The country exported 404,504 tons of jet kerosene in April, up 14% on year.

Exports for the first four months rose 27% on year to 1.66 million tons.

The customs department is due to release tables with a breakdown of countries listing the origin of imports and destination of exports Monday.

[kennynah]

caviar and wine overdose...these idiots !!!

**********

23 May 2008 09:09 GMT


French Fishermen Move To Block Total Refinery
CALAIS, France (AFP)--French fishermen protesting high fuel costs on Friday moved to block access to a Total SA (TOT) oil refinery in northern France, two days after the government pledged to unlock promised aid.

About 40 trawlers also launched "Operation Snail" in the northern Pas-de-Calais region to slow down maritime traffic to the North Sea, said a spokesman for the fishermen and maritime officials.

In Dunkirk, fishermen set fire to crates and set up roadblocks to prevent trucks from entering the Total oil refinery where riot police were deployed to secure the entrances, an AFP correspondent said.

Fishermen also kept up their blockade of the BP Mobil depot at Frontignan in the south as Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Michel Barnier prepared to meet with industry leaders in the western city of Rennes later in the day.

Barnier on Wednesday announced EUR110 million from a rescue package would be disbursed this year to the fishermen who blocked ports, fuel depots and marinas across France to protest high diesel costs.

The emergency aid will come from a EUR310 million package announced earlier this year after the fishermen blocked several ports in a similar protest movement in November.

The fishermen are refusing to heed the call from their leaders to go back to work, saying they were dissatisfied with the government's offer.

About 40 fishermen occupied the offices of the regional Finistere administration in the Brittany city of Quimper while boats sat idle in the port.

The trawler crews from the Guilvinec port were planning to meet with truckers and farmers later in the day to discuss joint action against the soaring price of diesel that has shot up to over 70 euro cents a liter, from 40 cents in November.

In Caen, about 100 fishermen ransacked the fish stands of two wholesalers and staged a protest that disrupted traffic along a highway in Normandy, police said.