KNOC Aims to Sell Stake in Dana Petroleum
State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) is considering upping the stake it is planning to sell in its British unit Dana Petroleum after failing to lure a buyer for the 30% previously on offer, banking and industry sources said.KNOC had hired Canada's Scotia Bank to help with selling part of the oil and gas producer, but the minority stake was not seen as attractive for energy companies already operating in the region, which are mostly backed by U.S. and European private equity funds…
Oil Falls by $2 After Saudi Arabia Reassures Market on Supply
Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia said it could supply more crude quickly if needed, reassuring investors ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran's crude exports that start next month.Benchmark Brent crude oil dropped $2.03 a barrel to a low of $77.80, down 2.5 percent at a one-month low and beneath its 50-day moving average for the first time in two months.U.S. light crude lost $1.77 a barrel to a low of $67.59 before recovering to $67.86, down $1.50."Saudi Arabia's energy minister has dealt a fresh heap of bearish fodder onto the energy complex…
Full Tanks & Tankers: A Stubborn Oil Glut Despite OPEC Cuts
After the first OPEC oil production cut in eight years took effect in January, oil traders from Houston to Singapore started emptying millions of barrels of crude from storage tanks. Investors hailed the drawdowns as the beginning of the end of a two-year supply glut - raising hopes for steadily rising per-barrel prices. It hasn't worked out that way. Now, many of those same storage tanks are filling back up or draining more slowly than investors and oil firms had expected, according…
S. Korea's Crude Imports from Iran Double
South Korea imported 1.8 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in January, up 108.8 percent from a year ago, preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service showed on Wednesday. That is equivalent to 13.2 million barrels, according to a Reuters calculation. The world’s fifth-largest crude buyer imported a total of 12.4 million tonnes of crude last month against 10.9 million tonnes imported a year ago, the data also showed. Final data for South Korea's crude oil imports last month will be published by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) later this month.
S.Korea's Dec crude oil imports down 1.7 pct
South Korea's crude oil imports fell 1.7 percent in December from a year earlier to 96.6 million barrels, preliminary data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed on Sunday. Final data will be released later this month by state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC). Note: The ministry did not break down imports by country of origin. South Korea's total crude imports in November increased 12.2 percent to 91.6 million barrels year-on-year, according to KNOC data last month.
S.Korea's KNOC Drops Oil Field Project in Iraq's Sangaw South
State-owned Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) has decided to drop out of Iraq's Sangaw South oil field project because of uneconomic exploration results, a KNOC spokesman said on Monday. A Korean consortium headed by KNOC holds 60 percent of Sangaw South in the Kurdish region of Iraq, with half of that owned by KNOC. The state-run oil company has invested a total of about $204 million on exploration and acquisition of the stake since 2008. "The pullout was decided in a recent board meeting as we figured economics of exploration and production were low to carry out the project…
S. Korea Boosting Condensate Imports from Iran
South Korea, Asia's largest buyer of condensate, will step up purchases of the ultra light oil from Iran by more than 50 percent in June, two sources said, as competitive pricing squeezes out rival oil from Qatar. Expected June shipments of condensate from Iran may reach at least six million barrels, or 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), said the sources. This would be a record level of imports, four times that in January when sanctions on Tehran were lifted, according to data from Korea National Oil Corp.
S.Korea Plans to Boost Iran Oil Imports
South Korea plans to boost imports of Iranian oil, especially condensate, this year to meet growing demand after sanctions on the Islamic nation were lifted in January. The world's fifth largest importer of crude is also a big buyer of condensate, a super light oil that can be processed into fuels and petrochemicals. Iran's return would help ease tight condensate supply in a market dominated by fellow OPEC producer Qatar. "We will increase oil and natural gas (liquids) imports from Iran, especially Iranian condensate," South Korea's trade and energy ministry said on Tuesday.
Glencore Books 6 mln bbls North Sea Forties in September
Swiss trader Glencore has provisionally booked three supertankers to load 6 million barrels of North Sea Forties crude for South Korea in September, according to shipping data and traders. The volume is larger than usual as low freight rates and wide spot discounts for Forties due to ample supply have encouraged shipments of the crude to Asia, they said. Typically one to two supertankers head to South Korea each month. If the shipments go through, South Korea's imports from the United Kingdom in October could surge to the highest since January 2014…
S.Korean Energy Loss-Making Projects Need Audit
South Korea's state-run energy companies need to review investments in loss-making overseas projects that have accrued billions of dollars of debt and consider potential disposals, the country's audit board said on Tuesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is heavily dependent on costly energy imports that fuelled inflation and prompted a rapid expansion in overseas investment to develop oil and gas reserves during former president Lee Myung-bak's term in office. However, heavy losses have brought the loss-making investments under the scrutiny of South Korean authorities…
Total Win Abu Dhabi Oil Stake
ADNOC wants other oil firms to improve terms; Shell gets ADNOC proposal. Shell, BP may get 10 pct stake each if terms agreed. Total became the first oil major to renew a 40-year onshore concession in Abu Dhabi, putting its peers under pressure to improve terms after the local partner said the French firm made the best offer. The state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed an agreement on Thursday with Total giving the firm a 10 percent stake in the new concession to help operate the United Arab Emirates' biggest oilfields.
U.S. Merchant Bank Buys Aging Newfoundland Refinery
A New York-based commodities merchant bank run by veteran energy traders, Neal Shear and Kaushik Amin, announced on Friday plans to buy the aging Come by Chance refinery in Newfoundland from South Korea's state-run oil company. Korea National Oil Corp said it will sell the 115,000-barrel-per-day refinery to SilverRange Financial Partners LLC for an undisclosed price following a months-long search to find a buyer. The deal also includes 53 gas stations and convenience stores. SilverRange is a New York-based merchant bank focused on energy and natural resources owned by SilverPeak Partners…
KNOC Sells Aging Newfoundland Refinery to SilverRange
Korea National Oil Corp said on Friday that it would sell its 115,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Come by Chance, Newfoundland, to SilverRange Financial Partners LLC for an undisclosed price following a months-long search to find a buyer. KNOC's Harvest Operations Corp unit is selling the aging refinery, as well as 53 gas stations and convenience stores, to SilverRange. The New York-based merchant bank has entered into a multiyear refining deal with an unspecified global oil company, Harvest Operations and SilverRange said in a release.
KNOC Sells Newfoundland Refinery to SilverRange
Korea National Oil Corp said on Friday that it would sell its 115,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Come by Chance, Newfoundland, to SilverRange Financial Partners LLC for an undisclosed price following a months-long search to find a buyer. KNOC's Harvest Operations Corp unit is selling the aging refinery, as well as 53 gas stations and convenience stores, to SilverRange. The New York-based merchant bank has entered into a multiyear refining deal with an unspecified global oil company, Harvest Operations and SilverRange said in a release.
Asian, Western firms bid for UAE oilfields
Exxon pulls out staff, decides not to bid, sources say. Chinese, Korean and Japanese firms vying for a stake. Asian and western firms have bid to help operate the UAE's biggest oilfields after a deal with oil majors expired this year but the Gulf Arab state is yet to decide whether to let Asian oil buyers in for the long haul, sources said. A final decision on the winning firms is unlikely before early 2015 as political leaders in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, weigh whether to bring in Asian firms or stick with old partners, industry and diplomatic sources said.
South Korea Iran Oil Imports Drop in March
South Korea's oil imports from Iran fell 76 percent in March from a month earlier as one of the two Korean refiners that import the crude started a shutdown for maintenance, according to Korean customs data and a refining source. South Korea imported 274,808 tonnes of Iranian crude last month, or 64,979 barrels per day (bpd), compared with 1.12 million tonnes a month ago and 556,658 tonnes a year ago, preliminary customs data showed on Tuesday. In the first three months of the year…
