Briefs - November 3, 2008
- China‘s crude oil imports in September were 10% higher than in Sept. 2007. (10/27, #13)
- VeraSun Energy, the second- largest US ethanol producer by capacity, sought bankruptcy protection after racking up losses on hedges for corn. There are 178 ethanol distilleries in the US, with the capacity to produce 718,000 barrels of ethanol per day (11/1, #14)
- PFC estimates that Saudi Arabian production had already fallen to 9.2 million b/d by October from mid-year highs of 9.7 million b/d.” (11/1, #2)
- Brazil’s Petrobras and Cuba‘s Cupet have signed an agreement to explore for oil off the island’s coastline about 100 miles from Key West. Cupet is seeking technology from Petrobras. The agreement allows for a seven-year exploration period. (11/1, #8)
- US oil imports from its five largest suppliers during August: Canada was #1 at 1.833 million barrels/day; Saudi Arabia #2 (1.533 mmb/d); Mexico #3 (1.292 mmb/d); Venezuela #4 (1.146 mmb/d) and Nigeria #5 (1.035 mmb/d). (11/1, #11)
- Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, said third-quarter profit doubled year-over-year after crude surged to an average of $118/barrel.(11/1, #13) Exxon Mobil set a quarterly profit record ($14.83) for a U.S. company last week, surging past analyst estimates. (10/31, #19) British oil major BP may have marked the oil industry’s high point by reporting a record $10.0 billion third quarter replacement cost profit. (10/28, #13)
- An explosion damaged a natural gas wellhead on Friday in the same area of northeast British Columbia where two pipelines were bombed last month. (11/1, #15)
- Air freight dropped 7.7 percent in September, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association. (10/31, #8)
- Mexican lawmakers voted to revamp the country’s oil and natural gas law to provide some new flexibility for oil field service companies doing business in the country, but will keep the door shut on foreign oil companies. It will take Mexico about a year to prepare incentive-based oil exploration and production contracts. (10/31, #12; 10/30, #10)
- The global financial storm rolled across the Persian Gulf on Sunday, as Kuwait’s central bank guaranteed bank deposits and bailed out for one of the country’s largest banks. The Kuwait intervention is the first bank rescue which had seemed immune to the current crisis. (10/27, #10)
- India is likely to face a shortage of 2.5 million tonnes of diesel during the November-March period, which would have to be met either through imports or from Reliance Industries’ only-for-export refinery. (10/30, #13)
