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Oil

London (Platts)--18May2012/320 pm EDT/1920 GMT
The boom in production of super-light liquids from US shale oil projects and the loss of traditional light crudes from Africa is creating a global mismatch of refining capacity which could further exacerbate the impact of overcapacity in the industry, Barclays Capital analyst Amrita Sen said Friday.
Washington (Platts)--18May2012/1235 pm EDT/1635 GMT
The chairwoman of the US Senate Agriculture Committee on Friday criticized ongoing efforts to impose financial reform rules, adding to the chorus of US senators critical of regulators stalled efforts to impose derivatives reforms.
London (Platts)--18May2012/829 am EDT/1229 GMT
Oil market fundamentals could become much tighter in the second half of 2012 if EU and US sanctions keep more than 1 million b/d of Iranian oil exports off the market and non-OPEC output disruptions take a turn for the worse, the head of the International Energy Agency's Oil Industry and Markets Division said Friday.
Paris (Platts)--18May2012/735 am EDT/1135 GMT
Russia's investment in new oil transportation infrastructure is part of a grand plan that owes much more to long-term profit maximization than it does to short-term economics.
Dhaka (Platts)--18May2012/442 am EDT/842 GMT
State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd., or Bapex, has found 137 million barrels of new oil resources and revised downward its natural gas reserves by 35.63% to 1.53 Tcf in the Kailashtila and Sylhet fields in northeastern Bangladesh, Bapex managing director Mortuza Ahmad Faruque said Friday.
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Natural Gas

New York (Platts)--18May2012/1241 pm EDT/1641 GMT
El Paso Pipeline Partners said Friday it will acquire gas storage and pipeline assets in the western US from El Paso Corp.
London (Platts)--18May2012/751 am EDT/1151 GMT
Gas prices at the Continental European markets continued to fall Friday, on weak oil and a warmer weather outlook, with Dutch TTF day-ahead contracts shedding 70 euro cent from the close of Thursday to trade at Eur23.85/MWh.
Moscow (Platts)--18May2012/701 am EDT/1101 GMT
Bulgaria and Russian gas giant Gazprom are preparing to sign an agreement to cut the price of Russian gas, with Sofia seeking a 11.1% discount, according to market sources Friday.
Dhaka (Platts)--18May2012/440 am EDT/840 GMT
China's Sinopec Shengli has agreed to sell natural gas from four onshore fields it is developing in Bangladesh at $2.70/Mcf after initially seeking $3.60/Mcf, Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd.
Washington (Platts)--17May2012/233 pm EDT/1833 GMT
Southern LNG can install a 2,500 horsepower electric compressor at its liquefied natural gas import terminal in Georgia to deal with boil-off gas that is building up due to low import volumes, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Thursday.
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Electric Power

Washington (Platts)--18May2012/259 pm EDT/1859 GMT
IntercontinentalExchange on Friday said it will launch 33 cleared, over-the-counter contracts for power, oil, refined petroleum and natural gas liquids.
London (Platts)--18May2012/828 am EDT/1228 GMT
Prompt power prices plunged further Friday following 5% losses on the UK's NBP gas market due to an oversupply of Norwegian gas imports, traders said.
London (Platts)--18May2012/815 am EDT/1215 GMT
Electrabel is not planning to invest in new large-scale power plants in Belgium due to current market conditions, the GDF Suez subsidiary said Friday.
Tokyo (Platts)--18May2012/443 am EDT/843 GMT
Japan's largest power utility Tokyo Electric Power Company said Friday that it will be able to meet electricity demand in the peak July and August summer months, even though all of its 13 nuclear power plants are shut.
Houston (Platts)--17May2012/448 pm EDT/2048 GMT
The PJM Interconnection board of directors approved nearly $2 billion in electric transmission upgrades that will maintain reliable electric power supplies in the wake of recently announced power plant retirements, according to a Thursday news release.
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Coal

Galax, Virginia (Platts)--18May2012/540 pm EDT/2140 GMT
American Electric Power is taking offers through May 31 for up to five years' supply of barge-delivered eastern US coal, the utility company said Friday.
London (Platts)--18May2012/813 am EDT/1213 GMT
The European-delivered CIF ARA physical thermal coal market traded at a two-year low Friday morning, when a 50,000 mt generic origin cargo for July Amsterdam-delivery went through the globalCOAL trading platform at $85.60/mt with exchange of futures for physical terms attached.
London (Platts)--18May2012/739 am EDT/1139 GMT
A supply-driven fall in the international seaborne thermal coal market has pushed prices down to a level which should induce supply discipline, analysts at investment bank Macquarie said in a research note Friday.
Huaihua, Hunan (Platts)--18May2012/608 am EDT/1008 GMT
China's three largest coal-mining areas Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Shaanxi mined 760.97 million mt of coal over January-April, up 15% year on year, and comprising 65% of China's total coal output for the period, data released Friday by Beijing-based Dexin Yongming Consultation Co.
Washington (Platts)--17May2012/148 pm EDT/1748 GMT
Senators from states with significant coal production said Thursday they were concerned that a pending bill instituting a so-called "clean energy standard" could ruin the industry.
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Shipping

Kuala Lumpur (Platts)--18May2012/632 am EDT/1032 GMT
At least one oil tanker is two to three months from being fully converted into a chemical tanker in Iran, said an Iranian trader with knowledge of the matter on the sidelines of APIC, the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference, in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Singapore (Platts)--18May2012/453 am EDT/853 GMT
Ningbo Shihua Crude Oil Terminal Co Ltd has opened a crude oil shipping terminal on Daxie Island in east China's Zhejiang province -- Asia's largest -- joint venture partner Sinopec said in a statement on its website Thursday.
Tokyo (Platts)--17May2012/649 am EDT/1049 GMT
The Japanese government is considering guaranteeing up to $7.6 billion of insurance cover per tanker for shipments of Iranian oil to make up for the potential loss of protection and indemnity cover when European Union sanctions come into effect in July, a government source told Platts Thursday.
Singapore (Platts)--17May2012/500 am EDT/900 GMT
The Indonesian government has halted shipments from the Asmin Koalindo Tuhup mine, owned by the country's largest coking coal miner Borneo Lumbung Energi & Metal, as the ministry of transport is seeking new licenses for the the company's river ports, a source close to the matter said Thursday.
London (Platts)--17May2012/604 am EDT/1004 GMT
Spot freight rates for long-range 1 (45,000-80,000 dwt) clean tankers traveling on trans-Atlantic routes have risen on the back of tight tonnage in the position list, according to Platts data and sources Thursday.
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Petrochemicals

New York (Platts)--18May2012/306 pm EDT/1906 GMT
Some US monoethylene glycol contracts are set to increase in June, while others may not increase depending how the Asian spot market goes, industry sources said Friday.
Houston (Platts)--18May2012/858 am EDT/1258 GMT
Day on day, the FOB Korea benzene marker was down $12/mt or 1.1% to, $1,069/mt.
London (Platts)--18May2012/738 am EDT/1138 GMT
Dutch chemicals company DSM said Friday it is to acquire Ocean Nutrition Canada in an all-cash deal worth C$540 million ($530 million).
Kuala Lumpur (Platts)--18May2012/737 am EDT/1137 GMT
The petrochemicals industry would benefit from positioning itself as providing greener products for plastics from renewable feedstocks and being viewed as more environmentally responsible, several speakers at the APIC industry gathering said Friday.
Kuala Lumpur (Platts)--18May2012/446 am EDT/846 GMT
New uses of polypropylene homopolymer grade are being explored to reduce costs, sources said Friday on the sidelines of APIC, the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference, in Kuala Lumpur.
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Metals

Rio de Janeiro (Platts)--18May2012/627 pm EDT/2227 GMT
Vale is building a second floating iron ore transfer station, set to begin operations in Subic Bay, Philippines, in 2013, the company said Friday.
Washington (Platts)--18May2012/300 pm EDT/1900 GMT
With the US zinc market still steady, zinc sellers are pinning their hopes on 2013, with some saying they've already closed next-year deals at more than 8 cents plus LME cash.
London (Platts)--18May2012/739 am EDT/1139 GMT
The European physical aluminium market was quiet this week with little activity reported by market participants although premiums rose on the back of financial trades, sources said.
Singapore (Platts)--18May2012/628 am EDT/1028 GMT
China looks set to become the largest source for gold demand in 2012, overtaking India as the world's largest bullion consumer, Marcus Grubb, Managing Director, Investment, at the World Gold Council said Thursday in a statement.
Kampala (Platts)--18May2012/628 am EDT/1028 GMT
At least 40 international companies have shown an interest in investing in Uganda's, Kilembe Copper Mines as the country seeks to revive copper production at one of the east Africa's largest copper mines, an official told Platts Friday.
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