Thursday, February 2, 2017

UPDATE 1-DONG Energy faces tough year as offshore wind returns drop

COPENHAGEN, Feb 2 (Reuters) - DONG Energy, the

world's biggest offshore wind farm developer, on Thursday

reported its first full-year net profit since 2011, but will

face tough competition for projects in Europe and the United

States from new players that are pushing down margins.

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UPDATE 2-ConocoPhillips loss smaller than expected on higher oil price

Feb 2 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips, the largest U.S.

independent oil producer, reported a smaller-than-expected

quarterly loss on Thursday, helped by higher crude prices and

lower costs.

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Brazil top court picks newest member to head corruption probes

BRASILIA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Supreme Court picked its

newest member on Thursday to take over the investigation of

politicians implicated in Brazil's biggest graft scandal, which

is expected to shake the country's establishment and its

government.

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Saudi Aramco examines Berri oilfield oil, gas expansion -sources

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, Feb 2 (Reuters) - State oil giant

Saudi Aramco is considering expanding its oil and gas production

from the Berri offshore oilfield, industry sources told Reuters.

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Crackdown on bush refineries unsettles Nigeria's oil heartland

OGONILAND, Nigeria, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Listening for the

engines of navy boats hunting illegal refineries in the swamps

of Nigeria's Niger Delta, workers heat up crude oil in a tank

next to a waterway.

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UPDATE 3-Shell nears another $5 bln in sales to ease debt load

* Renewable energy spending capped at below $1 bln

(Recasts, adds details, CFO, CEO, investor quotes, updates

shares)

Read more

ConocoPhillips reports smaller quarterly loss

Feb 2 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips, the largest U.S.

independent oil producer, posted a much smaller quarterly loss

from a year earlier, when it recorded a $2.7 billion charge.

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Saudi Aramco likely to list on multiple exchanges at same time -minister

RIYADH, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco is likely to list its

shares simultaneously on more than one exchange but this is

still under evaluation, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on

Thursday.

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Britain's FTSE flat as sterling strength outweighs M&A and strong miners

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Britain's blue-chip FTSE 100

index was flat on Thursday, as a strong sterling offset

gains by consumer products group Reckitt Benckiser

related to a potential acquisition, as well as strong energy and

mining sectors.

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West African push to clean up toxic fuel hits snags

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A West African drive to clean up

toxic fuels that campaigners say pose a health hazard to

millions has run into difficulties less than two months after it

was announced, according to importers, traders and other oil

industry insiders.

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UPDATE 1-Russian oil output down 100,000 bpd in January after global deal

* Russian oil output down to 11.11 mln bpd in January

* Pipeline oil exports up to 4.409 mln bpd last month

* Russia pledged to cut oil output by 300,000 bpd by H1-end

* All Russian majors cut oil output in January

(Writes through, adds quotes, details)

By Olesya Astakhova and Vladimir Soldatkin

MOSCOW, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Russian oil output contracted in

January by 100,000 barrels per day, led by decline at all the

major domestic producers and following a global accord aime

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UPDATE 2-Vodafone says pressures in India and UK to weigh on earnings

* Shares down as much as 3 pct

(Adds CEO, CFO comments, analyst reaction, share price)

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UPDATE 1-Caixabank profit falls short of forecasts despite lower provisions

* Aims for ROTE of between 9-11 pct in 2018

(Adds details, background)

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UPDATE 1-Shell profit misses forecast due to forex-related charge

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell's

profits were lower than forecast in the last quarter of 2016 due

to an unexpected charge relating to foreign exchange moves, but

it was still ahead of its larger U.S. rival Exxon Mobil.

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UPDATE 1-Glencore sticks with 2017 production targets

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Glencore stuck with its

target for broadly higher output in 2017 on Thursday after

reporting falls in copper and zinc which led overall production

lower last year.

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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Shell misses fourth-quarter estimates after $500 mln of impairments

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell,

Europe's largest oil major, missed analysts' profit expectations

for the fourth quarter after booking $500 million of

impairments.

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Glencore sticks with 2017 production targets

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Mining and trading group

Glencore's full-year output was in line with target, it

said on Thursday, and reiterated its 2017 guidance.

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UPDATE 1-S.Korea's S-Oil expects firm refining profits in 2017

* Sees Arab Light Crude OSP steady with last year

(Adds comment, detail)

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OPEC, Russia spare Asia oil supply cuts in fight to hold market share

* Supply gain occurs despite OPEC, non-OPEC pledge to cut

1.8 mil bpd in H1 2017

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After 16 attempts, a cheaper method for carbon capture at work in India

MUMBAI, Feb 2 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As students at

the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur in

eastern India, Aniruddha Sharma and Prateek Bumb had one

obsession: finding a cheaper, more efficient way to capture

carbon emissions to combat climate change.

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UPDATE 1-SK Innovation buys Dow Chemical's ethylene acrylic acid unit for $370 mln

* Includes Dow Chemical's EAA business in U.S., Spain

(Adds company comment)

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RPT-COLUMN-Saudi Arabia cannot escape destiny as swing producer: Kemp

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has been forced to

return to the role of swing producer in the oil market, despite

the country's insistence for three decades it would never play

the role again.

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UPDATE 1-U.S. House axes rules to prevent corruption, pollution

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Two major U.S. rules aimed at

curbing corruption and pollution in the energy sector may be

entirely wiped from the books by next week, after the

Republican-led House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to

repeal them.

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UPDATE 2-U.S. Senate confirms Tillerson as secretary of state

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed Rex

Tillerson as President Donald Trump's secretary of state on

Wednesday, filling a key spot on the Republican's national

security team despite concerns about the former Exxon Mobil Corp

chief executive officer's ties to Russia.

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Washington state pipeline disruption jury fails to reach verdict

Feb 1 (Reuters) - A jury weighing charges against an

activist behind a coordinated protest that disrupted the flow of

millions of barrels of crude oil into the United States failed

to reach a verdict in a case in Washington state, prosecutors

said on Wednesday.

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U.S. House axes regulations on oil and mining company payments, stream pollution

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. House

of Representatives on Wednesday killed two Obama-era rules, one

intended to root out corruption in the extraction sector and one

aimed at reducing stream pollution.

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UPDATE 3-Activist ire rises as Dakota pipeline review begins

WASHINGTON/CANNON BALL, N.D., Feb 1 (Reuters) - Activists

protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline project expressed alarm on

Wednesday after federal lawmakers from the state said the final

permit had been granted for the project - a statement later

contradicted by the Army, which issues such permits.

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UPDATE 2-U.S. Senate delays vote on Trump EPA pick after Democrats boycott

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. senators on

Wednesday delayed a committee vote on President Donald Trump's

pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency after the

panel's Democrats boycotted the meeting, saying that nominee

Scott Pruitt doubts the science of climate change.

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Faced with U.S. retreat on climate change, EU looks to China

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Faced with a U.S. retreat from

international efforts to tackle climate change, European Union

officials are looking to China, fearing a leadership vacuum will

embolden those within the bloc seeking to slow the fight against

global warming.

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BlackRock makes energy acquisition as U.S. infrastructure policy looms

NEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc is pushing

further into the private infrastructure market with an agreement

to buy First Reserve Corp's Energy Infrastructure Funds unit.

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UPDATE 2-U.S. takes steps to review Dakota Access pipeline

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers said on Wednesday it has taken initial steps to review

requests to approve the final permit to finish the Dakota Access

pipeline, the focus of protests for months.

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Forestry firm UPM says eyeing next biofuel investment

HELSINKI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Finnish pulp and paper maker

UPM-Kymmene is planning its next step in wood-based

renewable fuel products after a successful ramp-up at its

initial biofuels plant, the head of UPM's biofuels business said

on Wednesday.

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UPDATE 1-Marathon CEO says consumers will bear brunt of any border tax

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Marathon Petroleum Corp's chief

executive officer said on Wednesday the company would pass along

any costs incurred under a Republican-backed plan to impose a

tax on crude oil and other imports.

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UPDATE 1-Global oil output cut by 1.4 mln bpd -Russian energy minister

NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Global oil output

was cut by 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, Russian

energy minister Alexander Novak told President Vladimir Putin on

Wednesday, citing preliminary data.

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Global oil output down by 1.4 mln bpd in Jan, Russia says

MOSCOW, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Global oil output was cut by 1.4

million barrels per day (bpd) last month, Russian energy

minister Alexander Novak told president Vladimir Putin on

Wednesday, citing preliminary data.

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Tesla drops 'Motors' from name as CEO Musk looks beyond cars

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc changed its name

to "Tesla Inc" as Chief Executive Elon Musk looks to transform

the Silicon Valley firm from an electric car maker to a

diversified energy products company.

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HIGHLIGHTS-The Trump presidency on Feb 1 at 8:52 a.m. EST/1352 GMT

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Highlights of the day for U.S. President

Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday:

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Iraq complies with scale, if not absolute level, of OPEC cut - sources, data

LONDON/DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Iraq significantly reduced

oil output in January, according to industry sources and export

data on Wednesday, but has yet to reach levels expected by OPEC

from its second largest producer.

Read more

UPDATE 1-Lufthansa sees rapid growth of Gulf airlines slowing

* CEOs say to explore further cooperation

(Recasts with comments on consolidation)

Read more

UPDATE 1-Marathon Petroleum's profit beats; says to speed up asset transfer

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Marathon Petroleum Corp reported a

higher-than-expected quarterly profit and said it would speed up

the transfer of assets to its unit, MPLX LP.

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RPT-COLUMN-China iron ore imports off to strong start; support rally: Russell

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Feb 1 (Reuters) - There is

fundamental justification for the strong start to 2017 for iron

ore prices, with imports by top buyer China remaining robust and

showing no signs of easing.

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OPEC cut extension could hurt Saudi plan to balance market- Gunvor

ANTWERP, Feb 1 (Reuters) - An extension of OPEC oil

production cuts could push oil prices too high to meet Saudi

Arabia and others' objective of balancing the market without

encouraging U.S. shale output, Gunvor's head of oil market

research said on Wednesday.

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India's 2016 Iran oil imports hit record high - trade



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Etihad, Lufthansa sign catering, maintenance deals

ABU DHABI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Etihad has signed a $100

million deal to take catering services from Lufthansa

unit LSG and will look at cooperation on maintenance as the two

carriers seek to strengthen cooperation.

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UPDATE 1-Iran's president calls Trump a political novice over travel ban

DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani

dismissed his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump as a political

novice on Wednesday, stepping up criticism of the Republican's

immigration policies including a temporary travel ban on

Iranians.

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Flowering compost urinals adorn smelly corner of Paris

PARIS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Two compost urinals topped with

miniature gardens have been installed at a notoriously smelly

site in Paris - behind the Gare de Lyon station in the east of

the French capital.

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Japan's Kansai Electric cancels plans to switch oil-fired power station to coal

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Kansai Electric Power has

cancelled plans to switch a 1,200 megawatt oil-fired power

station to coal as demand for electricity fell amid a push to

cut the country's emissions after it signed up to a global

climate change accord.

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Russia's oil output down by 100,000 bpd in January - sources

MOSCOW, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Russia has cut its oil and gas

condensate production in January by around 100,000 barrels per

day (bpd), as concluded from the data provided to Reuters by two

industry sources on Wednesday.

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Iran's president calls Trump a political novice over travel ban

DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani

dismissed his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump as a political

novice on Wednesday, stepping up criticism of Washington's

temporary travel ban on Iranians and citizens of six other

Muslim-majority countries

Read more