Petrobras CEO pegs 2012 oil price at USD100/bbl, says high levels won't last

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- The recent rise in global oil prices to as high as USD123/bbl represented a "peak" and does not change Brazil's forecast for average prices in 2012 of USD100/bbl, said Petrobras' CEO. According to Petrobras economists, oil prices could fall even lower "in the next few years," reaching USD80 or USD90/bbl.

The recent rise in global oil prices to as high as USD123/bbl represented a "peak" and does not change Brazil's forecast for average prices in 2012 of USD100/bbl, Maria das Gracas Foster, chief executive of state-run energy company Petrobras.

"We don't believe that this recent high level of oil prices is going to hold," she told the Globo television network. "The trend is for prices to fall as geopolitical pressures in oil-producing countries diminish through the course of the year."

She said that, according to Petrobras economists, oil prices could fall even lower "in the next few years," reaching USD80 or USD90 a barrel.

Foster denied any plans by Petrobras to raise domestic fuel prices, saying the company "operates on the basis of long-term trends."
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(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Enbridge said it fully restarted a Midwest oil pipeline Thursday morning that had been shut down last weekend after a car crash hit it, causing a fire and spill. Two people died in the crash and three were taken to hospital to be treated for burn injuries.

Enbridge said it fully restarted a Midwest oil pipeline Thursday morning that had been shut down last weekend after a car crash hit it, causing a fire and spill. Line 64 was restarted early Thursday, an Enbridge spokeswoman said.

Line 64 is part of an Enbridge route that carries up to 318,000 bpd of oil from Superior, Wis. to Griffith, Ind. The first section of the line, called Line 14, was restarted Tuesday.

Enbridge said the oil spilled was contained on its property in New Lenox, Ill., where a small exposed section of the underground pipe was hit by two cars.

The Calgary pipeline and energy infrastructure company said it wasn't able to estimate the amount of oil spilled, because oil was burned in a fire after the crash. Two people died in the crash and three were taken to hospital to be treated for burn injuries.
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(news.flanders-china) -- The expansion blueprints of Chinese oil companies overseas are currently facing "unprecedented challenges', which means they should prepare for the unexpected, according to Chen Geng, a Deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and the former General Manager of CNPC.

"It is now a good time to launch mergers and acquisitions overseas," he said. In 2011, the total mergers and acquisition value of China's three biggest oil companies - CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC - reached about USD20 billion. Wu Mouyuan, Researcher with the CNPC Economics and Technology Research Institute, predicted that China's total overseas equity-based oil and gas production volume may increase by 5% to 10% this year.

Last year, the offshore equity-based oil output of Chinese companies was 90 million tons, 20 million tons more than in 2010, said Wu. "Globally, 11% of oil production came from Chinese producers in 2011." Currently, some oil construction and production projects have ceased in Sudan, CNPC's biggest overseas oil exploration base, and there is no sign of them restarting because of political issues.

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) intends to maintain its output of overseas gas and oil at 10 million to 13 million metric tons in 2012. CNOOC recently said its goal for the year is to produce from 330 million to 340 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). The Penglai 19-3 oilfield in Bohai Bay, which was forced to close in September following an oil spill, is ready to begin operating again, if approval from the government is granted, the company said. Authorities blamed the leaks mainly on the negligence of ConocoPhillips China, which operated the oilfield.

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(textination) -- The provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions Borealis AG, Vienna/Austria announces total annual sales of EUR 7.09 billion (+13.2%) in 2011.

Growth in the 4th quarter of 2011 at 3.6% was slightly lower when compared to the prior year. Sales were about EUR 1.59 billion.

High volatility was a factor in the 2011 economic climate. The shift in market sentiment due to the sovereign debt crisis resulted in significant margin erosion in the polyolefins industry. As a result, Borealis' Polyolefins business segment recorded lower profits in 2011 compared to 2010.

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(news.flanders-china) -- The central government is determined to reform the domestic fuel price-setting mechanism this year after years of concerns that such a move would stoke inflation. The timing of the reform will be key to determining profitability of China's oil refining industry, which is dominated by state-controlled PetroChina and China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec).

"Efforts on the reform are on and we are striving to push ahead with it," Liu Tienan, Director of the National Energy Administration (NEA), said on the sidelines of this year's National People's Congress (NPC). His comments come two weeks after Zhou Wangjun, Deputy Director of the Pricing Department at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told Xinhua that reform on energy pricing would be launched this year "at the right time, according to economic conditions". Premier Wen Jiabao said in his annual government work report that Beijing would reform the pricing mechanism of refined oil products and natural gas. It is thought it will include a greater frequency of price adjustments and give oil companies the right to set their own fuel retail prices in keeping with international crude oil price movements.

Currently the government restricts price rises, squeezing the refineries' margins. A Sanford Bernstein research report said Sinopec needed a gross refining profit margin of at least USD4 a barrel to break even on its refining operation. It relies heavily on profits from upstream oil and gas production to offset the losses. It made a margin of USD1.50 a barrel in last year's first half, the report said. The brokerage expects the reform to give refiners gross margins of USD4 to USD5 a barrel when crude prices range from USD100 to USD120 a barrel, the South China Morning Post reports.


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