US: President Obama gives Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari names of oil thieves

US President Barack Obama (R) shakes hands with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (L) during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on July 20, 2015 in Washington, DC.Getty Images

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-president-obama-gives-nigerian-president-muhammadu-buhari-names-oil-thieves-1513241

US President Barack Obama has handed over names of Nigerian oil thieves to Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari.

The confidential information was passed over by the US administration after Buhari's request to help eradicate corruption believed to have been infiltrated since the administration of former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

Several sources confirmed the information pass over, including a member of the Nigerian president's entourage who accompanied Buhari at the White House recently.

"I can tell you that the president already has the list of names of the people engaging in the stealing of Nigeria's oil. The list, when released by the president, will shock Nigerians," said a source speaking on the condition of anonymity, reported Punch.

"The president will probe all of them and make sure they return whatever fortune they made from their thievery."

President Buhari hopes to bring back the estimated $150bn (£96bn) that was stolen through looting the country's oil.

He has alleged that nearly 250,000 barrels of oil were stolen on a daily basis by ministers from Jonathan's administration.

"The amount involved is mind-boggling. A lot of damage has been done to the integrity of Nigeria with individuals and institutions already compromised," said Buhari who was sworn into presidency in May 2015, reported IBTimes.

Oil Companies Secretly Meet With Iran

Oil companies complete significant amount of M&A activity

http://www.tankstoragemag.com/industry_news.php?item_id=9240

Global oil companies' merger and acquisition activity was significantly boosted by the announced merger between Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group.

The merger accounted for $84 billion ($76 billion) of the $115 billion quarterly total in 2015. The second quarter of 2015 exhibited the largest amount of M&A activity by value since the fourth-quarter of 2012.

However with the merger, the value of deals in the second quarter of 2015 would have only totalled $31 billion ($28 billion), $18 billion higher than the first quarter of 2015, which was the lowest since at least 2008.

According to the EIA, who compiled data, the 137 deals announced was the lowest number since the fourth quarter of 2008 and 42% below the 235 median quarterly number of deals over the previous two years. This indicates less breadth of activity.

M&A activity generally reflects how market participants view future opportunities. The availability and cost of financing as well as legal factors also pay a key role in the value and amount of M&A activity. - See more at:

cording to the EIA, who compiled data, the 137 deals announced was the lowest number since the fourth quarter of 2008 and 42% below the 235 median quarterly number of deals over the previous two years. This indicates less breadth of activity.
M&A activity generally reflects how market participants view future opportunities. The availability and cost of financing as well as legal factors also pay a key role in the value and amount of M&A activity. - See more at: http://www.tankstoragemag.com/industry_news.php?item_id=9240#sthash.XOHiPvhg.dpuf

Global oil companies' merger and acquisition activity was significantly boosted by the announced merger between Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group. - See more at: http://www.tankstoragemag.com/industry_news.php?item_id=9240#sthash.XOHiPvhg.dpuf

Global oil companies' merger and acquisition activity was significantly boosted by the announced merger between Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group.
The merger accounted for $84 billion ($76 billion) of the $115 billion quarterly total in 2015. The second quarter of 2015 exhibited the largest amount of M&A activity by value since the fourth-quarter of 2012.
However with the merger, the value of deals in the second quarter of 2015 would have only totalled $31 billion ($28 billion), $18 billion higher than the first quarter of 2015, which was the lowest since at least 2008.
According to the EIA, who compiled data, the 137 deals announced was the lowest number since the fourth quarter of 2008 and 42% below the 235 median quarterly number of deals over the previous two years. This indicates less breadth of activity.
M&A activity generally reflects how market participants view future opportunities. The availability and cost of financing as well as legal factors also pay a key role in the value and amount of M&A activity. - See more at: http://www.tankstoragemag.com/industry_news.php?item_id=9240#sthash.XOHiPvhg.dpuf

Global oil companies' merger and acquisition activity was significantly boosted by the announced merger between Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group.
The merger accounted for $84 billion ($76 billion) of the $115 billion quarterly total in 2015. The second quarter of 2015 exhibited the largest amount of M&A activity by value since the fourth-quarter of 2012.
However with the merger, the value of deals in the second quarter of 2015 would have only totalled $31 billion ($28 billion), $18 billion higher than the first quarter of 2015, which was the lowest since at least 2008.
According to the EIA, who compiled data, the 137 deals announced was the lowest number since the fourth quarter of 2008 and 42% below the 235 median quarterly number of deals over the previous two years. This indicates less breadth of activity.
M&A activity generally reflects how market participants view future opportunities. The availability and cost of financing as well as legal factors also pay a key role in the value and amount of M&A activity. - See more at: http://www.tankstoragemag.com/industry_news.php?item_id=9240#sthash.XOHiPvhg.dpuf

Global oil companies' merger and acquisition activity was significantly boosted by the announced merger between Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group.
The merger accounted for $84 billion ($76 billion) of the $115 billion quarterly total in 2015. The second quarter of 2015 exhibited the largest amount of M&A activity by value since the fourth-quarter of 2012.
However with the merger, the value of deals in the second quarter of 2015 would have only totalled $31 billion ($28 billion), $18 billion higher than the first quarter of 2015, which was the lowest since at least 2008.
According to the EIA, who compiled data, the 137 deals announced was the lowest number since the fourth quarter of 2008 and 42% below the 235 median quarterly number of deals over the previous two years. This indicates less breadth of activity.
M&A activity generally reflects how market participants view future opportunities. The availability and cost of financing as well as legal factors also pay a key role in the value and amount of M&A activity. - See more at: http://www.tankstoragemag.com/industry_news.php?item_id=9240#sthash.XOHiPvhg.dpuf

Nigeria's NNPC bans 113 oil tankers from Nigerian waters

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/20/us-nigeria-crude-idUSKCN0PU0X320150720
Nigeria's state oil company NNPC has banned 113 oil tankers from the country's waters, citing a directive from President Muhammadu Buhari, in what traders said could be part of efforts to crack down on illegal crude oil trading.
The vessels, which include mainly VLCC crude oil tankers, are banned from calling at Nigerian crude oil terminals and also from Nigerian waters with immediate effect, said a letter circulated by NNPC, "pending a notice to the contrary by government".

The letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters and which gave no reason for the ban, was dated July 15. NNPC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Since taking office in May, Buhari has been working to fulfil a campaign promise to tackle corruption, particularly in the oil industry. He has dissolved the NNPC board and ordered an investigation into a scheme through which the country swaps crude for oil products such as gasoline.

But some oil traders and vessel owners noted the list included ships that have not called at Nigerian ports for years, as well as several tankers, such as the Happiness, the Huge and the Diona, operated by Iranian group NITC, which has had little business for Nigeria for some time.

Some of the vessels are also listed twice, meaning the number of banned vessels could be smaller than 113.

A trader with a major oil company said there was no obvious reason for the ban, while a source close to operations at Indian Oil Corp, a key buyer of Nigerian crudes, said the refiner would definitely be impacted if the list is accurate.

"If the news is correct freight rates could go up and choice of vessels will be limited," the source said.
India has been a top outlet for Nigerian oil in recent years as its light sweet crudes have been pushed out of the once-dominant destination, the United States, by the shale oil boom.

Bjorn Hojgaard, chief executive of Hong Kong's Univan Ship Management, was informed of the ban by Reuters reporters.

"There are a number of Univan-managed vessels on the list, but we have certainly not been notified," Hojgaard said. "I don't know what's the story here, but will look into it, together with our customers."
Buhari also last week replaced all his top defense chiefs, including the head of the navy.

(Additional reporting by Florence Tan, Keith Wallis, Jonathan Saul, Nidhi Verma, Julia Payne and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Pravin Char and David Holmes)

Buhari Reportedly Blocks Nigerian Oil Companies From Lifting Crude Oi

Nigeria - According to THE WILL, President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a directive which has blocked Nigerian owned oil companies from lifting crude oil in the country.



http://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/buhari-reportedly-blocks-nigerian-oil-companies-from-lifting-crude-oil.114980/

Reports say it's the first step in a larger plot to freeze out indigenous companies which grew their operations tremendously under the previous administration due to the firm implementation of the federal government’s Local Content Law.

No indigenous oil trading company including the 28 local firms that won contracts last year are being allowed to lift crude from oil platforms following the presidential directive, which insiders believe infringes on the Local Content Law and could lead to the demise of oil companies.

Coincidentally, most of the companies affected are owned by people from Southern Nigeria, particularly the South-East and the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Source: THE WILL

Former Petroleum Minister Diezani Playing The Sick Card

As information continues to emerge of the billions of dollars of public funds that Nigeria’s former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, stole with the help of cohorts she handpicked, the embattled former minister is apparently playing the sick card in the United Kingdom where she has spent most of her time since ex-President Goodluck Jonathan lost his reelection bid.

   

Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke AP Photos 

 

http://saharareporters.com/2015/07/28/former-petroleum-minister-diezani-playing-sick-card 

In recent days, several online media have reported that Ms. Alison-Madueke was critically sick in a London hospital. However, two sources in the UK who are quite conversant with the former minister’s physical condition told SaharaReporters today that her condition had not deteriorated, contrary to media reports. 

One of the sources went as far as suggesting that the ex-Petroleum Minister might be orchestrating the reports about her grave ill health as a strategy to attract public sympathy as well as official leniency from President Muhammadu Buhari who has received extensive intelligence from US authorities detailing the extent of Ms. Alison-Madueke’s looting of petro-dollars under the watch of Mr. Jonathan. 

One of our UK sources disclosed that the beleaguered former minister recently concluded a course of treatment for cancer, adding that she is not hospitalized in London as being touted by some members of her family.   

Another source revealed that he and others were in touch with the former minister as recently as yesterday. “She is definitely not in an ICU [intensive care unit] as I understand that some press people have been reporting,” the source said. According to him, “All I know is that there is a fair amount of anxiety on her part about all the reports coming out about her management of the affairs of the oil sector. Perhaps this anxiety is translating into efforts to portray her as sicker than she is, in reality. That strategy is understandable, as a way of lessening public reaction to reports that are out there. And there’s considerable uncertainty about what [President] Buhari is going to do. So, yes, there’s an advantage to the reports [of her critical ill health], but I can tell you she’s not in any devastated shape. Far from it.” 

A series of coordinated reports about Ms. Alison-Madueke’s ill health began to surface after SaharaReporters revealed that US officials handed a dossier of the former minister’s billion dollar fraudulent deals to President Muhammad Buhari during his visit last week to America. 

Yesterday, in a move that corroborated our report, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State told reporters at the State House in Abuja that US officials informed Mr. Buhari that a Nigerian minister under President Jonathan stole as much as $6 billion from the Nigerian treasury. Even though Mr. Oshiomhole did not disclose the name of the minister involved, a source at the Presidency confirmed to SaharaReporters that Ms. Alison-Madueke was the minister in question. Governor Oshiomhole was the only governor in President Buhari’s delegation when he held a critical meeting with US Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, at Blair House in Washington, DC. Ms. Lynch, who is known to be tough on crime, especially international fraud, reportedly pledged US assistance to arrest and prosecute the former Petroleum Minister and others who have defrauded the Nigerian people provided that Mr. Buhari would take steps to identify and flush out corrupt judges from the Nigerian judiciary. 

Mr. Oshiomhole said that US officials, who were astonished by the size of looting that took place under Mr. Jonathan’s administration, declared that the funds stolen by one minister were staggering even for an economy as big as that of the United States. The former Petroleum Minister was known to be extraordinarily close to Mr. Jonathan, who refused to remove her from his cabinet despite numerous credible reports of her illicit and corrupt deals. 

SaharaReporters earlier reported that Ms. Alison-Madueke had attempted to send emissaries to President Buhari offering to return $250 million from her loot in return for being shielded from prosecution. One of the associates she contacted is a northern governor known to be close to Mr. Buhari. A highly reliable source told SaharaReporters that Mr. Buhari rejected the offer, contending that he would uncover how much Ms. Alison-Madueke and her fronts looted from the Nigerian treasury. “Mr. President is not interested in settling for small change. He has sworn to the Nigerian people that he will recover the vast sums stolen by officials of past government, especially those of President Jonathan. He is determined to keep his pledge to the Nigerian people.”

Former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), an agency under Ms. Alison-Madueke, of failing to deposit more than $20 billion of oil earnings at the CBN. Rather than launch a serious investigation, then President Jonathan ran to the former Petroleum Minister’s defense, and eased Mr. Sanusi out of his job at the CBN. 

Fresh reports are surfacing of how Ms. Alison-Madueke used cohorts she handpicked to systematically deprive Nigerians of billions of dollars of oil revenues. Among the big players in her web of oil scams are Kogi-born businessman, Jide Omokore, Ben Peters, Igho Salome, and Kola Aluko. The mega scams the former minister pulled off with her trusted hands involved opulent acquisition of at least four private jets, a yacht, real estate in various world locations, including New York, Dubai, and London, and the transfer of huge sums to bank accounts operated by shadowy companies in Switzerland and several tax havens. 

Ms. Alison-Madueke famously fell out with Mr. Aluko over the latter’s reported romantic involvement with ex-super model Naomi Campbell. It is believed that Mr. Aluko absconded with more than $1 billion that was in his custody as a result of shady transactions engineered and approved by the former Petroleum Minister.

Chinese shares tumble 8.5 percent in biggest one-day drop since 2007

 

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/07/27/china-stocks-tumble-suffer-biggest-one-day-loss-in-eight-years/21214297/?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl2|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D-236437577 

 

Chinese shares slid more than 8 percent on Monday as an unprecedented government rescue plan to prop up valuations ran out of steam, throwing Beijing's efforts to stave off a deeper crash into doubt.

Major indexes suffered their largest one-day drop since 2007, shattering three weeks of relative calm in China's volatile stock markets since Beijing unleashed a barrage of support measures to arrest a slump that started in mid-June.

"The lesson from China's last equity bubble is that, once sentiment has soured, policy interventions aimed at shoring up prices have only a short-lived effect," wrote Capital Economics analysts in a research note reacting to the slide.

The CSI300 index .CSI300 of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen tumbled 8.6 percent to 3,818.73 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC lost 8.5 percent to 3,725.56 points.

China's market gyrations have stoked fears among global investors about the broader health of the world's second biggest economy, hitting prices of growth-sensitive commodities such as copper, which fell on Monday to not far from a 6-year low. [MET/L]

But, while the recent stock market weakness will have caught out many retail investors and companies who jumped in as stocks more than doubled in a year, the low rate of stock ownership by households and a disconnect between valuations and economic fundamentals mean the impact on the economy is likely to be less than in other markets.

FUTURES TUMBLE

Stocks fell across the board on Monday, with 2,247 companies falling, leaving only 77 gainers.

More than 1,500 shares listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen dived by their 10 percent daily limit, led by index heavyweights including China Unicom (600050.SS), Bank of Communications (601328.SS) and PetroChina (600028.SS).

All traded index futures contracts also fell by their maximum 10 percent limit, with the exception of a few tracking the large cap SSE50 index, which declined around 9 percent.

Some analysts said talk had circulated among traders that the China Securities Financial Corporation (CSFC) had returned ahead of schedule some of the loans it took to stabilize the stock market, highlighting investor concern that Beijing's commitment to supporting prices may be flagging.

The CSFC became the regulator's weapon of choice earlier this month, borrowing money from commercial banks to buy shares in Chinese stocks. That helped indexes jump around 20 percent from their recent low, until Monday's renewed decline.

The CSFC did not respond to calls requesting comment.

Monday's fall accelerated sharply in the afternoon, long after investors had digested lackluster data on profits at Chinese industrial firms and a disappointing private factory sector survey on Friday.

But Chinese stock investors have been celebrating bad economic news for months on the basis it would provoke more aggressive policy easing, seen as positive for stocks because it pushes cheap money into the market.

Some saw the government-induced recovery in share prices in recent weeks as itself contributing to the crash.

"After two weeks of steady rebound, both foreign investors and domestic institutions are gradually taking profits, increasing selling pressure," said Yu Jun, strategist at Bosera Asset Management Co.

"In addition, investor confidence hasn't fully recovered. There has been no obvious increase in outstanding margin loans, while the amount of fresh capital inflows is much lower than the average level in May and June. With not enough money taking up the baton, a renewed, sharp correction is inevitable."

CONFIDENCE GAME

China's main stock indexes had more than doubled over the year to mid-June, when a sudden swoon saw shares lose more than 30 percent of their value in a matter of weeks.

Markets finally began stabilizing again in the second week of July, due mostly to Beijing's effort to pump liquidity into the market while barring investors from selling.

China's central bank cut interest rates, brokerages formed stabilization funds and regulators lifted restrictions on pensions and insurers investing in stocks, an implied combined total verbal commitment of almost $800 billion.

Beijing also cracked down on "malicious" short-sellers in the futures market, froze IPOs to prevent a liquidity drain and looked the other way as around 40 percent of companies suspended trading in their shares to escape the rout.

The campaign even acquired nationalistic tones at times, with local governments calling on retail investors to "defend the stock market," and domestic media and popular commentators expressing suspicions that the crash was engineered by a foreign cabal.

(Additional reporting by Hong Kong newsroom; Editing by Alex Richardson, Richard Borsuk and Ian Geoghegan)

Oil Warning: The Crash Could Be Worst in More Than 45 Years

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-23/oil-warning-crash-could-be-worst-in-more-than-45-years

Morgan Stanley has been pretty pessimistic about oil prices in 2015, drawing comparisons to the some of the worst oil slumps of the past three decades. The current downturn could even rival the iconic price crash of 1986, analysts had warned—but definitely no worse. 

This week, a revision: It could be much worse. 

Until recently, confidence in a strong recovery for oil prices—and oil companies—had been pretty high, wrote analysts including Martijn Rats and Haythem Rashed, in a report to investors yesterday. That confidence was based on four premises, they said, and only three have proven true.

1. Demand will rise: Check 

In theory: The crash in prices that started a year ago should stimulate demand. Cheap oil means cheaper manufacturing, cheaper shipping, more summer road trips. 

In practice: Despite a softening Chinese economy, global demand has indeed surged by about 1.6 million barrels a day over last year's average, according to the report. 

2. Spending on new oil will fall: Check 

In theory: Lower oil prices should force energy companies to cut spending on new oil supplies, and the cost of drilling and pumping should decline. 

In practice: Sure enough, since October the number of rigs actively drilling for new oil around the world has declined by about 42 percent. More than 70,000 oil workers have lost their jobs globally, and in 2015 alone listed oil companies have cut about $129 billion in capital expenditures. 

3. Stock prices remain low: Check 

In theory: While oil markets rebalance themselves, stock prices of oil companies should remain cheap, setting the stage for a strong rebound. 

In practice: Yep. The oil majors are trading near 35-year lows, using two different methods of valuation. 

4. Oil supply will drop: Uh-oh 

In theory: With strong demand for oil and less money for drilling and exploration, the global oil glut should diminish. Let the recovery commence. 

In practice: The opposite has happened. While U.S. production has leveled off since June, OPEC has taken up the role of market spoiler.  

OPEC Production Surges in 2015

Source: Morgan Stanley Research, Bloomberg

For now, Morgan Stanley is sticking with its original thesis that prices will improve, largely because OPEC doesn't have much more spare capacity to fill and because oil stocks have already been hammered.

But another possibility is that the supply of new oil coming from outside the U.S. may continue to increase as sanctions against Iran dissolve and if the situation in Libya improves, the Morgan Stanley analysts said. U.S. production could also rise again. A recovery is less certain than it once was, and the slump could last for three years or more—"far worse than in 1986."

"In that case," they wrote, "there would be little in analysable history that could be a guide" for what's to come.

Falling Gas Prices Not Doing Much for the Economy

 

 

 http://www.dailyfinance.com/2015/07/23/falling-gas-prices-not-doing-much-for-economy/

 

Americans aren't spending much of the money they're saving at the pump.

Some benefit in home prices and employment have come to areas with long commutes, but effects on retail spending have been "more ambiguous," according to an analysis from Goldman Sachs economists.

While consumer spending has picked up since Q1, results for the year so far have fallen short of our expectations.

"Our view has been that the boost to real incomes from lower energy prices -- and its positive impact on consumer spending -- would offset the drag from energy-related investment, resulting in gains for US GDP growth on net," Hui Shan and Zach Pandl said in their report. "While consumer spending has picked up since Q1, results for the year so far have fallen short of our expectations."

Indeed, retail spending has been disappointing despite expectations for a rejuvenated U.S. economy boosted by the decline in oil prices. Crude tumbled 55 percent and gasoline dropped 42 percent from June 2014 to January 2015. The decline in both has abated since then, but prices at the pump are still 30 percent lower than they were a year ago, according to AAA.

In a study that looked at U.S. regions where at least 80 percent of workers commute, Goldman found uneven results: Improving labor markets and declines in mortgage delinquency, but not enough to translate to substantial retail spending gains on a national level.

The reason lies primarily in the beneficiaries: Less wealthy people likely used the savings to pay down debt and put in savings, with only the wealthy spending.

"County and ZIP code level data suggest that areas with long commute times -- which benefit disproportionally from lower gasoline prices -- have experienced a boost in their labor and housing markets relative to other locations," Shan and Pandl wrote. "We therefore see evidence that consumers are responding to cheaper gasoline, and in our view a portion of this extra spending power remains in the tank."

How much is still "in the tank" will be critical toward the arc of U.S. growth. Gross domestic product fell well short of expectations in the first quarter, contracting 0.2 percent. Economists blamed the slowdown on poor weather and the West Coast port strike, though a recent paper from the New York Federal Reserve found the latter event to have only a modest drag on growth. GDP, however, is on track for 3 percent gains in the subsequent two quarters, according to the CNBC/Moody's Analytics Current Quarter GDP Survey.

Inflation Pressures Elsewhere

That upswing may have to come without as much help as expected from consumers. The National Retail Federation cut its full-year sales growth expectations Wednesday to 3.5 percent from 4.1 percent, due to what NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay deemed "lackluster growth in our economy."

Relief at the gas pump has been offset by pressures elsewhere.

 

Hourly wages are growing at just 2 percent annually and real wages, accounting for inflation, actually declined 0.3 percent in June, according to the Labor Department.

Prices also have surged in several areas, most notably eggs, which rose 31 percent in June just in a month, thanks to an avian flu outbreak in chickens. Wine surged 20 percent, beer was up more than 5 percent and gasoline rose more than 2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In recent research, Nick Colas, chief market strategist at Convergex who keeps a lookout for consumer trends, found a strong correlation between the fall in gas prices, miles driven and employment trends. In a nutshell, he surmised that the lower prices were resulting in more driving, primarily to work.

"At the tail end of last year, most economists were dead sure that lower gasoline prices would spark a wave of incremental spending, as most periods of declining energy prices had in the past. Makes sense -- less money at the pump means more money to spend elsewhere," Colas wrote. "Except this mystery turned into something more akin to the 'Hound of the Baskervilles,' where the central clue was the absence of a barking dog. As is now painfully obvious, the American consumer took their gas savings, bypassed the mall, and just went home."

Key Shale Crude Oil Production to Fall in August, Says EIA

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/key-shale-crude-oil-production-150625101.html 

Key shale crude oil production to drop

 

The EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) expects oil and gas production to slow down at some of the key shales by August. According to its Drilling Productivity Report released on July 13, 2015, the EIA expects key shale crude oil production to decrease at four key shales in August and increase at three others.

Overall, aggregate crude oil production at the seven key shales is expected to drop 3.1% in August compared to June levels. It’s expected to drop 1.4% in July. So the EIA expects the decline rate to go up.

 

Bakken may lose, Permian may gain

 

The Bakken, one of the major crude oil resource shales, is expected to see a decrease between June and August. The EIA estimates it will produce 1.18 MMbpd (million barrels per day) in August after producing 1.22 MMbpd in June—a 3.4% decrease. Oil production at the Niobrara shale, one of the smaller crude oil producing regions, is expected to fall the most—8.6% in the next two months.

The Permian Basin, the most prolific crude oil producing shale in the United States, is expected to increase production by a marginal 0.4% by August. According to the EIA, the Eagle Ford Shale may see a 6.3% reduced oil production.

The Utica Shale is expected to increase production the most, by 1.1% in the same period. Utica, however, has a much smaller oil production base than the Bakken shale and the Permian Basin.

How it will affect producers

 

Companies such as EOG Resources (EOG), Concho Resources (CXO), and Matador Resources (MTDR) may drive higher production in the Permian Basin. This would be positive for them. Reduced Bakken oil production could be led by producers such as Denbury Resources (DNR) and Continental Resources (CLR). This would be negative for these companies.

Changes in production and rig count in the key US shales will affect the performance of oil field service (or OFS) companies as well. These companies include National Oilwell Varco (NOV), RPC (RES), Dril-Quip (DRQ), and Core Laboratories NV (CLB).

Denbury Resources (DNR) forms 1.3% of the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP).

Buhari Turns Down Former Petroleum Minister Alison-Madueke Offer To Refund $250 Million

 

http://saharareporters.com/2015/07/18/buhari-turns-down-former-petroleum-minister-alison-madueke-offer-refund-250-million

Immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has offered to refund the sum of $250 million dollars to the Nigerian government in return for immunity from further investigation and possible prosecution, SaharaReporters has learned. However, her overture has reportedly received a cold response from President Muhammadu Buhari.

A source in Aso Rock and a ranking member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) told our correspondent that the former minister has been reaching out to influential government and ruling party officials, in and outside Abuja, to prevail on President Buhari to accept her offer and let bygones be bygone. According to our sources, Mrs. Alison-Madueke had enlisted the support of several figures close to Mr. Buhari, including Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, to intercede with the incumbent president. 

Mrs. Alison-Madueke was one of the closest ministers to former President Goodluck Jonathan, and is reputed to have anchored and facilitated numerous money-laundering scandals and deals that characterized the era of the just-ended Jonathan administration. The former Petroleum Minister oversaw several oil swap deals, the disposition of oil wells handed over by Shell Petroleum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and the direct looting of funds through the NNPC. Former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was forced out of office after he revealed that the NNPC had failed to remit more than $20 billion in oil revenues with the CBN.

The former Petroleum Minister is the latest of several officials who served under Mr. Jonathan’s government that are currently negotiating “soft landing deals” with the Buhari administration. The incumbent president, who was sworn in on May 29, 2015, has vowed to probe various questionable financial actions taken by his successor or officials of his government. Mr. Buhari is reportedly determined to recover billions of dollars in stolen funds. 

One source said Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s latest offer to refund at least $250 million to the government came after she learned that President Buhari’s scheduled meeting with US Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, would include a discussion of ways that the US government could facilitate the investigation, arrest and prosecution of some officials of the Jonathan administration implicated in the theft of billions of dollars and a variety of frauds that resulted in the loss of significant sums of public funds in Nigeria.

SaharaReporters exclusively reported earlier in the week that the former Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been cooperating with the Buhari administration’s ongoing, if quiet, probe of a series of questionable financial transactions by the Jonathan administration. 

Our sources revealed that Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala had given the Buhari administration documents that expose a number of shady financial deals executed by the Jonathan administration. 

Two days ago, we reported that former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku, had appealed to Mr. Buhari to halt the ongoing probe of former President Jonathan’s administration. Even though Mr. Anyaoku has denied that he urged Mr. Buhari to stop the investigation of his predecessor’s financial dealings, our sources insisted that the ex-Commonwealth chief executive brought up the matter. 

Our sources disclosed that Mr. Buhari was unimpressed by Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s offer. “Mr. President considers the $250 million as ridiculous considering the amount of money Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke is suspected to have diverted into her pocket and those of others,” said one source. 

According to our sources, Mr. Buhari is intent on ordering a full audit of deals and transactions done by the former Petroleum Minister and her cohorts in the various agencies that reported to her. 

In addition, the new president is reportedly focused on looking further at the extensive embezzlement of security funds by appointees of the former president. Mr. Buhari has approved an investigation of how more than $3 billion in Nigeria’s defense budget was spent. Security agents who searched the homes of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, reportedly carted away some revealing documents. 

Earlier today, the Department of State Security (DSS) arrested and detained Gordon Obuah, a former Chief Security Officer to President Goodluck Jonathan. Mr. Obuah is reportedly being questioned over his alleged mastermind of a multi-million dollar oil bunkering deal during the former administration.

Rail cars leaking crude after oil train derails in Montana

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/07/17/crude-oil-train-derails-in-rural-northeastern-montana/21210487/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cbon1-c%7Cdl38%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D-227227648

CULBERTSON, Mont. (AP) — More than 20 cars on an oil train derailed in rural northeastern Montana and at least two of them were leaking crude, authorities said. Some area homes were evacuated.

There were no immediate reports of injury or fire, but of the 21 cars that derailed only two remained upright, Roosevelt County Sheriff Jason Frederick said.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Michael Trevino said the train was pulling 106 loaded crude oil cars when it derailed near Culbertson near the North Dakota border just after 6 p.m. MDT Thursday.

Police, fire and other emergency responders were at the site of the derailment, which forced the closure of U.S. Highway 2, the region's main artery.

Frederick told The Associated Press that crews were not getting too close to the leaking cars until a BNSF hazardous materials team arrives from Texas.

But he said that there was no immediate threat to public safety.

The sheriff didn't know how many homes were evacuated but described area as a rural setting with ranch homes spread apart.

The Billing Gazette reported that the derailment came only about six hours after rail traffic started moving again after another BNSF derailment further west near Fort Kipp on Tuesday.

Rail officials declined to specify if the train was hauling crude from North Dakota's Bakken oil patch, where growing numbers of shipments have raised safety concerns.

Trains hauling crude from the Bakken region have been involved in multiple derailments in recent years, some causing fires.

U.S. transportation officials recently extended an order for railroads to notify states about shipments of hazardous crude oil shipments.

Nigeria Missing Money: Oil Company Accused Of Withdrawing $1.2B, All Progressives Congress Calls For Probe

 

Billions of dollars were believed to have gone missing under former President Goodluck Jonathan's watch. Photo: Jonathan waves to people after the handover to incoming President Muhammadu Buhari at Eagle Square in Abuja, Nigeria, May 29, 2015. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotund

http://www.ibtimes.com/nigeria-missing-money-oil-company-accused-withdrawing-12b-all-progressives-congress-2011464

The All Progressives Congress (APC) was calling on the Nigerian government to investigate missing dividends that were reportedly paid to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNCP) by the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas company. On Wednesday, the party’s publicity secretary, Lai Mohammad, said the call has become more urgent amid new reports showing NNCP, Nigeria’s state oil company, has withdrawn $1.2 billion dollars from banks and transferred that amount into the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian newspaper Premium Times reported.

The statement alleged that NNPC moved the money amid following recent corruption allegations over the whereabouts of more than $4 billion. "Now that the cat has been let out of the bag, they have started moving the funds from the banks to the CBN. We believe what we are seeing now is just a tip of the iceberg, hence the need for the authorities to call the NNPC officials to give accounts of the paid NLNG dividends to date," APC said, according to Premium Times.

The party said a slow reaction to an investigation into the missing funds would provide the involved parties time to cover their actions. The APC said officials must immediately investigate the motivation behind the withdrawal of funds and the whereabouts of commissions that were paid.

NNPC has been accused of stealing billions of dollars in the last three years of President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, the International Business Times reported. The national oil company generated more than 40 billion dollars from 2012 to 2015, yet reportedly paid the government only a little over half of that. Of what was left, the NNCP allegedly spent illegally without approval from the government. In the past, APC members tried to push Jonathan to investigate missing oil money. 

Crude Oil Production in Nigeria | FindTheData

 

Former president Jonathan’s administration was notoriously corrupt, as billions of dollars went missing during his time as leader. APC said it was no coincidence these revelations have not come out until the election of current president Muhammadu Buhari, who is a member of APC.

"A situation in which funds meant for all Nigerians are eaten up by a few will no longer be tolerated. Those who are opposed to the efforts by the Buhari Administration to clear the rot left behind by the past government and restore transparency to the system are enemies of Nigeria," the party said, according to the Premium Times.