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Oil

Houston (Platts)--17May2013/551 pm EDT/2151 GMT
US refiners aim to maximize distillate output to work attractive export arbitrage opportunities, but may leave high-priced hydrocracker investments to competitor Valero Energy, who wants to be the first North American refiner to produce as much distillate as gasoline.
London (Platts)--17May2013/410 pm EDT/2010 GMT
Oil futures closed out the week in higher territory Friday, boosted by a strong equities performance even as the US Dollar Index climbed to a 34-month high.
Caracas. Venezuela (Platts)--17May2013/1217 pm EDT/1617 GMT
The average price of Venezuela's oil basket fell $1.62 to $100.35/barrel for the week of May 13-17, the country's Oil and Mining Ministry said Friday.
Istanbul (Platts)--17May2013/928 am EDT/1328 GMT
Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz Friday complained that Turkey was being unfairly accused of contravening the Iraqi constitution in its efforts to play a role in the bringing to market the hydrocarbon reserves of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, Turkey's state news agency Anatolian reported.
London (Platts)--17May2013/818 am EDT/1218 GMT
Gasoline stocks in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region fell 15.9% week on week in the seven days to May 16, according to a report by BNP Paribas released Friday.
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Natural Gas

Washington (Platts)--17May2013/1217 pm EDT/1617 GMT
US natural gas prices will remain stable in the $3-$4/MMBtu range for the rest of the year, three-quarters of the global energy executives surveyed by consulting firm KPMG said in a poll released Friday.
Moscow (Platts)--17May2013/839 am EDT/1239 GMT
Russia produced 55.872 billion cubic meters of gas in April, up 0.3% year on year, according to data released Friday by the country's energy ministry.
Singapore (Platts)--17May2013/105 am EDT/505 GMT
Japan's Osaka Gas and Kyushu Electric Power have signed a 12-year LNG transportation agreement with shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines to lift contracted volumes from the Ichthys LNG project offshore Australia, Osaka Gas said in a statement late Thursday.
Tokyo (Platts)--16May2013/1106 pm EDT/306 GMT
Japan's major trading houses Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha or NYK have agreed to take a combined 33.2% stake in the Cameron LNG project in Louisiana, marking the first Japanese foray into US export projects.
Dhaka (Platts)--16May2013/1028 pm EDT/228 GMT
Joining the Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline project would give Bangladesh access to Iranian gas and resolve its energy crisis, Bangladeshi Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said Thursday.
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Electric Power

Portland, Maine (Platts)--17May2013/323 pm EDT/1923 GMT
Northern States Power-Minnesota, an Xcel Energy subsidiary, would need to add roughly 425 MW of solar by 2020 under a bill that cleared the Minnesota Legislature on Thursday.
Brussels (Platts)--17May2013/550 am EDT/950 GMT
Eurozone countries struggling under the financial crisis need EU help to stay on track creating low-carbon economies, Artur Trindade, Portugal's secretary of state for energy said Thursday.
Tokyo (Platts)--17May2013/1256 am EDT/456 GMT
Japan's 10 major power utilities consumed 374,100 b/d of crude and fuel oil in April, down 24.7% from a year ago as a result of weaker power demand, according to data released Friday by the Federation of Electric Power Companies.
Washington (Platts)--16May2013/420 pm EDT/2020 GMT
Increased dependence on natural gas and the impact of government initiatives on the wholesale power market are key issues that could affect the New York Independent System Operator in coming years, NYISO president and CEO Stephen Whitley said on Thursday.
Washington (Platts)--16May2013/224 pm EDT/1824 GMT
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled Thursday that formula rate protocols used to set transmission rates in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator area are "insufficient to ensure just and reasonable rates," requiring the grid operator and its transmission owners to take several steps to address the issue.
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Coal

Singapore (Platts)--17May2013/625 am EDT/1025 GMT
Panamax coal freight rates on established routes from South Africa's Richards Bay and Indonesia to India ended the week stable to lower on Friday as an oversupply of vessels outstripped demand, sources said.
Galax, Virginia (Platts)--16May2013/516 pm EDT/2116 GMT
Consol Energy's idled Blacksville No 2 steam coal mine in the eastern US will resume production on May 20, the Pittsburgh-based coal producer said Thursday.
Washington (Platts)--16May2013/420 pm EDT/2020 GMT
US coal production totaled about 18.5 million st in the week ended Saturday, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday.
Perth (Platts)--16May2013/631 am EDT/1031 GMT
Market reports that China's National Energy Administration is considering a proposal to outlaw the import of some grades of lower calorific thermal coal has been greeted with a mixture of consternation and disbelief by participants in the Asian seaborne market Thursday.
Galax, Virginia (Platts)--15May2013/139 pm EDT/1739 GMT
Consol Energy's 3.2 million st/year Blacksville No.
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Shipping

Washington (Platts)--17May2013/146 pm EDT/1746 GMT
The US Department of Energy on Friday announced conditional approval of the shipping of US liquefied natural gas to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the US from the Freeport LNG Expansion and FLNG Liquefaction facility in Texas.
London (Platts)--17May2013/716 am EDT/1116 GMT
Low sulfur bunker fuel oil prices have increased on a shortage of fuel spec availabilities after the closure of Shell's Harburg refinery, sources said.
London (Platts)--16May2013/724 am EDT/1124 GMT
Cross-Northwest Europe clean freight rates have dropped significantly amid seasonal ice premiums dissipating and cargo activity relaxing, sources said Thursday.
Tokyo (Platts)--16May2013/454 am EDT/854 GMT
South Korean refiner GS Caltex is likely to import bunker-grade high sulfur fuel oil cargoes every month after its 53,000 b/d vacuum gasoil fluid catalytic cracker reduced fuel oil production, a source close to the matter said Thursday.
Singapore (Platts)--15May2013/1026 pm EDT/226 GMT
Singapore has taken tough action on bunker fuel suppliers who deliver quantities that falls short of the agreed volume between buyers and sellers, charging four individuals in the Singapore court for participating in corrupt practices, government authorities said Wednesday.
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Petrochemicals

Houston (Platts)--17May2013/336 pm EDT/1936 GMT
MEGlobal set its June North American Benchmark price for monoethylene glycol at 63 cents/lb, a rollover from May, a company source said Friday.
London (Platts)--17May2013/627 am EDT/1027 GMT
Plastics and rubber producer Styron Europe said Friday that it plans to roll over its monthly price for styrene butadiene latex in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India in June, in a bid to widen profit margins amid falling feedstock costs.
Tokyo (Platts)--17May2013/1218 am EDT/418 GMT
The backwardation structure in the Asian paraxylene market narrowed to $2/mt Thursday from $5/mt Wednesday as front-month laycans were seen to be weaker than back-month and amid heavy spot PX selling by Chinese purified terephthalic acid producers, Platts data showed.
London (Platts)--16May2013/716 am EDT/1116 GMT
EU chemicals production in February dropped 2.3% year on year while the overall EU chemicals industry confidence indicator continued to deteriorate in April, mainly due to lower order-book assessments, industry body Cefic said Thursday.
Singapore (Platts)--16May2013/553 am EDT/953 GMT
Iran's Petrochemical Commercial Co is expected to offer more LPG to Asia after selling a cargo to South Korea, possibly its first to this region in 2013 since an EU ban late last year, by using ships made available for CFR deliveries, industry sources said this week.
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Metals

Louisville, Kentucky (Platts)--17May2013/412 pm EDT/2012 GMT
Wise Recycling's scrap metal volumes are "trending up a bit" at its numerous operations in the US, and the subsidiary of Alabama-based Wise Metals is expanding three existing sites, including one in New Mexico, Wise Recycling President Andrew Logsdon said.
Louisville, Kentucky (Platts)--17May2013/327 pm EDT/1927 GMT
Aleris International, a US rolled products manufacturer, is warning that planned power rate increases by Big Rivers Electric will make it more difficult for Aleris' aluminum rolling mill in Hancock County, Kentucky, to compete in a challenging economy.
Singapore (Platts)--17May2013/554 am EDT/954 GMT
Offer prices for high carbon ferrochrome imported into China were relatively stable on Friday but could face downward pressure going forward due to weak demand and rising supply, market participants said.
New Orleans (Platts)--17May2013/547 am EDT/947 GMT
European stainless steel producers remain divided over whether an alloy surcharge for customers is hurting the industry.
London (Platts)--17May2013/542 am EDT/942 GMT
Recycled aluminum prices remained steady in Europe this week but look set to come under further pressure as quarterly buyers gear up for price talks.
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