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| Canada continues to delay release of oil sands emission rules Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:19 AM PST By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is not ready to unveil already long-delayed rules on curbing greenhouse gas emissions from the Alberta oil sands, the environment minister said on Thursday in comments that could boost U.S. resistance to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The right-leaning Conservative government, which has close ties to the energy-rich western province of Alberta, has repeatedly delayed the release of proposed regulations to tackle soaring emissions from the oil and gas sector. There has been good progress in that area over the last few years," Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq told the House of Commons environment committee. Asked whether the rules might be released this year, she replied: "I can't give you a timeline but work continues." Peter Kent, Aglukkaq's predecessor as environment minister, said in February that Ottawa was "very close" to finalizing the rules. Full Story | Top |
| Iran shakes up foundation controlled by Ayatollah's business empire Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:19 AM PST  By Steve Stecklow LONDON (Reuters) - A multi-billion dollar organization controlled by Iran's supreme leader shook up the management of its charity division, appointing as its new chief a man involved in the confiscation of thousands of properties from Iranian citizens. Aref Nozori was named director general of the Barakat Foundation, Iran's state news agency reported on Wednesday. The foundation is a unit of a massive business empire controlled by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that is known as Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam. The report by the Islamic Republic News Agency stated that Setad's president, Mohammad Mokhber, had ordered the appointment of Norozi, who once headed Setad's real-estate division and served on the boards of several Setad-linked companies. Full Story | Top |
| Eni may seek up to $10 billion from Statoil in gas dispute Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 10:24 AM PST  said it may demand as much as $10 billion from Norway's Statoil Eni started arbitration proceedings against Statoil in August. Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said on Thursday that a recent Norwegian media report that it was demanding $10 billion was "probably true". The dispute stems from a 1997 supply agreement that ties natural gas prices to refined oil products, a common practice in the past that has proven expensive as European spot gas prices have fallen relative to oil prices. Full Story | Top |
| Novo to launch mid-stage tests with new diabetes pill Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 09:46 AM PST By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk is about to launch a mid-stage clinical study with a tablet version of a so-called GLP-1 medicine as it steps up the hunt for diabetes pills that can replace injections. The Phase II trial may start as early as next week and will involve approximately 600 patients, Chief Science Officer Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen said on Thursday. "It is a milestone because this is not incremental innovation, it's disruptive innovation," he told Reuters in an interview during a visit to London. The Danish company is already the world's biggest supplier of diabetes medicines, which include its popular GLP-1 product Victoza. Full Story | Top |
| Italy's rich heritage treated like a poor relation, study shows Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 09:44 AM PST  Italy is home to an artistic and archaeological treasure trove, ranging from Da Vinci's Last Supper to the ruins of Pompeii, but the first census of the country's museums, historical sites and monuments showed it is far from making the most of its heritage. Its top 15 sites and museums, such as the Roman Forum, Florence's Uffizi Gallery and the Roman town of Pompeii, had under one million visitors each in 2011, the data showed. The October decree included a plan to rescue Pompeii, a city preserved in a volcanic eruption 2,000 years ago and declared to be in a state of emergency in 2008 because of looting, damage and lack of maintenance. But many lesser-known sites around Italy are also crumbling from neglect and because of the difficulty of funding their upkeep in a country whose public debt is second only to Greece's in the European Union. Full Story | Top |
| Canada allowed widespread NSA surveillance at 2010 G20 summit: report Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 09:06 AM PST  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada allowed the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct widespread surveillance during the 2010 Group of 20 summit in Toronto, according to a media report that cited documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp is the latest potential embarrassment for the NSA as a result of Snowden's leaks, although it remains unclear precisely what information the agency was looking for during the summit. Snowden has already revealed the agency spied on close allies such as Germany and Brazil, prompting heated diplomatic spats with Washington. The CBC report, first aired late on Wednesday, cited briefing notes it said showed the United States turned its Ottawa embassy into a security command post during a six-day spying operation by the top-secret U.S. agency as President Barack Obama and other world leaders met that June. Full Story | Top |
| IAEA says may need more money to help implement Iran nuclear deal Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:44 AM PST  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic watchdog will probably need more money to verify the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, its chief said on Thursday, and it would take some time to prepare for the task. Yukiya Amano also said Iran has invited the agency to visit the Arak heavy-water production plant on December 8, the first concrete step under a new cooperation pact aimed at clarifying concerns about the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Both agreements indicate how Iran is acting quickly to address fears about its nuclear program after the election in June of a relative moderate, Hassan Rouhani, as new president on a platform to smooth its troubled relations with the world. The International Atomic Energy Agency can mobilize expertise and staff from within the organization for an increased workload in checking whether Iran is complying with the interim accord with the major powers to curb its nuclear program, IAEA Director General Amano told a news conference. Full Story | Top |
| MERS virus found in camels in Qatar, linked to human spread Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 05:44 AM PST  By Amena Bakr and Kate Kelland DOHA/LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in camels in Qatar, health officials said on Thursday, fuelling speculation that camels might be the animal reservoir that allowed the virus to infect and kill humans. The SARS-like coronavirus, which emerged in the Middle East last year and has killed almost 40 percent of the around 170 people so far infected, was found in three camels in a herd in a barn also linked to two human cases of MERS infection. "The three camels were investigated among a herd of 14 camels, and the samples were collected as part of the epidemiological investigation," Qatar's Supreme Council of Health said in a statement. It added that the two confirmed human cases linked to the barn had since recovered. Scientists around the world have been seeking to pin down the animal source of MERS virus infections since the first human cases were confirmed. Full Story | Top |
| First commercial crude from Mozambique seen in 2014: Sasol Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 05:41 AM PST By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Mozambique's first commercial production and sale of crude oil is set for next year from a small but profitable inland oil field at Inhassoro, a senior official at South African operator Sasol said on Thursday. "It's a small development, but it is a sign perhaps there is more," Ebbie Haan, Sasol Petroleum International's managing director, told Reuters on the sidelines of an African oil and gas conference. Haan said Sasol planned to invest around $2.4 billion in Mozambique for a variety of projects until 2018, when the southern African nation is expected to export its first cargoes of liquefied natural gas. Full Story | Top |
| First east African oil drilling contractor established Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 05:18 AM PST East Africa's first land based locally-owned drilling contractor is just starting up, signaling the intention of local investors to get a share of the region's nascent hydrocarbon boom. The company, Canyon Drilling East Africa Limited (CDEA), has been mostly funded with east African private equity sources and investors include Charles Mbire, chairman of MTN Uganda, a unit of South African mobile phone company MTN Group. Based in Nairobi, CDEA is finalising an operational facility in Mombasa on Kenya's coast and a branch hub in Kampala, the new company said in a statement on Thursday. It also said it has been awarded its first contract, which will be for two years in Kenya. Full Story | Top |
| Ghana hits Fitch for doubting its deficit-reduction plan Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:56 AM PST  Ghana's finance ministry criticised the Fitch ratings agency on Thursday for saying a deficit-reduction plan outlined in last week's annual budget was not aggressive enough and risked missing its target. Fitch downgraded Ghana's sovereign rating on October 17 to B from B+ over concern the country was not doing enough to tackle a budget deficit that surged to 11.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2012. Ensuring macroeconomic stability is vital for President John Mahama's government as it seeks to bolster the West African country's reputation as one of the continent's most dynamic economies. Ghana has outlined a multi-year plan to reduce the deficit to 6 percent but acknowledges it is likely to overshoot its first target, which was to reach 9 percent in 2013. Full Story | Top |
| German utility E.ON plans sale of Italian business Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:51 AM PST  has started preparations for the sale of its Italian business and will soon begin the search for a buyer, four people familiar with the matter said, at a price likely to be about 3 billion euros ($4 billion). "Goldman Sachs has been contacted to look into things (regarding the Italian sale), but it's early days yet," one of the sources said. A second source confirmed that Goldman Sachs is working on the file, adding that E.ON will not sell on the cheap. Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Full Story | Top |
| Equatorial Guinea aims for FLNG, to build oil terminal Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:21 AM PST By Seng Li Peng SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea is looking to be the first country in Africa to have a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) storage facility, with planned capacity of 2.5 million tonnes a year, its energy minister said on Thursday. "We are working with Keppel on the possibility," Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima told Reuters in an interview on Thursday, referring to Singapore's Keppel Corporation Ltd. First production of FLNG could take place in 2016, he said. "The bulk of the investment will come from the government of Equatorial Guinea, Keppel and a third party. We will announce very soon who is in these discussions," he said on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in Singapore. Full Story | Top |
| Last of Greenpeace protesters granted bail in Russia Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:12 AM PST  A Russian court on Thursday granted bail to the last Greenpeace activist still in custody over a protest against offshore oil drilling in the Arctic. Australian Colin Russell, 59, will be released from pre-trial detention in St. Petersburg when 2-million-rouble ($60,000) bail is posted, Greenpeace said. Russell was a crew member on the Arctic Sunrise, a Greenpeace icebreaker forcibly boarded by Russian coast guards following the September 18 protest, in which activists tried to scale an oil platform run by state-controlled Gazprom. All 30 people arrested have been charged with hooliganism and face up seven years in prison if convicted in a case that has drawn criticism from the West and is seen by Kremlin critics as part of a clampdown on dissent by President Vladimir Putin. Full Story | Top |
| Kenya fuel imports to grow a third over next two years: oil executive Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 03:58 AM PST  By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Kenya's diesel and gasoline imports are set to rise by a third over the next two years, driven by a growing auto fleet and rising industrial activity amid a lack of refining capacity, the head of the country's state oil company said Thursday. Operations at East Africa's only refinery, in Mombasa on Kenya's southeast coast, were halted this year after co-owner India's Essar Energy and the government disagreed on expansion plans for the plant. Africa's overall refining capacity has also failed to keep up with the continent's rapidly growing appetite for fuel products, prompting trading houses such as Trafigura, Vitol and Gunvor to invest heavily in expanding their operations on the continent in recent years. Kenya, one of the fastest growing markets in Africa, is set to increase annual imports of oil products to around 6 million tons (130,000 barrels per day) in two years, up from a current yearly intake of 4.5 million tons, Sumayya Hassan-Athmani, chief executive of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya said. Full Story | Top |
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