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| Texas responders extend oil cleanup in Matagorda Bay after spill Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:34 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Responders from the Matagorda Incident Command Post in Port O'Connor, Texas, extended their cleanup efforts to mitigate the environmental effects of a fuel oil spill that occurred in the Houston Ship Channel last weekend, the Texas City "Y" Response Unified Command said in an update on Friday. Members of the public are discouraged from accessing south Matagorda Island until the command announces that response operations are complete, the agency said. The channel was shut on Saturday when a Kirby Inland Marine fuel oil barge collided with a cargo ship near the entrance to Galveston Bay, spilling 4,000 barrels, or 168,000 gallons (636,000 liters), of heavy, black fuel oil. Full Story | Top |
| Obama considers new climate regulations for oil, gas sector Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:31 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday it will take a hard look at whether new regulations are needed to cut emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry, part of President Barack Obama's plan to address climate change. The suggestion drew a sharp rebuke from the main oil and gas lobby group. The American Petroleum Institute said its members were already taking steps that will cut emissions and expressed concern that more regulations could put a damper on natural gas drilling by raising costs. But environmental groups said regulations are needed to make sure all players take action to reduce methane emissions. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Oil sector withholds information about rail cargoes - U.S. regulator Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:21 PM PDT By Patrick Rucker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. transport regulators on Friday criticized the oil industry for not sharing important information about the kinds of rail shipments that were involved in a number of recent fiery derailments. In letters with regulators and testimony to lawmakers, leaders of trade groups like the American Petroleum Institute have said since January that they will share results of their tests on fuel from North Dakota's Bakken oil patch, where the derailed trains were loaded. But despite those assurances, the Department of Transportation said, the oil industry has largely declined to cooperate with regulators trying to understand why several recent fuel derailments led to explosions of uncommon force. "The overall and ongoing lack of cooperation is disappointing, slows progress, and certainly raises concerns." An oil industry representative on Friday said that examining North Dakota crude was an ongoing process. Full Story | Top |
| Injunction eased so PA fracking foe can go to hospital, grocery Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:57 AM PDT By David DeKok SUNBURY, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A judge on Friday loosened an injunction restricting the movements of a Pennsylvania anti-fracking activist to allow her access to her local hospital, grocery and other places declared off-limits because they sat atop land leased for gas extraction. Until Judge Kenneth Seamans eased the terms of the injunction, Vera Scroggins, 63, of Brackney, Pennsylvania was banned from 40 percent of the land in Susquehanna County, where she lives and which is leased by Texas-based Cabot Oil & Gas Co for gas extraction. Seamans, the sole judge in Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas in Montrose, Pennsylvania, issued a new injunction on Friday barring Scroggins from the active gas extraction operations of the company and the access roads that serve them. Full Story | Top |
| EU antitrust chief seeks to insulate Gazprom probe from Crimea Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:52 AM PDT  The European Union is seeking to insulate its probe of Russia's gas export monopoly, Gazprom, which is suspected of anti-competitive behavior, from larger concerns about Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Europe's top antitrust enforcer said on Friday. Gazprom, the world's top gas producer and supplier of around 30 percent of Europe's gas needs, has been under EU investigation since September 2012 for suspected anti-competitive behavior, including overcharging customers and blocking rival suppliers. Full Story | Top |
| Chairman candidate says Telecom Italia must act as true public company Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:38 AM PDT  By Lisa Jucca MILAN (Reuters) - Giuseppe Recchi, the frontrunner to become chairman of Telecom Italia, said Italy's largest telecoms group by market value must act as a true public company and as chairman he would represent all shareholders equally. In his first interview since he became a candidate for the post, Recchi, who will leave his job as chairman of oil major Eni if elected by Telecom Italia shareholders on April 16, said he would ensure good corporate governance practices. The board of Telecom Italia, which has competitor Telefonica and three Italian financial institutions as its core shareholders, has been accused by investors of not caring for the interest of smaller shareholders. Full Story | Top |
| LME tightens 'Chinese Wall' rules on warehouses, traders Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:37 AM PDT  By Eric Onstad LONDON (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) pressed on with reforms to its warehousing network on Friday, unveiling tighter "Chinese Wall" restrictions a day after a court ruling forced the LME to halt a plan to cut delivery backlogs. The LME said it would bolster rules on firms that both trade on the exchange and own metals warehouses to ensure there was no improper flow of information or conflict of interest. The rules apply to parties such as bank Goldman Sachs and commodity group Glencore, which both trade metals and own metals storage facilities. The LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, said in a statement that an external review found current restrictions between traders and warehouses were generally adequate. Full Story | Top |
| BMW to invest $1 billion to expand U.S. production by 50 percent Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:35 AM PDT  By Harriet McLeod SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA (Reuters) - BMW will expand production capacity in the United States by 50 percent and introduce another new offroad model, the German luxury carmaker said on Friday, in what amounts to a $1 billion bet on sport utility vehicles (SUVs). BMW said that as well as the new X4 SUV, its factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, would make a new X7 SUV, and it would ramp up production capacity to 450,000 cars by 2016. Full Story | Top |
| Italy to seek pay cut for Eni, Enel, Finmeccanica managers Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:30 AM PDT  Italy said on Friday it will back cuts of at least 25 percent to top managers' salaries at oil producer Eni , utility Enel and defense contractor Finmeccanica at coming shareholders' meetings. All three companies are controlled by the state but listed on the stock market, with government stakeholdings ranging from 30.2 percent in Finmeccanica and 31.2 percent in Enel to 44.3 percent in Eni. Separately, the government also announced compulsory 25 percent cuts in top management pay at rail operator Ferrovie dello Stato , Poste Italiane , the post office group which is due to be partially privatized, and state investment holding Cassa dei Depositi e Prestiti . Full Story | Top |
| Massachusetts bans sale of FDA-approved Zogenix painkiller Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:25 AM PDT  By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Officials in Massachusetts have blocked sales of Zogenix's controversial but U.S.-approved painkiller Zohydro, prompting the drugmaker to criticize what it called an "unprecedented action." The state's ban "only serves to unfairly restrict patient access," the company said in a statement late Thursday. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced the Zohydro ban in a speech on Thursday, formally declaring a public health emergency stemming from the abuse of opioids in the New England state. Bradley Galer, chief medical officer of Zogenix, said Massachusetts officials are misguided about Zohydro's potency and dosage, and noted that other painkillers without abuse-resistant technologies are already on the U.S. market. The drug has since come under further scrutiny from members of Congress, dozens of state attorney generals, medical groups and drug treatment experts seeking to block the drug even as the FDA's top official has defended its action. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine aid bill delayed a few more days in U.S. Congress Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:27 AM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers overwhelmingly approved aid to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, but the measure will not become law until at least next week, congressional aides said on Friday. The House of Representatives left for the weekend without approving a final version of the legislation. After weeks of partisan wrangling over what should be contained in the legislation, the Senate and House on Thursday quickly passed separate, and largely similar, bills to help stabilize Ukraine's weak economy and punish those involved for Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. As the measures passed, congressional leaders reached an agreement for the Republican-controlled House to approve the Democratic-led Senate bill and send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law before the end of the week. Full Story | Top |
| FDA staff review raises questions about MannKind diabetes device Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:08 AM PDT  By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A review of MannKind Corp's experimental inhaled insulin device by U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff raised questions about its safety and effectiveness but was less damning than some investors had expected. The company's shares initially rose as much as 10.6 percent before falling back amid conflicting opinions from analysts on how the FDA will likely rule. The reviewers issued their report ahead of a meeting on Tuesday of outside advisers to the FDA, who will discuss clinical trial data and advise on whether the product, Afrezza, should be approved. The FDA is not obliged to follow the advice of its advisory panels but typically does so. Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria's Taleveras, Aiteo bid $2.85 bln for Shell block - sources Friday, Mar 28, 2014 09:02 AM PDT  By Tim Cocks and Ron Bousso ABUJA/LONDON (Reuters) - Nigerian firms Taleveras and Aiteo have made the highest bid of $2.85 billion for the biggest of four Shell assets up for sale, but the oil major is holding out while it tries to persuade them to team up with Seplat, an existing operator. Several oil industry sources told Reuters that, although there is little doubt the duo can raise cash for the block, Shell is concerned about the reputational risk of selling it to two exporters of crude and importers of gasoline that have no previous experience in running producing oil assets. Shell is divesting its 30 percent stake in four Nigerian oil blocks, with France's Total and Italy's Eni also set to profit from their 10 percent and 5 percent shares. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owns the remaining 55 percent. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. wants at least $1 billion from drugmakers who delay generics Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:52 AM PDT By David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission seeks a settlement of $1 billion or more from pharmaceutical companies it has sued for delaying the sale of cheaper medicines after patents on brand-name drugs may have expired, an FTC official told a legal conference on Friday. In the settlements, makers of brand-name drugs pay millions of dollars to generics companies while they delay putting their products on the U.S. market. A panel moderator at the American Bar Association's spring antitrust meeting asked Deborah Feinstein, the director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, what developments to expect in the coming year. "The consumer harm there is extremely significant, and so we have a tremendous amount of resources there and hope to come out with a victory one way or another in those cases." Defendants in the lawsuits include Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc, owned by AbbVie Inc; Full Story | Top |
| White House unveils plan to cut methane from oil, gas sector Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:50 AM PDT  The White House said on Friday it will take a hard look at whether new regulations are needed to cut emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry, part of President Barack Obama's plan to address climate change. Regulators will start by proposing new rules later this year to reduce venting and flaring from oil and gas wells on public lands, said Dan Utech, Obama's top energy and climate aide. The Environmental Protection Agency is going to study this year whether additional broader regulations are needed for methane emissions under the Clean Air Act, Utech told reporters. Full Story | Top |
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