TOP NEWS PICK : APRIL 28, 2011

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China: CNOOC Announces Strong 1Q Results

CNOOC Limited announces its results for the first quarter of 2011.During the period, the Company achieved a total net production of 85.2 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), representing an increase of 26.6% year-on-year (YoY). | Offshore Energy

Argentina: Biodiesel production will increase more than 20% in 2011

According to Argentina’s Renewable Energies Chamber (CADER), installed biodiesel production capacity will exceed 3 million tonnes by year end, more than 500 thousand tonnes higher than in 2010, when it amounted to 2.4 million tonnes. | Renewable Energy Magazine

Mideast crude tanker rates slide to 2009 lows

Crude oil tanker earnings on the key Middle East route fell to their lowest in over 18 months on Tuesday as growing vessel supply weighed on rates. | Hellenic Shipping News

BP’s Gulf-related costs drop sharply

BP reported a significant drop in the costs related to last year’s devastating Gulf of Mexico oil disaster in the first quarter as the UK oil group sought to rebuild its oil and gas exploration operations. | Financial Times

Ghana’s oil production in danger as Kosmos raises alarm over FPSO funding

Ghana’s oil production from the Jubilee Oilfields may come to a halt as issues surrounding the funding of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Kwame Nkrumah vessel still remains unsolved. | Ghana Business News

Oil rises as dollar falls

US crude futures rose to their highest in two and a half years today as the Federal Reserve appeared in no rush to tighten its monetary policy, weakening the dollar, and as gasoline stockpiles fell more than double the forecast. | Upstream Online

BP RAISES PROFITS, GULF OIL SPILL COSTS

LONDON (AFP) - BP's first-quarter net profits leapt 17 percent thanks to high crude prices, the British energy giant said Wednesday, adding that it was revising upward the cost of last year's fatal Gulf oil spill disaster. | Greenwala News

Reid eyes end to Big Oil tax breaks

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hopes to bring a proposal to the floor as soon as possible that would eliminate tax breaks for big oil companies. | Upstream Online

Crude oil supplies up, gas down

WASHINGTON, April 27 (UPI) -- U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 6.2 million barrels in the week ending April 22, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. | UPI.com

WTI oil trading at $113 amid higher US crude oil inventories

WTI oil futures open Thursday’s trading session firm over $113 a barrel, a fresh 2011 high amid higher US crude oil inventories, while the US Fed said it would keep American interest rates near zero which will keep up a downward pressure on the US dollar. | Live Oil Prices

Indian diesel banned in Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Pakistan has doggedly refused to remove motor fuels from the list of items that cannot be imported from India to avoid giving New Delhi a leverage over its energy supplies. | India Times

Namibia’s uranium producers experience rocky first quarter

Uranium production figures for 1Q2011 reflect a tough start to the year for Namibia’s uranium miners as they plummeted by 60% compared to the final quarter of 2010. | Industrial Fuels and Power

Brent crude oil price trading near $126 on weak US dollar

Brent crude oil prices open today’s trading session back near $126 a barrel as a weaker US dollar has investors once again buying back into oil futures and other commodities including gold. | Live Oil Prices

Crude prices boost Shell income

Supermajor Shell saw its first quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net income rise 22% on the previous quarter on the back of higher oil prices, the company has announced. | Upstream Online