above ground factors

Nigeria: Nigeria oil rebel faction claims attacks in delta

A Nigerian militant group claimed on Friday to have blown up two key pieces of oil infrastructure and a gas pipeline in the Niger Delta this week, but there was no independent confirmation of any such attacks.

The Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC), a coalition of ex-militants and community leaders, said it had blown up Royal Dutch Shell's Tura manifold connected to the Bonny export terminal in the early hours of Wednesday.

China: New cold wave to worsen energy shortage

The oncoming cold spell will add to the country's energy shortage, as coal-transport harbors in northern China may freeze.

A cold wave from the northwest is expected to head east and drop temperatures 8-12 degrees Celsius, and possibly even 18 degrees Celsius, the Central Meteorological Observatory said.

"The cold wave will reach Bohai Bay around January 20," said Zhang Mingying, a weather expert at the Beijing Meteorological Bureau. "The temperature there might stay at minus-10 for a long while."

Pakistan: Gas supply suspended as shortfall reaches record high

Gas supply to many industrial units, including the Karachi Electric Supply Company, has been suspended as the gas shortfall reached a record high in the country, with gas load shedding also being implemented for domestic consumers.

According to the Petroleum Ministry, the Sui Southern and Northern Gas Companies have suspended supply to many units, as the increase in demand pushed the shortfall to 940 million cubic feet (MMCFD). The demand for gas is around 4050 MMCFD; however, the supply is around 3110 MMCFD, a private TV channel reported on Sunday.

Philippines: Palace to DOE: Prevent fuel shortage from Shell's importation row

Malacañang ordered the Department of Energy on Monday to find ways to avert a possible fuel shortage should the Customs Bureau seize the P43 billion in assets of oil refiner Pilipinas Shell.

Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the Palace is expecting Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes to consider all options after Pilipinas Shell issued the warning last Friday.

The bureau vowed to seize future Shell shipments arriving from February to May this year amounting to an estimated $923 million. The bureau made the threat after discovering alleged deficient tax assessments of catalytic cracked gasoline and light catalytic cracked gasoline imports from 2004 to 2009.