NORTH AMERICA Obamas Keystone Options Shrink as State Downplays Impact - Bloomberg - An environmental report released today by the

U.S. State Department noting only limited impact on carbon emissions from the project is diminishing the rationale Obama could use to reject it. Ethanol Exporters Search for a Port - WSJ.com - U.S. ethanol makers are banking on export markets as they grapple with Obama administration plans to cut U.S. consumption requirements, but the industry is hampered by a distribution structure built almost exclusively around the domestic market. - Archer Daniels Midland Co., Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. and other ethanol producers are trying to boost sales to Brazil, Mexico, Asia and the Middle East, in part by cutting costs to make the corn-based biofuel more price-competitive overseas. Oil Pipeline Opens, Prices Surge - WSJ.com - While some investors expect the opening of the long-awaited pipeline to clear up the Cushing logjam, analysts and traders say the project will only move the supply glut farther south because the refineries soon will shut down to perform seasonal repairs. Hess reports $5.8 billion capital budget for 2014 - Oil & Gas Journal - Hess Corp. reported that its exploration and production capital budget for 2014 is expected to reach $5.8 billion, almost have of which, $2.85 billion, will be spent on unconventional shale resources. - The remainder of the budget will go toward production at $1.475 billion, developments at $925 million, and exploration at $550 million. Fuel Fix BP to sell off $100M turbine oils business - The British oil company said Tuesday it has agreed to sell a $100 million business that manufactures and blends aviation turbine oils used for engine lubrication. It plans to sell the business to Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman Chemical Co. for an undisclosed amount in the second quarter. Fuel Fix McClendon gets another $500M in financing for new venture - Former Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon has lined up another $500 million in private equity backing for one of his new oil and gas ventures. - The capital infusion comes just a few months after another American Energy affiliate this one focused on the Utica Shale in Ohio raised $1.7 billion from a group of private equity firms, including Energy & Minerals. LATIN AMERICA Pemex CEO Sees First Production Ventures as Early as This Year - Bloomberg - Pemex expects to sign its first exploration and output agreements with international companies as early as yearend after Mexico abolished its 75-year monopoly. AFRICA Nigerias MEND Rebels Threaten Future Attack on Oil Industry - Bloomberg - Nigerias Movement for the Emancipation of The Niger Delta rebels plans to begin a violent campaign of disrupting oil output in Africas top producer after it attacked a military patrol boat on Jan. 25. - At the right time, we will reduce Nigerian oil production to zero by 2015 and drive off our land, all thieving oil companies, Gbomo said. The relatively insignificant Jan. 25 attack was a sign of things to come. Ghana Jubilee Field to Probably Flare Gas Starting Next Month - Bloomberg - Ghana will probably start flaring natural gas at the offshore Jubilee field next month to relieve pressure at the deposit operated by Tullow Oil Plc. (TLW)

Jubilees reservoir has reached a level where it is not safe to continue re-injection of gas, Agbenor-Efunam said. We met with all stakeholders and Jubilee partners yesterday and had to agree to the gas flaring which is likely to commence in mid-February.

Ghana Oil Invests $10 Million in Takoradi Fuel-Storage Tanks - Bloomberg - Ghana Oil Co., the second-biggest operator of gasoline stations in the West African nation, is investing $10 million on marine fuel-storage tanks at the port of Takoradi to boost its share of the bunkering market. African Investors Join Race for Africa - WSJ.com - Private-equity firms run by African investors are eyeing assets in energy, manufacturing and services across the continent, according to executives running big funds in Africa. Uganda Agrees on Deal to Develop Oil Sector - WSJ.com - The government of Uganda has reached a deal with foreign oil companies to develop its oil industry, the country's energy and minerals minister said Friday, ending a nearly three-year impasse and opening the way for a $15 billion investment. - The plans consists of a 60,000 barrels-day refinery, a crude export pipeline to Kenya's northern port of Lamu and a crude-fired electricity plant in Uganda's oil region, Irene Muloni said in a statement obtained by The Wall Street Journal Friday.