NORTH AMERICA Keystone Foe Steyer Urges Review of Defective Analysis - Bloomberg - Billionaire Tom Steyer, a Democratic Party

donor and Keystone XL foe, called on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to begin a review of the defective environmental analysis on the pipeline released last week. - Steyer in his letter said the impact statement is flawed because a TransCanada contractor, Environmental Resources Management, was hired to write the report. The company made problematic representations in conflict of interest disclosures about its oil industry ties, Steyer wrote. E&Y: Unconventional resources largest source of US oil, gas growth in 2013 - Oil & Gas Journal - Unconventional resources in the US constituted the oil and gas industrys largest source of growth in 2013a trend thats expected to continue into 2014, Ernst & Young indicated in its US quarterly outlook. - However, capital may move away from unconventional plays with the possible freeing up of Mexicos energy sector while additional factors such as US LNG export approvals, East African LNG development, and the end of the Gazprom monopoly for Russian gas exports play important roles as well. PwC: US M&A activity down in 2013 despite strong finish - Oil & Gas Journal - Capital may move away from unconventional plays with the possible freeing up of Mexicos energy sector while additional factors such as US LNG export approvals, East African LNG development, and the end of the Gazprom monopoly for Russian gas exports play important roles as well. Hess to sell Utica acreage for $924 million - Oil & Gas Journal - Hess Corp. has agreed to sell 74,000 acres of its dry gas acreage in the Utica shale to an undisclosed buyer for $924 million. Fuel Fix Canadian group pitches Alaska rail line for oil sands - Vickers Vancouver-based group is proposing a 1,600-mile railroad from Fort McMurray, Alberta, into Alaska. About 240 miles of the rail would be laid in the state. The railroad would primarily transport bitumen from Albertas tar sands to Delta Junction, where the projects creators hope to tap into TAPS, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Fuel Fix Flint Hills says North Pole Refinery will close - Flint Hills Resources announced Tuesday that it will close its North Pole refinery, shuttering a major employer in the Fairbanks area and eliminating a local source of gasoline, jet fuel, heating fuel and other petroleum products. Fuel Fix BNSF to invest $5 billion in its railroad in 2014 - BNSF plans to invest $5 billion in its railroad this year, including $900 million to expand capacity in the Northern Plains where crude oil shipments are surging LATIN AMERICA Oil Boom Is Stock Bust for Petrobras as Capex Saps Cash - Bloomberg - The state-run company known as Petrobras is set to challenge PetroChina Co. as the second largest publiclytraded oil producer after adding six new platforms since November. - The prospect of ending a two-year output decline is failing to appease investors who are concerned by the governments insistence it sell imported fuel at a loss, while investing $237 billion to develop the biggest oil discoveries this century. Panama Canals $5.25 Billion Expansion Project Suspended - Bloomberg - The Panama Canal Authoritys director said today that work on the expansion, meant to accommodate larger ships traveling from North America to Asia, will continue with or without the construction group.

BHP to put $1.2bn into new oil hunt off Trinidad and Tobago | The Australian - BHP Billiton has committed to spend up to $US1 billion ($1.12bn) on oil and gas exploration at its offshore Trinidad and Tobago ground, which it says has the potential to be similar to big oil regions such as Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico. EUROPE LME Boosts Policing Powers Against Warehouse Metal Waits - Bloomberg - The London Metal Exchange, the worlds biggest metals bourse, strengthened its powers to investigate wait times for metals at its network of licensed warehouses that customers complained drove up their costs - The LME, which regulates more than 700 warehouses, announced in November steps to help ease backlogs at some locations after complaints from metal users. The new rules, effective April 1, will require warehouse operators with waits longer than 50 days to deliver more metal than they take in. French Refiners Lost $946 Million in 2013 as Margins Shrank - Bloomberg - Refiners in France lost 700 million euros ($946 million) last year as oil-processing margins shrank and the country imported more than half the diesel it used. - European refiners must contend with higher costs than their U.S. counterparts, who benefit from cheap natural gas from shale. Energy makes up 30 percent of total expenses for oil processors in the U.S. compared with 60 percent for their European competitors, UFIP said. ASIA / PACIFIC AGL, Marubeni Said Among Final Bidders for Macquarie Plants - Bloomberg - AGL Energy Ltd. (AGK), Marubeni Corp. (8002) and ERM Power Ltd. (EPW) made final bids for two state-owned power plants being sold in Australia that may fetch more than A$1.5 billion ($1.3 billion), said three people with knowledge of the matter. AFRICA Ghana Plans Market Makers to Boost Bonds With Live Prices - Bloomberg Ghanaian regulators are planning to introduce market making, set up live trading and start debt education programs in a bid to boost bond-market activity in West Africas second-biggest economy.