Spencer Abraham News

A commitment to ending the dredging crisis on the Great Lakes has earned Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-MI) an award as 2011 Great Lakes Legislator of the Year from the largest labor/management coalition representing workers and industries dependent on shipping on America’s Fourth Sea Coast. Rep. Miller, who represents Michigan’s 10th District in the House of Representatives, will formally receive the award from Great Lakes Maritime Task orce (“GLMTF”) in Washington on February 9.

International LNG Alliance (ILNGA) Executive Director, David Sweet congratulated Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham on successfully bringing together global leaders from government and industry for the LNG Ministerial Summit. "This historic event will be the catalyst for numerous deals and initiatives that will bring additional supplies of LNG to the United States. The dialogue at the Summit confirms that LNG can play a significant role in meeting U.S. energy demands and help moderate the rise in natural gas prices resulting from tight domestic supplies," according to Sweet. "Secretary Abraham is to be congratulated for his global leadership on LNG," Sweet added. The International LNG Alliance represents companies involved in all facets of the LNG industry.

U.S. oil prices slid for the second straight day on March 9 as traders speculated on the size of a widely-expected supply cut by the OPEC producer cartel next week. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude oil for April delivery settled 38 cents lower at $28.01, little changed over the week. Traders turned cautious as a Saudi official said that though the oil producers' cartel was heading toward its second production cut this year when it meets next week, the magnitude of the cut remained undecided. Market estimates of the likely supply reduction range from 500,000 to a million barrels bpd out of the group's current 25.2 million bpd supply quotas. Despite the fall, traders said the market's outlook remains bullish as U.S.

Reuters has reported that four international exporters of liquefied natural gas met with U.S. utility and industry executives to discuss future supply. Government officials from Nigeria, Algeria, Qatar and Egypt met with executives from about 30 U.S. companies in the closed-door session organized by former U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's consulting shop. Both producers and consumers stressed that long-term contracts were key to securing future U.S. supplies of super-cooled LNG, Abraham told Reuters in an interview. The event drew officials, including former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and Nigerian Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru. Source: Reuters

Qatar Petroleum and ConocoPhillips has signed a Heads of Agreement for the development of Qatargas 3, a large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) project located in Qatar servicing the U.S. natural gas market. The signing ceremony took place at the Qatari Embassy in Washington, D.C., and was attended by Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman of Qatar Petroleum H.E. Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, and ConocoPhillips President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Mulva. The agreement provides the framework for the necessary project agreements and the completion of key feasibility studies. "We welcome this prospect of a long-term partnership with ConocoPhillips," said H.E. Al Attiyah.

NYMEX crude oil futures slipped early Friday (May 11) as a report by the West's energy watchdog that world crude demand had been slower than expected so far this year fueled fears of lower consumption ahead. In choppy trade, June crude fell 22 cents to $28.30 a barrel, eating into Thursday's 29-cent advance. It subsequently recouped most of the early losses, showing a two-cent loss at $28.50 by 10:24 a.m. (1424 GMT). June Brent crude in London extended losses after the NYMEX opening, then trimmed the loss to 11 cents at $28.37 a barrel. In its monthly oil market report, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said it had lowered its forecast for world oil demand growth by a further 300,000 bpd to just 1.02 million bpd.