PERTH, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Wednesday to
hover just below $90 a barrel, supported by data showing a
drop in U.S. oil and gasoline inventories, a winter cold snap
in the United States and Europe amid thin trading volumes.

U.S. crude for February CLc1 climbed 10 cents to $89.92
a barrel by 0248 GMT. ICE Brent crude LCOc1 rose 17 cents to
$93.37.

PERTH, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Australian energy firm Santos
has inked the last deals it needed to get its
$16-billion Gladstone LNG project underway, but has pushed
back the target for first gas exports by a year, to 2015.

Santos launched an equity raising on Friday for around
A$500 million to fund its share of the coal seam gas-fed LNG
export project in Queensland, clearing the way for a final
investment decision in January.

SEOUL/PERTH, Dec 16 (Reuters) – State-run Korea Gas Corp
(KOGAS) will buy a 15 percent stake in Australia’s Gladstone
LNG project on Friday and agree on a long-term supply deal,
the South Korean government said, paving the way for a final
investment decision on the $15 billion project.

In a complex transaction, KOGAS will buy 7.5
percent each from Australia Santos , the project’s
operator, and Malaysia’s Petronas, the government said in a
statement on Thursday.

PERTH/SYDNEY, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Apache Corp has
suspended oil production and evacuated workers from its
offshore Legendre and Stag oil fields off the coast of west
Australia due to a tropical depression in the Indian Ocean,
the company said on Thursday.

Woodside Petroleum , which also operates offshore
rigs in the vicinity and Rio Tinto , which
uses coastal ports to export millions of tonnes of iron ore,
said they were monitoring the low’s progress as it heads
slowly toward land.

PERTH (Reuters) – Oil prices were steady to lower on Thursday as the prospect of a downgrade to Spain’s sovereign credit rating sparked euro-zone debt concerns, outweighing positive U.S. economic data.

U.S. crude for January fell 7 cents to $87.71 a barrel by 0316 GMT, adding to losses from the previous session. ICE Brent dropped 46 cents to $90.75.

PERTH, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Coal deliveries by rail to
Australia’s Gladstone Port have been cut by up to 40 percent
because heavy rain has disrupted train operations, the
Gladstone Ports Corp said on Tuesday.

The delays have been caused by speed restrictions on the
Blackwater rail system used to haul coal to the port, the
company said.

PERTH, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Australia’s thermal coal prices,
a benchmark for Asia, rose to a 2010 high above $118 per tonne
during the past week, as torrential rains in the key
Queensland state disrupted output.

Thermal coal on the globalCOAL Newcastle index for the
week to date was $118.75 per tonne on Monday and the highest
since April 2008. Prices were up from $116.22 a week earlier
and up nearly $3 from $115.81 on Friday.

PERTH (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Tuesday as investors continued to watch for any new monetary policy announcements by China to tame high inflation and ahead of U.S. oil industry stocks data.

Data showing higher oil demand in China and the lack of any announcement about an interest rate hike over the weekend continued to provide underlying support, analysts said.

PERTH (Reuters) – Oil prices were higher on Monday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed at the weekend to keep crude oil output levels flat.

U.S. crude for January rose 29 cents to $88.08 a barrel by 0615 GMT. ICE Brent rose 46 cents to $90.94.

PERTH, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Australian rail-freight firm QR
National said Monday its Blackwater and Goonyella
rail lines in Queensland state are back in operation after
heavy rains shut them down over the weekend, but speed
restrictions remain in place.

QR National’s rail lines, which are a key link between
Queensland’s coal mines and its coal export terminals, have
had disruptions for two weekends in a row due to unseasonably
wet weather.