Gulfport leaders are seeking $11.8 million from BP for oil-catastrophe losses, but the company has so far offered only $76,000. That’s according to consultants the city hired.  More »

BP Plc’s legal proceedings over the Macondo well that caused the worst U.S. oil spill may last into 2014, Citigroup Inc. said, citing the company’s lead lawyer.  More »

Chevron Corp. will brief U.S. offshore drilling regulators about its recent oil spill near the coast of Brazil, a top Obama administration official said today.  More »

The federal government is set to issue new citations against BP, Transocean and Halliburton for alleged safety and environmental violations in connection with the 2010 Gulf oil spill.  More »

Rivals Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386) each have bought a piece of Syncrude, one of the dozens of companies that are blasting, digging and steaming soil laden with 143 billion barrels of molasseslike crude called bitumen, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its January issue. Only Saudi Arabia, with 264 billion barrels, and Venezuela, with 211 billion, enjoy greater proven reserves, a BP Plc energy review found in June.  More »

The Environmental Protection Agency said it will weigh rules requiring disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic-fracturing fluids.  More »

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped by one this week to 2,000.  More »

Brazil has banned Chevron from drilling for oil in Brazilian waters until investigators determine the cause of an oil spill from an offshore well.  More »

Brazil’s federal audit court wants to investigate contracts between Chevron Corp (CVX) and Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4), its partner at the Frade project where an oil leak occurred, O Globo reported, without saying where it got the information.  More »

Cyprus will launch a new licensing round for more exploratory drilling for offshore oil and gas in four to six weeks, an official said Wednesday, a move underscoring its right to search for energy sources which rival Turkey strongly disputes.  More »

There are a number of different aspects in Commodityworld™ which are far outpacing expectations, and changing market dynamics because of it. Here are ten of them: 1) North Dakota oil production. It is seemingly on an exponential charge higher due to the discovery of the Bakken oil shale play. Not only has North Dakota oil production quadrupled since 2005, but it is set to [...]  More »

Weir Group Plc (WEIR), the Scottish maker of pumps and equipment for mining companies, agreed to acquire Seaboard Holdings Inc for $675 million to expand in North America.  More »