China's Addax locked in $1 billion oil dispute with Gabon

Top Chinese refiner Sinopec's Addax Petroleum is embroiled in a legal dispute with Gabon over an oilfield in which claims and counter claims total more than $1 billion, sources familiar with the confidential proceedings said.

The case adds to questions about whether African enthusiasm for Chinese investment in the continent's resources is fading after an iron ore project in Gabon was placed under review and separately three Chinese licences were revoked in Zambia's coal sector.

Gabon conducted audits in 2011 and 2012 of the hydrocarbons sector, which pumps around 240,000 barrels per day and accounts for 80 percent of the Central African country's export earnings.

India's Essar Oil to sign $1 billion debt-for-fuel deal with China

India's Essar Oil Ltd will sign a $1 billion loan deal with China backed by supply of refined products to top state oil producer PetroChina.

Essar Oil could sign a preliminary agreement with China Development Bank (CDB) to borrow that amount during Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang's visit to Mumbai, his first foreign trip.

The Indian firm, controlled by billionaire brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, has been replacing its rupee debt with lower-cost, overseas loans and has so far refinanced $481 million.

The group hopes to refinance another $1.8 billion within the next three to six months.

Details on pricing of the products and how shipments would be credited against the loan still need to be worked out, the sources said.

The deal could also signal a long-term tie-up on crude supplies, with Essar looking to take ultra-heavy Latin American crude from PetroChina.

Crude oil producers in Latin America have been scouting for new buyers in Asia as the U.S. shale oil and gas boom has reduced demand for their heavy and ultra heavy crudes.

Oil slips to $103 on tepid growth outlook

Brent crude oil slipped to $103 per barrel as an uncertain outlook for growth in the world's two largest oil consumers, the United States and China.
Oil rallied from nine-month lows on expectations that stronger global economic activity would encourage more fuel consumption, but disappointing data capped the recovery.
Brent lost 16 cents to $103.00 per barrel. U.S. crude was up 15 cents at $93.15 a barrel.
Brent is more than 6 percent below its starting point in April, pressured by data suggesting the global economy remains on a fragile footing at best.

China resumes crude exports to North Korea

China has resumed crude oil exports to North Korea in March after halting supplies in February, with customs data showing 106,000 tonnes of supply in March.
Shipments have typically stopped in February over the last few years, and market participants were focusing on whether exports restarted as usual in March.
A continued halt may have indicated that Beijing was looking to pressure Pyongyang amid weeks of heightened hostility on the Korean peninsula. But exports over March actually rose 8.2 percent on the year, while the figure for the first quarter reached 159,002 tonnes, up 6.7 percent from the same period in 2012.
China is North Korea's only major supporter, but it has signalled its unease over Pyongyang's escalating threats in April.
Crude oil is the largest commodity by value that Beijing supplies to North Korea under an aid programme, which also includes diesel and aviation fuel.

Brent drops below $99; demand worries persist

Brent crude fell below $99 per barrel weighed by the prospect of sluggish fuel demand in top consumers in the United States and China and in addition to rising stockpiles of U.S. crude.

More bleak economic news came courtesy of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which trimmed projections for this year and next - implying limited upside for oil demand growth.

The North Sea benchmark has lost nearly 6 percent over the past five sessions in a wider commodities rout triggered by data showing growth in China, the world's second largest oil burner, had slowed unexpectedly in the first three months of 2013.

The head of the International Energy Agency, Maria van der Hoeven, said the oil price decline was proof that the market was adequately supplied.

Brent crude shed $1 to $98.91 after sinking earlier to $98.80, the weakest since July 2012. U.S. crude slipped $1.29 to $88.43.