Following is a summary of top stories in the energy sector Friday afternoon.
Oil Falls as OPEC to Mulls Production Boost
Crude oil prices dipped to their lowest levels in more than a month, falling below $89 a barrel as investors sold amid signs of weakening demand and expectations OPEC will boost production next week.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell $2.30 to settle at $88.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices are more than $10 below Monday's high of $99.11 a barrel and the all-time high of $99.29 a barrel set last week. Prices continued falling after the Nymex closed, dropping as low as $88.45 in electronic trading.
Other petroleum futures were also lower. December gasoline futures lost 0.57 cent to settle at $2.2591 a gallon on the Nymex, while December heating oil futures fell 4.75 cents to settle at $2.5296 a gallon. Both contracts expired at the close of trading Friday.
January natural gas futures gave up 15 cents to settle at $7.302 per 1,000 cubic feet.
ConocoPhillips Planning Major Alaska Gas Pipeline
ConocoPhillips wants to develop a multibillion-dollar pipeline to transport natural gas from Alaska to the lower 48 states and Canada.
The company said it's "prepared to make significant investments, without state matching funds, to advance this project." A ConocoPhillips said the company's best estimate for the entire project, including the pipeline from Alaska's North Slope to Chicago, is $25 billion to $42 billion.
The pipeline would provide an important avenue to bring Alaska's huge reserves of natural gas to U.S. markets for commercial and residential uses. The planned pipeline would carry about 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
Tiny Leak Caused Midwest Pipeline Blast
An Enbridge Energy oil pipeline explosion and fire in Minnesota that killed two workers and caused a spike in oil prices Thursday was caused by a pinhole leak first repaired three weeks ago, the company said.
An Enbridge spokesman said the company hoped to have the pipeline fixed within a few days, and that it was running at 80 percent of capacity in the meantime.
U.S. Rig Count Rises
In its weekly rig count, Baker Hughes Inc. said 1,823 rigs operated in the U.S. as of Friday. About 80 percent drilled for natural gas and around 20 percent for oil.
The total number is up by 50 from the end of last week. There are 106 more rigs operating than a year ago. Some 39 gas rigs and 11 oil rigs started operating since last week.
Offshore, 63 rigs are operating, two less than a week ago.
Eni to Buy Burren Energy
Italy's largest oil and natural gas company, Eni SpA, reached an all-cash $3.59 billion agreement to buy Burren Energy PLC.
Burren is an independent oil and gas exploration and production group with assets in the Caspian region, West Africa, the Middle East and India, according to the company's Web site.
The offer of $25.39 per Burren share represents a premium of 33 percent on the closing price of $19.03 per Burren share on Oct. 8, the last day before the offer period, the companies said in a statement.
Burren Energy is an independent oil and gas exploration and production group with assets in the Caspian region, West Africa, the Middle East and India, according to the company's Web site.
Eni, one of the largest energy companies in the world, has made acquisitions this year in Congo, Angola, the U.S. and Russia. It operates in 70 countries in the oil and gas, electricity generation, petrochemicals, oilfield services and engineering sectors.
Enel in Deal for France Nuclear Power
Another Italian company, Enel SpA, reached a $2.95 billion deal with Electricite de France for a stake in that country's nuclear program.
The agreement, sealed during a France-Italy summit in the southern French city of Nice, puts an end to years of spats between the two countries over access to each other's energy markets.
It also provides Italy with cheap nuclear energy for electricity without a politically sensitive nuclear plant on its soil. Officially, the Italian government opposes the reintroduction of nuclear power, banned after a 1987 referendum rejected it, but has accepted Italian participation in nuclear research.
Italy imports about 85 percent of its electricity, which is the most expensive in Europe. Prices are around 45 percent above the European Union average.
LDK Solar Getting More Polysilicon
Shares of LDK Solar Co. Ltd. rose with the broader market after the solar-products maker said it secured an additional 344 tons of polysilicon supplies for 2008 and started construction on a polysilicon plant.
The China-based company did not name the supplier or terms of the contract. Plant construction is on schedule to reach the company's capacity goal of 6,614 tons in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Getting less expensive polysilicon supplies in a tight market for the key solar-product component generally benefits solar companies' earnings.
LDK shares rose $2.58, or 9.5 percent, to $29.81 in afternoon trading.
--Compiled by AP Business Writer Greg Stec. Questions or comments can be directed to gstec@ap.org.
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