Business - Energy & Oil Industry

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices recovered slightly on Thursday following sharp losses a day earlier on signs of weak energy demand in the United States, traders said. Full Story »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Environmentalist concerns about elk have prompted the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to suspend coal-bed methane drilling in part of the gas-rich Powder River Basin in northeast Wyoming. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Natural gas stockpile levels fell for the first time since July, the government said Thursday. Full Story »

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose above $71 a barrel on Thursday, recovering after falling more than 2 percent in the previous session, supported by a weaker dollar and rising equities. Full Story »

Oil prices rose above $71 a barrel Thursday as investors weighed evidence of weak U.S. crude demand against the effects of a falling dollar. Full Story »

NEW YORK - The Energy Department on Thursday is expected to report a draw of 44 billion to 48 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage inventories for the week ended Dec. 4, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Full Story »

BEIJING - A natural gas pipeline linking Turkmenistan and China is nearly operational and President Hu Jintao will attend an inauguration ceremony during a visit to the central Asian nation this weekend, a senior Chinese diplomat said Thursday. Full Story »

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Officials believe that ice plugged up a pipeline and likely caused a rupture that sent 46,000 gallons of crude oil and water gushing onto snow-covered tundra on Alaska's North Slope late last month. Full Story »

NEW YORK - SandRidge Energy Inc. said Wednesday it would offer senior notes worth $450 million to help pay for oil and gas property in Texas. Full Story »

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Eastman Chemical Co. said Wednesday it will halt its industrial gasification project in Beaumont, Texas, because of its high cost and other factors. Full Story »

STAMFORD, Conn. - Home heating oil distributor Star Gas Partners LP said Wednesday it posted a fiscal fourth-quarter profit despite lower heating oil prices, due to hefty one-time gains. Full Story »

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - President Barack Obama has nominated a former aide of ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to serve as the federal coordinator for the Alaska natural gas pipeline project. Full Story »

WASHINGTON/ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated Larry Persily, a veteran Alaska policy maker and former aide to former Governor Sarah Palin, to oversee plans for a massive, long-desired Alaska natural gas pipeline. Full Story »

DOHA (AFP) - The emir of Qatar called on Wednesday for the alignment of gas prices with oil prices at the opening of a forum of gas exporting countries. Full Story »

GILBERT, W.Va. - West Virginia regulators will hold a public meeting Thursday on a draft air pollution permit for a planned coal-to-gasoline facility in Mingo County. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Crude inventories fell last week, while gasoline supplies grew, the government said Wednesday. Full Story »

SHANGHAI (AFP) - Canada's Husky Energy Inc announced Wednesday it had discovered a significant deepwater gas reserve with its Chinese partner CNOOC, renewing exploration hopes in the South China Sea. Full Story »

LONDON (Reuters) - Global equities slipped on Wednesday with Japan leading the falls on concerns over the pace of recovery, while crude oil prices recovered and the euro picked up from a one-month low on bargain hunting. Full Story »