18 10 / 2011
UPDATE 1-Wintershall restarts Libyan oil production
* Installations undamaged, transport routes look free
(Adds details)FRANKFURT, Oct 18 - Wintershall, BASF’s (BASFn.DE) oil and
gas production unit, on Tuesday said it had restarted one fifth
of its former total oil production in the Libyan desert after
abandoning operations there in February.”We have reached a production level of about 20,000 barrels
per day (bpd) shortly after beginning operations. Now we have to
technically stabilise this production,” Wintershall CEO Rainer
Seele said in a statement issued by the Kassel-based firm.The company produced 100,000 bpd before it suspended
production activities 1,000 km south east of Tripoli after
fighting between rebel forces and former leader Muammar
Gaddafi’s troops, which toppled Gaddafi and brought in an
interim government.Wintershall said it had started producing in two concessions
out of a total 10. Installations were undamaged, having been
guarded and maintained by Libyan personnel.The infrastructure for transporting the extracted oil to the
Mediterranean Coast is thought to be fully functional, it said.Wintershall also said that the offshore oil platform Al Jurf
in the Mediterranean, where it has a 6.75 percent stake in Block
C 137, had resumed production several weeks ago.Wintershall has been present in Libya’s oil industry since
1958. With investments of more than $2 billion and 150 wells
sunk it is one of the country’s biggest oil producers.Board member Ties Tiessen told Reuters last month that, all
going well, the full pre-crisis production level might be
reached by second half 2012.
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18 10 / 2011
UPDATE 2-Boeing sees more Dreamliner cancellations, still upbeat
* Boeing China: order book strong, no sign of more
cancellationsBy Jack Kim and Fang YanSEOUL/BEIJING, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. plane maker Boeing Co
on Tuesday predicted more sales cancellations for its
delayed Dreamliner 787, after a Chinese airline scrapped 24
orders, but said the overall order book for the new long-range
aircraft remained strong.A day after news of China Eastern’s
cancellations, a Boeing executive said some orders would fall
through as it adjusted delivery dates and that the pace of
production of the fuel-efficient aircraft would pick up.”Frankly as we look forward, we expect to see the Dreamliner
order base increase, we expect to see more orders, we expect to
see more cancellations, especially as we go through mitigation
with our customers,” Boeing marketing vice president Randy
Tinseth told a briefing in Seoul.China Eastern said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock
exchange it would instead spend $3.3 billion to buy 45 new
Boeing 737 aircraft, more of a regional jet than the Dreamliner,
and also buy 15 Airbus EADS A330s worth $2.5 billion.Analysts said other Chinese airlines might also now decide
to cancel Dreamliners as they re-assess the long-haul market.China Eastern’s purchase of Airbus A330s, a
competitor to the Dreamliner, could add even more pressure on
Boeing to ramp up production of the 787s, now three years behind
original schedule. Each plane has a list price of $185 million.”There is a good chance that other Chinese airlines will
also cancel their 787 orders because most of the time they will
act together,” said Kelvin Lau, an analyst at Daiwa Securities.”This indicates that China Eastern is taking a bearish view
on long-haul and believes the recovery in the United States and
Europe won’t come soon, so they don’t want to invest so much on
big planes for long-haul.”RISK TO 787 BACKLOGAlex Hamilton, managing director of EarlyBirdCapital, also
suspected Boeing’s arch-rival, Airbus , was using the
Dreamliner delays to push keenly priced sales of its own jets.”All this highlights the risk to the 787 backlog, especially
if they can’t get to 10 per month,” Hamilton said, referring to
Boeing’s 787 production target.Boeing’s Tinseth told reporters the company was producing
two 787s a month, and would “slowly but consistently increase
the rate until the end of 2013 we’ll be building 10-a-month”.Other aviation analysts said Chinese airlines were more
likely to reconsider their Dreamliner orders than many rivals
elsewhere, because they had a more aggressive growth profile and
were more sensitive to any downgrade to global growth.Australia’s Qantas Airways , struggling to revive
profitability on its long-haul network, said on Tuesday that it
remained fully committed to its 50 Dreamliner orders. Air New
Zealand also said it was not reconsidering its orders.Korean Air Lines also said it would introduce 10
787-9 Dreamliners from 2016 “as planned”.In Beijing, Boeing China said there was no sign of further
cancellations of Chinese orders.”The other committed Chinese airlines remain committed to
the 787,” Boeing said in a statement. “The 787 is the right
choice for these airlines’ international expansion for a number
of reasons, including unmatched passenger experience, fuel
efficiency and environmental performance.”Among Chinese airlines, China Southern has 10
Dreamliners on order, Air China 15, Hainan Airlines
10 and Xiamen Air six. Hong Kong Airlines had in
March signed an preliminary deal to buy 32 of the aircraft.Boeing said the 24 787s cancelled by China Eastern were part
of a deal with China’s government for the purchase of 60 787s.
Globally for 2011, Boeing has reported 26 net cancellations for
the Dreamliner, excluding China Eastern’s decision.The Dreamliner is about three years behind its original
schedule because of kinks in the sprawling global supply chain.Boeing still has more than 800 orders for the lightweight,
carbon-composite aircraft on its books. It made first delivery
of the Dreamliner to All Nippon Airways last month.
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14 10 / 2011
Appeals court blocks parts of Alabama immigration law
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta, halted the controversial provision that permits Alabama to require public schools to determine the legal residency of children upon enrollment.The court also blocked a provision that made failing to carry documents proving legal residency status a misdemeanor crime.But the court ruled the state could continue to authorize police to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally if they cannot produce proper documentation when stopped for any reason.The Obama administration and a coalition of civil rights groups had sought to stop the law while it was under court review, arguing it has led some illegal immigrants in Alabama to pull their children out of school and even flee the state.The Justice Department also contends the measure, passed by large margins in both chambers of the Republican-led legislature earlier this year, interferes with the federal government’s exclusive authority over immigration.State lawmakers argue they were forced to act, saying the Obama administration had not done enough to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the country.There are an estimated 11.2 million illegal immigrants in the United States, including between 75,000 and 160,000 in Alabama, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.Under the ruling issued on Friday, Alabama can bar illegal immigrants from entering into commercial contracts with the state or local governments and applying for or renewing drivers’ licenses, identification cards or license plates.”Once again, we’re pleased that the majority and most effectual parts of this law will remain in place,” said Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, a Republican.”While the federal government sues to prolong and exacerbate the illegal immigration problem, Alabama is taking action to ensure the laws of our land are upheld.”LAWYERS MONITORING ALABAMAThe Justice Department said it looked forward to the appeals court giving further consideration to its arguments for blocking other key provisions of the law.”We are pleased that the Eleventh Circuit has blocked Alabama’s registration provisions which criminalized unlawful presence and chilled access to a public education,” the department said in a statement.Federal judges have previously blocked key parts of other immigration laws passed in Georgia, Arizona, Utah and Indiana.The Justice Department has stationed four lawyers in Alabama to watch for civil rights violations and hate crimes, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez told reporters in Birmingham on Friday.Perez, who leads the department’s Civil Rights Division, said they are monitoring “troubling data” stemming from anecdotal reports of children getting bullied and crime victims being unwilling to come forward.”We are trying to track down information to separate fact from fiction,” said Perez.Malissa Valdes, spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Education, said 1,250 Hispanic students were reported absent on Thursday, down from a spike of 5,143 out on Wednesday as part of a statewide boycott of services and commerce by the Hispanic community.The day before the law took effect last month, 1,064 Hispanic students were reported absent, Valdes said.Carla Gonzales said she and her children have been under a self-imposed house arrest in Mobile since a federal judge had upheld the bulk of the state’s strict anti-illegal immigration law on September 28.She and others in the immigrant community said they felt some relief following Friday’s ruling.”We can go to church again and not look over our shoulder when we go buy groceries. I’m thrilled,” she said.Stockton resident Garrett Harrison, who owns a handyman business, said he hopes the law ultimately remains intact but sees no problem with the court holding off on enforcing the portions that affect children until a final review is completed.”I think a lot of what we’re hearing is panic, and if (immigrants are) here illegally they should be scared, but I don’t see any reason to drag children into something that’s not even sorted out yet,” Harrison said.
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12 10 / 2011
Jury begins deliberations in gruesome Connecticut murders
If convicted, Joshua Komisarjevsky faces the possibility of the death sentence for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17, who died in the attack in Cheshire, Connecticut.The 17 charges against him include murder, kidnapping, arson and sexual assault.Komisarjevsky’s alleged accomplice, Steven Hayes, was found guilty of similar charges last year and sentenced to death.The jury in the Hayes case deliberated five hours over two days before convicting him.This jury in New Haven Superior Court began deliberations at midday on Wednesday after three weeks of graphic testimony.Prosecutors said Komisarjevsky and Hayes broke into the Petit home early on July 23, 2007 after Komisarjevsky spotted Michaela Petit in a grocery store and made her his target.Later that morning, Hawke-Petit drove to a bank, where she told a teller her family was being held hostage and she needed $15,000 to pay off the captors.A bank manager called police but when authorities arrived at the Petit home, it was engulfed in flames. The police have been criticized as being slow to respond.The only survivor, Dr. William Petit, was badly beaten and bound but managed to escape as the house was set on fire.In the burning house were his daughters, who died of smoke inhalation, and the body of his wife, who had been raped and strangled. The younger girl had been sexually assaulted.Defense attorneys for Komisarjevsky tried to shift the blame, arguing that Hayes wanted to murder the family and Komisarjevsky protested against killing anyone.Komisarjevsky confessed to police but did not intend for anyone to die, defense attorney Jeremiah Donovan argued.Komisarjevsky stood before the jury on Wednesday dressed in a black suit. His parents and sister were seated behind him.Earlier in the proceedings, Judge Jon Blue denied two defense requests for a mistrial.In one request, the defense claimed the prosecution changed its argument from the Hayes trial when it said the two men played equal roles in the crimes. In this trial, the defense argued, prosecutors portrayed Komisarjevsky as the ringleader.Connecticut has only executed one person, in 2005, since the death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
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