What's Moving the Oil Markets?

What's Moving the Oil Markets?
•IPE Brent futures in London on Tuesday were up slightly, continuing Monday's strong rise, as the market looks ahead to Wednesday's US inventory data where early projections are for draws in gasoline. The small rise also comes ahead of a meeting in Paris Tuesday between representatives of UN Security Council members called to discuss the impasse over Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology. •Other factors keeping the market supported is due to renewed supply issues in Europe. Operations at Italian ERG Group's 160,000 b/d Isab North refinery in Sicily remain halted after the plant was hit by a fire Sunday. ERG said it was investigating the cause of the fire and inspecting the pipelines struck by the fire to determine how long it will take to have operations restarted.
•Later Tuesday in Paris, high-ranking officials from the UN Security Council's five permanent members will meet to formulate a common position on how to deal with Iran's development of nuclear technology. The meeting, at political director-level, was the first for representatives of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States since the IAEA reported to the UN Security Council last Friday that Iran was violating a UN order to halt uranium enrichment, AFP reported. •In other news, Bolivia is set to nationalize their oil and gas industry according to their President Evo Morales on Monday. Morales, a left-wing president, had said that foreign energy companies would have to agree new contracts with the state-run oil firm, Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), within 180 days. Bolivia has the second-biggest gas reserves in South America after Venezuela, with an estimated 54 trillion cubic feet.

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