Major oil companies including ExxonMobil and Rosneft are set by mid-2013, after almost a year of effort, to retrieve $250 million of oil held by a French pipeline company that they stopped using in favour of less expensive routes.

Highlights from market news:

– Oil majors seek to recoup $250 million worth of oil

– After months of negotiation, he said SPSE’s management had decided to remove the oil but stressed the process would take a further half year as draining the pipeline is difficult and costly

– Delay in releasing the oil comes as competition mounts between operators of European pipelines and terminals to serve a shrinking number of refineries while the continent’s demand for fuel falls

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