Daily News Energy Headlines from December 2, 2015

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News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) dealing with the energy markets.

POWER
Southern Company Raises Kemper Power Plant Price Tag Again - Southern Company's (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) beleaguered Kemper clean coal power plant in Mississippi has increased its total costs again--this time by $62 million, related to testing and starting up the equipment. The cost of the 582-megawatt (MW) plant has reached $6.49 billion.

NRG to Sell Illinois, Pennsylvania Power Plants - NRG Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NRG) (Princeton, New Jersey) says that it has agreed to sell two of its generating stations: the 525-MW Seward power plant in New Florence, Pennsylvania, and the 352-MW Shelby County power plant in Neoga, Illinois.

U.K. Cancels Funding for Carbon Capture Projects - Large carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the U.K. could be postponed or cancelled after the government pulled £1 billion ($1.5 billion) in promised funding.

CRUDE OIL
U.S. Crude Reserves Rise for 10th Straight Week - The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. crude oil reserves increased by 1.2 million barrels for the week ending November 27 to 489.42 million barrels, marking the 10th consecutive week of stockpile increases.

LNG
Bloomberg: Japan May Have Contracts for More LNG Than Needed - Bloomberg reports that a report compiled by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry states that liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes contracted by Japanese buyers may exceed their combined demand from 2017 to 2021. Buyers may resell excess LNG cargoes, further adding to a global LNG glut.

FINANCIAL
MarkWest Shareholders Approve of Acquisition by Marathon Pipeline Spinoff - On Tuesday, about 80% of participating MarkWest Energy Partners (NYSE:MWE) (Denver, Colorado) shareholders approved the company's planned acquisition by MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX), the midstream spinoff of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) (Findlay, Ohio).

PIPELINES
ETC Texas Pipeline Targets January 2016 for Start-Up of Alamo Gas Processing Plant in East Texas - Energy Transfer Equity L.P. (NYSE:ETE) (Dallas, Texas), with subsidiary ETC Texas Pipeline LTD (San Antonio, Texas), has set January 2016 as the target date for the start of commercial operations at the Alamo cryogenic natural gas processing plant, which is located west of Crockett, Texas.

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About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.