NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Crude prices rose on Wednesday, supported by a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. inventories and the continued outage of the North Sea Forties pipeline system.

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Cabot Oil & Gas Corp said on Wednesday it would sell its Eagle Ford Shale assets to a unit of Venado Oil & Gas LLC for $765 million as the oil and gas producer tries to cut down costs.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Canada's offshore oil industry, a sliver of the country's crude sector, is drawing rising investment interest due to an aggressive push by Newfoundland and Labrador as prices plummet in oil-rich Alberta due to pipeline problems.

LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The timeframe to repair Britain's Forties crude oil pipeline in the North Sea remains two to four weeks, its operator Ineos said on Tuesday, adding that repair options were still being assessed.

HANOI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Vietnamese police have ordered the prosecution of an official at scandal-hit state energy firm PetroVietnam over financial losses, the Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday.

Dec 19 (Reuters) - Australian gas producer AWE Ltd raised the reserves estimate on its flagship Waitsia gas field, and said further upgrades were likely, raising the stakes for two suitors vying to take over the company.

On behalf of the licensees in PL586, VNG Norge has submitted a field development plan for the Fenja asset in the Norwegian Sea to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

Scotland’s biggest offshore trade union, Unite, would ballot its members for strike action if the Super Puma helicopter makes a comeback in North Sea operations, Tommy Campbell, Aberdeen-based Unite regional officer, has confirmed.

(Bloomberg) -- Crude rose in after-hours trading because an oil-industry assessment was said to show a larger-than-expected contraction in U.S. crude stockpiles.

Futures extended gains from the settlement in New York after the American Petroleum Institute was said to have reported domestic oil inventories slid by 5.2 million barrels last week.