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Team building" is one of the most meaningless phrases in the English language. That's right - meaningless. Yet the request for "team building phoenix" is the single most frequent request I receive from business executives, managers and team leaders. Almost always, leaders request team building because they cannot articulate exactly what they do want or need, or why they really need it. They just know a lot of time seems to be wasted on "relationship issues" or "we could always be more productive with a little more team work."

"Team building" means little because it can mean so many different things in context....

ABUJA - Chevron said on Saturday it had been forced to shut down 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil production in Nigeria, a day after security sources said gunmen had attacked a pipeline operated by the U.S. firm.

"Chevron Nigeria Limited ... confirms that there was a breach on its Makaraba-Utonana pipeline in Delta State, Nigeria on Friday," the major U.S. oil producer said.

Security sources told Reuters on Friday that unknown gunmen in the oil-rich Niger Delta attacked the pipeline, which has been vulnerable to sabotage in the past. No group has claimed direct responsibility.

"This attack was sanctioned by MEND, but did not involve our fighters," the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group operating in the region, said in a statement.

Militant attacks on the oil industry in the vast wetlands region have prevented the OPEC member from pumping much above two-thirds of its 3 million bpd production capacity, costing it an estimated $1 billion a month.

The pipeline attack comes five days after four Chevron workers in Delta state were killed in a shooting incident involving the military, said Oma Djebah, spokesman for the state government.

Violence in the Niger Delta has subsided for the past few months after thousands of gunmen handed over their weapons and accepted an amnesty offer from President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Thousands of guns, grenades and rounds of ammunition were surrendered under the amnesty, but security sources said from the start that peace would only last if those who disarmed were quickly re-trained and found work. But progress has been slow.

The absence of Yar'Adua, who has been in Saudi Arabia for nearly seven weeks receiving treatment for a heart complaint, has further heightened tensions.

MEND last month carried out a "warning strike" on a major oil pipeline and said it would review its ceasefire, declared in October, because of the slow progress in implementing the terms of the amnesty. The group's spokesman said on Saturday it would announce a decision on the ceasefire by January 30.

BEIJING - China ended 2009 with record monthly imports of crude oil and soybeans and a strong appetite for iron ore and copper, while its aluminum and steel sectors saw a welcome increase in export volumes.

Crude oil imports averaged more than 5 million barrels per day for a month for the first time in December, up by more than a fifth from November at 21.26 million tons, while the total for 2009 rose 13.9 percent to 203.4 million tons.

The return to double-digit annual growth followed a 9.6 percent rise in oil imports in 2008 when prices rose beyond $100 per barrel. In 2009, China's refineries racked up processing volumes to power a recovering economy, aided by a fuel pricing regime that largely guarantees a fixed margin.

But in a sign the volume of oil imports might not reflect real demand, the country, traditionally an importer of refined fuel, flipped to being a net seller as a 64 percent leap in exports outstripped a 39 percent rise in imports.

The glut of fuel could be set to increase -- trade sources have told Reuters that China has lined up more crude from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq this year, and a Reuters poll found refiners planned to start the new year with record crude runs to embrace market optimism.

The question mark over 'real' demand for oil in a year of stockpiling and rampant production in China, has made it harder for traders and the government to judge the level of real economic activity.

Copper, another material China traditionally is short of, flooded back in December after the window for arbitrage trade with London reopened. Imports of unwrought copper rose 27 percent from November to 369,368 tons, more than expected, while copper scrap imports jumped an even bigger 46 percent.

Soybean imports hit a record 4.78 million tons in the month, as expected after U.S. cargoes rushing to cash in on Chinese prices were delayed due to bad weather.

Traders say that party will come to an abrupt end because large imports expected this month will pressure domestic Chinese soymeal prices and hurt crushing margins for soy plants.

EXPORT GROWTH

China's overall trade in December, according to figures published on Sunday by China's Customs office, showed a stunning 17.7 percent year-on-year jump in exports, well above a forecast for 4.0 percent growth.

But imports jumped by an even bigger 55.9 percent, pushing China's overall trade surplus in the month down by 4 percent from November instead of up by an expected 3 percent.

China did manage to increase exports of unwrought aluminum by 70 percent increase from November, but the 65,000 tons shipped was still below December 2008 when the global financial crisis was in full flood.

Exports of steel products rose 17 percent on the month and, at 3.34 million tons, were 5 percent higher than in December 2008. Exports also outpaced 15 percent growth in imports, meaning China's net exports of steel products -- which have spurred U.S. anti-dumping cases -- grew to 1.86 million tons in December from 1.56 million tons in November.

China's steel mills undertook a massive production drive in 2009, partly in response to a $585 billion government stimulus plan. Disregarding a 60 percent collapse in the market for their exports, they produced almost half the world's steel in 2009.

With only low quality iron ore at home, mills have been forced to accept ballooning imports of the main ingredient for their blast furnaces, which reached 62.2 million tons in December, the second-highest monthly total ever, for an annual total of 627.8 million tons.

That figure, a 42 percent on 2008, will grate with Chinese firms trying to negotiate term prices for the year with the world's big iron ore miners.

Last year's price negotiations collapsed without agreement after China arrested four employees of Rio Tinto, which, along with Vale and BHP Billiton, is one of the trio of miners who dominate global iron ore sales.

Noble Energy Inc. said it will pay $494 million for almost all of Suncor Energy's upstream Rocky Mountain assets to add to its reserves.

Noble Energy announced yesterday the acquisition will add about 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, or 46 million cubic feet of natural gas and 2,500 barrels of liquid, to its daily production base. The assets have total proven reserves of about 53 million barrels of oil equivalent, the company estimates.

Mergers and acquisitions have been heating up amongst Canada's resource companies with analysts predicting the trend will continue in 2010. Smaller players are seeking economies of scale and expertise to develop assets, while larger companies are seeking to boost reserves.

Houston-based Noble Energy is an independent energy company engaged in worldwide oil and gas exploration and production. The company operates primarily in the Rocky Mountains, Mid-Continent, and deepwater Gulf of Mexico areas in the United States, with key international operations in offshore Israel and West Africa.

About 80% of the new assets are within the Wattenberg field, Noble Energy's largest onshore U.S. area.

The acquisition is expected to close late in the first quarter 2010.