At least 15 Iraqi military officers were killed in an ambush on Saturday in western Iraq’s Sunni Muslim-dominated province of Anbar, military sources said. Several top-ranking officers were among those killed in the attack, the sources said. (Reporting by Kamal Namaa, writing by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Alison Williams)
Israel is studying its options for exporting its natural gas riches in the eastern Mediterranean, but instability in neighboring Egypt and friction with former ally Turkey are blocking possible undersea pipeline links with them to take the gas to Europe. That leaves a joint export operation with neighboring Cyprus, which will be the next big offshore gas producer in the region, looking like the frontrunner — for now, at least, because war-divided Cyprus lies at the center of a long and seemingly intractable dispute with Turkey. Regional security problems are proving to be a major stumbling block in the Jewish state’s drive to capitalize on its newfound energy wealth, with the Israeli navy undergoing an expansion driven by the need to protect Israel’s offshore fields and infrastructure. A recent report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration observed territorial disputes in the eastern […]
The acting governor of oil-rich Unity state in South Sudan said at least 16 people were killed during clashes there between oil workers and rival tribes. Acting Unity state Gov. Mabaek Lang De Mading said hundreds of people have fled the area to U.N. safe havens and more than a dozen were killed after clashes erupted in the oil-rich state, the independent Sudan Tribune reports. The Sudanese newspaper said oil workers used spears, knives and sticks during the melee with tribal groups. Conflict erupted in South Sudan this week when Salva Kiir, the country’s president, accused former Vice President Riek Machar of staging a coup. South Sudan is the world’s newest nation. When it gained independence from Sudan in 2011, the landlocked country gained control over much of the oil producing regions but Sudan maintained its grip on export infrastructure. Chinese government […]
Brazil’s Petrobras energy company said it sent notices to the Brazilian government advising that two offshore oil and gas prospects have commercial potential. Petrobas, formally known as Petroleo Brasileiro, said Thursday it submitted declarations of the commercial potential of the Franco and Sul de Tupi prospects in the energy-rich Santos Basin to the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency. Petrobas estimated the Franco prospect, which it wants to rename as the Buzios field, contains about 3.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Petrobras said it expects to have five production systems started in the field by 2020. The Sul de Tupi, which the company wants to name the Sul de Lula field, may contain as much as 128 million barrels of oil equivalent, the company said. Petrobas said first oil should come from the Sul de Lula field by the first quarter […]
Two United Nations peacekeepers were killed in an assault on their base in South Sudan along with 20 civilians who were sheltering there. They were the first U.N. casualties in a week of violence that has spread from the capital to energy-producing regions, spurring Beijing to move to evacuate some Chinese oil workers. What began Sunday night as a clash between army factions has spiraled into nationwide ethnic fighting that threatens to chase away foreign oil companies and choke the lifeblood of the fledgling nation’s economy. Some 500 people have been killed and more than 30,000 forced from their homes. Many civilians, including hundreds of oil workers, have sought shelter in bases belonging to the U.N. peacekeeping mission, which has reported fighting in six of the country’s 10 states. The U.N. said Friday that its base in the town of Akobo, in Jonglei state, had been attacked overnight "by […]
The United Nations provided sobering details on Friday of an assault on a peacekeeping base in South Sudan that underscored the organization’s fragile ability to protect civilians in the country, where sectarian mayhem has escalated in recent days. Two thousand armed youths of Nuer ethnicity overran the facility the previous day, killing at least 11 ethnic Dinka civilians seeking refuge and two Indian peacekeepers who had tried to protect them, the United Nations said. The assault on the base in the town of Akobo in Jonglei State on Thursday was among a number of alarming developments that have increased the fear of an impending civil war in South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, where ethnic hatreds, initially obscured after independence from Sudan two years ago, have been reaggravated and inflamed. Between 35,000 and 40,000 civilians have taken refuge in at least three other United Nations peacekeeping bases in the […]
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the launch of the privatization process of the country’s four oil refineries, the Bureau of Public Enterprises said Friday. The BPE listed the refineries as the Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd. I, Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd. II, Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Company Ltd. and Warri Refining & Petrochemical Company Ltd. The refineries with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels a day have worked well below their installed capacities for years due to poor maintenance. As a result, Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, relies on fuel imports to meet around 80% of its needs for gasoline, diesel and other petrochemicals. The two refineries in Port-Harcourt have a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels a day, Warri has a daily processing capacity of 125,000 barrels and Kaduna has a capacity of 110,000 barrels. Further details on […]
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law Friday a bill that ends the 75-year-old government monopoly in the oil and gas industry, even as the main leftist party is pledging to undo the law by organizing the country’s first-ever referendum. Mr. Peña Nieto became the first president in more than 50 years to propose and pass changes to the constitution on the subject of oil. The last one was Adolfo López Mateos in 1960, and that was to reinforce, rather than weaken, a state monopoly set up in 1938 when former President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated the oil industry and turned oil into a nationalist symbol of Mexican sovereignty. "This year, we Mexicans have decided to overcome myths and taboos in order to take a large stride toward the future," said Mr. Peña Nieto in a speech at the National Palace. Supporters of the law say it will […]
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law Friday a bill that ends the 75-year-old government monopoly in the oil and gas industry, even as the main leftist party is pledging to undo the law by organizing the country’s first-ever referendum. Mr. Peña Nieto became the first president in more than 50 years to propose and pass changes to the constitution on the subject of oil. The last one was Adolfo López Mateos in 1960, and that was to reinforce, rather than weaken, a state monopoly set up in 1938 when former President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated the oil industry and turned oil into a nationalist symbol of Mexican sovereignty. "This year, we Mexicans have decided to overcome myths and taboos in order to take a large stride toward the future," said Mr. Peña Nieto in a speech at the National Palace. Supporters of the law say it will […]
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law Friday a bill that ends the monopoly of state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos in oil and gas, opening new horizons for private-sector investment in the world’s ninth-largest oil producer. The energy bill, Mr. Peña Nieto’s wager to lift stagnant oil production and unleash economic growth, was passed by lawmakers in just 10 days. Congress gave final approval on Thursday of last week after two days of debates, and a required majority of state legislatures, 26 of the country’s 31, approved the constitutional amendment by this week. "This year, we Mexicans have decided to overcome myths and taboos in order to take a large stride toward the future," Mr. Peña Nieto said in a speech at the National Palace. Mr. Peña Nieto became the first president in more than 50 years to propose and pass in Congress changes to the constitution on the […]
