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Iran advises Pakistan to seek outside help on pipeline

An Iranian deputy energy minister said his government was recommending Pakistan look for a third party to help finance a natural gas pipeline from Iran. "Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh recommended Islamabad demand help from third-party companies for the completion and acceleration of the project on the Pakistani soil," Ali Majedi, a deputy petroleum minister in charge of international affairs, said. He was quoted by The News International, a Pakistani newspaper, as saying Monday it was possible that some of those companies could buy natural gas from Iran and then sell it to Pakistan. Iran last week backed out of a $500 million finance commitment to help Pakistan build the pipeline on its side of the border because of the sanctions constraints. Pakistani Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said his government was still interested in the project, though it was […]

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Car bomb hits Hezbollah stronghold in east Lebanon

A car bomb struck a stronghold of the Shiite militant Hezbollah group in eastern Lebanon early on Tuesday, causing a number of casualties, Lebanon’s state-run news agency said. A Lebanese official and the group’s Al-Manar TV confirmed the blast and said it occurred near the remote village of Sbouba in the Baalbek region, but there was no immediate word on the nature of the explosion or the target. The TV station owned by Hezbollah said there were no casualties. The explosion appears to be part of a wave of attacks on Hezbollah strongholds and interests in Lebanon. The group is fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad’s troops and has received threats of retaliation from the largely Sunni rebels fighting to topple him. A Lebanese security official confirmed the explosion but said there was no immediate word on the nature of the target or casualties. He […]

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Dozens of Iraqis Killed in Attacks

More than 70 people were killed in a string of attacks across Iraq on Monday, including 37 Shiites preparing for an annual pilgrimage, among them a group who were pulled out of a bus and shot dead on the roadside, the police said. The violence followed 19 killings over the weekend, putting December on track to become one of the bloodiest months in the country in five years. On Monday, 12 Shiite pilgrims heading to Baghdad from the northern city of Mosul were taken out of their bus and killed, the police said. The pilgrims were on their way to the capital to begin a procession on foot to the city of Karbala for Arbaeen, an annual commemoration of the 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. In southern Baghdad, two car bombs targeting the pilgrims killed 25 Shiites and wounded 50 […]

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IOCs happy with Nassiriya terms

IOCs happy with Nassiriya terms Oil companies appear to be optimistic that the model contract for a major oil field and refinery project in Nassiriya could represent an investor-friendly shift for Iraq’s Oil Ministry.In contrast to the ministry’s first four bidding rounds, the new joint project – to develop the Nassiriya oil field and a nearby refinery – has attracted praise from some of the companies that have been pre-qualified for the bidding, now scheduled for Jan. 23."They made a serious step forward," said a …

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South Sudan’s Kiir Imposes Curfew After Failed Coup in Capital

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir imposed a curfew after soldiers supporting former Vice President Riek Machar tried to overthrow the government last night. The government is in control after attacks in the city, including one at at a meeting of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation movement, at 6 p.m., Kiir told reporters in the capital, Juba. The curfew will be enforced between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., he said. The governments of the U.S. and U.K. warned citizens in Juba to be careful amid reports that fighting was ongoing. “They tried an attempted coup but it failed,” Kiir said. “We are not going to say whom we have arrested and how many.” Kiir fired Machar in July along with the entire cabinet after the former deputy said he will contest the 2015 presidential elections against Kiir. The winner of internal elections for the ruling party will be the party’s […]

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Asia Faces Competition in Mexico's Energy Sector

Asian energy groups are looking at opportunities in Mexico following a decision to break Petróleos Mexicanos’s oil and gas monopoly, but they could face tough competition from Western rivals for the right to exploit the country’s huge and lightly developed reserves. Mexico’s relatively stable political environment and geographic proximity to the U.S. could attract investors from there, including companies that have been selling stakes in Asian and African energy projects to focus on exploiting shale gas and oil opportunities nearer to home. Attractive Mexico projects could also interest European companies such as Spain’s Repsol SA, REP.MC -0.77% Repsol S.A. Spain: Madrid € 18.11 -0.14 -0.77% Dec. 17, 2013 10:08 am Volume : 423,036 P/E Ratio 14.61 Market Cap €23.45 Billion Dividend Yield 0.44% Rev. per Employee €1,965,150 11/28/13 Repsol Deal With Argentina Was… 11/27/13 Repsol, Argentina Reach Tentat… 11/27/13 Repsol Bonds With Argentina More quote details […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Asia Faces Competition in Mexico’s Energy Sector

Asian energy groups are looking at opportunities in Mexico following a decision to break Petróleos Mexicanos’s oil and gas monopoly, but they could face tough competition from Western rivals for the right to exploit the country’s huge and lightly developed reserves. Mexico’s relatively stable political environment and geographic proximity to the U.S. could attract investors from there, including companies that have been selling stakes in Asian and African energy projects to focus on exploiting shale gas and oil opportunities nearer to home. Attractive Mexico projects could also interest European companies such as Spain’s Repsol SA, REP.MC -0.77% Repsol S.A. Spain: Madrid € 18.11 -0.14 -0.77% Dec. 17, 2013 10:08 am Volume : 423,036 P/E Ratio 14.61 Market Cap €23.45 Billion Dividend Yield 0.44% Rev. per Employee €1,965,150 11/28/13 Repsol Deal With Argentina Was… 11/27/13 Repsol, Argentina Reach Tentat… 11/27/13 Repsol Bonds With Argentina More quote details […]

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Mexican State Legislatures Approve Energy Changes

A majority of Mexican state legislatures have approved changes in the constitution that open the country’s state-run energy industry to greater private investment and end a 75-year-old monopoly of state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos. Early Monday, San Luis Potosí became the 17th state to vote in favor of the bill, which amends the constitution to allow for private firms to explore for and produce oil and gas for the first time since the 1938 expropriation of the industry. Constitutional amendments in Mexico require a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate and lower house, and approval by a majority of the 31 state legislatures. Last week, the Senate and the lower house of Congress approved the changes, which amend the three constitutional articles that formed the core of the country’s restrictive energy laws. With the necessary state approvals, the Congress can declare the changes constitutional and send the bill […]

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Venezuela revamping its currency control system

Venezuela is overhauling decade-old currency controls to benefit its struggling oil industry and arrest the decline of the bolivar on the black market. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez says the government’s nine-month-old U.S. dollar auction system will be expanded next year to provide a more favorable exchange rate to oil companies, tourists and the central bank’s gold purchases. Ramirez denies the move represents a stealth devaluation, though he says the auction mechanism will gradually replace the so-called Cadivi system that’s used to mete out dollars to Venezuelans. The government currently sells a dollar for 6.3 bolivars, but access is restricted and the greenback costs more than 10 times that amount on the black market. Ramirez doesn’t say what exchange rate will be used at the auctions. Ramirez made the announcement Monday. […]

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