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Iran's Rouhani pins economic hope on oil, taxes

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pegged economic recovery in the country on greater activity in the oil sector and increased tax revenues. Rouhani submitted a $7.8 billion general budget to the Parliament Sunday “Getting out of the status quo requires undertaking measures to push [the country] out of stagnation and adopting policies to contain inflation,” Rouhani was was quoted as saying by the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news website. “Therefore, we have tried to increase the general budget’s resources and to that effect we have put higher oil and tax revenues on the agenda.” Iran’s economy is struggling to cope with Western sanctions designed to starve it of oil revenue it could use to finance a controversial nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes. Rouhani vowed to reverse the course set by his predecessors when he took office in August. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iran’s Rouhani pins economic hope on oil, taxes

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pegged economic recovery in the country on greater activity in the oil sector and increased tax revenues. Rouhani submitted a $7.8 billion general budget to the Parliament Sunday “Getting out of the status quo requires undertaking measures to push [the country] out of stagnation and adopting policies to contain inflation,” Rouhani was was quoted as saying by the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news website. “Therefore, we have tried to increase the general budget’s resources and to that effect we have put higher oil and tax revenues on the agenda.” Iran’s economy is struggling to cope with Western sanctions designed to starve it of oil revenue it could use to finance a controversial nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes. Rouhani vowed to reverse the course set by his predecessors when he took office in August. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pakistan to push forward on gas project with Iran

Pakistan will push forward with a controversial pipeline to import natural gas from neighboring Iran, Pakistan said Tuesday, a project opposed by the United States. The pipeline will link Iran’s gas fields with energy-starved Pakistan, but by going ahead with the project, Pakistan may incur U.S. and international sanctions imposed on Iran – or anyone doing business with Iran – over that country’s nuclear program. The U.S. has opposed the project and instead supported an alternative proposal to build a pipeline from the gas fields of Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Tuesday that petroleum ministers of the two countries met in Tehran on Monday to discuss the project, which has been beset by repeated delays. The two countries decided to fast track the pipeline and formulate a road map to work out challenges, the ministry said. […]

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Saudi call for Gulf Arab union faces hurdles at summit

Saudi Arabia’s dream of binding the Gulf Arab states into a union will get a sceptical hearing at a summit this week, with differences over Iran, Egypt and Syria demonstrating that the Gulf’s absolute monarchs do not all speak with one voice. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah proposed two years ago for a stronger union with Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emeriates. The plan is expected to be one of the main topics on Tuesday when the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council hold their annual meeting in Kuwait. But just days before the leaders were due to arrive, Oman dismissed the proposal with unusual directness in a region […]

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Tullow announces dry hole onshore Ethiopia

Despite several recent successes in East Africa, Tullow Oil PLC has announced that its most recent Ethiopian wildcat is a duster. The company reached a total depth of 6,893 ft on its Tultule-1 exploration well in the South Omo block onshore Ethiopia. Tullow reported that the well will now be plugged and abandoned as a dry hole. The Tultule-1 was targeting oil-bearing sand drilled in its nearby Sabisa-1 well, but the formation was not encountered. The company did report however that gas shows were present. Results from both the Sabisa-1 and the Tultule-1 wells will now be analyzed to organize future exploration plans in the region. Tullow serves as operator of the Tultule-1 well with a 50% interest along with partners Africa Oil Corp. (30%) and Marathon Oil Corp. (20%). Tullow is now moving into Ethiopia’s Chew Bahir basin to drill the Shimela prospect, also in the South Omo […]

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Parents push schools to install air purifiers

With Shanghai suffering one of its worst bouts of pollution, concerned parents, worried about their children’s health, are urging schools to install air purifiers in classrooms. Parents said the purifiers are necessary after Shanghai’s pollution hit a record high with both the air quality index and PM2.5 density soaring to new highs since last Thursday. Weihai and Fortune kindergartens, Soong Ching Ling School and Shanghai United International School have already installed air purifiers in some of their classrooms. Jiang Yayun, the mother of a two-year-old child, said her daughter has been coughing for two months and doctors had told her it was due to pollution. Jiang and other parents with similar problems then approached the principal of Fortune Kindergarten and urged the school to buy air purifiers, which they think is better than having doing nothing at all. “Not many of us […]

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Eight Chinese cities fined for air pollution

Local governments in eight cities in northeast China’s Liaoning Province have been fined a total of 54.2 million yuan (8.9 million U.S. dollars) for air pollution, the provincial department of environment protection said Tuesday. The fines, the first the provincial agency has imposed on lower-level governments, send a clear signal that the provincial government is becoming more serious about tackling air pollution. The tough penalties come as severely polluted air has become a main source of complaints and frustration over health concerns among urban residents. Choking smog attracted wide attention again last week as it blanketed 100 cities across more than half the country. Many rushed to buy face masks and air purifiers to ward it off, and primary and middle schools in the eastern city of Nanjing were even forced to close for two days. According to a regulation which went into effect […]

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South Korea's long-term gas demand to rise 1.7% annually; oil consumption to fall: ministry

South Korea’s natural gas demand is forecast to grow 1.7% annually on average to 35.3 million mt of oil equivalent in 2035, compared with 23.7 million mtoe in 2011, the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a report released Tuesday. But the country’s oil demand is expected to shrink 0.11% annually to 99.3 million mtoe in 2035, compared with 102.0 million mtoe in 2011, according to a draft version of the ministry’s Energy Basic Plan. The country’s electricity consumption, meanwhile, is forecast to nearly double to 70.2 million mtoe in 2035, from 39.1 million mtoe in 2011, the report said, noting that the government will seek further power price hikes to curb growing demand. The country’s demand for coal for power generation is expected to increase 0.6% annually to reach 38.6 million mtoe in 2035, compared with 33.5 million mtoe in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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South Korea’s long-term gas demand to rise 1.7% annually; oil consumption to fall: ministry

South Korea’s natural gas demand is forecast to grow 1.7% annually on average to 35.3 million mt of oil equivalent in 2035, compared with 23.7 million mtoe in 2011, the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a report released Tuesday. But the country’s oil demand is expected to shrink 0.11% annually to 99.3 million mtoe in 2035, compared with 102.0 million mtoe in 2011, according to a draft version of the ministry’s Energy Basic Plan. The country’s electricity consumption, meanwhile, is forecast to nearly double to 70.2 million mtoe in 2035, from 39.1 million mtoe in 2011, the report said, noting that the government will seek further power price hikes to curb growing demand. The country’s demand for coal for power generation is expected to increase 0.6% annually to reach 38.6 million mtoe in 2035, compared with 33.5 million mtoe in […]

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Strong China retail data defy predictions of slowdown

As China GDP Figures Are Released China’s economy is riding its strong momentum into the end of the year, with retail sales accelerating and industrial output slowing just a touch in November. Following on previous figures that showed a jump in exports and subdued inflation, the data published on Tuesday confirmed that the world’s second-largest economy remained in good health and had once again defied predictions for a more pronounced slowdown . Just a few months ago, analysts had expected that Chinese economic growth would tail off more sharply in the fourth quarter, but for now it appears to be close to its 7.8 per cent year-on-year pace of the third quarter. Industrial output increased 10 per cent in November from a year earlier, down from 10.3 per cent in October but above its average this year. Annual growth in fixed-asset investment edged down to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple