Category:

Kurdish government releases energy revenue data

"Billions of dollars" generated from the oil and gas sector have benefited the citizens of the Kurdish region of Iraq, the Kurdish government said.The semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government published data on revenue generated from 2007-13. It said its Ministry of Natural Resources created gross revenue of around $9.7 billion. "[The ministry] has presided over the impressive growth of the oil and gas industry in the Region, generating billions of dollars that have benefitted each and every citizen of Kurdistan, and also those of the rest of Iraq," Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami said in a statement Monday. The KRG and central government in Baghdad are at odds over who controls what aspects of the energy sector. The central government says unilateral activity in the Kurdish energy sector violates the nation’s constitution. KRG said revenues generated from the energy sector have been within limits outlined by a 2007 agreement […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Bombing in Cairo kills senior Egypt police officer

Egyptian security officials say a senior police officer has died after an explosive device placed under his car went off in a western Cairo suburb. The officials say Brig. Gen. Ahmed Zaki was heading to work from his home in 6th of October suburb when the bomb detonated on Wednesday morning. The officials say the explosion critically wounded Zaki and he later died in the hospital. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. Attacks against Egyptian police and military have stepped up as militant groups wage an increasingly violent campaign following the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Since Morsi was removed by the military last July, more than 1,300 protesters, mostly pro-Morsi supporters, and over 450 troops have been killed.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Nigerian Firms Win Big in U.S.$40 Billion Oil Contract Awards

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has awarded yearly crude oil lifting contracts worth about $40 billion to mostly Nigerian companies, and by so doing, downsizing contracts awarded to international oil traders. In a break with tradition, no contracts were given directly to foreign traders such as Glencore, Trafigura and Vitol, with only Switzerland’s Mercuria winning a contract, according to a list obtained by Reuters news agency. By this development, global traders need to partner with the local companies to access crude from Nigeria, Africa’s top producer. The crude lifting contracts cover around 340 million barrels of oil, worth close to $40 billion annually based on current Brent prices, and run for a year, though they can be renewed. They were allocated to just 28 companies, as against about 50 in 2012. The list, released by the NNPC, according to the newswire is preliminary and subject to revision. A […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ghana's Oil Exploration Quagmire – Date Published: April 15, 2014

As Ghana strives harder to escape the quagmire of oil curse which is the vile menace of oil and gas producing countries in third world countries across the globe, there are already looming signals that Ghana is virtually losing its gravity and battles to the foreign partners in her oil and gas industry. This is resulting due to the suicidal and legal goof the country made from the start when oil and gas production licenses were issued to International Oil Companies (IOCs) at the time most of necessary regulatory authorities, legal frameworks and policies that would hold them account were absent. The regulatory authorities such as Petroleum Commission, and Ghana Gas Company and regulatory frameworks such as the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill, Petroleum Commission Act, and the very belated Local Content Policy, among others, were put in place, a year or more, after commercial production of oil and gas […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ghana’s Oil Exploration Quagmire – Date Published: April 15, 2014

As Ghana strives harder to escape the quagmire of oil curse which is the vile menace of oil and gas producing countries in third world countries across the globe, there are already looming signals that Ghana is virtually losing its gravity and battles to the foreign partners in her oil and gas industry. This is resulting due to the suicidal and legal goof the country made from the start when oil and gas production licenses were issued to International Oil Companies (IOCs) at the time most of necessary regulatory authorities, legal frameworks and policies that would hold them account were absent. The regulatory authorities such as Petroleum Commission, and Ghana Gas Company and regulatory frameworks such as the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill, Petroleum Commission Act, and the very belated Local Content Policy, among others, were put in place, a year or more, after commercial production of oil and gas […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China to raise natural gas supply

China will raise its natural gas supply to as much as 420 billion cubic meters per year by 2020 amid rising demand due to urbanization, a government statement said on Wednesday. The increased supply will cater to the rising demand for natural gas in people’s daily lives, schools, nursing homes, home heating, as well as in buses and taxis, a statement on the central government website said. The supply increase is also driven by the nation’s efforts to mitigate air pollution stemming from an over-reliance on coal, the statement said. To expand natural gas production, investment in gas storage facilities as well as their construction and operation will be open to all market players, the statement said. Meanwhile, companies will also have the option to issue bonds to raise capital for the construction of storage facilities. The government will offer favorable land policies for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China Manufacturing Gauge Signals Economic Weakness

China’s economy has yet to respond to policy makers’ stimulus efforts, an April manufacturing gauge indicated today, helping send the yuan to a 16-month low. The preliminary Purchasing Managers’ from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics was 48.3 in April, matching the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The reading rose from March’s final figure of 48 while remaining below the expansion-contraction dividing line of 50. Sustained weakness in manufacturing would pressure Premier Li Keqiang to expand pro-growth measures beyond a required-reserves cut for rural banks yesterday and what some analysts have dubbed a “mini stimulus” package of railway spending and tax relief. The report followed data last week showing China’s expansion moderated to the slowest pace in six quarters. “We do not believe that this uptick in the HSBC PMI signals any sort of turning point for the economy and continue to believe that growth momentum […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China factory activity shrinks for fourth month

China’s factory activity shrank for the fourth straight month in April, signaling economic weakness into the second quarter, a preliminary survey showed on Wednesday, although the pace of decline eased helped by policy steps to arrest the slowdown. Analysts see initial signs of stabilization in the economy due to the government’s targeted measures to underpin growth, but believe more policy support may be needed as structural reforms put additional pressure on activity. The HSBC/Markit flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for April rose to 48.3 from March’s final reading of 48.0, but was still below the 50 line separating expansion from contraction. "It’s generally in line (with expectations), reflecting that growth momentum is stabilizing," said Zhou Hao, China economist at ANZ in Shanghai. Hao expected economic growth to pick up slightly to 7.5 percent in the second quarter. Annual growth slowed to 7.4 percent in the first […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China’s Gasoline, Kerosene Stockpiles Rise to Highest Since 2010

Gasoline and kerosene stockpiles in China , the world’s second-largest oil consumer, rose to the highest levels in at least four years even as exports of the fuels surged last month. Gasoline inventories increased by 1.8 percent in March from a month earlier while kerosene supplies gained 4.5 percent, China Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals, a newsletter published by the official Xinhua News Agency, said today. Stockpiles expanded to an estimated 7.48 million metric tons and 1.87 million, respectively, the highest since January 2010 when Bloomberg started compiling the data. Fuel supplies climbed as refiners boosted operating rates, according to OGP. Companies including China Petrochemical & Chemical Corp. and PetroChina Co. processed 41.9 million tons of crude last month, or about 9.9 million barrels a day, up 2.6 percent from a year ago, data from the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing showed on April 16. China exported the most […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Pacific islands need focus on renewables, EU says

Renewable energy for Pacific island nations will help fight climate change and stimulate the region’s economy, the European development commissioner said.Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully announced plans Tuesday to spend four days touring Pacific islands. The aim of the tour, which begins Wednesday, is to highlight the benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency. "Energy is crucial for education and healthcare, for growth, tourism and even for the supply of water," PIebalgs said in a statement . "In short, renewable energy is a country’s main route towards growth and development." Rising sea levels attributing to climate change are endangering low-lying nations in the Pacific region. The situation is compounded further by the high costs of importing fossil fuels to their isolated territories. Solar projects will be the primary source of investment targets for the European and New Zealand officials. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple