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Jordanian envoy kidnapped in Libya attack

Libya has faced insecurity and instability since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted in 2011 The Jordanian ambassador to Libya has been kidnapped in the capital Tripoli, in an attack that left his driver wounded, officials say. Libya’s foreign ministry confirmed Fawaz al-Itan’s kidnapping to the BBC, adding that his driver was in hospital. The Jordanian prime minister said that the envoy’s release was being negotiated. Libya has been plagued by instability since armed groups toppled Muammar Gaddafi from power in 2011. "The Jordanian ambassador was kidnapped this morning. His convoy was attacked by a group of hooded men on board two civilian cars," government spokesman Said Lassoued told AFP news agency. On Sunday, Libya’s newly appointed Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni stepped down after what he described as a "cowardly attack" on him and his family by a militia. Mr Thinni had been appointed as PM after his predecessor Ali Zeidan […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Israeli Gas Holds Promise of Better Ties with Neighbors

Israel’s drive to export its new-found natural gas could help to rebuild strained ties with old regional allies Egypt and Turkey, but could deprive Europe of a precious alternative to Russian gas. Israel has in recent months already signed energy deals with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, though relations with the Palestinians are at a low ebb, and now needs to expand its export horizons to cash in on its huge energy discoveries. If all goes well, the latest developments could see first pipelines being laid between Israel and Turkey as soon as 2015, and gas cooperation between Israel and Egypt is also emerging, which would allow export access to Asia’s major markets. A growing population and soaring demand have left Egypt’s own liquefied natural gas export (LNG) plants in need of new supply, as domestic shortages eat into seaborne exports through the Suez […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Sinopec to Pay $1.2 Billion for Lukoil’s Stake in Kazak Assets

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386) , Asia’s biggest refiner known as Sinopec, agreed to pay about $1.2 billion to buy a 50 percent stake in energy assets in Kazakhstan from Russia’s OAO Lukoil. The deal is expected to be completed before the end of the year, Lukoil said in a statement. Lukoil’s Caspian Investment Resources Ltd. owns, through a number of joint ventures, various stakes in four hydrocarbon-production projects in Kazakhstan. Lukoil’s share in commercial hydrocarbon production as part of the projects was 10.2 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2013, it said. To contact the reporter on this story: Aibing Guo in Hong Kong at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jason Rogers at [email protected] Madelene Pearson

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Kashagan – Back to the drawing board?

It should have turned Kazakhstan into a global oil and geopolitical champion. Instead, it turned out to be a cul-de-sac, swallowing over $50 billion since its discovery almost two decades ago. Kashagan, a mammoth-sized offshore oil field with recoverable reserves of some 13 billion barrels that stretches over more than 3000 square kilometers, was recently shut down indefinitely due to technical problems. With Kazakh ambitions scuttled and the reputation of the project-managing consortium in tatters, will it go down in history as the Titanic of oil fields? From euphoria to despair, Kashagan has been through it all. Major cost overruns, intense squabbles between major stakeholders, and insurmountable technical problems  prevented  the project from seeing daylight in 2005, as contractually required. Instead, it only began pumping the first barrels in September last year, but this lasted just a few days before the appearance of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nigeria: Shale Oil Cuts Crude Export Revenue By N181 Billion – NNPC

Nigeria’s total crude export declined by 13.45 per cent, between December 2012 and December 2013, leading to a loss of $1.134 billion, about N181.44 billion, due largely to a 90 per cent drop in crude oil exports to the United States which has stepped up production of shale oil and gas, LEADERSHIP has learnt. Specifically, the country recorded total crude export of 64.537 million barrels in December 2013, down by 10.03 million barrels from 74.564 million barrels recorded at the end of 2012. As a result, the country earned $7.299 billion, about N1.168 trillion, from crude export as at December 2013, down by $1.134 billion (N181.44 billion) from $8.434 billion, about N1.349 trillion, recorded in December 2012. KPMG Professional Services had in February warned that the discovery and exploration of shale oil and gas across the globe would put Nigeria’s economy at serious risk, unless the country was able […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nigeria's Refining Capacity Rises to 26 Percent

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has put the combined average capacity utilisation of Nigeria’s four refineries at 25.95 per cent for the month of December 2013. According to data from the NNPC’s December 2013 Monthly Petroleum Information, this is a significant improvement from the 6.46 per cent average capacity utilisation of the refineries in November 2013, and a slight decline from the 30.87 per cent utilisation year on year to December 2012. The refineries are the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC 1 & 2), and the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC). Specifically, the NNPC put the respective average capacity utilisation of the refineries in December, as: KRPC – 32.96 per cent, PHRC – 4.48 per cent, and WRPC – 40.41 per cent. According to the NNPC, 388,000 metric tonnes, MT, of dry crude oil, condensate and slop was received by the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nigeria’s Refining Capacity Rises to 26 Percent

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has put the combined average capacity utilisation of Nigeria’s four refineries at 25.95 per cent for the month of December 2013. According to data from the NNPC’s December 2013 Monthly Petroleum Information, this is a significant improvement from the 6.46 per cent average capacity utilisation of the refineries in November 2013, and a slight decline from the 30.87 per cent utilisation year on year to December 2012. The refineries are the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC 1 & 2), and the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC). Specifically, the NNPC put the respective average capacity utilisation of the refineries in December, as: KRPC – 32.96 per cent, PHRC – 4.48 per cent, and WRPC – 40.41 per cent. According to the NNPC, 388,000 metric tonnes, MT, of dry crude oil, condensate and slop was received by the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nigeria Blast Kills Dozens as Militants Hit Capital

Emergency workers at the scene of an explosion on Monday that killed at least 71 people in Abuja. LAGOS, Nigeria — Militants struck near the heart of the Nigerian state early Monday, bombing a bus station in the capital, Abuja, just miles from the seat of government in one of the worst attacks in years in the country’s struggle with insurgents. At least 71 people were killed in a blast that ripped through dozens of vans and coaches, leaving a grim spectacle of dead and wounded. Top Nigerian officials, whose offices are a short distance away, immediately attributed the bombing to the Islamist group they have been battling for years, Boko Haram. If that turns out to be the case — and the group itself rarely acknowledges its actions — Monday’s bombing would represent a significant amplification of Boko Haram’s bloody campaign to undermine the Nigerian state. Over the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China set to elevate environment over development in new law

Smog-hit China is set to pass a new law that would give Beijing more powers to shut polluting factories and punish officials, and even place protected regions off-limits to industrial development, scholars with knowledge of the situation said. Long-awaited amendments to China’s 1989 Environmental Protection Law are expected to be finalised later this year, giving the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) greater authority to take on polluters. While some details of the fourth draft are still under discussion, it has been agreed that the principle of prioritising the environment above the economy will be enshrined in law, according to scholars who have been involved in the process. The fourth draft is due to be completed within weeks. "(Upholding) environmental protection as the fundamental principle is a huge change, and emphasizes that the environment is a priority," said Cao Mingde, a law professor at the China University […]

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In China, a Big Jet Becomes a Status Symbol

IN the United States, public reaction to the corporate use of business jets can be scathing when instances of obvious excess become publicized, such as the day in 2008 when the top executives of the Detroit automakers each used a private jet to fly to Washington to argue for $25 billion in taxpayer bailouts. But in China, where sales of business jets are increasing despite a lack of large scale air-system support and a dearth of airports to handle private flights, attitudes about private jets seem to be different. While forecasters had long assumed midsize and smaller jets would prevail as China’s business aviation market expanded throughout the country, that has not been the case. Instead, Chinese buyers are enthusiastically opting mostly for so-called heavy metal jets — big, long-range luxury jets that can cost $50 million or more before extras like fancy cabin fixtures. A big jet is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple