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Iran bullish about oil potential

TEHRAN, April 8 (UPI) — Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh said the country is bent on increasing the level of oil production despite Western economic sanctions. Zanganeh told the Oil Ministry’s official news site, Shana, the Iranian government wasn’t waiting for the United States and its allies to relax sanctions on the energy sector. "[We] will readily tap all the resources to sell more oil despite sanctions," he said in an interview published Monday. "We are hoping to see sanctions shrink, however, we assume the harshest circumstances and draw up our roadmap assuming that sanctions will not be altered." The minister said Iran was ready to produce more than 4.2 million barrels of oil per day during the current calendar year, which began last month. Iran secured sanctions relief under the terms of an interim nuclear deal brokered in November. Another round of nuclear talks gets under way in […]

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Iran Official Signals Progress on Arak Reactor in Nuclear Talks

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Ravanchi on Tuesday signaled progress in Tehran’s nuclear talks with six world powers as the latest round of negotiations started in the Austrian capital. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal before the talks, Mr. Ravanchi said Iran would address "legitimate concerns" about Iran’s heavy-water plutonium reactor in Arak, which the West says could produce enough plutonium for a nuclear weapon. "We have not reached a conclusion on Arak, but at least we know very well where they are and where we are and how the positions of the two sides can merge," he said. Iran pledged in November’s interim nuclear accord to stop major work on the reactor, whose spent fuel would contain plutonium. The United Nations atomic agency, which oversees the accord, has said Tehran is complying. But Western countries remain concerned about Arak, which Iran says is intended to produce […]

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White House moves to block Iran’s UN ambassador nominee

The Obama administration said on Tuesday that the nomination of a new Iranian ambassador to the UN who was involved in the 1979 hostage crisis was “not viable”, intensifying a dispute that could have an impact on nuclear negotiations. Jay Carney, White House spokesman, said that the nomination of Hamid Aboutalebi to be Iran ’s ambassador to the UN was “extremely troubling”. He was speaking hours after the senate voted unanimously in favour of a bill that would prevent Mr Aboutalebi from taking up his post by denying him a visa. The measure is expected to pass the House of Representatives. The dispute over the Iranian nominee comes as a fresh round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme opened in Vienna on Tuesday. Iran defended the nomination of Mr Aboutalebi on Tuesday. “Iran has selected a veteran diplomat with a clear and successful [diplomatic] record as […]

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Shell lifts first crude oil from the Majnoon oilfield

Shell announced today that the Majnoon oilfield it operates in partnership with South Oil Company (SOC), Petronas and Missan Oil in Southern Iraq has successfully exported its first shipment of crude oil to Shell trading, a significant milestone for the oilfield. The achievement comes as production at the Majnoon oilfield has reached a current average of 210,000 barrels of oil per day, well in excess of the 175,000 barrels per day (bpd) First Commercial Production target which initiates the commencement of cost recovery and was achieved after extensive rehabilitation works at the oilfield. “This is a historic event for Iraq’s energy industry. The lifting of Shell’s first oil shipment from Majnoon has great significance to us and our partners in the Government as it is a testimony to our shared progress and signals the start of Majnoon’s long-term journey toward generating further revenue for Iraq’s economy, and as an […]

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Iraq attacks kill 19 as soldiers ambush militants

Attacks in Iraq left 19 people dead Tuesday while security forces said they killed 25 militants near Baghdad amid worries insurgents are encroaching on the capital weeks ahead of elections. The latest violence is part of a protracted surge in nationwide bloodshed that has left more than 2,400 people dead since the start of the year and sparked fears Iraq is slipping back into the all-out sectarian fighting that plagued it in 2006 and 2007. The unrest has been driven principally by anger in the Sunni Arab community over alleged mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces, as well as spillover from the civil war in neighbouring Syria. In Tuesday’s bloodiest incident, soldiers killed 25 militants in an ambush southwest of Baghdad, the capital’s security spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said. Maan said the fighters were part […]

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Uganda, Kenya to Build World's Longest Heated Oil Pipeline

Should Uganda and Kenya finally build a crude oil export pipeline, it will be the longest heated such facility in the world. According to a report released last month by Tullow Oil Plc, both countries have agreed to build the pipeline and have commenced a comprehensive study on the pipeline. "Tullow and its partners have agreed with the government of Kenya to commence development studies. In addition, the partnership is involved in a comprehensive study for an export pipeline," the Tullow Oil Plc annual report 2013 reads. According to the report, the export pipeline route on the Kenyan side is expected to run mostly underground, over 850 kilometres from the Lokichar basin to the coast. Kenya is to construct the pipeline from Lokichar basin while Uganda is expected to construct its part of the pipeline from the Lake Albert rift basin to link up with the Kenyan pipeline and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Uganda, Kenya to Build World’s Longest Heated Oil Pipeline

Should Uganda and Kenya finally build a crude oil export pipeline, it will be the longest heated such facility in the world. According to a report released last month by Tullow Oil Plc, both countries have agreed to build the pipeline and have commenced a comprehensive study on the pipeline. "Tullow and its partners have agreed with the government of Kenya to commence development studies. In addition, the partnership is involved in a comprehensive study for an export pipeline," the Tullow Oil Plc annual report 2013 reads. According to the report, the export pipeline route on the Kenyan side is expected to run mostly underground, over 850 kilometres from the Lokichar basin to the coast. Kenya is to construct the pipeline from Lokichar basin while Uganda is expected to construct its part of the pipeline from the Lake Albert rift basin to link up with the Kenyan pipeline and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Will Texas Ship Crude to California

Texas is eyeing the possibility of shipping its excess crude oil to California, a state that historically imports from the Middle East and Ecuador. In September 2013, Texas produced its highest monthly rate of natural resources on record – pumping 2.7 million barrels of crude per day, the highest average of oil output in over 32 years, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. With this excess crude, Texas might become a supplier of oil to California if the trade is profitable. Once an oil exporter, the Golden State now depends on imports for more than 60 percent of its oil supply. About a quarter of California’s imports are from Alaska, with the rest coming from the Middle East and Ecuador, according to the U.S. Energy Information (EIA). However, because of California’s history as an oil producing and exporting province, its refining industry was […]

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Australia could emerge as shale powerhouse

The Australian energy sector is in the midst of a sea change, with investors retooling their strategies to focus on unconventional gas, industry officials said. Andrew Latham, vice president of exploration for energy consultant group Wood Mackenzie , said Australian exploration is dominated by frontier areas and long-term natural gas projects, two areas where he said the industry is losing interest. "Australia’s established unconventional gas industry is likely to rank highly, when benchmarked against other unconventional plays outside North America," he said Monday at an energy summit in Perth. Australia is a premier exporter of liquefied natural gas from conventional reserves. Several Asian countries have secured long-term natural gas supply contracts from companies operating in Australia. Rob Cole, chairman of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, said development costs were inhibiting growth within the country’s energy sector. Latham, meanwhile, said parts of the country may hold some of […]

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Statoil said CO2 levels up at Alberta site

Norwegian energy company Statoil said Tuesday it wants to cut its carbon dioxide emissions from oil sands production, though there may be short-term spikes. Statoil operates oil sands production facilities primarily in Canada. It said its oil sands production declined "slightly" last year. The company said CO2 intensity should decrease as it introduces additional technology at its Leismer oil sands operations in Alberta, Canada. There may be spikes in the interim, however. The Norwegian company said in a report Tuesday about 69.7 kilograms of CO2 were produced per barrel of oil. That was higher than expected, the company said, but lower than the 72.7 kg of CO2 per barrel produced in 2011. "Our long-term CO2 targets for reduced carbon dioxide intensity in the production process, with 25 percent by 2020 and 40 percent by 2025, remain firm," Stale Tungesvik, Statoil’s manager in Canada, said in a statement . Tungesvik […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple