Category:

Iraq Minister Says Oil-Producing South is Safe From Violence in Mosul

Iraq’s oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaiby said Wednesday that he didn’t expect violence in the country’s north to spread to its oil-producing south and that the situation in Mosul wouldn’t affect oil exports. "The accident is only in the north of Iraq…the south is a very very safe area," the minister said, speaking ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the Organization if Petroleum Exporting Countries. Islamist insurgents overran Iraq’s second-largest city on Tuesday, raising concerns about exports from the country’s northern oil fields, which have already been shut in because of repeated attacks on the pipeline that runs north to Ceyhan in Turkey. Mr. Luaiby said that repairs on the pipeline are continuing notwithstanding the current situation in Mosul. However, he added that there was a possibility that oil from the north could be piped south through oil-product pipelines for domestic consumption and then exported from Basrah, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Lukoil: Iraqi oil field output above 200,000 bpd

Russian energy company Lukoil said Wednesday it’s fulfilled its contractual obligations for the West Qurna-2 field in Iraq and production is above 200,000 bpd. "The West-Qurna-2 project is developing at a fast pace, and production is going up," the company said in a statement . Lukoil, which serves as operator at the oil field, said it’s maintained a steady level of production of at least 120,000 barrels per day for the last 90 days. Currently, daily oil production is above 200,000 bpd, the company said. "As of today, the project has reached another milestone by paving the way for LUKOIL to receive contractual remunerations," the Lukoil statement said. First oil was produced from West Qurna-2, located in southern Iraq, in March. Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil company, signed a contract revision last week to build two 75-mile long pipelines and associated infrastructure. The system will link the oil field […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. objects to Kurdish oil deliveries

Washington does not support any export or sale of oil from Iraq without consent from the federal government in Baghdad, a State Department spokeswoman said. Two cargo vessels have left the Turkish sea port of Ceyhan loaded with oil from the Kurdish north of Iraq. United Leadership left port in May and is parked off the coast of Morocco. United Emblem set sail early this week and is positioned north of the island of Crete, Greece. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said during a press briefing Tuesday the U.S. government has long sided with Baghdad on the sale or export of Iraqi crude oil. "We don’t support the export or sale of oil, absent the appropriate approval of the federal Iraqi government," she said . "This [export] exposes those who are undergoing this effort to potentially serious legal risks." The semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government said it’s acting within […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iraq Says Southern Oil Facilities 'Very, Very Safe'

Iraq’s southern oil export facilities, currently its only export outlet, were secure, with shipments now running at around 2.6 million barrels per day, Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said on Wednesday. An al Qaeda splinter group seized control of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday, putting security forces to flight in a spectacular show of strength against the Shi’ite-led Baghdad government. "All our exports now are from the Basra terminal in the south – and it’s a very, very safe area," Luaibi told reporters ahead of an OPEC meeting. Iraq’s northern export pipeline, which connects to a Turkish terminal, has been out of action since March after a bomb attack. Luaibi also said there was better chance of agreement between the central government and the Kurdish region due to the situation in Mosul. (Reporting by Peg Mackey and Georgina Prodhan in Vienna, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iraq Says Southern Oil Facilities ‘Very, Very Safe’

Iraq’s southern oil export facilities, currently its only export outlet, were secure, with shipments now running at around 2.6 million barrels per day, Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said on Wednesday. An al Qaeda splinter group seized control of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday, putting security forces to flight in a spectacular show of strength against the Shi’ite-led Baghdad government. "All our exports now are from the Basra terminal in the south – and it’s a very, very safe area," Luaibi told reporters ahead of an OPEC meeting. Iraq’s northern export pipeline, which connects to a Turkish terminal, has been out of action since March after a bomb attack. Luaibi also said there was better chance of agreement between the central government and the Kurdish region due to the situation in Mosul. (Reporting by Peg Mackey and Georgina Prodhan in Vienna, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya maintains optimism over oil sector

It’s possible Libyan oil production could more than double to 700,000 barrels per day within the next two months, a Libyan delegate to OPEC said Wednesday. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties met Wednesday in Vienna for a regular conference. Libyan envoy to OPEC Samir Salem Kamal said if major oil fields closed by labor strikes and protests are brought back online, production could increase from the current rate of around 200,000 bpd. "Libya could get to 700,000 bpd in two months," he said . The envoy said negotiations were ongoing in an effort to bring closed fields back into production. The Libyan National Oil Corp. lifted a state of emergency at operations at the eastern Zueitina oil terminal earlier this year. It was in the control of forces vying for more autonomy in the region. Internal conflicts in Libya have spilled over into […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

BBC uncovers new evidence of civil unrest in Saudi Arabia

There’s no doubt his [Morsi’s] martyrdom is a great loss to the uprising. But this makes it stronger and his friends more determined.Hassan The BBC has gained unprecedented access to anti-government activists in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province as the Kingdom strives to crackdown on civil unrest. In one of the most secretive countries in the world, frequent protests by the Shia minority have gone largely unreported. But for the first co-production between BBC Our World, BBC Arabic and BBC Persian, reporter Safa Al Ahmad travels into her native Saudi Arabia to investigate how three years of protests have continued in spite of a violent government crackdown. It’s nearly impossible for foreign journalists to operate in the Eastern Province, but Safa grew up in the area and was able to travel in and meet activists under the radar, without alerting the authorities. Filming over the course of a year (2013-14), […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Scorching Heat Exposes India's Power Woes

Scorching summer heat caused power outages and triggered protests in India’s capital, underscoring the challenges the country’s new government faces as it strives to improve dilapidated energy infrastructure and restore India’s appeal as an investment destination. Temperatures across northern India have hovered around 115 degrees Fahrenheit, or 46 Celsius, for nearly a week, straining power grids and causing sporadic outages in New Delhi and the adjoining states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. This week, the Delhi state government instructed government offices to turn off air conditioners during peak hours and ordered electricity to shopping malls in the capital to be stopped after 10 p.m. Delhi police said three people were arrested for vandalizing a bus on Tuesday while they protested electricity cuts, and that officers stepped up their […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Scorching Heat Exposes India’s Power Woes

Scorching summer heat caused power outages and triggered protests in India’s capital, underscoring the challenges the country’s new government faces as it strives to improve dilapidated energy infrastructure and restore India’s appeal as an investment destination. Temperatures across northern India have hovered around 115 degrees Fahrenheit, or 46 Celsius, for nearly a week, straining power grids and causing sporadic outages in New Delhi and the adjoining states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. This week, the Delhi state government instructed government offices to turn off air conditioners during peak hours and ordered electricity to shopping malls in the capital to be stopped after 10 p.m. Delhi police said three people were arrested for vandalizing a bus on Tuesday while they protested electricity cuts, and that officers stepped up their […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Japan slams China over close encounter of jets

Japan lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing on Wednesday after Chinese military jets flew near Japanese military aircraft over the East China Sea, an official said. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said two Chinese SU27 fighters approached as close as 30 meters (100 feet) to Japanese aircraft on Wednesday morning. He said the Chinese planes posed a danger to the Japanese aircraft and a serious incident could have occurred. He said the Japanese planes were on a regular surveillance mission in international airspace, and that Japan would continue to defend its territory. Calls to the Chinese defense ministry’s press office rang unanswered. The two countries have increased patrols by ships and military planes to press their conflicting territorial claims in the East China Sea. They had a similar incident on May 24. Tensions between the two Asian rivals worsened in recent years over a group of uninhabited […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Vietnam: China moved oil rig

A Vietnamese surveillance agency said Wednesday an oil rig stationed by China in disputed waters has moved under guard by six warships. The official Vietnam News reports the rig has moved east-southeast. It’s accompanied by six warships, 13 cargo vessels and 19 tugboats. The Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department said Chinese fishing boats in the area, accompanied by two Coast Guard vessels, have been circling Vietnamese fishing boats in what the official news agency said were traditional fishing grounds near the rig. Tran Van Hang, chairman of the External Relations Committee at the Vietnamese National Assembly, sent a letter Tuesday to lawmakers saying China’s actions were provocative. "Peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety and freedom in the East Sea are being seriously threatened," his letter read. China this week sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki -moon saying the rig was deployed in its territorial waters, a claim […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

IEA Investment Report – What is Right; What is Wrong

Recently, the IEA published  a “Special Report” called World Energy Investment Outlook . Lets’s start with things I agree with: 1. World needs $48 trillion in investment to meet its energy needs to 2035.  This is certainly true, if we assume, as the IEA assumes , that world economic growth will actually improve a bit, from 3.3% per year in the 1990 to 2011 period to 3.6% per year in the 2011 to 2035 period. It is likely that the growth in investment needs will be even higher than the IEA indicates. In my view, this is a CYA report . The IEA sees trouble ahead. There is no way that investment of the needed amount (which is likely far more than $48 trillion) can be met. With the publication of this report, the IEA can say, “We told you so. You didn’t invest enough. That is why energy supply […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil boom produces jobs bonanza for archaeologists

Drilling crews are eager to plunge their equipment into the ground. Road builders are ready to start highway projects, and construction workers need to dig. But across the hyperactive oil fields of North Dakota, these and other groups have to wait for another team – archaeologists, who often must survey the land before a single spade of dirt can be turned. The routine surveys have produced a rare jobs bonanza in American archaeology, a field in which many highly educated professionals hop from project to project around the world and still struggle to make a living. The positions also come with a constant tension: The archaeologists are trained to find evidence of the past, but the companies that pay them would prefer not to turn up anything that gets in the way of profits. Without the oil boom, a lot of young archaeologists might "never […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Canadian leader bows out of refinery review

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark said she’s recusing herself from decisions about a planned oil refinery in the province, citing a conflict of interest. "Out of an abundance of caution I’ve decided to take action today to ensure that there is no conflict, whether that is perceived or real," she said during a Tuesday meeting with reporters. Clark said she would sit on the sidelines of any government decisions regarding an oil refinery planned in her province by Pacific Future Energy Corp. Her former husband, Mark Marissen, was named executive vice president of communications at the company. Pacific Future Energy said it would spend the next nine to 12 months conducting feasibility studies for an oil refinery planned for the north coast of the province. The $10 billion project was billed as the "world’s greenest refinery," and would process oil sands into refined petroleum products like […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

North American LNG output to grow, IEA says

The United States and Canada will account for about 8 percent of the global liquefied natural gas market by 2019, the International Energy Agency said. "While demand growth is driven by the Asia-Pacific region, and especially China, supply growth for the international gas trade is dominated by private investments in LNG in Australia and North America," IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said Tuesday. Global demand for natural gas is expected to increase by more than 2 percent by the end of this year. By 2019, LNG, a super-cooled form of gas, will meet about 40 percent of world’s demand. Australia , van der Hoeven said, is expected to account for half of the new LNG exports expected on the international market by 2019, with the United States and Canada combining to represent 8 percent of the market. LNG is less constricted by the geopolitical […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. gasoline prices 4 cents higher year-on-year

Gasoline prices through the summer could be as much as 4 cents higher than the same time last year, the U.S. Energy Department said. The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States for Wednesday was $3.63, reports motor club AAA. That price has held steady for nearly a month. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its monthly report , published Tuesday, the summer average is near its expected peak of $3.62 per gallon, which is 4 cents higher year-on-year. EIA, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said the retail price for a gallon of gasoline is largely based on the price of crude oil and the difference between that price and the price for wholesale gasoline. In last week’s report on the U.S. petroleum sector, the administration said refineries were working at 90.8 percent capacity and gasoline […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

How Bakken Crude Price Nearest Wellhead Impacts Industry

Platts, an energy news and price publisher, began offering value assessments of Bakken crude nearest the wellhead. The service captures the value of Bakken crude at the point where there is transportation flexibility either by rail, or rail/pipeline, providing industry with greater intelligence before the decision is made on using truck, rail and/or pipeline to deliver the crude to customers. Founder of BakkenShale.com and industry veteran Kenny DuBose, commented, “It is important to attempt to establish pricing points as close to the wellhead as possible, in order to separate and distinguish between the commodity value and any transportation expenses.” Since 2012, Bakken crude transport by rail has grown significantly, to where nearly 70% of all crude produced is transported to the refining markets by rail. In a written statement, Sharmilpar Kaur with Platts, alluded that the growth of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ukraine wants Russian gas contract changed

As disputes drag on, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Wednesday he was questioning a discount offered by Russia for natural gas. Ukraine, before political upheaval in November pushed it closer to the European Union, was paying $268 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas, the standard purchase volume. Russia later suspended the discount and changed the price to $485.50. It has now offered a $100 discount from that price. Yatsenyuk said Wednesday he was frustrated with Russian changing the price terms at a whim. "The contract [itself] must be changed," he said . European countries get about a quarter of their gas needs met by Russia, though most of those supplies run through a Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. Price disputes in 2006 and 2009 resulted in Russian energy company Gazprom cutting gas supplies briefly through Ukraine. Members of the European Union met Russian and Ukrainian delegates this […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Russia Extends Ukraine Gas Talks Deadline

Russia gave Ukraine a further six days to reach a final agreement on natural gas prices, postponing its threat to cut off supply, Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller said Wednesday, Interfax news agency reported. The move comes after talks between Gazprom , Ukraine’s state-run Naftogaz and the European Comission in Brussels failed to come up with an agreement. The deadline for a deal is now June 16. Ukraine is urging Russia to keep the price for natural gas supplies at a discount level agreed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s ousted President Viktor Yanukovych. After annexing the country’s Crimea region, Moscow raised the price it charges Ukraine for gas to $485.5 for 1,000 cubic meters in April, more than $200 above the price agreed between the two neighboring countries in late 2013. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Wednesday that the government had refused a $100 discount offered […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Cuadrilla Drilling Application Accepted by Lancashire Council

UK-focused shale gas firm Cuadrilla Resources is a step closer to beginning fracking operations in the northwest of England after Lancashire County Council formerly validated and accepted an application to drill in the county, the firm announced Wednesday. The planning application, to drill up to four shale gas exploration wells at Preston New Road, and its accompanying environmental statement is now accessible to the public. Cuadrilla said the environmental statement details the findings of an "extensive" environmental impact assessment of the sites, which was carried out by experts at independent consultant Arup. Arup Project Director Des Correia commented in a statement: "The work we’ve undertaken for both the environmental impact and environmental risk assessments has been tremendously comprehensive. We’ve been using best practice standards throughout our work and we’ve covered a full exploration life-cycle as well as considering cumulative impacts in both our scope and analysis work. “Our approach […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Cheap Oil is Gone Forever

Sixty years ago, a man stood in front of a crowd that had gathered at a small hotel in San Antonio. Minutes before approaching the podium, however, he was quietly ushered off the stage to take an urgent phone call. On the other end of the line was a PR rep for one of the largest oil companies in the world, begging him not to give his speech. Luckily, Dr. Marion King Hubbert wasn’t persuaded. He went on to deliver what was arguably the most important oil prediction since Edwin Drake first drilled a hole into the Pennsylvanian soil in search of salt brine. Essentially, Dr. Hubbert believed there would be a point in time when oil production in the U.S. would peak and begin to decline. Even though his work became the basis for the peak oil theory, far too many people haven’t realized that this isn’t a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Crude Rises Ahead of OPEC, EIA Data

Crude-oil futures remained supported in Asia Wednesday amid twin expectations of a fall in crude supplies in the U.S. and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries keeping its supply quota unchanged. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at $104.48 a barrel at 0505 GMT, up $0.13 in the Globex electronic session. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.22 to $109.74 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will publish its closely watched inventory survey, which is due at 1430 GMT. Analysts expect the EIA to report that supplies fell by 1.7 million barrels in the week ended June 6, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal. Expectations that crude supplies in the U.S. declined in the week to June 6 remains the key fundamental support for prices, Timothy Evans, energy futures specialist at Citigroup, said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

WTI Trades Near Three-Month High on U.S. Supplies; Brent Steady

West Texas Intermediate traded near the highest price in three months amid speculation that crude inventories fell for a second week in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London . Futures were little changed in New York after declining 0.1 percent yesterday. Crude stockpiles probably dropped by 2 million barrels last week to 387.5 million, a Bloomberg News survey shows before Energy Information Administration data today. OPEC nations representing 94 percent of the group’s output said they’re at ease with global supply and demand before a meeting in Vienna to decide on a collective production limit. “Oil has been boosted by an improved growth outlook in the U.S., but it’s being contained by high supply as we start to work into the driving season,” said Ric Spooner, a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney who predicts investors may sell West Texas contracts if […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

US crude stocks up 1.45 mil barrels last week, above expectations: API

US commercial crude stocks rose 1.45 million barrels to 383.91 million barrels in the reporting week that ended June 6, American Petroleum Institute data showed Tuesday. Analysts surveyed Monday had been expecting a 1.2 million-barrel draw. The unexpected build in stocks was likely a product of a 434,000 b/d decline in crude runs, which fell to 15.45 million b/d, according to API. This helped to cut refinery utilization rates by 2.1 percentage points to 87.8% of capacity. Analysts had been expecting a 0.5 percentage point decline. Runs on the US Gulf Coast fell 487,000 b/d to 7.62 million b/d, pushing utilization rates in that region 5.1 percentage points lower to 84.1% of capacity, according to the trade group. As a result, USGC crude stocks rose 1.95 million barrels to 204.65 million barrels. A 65,000 b/d fall in USGC imports to 3.08 million b/d also helped to limit the build. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

EIA Increases 2014 WTI Price Forecast to $98.67 a Barrel

The Energy Department increased its price forecasts for West Texas Intermediate crude for 2014, narrowing the U.S. benchmark’s discount to Brent. WTI will average $98.67 a barrel this year, the Energy Information Administration , the Energy Department’s statistical arm, said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook . That’s up from May’s estimate of $96.59. Brent, the North Sea-based grade, will reach $107.82, up from $106.26. WTI is estimated to trade at a discount of $9.15 to Brent, down from $9.67 in May. The WTI-Brent spread has averaged $6.66 in the second quarter, according to contracts traded on the London-based ICE Futures Europe, down from $9.41 in the January-March period. The gap narrowed as inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma , the delivery point for WTI futures, decreased and as refineries increased operating rates. The differential will widen to $11 next year, the EIA said. “We raised the Brent price forecast and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural-Gas Prices Dropping on Mild Weather and Technical Trading

Natural gas prices are dropping Tuesday on mild spring weather and technical traders looking to cash out on several days of gains. Natural gas for July delivery is down 5.9 cents, or 1.3%, at $4.586 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Weather forecasts are mild, the type of spring weather that’s too comfortable to drive gas demand for home heating or for the power plants that fuel air conditioners. That’s got technical traders pouncing, as they sell out to lock in gains from last week’s steady rise in prices, analysts and a trader said. It’s important they sell now before a federal data update due Thursday can show the types of large surpluses that could push prices even lower, analysts said. "It doesn’t take much in the way of mild temperature forecasts and you get quite a bit of profit-taking […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural gas buyers should have upper hand at time of abundance: IEA

With producers sitting on 200 years of gas reserves, it is the buyers who should have the upper hand in price negotiations with the sellers, International Energy Agency gas, coal and power division head Laszlo Varro said Tuesday. The global gas market has been distorted in the past few years by Japan’s need to run all its gas-fired plants at maximum to keep the lights on, he said. That has kept spot LNG prices high, with consequences for other markets that must compete with Asia. But in normal circumstances, gas has competition in most applications. Article continues below… International Gas Report International Gas Report is a biweekly report that intelligently analyzes what is happening in the natural gas industry, improving your vision and sharpening your competitive edge. Through its unrivalled network of global correspondents, it covers the whole gas chain, from the well-head to the burner tip, in Asia, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Short-Term Energy Outlook

Highlights North Sea Brent crude oil spot prices increased from a monthly average of $108/barrel (bbl) in April to $110/bbl in May. This was the 11th consecutive month in which the average Brent crude oil spot price fell within a relatively narrow range of $107/bbl to $112/bbl. The discount of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to Brent crude oil, which averaged more than $13/bbl from November through January, fell below $4/bbl in early April before increasing to an average of $7/bbl in May. EIA projects Brent crude oil prices to average $108/bbl in 2014 and $102/bbl in 2015 and the WTI discount to Brent to average $9/bbl and $11/bbl in 2014 and 2015, respectively During the April-through-September summer driving season this year, regular gasoline retail prices are forecast to average $3.62/gallon (gal), 4 cents higher than last year. The projected monthly national average regular gasoline retail price falls […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

OPEC Majority at Ease With Oil Markets Before Meeting

OPEC nations representing 94 percent of the group’s output said they were at ease with supply and demand in global oil markets before a meeting in Vienna today to decide on a collective production limit. Oil ministers from Angola , Ecuador , Kuwait and Venezuela all said they anticipated that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would roll over its existing ceiling of 30 million barrels a day. Saudi Arabia, Libya, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates said supply and demand are well matched. Iraq ’s minister said there were indications the limit would be retained, while his Iranian counterpart also expected no change. The 10 nations accounted for about 28.2 million barrels a day of output in May, while the group’s combined production amounted to about 30 million barrels, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Ministers from Algeria and Qatar declined to comment on the oil market or OPEC’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil prices rise on OPEC expectations, Iraq jitters

The price of oil rose on Wednesday ahead of an OPEC meeting in Europe that is expected to keep production levels steady for the year even as demand looks set to grow. Energy markets were also affected by al-Qaida-inspired militants overrunning much of the Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday. Mosul lies in an area that is a major gateway for Iraqi oil. Benchmark U.S. oil for July delivery was up 29 cents to $104.64 a barrel at 0820 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract fell 6 cents to close at $104.35. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, was up 35 cents to $109.22 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London. Wednesday’s meeting in Vienna of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is largely expected to keep its output target of 30 million barrels a day unchanged. Also adding […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Venezuela: OPEC to keep present output target

VIENNA (AP) — OPEC oil ministers are heading into a meeting with apparent agreement to keep unchanged their output target of 30 million barrels a day. Venezuelan oil minister Rafael Ramirez says there is "consensus" to keep the status quo. He spoke to reporters Wednesday as the ministers of the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries began their mid-year session on how much crude to pump in the coming months. The decision was expected. The International Energy Agency, oil consultant to major consuming countries, sees short-term demand rising. But many OPEC members are at their production capacity limits, and there are other problems. Iran’s exports are crimped by sanctions, for instance, while domestic turmoil is crippling Libyan output. But OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia has the ability to make up for any shortage.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Air strikes hit Benghazi

Air strikes have hit three areas of the Libyan city of Benghazi, shortly after reports emerged of a ceasefire deal between former general Khalifa Haftar and a government crisis committee. The strikes on Tuesday took place in the western part of the city, which has been targeted in the past by troops loyal to Haftar.  Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Tripoli, said that the airstrikes lasted for at least thirty minutes. A source close to the armed group Ansar al-Sharia told Al Jazeera that the group had given Haftar supporters 72 hours, ending Tuesday, to leave the Benina area of Benghazi, close to the airport. Earlier, sources in the Government Crisis Managing Committee, which includes tribal elders, the minister of justice and various brigades in Benghazi, told Al Jazeera that a truce deal had been reached with Haftar, a claim denied by Mohamed Hejazi, Haftar’s spokesperson. However, Reuters quoted Hejazi saying […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Hitting Bottom: The Maliki Scorecard in Iraq

Hitting Bottom: The Maliki Scorecard in Iraq Iraq is on the edge of civil war, and its election does not seem to offer any clear prospect of producing national unity or an effective leader. As a result, there is natural focus on Iraq’s growing violence and political divisions, but this is only part of the story. The Burke Chair has already addressed these issue in depth in a book length report called Iraq in Crisis which is available on the CSIS web site at http://csis.org/files/publication/Iraq%20Book_21_April_2014%20(reduced%20size).pdf .   Violence and politics, however, are only part of Iraq’s story. Anyone seeking to understand the outcome of the Iraqi election and the role Prime Minister Maliki has played to date also needs to understand the trends in governance and economics, and just how serious the other challenges Iraq faces really are. The Burke Chair has developed a summary report on these challenges […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Tanker loaded with Kurdish oil off Turkish coast

Maritime shipping data show an oil tanker, United Emblem, left the Turkish port of Ceyhan loaded with a cargo of oil taken from the Kurdish north of Iraq. Data show United Emblem , a Greek-flagged oil tanker, arrived Sunday at the Turkish seaport and left just over 24 hours later. It’s the second confirmed shipment of Kurdish oil since United Leadership left the Turkish port loaded with more than 1 million barrels in late May. As of Tuesday, United Emblem was headed west and was south of the Turkish peninsula of Teke. United Leadership is parked off the coast of Morocco. Authorities there told the vessel to leave its territorial waters earlier this week. Oil from the Kurdish north of Iraq was sent to storage tanks in Ceyhan before exports began in May. The central government in Baghdad has complained to international arbiters the exports are a violation of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Militants Overrun Iraq's Second-Largest City as Government Forces Flee

The Iraqi government declared a state of emergency Tuesday as al Qaeda-linked militants from ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, violently seized control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. Via The Foreign Bureau, WSJ’s global news update. BAGHDAD—Islamist insurgents seized control of Iraq’s second-largest city on Tuesday in a brazen military operation that underscored the weakness of the central government across vast swaths of the country. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a nationwide "state of maximum preparedness" after government forces fled Mosul in disarray following four days of fighting. He asked parliament to declare a state of emergency. But he didn’t say whether military forces were mobilizing to retake the city, 220 miles north of the capital, Baghdad. By nightfall, the militants were still expanding their territorial conquests. Local security forces said the fighters had taken over territory in the neighboring province of Kirkuk to the east […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Militants Overrun Iraq’s Second-Largest City as Government Forces Flee

The Iraqi government declared a state of emergency Tuesday as al Qaeda-linked militants from ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, violently seized control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. Via The Foreign Bureau, WSJ’s global news update. BAGHDAD—Islamist insurgents seized control of Iraq’s second-largest city on Tuesday in a brazen military operation that underscored the weakness of the central government across vast swaths of the country. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a nationwide "state of maximum preparedness" after government forces fled Mosul in disarray following four days of fighting. He asked parliament to declare a state of emergency. But he didn’t say whether military forces were mobilizing to retake the city, 220 miles north of the capital, Baghdad. By nightfall, the militants were still expanding their territorial conquests. Local security forces said the fighters had taken over territory in the neighboring province of Kirkuk to the east […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Sunni Militants Drive Iraqi Army Out of Mosul

Sunni militants spilling over the border from Syria on Tuesday seized control of the northern city of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest, in the most stunning success yet in a rapidly widening insurgency that threatens to drag the region into war. Having consolidated control over Sunni-dominated Nineveh Province, armed gunmen were heading on the main road to Baghdad, Iraqi officials said, and had already taken over parts of Salahuddin Province. Thousands of civilians fled south toward Baghdad and east toward the autonomous region of Kurdistan, where security is maintained by a fiercely loyal army, the pesh merga. The Iraqi Army apparently crumbled in the face of the militant assault, as soldiers dropped their weapons, shed their uniforms for civilian clothes and blended in with the fleeing masses. The militants freed thousands of prisoners and took over military bases, police stations, banks and provincial headquarters, before raising the black […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Exhausted and Bereft, Iraqi Soldiers Quit Fight

The infantryman and his colleagues were already worn down after six months of fighting militants in western Iraq, men flush with weapons and zeal. Army commanders had no answer for the daily deadly ambushes and no broader strategy for prevailing in the longer war. The final straw was the death of a friend, killed two weeks ago by a sniper’s bullet. The infantryman, Bashar al-Halbousi, deserted, making the same choice as hundreds of other soldiers in his battalion, he said. “The state is weak,” Mr. Halbousi said. “This will be an endless battle.” After months of grinding conflict against a resurgent militant movement, the Iraqi Army is having its power blunted by a rise in desertions, turning the tide of the war and fragmenting an institution, trained and funded by the United States, that some hoped would provide Iraqis a common sense of citizenship. In a nation […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iraq crisis: Islamists force 500,000 to flee Mosul

t "Vital areas" of the city of Mosul have been seized, Iraq’s prime minister said Continue reading the main story As many as 500,000 people have been forced to flee the Iraqi city of Mosul after Islamist militants effectively took control of it, the International Organization for Migration says. Troops were among those fleeing as hundreds of jihadists from the ISIS group overran the city and much of the surrounding province of Nineveh. ISIS has now reportedly taken Baiji, home to Iraq’s largest oil refinery. PM Nouri Maliki has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency. The US said the development showed ISIS was a threat to the entire region. ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is also known as ISIL – is an offshoot of al-Qaeda. It now controls considerable territory in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

ISIS closing in on Baiji and energy infrastructure

ISIS closing in on Baiji and energy infrastructure The al-Qaida splinter group Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is moving on the Baiji refinery and other energy infrastructure, one facet of a coordinated campaign that has seen it take over the city of Mosul entirely while spreading thin remaining Iraqi security forces, many of which abandoned post in Mosul and other areas on Tuesday. Successfully taking over Baiji, Iraq’s largest and frequently attacked refinery, would be a harrowing coup for ISIS and its allied insurgent and tribal f… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iraq government in post-election gridlock as al-Maliki stays put

The result of April’s Iraqi parliament election may have been announced in mid-May, but there is still no sign of compromise among the deeply divided parties and blocs. Many of prime minister Nouri al-Maliki’s critics were expecting his State of Law coalition, an offshoot of the Shiite al-Daawa Party, to lose its parliamentary majority. His previous Shiite allies and today’s opponents are to form a coalition to oppose a third term for al-Maliki, who has been ruling since 2005. But al-Maliki’s opponents were disappointed. In the polls, his list still won far more seats in the forthcoming parliament than any other – but with only 92 out of 328, still came far short of anything like a majority. This forced them into another round of fraught negotiations to cobble together a coalition, just as in 2010 – and just as in 2010, it is proving to be a long […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China's Sinopec Doubles Oil Output At Iranian Project-Sources

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. , or Sinopec, has doubled production at its Iranian oil project, according to people familiar with the matter, a rare success as the country struggles to revive its flagging oil output. The push is part of a broader attempt by China and Iran to mend fences after the cancellation of a $2.5 billion oil-field deal with another Chinese state-owned giant, China National Petroleum Corp. Production at the Sinopec-run Yadvaran project, near the Iraqi border, has increased to about 50,000 barrels a day from 25,000 barrels a day in early April, the people said. Sinopec didn’t responded to repeated requests for comment. Sinopec is also pushing to start a new phase to boost output to 135,000 barrels a day, people familiar with the matter said. The increase will be welcomed by Iran where production has been heavily hit by international sanctions. Iranian crude output […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China’s Sinopec Doubles Oil Output At Iranian Project-Sources

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. , or Sinopec, has doubled production at its Iranian oil project, according to people familiar with the matter, a rare success as the country struggles to revive its flagging oil output. The push is part of a broader attempt by China and Iran to mend fences after the cancellation of a $2.5 billion oil-field deal with another Chinese state-owned giant, China National Petroleum Corp. Production at the Sinopec-run Yadvaran project, near the Iraqi border, has increased to about 50,000 barrels a day from 25,000 barrels a day in early April, the people said. Sinopec didn’t responded to repeated requests for comment. Sinopec is also pushing to start a new phase to boost output to 135,000 barrels a day, people familiar with the matter said. The increase will be welcomed by Iran where production has been heavily hit by international sanctions. Iranian crude output […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Production at Kazakhstan's Kashagan Oil Field Halted Until 2016

The full moon rises in the background over an oil rig at the Kashagan offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan. Reuters Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan oil field, one of the world’s largest industrial projects, won’t produce any oil until at least 2016 while workers battle against the hostile Caspian Sea to complete massive repairs, according to people familiar with the matter. The project’s partners, which include Eni SpA, Total SA, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp. , have concluded they must entirely replace two 55-mile pipelines before they can restart production, the people said. Replacing the two pipelines connecting an offshore artificial island to onshore facilities is estimated to cost "a few billion dollars," they said. The latest delay is a blow to the Kazakh government, which had based its economic forecasts on revenue from the Caspian Sea oil field, where output was expected […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Production at Kazakhstan’s Kashagan Oil Field Halted Until 2016

The full moon rises in the background over an oil rig at the Kashagan offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan. Reuters Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan oil field, one of the world’s largest industrial projects, won’t produce any oil until at least 2016 while workers battle against the hostile Caspian Sea to complete massive repairs, according to people familiar with the matter. The project’s partners, which include Eni SpA, Total SA, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp. , have concluded they must entirely replace two 55-mile pipelines before they can restart production, the people said. Replacing the two pipelines connecting an offshore artificial island to onshore facilities is estimated to cost "a few billion dollars," they said. The latest delay is a blow to the Kazakh government, which had based its economic forecasts on revenue from the Caspian Sea oil field, where output was expected […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

MOL makes big oil find in Pakistan

Hungarian energy company MOL said Tuesday it made an oil discovery in an area in Pakistan close to estimated reserves of 22 million barrels. MOL, though the Ghauri joint venture, said it made an oil discovery at the Ghauri X-1 well in Punjab province in Pakistan . It reached a total test flow rate of 5,500 barrels per day and the Hungarian group said initial estimates of the oil in place could be significant. In the vicinity, the company said , the estimate of reserves in place is 22 million barrels. Oil production from the site could come on stream as early as this month. The Pakistani Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said total oil production from 2012-13 averaged just over 70,000 bpd. The government says it needs to explore, develop and exploit its petroleum resources in order to rely less on foreign supplies to meet its energy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Offshore Tunisia eyed for new oil campaign

Circle Oil, an Irish exploration company with a focus on the Middle East, said it started an offshore drilling campaign in Tunisia, its first. The company said it started drilling operations in the offshore reserves of the El Mediouni-1 exploration well. The company said the well is located in areas already producing oil and natural gas. Its primary target is dubbed the Birsa Sands. Circle Oil said Monday it estimates there may be as much as 46 million barrels of oil in the prospect, which it says is "substantially larger" than the recoverable commercial threshold of 10 million barrels of oil. Drilling operations in the company’s first-ever offshore well should take as long as seven weeks, it said. Tunisian oil production has declined steadily since reaching a peak of 120,000 barrels of oil per day. A 2014 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates Tunisia has "significant" formations […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Icon of Egypt's 2011 revolt sentenced to 15 years

A court on Wednesday convicted a prominent activist from Egypt’s 2011 uprising for demonstrating without permit and assaulting a policeman, sentencing him to 15 years in prison. The sentence against Alaa Abdel-Fattah is by far the toughest against any of the liberal, pro-democracy activists behind the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak’s 29-year regime. It is also the first conviction of a prominent activist since former army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi took office as president on Sunday. In the 11 months since el-Sissi ousted the country’s first freely elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi, authorities have launched a massive crackdown on Islamists, detaining at least 16,000 and killing hundreds. That crackdown has overshadowed another, albeit smaller, campaign against secular activists opposed to what they see as the return of Mubarak-era policies. Security officials said that while Abdel-Fattah was convicted and sentenced in absentia, he did turn […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Icon of Egypt’s 2011 revolt sentenced to 15 years

A court on Wednesday convicted a prominent activist from Egypt’s 2011 uprising for demonstrating without permit and assaulting a policeman, sentencing him to 15 years in prison. The sentence against Alaa Abdel-Fattah is by far the toughest against any of the liberal, pro-democracy activists behind the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak’s 29-year regime. It is also the first conviction of a prominent activist since former army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi took office as president on Sunday. In the 11 months since el-Sissi ousted the country’s first freely elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi, authorities have launched a massive crackdown on Islamists, detaining at least 16,000 and killing hundreds. That crackdown has overshadowed another, albeit smaller, campaign against secular activists opposed to what they see as the return of Mubarak-era policies. Security officials said that while Abdel-Fattah was convicted and sentenced in absentia, he did turn […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

East African Energy-Boom Investments Take Focus in Budgets

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania plan to allocate money in their annual budgets to spur investment in infrastructure to exploit oil and natural gas from deposits that companies including Tullow Oil Plc (TLW) are developing. Ugandan and Kenyan oil discoveries, made in 2006 and 2012 respectively, and new gas finds off the coast of Tanzania that have boosted reserves to as much as 46 trillion cubic feet have seen East Africa become a frontier for petroleum exploration. The three countries, along with Rwanda, which are all members of the East African Community , will tomorrow present their budget statements for the financial year starting July 1. “If there is one thing most EAC partner states agree upon it’s infrastructural development,” Ahmed Salim, a senior associate based in Dubai for research consultancy Teneo Intelligence, said in an e-mailed response to questions. State spending will go toward “development of their respective extractive […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple