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Iran, Russia embrace over energy

There are few barriers in the way of expanded ties in the energy sectors of Iran and Russia, officials said during bilateral meetings in Tehran. Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian hosted Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak for a two-day summit concluding Tuesday in Tehran. Both sides already cooperate in a variety of fields, with Russia supplying fuel for Iran’s nuclear reactor at Bushehr. The Iranian minister said Russia agreed to help build four new conventional power plants in Iran. The new facilities could add as much as 3,500 megawatts of electricity to the Iranian grid. Russian officials during the summit said energy is an "instrumental" part of the bilateral relationship with Iran. Western governments have expressed concern over the possibility that Iran was working on an oil-for-goods swap deal with Russia. Iran is the target of Western sanctions imposed in response to a controversial nuclear program, while Russia’s energy […]

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Powerful blast kills 28 rebel leaders in Syria

DAMASCUS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) — At least 28 Syrian rebel leaders of a same group were killed on Tuesday when a powerful blast targeted their gathering place in the northwestern province of Idlib, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The slain rebels were leaders of the Ahrar al-Sham militant group. A booby-trapped car ripped through their meeting place in the town of Ram Hamdan in the countryside of Idlib, the report said. Other reports said the main leader of Ahrar al-Sham, Hassan Aboud, who also goes by the nom de guerre of Abu Abdullah al-Hamwi, was also killed in the deadly blast. The opposition activists have so far stopped short of identifying the party behind the blast, even though it’s likely part of the rebel-on-rebel infighting that has raged in recent months of the crisis. Ahrar al-Sham is a coalition of Islamist and Salafist units which formed […]

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Fragile Iraqi Government Faces Sunni Demands for Reforms

BAGHDAD—Iraq’s fragile new government, forged under substantial U.S. pressure, could break apart if it fails to quickly meet the demands of the restive Sunni minority, representatives of the group said Tuesday. The disgruntled Sunni and Kurdish minorities have reluctantly thrown their support behind Shiite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose cabinet was approved by parliament late Monday. The slate of ministers has drawn the loudest protests from local leaders in Sunni-majority provinces now occupied by the extremist group Islamic State. These leaders, many of whom the Obama administration hopes to bring on side to confront the insurgents, said they would offer little support to Baghdad unless the new government makes real changes. Among their demands are the release of thousands of Sunni prisoners held on terror charges that human-rights groups said are dubious; the repeal of laws barring supporters of the Saddam Hussein regime from politics; and greater representation in […]

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Official: Fighting in Iraq delays Iran gas exports

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s oil minister says the fighting between Iraqi troops and Islamic State militants will delay the planned start of natural gas exports to neighboring Iraq. Bijan Zanganeh is quoted on the ministry’s official website on Wednesday as saying that the "upheaval in Iraq is postponing the exports." The pipeline, which is still under construction on the Iraqi side, goes partly through territory controlled by the Islamic State group. Pipeline workers, mainly Iranians, have come under attack several times, especially in Diyala province, which has disrupted work. It’s unclear when the new gas pipeline will be finished or when it will go on line. Under a 2012 agreement, Iran was to start exporting gas to Iraq in 2014 through the new pipeline, which is to feed three power plants in Iraq.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China Deploys Troops in South Sudan to Defend Oil Fields, Workers

United Nations peacekeepers secure a section of Juba airport in South Sudan on Aug. 12. China has deployed soldiers to South Sudan to protect Chinese workers. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images KAMPALA, Uganda—China began deploying 700 soldiers to a United Nations peacekeeping force in South Sudan to help guard the country’s embattled oil fields and protect Chinese workers and installations, a spokesman for the African nation’s president said Tuesday. The airlift of the Chinese infantry battalion to the South Sudanese states of Unity and Upper Nile, the site of the only operating oil fields still under the control of the central government in Juba, was expected to take several days, spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said. While Beijing’s troops will operate under U.N. command, their posting to South Sudan marks a sharp escalation of China’s efforts to ensure the safety of its workers and assets in Africa and guarantee a steady flow […]

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Nigeria Oil Theft At Highest Level in Years

press release Nigeria is facing its worst oil crisis in years, as the country is losing billions of dollars due to theft. In Southern Ijaw in Bayelsa State, Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh follows an oil theft arrest and the destruction of multiple illegal refineries for stolen crude. "Despite these efforts, oil theft in Nigeria is at its highest levels in five years since the government gave amnesty to former rebels in the area," she says. "The government says eight billion dollars in revenue were lost in ‘industrial-scale’ theft last year and multinational oil giants have started reducing their on-shore presence here, selling off fields as a result of the theft." She also speaks to illegal oil workers, who say they have no other potential form of income, and to activist Nengi James, who blames the government for not doing enough to secure the pipeline infrastructure and prosecute suspects. "Despite […]

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IEO2014: World liquid fuels consumption to rise 38% by 2040

HOUSTON, Sept. 9 09/09/2014 In the 2014 edition of its International Energy Outlook (IEO2014), the US Energy Information Administration projected world liquid fuels consumption to rise 38% by 2040. The agency also pointed out that world markets for petroleum and other liquid fuels have entered a period of dynamic change—in supply and demand. “The potential for growth in demand for liquid fuels is focused on the emerging economies of China, India, and the Middle East, while liquid fuels demand in the US, Europe, and other regions with well-established oil markets seems to have peaked,” EIA said. In countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, demand growth has moderated as key economies, including China, India, and Brazil, have seen slower economic growth and correspondingly slower growth in liquids demand compared with the past 2 decades. Liquids consumption among OECD countries, which reached a peak of 50 million b/d […]

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Expansion of Panama Canal expected to open in 2016

MADRID (AP) — Panama’s president says the major expansion of the Panama Canal will be completed in time to open for business in the beginning of 2016. The project is expected to be finished in December 2015, and President Juan Carlos Varela says it will open early the following year, despite construction setbacks. A dispute with the European consortium that is expanding the canal led to a two-week work stoppage earlier this year. Varela said Tuesday in Spain that Panama is working closely with Madrid and with Spanish company Sacyr, which is leading the consortium. The $5.25 billion project aims to reduce congestion and expand capacity. The new channel will be able to accommodate ships with twice the cargo capability of vessels that currently traverse the existing canal.

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Petrobras Seeking Access to Former Executive’s Testimony

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR) requested access to a former executive’s allegations of a kickback scheme involving the state-run oil producer in a scandal that threatens to influence the outcome of presidential elections. Petrobras, as the Rio de Janeiro-based company is known, asked the judge investigating the so-called Car Wash money-laundering case for details of testimony given by former refining head Paulo Roberto Costa, it said yesterday in a statement. The oil producer also wrote to companies cited by Brazilian press as allegedly involved in kickbacks, Petrobras said, without identifying them. Veja magazine reported over the weekend that a group of more than 30 politicians, including members and allies of President Dilma Rousseff’s Workers’ Party, allegedly received bribes linked to Petrobras contracts. The Sao Paulo-based magazine said the list of names was given by Costa during testimony to the federal public prosecutor. Costa, who is in jail as the police […]

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BofA Sees Deficit Risk on Oil as Auctions Vanish: Russia Credit

Oil falling below $100 a barrel for the first time in 15 months is a signal that Russia can’t stay out of the bond market indefinitely after the Finance Ministry canceled its eighth auction in a row. Crude dropped to $98.96 in London today, what would be the weakest level on a closing basis since April 17 last year and a 12 percent retreat in the third quarter. Ruble-denominated debt handed investors the biggest loss in the period in dollar terms among 31 emerging markets monitored by Bloomberg . With no auctions since mid-July, a steeper decline in Russia’s main export earner could flip the nation’s $19 billion budget surplus into a deficit by year-end, according to Bank of America Corp. U.S. and European Union sanctions over Ukraine drove 10-year ruble borrowing costs 120 basis points higher since June. That compares with a 66 basis-point drop in Brazilian yields. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple