U.S., Iran Relations Move to Détente
The Obama administration and Iran, engaged in direct nuclear negotiations and facing a common threat from Islamic State militants, have moved into an effective state of détente over the past Continue Reading
Oil Gives Kurds a Path to Independence, and Conflict With Baghdad
KIRKUK, Iraq — Roughly two dozen huge oil tankers are idly turning figure eights around the Mediterranean or on the high seas, loaded with oil pumped from wells in Iraqi Kurdistan but with nowhere to legally offload it. The oil fleet is a costly gamble, to the tune of millions in fees each month, by Kurdish officials who are desperately trying to sell the oil abroad, even as the Iraqi government and the United States are blocking their attempts. To Iraqi officials, the tankers are carrying contraband — oil that by law should be marketed only by the Iraqi Oil Ministry, with the profits split: 83 percent for the Baghdad government, 17 percent for the Kurdish autonomous government in the north. Fearing that Iraqi Kurdistan will use oil profits to fuel a bid for independence, the Iraqi government has threatened to sue any country or company that buys Kurdish […]
Iranians Hope for Nuclear Deal With West to Kick-Start Economy
TEHRAN — Mohammad Heydarian, an Iranian contractor, still has work finishing off a single-family home. But things look bleak after that, he said. He has already fired his workers, and is struggling to make ends meet, providing for his wife and two teenage children. “My life became a fight trying to prevent regression, but I lost,” said Mr. Heydarian, 46. For more than a year, President Hassan Rouhani has been dangling the prospect of a bright economic future before the middle classes that elected him, promising to complete a deal with the West to limit Iran’s nuclear program and end the sanctions hobbling the Iranian economy. While the deadline of Nov. 24 is fast approaching, it is far from clear whether the two camps will agree on a pact. What seems certain, analysts say, is that with oil prices falling seemingly daily — and projected to drop even further […]
Noble gas output from Israel up 21 percent
Houston-based energy explorer Noble Energy sees output growing from Israeli offshore gas basins. (File/UPI/A.J. Sisco) HOUSTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) — Energy explorer Noble Energy said Tuesday production during the third quarter soared because of advancements off the coast of Israel. Noble, a partner in the development of the Tamar and Leviathan gas basins, said gas sales volumes from its Israeli assets were up 21 percent from the second quarter and up 3 percent year-on-year. Tamar managing partners Noble and Israel’s Delek Group estimate the field holds as much as 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Last week, they said they were negotiating the sale of at least 175 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year over the next three years with Egyptian buyer Dolphinus Holdings Ltd. During the third quarter, the company said the "debottlenecking" of Tamar facilities led to a peak product of more than 1.1 […]
Algeria Bucks OPEC-Discount Trend With Venezuela Oil Sale
Algeria raised its oil price for November to the highest in five months after adding fellow OPEC member Venezuela , holder of the world’s largest crude reserves, to the list of its mostly European customers. The North African country will sell its Saharan Blend crude at a premium of 70 cents a barrel to Dated Brent, the North Sea benchmark, according to a price list obtained by Bloomberg. That’s the highest level since June and an increase from 20 cents in October. The first supertanker of Algerian crude arrived in Venezuela on Oct. 25, according to ship tracking data. “It’s primarily due to its sales to Venezuela” that Algeria has been able to raise premiums, Amrita Sen, chief oil market analyst at Energy Aspects in London , said by e-mail today. “Otherwise demand for light crudes has been super weak.” The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ biggest producers, including […]
Nigeria: Govt Insists On Fuel Subsidy Removal
Related Topics Nigeria Nigeria: Synagogue Victims Died of Crush Inju… Petroleum Nigeria: NASS, FG Disagree Over N1.2 Trillion… Ads by Google WORRIED about the slow growth of the downstream oil and gas sector due to what it considered as a result of the regulated regime in the industry, the Federal Government yesterday stressed the need to eliminate price subsidy and stimulate competition. Besides, the country’s downstream sector requires investments of about $20 billion (N3.2 trillion) yearly to support the sector. This came as the House of Representatives assured stakeholders that the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be passed into law before May 2015. The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who spoke at the ongoing eighth oil trading expo in Lagos, said that to provide a competitive market environment and sustain supply, the downstream sector should be fully deregulated. According to her, more investments in the sector will […]
Mexico’s State-Owned Oil Giant, Pemex, Is in Uncharted Waters
LA MURALLA IV, Gulf of Mexico — The computer screens lining the bubblelike control room on this giant floating platform monitor pressure levels in a narrow shaft cut through bedrock to a reservoir of valuable natural gas three miles below sea level. For six months, an international team hired by a contractor for Petróleos Mexicanos, Mexico’s state-owned oil monopoly, has been drilling an exploratory well here. Now, the work is nearly done. Drill pipes are stacked like sentries. An underwater robot has been pulled back up from the deep seafloor. A wireline sensor is gathering data to determine how much oil and gas lie below. An operation like this would attract little attention in the northern part of the gulf, where dozens of deepwater platforms are part of the mosaic fueling America’s energy boom. On the Mexican side, though, the search is just beginning . Pemex is counting on […]
Pirates Target Oil Tankers in Asia Trade Route as Attacks Climb
Hijackings of small oil tankers by armed gangs are increasing in Southeast Asia , home to the shortest sea-trade route between the Middle East and China, even as pirate attacks globally fell for a third year. Five of the six vessels seized worldwide in the third quarter were in Southeast Asia , said the International Maritime Bureau and International Chamber of Commerce . There’s been 178 global piracy incidents so far this year, down from 352 in 2011, they said in an e-mailed report today. Gangs of thieves armed with knives and guns are making Southeast Asian waters increasingly dangerous for small tankers carrying fuels such as gasoil or marine diesel, according to the report. The region includes the Malacca Strait connecting the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the Pacific that’s been described by the U.S. Energy Information Administration as one of the world’s “most strategic […]
World Bank: China needs reform, not growth targets
AP Photo/Andy Wong BEIJING (AP) — China’s growth could decline to close to 7 percent next year but Beijing should focus on overhauling its economy instead of trying to stick to official growth targets, the World Bank said Wednesday. To avoid a sharper slowdown, Beijing needs to promote competition and efficiency by reforming its labor and real estate markets and its state-run financial system, the Washington-based lender said in a report. Trying to stick to short-term official targets might set that back by prompting officials to pump credit into the economy and disrupt the development of markets, said the report’s chief author, economist Karlis Smits. "The policy focus should be on reforms rather than on meeting specific growth targets," said Smits at a news conference. The World Bank report adds to urging by reform advocates who say the government of President Xi Jinping needs to move ahead with ambitious […]
Inflated exports cast doubt on Chinese trade outlook
This picture taken on March 7, 2014 shows a man working in Qingdao port in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong province. China recorded an unexpected trade deficit of 22.98 billion USD in February, official figures showed on March 8, with authorities blaming the country’s holiday season for the weak performance. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) ©AFP Inflated Chinese export data are back. The ruse of puffed-up export invoices to convert extra foreign currency into renminbi is on the rise again, casting doubt on recent strong export data. Chinese exports hit a high of $214bn in September, well ahead of forecasts. Growth of 15.3 per cent from a year earlier was also the swiftest pace in 20 months. That looked like good news for an economy where fixed-asset investment, traditionally the biggest growth driver, is slowing on the back of a weak property market. But economists […]