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France Senses Momentum In Iran Nuclear Talks

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, pictured with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (right) in… ENLARGE French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, pictured with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (right) in Vienna Sunday, is upbeat about the prospects about a deal with Iran over its nuclear program after the latest talks in the Austrian capital. Associated Press PARIS–The latest round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear activities made progress on the delicate issue of how much enriched uranium Tehran should be allowed to produce, France’s foreign minister said Tuesday. France’s top diplomat Laurent Fabius said the U.S., France and other world powers were making some headway in persuading Tehran to roll back parts of the infrastructure that it has in place to process uranium into nuclear fuel. Western countries fear such supplies could be used to make nuclear weapons while Tehran says its nuclear program is solely for civil–not military–purposes. […]

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Iran Reaps Less Cash From Eased Sanctions Than Predicted

With world powers unable so far to win Iran ’s agreement to curb its nuclear program, members of both parties in the new Republican-led U.S. Congress will push in January for more economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic. As the nuclear negotiations continue for an additional seven months, Iran has been promised that it will continue to enjoy limited relief from the existing U.S. sanctions in exchange for continuing to curtail its nuclear efforts under an interim accord signed a year ago yesterday. That sanctions relief has been less valuable to Iran than U.S. officials anticipated, according to figures declassified by the Obama administration in response to requests from Bloomberg News. They indicate that Iran’s direct benefit in cash and non-oil exports in the first six months of this year was about $2 billion less than the administration predicted — $4.6 billion instead of as much as $7 billion, […]

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Iran Agrees to Cooperate With Russia on Oil Market, Shana Says

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed to cooperate with Russia to support oil markets in a phone conversation with that country’s leader Vladimir Putin , according to Shana, the Iran oil ministry’s news service. Rouhani and Putin “agreed on necessary cooperation” to shore up crude prices during the call yesterday evening, Shana said. The report provided no details of what the two presidents agreed on or whether they would take joint action. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet Nov. 27 to decide how to respond to the slide in crude prices and whether to cut production. Brent crude , the European oil benchmark, dropped into a bear market last month after falling more than 20 percent from its high for the year in June. Declining prices are hurting oil exporters including Iran, OPEC’s fifth-biggest producer, and Russia, the world’s second-largest supplier, after Saudi Arabia . OPEC officials are […]

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Genel CEO Sees Merger Shakeout Among Kurdistan Oil Producers

The number of oil producers in Kurdistan will slump by three-quarters in five years with the biggest in the industry taking control in the region, according to Genel Energy Plc (GENL) Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward. “It’s likely that we’ll end up with, perhaps, five or six of the largest companies operating, with Genel, Exxon, Chevron ending up as major operators,” Hayward said in a Nov. 21 interview during the Atlantic Council conference in Istanbul. “It’s what happens in most hydrocarbon provinces.” ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) , Chevron Corp. (CVX) and DNO ASA (DNO) of Norway are among more than two dozen international oil companies with a combined 35 licenses in the Kurdish Regional Government area. The companies export about 350,000 barrels a day of crude, pumping it through a Turkish pipeline to the Mediterranean. Genel has spent more than $1 billion since 2012 on acquisitions in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq […]

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IMF says Egypt’s economy starting to recover

CAIRO (AP) — An International Monetary Fund official says that Egypt’s economy has begun to recover after four years of slow activity. The statement from Chris Jarvis late Tuesday followed an IMF delegation visit to Egypt for a long-delayed assessment of the economy. He says that Egyptian authorities "have set appropriate economic objectives." The IMF says it projects Egypt’s growth to reach 3.8 percent in the fiscal year 2014/15, in line with the government’s own stated goals. Egypt’s growth rate has been hovering at around 2 percent since the country’s 2011 revolt. Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian has said he hopes the resumption of consultations with the IMF will help restore confidence in the economy. The government aims to attract investment by hosting a three-day international economic conference in March.

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Morocco emerging as strong oil frontier

Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum maintains commitment to exploring frontier oil and gas territory off the coast of Morocco. (UPI/Shutterstock/num_skyman) PERTH, Australia, Nov. 26 (UPI) — Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum said Wednesday it was stepping further into frontier territory with an exploration deal offshore Morocco. Woodside said it will explore a block known as the Rabat Ultra Deep Offshore area, where waters range in depth from 1 mile to more than 2.5 miles deep. The block is located adjacent to a similar deepwater license area, in which Woodside already holds a 25 percent stake. Under the terms of a 1-year commitment, Woodside said it would conduct a seismic survey of the region to get a better understanding of the reserve potential offshore Morocco. Morocco is one of the West African countries that have drawn interest from international energy companies eager to tap into unexploited reserves. Scottish energy company […]

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Pakistan looks for exit door with Iranian gas pipeline

Pakistan implies it’s looking for exit door from gas project Iran once dubbed the Peace Pipeline. UPI/Hamid Forotan ISLAMABAD, Nov. 25 (UPI) — The Pakistani government has invoked force majeure on an agreement to build a cross-border gas pipeline with Iran, a ministry official said Tuesday. A senior official inside the Pakistani Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources told the Pakistan Observer the government in Islamabad wanted to avoid litigation because of its decision to back away from a pipeline clouded by U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector. "We have stepped up our efforts to get the gas deal changed and are in touch with authorities concerned in Iran and hopeful to get to result oriented talks some time in next month to resolve the issue amicably," he said. Once dubbed the Peace Pipeline, Iran aims to establish a new natural gas route eastward with its cross-border pipeline to […]

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China Committed to Cutting Coal Consumption But Needs New Technologies

BEIJING—China is committed to sharply limiting its coal consumption but needs new clean technologies before demand can peak, its top climate negotiator said Tuesday. Xie Zhenhua, the vice chairman of China’s top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, said at media briefing Tuesday that China was swiftly moving to replace coal consumption with lower-emission alternatives such as natural gas, hydropower and nuclear power. But he declined to give a date by which Chinese coal demand would level off, saying that hinged on China’s ability to overcome technological challenges related to cleaner and renewable energy sources. China aims to make coal the source of 62% of total energy consumption by 2020, down from around 66% last year. Reaching a peak in China’s coal demand “depends upon on technology,” said Mr. Xie. He cited technology issues ranging from the rollout of renewable energy sources such as wind and […]

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Why a small North Dakota town is taking on Big Rail

ENDERLIN, N.D. (Reuters) – After her shift at the TraXside Cafe in the southeast North Dakota hamlet of Enderlin, all Karla Souer wants to do is go home. Unfortunately for the 38-year-old waitress the commute, which should only last a minute or two, can take a half-an-hour. That’s because, chances are, there’s a Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd train blocking the tracks somewhere on her route. She has a lot of company. Partly thanks to North Dakota’s energy boom, twenty-eight of the railroad’s trains now traverse the city every day. Each carry hundreds of tank cars filled with oil or grain. Some idle as long as four hours, inconveniencing motorists, stranding pedestrians and posing logistical challenges for ambulances and firefighters. Desperate for a solution, Enderlin’s city councilors last month banned train breaks longer than 10 minutes. The railroad has, in turn, sued the city of nearly 900 in federal court. […]

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Oil Boom Triggering Cowboy Shortage Across Canada

There’s been a lot of attention paid to how Canada ’s oil boom has helped make gasoline cheaper. What many people may not realize is that the boom is also driving up the prices they pay for burgers and steaks. Surging energy investment in Prairie Provinces, home to most of the nation’s farms and cattle ranches, has boosted domestic crude output to a record and sent pump prices to a three-year low. That’s led to jobs on drilling rigs or pipe crews paying two-thirds more than those in livestock, luring cowboys and beef-plant workers to the oil patch. The labor shortage is squeezing a cattle industry already diminished over the past decade by mad cow disease, drought and floods. The herd in Canada, the world’s eighth-largest beef exporter, is the smallest in 21 years. Beef supplies are so tight that Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) is importing more meat from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple