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Negotiators Weigh Plan to Phase Out Nuclear Limits on Iran

GENEVA — Iranian and American officials ended a round of high-level nuclear talks here on Monday considering a proposal that would strictly limit, for at least 10 years, Iran ’s ability to produce nuclear material, but gradually ease restrictions on Tehran in the final years of any deal. The proposed phasing out of restrictions is part of a broader effort to mollify critics in Tehran, where some hard-liners in the government and the military oppose any deal that would force Iran to forsake nuclear production for a generation, and Washington, where some members of Congress have objected to an agreement that would not impose lengthy restrictions on Iran’s program. The question of how long any agreement would endure is a critical one: President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have said they will not sign an agreement that would give Iran the ability to produce enough fuel for […]

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Russia Offers to Sell Powerful Air-Defense System to Iran

MOSCOW—Russia has offered to sell a powerful air-defense system to Iran, a top executive said, five years after the Kremlin canceled the sale of an earlier version under U.S. and Israeli pressure. Sergei Chemezov, chief executive of the Russian defense conglomerate Rostec, said Tehran was considering its offer to sell Antey-2500 anti-ballistic missile systems. A 2007 contract to supply the less-advanced S-300 system was canceled in 2010 . “They are thinking (about it). The decision hasn’t been taken yet,” Mr. Chemezov told reporters at a weapons exhibition in Abu Dhabi on Monday, the state-controlled news agency TASS reported. The comments come amid the most-serious standoff between the West and Russia since the end of the Cold War, which has seen the U.S., the European Union and others apply sanctions against Moscow for its incursions into Ukraine . Mr. Chemezov is among those on the U.S. sanctions list . Rostec […]

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Iran to quit nuclear talks if pressures mount: negotiator

 •  Iran will quit nuclear talks if the other party aimed to impose their wills on Tehran in the ongoing negotiations.  • The talks should meet the interests of both Iran and the world powers, Iran’s senior negotiator said.  • Representatives from P5+1 group, Iran met in Geneva Sunday for fresh talks over Tehran’s nuclear program. TEHRAN, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) — Iran will quit nuclear talks if the other party aimed to impose their wills on Tehran in the ongoing negotiations, the country’s senior negotiator told state IRIB TV on Monday. "If the other party wants to impose their wills at the cost of diplomatic means, we will not hesitate to leave the negotiating table," Abbas Araqchi said. The talks should meet the interests of both Iran and the world powers, Araqchi said. Political pressures and the media hype have not forced Iran to change its position and give up its demands, […]

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Talks End With Proposal to Limit Iran’s Nuclear Production for at Least 10 Years

GENEVA — Iranian and American officials ended a round of high-level nuclear talks here on Monday considering a proposal that would strictly limit for at least 10 years Iran ’s ability to produce nuclear material, but gradually ease restrictions on Tehran in the final years of a deal. A senior American official traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry and Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz said the United States would insist that Iran’s nuclear program be constrained for “at least a double-digit number of years” from being able to produce enough material for a bomb should it decide to “break out” of the accord. The United States has insisted that Iran’s breakout capacity be constrained for as long as possible from producing enough nuclear material to create a bomb in a year. Iranian officials have said they want an agreement that would allow their country to ramp up the […]

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Iran’s president claims economic miracle

Iranian budget planners look to trim oil revenues as President Hassan Rouhani makes progress on reducing inflation. Photo: UPI/Maryam Rahmanian Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the inflation rate has dropped from 40 percent under his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to around 16 percent. "Economically speaking, as domestic and foreign opinion-makers have written to me, it has been like a miracle," he said. For fiscal year 2013-14, the World Bank estimates the Iranian economy contracted at an annual rate of 1.7 percent. The Iranian economy emerged from recession in December, however, which was something the government said came as a result of heavy government investments in national development projects. Though its economy is dependent on oil export revenue, the government in early January said non-oil exports from the beginning of the Iranian year, which starts in March, increased to $35 billion, or about 20 percent year-on-year. Budget planners are working to […]

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EOG Reduces 2015 Capex 40 Percent

EOG Resources Bakken Acreage Map 2014 Recap EOG announced a strong fourth quarter for 2014 and revealed a disciplined 2015 spending plan that leverages their position to get them through the current difficult market. The company gives much of the credit for its success to the outstanding performance from its interests in the Bakken formation in North Dakota. EOG reported its Q4 net income at $445 million, which stands in sharp contrast to many companies who saw losses as crude prices plummeted through the fall. Overall, 2014 brought a net income of $2,915 million for the company, compared to $2,197 million for 2013. Related:  Energy Giants Announce Layoffs 2015 Capital Plan As EOG looks to the new year, they expect their capital expenditures to range from $4.9 to $5.1 billion. This number includes projects for production facilities and midstream expenditures and will primarily be directed to EOG’s highest rate-of-return […]

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Gas discovery confirmed in Moroccan shale

Gas discovery confirmed in onshore shale basin in Morocco, a third for Gulfsands Petroleum. Map courtesy: Gulfsands Petroleum. The company said results from an exploration well dubbed DOB-1 in the Rharb permit area of northern Morocco indicated a discovery after a test-flow rate of 10 million cubic feet of gas per day was achieved. DOB-1 is the third such success for the company in the permit area, Chief Executive Officer Mahdi Sajjad said in a statement. Morocco is one of the West African countries that have drawn interest from international energy companies eager to tap into unexploited reserves. Onshore, the country holds an estimated 20 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale oil and natural gas reserves. Gulfsands, which has headquarters in London, said last year it planned to spend $3.5 million to develop its acreage in northern Morocco. "We are continuing with our efforts to commence production from these […]

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Brazil Shipyard EAS Ends $6 Billion Deal to Make Petrobras Rigs

(Bloomberg) — Sete Brasil Participacoes SA, the company founded to lease oil rigs to Petroleo Brasileiro SA, said it’s considering legal measures against a shipyard that pulled out of a $6 billion deal to build drillships. Estaleiro Atlantico Sul, or EAS, owned by Grupo Camargo Correa and Grupo Queiroz Galvao, notified the company that it’s canceling the contract, Rio de Janeiro-based Sete Brasil said today in an e-mailed statement. Sete Brasil didn’t disclose any further details from the cancellation letter. O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported today that missed payments from Sete spurred the decision. The cancellation is another setback for Sete Brasil after a former executive and Petrobras manager said in testimony made public Feb. 5 that he took bribes from shipyards, allegedly including EAS, in exchange for contracts. Numerous phone calls and e-mails to EAS for comment weren’t answered. The accusation of corruption increases concern that […]

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Venezuelan leader seeks to rally poor with mayor’s arrest

AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos World Video Buy AP Photo Reprints Multimedia Venezuelan ‘System’ Brings Classics to Barrios CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appears to have chosen his latest foe carefully. While the arrest of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma provoked spontaneous demonstrations and drew international condemnation, it also reminded many Venezuelans of what they most disliked about the politicians who preceded Maduro and his late mentor Hugo Chavez at a time when the socialist government faces an economic crisis that has sent the president’s popularity plummeting. Over the past year, Maduro’s embattled government has arrested several opposition politicians and business executives, accusing them of plotting to destabilize the government. None, however, fits the role of boogeyman quite like Ledezma, who plunged into politics in his 20s and has amassed a bevy of political liabilities over the years. Chief among them is his close relationship with disgraced former President […]

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A Crackdown in Caracas

Last week, Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma received an unexpected visit from the Venezuelan political police. After being taken into custody from his office without a warrant, Ledezma was charged with conspiring to overthrow the government of President Nicolás Maduro. He is now being held in the Ramo Verde military prison, where Leopoldo López and several other opposition leaders are also in detention. (The photo above shows Ledezma supporters demonstrating outside the headquarters of the domestic intelligence service in Caracas on Feb. 19.) Ledezma’s imprisonment marks a dangerous new watershed for Venezuela’s escalating political and economic crisis, one whose solution becomes more difficult to visualize with each passing week. The polarization in the country, caused by the government’s harsh treatment of the opposition, makes it practically impossible for Venezuelans to address their country’s challenges on their own. The tragedy is that there seem to be no honest brokers left to help usher […]

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