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BP: Post-Arab Spring conflicts curb oil potential

BP annual report finds medium-term production slump expected from conflicts raging in the Middle East and North Africa. Photo by Ismael Mohamad / UPI LONDON, Feb. 18 (UPI) — Regional conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa have left a historic amount of oil on the sidelines, an annual report from BP found. Despite an insurgency waged by the group calling itself the Islamic State, oil production in Iraq grew at a faster rate than any country apart from the United States. Analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration found total crude oil production in Iraq rose nearly 10 percent from 2013 to average almost 3.4 million barrels per day, which represents about 60 percent of the production growth from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year. Iraq may be the standout. An annual report from BP on the status of the global energy sector […]

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Iran, U.S. to begin nuclear talks

TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Delegations from Iran and the United States will sit for another round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Friday, Iranian state media reported Thursday. The talks will begin as a bilateral meeting between Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and U.S. Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Iran’s official news agency IRNA quoted Araqchi as saying. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will join the talks on Sunday and Monday, Araqchi said. Following the bilateral talks, further discussions may be held with the participation of other members of the P5+1 group, he added. Iran and the P5+1 group, which comprises the United States, Britain, France , Russia , China and Germany , should reach a political framework deal before March 2015 and a comprehensive deal before July, according to statements made after the previous round of nuclear talks […]

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Supreme Leader Doubts Talks Will End Iran Sanctions

TEHRAN — Iran ’s supreme leader said on Wednesday that he did not believe that all sanctions against his country would be lifted, a move he had previously said was an essential condition for nuclear talks to succeed. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , who has the final say in Iran on any nuclear agreement between his country and world powers, and who has commented regularly on the negotiations, has stressed that he is not optimistic about whether a compromise can be reached. But in a speech on Wednesday, referring to the United States, he said he did not believe that sanctions would be lifted “even if the talks continue on the basis of what they dictate.” In January, Ayatollah Khamenei called Iran’s opponents in the talks “greedy” and emphasized that sanctions must “really be lifted” for any agreement to be accepted by the Islamic republic. If not, […]

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First Libyan oil exported in a week from Hariga storage

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – A tanker has loaded 600,000 barrels of crude from storage at the Libyan port of Hariga, an energy official said on Wednesday, the first vessel to pick up oil for export from the country in more than a week. The official said crude supplies from the Sarir oilfield, which flow to Hariga for export, remained disrupted following a pipeline blast, with repairs and maintenance expected to take a number of days. Libya’s oil exports, on which the North African country’s revenues depend, have collapsed as fighting among factions has split the nation. The shortfall helped raise the price of benchmark Brent oil to a 2015 high of $63 a barrel this week. Hariga is the only operating oil port, though two small offshore platforms can also export around 70,000 to 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude. No oil tankers departed Libya in the previous […]

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Saudi Arabia’s oil output rising, at about 10 million bpd: PIRA

(Reuters) – Production from Saudi Arabia is rising, and demand has pushed it up to about 10 million barrels per day (bpd), according to energy consultancy PIRA. The estimate suggested the country is hewing tightly to the strategy of protecting market share rather than cutting production to try to inflate prices. Saudi production averaged about 9.7 million bpd since last June, according to the consultancy. "Additional demand has pushed output to just under, if not above, 10 MMB/D," PIRA said in a weekly note. The country’s rising production boosted OPEC’s oil supply in January, according to a Reuters survey earlier this month, a sign that key members are standing firm in refusing to prop up prices. Oil prices fell by 60 percent between June and January, and have remained low as oversupply trumped concerns about supply disruptions. Output in top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia has been flat to slightly […]

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Rising Gasoline Prices Defy Global Oil Rout: Corporate Brazil

(Bloomberg) — Brazilians are paying more to fill their gas tanks even as oil’s 49 percent rout in the past year drives down prices from New York to Tokyo. Gasoline in Sao Paulo climbed 9.9 percent in the past three months to 3.26 reais a liter, or about $4.50 a gallon, at the start of February, the most recent figures available, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price fell 31 percent to $2.06 a gallon in the U.S. and 23 percent to $5.51 in Europe in the period. “We’re swimming against the tide,” Pedro Paulo Silveira, chief economist at brokerage TOV Corretora, said in a telephone interview from Sao Paulo. “The fact is that consumers are in a complicated situation in Brazil.” Brazilian consumers and companies can expect to pay more for all energy this year, from natural gas to electricity. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-run oil producer […]

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Uganda: Sanctions-Hit Russian Group Wins U.S. $4 Billion Uganda Oil Refinery Deal

Uganda has rewarded a $4bn oil refinery deal to a subsidiary of Russia’s Rostec, whose CEO has been subject to US sanctions. Uganda and RT Global Resources will now negotiate the terms of a joint venture to engineer and finance the $2.5bn refinery plus a product pipeline and associated infrastructure. The decision to award the contract cements growing ties between Moscow, and the country, which increasingly characterises the west as a neo-colonial aggressor. The CEO, Sergei Chemezov, is a former KGB officer and close ally of President Vladimir Putin. The US blocked his assets and prohibited companies from dealing with him since April 2014 in response to Russia’s military involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The EU followed suit in September. Although Uganda is under no legal compulsion to comply with the sanctions, the decision will further threaten its international standing. Uganda’s global standing was knocked last year […]

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Uganda: Why Govt Picked Russian Firm for Oil Refinery

Photo: Amnesty International (file photo). Government yesterday picked a Russian-led international consortium led by RT Global Resources as the preferred bidder for the construction of the country’s oil refinery. The other company which lost out, SK Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd from the Republic of South Korea, was retained as the alternative preferred bidder. RT Global Resources is a subsidiary of Rostec, a Russian arms manufacturer. Members of the consortium include; VTB, Capital Plc, a subsidiary of VTB, the second largest Russian state-owned bank, Telconet Capital Ltd Partnership, Tatneft JSC and GS Engineering Construction Corporation (South Korea). While members of the SK Engineering and Construction-led consortium include: SK KDB Global Investment Partnership, a private equity fund, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd, Haldor Topsoe A/S and Mastro Oil and Gas Solutions (MOGAS). The selection of a preferred bidder for the refinery follows the submission of final offers from the […]

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Pemex cuts budget by $4 billion

The board of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has approved a $4-billion budget reduction for 2015, an 11.5% decrease compared with the previous expenditure program authorized by Mexico’s Congress. Pemex says the cuts, which come amid lower oil prices , are imperative in achieving financial targets set by Congress. Two thirds of the company’s $36.3 billion budget—$24.6 billion—will be allocated toward the company’s investment plans. The remaining one third will go toward operating activities and meeting labor and pension obligations. Pemex says its budget formulation process considered a $79/bbl average price for the Mexican crude oil export basket to estimate annual revenues and to set a corresponding ceiling on expenditures. Deferred spending for downstream activities includes refinery revamps and clean fuels projects involving ultra-low sulfur gasoline and diesel ( OGJ Online, Feb. 18, 2015 ). The board has instructed management to meet with contractors and renegotiate long-term deals that were made […]

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U.S. to Monitor Air Quality in India and Other Countries

HONG KONG — The United States says it will expand air-quality monitoring at some overseas diplomatic missions, following several years of reporting pollution data in China. The goal is to increase awareness of the health risks of outdoor air pollution, which easily spreads across borders, Secretary of State John Kerry said in announcing the program on Wednesday. The program is intended to help United States citizens abroad reduce their exposure to pollution and to help other countries develop their own air-quality monitoring through training and exchanges with American experts, he said. “We’re hoping that this tool can also expand international cooperation when it comes to curbing air pollution,” Mr. Kerry said . The program, run in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency , will begin to operate in India in a few months. New Delhi has some of the world’s worst air pollution, and residents there are becoming increasingly […]

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