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Iraq About to Flood Oil Market

Iraq is taking OPEC’s strategy to defend its share of the global oil market to a new level. The nation plans to boost crude exports by about 26 percent to a record 3.75 million barrels a day next month, according to shipping programs, signaling an escalation of OPEC strategy to undercut U.S. shale drillers in the current market rout. The additional Iraqi oil is equal to about 800,000 barrels a day, or more than comes from OPEC member Qatar. The rest of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to rubber stamp its policy to maintain output levels at a meeting on June 5. While shipping schedules aren’t a promise of future production, they are indicative of what may come. The following chart graphs planned tanker loadings (in red) against exports. As in previous months, Iraq might not hit its June target – export capacity is currently capped […]

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Gunmen try to kill Libya’s recognized prime minister

AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko Interactive Interactives Buy AP Photo Reprints Multimedia Libya Opening Doors to Tourists BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Gunmen tried to assassinate Libya’s internationally recognized prime minister on his way to the airport in the eastern city of Tobruk on Tuesday, a spokesman for his government said. Arish Said, head of the government’s media department, said that Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni’s motorcade was attacked and one of his guards was lightly wounded but that there were no fatalities. "They managed to escape," Said said. Prior to the attack, he said armed men who had been protesting outside a session of the Tobruk government’s House of Representatives tried to storm the building, firing shots into the air and demanding al-Thinni be removed from office. They were "threatening to kill the prime minister and force the House to sack him," Said said. He identified the men as being funded by […]

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Eni finds gas offshore Libya

MILAN, Italy, May 26 (UPI) — Italian energy company Eni announced Tuesday it made its second discovery of the year at an exploration prospect off the coast of Libya. Eni said it made a natural gas and condensate discovery in so-called Area 3, a reserve area about 85 miles off the Libyan coast. "The well represents the second discovery made by Eni in Libyan offshore Area D since the beginning of 2015," the company said in a statement. Production tests yielded a preliminary flow rate from the well at 1,340 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Eni estimates the well should be able to produce at least 3,000 boe per day at its peak. Before NATO forces intervened in Libyan civil war in 2011, the country was producing more than 1 million bpd. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in its latest market report said production from member-state Libya […]

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Libyan Prime Minister Survives Assassination Attempt Amid Protests

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The prime minister of Libya ’s internationally recognized government survived an assassination attempt Tuesday after facing hostile questioning inside Parliament and demands for his resignation from armed protesters outside. The mayhem and violence broke out amid growing signs of divisions in the faction backing the government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni against a rival faction that has taken over the capital, Tripoli. If the conflicts and discord further threaten the stability of Mr. Thinni’s government, the result could cripple the United Nations-brokered talks aimed at bringing the two factions together and could further compound the chaos that has engulfed Libya since the fall of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011. It was unclear who was responsible for the assassination attempt. Armed forces allied with the government, which is based in Tobruk and Bayda, have been battling Islamist militants from Benghazi and Dernah. Last winter, militants hostile […]

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Peak Oil Dress Rehearsal?

This is extraordinary. Remember all those dire things that were supposed to happen when Peak Oil hit? All the stuff in The Long Emrgency? Cars queuing up for miles to buy petrol, public transportation jacking up rates, cell phones not working, banks closing their doors, planes grounded for lack of fuel, supermarkets stripped bare, scalpers selling gas in jerry-cans, factories shutting down, stations going off the air, people losing their jobs, political disorder, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria… Turns out all of it is happening…In Nigeria: Nigeria is facing a prolonged fuel-supply crisis that is taking a severe toll on the country’s economy, living conditions, and basic services, reports say. The shortage in Africa’s leading oil producer has forced an increasing number of drivers in Lagos to stop using their personal vehicles, but prices for commuters on public transport have more than doubled. Black market […]

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Report: South Sudan’s fate hinges on oil

Durability of Salva Kiir, president of South Sudan, may be closely linked to oil production in the war-torn country. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI JUBA, South Sudan, May 26 (UPI) — The political unity holding South Sudan together may hinge on battles over oil-producing regions along the country’s northern border, an analyst said. When it gained independence from Sudan in 2011, the landlocked country gained control over much of the oil-producing regions, but Sudan maintained its grip on export infrastructure. Conflict erupted in South Sudan in 2013 when Salva Kiir, the country’s president, accused former Vice President Riek Machar of staging a coup. Rebel forces two years on are waging battle for control over Paloch near the Sudanese border, the only part of South Sudan still producing oil. "Oil is South Sudan’s bread and butter," Luke Patey, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen, told […]

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Nigerian gas shortage resolved but new leader still faces major challenges

Hawkers sell gasoline in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday. The country has been experiencing a severe scarcity of fuel. (Deji Yake / European Pressphoto Agency) Nigeria’s gasoline scarcity was resolved Monday, but only after the shortages had damaged the economy, canceled or diverted commercial flights, shut down radio stations and put mobile phone networks at risk. With incoming President Muhammadu Buhari set to be sworn in Friday, the opposition All Progressives Congress accused outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan of sabotaging the new administration. Buhari faces high expectations and myriad problems, including a government financial crisis partly caused by the fall in oil prices, a battle against the militant group Boko Haram in the country’s northeast, electricity outages, widespread corruption and poor infrastructure. In the final days of Jonathan’s term, the country has also faced dire gasoline shortages and millions in unpaid wages of government workers. The gasoline shortage began before the March election that […]

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Nigerian unions end strike that shut 100,000 b/d of oil output for week

Nigerian oil worker unions at state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company have called off a strike that shut about 100,000 b/d of production for a week, union and company officials said late Monday. The Pengassan and Nupeng unions started the strike May 18 to protest the transfer by the government of the operatorship of onshore oil block OML 42, sold by Shell to local firm Neconde. "Since the strike has been called off, other necessary things will follow," a NPDC spokesman said, referring to the restart of oil production at shut fields, without giving further details. Article continues below… For over 100 years Platts has been at the forefront of pricing and news in the energy markets. Today, we publish the essential information that you need to navigate the rapidly evolving commodity markets that Africa plays a key part in. Here you will find a […]

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Nigeria’s Energy Crisis Worsens – Only 5 of 23 Power Plants Functional

Nigeria’s energy crisis deteriorated Monday, as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the government agency responsible for regulating operations in the electricity sector, reported that only five of the country’ 23 power plants are currently functional. By implication, Nigerians would now have to contend with a biting fuel supply crisis, which has almost grounded the economy for months, and lack of electricity to power. On Friday, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Godknows Igali, had during a meeting with outgoing Vice-President, Namadi Sambo, in Abuja raised the alarm over the epileptic supply of electricity across the country. Mr. Igali, in the company of the Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo, said the country’s dwindling electricity supply took a further nosedive to unprecedented all-time low level of 1,327 megawatts (MW) from the 4,800 MW level attained recently. He attributed the damning situation to the epileptic performance of most key power […]

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Nigeria: Fuel Crisis Grounds Economy

By Abel Orukpe, Tunde Opeseitan, Emma Nzomiwu, Chukwujekwu Ilozue And Temidayo Akinsuyi The lingering fuel crises caused by the refusal of oil marketers to lift and supply petroleum products until their demand for payment of oil subsidy is met by the federal government, appear to have affected virtually every sector of the Nigerian economy. Judicial activities at the various courts in Lagos were halted as those who managed to sit adjourned abruptly. In Enugu State, all the roads were deserted as the exorbitant cost of petrol forced motorists who could not afford to pay N200 per litre to either abandon their vehicles and trek or use commercial means of transportation. Also in Anambra State, business and social activities were almost shut down due to the crises. The price of petrol as at yesterday is said to have risen to between N180 to N250 per litre. Unfortunately, Mega stations from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple