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West Qurna 1 budget slashed by $500 million

A worker adjusts the valve of an oil pipe at the West Qurna 1 oilfield in Basra on Nov. 28, 2010. (ATEF HASSAN/Reuters) Iraq has cut the annual budget of its second-most-prolific oil project by nearly 50 percent, as part of a broader effort to reduce oil field development costs in response to a financial crisis.The joint management committee (JMC) of the West Qurna 1 oil field in Basra has decided to cut its 2015 budget from $1.6 billion to $1.1 billion."This year’s budget… had been reduced to $1.3 billion, but what was approved by the joint management committee was $1.1 billion," said Mahdi Malik, the… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Kurdistan ramps up independent oil sales

ANKARA/ARBIL Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has ramped up independent oil sales since mid-June while cutting allocations to Iraq’s state oil firm SOMO in an escalating dispute over export rights and budget payments. Kurdistan has sold at least 9 million barrels of oil in 11 tankers from the Turkish port of Ceyhan so far in June, according to shipping data and traders, compared to 5 million it allocated to SOMO in early June after which transfers largely stopped. June became the first month of large independent sales since December last year, when Kurdistan agreed a deal with Baghdad to transfer up to 550,000 barrels per day to SOMO in exchange for Baghdad allocating Arbil 17 percent of budget payments. The deal has faced troubles ever since with Baghdad accusing Arbil of allocating smaller-than-agreed amount of oil and Arbil saying Baghdad is paying less than a half of what is due. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Gulf Keystone reaches Kurdish oil sales deal

Gulf Keystone Petroleum announces new deal for domestic sales and exports from Kurdish oil field. Photo courtesy of Gulf Keystone Petroleum. LONDON, June 29 (UPI) — A new contract with the Kurdish government calls for domestic sales and exports of as much as 40,000 barrels of oil per day, Gulf Keystone Petroleum said. The company, which has headquarters in London, said it was producing more than 40,000 barrels of oil per day from the Shaikan field in the Kurdish north of Iraq. With payment commitments from the Kurdish government in hand, the company said it has a six-month contract for domestic sales and exports between 12,000 and 40,000 bpd by truck across the border to the Turkish coast. The company said it’s already received around $4.9 million from an undisclosed buyer. When noting the lack of payment from the Kurdish government, the company suspended exports by truck through Turkey […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Egypt’s Top Prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, Is Killed by Roadside Bomb

CAIRO — A powerful roadside bomb killed Egypt ’s top prosecutor as he drove to work Monday morning, broadening the violent insurgency that militants have been waging against the government for two years. The prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was the most senior civilian official to be killed in Egypt since the insurgency began in the fall of 2013, after the military ousted the country’s first freely elected president , Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood . The explosion hit Mr. Barakat’s small convoy around 10:30 a.m. Monday as it left the Heliopolis neighborhood near Cairo International Airport. The blast set several cars on fire and shattered windows along the street, injuring at least eight other people. Mr. Barakat sustained a lacerated liver and was rushed to a hospital, where he died from internal bleeding, according to the health ministry. The daylight assassination of one of his top officials was a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Talks ongoing to restart closed Libyan oilfields, output stable: NOC

TRIPOLI Negotiations to reopen Libyan oilfields are ongoing and the level of the country’s production remains stable, a spokesman for the state National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Monday. Libyan authorities said they were trying during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began two weeks ago, to reopen pipelines for the El Feel and El Sharara oilfields and the port of Zueitina, blocked for weeks by protests and disputes. "Efforts being carried out by elders and mayors of local municipalities are still under way in order to reopen the closed oil fields. We expect good results soon," said NOC spokesman Mohamed Harari. The OPEC country is caught in a dispute between two rival governments, one internationally recognized in the east and a self-declared one that controls Tripoli, since a group called Libyan Dawn took over the capital last year. Before the 2011 civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi, […]

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Nigeria’s APC Says Government Must Scrap Oil-Industry Bill

Nigeria’s ruling party recommended the government discard a long-delayed oil-industry bill, review fuel subsidies and sell off some units of the state petroleum company. The Petroleum Industry Bill should be scrapped and replaced by a new reform bill that’s based on discussions with international oil companies to “ensure all perspectives are adequately considered,” the All Progressives Congress said in a report obtained by Bloomberg on Monday. Kayode Fayemi, the APC’s policy director, confirmed the authenticity of the document. The bill has been delayed in parliament for six years due to political wrangling and opposition by international energy companies against proposed tax and royalty terms, deterring investment into Africa’s top oil producer. The APC handed the report, which was based on closed-door meetings on May 20 and 21 in the capital, Abuja, to President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office on May 29 and is yet to appoint a cabinet. The […]

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China, Venezuela discuss 10-year cooperation plan

CARACAS, June 29 (Xinhua) — Venezuela and China on Monday assessed progress in bilateral projects and drafted a 10-year cooperation plan as part of their comprehensive strategic partnership. The plan was drafted during the 4th technical meeting of the China-Venezuela High-Level Joint Commission that opened here on Monday. Addressing the opening session of the three-day meeting, Venezuelan Vice President for Planning Ricardo Menendez said the goal of the meeting was to agree on projects that will help spur development in both nations. "We are going to be working on the topic of telecommunications," to provide computer tablets for university and primary school students, install related factories and build undersea cables to connect with other parts, such as the Caribbean, said Menendez. Also on the agenda are plans to boost Venezuelan industry by expanding cement plants, and iron, aluminum and paper manufacturing, and by bolstering infrastructure at ports and airports. […]

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Greece a sideshow to China’s main game for commodities

LAUNCESTON, Australia, With the focus on whether Greece will or won’t default on its debts or even stay within the euro zone, the important news of China easing its monetary policy again has been largely sidelined. As fascinating as the Greek machinations are, ultimately they will have little impact on commodity markets, other than the potential to boost some safe-haven demand for gold and possibly other commodities, such as agriculture, which have little correlation to equities and bonds. The real news is that the world’s largest commodity producer, consumer and importer appears to be taking more determined steps to boost its flagging growth rate. China’s central bank cut lending rates for the fourth time since November, while also trimming the amount of cash that certain banks have to hold as reserves. In a possible sign as to how serious the authorities are in getting money to flow faster through […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple