U.S. Working to Block Iran From Using Recently Acquired Airbus Jets
U.S. officials said Wednesday the Obama administration is actively working to block Tehran from using nine recently acquired Airbus Group EADSY 2.95 % SE jets in a battle over sanctions weeks before the two sides are supposed to complete a final nuclear deal. Iranian officials this week threatened to take legal action against the U.S. if it seeks to block the use of the jets, according to Iranian media. Officials have said the country plans to use the planes on international flights. But a senior administration official said Wednesday the U.S. would continue to “vigorously” enforce the sanctions it has in place on Iran despite the advanced state of nuclear talks. The negotiations are aiming at an agreement which would block Iran’s path to nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of a broad array of energy, financial and economic sanctions. “We have identified the planes in question and […]
Kurds Have Bigger Prize in Mind After Political Gains in Turkey
ISTANBUL — Late into the night on Sunday on the shattered streets of Kobani, the Syrian Kurdish city devastated last year by battles with militants affiliated with the Islamic State, residents celebrated the outcome of the recent Turkish parliamentary election results , honking horns, cheering and firing their guns. The election, in which the Kurdish party surpassed a threshold for the first time to enter Parliament, was the latest milestone in a broader trend: As the Middle East unravels, at great human cost, from wars and sectarian strife, the Kurds have moved doggedly through the chaos to secure more rights and autonomy for themselves. Their electoral victory in Turkey was a historic watershed, a moment of political empowerment for the long-suppressed Kurdish minority, which fought a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state. The victory was celebrated in Kurdish areas across the Middle East, reverberating in the mountains of northern […]
In Shift, U.S. Will Send 450 Advisers to Help Iraq Fight ISIS
Photo United States Army trainers instructed Iraqi Army recruits at a military base in Taji, Iraq, in April. The United States now has about 3,000 troops in Iraq. Credit John Moore/Getty Images WASHINGTON — President Obama has authorized the deployment of up to 450 more American troops to Iraq to train and assist the Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State, the White House announced on Wednesday, signaling a major shift of focus in the fight against the Sunni militant group. The United States forces will use Al Taqqadum, an Iraqi base near the town of Habbaniya in eastern Anbar Province, as their training hub, the White House said. Mr. Obama opted to send them at the request of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq, and after consultation with Ashton B. Carter, the secretary of defense, and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey , the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. […]
Nigeria: NEITI Asks President to Prioritise Recovery of Unremitted U.S.$18 Billion Oil Funds
Abuja — The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to consider making it a priority of his government to recover the $18.1 billion unremitted oil and gas funds from oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria. NEITI said that over $7.5 billion, which represents underpayments, under-assessment of taxes, royalties and rents as revealed by several independent audit reports of the agency, as well as $11.6 billion which represents outstanding total dividends arising from loans and interest repayments from the federal government’s investment in the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) company were still outstanding. The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, stated in Abuja that while these monies were still outstanding, issues around their recoveries had not been adequately addressed in the past. A statement from the agency’s head of communications, Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed that NEITI had made this call to Buhari at […]
China’s Offshore Oil and Gas Production Started to Peak in 2010
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is the largest producer of offshore oil and gas in China. Production statistics should therefore be pretty much indicative of what is happening along China’s coastline. Data from annual reports show that net oil and gas liquids production in 4 key offshore areas increased rapidly in the first decade of this century but then remained fairly flat after 2010. Gas production peaked in 2011 and was 7% lower in 2014. At the recent 14 th Asia Security Summit in Singapore – organised by the Centre for International and Strategic Studies (CSIS, Washington) – media focus was on several artificial islands China is building on half sunken reefs in the South China Sea. Dredging…. Fig 1: Fiery Cross Reef reclamation started in Aug 2014 http://amti.csis.org/fiery-cross-reef-tracker/ South China Sea dispute: US defence secretary demands Beijing immediately halt island-building The United States has demanded Beijing […]
BP: US surpassing Saudis in oil output among world’s ‘tectonic’ energy shifts in 2014
An eventful 2014 in the world oil and gas markets was headlined by the US overtaking Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest oil producer and surpassing Russia as the world’s largest producer of both oil and gas, BP PLC said in its 64 th Statistical Review of World Energy released June 10. The US last year recorded the largest oil output growth in the world at 1.6 million b/d, becoming the first country ever to increase production by at least 1 million b/d for 3 consecutive years. Along with the US, oil production in Canada, up 310,000 b/d, and Brazil, up 230,000 b/d, also reached record levels in 2014, the report notes. While production outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries increased 2.1 million b/d—the largest increase in BP’s dataset—OPEC output was flat and the group’s share of global production fell to 41%, its lowest since 2003. Global oil […]
Disappearing Bakken oil discount adds to output slowdown signs
NEW YORK Oil traders scrambling to secure crude in the U.S. Midwest have pushed North Dakota’s Bakken to a near premium for the first time in two years, a rally stoked by record refinery runs and an unprecedented slump in Canadian imports. Yet some traders say the surprising strength emerging from opaque physical crude markets in the heartland of the fracking boom also points to a more important, lasting factor: declining production of Bakken crude, a long-anticipated but as yet unproven twist in the shale revolution. The buying frenzy pushed Bakken delivered at Clearbrook, Minnesota WTC-BAK, to trade just 35 cents a barrel below the West Texas Intermediate benchmark last week, dealers say, the narrowest discount since July 2013. On Tuesday, it widened slightly to a 75-cent discount. Four months ago, it traded at a $7.50 discount. "The rapid spread contraction may be indicative of a faster-than-anticipated production decline, […]
Oil production forecast for Canada lowered
Canadian petroleum association lowers its forecast for oil production given weak market for crude oil. File photo by Brian Kersey/UPI CALGARY, Alberta, June 10 (UPI) — While demand for Canadian oil remains strong, an industry group said the low price for crude oil forced it to cut its production estimates for 2030. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said it estimated Canadian oil production would reach 5.3 million barrels per day by 2030, up from the 3.7 million bpd produced last year. In June, when crude oil prices were $40 more per barrel, CAPP estimated 2030 output at 6.4 million bpd. "While the two forecasts are similar during the early years of the forecast period, the slower pace of production in the latter years is the result of reduced capital spending intentions due to the sharp decline in global oil prices," the association said. CAPP in May said it […]
Despite ambitions, BP sees Russian gas waning
BP statistical review finds Russia leading in terms of declines in gas production and pipeline deliveries just as the Kremlin holds out its reserves as a key to European energy security. File Photo by UPI Photo/BP/HO LONDON, June 10 (UPI) — BP in a statistic review said Russian natural gas production declined, just as the Kremlin holds out its reserves as a component of European energy security. BP in the 64th edition of its statistical review of world energy said global natural gas production last year grew by 1.6 percent, which is nearly a full percentage point below the 10-year average. Production from members of the European Union declined 9.8 percent to its lowest level since 1971, though in terms of overall volume, Russia’s decline of 4.3 percent was among the largest drops in the world, the review found. European economies rely on Russia for about 20 percent of […]