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Oil market adjustment is about more than just shale: Kemp

Oil company workers walk as oil pipes and oil pumps are seen in the background in Sakir, south of Manama, October 11, 2014. U.S. shale oil production amounted to just 5 million barrels per day (bpd) at the end of 2014, less than 6 percent of world production and consumption. Despite the shale sector’s small market share, it has disrupted the entire oil industry because it emerged in the middle of the cost curve and has accounted for more than half of the increase in global supplies since 2010. Between 2010 and 2014, shale output rose by 4 million bpd, accounting for more than half of the 7 million bpd increase in global liquids production over the same period, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Shale is more expensive to produce than oil from the giant conventional fields of the Middle East but cheaper than deepwater megaprojects […]

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EIA: Expect more of Iran’s oil by next year

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) — An increase in Iranian crude oil production of around 600,000 barrels per day is likely in the latter half of next year, a U.S. federal report found. Government officials and representatives from some of the world’s largest oil companies have discussed potential opportunities with Iran, which is expecting sanctions relief as a result of a breakthrough nuclear agreement reached with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany. Iran in December produced just under 2.8 million barrels per day, down about 20 percent from 2011 levels. The country reported oil production for July at 3.13 million bpd, an increase of six tenths of a percent from the previous month. Accounting from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Iran is a member, finds Iranian oil production of 2.86 million bpd in July was a 1.1 percent increase from the previous […]

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Nuclear accord creates potential for additional crude oil production from Iran

graph of monthly Iran crude oil production, as explained in the article text On July 14, the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany) and Iran announced an agreement that could result in relief from United States and European Union nuclear-related sanctions (which include some oil-related sanctions). If the agreement is implemented and sanctions relief occurs, it will put additional Iranian oil supplies on a global market that has already seen oil inventories rise significantly over the past year. These additional Iranian supplies, along with relatively higher global oil production and comparatively slower global oil consumption growth, will contribute to large inventory builds next year, resulting in lower oil prices than previously expected. The North Sea Brent crude oil price, which averaged $57 per barrel in July, is expected to rise to an average of $59/barrel (b) in 2016, according to EIA’s August […]

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Is Syria’s president losing his grip on power?

There have been four long years of war. Almost a quarter of a million people dead. Millions more displaced. More rebel groups and ISIL fighters are infiltrating and taking territory. The future of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, is increasingly in question. Assad welcomed Iran’s foreign minister on Wednesday. After signing a landmark nuclear deal with world powers, what is Javad Zarif doing in Damascus? The visit by the major ally of the Syrian leadership follows increased diplomatic efforts; Russia, the United States and several Middle Eastern powers are all trying to find a way to end Syria’s conflict. Presenter: Shiulie Ghosh Guests: Radwan Ziadeh : Executive Director, Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies. Arron Reza Merat: Iran analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit. Christopher Swift , from the Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia. Source: Al Jazeera

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In Iraq’s oil capital, reform movement heralds change

Iraqis shout slogans during a protest on Aug. 1, 2015 in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. (AFP/Getty Images) The Iraqi oil capital of Basra has begun a significant reshuffling of the local government, following the national Parliament’s approval Tuesday of a major initiative in governance reform spearheaded by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.The changes in Basra, announced Wednesday and Thursday, are affecting several entities that interact with international oil companies and other foreign investors, including the governor’s office, the investment commission, and district and sub-district councils…. 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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Kuwait uncovers ‘terror’ cell’s giant arms cache

Kuwait said the explosives were found in locations near the Iraqi border [interior ministry photo] Kuwaiti authorities say they have arrested three members of a "terrorist" cell and seized a huge arms cache they say was smuggled from Iraq and hidden beneath houses near the border. The Interior Ministry on Thursday said that the three Kuwaiti citizens have confessed to joining a group that was plotting to destabilise the country. Majority Sunni Muslim Kuwait has been on alert since a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia mosque in the capital, Kuwait city, in late June, killing 27 people. The bombing was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group. A total of 19,000 kg of ammunition, 144 kg of explosives, 68 weapons, and 204 grenades were seized from three properties near the Iraqi border, the ministry said. The ministry said the explosives were […]

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Study Links Polluted Air in China to 1.6 Million Deaths a Year

Photo Waiting on a roadside this month for a highway from Beijing to Hebei Province to reopen after it was closed because of low visibility on a day of heavy smog. Credit Damir Sagolj/Reuters BEIJING — Outdoor air pollution contributes to the deaths of an estimated 1.6 million people in China every year, or about 4,400 people a day, according to a newly released scientific paper . The paper maps the geographic sources of China ’s toxic air and concludes that much of the smog that routinely shrouds Beijing comes from emissions in a distant industrial zone, a finding that may complicate the government’s efforts to clean up the capital city’s air in time for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The authors are members of Berkeley Earth , a research organization based in Berkeley, Calif., that uses statistical techniques to analyze environmental issues. The paper has been accepted for publication […]

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China Stock Futures Signal Deeper Pessimism

HONG KONG—As global financial markets try to gauge the impact of a weaker yuan, China’s stock-index futures are signaling that investors are more pessimistic than current Shanghai share prices suggest. Textbook financial theory says a currency devaluation such as the one China’s central bank engineered this week should support stocks by making them cheaper for foreign investors and lifting business prospects for local exporters. The Shanghai Composite Index has remained relatively flat since the yuan began sliding Tuesday. Stock stability in China should please regulators after their summertime battle to prop up shares. Yet, the level of futures that trade based on Chinese share indexes tell a more negative story about investor expectations for Chinese stocks. CSI 300 Index Futures, which track an index of the 300 largest companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, continue to point lower. On Thursday, the CSI 300 futures contract that […]

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China’s yuan devaluation to pressure commodities: Goldman

An advertisement poster promoting China’s renminbi (RMB) or yuan , U.S. dollar and Euro exchange services is seen outside at foreign exchange store in Hong Kong, China August 13, 2015. China’s yuan devaluation signals that global economic conditions have taken a turn for the worse, creating more downward pressure to come for commodity markets, Goldman Sachs said. "The CNY (yuan) devaluation has been important for commodity markets and we believe it signals that global macro conditions have changed," Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients. "Even China has now joined the negative feedback loop that is running between commodity deflation, growth and deleveraging trends… (and) we believe the net commodity market effects are bearish," it said. The bank said it believes the key areas of focus for commodity markets now include how dollar-yuan and the yuan-traded weighted index will evolve. "A weaker USD/CNY could see margins for Chinese […]

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China Seeks to Calm Markets as It Devalues Currency for 3rd Consecutive Day

Photo Studying stock charts on Thursday at a brokerage firm in Shanghai. After two days of declines, the Shanghai composite index rose 1.8 percent on Thursday. Credit Johannes Eisele/Getty Images — Agence France-Presse HONG KONG — China on Thursday sought to calm fears that the country’s depreciating currency had set off, as authorities defended the devaluation decision. The country’s central bank has pushed the value of the currency lower for three consecutive days. Since Tuesday, the currency, the renminbi, has fallen 4.4 percent, the biggest drop in decades. While China said the move was aimed to make the currency more market-oriented, it has raised concerns that the already slowing economy was in deeper trouble. The sharp and sudden fall has also prompted questions about whether the country’s leadership can manage the slowdown. At an ad hoc news conference on Thursday, officials from the central bank defended the devaluation, saying […]

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