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IMF worries bruise crude oil prices

IMF Managing Christine Lagarde says global economy recovering from recession, but pace is slowing. Crude oil prices react with 2 percent drop in early Monday trading. UPI/Kevin Dietsch NEW YORK, Sept. 28 (UPI) — Expectations from the International Monetary Fund of a weakening global economy pushed crude oil prices down more than 2 percent in early Monday trading. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde told French newspaper The Echoes the global economy was recovering from the latest recession, but the pace is decelerating . "A global gross domestic product of 3.3 percent this year is no longer realistic. A forecast of 3.8 percent for next year is not either," she said. "We still remain above the 3 percent threshold." A surplus of crude oil on the international market and weak demand has pushed crude oil prices to historic lows. Brent crude oil was down 2.1 percent in early Monday trading […]

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IEA chief expects $45 oil ‘for a long time’: newspaper

Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol speaks during a question and answer session at the Oil & Money conference in London October 1, 2013. The executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, expects the price of crude oil to stay at around $45 a barrel "for a long time", he said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday. When asked by Austrian newspaper Kurier whether prices would ever exceed $100 a barrel again, Birol said: "I can only say that the oil price will remain low for some quarters." "Forty five dollars a barrel will remain the price for a long time," he was quoted as saying. Benchmark Brent crude futures were unchanged at $47.34 a barrel at 0115 EDT, while WTI crude futures were down 2 cents at $44.41 per barrel. "Cheap oil is causing oil companies big problems," Birol said. "This year, […]

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Lid on Oil Prices Refuses to Budge

Oil bulls can’t catch a break. The long-awaited decline in U.S. oil output has begun, data show, but many investors and analysts are still waiting for prices to stage a sustained recovery. The rapid growth in America’s production over the past several years was a major driver behind the plunge in the benchmark U.S. oil price, which is down 53% from a year ago. Once that output slowed, oil would bounce back, bullish investors reasoned. But their hopes have been thwarted by robust output from other parts of the world, from Russia to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, that has kept a lid on prices. “We now know that the U.S. [production] is in decline,” said Eric Nuttall, portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management, which manages about $5.8 billion. “I would have thought [prices] would be higher, with the data points, but maybe people need another month or two” of […]

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Secretive Militia’s Challenge Risks Eroding Abadi Power in Iraq

A Shiite militia that refuses even to identify its leader is emerging as one of the greatest threats to the Iraqi administration it’s meant to be backing. Kataib Hezbollah has thousands of fighters deployed against the jihadists of Islamic State. While the Iranian-backed group has played a key role in helping Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi stem the militants’ advance, it’s now joining forces with other Shiite militias to oppose the premier’s push to enact a measure that could limit its own power, and Tehran’s influence. At the heart of the dispute is the National Guard Law, legislation meant to bring all pro-government armed groups under a unified command. The measure is backed by the U.S. as the only way to halt the breakup of OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer. “We reject this law and we will chase anyone who votes for it in the Iraqi parliament,” Jaafar al-Husseini, a spokesman […]

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Iraq’s Oil Production Seen at Risk by Barclays as Winter Nears

Iraq’s oil production is at risk for winter when “loading problems” have historically reduced output by 300,000 to 500,000 barrels of crude a day, Barclays Plc said. Loading facilities and the nation’s single-point mooring systems are “insufficient for the winter season,” Michael Cohen, a Barclays analyst in New York, said in a Sept. 25 report. It wasn’t clear from the report what causes the disruptions during winter. Shipments from Basra in the south are sometimes slowed by strong winds during the first part of the year. In April, a four-mile (6.4-kilometer) line of supertankers was waiting to load the nation’s crude. OPEC’s second-largest crude producer has increased output this year as supplies from the south expanded even as Islamic State fighters occupied parts of the north. Iraq needs to keep increasing production because lower oil prices have curbed government revenue. Crude output will increase by about 500,000 barrels a […]

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Inside Iran: Sanctions and the Carpet-Sellers

Iran’s Persian carpet industry is fraying at its edges. Once the biggest exporter of carpets in the world, the country’s trade has been hit hard by Western sanctions. Exports have shrunk by 33 percent since 2009, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, hitting $330 million in the year to March 2015. After the oil sector, the carpet industry has been the most affected. Cheaper replicas from Asia now make up the majority of imports to the West . ‘The price was increasing, not day by day but every week, every month’ Exports are “more or less zero” according to Mojtabah Keshevarz, owner of Royal Persian Carpets in the capital, Tehran. “It was a good business,” he explains. “The price was increasing, not day by day but every week, every month.” The trader says one of his most expensive carpets, a pomegranate-and-walnut-dyed rug woven in Isfahan, is 100 years […]

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Parties in Iran Nuclear Deal Aim for Implementation in Early 2016

UNITED NATIONS—Foreign ministers from Iran and the six powers that negotiated July’s nuclear agreement met Monday evening to discuss the implementation of the deal, with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini saying they hope to complete that work in early 2016. With the agreement now backed by a United Nations resolution and with efforts to defeat the accord in the U.S. Congress having failed, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and counterparts from the other nationsdiscussed Monday next steps for putting the deal into effect—and possible hurdles ahead. Iran will only win major sanctions relief once it has carried out a whole series of measures to scale back its nuclear program and infrastructure. Iran’s parliament still has to vote to approve the deal. Monday’s hourlong foreign ministers meeting was the first since the nuclear agreement was sealed July 14 in Vienna. Speaking to reporters afterward, Ms. Mogherini said the […]

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Nigeria: Massive Fuel Imports As Refineries Remain Down

There has been a steady surge in fuel importation to Nigeria with more inflows expected from Europe in the months to come. Trading sources told Platts, a global energy information website, at the weekend that one of the main reasons for the strong demand has been the increased buying interest from Nigeria. The country has four refineries which could reduce petroleum products importation by up to 50 per cent but the refineries have struggled to remain afloat and have been unable to churn out products in appreciable quantities since the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced they were back. For instance, the 37-year-old Warri refinery has remained shut since August due to some technical hitches in one of its units. The NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Ibe Kachikwu gave a 90 days ultimatum to the refineries to stream back to full active service or be sold. There are plans […]

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India Oil Refiners Said to Pay $700 Million to Iran on Sept. 30

Indian oil refiners will pay Iran $700 million on Sept. 30 for crude oil imports, their first payment this year as international sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation are set to be eased, said people familiar with the matter. An equal amount is expected to be paid next month, the people said, asking not to be identified before an announcement. In November, the refiners paid Iran $400 million of dues, which accumulated since early 2013. Indian refiners including state-owned Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd., Indian Oil Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. and non-state company Essar Oil Ltd. owe Iran about $6.4 billion, blocked because of international sanctions. Iran is looking to boost crude supplies after it reached an agreement with six world powers on July 14 in Vienna to curb its nuclear ambitions in exchange for the easing of sanctions. The Indian refiners will pay state-owned UCO Bank in […]

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North Dakota rig count up by four

North Dakota rig count increased by four, with much of the reported during the weekend. Photo by Steve Oehlenschlager/Shutterstock BISMARCK, N.D., Sept. 28 (UPI) — North Dakota bucked the nationwide trend by adding more rigs to its state portfolio with the total number increasing by nearly 6 percent. State data show 71 rigs actively exploring for or producing oil and natural gas in the state. That’s up nearly 6 percent , or four rigs, from the previous week. Most of the new rig activity came during the weekend. Data from oil field services company Baker Hughes show North Dakota lost one rig last week compared with the week ending Sept. 25. Texas for the week lost the most rigs with a total decline of two. Energy companies are spending less on exploration and production because of the steady decline in crude oil prices, down by about half from last […]

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