Category:

Islamic State claims Cairo courthouse bomb which wounded 29

A security official stands guard at the site of a bomb blast at a national security building in Shubra Al-Khaima, on the outskirts of Cairo, August 20, 2015. Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate said it was behind a car bombing that wounded 29 people near a state security building and courthouse in a Cairo suburb early on Thursday. A statement circulated on Twitter by supporters of the group, Sinai Province, said the bomb was a reprisal for the execution of six of its members convicted of carrying out an attack north of the Egyptian capital last year. "Let the apostates of the police and army, the followers of Jews, know we are a people who do not forget our revenge," the statement said. In May, Egypt executed six members of Sinai Province for attacking soldiers near Cairo in 2014. The men were convicted on charges which included carrying out an […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

ISIL ‘brutally’ quells rebellion in Libya’s Sirte

ISIL fighters crushed the revolt by the rival group and armed residents trying to break its grip on the city of Sirte. [Al Jazeera] The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has brutally quelled a rebellion in the Libyan city of Sirte by citizens who took up arms to try to push back the armed group, residents have said. Witnesses said the group was now calling on residents to pledge allegiance over loudspeakers from its main mosque and desecrating bodies of their adversaries. Sources in the city told Al Jazeera on Monday that clashes broke out five days earlier between ISIL and armed residents in the city’s Number Three neighbourhood, before ISIL besieged it and began shelling it with heavy weaponry. By Monday, the neighbourhood was under the full control of ISIL, the sources said. Cleric Khalid Awad said that ISIL had killed some of their prisoners […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Algeria Calls for Non-OPEC Output Cut to Stop Oil Price Slump

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries can do little to halt the oil price decline on its own and needs producers from outside the group to help in reducing global supplies, Algeria’s Energy Minister said. “A supply reduction by OPEC alone cannot really guarantee a return to oil market stability,” Salah Khebri said at an event in Algiers, according to Liberte newspaper. As the 12-member group of crude producing nations accounts for 40 percent of the world’s supply, “there should be steps taken within OPEC and with non-OPECs.” Khebri called earlier this month for an OPEC emergency meeting because of the continued decline in oil prices, which dropped by half from a year ago amid rising production from the U.S. Oil and gas sales account for about 60 percent of Algeria’s budget revenue and 95 percent of its export income, according to the International Monetary Fund. Algeria’s initiative to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya calls for air strikes against Isis

Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: Libya calls for air strikes against Isis Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no no For 4 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Egypt unveils new Suez Canal extension

The first cargo ships passed through Egypt’s New Suez Canal last week in a test-run before it opened on Thursday [Reuters] Egypt has unveiled a major extension of the Suez Canal billed by its President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi as a historic achievement needed to boost the country’s ailing economy after years of unrest. Sisi, wearing his ceremonial military uniform and trademark dark sunglasses on a sweltering August day, flew to the site on Thursday aboard a military helicopter and immediately boarded a monarchy-era yacht that sailed to the venue of the ceremony. A visibly triumphant Sisi stood on the vessel’s upper deck, waving to well-wishers and dance troupes performing on shore. At one point, a young boy in military uniform and holding an Egyptian red, black and white flag joined him on the deck. Historical facts: the Suez Canal Planning for the Suez Canal officially began in 1854 when a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya’s New Oil Chief Considering Ending Force Majeure at Ports

Libya’s new head of the state oil company for the eastern region is considering ending force majeure at the North African nation’s two largest ports and will seek to boost crude output. “Among my priorities will be lifting force majeure at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf,” Nagi Elmagrabi , chairman of the National Oil Corp. for the eastern region, said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I will also seek to increase oil production.” Libya produced about 1.6 million barrels a day before the 2011 rebellion that ended Muammar Qaddafi’s 42-year rule. It’s today the smallest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, with output of about 400,000 barrels. It has failed to restore production as militias fight for the control of export terminals while tribes and workers block operations at fields and pipelines to seek jobs and better pay. Libya in December stopped crude exports from the two […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

BP, Total writing off oil assets in Libya

Libya has become a major headache for European oil companies as a four-year conflict forced BP to join Total in writing off millions of dollars in investments in the North African country. BP on Tuesday said it had taken an impairment of almost $600 million in the second quarter as fighting forced it to suspend an oil exploration campaign. The unexpected charge was the main reason BP’s earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates. “There is significant uncertainty on when drilling operations might be able to proceed,” London-based BP said in a statement. The charge comes three months after Total became the first European oil major to take an impairment in Libya, writing off $755 million from onshore assets. That’s an ominous sign for firms including Eni SpA and Repsol SA, which have yet to mark down the value of their assets in the country. The Libyan oil industry has […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya Crude Output Drops as Conflict Cuts Power at Oil Fields

Libya’s crude production dropped below 400,000 barrels a day as the conflict in the divided North African country cut electricity supply at oil fields, according to the state-run National Oil Corp. Output in Libya, holder of Africa’s largest crude reserves, has been hampered by a lack of security and maintenance as well as power outages, Mohamed Elharari, an NOC spokesman, said Monday by phone from Tripoli. Crude production was about 411,000 barrels a day in June, according to the most recent OPEC monthly report. “The situation is not very good,” Elharari said. “There is poor maintenance, and there are electricity cuts at the oil fields.” Libya produced about 1.6 million barrels a day before the 2011 rebellion that ended Muammar Qaddafi’s 42-year rule. The country is today the smallest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It has failed to restore output as militias fight for the control […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Eni finds more natural gas in Egypt

Italian energy company Eni said it will get new gas moving in Egypt within two months. File Photo by project1photography/Shutterstock MILAN, Italy, July 20 (UPI) — Italian energy company Eni said Monday it made what it considers to be an important discovery of natural gas in the Egyptian Nile Delta. Eni said it made a discovery in the Nooros exploration prospect in the Abu Madi West license area, about 75 miles northeast of Alexandria. "Preliminary estimates of the discovery account for a potential of 530 billion cubic feet of gas in place with upside, plus associated condensates," the company said in a statement. Eni in January signed two new agreements in the deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea following an auction held by the Egyptian government in 2013. In March, the company said it signed a framework agreement to develop Egyptian oil and gas reserves that calls for as […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Egypt ISIS Affiliate Claims Destruction of Naval Vessel

Photo An Egyptian naval vessel burned off the coast of the northern Sinai Peninsula on Thursday. A militant group and the military gave conflicting accounts of an attack. Credit Hatem Khaled/European Pressphoto Agency CAIRO — A militant group affiliated with the Islamic State said it destroyed an Egyptian naval vessel on Thursday, posting photographs on social media of a missile exploding in a ball of fire as it slammed into the vessel. An Egyptian military spokesman said that the crew of the unnamed ship “exchanged fire” with militants off the coast of the northern Sinai Peninsula, causing a fire on board that did not result in any fatalities. But the militant group, which calls itself Sinai Province, claimed that the missile was guided and had killed everyone on board. It was at least the fourth unusually bold militant assault since late June, when Egypt’s top prosecutor was killed by […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple