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Algerian Attempt to Rally Oil Prices Fails to Ignite

An Algerian invitation to fellow oil producers to work together on oil prices attracted only Angola this week, as the latest attempt to counter slumping oil prices failed to ignite. A Nigerian proposal last month to convey an emergency meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries immediately fizzled after the group’s kingpin Saudi Arabia opposed the move. Fears of a mounting oil glut amid resilient U.S. oil production and brimming inventories have driven oil prices down again in recent days—after already halving since last June. Writing on behalf of Algerian President Abdulaziz Bouteflika, oil minister Youcef Yousfi sent invitations to a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Angola and non-OPEC producer Russia, to discuss a concerted response to falling oil prices as part of “consultative meeting” in Algiers on March 16, according to people familiar with the letter. But only Angola’s oil minister José Maria Botelho de […]

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Egypt Signs Gas Import Deal With Russia’a Gazprom – Petroleum Ministry

Cairo — Egypt signed a deal to import 35 shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over five years with Russian energy company Gazprom on Tuesday, the Petroleum Ministry said in a statement. The deal will see Egypt receive seven shipments of LNG annually for five years. The state’s Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company signed the deal with the giant Russian firm. Gazprom has an 18 percent share of global natural gas reserves. The two sides will agree on when Egypt will receive shipments in the second half of this year. Signing this deal brings the amount of LNG shipments Egypt has agreed to import to 90 shipments provided by five foreign companies, 49 of which are going to be delivered in 2015 and 2016. These agreements are part of the state’s global tender to import natural gas in order to meet fuel demands of electric power plants, amid a […]

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Political uncertainty plagues Nigeria’s oil potential

Politics creating investment risk to Nigeria’s offshore oil potential, report from IHS finds. (UPI/Shutterstock/project1photography) The Independent National Electoral Commission said it plans to hold a nation-wide vote March 28, six weeks later than originally planned. Nigeria’s government postponed the vote in February, arguing the threat from militant group Boko Haram was too great to ensure safety at the polls. Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer. A report from IHS finds the future of the nation’s oil sector is at risk from the uncertain political future. Roderick Brice, the author of the report on Nigeria for the analytical group, said elections are a disruptive force in the oil-rich country. Regardless of who wins, investors will face an uncertain future. "That uncertainty has already constrained deepwater exploration and development," he said in a statement Monday. IHS forecasts crude oil production in Nigeria will drop from the 2 million barrels per day […]

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Tensions Flare Over Tanker Seeking Libyan Crude

ENLARGE A January photo of the Mellitah Oil and Gas terminal on the outskirts of Zwara in western Libya after fighters from the Islamist-backed Fajr Libya militia secured the perimeter of the oil complex. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images An oil tanker booked to load Libyan crude has sparked a fraught question over the North African country’s huge crude reserves: Who has the right to sell the oil when two governments are battling for control of the nation? The dispute is at the center of the struggle for control of Libya since the ouster and death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi and the nation’s descent into violence and instability. The issue has become muddier in recent weeks after a string of terrorist attacks and sabotage crippled the oil industry. The Vito, a tanker controlled by Aurum Ship Management of the United Arab Emirates, has been chartered to load 1.3 million barrels […]

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Eni envisions $5 billion investments in Egypt

Italian energy company Eni signs framework agreement that envisions large-scale investments in country’s oil and gas reserves. Photo courtesy: Eni Italian energy company Eni said it signed a framework agreement to develop Egyptian oil and gas reserves that calls for as much as $5 billion in investments. Eni Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, met over the weekend with Egyptian Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail on the sidelines of an economic summit in Sharm el-Sheik. The framework agreement calls for as much as $5 billion in total investments. "The investments, which will be utilized through the realization of projects to be implemented in the next 4 years, are directed to the development of 200 million barrels of oil and 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas," the Italian company said in a Saturday statement. "These investments will also contribute effectively to the increasing energy needs of local demand." Political and economic […]

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Significant gas discovery made in Libya

Italian energy company Eni reports what it says is a major natural gas discovery off the Libyan coast. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian Italian energy company Eni said Monday it made what it considers to be a significant discovery of natural gas off the coast of war-torn Libya. The company said it produced about 29 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from a discovery well off the Libyan coast . Its estimated capacity is 50 million cubic feet per day and its proximity to existing production infrastructure will allow for rapid development. "This exploration success further confirms the enormous potential of Libyan gas resources," the company said in a statement. "The future development of Libyan resources will allow supporting the growth of the domestic consumption and industry, while maintaining Libya’s position as a strategic supplier for Italy and Europe." Italy received nearly 10 percent of its natural gas from Libya’s […]

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Egypt Signs U.S.$12 Billion Deal With British Energy Giant BP

Cairo — Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail signed an energy deal worth $12 billion (91.5 billion Egyptian pounds) with energy firm British Petroleum (BP) on Saturday. Ismail was cited by Egyptian state news agency MENA as saying that the deal is set to provide Egypt with a quarter of local energy production and will contribute to filling the gap in demand of petroleum products by 2020. The deal will see the British energy giant develop 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 55 million barrels of condensates in the West Nile Delta area. BP announced earlier this month the discovery of a deepwater exploration well, called Atoll-1. "The estimated potential in the concession exceeds 5 trillion cubic feet," the company said in a press release on March 9. Egypt has been facing an energy crisis for years, with power outages surging in the summer. Egyptian authorities have often […]

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On the River Nile, a Move to Avert a Conflict Over Water

Ethiopia’s plans to build Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Nile have sparked tensions with Egypt, which depends on the river to irrigate its arid land. But after years of tensions, an international agreement to share the Nile’s waters may be in sight. For thousands of years, Egyptians have depended on the waters of the Nile flowing out of the Ethiopian highlands and central Africa. It is the world’s longest river, passing through 11 countries, but without its waters the most downstream of those nations, Egypt, is a barren desert. So when, in 2011, Ethiopia began to build a giant hydroelectric dam across the river’s largest tributary, the Blue Nile, it looked like Egypt might carry out its long-standing threat to go to war to protect its lifeline. But last weekend, all appeared to change. Ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan agreed on the basis for a deal for […]

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Libya Warns Against Attempts to Sell Its Crude Illegally

By Benoit Faucon Libya’s National Oil Co. on Thursday warned against attempts to sell its crude oil illegally, amid mounting chaos in the oil industry. The news come after a string of attacks by purported members of the Islamic State against oil fields in the center of the country, which has already been rocked by a civil war between two rival governments. In a statement posted on its website, NOC said it had obtained "reliable sources of information in the oil market that some middlemen and brokers of unknown orientation were offering amounts of Libyan crude oil" without its approval. The state-run company, which has remained neutral in the conflict, threatened legal action at home and abroad against any buyer, referring to existing export bans from shutdown terminals Ras Lanuf and Sidra. The two eastern Libyan ports are controlled by oil guards loyal to warlord Ibrahim Jadran. Libya, once […]

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Egypt: Petroleum Ministry Pumps 43 Thousand Tonnes of Diesel Oil to Over Come Fuel Shortage – Statement

Cairo — Egypt’s ministry of petroleum pumped on Wednesday 43 thousand tonnes of diesel oil nationwide, Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail said on Thursday, to overcome a fuel crisis which has persisted this week. Ismail said in a statement that the amount of diesel oil pumped is 110 percent more than the planned amount, describing it as "unprecedented". Egypt’s capital witnessed this week long queues outside gas stations and recurring power cuts due to fuel shortage, alongside other governorates. Ismail urged citizens to refrain from overcrowding gas stations, stressing that the amount of diesel oil pumped is proof of its availability within the domestic market. Egypt’s fuel crisis, ongoing for the past three years, usually surges during the summer, when power cuts occur with the highest frequency.

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On the River Nile, a Move to Avert a Conflict Over Water

Ethiopia’s plans to build Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Nile have sparked tensions with Egypt, which depends on the river to irrigate its arid land. But after years of tensions, an international agreement to share the Nile’s waters may be in sight. For thousands of years, Egyptians have depended on the waters of the Nile flowing out of the Ethiopian highlands and central Africa. It is the world’s longest river, passing through 11 countries, but without its waters the most downstream of those nations, Egypt, is a barren desert. So when, in 2011, Ethiopia began to build a giant hydroelectric dam across the river’s largest tributary, the Blue Nile, it looked like Egypt might carry out its long-standing threat to go to war to protect its lifeline. But last weekend, all appeared to change. Ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan agreed on the basis for a deal for […]

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ISIS Seizes Opportunity in Libya’s Turmoil

SURT, Libya — The Islamic State has established more than a foothold in this Mediterranean port. Its fighters dominate the city center so thoroughly that a Libyan brigade sent to dislodge the group remains camped on the outskirts, visibly afraid to enter and allowing the extremists to come and go as they please. “We are going to allow them to slip out, because the less people we have to fight, the better,” said Mohamed Omar el-Hassan, a 28-year-old former crane operator who leads the brigade from a prefabricated shed on a highway ringing the city. “Why make the city suffer?” he said, trying to explain his delay more than 16 days after the brigade arrived in Surt. Nearly four years after the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi , Libya ’s warring cities and towns have become so entangled in internal conflicts over money and power that they have opened […]

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Nigeria: Another Round of Petrol Shortage

editorial Frequent petrol shortages are not uncommon in the world’s 5th largest oil producer, but the sudden return of queues at service stations nationwide about a fortnight ago, in spite of the glut in world markets, jolted many Nigerians. The ugly sights of vehicles that snaked for kilometres out of filling stations were a reminder of the enduring fragility of the fuel distribution system in the country, and the instability in the petroleum industry generally. As often the case, it was payday for black marketers, who sold at between 150 naira and 250 naira per litre, against the official price of 85 naira per litre. As the shortage bit harder, the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) announced that a billion litres of the commodity would be imported to bridge shortfalls in supply. As usual, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources announced that there was sufficient stock of petrol […]

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Libyan general sworn as top commander as his planes hit Tripoli airport

Warplanes from Libya’s internationally recognized government attacked the last functioning airport in Tripoli, the capital controlled by a rival administration, on Monday, officials said. Extending a series of tit-for-tat strikes, the attack coincided with the swearing-in of Khalifa Haftar, one of the most divisive figures in post-revolutionary Libya, as army commander for the recognized government. Rival governments and parliaments are battling for control of the large North African country and its oil resources four years after rebels ousted veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi. The recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni and the elected parliament have been confined to a rump state in the east since an armed faction seized Tripoli in the west over the summer, reinstating the previous assembly and setting up a rival administration. "Warplanes conducted airstrikes this morning on Mitiga airport but there was no damage," airport spokesman Abdulsalam Buamoud said. "Flights were suspended for only an hour … […]

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BP Announces Offshore Gas Discovery in Egypt

LONDON–BP PLC said Monday it has made a significant gas discovery offshore Egypt days after announcing plans to help invest around $12 billion to develop gas and condensate from its West Nile Delta project in the country. The discovery and investment in Egypt’s energy sector is welcome news for the country, which is facing its worst energy crisis in decades amid rising demand and falling gas production. BP said Monday its Atoll-1 deepwater exploration well in the East Nile Delta had hit 50 meters of gas-bearing rock, the company’s second major discovery in the area since 2013 and a promising sign for the potential commercial development of the concession. The company estimates that the potential volume of gas in the area could exceed 5 trillion cubic feet. The discovery follows BP’s decision last week to go ahead with development of the West Nile Delta project, in which it holds […]

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Four Filipinos nabbed from Libyan oil field

The government in Manila announced the repatriation of more than six dozen nationals from Libya one day before Islamic State abduction of four Filipinos. Photo courtesy of Filipino Foreign Ministry Seven foreign workers were abducted and 11 guards were killed when militants raided the Ghani oil field in Libya. Fighters loyal to the group calling itself the Islamic State took credit for the Friday attack, the latest to stifle oil operations in Libya. The Filipino government confirmed four of its nationals were among those seized, the Libya Herald reported Saturday. The confirmation came after the Filipino Foreign Ministry said 77 of its citizens were repatriated March 5 after they crossed the border into Tunisia. "The Department of Foreign Affairs estimates that there remain approximately 4,000 Filipinos in Libya despite the call by the Philippine government for their mandatory evacuation as a result of the deteriorating security situation in that […]

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Libya to export over 2 million barrels of oil from east this week

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Libya is set to export more than two million barrels of crude oil this week from two ports in the east where output has topped 245,000 barrels per day, oil officials said on Monday. Rising exports from the ports of Hariga and Zueitina offer some hope for the OPEC member state’s oil sector, which has been battered by Islamist militant attacks and fighting between rival factions. Output from four fields including Sarir, the country’s largest, has reached 243,000 to 245,000 bpd, said Omran al-Zwai, spokesman for state firm Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO) which dominates production in eastern Libya. AGOCO restarted output at the Sarir and Messla oilfields after a pipeline blast cut off supplies to Hariga last month. The two fields pump around 180,000 bpd, while AGOCO also runs the Hamada and Nafoura fields. A fifth field, Bayda, has been closed to an outage, […]

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Sasol Cuts 1,500 Jobs as Oil Price Slumps

ENLARGE South African petrochemicals company Sasol Ltd. has cut 1,500 jobs and said more will go, the latest layoffs in a global oil sector contending with the commodity’s price rout. Head count at the company will be “dramatically down” by June, with Sasol pressing ahead with steep cuts in capital spending and a reduction in its annual dividend, Chief Executive David Constable said. But Mr. Constable said the scale of the industry’s cutbacks are such that they might catapult oil prices higher again in 2017 after their roughly 50% slide since last summer. “The capital projects that we’re cutting back on—that the majors are cutting back on—these projects take years and years to start back up. You don’t flip the switch,” he said in an interview. “That’s what could give you a high-side well above 100 [dollars a barrel],” he said. Sasol itself has “put on the shelf…until further […]

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New Attacks on Libya’s Oil Assets Shake Nation’s Stability, Energy Markets

Fighters from Libya Dawn take a position outside Tripoli on Thursday. ENLARGE Photo: mahmud turkia/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Deadly attacks on Libyan oil installations in recent days have resulted in what could be long-lasting damage to the industry that affects oil markets and alters the battle for dominance in the country. Western and Libyan officials said they suspected the Libyan affiliate of Islamic State, the radical group that has taken over parts of Iraq and Syria, was responsible for assaults on Friday that left at least eight people dead and seven foreign workers missing. The attacks targeting oil fields and their employees point to a new pattern in Libya’s violence: Lacking the strength and expertise to capture and use oil installations, militant groups are destroying them to prevent rivals from profiting from the oil. Islamic State’s “engagement with Libya’s hydrocarbons sector is not about capturing fields,” said Geoff Porter, an […]

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Barclays’ Mahesh Sees Elections as ‘Huge Risk’ for Nigeria Oil

(Bloomberg) — Barclays Plc energy analyst Miswin Mahesh sees a “huge risk” of oil production in Nigeria being disrupted by political instability arising from elections scheduled for March 28. The vote is set to be the most closely contested since the end of military rule in 1999. President Goodluck Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party and former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress are the leading contenders — each won 42 percent support in a survey of 2,400 adults polled by Afrobarometer in December in 33 of the nation’s 36 states and the federal capital territory. “We are not sure how it will play out on the political front,” Mahesh, based in London, said in a March 6 interview in Cape Town. “Nigeria will do whatever it takes to maintain its production. The risks are still there. There is a genuine risk that we might see some disruptions.” Nigeria’s daily […]

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Nigerian economy affects due to fuel shortages

LONDON: Nigeria is suffering from a gasoline shortage as falling oil prices have affected the country’s ability to import and distribute refined fuels. Coming just weeks before elections scheduled for March 28, the shortage could have a big impact on the campaign trail. In Abuja, the lines of cars waiting for gas are growing longer. Acute fuel shortages are gripping towns and cities across the country. Workers reliant on their cars are losing money fast – like taxi driver Bartholomew Ode Akpa. “I work at the airport as a car hire and now I’m supposed to be at the airport and there is no fuel for me to go and look for something to do,” he said. Nigeria is one of the world’s top producers of crude oil, and exports around 2 million barrels per day. But it doesn’t have the refinery capacity to meet fuel demand, so it […]

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Libya declares force majeure on 11 central oilfields

The El Sharara oil field in Libya resumed operation in December after being shut down by militants in November. Photo by Javier Blas/CC WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) — Libya declared force majeure on 11 oilfields after a series of Islamic State attacks on facilities in the country’s central region. The state-owned National Oil Corp. posted a statement on its website declaring force majeure, saying it could no longer ensure production at the facilities due to the deteriorating security situation. The move frees the company of liability. Two fields, Bahi and Mabruk, had been attacked last month and were seized again Monday and Tuesday by unknown militants. Gunmen at Mabruk claimed to represent the Islamic State militant group. A third field, Dahra, was attacked late Tuesday. Col. Hakim Maazab, who commands oil guards in the region, said Wednesday the militants had withdrawn from Mabruk , after destroying oil tanks and […]

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As World’s Hottest Economy Unravels, Nigerians Feel the Squeeze

Zoology student Samuel Pelumi works on his laptop outside his home alongside the Lagos Lagoon. In a four-day sweep through Nigeria early last year, Aberdeen Asset Management’s Kevin Daly detected trouble. Yes, the country was a rising African power and yes, it had become the world’s fastest-growing major economy, but things weren’t quite right. An Islamic insurgency was heating up in the north and there were early signs that a nasty presidential campaign was brewing. Then financial disaster struck. Oil, the lifeblood of the country, collapsed in a breath-taking free fall. Daly had seen enough. By November, he had sold all of his Nigerian government bonds. Back in Lagos again last month for a fresh look, Daly found a country ravaged by crisis from all sides: the bloody clashes with Boko Haram insurgents had intensified; the violence had spurred authorities to postpone elections the president was in danger of […]

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Libya Declares Force Majeure Over Oil Fields in Central Region

Libya on Wednesday declared a force majeure related to 11 oil fields in the center of country, after a string of attacks against the facilities by the radical group calling itself Islamic State. In a statement posted on its website, state-owned National Oil Co. said it was no longer able to ensure security in the 11 fields and declared force majeure on them, a move guaranteeing legal protections from claims against any future disruptions. In recent weeks, the North African country’s oil industry—once the lifeblood of its economy—has been in the cross hairs of an armed conflict. The country is pumping about 500,000 barrels of crude oil a day, three times less than its peak output. The Dahra oil field, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) southeast of Tripoli, was attacked late on Tuesday, hours after two other oil facilities were targeted by the militants. Col. Hakim Maazab, a commander […]

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Libyan Oil Guards Prepare to Take on Islamic State

By Benoît Faucon Oil guards in Libya are getting ready to take on suspected Islamic State militants, their commander said Wednesday, following a third attack on oil fields overnight. In recent weeks, the North African country’s oil industry–once the lifeblood of its economy–has been in the cross hairs of an armed conflict. Colonel Hakim Maazab, who heads the brigade that is in charge of guarding oil fields in central Libya, told The Wall Street Journal that the Dahra oil field, about 500 kilometers southeast of Tripoli, was attacked Tuesday night by suspected Islamic State militants, hours after two other oil facilities were targeted by the same group. Col. Maazab said his brigade had sent reinforcements to the nearby Zella airport and a military aircraft had arrived to assist them. "We will go to Dahra today," he said. A Libyan oil official familiar with the situation in the fields said […]

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Nigeria: Fuel Scarcity – Nigerian Govt to Pay U.S.$30 Billion Exchange Rate Differentials to Marketers

A man fills in a car at a fuel station (file photo). Photo: Shell The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said on Wednesday that the Federal Government had agreed to pay 30 billion dollars foreign exchange differentials owed to oil marketers. Ms. Okonjo-Iweala made this known on Wednesday in Abuja while briefing journalists after a meeting with the Central Bank, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, major oil markers and depot owners. "The Federal Government has addressed all contentious issues with the marketers, such as the issue of the foreign exchange rate differentials. "The Federal Government has agreed to pay the 30 billion dollars exchange rate differentials owed the marketers over the last couple of months. "It is already in the process of offsetting the N185 billion debts owed the marketers with the issuance of the Sovereign Debt Note (SDN)," she said. Ms. Okonjo-Iweala added that the Federal Government had […]

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Egypt to Pay Back Its Oil-Company Debt by Mid-2016 – Minister

By Summer Said Egypt plans to repay its $3.1 billion debt to international energy companies operating in the country by mid-2016, almost a year later than initially planned, the country’s oil minister said. "We have already reduced the debt from $6.3 billion at the start of 2013 to $3.1 billion at the end of last year," Oil Minister Sherif Ismail told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. "We have no certain timetable for the next payments but we plan to pay back the entire amount by mid next year." Since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and the turmoil that ensued, Egypt has struggled to pay foreign energy companies that provide oil and gas for its domestic market, including: BP PLC (BP), Apache Corp. (APA), BG Group (BG.LN) and Dana Gas PJSC (DANA.AD), an energy company based in the United Arab Emirates. Egyptian officials hope the […]

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Nigeria: Govt Reassures Nigerians On Availability of Fuel

Abuja — THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has assured Nigerians that the queues at filling stations across the country will disappear before the end of this week. Group Executive Director Commercial and Investment, Aisha Abdulrahman, who stated this Tuesay in Abuja when the Supervising Minister of Information, Chief Edem Duke led a team of reporters for on-the-spot assessment of the situation in the filling stations, said the glitch that disrupted fuel supply in the last few days had been addressed, adding that the NNPC now had adequate stock that could last between twenty and thirty days. Abdulrahman encouraged filling stations to complement NNPC retail outlets by selling petrol for 24 hours in order to clear the fuel queues across the country. She discouraged speculation, panic buying and hoarding because the NNPC had flooded the country with petroleum products. In his remarks, the Supervising Minister of Information, Chief Edem […]

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Nigeria: Fuel Scarcity Gets Worse Nationwide

Petrol Station in Nigeria Photo: Daily Trust Abuja — As fuel scarcity bites harder nationwide, fresh facts emerged, yesterday, indicating that a combination of policies from Nigeria’s Central Bank and the high level of indebtedness of product marketers to some banks led to the low supply of Premium Motor Spirit PMS (petrol). Because of the high level of indebtedness of marketers to banks, most of the banks have refused to issue Letters of Credit to them. A competent source at the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, disclosed that "the National Consumption level is predicated at 40 million litres daily and this is shared at ratio 50:50 between NNPC and other petroleum products marketers. "Against the foregoing, available record shows that at the moment, NNPC is meeting its allocated ratio while other marketers have blatantly refused to contribute a drop of their own quota". The Federal Government, in a […]

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Nigeria: Ruling Party Blamed for Fuel Shortages

Abuja — THE ongoing fuel scarcity across Nigeria is a result of the looting of the $12 billion domestic gas fund under President Goodluck Jonathan’s watch and the administration’s failure to the pay fuel subsidy, the main opposition has alleged. The All Progressives Congress (APC), in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the People’s Democratic Party and the Jonathan administration decided to divert attention from those problems by accusing the opposition of being responsible for the scarcity, "a most laughable and irresponsible statement by a sitting government that is always so eager to blame everyone but itself for the nation’s woes." The party said Coordinating Minister of Economy and Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had, in February, promised to pay all subsidies owed to the marketers then in the sum of N264 billion, along with the accrued interest. It added that the failure to meet this […]

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Fuel shortages hit Nigeria as currency woes hurt importers

ABUJA/LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) – Oil-rich Nigeria’s main cities are facing acute gasoline shortages as importers feel the pinch of a plummeting local currency, tighter credit lines and unpaid government subsidies, oil traders and local industry sources said. As queues of double-parked cars stretch outside filling stations in the capital Abuja, empty tanks elsewhere are forcing consumers onto the black market just weeks before presidential elections on March 28 in Africa’s biggest economy. "I have spent 12 hours here," taxi driver Bartholomew Odey Akpa told Reuters on Monday. "I work at the airport as a car hire … and there is no fuel for me to go." Nigeria exports around two million barrels per day of crude oil but is almost wholly reliant on imports for the 40 million litres per day of gasoline it consumes. The picture is an unwelcome one for President Goodluck Jonathan, who faces former […]

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U.N. meets rivals in oil-rich Libya

Sign up for our daily Energy Newsletter German energy company Wintershall said it’s using Libyan staff to get operations going again at oil fields. Photo courtesy: Wintershall TRIPOLI, Libya, March 2 (UPI) — Though some oil operations in the country have resumed, the U.N. Support Mission in Libya said it was calling for a peaceful solution to divisive crises. Disputes between rival Libya governments, coupled with increased violence attributed to Islamic State militants, have spilled over into the oil sector. British energy company BP said in a much-watched annual report published last month that long-term production issues may result from the lingering violence. The U.N. Support Mission in Libya said it met with rival leaders to discuss ways to advance political dialogue and cease-fire proposals . "The participants agreed on the principle of a ceasefire and underlined the need to end the bloodshed in Libya and engage in dialogue," […]

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Nigeria: Fuel Scarcity Worsens in Abuja As NNPC Promises Improved Supply

Abuja — The fuel crisis in Abuja worsened weekend, as many of the petrol stations across the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, were shut down, leaving motorists stranded. This was in spite of claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, on Friday, that it is injecting about 688 million of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, into the market. Motorists had to resort to the black market‎, where roadside petrol sellers now sell the commodity for as high as N250 per litre. However, the NNPC, Sunday, promised that it is working to ensure that the situation is addressed quickly and assured Nigerians that the fuel supply situation will improve in the coming days. Responding to enquiries from Vanguard, spokesperson for the NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, said, "On Friday, we had stated that in 48 hours we will wet the market with 688 million litres of petrol. Distribution of products is by […]

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Nigeria hit by fuel shortage as marketers cut imports over unpaid subsidies

Lagos (Platts)–2Mar2015/519 am EST/1019 GMT A fresh round of gasoline shortages has hit Nigeria as fuel importers drastically cut imports following the government’s delay in settle over Naira 264 billion ($1.41 billion) on debts owed on subsidies for previous imports. Moreover, Nigerian businesses, hard hit by the fuel shortage, Monday restated their demand that the government completely abolish subsidies on imported fuel, saying it would avoid recurring shortages and free up resources. Motorists formed long queues at gas stations in major cities including the federal capital Abuja and the commercial capital of Lagos, which marketers blamed on low fuel stocks. "Most marketers have run out of stocks over the last two weeks because of the drop in imports," Femi Lawore, spokesman for the main oil marketers group, told Platts. "We have warned the government before about the danger of continuing to delay the outstanding claims on subsidies totaling N264 […]

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Nigeria: Missing u.S.$20 Billion – Okonjo-Iweala Gets One Week Ultimatum to Submit Forensic Audit

Miffed by the uncounted $20 billion, the House of Representatives has Wednesday issued a one week ultimatum to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the economy Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to submit the report of the forensic audit. The mandate followed a resolution, passed last week by the House at plenary which directed its Committee on Public Accounts, otherwise called PAC, to investigate the matter. Chairman of the committee, Hon. Solomon Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Lagos) while briefing Journalists on the matter stated that the report "must include the Initial Draft Report, the Executive Summary and Management/Internal Control Letters." Olamilekan noted that the "condensed version" of the report released to the public through a press conference addressed by the Auditor-General of the Federation with the highlight that Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should remit a minimum of $1.48 billion to the Federation Account had rather prompted the demand for complete […]

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Algeria: Sonatrach – Three Oil Fields Discovered Since Early 2015

Oran — Three oil fields were discovered by the national hydrocarbon group Sonatrach since the beginning of 2015, said Wednesday in Oran Chief Executive Officer of the oil company Said Sahnoun. "Sonatrach discovered for the year 2015, on its own account, three oil fields of extremely important quality," Sahnoun told APS on the sidelines of the festivities commemorating the 40th anniversary of the nationalization of hydrocarbons, hosted by the petrochemical zone of Arzew. The first oil discovery was made in the region of Touggourt while the second in Ghardaia. The third gas field was discovered in El Bayadh, said the official. These discoveries are being assessed by Sonatrach, followed by an appraisal programme that will start very shortly, added the source. Sahnoun said that the flows are "extremely encouraging ," adding that they range between 3,000 and 4,000 barrels/day.

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Shale Gas Project Encounters Determined Foes Deep in Algerian Sahara

ALGIERS — Deep in the Algerian Sahara, daily protests against a pilot hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, project are now well into their second month. The demonstrations have spread to several towns and have provided opposition parties with a new platform at an especially precarious moment for the government, as oil prices have slumped and the declining health of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has removed him almost completely from public view. Hundreds of police officers sealed off streets to block an antifracking march in the capital, Algiers, on Tuesday as opposition groups held rallies around the country in solidarity with the southern protesters in the distant oasis town of Ain Salah. At first glance, Algeria might seem an unlikely place for the sort of popular movement against fracking, a method of tapping into deep deposits of shale gas, that has unfolded in many Western countries. Money from oil and gas accounts […]

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Nigeria Cuts Forecasts for Oil Price, Currency for This Year

ABUJA, Nigeria—Nigeria on Wednesday cut its forecast for oil prices and the value of its currency this year, an acknowledgment of the pain tumbling energy costs are inflicting on Africa’s top crude producer. The senate voted to cut its benchmark expectation for oil prices this year to $52 a barrel, from $65 in December. Senators also pegged the average value of the local currency, the naira, this year at 190 to the U.S. dollar, well below the previous target of 165 to the greenback. Brent crude traded at about $59 a barrel on Wednesday and one dollar was worth about 200 naira. The currency has plunged to record lows this year as oil prices have lingered at about half their value just six months ago. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, draws about 70% of government revenue and most of its foreign exchange earnings from its oil output. The plummeting value […]

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Libya’s Largest Oil Field Shut Down Again on Power Failure

Libya’s largest oil field was shut down again Tuesday after heavy rain led to a power failure, a Libyan oil official said. The Sarir oil field had resumed oil flows on Sunday after repairs were made to a pipeline blown up by militants a week earlier. The field normally pumps 185,000 barrels a day to the eastern Libyan oil port of Hariga. The official estimated that the field would begin pumping again in a few days. Write to Benoît Faucon at [email protected]

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Nigeria Suffers ‘Substantial’ Revenue Loss as Oil Prices Fall

(Bloomberg) — Nigeria’s government revenue fell 15 percent in January as falling oil prices eroded the income of Africa’s biggest crude producer. Revenue fell to 416.1 billion naira ($2.1 billion) in January compared with 490 billion naira a month earlier, Accountant-General Jonah Otunla said Wednesday in an e-mailed statement. The volume of oil exports declined 33 percent in November and December, resulting in $159.88 million of lost revenue, Otunla said. Nigeria has “suffered a substantial loss in revenue as a result of the massive drop in crude oil price at the international oil market,” he said. The continent’s largest economy has been hit by the halving in Brent crude prices since the middle of last year as the West African nation prepares for presidential elections next month. Nigeria relies on export of the commodity for more than 90 percent of foreign exchange income and 70 percent of government revenue. […]

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Gas discovery confirmed in Moroccan shale

Gas discovery confirmed in onshore shale basin in Morocco, a third for Gulfsands Petroleum. Map courtesy: Gulfsands Petroleum. The company said results from an exploration well dubbed DOB-1 in the Rharb permit area of northern Morocco indicated a discovery after a test-flow rate of 10 million cubic feet of gas per day was achieved. DOB-1 is the third such success for the company in the permit area, Chief Executive Officer Mahdi Sajjad said in a statement. Morocco is one of the West African countries that have drawn interest from international energy companies eager to tap into unexploited reserves. Onshore, the country holds an estimated 20 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale oil and natural gas reserves. Gulfsands, which has headquarters in London, said last year it planned to spend $3.5 million to develop its acreage in northern Morocco. "We are continuing with our efforts to commence production from these […]

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Ties to Islamic State Cited by Group in Libya Attacks

CAIRO — Militants pledging allegiance to the Islamic State claimed responsibility for three car bombs that killed at least 38 people in a town in eastern Libya on Friday in the latest escalation in a surge of violence linked to the group. The attacks, in the town of Qubbah, appeared to be one more turn in a cycle of retaliation that began when the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, released a video last week showing its fighters in western Libya beheading more than a dozen kidnapped Egyptian Christians . The government of Egypt responded with airstrikes on the city of Derna, a hub of Islamist militancy in eastern Libya where another group of fighters has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State. On Friday, the Islamic State branch in Derna claimed responsibility for the latest bombings “in revenge for the bloodshed of Muslims” in the city, according […]

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Multiple Suicide Bombings in Libya Kill at Least 45

TRIPOLI, Libya — Multiple suicide car bombings struck an eastern Libyan town, killing at least 45 people on Friday not far from a main base of the Islamic State group’s Libyan offshoot. The group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it came in retaliation for recent Egyptian airstrikes that avenged the beheading of 21 Christian hostages by Libyan Islamic State militants. The massive bombings rocked the town of Qubba, which is under control of the country’s internationally recognized government and about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Darna — a stronghold of Libya’s Islamic State branch. In a statement posted on social networking sites, the group said two of the "Caliphate’s knights" carried out the bombings, targeting what they described as a Libyan army operations room.

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Islamic State Claims East Libya Bomb Attacks as 33 Reported Dead

(Bloomberg) — Islamic State’s affiliate in Libya claimed responsibility for bomb attacks in the country’s east that left dozens dead, saying they were directed at the commander of a campaign against Islamist forces. The triple car bombing in Qubba, near the base of Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tobruk, killed at least 33 people including four Egyptian laborers, Al Jazeera television reported, citing Ibrahim Khalid, head of a local hospital. The attacks followed airstrikes carried out by Egypt’s military against Islamic State’s stronghold in Libya earlier this week, a response to the beheading of 21 captured Egyptian Christians by the jihadist group. Islamic State said on one of the websites it uses that the attack targeted the headquarters of Khalifa Haftar, a commander based in eastern Libya, who’s conducting a campaign against Islamist militias. He’s one of the local warlords to gain prominence in Libya as central authority in […]

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Pro-Islamic State militants seize Libyan university: residents

CAIRO (Reuters) – Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State have seized the university in the central Libyan city of Sirte, residents said on Thursday, days after a video showed them staging a convoy parade. Islamist militants have made inroads into parts of the North African oil-producing country, exploiting a power vacuum created by a violent struggle for control between two competing governments. On Monday Egyptian planes struck suspected Islamic State targets in eastern Libya, after the group released a video showing the execution of 21 Egyptian Christians kidnapped in Sirte. On Wednesday Egypt and the official Libyan government asked the United Nations Security Council to lift an arms embargo and help build up the army to tackle the jihadists. "The group took control of the university yesterday," a Sirte resident said, asking not to be named. A picture posted on social media showed an Islamic State flag at the […]

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First Libyan oil exported in a week from Hariga storage

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – A tanker has loaded 600,000 barrels of crude from storage at the Libyan port of Hariga, an energy official said on Wednesday, the first vessel to pick up oil for export from the country in more than a week. The official said crude supplies from the Sarir oilfield, which flow to Hariga for export, remained disrupted following a pipeline blast, with repairs and maintenance expected to take a number of days. Libya’s oil exports, on which the North African country’s revenues depend, have collapsed as fighting among factions has split the nation. The shortfall helped raise the price of benchmark Brent oil to a 2015 high of $63 a barrel this week. Hariga is the only operating oil port, though two small offshore platforms can also export around 70,000 to 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude. No oil tankers departed Libya in the previous […]

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Uganda: Sanctions-Hit Russian Group Wins U.S. $4 Billion Uganda Oil Refinery Deal

Uganda has rewarded a $4bn oil refinery deal to a subsidiary of Russia’s Rostec, whose CEO has been subject to US sanctions. Uganda and RT Global Resources will now negotiate the terms of a joint venture to engineer and finance the $2.5bn refinery plus a product pipeline and associated infrastructure. The decision to award the contract cements growing ties between Moscow, and the country, which increasingly characterises the west as a neo-colonial aggressor. The CEO, Sergei Chemezov, is a former KGB officer and close ally of President Vladimir Putin. The US blocked his assets and prohibited companies from dealing with him since April 2014 in response to Russia’s military involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The EU followed suit in September. Although Uganda is under no legal compulsion to comply with the sanctions, the decision will further threaten its international standing. Uganda’s global standing was knocked last year […]

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Uganda: Why Govt Picked Russian Firm for Oil Refinery

Photo: Amnesty International (file photo). Government yesterday picked a Russian-led international consortium led by RT Global Resources as the preferred bidder for the construction of the country’s oil refinery. The other company which lost out, SK Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd from the Republic of South Korea, was retained as the alternative preferred bidder. RT Global Resources is a subsidiary of Rostec, a Russian arms manufacturer. Members of the consortium include; VTB, Capital Plc, a subsidiary of VTB, the second largest Russian state-owned bank, Telconet Capital Ltd Partnership, Tatneft JSC and GS Engineering Construction Corporation (South Korea). While members of the SK Engineering and Construction-led consortium include: SK KDB Global Investment Partnership, a private equity fund, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd, Haldor Topsoe A/S and Mastro Oil and Gas Solutions (MOGAS). The selection of a preferred bidder for the refinery follows the submission of final offers from the […]

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Libya’s oil economy at risk, envoy says

Libyan conflict may disrupt prime source of revenue, oil, says U.S. ambassador. UPITarek Alhuony. Internal conflicts in Libya may leave the country without a source of oil revenue in less than two years, the U.S. ambassador to Libya said Tuesday. The fire that resulted from the militant bombing of a pipeline at the Sarir oil field, the largest in Libya, was extinguished during the weekend. Sarir is in the same region as oil fields attacked last week by fighters claiming loyalty to the group calling itself the Islamic State. Libya before NATO forces intervened to protect civilians from attacks by forces loyal to former leader Moammar Gadhafi was producing around 1.2 million barrels of oil per day. In its monthly report for February, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said member-state Libya was producing around 343,000 bpd as of January, a 27 percent decline from December. Sarir was producing […]

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