Iran Claims Fuel Seized By U.S. Was Not Iranian…. But It Was
Iran insists that the fuel on the four tankers the United States seized in the Caribbean en route to Venezuela last week was no longer property of Iran when seized, Continue Reading
Baghdad-Erbil revenue deal back on track
Iraq’s federal government and semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government have agreed on a revenue-sharing deal, ending more than three months of deadlock and opening the way for Baghdad to restart vital Continue Reading
Iran signs contracts to expand oil production capacity by 180,000 b/d
Iran’s state-run companies have signed 13 contracts with local contractors that aim to raise oil production by over 180,000 b/d, as part of the country’s policy to be in a Continue Reading
Tehran Says Targeted Tankers Held Iranian Fuel
Four tankers whose cargoes were seized by the U.S. over the past month were heading to Venezuela with gasoline loaded in Iran, according to Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. His Continue Reading
Chevron Pursues Exploration Deal in Iraq
On the sidelines of the visit, U.S. and Iraqi officials also intend to unveil progress toward finalizing natural-gas and power-technology deals with Honeywell International Inc., HON -0.95% General Electric Co., Continue Reading
Saudi Arabia’s Inflation Surges in July After VAT Increase
Saudi Arabia’s inflation quickened at the fastest pace since at least 2012 after the kingdom tripled its value-added tax. Consumer prices rose an annual 6.1% in July from 0.5% in June, Continue Reading
Lebanon needs two-week lockdown after ‘shocking’ COVID-19 rise, minister says
Lebanon must shut down for two weeks after a surge in coronavirus infections, the caretaker health minister said on Monday, as the country reels from the massive Beirut port blast. Continue Reading
Bahrain Seen Needing More Gulf Aid as It’s Downgraded by Fitch
Bahrain received its first downgrade in over two years from Fitch Ratings, which said it will likely “require further Gulf backing” in the medium term as the government’s finances remain Continue Reading
Turkey draws another EU rebuke for latest plans at sea
Turkey drew another rebuke from the European Union on Sunday when it said its Yavuz energy drill ship would extend operations in disputed Mediterranean waters off Cyprus until mid-September. Yavuz Continue Reading
U.S. says it seized four Iranian fuel shipments en route to Venezuela
The United States said on Friday it had confiscated four Iranian fuel shipments that had been bound for Venezuela, disrupting a key supply line for both Tehran and Caracas as Continue Reading
Iran plans to boost state coffers by selling oil securities to Iranians
Iran plans to start offering oil-backed securities to its citizens, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, as part of the government’s efforts to boost state coffers hit by U.S. sanctions Continue Reading
U.S. Says Iran Forces Boarded Tanker in International Waters
Iranian forces boarded a small tanker in international waters for several hours, serving the world a reminder of tensions in the region that flared up last year and embroiled merchant Continue Reading
France Sends Navy to Eastern Mediterranean Amid Turkey-Greece Standoff
President Emmanuel Macron ordered French forces to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide military assistance to Greece, raising the stakes in France’s growing regional confrontation against an increasingly assertive Turkey. France’s Continue Reading
Turkey Claims One Of Its Oil And Gas Exploration Vessels Was Attacked
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan alleged on Thursday that its oil and gas exploration vessel, the Oruç Reis, has come under attack, according to Turkish state media , in what Continue Reading
Tankers ship Iranian fuel cargoes to U.S. for seizure
Tankers carrying Iranian fuel cargoes covered by a U.S. warrant for seizure are sailing to the United States after talks between U.S. authorities and ship owners, a U.S. government source Continue Reading
Public spat hampers border-focused Baghdad-Erbil budget deal
Negotiators from Iraq’s federal government and semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are seeking a breakthrough revenue-sharing deal by pursuing a compromise on long-standing disputes over border crossings — a shift Continue Reading
Baghdad heat is world’s climate change future
This city roars in the summertime. You hear the generators on every street, shaking and shuddering to keep electric fans whirring as the air seems to shimmer in the heat. Iraq Continue Reading
Aramco May Have To Cut Costs To Pay Out Big Dividend
Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco is considering additional cuts to its capital expenditure (capex) in order to be able to pay its massive dividends, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, Continue Reading
Saudis vacationing at home helps boost gasoline demand
Saudis staying home for vacation because of the COVID-19 pandemic are helping to boost demand for gasoline in Fujairah, where motor fuel exports jumped to a two-year high in July, Continue Reading
Fujairah Data: Oil Products stocks dip for seventh consecutive week
Stockpiles of oil products at Fujairah on the UAE’s east coast continued to decline for the seventh week in a row, further eroding inventories that had climbed to a record Continue Reading
Turkey Doubles Down On Drilling In Heavility Contested East-Mediterranean
When Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) took power at the beginning of the century, the principle that got hold of the country’s foreign policy was called ‘ zero Continue Reading
China To Expand Its Influence In The Middle East With Major Oil Deal
China continues to expand its influence in the Middle East through oil and infrastructure deals, and the latest deal with ADNOC is a great example of how Beijing looks to Continue Reading
Defiant Erdogan Says Turkey Has Resumed Mediterranean Gas Exploration & Drilling
While over a week ago it was looking as if Turkey might back down on its ambitious oil and gas exploration aims in the eastern Mediterranean amidst global pressure, especially Continue Reading
Aramco Aims To Boost Production Capacity To 13 Million Bpd
While the world is still awash with oil that it cannot quickly get rid of during a time of historic demand crumbling, the world’s largest oil company is looking to Continue Reading
Saudi Aramco: Asian Oil Demand Recovery Almost At Pre-Crisis Levels
The world’s biggest oil-producing and oil-exporting company, state oil giant Saudi Aramco, is optimistic about the pace of oil demand recovery in Asia, chief executive Amin Nasser said on Sunday, Continue Reading
SOMO says Iraq’s July oil output steady, misses OPEC+ cuts target
Iraq’s oil output in July, including flows from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, remained steady compared with June as the country missed its target to comply with OPEC+ cuts and also Continue Reading
Analysis: Iraq-US energy ties, once seen as oil deal bonanza, mired in geopolitics
Iraq’s energy ties with the US, which were supposed to yield oil deals following the 2003 invasion, have been whittled down to waivers to OPEC’s second-biggest producer to import Iranian Continue Reading
OPEC’s No.2 Drags Down Output Cut Compliance Rate
Since the landmark deal that saw OPEC+ agree to cut nearly 10 million barrels per day of oil production to clear the global gut created by the coronavirus pandemic and Continue Reading
COVID-19 Is Causing The GCC To Crumble
May 25 marked the 39th anniversary of the founding of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Across the Gulf, the occasion was welcomed as an opportunity to reflect on how the Continue Reading
Saudi Aramco conserves capex as profits crash
Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, is reducing its capital expenditure spend for 2020 due to the market conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the company expects Continue Reading
Oil Giant Aramco Sticks With Dividend Even as Profit Slumps
Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled oil giant pressed ahead with a plan to pay $75 billion in dividends this year despite sliding profit and a surge in debt, as the kingdom battles Continue Reading
Leaked: China Quietly Helped Saudi Arabia Build A Secret Nuclear Site
When it comes to America’s allies in the Middle East, Washington has long “looked the other way” while they recklessly pursue questionable weapons technology. Think Pakistan’s nuclear program at a Continue Reading
Iraq Promises Major Oil Output Cuts To Offset Poor Compliance
OPEC’s second-largest producer, Iraq, is promising additional cuts of around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) this month in order to compensate for the lack of compliance with the OPEC+ agreement Continue Reading
Shell to return to Basra with new head
Shell personnel will return to the Basra Gas Company (BGC) joint venture consortium next week, following their evacuation from Basra due to a payment dispute that nearly turned violent in Continue Reading
Asian Refiners to Ask for Less Crude After Saudi Cut Underwhelms
Several Asian refiners struggling with weakening demand will ask Saudi Arabia for less crude next month after the kingdom cut official selling prices by a smaller amount than the processors had Continue Reading
Record heat, politics inflame Iraq’s electricity shortages
In Iraq’s oil-rich south, the scorching summer months pose painful new choices in the age of the coronavirus: stay at home in the sweltering heat with electricity cut off for Continue Reading
In heat-struck Iraq, power shortages prompt protests
In Iraq’s oil-rich south, the scorching summer months pose painful new choices in the age of the coronavirus: stay at home in the sweltering heat with electricity cut off for Continue Reading
Record heat, politics inflame Iraq’s electricity shortages
Laith Jabbar, a gas station worker drinks water in Basra, Iraq, on Monday, July. 27, 2020. As temperatures soar to record levels this summer, Iraq’s power supply falls short of Continue Reading
Iraq to Be ‘Forced’ to 100% OPEC+ Compliance, Oil Minister Says
Iraq will be forced into 100% compliance with the OPEC+ deal in August and September as the producer group loses patience with the laggard, the country’s oil minister said on Continue Reading
Iraq’s July oil exports hit five-year low, but revenues rise
Iraq’s nationwide crude exports fell in July to 3.192 million barrels per day (bpd), their lowest monthly average since 2015, as the Oil Ministry continued to throttle back output in Continue Reading
Saudi Arabia, With China’s Help, Expands Its Nuclear Program
Saudi Arabia has constructed with Chinese help a facility for extracting uranium yellowcake from uranium ore, an advance in the oil-rich kingdom’s drive to master nuclear technology, according to Western Continue Reading
Oman Counters Chinese Influence With Two New Energy Megaprojects
Like many Middle Eastern countries in the catastrophic aftermath of Saudi Arabia’s latest oil price war folly against the U.S. shale sector, Oman has been left in the position of Continue Reading
Record Heat Sets Off a Cascade of Suffering in Baghdad
An Iraqi woman cools down with water from a hose in Baghdad, on Aug. 1. The Middle East is enduring one of its hottest summers ever, but Iraqis have had Continue Reading
Israel Expects Half Of New Cars Sold In 2030 To Be EVs
Israel is preparing for a massive roll-out of electric vehicles (EVs) on its roads over the next decade and is instructing its cities to build hundreds of charging points to Continue Reading
Is This The Beginning Of A Nuclear Power Race In The Gulf States?
One of the world’s largest oil producers and exporters, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has just launched the first nuclear power plant in the Arab world. Touted as a major Continue Reading
Despite Official Reports, China Has Been Hoarding Iranian Crude Oil
A number of high-profile reports last week cited data released on 26 July by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) as clear evidence that China did not import any crude Continue Reading
Gas Finds Trigger a Standoff in the Mediterranean Between an Isolated Turkey and Rivals
The contest over newfound gas riches in the Eastern Mediterranean has triggered a slew of rival maritime claims, pushing the region’s main powers—all of them America’s partners or allies—toward open Continue Reading
Iran Oil Refinery Workers Stage Strike Over Pay
Contractors working for the Qeshm Heavy Oil Refinery Co. staged a protest outside the company’s building after announcing a strike over pay, the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency reported. The workers Continue Reading
IRAQ DATA: Oil exports fell 2% in July ahead of pledge to meet OPEC+ cuts
Iraq’s oil exports, excluding those from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, fell 2% in July, the oil ministry said Aug. 1, ahead of OPEC’s second-largest producer’s pledge to reach 100% compliance Continue Reading
Coronavirus: Iran cover-up of deaths revealed by data leak
Iran has been the worst-affected country in the Middle East The number of deaths from coronavirus in Iran is nearly triple what Iran’s government claims, a BBC Persian service investigation Continue Reading