UN: Houthis Didn’t Launch Attacks On Aramco
The Houthi rebels in Yemen were not the ones who launched the drone and missile attack on Saudi oil infrastructure last September, a confidential report from the UN has revealed. Reuters, Continue Reading
Iraqi oil output steady at 4.46 mil b/d, in line with OPEC quota: ministry
Iraq’s crude production is steady at 4.46 million b/d in line with its OPEC quota and has not been affected by recent events in OPEC’s second-largest oil producer, an oil Continue Reading
Kuwait Expects To Pump 250,000 Bpd When Neutral Zone Restarts
Kuwait expects its share of the oil production from the Neutral Zone that it shares with Saudi Arabia to be 250,000 bpd by the end of 2020 when production will Continue Reading
Iraq’s oil seen safe for now, but what comes next may be challenge
Iraq has proven it can maintain oil production and exports without US workers for a short period, but there are major risks to crude supply from OPEC’s second-largest producer if Continue Reading
Asian Oil Buyers Unfazed By Iran Crisis
Oil prices rose and fell in the aftermath of the latest escalation between the United States and Iran, but one kind of oil remained more resilient than the rest: heavy Continue Reading
German exports to Iran roughly halved in January-November 2019 due to U.S. sanctions
German exports to Iran roughly halved in the first 11 months of 2019 compared with the same period in the previous year due to U.S. sanctions, preliminary data from the Continue Reading
Trump avoids escalating crisis, says Iran is ‘standing down’
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday backed away from days of angry rhetoric against Iran as the two countries tried to defuse a crisis over the American killing of Iranian Continue Reading
Trump administration works on Iraq sanctions, but analysts warn of consequences
Following President Trump’s warning earlier this week, administration officials are in the preliminary stages of developing sanctions on Iraq, a path the president could legally set upon but could create Continue Reading
Iran’s leader says he wants US out of the Middle East
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that the US should leave the Middle East after the US killing of a top Iranian military general last week. “An important Continue Reading
Iran Strikes Reverberate Across Persian Gulf Economy
Iran fired missiles at American troops in Iraq in response to the U.S. killing of its top military commander Qassem Soleimani. While Iran’s supreme leader pledged further attacks, the overnight Continue Reading
Iraq Knew The U.S. Attack Was Going To Happen
Iraq said on Wednesday that it had been notified by Iran that Tehran had launched a retaliatory strike against U.S. troops in Iraq to avenge the killing of top Iranian Continue Reading
Iraq again sets oil export record in 2019
Iraq set an all-time record for annual oil sales in 2019, as the federal government and autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) combined for an average 3.968 million barrels per day Continue Reading
Is Iraq About To Become A Chinese Client State?
Following the political and popular backlash in Iran over details of its plans to make the Islamic Republic effectively a client state through various multi-layered oil and gas deals, China Continue Reading
U.S. sanctions threats cast shadow on Iraqi economy
Billions of oil dollars and access to Iranian power and gas are at risk if Trump rejects a sanctions waiver renewal next month – or worse, if Iraq is sanctioned Continue Reading
Iraqi oil output steady at 4.46 mil b/d, in line with OPEC quota: ministry
Iraq’s crude production is steady at 4.46 million b/d in line with its OPEC quota and has not been affected by recent events in OPEC’s second largest oil producer, an Continue Reading
Russia And Turkey Call For Ceasefire In War-Torn Libya
With Putin in Turkey on Wednesday ceremonially launching the much-anticipated offshore pipeline TurkStream, which will supply Russian gas to Turkey and southern Europe, it’s actually events in Libya and Syria Continue Reading
Russia’s Putin, Turkey’s Erdogan Launch TurkStream Gas Pipeline
The Presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, respectively, officially launched on Wednesday the TurkStream natural gas pipeline designed to ship Russian gas to Turkey and Continue Reading
Iran Fires on U.S. Forces at 2 Bases in Iraq, Calling It ‘Fierce Revenge’
Iran attacked two bases in Iraq that house American troops with a barrage of missiles early Wednesday, Iranian official news media and United States officials said, fulfilling Tehran’s promise to retaliate Continue Reading
Tanker Operators Don’t Expect Ships to Be Targeted in U.S.-Iran Showdown
Tanker operators don’t expect their ships to be targeted in the near term amid the growing tensions between the U.S. and Iran as daily freight and insurance rates hold steady Continue Reading
Infographic: Strait of Hormuz shipping rates climb on oil tanker threat from Iran
The US has warned flagged vessels in the Middle East of possible retaliatory attacks from Iran. Tanker freight rates have hit three-month highs for vessels using the 21-mile-wide Strait of Continue Reading
US warns of Iranian maritime threats against its ships in Middle East
The US Maritime Administration has issued an advisory warning of the possibility of Iranian attacks on US ships in Middle Eastern waters after a US military strike in Baghdad on Continue Reading
Iran missiles target U.S. forces in Iraq; Trump says ‘All well’
Iran launched missiles at U.S.-led forces in Iraq early on Wednesday, retaliating for the U.S. drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing last week stoked fears of a new Continue Reading
The Middle East Oil Conflict That Could Be Bigger Than The Iran Crisis
While all are distracted by the vast display of smoke and mirrors surrounding the US-Iran conflict, General Haftar is taking control of Libya–and all its oil wealth–and the Turks are Continue Reading
The Real Reason The U.S. Is Interested In Iran
The American obsession with Iran is about oil and natural gas. If these two resources had been absent, it is hard to imagine such an intense American focus on the Continue Reading
Turkish support for Tripoli could ‘rebalance forces’ in Libya
The planned arrival of Turkish military advisers in Libya should bolster the internationally recognized government, but may not be enough to turn the tide of a conflict in which eastern-based Continue Reading
‘Never threaten the Iranian nation,’ Rouhani warns Trump as crowds mourn commander
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept in grief with hundreds of thousands of mourners thronging Tehran’s streets on Monday for the funeral of military commander Qassem Soleimani, killed by Continue Reading
Iran’s Retaliation Could Cause A Middle East Oil Shock
Iran’s clerical leadership, under “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali HoseiniKhamene‘i, is expected to make rapid, significant, and symbolic responses to the targeted killing in Baghdad on January 3, 2019, of Iranian Continue Reading
Chevron temporarily evacuates expat staff from Iraq
Chevron has temporarily evacuated expatriate staff and contractors from Iraqi Kurdistan in response to the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and heightened tensions in the Middle East, but said Continue Reading
Trump threatens Iraq sanctions as Iran ends nuclear commitments
US President Donald Trump threatened to slap sanctions on Iraq after the parliament in Baghdad voted to kick foreign troops out of OPEC’s second largest oil producer and Iran decided Continue Reading
Iraq-U.S. rifts widen after assassinations
Relations between Iraq and the U.S. are descending into uncertainty and turmoil, as Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi formally notified the U.S. on Monday that he intends to implement a Continue Reading
Turkey’s Energy Agenda Puts The Entire Region At Risk
The East Mediterranean has become a highly contested region due to the discovery of major hydrocarbon reserves which has triggered a scramble for energy wealth. According to the United States Continue Reading
How To Short The World’s Largest Oil Company
Through a combination of bribing local retail investors via preferential loans , threatening wealthy Saudis with a re-run of their treatment in the Ritz Carlton in 2017 , and inveigling Continue Reading
Aramco’s cash could keep US LNG projects on the bubble from bursting
US LNG export terminal developers are stepping up their courtship of Saudi Aramco to secure investments in their projects, following the state-owned oil and gas company’s IPO last month. Receive Continue Reading
Huge crowds in Iran for commander’s funeral, daughter warns U.S. of ‘dark day’
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians thronged Tehran’s streets on Monday for the funeral of military commander Qassem Soleimani, killed by a U.S. drone strike last week, and his daughter said Continue Reading
Iran’s enrichment decision could trigger end of nuclear deal: Germany
Iran’s announcement on Sunday that it would abandon limitations on enriching uranium could be the first step towards the end of a 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers, German Continue Reading
Trump stands by threat on Iranian cultural sites, warns of ‘major retaliation’
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday stood by his threat to go after Iranian cultural sites, warning of a “major retaliation” if Iran strikes back for the killing of one Continue Reading
Oil and gas shipping companies on high alert for Strait of Hormuz transits
Shipping companies, including owners and operators of tankers and LNG carriers, are on high alert following escalated tensions in the Middle East, with risks of freight rates rising sharply, higher Continue Reading
Iraq wants foreign troops out after air strike; Trump threatens sanctions
Iraq’s parliament called on Sunday for U.S. and other foreign troops to leave as a backlash grows against the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general, and President Donald Trump Continue Reading
Saudi credit default swaps soar on U.S.-Iran crisis
The cost of insuring against a potential debt default by Saudi Arabia has soared by a sixth since the killing by a U.S. drone on Friday of Iranian commander Qassem Continue Reading
Saudi Aramco hits new low since trading began on December 11
Saudi Aramco ( 2222.SE ) shares briefly hit 34.45 riyals ($9.18) in early trade, their lowest level since its shares began trading on December 11, following a record-setting initial public Continue Reading
Saudi non-oil private sector loses momentum in December: PMI
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector expanded in December at the slowest rate since July, weighed down by slower output and new orders, a survey showed on Sunday. The seasonally adjusted Continue Reading
Asian markets yet to rule out supply disruption for Iraqi Basrah crude
Singapore-based Middle East crude oil traders said they were not ruling out the possibility of Iraqi Basrah crude supply being impacted as a result of political or logistical hurdles, following Continue Reading
What a War With Iran Would Look Like
Members of the Iranian revolutionary guard at a parade in Tehran, September 2011 Tensions between Iran and the United States are at their highest point in years. The 2015 Iran Continue Reading
Pentagon to deploy thousands of additional troops to Middle East
The United States is sending nearly 3,000 additional troops to the Middle East from the 82nd Airborne Division as a precaution amid rising threats to American forces in the region, Continue Reading
Oil Firms Tighten Security After U.S. Strike on Iranian Commander
Oil companies in the Middle East are tightening security as U.S. officials say American energy infrastructure in the region is a likely target for Iranian retaliation following the killing by Continue Reading
Slim hopes of oil sanctions relief dashed as US-Iran tensions escalate
Killing of Soleimani seen as rapid escalation of US policy Odds of military conflict double: Eurasia Group Steady prices, US shale bolstered hardline policy Washington — Just over three weeks Continue Reading
US-Iran conflict jolts oil market risk premium, but analysts question duration
Highlights Platts Analytics sees Brent capped at $70/b without another attack Analysts see $5-$10/b risk premium from US strike in Iraq Iran might target regional oil infrastructure in retaliation Washington Continue Reading
Factbox: Oil market jitters return after Iran-US geopolitical risk rises
The oil market was on tenterhooks Friday amid increased geopolitical risk in the Middle East after Iran vowed to exact “harsh revenge” for US airstrikes that killed its top military Continue Reading
Iran vows to avenge death of general; oil market on high alert
Iran has pledged to avenge US air strikes that killed its top commanders, severely raising the risk of more attacks by Iran against Middle Eastern and US interests in the Continue Reading
Iranian general’s death raises likelihood of more attacks in Middle East: analysts
Crude oil futures spiked in Asia Friday on news that the US had killed General Qassim Soleimani, leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s foreign wing, in a strike in Iraq. Continue Reading