Opinion Energy Opec’s challenge: oil market stability and sustainability Balancing demand with calls to cut emissions points to a different future July 18, 2023
Energy BP and Socar join bid for Israeli offshore gas BP and Azeri national oil company Socar have taken part for the first time in an Israeli licencing round for natural gas exploration, the latest sign of growing international interest in the Eastern Mediterranean basin, sources said. BP and Socar jointly placed a bid along with Israel’s NewMed Energy for two offshore blocks in the […] July 18, 2023
Energy BlackRock appoints Aramco CEO as board director BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has named Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco), as an independent director. The appointment reflects the importance of the Middle East to the firm’s long-term strategy, it said in a statement. Nasser oversaw the successful public listing of the Saudi oil company in 2019, […] July 18, 2023
Energy Four groups bid for Israel gas exploration tender Four groups of companies have made bids in Israel’s latest tender for offshore hydrocarbon exploration, the energy ministry said on Sunday. The ministry said the groups include a total of nine companies, five of which were new to the Israeli market. It did not name which companies took part. Huge deposits of natural gas have […] July 17, 2023
Oil & Gas Iraq and Iran gas-for-oil barter faces US sanctions A barter of Iranian natural gas for Iraqi oil as described by the Iraqi prime minister this week would likely violate US sanctions on Tehran unless the US issued a waiver permitting it, three former US officials said on Thursday. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani on Tuesday said Iraq would begin trading crude […] July 16, 2023
Opinion Energy UAE roadmap for Cop28: high energy, low impact There are constraints imposed by life in a maritime desert, however July 14, 2023
Oil & Gas Opec sees 2.2% oil demand growth in 2024 Opec has raised its forecast for oil demand growth for 2023 and predicted only a slight slowdown in 2024. This is despite economic headwinds as China and India continue to drive the expansion in fuel use. In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said it expects world oil demand to […] July 14, 2023
Analysis Oil & Gas TotalEnergies pins hopes on desalination for Iraq project TotalEnergies’ $27 billion development deal with Iraq includes building a water desalination plant crucial to Baghdad’s efforts to raise oil production, but doubts persist over the financial and logistical viability of the long-delayed project. The multifaceted agreement signed on Monday foresees constructing a 1 gigawatt solar power plant, capturing waste gas from oil fields to […] July 13, 2023
Energy India plans LNG terminal in Iraq to boost gas imports India plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Iraq to support its energy security programme. The terminal will liquify some portion of the gas currently flared by Iraq and transport it to India, Mint, an Indian financial media outlet, said citing an unnamed government official. The liquefaction will be converted back to […] July 13, 2023
Analysis Energy TotalEnergies’ $27bn bet on Iraq boosts ailing oil industry TotalEnergies’ signing of a long-stalled $27 billion deal to develop several energy-related projects in Iraq is a significant vote of confidence in the country’s fraught oil and gas industry, according to analysts. The agreement represents the biggest single foreign investment in Iraq in modern times and suggests the government of newly-installed prime minister Mohammed Shia […] July 12, 2023
Energy Saudi output cuts drive up sour crude oil prices Prices for sour crude oil have climbed globally this month after top exporter Saudi Arabia hiked prices and expanded production cuts of higher sulphur oil. It was the first sign that its efforts to prop up global prices is having an impact. The de facto leader of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) […] July 12, 2023
Energy Russian petrol exports to Asia and Africa increase Russia’s petrol exports rose in January to June despite the introduction of the European Union’s (EU) embargo, thanks to healthy supplies of the fuel to Africa and Asia, data from market sources showed and traders said. Petrol production at Russian refineries rose by about 4 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2023 to about […] July 12, 2023
Energy Iraq to trade crude oil for Iranian gas to settle debt Iraq will begin trading crude oil for Iranian gas to end the recurring issue of payment delays to Tehran due to the need for US approval, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani said. Sudani said Iran had cut gas exports to Iraq by more than 50 percent as of July 1 after Baghdad failed to […] July 12, 2023
Energy Qatar expects record volume of LNG deals in 2023 Qatar this year will sign record volumes of long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) offtake contracts, the country’s energy minister said at a conference in Vancouver. About 40 percent of new global LNG output will come from Qatar by 2029, said minister of energy Saad Al Kaabi at the LNG 2023 conference. The country last year […] July 12, 2023
Energy Saudi Arabia to supply full oil volumes to Asia in August Saudi Aramco has informed some clients in northern Asia they will receive full nominated volumes of crude oil in August, several sources said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top buyer China once again requested less supply. The world’s biggest oil exporter last week said it would extend its one million barrels-per-day (bpd) output cut by another month […] July 11, 2023
Energy QatarEnergy and Enoc sign gas byproduct supply deal State-run QatarEnergy and Dubai’s Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) Group have signed a long-term deal to supply condensate, a natural gas byproduct. Under the 10-year agreement, the Qatari energy company will supply up to 120 million barrels of condensates to Enoc from this month, QatarEnergy said in a statement. “We are pleased to sign this […] July 11, 2023
Energy Japan gas lobby wants stable supply from Middle East Japan Gas Association (JGA) chairman Takahiro Honjo hopes that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s planned Middle East trip this month will help Japan ensure stable supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other fuels. Resource-poor Japan is trying to beef up its energy security as it remains highly dependent on oil and LNG imports. Kishida is […] July 11, 2023
Oil & Gas Iraq signs $27bn deal with TotalEnergies Iraq has signed a $27 billion deal with French major TotalEnergies to increase oil production and build renewable energy facilities. The long-delayed agreement represents the biggest single foreign investment in Iraq, Opec’s second largest crude producer. “I hope that this will be a strong signal to other investors to come to Iraq,” said TotalEnergies chairman […] July 10, 2023
Energy Thailand’s PTT in talks with Qatar for LNG deal Thailand’s largest energy company, state-controlled PTT, is in advanced talks with Qatar for a 15-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal, four trading sources told Reuters. The oil and gas conglomerate is negotiating a supply of one or two million tonnes per annum (mtpa), according to different figures cited by the sources, in what would […] July 9, 2023
Energy Asian oil markets braced for Kuwait Al Zour’s exports Oil markets in Asia are bracing for further growth in exports from Kuwait’s newest Al Zour refinery as the complex started up its third and final crude distillation unit (CDU), with trade sources saying the full impact was likely to be felt later in the third quarter as it ramps up operation. The refinery, which […] July 9, 2023
Energy Opec maintains upbeat view for 2024 despite slowdown Opec will likely maintain an upbeat view on oil demand growth for next year when it publishes its first outlook later this month, predicting a slowdown from this year but still an above-average increase, sources close to Opec said. Opec’s forecast for 2024 will likely be lower than the growth it expects for this year […] July 7, 2023
Oil & Gas Gulf markets subdued as oil fails to rally after cuts Oil prices were little changed on Thursday as fears of a global economic slowdown overshadowed tighter crude supply following extended output cuts announced by top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia earlier this week. The total cuts now stand at more than 5 million barrels per day (bpd), equating to 5 percent of worldwide oil output. […] July 7, 2023
