Tag Archive for "oil" - Arabianomics

Posts Tagged ‘oil’

Iraq Opens Offshore Oil Facility

February 13th, 2012 by Lucien Zeigler 0 Comments

Iraq has opened an offshore gas facility in an effort to boost exports “and intends by March to add 200,000 barrels a day to its capacity for loading tankers there,” Bloomberg reports.

The facility has the potential to be a game-changer, according to the Bloomberg report:

“The new single-point mooring unit, extending into the sea from the southern oil terminal of Fao, has a potential export capacity of 850,000 barrels a day, Falah al-Amri, chairman of the State Oil Marketing Organization, said in an interview.”

EIU Verifies Saudi Claim About Replacing Iranian Oil Exports

January 26th, 2012 by Lucien Zeigler

The Economist Intelligence Unit said that Saudi Arabia could replace a large share of Iranian exports when embargos against crude from the Islamic Republic take effect, according to this report in BusinessWeek.

BW:

“Saudi Arabia pumps about 9.8 million barrels a day, including oil from the partitioned zone the kingdom shares with Kuwait, and it still has 2.5 million barrels a day of spare capacity, said Robert Powell, a senior economist at the London- based research company. That’s about the same amount that Iran exports, he said today in an e-mailed response to questions.”

EU Will Sanction Iran’s Oil

January 21st, 2012 by Lucien Zeigler

Iran’s oil and other precious metals will be sanctioned by the EU on Monday, according to reports.

CNN Money’s Steve Hargreaves reports that the sanctions “will ban the import of Iranian oil and also restrict Iran’s trade in gold and precious metals, as well as freeze certain Iranian financial assets.”

[CNN Money]

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Iran to Saudi: Don’t Put Us Out of Oil Business

January 19th, 2012 by Lucien Zeigler

Iran has warned Saudi Arabia not to deliver additional oil to the market in the wake of sanctions against Iran’s oil industry, according to reports.

The comments, though indirect, “marked the first verbal sparring” between Iran and Saudi Arabia over the issue, according to the Wall Street Journal, and amount to a admittance by the Iranians that Saudi Arabia is capable of taking over Iran’s share of the market in the event that the EU implements sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

[WSJ]

Wen Jiabao to Visit Saudi, Discuss Energy, Iran

January 13th, 2012 by Lucien Zeigler

China’s Wen Jiabao will visit Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states at a delicate time as relations between the West and Iran sour but China looks to continue to receive Iranian oil.

According to this Bloomberg report:

“The Chinese premier’s trip starting tomorrow comes amid signs that tighter economic sanctions may stop Iran, OPEC’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, from selling its oil. Wen will also visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, fellow members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, during the Persian Gulf tour ending Jan. 19.”

The visit itself is an important gesture to the region. China’s impressive growth in recent years has led the people’s republic demand for oil to skyrocket.

Oil Soars with Iranian Bluster

January 3rd, 2012 by LucienZ85

Oil prices have spiked 4% after an Iranian Major General threatened a US Aircraft Carrier in the Persian Gulf, according to media reports.

Iran has stepped up its bluster after Western powers threatened to impose sanctions that would cripple Iran’s oil industry, the backbone of Iran’s economy. Iran responded that it would close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane. Since then, tensions have been high, and have brought oil prices up with them.

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Saudi 2012 Spending and Revenue Will Stay High, IMF Says

December 21st, 2011 by Lucien Zeigler

Saudi Arabia will continue to spend at high levels but will also likely see a budget surplus in 2012, the IMF says according to a Reuters report. A surge in oil revenues will cover the spending and then some, which puts Saudi Arabia in a strong fiscal position for the coming year.

Reuters quotes David Robinson, the IMF’s mission chief for Saudi Arabia, as saying that the Eurozone crisis may have negative ramifications for the Kingdom, but strong production figures and the high price of oil will continue to help Saudi Arabia’s economy.

“Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are in a good position to undertake countercyclical policies and financial sector support measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis, if needed,” Robinson wrote to Reuters.

[Al Arabiya]

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Reduced Pressure on Saudi Government Leads to Halt of $100 Billion Expansion

November 21st, 2011 by Lucien Zeigler

Saudi Arabia will halt its planned $100 billion expansion program in the face of reduced international and economic pressure to do so, the Financial Times reports.

This makes it unlikely that the Saudis will continue to set 15 million BPD as their goal by 2020.

The comments come at a time when Saudi Arabia finds itself exhausted from continued capacity increases, and as it believes the capital may be better used on developing stronger natural gas and petrochemical sectors.

Saudi Arabia has domestic energy challenges that it must meet to sustain the ongoing period of economic growth and modernization. The Kingdom continues to consume more of its own oil to meet domestic demand, which threatens to cut into exports and consequently reduce revenues from selling oil to international buyers.

Other producers, regardless of OPEC affiliation, are also ramping up oil production.

Saudi Arabia will run a surplus this year despite increased spending, so the move is not necessarily for fiscal reasons, but the planned investment ($100 billion) is still an impressive sum for the G-20 member.

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Iraq Oil Capacity Jumps

October 24th, 2011 by Lucien Zeigler

Iraq’s oil capacity has reportedly jumped to 2.9 MBPD, the highest since the end of the 2003 coalition-led invasion. However, the countries export capacity did not increase in kind, and is limited to 2.2 MBPD.

Dow Jones newswires reports that the increase is mailing coming from Iraq’s largest producing oil fields in the south, Rumaila, West Qurna Phase 1 and Zubair, which are being developed by BP, Exxon, and Eni SpA respectively.

Slower Demand Forecasted by OPEC for Fourth Consecutive Month

October 13th, 2011 by Lucien Zeigler

Forecasted oil demand was cut for the fourth month in a row by OPEC, the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries, a signal that demand as a whole is slowing.

“The oil producers group cut 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its forecast for this year’s oil demand growth as the euro-zone crisis deepens. Demand in emerging economies, it noted, was also tinged with uncertainty because of China’s new policies to cut fuel consumption and a fuel price hike in India,” April Yee in the National reports.

Oil’s price has been dropping steadily in recent weeks on the Brent and WTI indices.

Posts Tagged ‘oil’

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