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Somali pirates sieze oil tanker
Somali pirates have hijacked a tanker carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia to the US in the waters off East Africa, AFP has reproted. The Greek-owned Maran Centaurus was hijacked Sunday about 800 miles off the coast of Somalia, said Cmdr. John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU Naval Force. Harbour said there were 28 crew members on board the 300,000-tonne ship. Somali pirates have successfully hijacked dozens of vessels the last several years, but Sunday's attack appears to be only the second ever on an oil tanker.
Nacap wins $350m pipeline project in Saudi
Saudi Aramco has awarded Dutch pipeline builder Nacap a $350m engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a multi product pipeline from Ras Tanura Refinery to Riyadh, Saudi Gazette has reported. The 506-kilometres 30-inch diameter pipeline is planned to transport diesel and kerosene from the refineries in Ras Tanura on the east coast to Riyadh via Dhahran and Al-Hasa.
Iran to boost fuel imports by 27%
Iran's oil ministry has said that daily imports of gasoline and diesel fuel will be increase by 27% to 31 million litres by March, Reuters has reported. 'It is predicted that the daily imports of gasoline and diesel fuel will rise to 22 and 9 million litres per day respectively, by the end of this year,' the ministry said. The current Iranian year ends March 20.
Dubai Mercantile Exchange tops 1bn barrels mark
Cumulative trading in Dubai Mercantile Exchange's benchmark DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract (DME Oman) has exceeded one million contracts, representing one billion barrels of crude oil traded, since its launch on June 1, 2007, Gulf News has reported. "At the close of trading on 27 November 2009, DME Oman had traded a total of 1,000,174 contracts, which at 1,000 barrels per contract is equivalent to more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil," DME said in a statement.
Iraq to install new oil platforms
Dhiya Jaafar, chief of Iraq's South Oil Co has said the country aims to install four new floating oil terminals and three new undersea oil pipelines to boost export capacity to eight million barrels-per-day from a current 1.9 million bpd, Reuters has reported. Work is scheduled for completion on the new terminals and pipelines in the second half of 2011, he said.
Aramco, Conoco set deadline for refinery unit bids
A February 28 deadline has been set by Saudi Aramco and US-based ConocoPhillips for bids for a solids unit at their joint 400,000 barrels-per-day Yanbu refinery, Reuters has reported. The two firms have informed contractors that proposals must be submitted by January 31, for five other EPC packages that include a coking unit, a crude facility, a gasoline unit, a hydrocracker and a tank farm. All contracts will be awarded in May 2010, while building the refinery is planned to be completed by March 1, 2014.
IPIC says won't follow S. Korea ruling
Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) has said it will not abide by a recent arbitration ruling to sell its controlling stake in a South Korean refiner until local courts enforced it, Reuters has reported. Last week, the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) had ruled that IPIC should sell its entire stake to Hyundai companies for some $2.25bn. 'The arbitral award has no legal effect unless and until Hyundai shareholders obtain a final enforcement judgment from the Korean courts,' IPIC said in a statement.
Bomb atack hits Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline
Iraq's oil ministry has said the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline in Salahuddin province has been damaged by a bomb attack, Reuters has reported. The damage will take up to four more days to fix, the ministry said. The Kirkuk pipeline carries around a quarter of Iraq's oil exports to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, where it is pumped into tankers.
Rabigh power contract bidders seek more time
Firms bidding for the contract to build the Rabigh power station for Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) have asked for more time to prepare proposals, Reuters has reported. Companies want more time to adjust plans to changes in environmental specifications in designs, one company said. The SEC has already extended the bidding deadline to Dec. 15 from the initial July 13 deadline at the request of bidders.
ABB wins $38m contract in Saudi
Power and automation technology group ABB has secured a $38m contract from Saudi Electricity Co, the kingdom's national power transmission and distribution utility, to improve the efficiency of 22 power distribution substations. ABB will design, engineer, supply, install and commission the equipment. The project is expected to be completed by 2011.
ENOC says won't raise Dragon Oil bid
Saeed Khoory, chief executive of Emirates National Oil Co (ENOC), has said the company will not increase its bid for Dragon Oil, Reuters has reported. Dragon Oil said last week the Dubai state-owned refiner had confirmed it would not increase its takeover offer from 455 pence-a-share.
Qatargas 4 LNG plant to be delayed by a year
Royal Dutch Shell has announced it had delayed its $8bn Qatargas 4 liquefied natural gas project by around a year, with startup now planned for late 2010, Reuters has reported. The first cargo will possibly be pushed into 2011, a company spokesperson said. The delay is due to contractors struggling to keep up with the pace of developments in Qatar's gas industry, the spokesperson noted.
Sembcorp to form JV with Oman Investment
Singapore's Sembcorp Industries has announced that its Sembcorp Utilities unit and Oman Investment Corp have formed a joint-venture company to build a water and power plant in Oman. The joint-venture company, Sembcorp Salalah Power & Water Co, will invest about $1bn to develop, build, own and operate the plant.
OPEC chief supports Saudi compensation appeal
OPEC will support Saudi Arabia's appeals for compensation if talks, at next month's UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, end with commitments to reduce oil consumption in developed countries, the group's Secretary-General has said. OPEC's increased dependence on oil revenue and a growing international support for green energy have caused growing pressure on members to secure compensation for loss of oil revenue. Saudi Arabia had first proposed a program for compensation in 1992, during the UN conference in Rio de Janeiro.
Iraq's oil output in October drops
Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad has said that insurgent attacks have caused a 4% drop in Iraq's oil exports in October, compared to the previous month, AP has reported. Iraqi oil exports had averaged 1.877 million barrels a day in October, grossing $4.187bn with an average price of $71.94 a barrel. The decline in exports was due to two insurgent attacks on the pipeline that sends crude to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, causing a nine-day disruption.
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