2004
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Mideast to pump 42m bpd by 2020
Middle East oil producers will pump around 42m bpd in 2020 compared with 23m bpd in 2000, forecast Saudi oil ministry adviser Majid Al Moneef yesterday at the World Energy Congress in Sydney. He also predicted that global output would rise from 76m bpd to 89m bpd over the same period.
Petrofac, USD72m Total UK job
Sharjah based Petrofac has won a USD72m, five-year contract from Total for offshore oil facilities in the UK which will involve more than 120 personnel. A spokesman said the deal was the start of a new relationship with Total in the UK. Petrofac has operations in Sharjah, Aberdeen and Woking.
US to re-bid Halliburton Iraq job
The US Army will break up Halliburton's USD13bn contract to provide support services for US troops in Iraq within weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an internal Army memorandum. The US oil services giant has been buffeted for months by accusations of overcharging on the contract.
Azzam forecasts high oil prices
Top regional economist Dr. Henry Azzam, CEO of Jordinvest, has forecast that Brent crude will remain above USD35 a barrel next year. Most of the upward pressure on oil prices is due to demand and potential supply disruptions that are unlikely to disappear anytime soon, he said.
USD1.4bn Qatar LNG tanker order
Qatar is set to place an order for eight LNG tankers next month costing around USD1.4bn, reported Bloomberg. They will each carry 216,000 cubic metres of LNG and be the largest in the world, said officials. Qatar intends to become the world's biggest exporter of LNG by 2010.
Post-US election oil price fall
Oil prices should fall by 30 per cent after the US and Iraq elections are over, predicted Opec President Purnomo Yusgiantoro yesterday. He told the World Energy Congress that once these geopolitical uncertainties vanished then oil would trade around USD30 a barrel.
Opec pumping oil flat out
Opec is pumping oil flat out and the group has already done all it can to cool prices, UAE Oil Minister Obeid bin Saif Al Nasiri told Reuters. However, he did not rule out the possibility of a raising of the formal output ceiling at the next meeting on September 15 in Vienna.
BG buys Shell Egypt gas concession
BG Group has finalised an agreement for the USD235m purchase of Shell's interest in the Rosetta concession offshore Egypt. BG Group's purchase of the Shell stake will increase its equity interest in Rosetta from 40 to 80 per cent and pre-empts an earlier agreement to sell to the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company .
Saudi acts to cool oil prices
Saudi Arabia yesterday cut the prices of its westbound crude sales to shift large volumes to cool global oil prices, reported Reuters. Brent crude dropped by 43 cents to USD40.80 a barrel. The Kingdom set a wider USD11.30 discount for US deliveries of its Arab Heavy crude.
Bapco to restart pipeline
The Bahrain Petroleum Company intends to restart a pipeline from Saudi Arabia to northwestern Bahrain by Friday after closure for routine maintenance, reported Reuters. The 220,000 bpd pipeline has halved local oil production for the 10-day maintenance period.
Cabinet approves KPC board
The Kuwait Cabinet has approved the new board of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation under newly appointed CEO and Deputy Chairman Hani Hussain who gives up his job at Kuwait National Petroleum. He replaces veteran KPC boss Nader Al Sultan.
Opec chief sees lower prices
Opec President Purnomo Yusgiantoro forecast on Monday that global crude prices would soon fall because of expected supply increases from Iraq and a Yukos settlement. He said the Iraq supply should improve later this year as security there was likely to improve.
Libya adopts transparent bidding
Libya has set out a new transparent bidding process for oil rights, replacing the former system of individual negotiation, reported AFP. Some 20 oil majors, all with large interests in the Middle East, attended a presentation in Tripoli and a further one will be held in London on September 15.
Oil price back to USD45
US light crude gained over a dollar at the end of last week with prices back above USD45 a barrel. The price hike followed increased violence in Iraq and the freezing of the Yukos bank accounts in Moscow. Fear of a sharp interruption to oil supplies from Yukos is now the biggest worry.
Opec output up again in August
Opec took oil output to a new peak in August with output up by 100,000 bpd to 29.6m bpd, according to a survey by Reuters. Saudi Arabia accounted for the entire increase as the only producer left with any spare capacity. Industry sources expected the Kingdom to continue to pump more oil this month.
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