2004
- The news you choose »
- Login to Add to Watchlist
China, Iran, huge LNG deal
China and Iran have signed a huge LNG development deal, although no timeframe has been set for an investment which could total USD70bn. Sinopec will buy 250m tonnes of LNG over 30 years and develop the Yadavarian field under a memorandum signed last week.
Oil prices halt 10-day slide
Global oil prices halted a 10-day, 11.5 per cent slide Friday, moving higher on terrorism fears and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's critical condition. US light crude rose 79 cents to USD49.70 a barrel, and Brent crude was up 41 cents to USD46.42.
Iraq races to repair pipeline
Employees of the Iraqi oil ministry are struggling to repair the crucial northern oil pipeline connecting the Bayji refinery with the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The pipeline normally transports 400,000 barrels of oil per day, but was recently severely damaged by insurgents. Repairs are expected to take at least 10 days.
China to up Saudi crude imports
A domestic shortage of crude oil is expected to lead to a 25 per cent increase in Chinese imports of Saudi crude oil next year. Chinese traders anticipate that most of the demand will be for light and medium grades. Saudi Arabia is estimated to be selling 320,000 barrels of oil per day to China this year, as imports account for over 40 per cent of China's oil needs.
Egyptian petroleum exports rise
Egypt's minister of petroleum, Sameh Fahmy, has said that his country's petroleum exports will rise to 27m tonnes in the 2004-2005 financial year. In the last financial year Egypt earned USD4.2bn from 18.5m tonnes of petroleum. Foreign investment in oil and gas exploration in Egypt was at an all time high last year, the minister added.
US oil prices retreat
Rising inventories, signs of a slow down in economic growth, and speculation over today's US elections helped pull oil prices down to USD50 on US markets yesterday. Despite a sabotage attack in Iraq, US oil prices were down by about USD5 per barrel from the previous trading day. London Brent crude declined marginally.
Production resumes in Kuwait
Production at the three Kuwaiti refineries hit by power outages on Sunday has partially resumed. Sheikh Ahmad Fahd Al Sabah, Kuwait's energy minister, told reporters that units producing 750,000bpd had been restored to operation out of a normal total capacity of 920,000bpd. He also affirmed that the outages had not affected the country's production of crude oil.
Pipe shortage may delay Dolphin
Dolphin Energy's USD3.5bn project to build a gas pipeline between Qatar and the UAE could be delayed by a shortage of pipes, Bloomberg reports. A spokesman from Mitsui, a Tokyo-based company with a contract to supply the project with 380,000 tons of steel pipe, was quoted as blaming problems setting up a pipe coating factory in the UAE.
Kuwaiti oil hit by power outage
The Kuwait National Petroleum Company said that three of its refineries at Al Ahmadi, Mina Abdullah and Shuaiba were shut down by a power cut that struck Kuwait on October 31. The plants produce 920,000 barrels of oil daily in aggregate. The outage hit most of Kuwait, and while power was restored to half the country by mid-afternoon, the Energy Ministry is now investigating the causes.
WTI closes below USD51
Crude oil prices closed down in Friday New York trading, continuing the falls seen throughout the week. NYMEX WTI closed at USD50.83 per barrel, down from a peak above USD55 earlier in the week. Larger than expected US oil inventories offset supply fears sparked by strike threats from Nigerian oil workers.
Saudi axes Bahrain oil grant
Saudi Arabia has withdrawn its 50,000 bpd oil grant to Bahrain, reported Speaker Khalifa Al Dahrani to the Council of Representatives. He gave no reason for the withdrawal, except to reveal that it stopped three months ago. There were ongoing bilateral talks on the issue, he said.
Opec urges use of emergency stocks
Opec has taken the unprecented step of calling on the US to release emergency stockpiles to reduce global energy prices. President Purnomo Yusgiantoro told reporters he had contacted Washington to ask for the release of reserves, an action US authorities have so far refused to take.
Oil prices slip as US stocks rise
Oil prices fell from record peaks yesterday after news of a sharp recovery in US fuel stocks. US light crude dropped by USD1.57 a barrel to USD53.60 from an all-time high of USD55.67 on Monday. Brent crude was off USD1.36 at USD50.20 a barrel.
IEA says oil prices will fall
World oil prices will be driven down over the next two years due to there being enough crude to meet soaring demand, said Claude Mandil, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, speaking in London. Supply and demand fundamentals do not justify current oil prices, he said, fundamentals will drive them down in the next two years.
Aramco, new 3,000 bpd oil field
Saudi Aramco has discovered a new oil field in Abu Sadr, 180km south of Riyadh and 480km southwest of Dhahran, according to Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi. He said tests produced high quality Arab oil with a density of 54 degrees and at the rate of 3,000 bpd.
It looks like you are using a Mac - check out our 
Web Feeds