2005
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Oil up on cold weather
Oil prices lifted as colder weather struck the north-eastern sates of the US. US light crude went up 74 cents to $57.95, while London Brent was up 91 cents to $55.79.
UAE to crank up production
The UAE is planning to expand crude production capacity to 3.5m bpd in the next few years, Energy Minister Mohammad bin Dha'en Al Hamili said at the launch of World Energy Outlook 2005. A 300,000-bpd refinery is also being planned for Fujairah.
QP, Shell present GTL car
Qatar Petroleum and Shell Gas & Power International presented the first Gas to Liquids Fuel car to run in Qatar. Shell's synthetic gas-derived fuel was used in neat form in an unmodified 4.2-litre Audi A8, demonstrating GTL Fuel as a clean, practical alternative fuel that can be used in conventional diesel engines.
VLCC rates head higher
Rates for Very Large Crude Carriers have surged in the past few weeks from WS155 to WS170, reported Gulf News, while the Gulf/Japan route is at WS230. Traders said that even higher rates could be concluded, particularly with the US public holiday season approaching.
BMI, oil liquidity will continue
London based Business Monitor International said that sustained, higher oil prices would continue due to a structural change in the oil market. The review predicts an average of $51 a barrel for Opec oil this year with prices above $40 through to 2009.
$1bn Qatar gas harbour contract
Dutch group Koninklijke Boskalis has won a $1bn contract to construct a harbour for LNG vessels in Qatar, together with Belgian firm Jan de Nul which has also won a $1bn contract, reported Reuters. This will more than quadruple capacity at the Ras Laffan harbour built by the two companies in 1992.
Cold weather to lift oil demand
The first icy blasts of winter weather are likely to lift demand for crude oil, taking prices off last week's five-month lows of $56, said traders. Temperatures fell sharply last week across the northern hemisphere after an unusually warm spell.
Oil seen as a curse
Oil has been more of a curse than a blessing to the Middle East, voted 63% of participants in the Doha Debates, moderated by former BBC presenter Tim Sebastian. This remarkable result came dispite three decades of economic growth thanks to oil which has transformed a subsistence desert economy into a wealthy region. Oil was blamed for the many recent wars.
King Abdullah warns speculators
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz yesterday inaugurated the International Energy Information System and new International Energy Forum in Riyadh yesterday. He warned speculators against false rumours and spreading misleading information on the world oil market.
GAS, air separation contracts
Sabic affiliate, National Industrial Gases, has awarded contracts to German firm Linde and Linarco Saudi Arabia to carry out engineering and construction works for two new air separation units at its complexes in Jubail and Yanbu industrial cities. GAS Chairman, Ibrahim Al Shuweir said each plant will have a capacity to produce 3,000 metric tons of oxygen per day.
$13bn Qatar LNG expansion
Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil have launched a $13bn project, the Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company 3, to expand the facilities for the production of LNG. The project is an expansion of the facilities at Ras Laffan Industrial City, and will increase LNG production capacity by more than 40%.
Qatar, $800m petrochem plants
Qatar Petroleum and US-based Chevron Phillips Chemical will build two petrochemical plants at a likely cost of $800m, according to Qatar's Energy Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah. The Q-Chem II Project will see a polyethylene plant and alpha olefins plant built in Mesaleed, north of Doha.
Oil prices decline further
Opec's forecast of higher world demand for oil during the northern hemisphere winter had little affect on prices, which stayed below $57 a barrel yesterday. US light crude dropped 21 cents to $56.71 a barrel, its lowest level since 21 July. London Brent crude was down 20 cents at $54.98.
Iraq to build refineries
Iraq is building two new oil refineries which will together process 440,000 bpd, according to Iraq's oil minister. Iraq has to import nearly half of its fuel requirements despite having the world's third largest known reserves of crude.
Iran, oil minister No. 3
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has nominated Mohsen Tasalloti as oil minister, his third choice after two previous nominations were rejected by the parliament. Iranian media said Tasalloti was an official in the petrochemicals industry in the southern town of Mahashahr.
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