2007
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Punj Lloyd $99m Qatar deal
India's Punj Lloyd has won a $99m deal to build a pipeline for Qatar Petroleum (QP), reported Reuters. The firm will develop a multi-product pipeline on an engineering, procurement and construction basis to run from QP's Messaieed refinery to its Doha depot. The contract also involves station work at both Messaieed and Doha, including demolition, and the project is expected to be concluded in around 17 months.
Oil hits $84
US light, sweet crude touched $84.1 a barrel on Friday before dipping to $83.7 by the close of trading, according to agency reports. Concerns over possible military action by Turkey in northern Iraq and falling stockpiles in the US have stoked prices. It is also feared Opec's recent 500,000 barrels per day production hike will not be sufficient to meet US winter demand.
Refinery projects exceed $122bn
GCC countries flush with cash from years of high oil prices are investing vast sums in new refinery projects to meet rising demand and tighter specifications for products, according to a report by Dubai-based research company Proleads. The total value of these projects exceeds $122bn, $80bn of which are in Saudi Arabia and due for completion before 2013. This investment has resulted in a boom in orders for new supertankers, and chemical product carriers, in particular, the report said.
Qatar gas project to be delayed
A $12bn project to export gas from Qatar to Britain will be delayed to summer 2008 from the first quarter due to the complexity of the project and a tight market for energy contractors, reported Reuters. Qatar is the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is gas chilled to liquid form to make transport in bulk easier. The Qatargas II project is one of the world's largest LNG export schemes.
'Fair' oil price should be $100
Qatar's Energy Minister Abdullah ibn Hamad Al-Attiyah said 'real and fair' prices for crude oil, which have surged recently to record levels above $80 a barrel, should be more than $100, reported Arab News. He said such a price was justified by rising inflation, a fall in purchasing power and the weakness of the dollar, which has dropped about 10% in value against the euro over the past year.
Bahrain extends deadline for bids
Bahrain is extending the deadline to submit bids to revamp its onshore Awali oilfield by two weeks to October 31, reported Reuters. Abdul-Hussain bin Ali Mirza, the kingdom's minister of oil and gas affairs, said bidders had sought more time to prepare. He said 11 firms have expressed an interest in the tender, which initially had an October 17 deadline.
Qatar plans petrochemical complex
Qatar plans to develop its first petrochemicals complex in Mesaieed which will produce over 1.7m tonnes per year of several petrochemical products, reported The Peninsula. The proposed multi-billion dollar complex is expected to begin production in 2011 and is being developed solely through the internal resources of Qatar Petroleum.
New oil company in works
A group of Saudi and Gulf businessmen and industrialists are teaming up in an effort to form an SR1.2bn oil and gas service company, reported Arab News. The firm, which has selected China's Shengli Oilfield Company as its strategic foreign partner, would compete with foreign oil companies working in the Kingdom.
Credit squeeze hits oil demand
Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, said oil demand is being impacted by the global credit squeeze, reported Reuters. Tanaka also said high oil prices would have a negative impact on economies in Asia, but he added that the IEA has no plans to raise Opec output in an effort to lower prices.
Kuwait to produce gas
The Kuwait Oil Company is to start producing natural gas for the first time since 1978 this December, reported the KUNA. The firm plans to pump around 175m cubic feet of free, rather than associated, gas in the first phase, with the capacity eventually being ramped up to 1bn cubic feet by 2015. Kuwait announced it had found significant natural gas reserves in the north of the country in March 2006.
Adyard wins $35m deal
Oman's Renaissance Services has revealed that its Abu Dhabi based oil and gas subsidiary Adyard has been awarded a $35m contract by Single Buoy Moorings. The deal is for the manufacture of a mobile offshore production unit for to be located on the YME Field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The work will be executed at Adyard's facilities in the Mussafah industrial area over an 18 month period.
Iran nets $1bn from rationing
Iran has said it has saved around $1bn in the first 100 days since it introduced petrol rationing, reported Reuters citing the official IRNA news agency. Despite its sizeable oil exports, Iran lacks refining capacity and last year imported $5bn worth of petrol. Since rationing, petrol consumption has dropped from 75m litres per day to an average of 60.5m litres according to government estimates.
GCC set for refining boost
The crude oil refining capacity of the GCC is expected to increase by 45.5% to 6.3m barrels per day (bpd) by 2010 due to the opening of new refineries and a ramp up in the production capacity of existing plants, according to Gulf News citing an Emirates Industrial Bank report. In 2005, the combined output stood at 4.3m bpd. Four new facilities are planned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
Iran Opec warning
Iran's Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari has said Opec could renege on its agreement to lift oil output by 500,000 barrels per day from November 1 if prices slip so far as not to be economical for producers, reported Reuters citing an Iranian news agency. Oil is currently trading at around $80 a barrel and is only a few dollars down on its record level of $83.9, set just last month.
ETA Pakistan power deal
Dubai's ETA Star Group has signed an agreement worth $136m with Pakistan's Ministry of Water and Power regarding the establishment of a power plant. ETA's subsidiary, Star Power Generation, will implement the gas-fired combined cycle 134MW independent power project, which will be located in Sindh province. TransAsia Gas International is a co-investor in the scheme which should be operational by 2010.
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