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Cost of Sinopec-Kuwait's China venture may hit $7.8bn
Sinopec, Kuwait's planned oil-processing and chemical venture with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. in Guangdong province may cost $7.8bn, Bloomberg has reported. The complex, due to start operations by 2013, will overtake Exxon Mobil Corp.'s $5bn Fujian project as China's biggest refining venture with an overseas partner. The project will have a refining capacity of 15 million metric tonnes a year, Dai Houliang, Sinopec's chief financial officer said.
Iran needs billions for gas projects
Iran's Oil Minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi has said that Iran needs $19bn toward 'unfinished' natural gas projects and aims to curb consumption amid insufficient funding, Bloomberg has reported. 'The maximum funding at hand for the gas sector is currently $3bn a year,' he said. The country 'is faced with an uncontrollable rise in domestic consumption due to a lack of campaigning toward customers' awareness and unsuitable pricing policies', he noted.
UAE, Kuwait maintain OPEC's quota
According to figures by Riyadh-based Joint Oil Data Initiative, oil production by the UAE and Kuwait in July had been within OPEC limits while Saudi Arabia had slashed output by more than 100,000 barrels per day to get closer to its quota assigned by the group, Emirates Business has reported. The UAE has trimmed supplies by more than 300,000 bpd since September while the cut by Kuwait and Iran stood at over 400,000 bpd. As a whole, the five Gulf OPEC oil producers have slashed their crude supplies by just below three million bpd since September, when their combined production stood at around 19.92 million bpd, Jodi figures showed.
Aramco eyes Brazil's 'pre-salt' oil
Dilma Rousseff, chief-of-staff to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that Saudi Aramco, along with other international oil companies, has expressed interest in helping his country develop its so-called pre-salt oil reserves, the Wall Street Journal has reported. According to government estimates, Brazil's chief discovery of pre-salt oil contains at least 5 billion to 8 billion barrels of oil, while industry analysts estimate the total pre-salt reserves to be much higher. 'Although we have reserved the greatest role for the government, we also want international companies to participate. The pre-salt reserves are so huge that even 10% of them would represent a huge field for development,' Roussef said.
Laffan refinery in Qatar begins production
QatarGas has said it has begun production from the Laffan Refinery, the first condensate refinery in Qatar. The refinery's production reached commercial quantities and specifications on 23 September for all products, the firm said. Laffan Refinery has a total processing capacity of 146,000 barrels per stream day, made up of 61,000 bpsd of naphtha, 52,000 bpsd of kerojet, 24,000 bpsd of gasoil and 9,000 bpsd of LPG. Faisal Al Suwaidi, CEO and Chairman of Board of Directors of Qatargas Operating Company, said: "The refinery adds value for end customers as well as the State of Qatar. This start-up represents a historic milestone for Qatar and Qatargas, especially as this is the first time some of these technologies are being used in the country."
Saudi Arabia sees no change in OPEC output
Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister, has told the Nightly Business Report on US PBS television that $75 a barrel is a fair price for oil and that there was no need for OPEC to change production ahead of its next meeting in December, Reuters has reported. Producers need an oil price that would allow supplies to be developed to meet demand, he said. "At $60 and $70 a barrel, you see a bigger movement in investment, you see more supply of energy," the minister said.
ADNOC naphtha talks due; lower prices predicted
Abu Dhabi National Oil (ADNOC) will hold term talks next month for naphtha lifting in January-December 2010, Reuters has reported, but it is not expected to get as much for the oil as in the previous contract, due to weakened sentiment. The state-owned refiner is expected to get high single-digit premiums for the 12-month supplies, against the $10.50-$12.50 a tonne premium to its own price formula, on a free-on-board basis, that it fetched in the last round for July 2009-June 2010 cargoes. ADNOC, which has in the past negotiated with customers including Taiwan CPC, Japanese Marubeni and India's Haldia Petrochemicals, will be holding face-to-face talks for the first time in the week of October 19 at its Singapore office.
Kuwait National Petroleum asks for refinery bids
Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has asked seven international contractors to bid for the $700m engineering, procurement and construction contract at its Mina al-Ahmadi refinery by December 13, Meed magazine has reported. The 460,000 bpd refinery is the country's largest oil refinery with three crude processing units.
Exterran expands in Dubai Airport Free Zone
Houston-based Exterran, oil and gas equipment and services company has said it is expanding its its presence at the Dubai Airport Freezone, in anticipation of growth in the Mideast region. The company has expanded its offices now occupying 1,350sqm. of office space for its engineering team. Exterran now has 3,300 employees working in its Hamriya water evaporation facility and pre-fabrication plant.
Iraq may miss Shell deadline
Iraq's oil ministry spokesman has said that Iraq could miss a one-year deadline to strike a deal with Royal Dutch Shell for a $4bn gas production deal in southern Iraq, Gulf Daily News has reported. Negotiations between Iraq and the Anglo-Dutch firm 'can be extended,' nearly a year after Shell formally signed a gas joint venture with an Iraqi state-owned company, the details of which were to have been hammered out within 12 months.
Kuwait Energy to get $50m World Bank loan
Kuwait Energy Company (KEC) will get a $50m loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's private sector lender to help the company support the company's recent oil discoveries in Egypt and conduct more exploration in Yemen, Reuters has reported. The financing package includes a $35m reserve-based facility and a $15m income participation facility, using a Murabaha structure that is common in Islamic finance transactions.
UAE August output unchanged
According to data from International Energy Agency, the UAE's oil output in August was unchanged from the previous month at 2.27 million barrels per day (bpd), Gulf News has reported. The country had attained 100% of its output target in July, the agency said. In 2008 the UAE's average output was 2.59 million bpd.
Iran, Venezuela tie up to build refinery in Syria
Iran's Oil Ministry has said that an Iran-Venezuela joint oil firm, VENIROGC, plans to build a refinery in Syria as its first international venture, Reuters has reported. Iran would hold a 26% stake in the project while its Latin American ally would take 33%. 'The balance will be shared by Malaysia and Syria on a 15% and 26% basis,' Mohammad-Ali Talebi, a senior official at Petropars Oil and Gas Company said.
Kuwait wins offshore exploration licence in Vietnam
Vietnam state oil monopoly, Petrovietnam, plans to award Kuwait Petroleum a licence to explore for oil and gas off the country's coast, Reuters has reported. The oil company had proposed that the government award the offshore block 51 to KPC under a production-sharing contract. KPC already has two licences for two nearby blocks 19 and 20, Petrovietnam said.
Iraq to hold workshop for second oil licensing round
Iraq's Petroleum Licensing Directorate has announced next October 18 and 19 as the dates for holding a workshop on its second oil licensing round in Istanbul, Turkey, Bloomberg has reported. Potential bidders will be briefed by government officials on field characteristics and contract terms for fields in the ten areas being tendered for development, the directorate has said.
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