OPEC nations Iraq, Nigeria and the Republic of Congo affirmed their commitment to the oil-producer group following the exit of Angola last week. “We reiterate our firm support for unity and cohesion at the heart of OPEC and OPEC+,” Congo’s Minister of Hydrocarbons, Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, said in a statement. …
Read More »Iran’s GDP Growth Stands at 4.7% in H1
Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) including oil grew 4.7 percent in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 – September 22) compared to the same period last year, according to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). Based on the CBI data, the figure was 3.6 percent …
Read More »SOCAR Expands Influence in Caspian Basin with Equinor Deal
Equinor is exiting Azerbaijan by selling all its oil and gas assets there to Azeri state energy firm SOCAR, the Norwegian major said on Friday. For an undisclosed sum, Equinor will divest all its assets in Azerbaijan, which include a 7.27% non-operated interest in the huge Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) …
Read More »Russia to Cut Oil Exports from Sea Ports in January
Russia is planning to scale back oil exports from its sea ports next month by between 100,000 and 200,000 barrels per day compared to December levels, according to industry sources familiar with Russia’s export plans. The reason for the scaleback, the anonymous sources told Reuters, is increased throughput at its …
Read More »Asia-Bound U.S. LNG Cargoes Avoid the Red Sea Route
Several cargoes of LNG loaded in recent days at U.S. export facilities and bound for Asia have changed course shortly after departing to avoid crossing the Red Sea, which has become theater of daily attacks on commercial vessels by the Iran-aligned Houthis from Yemen. Several vessels have indicated they would …
Read More »Oil Prices Steady before Holiday
Crude oil prices were trading slightly down on Friday afternoon, just hours before the weekend and the Christmas holiday, reasonably unaffected by Angola’s decision to quit OPEC. The price of a barrel of WTI was trading at $74.03, $0.07 down on the day, or a 0.09% dip. Last year, the …
Read More »Over $1 bn in Non-Oil Goods Exported via Mehran Border
The head of Ilam Customs reported that more than two million tons of goods, valued at over $1.169 billion, were exported from Mehran Border Crossing in the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year. Miragha Abdi conveyed in an interview with Mehr News Agency that over 500 truck …
Read More »Russia’s LNG Export Plans Suffer Setbacks due to Sanctions
Potential contract cancellations for the construction of ice-class LNG carriers and U.S. sanctions on the latest Russian LNG export project could hamper Russia’s plans to boost LNG sales now that its pipeline route to Europe is largely cut off. There aren’t enough ice-class LNG tankers built to carry LNG from …
Read More »China Steps up Shale Gas Exploration, Production
China’s natural gas consumption hit an all-time high this weekend amid a cold wave that froze parts of the country. One of the biggest gas importers in the world, China must have felt its dependency on external supply particularly acutely this weekend. But it is working to change things, boosting …
Read More »LNG Shipping Rates Slump on Lower Demand despite Red Sea Chaos
It’s getting cheaper — at least for now — to rent a liquefied natural gas tanker, despite turmoil in the Red Sea that is forcing some vessels to take longer and more costly routes. The slump in LNG shipping rates started in late November but accelerated this week, with prices …
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