Iran’s parliament has lowered the government’s oil export target from 2.3 million to 1.5 million to manage expectations, news agency ISNA reported Jan 2. The proposed budget had aimed to sell over 2 million b/d of crude both in domestic and international markets. However, the figure was questioned due to …

The coronavirus pandemic is likely to have come as a big draw on South Korean oil refiners last year as their low refining margins ate into their profitability, industry sources said Sunday. Whipsawed by weak oil prices and sluggish refining margins, industry leader SK Innovation Co. and three other players …

Iraq has agreed a multibillion-dollar oil-supply deal with a Chinese company, according to the Arab nation’s official news agency. SOMO, which oversees Iraq’s petroleum exports, picked a Chinese firm after receiving bids from several traders, INA reported, citing an interview with SOMO General Manager Alaa Al-Yasiri. While INA didn’t name …

Members of the OPEC group of oil producers and their partners will meet via videoconference on Monday to decide on production levels for February, hoping to turn the corner on a difficult year. The OPEC+ ministerial meeting comes after oil consumption tanked in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and …

Norway’s risk management and quality assurance firm DNV GL has refused to certify Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline when its construction is completed over new U.S. sanctions. According to the current situation, DNV GL cannot issue a certificate upon completion of the pipeline construction, the Russian news agency RBC …

The Chairman of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanallah has said they are aiming to reach 1.2 million oil barrels per day (bpd) in 2021, adding that this aim is part of the NOC plan for the new year. Sanallah added on Friday that the NOC plan included …

Twelve years ago, the Department of Energy was so central to the incoming Obama administration’s stimulus plans that DOE staffers were among the first through the doors at the transition headquarters, helping the Secret Service take the plastic wrap off tables and chairs so they could get to work. Now, …

Russia’s vast natural gas reserves and renewables potential could make it one of the world’s largest hydrogen producers within the next decades. Russia’s mineral and energy wealth has given it a second chance in global affairs after the Cold War and the implosion of the Soviet Union. Oil and gas …

OPEC+ countries are beginning to gradually increase oil production after nine months of tough restrictions. The rate of production increase will not exceed 0.5 mln barrels per day (bpd). By setting such a small rate, the oil exporters, which account for 40% of the global oil market, will be able …

China’s natural gas output is expected to surpass crude oil production around 2025, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) oil and gas exploration expert Zou Caineng said on Friday. Domestic natural gas output from CNPC, China’s largest producer, topped 130 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2020, up 11.6 bcm from the …