International

States in the Persian Gulf region understandably are ramping up spending in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. But their income also is in sharp decline as oil prices test lows. They must thus decide how to cover newfound deficits as oil trades in the US$20-$35-per-barrel range, and natural gas …

The Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Oil, Thamer Al-Ghadban attributed on Sunday the postponement of the conference of oil producing and exporting countries, until next Thursday due to “technical reasons”. Al-Ghadban said, in a statement to the official newspaper, “Al-Sabah”, that “the conference that was scheduled to take place …

Norway, the biggest oil producer in western Europe, said it would consider joining a broad international agreement to cut production. The Nordic nation, whose oil output is set to grow over the next few years, hasn’t been a part of coordinated international cuts to support prices since 2002. OPEC and …

Saudi Arabia’s foreign and energy ministers on Saturday denied Russia’s claim that the Kingdom abandoned the OPEC+ deal, leading to a collapse in world oil prices. In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said “a statement attributed to one of the …

China is moving forward with plans to buy up oil for its emergency reserves after an epic price crash, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The world’s biggest importer is taking advantage of a 60 per cent plunge this year to snatch up cheaper barrels for its stockpiles, …

The rampant spread of the coronavirus has turned busy streets worldwide into quiet, abandoned thoroughfares. Few cars and trucks on the road means drastically less fuel is needed as millions of people stay at home. “The unprecedented reduction in demand as the economy has basically come to a standstill worldwide …

The 1,400MW Project NorthConnect, which is partly owned by Swedish energy group Vattenfall, has been put on hold pending public consultation.

OPEC nations aren’t giving support to a request from the group’s president for emergency consultations over tanking oil prices, according to a delegate. Algeria, which holds the cartel’s rotating presidency, urged the secretariat this week to convene a panel that assesses market conditions as oil slumps amid the coronavirus crisis …

Iraq, one of the oil producers worst hit by the oil price crash, is proposing that all foreign oil firms operating in OPEC’s second-largest producer cut their budgets by 30 percent on the condition that crude production levels do not suffer, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting local officials and industry …

Saudi Arabia has denied it has had any contact with Russia’s Energy Ministry over the possibility of a new OPEC+ deal to rebalance global oil markets. A statement from the Saudi Energy Ministry dismissed reports from Moscow that there had been discussions between Russia and the Kingdom aimed at resurrecting …