International

The Gulf states’ economies could contract by 7.6% this year in their deepest decline in decades, as the coronavirus and low oil prices take their toll, a top International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Tuesday, June 30. The new projection for the 6-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is dramatically …

India, the third-biggest oil consumer, expects fuel demand to return to normal earlier than projections by the International Energy Agency and OPEC. “If you look at the trend of the past few weeks, I’m confident that by the end of second quarter, demand will be as usual,” India’s Oil Minister …

As OPEC and its allies make their deepest cuts yet to crude production, Norway’s giant Johan Sverdrup oil field is exporting more than ever before. Crude loadings from the field are set at a record 4.4 million barrels, or 465,000 barrels a day, in August, according to a loading program …

China’s state-owned oil refining giants are in discussions to form a purchasing group to buy crude together, increasing their bargaining power and avoiding bidding wars. Senior executives from China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., PetroChina Co., Cnooc Ltd. and Sinochem Group Co. are in advanced talks to iron out details of …

U.S. shale was one of the big losers of the Saudi-Russian price war that many saw as a war on U.S. shale. Producers scrambled to stay afloat as prices sank back to lows not seen since 2016, and they are still scrambling. Banks are giving them the cold shoulder, worried …

Iraq has raised estimates for its oil income and export prices for May, the oil ministry said on June 24, as OPEC’s second-largest producer benefits from the uptick in global crude prices. Its May income was $2.136 billion, up from the previous estimate of $2.091 billion, the ministry said in …

China’s top natural gas buyers have been directed by regulators to share import infrastructure, one of the broadest government efforts yet to enforce reform policies aimed at bolstering energy security and breaking down market barriers between the nation’s three state energy giants. The move comes as the world’s biggest gas …

China looks to raise its crude oil production by 1 percent to 3.85 million barrels per day (bpd) and natural gas output by 4.3 percent this year, the National Energy Administration’s (NEA) annual production plan showed, as carried by Reuters. In order to increase its domestic oil and gas production, …

Iraq expects higher crude revenues in July and is currently selling its oil at around $34-$35/b, the al-Mirbad news organization quoted the oil minister as saying on June 22. Iraq in some cases has sold its oil as high as $39/b, Ihsan Ismaael said, al-Mirbad reported. The minister reiterated the …

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are “working very hard” to reopen the onshore Wafra oil field in the Neutral Zone shared between both countries, a source directly involved in the project said June 21. There is no restart date yet, the person told S&P Global Platts. Arab news agency Attaqa reported …