Iraq has potentially huge gas reserves but its failure so far to properly develop them has led to three key problems for itself and the global energy markets. First, it has left the country dependent on neighbouring Iran for up to 40 percent of its energy requirements, which are imported …
Read More »EU Tightens Restrictions on Russian Oil and Gas Exports
The U.S. and its key allies on the West and the East continue to tighten the noose around Russian exports of oil and gas and with them, the ability to finance its ongoing invasion of Ukraine and to support Iranian attempts to widen the rolling Israel-Hamas War. Several new agreements …
Read More »Qatar Leads World’s LNG Production and Marketing
The State of Qatar has been keen to build a solid and ambitious economy that deals with reality and looks to the future with confidence and competence. The State has supported national efforts aimed at promoting and expanding Qatari industries, in a way that contributes to achieving self-sufficiency for the …
Read More »India’s Russian Crude Imports Prevented Price Surge in Global Oil Market
In the face of international scrutiny, India has staunchly defended its substantial purchases of Russian crude oil since the onset of the Ukraine war. A recent report from a parliamentary panel highlighted that all import deals were executed within the scope of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its involvement …
Read More »China Surpasses Russia as Top Trade Partner in Central Asia
China has eclipsed Russia as the main trade partner of all five Central Asian states, according to official statistics. Kazakhstan is the most recent Central Asian country to see Beijing pass Moscow in terms of annual trade turnover. For the first nine months of 2023, China accounted for a 21.3 …
Read More »Europe’s Diesel Refining Margins Slump by 40% as Supply Worries Fade
Refining margins for diesel in Northwest Europe end this year 40% below the levels from the end of 2022, despite the EU ban on seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products that came into effect in February 2023. Europe has imported more diesel from the Middle East and Asia this year …
Read More »China Maintains Fuel Export Quotas Steady for 2024
The first batch of fuel export quotas that China has issued for 2024 is basically unchanged from the first batch of allowances for 2023, Chinese consultancies and trading sources told Reuters on Friday. Chinese refiners are allowed to export diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel under strict quota regulations, with allowances …
Read More »Reuters Claims OPEC Facing Significant Market Share Loss
OPEC could potentially face further loss of market share in early 2024 following the recent departure of Angola, weakening demand and rising output by non-OPEC producers, Reuters claims, based on its own calculations. Reuters reports that OPEC’s production is set to slip below 27 million barrels per day (bpd) without …
Read More »U.S. Shale Growth could Exceed Forecasts in 2024
U.S. crude oil production has overwhelmingly exceeded earlier forecasts and has grown at a much faster pace this year, offsetting much of the OPEC+ efforts to push up prices by coordinated supply reductions. U.S. production growth is expected to continue into the new year, thanks to further gains in efficiency …
Read More »China to Seek Rare Exemption from Sanctions on Russia’s Latest LNG Project
Chinese state energy giants plan to ask the United States for exemptions from the fresh sanctions on Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project in a rare request to the U.S. as LNG deliveries could be threatened, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the issue. The U.S. imposed last month …
Read More »