Iraq wants a US partner for Exxon’s stake, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told reporters in Baghdad. If the talks with Halliburton fail, Iraq will step in to buy the stake, he added. He said a few days ago that Iraqi state company Basra Oil Co. could be a potential …
Read More »Saudi Arabia’s Crude Oil Exports Hit Six-month High
Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in July rose to their highest since January, the Joint Organization Data Initiative (JODI) said on Sepy. 16. The Kingdom’s crude oil exports rose to 6.327 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, up from 5.965 million bpd in June. Total exports including oil products …
Read More »OPEC Expects Delta Variant to Delay Oil Demand Growth
OPEC trimmed its world oil demand forecast for the last quarter of 2021 due to the Delta coronavirus variant on Sept. 13, saying a further recovery would be delayed until next year when consumption will exceed pre-pandemic rates. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in a monthly …
Read More »New US Energy Security Advisor to Tackle Nord Stream 2 Risks
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Aug. 10 appointed former diplomat Amos Hochstein as a senior advisor for energy security to work on the fallout from the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline, among other energy issues, according to a statement by the State Department. The United States last month …
Read More »Saudi Arabia, UAE Reach Compromise over OPEC+ Oil Policy
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have reached a compromise over OPEC+ policy, an OPEC+ source said on July 14, in a move that should unlock a deal to supply more crude to a tight oil market and cool soaring prices. Brent oil prices fell on the news …
Read More »US Aims to Fast-track Offshore Wind Development with Expansion to California
The Biden administration will seek to approve more than a dozen offshore wind projects in the next four years and open the coast off California to development as it seeks to supercharge the nascent U.S. industry, officials said May 25. The effort is part of the administration’s broader plan to …
Read More »US Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level since April 2020
U.S. energy firms added oil and natural gas rigs for a fourth week in a row as higher oil prices prompt some drillers to return to the well pad. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose two to 455 in the week to May …
Read More »OPEC Urges Members to Lobby against US NOPEC Bill
OPEC is encouraging its members to engage with the U.S. administration over a proposed U.S. bill against the group, known as NOPEC, and to explain that passing the bill could put at risk U.S. interests abroad. A U.S. House panel passed a bill this week to open OPEC to lawsuits …
Read More »OPEC Raises Oil Demand Growth Forecast on Hope Pandemic Wanes
OPEC on April 13 raised its forecast for growth in world oil demand this year on expectations the pandemic will subside, providing help for the group and its allies in their efforts to support the market. Demand will rise by 5.95 million bbl/d in 2021, or 6.6%, OPEC forecast in …
Read More »Norway’s Equinor to Stay in API Following Climate Policy Shift
Norway’s Equinor ASA has decided to stay in the American Petroleum Institute (API) after the major U.S. oil lobby group changed its stance on climate policy. However, Equinor has quit the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) as the firm has wound down operations in Australia after giving up …
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