Iraq plans to invite international companies to compete in order to build a 300,000 b/d refinery south of the country, the oil minister said Nov. 18, as OPEC’s second largest oil producer seeks to wean itself off crude products imports. The refinery, to be built in Fao in the Basra …
Read More »UAE Achieves 126% Compliance with OPEC+ Quota in Oct
The UAE achieved 126% compliance with its OPEC+ quota in October, the energy ministry said late Nov. 17, as OPEC’s third largest producer sought to compensate for overproduction in August. The country’s compliance since the cuts were implemented in May is 101%, the ministry said in a statement on the …
Read More »OPEC+ could Tweak Oil Cuts beyond Analyst Expectations
OPEC and its allies could “tweak” their supply accord beyond analyst expectations, Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Nov. 9, as speculation swirls on how the coalition will set its 2021 production quotas. Emphasizing that the OPEC+ alliance will maintain flexibility, the prince said ministers have several options …
Read More »Iraqi Oil Minister Denies Seeking Exemption from OPEC + Output Cuts in 2021
Iraqi oil minister Ihsan Ismaael has denied a Reuters report that said Iraq wants to seek an exemption from OPEC+ output cuts in 2021, calling the report “baseless” and reaffirming the country’s support for the curbs agreed in April. “Iraq welcomed the production adjustment decision reached in April 2020 by …
Read More »OPEC+ Cut Decision will Reverberate in US Oil Patch, but Trump Silent as Election Looms
As OPEC and its allies ruminate over whether to ease their collective production cuts at the end of the year, a very interested – though perhaps distracted by the US election – Trump administration will be watching closely from Washington. The OPEC+ agreement, forged in April during the worst of …
Read More »Iraq Expects Global Oil Demand Growth in 2023; No Plans to Cancel Projects
Iraq expects global oil demand to grow at a pace of 3% a year in 2023, and OPEC’s second largest oil producer does not plan to cancel projects due to the current slowdown, the country’s oil minister said Oct. 20. In 2023, “will start the normal oil demand increase of …
Read More »UAE Investing in Green and Blue Hydrogen Projects as Part of Clean Energy Move
The UAE is investing in green and blue hydrogen projects, an undersecretary at the energy ministry said Oct. 19, as OPEC’s third-largest oil producer seeks to develop new sources of clean energy. “Hydrogen is very high on our agenda, right now we are really at initiation phase,” Sharif al-Olama told …
Read More »Global Oil Market to Rely more on Middle East as U.S. Output Falls
Global oil market will rely more on the Middle East as U.S. shale oil production is expected to continue to fall, said Chris Midgley, global head of analytics with S&P Global Platts, on Friday. U.S. shale oil production will fall by 900,000 barrels per day in 2020 and drop another …
Read More »Iraq Forecasts 2021 Crude Oil Price at $50/b; Proposes Oil, Gas Reforms
Iraq has forecast the average price of its crude oil at $50/b in 2021, 23.4% higher than that which was proposed in the 2020 budget, as OPEC’s second largest producer plans for energy reforms over the next few years, according to a government white paper seen by S&P Global Platts. …
Read More »Refiners Face Mounting Pressure on Growing Demand, Capacity Imbalance
Refiners face an existential crisis as the growing divergence between refining capacity and demand for refined products will intensify sharply in the next two decades, the International Energy Agency said Oct. 13. More than 6 million b/d of new capacity will come online from now to 2025, but demand will …
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