Thailand Crude Imports 2017 ('000 B/D): Saudi Closes Gap To Top Supplier Uae But Mideast Share Falls

China 2017 Crude Imports ('000 B/D): Russia Cements Top Spot Ahead Of Saudi; Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar Records

China Crude Imports ('000 B/D): Russia Soars Ahead Of Saudi As #1 2017 Supplier. Strong Q4 Keeps Saudi Ahead Of Angola For Second Place As Overall Imports Dip From Q2 Record.

...LINES SHOW TOP SIX 2017 SUPPLIERS. SEE P19 FOR FULL DATA. SOURCE: CHINA CUSTOMS, MEES....

Output At Key Kurdistan Oil Field Could Fall 60% in 2017

...Anglo-Turkish firm Genel suffered an annus horribilis in 2016 and a trading update released this week suggests things are only going to get worse in 2017. Genel confirmed this week that average output from its flagship Taq Taq field (Genel 44% op, Sinopec 36%, KRG 20%) fell 48% last year to...

Libya’s NOC To Lift Investment Moratorium; But Divisions Remain

...nuf terminal. Switzerland-based oil trader Glencore is the only company with a contract to lift crude from Hariga, having signed an exclusive 18-month deal with NOC to ship the sweet Mesla and Sarir grades from the second half of 2015. The deal is up for renewal, MEES understands. NOC’s 2017 pr...

Oman’s Reliance On Chinese Crude Export Markets Deepens

...st year, oil field consumption grew 0.4bcm. The 1bn cfd phase one development of the Khazzan gas field by BP is scheduled for completion in late 2017. This alone is set to raise annual production by around 10.3bcm, which ought to satisfy domestic demand growth until the planned 500mn cfd (5....

Saudi Ups Power Profits Ahead Of Planned Sell-Off

...pply grids (MEES, 4 March 2016). FURTHER HIKES Meanwhile, further increases to Saudi electricity tariffs are likely. Following the publication of the 2017 annual budget, Mr Falih said that during 2017-20 the government will gradually link all domestic energy prices to a benchmark that has yet to...

GCC Drilling Remains Strong Despite Upstream Capex Cuts

...ng for their buck with extra savings coming from squeezing contractors. With oil prices stabilizing in the mid-$50/B range since the November Opec agreement to cut output (MEES, 2 December 2016) upstream spending could rebound somewhat in 2017. Conversely, as Mideast spending fell less than el...

Iraq: Mosul Offensive Gains Momentum Amid Lingering Failures

...latively modest progress so far, restarting production any time in 2017 may prove too ambitious a goal.  ...

Politics Prioritized As Lebanon Advances Bidding Plans

...e end of 2017. The timeline is ambitious, especially given that three of the five blocks – numbers 8, 9 and 10 – contain a 854km² wedge also claimed by Israel (see map), with whom Lebanon has no diplomatic relations. The other two, 1 and 4, are in the north of Lebanon’s offshore – further from ex...

Total: Cyprus “Thrilling”

...Total says Cyprus is a “thrilling prospect” for 2017 with the firm set to drill its Block 11 in April. Eni’s 30 tcf 2015 Zohr discovery was in Egyptian waters just 6km to the south. Total eyes similar geology. The French firm refutes reports of delayed drilling due to uncertainty over its lo...

Saudi Petchem Profits Up 8% In 2016, But Sabic Under Pressure

...Petchems giant Sabic saw profits fall last year despite a stronger fourth quarter. Seemingly unfazed by President Trump’s protectionism, it is targeting strong growth in the US in 2017, as well as in China. Saudi Arabia’s 14 exchange-listed petrochemicals firms reported total net profits of...

Sabic Buys Out Shell From Sadaf JV For $820mn

...Saudi petrochemicals giant Sabic is to buy Shell’s 50% stake in their Sadaf petrochemical joint venture for $820mn in a deal announced 22 January. Sabic says the purchase is expected to be completed before the end of 2017. The Sadaf complex is located at Jubail on Saudi Arabia’s Gulf co...

Iraq Gets US Backing For $1bn Bond Issue

...ll be used to finance Iraq’s budget deficit as stipulated in the 2017 budget law, noting that Iraq is paying lower interest on this issue than other countries with similar US-guaranteed bond issues. It is unclear if the US will continue with this largess under President Donald Trump, or indeed if hi...

Jordan Slashes Planned Deficit By 25% For 2017

...Cash-strapped Jordan is slashing its budget deficit in nominal terms by 25% in 2017 to JD830mn ($1.17bn), or 2.8% of GDP, from the revised deficit of JD1.1bn ($1.55bn), or 4% of GDP in 2016, in line with the IMF-supported reforms to rationalize expenditure. The kingdom is currently ho...

Egypt Looks Eastwards For Big Power: To China For Coal, To Russia For Nuclear

...id Corporation of China for a $650mn transmission system linking three 4.8GW plants, using gas-fired turbines from the Siemens deal, to Egypt’s grid. These are being built at Beni Suef, Burullus and a planned new capital city 45km east of Cairo, for start-up over 2017-20. Mr Xi signed 21 pr...

Egypt’s $3.7bn ERC Project On Schedule

...The Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) joint venture is on schedule to start production at its $3.7bn hydrocracker-based project at Musturud near Cairo in the first quarter of 2017, according to Managing Director Muhammad Sa’d. “We have so far completed 80% of the construction work and we wi...

Iraq’s Leaders Admit To Economic Woes

...ectric to boost production capacity, noting that payments would be over three years, starting in 2017, because right now Iraq does not have the money. GE is thus betting on an Iraqi fiscal recovery. Right now that recovery appears a long way off (MEES, 22 January). Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari ca...

Oilfield Services Firms Face More Cuts: Middle East Activity Remains Resilient

...Houston-based oilfield service giants Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes are preparing for a further downturn in 2016, with thousands more redundancies planned although a recovery is slated for 2017. Despite seeing their profits plunge in 2015 on the back of oil prices that hit 11...

Kuwait Strikes Overly Optimistic Stance On PNZ

...uld be a boon for Kuwait, the Emir’s optimism appears misplaced. Even Chevron, which operates Saudi Arabia’s PNZ interests on behalf of Aramco, doesn’t expect production to resume until 2017 (MEES, 6 November 2015). While Saudi Arabia is prioritizing market share over revenue, it would only profit fr...