Egypt Raises $4bn Bond, Posts $10.4bn 2H18 Deficit

...6.7bn ($10.4bn) for the first six months of the 2018-19 financial year (July-December 2018), more or less unchanged from the E£187.3bn ($10.6bn) for the first half of the previous 2017-18 financial year. The 1H 2018-19 figures suggest that Egypt is likely to post a significantly lower deficit for 20...

Petroceltic Threatens Legal Action Over Egypt Dues

...der to get them to pay their dues. But after investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Egypt and creating many jobs we have no choice,” the firm Tweeted on 12 February. The firm’s most recent filings for 2017 (filed October 2018) indicate that the company’s “trade and other receivables” soared fr...

Iraq-Saudi Border Crossing Progresses

...ghdad – partly in a belated recognition that rebuffing the Iraqi government might help counter Iran’s stronghold there (MEES, 27 October 2017). The Saudis agreed to reopen the crossing in August 2017 (MEES, 1 September 2017), and the move is expected to facilitate trade and more movement between the two co...

Adnoc Starts Pre-FEED For New Refinery

...noc Refining earlier this month restarted the residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) at its 417,000 b/d Ruwais West refinery. The key unit was out for two years after being damaged in an early 2017 fire. The RFCC shutdown forced Adnoc to export fuel oil normally processed there while importing re...

Iraq Looks To Turkey For Support Up North

...heduled to visit Ankara in the coming days to discuss the resumption of Kirkuk exports to Ceyhan, a key imperative for restarting production at the Avana Dome and Bai Hassan. Federal Iraqi forces retook Kirkuk and surrounding fields last year (MEES, 20 October 2017), but with limited export capacity, No...

Abu Dhabi Awards Offshore Stake To State-Owned Firm Cepsa

...atistics, with Nigeria the largest supplier in 2017 at 192,000 b/d (MEES, 16 February). Saudi Arabia was the largest Mena supplier at 128,000 b/d, followed by Libya (110,000 b/d). Will 2018 be the year UAE crude enters the Spanish market? This would certainly represent a change in strategy for the UAE, wh...

Taiwan 2017 Crude Imports ('000 B/D): UAE Volumes Up 70% Year-On-Year, Iran Down 15%

...  TAIWAN 2017 CRUDE IMPORTS ('000 B/D): OPEC MAINTAINS STRONG SHARE DESPITE PRODUCTION CUTS SOURCE: TAIWAN IMPORT STATS, MEES CALCULATIONS....

Gulf Crude Burn: Saudi, Iraq Turn To Gas To Curb Sky High Crude Burn Rates

...d Iraq post a four year low of 119,000 b/d crude burn over the course of 2017, but it claims to have eliminated it entirely for two of the months. Last year’s burn was down 30% from 2016’s peak of 169,000 b/d. Saudi Arabia meanwhile posted an eight-year low of 436,000 b/d – still by far the wo...

Oman Gets Long Awaited Output Boost From Sohar Refinery

...SI). Output of diesel, gasoline, jet-kerosene and LPG amounted to 204,000 b/d, compared with 177,000 b/d in Q4 2017 and 171,000 b/d for 2017 (see chart). State refiner Orpic announced mechanical completion of the Sohar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP) in early 2017. SRIP raises crude di...

US Poised To Compete With Saudi Arabia As World’s Largest Oil Exporter

...Full year 2017 figures from Jodi highlight the extent of the increasing importance Saudi Arabia places on its products exports. As it cut back on its heavily-monitored crude exports as part of the Opec+ production agreement since January 2017, it simultaneously ramped up refining runs, re...

Libya Warns Of Potential Major Output Fall Amid Strained Economy

...sponsibility for the firm’s funding problems lies, claims Mr Sanalla. “The entire sector is suffering from these problems because of delays in the finance ministry disbursing budgets to the corporation for this year,” he said. NOC received only 50% of its capital budget in 2017, said Mr Sanalla in late Ja...

DNO Balances Kurdistan Investment With Norway Exploration

...ccess stories have emerged from Iraqi Kurdistan in recent months. Kurdish private firm KAR (and by extension, the KRG) lost 280,000 b/d of output when Iraqi forces retook Kirkuk last October (MEES, 20 October 2017).  Taq Taq field (operated by Anglo-Turkish firm Genel), which produced 130,000 b/d in 2Q 20...

Egypt Economy On Track But Long Road Ahead

...ys. Overall, the IMF expects annual growth to average “4.8% in 2017-18 and rise further to around 6% in the medium term.” By comparison, the economy grew 4.2% in 2016-17. Looking at selected macroeconomic indicators, Egypt appears to be “broadly on track.” Last year’s 4.2% growth exceeded   the IM...

Iran Scrambles To Stop Rial Depreciation, Risks Boosting Inflation

...position to any such efforts.    Latest data from the CBI on the first nine months of fiscal year 2017-18, which began on 21 March, show that budget deficit is running at IR385 trillion, or IR514 trillion, prorated for the full year. At the set budget rate of $1=IR33,000 this is equivalent to $15.6bn, bu...

Taiwan 2017 LNG Imports: Qatar Volumes Down 16%, Share Down 11% With Australia The Big Gainer

Taiwan LNG Imports (Mn T)

...INCREASED AUSTRALIAN, RUSSIAN VOLUMES EAT INTO QATAR SHARE...   ...IMPORT PRICES EDGING UP IN LATE 2017, QATAR REMAINS CHEAPEST SUPPLIER ($/MN BTU) SEE P15 FOR FULL DATA. SOURCE: TAIWAN CUSTOMS, MEES CALCULATIONS. ...

Saudi Aramco IPO Plans Progressing But Key Challenges Lie Ahead

...7bn) in 2017 in order to spur economic growth following 2016’s sluggish 1.2% rise in real GDP. The government is looking to narrow the budget deficit to SR198bn ($53bn) in 2017 (MEES, 6 January). “Saudi Arabia will need to make sure the fiscal regime does not discourage investment in the IPO. Back in...

Abu Dhabi Finalizes Onshore Concession With Chinese Partnership

...CO CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION (‘000 B/D) SOURCE: ADCO, MEES.   ADCO TARGET FADING AWAY? Abu Dhabi plans to increase Adco production capacity to 1.8mn b/d during 2017. But with current capacity at around 1.66mn b/d, this target is unlikely to be achieved. Along with development plans be...

Kuwait: Subsidy Row Presages Return To Disruption As Usual

...June 2017 (MEES, 11 July 2014). Al-Rai reports that GC-31 is 15 months behind schedule and that Kuwait Oil Company is considering imposing a fine of up to 10% (KD25mn-$82mn) on the firm. Dodsal submitted the second lowest initial bid for the Al-Zour pipeline. Larsen and Toubro submitted th...

Gulf Crude Burn: Saudi Arabia Leads Fall From Sky-High Levels

...sit gas processing plant (providing 1.7bn cfd sales gas) in Q2 2016 and fuel subsidy cuts crimped demand. •  2017 should see further gains as Wasit will be operational for the full year, especially if the government follows through with further planned subsidy reforms. •  The numbers are ha...