1. World Bank Makes Good On Yemen Support Pledge

    ...vernment has managed to stem the economic contraction caused by the 2011 Arab Spring-related crisis; overseeing a near doubling of Central Bank reserves to $6.2bn, from around $3.7bn posted at the height of the troubles.     Source: World Bank....

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Tue, 26 Feb 2013
  2. Majors Caught In Gulf Investment Dilemma

    ...5,000 b/d Halfaya project, in which it has an 18.75% stake.   The oil majors’ relatively recent engagement with the KRG – Exxon only signed for its six blocks in October 2011 – mean they are yet to make any commercial discoveries. KRG oil investments come with a very large health warning – the re...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  3. Gas, Infrastructure Challenges Loom Larger For Baghdad

    ...otests against widespread blackouts in summer forced the sacking of electricity ministers in both 2010 and 2011.   BGC, while still not formally created, has managed to boost gas processing from 250mn cfd to 400mn cfd since the contract was signed in late 2011. It has implemented major training pr...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  4. UAE Gas Projects Advancing Towards Completion

    ...ring peak summer demand. Subsidized gas prices drive high demand levels:  according to the same report, gas demand in the UAE increased by around 45% in the five-year period between 2006 and 2011.  Since Mr Hamili has ruled out the possibility of raising gas tariffs in the UAE, conservative estimates su...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  5. Tullow Consolidates Mauritanian Position Ahead Of Key Drilling Campaign

    ...Petronas 13.5%, Kufpec 11.1%, Premier 6.2%, SMH 10% Remainder of former PSC A&B after discoveries hived off in Oct 2011. 3Q13 well targets ‘Tapendar’ C-18   90%op SMH 10...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  6. South Sudan Plots New Oil Concession Sales

    ...nth, representing 98% of government revenues.   The country’s output was halted after it accused Khartoum of confiscating around $815mn worth of its crude as it flowed through Sudan to the Red Sea for export. Despite breaking away from Sudan in July 2011, South Sudan is still dependent on Sudan fo...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  7. Vive La Difference! IEA, OPEC Split On Supply, Price Views

    ...d oil price assumptions, as a recent study comparing their respective scenarios reveals. Differences become more acute through to 2035.   Medium-term, 2011-16, the IEA sees oil demand growth as 400,000 b/d higher than OPEC. Given 2016 demand will be 93mn-94.5mn b/d, this reflects “roughly th...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  8. Benchmark Crude Prices

    ...12 2012 2011 WTI 92.84 96.94 96.20 94.88 88.26 88.25 92.21 94...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  9. Kuwait Prepares Refinery Bidding, Amid Latest Political Chaos

    ...grill Mr Husain have said that they have dropped their plan to also question him about Shell’s $800mn consultancy deal with KPC’s upstream firm Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to help develop northern Jurassic gas fields (MEES, 8 August 2011). Shell investigations by the government and parliament probed if...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  10. Syrian Officials Review Economic Consequences Of Ongoing Civil War

    ...finery running at 70% capacity and Banias at 79.5% capacity. Their output meets about 40% of domestic demand, with the remainder imported from “friendly countries,” he added. (Prior to the political turmoil in the country, the two refineries were processing around 245,000 b/d of crude – MEES, 7 November 2011...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  11. Egyptians Rush Into Dollars, Fearing Pound’s Collapse

    ...out 14% since the beginning of the Egyptian revolt in January 2011 to an official rate of $1=E£6.73. A black market for foreign exchange has also emerged with the pound trading even lower at around $1=E£7. Forex reserves have fallen to $13.6bn at the end of January, less than half their level in Ja...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  12. SWIFT Denies Knowledge Of Iran Sanctions Busting

    ...rcumvent them is “a matter for regulators and policy makers.” As a global supplier of secure messaging services, SWIFT notes it has no involvement in or control over the underlying financial transactions that are contained in the messages of its member banks.   In its 2011 annual review, Belgium-in...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  13. Jordan Disburses $141Mn To Offset Energy Cost

    ...ficit ballooned and the government was no longer able to bear the burden. Following the overthrow of the Husni Mubarak regime in Egypt in early 2011, the flow of Egyptian gas to Jordan was sporadic because of the frequent sabotage of sections of the Arab Gas Pipeline (AGP) which supplied cheaper gas to th...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013
  14. An Evaluation of EU-Russian Energy Relations - A Policy Perspective

    ...ices has coincided with lower gas demand.   With the continued Eurozone debt crisis damaging economic recovery, oil-indexed pricing is coming under increasing pressure. In 2009 Statoil reduced oil indexation to 75% in its contracts, compared with Gazprom’s 85% in 2011. If Statoil again re...

    Volume: 56
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2013