1. Oman Economy Set For Strong 2018 Finish

    ...cent years: the figure was $5.15bn in 2014. Higher current expenditure is partly down to larger interest payments on loans as well as gas production expenditure which has risen from $380mn to $850mn year-on-year. But the bigger movements are on the revenue side of the ledger. Oil exports are only up...

    Volume: 61
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 23 Nov 2018
  2. OPEC’S Ever-Receding Global Oil Market Dominance

    ....6mn b/d including NGLs) in 2017 to 44.8% by 2040. Seemingly good news for Opec. But then the IEA’s 2014 WEO predicted Opec’s market share rising to 49.2% by 2040. The number has been cut every year since. • These cuts come despite additions to Opec membership which helped boost the organization’s ba...

    Volume: 61
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 23 Nov 2018
  3. Omani Economy Looking Up Despite S&P Downgrade

    ...ude prices have taken a toll on Oman’s government coffers. Nominal GDP fell from OR31.5bn ($81.8bn) in 2014 to just OR25.5bn ($66.3bn) last year. But things have started looking up in recent months, with higher oil prices and BP starting up its key Khazzan gas project in September. Ne...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  4. Qatar Maxes Condensate Splitters, Hits Fresh Products Records

    ...en the largest buyer of Qatari condensate. But after rising above 200,000 b/d in Q1 2014, imports fell to just over 125,000 b/d the following quarter and have been below 100,000 b/d since late-2014 (see chart). Much of this fall in shipments to Japan was caused by the neighboring UAE stepping up its im...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  5. Algeria Eyes 2.4gw Power Capacity Boost By Mid-2018, But Money Is Tight

    ...ojects which have been announced by Sonelgaz in recent years – 26 plants with a combined capacity of 13.7GW were listed by Sonelgaz as scheduled to begin commissioning during 2014-16 (MEES, 6 November 2015). While some of these have been completed and others are progressing, the overall rate of progress ha...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  6. Saudi Crude Exports At 7-Year Low, Outweighing Products Gains

    ...ch occurrence since 2014. The 6.65mn b/d exported in Q3 this year was down 290,000 b/d on Q2 and the lowest figure since 2011 (see table, MEES November 24). But has the nadir now passed? Initial indications imply there was a slight increase in crude exports in October, while Saudi Arabia an...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  7. GCC Debt Smashes All Records

    ...hrain with $3bn. Less than three years ago, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman had never issued debt in the international markets but the plunge in oil prices since the end of 2014 sent their budget deficits soaring. Indeed, while political relations have frayed throughout the course of the year, one fr...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  8. Saudi Deficit Set To Fall 50% In 2017

    ...Higher oil prices mean Saudi Arabia is on track to halve its deficit to $42.5bn for 2017, the lowest figure since 2014. Latest figures for the first nine months of 2017 show revenue rising by 23% year-on-year thanks to a 32% increase in oil prices (from $38.6/B to $50.9/B). For 2017 as a wh...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  9. Total Aims To Become Mena’s Dominant IOC

    ...eld takes over in June 2017 and could provide Total with around 90,000 b/d, potentially seeing it overtake ExxonMobil to claim top spot in the region for liquids. 1: TOTAL CLAIMS 40% UPSTREAM COST CUTS SINCE 2014 SOURCE: TOTAL, MEES.   2: TOTAL'S RENEWED ADCO SHARE SEES IT OV...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 25 Nov 2016
  10. Suez Canal Sees Record Northbound Oil Shipments

    ...tal cargo shipped is up 9%. SUEZ CANAL MONTHLY REVENUE ($MN): DOWN 8% ON 2014 DESPITE LAST YEAR’S EXPANSION SOURCE: SUEZ CANAL AUTHORITY.   NORTHBOUND OIL SHIPMENTS SOAR The key area where the Suez Canal has seen transit volumes rise has been in northbound oil shipments. Saudi Ar...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 25 Nov 2016
  11. Kuwait Eyes Push Into US Petchems With Award Of MEG Plant Contract

    ...ve been considering an aromatics joint venture since 2014. PIC and Noga signed an agreement in late October for a 1.44mn t/y aromatics project, according to Kuwait’s state news agency Kuna. Rapid progress is unlikely on this venture also, given Bahrain’s relatively limited financial resources and ma...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 25 Nov 2016
  12. Qatargas Ramps Up Output At Ras Laffan 2 Splitter

    ...Qatar’s Qatargas has started operations at the Ras Laffan 2 condensate splitter and is ramping up production. But it is not clear how close the operator is to achieving full throughput capacity of 146,000 b/d. When Ras Laffan 2 construction began in 2014, Qatargas predicted plant co...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 25 Nov 2016
  13. Morocco Awards Three PV Projects, As Mena Gets Serious About Solar

    ...solar capacity over two sites near Manah and Adam, respectively 150km and 170km southwest of Muscat. Iran plans 100MW of solar at Aran va Bidgol in Isfahan province. Bahrain built a 5MW solar pilot plant in 2014, and now plans new laws to encourage building owners to install rooftop solar. In No...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 25 Nov 2016
  14. Can Opec Get Its Act Together Ahead Of Vienna Meeting?

    ...giers on 29 September and set its target range, Iraq has been insistent that while it approves of an overall cut, it should be exempt. As the second largest producer in Opec and the one whose production has increased the most during the price slump – 1.24mn b/d since November 2014 – its non-pa...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 25 Nov 2016
  15. Trump Sword Of Damocles Hangs Over Global Climate Action

    ...SITIONS IN FULL Nov 2012 (tweet): "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive" Jan 2014 (tweet): "Is our country still spending money on the GLOBAL WARMING HOAX?" Jan 2016 (Fox & Friends TV show): "I think the climate ch...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 25 Nov 2016
  16. ‘Iran Is A Risk…The US Is A Risk’ Total’s Pouyanné Speaks To MEES

    ...at people are exaggerating. Yes, we have seen a few rigs come back into the picture. But in the US today, you have 450 active oil rigs, it’s nothing compared to what we had in 2014, when it was around 1,400 [see chart, p20]. Yes, this is a potential dynamic, but I think it is not clear how many of th...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 25 Nov 2016
  17. Middle East To Drive Gas Growth, But Is It Sustainable?

    ...d of the decade.” In absolute terms, however, the IEA cut its outlook for 2040 global gas demand from that in its 2014 WEO, by 218 bcm/year to 5,160 bcm/year in its central scenario, mainly citing the economic slowdown and increased regulation for energy efficiency standards, and competition wi...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 20 Nov 2015
  18. Saudi Crude Output Up But Refiners Put Squeeze On Exports

    ...ile September’s 744,000 b/d feed to electricity generators is below the summer peak of 894,000 b/d – itself just short of an all-time record – it is still seasonally high, some 15% higher than 648,000 b/d for September 2014. Refinery crude intake reached a new record of 2.50mn b/d in October, with th...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 20 Nov 2015
  19. Taiwan LNG Imports January-September 2015

    ...15 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Ju...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 20 Nov 2015
  20. UAE’s Ruwais Expansion Refinery Fully Operational

    ...oducts capacity in recent years. In 2014 the UAE’s refining companies produced 439,000 b/d of petroleum products, of which 389,000 b/d was consumed locally and 194,000 b/d was exported. The Ruwais Expansion will enable the UAE to eliminate gasoline imports – which averaged 34,000 b/d in 2014 – and in...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 20 Nov 2015