1. Saudi Slashes Jan-Feb Oil Burn; Can It Maintain The Progress?

    ...at fuel oil shipments to Saudi facilities (including seaborne domestic transfers) have started the year at multi-year lows (see chart 4). The Q1 average of 240,000 b/d was the lowest three-month average in Kpler data stretching back to 2017. This marked a significant drop from 318,000 b/d one ye...

    Volume: 68
    Issue: 17
    Published at Fri, 25 Apr 2025
  2. GCC Deepens Africa Ties, Starting 2025 With Record Oil Product Exports

    ...ate energy firm OQ has also expanded into distribution in Africa. It took a 40% stake in Kenya-based Hass Petroleum through its subsidiary OQ Trading back in 2017. The company operates more than 150 retail stations across nine countries in central and east Africa. Oman, like other countries in the GC...

    Volume: 68
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 11 Apr 2025
  3. Iraq Targets 1.54mn B/D Refining Capacity With Relaunch Of 150,000mn b/d Missan Plans

    ...pacity since 2017, when the country was struggling to cope with the aftermath of the 2014 destruction of its largest refinery, the 290,000 b/d Baiji complex, by Islamic State (MEES, 26 September 2014). Mr Sudani says the new refining additions are part of his government’s efforts to maximize the value de...

    Volume: 68
    Issue: 14
    Published at Fri, 04 Apr 2025
  4. Kuwait’s KPC Plans Merger Of Refining Subsidiaries

    ...2017 to oversee development of the Al Zour refinery and LNG import terminal, but now its role has transitioned to managing their operations, and there could be efficiency gains if this is done in greater alignment with KNPC. Al Zour exports in Q1 equated to around a third of Kuwait’s overall re...

    Volume: 67
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 12 Apr 2024
  5. Middle East Replaces Displaced Russian Distillates In Europe

    ...rrels. Exports to Europe, including via Egypt’s Sidi Kerir storage hub, jumped by nearly 100,000 b/d to 772,000 b/d for Q1 according to data intelligence firm Kpler. This was the highest figure in Kpler data going back to 2017 and accounted for 46% of total Gulf middle distillate exports of 1....

    Volume: 66
    Issue: 17
    Published at Fri, 28 Apr 2023
  6. Oman LNG Exports Soar To New Record Highs

    ...nfirmed. REVITALIZED GAS SECTOR  The surge in Oman LNG exports is largely thanks to the resurgence of the sultanate’s upstream gas sector. The September 2017 start-up of BP’s 1bn cfd Khazzan tight gas development sparked its upstream gas sector and the second phase Ghazeer development brought capacity to...

    Volume: 66
    Issue: 14
    Published at Fri, 07 Apr 2023
  7. Mideast Distillate Exports Drop Amid Global Shortfall

    ...ower pace than envisioned by the IMF in January (MEES, 22 April) – and demand therefore rising, distillate crack spreads have widened dramatically. Inventories have been declining since mid-2021 “and are currently at their lowest level since at least 2017,” according to a 12 April note by consultancy FG...

    Volume: 65
    Issue: 17
    Published at Fri, 29 Apr 2022
  8. Saudi Crude Exports At 22-Month High As Crude Burn Falls

    ...bruary, the highest since August 2019 whilst fuel oil production rose to 524,000 b/d for the highest since August 2017. This comes as Saudi gradually ramps up throughputs at its 400,000 b/d Jazan Refinery which is currently running at half capacity prior to full operations later this year. However, it is un...

    Volume: 65
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 22 Apr 2022
  9. Egypt Oil Burn Rises As Gas Exports Maxed

    ...art). Egypt slashed fuel oil burn at its power plants following the end-2017 start-up of the giant Zohr offshore gas field (see p3 and MEES, 15 December 2017) and the 2018 start-up of 14.4GW of CCGT capacity (MEES, 27 July 2018). Fuel oil burn fell to an average of just 35,000 b/d for 2020 and 22...

    Volume: 65
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 22 Apr 2022
  10. Israel Oil Demand Falls To 9-Year Low Amid Record Imports

    ...porting ‘banned’ supplies, especially if this can be achieved at a hefty discount. During Libya’s geopolitical chaos of 2016 and 2017 where factions competed to sell crude by any means possible, Israel took several cargoes. And volumes from ‘Egypt’ (with which Israel of course has diplomatic relations) ha...

    Volume: 64
    Issue: 14
    Published at Fri, 09 Apr 2021
  11. Israel’s Oil Sector: Inching Towards Supply Security

    ...ESUMES OIL DEMAND STEADY AT 2017-19 LEVEL OF 230,000 B/D. SOURCE: NOBLE, DELEK, ENERGEAN, MEES.   3. CRUDE IMPORTS (‘000 B/D): KRG TOP FOR PAST FIVE YEARS, BUT DOWN FROM RECORD 84% IN 2015 AS ISRAEL DIVERSIFIES (‘000 B/D) SOURCE: KPLER. Q4 RUNS DOWN, OUTPUT DOWN     Israel’s re...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 17 Apr 2020
  12. Egypt Petchems Producers Target New Products, Increased Exports

    ...lyethylene (PE) plant (MEES, 7 February). The polybutadiene plant will cost $180mn and take two years to build. Ethydco produced 367,000 tons of ethylene in 2019, as well as 363,000 tons of polyethylene for local consumption and export. Ethydco’s exports during 2017-19 earned $929mn. NEW CH...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 10 Apr 2020
  13. Saudi Refinery Turnarounds Boost Crude Supply

    ...rch). Aramco’s 550,000 b/d Ras Tanura plant will be shut down for 5-6 weeks beginning 1 June as part of a $2.4bn clean fuels upgrade. which will enable production of Euro-5 specifications fuels from 2021 (MEES, 13 January 2017). The Satorp joint venture of Aramco and France’s Total shut down the re...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 14
    Published at Fri, 03 Apr 2020
  14. Egypt Cuts Oil Import Bill As Refineries Up The Pace

    ...ices (MEES, 11 October 2019). Demand for diesel peaked at 297,000 b/d in 2016 and has since fallen for three consecutive years to 271,000 b/d in 2019. Demand for gasoline has eased slightly since peaking at 170,000 b/d in 2017. But with gas now accounting for almost all thermal power generation in Eg...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 14
    Published at Fri, 03 Apr 2020
  15. Aramco Buys Shell’s Sasref Stake In Push To Increase Downstream Control

    ...tiva JV, following which the Saudi firm assumed complete control of the 600,000 b/d Port Arthur refinery (MEES, 10 March 2017). The bond will help fund Aramco’s $69.1bn purchase of the 70% of state-led conglomerate Sabic currently held by sovereign wealth fund PIF (MEES, 5 April). Although Ar...

    Volume: 62
    Issue: 17
    Published at Fri, 26 Apr 2019
  16. Aramco Asian Downstream Splurge Ties Up Captive Crude Markets

    ...nual report shows output including intermediate products of 30.8mn tons in financial year 2017-18. Its 4Q 2018 results show quarterly petchems output of 9.7mn tons, equivalent to 38.8mn tons on an annualized basis, after the cracker and downstream units reached full output in 2018. Saudi Arabia is al...

    Volume: 62
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 19 Apr 2019
  17. Israel Oil 2018 Data: Gasoline Imports At Record On Refinery Outage

    ...62mn tons (77,000 b/d) or 2017, a year that saw renovation, a strike and a fire at one of its diesel units (MEES, 1 September 2017). Paz increased its crude throughput capacity from 4.5mn tons (90,000 b/d) in late 2013 (MEES, 29 August 2014). *But overall, the gains at Paz were not enough to make up...

    Volume: 62
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 12 Apr 2019
  18. Iraq’s Downstream Dreams: Back To Square One?

    ...llowing the Islamic State insurgency in 2014 (MEES, 28 September 2018). Current output stands around 30,000 b/d, with trucked export volumes hitting 23,000 b/d in March. Despite suffering reservoir damage during the Islamic State’s retreat in 2017, the ministry says production could reach 60,000 b/d; So...

    Volume: 62
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 12 Apr 2019
  19. Aramco Bond Prospectus Sheds Light On Downstream Operations

    ...en lower than prices at which the company would otherwise have sold such refined products.” Because of subsidies, Aramco’s downstream business made a loss before 2017. But from 1 January 2017 Riyadh “implemented an equalization mechanism” to compensate Aramco for losses on sales of crude, ke...

    Volume: 62
    Issue: 14
    Published at Fri, 05 Apr 2019
  20. Sabic Seeks Big Projects As Reorganization Continues

    ...With petchems competition up, Sabic targets a US shale and oil-to-chemicals boost. Saudi Basic Industries (Sabic), one of the world’s largest petrochemicals producers, says total production fell by 1.8% to 71.2mn tons in 2017 from its 2016 output record of 72.5mn tons. While 2017 was it...

    Volume: 61
    Issue: 17
    Published at Fri, 27 Apr 2018