Morocco Bags IMF, EU, Qatari Cash

...dustrial users and reduced the per-unit subsidy on diesel, with further reductions planned for the remainder of the year. Subsidies are to fall to MD35bn ($4.20bn) in 2014 (3.7% of GDP) from MD42bn ($5.04bn) in 2013 (4.7% of GDP), with a fall to 3% of GDP by 2017, according to the IMF and the Ministry of Ec...

Egypt To Extend Gas Grid With World Bank Help

...w Constitution,” World Bank Vice President for the MENA region Inger Andersen says. The loan to Tunisia is part of a $1.2bn 2014 World Bank financial package (MEES, 6 June). The package also includes up to $750mn to support government reforms and promote growth and job creation, $100mn for a cr...

The Future Saudi Role In Global Oil Markets

...intain this position. To answer the question we have to look at the call on OPEC in the medium term. It can be seen in Table 1 that up to 2018 the call on OPEC crude will follow a downwards trend and will fall from 29.7mn b/d in 2014 to 28.9mn b/d in 2018. To compare the call on OPEC with OPEC pr...

Iran Official Crude & Products Output, Consumption And Trade Figures To April 2014 (‘000 B/D)

Japanese Crude Oil & Condensate Imports, Q2 2014 (‘000 B/D)

Benchmark Crude Prices ($/B)

...OIL PRICES   31 Jul 21-25 Jul 14-18 Jul Jul-14 Jun-14 Q2 2014 Q1 2014 2013 20...

Iraq Shake-Up: CNPC Enters West Qurna-1; Shell Slammed Over Majnoon

...ly and the 40,000-60,000 b/d first phase of Gazprom’s Badra oilfield now postponed to early 2014. The West Qurna-2 development led by Russian Lukoil is due to start up at the end of the year at an initial rate of 100,000 b/d, but MEES soundings suggest the timetable may slip to early next year be...

Iran Gas Supply Deal Back On For Gas-Hungry Oman

...oduction from which, Iran says, could begin as early as March 2014 – although MEES views this timetable as rather unrealistic (MEES, 24 May).   “We had a number of issues in the past about putting up a pipeline, but both countries are still very keen to see that project [be implemented],” Mr Rumhy sa...

Iran Dusts Off Refineries Plan As Zanganeh Takes Charge

...rs gas field. State news agency IRNA says the first of the project’s three 120,000 b/d condensate splitters is two-thirds complete and scheduled to start up in 2014 (MEES, 15 March).   NIORDC boss Alireza Zeighami says Tehran authorized the company to spend up to $5bn to speed up construction of...

Saudi Arabia Stems Domestic Oil Demand Growth

...of the offshore 1.3bn cfd Hasbah and 1.2bn cfd Arabiyah non-associated fields in 2014 to feed the Wasit gas plant, currently under construction. Ordinary supply of 2.5bn cfd will produce 1.75bn cfd of sales gas and can be augmented to 3.05bn cfd in peak summer demand months, Saudi Aramco revealed. Al...

Orpic Tenders Liwa FEED As Oman Joins Middle East Plastics Boom

...increased propylene supply. Deliveries will be raised by 30,000 t/y to 80,000 t/y beginning 1 January 2014 as APC hikes PP output.   2013 Additions To Middle East Petrochemicals Projects Pipeline Operator(s) Location Start-Up...

Wind Power Dominates Near-Term MENA Renewables Projects Mix

...entified six potential sites for new wind farms in the Gulf of Suez area. It has invited companies to prequalify to develop 100MW projects. France’s GDF Suez is currently building Africa’s largest wind project, the 300MW Tarfaya wind farm in Morocco. This is due online at the end of 2014. Meanwhile, in Tu...

Uncertain Fundamentals Threaten To Ambush Projections

...OPEC   Uncertain Fundamentals Threaten To Ambush Projections   OPEC ministers will have to contend with a series of challenges when they meet in December as they contemplate the impact of soaring US-led non-OPEC oil production and an anticipated slump in demand for OPEC oil in 2014...

SEC Head Resigns, Replacement To Come From Aramco

...ecutive of the state utility in October 2006, will step down from his post officially on 1 January 2014. SEC has already lined up his successor – Ziad bin Muhammad al-Shiha, currently Executive Director for Power Systems at state oil firm Saudi Aramco.   Mr Barrak instigated a major expansion of ge...

Rohani Promises Iranians Better Days Ahead

...ES, 9 August). Iran’s real GDP fell 1.9% in 2012 and is projected to fall by a further 1.3% in 2013, before rising 1.1% in 2014, according to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook.   Iranian Vice-President Ishaq Jahangiri has warned that about one-third of the Iranian budget for fiscal year ending on 20...

Bahrain GDP To Hit 5.6%

...l production from Abu Sa’fa due to maintenance. The non-hydrocarbon sector is expected to rise by 4.4% in 2013. For 2014 real GDP is projected to grow by 4.0%.   Due to its modest hydrocarbons endowments, Bahrain had managed to diversify its economy between 2000 and 2012, according to the Ye...

Former Algerian Minister Latest Casualty In Widening Oil Corruption Scandal

...ans and repairs to the Skikda LNG plant damaged by an explosion in 2004 have been delayed while a new plant being built at Gassi Touil is behind schedule.   Other projects on the backburner, include the Galsi pipeline project to Italy, which was due to be operational in 2014 but is now on hold du...

Qatar Nears Full GTL Output, Eyes Competitors’ Projects

...tput: “Most of the problems of reliability have been resolved to some extent,” an industry source tells MEES. But the debottlenecking – from tuning various parts, such as pumps – to boost capacity 10% by 2014 may slip back to early 2015, he said. The expansion will give a production capacity of 24...

Morocco Awards 2 Power Projects, Lines Up Solar Bidders

...cond in April 2014. TAQA recently secured $1.4bn in finance for the project (MEES, 8 February).   Solar Prequalification The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) meanwhile announced it had prequalified a number of consortia to build the Noor-2 and Noor-3 concentrated solar power (CSP) pl...

OPEC sees Tight Markets As Libyan Volumes Slump, Iraq Disappoints

...r world oil demand growth of 1.04mn b/d in 2014 were unchanged though MOMR adjusted the numbers in absolute terms to account for minor revisions in 2012 and 2013. Global oil demand for 2014 was estimated at 90.75mn b/d, up from the 90.68mn b/d projected in the previous MOMR.   The MO...