Oil-Poor Arab States Get Multilateral Finance Boost For Renewables

...ectricity from renewables. EBRD and IFC began investing in energy projects in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia as part of the IMF’s ‘Arab Countries in Transition Program’ which followed the 2011 ‘Arab Spring.’ This targeted these four countries plus Yemen and Libya (MEES, 24 October 2014). At the re...

Opec Agrees To Cut, But Questions Remain Over Implementation

...)   2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016* vs...

Kuwaiti Opposition Gains Further Threaten Government Energy Policy

...me. Government was dissolved following the election and the Emir will appoint a new prime minister shortly. Shaikh Jabir Al Sabah has held the post since December 2011 and his reappointment remains the likeliest option. The premier will then be asked to form the new government. A key barometer will be wh...

The Political Implications Of Iraq’s Mosul Offensive

...OCKS     Baeshiqa is also one of six blocks in disputed areas where the KRG controversially awarded US major ExxonMobil production sharing agreements (PSAs) in 2011, along with the nearby al-Qush to the north west (see map and MEES, 21 November 2011). Slap bang between al-Qush and Baeshiqa is the Jabal Ka...

Saudi Cash Injection: Better Late Than Never

...ptember to $544bn in October, 16.3% down on a year earlier and their lowest level since December 2011 (see chart). The central bank also sharply drew down on its foreign deposits in October, by $11.6bn to $102.7bn. Riyadh on 19 October raised $17.5bn in its first international bond issuance so the dr...

Tunisia Bags $10bn Aid

...Arab and Western donors pledged $9.6bn in aid to Tunisia at a two-day investment conference this week organized to support its struggling economy (see table). The country’s finances have been under pressure since the 2011 uprising, which marked the beginning of the Arab Spring. Tunisia’s de...

Petchems To Dominate MENA 2016 Downstream After 2013-14 CDU Boost

...PC to speed up plans to expand refining capacity and in particular upgrading. While Egypt is pushing a number of large and small-scale refining projects, investment momentum is still rebuilding after a lull from 2011 until last year. In 2016 only one Egyptian project is scheduled for co...

Iran Seeks To Reclaim Former Markets In 2016

...mpeting directly for buyers with their medium and heavy sour crude grades in Europe, which imported 595,000 b/d of Iranian crude on average in 2011, the last full year before the European embargo was implemented. In Asia, Iran’s largest market even before sanctions (see chart, p16), the impact of this ti...

The MENA Region’s Vulnerability: A Geo-Economic Outlook

...portunities of success for all participants. But that will require a decisive, collective political will on the part of the prevailing leadership, and moves towards the inclusion of Morocco and Jordan have largely stalled since mooted in 2011. Otherwise, the alternative is, quite simply, bleak.  UN 2015 HU...

Libya: No More Than A Glimmer Of Hope

...Foreign powers hope a nascent peace deal in Libya will be a prelude to concerted action against IS. But the omens for success do not look good. As Libya approaches five years since the uprising began that culminated in the removal of long-time leader Mu’ammar al Qadhafi in 2011, there has be...

Importers Of Iranian Crude 2011-2015 (MN B/D)

Prices Hit 11-Year Lows With No Sign Of A Reprieve

...erage imports from Iran of 120,000b/d for the first 11 months of 2015, this year is on target to be the lowest for at least a decade: last year South Korea imported 125,000 b/d from Iran; volumes were twice as much (248,000 b/d) in 2011 before sanctions intensified (see graph). The IEA’s latest mo...

Libya: Fragile Peace Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

...volved in fighting in Libya since the ousting of Muammar al-Qadhafi in 2011. A political agreement is a crucial part of securing a lasting peace in Libya, but the two governments have far from complete control over the patchwork of militias involved in the conflict, whether or not they have declared al...

Algeria Looks May Trim Refining Plan Further As Reduced Export Revenues Bite

...made clear to industry players operating in Algeria. Boosting Algeria’s refining capacity is of strategic importance for the government. Firstly, because of rocketing domestic demand for transport fuels, Sonatrach has had to import both gasoline and diesel since 2011, with volumes reaching pe...

South Sudan Oil Output Hike Remains A Distant Prospect

...mpletely.   Oil production in South Sudan in 2015 has averaged about 148,000 b/d, according to figures from the Ministry of Petroleum, Mining and Industries, down from about 220,000 b/d before the outbreak of civil war in December 2013, and more than 400,000 b/d prior to South Sudan’s independence in July 2011...

Egypt Inaugurates 200mw Gebel El Zeit Wind Farm

...vestment Bank provided a further €50mn and the European Commission €30mn. The project was slowed by the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’ uprising and subsequent political turbulence, a Ministry of Electricity and Energy official told reporters. Project go-ahead was given in late 2008 and the financing deal was co...

US Oil Output, Imports, Exports, Demand: Q3 Oct & Nov 2015 (‘000 B/D)

...15 1Q15 4Q14 2014 2013 2012 2011 CRUDE OIL IMPORTS 7,355 7,188 7,222 -41...

Crude Official Selling Prices ($/B)

...15 1Q15 4Q14 2014 2013 2012 2011 CRUDE OIL IMPORTS 7,355 7,188 7,222 -41...

Libyan Output Crashes As Fighting Escalates

...tions, production in the Sirte Basin slumped. Libyan production fell to as low as 150,000 b/d earlier this year when operations at the western fields of Sharara and El Feel where interrupted, a tenth of the 1.5mn b/d produced before the blockade. Prior to the 2011 revolution that disposed of Mu’ammar al-Qa...

Yemen On Brink Of Collapse As Crisis Threatens To Submerge Oil Sector

...adership to acquiesce to their wishes. But while the feeder gas pipeline from Marib to the plant proved to be the target of choice in 2011 and 2013 – the focus has since shifted to Balhaf itself – which has been the subject of two mortar attacks in less than a year. The latest of these came this week, wi...