Saudi-Russia Relations Mean Opec+ ‘Deal’ Will Continue. At What Price?

...al to tout ‘compliance’ of 129% for December. Whilst this is a flawed metric (MEES, 26 May 2017), it is one on which Opec increasingly chooses to focus. And the figure was likely even higher for January. With a further collapse in Venezuelan output far more likely than a rebound, this gives potential co...

Key Non-Opec Producers See Output Soar (Mn B/D)

...US CRUDE OUTPUT HIT 10.04MN B/D IN NOVEMBER, LEVEL WITH 1970’S ALL-TIME HIGH. OUTPUT IS FORECAST TO TOP 11MN B/D NEXT YEAR   BRAZIL CRUDE OUTPUT ROSE 4% TO A NEW ANNUAL RECORD OF 2.62MN B/D FOR 2017. A STRING OF NEW DEEPWATER DEVELOPMENTS PROMISE NEW RECORDS FOR 2018 (MN...

Corruption Destroying Libya’s Future, Says Oil Chief

...rvival of the country, said the oil chief, arguing that the fair distribution of oil revenue is Libya’s best guarantee of security. OIL MONEY SQUANDERED Libya’s crude output rebounded to an average of 824,000 b/d in 2017 from 380,000 b/d the previous year (MEES, 5 January). The value of each ba...

Sabic Profits Boost From Rising Oil Prices As Horizons Expand With Clariant Buy

...tlook for 2018, after “an increase in oil prices reflected positively on petrochemical prices” in 2017. However, the company will look to cut operating costs by 5-7% in 2018, “somewhat similar to 2017,” he told reporters at the firm’s 2017 results presentation on 28 January. Sabic’s net profit wa...

Kuwait Budget Deficit Set To Shrink In 2018-19 As Oil Prices Recover

...ding. A new cabinet was appointed in December after the previous body resigned in the face of parliamentary opposition (MEES, 15 December 2017), but Minister for Social Affairs and Labor Hind al-Sabeeh already faced a no-confidence vote this week – albeit one she survived easily. National Bank of Ku...

Japan 2017 LNG Imports: Qatar Volumes Fall To 7-Year Low As Australia Solidifies Top Supplier Spot

Sama Net Foreign Assets:

...SAUDI RESERVES* HAVE EDGED HIGHER WITH OIL PRICES IN RECENT MONTHS... *SAMA NET FOREIGN ASSETS ($BN, END PERIOD). SOURCE: SAMA, IMF, MEES.   ...BUT THEY STILL ENDED 2017 BELOW $500BN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2010...

Saudi Aramco IPO Plans Progressing But Key Challenges Lie Ahead

...7bn) in 2017 in order to spur economic growth following 2016’s sluggish 1.2% rise in real GDP. The government is looking to narrow the budget deficit to SR198bn ($53bn) in 2017 (MEES, 6 January). “Saudi Arabia will need to make sure the fiscal regime does not discourage investment in the IPO. Back in...

Abu Dhabi Finalizes Onshore Concession With Chinese Partnership

...CO CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION (‘000 B/D) SOURCE: ADCO, MEES.   ADCO TARGET FADING AWAY? Abu Dhabi plans to increase Adco production capacity to 1.8mn b/d during 2017. But with current capacity at around 1.66mn b/d, this target is unlikely to be achieved. Along with development plans be...

Kuwait: Subsidy Row Presages Return To Disruption As Usual

...June 2017 (MEES, 11 July 2014). Al-Rai reports that GC-31 is 15 months behind schedule and that Kuwait Oil Company is considering imposing a fine of up to 10% (KD25mn-$82mn) on the firm. Dodsal submitted the second lowest initial bid for the Al-Zour pipeline. Larsen and Toubro submitted th...

Gulf Crude Burn: Saudi Arabia Leads Fall From Sky-High Levels

...sit gas processing plant (providing 1.7bn cfd sales gas) in Q2 2016 and fuel subsidy cuts crimped demand. •  2017 should see further gains as Wasit will be operational for the full year, especially if the government follows through with further planned subsidy reforms. •  The numbers are ha...

Saudi Arabia Reaps Benefits Of Downstream Investment

...the ramp up of output from two new 400,000 b/d refineries during 2013-15. This brought Aramco’s total domestic refining capacity up to 2.90mn b/d. With last year’s record intake hit despite a run rate of just 75%, new refining records are very possible in 2017, although planned maintenance and up...

Baghdad-Erbil Refining Deal Signals Pragmatism Winning Out

...eventing the onset of exports (MEES, 13 January 2017). While the current gas standoff highlights the potential obstacles to the Basra-Abadan pipeline, the second planned pipeline is far more ambitious. This would link the NOC fields in Kirkuk with Iran, most likely to the 110,000 b/d Tabriz re...

Mubadala Restructured

...irate’s “most significant investment companies into one global investment power house,” and will provide “commercial opportunities across more strategic sectors all over the world.” The new company’s CEO Khaldun Khalifa al-Mubarak – legacy CEO of Mubadala – says he expects to begin operations in May 2017.  ...

Shell’s Take On LNG In 2016

...2016 LNG IMPORT GROWTH (MN T): EGYPT JORDAN, PAKISTAN ARE IN THE TOP 5. ALL HAVE SHAKY FINANCES... SOURCE: SHELL 2017 LNG OUTLOOK (USING DATA FROM IHS, MOODY’S, FITCH), MEES.   ...PUSHING DOWN THE AVERAGE CREDIT RATING OF GLOBAL LNG BUYERS...   ...AND BOOSTING TR...

Israel: Exploration On Hold As Firms Await Leviathan Progress

...e 22 tcf Leviathan field where operator Noble says it expects to take a final investment decision (FID) this quarter. LEVIATHAN FID: FULL SPEED AHEAD? Noble issued its 2016 results and 2017 outlook on 13 February. In what has become a familiar trope it says Leviathan FID is almost there. But no...

Energean Bullish: Is It Justified?

...ergean says it hopes to reach FID by the end of 2017 and have first gas by 2020. CEO Mathios Rigas has optimistically said gas from the two fields will compete with Noble and Delek’s Tamar gas field, Israel’s only current producer at 900mn cfd in Q4 after hitting record 978mn cfd in Q3. Gas supplies 60% of...

Oman Output Cut Tempered By Export Surge

...mpanies are boosting production capacity, but, so long as Oman complies with the pledge made to Opec on 10 December to cap first half 2017 output at 970,094 b/d, its full year 1mn b/d target will be difficult to hit. Crude and condensate production fell to 966,000 b/d in January the lowest level in 16 mo...

Oman Completes Key Units In Sohar Refinery Upgrade

...te 2013. The expanded refinery was due online by end-2016, but Oil Minister Muhammad al-Rumhy last August announced an unexplained slide to 2017. Mr Rumhy’s announcement followed a scheduled major turnaround from late February to late April. Orpic said work would include “modifications to the ex...

Algeria Looks To Build On Modest Output Gains But Investors Remain Wary

...quefied natural gas, were up by 25% year on year for the first 10 months of 2016, according to the government. Combined oil and gas exports were up 11% to 109mn tons of oil equivalent (TOE) in 2016 from 98mn TOE in 2015. Sonatrach plans to increase oil and gas production to more than 205mn TOE in 2017, fr...