MENA Active Drilling Rigs, June 2014*

Kuwait Clarifies Al-Zour Plans, Iraq Projects Halted

...tes Aramco/Total (Satorp) Jubail, S Arabia 400 2014 First CDU start-up 3Q13, second imminent. Aramco/Sinopec (Yasref) Yanbu’, S Arabia 40...

Iraqi Oil Output Seen Stagnating

...IRAQ The US government’s Energy Information Agency (EIA) has cut estimates of Iraqi oil output growth in 2014 and 2015 in its latest short term energy outlook. Although operations in Iraq’s southern oil hub have so far been spared from rapid jihadist advances, the EIA sees production st...

Yemen Oil Revenues Tumble Amid Violence

...YEMEN Yemen’s oil export revenue for the first five months of 2014 was a mere $671mn, down close to 40% on the same period last year. San’a typically relies on oil export revenues to finance up to 60% of its budget. Given average international prices of $110/B Yemen’s Masila Blend cr...

Egypt Takes The Plunge And Raises Energy Prices

...EGYPT The Egyptian government has taken the long-awaited painful but necessary decision of raising domestic energy prices. Energy subsidies in the 2014-15 budget starting on 1 July are estimated at E£127bn ($17.7bn), or 16% of the budget – E£100bn ($14.0bn) for petroleum products an...

Cyprus: IMF Calls For Banks, Energy Restructuring

...ansfers outside Cyprus without prior authorization. Ratings agency Fitch predicts that the “removal of the remaining capital controls is unlikely to be fully implemented before the end of 2014.” Fitch on 4 July upgraded its “long-term issuer default ratings” on Cyprus’ two largest banks, Bank of Cy...

IMF: Real Estate Drives UAE Growth, Overheating Risk Remains

...debted GREs, noting that Dubai’s total government and GRE debt is estimated at $142bn (141% of Dubai GDP), with $92bn falling due in 2014-19. With the relaxation of rent controls, rising real estate prices may also feed into inflation. The IMF welcomed recent measures taken by Dubai to discourage sp...

Chinese Crude Imports, January-May 2014 (‘000 B/D)

Benchmark Crude Prices ($/B)

...OIL PRICES   10 Jul 30 Jun-4 Jul 23-27 Jun Jun-14 May-14 Q2 2014 Q1 2014 2013 20...

Will Fujairah Get With The LNG Bunkering Trend?

...G bunkering demand scales up: at this stage, it is only capable of ship-to-ship LNG transfers. On The Rails? LNG is also looking like an increasingly viable option for long-haul road and rail transport. The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) predicts in its 2014 Annual Energy Outlook that LN...

Aramco Doubles Stake In Korean Refiner, Part Of Global Downstream Push

....5 Total 400 Total Current Domestic     2,505 Yasref (2014) 62.5 Sinopec 400 Jazan (20...

Saudi Hikes Generation Capacity, Boosts Combined Cycle Usage

...airman Salih al-Awaji says the firm plans to spend SR500bn ($130bn) adding 21 power plants totaling 20GW through 2018. The company’s current projects pipeline totals 18.26GW by this date. CCGT generation figures for 2014 will likely be boosted by SEC’s completions of a 3.92GW plant at Qurayyah, in...

Iranian Oil Sales Stay High In May Amid Bumper Chinese Buying

...ar. India has been the next biggest ‘violator,’ taking on an average of 309,000 b/d in the first five months of 2014, 41% up on the corresponding period in 2013. India last week paid some $550mn to Iran to clear part of its total dues for past oil payments, raising prospects within India of a further en...

Genel Optimism As KRG Output Soars

...vanced across northern Iraq (see graph). The firm says neither its output nor exports are threatened. Gross production from Taq Taq rose to 113,000 b/d of oil equivalent in June and averaged 92,000 boe/d in the first half of 2014. Gross production from Tawke was 116,000 boe/d in June and average fi...

Egypt’s 2014-15 Budget Slashes Energy Subsidies, Deficit

...EGYPT Cairo aims to reduce its budget deficit for the 2014-15 fiscal year by more than originally envisaged, necessitating spending cuts that will largely come from curbing energy subsidies that have crippled government finances. The cabinet this week signed off a final budget with a de...

Benchmark Crude Prices ($/B)

...OIL PRICES     03 Jul 23-27 Jun 16-20 Jun Jun-14 May-14 Q2 2014 Q1 2014 2013 20...

Wintershall Set To Explore Shuweihat As IOCs Help Abu Dhabi Boost Gas Production

...til 2015 (MEES, 1 March). ADNOC insists that the project is on track for start-up in 2014....

US Mulls Further Tightening Of Iran Sanctions Screw

...e calling for restraint until the new administration signals its intentions on Iran’s disputed nuclear program.   This latest legislation passing through the US House of Representatives and Senate would effectively blacklist the country’s mining and construction sectors – effective January 2014...

Abu Dhabi: Onshore Pumps 1.5Mn B/D, Investing $40Bn

...y through a five-year, $40bn plan to lift hydrocarbons output, including oil, gas, petrochemical and refining plants, said  Muhammad al-Suwaidi, head of the ADNOC gas directorate.    ADNOC hopes to complete a 417,000 b/d, $9.6bn new refinery at Ruwais in 2014, and gas developments account fo...

Aramco Rigs To Hit 200 By End-14, But Drilling Delayed

...rther.   Aramco will use 170 rigs by end of this year or early 2014, Paal Kibsgaard, CEO of services giant Schlumberger told a 19 July investors’ conference call to mark the firm’s 2Q13 results. Schlumberger and Saudi independent consultant Husseini Energy have upgraded Aramco’s need from respective es...