1. Suez Canal Oil Data (‘000 B/D)

    ...NORTHERN OIL SHIPMEMTS HAVE DOUBLED SINCE 2011 TO AVERAGE 2MN B/D SINCE 2Q 2014...   ...WITH SEASONAL RECORDS SET FOR EACH OF THE LAST THREE QUARTERS (MN B/D)   NORTHBOUND PRODUCTS SHIPMENTS, DIESEL IN PARTICULAR, HAVE LED THE WAY. 1.2MN B/D OF SAUDI AND UAE RE...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 20
    Published at Fri, 20 May 2016
  2. Iran Taps China For $1.5bn Refinery Upgrade, Warns Over Lack Of Upstream Progress

    ...is work at $3.6bn – significantly more than the figure quoted by Mr Zanganeh, which suggests that a less rigorous culling of ageing equipment is currently envisaged (MEES, 23 May 2014). The Abadan refinery MoU takes to six the number of Iran’s post-sanctions downstream deals. In refining Iran has li...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 20
    Published at Fri, 20 May 2016
  3. Saudi Edges Up Capacity, Looks To IPPs For Boost

    ...mand was 62.3GW, compared with 56.6GW in 2014. Recently-ousted electricity minister ‘Abd Allah a-Husain predicts that demand will reach 90GW in 2022. SEC spent SR29bn ($7.73bn) on new generating, transmission and distribution capacity in 2015. New units came online at the PP12 combined cycle gas tu...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 20
    Published at Fri, 20 May 2016
  4. EBRD In $530mn Egypt & Jordan Solar Boost

    ...nd farm and solar projects in Morocco (MEES, 24 October 2014)....

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 20
    Published at Fri, 20 May 2016
  5. Libya Output Down, Risk Of Further Collapse

    ...rminal. The largest oil export outlets remain shut – 450,000-b/d Es Sider and 250,000 b/d Ras Lanuf, both on Libya’s central Gulf of Sirte since December 2014, and 250,000 b/d Zueitina to the east for most of the past two years (MEES, 6 November 2015). There were a few moments in 2015 when Tripoli’s NO...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 20
    Published at Fri, 20 May 2016
  6. Saudi Gas Expansion Plans Progress With Tender Award

    ...oduce 1.7bn cfd sales gas. Wasit was initially planned to come online in 2014, but high sulfur levels at Hasbah and the Arabiyah field led to this slipping to 2016. Saipem’s firsthand experience of dealing with these issues had appeared to leave it well positioned, but it could have lost out on co...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 20
    Published at Fri, 20 May 2016
  7. Saudi 2030 Plans: Turning The Vision Into Reality

    ...ort-term benefit is the generation of revenue, which will help reduce concerns over the pace at which foreign exchange reserves are being drawn down and government debt is towering up. Foreign Reserves dropped from a peak of $731bn in August 2014 to $576bn as of March 2016. Moody’s forecast reserves de...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 20
    Published at Fri, 20 May 2016
  8. Iran Gets Sound Advice From IMF, But Will It Be Heeded?

    ...e Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Valliolah Seif, liquidity rose by 30% in 2014 from 23% in 2013. Mr Seif says that under sanctions Iran’s banks failed to keep up with their international peers: they need to reintegrate and comply with international standards. The government and CBI intend to su...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 20
    Published at Fri, 20 May 2016
  9. Algeria Sees Power Demand Soaring; Can It Find The Cash To Boost Capacity?

    ...rn 13.3% higher than the previous record set in 2014 (see chart). Part of the additional load was met by 1.09GW of new gas-fired plants that ramped up to full capacity last year, including 394MW at Tilghemt, 220MW at Hassi Messaoud, 220MW at M’Sila, 140MW at Labreg, 40MW at Boufarik, 40MW at Ou...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 19
    Published at Fri, 13 May 2016
  10. Yemen Conflict Sees Gulf States Test Their Military Prowess

    ...a lightning 2014 advance) have been pushed out of Marib to the western edge of the city, and there has been a negotiated truce with anti-government fighters in Al-Jawf and other provinces. But there is a complete stalemate in Taiz in the south. A coalition grouping the Houthis with militias loyal to fo...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 19
    Published at Fri, 13 May 2016
  11. Global Conflict Fatalities, 2015

    ...BY REGION: MENA ACCOUNTS FOR 50% OF TOTAL 2015 FATALITIES…                                 ...THOUGH THIS IS DOWN FROM 2014             2/3 OF 2015 MENA DEATHS (AND 1/3 OF THE GLOBAL TOTAL) WERE IN SYRIA             SOURCE: IISS ARMED CONFLICT SURVEY, 20...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 19
    Published at Fri, 13 May 2016
  12. Mideast Military Spending By The Numbers

    ...rong growth in spending in both countries far surpassed global growth in military expenditure, which in 2014 dollar terms (ie adjusted for inflation) grew by just 1% to $1.7trn in 2015. On this basis Mideast spending grew by 4.1% last year. Saudi Arabia was by far and away the region’s largest sp...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 19
    Published at Fri, 13 May 2016
  13. KRG Exports Rise With Boost From New Fields, But Takings Fall

    ...make a $26mn coupon payment last month. Kurdish firm KAR aims to increase production by 50,000 b/d in 2016 from its Khurmala Dome field, as well as from Kirkuk’s Avana Dome and nearby Bai Hassan field both of which the KRG (and Kar) controversially took over in 2014 (MEES, 25 March). Piped ex...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 19
    Published at Fri, 13 May 2016
  14. Apache Lauds ‘Reliable’ Egypt In Low Price World

    ...l and gas output given the current combination of low prices and stretched capex. Apache’s key recent output gains have come from the Ptah and Berenice fields in Egypt’s far northwest – only discovered in late 2014, output has ramped up to 26,000-30,000 b/d plateau volumes from 13 wells from ea...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 19
    Published at Fri, 13 May 2016
  15. The UAE Gears Up For Second FSRU As Fujairah Terminal Looks Uncertain

    ...mestic gas production has failed to keep pace with local demand, the UAE has been forced to plug the gap with pipeline imports from Qatar via the Dolphin pipeline. Imports through the link were recorded at 18 bcm in 2014, while production stood at 57.8 bcm and consumption at 69.3 bcm. But the supply gap is...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 18
    Published at Fri, 06 May 2016
  16. Sipchem Plans Sukuk To Diversify Funding Sources

    ...rk is intended to increase the reliability and efficiency of the units. In 2014 Sipchem and fellow Saudi petchems middleweight Sahara Chemicals had planned a merger to bring “significant synergies” in operations and create a strong platform for growth. The companies abandoned the plan, citing pr...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 18
    Published at Fri, 06 May 2016
  17. OPWP Pushing Spot Market Development, Eyes GCC Electricity Trading

    ...ility delivered a total 31.29TWh of electricity in 2015, an increase of 15.5% over the 27.10TWh supplied in 2014. At the same time, OPWP supplied 242mn m3 of desalinated water in 2015, which was 17.5% higher than the 206mn m3 delivered in 2014. Despite the double-digit rises in electricity and water de...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 18
    Published at Fri, 06 May 2016
  18. UAE Tendering 1.15GW Of Solar, Dubai Receives Record Low Bid

    ...oject, a 100MW solar PV plant to be called Noor. Masdar had been lined up to develop the project, but the state renewables firm’s proposed price for supplied electricity was seen as a major sticking point (MEES, 31 January 2014). While both Dubai and Abu Dhabi are pursuing large scale solar projects, De...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 18
    Published at Fri, 06 May 2016
  19. Iraqi Crude Export Volumes Approach Record Highs

    ...e highest since November at 431,000 b/d. Meanwhile, levels of direct crude burn for electricity generation fell to the lowest level since March 2014. Moreover, the 109,000 b/d was just 2.5% of overall production last March, the lowest in percentage terms since May 2013. However, the average Q1 di...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 18
    Published at Fri, 06 May 2016
  20. Global Military Spending Up In 2015, Saudi Arabia In Third Position

    ...untry in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to a recent report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, published in April. The kingdom’s $87.19bn expenditure in 2015 was almost four times that of the UAE, which ranked second in the region (based on 2014 figures), and mo...

    Volume: 59
    Issue: 18
    Published at Fri, 06 May 2016