1. Omani Economy Looking Up Despite S&P Downgrade

    ...ude prices have taken a toll on Oman’s government coffers. Nominal GDP fell from OR31.5bn ($81.8bn) in 2014 to just OR25.5bn ($66.3bn) last year. But things have started looking up in recent months, with higher oil prices and BP starting up its key Khazzan gas project in September. Ne...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  2. Qatar Maxes Condensate Splitters, Hits Fresh Products Records

    ...en the largest buyer of Qatari condensate. But after rising above 200,000 b/d in Q1 2014, imports fell to just over 125,000 b/d the following quarter and have been below 100,000 b/d since late-2014 (see chart). Much of this fall in shipments to Japan was caused by the neighboring UAE stepping up its im...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  3. Algeria Eyes 2.4gw Power Capacity Boost By Mid-2018, But Money Is Tight

    ...ojects which have been announced by Sonelgaz in recent years – 26 plants with a combined capacity of 13.7GW were listed by Sonelgaz as scheduled to begin commissioning during 2014-16 (MEES, 6 November 2015). While some of these have been completed and others are progressing, the overall rate of progress ha...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  4. Saudi Crude Exports At 7-Year Low, Outweighing Products Gains

    ...ch occurrence since 2014. The 6.65mn b/d exported in Q3 this year was down 290,000 b/d on Q2 and the lowest figure since 2011 (see table, MEES November 24). But has the nadir now passed? Initial indications imply there was a slight increase in crude exports in October, while Saudi Arabia an...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  5. GCC Debt Smashes All Records

    ...hrain with $3bn. Less than three years ago, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman had never issued debt in the international markets but the plunge in oil prices since the end of 2014 sent their budget deficits soaring. Indeed, while political relations have frayed throughout the course of the year, one fr...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  6. Saudi Deficit Set To Fall 50% In 2017

    ...Higher oil prices mean Saudi Arabia is on track to halve its deficit to $42.5bn for 2017, the lowest figure since 2014. Latest figures for the first nine months of 2017 show revenue rising by 23% year-on-year thanks to a 32% increase in oil prices (from $38.6/B to $50.9/B). For 2017 as a wh...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 47
    Published at Fri, 24 Nov 2017
  7. Abu Dhabi’s Taqa: Power Steady But Upstream Slumps With Capex Cuts

    ...20.71bn ($5.64bn) in Q1-3 2014 when Brent prices averaged $107/B. POWER VS UPSTREAM: THE HARE & THE TORTOISE              2014 also marked the peak of the relative importance of the firm’s upstream oil and gas segment relative to the much more steady earnings mainly from Abu Dhabi’s power market wh...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 46
    Published at Fri, 17 Nov 2017
  8. Gulf SWFs Overhaul Their Strategies For A ‘Lower For Longer’ World

    ...plug deficits,” Elliot Hentov of State Street Global Advisors tells MEES. “The net effect is that they are still providing liquidity but the trend has dramatically slowed.” GCC SWFs’ total assets increased by $404bn from $2,519bn in October 2014 to $2,923bn in November 2017, a 16% rise, ac...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 46
    Published at Fri, 17 Nov 2017
  9. BP Can’t Stop Falling For Low Cost Mideast Output

    ...lds the Kirkuk field’s Avana and Baba domes with a combined 160,000 b/d capacity, and has asked BP to help develop the field (MEES, 3 November). BP signed a deal to study the field in November 2013 with a view to further development, but the 2014 advance of IS put this on ice. Mr Townshend says he ha...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 46
    Published at Fri, 17 Nov 2017
  10. Reality Sets In As KRG Imagines Life With Less Oil

    ...ongside other disputed territories which had been held by the KRG since 2014. Crucially, Kirkuk oil fields provided the KRG with around 280,000 b/d of its 610,000 b/d crude production. Kirkuk volumes also represented around 50% of the KRG’s 560,000 b/d crude exports on which government coffers de...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 10 Nov 2017
  11. Mauritania Gas: Torturous Timeframe, Exploration Optimism Despite Drilling Flop

    ...plorer until 2014, is now close to leaving. The company then had ten Mauritania exploration blocks and operated seven, but slashed its exploration budget in response to the late-2014 oil price crash (MEES, 13 February 2015). Its number of blocks will now fall to just two, with Tullow relinquishing Bl...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 10 Nov 2017
  12. Abu Dhabi Completes 1.6GW Gas-Fired Plant

    ...d Construction and Hyundai Engineering, and Italy’s Ansaldo Energia (MEES, 11 July 2014). DASH FROM GAS The additional 1.24GW of combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) capacity will add up to 170mn cfd of fuel to Adwea’s gas requirement. The project is the last large gas-fired power plant in Abu Dh...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 10 Nov 2017
  13. Algeria: In Amenas Hits Record Production As In Salah Output Halves

    ...arter results nor the earnings call that followed made any mention of the firm’s Algeria acreage, while the only mention in the firm’s quarterly IFRS report for Q2 was of a $524mn write-off against its share in the Bourarhat licence area in the Illizi basin dating back to Q4 2014. AIN TSILA DUE BY MI...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 03 Nov 2017
  14. Iraq’s Giant Rumaila Field: BP-Baghdad Talks Loom Large

    ...ateau Target (PPT) for West Qurna-2 – down from 1.2mn b/d to 800,000 b/d  suggests Baghdad could be amenable to such an offer. BP’s Rumaila PPT is set at 2.1mn b/d, downgraded already from 2.85mn b/d (MEES, 5 September 2014). BP is far from alone in being well off the pace, as Iraq called on IOCs to cu...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 03 Nov 2017
  15. Iraq Boosts Export Capacity, Eyes Alternative Routes

    ...peline. The Iraqi section of Baghdad’s 1.6mn b/d Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline was damaged by IS in 2014 and requires extensive work to become operational (MEES, 13 October). As a result, Iraq is eyeing up alternative routes to offer improved flexibility and alternative outlets when adverse weather closes Ba...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 03 Nov 2017
  16. Iraq Export Revenues Soar

    ...Baghdad has received a much-needed boost from the rebound in Brent to over $60/B. The Iraqi government took in $5.45bn in crude export revenues in October, the highest level since October 2014, when oil prices were only just beginning their slump from $100/B. Revenues crashed with the pr...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 03 Nov 2017
  17. Saudi Petchems Gets Oil Price Boost; Sabic Chief Warns On Cheap Feedstock Addiction

    ...ported a bumper third quarter, with combined net profits of SR8.81bn ($2.35bn), up 61% on Q2 to record their highest collective quarterly profit since Q3 2014 (see table). At that time crude oil prices were just beginning their plunge from all-time highs, with Arab Light crude selling for more than $10...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 03 Nov 2017
  18. Kuwaiti Government Resigns As Political Dysfunction Grows

    ...16 1Q17 2Q16 2016 vs 15 2015 2014 2013 Ex...

    Volume: 60
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 03 Nov 2017