Omani Economy Looking Up Despite S&P Downgrade

...Higher oil prices and a boost to gas output will see Oman finish 2017 strongly despite a ratings downgrade. As BP plots further gas expansion and heavyweights Eni and Oxy grab the latest exploration blocks, there is cause for quiet optimism.   As with the other GCC oil exporters, low cr...

Qatar Maxes Condensate Splitters, Hits Fresh Products Records

...ich 349,000b/d refined, 401,000b/d exported)               SOURCE: QATAR PETROLEUM, ASIA PACIFIC ENERGY CONSULTING, MEES. JAPANESE IMPORTS OF QATARI CONDENSATE SLUMP FURTHER IN 2017 ('000 B/D) SOURCE: METI, MEES. NAPHTHA, JET-KERO, DIESEL FROM RAS LAFFAN 2 DRIVE QA...

Algeria Eyes 2.4gw Power Capacity Boost By Mid-2018, But Money Is Tight

...appearance; the company’s third Algerian CCGT project, Bellara, is also apparently on hold. Korea’s Samsung C&T is developing two of the big CGGT plants. By the end of the second quarter 2017 the company estimated that it had reached 50% completion of the Naama project, for which the co...

Saudi Crude Exports At 7-Year Low, Outweighing Products Gains

...Saudi Arabia is leading by example within Opec when it comes to withholding crude oil from global markets in order to erode the stock overhang. The kingdom’s crude exports are set to fall to a seven-year low in 2017. And while this has been partially achieved by ramping up refining rates and th...

Global Output To 2040: Will Opec Be Squeezed Amid Offshore Growth?

...A PROJECTIONS*): OPEC SHARE TO EDGE UP FROM 43% IN 2016 TO 46% IN 2040 *2017 WEO, NEW POLICIES SCENARIO.   2: WORLD’S TOP 8 OIL PRODUCERS IN 2040 (MN B/D, IEA PROJECTIONS*) *2017 WEO, NEW POLICIES SCENARIO. ^2016 OUTPUT REBASED TO ZERO.   3: BRAZIL IS FORECAST* TO BE...

Lebanon Resignation Fiasco Highlights Limitations Of Saudi Iran Strategy

...isis” emerged in June 2017 when Saudi Arabia and its coalition issued a 13-point ultimatum and called on Qatar to cease its support of terrorist groups. The subsequent embargo is now in its sixth month, but Qatari exports have edged up (MEES, November 24). Seemingly cognizant that its strategy of re...

GCC Debt Smashes All Records

...2017 has been a record year for GCC sovereign and corporate debt. Sustained low oil prices and budget deficits since 2015 have led to an ever-growing appetite for issuance. NOCs are now getting in on the act too.  GCC sovereigns have raised a record $50.5bn in international bond issuance to...

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...

Crude Burn: Saudi Gains Reverse In September As Iraq Halts Burning

...ack to fall in 2017 for the second consecutive year. MEES estimates that the average figure for 2017 will come in at 470,000 b/d versus 497,000 b/d for 2016 (see data, MEES, 24 November). >  By contrast, Iraq, long the region’s #2 crude burner, reported that it eliminated crude burn in Se...

Adnoc Adds To Ambitious Downstream Plans, Mulls Retail IPO

...vestment decision for these was intended by the end of 2017, but there have been no reports of feasibility studies so far. Adnoc also plans a gasoline and aromatics project at Ruwais, to be integrated with existing refining units, but has not announced a schedule. This week Adnoc signed an MoU with Sp...

Abu Dhabi’s Taqa: Power Steady But Upstream Slumps With Capex Cuts

...E and abroad, are earning steadily and its upstream assets – all overseas – are providing better income. But the company again posted a net loss for the first nine months of 2017. Taqa’s Q1-3 2017 revenue was Dh12.53bn ($3.41bn at the fixed exchange rate of $1=Dh3.6725), down 40% from a record Dh...

IEA 2017 WEO: Key Power Forecasts*

...MENA LAGS THE WORLD IN RENEWABLE CAPACITY ADDITIONS TO 2040 (% OF TOTAL ADDITIONS)   MENA INSTALLED CAPACITY (GW): RENEWABLES OVERTAKE OIL BY 2035…   …BUT EVEN IN 2040 FOSSIL FUELS MAINTAIN A 75% MARKET SHARE *IEA 2017 WEO, NEW POLICIES SCENARIO. SOURCE: IE...

IEA, Opec Diverge On Market Outlook Ahead Of Key Vienna Meet

...tionale is clear. Participants to the agreement are currently aligned that an extension is required. But, with demand set to outstrip supply for the remainder of 2017, they may be less inclined to back an extension in early-2018. And the more bearish IEA report says that “the market balance in 2018 does no...

Iraq Dreams Of Economic Normality With Draft 2018 Budget

...ficit is $9.9bn. Likewise, the $21.2bn deficit implied by the August revision to this year’s budget is based on an oil price assumption ($44.4/B) that now also looks highly conservative. Plug in the actual $47.3/B achieved for Iraqi crude exports in the first 10 months of 2017 and the deficit sh...

US Shale: Becoming A Major Game?

...tracted the lions’ share of their stretched 2017 exploration budgets and this is set to remain the case for years to come. The role of majors and large independents in the US shale sector is set to grow further due to a combination of push and pull factors. Factors pushing majors to the sector include pl...

Gulf SWFs Overhaul Their Strategies For A ‘Lower For Longer’ World

...lling roughly $60bn of its dollar reserves in the second quarter of 2015 alone.     According to the most recent figures available, SAMA’s net foreign reserves fell to a new six-year low of $485bn at the end of September (MEES, 3 November). The reserves fell $50.6bn in the first nine months of 2017...

Taiwan Q1-3 2017 LNG Imports: Qatar Continues To Lose Market Share, Volumes Down 20% On Year-Ago Levels As Taipei Looks To Diversify

Crude Official Selling Prices ($/B)

...*VS ICE BRENT FROM JULY 2017 PREVIOUSLY VS BWAVE....

US Vs China Fossil Fuel Imports/Exports (Mn Tons Of Oil Equivalent) - IEA Projections

...THE US THIS YEAR^ BECAME A NET GAS EXPORTER. IT WILL BE ‘LONG’ FOSSIL FUELs FROM 2022 AND A NET OIL EXPORTER FROM 2028     CHINA THIS YEAR OVERTOOK THE US AS A GROSS IMPORTER OF CRUDE. IT IS ALREADY WAY AHEAD ON A NET BASIS *2017 WEO, NEW POLICIES SCENARIO. ^FROM 20...

BP Can’t Stop Falling For Low Cost Mideast Output

...Low cost Mideast fields are of growing importance for BP. The expiry of Abu Dhabi’s Adma sees output dip, but growth in Oman & Kuwait means long-term the trend is up. BP net oil and gas output for Jan-Sep 2017 is up 10% year-on-year (excluding the firm’s 19.75% stake in Russian state gi...