1. Baghdad, KRG Talks Stumble; Pipeline Still Out

    ...manding that the draft budget delete reference to the volume of crude oil that the Kurdish region is committed to export in 2014. Erbil says the budget should refer only to total Iraqi exports. The draft budget assumes oil exports of 3.4mn b/d for 2014 and commits the KRG to 400,000 b/d of the total. Bu...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  2. Gulf Keystone Secures Funding For Shaikan Development

    ...r general corporate purposes. The increase in Shaikan capacity from a second production facility is running behind schedule. GK had expected to reach its target in early 2014 after commencing commercial production in July last year at 10,000 b/d. The UK company has been marketing its share of...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  3. GCC Polymers Increasing In Volume And Sophistication, Says GPCA

    ...gineering plastics is “growing exponentially from a small base.” The 2.48mn t/y of new polymers to be added during 2014-18 will include a range of synthetic rubbers, thermoplastic resins and polyurethanes increasingly in demand from the automotive, electrical and electronic and consumer goods in...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  4. Oman Hikes Desalination Plan In Line With Population Stats

    ...es peak water demand in the northern region – the Interconnected Zone (IZ: Muscat, al-Batinah, Buraymi, al-Dakhiliyah and al-Dhahirah governorates and Sohar industrial port) and Sur – increasing by 6%/year during 2014-20 to 1.177mn cmd (see table). This compares with earlier forecasts of 3-5%. Total an...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  5. Iran Power Supply Up 4.6%, Capacity Hits 70GW

    ...IRAN   Iran Power Supply Up 4.6%, Capacity Hits 70GW   Iran generated 265.96TWh of electricity in the Iranian year ending 20 March 2014, up 4.6% on 254.27TWh the previous year, according to Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian. Implied average daily consumption of 30...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  6. IEA, Opec Views Diverge On 2014 ‘Call On OPEC’

    ...OPEC   IEA, Opec Views Diverge On 2014 ‘Call On OPEC’   The views of OPEC and OECD energy watchdog the International Energy Agency (IEA) on the global 2014 demand for OPEC crude have sharply diverged in their latest monthly reports. While each chose to leave their fo...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  7. MENA Countries Hike Defense Spending For 2013

    ...gional power status, the powerful role of the military, the threat of terrorism and the ready availability of oil funds, SIPRI says. Algeria’s 2014 budget envisages defense spending of $12bn, up 10% on 2013 (MEES, 28 March). This follows the January 2013 terrorist attack on Algeria’s In Amenas gas pl...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  8. Fragile Iraq Goes To The Polls

    ...e start of 2014 has also included battles with local tribes. Thousands of civilians have fled north seeking safe refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan, making it difficult for Anbar’s two million inhabitants to vote. The Sunni-Shi’a split in Iraq mirrors a wider Middle Eastern conflict, represented by the gr...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  9. Chevron Taps MENA For Output Boost

    ...d appraisal in 2014 with the focus on Iraqi Kurdistan, Morocco and Australia. The US major’s overall production has edged lower in each of the last three years, dipping below 2.6mn boe/d for 2013. This is less than 2% of total global output, Christopher Bradley, UAE Country Chairman for the fi...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  10. IMF Downgrades MENA 2014 Growth Projections

    ...REGIONAL   IMF Downgrades MENA 2014 Growth Projections   Real GDP growth in the MENA region will be 3.2% for 2014 and 4.5% for 2015, according to the IMF’s six-monthly World Economic Outlook (WEO) released last week. The projection for 2014 growth is downgraded from the figure of...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  11. Libya Denies Shortage of Cash Reserves

    ...st July. Dwindling export volumes have led the IMF, in its latest World Economic Outlook, released last week, to raise its budget breakeven oil price forecast for Libya for 2014 to almost $190/B. “We have enough funds for three years without getting a single cent from oil,” the head of the CB...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  12. Jordan Considers Long-Term Economic Blueprint

    ...owth rate of 3.3% in 2013, it expects Jordan’s economy to grow by 3.5% in 2014 and 4.5% in the medium term.  She added that inflation is expected to decline to about 2.5% at the end of 2014 and to 2% in the medium term, while the current account deficit (including grants) would gradually improve to 4....

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  13. Iraq’s Management of its Natural Gas Potential - INES Revisited

    ...veloping the country’s own natural gas potential had been effectively halted. Even now, in 2014, utilization of Iraq’s natural gas, excluding Kurdistan, is around the same as it was in 2003. Since 2011 two contracts costing Iraq around $720mn have been signed to build two pipelines to import around 1.6bn cf...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  14. Benchmark Crude Prices ($/B)

    ...Benchmark Crude Prices ($/B)   16 Apr 7- 11 Apr 31 Mar -  4 Apr Mar-14 Feb-14 Q1 2014 Q4 2013 20...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 16
    Published at Fri, 18 Apr 2014
  15. Total Raises KRG Stakes

    ...IRAQ   Total Raises KRG Stakes   France’s Total is planning to drill its first exploration well in its operated Baranan block in Iraqi Kurdistan at the end of 2014, the first update it has given since acquiring an 80% stake in the production-sharing license in early 2013. It al...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 11 Apr 2014
  16. Focus Turns Back To Oil In Southern Sudanese Conflict

    ...ms, for misusing it… you know.” Production At 160,000 B/D South Sudan’s oil output is running at close to 160,000 b/d, all from its fields in Upper Nile state. Production from the fields in its only other ‘producing’ state – Unity – has been offline since the first week of 2014, after rebel fo...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 11 Apr 2014
  17. MENA Active Drilling Rigs March 2014*

    ...MENA Active Drilling Rigs March 2014*                 March 2014 br...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 11 Apr 2014
  18. MEES Interview: Former IEA Chief Nobuo Tanaka On Japan, Qatar and LNG Markets

    ...r the Advancement of Producer-Consumer Dialogue at the 2014 Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah Energy Awards held in Doha on 8 April.   MEES: How do you see the nuclear power sector in Japan going forward and the role of LNG in the supply mix? Tanaka: It’s a very important, difficult qu...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 11 Apr 2014
  19. Saudi Petchems: Smaller Plants Advance

    ...th a view to 2014 start-up....

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 11 Apr 2014
  20. Oman Peak Demand To Double By 2020, Gas Burning Up 50%

    ...ll see gas burning rise by a comparatively modest 50% from 7.4 bcm in 2014 to 11.1b cm in 2020. As long as the country’s key upcoming upstream gas project, BP’s $16bn, 10 bcm/year Khazzan tight gas development, comes onstream as planned in 2017-18, power generation’s share of Oman’s gas output wi...

    Volume: 57
    Issue: 15
    Published at Fri, 11 Apr 2014