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Israel-Jordan Spat Threatens Already Precarious Cooperation
...Israel’s capital on 6 December, relations between Jordan and Israel took yet another hit after an already troubling 2017. Mr Trump’s pronouncement could also prove to be the final nail in the coffin of the already comatose Israel-Palestine “peace process.” Jordan’s King Abdullah immediately de...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
Libya Refinery ‘Resolution’ Fails To Hide Need For Multi-$bn Investment
...t infrequent shut-ins (MEES, 10 November 2017), crude has been shipped to the plant by sea from export terminals in eastern Libya. NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla says that now the dispute is ‘resolved’ it hopes Lerco will “restart operations at Ras Lanuf Oil as soon as possible. Trasta and Lerco ar...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
Assessing Opec’s Five Year Average Inventory Target
...B/D) 2016 2017 vs 16 2018 vs 17 1Q17 2Q17 3Q...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
‘The New Tunisia’: A Work In Progress
...the country going to the wall. By 2016 crude output had slid to just 46,000 b/d, a mere 50% of demand. Things could only get better, right? Wrong. 2017 saw a further slump in output to just 38,000 b/d, the lowest figure since 1966, Tunisia’s virgin year of production (MEES, 8 December 2017...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
Tunisia’s Loss, Algeria’s Gain
...A key boost to Algeria’s 2017 finances came from sales of gas and oil products to Tunisia, where crude output fell 16%. Tunisia largely imports oil from seaborne markets, with net imports hitting a record 81,000 b/d in August. But for gas the only choice is to buy from Algeria, via of...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
The Plan: Boost SMEs; The Reality: Boost The State Payroll
...rld Bank’s annual ‘Doing Business’ rankings in 2013 pegged Tunisia at a reasonably-respectable fifty-first place, just ahead of Spain. But Tunisia has fallen in the rankings every year since – to #88, in the latest rankings issued in November 2017, just behind Bosnia and Zambia (though ahead of Saudi Ar...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
Iran: After The Turmoil Will It Address Its Domestic Problems?
...ly 2015 and the subsequent lifting of the bulk of sanctions in January 2016. But hopes that this would end Iran’s isolation and usher in much-needed foreign investment have been largely dashed. Oil export revenue has risen from $27.3bn in 2015 to $59.4bn in 2017, with crude/condensate exports ne...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
Kurdistan Oil On The Ropes But Still Standing
...AVERAGE PRICE KRG RECEIVES FROM TRADERS. SOURCE: MNR, DELOITTE, MEES. TRANSPARENCY DRIVE, TAKINGS DIVE The most eye-catching development was the 16 January release of Deloitte’s audit report of the KRG oil and gas sector. The report is for H1 2017: Deloitte says an audit of th...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
Has Egypt’s Economy Turned The Corner? Time Will Tell
...18 has been a good one for Egypt, with news that revenue from two pillars of its economy, the Suez Canal and tourism, hit three and five-year highs respectively in 2017 (see charts). Tourism revenues collapsed in 2016 to $2.69bn after Moscow issued a travel ban to Egypt in the wake of the No...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
Jordan: Cash Handouts Amidst Reforms
...rough public works and subsidies (see p8). At the same time, the 2018 budget shows the government is attempting cut down its troubling deficit by 28.9% (MEES, 1 December 2017). To accomplish this Jordan is attempting to push through IMF-supported tax hikes intended to halt growing debt. Implementing st...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
South Korea 2017 LNG Imports: Australia Closes Gap On Top Supplier Qatar, Us Overtakes Russia To #6 Place
...*CHANGES EXPRESSED IN PERCENTAGE POINT TERMS. SOURCE: KOREA CUSTOMS SERVICE, MEES CALCULATIONS. KOREA LNG IMPORTS (MN T): VOLUMES WERE SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD IN 2017 WITH AUSTRALIA CLOSING IN ON QATAR FOR TOP SPOT *ONLY TOP 7 COUNTRIES FOR 2017 ARE INCLUDED. SOURCE: KO...
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
China Crude Imports (‘000 B/D):
...CHINA OVERTOOK THE US AS THE WORLD’S #1 CRUDE IMPORTER IN 2017. VOLUMES ROSE 10.7% (810,000 B/D) TO 8.4MN B/D... ... BUT RECORD 1H17 BUYING WAS BOOSTED BY STRATEGIC STOCKPILING; IMPORT VOLUMES HAVE DIPPED IN RECENT MONTHS SOURCE: CHINA CUSTOMS, MEES....
Volume: 61Issue: 03Published at Fri, 19 Jan 2018 -
Iraq Rushes To Jumpstart Projects Ahead Of May Election
...cremental gains this year are set to come from the 200,000 b/d Halfaya field (CNPC 45% and operator, Petronas 22.5%, Total 22.5% and Iraqi state Maysan Oil Co. 10%) in Maysan province. Phase 3 to double output to 400,000 b/d by end-2018 was greenlit in April (MEES, 28 April 2017). Work is underway, with CN...
Volume: 61Issue: 02Published at Fri, 12 Jan 2018 -
Key Middle East Producers Ease Off Drilling Going Into 2018
...Last year saw record low global oil and gas discoveries. The 2018 picture looks similar, despite a nascent major return to deepwater drilling. The Middle East, a bright spot in the downturn, kept drilling at near-record levels in 2017, but dwindling cash reserves mean activity has eased. Th...
Volume: 61Issue: 02Published at Fri, 12 Jan 2018 -
Aramco Ramps Up Domestic Petchems Supply Slate, Boosts Saudi Manufacturing
...ansformational’ JVs, notably with Sabic for a crude oil to chemicals plant in Saudi Arabia and with ExxonMobil for an ethane cracker and polyolefins plants in Texas (MEES, 1 December 2017). ...
Volume: 61Issue: 02Published at Fri, 12 Jan 2018 -
Saudi Shortlists Two In Solar Tender – But Not The Cheapest
...wer at US¢2.34/kWh and US¢2.66/kWh respectively – were the second and third lowest of eight bids announced by Repdo in October. A consortium of UAE state firm Masdar and France’s EDF offered US¢1.79/kWh (MEES, 6 October 2017). Repdo did not explain its decision to reject the Masdar/EDF bid, saying on...
Volume: 61Issue: 02Published at Fri, 12 Jan 2018 -
Opec’s 2017 Output The Second Highest On Record; What Does 2018 Hold?
...another “full year” of cuts in accordance with November’s agreement (MEES, 1 December 2017). For sure, Opec last year secured its first annual output fall since 2014: production averaged 32.49mn b/d. However, the big caveat is that this was just 130,000 b/d shy of 2016’s record 32.62mn b/d and th...
Volume: 61Issue: 02Published at Fri, 12 Jan 2018 -
US Oil Output Soars: Did Opec Create A Frankenstein’s Monster?
...The US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) this week came out with its most bullish 2018 output forecasts yet. Further massive gains are slated for 2019. Crude output will average 10.27mn b/d this year, the EIA says, a new record and up almost 1mn b/d on 2017. It will co...
Volume: 61Issue: 02Published at Fri, 12 Jan 2018 -
Libya: New Year, Same Output Wobbles
...ior to the explosion, with output having doubled in the second half of 2017 (MEES, 1 December 2017). The Es Sider terminal, along with those at Brega and Zueitina, was closed between 21-25 December due to bad weather, but exports were not affected. No explanation has been given for the explosion, th...
Volume: 61Issue: 02Published at Fri, 12 Jan 2018 -
Saudi Aramco IPO: New Year, New Promise Or More Headaches?
...Aramco continues preparations towards an IPO. But relatively minor ones. The key disclosures needed for the favored location of New York within the stipulated end-2018 timeframe are nowhere to be seen. With Aramco IPO planning ending 2017 on a muted note, the state energy giant has st...
Volume: 61Issue: 02Published at Fri, 12 Jan 2018