Acwa Reaches Financial Close On Egyptian Solar

...ojects at Benban. This came after Egypt’s power Ministry gave in to international financiers’ insistence that disputes be subject to international arbitration (MEES, 16 June 2017). Subsequently the World Bank (IFC) joined the EBRD in supporting the Benban projects, taking combined backing to $1.1bn out of...

KEC: Merger Cash Boost

...25. But fulfilling these plans requires investment way beyond KEC’s meagre $43mn Q3 2017 cash reserves. The firm’s key revenue stream comes from mature fields in Egypt which produced 15,200 b/d net for Q3 2017 (of a company total 28,300 b/d – the highest figure on record thanks to continued ramp-up...

Algeria Bans Imports In Latest Move To Curb Deficit

...geria has knocked $2bn off the expected deficit in its final 2018 budget. But the final figure of AD1.914bn ($16.9bn at the budget exchange rate of $1=AD113.5; $16.6bn at the latest actual rate of $1=AD115) still represents a rise of over 70% on an expected 2017 deficit of $9.6bn. Some scope for a su...

Saudi: $13bn Handouts

...crease in the kingdom’s tax take (MEES, 22 December 2017). Tax revenue was slated to rise by $12bn, thanks to the introduction of VAT at 5% from 1 January as well as a hike to road fuel and electricity prices (MEES, 5 January). But, in the face of popular protest, Saudi Arabia is to counter the im...

US Key 2017 Oil Data (‘000 B/D): NGLs, Total Output, Exports At Record Highs

South Korea 2017 Crude & Condensate Imports, ('000 B/D): Iran Overtakes Iraq As #3 Supplier, US Moves Into Top 10

...  SOUTH KOREA 2017 TOP 6 CRUDE IMPORTERS (‘000 B/D): IRAN MOVES AHEAD OF IRAQ INTO #3 SPOT, QATAR SLIPS TO 8-YEAR LOW (‘000 B/D)   SOUTH KOREA 2017 CRUDE SUPPLIERS: MID-EAST SHARE DOWN WITH RUSSIA, UK AND THE USA THE BIG WINNERS...

Crude Official Selling Prices ($/B):Iran Cuts Heavy Crude OSP To Record 55¢/B Discount To Saudi Arab Medium In Battle For Market Share In Asia

...*VS ICE BRENT FROM JULY 2017 PREVIOUSLY VS BWAVE.   SAUDI LPG ($/T)...

Chinese LNG Imports (Mn T):

...AUSTRALIA WAY AHEAD WITH 46% OF 2017 SUPPLIES, QATAR CLEAR #2 WITH 19%, US LEAPS TO THIRD PLACE WITH RECORD 407,000T IN NOVEMBER *TOP 6 FOR JAN-NOV 2017 ACCOUNTING FOR 31.4MN TONS, 94% OF TOTAL 33.3MN TONS IMPORTS. SOURCE: CHINA CUSTOMS, MEES.   JAN-NOV 2017 TOTAL (MN T)...

Iraq: Record Exports, But Contract Reform Hangs In The Balance

...2017 was a year of consolidation for Baghdad; federal exports averaged 3.31mn b/d, and revenues rose $15.7bn. But longer term, the oil ministry must address perennial contract issues to steer the industry in the right direction. Iraq exited 2017 on a high note with record federal crude ex...

Egypt: Focus On Red Sea

...fset broadband multiclient seismic” being shot by Schlumberger and Norwegian seismic experts TGS under a $750mn deal inked in July last year (MEES, 4 August 2017). As part of the agreement signed with state oil firm EGPC’s Upper (southern) Egypt focused arm Ganope, Schlumberger and TGS will have ex...

China LNG Buying At Record Levels, Prices At 3-Year High

...rld’s number two LNG importer over the course of 2017. China imported 33.3mn tons for January-November, up 48% year-on-year. Korea’s imports, at 33.5mn tons for the same period, were slightly higher. •  Although Korean imports are up by a not-inconsiderable 14% year-on-year, this pales alongside the gr...

Libya’s 2017 Energy Fortunes: Good-Ish News On Oil, Less So On Gas As Instability Continues

Saudi Hikes Gasoline Prices, Hard On Heels Of Electricity Tariffs Rise

...nuary 2016). This has led diesel demand to fall considerably in the kingdom. After averaging a record 779,000 b/d in 2015 it fell 10% to 701,000 b/d in 2016. It’s on course to have fallen to 600,000 b/d or even less over 2017, averaging 120,000 b/d less than 2016 over the first 10 months. Any in...

Saudi: More Delays For Key Petchems JV

...ecialty chemicals. Some units are complete: the partners tested a 15,000 t/y thermoplastic olefins (TPO) unit in May 2017 and a 75,000 t/y Nylon 6 plant in June 2017. A cumene unit, to provide feedstock for making phenol as a route to other final products, is also complete. Petro Rabigh blames de...

Jordan Lines Up More EBRD Cash For Renewables Projects

...ectricity grid operator Nepco. Acwa says the project will deliver electricity at JD0.042/kWh (US¢5.92/kWh), a record low for Jordan but much higher than recent bids for bigger projects in the Gulf region which bring economies of scale (MEES, 6 October 2017). Acwa Power managing director Thamir al-Sh...

The USA: The Global Oil Trade Titan

...oil trade hit a record 16.2mn b/d in 2017, the highest figure for any country ever. US oil output is at record levels. Crude production rose to 9.64mn b/d in October, the highest figure since 1971; add in record 4mn b/d NGLs output, and total oil output is well over 13mn b/d, an all-time high (se...

Eni Drills Offshore Cyprus In Spite Of Turkey Threats

...reunify the island collapsed in July (MEES, 14 July 2017). Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, in a 29 December statement, says it “is determined to protect both its own rights and interests in its continental shelf and to continue its support to the Turkish Cypriot side.” Ankara has even th...

Qatar Petroleum Presses Ahead With Shakeup

...nouncement (MEES, 8 December 2017). Qatari LNG exports equate to some 10.3bn cfd, while it also exports about 1.9bn cfd through the Dolphin pipeline (1.7bn cfd to UAE, 200mn cfd to Oman). Qatargas is therefore responsible for marketing around 86% of Qatar’s total gas exports. However, LNG volumes appear to...

Algeria Forex Reserves Slump Below $100bn For First Time In 10 Years

...ude prices rising by around $10/B over the last three months of 2017. The country’s finance ministry projects that this rate of decline will ease over the coming years, with reserves stabilizing at around $76bn in 2020. The IMF is considerably more bearish – albeit in forecasts made in July, be...

Saudi Foreign Reserves*

...ARE ON TRACK FOR A $45bn (8.4%) 2017 DRAWDOWN...   ...BUT, HAVING FALLEN BELOW $500BN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2011 IN MAY, THEY HAVE SINCE STABILIZED AT JUST SHY OF THIS LEVEL ($bn) *SAMA NET FOREIGN ASSETS ($BN, END PERIOD). ^FORECAST BASED ON DATA TO END-NOV. SOURCE: SA...