1. Libya: Little Sign Of Optimism In Operators’ Q3 Results

    ...October). The company reported overall Q3 losses of $2.6bn, compared to profits of $1.2bn for the equivalent period of 2014, while revenues dropped from $3.6bn to $2.1bn. The US firm has 25% of the 60,000 b/d capacity Zueitina fields, as well as sizeable Libyan exploration acreage (see map, ME...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 06 Nov 2015
  2. S&P Downgrades Saudi, Riyadh Rejects Assessment

    ...SAUDI ARABIA Ratings agency S&P on 30 October lowered its foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Saudi Arabia one notch to A+/A-1 from AA-/A-1 and kept the outlook negative. S&P says it expects Riyadh’s fiscal deficit to soar from 1.5% of GDP in 2014 to 16% in 2015, “pr...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 06 Nov 2015
  3. Saudi Economy Will Remain Coupled To Oil Prices

    ...2014-2015^       mn b/d 0.6 0.8 1.4 115 to 47...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 06 Nov 2015
  4. Lebanon Bags Good Terms For $1.6bn Eurobond Despite Geopolitical Headwinds

    ...stability. Lebanon’s power vacuum has brought the decision making process in the government to a virtual standstill with no measures to deal with key economic decisions. The country has been without a head of state since President Michel Sulaiman’s term expired in May 2014, and parliament has been unable to ag...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 06 Nov 2015
  5. Japanese Crude Oil & Condensate Imports 3Q15 (‘000 B/D)

    ...-Jul 2014 rank 2013 2012 2011 Middle East 2,829.30   246.6 29.1 2,...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 06 Nov 2015
  6. United States: Key Oil Figures (‘000 B/D)

    ...3Q14 2Q15 1Q15 4Q14 2014 2013 2012 CRUDE OIL IMPORTS 7,182 7,287 7,638 7,...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 06 Nov 2015
  7. Benchmark Crude Prices ($/B)

    ...    5-Nov 26-30 Oct 19-23 Oct 15-Oct 15-Sep Q3 2015 Q2 2015 YTD 2015 2014...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 45
    Published at Fri, 06 Nov 2015
  8. IEA Chief Warns Against Aggressive Capex Cuts

    ...essure since 2014, amid growing LNG supplies, slower economic growth and competition with cheaper coal, causing the differential between regional gas prices to narrow sharply. Just this week, the US’ Henry Hub gas benchmark fell below $2/mn BTU for the first time in three years.   “One should think ab...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  9. Kuwait Oil Revenue Hit By Double Whammy Of Prices, Neutral Zone Outage

    ...nthly takings and the lowest such figure since 2009. Kuwait’s monthly crude export revenues peaked at $6.9bn for 2012 and averaged $6.3bn as recently as the first half of 2014, MEES calculations indicate. Of course the collapse in oil prices in the second half of 2014 is responsible for the lion’s sh...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  10. Dow To Raise $3bn From Cutting Kuwait Petchem Stakes

    ...rough a divestment of a portion of the Company’s interests,” as part of a larger scheme to divest between $7bn and $8.5bn of assets by mid-2016 (MEES, 21 November 2014). Though Dow and PIC cooperate on several JVs, the two have a rocky history that may explain Dow’s desire to reduce its exposure to Ku...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  11. South Sudan Mortgages Future Oil Output

    ...afigura has signed up to pre-finance crude in South Sudan. In early 2013, the firm signed a pre-financing deal on crude shipments from the government that was revised in early 2014. Under the revised agreement, the trader agreed to pay up front for eight 1mn-barrel cargoes, which would be lifted over a 16...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  12. Qatar Out To Woo LNG Customers In Face Of Increased Competition

    ...ilities like Chubu Electric, Tokyo Electric (Tepco), Kansai Electric and Tohoku Electric, as well as upstream player JX Nippon oil and gas and financial entities such as Bank of Tokyo and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking. Japan is the world’s largest LNG importer – it purchased a record 89.2mn tons in 2014 as its nu...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  13. Saudi Arabia Subsidy Cuts On The Way?

    ...e world, with average monthly power tariffs of $0.04 per kwh, as opposed to $0.13 per kwh in the United States. The IMF calculates that the implicit cost of subsidized petroleum products and natural gas prices in Saudi Arabia was $83bn (equivalent to 11.1% of GDP) in 2014 (MEES, 23 October). Me...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  14. Saudi Fights To Keep Asian Market Share

    ...pected to cut the prices of crude it sells to Asia in November,” Jadwa says. “Maintaining market share is even more of a priority now for Saudi Arabia than when prices began to fall in the second half of 2014. Global oil markets are more competitive and the Kingdom faces competition from both within Opec an...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  15. Occidental To Focus On ‘Core’ MENA Assets

    ...ross the Middle East in 2014 – including in the UAE and Oman (MEES, 6 March). The US mini-major will now look to raise approximately $600mn from the sale of acreage in the US Bakken formation’s Williston Basin, CEO Stephen Chazen says. This would make Oxy one of the largest operators to pull out of the Ba...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  16. UAE Cuts Federal Budget By 4% For 2016

    ...d $1.21trillion in total assets as of end-June, up by a healthy $136bn on October 2014, according to the US-based SWF Institute. This is almost 18% of global holdings, the largest single national share. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is by far the UAE’s largest such fund with $773bn in reserve as...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  17. Benchmark Crude Prices ($/B)

    ...  29-Oct 19-23 Oct 12-16 Oct Sep-15 Aug-15 Q3 2015 Q2 2015 YTD 2015 2014 2013 2012 WTI 46.06 45.47 46.81 45.44 42...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  18. World Bank’s 2016 ‘Ease Of Doing Business’: UAE Tops Mena Rankings, Saudi On The Slide

    ...  COUNTRY 2016 2015 2014 COUNTRY 2016 2015 2014 COUNTRY 20...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 44
    Published at Fri, 30 Oct 2015
  19. Climate Change And The Oil & Gas Sector: More Risks Than Opportunities?

    ...in September 2014, the CEOs of 10 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, including Saudi Aramco, last week issued a statement in which they committed to play their part to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reach the world’s long-term goal of limiting global average temperature in...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 43
    Published at Fri, 23 Oct 2015
  20. Egypt: Zohr Mega-Find Spurs Regional Gas Hub Ambitions

    ...cember 2014 that the two firms had formed a monopoly offshore Israel (MEES, 27 February). This ruling would have forced Noble and Delek to divest their interests in either Leviathan or Tamar, but the government stepped in and effectively usurped Mr Gilo, who has since stepped down. But Mr Gilo’s de...

    Volume: 58
    Issue: 43
    Published at Fri, 23 Oct 2015