UAE Cuts Aluminium Power Use

...ll capacity. Replacing old plants, whose efficiency could be as low as 33%, could hence save as much as 75mn cfd. Such savings are attractive for gas importers like the UAE: the emirates’ gas deficit for 2017 was 11.8bcm (1.14bn cfd). This was met with 1.58bn cfd of imports from Qatar through the Do...

Bahrain Set For Vat Roll Out

...ssibility for implementation, but won’t yet commit. Meanwhile, Kuwait says it won’t introduce VAT until 2021, while Qatar has been out in the cold since the Saudi-led embargo began in June 2017. Bahrain’s budget projects a $3.5bn deficit this year and needs all the additional revenue it can get. The IMF se...

…Edison Reiterates Drilling Pledge

...ich Dea previously applied for development leases, whilst North Idku saw significant discoveries as far back as 1999 and 2002 (MEES, 29 April 2002). Edison’s 2017 report books reserves of 6mn boe (around 28bn ft³) for the two blocks, a figure that appears modest when compared to the discovery wells, on...

Oman: Oxy Inks Two New Blocks

...rget. Oxy has 100% of Block 51 whilst 65 will be operated via a joint venture with state Oman Oil Company. Both offered up in the 2017 bid round (MEES, 15 September), the blocks add to Oxy’s already sizeable Oman portfolio and give the firm a 350km contiguous stretch of assets across northern Oman which it...

Oman: Oxy Inks Two New Blocks

...rget. Oxy has 100% of Block 51 whilst 65 will be operated via a joint venture with state Oman Oil Company. Both offered up in the 2017 bid round (MEES, 15 September), the blocks add to Oxy’s already sizeable Oman portfolio and give the firm a 350km contiguous stretch of assets across northern Oman which it...

Yemen Peace Talks: Oil Focus

...fact Yemen is already exporting around 50,000 b/d: some 35-40,000 b/d from PetroMasila-operated Blocks 10 & 14 in the eastern Masila basin (MEES, 15 September 2017) and 10,000-12,000 b/d from OMV’s S2 Block in the central Shabwa basin (MEES, 3 August). The biggest potential restart would be $4....

Lukoil Takes First Kirkuk Volumes

...port pipeline was new oil minister Thamir Ghadhban’s first major accomplishment as minister (MEES, 7 December) and helped add 100,000 b/d from Kirkuk where volumes had been shut-in since 2017.  ...

Israel Electric Wants More Gas

...rch). Gas is rapidly edging out coal from the Israel energy mix. The gas share has soared to 80% gas versus 64.2% for 2017 (coal 32.3%, renewables 2.6%). IEC pays roughly $6/mn BTU for Tamar gas, and is trying to drum-up some competition to reduce the cost of electricity. It could find that di...

Jordan Bags $1bn Us AID…

...Jordan’s fiscal position is looking brighter with the finalization of a promised $1.08bn US aid package under a 4 December deal, up from 2017’s $812mn (MEES, 5 January).  A $745mn grant – more than 1.5 times 2017’s grant of $475mn – will support the kingdom’s priority development projects li...

…As Nepco Taps EBRD For $265mn

...er Libor. Nepco reported accumulated losses of $6.85bn for the year ending December 2017.  The EBRD has lent Jordan more than $466mn since 2012 to fund 12 power sector projects. Jordan leads the Middle East in solar with 529MW and is second largest in wind with 285MW. Of this, 215MW was added in 20...

Iraq To Keep Up 2019 Asia Exports

...stomers, having also “reviewed purchasing orders from new companies that seem to be qualified to purchase Iraqi crude.” Allocations are nonetheless flexible and subject to change. Whilst Iraq exported only 56% of its crude to Asia in 2017, the portion has grown significantly in recent months. Based on sh...

Cyprus: Total, Eni Expand

...the south of Block 7, borders Egypt’s 21.5tcf Zohr discovery, though a dry well drilled here last September (MEES, 15 September 2017) may have dampened interest. The two firms’ next planned Cyprus well is an appraisal well at Calypso slated for 2H 2019. Currently drilling is ExxonMobil with it...

Adnoc: Crude imports for RUWAIS

...fline since a fire in January 2017 but Mr Alhajri says it is now being recommissioned and will hopefully be online by year-end, with full production in 1Q 2019.  ...

Algeria: Touat Nears Start-Up

...d the last to start up. Repsol’s 2.7bcm/y Reggane saw first gas at end-2017 (MEES, 22 December 2017) and Total’s 1.8bcm/y Timimoun in February (MEES, 2 March). Delays at Touat have likely put paid to Algeria’s hopes that 2018 production would top the last two years of record gas output (94.8bcm for 20...

Jordan Starts Tafila Wind

...nstruction in 2017 with a view to first electricity generation in 2019 (MEES, 14 April 2016). Daelim says it reached financial close for the project in September, with funding being provided by IFC and private banks covered by the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure). Plant start-up is now scheduled fo...

Cyprus: Exxon Drillship In Place

...d Total lost out to the US-major (MEES, 24 March 2017). Total drilled in the adjacent Block 11 in 2017 but failed to find marketable volumes of gas, while the French firm relinquished Block 10 in early 2015, before Zohr was discovered, when seismic failed to show any sizeable prospects. Co...

KRG’s Atrush Field Hits Record

...The 30,000 b/d capacity Atrush field (Taqa 39.9% op, Shamaran 20.1%, Marathon 15%, KRG 25%) hit a monthly high of 26,800 b/d in October. After starting up in July 2017, Atrush output slumped in early 2018 to just 12,500 b/d in April due to “unexpectedly high concentrations of salts flowed ba...

Oman: $4.6bn For Duqm Refinery

...e mid-2000s and finalized in 2012 for a 2017 completion, but financing issues have perennially plagued development (MEES, 25 August 2017). A large chunk of the financing has now been finalized and construction, which began in June (MEES, 31 August), can ramp up. A source close to the project to...

Kuwait Nears CFP Commissioning

...its 2016 annual results that work on its Mina Abdullah contract would not be complete until the very end of 2018 (MEES, 31 March 2017).    ...

Pakistan Crude Imports ('000 B/D): UAE Maintains Top Position And 57% Share For 2017-18* As Overall Volumes Jump 24% To 212,000 B/D