Energy
The saga of oil
Oil prices surging past US$100 are already flirting with US$110, and might soon leave even that level far behind. It is not the fault of the oil producers. The demand/supply equation is not to blame either. The fundamentals are not causing any distortion. That leaves only one culprit - the falling value of the US dollar, for reasons nothing to do with oil.
News Analysis: April oil contracts draw foreign companies
Western companies are now waking up to the vast opportunities offered by the Iraq oil industry.
BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, ConocoPhillips and Norway’s StatoilHydro are some of the big names in the running for a number of service and extraction contracts to be awarded by the Iraqi government in April. Despite the wrangling over the draft of a new national hydrocarbon law, over 70 international oil companies recently entered the competition process for service and extraction contracts.
Dana Gas to supply gas to Iraq Kurds from mid-2008
UAE-based Dana Gas will begin supplying gas to the Kurdish region from a field in northern Iraq by mid-year, six months later than first planned, Dana said. The start-up is later than initially scheduled because the power station that the gas will fuel has yet to be completed.
Dana has boosted investment in the project to push forward with a second phase of supply from the field which will double output to 300 million cubic feet per day (cfd) of gas by early 2009.
Need to create renewable Energy Economic Zone
There is a growing drive for Oman to develop alternative sources of power – solar energy in particular.
The government of Oman and the private sector should give more attention to the development of solar energy in the Sultanate, recommends a Booz Allen Hamilton study “Maximizing the Benefits of the Oman – U.S. Free Trade Agreement: A Study of Its Effect on the Energy; Transportation; and Information, Communications, and Technology Service Sectors”.
Oil majors set their sights on LNG
Major international oil companies are focusing more of their huge investments to build liquefied natural gas plants as the opportunities for conventional oil developments are dwindling and gas prices are climbing.
A growing list of LNG projects, new trains and import terminals are leading to a continuing rise in the export of gas cargoes. And a greater proportion of oil company hydrocarbon production levels will come from LNG projects in the future a point highlighted by BP, ExxonMobil and Shell in their recent strategy presentations.
Aramco to buy services for SAR350bn over 5 years
Saudi Aramco and a group of prominent multinational oil corporations are poised to invest SAR400 billion in the Kingdom's petroleum sector. Aramco will also be buying services for SAR350 billion over the next five years.
Saudi Arabia recently unveiled a commercial and investment opportunity portfolio reaching up to SAR1.5 trillion.
N. Emirates: Rakgas looks to Iran
The Ras Al Khaimah Gas Commission (Rakgas) announced recently its intention to continue negotiations with Iran to secure future concessions, despite strong political pressure against dealing with the state.
The new negotiations concern the West Bukha field, which is shared between Iran and Oman. According to Rakgas CEO Ruurd Abma, "It would be the easiest thing to drill on the Iranian side and pipe the gas through to Ras Al Khaimah".
Oil and electricity ministries given OK to sign contracts
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Kamil al-Maliki has vested power in the ministries of oil and electricity to sign contracts with international companies to develop their performance and increase their crude oil production for export and to supply fuel to power electrical generation stations.
Kuwait's Noor eyes energy firms in India, Singapore
Kuwait's Noor Financial Investment Co said it is in talks to acquire 10 percent of an Indian energy firm in a US$20m deal. Noor's Managing Director Naser al-Marri declined to identify the firm, saying only the deal would allow both companies to invest in Kuwait's oil sector.
NoozzVIEW; Saudi faces solar rivals
The scepticism that greeted the first serious Saudi experiments in developing solar energy in the 1980’s has been replaced, in these more environmentally conscious days, by the threat of competition both abroad and closer to home – almost wherever the sun shines.
The new intentions of the world’s biggest oil exporter to become a serious investor in solar energy and eventually, an exporter of solar power recently grabbed headlines when they were voiced in Paris by the respected Oil Minister, Ali al-Nuaimi, who pledged that for the country that now produces more than 10m barrels of crude a day “one of the most important sources of energy to look at and develop is solar energy.”
Bahrain plans 700 new oil wells
Bahrain aims to step up oil exploration and production by adding 700 new oil wells in the next 15 years to meet the growing energy needs of the island nation.
The proposed oil wells would be special architecture wells that would maximise productivity and the field oil production rate. Similarly, the National Oil and Gas Authority also aims to increase gas production.
PetroChina, Qatar Petroleum discuss joint petrochemical production
PetroChina, China's largest oil producer, is discussing with Qatar Petroleum to jointly establish a petrochemical facility in China, a PetroChina source revealed earlier this month.
A feasibility study on the joint-venture project is well underway, said the source, adding that how much the company will invest in the project and where it will be located were yet to be decided.
Kuwait to join two oil projects in Vietnam
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) will sign an agreement with their Vietnamese partners soon to participate in two oil projects in Vietnam, said The Kuwait Consul General in Ho Chi Ming City, Abdulaziz Al-Sharrah.
The first oil refinery will have a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, and is slated for operation in 2013.
DME studies West Texas crude contract
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), which is planning to launch two new cash settled contracts on Oman sour crude and Brent, is studying the possibility of launching a new cash settled futures contract on West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the DME chief executive said.
WTI is the US domestic crude oil benchmark and the main New York Mercantile Exchange's oil futures contracts. Apart from a futures cash contract on WTI, the DME is also considering other commodities futures contracts for eventual introduction on DME.
France's nuclear diplomacy Energising Arabia
The recent war games in the Gulf with France, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are connected to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's nuclear diplomacy. Sarkozy has been leveraging France's leading civilian nuclear technology to gain diplomatic, commercial and military advantages with countries in the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and Asia.