Energy
Abu Dhabi to build world's first zero-carbon city
Construction work on the world's first zero-carbon city housing 50,000 people in a car-free environment will begin in the oil-rich Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi next month, the developers said. In Masdar City, which will be run entirely on renewable energy including solar power to exploit the desert emirate's near constant supply of sunshine, people will be able to move around in automated pods.
Executive Briefing: Will oil hit US$100-a-barrel again anytime soon?
There are growing signs that the speculative buying of oil may have run its course, at least for the time being. Crude has flirted with the US$100-a-barrel ceiling twice in the last two months, only to fall back into the mid to low US$90s.
Iraq extends registration for international oil companies
Iraq has extended to Feb. 18 its invitation to international oil companies to submit registration documentation to bid for participation in the development of some of Iraq's prized oil fields, the Oil Ministry announced. Early this month, the ministry asked companies to submit by Jan. 31 all necessary registration documents to allow them to bid for the oil fields development.
Iraq stops cooperation with oil firms that signed deals with Kurds
The Iraqi Oil Ministry has decided to stop cooperating with international oil companies participating in production-sharing contracts with the Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq, an official said on January 18. The decision is considered a first step toward implementing the ministry's threats to blacklist and exclude these companies from any future deals with Baghdad if they refuse to abandon their oil deals with the self-ruling Kurdish government.
Fierce competition over Abu Qir gas field
Forty six companies have joined in the bid launched by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for development of the offshore Abu Qir gas field in 2007. The EGPC will decide a winner in June. NOOZZ has learnt that Citadel (Al Qalaa) Group and PICO Petroleum were among the most prominent local bidders for the deal.
NoozzVIEW; French nuclear help for Qatar
Along with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Qatar was selected by French President Sarkozy to be the Arab state joining Morocco, Algeria and Libya in receiving nuclear cooperation from the French – whose own domestic power supply is dependent on it much more than its European partners – despite the current nuclear controversy surrounding its neighbour Iran.
Iraq oil conflict backs SK Energy into corner
SK Energy is still mulling over a tough call between discontinuing oil exploration in the Kurdish region and losing Iraqi oil imports. The nation's top oil refiner has been backed into a corner over this decision after a conflict that surfaced when an angered Iraqi government threatened to cut off crude exports should the Korea-Kurd oil deal continue.
IPIC awards US$460m deals on Abu Dhabi-Fujairah pipeline
International Petroleum Investment Co., or IPIC, said it awarded contracts worth US$460m to three companies to supply pipes for a domestic crude oil export line linking the UAE's emirates of Abu Dhabi and Fujairah. IPIC, an Abu Dhabi government investment firm, split the contracts for a total of 225,000 tonnes of coated steel pipe between Sumitomo Corp., Salzgitter Mannesmann International and Jindal Group of India, the company said.
Price "disagreements" threaten Iran-UAE gas deal
UAE sources said that an agreement to sell Iranian gas to the Sharjah-based UAE company Dana Gas is threatened with cancellation following disagreements between the two sides over prices. The sources said that Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin-Muhammad al-Qasimi, governor of the Emirate of Sharjah, discussed this issue with Hoseyn Asefi, Iranian ambassador to the UAE, but there has been no indication that the Iranian side has changed its position, represented in insisting on increasing prices significantly before going ahead with implementing the 25-year agreement.
Shell and Total square up over gas field in Iraq's Sunni heartland
Shell and Total are vying to develop a huge gas field, in what was Iraq's most violent province, as a source for exports to Europe. The Iraqi Government held talks with a number of potential companies regarding development of the Akkas field in Anbar province, northwest of Baghdad. Akkas, close to the border with Syria, is thought to contain up to seven trillion cubic feet of gas - up to 6 percent of Iraq's estimated total of 112 trillion cubic feet. The field is capable of producing up to 50m cubic feet a day, but this could be raised to 450m cubic feet per day if developed further.
Abu Dhabi: Energy deals With Japan
During a recent trade delegation to Japan, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co signed a US$3 billion loan deal with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The loan will be used to build infrastructure to boost crude oil output and fund oil exploration studies. This deal is the first solid agreement since the two organisations signed a strategic partnership this Spring in an attempt to further bilateral relationships in the energy sector.
Total, Suez, Areva working on proposal to build nuclear power plant in Mideast
French oil company Total SA, utility Suez SA and nuclear engineering specialist Areva said they are working together on plans to build a civil nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates. The three companies said their proposal would include two third-generation European pressurised reactors - Areva's 1,600 megawatt star product - as well as fuel cycle products and services. They did not say when the proposal would be submitted to Emirate authorities and financial details weren't given.
Gulf Finance House seeks to develop Libya Energy City
Libyan Prime Minister Dr. Ali Al-Mahmoud Al Baghdadi met this month with Mr. Essam Janahi, Chairman of Gulf Finance House to discuss the GFH strategy to develop "Libya Energy City". Libya Energy City is set to be part of an international network of energy cities. The city will be the first integrated suburb for energy management in the country and will meet the requirements of the technical and commercial oil and gas industries.
