Diplomatic ties cut in the Middle East Oil prices were up Monday morning as tension between nations in the Middle East continue to rise. Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shia Muslim cleric Nemer al-Nemer on Saturday ignited rage in Tehran, where the Saudi Arabian embassy was attacked. Saudi Arabia, along with Bahrain, Sudan and the U.A.E., have downgraded political ties with
ConocoPhillips sells stake in Rosneft joint venture Five years ago, U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips (ticker: COP) sold its single largest asset in Russia, a stake in Lukoil (ticker: LKOH), for $9.5 billion. Last week COP announced that it has sold its 50% stake in the Polar Lights joint venture with Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft (ticker: RNFTF), its last project
Chinese-made oilfield equipment will head to Iraq; crude oil trade, E&P, oilfield engineering services, chemical refining get a bump; construction of storage and transport facilities on tap During a visit to China, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to establish a long-term, stable energy partnership. As part of the MOU,
Russian shipyard wants to construct offshore platforms for Iran “for decades” Cooperation is abundant. Russian shipyard Red Barricades is in talks with Iranian companies on joint construction of offshore platforms to drill for oil in the Persian Gulf, the shipyard’s director Alexander Ilyichev said. Speaking on the sidelines of a Russian-Iranian industrial exhibition, Ilyichev said the parties will sign a
“We aren’t going to go back to a cartel … That time has passed” – U.A.E. Minister Al Mazrouei Just over a year after deciding to change its focus to defending market share rather than oil prices, OPEC members left their semi-annual meeting in Vienna on December 4 grim-faced, according to reports. After out-producing its self-imposed ceiling for 18 months,
OPEC shows no signs of slowing oil production Oil prices fell lower today as OPEC showed no signs of changing its policy of defending market share, which the group started on Thanksgiving Day of last year. U.S. crude benchmark WTI fell below $40 per barrel early today, down more than 2% from its closing price of $41.08 yesterday. The price
Iran lays out new IPC framework in Tehran Over the course of last weekend, Iran outlined the contractual terms on its new Iranian Petroleum Contracts (IPCs). Iran hopes to use the new contract terms to attract international investors to its oil and gas industry as it seeks to draw in $280 billion in foreign investment. Iran hopes the substantial amount
Survey of oil companies, producers and analysts shows declines in OPEC output OPEC production declined in September, led by lower output in the group’s three-biggest producers, according to a survey conducted by Bloomberg. The survey was taken of oil companies, producers and analysts, and it showed output from OPEC down 233,000 barrels per day from August to 32.05 million barrels
Congressional Republicans unable to mount enough opposition to stop Iran deal Senate Democrats blocked a Republican resolution of disapproval of the Iran nuclear deal from going to a final vote today, with the procedural motion to move to a final vote falling just two votes shy of the required 60. The news comes as a victory for President Obama, who
Spain and Iran come to a deal on natgas transport Spain reached an agreement with Iran to ship natural gas from Iran to Europe following the release of sanctions against the country. Iranian authorities and an economic trade delegation of some 70 Spanish companies, including Repsol (ticker: REP) accompanied by government officials, visited Tehran Monday to discuss the details, reports
Concerns in China push global markets down China’s Shanghai Composite index saw the single largest one-day percentage loss since 2007 earlier today, shedding 8.5% of its value. Even as Chinese authorities allowed pension funds managed by local governments to invest in the stock market for the first time, potentially channeling hundreds of billions of yuan into the country’s market, concerns
Via Reuters: South Korean officials visit Iran to seek post-sanction deals SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean government and corporate officials are visiting Iran this week to hunt out possible deals in the oil, gas and construction industries since an agreement was reached to lift sanctions on Tehran. Iran is targeting oil and gas projects worth $185 billion by 2020, after
