The refinery, to be built in Fao in the Basra Governorate, will be offered under the Build Operate Transfer or Build Own Operate Transfer investment model, Ihsan Ismaael said in a statement. A petrochemical facility could be integrated into the refinery at a later stage, he added. Iraq wants to reach a throughput of Read more

  U.S. environmental activists are heaping pressure on Democratic president-elect Joe Biden to avoid cabinet appointees with fossil fuel ties, with one group on Tuesday slamming his pick of a congressman who received donations from the oil and gas industry. The pressure reflects the environmental lobby’s desire to push the incoming administration to take aggressive Read more

  Saudi Arabia called on fellow OPEC+ members on Tuesday to be flexible in responding to oil market needs as it builds the case for a tighter oil production policy in 2021 to tackle weaker demand amid a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia Read more

  The oil market is too fluid to allow for any decisions on Opec+ policy beyond the end of this year to be made now, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said today. Speaking on semi-official Asharq TV after a meeting of the Opec+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) that ended without an Read more

  Slumping fuel consumption during the pandemic is accelerating the long-term shift of refining capacity from North America and Europe to Asia, and from older, smaller refineries to modern, higher-capacity mega-refineries.   The result is a wave of closures, often centring on refineries that only narrowly survived the previous closure wave in the years after Read more

OPEC expects coronavirus to curb oil demand recovery into 2021   Global oil demand will rebound more slowly in 2021 than previously thought because of rising coronavirus cases, OPEC said on Wednesday, hampering efforts by the group and its allies to support the market. Demand will rise by 6.25 million barrels per day (bpd) next Read more

    New Delhi: The government on Wednesday approved a Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for ten key sectors, including telecom, automobiles and pharmaceuticals, taking the total outlay for such incentives to nearly Rs 2 lakh crore over a five-year period.   The scheme will help encourage domestic manufacturing, reduce imports and generate employment as the Read more

  LONDON, A return of oil exports from Iran during Joe Biden’s presidency is some way off according to trading company chiefs and OPEC sources, giving OPEC+ more time to adjust their supply pact.   The U.S. president-elect has said he’d return to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal if Tehran resumes compliance with the pact. President Read more

    LONDON, The Intercontinental Exchange has signed memorandums of understanding with Chevron, Trafigura and Occidental Petroleum to use the new Murban oil futures contract as a pricing benchmark for U.S. crude sales to Asia, the president of ICE Futures Europe said.   ICE said on Tuesday it planned to launch ICE Futures Abu Dhabi Read more

  Malaysia, through state oil firm Petronas, has ventured into the liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering business and made its first delivery in the southern state of Johor this week, the country’s marine department said on Tuesday. The maiden operation involved supplying 1,150 tonnes of LNG from bunkering vessel MV Avenir Advantage, which Petronas leased Read more

  The yearly Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) will take place on 12 November under the rotating Presidency of the Democratic People’s Republic of Algeria. The meeting, and its related events, will convene virtually owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.   The 22nd Ministerial Meeting will discuss the current issues related to Read more

  ROME,The G20 major economies are “moving in the wrong direction” in response to the coronavirus pandemic by using stimulus spending to support industries and companies that rely heavily on planet-warming fossil fuels, researchers said on Tuesday. Despite repeated pledges to end subsidies for oil, gas and coal, G20 governments continue to fund fossil fuels, Read more

    The president-elect has vowed to lift US sanctions against Tehran and rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, as long as Iran resumes compliance with all restrictions on its nuclear program. Sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump in 2018 have cut off more than 2mn b/d of Iranian oil exports. Read more

  Iraq is one of the few countries to benefit from the Iranian sanctions’ exemptions. The United States has repeatedly extended the period of a sanctions waiver for Iraq — most recently in September — due to Baghdad’s dependence on Iran’s gas and electricity. Iraq’s need to comply with the OPEC+ quotas has a negative Read more

  Libya will not join OPEC quotas until its production stabilises at 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd), a Wall Street Journal reporter tweeted here, citing National Oil Corp chief.   Libyan oil production could reach 1.3 million bpd within a month, NOC’s Mustafa Sanalla told the Journal. OPEC-member Libya is exempt from making production Read more