Saudis Need $70 Oil To Break Even (31 October 2017): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Saudi Arabia needs oil prices at $70 per barrel in 2018 in order to breakeven, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday in its Regional Economic Outlook on the Middle East and Central Asia. The Saudi breakeven oil price to achieve zero deficit in 2017 is $73.10, according to the IMF, compared to $96.60 for 2016. Among the oil exporters in the region, Saudi Arabia has cut its breakeven oil price by the most between 2016 and 2017, but its budget breakeven price of oil is not the lowest in the region. The lowest breakeven price for 2017 is in Kuwait, $46.50, followed closely by Qatar at $46.80, according to IMF estimates. (Source: Oil Price)
Booming U.S. Oil Exports Could Hit A Bottleneck (30 October 2017) By Tsvetana Paraskova - U.S. crude oil exports have been setting new records lately, but as both the U.S. oil production and exports are set to increase, analysts and traders warn that booming exports may reach infrastructure limitations in two to three years, which would weigh on U.S. oil prices due to high domestic production with constrains in takeaway capacity. (Source: Oil Price)
Tesla Cuts Model 3 Orders From Core Supplier By 40 Percent (29 October 2017): By ZeroHedge - Just days after the Shanghai government was stunned to read in the WSJ that it had granted Tesla permission to open a new gigafactory in its free-trade zone (turns out the two are only in the negotiations stage), according to Taiwanese media reports one of Tesla’s largest suppliers in the country has been instructed to pare back production on parts for the Tesla Model 3 – the latest sign that the cash-burning Silicon Valley carmaker is going to miss its goal of producing 5,000 cars a week by December. (Source: Oil Price)
Saudi Arabia Introduces New GCC Taxes (28 October 2017): By Oxford Business Group - Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Zakat and Tax released the final implementing regulations to legislation governing the new GCC-wide value-added tax. The move, which was announced on GAZT’s website and in the official gazette, is a milestone for companies operating in both the Kingdom and the wider GCC, as they prepare for full implementation of the law on January 1, 2018. (Source: Oil Price)
Fire at Tehran oil refinery kills six (27 October 2017) ANKARA (Reuters) — A fire killed six workers and injured three others at an oil refinery in Tehran's Shar-e Rey district on Friday, Iran's state TV reported. "The fire broke out in one of the refinery's units, which was under construction. Six workers were killed and three were injured. The other units in the refinery were not affected," a local official told the station. "The fire broke out because of an explosion caused by oil leakage." (Source: Hydrocarbon Processing)
Russia's Novatek says entire Yamal LNG project is 89% complete (26 October 2017): MOSCOW (Reuters) — Independent Russian gas producer Novatek said on Thursday its entire Yamal LNG project was 89% complete, including the first train which is 97% complete. Total Yamal LNG capacity is seen at 17.5 MMt of LNG per year, taking into account the fourth train, the company had said earlier. (Source: Gas Processing)
Petronas, Aramco seeking $8 B for Malaysian project (25 October 2017) KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) — Malaysian state energy firm Petronas and Saudi Aramco are seeking to raise $8 B for a refinery and petrochemical complex via a bridge loan, Project Finance International (PFI) reported on Wednesday. Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID), in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, is a $27 B project located between the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, conduits for Middle East oil and gas bound for China, Japan and South Korea.
SoftBank Vision Fund evaluates "significant" Saudi Electricity stake acquisition (24 October 2017): SoftBank may take a "large stake" in Saudi Electricity as part of an agreement with the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF) to develop solar capacity in the newly announced US$500 billion NEOM investment zone. PIF, the majority shareholder of Saudi Electric (SEC), signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday with SoftBank Vision Fund for the utility to develop 3 gigawatts of solar energy in 2018, Saudi Electric said in a statement on the Saudi stock exchange. (Source: The National)
Oil geopolitical-risk rally fades as Iraq works to revive fields (20 October 2017): By MEENAL VAMBURKAR AND SHARON CHO - NEW YORK and SINGAPORE (Bloomberg) -- A surge in crude prices faded as Iraq sought to restore flows from fields in a disputed region after violence had curbed output in OPEC’s second-biggest producer. Futures fell as much as 1.2% in New York, further eroding the gains from last Friday through Wednesday as tensions flared in the Kirkuk province. Engineers were said to be working to replace equipment missing from fields in the region that Iraqi government troops recaptured this week from Kurdish forces. U.S. government data published Wednesday has deepened the slide, showing gasoline stockpiles rose for a fourth week while distillates expanded for the first time since August.
OPEC Looks To Permanently Expand The Cartel (19 October 2017): By Tsvetana Paraskova - At its November 30 meeting, OPEC will seek to discuss making its current partnership with non-OPEC producers permanent, OPEC’s Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo told reporters at the Oil & Money conference in London on Thursday. “This platform of 24 countries, now hopefully growing, should be institutionalized,” Barkindo said, as quoted by Platts. (Source: Oil Price)
Watch: Masdar plays part in launch of world's first floating wind farm off Scottish coast (18 October 2017): Andy Scott - The world's first floating wind farm is set to open this week, providing electricity to about 22,000 homes. The Hywind project, off the coast of north-east Scotland, saw Abu Dhabi’s Masdar and Statoil of Norway come together in January in a joint venture via a 25 per cent stake by the UAE firm. The £210 million (Dh992m) project has five wind turbines which were manufactured in Norway and then transported via the North Sea to Buchan Deep, 25 kilometres east of Peterhead. (more about ...)
U.S. shale producers applying DNA sequencing to improve reservoir economics (17 October 2017): SAN DIEGO, California -- Biota Technology, the oilfield DNA sequencing pioneer, has achieved a critical milestone on its path to commercialization: the diagnostic has been deployed by a majority of the top 20 U.S. shale producers in the U.S. Biota continues to attract top-tier investors, recently closing a multi-million dollar financing led by Illumina Ventures. (Source: World Oil)
UK North Sea oil faces quickening decline if no Brexit deal (16 October 2017): By RAKTEEM KATAKEY AND ANGELINA RASCOUET - LONDON (Bloomberg) -- The UK oil and gas industry faces a faster decline if Prime Minister Theresa May fails to agree to a trade deal with the European Union, as restrictions on the movement of workers and equipment would increase costs. A “no deal” Brexit, which has become a stronger possibility after talks ended in a deadlock this week, could restrict investments in the North Sea, hastening the existing decline of the aging basin, said Michael Bradshaw, professor of global energy at Warwick Business School. Oil & Gas UK, the lobby group, has warned that the industry’s cost of trade could almost double if the country reverts to World Trade Organization rules.
Mass EV Adoption Could Lead To $10 Oil (13 October 2017): By Tsvetana Paraskova - The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) will lead to global peak oil demand as soon as in 2023-2025, which will result in oil prices crashing to $10, Chris Watling, CEO & chief market strategist at Longview Economics, told CNBC on Friday. (Source: Oil Price)
This OPEC Strategy Could Boost Uranium Prices Next Year (12 October 2017): By Dave Forest Small but very critical item in the uranium space this week. Suggesting that the world’s largest producing nation may be about to take drastic action in propping up faltering prices. That’s Kazakhstan — the world’s reigning champ for uranium output the last several years. Where officials said they may move to further cut production in order to rebalance the market. (Source: Oil Price)
Blast at Tupras refinery in Turkey kills four (11 October 2017): ISTANBUL (Reuters) — An explosion in a storage tank at a Tupras refinery in the western Turkish province of Izmir on Wednesday killed four people but had no impact on production, the company said. Tupras said in a statement that the explosion occurred following maintenance work on Wednesday morning. Television footage showed black smoke rising from the site of the blast.
Russia’s Nuclear Sector Is Surging (10 October 2017): By Viktor Katona - Regions previously in the avant-garde of nuclear design and technology are losing interest on the back of a post-Fukushima scare, while new regions—with Asia and Africa in the forefront—set their sights on nuclear. Yet Russia, a country with a long-standing nuclear tradition (63 years ago it was the first ever to generate electricity for a power grid at the Obninsk nuclear plant) is still keen to remain in the game. Moscow wants to make use of its rivals’ weakness and magnify its market share. In contradiction to the tenets of mainstream economics, the rise of Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation came about as a result of massive state centralization and unification. (Source: Oil Price)
Fluor awarded contract for world’s largest propylene oxide, tertiary butyl alcohol plant (9 October 2017): IRVING, Texas — Fluor Corporation announced that it was selected by LyondellBasell to perform the engineering and procurement for its propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) project located at its Channelview and Bayport complexes outside of Houston. Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value into backlog in the Q3 2017. (Source: Hydrocarbon Processing)
Baker Hughes: US rig count drops 4 units (6 October 2017) By Matt Zborowski OGJ Assistant Editor - The US drilling rig count fell 4 units to 936 during the week ended Oct. 6, according to Baker Hughes data. The count is down 22 units since the peak of a 14-month drilling rebound on July 28, but it remains up 532 units since a modern low in Baker Hughes data during the weeks ended May 20-27, 2016.
Investors from Japan, Middle East show interest in Baltic LNG (6 October 2017): MOSCOW (Reuters) — Investors from Japan and Middle East have shown interest in Gazprom’s Baltic LNG project, Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said in an interview to the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Friday. Baltic LNG is due to start producing liquefied natural gas in 2022–2023. Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding on the project with oil major Royal Dutch Shell last year.
President Putin hosts Saudi King on landmark Russia visit amid oil talks (5 October 2017): By HENRY MEYER AND STEPHEN BIERMAN - (Bloomberg) – MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin began talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who’s making a historic first visit to Russia by a monarch of the Gulf kingdom as the two energy superpowers seek an understanding on whether to extend an agreement curbing oil supplies.
Leaders in world energy to meet at KOGS 2017: Over 5,000 world energy leaders, stakeholders, and executives will converge in Kuwait for the third Society of Petroleum Engineers Kuwait Oil & Gas Show and Conference (KOGS 2017) in October for 4 days of strategic dialogue and business opportunities. (Source: Oil Review Africa)
Business Trends: The state of the global refining sector - Nichols, Lee, Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Over the past few years, the world has witnessed significant downstream capacity growth in all sectors of the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI). The majority of this growth has taken place in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the US. These three regions will continue to invest billions of dollars to increase refined products and petrochemical production capacity into the early 2020s.
Goldman: Expect Oil Stocks To Catch Up With Rising Oil Prices (2 October 2017): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Shares in oil companies have underperformed the recent oil price rally, so some of those stocks are set to rise in a long-term oil price of $50-55, according to Goldman Sachs.
KBR Awarded EPCM Services contract for JVGAS projects in Algeria (2 October 2017): HOUSTON — KBR, Inc. announced it has been awarded an engineering and project management services contract by JVGAS—a joint venture of Sonatrach, Statoil and BP—for the provision of engineering, procurement and construction management services in Algeria. (Source: Oil Processing)
Gulf Publishing Company Launches LNG Intelligence Service for Energy Industry (1 October 2017): HOUSTON — Gulf Publishing Company, a leading media company and provider of market data for the international energy industry, launches today the Energy Web Atlas to provide the downstream energy sector with easy access to information about the LNG industry. (Source: Hydro Processing)