Oil and gas deals between China and Iran are set to change. Last week, several news agencies in the region, including the Iran Daily and Trend News Agency said that Iran and China have agreed that China would pay in cash for the oil and gas it buys from Iran. China is currently the biggest… Keep reading →
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has decided to maintain its production levels for at least another six months, Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters Friday. The cartel maintained its collective output production level at 30 million barrels per day, which could continue to weigh on oil prices this year, as oversupply… Keep reading →
Oil prices will remain below the psychologically important $100-a-barrel mark until at least 2025, according to a draft report by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), seen byThe Wall Street Journal. In its most optimistic scenario, OPEC, which represents 12 oil-producing countries, forecast that oil will sell for around $76 per barrel in… Keep reading →
State-controlled Saudi Aramco adjusted its official crude oil selling prices in response to changing oil market dynamics. The company left Arab Light prices unchanged for Asian customers, while it increased prices for destinations in Europe and the US where demand appears to be picking up. The summer cooling season in Saudi Arabia is expected to… Keep reading →
Saudi Arabia, until recently the world’s top oil exporter and still de facto OPEC leader, is feeling pressure. Its top exporting customer of nearly four decades, the US, has become its greatest competitor. Amid the shale oil boom and the wonders of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the US is now producing over 9 million barrels of crude… Keep reading →
Six-year-low oil prices, excess supply and debt woes among U.S. producers will change the oil and gas industry, but in no certain, or short, order. To paint a clear picture of what the oil and gas industry will look like by the end of 2015 would be an exercise in futility. The only thing we… Keep reading →
Continued low oil prices keep the leaders of many oil-producing states awake at night, but few feel the pressure as keenly as Nigerian authorities. Dienzani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s oil minister and current OPEC president, pled for an emergency meeting to discuss oil production cuts last month. Though such a meeting is unlikely to occur, Alison-Madueke’s proposed… Keep reading →
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, recently said again that OPEC will not take sole responsibility for supporting global oil prices. Since the collapse in oil prices this past year, OPEC has attempted to convince non-OPEC oil producers to cooperate on production and prices, but with little success. “Today the situation is hard. We tried, we… Keep reading →
Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the IEA, said at a recent conference that the US will not become the “next Saudi Arabia”, despite its position among the world’s top oil producers. “US oil production increased significantly and is due to continue to increase. This is excellent news for the United States and world oil… Keep reading →
Opinion: Oil and Economics at a Geopolitical Crossroad
By Nabegh Al SabbaghThe Middle East would have had a different shape today, if the US dollar were never pegged to oil trading. The ‘Petrodollar’ was born out of a US-Saudi agreement where oil sales would be denominated in dollars in return for US protection. Being established on a geopolitical infrastructure, the petrodollar has developed dimensions of security,… Keep reading →