South-West Asia

Trade sources reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia's crude supply to China will decline in March compared to the previous month after the kingdom raised its prices to their highest level in over two years. A tally of Saudi Aramco's allocations to Chinese refiners revealed that the company will ship around 41 million barrels in March. This is down from 43.5 million barrels in February. This is the second consecutive month that Aramco has seen its allocation to China drop. The sources stated that Sinopec, a joint venture between Aramco and the Chinese state-owned company, and Aramco’s joint venture Fujian...

The SHANA news outlet of the Ministry reported that Iran's Oil Minister said unilateral sanctions against crude producers would destabilise the energy markets. This was after U.S. president Donald Trump stated he would try to drive Tehran's exports of oil to zero. "Depoliticising of the oil market is vital for energy security." Mohsen Paknejad, OPEC's Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said that unilateral sanctions and pressure against major oil producers will destabilise the oil and energy market and harm consumers worldwide. Paknejad made his comments after Trump restored the Iranian president's rights. "maximum pressure" Campaign against Iran, which includes efforts...

The oil prices fell on Wednesday, as market concerns about a Sino-U.S. new trade war and rising U.S. stockpiles offset President Donald Trump’s renewed push to end Iranian crude exports. Brent crude futures fell 39 cents or 0.51% to $75.81 per barrel at 0427 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a crude oil produced in the United States, lost 26 cents or 0.36% to $72.44. Oil traded across a range on Tuesday, with WTI dropping at one point to its lowest level since December 31, after China announced tariffs against U.S. imports for oil, natural gas liquefied and coal as...

A U.S. official revealed that Donald Trump plans to resume his "maximum-pressure" campaign against Iran on Tuesday in order to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons and to drive its oil exports to zero. This move returns the U.S. to its tough policy towards Iran, which Trump, as a Republican Republican, had practiced during his first term. Trump accused his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden of reducing the U.S.'s resolve towards Iran. Trump said in his campaign that Biden’s policy of not strictly enforcing sanctions on oil exports had weakened Washington, and emboldened Tehran. This allowed Tehran to sell oil, collect...

The Pakistani Prime Minister's Office announced that the Pakistan signed an agreement on Monday with the Saudi Fund for Development, delaying by one year the payment of $1.2 billion on oil imports. The state-run Pakistani television broadcast the signing ceremony in real time before a delegation of the fund, led by its CEO Sultan Bin Abdul Rehman Al Marshad, visited Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff. The office issued a press release in which Sharif expressed his appreciation for the signing of the Oil Import Financing Facility. The office said that Pakistan would receive oil with a one-year deferred payment. The Prime...

The government has granted permission to Russia's biggest oil companies to continue gasoline sales until the end February. This extends a waiver that was due to expire this Friday. The Russian government lifted the temporary ban at the end of November on gasoline exported by the majority of producers. However, the restrictions were extended to other exporters, such as independent traders or re-sellers until January 31. These restrictions will continue to be in effect in February. The first ban on gasoline imports was implemented in March of last year in response to a steep rise in wholesale fuel costs and...

Several trade sources said that Syria wants to import oil through local intermediaries because its first post-Assad import bids did not attract much interest from oil traders, due to the ongoing sanctions and financial risk. According to tender documents, the caretaker government of Syria issued tenders for the import of 4.2 million barrels crude oil as well as 100,000 tons of each fuel oil and diesel. Sources said that the tenders which closed on the Monday have not been awarded, and the government has now begun negotiating with local firms to meet the requirements. After Iran seems to have stopped...

Saudi Economy Minister Faisal Alibrahim said on Friday that the $600 billion of expanded financial investment and trade with the United States discussed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman includes investments as well as procurement from the public and private sectors. The state news firm said on Thursday that the crown prince had affirmed the kingdom's objective to widen its financial investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion, and possibly beyond that. This number represents investments, procurement, public and private sector, and it's simply a mirror reflection of...

ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy on Friday started exploratory drilling for natural gas in a. possibility west of Cyprus, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides. stated on X. The east Mediterranean has actually yielded some major gas. discoveries in the last few years, and an interruption in energy products. from Russia after its 2022 intrusion of Ukraine has actually honed. Europe's attention on protecting alternative sources of supply. Cyprus progresses expedition activities, aiming to be an. alternative and trustworthy source of natural gas for the EU,. Christodoulides wrote in his post. He stated drilling at the prospect, called Electra, got. underway on Friday...

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday stated he will demand Saudi Arabia and OPEC lower the expense of oil and will ask Riyadh to increase a scheduled U.S. investment bundle to $1 trillion from an initial reported $600. billion. His remarks come one day after Trump and Saudi Arabian Crown. Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed what the White House called. the kingdom's global financial ambitions along with. trade concerns. Previously on Thursday, the Saudi State news agency stated. the kingdom wants to put $600 billion into expanded investment. and trade with the U.S. over the next 4 years. But I'll...

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan alShibani stated on Wednesday that the country will open its economy to foreign financial investment and that Damascus is also dealing with energy and electrical power collaborations with Gulf states. Syria's economic resources are diverse and we have a great deal of sectors - industry, tourist ... of course the economy in the future will be open and will open the road for foreign investment, he said at the World Economic Online forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Shibani paid different check outs to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in early January, during...

Saudi Arabia's. foreign minister stated on Tuesday he did not see Donald Trump's. new administration increasing the danger of an IsraelIran. dispute, attending to a problem the area has actually feared since the. start of Israel's war in Gaza. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud also stated in Davos that he. hoped President Trump's method to Iran would be consulted with a. willingness by Tehran to favorably engage with the U.S. administration and address the problem of its nuclear programme. Certainly a war in between Iran and Israel, any war in our. area is something we ought to try to...

A survey shows that OPEC's oil production fell for a second consecutive month in January. This was due to a decline in exports, primarily from Nigeria and Iran, which offset a recovery in the United Arab Emirates, where maintenance on fields had reduced output in December. According to a survey released on Wednesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 26,53 million barrels of oil per day in December, a decrease of 50,000 bpd compared with the revised December total. Nigeria and Iran saw the biggest drops. The modest drop in production came at a time when the...

ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.), a state-owned company, has pursued a number of mergers and acquisitions with European companies with the aim to diversify its chemicals and renewable energy businesses. ADNOC has been involved in the following deals and discussions: COVESTRO ADNOC announced on October 1 that it had agreed to purchase German chemicals producer Covestro, for $15.1 billion. This is one of the largest foreign takeovers in Gulf states and aims to reduce the country's heavy reliance on oil during the energy transition. Austrian oil group OMV and ADNOC announced on January 31 that they are considering a...

OPEC's share in India's. petroleum imports edged up in 2024, increasing for the very first time in. nine years, after top supplier Russia's share dipped, information. gotten from trade sources showed. Russia's share in the world's third-biggest oil importer and. consumer is expected to drop further in 2025 after Washington. last Friday announced sweeping sanctions targeting Russian. manufacturers and tankers, interrupting supply from the world's No. 2. manufacturer to India and China and tightening up ship schedule. India imported 4.84 million barrels daily of oil in 2024,. up 4.3% from the previous year, the information showed. The share of Organization...

Oil costs gained for a. 2nd session on Thursday, supported by worries over supply. in the middle of U.S. sanctions on Russia, a largerthanforecast fall in. U.S. crude oil stocks, and an improving worldwide need outlook. Brent unrefined futures rose 25 cents, or 0.3%, to. $ 82.28 per barrel by 0446 GMT, after increasing 2.6% in the previous. session to their highest considering that July 26 last year. U.S. West Texas Intermediate unrefined futures increased 28. cents, or 0.4%, to $80.32 a barrel, after getting 3.3% on. Wednesday to their greatest because July 19. U.S. crude oil stocks fell last...

The Middle East petroleum benchmark premium for Oman rallied to the greatest in more than two years on Tuesday, while that for Dubai and Murban reinforced to a 15month peak. Rates were raised by brand-new U.S. sanctions on Russian producers and tankers that are designed to curb the profits of the world's second-largest oil exporter. The U.S. Treasury on Friday enforced sanctions on Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, in addition to on 183 vessels that form part of a shadow fleet that has so far enabled Russia to skirt sanctions to get its oil to worldwide markets. The...

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has signed an arrangement to provide German energy company EnBW with 600,000 tons per year of liquefied natural gas from its Ruwais job for 15 years, ADNOC said on Monday. The sales and purchase agreement (MEDICAL SPA), which will see the United Arab Emirates state oil giant ship LNG beginning in 2028, settles a heads of arrangement reached in May. More than 8 million tons per year (mtpa) of Ruwais' overall 9.6 mtpa expected production has been committed through long-lasting arrangements, ADNOC stated. ADNOC sees LNG and gas, together with petrochemicals and renewables, as pillars...

A 151,000 barrel each day (bpd) crude unit at the Izmir oil refinery run by Turkey's Tupras is tentatively expected to reboot in midDecember after a fire on Nov. 25, market screen IIR said. Tupras closed down the system on Nov. 25 after a fire, the company stated in a public filing on Nov. 26. The specific restart date is unidentified, IIR stated in a note seen . Tupras did not react instantly to emailed requests for comment. The refinery, with overall crude processing capacity of 241,500 bpd, mainly produces fuel oil, diesel, jet fuel and gasoline. Tupras has been...

OPEC oil output increased for a. 2nd month in November as Libya's production recovered after. resolution of a political crisis, a Reuters survey discovered, however. members making cuts vowed to the broader OPEC+ alliance kept. output broadly constant. The Company of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped. 26.51 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, up 180,000 bpd. from October, the study revealed on Tuesday, with Libya once again. posting the biggest boost. Libyan output recovered after resolution of a dispute over. control of the central bank, allowing complete production to resume. at oilfields and applying down pressure on rates. The....

Concerns that Europe is facing a natural gas supply crunch this winter season are overblown, with the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market currently stepping up to prevent any shortage, albeit at greater rates. European gas prices climbed to the highest level in two years last week, with the benchmark front-month agreement at the Dutch TTF center reaching 49.03 euros per megawatt hour on Nov. 22, comparable to $14.97 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). Costs have actually rallied about 40% since mid-September amidst worries that the staying Russian pipeline materials to Europe will be halted, or face additional curtailment. New...

Oil costs held constant on Friday, on track for a weekly rise of 5%, as the Ukraine war magnified and Chinese imports were set to increase in November. Brent crude futures climbed 33 cents, or 0.44%, to $ 74.56 a barrel by 1008 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.39%, to $70.37 per barrel. Both agreements are set for gains of 5% this week, the greatest weekly rise since late September, as Moscow steps up its Ukraine offensive after Britain and the United States allowed Kyiv to strike Russia with their weapons. Putin stated on...

China's crude oil imports are set to rebound in November after sharp price cuts increased demand for Iraqi and Saudi oil, offsetting a drop in Iranian supply, according to experts, traders and shiptracking data. A downturn of 17% in global oil rates in the 3rd quarter likewise stimulated Chinese stockpiling demand while refiners prepare for greater seasonal fuel usage ahead of the Lunar New Year vacation looking in late January, analysts say. The November rebound in volumes for the world's leading crude oil importer comes after 6 successive months of yearly declines as Chinese refiners dealt with weak margins and...

Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports in September rose to their highest level in 3 months, information from the Joint Organizations Data Effort (JODI) revealed on Monday. The country's exports in September increased by 0.080 million barrels daily (bpd) to 5.751 million bpd from 5.671 million bpd in August. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest exporter of crude. At the same time, Saudi's production fell to 8.975 million bpd from 8.992 million bpd in August. Saudi refineries' unrefined throughput rose by 0.035 million bpd to 2.756 million bpd, the information showed, while direct crude burning decreased by 296,000 bpd to 518,000...