APS Review Oil Market Trends

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Qatar - Part 1 - The Prospects.
Qatar's crude oil production capacity exceeds 1m b/d, up from 860,000 b/d in August 2007, and will rise to more than 1.26m b/d in 2011/12 and 1.5m b/d by 2015 - including its 50% share of al-Bunduq . . .

Qatar - The Local Energy Base & Economy.
Qatar has switched to natural gas for its domestic energy and industrial sectors. The share of gas in local energy and industrial consumption now accounts for more than 80%, up from zero in the earl . . .

Qatar - Gas/Condensates.
Marketed gas production will rise rapidly in the coming years. New condensate streams have come from the QatarGas LNG venture, in which QP's partners are Total, ExxonMobil, Mitsui and Marubeni. The . . .

Qatar - Exports.
QP is easily marketing its own output and its shares of crude oil and gas liquids being produced by IOCs. Qatar is maximising exports to finance its massive capacity expansions. QP's logistics are . . .

Qatar - The Political Perspective.
The Qataris have made the generation leap under their new Emir, Shaikh Hamad, with the political situation having stabilised. As a result, Qatar is one of the most attractive countries for foreign i . . .

Qatar - Improved Decision Making.
The decision makers in Qatar include young and capable figures embarking on bold moves. The line up at the top changed on Aug. 5, 2003, when Shaikh Hamad appointed Shaikh Tamim, one of his younger s . . .

The Global Petroleum Perspective.
Fundamentals for physical crude oils are still less relevant to the fundamentals for paper WTI. Paper WTI goes up when the dollar falls, and vice-versa, and a logistical accident at Cushing has more . . .

Nigeria - Part 4 - The Decision Makers.
The persons in charge of petroleum policy in Nigeria are President Umaru Yar'Adua, veteran Petroleum Minister Rilwanu Lukman, and three junior ministers - one in charge of oil, one for natural gas, . . .

Nigeria - Umaru Musa Yar'Adua - And The Role Of Lukman.
Elected President on April 21, 2007, Yar'Adua on May 29 used his inaugural address to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Nigeria's restive southern oil region. Then 56, Yar'Adua was s . . .

Nigeria - Goodluck Jonathan.
Elected Vice-President in April 2007, Jonathan was previously the governor of the oil-rich state of Bayelsa. His elevation along-side Yar'Adua by the ruling PDP was aimed at rallying support from vo . . .

Nigeria - Rilwanu Lukman.
An ex-oil minister, diplomat and former OPEC secretary-general, Lukman now is the most powerful man in the petroleum sector next to President Yar'Adua. After having served as "honourary adviser" sin . . .

Nigeria - Part 3 - Exports & Logistics.
Nigeria's exports of crude oil and condensate during the week to Aug. 8 averaged about 1.37m b/d, down from 2.3m b/d in August 2007. And Nigeria's imports of liquid fuels for local demand during tha . . .

The Global Market Perspective.
The working week on Aug. 14 ended with September WTI closing at $67.47/b, down from $70.52/b on Aug. 13, because of a rise of the US dollar. Brent on Aug. 14 closed at more than $72/b, with the disc . . .

US Move On Speculation Resisted.
For oil and gas companies, a budding crack-down on US energy futures markets now comes at an awkward time. Producers are relying more than ever on the futures to hedge the risk that prices will fall . . .

Abu Dhabi's Taqa Operates Brent System.
The UK arm of the Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., Taqa Bratani Ltd, on Aug. 1 took over as operator of the North Sea Brent system's pipeline and facilities. It replaced Shell UK Exploration and Produ . . .

Chinese Scramble.
Because of their diesel- and gasoline-rich qualities, Nigerian crudes are much sought after by refiners on both side of Suez. Chinese companies, scrambling for light/sweet crudes from Nigeria and ot . . .

Nigeria - Part 2 - The Oil & Gas Fields And Foreign Operators.
A highly-placed APS source in Abuja on Aug. 8 told APS Nigeria's crude oil output during the week was averaging 1.46m b/d, less than half the country's installed capacity, due to unrest in the Niger . . .

Nigeria - The Prospects.
A 60-day amnesty and truce in the Niger Delta began on Aug. 6 but key militant factions were divided over whether to take part and critics said it might only bring a lull in the violence. President . . .

Nigeria - New Gas Flaring Deadline.
Abuja in March proposed pushing back its deadline to end gas flaring to 2010 to allow time for the development of the gas sector. Oil companies were supposed to have stopped all gas flaring in Niger . . .

Nigeria - Govt. Moves, NPDC & The Locals.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) is the E&P and downstream regulator and supervises all operations carried out under oil and gas licences and leases. The operations include E&P and market . . .

Nigeria - IOC Partners' Role In Deep-Water Oil & Gas.
The big IOCs - mainly those involved in the six JVs mentioned in the table above, have the capability to find additional oil and gas reserves in their areas on the scale demanded by the government. . . .

Nigeria - New E&P Bill & IOCs' Reactions.
At a Senate hearing on the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to change the E&P regime and make operations more transparent, as well as restructure NNPC, Shell Managing Director Mutiu Sunmonu on . . .

Nigeria - The following are profiles of the six main JVs in Nigeria.
The Shell-Led Group: The biggest oil producing JV, the Shell-led group has about 85 oil and gas fields in 48 blocks. NNPC recovers the idle fields held by Shell and the other foreign firms, and offe . . .

Nigeria - Part 1 - The Prospects & Geology.
Nigeria's nominally-installed crude oil production capacity is 3m b/d. But about half of this remains shut in as a result of unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. An ambitious plan to boost the . . .

Nigeria - The Global Petroleum Perspective & Nigeria's Impact.
Nigeria's instability has had a negative impact on the oil market since 2003, together with instability in the Middle East and speculation on NYMEX and ICE for paper WTI and Brent having caused worl . . .

Nigeria - More Trouble In Nigeria.
What worries both the political leadership in Abuja and speculators in oil futures is that Nigeria's troubles are not confined to the Niger Delta. Last week a Sunni/Neo-Salafi insurgency hit norther . . .

Nigeria - MEND In Truce.
Nigeria's largest rebel group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), on July 15 began a 60-day ceasefire after Abuja released its leader Henry Okah. MEND forces target oil fac . . .

Nigeria - Low Price Effects On Abuja.
Because of falling prices, oil exporting states earlier in 2009 had to slash budgets and relied more heavily on their NOCs as piggy banks to fund social programmes. But not every petro-government ha . . .

Nigeria - Nigerian Politicians & IOC Attack New Petroleum Reforms Bill.
Senators from Nigeria's six oil-producing states on July 29 rejected a proposed petroleum sector reform bill. Nigeria's five main E&P operators - Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Agip & Total - are warni . . .

Libya - Part 4 - The Decision Makers.
For many years there have been two types of decision makers in Libya, each having a logic different from that of the other. The first logic functions under Libyan ruler Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi's own way . . .

Libya - Shukri Ghanem.
The Chairman of the state National Oil Corp (NOC) since March 2006, when the energy secretariat (ministry) was abolished, Dr Ghanem is the man in charge of Libya's petroleum sector. In September 200 . . .

Libya - NOC's Rating.
NOC received a mixed poll rating from respondents to a MEED survey published on June 19, 2009. The publication said: "Concerns over the extent of bureaucratic interference are mitigated by improveme . . .

Libya - Ahmad Al-Ghaber.
NOC's chief EPSA negotiator with the IOCs, Ghaber by early 2009 had secured $5.4bn in extra oil income from the contract changes in 2008. In a statement posted on its website on Jan. 12, NOC said: " . . .

Libya - Part 3 - Exports & Logistics.
Libya is exporting about 1.2m b/d of crude oil, down from 1.536m b/d in mid-2007, compared to 1.2m b/d in mid-2005. It also exports about 40,000 b/d of refined petroleum products and a limited volum . . .

The Global Petroleum Perspective.
In its World Oil Outlook published on July 8, OPEC said global oil demand will take five years to recover to pre-recession levels and investment spending on new production capacity will be sharply l . . .

Towards Regulating Paper Oil Trades.
Wild swings experienced by the paper oil markets over the last four years and the pain it has caused has finally caught the big powers' attention. These now conceded that paper price volatility is d . . .

The Libyan Exports.
The popularity of most Libyan crude oils in Europe has declined because of tighter sulphur limits on diesel imposed by the EU since the autumn of 1996. A major part of Libya's exports consists of li . . .

Libya - The Logistics.
NOC has all the logistics it needs to preserve and expand its market shares. It owns and runs an elaborate system of pipelines for crude oil, products and the gathering of associated gases. NOC ha . . .

Libya - Part 2 - Profiles Of The E&P Operators And The Oil & Gas Fields.
Libya's sustainable crude oil production capacity will rise to more than 2.3m b/d by 2015, compared to 1.8m b/d now, although the state-owned National Oil Corp (NOC) is hoping this will be reached i . . .

The NOC Operations.
NOC has a number of fields and is engaged in exploration. It is also the authority which allocates as well as awards new EPSA blocks. Its four operating units run fields taken over from IOCs, includ . . .

Libya - The Fields.
There are 12 oilfields in Libya with reserves of more than 1 bn barrels in each. The fields of NOC are mainly in the Sirte Basin, the most prolific oil province covering the north-central and north- . . .

Libya - Arabian Gulf Oil Co.
Agoco is the biggest oil producer formed by NOC in late 1979 to take over the assets of a partnership of BP and Nelson Bunker Hunt of the US, and a partnership of Chevron and Texaco called Amoseas. . . .

Waha Oil Co.
WOC was created by NOC to take over the operations of Oasis Oil Co. which until 1986 used to be owned 59.2% by NOC, 16.3% by Conoco (then the operator), 16.3% by Marathon and 8.2% by Amerada Hess. T . . .

Libya - Zueitina Oil Co.
ZOC was created after the departure of Oxy from Libya in June 1986 to operate the five Intisar fields (formerly called Idris) in Block 103, 34,425 sq km, in the Sirte Basin. Before Oxy's return to t . . .

Libya - Sirte Oil Co.
SOC was set up in 1981 to take over Exxon's holdings including its LNG plant at Marsa el-Brega. In 1986, SOC took the assets of Grace Petroleum. Grace had a 12% stake in SOC. SOC operates the Nasser . . .

Libya - Part 1 - The Prospects.
Libya can produce over 1.9m b/d of crude oil, but its sustainable capacity is about 1.8m b/d. Its current output is 1.55m b/d, with an OPEC quota of 1.469m b/d. Its capacity in 2000 did not reach th . . .

The Global Petroleum Perspective.
About 60% of the world's crude oil prices are based on speculative futures trading by firms such as PVM Oil Futures, which place orders on behalf of large trader banks and hedge funds. Unauthorised . . .

Dubai Crude Prices Linked To Oman Futures.
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) on June 23 confirmed that the Dubai Department of Petroleum Affairs (DPA) will set the official monthly selling price (OSP) for the emirate's crude oil based on a . . .

Kuwait - Part 5 - The Decision Makers.
Decision making for the petroleum sector in Kuwait involves a few members of the ruling al-Sabah family and some non-Sabah associates. In the government they are represented by Shaikh Ahmad Abdullah . . .

Kuwait - Shaikh Nasser Al-Muhammad Al-Sabah.
The PM since January 2006, Shaikh Nasser heads the SPC. But like the Emir who is his uncle, Shaikh Nasser rarely gets involved in the petroleum sector, leaving these matters to the oil minister and . . .