Qatar’s reasons for exiting OPEC look muddled. The tiny Persian Gulf sheikhdom says it wants to concentrate on building on its position as the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead of being a minor player in an oil cartel dominated by Saudi Arabia. Aside from saving on membership fees, leaving the group has few benefits and many risks.
Posts tagged ‘Iran’
 
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October 26, 2018 00:00 UTC 
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B. Anand is CEO of Nayara Energy, the owner of India’s Vadinar refinery and a top buyer of Iranian oil. In a recent Insight Conversation video, Anand spoke to Sambit Mohanty about the company’s crude purchases and wider strategy. There are two major themes affecting the market right now: US sanctions on Iran and the US–China trade war. How will those two factors impact the dynamics of crude flows into India? |
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September 6, 2018 15:30 UTC
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Saudi Arabia is putting its crude production capabilities – and its ability to balance the oil market – to the test. The kingdom finds its oil production policy at a crossroads, with the need to appease allies countered by its desire for higher prices to balance its books. |
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August 21, 2018 13:00 UTC
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In a signal that Indian refineries are increasing their efforts to find alternatives to Iranian barrels, a record 261,000 b/d of US crude was exported to India in June, according to the latest US Census Bureau data. The amount of crude flowing from the US to India has spiked sharply this year from an average 29,000 b/d in January through April to 152,000 b/d in May and then 261,000 b/d in June. |
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August 10, 2018 07:45 UTC
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On June 1, sometime between the US withdrawal from the JCPOA in early May, and its demand in late June that Asian buyers fully halt Iranian oil purchases, PetroChina snuck in a shipment of Iranian crude through Myanmar to its Yunnan Petrochemical refinery in southern China. On any other route, this would have been just another Iranian oil shipment. But using the Myanmar-China oil and gas pipeline brings new complications. |
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June 15, 2018 00:01 UTC
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The longer China delays publishing its detailed trade data for April, the more it is feeding speculation about the possible ulterior motives behind withholding the numbers, and hurting credibility. Also, with the amount of geopolitical upheaval going on, the transparency of future Chinese trade data releases is being questioned with each passing day as market participants harbor growing suspicions about Chinese intent. |
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June 11, 2018 04:01 UTC
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Global oil demand growth was a much heralded sidekick to supply cuts that rebalanced the market in record time. Now the Saudi Arabia-Russia pronged pact is considering reversing course on its output cut deal, while demand growth shows little sign of letting up. That risks leaving a hole in the market that the OPEC alliance will struggle to plug. |
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November 8, 2017 00:30 UTC
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The Middle East’s oil superpowers are butting heads. Saudi Arabia has escalated a bitter feud by accusing Iran of an “act of war” following a rebel missile attack on Riyadh. The stakes are high for both protagonists but their belligerence has its limitations. Neither side can afford their OPEC pact to be broken by conflict. |
 
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September 7, 2017 14:00 UTC
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Worldwide polyethylene capacity is seen to grow from 108.3 million mt in 2016 to 150 million mt by 2027, with around 10 million mt of speculative capacity included into our forecasts post 2024. Platts Analytics expects production to grow from 93 million mt in 2016 to 133.6 million mt by 2027. Global operating rates are expected to average 85.3% in that time period. However, during the period of excessive capacity additions led by the US, China and Iran between 2017 and 2023, rates are expected to average just below 83%, dropping to as low as 81.9% in 2020 to balance the market. |
 
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July 3, 2017 05:07 UTC
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The past month has been a tumultuous time for the Persian Gulf region, one bound to send shock waves through global markets, not least the international oil market. While it is still far too early to detect a building tidal wave, that cannot be entirely ruled out. |