Oil Stronger as Iraq, US-Iran Tension Raises Risks
Oil prices firmed on Tuesday, building on gains made as fighting between Iraqi and Kurdish forces threatened supplies from northern Iraq while tension rose between the United States and Iran. After months of rangebound trading, during which OPEC-led supply cuts supported crude but rising U.S. output capped markets, prices have made significant gains this month. Brent crude gained 15 cents to $57.97 a barrel by 1320 GMT, up by about a third from its mid-year levels. U.S. light crude was up 5 cents at $51.92. The Baghdad government recaptured territory across northern Iraq from Kurds on Tuesday, widening a campaign that has shifted the balance of power in the country.
Bullish Streak Propels Brent to Robust Q3
Brent up around 20 percent in third quarter, but Middle East producers worry high price will boost U.S. shale. Oil edged higher on Friday as tensions around Iraqi Kurdistan threatened the region's crude supplies, helping Brent prices to their strongest third-quarter performance since 2004. Global benchmark Brent crude was up 1 cent at $57.42 a barrel at 1122 GMT, notching up a third quarter gain of around 20 percent. The contract had reached its highest in more than two years earlier in the week, resulting in a fifth consecutive weekly gain. This performance is Brent's longest weekly bull run since June 2016. U.S.
Iraq's Southern Oil Exports Rise in April to 3.364 mln bpd
Iraq exported oil from southern fields at an average rate of 3.364 million barrels per day in April, higher than the March average of 3.286 million, Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said on Sunday. That is close to the record of 3.37 million bpd exported in November as OPEC's second-largest producer resumes the supply growth that has added to downward pressure on global prices. Iraq looked set to exceed that rate, with exports in the first 24 days of April averaging 3.43 million bpd, according to an industry source and loading data. It was not immediately clear why exports appeared to drop off last week.
Pipeline Outage Almost Halves North Iraq Feb Exports
Oil exports from northern Iraq fell by almost half to an average of 350,067 barrels per day (bpd) in February due to an outage of the pipeline to Turkey, the Kurdistan region's Ministry of Natural Resources said on Monday. The nearly three-week outage is a big blow to Kurdistan, an autonomous region within Iraq that depends on revenue from its oil exports and is in the throes of an economic crisis induced by low crude prices. In February, the region received $303.9 million in revenue from its exports, the ministry said - less than half the 890 billion Iraqi dinars ($760 million) needed to cover a bloated public payroll.
Facing Heat, Iraq's Electricity Minister Passes Parliament Quizzing
Iraq's parliament on Saturday expressed confidence in the answers of Electricity Minister Qassim al-Fahdawi following an interrogation about a persistent power crisis that has prompted widespread protests and a new push for reform. Demonstrations in Baghdad and many southern cities, precipitated last month by anger at widespread electricity cuts amid a sweltering heatwave, have evolved in recent weeks to call for the trial of corrupt politicians and the shakeup of a system riddled with graft and incompetence. The exoneration of Fahdawi, who took office a year ago…
Oil Steady Amidst Mideast Turmoil, Ample Supplies
Islamic State takes control of Iraqi city of Ramadi; Goldman Sachs slashes 2016-202 price outlook. Oil prices firmed on Monday after a major advance by Islamic State militants in Iraq. Islamic State overran the western city of Ramadi in the biggest defeat for the Baghdad government since last summer. Front-month Brent futures were up 7 cents at $66.88 a barrel by 1050 GMT after earlier climbing earlier to $67.88 a barrel. U.S. crude rose 42 cents to $60.11 a barrel. "The fact that Islamic State can still carry out major operations even after nearly a year of air strikes confirms that Iraq will remain unstable for a long period…
UK's Gulf Keystone Petroleum Postpones Interim Statement
British oil producer Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd said it had delayed the release of its interim management statement to Nov. 13 as it was in talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq. Gulf Keystone returned its staff to the violence-hit Iraqi Kurdistan region earlier this month after evacuating them in August. The company had said production at its flagship Shaikan field was only affected by security threats for a day in August. Gulf Keystone also said it was postponing the release of its statement to co-ordinate with the reporting schedules of other producers in the area. The company was scheduled to report on the status of its operations on Oct. 30.
EU Looking at How to Stop Islamic State Oil Sales from Syria
The European Union is looking into how it could tighten sanctions to stop Islamic State militants from selling oil from fields they have overrun in Syria, a European diplomat said on Wednesday. The issue could come up at an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers called for Friday to discuss the humanitarian and security crisis in Iraq, where Islamic State fighters have made startling gains. Islamic State is selling crude oil and gasoline to finance their newly declared "caliphate" after seizing oil fields in both Iraq and Syria. The EU banned imports of Syrian oil in 2011 to intensify pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's government over its suppression of unrest.
Iraq's Kurds Have Right to Sell Oil While Squeezed by Baghdad
Iraq's Kurdish region has the right to keep selling oil as long as the Baghdad government keeps cutting its budget, the head of the Kurdish parliament's energy committee said on Tuesday, as an oil cargo off Texas was set to be seized at Baghdad's request. "The KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) has the right to sell oil if Baghdad continues to cut KRG's budget, disrupt the livelihood of its people and impose an embargo," Sherko Jawdat told Reuters. U.S. authorities were set on Tuesday to seize a cargo of crude worth more than $100 million from Iraqi Kurdistan anchored off the Texas coast after a judge approved a request from Baghdad…
Geopolitical Tensions Exacerbate Oil Supply Concerns
Libya's national oil company NOC spokesman said Sunday that the country's crude oil output has been increased to 47 million barrels a day, as El Sharara oilfield expand production at the end of the protest. Iraq's parliament on Sunday failed to break the political deadlock to form a new government. At this time Islamic militants have been approaching Baghdad from the capital less than 50 miles (80 kilometers). Did not produce any results after the end of the parliamentary session, and suburban Baghdad suffered bomb attacks. A senior source in…
Kurds Seize Iraq Oilfields, Ministers Pull out of Govt.
Kurdish forces seized two oilfields in northern Iraq and took over operations from a state-run oil company on Friday, while Kurdish politicians formally suspended their participation in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government. The moves escalated a feud between the Shi'ite-led central government and the autonomous Kurdish region driven by a Sunni insurgency which threatens to fragment Iraq along sectarian and ethnic lines three years after the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The Kurdish forces took over production facilities at the Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oilfields near the city of Kirkuk, the oil ministry in Baghdad said.
Oil Hit Two-month Lows on Easing Geopolitical Risk
Crude oil futures hit two-month lows on Friday, heading towards a third consecutive week of losses as fears of supply shortages in the Middle East and North Africa receded. The North Sea benchmark slipped below $107 per barrel, on track for its steepest weekly decline since January, while U.S. crude fell towards $101 as evaporating geopolitical risk prompted traders to short the market. "We continue to see some liquidation selling in the market," said Gene McGillian, an analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. Brent fell $1.68 to $106.99 a barrel by 12:07 a.m. EDT (1607 GMT). It earlier touched $106.85, the lowest intraday price since May 1. U.S.
Iraqi Kurdish Oil in Hand, Plans to Increase exports
Iraqi Kurdish control of the northern part of the main oilfields after Wednesday drew up plans to rapidly increase oil exports, a move likely to sustain damage after the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq unified agreement. Kurdish Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami told Reuters that Kurdish plans by the end of 2015 will raise its oil exports seven times, which will include the Kurdish oil fields occupied by the army two weeks ago. "We expect exports out at the end of the day to reach 100 million barrels, including Kirkuk crude oil production," he said. But he was adamant expressed that Kurdish oil profits will be shared with Baghdad.
Oil Majors Cut Staff in Iraq on Violence Fears
Some oil companies are pulling foreign staff from Iraq, fearing Sunni militants from the north could strike at major oilfields concentrated in the Shi'ite south despite moves by the Baghdad government to tighten security. Iraqi officials say the southern regions that produce some 90 percent of the country's oil are completely safe from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which has seized much of the north in a week as Baghdad's forces there collapsed. The government says 100,000 police dedicated to protecting oil facilities are on high alert and well armed. But oil firms are taking no chances with the foreign expert staff who could be prime targets for jihadists.
Kurdistan Wants Up to 25% of Iraq Oil Revenue
The Kurdistan Regional Government believes its share of total Iraqi oil sales should be as high as 25 percent, the KRG's official spokesman said on Monday. It argues budget cuts from Baghdad had driven it to pursue independent oil sales outside the federal government's control. Safeen Dizayee, the former foreign affairs and education minister for the KRG, now the autonomous government's official spokesman, said that while under existing agreements Arbil is supposed to receive 17 percent of Iraqi oil revenues, the total figure should be far higher based on its growing population and rising oil output.
Oil Prices Spike on Iraq Anxiety, Stocks Dip
Brent at 3-mo high, U.S. U.S. Crude oil prices spiked on Thursday on worries over supply as violence escalated in Iraq, while a worldwide equities gauge edged down after Wall Street opened lower. Crude jumped after Iraqi Kurdish forces took control of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, in the face of a triumphant Sunni Islamist rebel march towards Baghdad that threatens Iraq's future as a unified state. Brent crude futures rose the most in more than three months to a high of $112.34 a barrel, the highest since early March. U.S. crude added 1.7 percent to its highest since September. Prices could rise further as events unfold in Iraq.
Turkey Says Oil Flow From Iraqi Kurdistan Unaffected
The flow of crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan is unaffected by the violence in Iraq and is continuing at around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Wednesday. Iraqi Kurdistan exported its first oil cargoes via Ceyhan last month, defying the Baghdad government, which claims sole authority over Iraqi crude oil. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Kurdistan defies Baghdad in Crude Oil Sale
Move likely to infuriate Iraqi government in Baghdad; first 1 million barrel cargo being loaded at Ceyhan, Turkey. Tanker scheduled to sail later on Thursday, buyer not identified. Iraqi Kurdistan started loading oil from its new pipeline for shipment from a Turkish port on Thursday, defying the Baghdad government, which claims sole authority over Iraqi crude and declares any independently sold oil as 'smuggled'. The cargo of 1 million barrels of crude oil was being loaded on a tanker in the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told Reuters on Thursday. "Loading will be completed today," Yildiz said, declining to name the buyer.
