Informal Istanbul OPEC Talks Were Positive
An informal meeting between OPEC energy ministers, Russia and Mexico in Istanbul on Wednesday yielded positive results and a wide spectrum of producers will attend a high-level meeting in Vienna at the end of this month, Qatar's energy minister said. Emerging from the Istanbul meeting, Mohammed al-Sada told reporters there had been a "positive understanding of the situation on what could be the role of OPEC and what could be the role of non-OPEC" in balancing the oil market. Algeria's energy minister also said Wednesday's meeting had been "very positive" and that he hoped for more positive results in Vienna.
Algerian Oil Min Wants Commitments on Supply From Non-OPEC Members
Algerian Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa said on Monday he expects to see commitments on supply cuts from non-OPEC oil producers at gatherings in Istanbul, describing them as "consultations" ahead of November's OPEC meeting in Vienna. Asked if he expected a strong commitment from non-OPEC members at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul this week, Bouterfa told Reuters: "why not?". OPEC is trying to nail down details of a deal to cut production agreed last month in Algiers. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Writing by Nick Tattersall)
TurkStream Project Will Have Two Gas Pipelines
The TurkStream gas project from Russia to Turkey will consist of two gas pipelines, both for use by Turkey and for delivery to Europe, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. He told a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin that building the pipelines quickly was a priority. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Nick Tattersall)
Turkey Repairing Iraqi Kurdish Oil Pipeline as Violence Flares
Turkey has begun work to repair a pipeline taking crude oil from northern Iraq to the Mediterranean through its restive southeast and aims to restore flows soon, the Turkish energy ministry said on Saturday. The pipeline, which has been repeatedly sabotaged in recent months, normally carries some 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region and the disputed Kirkuk oil fields to the port of Ceyhan for export. Rising security threats in Turkey's southeast mean Iraqi Kurdish exports to world markets through the pipeline could remain halted for another two weeks, Turkish shipping and industry sources said on Friday.
Turkey hikes taxes on alcohol; electricity - prices rise
Turkey has hiked taxes on tobacco and alcohol for the new year, while its energy market regulator has also increased electricity prices as of Jan. 1 to fund investment and production. Taxes on alcoholic beverages including beer, gin, vodka and raki have been raised by between 12 and 15 percent, according to an announcement in the Official Gazette late on Friday. The minimum fixed tax rate on cigarettes rose by five percent. The moves come after Turkey increased the minimum wage by 30 percent as of Jan. 1, a step which the country's labour minister said on Wednesday could add 0.5-0.8 percentage points to inflation.
Greek Coast Guard Seizes Weapons Ship Bound for Libya
Greek authorities have seized a freighter carrying an undeclared shipment of weapons en route from Turkey to Libya, coast guard officials said on Wednesday. A coast guard patrol boat raided the vessel on Tuesday, 20 nautical miles northeast of Crete. The freighter, with a crew of seven and which had sailed from the Turkish port of Iskenderun, was escorted to Heraklion port on the island. The United Nations has imposed an embargo on weapons shipments to Libya, which is plagued by factional conflict. "The ship's crew is being questioned and the content of its containers will be checked," a coast guard official said, declining to be named.
Turkey Hikes Diesel Price on Weak Lira
Turkey has raised the price of diesel after a weaker lira pushed up the cost of its crude oil imports, an industry source told Reuters on Monday, a move which could put further pressure on stubbornly high inflation. The price of standard diesel is now 3.27 liras per liter, which the source said will go up 0.09 lira per liter at midnight on Tuesday (2200 GMT on Monday), the source said. The move comes after the lira dropped to a series of record lows against the dollar in recent weeks. Turkey depends on imports for almost all its energy. Its annual energy bill comes to around $60 billion.
Mass Global, Iraqi Banks to Fund Power Plant
Private firm Mass Global and Iraqi banks will finance a $3 billion, 3,000 megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant being built by Turkey's Enka Insaat in the Iraqi city of Bismayah, the companies said on Thursday. Enka said on Tuesday it would sign a deal this week with Mass Global for the plant but gave no details. At a signing ceremony in Istanbul, Mass Global chairman Ahmed Ismail Saleh said the total cost of the plant in Bismayah, just south of Baghdad, would be close to $3 billion. Enka Insaat chairman Sinan Tara said it would be financed partly from Mass Global's equity and partly from Iraqi lenders.
Oil Deal Between Iraqi Kurdistan & Baghdad Welcomed
The United States welcomes an agreement between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and its northern Kurdistan region over the management of oil exports, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Saturday. Biden told an Atlantic Council summit in Istanbul that Washington also supported the development of an oil pipeline from Iraq's Basra to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Dasha Afanasieva; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Jonny Hogg and Alison Williams)
Iraqi Kurdistan Oil Shipments Reach 8.8m Barrels
Iraqi Kurdistan has shipped 8.8 million barrels of oil from the Turkish port of Ceyhan since May, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said, as the autonomous region employs new tactics to establish independent oil sales in defiance of Baghdad. Sources and energy officials had told Reuters on Thursday that the sales from Ceyhan via the autonomous regions new pipeline were more than 8 million barrels in 11 tankers. A U.S. court on Monday threw out an order to seize some 1 million barrels of disputed Iraqi Kurdish crude oil from a tanker near Texas, a move that could allow the cargo to be delivered and end a nearly month-long impasse. "The U.S.
Erdogan Sworn in as Turkey President, Consolidates Power
Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey's president on Thursday, cementing his position as its most powerful leader of recent times, in a step opponents fear heralds more authoritarian rule and widening religious influence in public life. Reading the oath of office in a ceremony in parliament, Erdogan vowed to protect Turkey's independence and integrity, to abide by the constitution and by the principles of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern secular republic. Erdogan, who had been prime minister since 2003, has consistently presented his time in office as a historic mission to transform Turkey domestically and as a regional power.
Iraqi Chaos Seen Slowing, Not Scuppering Turkish Export Drive
The chaos in Iraq could cost Turkey some $2-2.5 billion in lost trade this year, slowing efforts to boost exports and rebalance the economy, but the long-term impact will be negligible unless the situation deteriorates sharply, economists said. Exports to Iraq, Turkey's second largest foreign market, fell 19.3 percent to $745 million in June, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute showed on Friday, a sharp decline but broadly in line with expectations. A lightning advance by the Sunni insurgent group Islamic State, which swept through north and west Iraq last month…
ExxonMobil in Talks With Turkey Over Shale Gas Exploration
U.S. oil firm ExxonMobil is in talks with state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation over a venture to explore for shale gas in the country's southeast and northwest regions, a Turkish energy official said. Exxon held talks with TPAO in 2012 to over a partnership in shale, but the negotiations were inconclusive. Turkish officials say talks have since advanced and are likely to result in an agreement. "ExxonMobil is coming to Turkey to partner up with TPAO," Selami Incedalci, the head of the energy ministry's General Directorate of Petroleum Affairs, said late on Sunday.
Iraqi Kurdistan Loads Third Oil Cargo in Turkey
A third tanker carrying piped crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan is being loaded at Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, a source at the Turkish energy ministry told Reuters On Friday. The source said the loading was expected to be completed by Saturday and that the tanker would be carrying 1 million barrels of Kurdish oil. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
Turkey's Elsan Elektrik Places Top Bid of $1.1 Billion for Power Plant
Turkey's Elsan Elektrik placed a top bid of $1.09 billion in a government tender to privatise a coal-fired power plant with 630 megawatts of installed capacity. The Privatisation Administration's sale of the state-operated Yatagan power plant in southwestern Turkey is part of a wider power-market liberalisation aimed at boosting investment. (Reporting by Ozge Ozbilgin; Writing by Ayla Jean Yackley; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
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)
Turkey's TPAO Will Pay $1.45 bln for Total's Stake in Shah Deniz
Turkey's state oil company TPAO will pay $1.45 billion for French energy company Total's 10 percent stake in Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas project, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Friday. The agreement, signed at a ceremony in Istanbul earlier, increases TPAO's stake to 19 percent from a previous 9 percent, while Total exits the project. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Ece Toksabay)
Hope Fades for Survivors after Turkish Mine Fire
Hopes faded of finding more survivors in a coal mine in western Turkey on Wednesday, where 238 workers were confirmed killed and 120 more still feared to be trapped in what is likely to prove the nation's worst ever industrial disaster. Anger over the deadly fire at the mine about 480 km (300 miles) southwest of Istanbul echoed across a country that has seen a decade of rapid economic growth but still suffers from one of the world's worst workplace safety records. Opponents blamed Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government for ignoring repeated warnings about the safety of the country's mines.
120 Workers Still Believed Trapped in Coal Mine
Around 120 workers were still thought to be trapped in a coal mine in western Turkey where 238 miners were killed after a fire, in one of the country's worst ever industrial disasters, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. (Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
Turkish Prime Minister Says 238 Killed in Coal Mine Disaster
The death toll in a coal mine disaster in western Turkey rose to 238 on Wednesday, with 80 more injured, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. "According to the first indications, 238 of our workers lost their lives and 80 were injured," Erdogan told a news conference after visiting the mine in Soma, about 480 kilometres (298 miles) southwest of Istanbul. (Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
