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Natural Gas Prices Swing Higher as Storm Brews in Gulf
Natural gas prices ticked up Wednesday, beginning to reverse two days of losses as a storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico continued to strengthen. Natural gas for October delivery rose 2.1 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.847 a million Brutish thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday morning. A tropical depression in the Gulf appeared to be heading toward the Florida’s Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning that the storm will likely become a tropical storm later today, and could be near hurricane strength by the time landfall occurs. The government’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Tuesday that concerns over Tropical Depression No. 9 in the Gulf of Mexico have led companies to shut in some 10% of natural gas production in the gulf waters. But the Gulf now accounts for a smaller share of natural gas production in the U.S., as […]
Oil steadies as Saudi sees OPEC ‘common position’
Oil prices steadied on Thursday after Saudi Arabia said OPEC was moving towards a common position on oil production that some investors think could support prices. Brent crude futures for November were unchanged at $46.89 a barrel by 0825 GMT (0425 ET) after settling $1.84 lower at Wednesday’s close. U.S. crude futures were up 5 cents to $44.75 a barrel, after falling $1.65 in the previous session. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Thursday that OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers were increasingly moving towards a common position. “I think there is a move toward a common position, toward a common effort,” he told an event in Tokyo. Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are due to meet in Algeria on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum (IEF) on […]
Standoff With Iran Inflames Anti-Shiite Feelings in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s intensifying standoff with Iran has inflamed anti-Shiite sentiment in the kingdom, resulting in displays of hostility toward the minority group that play into the hands of Islamic State’s efforts to destabilize the country. Under King Salman, the Sunni-led kingdom has moved to counter what it sees as Shiite Iran’s interference in Arab affairs. Riyadh last year intervened militarily in Yemen against pro-Iranian Houthi rebels , and in January it severed diplomatic ties with Tehran , pressuring allies to do the same. But the official stance has stoked simmering sectarian tensions at home. Hostility toward Shiites in Saudi Arabia is on wide display, whether on social media or in the televised speeches of hard-line Saudi clerics. During celebrations in July marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the central town of Kharj, a group of Saudi schoolgirls wearing small white crowns performed an operetta […]
Shell announces new natural gas discoveries in Egypt’s Western Desert
Logos of Shell is pictured at a gas station in the western Canakkale province, Turkey April 25, 2016. Royal Dutch Shell announced on Wednesday new natural gas discoveries in a concession area of north Alam El-Shawish in Egypt’s western desert. The initial quantities discovered were estimated at about half a trillion cubic feet of gas with more possible reserves, Eden Murphy, chairman and CEO of Shell said in a statement. The discovery could produce from 10 to 15 percent of the total production of Badr el-Din Petroleum company, which is a joint venture acting on behalf of the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Shell in production operations, Murphy added. Shell owns the license of the entire area, which includes the well. Badr el-Din is expected to manage the operations. (Reporting by Alaa Roushdy; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
Oil Wars: Can Russia Hold Off Middle Eastern Oil In Eastern Europe
Russia still has supremacy over Central and Eastern Europe, especially over its crude oil market. However, Middle-East countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, have recently entered this traditional Russian trade because every oil producing country is searching for new markets and bigger market share regardless of the price. Last year, oil from the Saudi Kingdom arrived in Poland for the first time, and in August this year Iranian crude came back to the Polish market after being absent for a couple of years. Hungary, the second biggest export destination for Russian oil in the region, has increased the import of fuel from Iraqi Kurdistan, while Ukraine, the greatest adversary of Russia, is trying to become the gate to Eastern and Central Europe for National Iranian Oil Company. It appears that the energy supply security has increased in the region, but will oil from the Middle East be a […]
