Iraq oil pipeline repaired, full exports to resume in 24 hours

An oil pipeline linking Iraq's Kirkuk fields to Turkey's Ceyhan port was repaired on Friday and export levels were expected to return to normal within 24 hours, two sources at the state-run North Oil Company said. "We started a test flow at around 1630 local time (1330 GMT) and exports will be restored to normal rates of more than 90,000 barrels per day within 24 hours," one of the officials said. Operations were halted on Monday morning because of a "technical defect" in the pipeline from a field near Dibis, 45 km (30 miles) northwest of Kirkuk, which caused crude to spill. Repairs have taken longer than originally expected, but it was not immediately clear why..... Read more »

Posted on : 10/20/2016

UAE oil giant ADNOC to consolidate three firms in efficiency drive

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) said on Tuesday it would consolidate the operations of three of its shipping, marine and services companies into one firm in order to increase efficiency. Abu Dhabi National Tanker Co, Petroleum Services Co and Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Operating Co will be combined. "By leveraging the experience and assets across the three companies, we aim to deliver an improved and cost-effective service to meet the needs of the ADNOC Group," the group's chief executive Sultan Al Jaber said. Integration is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, ADNOC said. The new company would operate over 165 vessels, including liquefied natural gas and bulk carriers, chemicals and products tankers, and container and container-feeder vessels..... Read more »

Posted on : 10/19/2016

Qatargas signs deal to supply natural gas to Sharjah, RAK

Dolphin energy and Qatar Petroleum have signed a long-term agreement to supply natural gas to the United Arab Emirates. Gulf Arab countries who once saw natural gas largely as a byproduct of their oil production and often sold it cheaply to local industries are now eager consumers of gas in a region where population growth has driven up demand for electricity. "Qatar Petroleum will deliver additional quantities of gas to Dolphin for export to the UAE through the existing 48-inch subsea pipeline," state-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) said in a statement on Wednesday. It did not provide details on the timeframe of the deal it called a "long term gas sale and purchase agreement" or the amount of gas to be supplied..... Read more »

Posted on : 10/19/2016

UAE's RAK Petroleum completes $850m offshore project in Ivory Coast

UAE-based RAK Petroleum plc has announced the completion of a four-year $850 million field development programme in an offshore project in the Ivory Coast. The Oslo-listed oil and gas investment company said in a statement that operator Foxtrot International has brought on stream two new gas fields, Marlin and Manta, following the installation of a manned platform and related processing and pipeline facilities which will drill one exploration and seven production wells. Gas production from Block CI-27 has climbed to an average of 170 million cubic feet per day in August, constituting more than three-quarters of Ivory Coast's total, the statement said..... Read more »

Posted on : 10/19/2016

Saudi Aramco says to invest $334bn by 2025

Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco plans to invest a total of about $334 billion by 2025, including spending on infrastructure and projects to maintain oil capacity, a senior Aramco official said on Monday. Abdulaziz al-Abdulkarim, vice president for procurement and supply chain management, told a conference in Bahrain that the figure included spending on exploring for and developing unconventional resources, such as shale gas. "Saudi Aramco is forecast to spend around $334 billion. This will be spent on material and services to support service facilities, infrastructure projects, drilling and maintain (oil) potential projects, unconventional resources both in the exploration phase and development and several other projects," he told the conference. "That is the 10-year investment. It's everything. You talk about pipelines, you talk about bulk plants, you talk about power plants, there is a lot of investment, of course upstream facilities whether it's oil or gas," he later told reporters..... Read more »

Posted on : 10/19/2016

Fujairah set to open UAE's first berth for huge crude carriers

The UAE's first berth for very large crude carriers (VLCC) will be inaugurated in the Indian Ocean sea port of Fujairah on Wednesday by Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah. Fujairah's oil terminal, considered the world's largest bunkering facility in terms of operational capacity, is set to enhance Fujairah's strategic position as a key hub for global oil trade, amid growing demand for oil, news agency WAM reported. "The inauguration of the VLCC-1, the first of its kind in Fujairah, will support the demand for energy in the UAE and help keep pace with developments in this competitive sector," said Sheikh Saleh bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, chairman of the Department of Industry and Economy at the Government of Al Fujairah, and chairman of the board of directors of Fujairah Sea Port. The seaport has been in operation since 1983, but the new VLCC facility will further establish the emirate of Fujairah and the UAE as key regional and global energy trade hubs, he added. .... Read more »

Posted on : 10/19/2016

Qatar's $10bn Barzan gas project said to start in November

Qatar will begin operations at its Barzan gas project in November, two people close to the matter told Reuters on Sunday, as the Gulf state strives to meet rising domestic energy demand as it prepares to host the soccer World Cup in 2022. The $10 billion project, a RasGas-operated joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil, was originally expected to come online in 2014. It will boost Qatari gas production by up to 2 billion cubic feet per day when it reaches capacity in the first half of 2017, the sources said on condition of anonymity because the information was not public. RasGas and Exxon Mobil representatives were not immediately available to comment..... Read more »

Posted on : 10/19/2016

Dubai plans world's largest solar project

Dubai: The largest Concentrated Solar Power (CPS) project to be built on a single site in the world will begin power generation in Dubai within the next five years, officials announced on Thursday. The long view is that the new CPS site will generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) of power by 2030 as part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy to generate 75 per cent of Dubai’s power from clean energy by 2050. Concentrated solar power is generated by circular rings of solar mirrors called heliostats that direct sunlight into a central collection tower where the sun’s rays power a steam turbine to generate electricity. The project will surpass the existing world’s largest CPS tower in Morocco that has a power generating capacity of 150MW, senior energy officials said. Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), announced the project at a press conference at Burj Khalifa, pledging a cleaner, self-sufficient future for Dubai through renewable energy..... Read more »

Posted on : 10/18/2016

LED smart lighting for Dubai Canal bridges

Dubai: More than 200 environmentally friendly smart LED lighting units have been installed on the Dubai Canal bridges, with more planned in Dubai in the future, RTA said on Sunday. Salem Al Rimawi, Roads, Lighting and Traffic Signal manager, said the smart LED lighting posts save at least 50 per cent more energy than normal lamp posts, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. “The lighting units have a remote control and monitoring system that reduces the cost of operations and maintenance,” Al Rimawi said at Gitex Technology Week, explaining that each unit sends data wirelessly to the control room, so there is no need to send teams to physically inspect the units, thereby reducing maintenance costs. “When there is an issue the system will alert us. We will send someone, but there is no need for routine visits,” he said. The units also allow the RTA to control the intensity of the light remotely if needed, which also helps in conserving energy..... Read more »

Posted on : 10/18/2016

Kuwait approves plan to set up its 'largest oil company'

Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) has approved a request by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) to set up what would become the country’s largest oil company. The Kuwait Integrated Petrochemical Industries Company will have a capital of $6bn (KD1.8bn) of which 25 percent, $1.5bn (KD450mn), is paid, reported Kuwait News Agency KUNA. The new company will have a production capacity of around 615,000 barrels per day, according to Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery deputy chief executive officer Ahmed Al-Jeemaz. Al-Jeemaz added 40 percent of its production will be devoted to low-sulfur fuel power stations. .... Read more »

Posted on : 10/18/2016