English Edition

EU Confirms July 3 Meeting with Iran on Nuclear Program

Δευ, 2 Ιουλίου 2012 - 17:55

The European Union hopes Iran will take the opportunity of a technical meeting about its nuclear program Tuesday to show it is ready to take concrete steps to address international concerns about its activities, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs said Monday.

Iran Calls for Opec Meeting After Oil Price Dip

Δευ, 2 Ιουλίου 2012 - 14:19

Iran has asked for an emergency Opec meeting because of the recent fall in oil prices. Opec members agreed to hold an emergency meeting when they last met in on 14 June in Vienna if oil prices fell below $100/bl, the Iranian oil ministry news service Shana quoted Iran's oil minister Rostam Qasemi.

Electricity Prices Rise 13%, Nat Gas Bills Up 4.88% as of July 1

Δευ, 2 Ιουλίου 2012 - 12:35

Bulgaria's energy regulator has decided to raise electricity prices by about 13% and natural gas bills by 4.88% as of July 1.The hike of electricity prices is bigger than the initially announced 10%. The price adjustment is due to the so called green energy tariff add-on, Angel Semerdjiev said during a parliamentary sitting on Friday

Saudi Arabia Reopens Oil Pipeline to Bypass Hormuz if Needed

Παρ, 29 Ιουνίου 2012 - 19:23

Saudi Arabia has reopened an oil pipeline, built by Iraq in the 1980s, which would allow them to ship crude to terminals on the Red Sea in the event Iran tries to block the Straits of Hormuz, Reuters reports on its website Thursday. The pipeline, which was built during the Iran-Iraq War, hasn't carried crude since Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Reuters said

Gazprom Says Has No Plans to Buy Back Shares

Παρ, 29 Ιουνίου 2012 - 19:21

Russia's natural-gas monopoly OAO Gazpromisn't considering a buyback of its own shares to support the market price, its Chief Executive Alexei Miller said Friday. Gazprom shares have lost about 13% since the start of the year, performing worse than the wider stock market index

Europe Prepared For Iranian Oil Embargo

Παρ, 29 Ιουνίου 2012 - 19:17

A European Union ban on the purchase of Iranian oil that comes into full force Sunday will be greeted with little fanfare by European customers. Many refiners have already turned to alternatives, and other countries, particularly Saudi Arabia but also Iraq, have increased production. The increased output comes as the euro zone's crisis dents oil demand. That has left Europe's refiners well-positioned to weather the July 1 cutoff in Iranian supplies

German Lawmakers Strike Deal On Underground CO2 Storage

Πεμ, 28 Ιουνίου 2012 - 18:23

German lawmakers have reached a compromise that in principle allows the underground storage of carbon dioxide, a technology known as carbon capture and storage, or CCS, a system considered crucial in making power generation from fossil-fuels such as coal more climate friendly, the upper house of parliament said late Wednesday. First reactions from the energy industry, however, cast doubt on the effectiveness of the compromise, with concerns over whether the move will provide adequate incentives for investment in researching the technology

Russia Not Planning To Raise Oil, Gas Taxes For Several Years

Πεμ, 28 Ιουνίου 2012 - 18:21

Russia is facing a slowly declining output of oil, its main source of the foreign income, as companies are reluctant to invest in largely untapped fields in the Arctic and in Eastern Siberia. However, Russia has introduced tax breaks for the companies ready to explore oil and gas offshore, mostly in the Arctic, which has already resulted in three major international deals with Russia's state-controlled oil company OAO Rosneft

Gazprom: Ebitda May Fall 10% On Mineral Extraction Tax Increase

Πεμ, 28 Ιουνίου 2012 - 16:21

Gazprom's earnings before taxation, interest, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, may fall 10% due to the increase in Russia's mineral extraction tax, deputy board chairman Andrei Kruglov said, Interfax news agency reported Thursday

BP-led Shah Deniz Selects Nabucco West as 2nd Caspian Pipeline Option

Πεμ, 28 Ιουνίου 2012 - 16:01

BP PLC and its partners in the Shah Deniz gas field have selected the Nabucco West pipeline concept over the BP-backed South East Europe Pipeline as one of the two final options to be considered when the consortium decides on a route to pipe Caspian gas to Europe next year. Nabucco West will now be paired off in a two-horse race with the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, known as TAP, for the right to export gas from the giant Shah Deniz development offshore Azerbaijan. A final decision is due in 2013

Saipem Wins $1 Billion Onshore Contracts in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria

Τετ, 27 Ιουνίου 2012 - 19:45

Saipem SpA , Europe's biggest oil services company by market value, Wednesday said it had won onshore engineering and construction projects worth a combined $1 billion in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. In a statement, Saipem said the Saudi deal was for the expansion of the integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex in the city of Rabigh on the Western coast

Strike Cuts 15% Of Norway Oil Output, 7% Of Gas Output

Τετ, 27 Ιουνίου 2012 - 19:44

A Norwegian oil workers' strike has shut down 240,000 barrels a day, or 15%, of the country's oil production, and 11.9 million cubic meters a day, or 7%, of its natural-gas output, the Oil Industry Association told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday, a significant cut which could push oil prices upwards. The strike was launched Sunday, due to a disagreement about an early pensions deal. Some 700 oil workers on four different offshore installations, including the Heidrun and Oseberg platforms, are now striking

Total Starts Production at Iraq's Halfaya Oil Field With PetroChina, Petronas

Τετ, 27 Ιουνίου 2012 - 19:37

French oil giant Total SA said Wednesday it has started production at Iraq's Halfaya oil field as part of a consortium led by operator PetroChina, with partners Petronas Caligari and the Iraqi state partner South Oil Company. The company said that production should reach, in its first phase, an average of 70,000 barrels of oil a day

Gazprom Sees No Grounds To Review Prices For Ukraine

Τετ, 27 Ιουνίου 2012 - 19:35

Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom sees no reason to review gas prices for Ukraine, the company's head Alexei Miller told reporters Wednesday, Interfax news agency reported. "The prices are absolutely the same as they are on the market. I may say that for Ukraine the prices are much lower than for a number of European countries," Mr. Miller told journalists in Kiev

BP to Double Down on Gas Pipelines to Europe, Despite Rising Costs

Τετ, 27 Ιουνίου 2012 - 17:34

BP PLC is set to invest in two pipeline projects aimed at carrying Caspian natural gas to Europe, in a sign the oil giant is doubling-down on its involvement in the Shah Deniz project despite a projected 25% rise in costs. U.K.-listed BP leads Shah Deniz 2, a consortium of companies developing a giant gas field in Azerbaijan's chunk of the Caspian basin, a project that the European Union sees as key to its energy security because it will start relieving the bloc's dependence on Russian imports

New EU Sanctions Will Hurt Nuclear Talks - Iran

Τρι, 26 Ιουνίου 2012 - 17:04

New European Union sanctions that are due to come into effect against Iran on Sunday will hurt negotiations over the country's nuclear program, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said. "Actions that are against the agreements between Iran and the P5+1 will have a negative impact on reaching an acceptable resolution," he told reporters on Tuesday in his regular weekly briefing