Video - Iranian Scientist Takes His Water Powered Car For a Spin

Iran May Reduce Its Oil Output as Part of an OPEC Deal if Saudis accept Iran's conditions.

Iran May Reduce Its Oil Output as Part of an OPEC Deal if Saudis accept Iran's conditions. (Taz).

OPEC will debate an oil output cut of 4.0-4.5 percent for all of its members except Libya and Nigeria next week.

According to a report covered by Fars, sources said Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies have signaled they were prepared to cut close to 1 million bpd of their output.

Under the Algerian proposal, Iran was asked to cut 4.5 percent from almost 4 million bpd, according to sources. But Tehran has signaled it wants to cut from higher levels of 4.1-4.2 million bpd, one of the sources said.

Iraq was asked to cut about 200,000 bpd. Baghdad is also still debating whether it should cut from the levels of OPEC’s estimates or its own, higher, production figures. Read the full story here.

OPEC manipulating Numbers to show a lower production output from Iraq and Iran.

OPEC manipulating Numbers to show a lower production output from Iraq and Iran. (taz).

While Iraq requested to be exempt from OPEC’s oil freeze and has puts its September output about 335,000 barrels per day more than OPEC’s estimated figure for September, another member of Cartel, Iran, claims its oil production last month was 3.89 million barrels per day (mb/d), while OPEC's figure for Iran was 3.665 mb/d.

"OPEC’s statistics based on secondary resources are not true. Iran’s output was 3.89 mb/d in September," an official from National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) told Trend on conditions of anonymity Oct.27.

Before, Ali Kardor, the head of NIOC told Trend Oct.17 that OPEC has put Iran’s oil output figure about 250,000 barrels per day less than the real volume.

Iraq announced this week that it is at war with terrorist groups and needs to be exempted from OPEC’s oil freeze plan.

PS: Russia won't cut production output either.

OPEC puts Iran's oil output less than real volume.

OPEC puts Iran's oil output less than real volume. (Taz).

OPEC has put Iran’s oil output figure about 250,000 barrels per day less than the real volume, Ali Kardor the managing director of Iranian National Oil Company told Trend.

According to OPEC’s latest monthly report based on the secondary sources, Iran produced about 3.65 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil in September.


Kardor said that the country’s real crude oil output is 0.25 mb/d more than OPEC’s estimation.

Iran plans to boost oil output to 5.5-6 mb/d by 2021.Hmmmm......This won't pass on the next OPEC meeting in November. Iran will refuse any production output cuts.Read the full story here.

Kremlin spokesman: Rosneft CEO’s words on oil production freeze refusal quoted out of context.

Kremlin spokesman: Rosneft CEO’s words on oil production freeze refusal quoted out of context. (Tass).

Russia supports oil production freeze or contraction and words of Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin to the contrary may be quoted out of context, press secretary of Russian President Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Lukoil expects growth of oil production in Russia in 2017 — vice-president Novak says Russia is not considering oil production cut, only oil freeze on agenda Russia works on final version of oil production stabilization — minister Gazprom supports oil production freeze, not contraction

"Sechin’s words were given without an appropriate context in this case because his answer was lengthier and with greater details," Peskov said. "We do not see any contradictions [with position of the Russian President]," he added.

"Indeed, the official position was presented by President Vladimir Putin [in Istanbul] that it is desirable to freeze [oil production] volumes or contract them," Peskov said. Read the full story here.

Russia ready to join OPEC decision to limit crude output — Putin.

Russia ready to join OPEC decision to limit crude output — Putin. (Tass).

Russia is ready to join the decision on freeze or reduction of crude production, which is important for keeping stability on the oil market, President Vladimir Putin said at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul on Monday.

"In the current situation we consider the freeze or even reduction of crude production to be probably the only correct decision to keep the sustainability of the whole global energy (market)," Putin said, adding that the move will help the market to regain equilibrium.

"Russia is ready to join the joint efforts to limit (crude) production and urges other oil exporters to do the same," he said, adding that he hopes the OPEC meeting in November will result in "certain agreements."

According to Putin, capital spending in oil production has dropped by almost $0.5 trillion in two years and the decline in investment in geological exploration has caused "the smallest oil reserves growth in 70 years."

"We’ve been witnessing a massive revocation of investment decisions on projects, which are now considered as economically unviable," he said, adding that "if these trends persist the lack of financing will become chronic and the global excessive production of energy resources will inevitably turn into a deficit and new unpredictable price shocks and will eventually hurt both producers and consumers."

In this respect, Russia welcomes the decision to freeze or reduce crude production, Putin said, adding that particular agreements reached in this sector with OPEC will give "a positive signal to markets and investors" and "will help subdue speculative activity and avoid new price fluctuations."

The Russian leader noted that there are no real grounds so far to say that the hydrocarbons era is close to its end.
"Many people start saying in conditions of the oil prices drop by almost twofold that the hydrocarbons era is approaching its end and time has already come to completely change the focus to alternative energy sources. I believe no real grounds are in place so far to make such far-reaching conclusions, at least for the time being," Putin said. Hmmm.....As i said before 2017 will see higher Oil prices, 2018 prices will depends on which US pres is elected. Read the full story here.

Iran Says Higher Global Oil Prices Essential, signals willingness to cooperate with OPEC.

Iran Says Higher Global Oil Prices Essential, signals willingness to cooperate with OPEC. (IFPnews).

In a telephone conversation with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday, Rouhani commended the stance adopted by Caracas at an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algeria in favor of maintaining Iran’s oil quota and raising its oil output to pre-sanctions levels.

“All must make efforts so that the committee of experts would take decisions to clear the way for increasing global oil price in the [OPEC] meeting in November,” the Iranian president said, adding that OPEC countries must hold “serious negotiations” with non-OPEC producers in order to increase and stabilize oil prices at international markets.

He also called for expert-level meetings to determine member countries’ oil export quotas.

OPEC members agreed during their extraordinary meeting in Algiers, Algeria, on Wednesday to limit production in an effort to raise the low crude prices. They decided to cut production by 750,000 barrels a day.

Iran, however, has been exempted from the decision because of its exceptional situation of having been under sanctions for a number of years.

Since the removal of nuclear-related sanctions targeting its oil industry in February, Iran – which is OPEC’s third largest producer after Saudi Arabia and Iraq – has been boosting production in order to reach previous levels and has rejected calls on the country to freeze production as unfair.

Iran, whose production has reached 3.6 million barrels per day, insists on its right to increase its crude output to around 4.1-4.2 million barrels per day.

OPEC is yet to decide on how much each country should produce during its next meeting in Vienna in November.

Non-OPEC producers including Russia will also be invited to join the deal.


The Venezuelan president, for his part, said Tehran and Caracas have common and coordinated stances on regional and international developments, particularly on OPEC-related issues. Hmmm.....as i always said once Iran reaches pre sanction level of production they will talk, now who is willing to abandon part of his market?

Crude oil dips after OPEC boost.

Crude oil dips after OPEC boost. (Reuters).

Oil prices, however, edged off their highs as some investors took profits on Wednesday's more than 5 percent surge, which was prompted by OPEC's first deal to limit output since 2008. Scepticism over how it would be implemented also crept in.

"Everything you’re seeing today is a response to the move in crude and the possible coordination necessary for OPEC to do what it has announced. Even though I think the agreement is probably a bit flimsy, the amount of coordination is part of the reason for the rally in risk,"

Each Opec member's output levels will be decided at the next formal OPEC meeting in Vienna in November, when non-OPEC countries such as Russia could also be invited to join the cuts.

Goldman Sachs said the deal could add as much as $10 to oil prices ion the first half of next year but, given the uncertainty of the proposal, stuck to its year-end and 2017 oil price forecasts.

Brent crude, the international benchmark was down 61 cents, 1.3 percent, at $48.08 per barrel, after rising to as high as $49.09 on Wednesday.

"Even if there's a 5 percent rise in oil prices, this will not trigger a strong rebound in inflation and at these levels, oil output is still higher than demand so we're unlikely to see a massive rally in oil," he said. Hmmm......Opec only controls 48% of the World Oil production. Making oil more expensive is only the green light for the US Shale oil. Read the full story here.

#Islamic Oil Minister Zangeneh:#Iran won't accept any oil production ceiling before we regain pre-sanctions level of 4 million barrels a day

— Amir Taheri (@AmirTaheri4) September 28, 2016

#Oil prices fall on #OPEC deal skepticism https://t.co/ikuCuITSAA via @WSJ pic.twitter.com/q4M06vAKeN

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) September 29, 2016

Ananlyst says OPEC’s oil output freeze deal poses no threat to Russian production https://t.co/S4OM1XhUkd

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) September 29, 2016

Iran ahead of OPEC Meeting: 'No output cuts before we reach pre-sanctions market share.'

Iran Rebukes Saudi Arabia ahead of OPEC Meeting. (IFP).

“Naturally, if a country wants to produce at full capacity, there will be no balance in the market,” Deputy Petroleum Minister for Trade and International Affairs Amir Hossein Zamaninia said late Saturday.

The official did not name a country, but his comments were apparently directed at Saudi Arabia which recently backed out of an agreement with Russia and other countries to freeze crude production.

Riyadh has been insisting that all countries join the freeze initiative, singling out Iran which has been ramping up production to redeem its lost market share after the lifting of Western sanctions.

Zamaninia stressed that Iran is ready for cooperation but that it has to return to former production levels first. “Iran can cooperate in this regard when it returns to the (market) share before the sanctions.”

Reviving Quota System.

He said OPEC countries need to find a way to revive the quota system which Saudi Arabia scuppered in December 2011 and introduced an output ceiling of 30 million barrels per day (bpd).

His remarks to reporters came after Algerian Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa met with Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh in Tehran. Bouterfa has travelled to Iran ahead of an OPEC meeting on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum (IEF), which groups producers and consumers, in Algeria on Sept. 26-28.

Zamaninia said 90% of Algeria’s budget depends on oil and gas revenues, but that lower prices have extremely put the North African country’s finances under strain.

He said Bouterfa had made some proposals to strike a balance in the oil market in order to prop up prices in a reasonable way.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Zanganeh, the Algerian energy minister said a crude oil price of $50 per barrel is “not acceptable.”

“OPEC members are trying to reach a price of $50 to $60 per barrel and we have made a request for reaching consensus on a price and coordination among OPEC members in this regard,” Bouterfa said.
The Algerian minister said conditions were ready for reaching consensus on a price in the next OPEC meeting which all members will attend and the outcome will be “positive.”

Bouterfa said Iran’s participation in the next meeting was important even as he did not say whether the Islamic Republic would accept other members’ views about production and prices.

“This depends on Iran’s view. How much consensus would be there, I cannot answer this question and you must ask this from Iranian officials,” he told reporters.

Putin’s Compromise on Iran.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying that a potential oil output freeze deal among oil-exporting countries should involve some compromise on Iran’s production levels.

“I think that from the point of view of economic expediency and logic, it would be right to find some sort of compromise” on the Iranian output level, Putin told Bloomberg.

He said countries now recognize that Iran should be allowed to continue raising production as sanctions have been lifted against the country.

“Iran is starting from a very low position, connected with the well-known sanctions in relation to this country,” the Russian president said, adding, “It would be unfair to leave it on this sanctioned level.”
Global oil prices have seen a fall from a high of 147 dollars a barrel to a low of around 25 dollars in recent years.

Putin held Saudi Arabia responsible for failed attempts by OPEC and non-OPEC oil exporters to reach a pact on stabilizing production levels.


“It wasn’t us who rejected a freeze on production volumes, it was our Saudi partners who at the last minute changed their point of view and decided to take a time out in taking this decision,” Putin said, referring to a deal reached in Qatar in April.

The Outlook for Oil prices.

The Outlook for Oil prices. (Taz).

I'm posting this because I agree with him the increase in Price per barrels is temporary, it will come back down.

Short Term.

In the next 3 to 6 months, in the absence of major coordinated production cuts, I believe we will see the market price collapse, possibly to levels which test the lows of $26/barrel or so reached in January of this year.

In my analysis, the doubling of market benchmark prices (US WTI and North Sea Brent/BFOE grades) since then represents a financial bubble. This was created by the purchase of massive futures contract positions by managed funds. These market positions - only some of which are the hedge funds whom commentators blame - are supported by liquidity sourced from Euro Quantitative Easing by the European Central Bank.

Furthermore, the current market noise blaming supply disruptions - which to be fair do exist in Nigeria and Libya particularly - ignores the record levels of Iraqi oil production and Iranian oil production which has almost reached pre-sanction levels.

But there is another far more important factor which is not widely understood. Most market commentators have a fixation on reported crude oil inventory levels and their daily recommendations and comments react breathlessly to changes in stocks of oil.

Now, while oil producers and refiners maintain buffer stocks for resilience reasons of security of supply and demand, oil buyers such as China, increasingly also have a financial motivation which is that they prefer to hold oil stocks as a reserve asset to holding dollar reserve assets, which return zero percent per annum.

Commercial oil producers & refiners, and oil traders, on the other hand, are intermediaries or middlemen who are motivated by dollar profits and not by charity. What I mean by this is that such market participants will not maintain an inventory of oil stocks above an absolute minimum unless their costs of storage in tank or tanker, insurance, and bank debt interest costs are met.

Read the full story (Medium and long term) here.

Iran will not follow crude output freeze, but will support any action by OPEC to reestablish stability & Fair prices.

Iran will not follow crude output freeze, but will support any action by OPEC to reestablish stability & Fair prices. (Taz).

Iran will not promise commitment to any plan on freezing its crude output volume, says Mehdi Asali, Iranian oil ministry's director for OPEC affairs and energy circles relations.

"However, Iran will support any action by OPEC to reestablish stability in the oil market with respect to fair and sensible oil prices," he said, IRNA news agency reported June 1.

"Iran's stance is clear and the country expects OPEC members in their upcoming meeting to regard the country's situation for it has just been freed of sanctions after years and is seeking to redeem its output and markets to the pre-sanctions times," Asali said.


"Right now the OPEC members are concerned with redeeming the market's stability and prices. The issue of rationing outputs would be better relegated to a time after," he added. Read the full story here.

Iran Oil export reaches 7.1mn barrels of Oil only in 2 days.

Iran Oil export reaches 7.1mn barrels of oil only in 2 days. (IranFrontpage).

Iran has announced that it shipped more than seven million barrels of crude oil in only two days thus setting a new record in the country’s oil exports not seen in several years.

Pirouz Mousavi, the managing director of the Iranian Oil Terminals Company (IOTC), has been quoted by the media as saying that the exports of 7.1 million barrels of oil were made over the past few days through the southern Kharg terminal.

Mousavi said four million barrels were shipped to Europe and the remaining 3.1 million barrels were shipped to Iran’s traditional clients.

The official further added that Iran’s oil export terminals can simultaneously host 9 tankers for loading crude oil.

Mousavi further emphasized that with the arrival of new tankers within the next few days a new phase in the rise of Iran’s oil exports to Europe will take place.

He also said that based on an authorization that has been issued by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Iran’s oil exports are expected to rise by above 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) within a month.

The NIOTC chief said the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) is taking measures to resolve problems over providing the insurance for Iran’s oil shipments to Europe.  Once those problems are resolved, Iran will use NITC tankers for exports to Europe.

NITC is a subsidiary of NIOC and transports Iranian crude to export markets. The company has a fleet of 60 VLCC supertankers with a total transport capacity of 100 million tons and is considered as the biggest tanker company in the Middle East and 4th in the world.  It is currently a main target in the long list of economic sanctions against Iran.  Hmmm....As i said the Iranians are used to hardship they'll keep pumping.

Quoting materials from Iran Front Page is permitted only if the source is mentioned by name.

Iran expressed disinterest in oil heavyweights their 'freeze' deal.

Iran expressed disinterest in oil heavyweights their 'freeze' deal. (IranFrontpage).

Iran on Tuesday expressed disinterest in a reported deal by its heavyweight rivals to freeze output so that the market reaches a stability that has already proved elusive for months now.

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh told reporters in capital Tehran that he was not aware about the details of what his peers from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia and Qatar had agreed on in an emergency meeting in Doha on Tuesday.

Zangeneh, nevertheless, emphasized that any move by the world’s biggest oil players to push the market toward stability means nothing unless it is fully endorsed by all producers.

“According to what has appeared in the media about which I am not still fully informed, they (Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia and Qatar) have discussed about fixing a production ceiling,” he told reports.

The Saudi and Russian oil ministers, along with their Venezuelan and Qatari counterparts, “agreed to freeze the production at (the) January level provided that other major producers follow suit”, Reuters quoted Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada as saying on Tuesday.

Zangeneh emphasized that a deal to fix a production ceiling for the world’s biggest producers needs to be thoroughly studied and discussed. “It should be specified what they (the producers that gathered in Doha) really mean by it,” the local media quoted the Iranian minister as saying.

He further added that he will host his Venezuelan and Iraqi counterparts on Wednesday for a tripartite meeting to discuss oil.  Other reports suggested that the oil minister of Qatar may also join his Venezuelan and Iraqi peers in their trip to Tehran.

“What is important [to consider] is that firstly the oil market is currently oversupplied and secondly Iran will not relinquish over its market share,” Zangeneh said.

Iran on Sunday showed a strong return to the market by announcing that it had increased its crude production by 400,000 barrels per day.

It also announced on the same day that it had shipped four million barrels of oil to Europe – a move that marked the first shipment of oil by the country after signing a nuclear deal with the P5+1 that ended multiple years of sanctions on the Iranian oil industry.

Quoting materials from Iran Front Page is permitted only if the source is mentioned by name.

Russia and Saudi Arabia agree to 'freeze' oil production at January 2016 output.

Russia and Saudi Arabia agree to 'freeze' oil production at January 2016 output. (RT).

The world’s two biggest crude producers have agreed not to increase oil output, according to Qatar’s energy minister, quoted by Bloomberg. OPEC members, such as Venezuela and Nigeria, have been calling for an emergency meeting of the cartel to discuss crude prices that have fallen over 70 percent since 2014.

After meeting with Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said freezing output at January levels would be “adequate” however the country still wants to meet the demand of its customers.

Saudi Arabia has insisted it won’t cut production unless major producers outside the cartel cooperate. Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak has said cooperation is possible if other producers joined in.

However, the CEO of Russia’s biggest oil producer Rosneft Igor Sechin said last week that his company would defend traditional markets and raised doubts about production cuts. 

“Tell me who is supposed to cut? Will Saudi Arabia cut production? Will Iran cut production? Will Mexico cut production? Will Brazil cut production? Who is going to cut?” asked Sechin.

“We are working on preserving our traditional markets and we will supply those markets with oil in a competitive battle,” he added. Read the full story here.

U.S. Shale oil brought a 'Stalemate' to the world oil market .

'Stalemate' on the world oil market. (Taz).

If oil prices rise, the US producers of shale oil will increase production immediately, which again will lead to excess in production and fall of prices, Head of the Energy markets sector of the Russian Institute for Energy and Finance Nikolai Ivanov told Trend.

“Therefore, such a stalemate emerged on the market that everyone accepts prices the way they are,” said Ivanov.

He went on to add that the extraction of shale oil in the US has completely changed the view on the global energy market, because it is fundamentally different from conventional production.

“Conventional production requires large investments, followed by small operating costs,” said Ivanov. “In case of shale oil it is all the way around - one can instantly start a project without prospecting and exploration stage, because it happens there during production, but shale extraction requires large operating costs.”

Thus, the US shale companies may stop production at low oil prices and resume it at any time, as soon as market conditions seem right to them, said the expert.

He noted that shale companies note the possibility of reducing production at low oil prices even in the memorandums for investors.

In fact, America has become the second "balancing" supplier of the oil market after Saudi Arabia, he said.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the total oil production in the US, including shale oil in 2015 was 9.43 mbd.

The talks of OPEC with non-cartel oil producers won’t give any results, said Nikolai Ivanov, head of the energy markets sector at Russian Institute for Energy and Finance, speaking to Trend Jan. 28.

“OPEC is in fact on its last legs,” Ivanov asserted. “Saudi Arabia is taking steps that other countries perceive as unfriendly. There are very strong contradictions within the OPEC itself. Read the full story here.

Analysts see low probability of #OPEC-#Russia deal: https://t.co/zr7OwQhys8

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) January 30, 2016

Iran Says It Won’t Join OPEC Production Cut, before reaching pre-sanctions production level

Iran Says It Won’t Join OPEC Production Cut, before reaching pre-sanctions production level. (WSJ)

Iran wouldn’t coordinate a crude-oil output reduction with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries until its own production returns to pre-sanctions levels, a top Iranian oil official said, potentially dashing market hopes of a supply cut.

Iran “won’t consider a cut” until its exports have increased by 1.5 million barrels a day over current levels of roughly 1.1 million barrels a day, the official said. The country is furiously restarting its oil exports after the lifting of nuclear-related western sanctions, which had forced its production down by more than a third.

Russians cutting production is one way to push up prices and Russia can do that, but only in Summer, as it’s technically impossible to do that in winter because of the cold. 

Mr Zanganeh said Iran could increase production by 500,000 b/d immediately after the lifting of sanctions and reach its pre-sanctions output level within seven months. Hmmm......Seems like before Summer Both Russia and Iran won't cut production. By they way anyone heard about those Millions of barrels of Crude Oil Iran had stored at sea during the sanctions?  Read the full story here.

Russian Oil Execs Agree To Talk With OPEC About cutting production and Boosting Prices.

Russian Oil Execs Agree To Talk With OPEC About cutting production and Boosting Prices. (RT).

Riyadh has asked to meet with world's biggest oil producers, including non-OPEC members, to discuss the current crude price situation and possible output cuts, according to Transneft chairman Nikolay Tokarev.

"Saudi Arabia has taken the initiative, came out with a proposal to discuss the prospects of cutting production. In addition, there will be an OPEC meeting in February, where we [Russian oil authorities and producers] will participate," said Tokarev, who heads the Russian state-owned oil transportation monopoly.

He added that cutting production is one way to push up prices and Russia can do that, but only in summer, as it’s technically impossible to do that in winter because of the cold.

Both Riyadh and Moscow have softened their stances regarding the current policy of boosting exports to compensate for cheaper crude, according to Iraq's Oil Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi on Tuesday, speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Kuwait.

So far, within OPEC, only Algeria and Venezuela have clearly expressed support for a production cut.


However, Iraq, OPEC's second-biggest producer after Saudi Arabia, softened its stance this week, saying it is now willing to reduce its output if all major producers inside and outside of OPEC agree.

OPEC Governor Nawal al-Fuzaia hinted on Tuesday that OPEC is ready to cut production in an effort to slow down the plunge in oil prices. The governor told an energy forum in Kuwait that OPEC is ready to "cooperate" with others to stabilize the crude market. Hmmm........Just with speculation on the coming cuts the price of oil will rise. Read more here.

Related:

Global oil prices will not remain at the current level, around $30 a barrel, for long, Charles Ellinas, oil market expert, Executive President, Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company (CNHC) believes.
“It is an over-reaction to recent developments coupled with trader speculation,” Ellinas told Trend.


“Iran will not ramp up its production as fast as many suggested and US shale oil production is already on a downward trend,” he added.

The US crude oil production is projected to average 8.7 million barrels per day in 2016 and 8.5 million barrels per day in 2017.

Ellinas said that the current oil prices are hurting many countries now. “There is not much of a choice but to carry on,” he said.

“However, some recovery is on the way. Already the OPEC Secretary-General is calling non-OPEC and OPEC members to cooperate in addressing the depressed oil market,” Ellinas said.


He expects that by the middle of the year we will be back to around $50 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia ready to tolerate low oil prices to $ 10 a barrel for sake of market share.

Saudi Arabia ready to tolerate low oil prices to $ 10 a barrel for sake of market share. (Taz).

Saudi Arabia is ready to tolerate the low oil prices to preserve its market share and displace the US from the market, Talgat Mamyrayymov, the former head of the Real politik analytical service, independent political analyst from Kazakhstan, told Trend.

He said that oil prices are falling for objective reasons.

"First, Iran will soon enter the market,” he said. “Second, Saudi Arabia said that it is ready to tolerate a price of $10 per barrel. Saudi Arabia seeks to find its niche on the market and press the US shale oil suppliers."

He said that oil prices continue falling and can reach up to $10-15 per barrel, adding that big oil players intend to leave the oil business and count on alternative energy sources.

"Thus, the games on the stock markets will not be in favor of the oil market because the major Western capital is beginning to leave it," he said.

According to the forecasts of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average price of North Sea Brent oil will reach $40 per barrel in 2016 and $50 per barrel - in 2017. The EIA forecasts the average price on the US WTI oil at $38.54 per barrel in 2016 and $47 per barrel - in 2017. Hmmm......What will happen to those countries selling low quality crude Oil?

OPEC waiting for US oil companies’ bankruptcy, then cut production and raise prices.

OPEC waiting for US oil companies’ bankruptcy, then cut production and raise prices. (Taz).

OPEC will cut crude production and export in order to raise oil prices, after the US companies extracting hydrocarbons go bankrupt due to the current low energy prices, said Alexander Razuvayev, economist and director of the analytical department at Russian company Alpari.

Alpari is one of the leading companies offering forex trading in Russia.

"The price war will end sooner or later,” he told Trend Jan. 11. “We can expect positive changes this year. As a result of falling oil prices, budgets are running out, shale companies go bankrupt. Those, who survive the crisis, will take the new position on the market at comfortable prices."

He said that none of the largest oil producers will be able to work at current low prices for a long time.

Razuvayev believes that the current conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran is unlikely to impact the world oil prices.

“There won’t be a massive clash between the parties,” Razuvayev said. “Iran has just been released from the sanctions. Saudi Arabia is weaker than Iran militarily. The sides do not need a war." Read the full story here.

Related:   Shale Producer Gets $1.4 billion Wall St. Help in Re-Arming for OPEC War

Oil prices will rise in case of Riyadh-Tehran conflict turns into a military confrontation.

Oil prices could rise in case of Saudi Arabia-Iran hot conflict. (Taz).

Supplies continue to exceed demands on the world hydrocarbon market, Valentyn Zemlyansky, the director of energy programs at the Center of World Economy and International Relations of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, told Trend Jan. 6.

“The oil price growth is not expected in the short term,” he said.

The expert said that the oil price can increase on the world market if Saudi Arabia-Iran conflict deteriorates.

He did not rule out the possibility that Riyadh-Tehran conflict can turn into a military confrontation.

"The world economy is in a serious crisis,” he said. “This is the first sign of a possible big conflict."

Iran produces 2.8 million barrels of oil per day and exports 1.1 million barrels of this volume per day.
Saudi Arabia produces more than 10 million barrels of oil daily and exports more than seven million barrels per day.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran soured after execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, by the Kingdom along with other 46 people, which was followed by a strong protest from Iran.

Iranian Kharg Terminal is getting ready to receive big tankers, once the sanctions on Iran are lifted.
Right now nine tankers can simultaneously berth at Kharg Terminal, which is able to receive giant tankers with 360 barrels capacity, Qolamhossein Gerami, an official with Iran’s Oil Terminals Company said.

Referring to Kharg as the biggest oil terminal in Iran, he said the terminal is currently responsible for letting through 94 percent of Iran’s exported oil, Mehr news agency reported January 6.

Oil is pumped through five pipelines to the terminal and stored in reservoirs as big as one million barrels, he explained.

He said the terminal is able to store 28 million barrels of oil, both light and heavy.

At the eastern terminal, with a T pier, six tankers can birth at the same time and receive 67,500 barrels of oil per hour, the official further said.

The pier’s waterline is 21 meters and can serve tankers with capacities of 275 thousand metric tons, he noted.
According to the official, the western front can receive three tankers at a time and transfer 360 thousand barrels of oil in one hour.


The pier’s waterline is about 30 meters and is therefore able to serve the biggest tankers there is, he stated.

Any coordination within OPEC is highly unlikely amid the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Sam Barden, the director of Wimpole International, an energy market development company believes.

“OPEC has no future what so ever. It does not fit the notion of a modern economy, and given current tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia the likely hope of any coordination is zero,” Barden told Trend.


Over the past few days, the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated following the kingdom’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Jan. 2.

And then there's this:

First of all, the prices may increase in reaction for the potential threat of failures in supply of raw materials via the Strait of Hormuz, which is of strategic importance to the world market, through which one-third of the world’s maritime oil supplies pass. The northern coast of the strait belongs to Iran, the southern – to the United Arab Emirates, which have lowered the rank of its embassy in Tehran as a result of the recent conflict.

For temporary diversification and security of oil supplies to the world market, Iran can potentially start transportation through Azerbaijan, which has an extensive network of oil pipelines. Technically, Iran can deliver its oil to Baku via the Caspian Sea or railway with a view to its subsequent export via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline with access to the Mediterranean Sea. However, the economy of such deliveries should be seriously studied, especially against the background of low global oil prices.

Thus, on one hand, a mess in the OPEC may lead to uncontrolled oil supplies to the global market, which would reduce oil prices to historic lows, 

on the other hand - the deliberate blocking or, at least, a threat of restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz with the further development of the conflict may cause an increase in oil futures prices.

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On average, the “all-in,” breakeven cost for U.S. hydraulic shale is $65 per barrel, according to a study by Rystad Energy and Morgan Stanley Commodity Research.