Saudi oil-minister hails 'fossil-friendly' Trump, we invested billions of dollars in the American oil industry.

Saudi oil-minister hails 'fossil-friendly' Trump, we invested billions of dollars in the American oil industry. (AA).

I think at the end of the day... Saudi Arabia and the US cannot afford not to work together in concert to confront the challenges that are facing the world. - Khaled al-Falih

Saudi Arabia's oil minister has said that he was pleased with US President Donald Trump's plans to pursue a more fossil fuel-oriented energy policy.

This comes as Trump has made a raft of measures signalling he intends to put America on a more fossil fuel-friendly path, appointing an oil boss to a senior cabinet post and signalling he would go ahead with the construction of controversial pipelines, Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline.

In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, Khalid al-Falih insisted he was unconcerned by Trump's promise to pursue energy independence, adding that Saudi Arabia had invested billions of dollars in the American oil industry.

"President Trump has policies that are good for the oil industry, and I think that we have to acknowledge it," he said.

"The energy policy on the White House's website talks about working closely with the US Gulf allies; and Saudi Arabia is the leader of that group on energy policies," he said, adding that the Trump administration would eventually "do the right thing for the US".

When asked whether Saudi Arabia had any concerns regarding Trump "putting America first" by moving towards energy independence and cutting oil imports, the minister said the country had "no problem with the growth of American indigenous oil supply".

"As long as they grow in line with the global energy demand, we welcome them," al-Falih said, adding that the "over-exaggerated" concerns will later prove to be non-existent.

The Saudi minister also stressed that the US-Saudi relations were "very strong".

The interview was released on the same day US lawmakers moved to strike down an anti-corruption regulation that would have required oil, gas and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments.

Republicans and lobbyists said the Securities and Exchange Commission rule, which had not taken effect since it was issued last year by US financial market regulators, put US industry at a competitive disadvantage.

"Gutting this law will mean oil, gas and mining companies can continue to do secret backroom deals with corrupt regimes, tyrants and dictators all over the world," said Stefanie Ostfeld, deputy head of Global Witness' US office.

The move also came the same day the Senate voted to confirm Trump's secretary of state pick, former Exxon Mobile chief Rex Tillerson, who opposed the rule.

As the world's largest publicly-traded energy firm, ExxonMobil's global empire has been compared to a quasi-state with its own policy.

It has operations in dozens of countries, under multi-year contracts with a variety of governments, and Tillerson was at the heart of many of the deals.

"Rex Tillerson is one of the highest qualified executives I have ever dealt with," al-Falih said, describing the new State Secretary as "a statesman by nature".

"I have watched him with admiration as he led ExxonMobil to become the most respected oil and gas company in the world. I'm sure he'll take his experience and his wisdom to his new position as Secretary of State."

Al-Falih also said he was looking forward to working with Rick Perry, Trump's nominee for energy secretary.


"I look forward to meeting with him and coordinating on energy policies, and we will make sure that there is a better understanding of what we, in Saudi Arabia, stand for," he said.

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.

Iran unconcerned about Saudi crude export to Europe, ready to increase its crude oil export by 500,000 B/D.

Iran unconcerned about Saudi crude export to Europe, ready to increase its crude oil export by 500,000 B/D. (Taz).

Deputy Oil Minister of Iran Roknoddin Javadi has said his country is not worried about Saudi crude exports to Europe, asserting that Iran would still find a market in European countries.

Iran has been in talks with Shale and Total and is going to secure itself a place in the European oil market, Mehr news agency quoted him as saying on Nov. 10.

As Iran gears up for relief from sanctions, Saudi Arabia has started to increase its oil exports to Europe.

The countries currently boosting their exports to Europe are able to do so only in Iran's absence, Javadi claimed, noting, however, that it would take a while for Iran to return to the European market.

He pointed out that the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) had already held comprehensive talks with all its traditional customers, adding that there was no concern over the resumption of oil sales after the lifting of sanctions.

He hoped that Iran would achieve its goal since European countries have a policy of diversifying their oil import sources to reduce the risk of a shortage in critical times.

Mohsen Ghamsari, executive director for international affairs at the NIOC, asserted in September that Iran was fully prepared to increase its crude oil export by 500,000 barrels per day once sanctions are lifted, adding that the global oil market could easily absorb Iran’s surplus output. Iran’s current oil production stands at some 2.7 million barrels per day.


There are three main sanctions on the Iranian oil sector that the country expects to be removed. These affect transfers of petrodollars, the provision of oil tankers, and the ability to insure the tankers.

Saudi Arabia warns of supply crisis if low prices persist.

KSA warns of supply crisis if low prices persist. (AN).

JEDDAH: Long-term oil market fundamentals remain robust but prolonged low prices could threaten security of supply and pave the way for a price spike, warned Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, deputy minister of petroleum and mineral resources, told a round table meeting for Asian energy ministers in Doha that the oil and gas industry has canceled around $200 billion of investments this year, with energy companies planning to cut another 3 to 8 percent from their investments next year, marking the first time since the mid-1980s that industry cut the spending for two consecutive years.

He said current sharp oil price fluctuations are very harmful to oil producers, consumers and workers alike.

Just like high oil prices can’t last, a prolonged period of low prices is “also unsustainable, as it will induce large investment cuts and reduce the resilience of the oil industry, undermining the future security of supply and setting the scene for another sharp price rise,” said the prince.

“As a responsible and reliable producer with long-term horizon, the Kingdom is committed to continuing to invest in its oil and gas sector, despite the drop in the oil price,” he said.

Prince Abdul Aziz pointed out: “Despite all the macroeconomic uncertainties engulfing the global economy, oil demand continues to grow at a robust pace and set to increase by 1.5 million bpd in 2015, the strongest growth seen in the past few years. This is in contrast to the early 1980s where global oil consumption fell between 1980 and 1984 by more than 2.3 million bpd.”

In order to meet the expected increase in demand, the world needs all sources of energy, including oil, gas, renewables, nuclear, and solar, he said.

The Kingdom has always been of the view that there are plenty of resources to meet the projected increase in demand.

“After three years of positive growth, non-OPEC supply is expected to fall in 2016; only one year after the deep cuts in investment,” said Prince Abdul Aziz.

He said Saudi Arabia plays, and will continue to play, a proactive role in stabilizing oil market conditions by building on its close relationship and ongoing cooperation with both producers and consumers, and through its effective and constructive engagement in OPEC and The International Energy Forum. Hmmm.....Expect Coming December OPEC meeting to result in a serious price hike. For Canada it will be a double whammy as the Trudeau gov is planning a carbon tax on petrol as well, this will do wonders for the economy.

HT And source:

#SaudiArabia now warns of supply crisis if low oil prices persist https://t.co/RmVjtQCS2D @dr_davidson pic.twitter.com/7yCdaouBdY

— маяковский (@moscow_ghost) November 10, 2015

Return of Iranian oil unlikely to budge OPEC’s output cut stance.

Return of Iranian oil unlikely to budge OPEC’s output cut stance. (Taz).

The Gulf members of OPEC have so far been adamant that they will not cut production to support prices, despite calls from other members, especially Iran. There is no reason for them to change this stance once Iran resumes higher oil exports, Thomas Pugh, commodities economist at British economic research and consulting company Capital Economics believes.

The recent deal between Iran and the West means that it is now very likely that substantial volumes of oil from Iran will return to the market, according to the economist’s report, obtained by Trend.

“The return of Iranian exports may actually reinforce OPEC’s no output cuts stance, putting even more pressure on US shale producers, especially since the policy is showing signs of working,” Pugh said in a report.

What’s more, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies will probably have little sympathy for their regional rival making them even less likely to cut Production, economist believes.

“Nonetheless, the possible return of higher Iranian exports is likely to be heavily discussed at the group’s next meeting on 5th June, Pugh said. There have already been rumours of a return to individual quotas, which were quietly dropped in favour of a target for total production in 2008”.

However, the group is already producing above its 30 million barrel per day (bpd) target. And even when the group did have individual quotas, these were largely seen as a floor rather than a ceiling, according to the economist.

Pugh doubts that Saudi Arabia is going to cut its oil production to make room for Iran.

“Therefore, if and when Iranian oil exports begin to come back to the market they should put significant downward pressure on prices. Indeed, this is one reason why we expect the price of a barrel of Brent to only be $60 by the end of this year,” he said.


OPEC members held a meeting in ministerial level November 27, 2014 to evaluate the global oil market and the falling trend of the oil price. Iran and Venezuela wanted to lower the Cartel's oil output and set a new ceiling level below the current 30 million bpd level.

Oil prices rise amid doubts on ability of Iranian oil export.

Oil prices rise amid doubts on ability of Iranian oil export. (Taz).

Oil prices rise amid the doubts on the ability of Iran to export oil until 2016, British economic research and consulting company Capital Economics said in a report obtained by Trend.

Analysts mentioned that oil prices have rebounded since the middle of March after having fallen in the first two weeks of last month. They have been especially strong this week.

“Prices were volatile in March as fighting in Yemen escalated causing prices to rise and details of a deal between Iran and the West were released, which then caused prices to drop sharply. However, they quickly rose again as it became apparent that Iran would be unable to export oil until 2016 at the earliest,” analysts said.

Tehran and P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) reached a political framework for the ongoing nuclear talks on April 2.

Oil prices initially fell by around 5 percent on the announcement but have since recovered all of their losses.

Crude oil prices jumped to fresh 2015 peaks on April 16. Brent crude for June delivery rose 66 cents to settle at $63.98 a barrel, rallying from a $62.00 low and reaching a 2015 peak for front-month Brent of $64.95.

U.S. May crude rose 32 cents to settle at $56.71, hitting a 2015 high of $57.42 after recovering from a $55.07 intraday low.

Brent's premium to U.S. crude was back above $5 a barrel, now comparing June contracts, after the spread narrowed to $3.34 intraday on Wednesday, the day Brent's May crude contract expired, Reuters reported.

Capital Economics’ analysts forecast Brent prices at $60 per barrel in 2015 and $65 per barrel in 2016. WTI price is forecasted at $55 per barrel in 2015 and $65 per barrel in 2016.


OPEC basket crude price is forecasted by British analysts at $57 per barrel in 2015 and $62 per barrel in 2016.

Libya says 11 oil fields non-operational after Islamic state attacks.

Libya says 11 oil fields non-operational after Islamic state attacks.(DS).

TRIPOLI, Libya: Libya's state-run oil corporation has declared 11 oil fields in the country non-operational after attacks by suspected ISIS militants, opting for a force majeure clause that exempts the state from contractual obligations.

The National Oil Corporation blamed authorities in the Libyan-capital of Tripoli, set up by Islamist-backed militias, for failing to protect the oil fields.

The statement, issued Wednesday night, says that "theft, looting, sabotage and destruction" of the oil fields have been on the rise despite pleas for the authorities to ensure safety of Libya's oil installations.

The oil corporation earlier said that Libya's oil production has dropped dramatically, to about 25 percent of normal levels. It recently reached 500,000 barrels per day, according to Oil Minister Mashallah al-Zewi.

Khaled Ben Osman, head of the National Council for Oil and Gas in Tripoli, the 11 non-operational oil fields make up 30 percent of the overall number of fields in Libya. The remaining ones are not all operational and a number of them have either closed for maintenance or have remained closed since the anti-Gadhafi uprising. Read the full story here.