Tag: oil

$80 oil sparks mixed fortunes for world economy

by Benoît PELEGRIN Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Oil prices jumped above $80 this week for the first time in almost three years, handing a major boost to producers — but fuelling more inflationary pain for consumers, analysts say. The price of European benchmark Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November hit $80.75 per barrel on Tuesday, attaining the highest level since October 2018, but edged lower on Wednesday. The market has […]

OPEC sees oil demand growing over next two decades

VIENNA, Austria (AFP) – OPEC said Tuesday it expects oil demand to rise between now and 2045, and remain the dominant source of energy despite warnings that it must fall to combat climate change. The cartel’s world oil outlook goes against the vision of the International Energy Agency, which warned in May that demand must fall over the next decades for the world to meet its climate goals. Oil demand and prices fell sharply as […]

Iraq launches project to reduce flaring at oilfields

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) – Iraq has launched a new project that aims to recover gas normally set alight during oil extraction at two oilfields in the country’s south. Flaring, or burning off excess gas during oil extraction, is a highly polluting practice but far less costly than processing it for sale. According to the World Bank, Iraq is the second-biggest user of flaring worldwide after Russia. The new project, signed in 2017 with oil services company […]

Crews work to contain oil spill in Gulf after Ida’s passage

WASHINGTON D.C., United States (AFP) – Workers have deployed containment booms and skimmer devices as they attempt to contain a sizable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico discovered after Hurricane Ida roared through the area, the US Coast Guard said Sunday. The spill is in waters off Port Fourchon, Louisiana — near where Ida made landfall — in a region that is a major hub of the US petrochemical industry. An oil slick now […]

Israel freezes UAE oil deal over environmental concerns

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel’s environmental protection ministry said Sunday it was delaying implementation of a proposed oil transport deal with the United Arab Emirates, freezing a project that has angered environmentalists. The agreement, which followed the UAE and Israel establishing diplomatic ties last year, would see Gulf oil brought to the Red Sea port of Eilat by tanker, than moved by pipeline through mainland Israel to the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon, from where it […]

OPEC+ summit could lead to modest rise in oil output

by Benoît PELEGRIN LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries are to meet Thursday and are expected to agree to boost output in August to meet demand and limit recent price rises. The cost of crude oil has surged back to levels last seen in October 2018, which would normally support arguments in favour of boosting production. India, the world’s third-largest consumer of crude, has urged OPEC+ to phase out its […]

Oil refinery fire in Iran capital under control

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — A major fire that tore through an oil refinery in the Iranian capital had been brought under control on Thursday, but was still not completely extinguished. “The fire at the refinery has been brought under control and will be completely extinguished by noon,” the official IRNA news agency said, citing Shaker Khafai, spokesman for Tehran Oil Refining Company. A column of black smoke was still visible over the site of the […]

Large blaze at refinery in Iranian capital

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — A fire raged Wednesday at a southern Tehran oil refinery after a leak in a liquefied gas line triggered an explosion, the capital’s crisis team chief told state television. Intense flames and thick clouds of black smoke could be seen reaching high into the sky from across Tehran, AFP correspondents said. An “accident was caused by a leak from an emergency liquified gas line,” triggering “an explosion which caused the start […]

Biden administration halts oil drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge

by John BIERS WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden’s administration announced Tuesday it was halting petroleum development activity in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a move by former president Donald Trump to allow drilling. The Interior Department said it was notifying firms of the freeze, pending a comprehensive environmental review that will determine whether leases in the area known as ANWR should be “reaffirmed, voided or subject to additional mitigation measures,” […]

Panic buying shuts down US gas stations as pipelines begin to reopen

by Heather SCOTT and Virginie MONTET WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The major US pipeline network forced offline by a cyber attack began to reopen Wednesday, its operator said, after a five-day shutdown prompted motorists to frantically stock up on gasoline and some gas stations on the US east coast to close. But Colonial Pipeline warned that it will take “several days” before supplies return to normal. Faced with a growing shortage, a dozen states […]

Pipeline shutdown sparks fear of US gasoline shortage

by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Fears the shutdown of a major fuel pipeline network would cause a gasoline shortage led to some panic buying and prompted US regulators on Tuesday to temporarily suspend clean fuel requirements in three eastern states and the nation’s capital. While it remained unclear the degree to which supplies would be affected, drivers lined up to fill their tanks at gas stations in the southeast, with some carrying […]

Lebanon, Israel hold talks over maritime border

NAQURA, Lebanon (AFP) — Lebanon and Israel held US-mediated negotiations over their disputed maritime border on Tuesday after a months-long hiatus, in efforts to clear the way for offshore oil and gas exploration. The five-hour indirect talks, between countries still technically at war, were held at the UN base in the town of Naqura in southern Lebanon, the National News Agency (NNA) said. Washington said Friday they were to be brokered by US diplomat John […]