Tag: oil

Pompeo vows US will guarantee passage through Strait of Hormuz

by Jim MANNION WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed Sunday that the US will guarantee free passage through the vital Strait of Hormuz, as he accused Iran of recent attacks on oil tankers and the downing of a US drone. Pompeo confirmed in an interview with CBS that a US MQ-9 “Reaper” drone was shot down June 6 with a missile fired from Yemen “that we assess had Iranian assistance.” […]

Oil prices surge after suspected attacks on tankers

by Roland JACKSON NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — World oil prices rose Thursday following suspected attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, worsening frayed tensions in the crude-rich Middle East region. The rise in oil prices — jumping as much as 4.5 percent before pulling back somewhat — boosted share prices of energy companies, while global stock markets also won some support from the prospect of US interest rate cuts this year. […]

Saudi, UAE see sufficient oil supplies, rising stocks

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and key producer United Arab Emirates said Sunday oil supplies were sufficient and stockpiles were still rising despite massive output drops by Iran and Venezuela. “We see that (oil) inventories are rising and supplies are plenty,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters at the start of a key meeting for oil producers in Jeddah. “None of us wants to see the (oil) stocks swell again. […]

Oil producers meet to discuss output amid Iran tension

Major crude producers are set to meet Sunday to discuss how to stabilise a volatile oil market amid rising US-Iran tensions in the Gulf, which threaten to disrupt supply. Key OPEC members and other major suppliers including Russia will assess the oil market and examine compliance to production cuts agreed late last year. But the subject of Iran, which is not present, will dominate the one-day meeting of the OPEC+ group. It comes days after […]

Attacking Gulf oil routes exposes alternatives to Hormuz

by Omar Hasan DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Attacks on Saudi and UAE oil assets built to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway in the Gulf, have raised fears that alternative routes could be vulnerable. Four ships including two Saudi oil tankers were damaged in mysterious sabotage attacks Sunday off Fujairah, an emirate located at the crucial entrance to the Gulf. That incident was followed by drone strikes Tuesday by Yemen’s […]

Riyadh says oil facility attacks target world supplies

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia said Wednesday that attacks on two of its oil tankers and a major pipeline targeted not only its own security but that of the world’s supplies. Drone attacks claimed by Iran-aligned Yemeni rebels shut down one of the kingdom’s main oil pipelines on Tuesday, further ratcheting up Gulf tensions after the mysterious sabotage of four ships, two of them Saudi tankers, just outside the Gulf on Sunday. “The […]

Niger tanker truck blast toll rises to 76

NIAMEY, Nigeria (AFP) — The death toll from a May 6 tanker truck explosion near the international airport in Niger’s capital has risen to 76, state television reported late Sunday. An earlier official report Tuesday gave 60 dead, including 55 who died at the time of the explosion a few hundred metres (yards) from the airport in Niamey. Most of the victims were trying to collect spilt fuel flowing from the overturned truck when the […]

Toll from Niger tanker truck blast rises to 60: authorities

  NIAMEY, Niger (AFP) — The death toll from a tanker truck explosion near the international airport in Niger’s capital, Niamey, has risen to 60, authorities said Tuesday. The tally is likely to rise further as the prognosis is poor for several people who sustained severe burns, security official Hamani Adamou Abdoul-Aziz told state television. The overturned tanker exploded Sunday night as crowds gathered to collect spilt fuel. Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum, who inspected the […]

Brent oil jumps above $75; stocks markets retreat

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Brent North Sea crude hit a near six-month high above $75 per barrel Thursday on supply concerns that have been worsened by the United States tightening the screw on sanctions-hit Iran. Stock markets meanwhile mostly dropped, with traders across Europe digesting mixed company earnings updates and news of the collapse of two mega-mergers in the supermarket and banking industries. “Brent crude oil has rallied above $75 a barrel for the […]

Oil prices jump as Trump cracks down on Iranian exports

by Richard CARTER NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Oil prices jumped to near six-month highs on Monday as the Trump administration cracked down on Iranian oil exports, announcing it would no longer grant waivers from US sanctions. The announcement came on an otherwise quiet day for global stock markets, with European bourses on holiday and Wall Street trading sideways ahead of major earnings releases later in the week. The White House announced it was […]

Algeria’s Bouteflika resigns after weeks of protests

Algeria’s ailing leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika submitted his resignation with immediate effect, state media said Tuesday, ceding power in the face of massive street protests after two decades at the helm. Car horns sounded on the streets before crowds of flag-waving people emerged from their homes and converged in the centre of the capital Algiers to celebrate. Bouteflika “officially advised the Constitutional Council of the end of his term of office as President of the Republic”, […]

Cradle of Venezuela oil industry is a scene of desolation

by Margioni BERMÚDEZ MENE GRANDE, Venezuela (AFP) — Greasy slicks continue to darken the ground in Mene Grande, a modest town where Venezuela’s oil boom was born more than a century ago. But now the days of crude glory are gone, replaced by desolation. The asphalt on the roads is worn down. Water, cooking gas and electricity are absent most of the time. Locals, who previously received generous oil-related salaries, have left the country because […]