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UAE insists on Opec+ quota revision if deal extended

  • Spanish Market: Crude oil
  • 04/07/21

The UAE supports an immediate Opec+ agreement to boost crude oil production from August, minister of energy Suhail al-Mazrouei said, but will continue to push back against plans to extend the agreement to the end of 2022 if it remains tied to "outdated" production quotas.

"We cannot extend the agreement or make a new agreement under the same conditions," al-Mazrouei said in a televised interview with CNBC today. "We have the sovereign right to negotiate that."

Opec+ ministers adjourned after two days of talks on 2 June without an agreement on how to set production levels beyond July, despite widespread acknowledgement among its members of the need to cool the market amid rising prices and strengthening demand.

The coalition largely coalesced around a proposal that would see it raise production quotas by 2mn b/d by the end of the year, while also extending the two-year agreement beyond its current April 2022 expiry through to the end of that year.

But while almost all of the 23 members of the Opec+ alliance gave their backing to the proposal, the coupling of the output increase and extension under this single proposal proved too much for the UAE.

The ministry of energy issued a statement today saying was not against the idea of extending the agreement, but only if the "outdated" October 2018 baseline production reference largely being used by participants was reviewed.

"Some of the countries have been given references of plus double-digits, and we have been given minus two," al-Mazrouei said pointing to the fact that it is now withholding a larger percentage of its production relative to its capacity compared with others in the group. "That is totally unfair."

Any decision on extending the deal should be made at a later meeting, "allowing an immediate unconditional decision on increasing production from August to progress," he said.

The production baselines represent the level from which individual country quotas and compliance are calculated. When the current deal was struck last year, most participants were assigned their October 2018 production as their reference levels, while Russia and Saudi Arabia were each given a baseline of 11mn b/d.

The UAE has long complained about its own levels, as it continues to invest in expanding its upstream production capacity. Saudi Arabia's 11mn b/d baseline is equivalent to 91pc of its current capacity, while Russia's is 106pc of its capacity. By contrast, the UAE's 3.2mn b/d baseline is only around 83pc of its now near 4mn b/d capacity after recent upstream investments. State-owned Adnoc, which accounts for the vast majority of UAE output, says it can now produce more than 4mn b/d.

Al-Mazrouei agreed to the baseline to get the deal over the line in 2018, even though it "not a good deal for the UAE", he said today, adding that an extension of the agreement until the end of 2022 based on those dated parameters was "just not realistic".

The UAE is now asking for its reference production level to be revised to reflect its April 2020 output, a period when no restraints were in place, and therefore more reflective of each country's production capacity. Argus estimates that the UAE produced near 3.85m b/d last April, so using that as a baseline would a substantially lift from its current 3.168mn b/d.

But that request failed to secure much backing from others in the Opec+ group over fears that an acceptance of the UAE's demands would trigger lengthy and difficult renegotiations of baselines for other members in the group, some of whose capacity cannot be fully verified.

Opec+ ministers will now reconvene at 15:00 Vienna time tomorrow in the hope of thrashing out a deal that can be backed by all parties.


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18/02/25

Нефтетранспорт - НТС: правила на рынке меняются

Нефтетранспорт - НТС: правила на рынке меняются

Moscow, 18 February (Argus) — Ситуация в сегменте железнодорожной транспортировки нефтеналивных грузов остается сложной. О причинах, приведших к этому, взаимодействии с грузоотправителями и планах строительства нового парка рассказал Argus генеральный директор Нефтетранссервиса (НТС) Сергей Ермолаев. — Как вы охарактеризуете текущую ситуацию на рынке перевозок нефтяных грузов по железной дороге? — Наблюдаем падение грузооборота и тоннажа отправок. Меры РЖД, которые должны были вернуть отправителям веру в надежное обеспечение парком, а также дать гарантии вывоза груза, пока не привели к результату. — Какие факторы к этому привели? В чем основные сложности для НТС? — Сегодня всем непросто, и наше положение не отличается от других субъектов экономики. Ограничения экспорта топлива из России, полное закрытие границ Казахстана на заезд порожнего парка цистерн, атаки на перерабатывающую и транспортную инфраструктуру, тарифные инициативы перевозчика, рост ключевой ставки Центрального банка России (ЦБР) — все это делает невозможным долгосрочный прогноз. А без прогноза нет инвестиций. В такой ситуации рынок выбирает простые схемы купил-продал. Это давит на переработку, на наших клиентов и на нас, соответственно. — НТС является одним из основных перевозчиков нефтеналивных грузов с заводов Роснефти. Как оцениваете итоги работы по этим долгосрочным контрактам? Как, на ваш взгляд, будет строиться дальнейшее сотрудничество с нефтяной компанией после завершения договора в конце I квартала 2026 г.? — Роснефть — наш главный клиент. Несмотря на то, что ни один из основных параметров, лежавших в основе долгосрочных договорных отношений, не сохранился в изначальном виде, компания чутко и оперативно адаптируется к новым обстоятельствам. В настоящее время мы совместно с коллегами выверяем позиции перед будущим тендером. У всех появился новый опыт, который должен быть учтен в новом цикле. Работа непростая, времени осталось совсем немного, но мы надеемся успеть вовремя. Разумеется, речь о ценах пока не идет. Нашей задачей является описать взаимные обязательства так, чтобы они имели ясные критерии исполнения и могли бы быть оцифрованы ставкой в ходе тендера. — Рынок в этом году столкнется со значительным выбытием нефтебензиновых цистерн. Планирует ли НТС покупки новых вагонов? — Мы ждем снижения ставки ЦБР, а точнее сужения разрыва между инфляцией и стоимостью кредитов. Также мы ждем, что из-за уменьшения заказов на постройку нового парка вагоностроители пересмотрят свою рентабельность до разумных уровней. Вероятно, после этого мы сможем начать постройку парка. Не исключено и принудительное снижение срока службы вагонов. Это создаст дефицит, увеличит требования к доходности нового парка из-за неопределенности будущего срока окупаемости. Тогда тоже можно будет строить. Но мы надеемся, что этого не произойдет: в условиях ограниченных ресурсов вряд ли нужно утилизировать то, что еще может послужить. Да и нагружать экспортеров новыми затратами странно, когда Россия нуждается в экспортных доходах. — Планирует ли НТС в ближайшее время развивать перевозки другой номенклатуры грузов, помимо нефтеналивных? — Мы всегда в поиске. Но вход в новые рынки требует хорошей аналитики, а сейчас мы находимся в ситуации отмены всех известных нам правил и принципов. В результате вся предыдущая статистика оказывается слабо применима. Если какие-то идеи выдержат и эти условия, обязательно их реализуем. Нефтетранссервис (НТС) Является одним из лидеров на рынке железнодорожных перевозок нефти и нефтепродуктов, парк в управлении превышает 35 тыс. единиц. Помимо вагонов-цистерн и локомотивов, холдингу принадлежат производственные предприятия в Центральном, Приволжском, Южном и Дальневосточном федеральных округах. Более 19 лет НТС сотрудничает с ведущими компаниями топливно-энергетического комплекса России. Сергей Ермолаев В 1997 г. окончил Московскую государственную академию приборостроения и информатики, в 2009 г. — Академию народного хозяйства при правительстве Москвы. В разные периоды времени занимал руководящие должности в сфере организации железнодорожных перевозок сначала в Северной грузовой компании, а затем в НТС, где в течение 2013—2021 гг. возглавлял коммерческое управление перевозок наливных грузов, направления логистики и эксплуатации подвижного состава. В начале 2022 г. был приглашен в Национальную транспортную компанию на должность коммерческого директора. С июня 2024 г. — генеральный директор НТС. Вы можете присылать комментарии по адресу или запросить дополнительную информацию feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Группа Argus Media . Все права защищены.

Nigeria cuts oil theft, upbeat on output growth plan


18/02/25
18/02/25

Nigeria cuts oil theft, upbeat on output growth plan

Lagos, 18 February (Argus) — Nigeria's upstream regulator NUPRC said losses from oil theft have fallen to just 5,000 b/d, down from 15,000 b/d in August of last year. At its peak in 2018, theft was costing Nigeria as much as 150,000 b/d, according to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Sustained security interventions by the government have been successful in tackling the problem, said NUPRC chief executive Gbenga Komolafe. "Oil theft has significantly reduced to 5,000 b/d, leading to a steady [liquids] production increase to 1.7mn b/d," he added. State-owned oil firm NNPC said security measures have led to around 1,861 illegal connections being removed from pipelines, while 677 points of vandalism were found and fixed over the past 12 months. About 4,124 illegal refineries and 1,897 boats laden with stolen crude were also destroyed within the same period, NNPC said. NUPRC said last year that a forensic study showed 40pc of losses previously attributed to theft in 2020–22 were caused by metering inaccuracies. In July last year, the regulator launched an audit of Nigeria's 187 upstream flow stations to determine where meters are outdated or broken and which designated measurement points lack the required equipment. The audit was to have been completed by November 2024 but an NUPRC source told Argus that it is only being completed now. Komolafe also said a programme that aims to add 1.07mn b/d to Nigeria's liquids output by December 2026 is on track. The ambitious initiative aims to leverage "collaboration among operators, service providers, financiers and host communities", Komolafe said. The programme forecasts an injection of $1.45bn of capital into Nigerian oil blocks under joint venture agreements, $1.11bn into blocks under production-sharing contracts and $650mn into blocks under sole risk contracts. This investment will respectively yield additional output of 470,800 b/d, 224,700 b/d and 374,500 b/d, according to NUPRC. Nigeria has struggled with mobilising upstream investment in the past and has consistenly fallen short of less ambitious production growth targets in recent years. But an NUPRC source told Argus that easy wins are possible under the latest output growth programme, including 42,800 b/d from restarting shut-in wells, 74,900 b/d from the ramp-up of fields recently brought online, 96,300 b/d from drilling new wells and 256,800 b/d from well re-entry. The chief executive of local operator Heirs Energies, Osayande Igiehon, said his company restarted 40 shut-in wells in oil block OML 17, which the company operates with a 45pc stake in a joint venture with NNPC, between the third quarter of last year and 11 February this year. Production has risen to 55,000 b/d, up from 35,000 b/d in January of last year, he said. Nigeria has "the infrastructure in place to deliver up to 2mn b/d, more than 2mn b/d, but a lot of it is shut in, is closed in or is poorly worked," Igiehon said. "Beyond 2mn b/d, we need to do a lot of greenfield investments onshore, in shallow water and in the deep water, investments that will take a longer gestation period," he said. NUPRC data show Nigeria's liquids production rose by 4pc on the month to 1.74mn b/d in January, of which 1.54mn b/d was crude, leaving the country 2.6pc above its Opec+ quota. Argus estimates put Nigeria's January crude production lower, at 1.51mn b/d . Nigeria's junior oil minister Heineken Lokpobiri said the government expects a significant portion of the country's targeted oil output growth will be condensate. The government is considering infrastructure interventions to reduce the co-mingling of crude and condensate, further separation of condensate streams from crude streams in transportation and storage, and to increase marketing of Nigerian output as condensate. By Adebiyi Olusolape Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU nears lifting sanctions on Syria


17/02/25
17/02/25

EU nears lifting sanctions on Syria

Munich, 17 February (Argus) — The EU will meet on 24 February to discuss lifting sanctions on Syria, EU high representative for foreign affairs Kaja Kallas said on Sunday. But internal European politics and concerns raised by Greece and Cyprus over Turkey's growing influence in the region could slow the process. Speaking to Argus on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Kallas said the prospect of lifting sanctions on Syria "is looking promising". The EU Foreign Affairs Council is scheduled to meet on 24 February to discuss Syria and other issues affecting the Middle East. France on 14 February convened an international conference on Syria in Paris, bringing together representatives from G7 nations, the EU, the UN, the Arab League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The parties issued a final statement calling for support of Syria's political transition, but the US did not join that statement. US sources with knowledge of the matter told Argus that the issues raised in the statement are things Washington has not decided on, since US president Donald Trump's administration is still formulating its policy regarding Syria. Another source with knowledge of ongoing European talks on Syria said Greece and Cyprus are more reluctant to lift sanctions on Syria. Any EU action will have to be agreed upon by all of the bloc's members. Both countries are leery of ties between Turkey and the Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant faction in the new Syrian government. Greece and Cyprus are worried about an oversized Turkish influence in the eastern Mediterranean following the collapse of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in December. Sanctions remain one of the biggest obstacles to Syria's recovery. Damascus has been struggling to secure crude and refined oil products through public tenders largely because of those sanctions. Shipowners remain cautious about sending vessels there over concerns tankers being sanctioned or stranded. Last month the US waived sanctions prohibiting energy trade with Syria, but the country is still under EU and UK sanctions, which may have narrowed the pool for bidding. By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

China's CNOOC starts output at Brazil Buzios7 oil field


17/02/25
17/02/25

China's CNOOC starts output at Brazil Buzios7 oil field

San Francisco, 16 February (Argus) — China's state-controlled CNOOC has started output at the Buzios7 oil field offshore Brazil's Santos basin, the firm announced today. CNOOC has a 7.34pc interest in the project while Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras, which operates the field, holds 88.99pc, with the remaining 3.67pc owned by China's state-controlled CNPC Exploration and Development (CNODC). The Buzios oil field is expected to commission a total of 11 projects by 2027 with total output expected to reach 1.5mn b/d by then, although its production capacity totals up to 2mn b/d, CNOOC said earlier this year. The latest production at Buzios7 will bring the output of the Buzios oil field up to 1mn b/d in the second half of 2025, CNOOC said. Buzios7 is located at a water depth of 1,900-2,200m and is also the sixth project commissioned from the oil field. The Buzios7 project includes a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) and subsea production system. The FPSO can produce up to 225,000 bl of crude, process 12mn m³/d of natural gas and store 1.4mn bl of crude. It is also equipped with closed flare to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and heat recovery devices to reduce energy consumption, CNOOC said. CNOOC expects a slightly smaller share of output from overseas projects, or around 31-33pc from 2025-27, from previous expectations of 33-34pc, although it did not provide a breakdown on actual output forecasts. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Lavrov, Rubio discuss US sanctions relief: Russia


16/02/25
16/02/25

Lavrov, Rubio discuss US sanctions relief: Russia

Washington, 15 February (Argus) — Russia and the US have agreed to hold talks aimed at removing US sanctions against Russia, the Russian foreign ministry said today. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and US secretary of state Marco Rubio have "agreed to maintain an open channel of communication to address longstanding issues in Russian-American relations", the Russian foreign ministry said. "Their goal is to remove unilateral barriers inherited from the previous US administration that have hindered mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation," the ministry said. The State Department did not provide a detailed readout of the Lavrov-Rubio phone conversation, held today. "The secretary re-affirmed President [Donald] Trump's commitment to finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine," the State Department said. "In addition, they discussed the opportunity to potentially work together on a number of other bilateral issues." Trump has signaled readiness to end the war in Ukraine on Russia's terms and to cut back on Nato commitments for European security. But he and his administration have provided mixed messages on the future of US sanctions against Russia, imposed under former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and during Trump's first term. Trump's administration has left in place sanctions imposed by Biden in January, which for the first time would affect Russia's ability to export crude and refined products via tankers. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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