Iran looks for fuel export markets

2010-01-23 - TEHRAN, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Iran aims to export fuel reserves to its neighbors, riding on the success of the 400,000 tons of diesel sent to Iraq in the past nine months, officials said. Farid Ameri, the managing director at the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Co., said apart from diesel, his country exported 90,000 tons of kerosene and 6,000 tons of jet fuel to Iraq since the start of the Iranian calendar year on March 21, 2009.

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NISOC inks $380m deals with domestic firms

2010-01-23 - TEHRAN – The National Iranian South Oil Company signed 8 contracts worth $380 million with Iranian firms to build items needed in the oil industry. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting quoted the CEO of NISOC as saying the items required include chemicals, various pipes, drill parts, safety valves, gate valves, gas turbine parts, and inner-well equipment. Gholam-Reza Hassan-Beiglou added that these items will be manufactured in 13 months by industrialists from Khuzestan Province up to par with international standards. He mentioned that the impetus behind these contracts is to support domestic manufacturers, acquire self-sufficiency in the country and reduce foreign currency expenditure. The official added that the cost of building these parts inside the country is one-fifth of what it would cost if it were imported from outside

Non-oil exports to Africa exceed $228m

2010-01-23 - TEHRAN – Iran exported some 495,000 tons of non-oil goods worth $228.6 million to African countries in the first 9 months of current Iranian calendar year (started March 20, 2009). The amount shows a 14 percent increase in terms of value and a 40 percent rise in terms of volume in comparison to the previous year’s figure, the Mehr News Agency reported. Iran had exported some 352,000 tons of non-oil goods worth $200.9 million to Africa in the first 9 months of previous Iranian calendar year. South Africa, Morocco, Sudan, Nigeria, Libya, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Algeria were the main destinations for Iranian products, while tar, construction materials, Kelim, industrial and mineral oils, vehicles, ceramic, and tiles were the major exported items

Iran considers Iraq as gas customer

2010-01-23 - TEHRAN, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Iranian energy officials said they would approach Baghdad on the possibility of shipping Iranian gas across the shared border for electricity production. Iran sits on some of the largest natural gas deposits in the world. Its South Pars gas complex in the Persian Gulf is the largest in the world. Iraq, more than six years after the U.S.-led invasion to remove Saddam Hussein from power, still grapples with roaming blackouts. Mostafa Kashkouli, the deputy managing director of the National Iranian Gas Co., said Tehran is interested in delivering gas to Iraq through two pipelines that cross the border at Dehloran near central Iraq and Khorramshar near the Persian Gulf, Iran's Press TV reports.

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Turkey-Azerbaijan Meeting Keeps Nabucco Alive

2010-01-23 - Turkey continues to work along different tracks in its strategy to become the "gas hub" of Europe, as demonstrated by the official visit to Ankara of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in late December. Mammadyarov's visit should set to rest speculation about Turkey's waning political support for the Nabucco pipeline, as well as Ankara's supposed reorientation toward Russia. Mammadyarov was received in Ankara by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul before meeting behind closed doors with his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Although the details of the talks have not been disclosed, the enthusiastic declarations of friendship that followed are an indication of renewed cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan, the country that first promised its large reserves to the Nabucco project.

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Qatar's Nakilat, Dutch firm Damen in shipyard deal

2010-01-23 - Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat) and Dutch firm Damen Shipyards Group are to jointly operate a shipbuilding facility at the Qatari port of Ras Laffan, the companies said on Thursday.

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Belarus Defence and Security Report 2010 - new market analysis released

2010-01-23 - Belarus’ place in the post-Cold War world is defined by its dependence on Russia. However, increasing problems with its ally, including import bans, threatens the Belarusian economy – which is already in recession – and may stall recovery. Russian demands continue for full international prices for previously heavily subsidised Gazprom gas imports, and Moscow has excluded Belarus from a new oil pipeline crossing its territory. This is in danger of threatening Belarus’ reputation as a reliable nation for energy transit. Belarus’ self-isolation, particularly from Europe, is also increasingly seen as an anomaly. In May 2009 Belarus was invited to join the EU Eastern Partnership programme to initiate and improve economic and political relations. In the long-run President Victor Lukashenko will have to bring in a more liberalised and privatised economy to tempt inward investors and, hence, convince the EU to import Belarusian products. Improved relations with Europe could afford the country more international influence in the future. However, it is not clear, in this rather closed society dominated by its leader, how far these reforms will go towards fulfilling European demands.

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IOC seeks govt help for Iran share

2010-01-23 - NEW DELHI: State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest fuel retailer in terms of volumes, has sought the government’s intervention to participate in $12.5billion Iranian projects as a third partner in the ONGC-Hinduja group consortium . Iran has offered a 40% interest to ONGC and the Hindujas for developing the $7.9-billion South Pars phase-12 field and a 20% stake in the $4.5-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project with a commitment to supply minimum 6 mt gas annually to India. The South Pars-12 field has over 35 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves , about two-and-a-half times the reserves of RIL’s KG-D 6 block.

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