North Sea firms urged to look east following lifting of trade sanctions in Iran
North Sea companies have been urged to look east following the lifting of trade sanctions in Iran.
Iran
Tom Stocker: Legal risks of trading in Iran still exist
The lifting of sanctions on Iran is good news for Scottish exporters and oil and gas service companies, but a legal expert has warned that with a US trade embargo still in place, Western banks remain reluctant to support Iranian related businesses.
Jamie Stark: Iran opens up to North Sea expertise
There is quite a difference between EU sanctions lifting on implementation day than in the US.
Iran kicks off plan to boost oil exports as sanctions lifted
Iran is beginning efforts to boost oil production and exports amid a global supply glut after the removal of sanctions that shackled its economy and capped crude sales.
Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran later this month.
Oil decreases for third week on signs of Iran export boost
Oil in New York headed for its third weekly decline as Brent crude’s discount to U.S. prices increased on signs Iran is moving closer to boosting exports. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped as much as 3.3 percent in New York and are down 8.4 percent for the week after slipping below $30 a barrel on Tuesday. International sanctions on Iran may be lifted Monday, allowing for a boost in oil shipments from the fifth-biggest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The European benchmark’s discount to WTI widened to the biggest intraday gap since July 2010.
Iran’s crude oil exports could reach nine-month high
Iran's crude oil exports are said to be on target to reach a nine-month high this month.
Shell, Iran reach deal on $2.3billion outstanding debt
Oil major Shell and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) have reached a final deal on how the Anglo-Dutch company must clear its debt of $2.3billion outstanding since 2011. The head of the NIOCs international affairs, Mohsen Qamsari, said the two sides had reached an agreement on a mechanism after several round of negotiations.
Wood Mackenzie sees political risk playing greater role in oil prices
The ramping up of tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran makes it highly unlikely Saudi Arabia will cut its output to help Iran regain market share, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Iraq offers itself as a mediator between Saudi Arabia and Iran
Iraq has offered to act as a mediator to ease tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran that escalated after the kingdom’s execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on two of Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic. Some Sunni Arab nations have followed the Saudis’ lead and severed or downgraded ties with Iran, while others have offered words of caution aimed at calming the situation. The offer by Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, made during a news conference in the Iranian capital, included the diplomat referring to the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr as a “crime”, a description that raised questions as to whether Saudi officials would even consider such an offer. The kingdom and its allies say that Mr al-Nimr was executed after being tried and sentenced to death under Saudi law.
Why oil markets are yawning as Mideast powers rattle sabers
At almost any other time, an escalating diplomatic conflict between OPEC members Iran and Saudi Arabia would mean a spike in oil prices.
Iran’s need to sell oil suggests it may blink first in Saudi spat, expert says
Ongoing diplomatic tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran is unlikely to escalate into to direct confrontation, with Iran likely to be the one who blinks first as it seeks to get its oil supplies onto the world market, according a leading Middle East expert.
Opinion: Iran-Saudi spat could impact cooperation within OPEC
Developing political tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have resulted in fluctuating oil prices, with the price of Brent crude having risen to $38.50/bbl, its highest level for three weeks.
Iran, Saudi Arabia square up across world’s busiest tanker route
There are several reasons why escalating tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia make markets nervous. One of them is that they sit on either side of the Persian Gulf, the world’s biggest concentration of oil tankers.
Oil rises as Saudis cut ties with Iran after embassy attacked
Oil gained for a second day as Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran a day after its embassy in Tehran was attacked to protest the Saudis’ execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
Iran adding to global oil glut dims hopes for recovery next year
Investors are losing faith in an oil-price recovery next year as Iran prepares to add more crude to a global glut.
Oil falls from three-week high as Iran says exports ‘priority’
Oil in New York slid from the highest in three weeks and snapped the longest run of gains since April as Iran repeated its goal of boosting exports after sanctions on the country are lifted. Futures lost as much as 1.1 percent, falling the first time in five days. Iran’s priority is to boost crude shipments to pre-sanction levels, state-backed IRNA reported, citing Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. The Persian Gulf nation plans to add 500,000 barrels a day of exports within a week after sanctions are removed, said Rokneddin Javadi, head of National Iranian Oil Co., according to Shana news agency.
IMF says surge in oil exports could see oil price drop between $5 and $15
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) has said a resurgence in oil exports next year could lower oil prices down by between $5 and $15 a barrel. Iran is expected to push an additional half million barrels into international markets next year.
US oil exports shouldn’t bother OPEC: Iran is the problem
An end to the U.S.’s 40-year ban on oil exports is probably not what OPEC needs right now. Yet a resurgent Iran may present a greater threat as it prepares to dump a million barrels on the market next year.
UN closes the books on decade-long Iran nuclear probe
The UN nuclear agency have approved a resolution that ends a decade-long probe of allegations that Iran worked on atomic weapons. The probe had to be formally closed as part of an Iran-six nation deal restricting Iran’s current nuclear programmes which could be used to make such weapons, in exchange for sanctions relief for Tehran.
Oil sinks to lowest in almost seven years as Iran vows more supply
Oil extended declines from the lowest price since February 2009 as Iran pledged to boost crude exports, bolstering speculation OPEC members will exacerbate the global oversupply.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are agreed: they’ll keep on pumping
Iran joined Saudi Arabia in saying it would keep on pumping despite oil prices hovering near a six-year low, giving the strongest signal yet that OPEC wouldn’t act at the group’s meeting in Vienna to curb the global supply glut.
Iran says most of OPEC supports cut except Gulf Arab states
The majority of OPEC members would agree to a reduction in crude production at Friday’s meeting, with the exception of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf Arab countries, Shana reported, citing Mehdi Asali, director general of OPEC and energy forums at the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum.
Iran’s nuclear past may remain unclear even as atomic probe ends
Questions will probably be left unanswered when International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors conclude their assessment of Iran’s past nuclear activities next week.
Oil price competition to intensify when Iranian crude returns
Oil price competition in Europe is set to intensify when Iranian crude returns to the market after sanctions on its nuclear program are lifted, the International Energy Agency said. Europe will be the battleground between producers of sour crude grades, including Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran, as the Asian market becomes more “crowded,” the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly report. Iraq, the second largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has increased its market share in Europe after the imposition of sanctions on Tehran resulted in the collapse of Iranian exports, the IEA said. Iraq sold 1 million barrels a day to Europe in July and August, overtaking Saudi Arabia, according to the IEA.