From there to here: The future of Iran sanctions and oil
The 14 July agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme has set in motion a gradual easing of the West’s position towards Iran and begun the processes towards a dismantling of the sanctions enforced by the United States, the European Union and individual countries aligned with either the USA, the EU or both.(1) The ‘reopening’ of Iran, as it is being described in the West, has also raised questions of its potential...
Azerbaijan gas for Europe receives $1b boost
Multilateral banks and a syndicate of commercial banks will provide US $1 billion to finance development of an Azerbaijan offshore gas field feeding Southern Gas Corridor from the Caspian Sea to Europe. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with the participation of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), are arranging a financing package of US $1 billion for a...
MENA banks under strain of falling oil prices
Major banks in the Middle East and North Africa region, with deep links in Europe, are seen by rating agencies as coming under increasing pressure in response to the ongoing oil price decline. Moody’s and Standard and Poors said the banks, with a few exceptions, are expected to tide over the cash crunch being created by falling oil prices and a general prognoses of a sustained low performance of the oil markets. But, they added,...
Business-as-unusual for oil in medium term: IEA
The recent crash in oil prices will cause the oil market to rebalance in ways that challenge traditional thinking about the responsiveness of supply and demand, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual Medium-Term Oil Market Report (MTOMR) released 10 February 2015. The US light, tight oil (LTO) revolution has made non-OPEC production more responsive to price swings than during previous market selloffs, the report...
Moody’s calms oil price fears
Continued growth in global oil demand means recent downward fluctuations in prices of the commodity are unlikely to lead to a precipitous long-term fall, Moody’s rating agency investors service said Tuesday (21 October 2014). “It’s hardly shocking that oil prices have weakened in the face of growing supply,” Moody’s Managing Director Steve Wood said in a report. “But last week’s sharp drop has...