Ecuador breaks OPEC unity, announces rise in oil output to raise revenue
Businessam Staff
July 18, 2017
Ecuador has dealt a blow to OPEC unity by announcing it will start raising oil production this month, arguing it needs the money. OPEC has for years cheated on its own agreements, particularly when oil prices fail to recover after an output cut. But Ecuador has taken the rare step of saying publicly it will increase […]
Exxon, Chevron downgraded at Wolfe on weak outlook for crude
Businessam StaffJuly 18, 2017
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. had their recommendations cut at Wolfe Research as the outlook for oil prices deteriorates. According to Bloomberg, Exxon was lowered to the underperform from peer perform, while Chevron was downgraded to peer perform from outperform, Wolfe analysts led by Paul Sankey said in separate reports Monday. Apache Corp., Hess […]
EU earmarks 700m euros for sustainable energy devt in Nigeria, West Africa
Businessam StaffJuly 17, 2017
The European Union (EU) says it has committed over 700 million euros for the development of sustainable energy in Nigeria and other ECOWAS countries within a six-year period beginning 2014 to 2020. Kurt Cornelis, head of cooperation, EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said this in Abuja on Monday at a workshop on policy and […]
Rwanda, World Bank agree to increase electricity access through off grid renewable energy
Businessam StaffJuly 17, 2017
Rwanda has signed a $50 million Scaling-Up Energy Renewable Program (SREP) financing agreement with World Bank in an effort to increase the country’s electricity access through off grid renewable energy. According to Africa Business Communities’ report, Claver Gatete, Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, and Yasser El Gammal, World Bank Country Manager for Rwanda signed […]
Nigeria state oil company says its refineries now produce 60% of domestic kerosene
Businessam StaffJuly 17, 2017
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced that its three refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna now supply 60 per cent of Dual Purpose Kerosene consumed in the country. The NNPC said in a statement on Sunday that this was far in advance to the 2019 target for the cessation of petroleum products […]
Oil skeptics let a little sunshine in
Businessam StaffJuly 17, 2017
Oil skeptics are letting a little sunshine in. After the worst June for oil in six years, hedge-fund bets on declining West Texas Intermediate retreated. That made room for futures to rebound more than 5 percent last week on optimism that the summer will finally boost demand for crude and gasoline. “The market is starting […]
Power: Hard nut to crack in Nigeria, as economy suffers
BusinessamJuly 14, 2017
Nigeria rolled out a document at the end of the first quarter articulating what it sees as its way out of a power supply quagmire that has held it down for decades. The Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP), admits the economy is shorting itself of $25 billion (N7.5 trillion at central bank exchange rate of […]
U.S. drilling costs rise as active rig count climbs
Businessam StaffJuly 14, 2017
U.S. oil and gas exploration and production companies are paying more to hire drilling rigs as the number of idle rigs declines after a recent slump, writes John Kemp, a Reuters market analyst. According to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published Thursday, drilling costs were up by eight percent in June […]
Tide turns for sulphur-rich oil in a sea of light crude
Businessam StaffJuly 13, 2017
The world is awash with oil, but in pockets of the market lower-quality, sulphur-rich crude is limited and buyers are competing for cargoes, according to Reuters. Lacklustre gasoline demand growth, particularly in the United States, and fears of a repeat of last year’s poor summer gasoline profits, led refineries in the Atlantic Basin to skew […]
Global LNG export to reach 650bcm by 2022, IEA
Phillip IsakpaJuly 13, 2017
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual report released Thursday that global export capacity for liquefied natural gas (LNG) would rise and reach 650 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year by 2022, compared to less than 452 bcm a year in 2016. Nigeria, a leading LNG exporter in Africa, would be expected to […]