Saudis say OPEC can’t solve surging natural gas prices

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(Bloomberg) –Saudi Arabia said any extra oil from the OPEC+ cartel would do little to bring down surging natural-gas prices.

“We see our role as extremely limited,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said during the CERAWeek India Energy Forum on Wednesday. “The issue is not the availability of crude oil. Even if we made it available in tons and tons, who’s going to burn it? Who is in need of it? And are they in need of crude or in need, for example, of gas?”

Gas and coal futures have soared to record highs in recent weeks amid shortages of the fuels across much of Europe and Asia. Oil has also risen as some power producers switch to crude, but it’s been less volatile, thanks in part to OPEC+ committing to steady production increases.

Prince Abdulaziz said oil demand may rise by 500,000 to 600,000 barrels a day if the northern hemisphere’s winter is colder than normal. That’s roughly 0.5% of global consumption.

Any further boost to demand may be limited because many gas-fired generators cannot switch easily to oil, which is also a far dirtier fuel.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies — a 23-nation group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia — have pledged to raise daily output by 400,000 barrels each month. Some major consumers, including the U.S. and Japan, have called on exporters to do more to lower oil prices, which are up around 65% this year to over $80 a barrel.

“The frustration is that I feel oil is being taken for a ride when the real issues are not being attended to,” the prince said.

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Schlumberger CEO looks forward to a profitable 2022 in non-U.S. markets

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) –Schlumberger is the latest oilfield giant to declare the worst is behind them in international markets after a historic crude price collapse, forecasting strong demand for their services into next year.

The world’s biggest oilfield contractor joined rivals Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Co. this week in predicting expansion in overseas work and a more muted recovery in North America through the rest of 2021. Global oil demand should return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year, if not sooner, Schlumberger CEO Olivier Le Peuch told analysts on Friday.

“A new growth cycle has finally commenced,” he said in a statement released on Friday. “There is an increasingly positive sentiment in the industry outlook as the recovery strengthens despite the lingering concerns regarding the Covid-19 crisis.”

The service sector that helps oil explorers detect and drill underground reserves is slowly returning to work after a global glut and pandemic-led lockdowns sapped energy demand, triggering job cuts and bankruptcies across the industry. The big three contractors, who this week posted better-than-expected first-quarter results, are pivoting away from the once-booming North American shale patch and chasing work elsewhere instead.

Schlumberger said it expects an increase in U.S. onshore activity in the second quarter that will level off during the second half. But international activity is poised to continue ramping up through the end of this year and beyond.

Sales are expected to grow by mid-single digits this quarter, while operating margins probably will expand by as much a percentage point, Chief Financial Officer Stephane Biguet said during the call.

The shares, which have climbed more than 50% in the past year, rose 1.9% to $25.73 at 10:58 a.m. in New York.

Le Peuch has cut tens of thousands of workers, reshuffled the company’s business around the globe and sold off assets in North America in order to focus on overseas work. The service provider expects to generate about 80% of sales from international markets.

The company continues to work on a pair of asset sales, including drilling rigs in the Middle East and a business in Canada that shares in the ownership of wells, Le Peuch said.

The first-quarter results reflect Schlumberger’s shifting strategy, with its lowest North American sales output since the start of the shale boom roughly a decade ago. While a seasonal drop in international revenue from the fourth quarter to the first quarter is typical, Schlumberger said the 3% sequential drop during the quarter was its shallowest since 2008.

Meanwhile, Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller told investors on Wednesday that early signs of an international recovery are already showing up in orders for tools.

“These signs give us greater conviction that the second half of this year will see a low double-digit increase in international activity year-on-year,” Miller said. “We believe the international markets will experience multiple years of growth.”

https://www.worldoil.com/news/2021/4/23/schlumberger-ceo-looks-forward-to-a-profitable-2022-in-non-us-markets

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Halliburton reports pickup in oilfield services demand overseas

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) –Halliburton Co. sees the pace of the rebound in overseas demand for oilfield services picking up through the rest of the year after the recovery in global crude prices.

“I expect international activity growth to accelerate, and the early positive momentum in North America gives me confidence in the activity cadence for the rest of the year,” CEO Jeff Miller said Wednesday in a statement. “I am optimistic about how this transition year is shaping up.”

Halliburton, the market leader in fracking, and its rival, Baker Hughes Co., both reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on a per-share basis, excluding one-time items on Wednesday. The companies forecast growth in global oil markets for the rest of this year. Halliburton fell 2.8% to $19.25 a share at 9:37 a.m. in New York, while Baker Hughes dropped 1.2% amid lower oil prices on Wednesday.

Along with the world’s top oilfield contractor Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Halliburton are attempting to pivot to overseas markets and away from the North American shale sector, which experienced an historic crash in activity in the past year after the pandemic triggered a crash in oil prices. Halliburton’s results come three months after Miller called for a bottom in international activity in the first quarter.

https://www.worldoil.com/news/2021/4/21/halliburton-reports-pickup-in-oilfield-services-demand-overseas

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BP to end Permian flaring by 2025 with $1B+ pipeline network: WSJ

(Bloomberg) –BP Plc will spend about $1.3 billion to build a network of pipes and other infrastructure to collect and capture natural gas produced as a byproduct from oil wells in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The plans, to be announced Monday, will eliminate routine flaring of natural gas in the oil field by 2025, the paper said. The burning of gas in this way is prevalent in the Permian because most producers there drill for more profitable oil and often incinerate the gas that comes as a byproduct, it added.

“We will be producing oil and gas for decades, but it will be a certain kind of oil and gas,” Dave Lawler, the chairman of BP America Inc., is quoted in the WSJ. “It’s a highly profitable barrel and it’s a responsibly produced barrel.”

The investment reflects the ever-growing pressure on the industry to reduce its carbon footprint and contributions to climate change. At the end of March, BP announced it had lowered its Scope 1 and 2 emissions, those associated mostly with production, by 16% in 2020.

https://www.worldoil.com/news/2021/4/16/bp-to-end-permian-flaring-by-2025-with-1bplus-pipeline-network-wsj

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Iran aims to increase foreign trade by 21% in current year

Tehran, April 19, IRNA – Chairman of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization Hamid Zadboom has said that the country plans for a 21-percent increase in foreign trade in the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2021, to March 20, 2022).

Zadboom said on Monday that there are two scenarios for the current year, including an optimistic outlook with a successful negotiation on the 2015 nuclear deal and the lifting of sanctions, which will pave the ground for new avenues for foreign trade, as well as a pessimistic foresight that will be the continuation of last year’s economic situation with the persistence of coronavirus pandemic and the extension of the pressure of sanctions, which will affect foreign trade negatively.

He noted that based on various studies, COVID-19 and vaccination will have draconian effects on economic growth.

Pointing to the impact of the US sanctions on Iran’s trade exchanges, he underlined that the production line in the Islamic country needs the import of certain raw materials to help flourish export of produced materials; thus, the sanctions are the main bump in the way of trade activities.

So, the sanctions affect imports and exports of commodities, as well as transportation and banking activities, he said, if the obstacles are removed, Iran can move in line with the economic growth predicted by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for the current year.

** 11.7% reduction of imports

Zadboom also said that Iran’s export indices show a 15 percent decrease in export in terms of weight and value in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2021) in comparison to the previous year, adding that the volume of imports also reduced 11.7 percent in terms of value and 5.8 percent in terms of weight.

Lockdown and border closure in the first three months of the last Iranian year caused a decline in export, the TOPI chairman said.

The reduction of gas export to Turkey in that year was an important element of the decrease in total export, he noted.

He also expects that trade events in the current Iranian year will help grow trade, adding that negotiations concerning free trade with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Pakistan, as well preferential trades with India, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Azerbaijan, will be held virtually sooner in a bid to boost trade ties.

** Dispatching trade consultants to target states

Zadboom further noted that five trade consultants were selected last year and they will be dispatched to Russia, China, Oman, Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan, adding that Iran will add the number of consultants for trade ties with Pakistan and Iraq.

According to the official, India, Turkey, and Pakistan are the next countries on the list, where Iran will dispatch trade consultants to.

 

Source: en.irna.ir/news/84300937

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Iran has $2.5b trade exchanges with Caspian Sea countries

Tehran, April 19, IRNA – The spokesman of the Customs Administration of Iran said on Monday that the country had $2.525 billion dollars of non-oil trade with the Caspian Sea counties in the Iranian year 1399 (ended March 2020).

Noting that the weight of the traded goods has been 6.242 million tons, Ruhollah Latifi said Iran exported 3.125 million tons of goods with the value of $1.856 billion to Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, among which Azerbaijan ranked first with about 1,003,087 tons ($510,987,242).

Latifi added that Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan ranked second to fourth.

He added that in the same period Iran imported 3,117,266 tons of goods with the value of $1,203,847,104 from these countries, among which Russia ranked first with 2,933,485 tons ($1,070,256,262).

He went on to say that Iran’s trade balance with these countries was over $117 million dollars.

Source: en.irna.ir/news/84301019

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Iran, Serbia stress expansion of agricultural trade co-op

TEHRAN – Iranian Agriculture Minister Kazem Khavazi, in a meeting with Serbia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic on Sunday, has stressed the need to expand trade and agricultural relations between the two countries.

“Iran and Serbia can have constructive cooperation in various economic fields, especially in agriculture,” IRNA quoted Khavazi as saying in the meeting.

“We have had very good relations with the Eastern European countries in the agricultural sector,” he said, adding that “Balkan countries, especially Serbia, are making good progress in this regard and Iran is willing to develop its relations with Serbia in different sectors.”

The official expressed Iran’s agreement for the establishment of a Joint Economic Committee with Serbia, saying that the two sides have great potentials for the investment of their private sectors in various fields like fertilizers and pesticides.

“Iran has oil resources and many petroleum products can be used for producing pesticides, and we can make a good contribution in this regard,” Khavazi added.

“There are also very good fields in seed production in Iran and positive cooperation can be formed between Iran and Serbia regarding seed exchanges,” he further noted.

The Iranian minister also expressed the Islamic Republic’s readiness for barter trading with Serbia saying: “in exchange for oil and other petroleum products, we can have a memorandum of understanding with the Serbian Agriculture Ministry to import grain from Serbia, and we can also trade saffron, herbs, shrimp and caviar.”

He went on to say, “We can meet Serbia’s needs for veterinary medicines and vaccines through Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute.”

Emphasizing the need for the expansion of agricultural trade relations between Iran and Serbia, Selakovic said for his part: “Political cooperation between the two countries is at a very high level, and this should be used to develop trade relations, especially in the field of agriculture.”

Stating that the Serbian Foreign Ministry is also responsible for economic diplomacy, he added, “We are seriously pursuing the expansion of trade relations between the two countries at the State Department.”

Source: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/459996/Iran-Serbia-stress-expansion-of-agricultural-trade-co-op

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Italian companies eager for return to Iranian market

TEHRAN – Chairman of Iran-Italy Joint Chamber of Commerce Ahmad Pourfallah has said Italian companies are still eager to engage in trade with Iran and are preparing to return to the Islamic Republic, ILNA reported on Monday.

“Many Italian companies are preparing to re-enter Iran after the sanctions are lifted and in this regard, we have advised the 5000 members we have in the Iran-Italy Chamber of commerce to be prepared as well,” Pourfallah said.

In the previous period, unfortunately, we were not prepared and could not benefit from the opportunity created by the arrival of various business groups from Europe, especially Italy and Germany, the official regretted.

“After the lifting of the previous sanctions, we saw the largest presence of Italian businessmen in Iran. Even the first high-ranking political figure to come to Iran was the Italian Foreign Minister, and the Italian Prime Minister also visited Iran; this shows how much Italy is interested in collaborating with Iran,”

“For many years, Italy was our first trading partner and the only European country with which our trade balance was positive,” he added.

Mentioning the potential impact of the lifting of sanctions on trade between the two countries, the official said: “It is expected that immediately after the lifting of sanctions, Italian companies and entrepreneurs will flock to the Iranian market.”

In response to a question about the number of Italian companies ready to enter the Islamic Republic, he said: “We do not have specific statistics on the number of Italian companies that have announced their readiness to pursue their activities in Iran, but all Italian and Iranian members of the joint chamber in Rome, which are more than 105 companies, are ready to resume their activities in Iran.”

Regarding Iran’s blocked resources in Italy, Pourfallah said: “According to the latest official data, we do not have a large amount of money blocked in Italy and the figure is lower than Iran’s frozen assets in many other countries.”

“We have never had a problem with Italy on this issue like other countries,” he stressed.

Source: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/459997/Italian-companies-eager-for-return-to-Iranian-market

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Iran FM calls for preferential tariffs agreement with Indonesia

Tehran, April 19, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday called for finalizing preferential tariffs agreement with Indonesia.

Zarif made the remarks in a meeting in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi.

Zarif voiced Tehran’s readiness to continue with talks with Jakarta on the preferential tariff agreement.

Zarif hailed the principled stands of Indonesia at the UN Security Council to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – known as JCPOA – and to help support the implementation of the UNSC Resolution 2231.

The Indonesian foreign minister, for her part, lauded the growing relations between the two countries on different areas, including the economic sector, expressing hope that both countries will facilitate bilateral trade by the joint trade commission and agreements under study.

The two foreign ministers also reviewed ways to support the international law and discussed the latest developments on the peace process in Afghanistan.

Zarif left Tehran for Jakarta on Sunday in the context of “Ramadan diplomacy” to promote bilateral relations.

Source: en.irna.ir/news/84300636

 

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Annual production of textile, clothing and leather products doubles

TEHRAN – Production of textile, clothing, and leather products in Iran doubled in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20), a board member of the Iranian Tanners Association announced.

“This success was achieved at a time when entrepreneurs in the textile, apparel, and leather industries were facing lots of problems in the previous year due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the sanctions, and, more importantly, the problems regarding the supply of raw materials,” Javad Hosseini-Khah told IRNA on Monday.

Underlining the potentials and capacities of the mentioned industries in the country, Hosseini-Khah called on the government to provide the necessary support for them in order to pave the way for further development and growth in this sector.

According to the official, one of the major factors that have contributed to the flourishing of the clothing industry in the country over the past two years has been the ban on the imports of foreign products and the restrictions imposed on the smuggling of such products.

“In recent years, smugglers have come to the conclusion that importing clothing items through smuggling is no longer profitable for them,” he said.

The official noted that the outbreak of the coronavirus and the travel restrictions were other events that minimized the import of clothing and leather products through luggage imports, which consequently increased demand in the consumer sector leading to the development of domestic production.

“In the past year, a lot of work has been done in the field of branding and manufacturing of textile machinery in order to reduce dependence on foreign sources, but it is not enough and more effective steps must be taken in this direction because our ultimate goal is to compete in the global markets,” Hosseini-Khah stressed.

“If we want to compete at least in the markets of neighboring countries, we must put the improvement of effective indicators on the agenda and allocate large investments in this field,” he added.

Iranian producers exported over $40 million worth of garments during the first seven months of the previous Iranian calendar year (March 20-October 21, 2020), according the chairman of Iran Textile Exporters and Manufacturers Association (ITEMA).

Majid Nami said the ban on foreign brands import and the closure of borders due to the spread of the coronavirus and the reduction of smuggled garments have contributed to this success.

Source: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/460008/Annual-production-of-textile-clothing-and-leather-products-doubles

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