Caracas, Venezuela | AFP | Here are key developments in Venezuela since a band of soldiers briefly rose up against President Nicolas Maduro on January 21, with an opposition leader declaring himself “acting president” days later. – Brief uprising – On January 21 a group of soldiers take control of …
Read More »Venezuela, an impaired oil giant
Paris, France | AFP | Venezuelan oil output has plunged by more than half in 30 years but the country still sits on the world’s biggest crude reserves, so any political changes will ripple worldwide. The country holds 17.9 percent of proven oil reserves, ahead of Saudi Arabia at 15.7 percent, …
Read More »Nigeria: Africa’s top oil producer, world’s extreme poverty capital
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | In the Ago Egun Bariga area of Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, there is no road, no electricity, no running water and no rubbish collection. Now that high grass has blocked access to the water, there is no work either. The people of Ago Egun Bariga have …
Read More »Privatise Nigeria’s oil industry? Easier said than done
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A leading contender in Nigeria’s presidential election next month has pledged to privatise the country’s oil industry, but that’s a promise that might prove hard to keep, some observers say. Atiku Abubakar, the main opposition party contender, has vowed to break up the Nigerian National Petroleum …
Read More »Saudi Arabia raises spending in new deficit budget
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced an expansionary budget for 2019 but projected a shortfall for the sixth year in a row due to low oil prices. The new budget comes with the oil-rich kingdom reeling under strong international pressure over the murder …
Read More »Oil prices surge as OPEC agrees joint 1.2 mn bpd cut with partners
Vienna, Austria | AFP | OPEC members and 10 other oil producing nations, including Russia, agreed Friday to cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day in a bid to reverse falls in prices in recent months. Energy ministers reached the deal — which takes effect from January 1 but …
Read More »Qatar to quit OPEC in 2019: energy minister
Doha, Qatar | AFP | Qatar is to leave OPEC next month in order for the Gulf state to focus on gas production, Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi announced on Monday. “Qatar has decided to withdraw its membership from OPEC effective January 2019,” Kaabi said at a Doha press conference. He …
Read More »Major oil producers to consider cuts after price slide
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Major oil producers meet in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to consider reverting to output cuts after a sharp slide in crude prices revived fears of a 2014-style crash. Oil prices shed a fifth of their value in just one month after surging to …
Read More »OPEC pumps more oil in July despite cut pledge: IEA
Paris, France | AFP | OPEC pumped more oil in July as global oil supplies rose for the third straight month, the IEA said Friday, giving figures that cast further doubt on the cartel’s pledge to cut output to raise prices. In its monthly report on the global oil market, the …
Read More »Non-OPEC oil states agree to cuts in ‘historic’ deal
Vienna, Austria | AFP | Eleven countries agreed on Saturday to cut their oil output, teaming up with the OPEC cartel in an exceptional bid to end the world’s glut of crude and reverse a dramatic fall in income. Russia and 10 other non-OPEC states will reduce their production by …
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