Talking geopolitics & refineries at Platts event

Following on from earlier conversations with contacts in the trading community about the direction of the Brent crude price versus geopolitics, the Oilholic extended his queries to the Platts Energy Risk Forum, held in London earlier this week. At the event, Dave Ernsberger, global editorial director of oil coverage at Platts, summed-up the market mood as we near the final quarter of 2012 (see graphic above, click to enlarge). “This year has been one of two realities, namely the dire economic climate and upward geopolitical risk. H1 2012 saw anxiety about a war in the Middle East and H2 sees renewed fears of a demand slowdown,” he told delegates.

“The oil price is poised to break away from the mean – but which way? So far it has been chained and shackled in the US$15-20 range either way falling below US$90 and rising above US$115 over the course of this year. The threat of an Iran versus Israel conflict which might draw the US in by default has not gone away. On the other hand a European recession could bring a new oil price crash. Additionally, there is a perception that supply-demand and spare capacity scenarios are not what they are made out to be,” Ernsberger added.

Over a break in proceedings, the Oilholic quizzed the Platts man about the actual influence of the geopolitical or instability premium on the price of the crude stuff and market conjecture about it being broadly neutral for 2013.

“I think the current geopolitical dynamic is fairly well understood at this point. The big touching points which are at play for instance, but not limited to, the US-Iran-Israel issue and the China-Japan and Asia Pacific energy politics have been with us for a while. I feel it is hard to see how those geopolitical arenas will evolve significantly in 2013 because we are at a stalemate point. In a sense, if you look forward they should be neutral,” Ernsberger said.

However, both of us were in agreement that one always needs to be careful about a geopolitical trigger as a single tiny flashpoint could offset the placidness. But from where Ernsberger and the Oilholic sit at present – geopolitical influences are in a kind of suspended animation for next year. The Platts Energy Risk Forum also noted that demand forecasts for 2012 have stabilised and that Chinese demand, on a standalone basis, had slowed considerably. As such, the price outlook for 2013 is overwhelmingly bearish.

One unintended result of the European crisis brings us to another area of interest - refining. Platts noted that the EU-wide recession is speeding up refinery closures. It suggested that 3 to 5 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil refining capacity is under immediate threat of closure or actually did close recently. Additionally, an estimated 7 million bpd needs to close to adjust for more efficient refining in Asia and Middle East. But the closures are lifting refining margins over the short-term in a business that remains volatile (see graphic above right, click to enlarge). Ernsberger also brought forth a very valid observation for the readers of this humble blog – the striking similarity between the survival (or vice versa) statistics within the refining and civil aviation sectors.

“Refining and aviation are two industries where it’s a race to the bottom! There is so much competition in both these industries that basically whatever environment you are operating in – even if you are operating in India or China – it’s a race to the bottom…Typically, what you’ll find is that every company would try and stay in the business as long as it can and will only leave when it runs out of money. It’s also why refining and aviation have more bankruptcies than any other sector I can think of,” he said.

At the same forum, it was also a pleasure running into Dr. Vincent Kaminski, a former Enron executive who repeatedly raised strong objections to the financial practices at the company prior to its scandal-ridden collapse in 2002. In the aftermath of the scandal, Dr. Kaminski was praised for being among the voices of reason at a company riddled with malpractices. (For background read Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind’s brilliant book – The Smartest Guys in the Room)

Dr. Kaminski, who is an academic on the faculty of Houston’s Rice University at present, told the forum that by the time of its collapse Enron had mutated from an energy company to one which traded practically everything and one which was not alone in devising trading strategies based on exploiting geographical constraints.

“Energy markets have evolved over the last 20 years into an integrated global system. Markets for different physical commodities form what can be called a tightly coupled system. While market participants learn and adjust their behaviour in order to survive and prosper in a changing world, the system itself evolves and remains far removed from a stable equilibrium at any point in time,” he added.

Dr. Kaminski also dwelt on the Shale Gas revolution in the US which was decades in the making but transformed the country's energy landscape upon fruition leading to the availability of natural gas in abundance and a dip in gas price-contracts (see graphic on the left, click to enlarge). “As US production sky-rocketed, conventional wisdom about the possibility of LNG shortages barely five years ago was turned on its head. By April 2012 we even noted a sub-US$2/mBtu front-month settlement on the NYMEX,” he added.

Later in the afternoon, Dr. Kaminski told the Oilholic that US LNG import terminals currently being prepped to export gas in wake of the shale bonanza could one day be sending tanker-loads to Europe in direct competition with Qatar and Russia.

“On the flipside for the US consumer, the moment a viable gas export market is established for US gas, the impact on the country’s domestic gas market would be a bullish one. That is the nature of market forces,” he added.

When asked about the prospects of shale prospection in Europe – most notably in Poland, Ukraine, Sweden and the UK – Dr. Kaminski said he was a ‘realist’ rather than a ‘sceptic’. “What happened in the US, did not take place overnight. Technology, legislative facilitation and public will – all played a part and gradually fell into place. I do not see it being replicated in Europe over the short term and certainly not with the speed that some are hoping it would,” he concluded.

Just as the Oilholic was winding down from a discussion on shale with Dr. Kaminski, it seems the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) was talking up the economic benefits of a British Shale Gale! In a policy statement circulated to parliamentarians, the IMechE said shale gas was ‘no silver bullet’ for UK energy security but will provide long-term economic benefits in the shape of thousands of jobs.

Dr. Tim Fox, Head of Energy and Environment at IMechE and lead author of the shale gas policy statement, said, “Shale gas has the potential to give some of the regions hit hardest by the economic downturn a much-needed economic boost. The engineering jobs created will also help the Government’s efforts to rebalance the UK’s skewed economy.”

However, Dr. Fox added that shale gas "is unlikely to have a major impact on energy prices and the possibility that the UK might ever achieve self-sufficiency in gas is remote." 

IMechE projects that 4,200 jobs would be created per year over a ten-year drill programme. The engineering skills developed could then be sold abroad, just as the oil and gas experience built up in North Sea oilfields is now being sold across the world. Well, we shall see but that’s all for the moment folks! Keep reading, keep it ‘crude’!

© Gaurav Sharma 2012. Graphic 1: Platts dated Brent – January 2011 to August 2012 © Platts September 2012. Graphic 2: International cracking margins snapshot © Platts / Turner Mason & Co. September 2012. Graphic 3: US Natural Gas futures contract © Dr. Vincent Kaminski, Rice University, Texas, USA /Bloomberg.

On Brent's direction, OPEC, China & more

Several conversations last week with contacts in the trading community, either side of the pond, seem to point to a market consensus that this summer’s rally in the price of Brent and other waterborne crudes was largely driven by geopolitical concerns. Tight North Sea supply scenarios in September owing to planned maintenance issues, the nagging question of Iran versus Israel and Syrian conflict continue to prop-up the so called ‘risk premium’; a sentiment always difficult to quantify but omnipresent in a volatile geopolitically sensitive climate.

 

However, prior to the announcement of the US Federal Reserve’s economic stimulus measures, contacts at BofAML, Lloyds, Sucden Financial, Société Générale and Barclays seemed to opine that the current Brent prices are nearing the top of their projected trading range. Then of course last Thursday, following the actual announcement of the Fed’s plan – to buy and keep buying US$40 billion in mortgage-backed securities every month until the US job market improves – Brent settled 0.7% higher or 78 cents more at US$116.66 per barrel.

 

Unsurprisingly, the move did briefly send the WTI forward month futures contract above the US$100 per barrel mark before settling around US$99 on the NYMEX; its highest close since May 4. But reverting back to Brent, as North Sea supply increases after September maintenance and refinery crude demand witnesses a seasonal drop, the benchmark is likely to slide back downwards. So for Q4 2012 and for 2013 as a whole, Société Générale forecasts prices at US$103. Compared to previous projections, the outlook has been revised up by US$6 for Q4 2012 and by US$3 for 2013 by the French investment back.

 

Since geopolitical concerns in the Middle East are not going to die down anytime soon, many traders regard the risk premium to be neutral through 2013. That seems fair, but what of OPEC production and what soundbites are we likely to get in Vienna in December? Following on from the Oilholic’s visit to the UAE, there is more than just anecdotal evidence that OPEC doves have begun to cut production (See chart above left, click to enlarge).

 

Société Générale analyst Mike Wittner believes OPEC production cuts will continue with the Saudis joining in as well. This would result in a more balanced market, especially for OECD inventories. “Furthermore, moderate demand growth, led – as usual – by emerging markets, should be roughly matched by non-OPEC supply growth, driven by the US and Canada,” Wittner added.

 

Of course, the soundbite of last week on a supply and demand discussion came from none other than the inimitable T. Boone Pickens; albeit in an American context. The veteran oilman and founder of investment firm BP Capital told CNBC that the US has the natural resources to stop importing OPEC crude oil one fine day.

 

Pickens noted that there were 30 US states producing oil and gas; the highest country has ever had. In a Presidential election year, he also took a swipe at politicians saying neither Democrats nor Republicans had shown “leadership” on the issue of energy independence.

 

At the Democratic convention the week before, President Obama boasted that the US had already cut imported oil by one million barrels per day (bpd). However, Pickens said this had little to do with any specific Obama policy and the Oilholic concurs. As Pickens explained, “The economy is poorer and that will get you less imports. You can cut imports further if the economy gets worse.”

 

He also said the US should build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, currently blocked by the Obama administration, to help bring more oil in to the country from Canada. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is in Japan and China to calm tempers on both sides following a face-off in the East China Sea. On Friday, six Chinese surveillance ships briefly entered waters around the Senkaku Islands claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan.

 

After a stand-off with the Japanese Coastguard, the Chinese vessels left but not before the tension level escalated a step or two. The Chinese reacted after Japan sealed a deal to buy three of the islands with resource-rich waters in proximity of the Chunxiao offshore gas field. Broadcaster NHK said the stand-off lasted 90 minutes, something which was confirmed over the weekend by Beijing.

 

With more than just fish at stake and China’s aggressive stance in other maritime disputes over resource-rich waters of the East and South China Sea(s), Panetta has called for “cooler heads to prevail.”

 

Meanwhile some cooler heads in Chinese boardrooms signalled their intent as proactive players in the M&A market by spending close to US$63.1 billion in transactions last year according a new report published by international law firm Squire Sanders. It notes that among the various target sectors for the Chinese, energy & resources with 30% of deal volume and 70% of deal value and chemicals & industrials sectors with 21% of deal volume and 11% of deal value dominated the 2011 data (See pie-chart - courtesy Squire Sanders - above, click to enlarge). In deal value terms, the law firm found that North America dominates as a target market (with a share of 35%) for the Chinese, with oil & gas companies the biggest attraction. However, in volume terms, Western Europe was the top target market with almost a third (29%) of all deals in 2011, and with industrials & chemicals companies being the biggest focus for number of deals (29%) but second to energy & resources in value (at 18% compared to 61%).

 

Big-ticket acquisitions by Chinese buyers were also overwhelmingly concentrated in the energy & resources industries where larger transactions tend to predominate. Sinopec, the country’s largest refiner, brokered a string of the largest transactions. These include the acquisition of a 30% stake in Petrogal Brasil for US$4.8 billion in November last year, a US$2.8 billion deal for Canada's Daylight Energy and the 33.3% stake in five oil & gas projects of Devon Energy for US$2.5 billion.

 

Squire Sanders notes that Sinopec, among other Chinese outbound buyers, often acquires minority stake purchases or assets, in a strategy that allows it to reduce risks and gain familiarity with a given market. This also reduces the likelihood of any political backlash which has been witnessed on some past deals such as CNOOC’s hostile bid for US-based oil & gas producer Unocal in 2005, which was subsequently withdrawn.

 

Since then, CNOOC has found many willing vendors elsewhere. For instance, in July this year, the company announced the US$17.7 billion acquisition of Canadian firm Nexen. To win the deal, which is still pending Ottawa’s approval, CNOOC courted Nexen, offering shareholders a 15.8% premium on the price shares had traded the previous month.

 

Squire Sanders’ Hong Kong-based partner Mao Tong believes clues about direction of Chinese investment may well be found in the Government’s 12th five-year plan (2011-2015).

 

“It lays emphasis on new energy resources, so the need for the technology and know-how to exploit China’s deep shale gas reserves will maintain the country’s interest in US and Canadian companies which are acknowledged leaders in this area,” Tong said at the launch of the report.

 

Away from Chinese moves, Petrobras announced last week that it had commenced production at the Chinook field in the Gulf of Mexico having drilled and completed a well nearly five miles deep. The Cascade-Chinook development is the first in the Gulf of Mexico to prospect for offshore oil using a floating, production, storage and offloading vessel instead of traditional oil platforms.

 

Finally, after the forced nationalisation of YPF in April, the Argentine government and Chevron inked a memorandum of understanding on Friday to explore unconventional energy opportunities. Local media reports also suggest that YPF has reached out to Russia's Gazprom as well since its nationalisation in a quest for new investors after having squeezed Spain’s Repsol out of its stake in YPF.

 

In response, the previous owner of YPF said it would take legal action against the move. A Repsol spokesperson said, “We do not plan to let third parties benefit from illegally confiscated assets. Our legal teams are already studying the agreement."

 

Neither Chevron nor YPF have commented on possible legal action from Repsol. That’s all for the moment folks. Keep reading, keep it ‘crude’!

 

© Gaurav Sharma 2012. Graph: OPEC Production 2010-2012 © Société Générale CIB 2012. Chart: Chinese M&A activity per sector by deal valuation and volumes © Squire Sanders. 

BP’s sale, South Africa’s move & the North Sea

BP continues to catch the Oilholic’s eye via its ongoing strategic asset sale programme aimed at mitigating the financial fallout from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill. Not only that, a continual push to get rid of refining and marketing (R&M) assets should also be seen as positive for its share price.

 

This afternoon, the oil giant inked a deal to sell five of its oil & gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico for US$5.6 billion to Plains Exploration and Production; an American independent firm. However, BP Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley reiterated that the oil giant remains committed to the region.

 

"While these assets no longer fit our business strategy, the Gulf of Mexico remains a key part of BP's global exploration and production portfolio and we intend to continue investing at least US$4 billion there annually over the next decade," he said in statement following the announcement.

 

Last month BP agreed to sell the Carson oil refinery in California to Tesoro for US$2.5 billion. As a footnote, the agreement holds the potential to make Tesoro the largest refiner on the West Coast and a substantial coastal R&M player alongside the oil majors. While regulatory scrutiny is expected, anecdotal evidence from California suggests the deal is likely to be approved. Back in June, BP announced its intention to sell its stake in TNK-BP, the company's lucrative but acrimony fraught Russian venture.

 

One can draw a straight logic behind the asset sales which BP would not contest. A recent civil case filed by the US Department of Justice against BP does not mince its words accusing the oil giant of “gross negligence” over the Gulf of Mexico spill which followed an explosion that led to the death of 11 workers. Around 4.9 million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf according to some estimates.

 

The charges, if upheld by the court, could see BP fined by as much as US$21 billion. The trial starts in January and BP, which denies the claim, says it would provide evidence contesting the charges. The company aims to raise US$38 billion via asset sales by Q4 2012. However, the Oilholic is not alone is his belief that the sale programme, while triggered by the spill of 2010, has a much wider objective of portfolio trimming and a pretext to get rid of burdensome R&M assets.

 

Meanwhile in Russia, the Kremlin is rather miffed about the European Commission’s anti-trust probe into Gazprom. According to the country’s media, the Russian government said the probe “was being driven by political factors.” Separately, Gazprom confirmed it would no longer be developing the Shtokman Arctic gas field citing escalating costs. Since, US was the target export market for the gas extracted, Gazprom has probably concluded that shale exploration stateside has all but ended hopes making the project profitable.

 

Sticking with Shale, reports over the weekend suggest that South Africa has ended its moratorium on shale gas extraction. A series of public consultations and environmental studies which could last for up to two years are presently underway. It follows a similar decision in the UK back in April.

 

Sticking with the UK, the country’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) says output of domestic mining & quarrying industries fell 2.4% in July 2012 on an annualised basis; the 22nd consecutive monthly fall. More worryingly, the biggest contributor to the decrease came from oil & gas extraction which fell 4.3% in year over year terms.

 

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has reacted to declining output. After addressing taxation of new UKCS prospection earlier this year, Osborne switched tack to brownfield sites right after the ONS released the latest production data last week.

 

Announcing new measures, the UK Treasury said an allowance for "brownfield" exploration will now shield portions of income from the supplementary charge on their profits. It added that the allowance would give companies the incentive to "get the most out of" older fields. Speaking on BBC News 24, Osborne added that the long-term tax revenues generated by the change would significantly outweigh the initial cost of the allowance.

 

According to the small print, income of up to £250 million in qualifying brownfield projects, or £500 million for projects paying Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT), would be protected from a 32% supplementary charge rate applied by the UK Treasury to such sites.

 

Roman Webber, tax partner at Deloitte, believes the allowance should stimulate investment in older fields in the North Sea where it was previously deemed uneconomical. Such investment is vital in preserving and extending the life of existing North Sea infrastructure, holding off decommissioning and maximising the recovery of the UK’s oil & gas resources.

 

“Enabling legislation for the introduction of this allowance was already included in the UK Finance Act 2012, announced earlier this year. The allowance will work by reducing the profits subject to the 32% Supplementary Charge. The level of the allowances available will depend on the expected project costs and incremental reserves, but will be worth up to a maximum of £160 million net for projects subject to PRT and £80 million for those that are not subject to the tax,” Webber notes.

 

Finally on the crude pricing front, Brent's doing US$114-plus when last checked. It has largely been a slow start to oil futures trading week either side of the pond as traders reflect on what came out of Europe last week and is likely to come out of the US this week. Jack Pollard of Sucden Financial adds that Chinese data for August showed a deteriorating fundamental backdrop for crude with net imports at 18.2 million metric tonnes; a 13% fall on an annualised basis.

 

Broadly speaking, the Oilholic sees a consensus in the City that Brent’s trading range of US$90 to US$115 per barrel will continue well into 2013. However for the remaining futures contracts of the year, a range of US$100 to US$106 is more realistic as macroeconomics and geopolitical risks seesaw around with a relatively stronger US dollar providing the backdrop. It is prudent to point out that going short on the current contract is based Iran not flaring up. It hasn't so far, but is factored in to the current contract's price. That’s all for the moment folks! Keep reading, keep it ‘crude’!

 

© Gaurav Sharma 2012. Photo: Oil Rig © Cairn Energy

A tailored guide to minerals and mining

Mining and quarrying together with oil & gas prospection complete the extractive industries landscape. Minerals have myriad uses in several key sectors of the world economy. Specifically in the oil & gas world, minerals used in the drilling process (e.g. - barytes, bentonites and frac sands) are key components of the hydrocarbon extraction processes.

 

Within this global setting, exploration, logistics and allied businesses are frequently impacted by constantly evolving commercial, legal, health and safety and cross-jurisdictional due diligence scenarios. Furthermore, professionals in the business as well as corporate project sponsors also need to keep abreast of technical and scientific matters ahead of a project feasibility study.

 

The book – Minerals and Mining: A Practical Global Guide – not only seeks to address an information gap in sector but also hopes to mitigate the information overload in this day and age. This succinct handy guide of just under 300 pages dwells on key legal and commercial concerns of the minerals and mining world. Various aspects of the subject at hand are examined by industry professionals via 19 detailed chapters.

 

Each chapter has been authored by jurisdictional experts ranging from Argentina to Russia  who work for some of the most recognisable brands in the legal and advisory business – including, but not limited to Allen & Overy, Norton Rose, SNR Denton and KPMG.

 

Topics include regulations, agreements, tariffs on minerals and mining; legal processes concerning  licences, concessions, production sharing and mining development agreements; financing; mining management and operating facets and last but not the least - the sale and purchase of mining assets. Additionally, mineral trading, environmental protection, social responsibility, accounting and taxation in various jurisdictions have also been examined.

 

The treatment of Latin American nations – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru – stands out for its veracity. However, it is the detailed chapters on emerging scenarios in Africa that sealed the deal for the Oilholic. As with works of this nature, consulting editor Per Vestergaard Pedersen of Lett Law Firm has done a commendable job of knitting this book of experts together. He has also authored an informative chapter on Greenland; a jurisdiction where mining activities have grown exponentially between 2002 and 2012.

 

On the whole, as expected the book is aimed at professionals with a mid-tier and upwards knowledge of the sector. The Oilholic believes it would make a handy and informative reference guide for legal practitioners and financiers. Executives at advisory firms, banks, engineering consultants and mining, shale, oilfield drilling project EPC contractors would appreciate it as well.

 

© Gaurav Sharma 2012. Photo: Front Cover – Minerals and Mining: A Practical Global Guide © Globe Law and Business

G7’s crude gripe, “Make oil prices dive”

As the Oilholic prepares to bid goodbye to Dubai, the G7 group of finance ministers have griped about rising oil prices and called on oil producing nations to up their production. They would rather have Dubai Mall’s Waterfall with Divers enclosure (pictured left) act as a metaphor for market direction! It is causing some consternation in this OPEC member jurisdiction and so it should.

 

First the facts – in a communiqué released on the US Treasury’s website yesterday, the G7 ministers say they are concerned about the impact of rising oil prices on the global economy and were prepared to act. Going one step further the ministers called on producing nations, most read OPEC, to act and now.

 

"We encourage oil producing countries to increase their output to meet demand. We stand ready to call upon the International Energy Agency (IEA) to take appropriate action to ensure that the market is fully and timely supplied," the statement notes. We have been here before back in March when American motorists were worried about prices at the pump and President Barack Obama was in a political quandary.

 

Now of course he is barely months away from a US Presidential election and here we are again. In fact the Canadians aside, all leaders elsewhere in the G7 are facing political pressure of some kind or the other related to the crude stuff too. Cue the statement and sabre rattling of releasing strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs)!

 

OPEC and non-OPEC producers' viewpoint, and with some reason, is that the market remains well supplied. Unfortunately plays around paper barrels and actual availability of physical barrels have both combined to create uncertainty in recent months.

 

On the face of it, at its last meeting OPEC – largely due to Saudi assertiveness – was seen producing above its set quota. Oil prices have spiked and dived, as the Oilholic noted earlier, but producers’ ability to change that is limited. Fear of the unknown is driving oil prices. As Saadallah Al Fathi, a former OPEC Secretariat staff member, notes in his recent Gulf News column, “prices seem to move against expectations, one way or another.”

 

Al Fathi further notes that the (West/Israel’s) confrontation with Iran is still on, but it is not expected to flare up. “Even the embargo on Iranian oil is slow to show in numbers, but may become more visible later,” he adds. While an oil shock following an Israeli attack on Iran could be made up by spare capacity, the room for another chance geopolitical complication or natural disaster would stretch the market. This is what spooks politicians, a US President in an election year and the market alike.

 

However, rather than talk of releasing SPRs for political ends now and as was the case in June 2011, the Oilholic has always advocated waiting for precisely such an emergency! While it has happened in the past, it is not as if producers have taken their foot off the production pedal to cash in on the prevailing bullish market trends at this particular juncture.

 

Away from G7’s gripe, regional oil futures benchmark – the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) Oman Crude (OQD) – has caught this blogger’s eye. Oman’s production is roughly below 925,000 barrels per day (bpd) at present. For instance, in June it came in at 923,339 bpd. However, this relatively new benchmark is as much about Oman as Brent is about the UK. It is fast acquiring pan-regional acceptance and the November futures contract is seen mirroring Brent and OPEC basket crude prices. Its why the DME created the contract in the first place. Question is will it have global prowess as a 'third alternative' one day?

 

Elsewhere, the UAE has begun using the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP). It will ultimately enable Abu Dhabi to export 70% of its crude stuff from Fujairah which is located on the Gulf of Oman bypassing the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian threats to close the passage in the process. However the 400km long pipeline, capable of transporting 1.5 million bpd, comes at a steep price of US$4 billion.

 

Sticking with the region, it seems Beirut is now the most expensive city to live in the Middle East according to Mercer’s 2012 Worldwide Cost of Living survey. It is followed by Abu Dhabi, Dubai (UAE), Amman (Jordan) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). On a global footing, Tokyo (Japan) tops the list followed by Luanda (Angola), Osaka (Japan), Moscow (Russia) and Geneva (Switzerland).

 

Meanwhile unlike the ambiguity over Dubai’s ratings status, Kuwait has maintained its AA rating from Fitch with a ‘stable’ outlook supported by rising oil prices and strong sovereign net foreign assets estimated by the agency in the region of US$323 billion in 2011.

 

Finally, on a day when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran has doubled production capacity at the Fordo nuclear site, Tehran has called for ridding the world of nuclear weapons at the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit claiming it has none and plans none. Yeah right! And  the Oilholic is dating Cindy Crawford! That’s all from Dubai folks; it’s time for the big flying bus home to London! Keep reading, keep it ‘crude’!

 

© Gaurav Sharma 2012. Photo: Waterfall at the Dubai Mall, UAE © Gaurav Sharma