Energy crises

OPEC members and key oil producers from outside the cartel will meet on April 17 in Doha in a bid to stabilize falling crude prices, Qatari energy minister Mohammed al-Sada said on March 16.

Iran wants to avoid an oil price war with rival producers and only gradually lift exports once sanctions against it are lifted, a senior official said, in what would be a major shift away from planning to ship as much fuel as soon as possible. 

The Bulgarian-Russian natural gas company Overgas claimed on Saturday that it has no overdue debts to any organizations, including Gazprom Export.

This statement comes in response to the dispute between Overgas and Gazprom, which threatened to leave the customers of the former without gas supplies from January 1.

Natural gas supplies towards all consumers in Bulgaria were running normally as of Friday, with all deliveries fulfilled according to plan.

This became clear after an emergency meeting on energy issues convened by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

Bulgarian-Russian company Overgas has denied receiving a letter from Russian energy giant Gazprom calling on it to prepared for a halt in supplies from January 1.

A statement on the company's website [BG] reads that the gas supply contract with Gazprom is in force until 2017, and Overgas abides by all of its commitments, with no overdue payment.

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has instructed state-owned Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz to prepare to supply natural gas to Overgas in case Russia's Gazprom Export halted deliveries to the Bulgarian-Russian joint stock company.

 Oil prices are not expected to rise next year, the head of French energy giant Total told reporters in Qatar on Dec. 7.

"We don't anticipate a recovery in 2016," Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne said on the sidelines of the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) in Doha.

The return of oil from Iran following the landmark nuclear energy deal with world powers could create fresh tensions within OPEC but may reinforce the cartel's output strategy, analysts say.
 

Iran's parliament has cut by 25 percent projected oil revenues in the draft budget for 2015-2016 to reflect the drop in price on the international market, media reported Feb. 16.
      
The decision was taken by lawmakers as they voted point by point on the draft budget submitted in December and which must be ratified by the end of the Iranian fiscal year on March 20.

European benchmark Brent oil sank under $50 per barrel today for the first time since 2009, hit by OPEC's production stance, oversupply, weak demand and the strong dollar.

In morning London deals, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February dived to a 5.5-year low at $49.81 a barrel. New York crude had already slumped under $50 on Jan. 5.