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Technical issues that could clear the oil glut in a matter of weeks

Cyril Widdershoven
Oilprice
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 14:12 UTC
Saudi Arabia’s Manifa oil plant
OPEC exports have come under pressure this week from technical threats to oil fields, with Saudi Arabia's Manifa problems grabbing the headlines.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, while addressing the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, stated that the outlook for oil supplies is "increasingly worrying", due to a loss of $1 trillion ($1000 billion) in investments last year. The skepticism shown by a majority of financial analysts and oil commentators about the real threat to global oil (and gas) production volumes was countered by the news that the production at Saudi Aramco's main offshore oil field, Manifa, has been hit by technical problems.

News sources reported that the output from Saudi Aramco's massive Manifa oilfield has been hit by a technical problem. The impact of this possible technical mishap is not to be underestimated. Aramco's Manifa is one of its biggest oilfields, with a targeted production capacity of around 900,000 bpd, to be brought onstream in two phases. At present, the main issue being reported on is that there has been corrosion of the water injection system, which is used to keep pressure in the reservoir. No facts have emerged about the total impact on the Manifa production capacity, but unnamed sources are already quoting 'millions of dollars' of losses.

The current reports are not really worrying, as corrosion control in a water injection system is only a technical challenge. Maintenance of the field is expected, resulting in a shut-down of production - something that has been confirmed by Sadad Al Husseini, former VP Aramco. If the all production needs to be shut-down, Saudi Aramco's overall production capacity will be cut by 900,000bpd.
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Dollars

Britain finally acknowledges it must pay Brexit bill on leaving EU


RT
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 14:06 UTC
EU and British flags in London
© Peter Nicholls / Reuters
Britain has acknowledged for the first time it faces financial obligations to the EU after Brexit, in what appears to be a major concession to Brussels.

In a written statement to Parliament, Brexit Minister Joyce Anelay said on Thursday that "the UK has obligations to the EU ... that will survive the UK's withdrawal - and these need to be resolved."

"The government has been clear that we will work with the EU to determine a fair settlement to the UK's rights and obligations as a departing member state," Anelay added in the statement, released to coincide with the publication of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill.

The text has been seen by Brussels as an important development. EU diplomats told the Financial Times the wording "goes further" than Prime Minister Theresa May's previous reference to Britain being willing to reach a "fair settlement" of "unspecified obligations."
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Dollar

Bloomberg reports Turkey ready to splash out $2.5bn for Russia's S-400 air defense system


RT
Fri, 14 Jul 2017 13:51 UTC
Russian S-400 missile defense system
© Grigoriy Sisoev / Sputnik
Ankara and Moscow have reportedly thrashed out the much-talked-over purchase of Russia's S-400 advanced anti-missile system, Bloomberg reports. The deal will allegedly see two batteries being delivered to Turkey as well as a technology transfer.

The parties to the deal, which has been in the works since November 2016, have finally agreed on the price of the contract, which should amount to $2.5 billion, the magazine reported Wednesday, citing an anonymous Turkish official.

However, no timeframe has been set as to the signing of the deal yet, as the countries are still discussing the technical aspects, the official told Bloomberg, adding that he expects the negotiations to last for about a year.
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Attention

State Dept. hopes US and Russia can build upon ceasefire in southwest Syria


Sputnik
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 21:46 UTC
Raqqa farmers
© REUTERS/ Alaa al-Faqir
The US State Department hopes Washington and Moscow can broaden the ceasefire in Syria's southwest to other parts of the country, spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a press briefing on Thursday.

"We are looking to this area in southwestern Syria, where there is a ceasefire that is holding right now. We are now four days in to it, I believe. I hope we can build upon that and broaden that out to other parts of the country," Nauert stated.

Earlier on Thursday, President Donald Trump noted in a press conference held in France that the United States and Russia are currently working on the second ceasefire agreement in Syria. Trump stressed that a ceasefire in the southwestern Syria was achieved as a result of the communications with Russia during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany last week.

Trump then said that several other ceasefires are in the works in other parts of Syria and implied that it is through Russia-US cooperation that one could someday witness a Syria where "no bullets are fired".

Comment: Also read this analysis: Syria summary: Will the Trump-Putin agreement hold?

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Map

US and France abandon regime change in Syria

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 21:35 UTC
Macron
Summit of US and French Presidents provides final confirmation that the West's regime change war in Syria has failed and is being abandoned.

The hints and signals that have been flickering on and off from Washington and Paris since the change of governments in the US and France that the regime change attempt in Syria is being officially abandoned has now received formal confirmation.

This has come in a joint news conference by Presidents Trump and Macron following President Trump's talks with President Macron in France.
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Bulb

SOTT Focus: Here's Why Americans Shouldn't Blindly Support US Foreign Policy

Chris Kanthan
Sott.net
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 19:44 UTC
Iraq Saddam Statue
Americans vigorously debate domestic issues, but rarely question U.S. foreign policies. This is partly because the mainstream news media and the politicians are often on the same foreign policy page and use identical and simplistic talking points. In addition, and thanks to our abysmal educational system and the entertainment media, Americans are apathetic or awfully misinformed about history and world affairs. The illusion is that we are always fighting either to spread freedom and democracy or to defeat an evil regime (somewhere most Americans know nothing about). However, here are the real reasons why the elites manufacture wars and why we must challenge their propaganda.
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Magnify

Syria summary: Will the Trump-Putin agreement hold?


Moon Of Alabama
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 21:03 UTC
Syria battle map 7/12/2017
© Fabrice Balanche/WINEP
The conflict between the U.S. and Russia over Syria seems to have calmed down after the recent G-20 meeting between Putin and Trump. Some kind of agreement was made but neither its scope nor its bindingness is known. One common current aim is the defeat of ISIS.

At the meeting between the Presidents Trump and Putin in Hamburg a temporary truce was agreed for the south-west area of Syria. The Syrian government (violet) holds the city of Deraa while various foreign sponsored insurgent groups (green), including al-Qaeda and ISIS, occupy the borders towards Israel and Jordan. There had been some serious fighting after recent al-Qaeda attacks on Baath city neat the Golan. During these the Israeli airforce had multiple times supported the al-Qaeda groups with attacks on the Syrian army.

Under the truce agreement the Russian side guarantees that the Syrian government and its allies stop fighting while the U.S. guarantees that Israel, the various FSA groups, al-Qaeda and ISIS stay quiet. The truce has now held for several days. There were no spoilers. The U.S. seems to have strong influence with ALL those entities.
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Treasure Chest

Ethics watchdog group reports Google pays scholars for research favoring company policy


RT
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 20:56 UTC
Google logo
© Global Look Press
Web giant Google has spent millions of dollars on studies in order to advance its corporate interests, sponsoring academia from leading universities such as Oxford and Harvard, claims a report by an ethics watchdog, which Google described as "misleading."

The US-based non-governmental organization Campaign for Accountability (CfA) released its report Tuesday, alleging Google funds research to back its business and policy goals. The CfA has accused the company of following in the footsteps of the tobacco and fossil fuel industries.
"Google uses its immense wealth and power to attempt to influence policy makers at every level," CfA Director Daniel Stevens says. "At a minimum, regulators should be aware that the allegedly independent legal and academic work on which they rely has been brought to them by Google."
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Clipboard

Justice Dept releases Sessions' security clearance form - heavily redacted


RT
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 20:41 UTC
Sessions
© Bangor Daily NewsAttorney General Jeff Sessions
After defying a court order to release Attorney General Jeff Session's security clearance form relating to his contact with the Russian government, the Justice Department has released a heavily redacted version.

The document was released early Thursday morning to American Oversight after the group sued the Justice Department and the FBI in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The Justice Department initially withheld the document, but then produced the single page of the Standard Form 86 (SF-86), one day after the deadline passed, reported the Washington Examiner.

On the released document, Sessions checked a box stating he did not have any contact with a foreign government in the past seven years. Further details are redacted under a privacy exemption.
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Blackbox

What derailed planned 'US-Israeli military operation' in Syria


Sputnik
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 20:39 UTC
US special ops soldiers
© AFP 2017/ DELIL SOULEIMAN
The United States and Israel were jointly preparing a military operation in Syria but the plan was abandoned following reports about S-400 missile defense systems put on combat alert in the region, according to Syrian political adviser Suleiman al Suleiman.

According to the adviser, the operation was planned to be carried on July 2-4.
"The operation was cancelled after reports emerged that Russia's S-400 missile defense systems and a missile attack warning system had been activated in Syria," al-Suleiman said in an interview with Sputnik Arabic.
Moscow deployed the S-400 system to Syria after in November 2015 a Turkish jet downed a Russian Su-24 bomber on the Syrian-Turkish border.
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