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Russia Plans To Boost Crude Oil Exports

Russia flag

Russia expects to increase its crude oil exports by around 400,000 bpd-500,000 bpd to more than 5.6 million bpd within five years, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an article in Russian-language magazine Energy Policy.   Russia will not only keep its position on the global energy markets, but it expects to be able to boost its crude oil exports by up to 500,000 bpd, the equivalent of 25 million tons as the minister wrote. Russia’s total crude oil exports in five years could grow to 280 million tons, or 5.62 million barrels per day, according to Novak.  Russia’s crude oil exports rose by 2.9 percent on the year in 2018, to 260 million tons, or 5.22 million bpd, according to the TASS news agency. Russia exports a large part of its crude oil production, mainly to Europe, although China has emerged as a big buyer of Russian crude in recent years as Beijing’s oil demand continues to grow. China is the biggest buyer of Russian oil outside Europe, while Russia became the largest supplier of crude to China in 2016, surpassing Saudi Arabia for the first time on an annual basis, EIA estimates show. For two years after 2016, Russia was the single biggest supplier of crude oil to China, but Saudi Arabia has recently regained its number-one supplier status to China. In September, Saudi Arabia kept its number-one supplier spot, ahead of Russia and Iraq.

Russia’s plans to boost oil exports puts it, again, in direct competition in the most coveted oil demand market with Saudi Arabia—Moscow’s key ally in the OPEC+ production pact, which is cutting production, hoping to erase the global oversupply and boost oil prices

. The OPEC+ partners—led by Saudi Arabia and Russia for OPEC and non-OPEC, respectively—are set to discuss the fate of the production cuts and the future of their cooperation at a meeting in early December. Going into the meeting, the Saudis are reportedly pressuring non-compliant cartel members to fall in line with their quotas, instead of pushing aggressively for a deeper overall cut. Russia is still non-committal, as it has been ahead of all previous such meetings, before agreeing to rollover of the deal.

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UK’s Johnson drops corporate tax cuts to fund spending as election nears

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at the annual CBI Conference in London, Britain November 18, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he was putting on hold further cuts in corporation tax and told voters he would pump the money into services such as health instead, addressing a central issue in the Dec. 12 election. “We are postponing further cuts in corporation tax,” Johnson told business leaders at a conference organised by Britain’s main business lobby, the CBI. “This saves 6 billion pounds that we can put into the priorities of the British people, including the NHS (National Health Service),” he said. Britain had been due to cut its corporation tax rate to 17% next year, down from 19% now, which is already one of the lowest among the world’s big industrialised economies. Johnson has faced questions about how he would pay for the extra public spending that he has promised, without ramping up borrowing sharply. In September, his finance minister Sajid Javid announced the biggest increase in day-to-day spending in 15 years in what was widely seen as an attempt to counter the spending promises of the left-wing opposition Labour Party. Johnson’s announcement received a cautious welcome from the head of the CBI. “Postponing further cuts to corporation tax to invest in public services could work for the country if it is backed by further efforts to the costs of doing business and promote growth,” Carolyn Fairbairn said in a statement.

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Pound gains, cable hits two-week high

The British pound rose against all major currencies on Monday the Conservative party asserted an increasingly strong position in the upcoming general election. The latest election polls suggested that Tories would get 43% of the vote, marking a three percentage point rise compared with the previous reading. Also, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to assure the Confederation of British Industry that a Tory majority in Parliament would put a stop to Brexit uncertainty and make sure the withdrawal is carried out in an orderly manner, his prepared remarks revealed.

The pound advanced 0.34% against the US dollar, hitting a fresh two-week high, going for $1.29482 at 8:40 am CET, while rising 0.40% versus the Japanese yen, to sell for ¥140.9815 at the same time. Against the euro, the British currency gained 0.26%, changing hands for €1.17035 at 8:43 am CET, whereas versus the Swiss franc, it gained 0.33%, selling for 1.28142 a minute later.

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World’s Most Notorious Pipeline Battle Is Heating Up Again

FILE FOOTAGE:

The company owning the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe resumed a long-standing regulatory battle this week, after North Dakota’s regulators began hearings on whether Dakota Access’s owner Energy Transfer should be allowed to double the pipeline’s capacity. North Dakota Public Service Commission started hearings on Wednesday on whether to allow Energy Transfer to build pump stations in North Dakota in order to boost the pipeline capacity, and both the company and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe weighed in on the issue. The commission is expected to come to a decision at a later date. Energy Transfer, whose original Dakota Access pipeline began operations in 2017, plans to double the oil flow capacity of the pipeline to 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) from the current 570,000 bpd to meet rising production from the Bakken. Even after Dakota Access entered into service, the Bakken shale play started to see at the end of 2018 all pipelines full to capacity again, leading to hefty discounts of the oil from the Bakken compared to WTI. Energy Transfer argues that “Optimizing capacity will enable further development in the Bakken, which means more jobs and economic benefits for local communities.”  The company says that so far the Dakota Access pipeline “has helped to improve the region’s drilling economics by lowering transportation costs for operators and is providing a safer means of transportation over truck or rail.” At the hearing on Wednesday, Energy Transfer officials said that the expansion does not increase the risk of an oil spill. But the Standing Rock Sioux, who had opposed the original pipeline project too, beg to differ from the company’s assessment. “Worst case” spill will be far more dangerous under proposal to double pipeline capacity,” Standing Rock Sioux said before the hearing.“The Tribe is concerned that, if approved, the DAPL capacity expansion will set the stage for yet another Energy Transfer pipeline spill, with devastating consequences for the Tribe, the environment and the citizens of North Dakota,” they argued. Nick Note: Did we not kick their native American asses starting with Columbus DISCOVERING  America. YOU CAN DISCOVER A LAND OTHER PEOPLE L IVE ON IF YOU SLAUGHTER THEM  IN MASS…. BECAUSE YOUR NARRATIVE IS THE ONLY ONE! After all the natives did not have the wheel, written word and were eating their daughters… I say Fuck them and their great spirit. Who could not be that great since they got their asses kicked.! Of course it was their land. Of course the white man took it from them. Its called you lost!  Plenty examples of brown men and black men taking other peoples land in war. Get over it its how the world works. Besides they were not doing anything with the land except over hunting it! You don’t hear much about indigenous people complaining about pipelines in China or Russia. That’s because they can’t talk since their organs were cut out of their bodies or they were eaten in the Famous Russian sandwich at their resettlement center called the Gulag!

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Venice braces for more floods, strong winds

Venice was on red alert for more floods and fierce winds on Saturday after an exceptionally high tide swamped the city of canals, where authorities have declared a state of emergency.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro ordered the iconic St Mark’s Square closed on Friday as the latest sea surge struck with strong storms and winds battering the region. The square was open again on Saturday, but the city forecast a high water of 160 centimetres (over five feet) for Sunday, lower than Tuesday’s high of 187 centimetres but still dangerous. Civil protection authorities issued a weather “red alert” for the Venice region, warning of violent winds which can whip up the sea, although Saturday’s midday high was forecast to be a manageable 105 centimetres. Churches, shops and homes in the city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, have been inundated by unusually intense “acqua alta”, or high water, which on Tuesday hit their highest level in half a century. “We’ve destroyed Venice, we’re talking about one billion (euros) in damage and that’s just from the other day, not today,” Brugnaro said. The crisis has prompted the government to release 20 million euros ($22 million) in funds to tackle the devastation. Surveying the damage, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini warned the task of repairing the city would be huge. More than 50 churches had suffered damage, he said.  Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte declared a state of emergency for the city on Thursday. Residents whose houses have been hit are eligible for up to 5,000 euros in immediate government aid, while restaurant and shop owners can receive up to 20,000 euros and apply for more later. Mayor Brugnaro on Friday also announced the opening of a fund where people in Italy and around the world could contribute to the historic city’s repair. One tourist, Italian Nicole Righetti, said she would be willing to pitch in.  “It would be a shame to no longer be able to see these places, and I think everyone should give,” Righetti said. Most of the city’s cash machines were no longer working because of the water, making life even more difficult for tourists and Venetians. Despite being used to the inconvenience of their city’s rising waters, some inhabitants expressed frustration. “All the stock in the basement is lost,” lamented Luciano, a worker at a shop along St. Mark’s Square. He said he remembered well the infamous “acqua alta” of 1966, when the water rose to a level of 1.94 metres, the highest-ever since records began in 1923.  “These so frequent high waters have never happened before… this time there’s so much more damage than in the past,” he said. Hotels reported cancelled reservations, some as far ahead as December, following the widespread diffusion of images of Venice underwater. Tuesday’s high waters submerged around 80 percent of the city, officials said. Many, including Venice’s mayor, have blamed the disaster on global warming and warned that the country prone to natural disasters must wake up to the risks posed by ever more volatile seasons. The Serenissima, as the floating city is called, is home to 50,000 residents but receives 36 million global visitors each year. A massive infrastructure project called MOSE has been under way since 2003 to protect the city, but it has been plagued by cost overruns, corruption scandals and delays. Nick Note: Venice has been sinking and flooding (they built in on a swamp) before the invention of  the internal combustion engine. Way back before the normal wide oscillations  of the earths climate was blamed on Co2 emissions. Back then people believed the earth was flat and they sacrificed virgins to stop volcanic eruptions and bring back the sun during eclipses. Come to think of it a much better utilization of virgins then drugging them to force them to fuck ugly members of the Royal Family!

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Its all about a gas pipeline

Trump lawyer Giuliani ties to Ukrainian projects

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal prosecutors are examining whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani stood to profit from a Ukrainian natural gas business pushed by two associates who aided his efforts to launch investigations that could help the president, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, pitched their company, and plans for a Poland-to-Ukraine pipeline carrying U.S. natural gas, to Ukrainian officials and energy executives this year, and said the project had White House support, the newspaper said, citing people briefed on the meetings.

Parnas and Fruman also told Ukrainian officials that Giuliani was a partner in the pipeline venture, a project of their company Global Energy Producers, the newspaper said, citing one of the people.

Giuliani has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing. In a Friday interview with the newspaper, he denied involvement in the energy company and pipeline pitch, and said he had no indication prosecutors were looking into the matter. “Mr. Giuliani was never a partner in GEP and any reports to the contrary are false and categorically denied,” Robert Costello, a lawyer for Giuliani, told Reuters. Citing some of the people briefed on the meetings, the Journal also said Parnas and Fruman pushed for help on an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The federal prosecutors, in New York, are examining whether Giuliani violated lobbying laws in connection with his Ukraine work, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the investigation.Lawyers for Parnas and Fruman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. John Dowd, a lawyer who has represented them in the past, declined to comment. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman in Manhattan also declined to comment. Parnas and Fruman were arrested in October on charges of illegally funneling money to U.S. politicians, including to an election committee for Trump. They have pleaded not guilty. Giuliani is central to a Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into whether Trump, a Republican, abused his office for political gain. He told the Journal that had Parnas and Fruman sought his legal advice, he would have told them to avoid involvement in any “ownership situation” in Ukraine while working alongside him. “I am not a part of the ownership, or any other involvement with GEP,” Giuliani said. “I never agreed to be part of it. I’m not even sure I was ever asked to be part of it.” Bloomberg News, citing three unnamed U.S. officials, on Thursday said federal prosecutors in Manhattan were examining Giuliani’s financial dealings that could include possible campaign finance violations and a failure to register as a foreign agent.

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Saudi Aramco’s IPO valued at $1.7T

DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco is worth up to $1.7 trillion at the price range set by the oil giant on Sunday, below the $2 trillion sought by Saudi’s crown prince but putting it in the running to become the world’s biggest IPO. Saudi men check the prospectus of Aramco IPO, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 17, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri Aramco cannot sell its shares directly to investors in the United States and other markets, as the initial public offering (IPO) will be restricted to Saudis and those foreign institutions permitted to invest in the kingdom’s stock market. The oil giant said it plans to sell 1.5% of the company, or about 3 billion shares, at an indicative price range of 30 riyals to 32 riyals, valuing the IPO at as much as 96 billion riyals ($25.6 billion) and giving the company a potential market value of between $1.6 trillion and $1.7 trillion. This could just beat Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s record $25 billion New York stock market debut in 2014.Aramco’s IPO size could be bigger if there is enough demand for it to use a 15% “greenshoe” over-allotment option.