http://www.mees.com/cms Just another WordPress weblog Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:00:30 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) has invited international banks to bid for the opening of branches in Libya in partnership with local banks, state news agency JANA announced on 16 February. A CBL statement said: “Expressions of interest should be sent to CBL by 30 March. Two licenses will ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/the-central-bank-of-libya-cbl-has-invited/ Egyptian state gas firm EGAS has awarded three offshore exploration and production licenses to international firms, Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy announced on 16 February. The three Mediterranean Sea blocks were awarded as follows: the 281 sq km North Gamasa block to BG; the 1,604 sq km North Damietta ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/egyptian-state-gas-firm-egas-has-awarded-three-offshore/ Austria’s OMV announced on 16 February a gas/condensate discovery in Southern Tunisia. A company statement said the Fella-1 well in the Jenein Sud block flowed gas at a rate of 2,700 b/d of oil equivalent as well as 400 b/d of condensate. OMV said this is the fifth successive ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/austria%e2%80%99s-omv-announced-on-16-february-a-gascondensate/ Moody’s said on 16 February that its outlook for Kuwaiti banks remains negative, because Kuwait’s economy relies heavily on the performance of its oil sector. In the latest Banking System Outlook on Kuwait report, lead analyst Stathis Kyriakides says: “The state-owned oil industry is cash-rich and does not require external ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/moody%e2%80%99s-said-on-16-february-that-its-outlook-for-kuwaiti-banks/ Benchmark crude oil prices rose by around 4% on 16 February as investors responded to a faltering dollar by buying commodities. WTI crude settled $2.88/B higher at $77.01/B while Brent crude settled $3.17/B higher at $75.68/B. Dubai crude settled at $74.99/B on the ICE exchange, while earlier in the day ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/benchmark-crude-oil-prices-rose-by-around-4/ Moody’s announced on 15 February that it has upgraded Saudi Arabia’s foreign and local currency government ratings to Aa3 from A1 and the country ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits to Aa3 from A1. “The upgrade was prompted by the continued strong state of government finances,” an agency statement said, ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/moody%e2%80%99s-announced-on-15-february/ Kuwait’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) is to review a stalled project to build a 615,000 b/d capacity refinery, state news agency KUNA reported on 15 February. The report cited KPC Chief Executive Sa'd al-Shuwaib as saying that the SPC would soon review plans for the proposed $15bn al-Zour refinery as ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/kuwait%e2%80%99s-supreme-petroleum-council-spc-is-to-review/ London-based oil and gas exploration and development company Max Petroleum announced on 15 February that its BOR-1 exploration well on the Borkyldakty prospect in Kazakhstan’s Block E has reached a total measured depth of 1,755ms having cut 38ms of net oil pay over five Triassic sandstone reservoirs. A statement quoted ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/max-petroleum-announced-on-15-february/ Crude oil prices slid further on 15 February in quiet trading because of the US holiday, as concerns over the Greek economy kept investors cautious. WTI crude settled $0.25/B lower at $73.88/B in electronic trading, while in London Brent settled $0.39/B lower at $72.51/B. On the ICE exchange Dubai settled ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/crude-oil-prices-slid-further-on-15-february/ Benchmark crude oil prices fell on 12 February after four days of increases, as a result of weekly US petroleum data showing a rise in crude inventories and a move by the Chinese government to tighten credit conditions. WTI fell by $1.15/B to settle at $74.13/B, while Brent declined by ... http://www.mees.com/cms/2010/02/benchmark-crude-oil-prices-fell-on-12-february/