Tag Archives: Qatar

How Nigeria can benefit from OPEC’s 1.2 million barrels oil cut

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Following OPEC’s decision on Wednesday, Nigeria can, in the next one year starting January 1, 2017, pursue programmes aimed at increasing its crude oil production capacity and growing national reserves and exports.

Although pipeline vandalism reduced daily production, sometimes to as low as 1.4 million barrels, Nigeria’s daily production averages about 2.1 million barrels. The country’s aspiration has been to raise that level to about 2.3 million barrels and build national reserves of about 30 billion barrels.

These are some of the benefits the country stands to gain as one of the three countries – out of the 14-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC – granted special concessions from the group’s decision on Wednesday to cut crude oil production by about 1.2 million barrels per day, effective January 1, 2017.

OPEC President, Mohammed Al-Sada, explained that the output cut resolution, which would be binding for the first six months, was subject to a review for another six months, based on the recommendation of the special ministerial committee constituted to monitor compliance by members.

By virtue of the special concession granted during the 171st conference of the group in Vienna, Austria on Wednesday, Nigeria and Libya were completely exempted based on the peculiar circumstances in their countries, while Iran was given partial exemption of the cut.

The gesture, Mr. Al-Sada explained, would enable Nigeria recover from the negative impact of incessant attacks on its oil facilities by armed militant groups in the Niger Delta region, which resulted in a massive cut in its production and exports capacities.

He said Libya was equally granted the special concession following series of attacks on its oil facilities by terrorists groups operating in that region in recent months.

Iran was granted limited concession to allow settle down and recover, after serving years of U.S.-imposed sanctions, including restrictions on its oil production and exports.

The other country not affected by the cut, the first in about eight attempts since 2008, would be Indonesia, which recently opted to suspend its membership of the group till further notice.

Details of the impact of the cut, according to OPEC Secretariat figures, showed that Nigeria and Libya would maintain their pre-October production levels of 2.1 million barrels per day and about 670,000 barrels per day respectively prior to Wednesday’s meeting.

Iran is to cut about 90,000 barrels from its daily reference output of 3.975 million barrels; Algeria, 50,000 BPD from 1.089 barrels; Angola, 80,000 barrels from 1,753 barrels; Ecuador, 26,000 barrels from 548,000 barrels; Gabon, 9,000 barrels from 202,000 barrels and Iraq, 210,000 barrels from 4.561 million barrels.

Other adjustments include Kuwait, 131,000 barrels from 2.838 million barrels; Qatar, 30,000 barrels from 648,000 barrels; United Arab Emirate, 139,000 barrels from 3.013 million barrels and Venezuela, 95,000 barrels from 2.067 million barrels.

The biggest adjustment was to Saudi Arabia, whose 10.544 million barrels daily output would be cut by about 486,000 barrels.

With this arrangement, analysts say Nigeria, which has, for several months, been devastated by a combination of an economy in recession as a result of decline in global oil prices and low oil export earnings following disruptions to oil export facilities, would takes advantage of the concession to recover.

Hours after OPEC announced its resolution on Wednesday, the price of Brent crude, Nigeria’s crude oil blend, jumped by about 8.26 percent, from $46.38 per barrel to about $50.21.

Close followers of the Nigerian situation say the rise in crude oil prices on the heels of OPEC decision was welcome news, particularly to the government in dire need of more revenue to pursue its ambitious infrastructure development programme to provide a solid foundation for economic growth.

Under the ‘seven-big wins’ initiative launched recently, the federal government outlined plans to swiftly increase the country’s daily crude oil production capacity to about 2.3 million barrels and grow national reserves to about 30 billion barrels.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, recently announced the signing of an agreement on behalf of the federal government for a $15 billion oil and gas investment package with India to bolster Nigeria’s oil crude production.

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Oil resumes rise after OPEC cut.

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Oil prices resumed their rise Thursday and held above the $50 barrier following OPEC’s decision to carry out its first output cut in eight years.

 

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at a meeting in Vienna on Wednesday agreed on specific targets to enact a preliminary deal struck in September designed to ease a global crude supply glut and boost prices.

 

Many analysts had expected the producers’ cartel to fail to reach a deal as major players like Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia remained divided ahead of the meeting.

 

Crude futures prices surged more than 10 percent immediately after the OPEC deal.

 

At 0630 GMT Thursday, after a brief dip in early Asian trade, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for January delivery was up 70 cents or 1.42 percent at $50.14, while Brent crude for February was 81 cents or 1.6 percent higher at $52.65.

 

“Not only had hopes of higher prices been realised, the reputation of the OPEC has also been salvaged, prompting the surge,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.

 

“Sceptics have now placed their focus on the implementation of the OPEC deal where Saudi Arabia will be shouldering the bulk of the cut.”

 

The 14-member OPEC agreed to lower its monthly output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 32.5 million bpd from January 1.

 

Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada said non-member Russia committed to reducing its output by 300,000 bpd, half of a hoped-for 600,000 bpd reduction from outside the organisation.

 

Prices had fallen to near 13-year lows of below $30 a barrel in February from peaks of more than $100 in June 2014 largely due to an oversupplied market outpacing demand.

Qatar enforce World Cup alcohol ban

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Qatar could be on track to host the first dry World Cup and sadly for travelling fans it has nothing to do with the Middle Eastern country’s desert climate.

Qatari officials have banned alcohol in the streets and public places during the 2022 FIFA World Cup with their sights set on outlawing booze from inside stadiums as well.

Secretary-general of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Hassan Al Thawadi made it clear that Qatar will be no place for a drink when football fans converge on the nation in 2022.

“There will be no alcohol consumption on the streets, squares and public places and that is final,” Al Thawadi said.

“Availability of alcohol during the tournament will commensurate with our customs and traditions.”

While there could still be a chance alcohol will be made available inside stadiums, Al Thawadi was adamant in the organising committee’s push for a complete alcohol ban.

“Personally I’m against the provision of alcohol in stadiums,” he said.

“The (SCDL’s) goal was to narrow (alcohol) consumption to specific places, far away from public spaces.”

Currently, alcohol is only sold in licensed hotels in Qatar.

Residents who want to drink at home must have a permit before buying alcohol at the countries only liquor store, QDC. It is an offense to consume alcohol in public or be publicly drunk.

Alcohol was sold in stadiums during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil at FIFA’s insistence after pressure from their sponsors such as brewer Budweiser.

Al Thawadi said the Qatar organising committee had not yet discussed the issues with FIFA.

Why Buhari Must Visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar Tomorrow

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President Muhammadu Buhari will begin a week-long official visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Monday, February 22, for talks with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and senior officials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

High on the agenda of discussions between President Buhari and the Saudi Monarch, is the ongoing efforts by Nigeria and other members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to achieve greater stability in the price of crude oil exports.

In a statement on Sunday the spokesperson for the President said that President Buhari would be accompanied by a high-powered Federal Government delegation. The Minister of State (Petroleum) and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu will be part of the delegation.

The President will also fly to Riyadyh on Tuesday.

“Crude oil prices and market stability would also be on the front burner when President Buhari goes on to Doha on Saturday for talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,” the statement read.

The President is also scheduled to meet with leading Saudi and Qatari businessmen in Riyadh and Doha, and invite them to support his administration’s efforts to revamp the Nigerian economy by taking advantage of the great investment opportunities currently available in Nigeria’s mining, agriculture, power supply, infrastructure, transportation, communications and other sectors.

President Buhari’s other engagements in Saudi Arabia include meetings with Heads of International Financial Organisations and Multilateral Associations.

Before going on to Doha, the President will also visit Medina and Mecca to pray for greater peace, prosperity and progress in Nigeria.

Credit: ChannelsTv

Ahmed The ‘Clock Boy’ Seeking $15 Million In Damages

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Two months after “clock boy” Ahmed Mohamed made international headlines, new details of his controversial arrest emerged Monday in a letter his attorney has sent to school and city officials in Irving, Texas.
As many as seven adults teamed up to interrogate the 14-year-old boy after a teacher mistook his homemade clock for a bomb and pressured him to sign a confession, according to the “letter of demand” from his lawyer warning of plans to file a $15 million suit.

Ahmed’s September arrest, deemed an overreaction by many observers, drew waves of sympathy and extensive news coverage; President Obama invited him to join several other science-inclined students at the White House’s “Astronomy Night” last month.

But his family, which shortly thereafter took up a benefactor’s offer to relocate to Qatar, argued in the letter that the boy’s reputation has been “permanently scarred.” They are seeking not only financial reparations but written apologies from the city’s mayor and police chief.

“Everyone in the country and around the world believes this has been a wonderful experience for Ahmed’s family, and in some ways, it has been,” said Anthony Bond, a family friend. “But now they are settled in Qatar, they have realized they are tremendously traumatized.”

The letters elaborate on the timeline of the arrest, which set the Internet into a frenzy and changed a 14-year-old boy’s life forever.

The letter of demand alleges that officials at Ahmed’s school never really thought that his homemade clock, assembled from “spare parts and scrap pieces he had around the house,” was a bomb. Attorneys claim that Ahmed showed it to another teacher earlier in the day without consequence. But in his English class, a teacher told him it “looked like” a bomb.

An Irving School District spokeswoman said the district received the letter of demand this morning and that its own lawyers would “respond as appropriate, as with any legal matter,” but otherwise offered no comment.

Attorneys blame the school district and the city for “stoking the flames” and placing blame on Ahmed even after it was decided he would not be criminally charged and his “suspicious-looking item” was not a threat.

The family is demanding an apology from Van Duyne and others involved because they would like to return to Irving, attorney Kelly Hollingsworth said.

“Qatar is nice, but it is not Texas. That is their attitude toward this,” Hollingsworth said. “They are citizens of Irving, Texas, USA, first. Are they devout people devoted to their faith? Absolutely. But they are Texans, too, and they want to come home. What we are seeking is for them to be able to do that with their heads held high.”

“The generosity and support Ahmed has received has been very much appreciated, but what the system has to do is try to find a way to redress him,” Hollingsworth said. “What’s the effect of this young man having his reputation in the global community scarred for the rest of his life?”

Source: Washington Post

US ‘Clock Boy’ Ahmed Mohamed To Move To Qatar

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Texas teenager Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested after bringing a homemade clock to school on suspicion that it was a bomb has accepted a scholarship from the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, where he will study.

After being detained over the clock, Ahmed’s case went viral on social media.
Some alleged he was unfairly treated because of his name and religious background. Officials in Irving Texas defended their decision, saying they were only concerned with the safety of students.

The Qatar Foundation is providing a full scholarship for his secondary and undergraduate education, according to a news release.

“Our family has been overwhelmed by the many offers of support we have received since the unfortunate incident of Ahmed’s arrest,” the Mohamed family said in the release. “From the White House to Sudan, to Mecca, we have been welcomed by a variety of individuals, businesses and educational institutions.”

According to his family, Ahmed will be enrolled in the Qatar Foundation’s “Young Innovators” program and his whole family will relocate with him to Qatar.

“Qatar was a cool place to visit. I loved the city of Doha because it’s so modern. I saw so many amazing schools there, many of them campuses of famous American universities,” said Ahmed in the news release. “The teachers were great. I think I will learn a lot and have fun too.”‘

He met US President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday.

In addition to being invited to the White House, Ahmed received an outpouring of support from scientists, politicians and celebrities including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

So far Ahmed has met: Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, National Geographic Society CEO Gary Knel, Queen Rania of Jordan, Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore and US President Obama.

Qatar Officials Dismiss ISIS Funding Claims

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Senior officials from Qatar have strongly denied claims the country is supporting extremist groups in Syria such as Islamic State.

They told the BBC Qatar had provided support to moderate groups only, in co-ordination with the CIA and other Western and Arab intelligence agencies. Strict financial controls had been put in place, they added.

In the past, Qatar and donors there are believed to have financed and armed hardline Islamist groups in Syria. Doha is also believed to have links to the Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

Read More: www.bbc.com

Breaking:”This is not America’s Fight Alone”- Obama on U.S. Strategy Against ISIS

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President Obama says the participation of five Arab nations in airstrikes against militants in Syria “makes it clear to the world this is not America’s fight alone.”

Obama says the joint fight against the Islamic State will take time but is vital to the security of the United States, the Mideast and the world.

The U.S.-Arab airstrikes Monday night targeted the group’s headquarters in eastern Syria.

Obama say the U.S. is “proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder” with Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in conducting the strikes.