New base 1050 special 10 july 2017 energy news

Copyright © 2015 NewBase www.hawkenergy.net Edited by Khaled Al Awadi – Energy Consultant All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed,
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NewBase July 10 - 2017 - Issue No. 1050 Senior Editor Eng. Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
UAE shines as sustainable energy pathbreaker, at a time of
increasing demand for energy
Gul;f News - Jumana Al Tamimi, Associate Editor
Dubai: Energy experts are hailing the UAE for its leading role in promoting renewable energy
across the Arab region. From establishing Masdar some 11 years ago in Abu Dhabi, to building
wind and solar farms in the UAE as well as other Arab countries, the UAE is looked at as a
pioneer in renewables.
The UAE’s focus on renewable energy comes at a time of increasing demand for energy as the
population grows, as oil prices have dropped to half of their value from just three years ago, and
amid increasing global urgency to reduce carbon emissions.

“The outlook in the renewable and alternative sources of energy is extremely positive in the UAE,”
said Nizar Jichi, Partner, Audit, Oil and Gas at KPMG, one of the largest professional services
networks in the world.
“This positive outlook is evident from the vision of the UAE Government, wherein as per the UAE
Energy plan 2050, UAE aims to reduce dioxide emissions by 70 per cent, increase clean energy
use by 50 per cent and improve energy efficiency by 40 per cent by 2050,” he told Gulf News.
Several projects have been planned,
tendered, awarded, implemented or have
already started operating in UAE. More are
in the pipeline.
“The UAE is leading the GCC countries in
the diversification of the economy and also
in pursuing ground-breaking renewable
energy and energy efficiency programmes,”
said Mamdouh Salameh, an international oil
economist and a visiting professor of energy
economics at the Europe Business School in
London (ESCP).
“In 2015, the UAE ratified the Kyoto Protocol
to the UN Convention on Climate Change, becoming one of the first major oil-producing countries
to do so. Moreover, the Abu Dhabi government has also established one of the world’s most
comprehensive clean energy initiatives.”
The drive to diversification is partly due to falling oil prices, which have caused major budgetary
deficits for a number of oil producing countries.
“Diversification for UAE and other GCC countries is not a luxury but a necessity. It is high time that
these countries rid themselves from almost total dependence on oil revenues and the impact of oil
price volatility on their economies,” Salameh told Gulf News.
UAE is among the main oil producers in Opec, along with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. The six
Arab Gulf states, along with both Iraq and Iran are believed to be sitting on nearly 50 per cent of
the world’s oil reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Salameh observed that “a major aspect of diversification is intensive investment in solar and
nuclear energy for electricity generation and also for replacing oil with solar power in water
desalination plants throughout the Gulf region.”
Such measures have economic and environmental benefits in “prolonging the longevity of the oil
wealth and also being friendly to the environment,” he said.
Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala, which is the investment arm of the Abu-Dhabi government, has
been a “catalyst” for the adoption of renewable energy and clean technologies, particularly in the
Arab world.
“Since 2006, Masdar has invested in renewable energy projects with a combined value of $8.5
billion [Dh31.2 billion],” said Bader Al Lamki, Executive Director for Clean Energy, Masdar, Abu
Dhabi Future Energy Company.

In a written responses to Gulf News, Al Lamki said: “We are active in utility-scale renewable
energy development, off-grid clean energy projects, and sustainable urban development through
our flagship project Masdar City.”
Masdar’s renewable energy projects had extended to include UAE, Jordan, Mauritania, Egypt,
Morocco, the UK, Serbia and Spain. The electricity generating capacity of these projects, which
are either fully operational or under development, is 2.8 gigawatts (GW) gross.
Masdar is the main company in carrying out many projects that come within the efforts of
achieving the UAE’ energy plan for 2050.
According to the plan, the target has been set at 44 per cent from renewable energy, 38 per cent
from gas, 12 per cent from clean fossil and 6 per cent from nuclear energy, Jichi said.
“The UAE Government has made an accomplishment in drafting the first unified energy strategy
for the UAE covering production and consumption. The integration of renewable, nuclear and
clean fossil energy is planned to be funded with investment of Dh600 billion over the next 33
years, equating to an annual spend of more than Dh17 billion,” he said.
Renewable energy received more attention after the sharp fall in oil prices in the past three years,
when the prices went as low $28 per barrel.
Experts say producing energy from renewable sources is expected to help clean the environment,
meet increasing demands as well as allow governments to save part of the oil and gas resources
for export.
“Lower oil prices do not seem to have any major impact on the renewable energy, as the region
specially UAE, continues to be focused towards expanding and diversifying the energy supply mix
in line with its Energy Strategy mix by 2050,” said Jichi.
“This is evident from the fact that Dewa, which had initially targeted to generate 1 gigawatt of
power, now plans for this facility to produce 5 GW of clean power annually by 2030,” he said.
In Dubai, the target of the clean energy strategy aims to increase the share of clean energy in the
energy mix to reach 75 per cent by 2030.
Apart from the government initiatives, the private sector in UAE is participating.
Majid Al Futtaim Properties, owner and operator of several shopping malls in the UAE has
announced recently that it signed an agreement with an energy company to supply four of its
malls with solar energy. Under the deal, hundreds of solar panels will be installed on its buildings,
including car parks.
The Dubai Municipality has also been introducing solar energy in many public places. Four parks
in Dubai are fully using solar energy, and thousands of solar bulbs have been installed in parks
and other facilities.

UAE'S ADNOC list some services businesses, mulling partnerships
By Maha El Dahan | DUBAI
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said on Monday it was looking to float some of its
services businesses on local equity markets and set up new partnerships with some of the world's
largest institutions across its entire value chain.
It has already begun discussions about the new partnerships which are expected to be announced
later this year, ADNOC group Chief Executive Sultan al-Jaber told The National newspaper in an
interview.
Jaber also said ADNOC planned to list minority stakes in some of its services businesses through
initial public offerings (IPOs) on local equity markets. An IPO at the group holding level was not on
the table, he said.
"Let me be very clear, we will not IPO ADNOC, the group holding company. ADNOC will remain
fully owned by the government of Abu Dhabi," he said. The company later confirmed details from
the interview in a statement.
ADNOC's plan to list some of its services businesses comes as other Gulf states, such as Saudi
Arabia and Oman, have also unveiled plans to list their energy assets.
Saudi oil company Aramco is planning a listing next year to raise as much as $100 billion for
investment in new industries, as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil exports in
an era of cheap crude.
Oman said earlier this year it planned to offer shares in some state-owned downstream energy
companies to the public.
"I have often wondered whether we are going to see a more broad move by the Gulf national oil
companies to monetize their assets in order to adjust to the world of muted oil prices," said Helima
Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets LLC.

"All these countries have their own version of Vision 2030 that include a significant diversification
component. The monetization of national oil company assets is also consistent with that," she
said.
It also raised the question of whether Kuwait Petroleum Corp could be next in listing its energy
assets, she added.
NEW PARTNERSHIPS
The difference between the investors ADNOC is currently seeking and existing partners is that
they could also include "large trading houses, international pension funds, private equity investors
and global infrastructure specialists rather than just national oil companies and international oil
companies," the Abu Dhabi-based paper said.
ADNOC is looking to the new investors to support it in securing market access for its products,
especially in Asia.
Jaber said the new co-investment approach would lead to a "more open partnership model".
"That means, for example, alongside concessions we are offering strategic partnerships and co-
investments across our service and refining businesses and select infrastructure assets, such as
ADNOC pipelines and storage facilities, which we've not done before," he said.
ADNOC will remain the major shareholder in any potential new partnership.
Potential areas for partnership under consideration by ADNOC include the further development
and expansion of a leading, regional drilling company and a new energy infrastructure venture,
The National reported.
Downstream ventures along the lines of Borouge and the joint venture that ADNOC currently has
with Austria's Borealis were also under consideration.

Saudi Arabia : Project signed to increase water supply
Arab News 10 JULY, 2017
Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli awarded a project to build
17 strategic water reservoirs in Makkah’s Al-Sharay and Taif’s Al-Hada areas, each with a
capacity of 170,000 cubic meters, totaling 2.9 million cubic meters of potable water, reported Al-
Hayat newspaper.
The water reservoir projects will be completed in three years, according to the contracts.
A similar project in Jeddah reached 97 percent completion of its first stage in January. Fawwaz
Bahlas of the National Water Co. (NWC) said the company started executing the Jeddah project in
2012 for the water storage in the city to reach 4 million cubic meters. In the Eastern Province, the
Water Service Administration announced the allocation of SR69 million ($18.4 million) for the
region’s water-storage projects.
Water Ministry to implement new project plans
In a move to ensure an adequate water supply across the Kingdom, the Ministry of Environment,
Water and Agriculture has mapped out new plans to ensure effective implementation and
sustainability of a number of new and existing water projects.
The ministry will also rescind projects from defaulters, and issue warnings to contractors who have
delayed projects without any legitimate reason.

“The ministry will take new measures for project execution and appoint young officials to achieve
the goals of Vision 2030,” said a statement released by the ministry on Sunday. Some of the new
measures include holding regular meetings with contractors, identifying reasons behind
disruptions or delay of projects, and appointing good consultancy firms.
The Kingdom has launched 116 water supply and sanitation projects at a cumulative value of
SR4.9 billion, which will establish plants for water purification and pumping, expand and develop
treatment plants; and establish a number of water reservoirs. Another major initiative is to reuse
wastewater across the country.
“Another initiative of the ministry is to promote awareness about conservation because water
scarcity is one of the most significant challenges in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East
region,” said Mohammed Al-Solaiman, a water expert.
“To achieve this, billions of dollars of long-term capital investments have been committed to water
projects, while government agencies are working to educate people to reduce water
consumption,” he added.

Iraq’s projects on its refinery to save billions being on imports
Saadallah Al Fathi, Special to Gulf News ( images by NewBase )
When a politician makes statements that are incorrect, self-serving, self-endearing or giving
promises that cannot be fulfilled, his statements are often disregarded or quickly forgotten.
But when a technocrat minister falls in the same game, it is hard for beneficiaries to let go, as their
expectation is much higher and they don’t want to be let down.
When Iraq’s Oil Minister Jabbar Al Luiebi took office a year ago, former colleagues, including
myself, were hopeful that he will be able to drive the ministry on a recovery path to fulfil its most
urgent objectives. He is after all a son of the industry with decades of operational and
management experience.
However, recent statements by the minister are reasons for concern. I refer to an interview with
“Iraq Oil Report” and a television interview with “Al Sharqiya” later. The Minister insists that the
Opec accord, which Iraq twice signed and agreed to, is concerned with export cuts and not
production.
This is counterproductive and does not serve any interest of Iraq. The numbers are clear in the
Opec agreement — Iraq is to reduce production from 4.561- to 4.351 million barrels a day (million
bpd), implying a reduction of 210,000 barrels a day.
The minister said that Iraq production will increase to 5 million bpd by the end of the year, and that
“Iraq is committed to be in line with Opec. We will not deviate from Opec policy at all.”
The two things are difficult to reconcile and the market will view them as preludes to future conflict
and lower oil prices.
Iraq against all logic contracted with international oil companies in 2009-10 to have a production
capacity of 12 million bpd by 2017. So, 5 million bpd by the end of this year means that Iraq
should not develop any new fields to exacerbate the difficulties faced with current contracts.

Yet, the minister said that negotiations with ExxonMobil and CNPC are ongoing to develop Nahr
Omar and Rattawi fields and an agreement — including one for the delayed water injection
scheme — is expected by the end of the year. (The water injection is a must but not tied to
additional field developments.)
The Minister said: “All in all, we
want to have a total refining
capacity of 1.5 million bpd at
least”, which implies the Iraq
National Energy Strategy’s 2013
numbers. And includes the four
large refineries announced
previously.
Yet, there are so many new
announcements made for new
refineries that Iraq’s capacity may
surpass 2 million bpd. No one
knows how these came about or
on what feasibility studies. This
does not constitute a “very
genuine and comprehensive
strategy” and such
announcements serve local
politics and not the refining
industry.
On the Missan refinery, the minister said: “But I think we’ll terminate the contract with them and
retender it”, meaning no role for Satarim, a company of no standing and which was declared
bankrupt in Switzerland. Iraq waited more than three years for nothing.
The 300,000 barrels a day Nassiriya refinery is now 150,000 because the minister “looked at it
and it was too high of a scope of work, so I like it at 150,000 bpd.” So what will happen to the
millions spent on the refinery feasibility and FEED? I respect the minister’s wish but this is not the
way to plan an industry.
It is sad to know that the infamous Ninewa refinery is now a reality and in spite of all the objections
made is “built outside of Ninewa, within Erbil territory”. The first user is the Ministry of Oil, in a
processing deal to refine 40,000 barrels a day.
But I must say that the Ministry is well advised to learn how a local investor can build and operate
a refinery in three years while it is even unable to keep the Kerbala refinery schedule for lack of
funds. And the Minister in his television
interview implied that it is a mistake to finance
refineries and that should be left to investors.
Is it not a mistake to import billions of dollars in
products since 2003? The budget of 2017
“comes to $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion a year for
importing fuel” and may have reached $4 billion
a year in years when oil prices were high.

Ghana: ENI pumps first oil from Ghana's Sankofa field
Source: Reuters
ENI started oil production from the 45,000 barrel-per-day Sankofa field offshore Ghana on
Thursday, giving a boost to the West African country's plans to use its oil resources to revive its
economy.
The Sankofa field forms the first phase of the $7.9 billion Offshore Cape Three Points
project (OCTP), which is expected to also deliver up to 180 million cubic feet of natural gas per
day by the end of next year, more than doubling domestic gas supply.
President Nana Akufo-Addo opened the valves on the Floating Production, Storage and
Offloading vessel, the John Agyekum Kufuor, named after Ghana's former president who was in
office between 2001 and 2008.
Akufo-Addo said Sankofa coming on stream would ensure reliable and affordable clean energy to
support economic activities and keep the country on the right path to growth.
'The need for creative thinking to leverage our oil and gas production for national development is a
charge for us to keep - and we must not fail our people,' he told a gathering of chiefs and oil sector
players at the western port city of Takoradi.
Ghana already produces oil from two major fields including the country's flagship Jubilee block
which came on stream in late 2010.
Akufo-Addo said he was optimistic that the addition of production from the OCTP to those of the
TEN and Jubilee fields would enhance significantly gas supply for domestic power generation.

ENI officials said Sankofa was completed three months ahead of schedule and within budget.
Ghana is recovering from a power crisis caused by lack of funds to buy oil in the absence of
domestic gas to power thermal plants. T he government estimates gas from OCTP will boost
generation by 1,000 megawatts, enough to ensure stable supply.
The country also has a $918 million aid program from the International Monetary Fund to restore
fiscal balance to its economy which has a large budget deficit and big domestic and external
debts.
ENI holds a 44.44 percent stake in OCTP, representing the largest foreign direct investment in
Ghana's history. Trading company Vitol holds 35.56 percent while state oil company Ghana
National Petroleum Corp has a combined carried and participating interest of 20 percent.

Libya, Nigeria May Be Asked to Cap Oil Output, Kuwait Says
By Wael Mahdi
Libya and Nigeria, which have both boosted oil production since they were exempt from global
cuts this year, may be asked to cap their crude output soon in an effort to help re-balance the
market, Kuwait Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq told Bloomberg.
OPEC and non-OPEC producers have invited the two African
nations to their committee meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, on
July 24 to discuss the stability of their production, Almarzooq said
on the sidelines of an energy conference in Istanbul. Almarzooq is
chairman of the committee monitoring the compliance of OPEC and
non-OPEC suppliers with output cuts that started in January and
have been extended to March.
“We invited them to discuss the situation of their production,” Almarzooq said. “If they are able to
stabilize their production at current levels, we will ask them to cap as soon as possible. We don’t
need to wait until the November meeting to do that,” he said, referring to the upcoming OPEC
meeting scheduled for November 30.
Crude sank into bear territory last month amid concerns the cutbacks by producers of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies are being partially offset
by a rebound in supply by Libya, Nigeria and U.S. shale output. Libya and Nigeria were both
exempt from the cuts due to their internal strife.
The two countries came into focus after they seemed to resolve some of the political challenges
that had slashed their production. Libya’s oil output has climbed to more than 1 million barrels a
day for the first time in four years. Nigeria’s production rose 50,000 barrels a day in June,
according to a Bloomberg survey.
“Capping Libya and Nigeria might help but won’t cut the supply by much,” Abdulsamad Al-
Awadhi, a London-based analyst and Kuwait’s former representative to OPEC, said Monday by
phone. “OPEC needs to have better compliance, and it must respect the right of Libya and Nigeria
to go back to the market. Other
countries that raised output while Libya
and Nigeria are out should do more
and give space to these two countries
to go back to the market.”
Libya and Nigeria’s exemption was a
collective decision, and any proposal to
include them in OPEC’s plans will also
require a joint decision, Secretary
General Mohammed Barkindo told
reporters at the event in Istanbul. He said it is still too early to discuss steeper cuts by the group
and its allies.
The OPEC, non-OPEC ministerial monitoring committee will discuss the impact of the output
curbs on the market at the July 24 meeting, Almarzooq said. Deepening the cuts under the current
agreement is not on the agenda, he said.
“It is too early to discuss deeper output cuts by OPEC, non-OPEC producers participating in the
agreement to curb production,” Almarzooq said. “We just finished the meeting in May and we
need to give it more time.”

NewBase 10 July 2017 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
Oil recovers some losses but market still under pressure
REUTERS + NEWBASE
Oil prices recovered some losses on Monday after a 3 percent fall in the previous session, but
markets remain under pressure from high drilling activity in the United States and ample supplies
from producer club OPEC.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $47.08 per barrel at 0537
GMT, up 37 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
futures were at $44.60 per barrel, up 37 cents, or 0.8 percent.
Traders said the higher prices were reflected opportunistic buying following Friday's steep fall, but
added that overall market conditions remain weak. Brent prices are 17 percent below their 2017
opening despite a deal led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to
cut production from January.
ANZ bank said on Monday that the market "continued to focus on the increasing (U.S.) drilling
activity and higher production."
U.S. energy firms added seven oil drilling rigs last week, marking a 24th week of increases out of
the last 25 and bringing the total count up to 763, the most since April 2015, Baker Hughes energy
services company said on Friday.
Oil price special
coverage

U.S. oil production has risen over 10 percent since mid-2016 to 9.34 million barrels per day (bpd).
The rising U.S. output comes as supplies from OPEC also remain ample despite a pledge by the
group to cut production between January this year and March 2018.
OPEC exported 25.92 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, 450,000 bpd more than in May and
1.9 million bpd more than a year earlier. Given ongoing oversupply, analysts said that the market
was still some way off from finding a closer balance between demand and available supplies.
"There seems little hope for (market) rebalancing... unless we see an exceptional increase in
demand as reining in supply seems to be getting tougher," said Sukrit Vijayakar, director of energy
consultancy.

Good News Can't Stop Oil's Bad Mood as Short-Sellers Rule
By Alex Nussbaum
Even good news can do little to dispel the prevailing pessimism in the oil market.
Hedge funds paused a swift increase last month in wagers on declining West Texas Intermediate
crude prices. But there was little conviction behind a price rise, as futures shook off a report of
declining U.S. stockpiles to finish last week 3.9 percent lower.
“Sentiment still seems extremely bearish," Tim Evans, a Citigroup Global Markets analyst, said in
a telephone interview Friday. “We’re responding to every bit of bearish news, but we’re ignoring or
seeing a limited reaction to any bullish news."
Oil futures are down 18 percent this year as investors doubt efforts by the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners to ease a global supply glut. While prices plunged
last week after Russia was said to oppose deeper cuts, the market was quick to ignore a decrease
in U.S. crude stockpiles to the lowest level since January.
A closer look at the WTI wagers from hedge funds shows that the bears have been a lot more
active than the bulls. Bets on a rally haven’t had a weekly increase of more than 5 percent for
more than two months. Meanwhile, sharp moves in bets on a decline have set the tone.
Money managers’ net-long position on WTI rose 12 percent to 149,951 futures and options as of
July 3, mainly because short-sellers retreated, according to a weekly U.S. Commodity Futures
Trading Commission report released Friday. While longs rose by less than 1 percent to 316,447
contracts, shorts fell 7.8 percent to 166,496. In the previous three weeks shorts almost doubled,
reaching their highest point in almost a year.
Short-Covering

The latest numbers suggest that the gains in oil prices before last week’s slump were largely a
short-covering rally, in which those betting on a decline take advantage of low prices to buy
securities they had borrowed and sold when prices were higher, according to Citigroup’s Evans.
“You didn’t see a lot of long accumulation," he said. “It may be an indication that we reached a
level where those traders are just willing to take profits."
Investors also gave gasoline and diesel a break, reducing their net-short positions on both, the
CFTC report showed.
WTI in New York added 0.8 percent to $44.58 a barrel at 12:31 p.m. Singapore time. Brent, the
global benchmark, increased 0.8 percent to $47.08.
Adding to the gloom, Saudi output increased in June by the most in almost a year, according to a
Bloomberg survey. In the U.S., shale drillers keep adding rigs, and production has risen for most
of the year. Worries about a global supply glut have kept futures below $50 a barrel for the past
six weeks.
Even hedge fund manager Andy Hall, who’s taken an optimistic tone on oil for months, capitulated
to the bearish mood. In a recent investor letter, the oil market legend said the global crude market
has “materially worsened" and prices may be stuck around $50 a barrel or below.
Summer Boost
The more bullish tilt in hedge fund wagers wasn’t all about short-covering, though, said Michael
Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. The
summer driving season in the U.S. is moving into high gear, which should increase demand for oil,
Lynch said in a telephone interview. Hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico is also looming and
political tensions over North Korea and Qatar may also have convinced speculators that prices
could rebound.
“Although the fundamentals still aren’t great, most of the possible news is likely to be bullish,"
Lynch said.
Evans also saw the potential for a turnaround. “The most common cycle is that major rallies start
with short-covering from an oversold condition," he said. “That’s an early stage in a bull market."
But for now, the bears seem to be winning.
“Until we start to really eat into the inventory numbers, until production slows and looks like
demand is catching up, if not outstripping supply growth, we’re going to keep seeing this negative
bias," said Rob Haworth, a senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in
Seattle, which oversees $142 billion in assets.

NewBase Special Coverage
News Agencies News Release 10 July 2017
Oil Bulls, Stand Aside
By Julian Lee
Oil bulls got their first ray of hope last week from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Weekly data showed a sharp fall in inventories, appearing to support the notion that OPEC is
finally taking chunks out of the global crude glut.
But surging exports from North America mean the market should treat that idea with some
caution. Stockpiles aren't coming down because the oil is being used, it's just being moved
overseas.
Stubborn Stockpile
Six months of OPEC cuts have done little to drain U.S. oil inventories
Source: EIA , Note: Includes commercial and strategic stocks of crude and products.
The EIA reported the biggest drop in combined crude and refined-product stocks (including those
held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) in four years for the last week of June.
In the four months through June, when any cuts in OPEC crude deliveries to the U.S. should have
begun to show up in lower import numbers, the oil stockpile tumbled by almost 21 million barrels.

That doesn't seem like a lot. At that rate, it would take two-and-a-half years to get total inventories
back to their five-year average level.
It does start to look better, though, if you compare that with what normally happens over the
period.
This is the first year since at least 2000 that total U.S. oil inventories have fallen between the end
of February and June 30. The average increase in stockpiles over that period has been 54 million
barrels.
Draw!
U.S. total oil inventories fell in the March-June period for the first time this century
Sure, that average is inflated by some abnormally large builds for various reasons, but even
stripping those out, the increase is 37 million barrels. It's really that number that we should be
comparing against this year's 21-million-barrel decrease. A 58-million-barrel draw looks much
healthier, and would get stockpiles down in around 11 months.
But what has happened to all that oil?
U.S. demand did hit a record in the last week of June, but more than half of the week-on-week
increase came from the volatile "other oil products" category, not core fuels like gasoline, diesel or
jet fuel. In fact, gasoline demand has lagged last year's level all year and still shows little sign of
exceeding it.
In the Slow Lane

EIA weekly data show U.S. drivers aren't doing what it takes to drain surplus stockpiles
Source: EIA , Note: Four-week average gasoline product supplied.
The short answer is that the oil has been sent elsewhere.
The U.S. is a big net importer of oil -- dreams of energy independence have yet to be realized --
but the excess of imports over exports has slipped after the ban on overseas sales was lifted last
year. The U.S. exported 149 million more barrels of crude and refined products in the four months
through June than it did in the same period of 2016. Had those barrels not been exported, U.S.
inventories would have risen by another 129 million barrels.
Does this matter?
Yes, because the surge in U.S. exports is contributing to the robustness of inventory levels
elsewhere. Stocks in the key European storage hub in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region
are up 5.5 million barrels since the end of February, data from Genscape show.
Chinese government data show commercial stockpiles almost unchanged between the end of
February and the end of May, yet oil exports to Asia's biggest economy have soared. In the first
four months of 2017, 55 million barrels of crude and products flowed from the U.S. to China --
more than the first nine months of 2016.
Facts Global Energy, a London-based consultancy, estimates that global oil inventories on land
are "no lower now than when the output cutback deal was implemented in January." What's more,
a reduction in the volume of oil stored on tankers has been entirely offset by an increase in the
volume in transit.
Oil bulls will probably welcome the big drop in U.S. inventories. But it's too early to send the bears
into hibernation.

Monthly renewable electricity generation surpasses nuclear for
the first time since 1984.. Source: U.S. EIA, Monthly Energy Review and Electric Power Monthly
In March, and again in April, U.S. monthly electricity generation from utility-scale renewable
sources exceeded nuclear generation for the first time since July 1984.
This outcome reflects both seasonal and trend growth in renewable generation, as well as
maintenance and refueling schedules for nuclear plants, which tend to undergo maintenance
during spring and fall months, when overall electricity demand is lower than in summer or winter.
Record generation from both wind and solar as well as recent increases in hydroelectric power as
a result of high precipitation across much of the West over the past winter contributed to the
overall rise in renewable electricity generation this spring, while nuclear generation in April was at
its lowest monthly level since April 2014.
However, EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) projects that monthly nuclear electricity
generation will surpass renewables again during the summer months of 2017 and that nuclear will
generate more electricity than renewables for all of 2017.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review and Electric Power Monthly
Conventional hydroelectric generation, which remains the largest source of renewable electricity in
most months, totaled 30 billion kilowatthours in March, the highest level in nearly six years.
Largely because of record precipitation and snowpack in California, EIA’s latest STEO projects an
increase of 14% for hydroelectric power in 2017 compared with 2016.
Electricity generation from wind and solar has increased as more generating capacity has been
installed. More than 60% of all utility-scale electricity generating capacity that came online
in 2016 was from wind and solartechnologies.
These sources contributed to record high levels of generation from both fuels: between March
2016 and March 2017, wind generation increased by 16%, and solar generation increased by
65%. In April, solar generation continued to increase, while wind generation fell slightly. EIA’s
STEO projects an increase of 8% and 40% in wind and solar utility-scale generation, respectively,
in 2017.
As renewable generation has increased, net generation from nuclear power has remained
relatively flat since the late 1990s. Retirements of a number of nuclear plants have resulted in a
slightly lower level of overall nuclear generation capacity, and in turn, a lower level of generation.
Unlike generation levels from wind and solar, which follow seasonal patterns that reflect the
fluctuations in their resources, monthly fluctuations in nuclear generation largely reflect
maintenance schedules.
Based on data reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and compiled in EIA’s daily Status
of U.S. Nuclear Outages report, an average of 14 gigawatts and 21 gigawatts of nuclear capacity
were offline during March and April, respectively, representing about 14% and 21% of total
nuclear capacity in the United States.

NewBase For discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
Your partner in Energy Services
NewBase energy news is produced daily (Sunday to Thursday) and
sponsored by Hawk Energy Service – Dubai, UAE.
For additional free subscription emails please contact Hawk Energy
Khaled Malallah Al Awadi,
Energy Consultant
MS & BS Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA
Emarat member since 1990
ASME member since 1995
Hawk Energy member 2010
Mobile: +97150-4822502
khdmohd@hawkenergy.net
khdmohd@hotmail.com
Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with a total of 25 years of experience in
the Oil & Gas sector. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialist for
Emirates General Petroleum Corp. “Emarat“ with external voluntary Energy
consultation for the GCC area via Hawk Energy Service as a UAE
operations base , Most of the experience were spent as the Gas Operations
Manager in Emarat , responsible for Emarat Gas Pipeline Network Facility &
gas compressor stations . Through the years, he has developed great
experiences in the designing & constructing of gas pipelines, gas metering &
regulating stations and in the engineering of supply routes. Many years were spent drafting, &
compiling gas transportation, operation & maintenance agreements along with many MOUs for the
local authorities. He has become a reference for many of the Oil & Gas Conferences held in the
UAE and Energy program broadcasted internationally, via GCC leading satellite Channels.
NewBase : For discussion or further details on the news above you may contact us on +971504822502 , Dubai , UAE
NewBase July 2017 K. Al Awadi

New base 1050 special 10 july 2017 energy news

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