Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Rumaila -- September 22, 2020

First, re-posting:

Link to Irina Slav: the debt crisis is mounting for oil economies (i.e, the Mideast). Data points:

  • Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia: taking on more debt
  • Abu Dhabi: longest bond issue ever; 50-year debt at $5 billion
  • Dubai: preparing to issue debt for the first time since 2014
  • offerings were oversubscribed
  • all Gulf economies, except Qatar, are expected to stay or swing into budget deficits this year
  • Saudi Arabia should fare the best
  • Saudi's breakeven price: $76.10/bbl
  • Saudi's breakeven price could fall to $66 next year, but GS optimistically projects Brent to hit $64/bbl next year
  • Vision 2030 may be on its deathbed

Link to Simon Watkins: cash-strapped Iraq to finally roll out refinery megaproject.

  • original handshake with Royal Dutch Shell: back in 2012
  • multi-billion dollar Nebras petrochemical plant development project
  • goal: capture, process flared gas from the fields of Rumaila, West Qurna 1, and Zubair
  • much more at the link, but I have to move on

Link to Tsvetana Paraskova: Saudis scold OPEC+ laggards for trying to "outsmart the market"

Rumaila:

The Rumaila oil field is a super-giant oil field located in southern Iraq, approximately 20 miles from the Kuwaiti border. Discovered in 1953 by the Basrah Petroleum Company (BPC), an associate company of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), the field is estimated to contain 17 billion barrels, which accounts for 12% of Iraq's oil reserves estimated at 143.1 billion barrels. Rumaila is said to be the largest oilfield ever discovered in Iraq and is considered the third largest oil field in the world.

2 comments:

  1. Issue a lot of debt in your country's currency instead of selling offshore assets. Then devalue your currency. Problem solved for a couple of years. Ding!!! That was easy.

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    Replies
    1. Yup. Saudi Arabia's currency is pegged to the dollar, I believe, but Saudi has often threatened to go its own way (taking your advice, obviously).

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