Scraping the Barrel… 2 August 2012

Posted by Lucy Wallwork on Thursday, August 2, 2012 · Leave a Comment

As today’s barrel scrapings reveal: the Russians join the crown snubbing Baghdad for the KRG, sanctions bite in Iran, and a gloomy outlook for the world’s oil majors. See below the fold for more…

Iraq Oil Report: Gazprom makes Kurdistan entrance, risking Badra.

Another day, another warm hand shake and another IOC piles into the Kurdistan region of Iraq, to the chagrin of the Baghdad government. This time it is Russian Gazprom following where Exxon and Total have already trodden , signing two contracts with the region’s semi-autonomous government, and putting their investments in Badra at risk. The new agreement makes the KRG’s recent initiative to ‘repair ties’ with Baghdad sound like little more than empty words. Could these companies, as Steve LeVine would have it, become an unintentional fifth column in Kurdistan’s march toward economic autonomy? Has Baghdad already lost Kurdistan?

Bloomberg: Iran loses $133 million a day from sanctions as oil buoys Obama

A tale of two cities. In Washington it would appear Obama’s risks are paying off so far, with US-led sanctions biting and are calculated to be costing the producer country $133 million a day in lost sales. As US elections near, low fuel prices may well translate into votes, as the dreaded spike in oil prices predicted by many has not come to pass, with a little help from hydrocarbon power-house Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile in Tehran shipments have fallen by 52% since the 1 July, making a dent roughly equivalent to 10% of Iran’s economy. Daily life Iran for ordinary Iranians has also been hit hard by spiralling prices for staples such as bread and rice, and an unemployment rate reaching 13.5%

Petroleum Economist: Volatile markets batter majors’ numbers

Champagne corks might not be popping with such gusto in BP’s corporate tents at the London Olympics when execs set their eyes on the latest set of results. Hit even harder than majors such as Exxon and Total, volatile markets are being blamed for the British super major’s 96% drop in adjusted profit, as Brent Crude settled at around $106/barrel after a 25% drop in prices in mid-June. Despite Exxon’s Rex Tillerson’s valid defence of the long-term nature of the oil business, the immediate outlook for Big Oil is bound to produce some jittery board rooms over the next few months.

To check out previous news roundups, see the Scraping the Barrel series.