Page 13 - MEOG Week 01

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US has “no right” to Syrian oil
A top adviser to Syria’s president says the United States has no right to Syria’s oil and has warned of “operations” against American troops guarding the oil fields. Bouthaina Shaaban, who is a political and media adviser to Bashar al-Assad, recently told NBC News that the U.S. has “absolutely no right; it is our oil.” “He’s talking about stealing it,” she added in her office at Syria’s presidential palace in Damascus, referring to President Donald Trump’s declaration earlier this year that the U.S. would “keep” Syrian oil. In October,
the Trump administration announced plans to withdraw some 1,000 troops from Syria, amounting to most of the U.S. military presence in the country. But he later reversed course, approving an expanded military mission to secure an expanse of oil fields across eastern Syria.
Shaaban went on to warn of “popular opposition and operations against the American occupiers of our oil.” Shaaban, who often speaks for Assad, said there was no question in his mind that “our land should be totally and completely liberated from foreign occupiers, whether they are terrorists, or the Turks or the Americans.” Her words came
as Syrian government forces pressed ahead with an operation in northwestern Syria to take back the country’s last rebel stronghold, having in recent years gained the upper hand in the civil war.
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Lebanon receives batch of gasoline
Lebanon received Saturday the first batch
of gasoline to the Zahrani Oil Installations under a new deal to import fuel on behalf of the state. Caretaker Energy Minister Nada Boustani attended the delivery of the first batch of imported gasoline by the state, stressing that this is a positive step.
“Our main client will be the Lebanese Army, and the commodities will be sold in Lebanese pounds,” Boustani said, assuring no more lack of fuel products in Lebanon from now on.
She added that the government received 24,000 tons of fuel with other vessels expected to arrive soon. She encouraged the future minister to do more tenders and to continue this process, as there is a lot of processes that can improve the sector.
She then stressed that the quality of the fuel will be tested in the same labs as previous imports. “As for the price, we need some time to see how the market will deal with this step. The future minister will then decide how to price the fuel,” Boustani said.
With a very hopeful mood, the Minister assured that all the problems regarding the distribution and pricing have been solved and that every problem has a solution, so there’s no need to worry.
The Lebanese company ZR Energy won
a tender process to import 150,000 tons of gasoline in December. The decision came after Lebanon went through a fuel crisis that witnessed a series of strikes taken by the Syndicate of Gas Station Owners.
From his behalf, the Director-General of Oil Installations, Sarkis Hlaiss, congratulated the Lebanese for the state’s return to the sector, assuring that this is an important step. And, on whether this process will include the gas sector, Hlaiss said: “The gas sector is after the gasoline.”
With such steps taken, we hope that the state improves and takes back all the sectors, and to rely more on the Lebanese pounds, rather than buying and selling using foreign
pounds.
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IPTC conference to be held in Dhahran
The 12th edition of the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) will be held 13-15 January 2020 at the Dhahran EXPO in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with Saudi Aramco serving as the Exclusive Host Organisation.
IPTC is a collaborative effort among
the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE), the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).
Regional energy ministers, industry leaders, and governmental representatives will have an opportunity to discuss and share their views on timely industry topics and trends, exchange expertise and experience, present state-of-the-art technology and innovation, and to stimulate further research of technical and business activities.
In addition, awards and recognition will be given for organisations efforts in technical and business contributions to the industry. There will also be a range of integrated social activities to encourage networking and off- line discussion.
IPtC
Genel’s TT-34 well testing in Iraq nears completion
Genel Energy said testing of the TT-34 well at the Taq Taq field in Iraq was nearing completion.
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