“Tidbits From TNT” Friday Morning 9-6-2024
TNT:
Tishwash: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Oman extend additional voluntary output cuts
The OPEC+ countries have agreed to extend their additional voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day for two months until the end of November 2024.
This came as these countries that previously announced additional voluntary cuts in April and November 2023, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, held a virtual meeting on 5th September, 2024, during which the eight member countries emphasised their collective resolve to ensure full compliance with the voluntary production adjustments.
In recognition of this strengthened resolve and renewed firm commitment, the eight participating countries have agreed to extend their additional voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day for two months until the end of November 2024, after which these cuts will be gradually phased out on a monthly basis starting 1st December, 2024, with the flexibility to pause or reverse the adjustments as necessary.
The overproducing countries also reconfirmed their commitment that the entire overproduced volume will be fully compensated for by September 2025.
In August 2024, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Algeria, and Oman, conducted two ministerial discussions with Iraq and Kazakhstan. Both countries were urged to achieve full conformity and compensate for the overproduced volumes since January 2024. Iraq and Kazakhstan committed to engage with secondary sources to outline their plans for production adjustments to achieve compliance and meet the compensation schedules they submitted to the OPEC Secretariat on 22nd August.
The group includes Iraq and Kazakhstan, who have overproduced since January 2024, but have strongly reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement and to their compensation schedules submitted to the OPEC Secretariat as agreed under the 53rd meeting of the JMMC on 3rd April 2024.
Iraq and Kazakhstan reinforced their commitment during the OPEC Secretary General’s visits in late August, conducted in coordination with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy and the Chairman of the OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meetings. During those visits, the OPEC Secretariat organised workshops with the secondary sources where both countries provided extensive details on the immediate and concrete measures they are implementing to achieve full conformity with the required production levels and to meet their compensation schedules for August and for September. These measures included advancing field maintenance plans and reducing production alongside with delaying and canceling spot sales for the month of August. Moreover, the countries committed to adjust compensation plans for any over produced volumes in August. link
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Tishwash: Iraqi Ambassador to Egypt Calls on Arab Companies to Invest in Iraq
Iraqi Ambassador to Egypt Qahtaan Taha Khalaf announced on Thursday Iraq's support for Egypt in the face of the Zionist campaign to disrupt the Palestinian cause, while calling on Arab companies to invest in Iraq.
Khalaf said, in the opening session of the 114th session of the Economic and Social Council, which was followed by "Al-Eqtisad News", that "the Republic of Iraq supports the Arab Republic of Egypt in what it is exposed to in terms of fabricated Zionist accusations, campaigns and plans in an attempt to disrupt the Palestinian cause."
He added that "the Iraqi government welcomes hosting the 34th regular Arab Summit in Baghdad in 2025," noting that "this grand celebration that the Arab nation is looking forward to, we are trying to come up with decisions that rise to the level of the current challenges, in order for the summit to constitute a qualitative leap in the field of joint Arab action."
He pointed out that "the delegates supporting the Republic of Iraq communicated with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States to set a date for the meeting of the third team concerned with developing economic and social work headed by Iraq," noting that "the meeting did not take place due to emergency circumstances, the last of which was setting August 26 and a memorandum was circulated in this regard, but the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to Egypt prevented the meeting from being held."
He explained that "Iraq's policy is focused on economic openness, building a broad network of economic relations and attracting investments, and from these starting points, the Iraqi government has developed an ambitious program to develop all sectors, enhance and improve services and simplify procedures."
He added that "the companies that have been present in Iraq for years include Turkish, Iranian and Chinese companies, and we find Arab companies from Egypt, neighboring countries and other Arab countries alongside them," calling on Arab countries to "participate in rebuilding Iraq and exploiting the available opportunities in restoring infrastructure in Iraq."
He thanked "the United Arab Emirates for presenting a study of the work of this council and the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and the employees for their efforts to prepare for this meeting and provide full support to reach the best results for the advancement of joint Arab action." link
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Tishwash: Iraq's gateway to the world.. All eyes are on the launch of the FAO and corruption is the biggest "risk"
Iraq is preparing to announce the imminent launch of the Grand Faw Port, one of the largest strategic projects in the country, despite the major challenges that this project has faced since its inception.
Faw Port is an important commercial gateway linking Iraq to the outside world and reducing dependence on the ports of neighboring countries.
The project has faced many obstacles, including financing, political tensions, and logistical challenges. However, official authorities confirm that the project has overcome most of these obstacles, and that the official launch of the port is imminent, which raises hopes of boosting trade and investment in Iraq.
Jamal Al-Halbousi, an expert in maritime border demarcation, says, “The news coming from the port of Al-Faw is good and joyful, especially since the work rate on the project now reaches 98 percent, according to the Daewoo company implementing the port, which is equipped with five docks. Work is now underway to complete the fifth dock, which is 1,750 meters long.”
He added, "More important than these docks is the navigation channel leading to them, as work is being done on it at the agreed capacity so that it can accommodate large ships and navigation is at a very high economic level, meaning that the depth of the navigation channel should not be less than 19.8 metres, and so far it has reached 12 metres or a little more."
He points out that “many aspects have been completed, such as the roads, most of which have been completed, as well as the bridges, the submerged tunnel, and the container yard,” noting that “there are five other projects that complement the port and these must be carried out, and according to the Ministry of Transport, the percentage of completion in them exceeds the timeframes set for them, but until now we need to test them, as within 20 days water must be pumped into the submerged tunnel for the test.”
Al-Halbousi hopes for the “success of the Faw Port project, because that would close all doors to competing ports in the region. Therefore, the five docks must be coordinated and interconnected, and the work must be in one chain. There must be a gradual completion, and there must be an appropriate mechanism for the work and the idea of transporting and transferring goods.”
Regarding the obstacles, he confirms that “corruption is the biggest obstacle facing the port of Faw, so there must be efficient management, and unfortunately Iraq lacks it so far. If the same administrative work in other Basra ports, such as Khor Al-Zubair and others, is reflected in the port of Faw, it will be a disaster for the new port. However, if it is managed by expert companies, the port is a historic opportunity for Iraq to revive the economy.”
He added, "The port will start operating with five docks, and their success in operation will give Iraq an opportunity to develop and increase the docks because Umm Qasr Port operates with 29 docks, and what is planned for the Grand Faw Port is to contain a greater number of docks than what is present in Umm Qasr Port."
For his part, economic expert, Ziad Al-Hashemi, explains that “the port of Faw holds great strategic importance for the growing Iraqi economy, in which the rate of imports increases annually.”
He added, "The Faw Port, with its five berths, will be able to provide modern services and operations that facilitate the speed and smoothness of handling containers entering and leaving the port, which will enhance commercial movement and the availability of goods required within the Iraqi markets."
Al-Hashemi confirms that “the project may face some challenges related to the contracting process with port operating companies, managing the docks, and the movement and operations of the port, in addition to the fact that the failure to complete the development road paths may cause a limitation in linking the port facilities with the land paths towards the Iraqi governorates, which creates a bottleneck that causes delays in the flow of goods.”
He explained that "there are potential security and political challenges for parties that may want to exploit the port to obtain illegal financial gains and resources. The port may also face a decrease in demand for its cross-border trade services to and from Turkey and neighboring countries, due to the fragile security and political stability, which may lead to an increase in the costs of transit and insurance for containers passing through Iraq to and from the port for the benefit of other countries."
The Faw Port was supposed to have 99 berths and be the largest port in West Asia, surpassing the Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates. The port adds strategic importance to Iraq and generates huge financial returns through the transport of goods and oil products faster than before.
Fourteen years have passed since the foundation stone was laid for the construction of this port, but political conflicts and the intersection of internal and external interests, in addition to corruption factors, prevented its completion, which prompted the "Popular Movement for the Belt and Road", last April, to demonstrate in the vicinity of the Green Zone, to expose the files of financial and administrative corruption in the Grand Faw Port.
The Greater Faw Project represents an important economic and political goal, given its high financial cost and political and social importance, as many political actors and armed groups seek to control or undermine it to achieve personal gains and political goals.
The Ministry of Transport confirmed this week that the five-berth project, one of the projects of the Grand Faw Port, is witnessing remarkable progress on the ground and faster than its scheduled timelines, noting that the Korean company Daewoo has reached a completion rate of 98 percent in the project.
It is noteworthy that the project to establish the container terminal for the Grand Faw Port, which is one of the five projects of the project, includes the construction of five giant docks for unloading ships with a length of 1,750 meters, and the construction of a container yard with a length of 2,000 meters. link
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