Oil & Gas

Philippines planning to import 260,000 barrels of Iranian oil daily (IRNA – 13 May 2017)

The president of the Philippines National Oil Company (PNOC) said in a press conference on Saturday that the Philippines is planning to buy 250 to 260 thousand barrels of oil daily from Iran.

Pedro A. Aquino, Jr. said that the Philippines is going to build a 400-barrell refinery and to provide the feedstock, the country has entered negotiations with Iran.

“Construction of the new refinery is expected to be completed in three years,” Aquino said, adding that the new refinery can process both the light and heavy oil from Iran.

He added that if another refinery is ready, they will start the purchase of Iranian oil sooner. Answering a question about liquefied natural gas (LNG), he said that the negotiations are in progress with Iran, as well, to buy LNG from the Islamic Republic.

 

IEA Will ‘Revisit’ Oil Demand Outlook (Financial Tribune – 13 May 2017)

The International Energy Agency will review its electric vehicle (EV) use and oil demand forecasts after India and China recently signaled new policies in favor of electric cars and vehicles using other alternatives to gasoline. In its current policies scenario, last updated in November 2016, the IEA expects vehicle demand for oil to rise until 2040, Reuters reported. But after the world’s two fastest growing oil markets, China and India, indicated they are likely to take radical turns away from gasoline, the IEA says it will need to review its forecasts. “We will therefore revisit our analysis of future EV market penetration on the basis of these new announcements for the next World Energy Outlook 2017, to be released on November 14,” an IEA spokesman told Reuters. In its “road map”, released in April, China said it wants alternative fuel vehicles to account for at least one-fifth of a projected 35 million annual vehicle sales by 2025.

 

National

Tehran to host 1st Iran-Latin America mining co-op meeting on Monday (Tehran Times – 13 May 2017)

 The first Iran-Latin American countries joint meeting on cooperation opportunities in mining sector is due to be held in Tehran on Monday, IRNA reported.

As Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) said on Saturday, the meeting will focus on topics like the capacities and potentials for mutual investment, effective and long-term communication with each other’s mining and mineral industry through economic diplomacy and familiarity with cooperation opportunities and etc.

 

PÔLE AVENIA considers Iran ‘a market for future’ (Tehran Times – 13 May 2017)

French governmental cluster PÔLE AVENIA considers Iran a market for the future of its companies, its general manager Jérôme Porfirio told the Tehran Times in the 22nd International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition of Iran (Iran Oil Show 2017). The exhibition was held at the Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds from May 6 to 9.

Porfirio, who had previously attended the exhibit as the manager of an SME, said: “It’s the first time for me [attending Iran Oil Show] with the title of the director of the cluster. It’s a very good exhibition, a very large with a very large number of factors.”

PÔLE AVENIA, located in Pau in southwest France, is the only French competitiveness cluster in the geosciences sector. It’s a unique research potential in France, bringing together more than 4000 geoscience researchers and more than 100 industry partners including world leaders in energy (Total, GDF Suez, EDF, etc.) and local SMEs and MSEs.

“We are actually 170 member companies and R&D laboratory members and we try to improve R&D and the business for these members,” Porfirio stated. “We are here now because we try to improve collaboration between the needs of Iranian companies and know-how of our members,” he said.

 

Economy

Iran welcomes China’s new Silk Road initiative (Tehran Times – 13 May 2017)

Iranian Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Ali Tayyebnia has welcomed the idea of reviving the Silk Road proposed by China, underlining that the plan will fortify ties and solidarity among countries along the ancient road.

Speaking to China Radio International on Thursday, Tayyebnia said the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative is important, noting that the plan will increase solidarity among countries, IRNA reported.

He called Iran and China two strategic partners, whose bilateral ties are expanding and the idea to revive the historical road can add a new chapter to bilateral cooperation.

Tayyebnia will represent the Islamic Republic of Iran in the New Silk Road Summit in Beijing on May 14-15.

The two-day summit will promote Chinese President Xi Jinping’s One Belt, One Road Initiative, a massive bankrolled infrastructure project linking China with Africa, Asia and Europe through a network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks.

Rice production surpasses 2.25m tons in a year (Iran Daily – 13 May 2017)

 Iran could manage to produce 2.25 million tons of rice during the past Iranian calendar year 1395 (ended March 20, 2017), the Secretary of Iran Rice Association Jamil Alizadeh Shayeq announced.

As the official told Radio Eqtesad, the country is intended to increase its rice production volume during the current year.

Iran requires to import 800,000 to one million tons of the product each year.