UPI Energy Watch

Oil and gas in Mauritania threatened by coup

The western African country, which has had little success developing its oil and natural gas resources, was hit again with another setback after enraged army commanders staged a bloodless coup, The Oil and Gas Journal reported.

The coup was in retaliation for the firing of four top military officials by President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.

Just last month it seemed Mauritania's oil industry would get a jump start after Malaysia's state-owned Petronas found "significant" quantities of oil and gas in one of its exploratory wells.

Mauritania, an Islamic nation, is fighting al-Qaida for its own energy resources. It imports an average 19,000 barrels of oil per day.

The distraction of the coup from its focus on developing its resources is a step backward.

Nigeria plans to increase oil production

The federal government recently announced a goal of doubling the county's crude oil production from 2.2 million barrels per day to 4 million barrels per day over two years.

The announcement was made at the Society of Petroleum Engineers conference in Abuja, the capital.

The SPE vice president said the new target is aimed at helping Nigeria meet its supply obligations.

Demand, though slowing, is still increasing in many countries, and Nigeria's infrastructure has suffered repeated attacks from militant groups, cutting its production capacity.

Nigeria produces only about 2.5 percent of global oil, and its capacity is much higher.

The government and the SPE agreed to work together in a number of areas to improve Nigeria's petroleum industry, including production costs reductions, infrastructure, pipeline protection and research into new exploration technologies.

Iran's state-run oil company confirms 15 bid tenders

The National Iranian Oil Co. announced it has proposed 15 projects, including 10 oil and gas projects, to be tendered for international bids, Iran's Fars News Agency reported.

NIOC Managing Director Seifollah Jashnsaz said the 10 oil and gas projects will come up for tender in September. Despite sanctions and tension over the threat of new sanctions, Jashnsaz said NIOC has already received expressions of interest from several European and Asian countries.

The projects will focus on developing the 3 billion barrels of in situ reserves found in four oil fields so far this year.

In recent months, Shell, EDF and StatoilHydro have debated or actually announced they would cease new investments in Iranian oil and gas as a result of U.S. pressure.

--

Closing oil prices, Aug. 7, 3 p.m. London

Brent crude oil: $117.81

West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $119.02

--

(e-mail: energy@upi.com)