March 2017

The NYMEX April natural gas contract continued to march higher Tuesday, climbing 5.2 cents to settle at $3.093/MMBtu on a tightening supply-demand balance characterized by strong LNG feedgas deliveries, March demand above year-ago levels and a 2.8 Bcf/d year-on-year dip in production.

The crude oil contract for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 56¢ on Mar. 20 to $48.22/bbl. The May contract fell by 40¢ to $48.91/bbl. The Brent crude contract for May on London’s ICE decreased 14¢ to $51.62/bbl. The June contract dropped 16¢ to $51.79/bbl. The gas oil contract settled at 458.50/tonne on Mar. 20, up $1.75. The average price for OPEC’s basket of benchmark crudes on Mar. 20 was $49.18/bbl, down 18¢.

Iran announced it has started gas recovery from phase 20 development of the supergiant South Pars gas field (SP20) on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia leads countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in future energy investment.

Saudi Aramco is set to launch its first public bond sale, of around $2bn, as soon as this month, as it begins to tap local currency debt markets as part of a $10bn fundraising programme.

I strongly welcome the proposed compacts between African and G20 countries to build capacity and unlock investment flows. All five countries in the first wave have Fund-supported arrangements. We will work closely with the authorities to strengthen their macroeconomic frameworks and will step up the provision of technical assistance.

Total is seeking a 50 percent stake in a $4 billion project in Iran's giant South Pars gas field, the French energy firm said in a regulatory filing on Friday detailing talks held with Iranian officials on several projects in 2016.

In this difficult environment, the Group demonstrated its resilience by generating adjusted net income of $8.3 billion and had the highest profitability among the majors due to the strength of its integrated model and commitment of its teams to reduce the breakeven.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, was up 42 cents at $52.04 per barrel at 0907 GMT, rebounding from last week's three-month low of $50.25 but well below January's surge above $58 in the wake of the output cuts. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 38 cents to $48.60.

«В рамках развития экспортной инфраструктуры реализуются проекты «Сила Сибири», «Северный поток», «Турецкий поток», планируется в этом году запустить первую линию проекта «Ямал СПГ», продолжается работа над сокращением времени присоединения к газораспределительным сетям, развитием рынка газомоторного топлива», - сообщил Александр Новак.