New U.S. State Secretary Could Discourage Global Oil Output

Incoming State Secretary Mike Pompeo could change foreign policy in a way that could trigger the loss of 1.4 million barrels per day in global crude supply s

ence of reciprocal efforts by US allies, seem likely to shift Iranian crude volumes from low-risk-tolerance destinations to high-risk-tolerance destinations, changing flows without necessarily changing volumes," analysts with ClearView Energy wrote Tuesday.

Russia is moving in on both Venezuela and Iran to gain new allies in South America and the Middle East. A consortium of Russian and Iranian companies signed an agreement with Tehran to develop two oilfields located on the country’s border with Iraq this week, Iran’s second deal since the nuclear pact.

Russia’s state-run Zarubeznheft Oil Co. and Iran’s Dana Energy are the contract’s private signatories. Since the 2015 nuclear deal that reintroduced Iran to global oil markets, this is only the second international development deal that has reached fruition. Last year, the country signed a $5 billion agreement with France's Total SA and a Chinese oil company to develop a sizeable offshore natural gas field.

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, he has threatened on multiple occasions to scrap the deal entirely. Trump has begrudgingly waived sanctions on Iran multiple times so far, as he is required to do every few months as a way of recertifying the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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