Simon Watkins

Latest articles from Simon

• Three New China-Russia-Iran and Iraq Agreements Confirm The New Oil Market Order

  Published 30 May 2023 | viewed 2,962 times

  The last week or so has seen a flurry of major cooperation agreements - including in energy, security, and logistics – between various permutations of…

• The June OPEC Meeting May Spring A Nasty Surprise For The Oil Markets

  Published 29 May 2023 | viewed 21,924 times

  The recent assurance from Russian Deputy Prime Minister and key OPEC+ negotiator Alexander Novak - that he does not expect the group to take any…

• China Drives Rebound In Global Oil Demand, But There’s A Catch

  Published 22 May 2023 | viewed 6,361 times

  For many years now, the state of China’s economy has been one of the most important determinants of the oil price. The vast disparity between…

• This New Middle East Pipeline Could Be A Gamechanger

  Published 22 May 2023 | viewed 5,795 times

  A huge new Middle East to Asia pipeline that could provide the East with high volumes of reliable gas supplies for decades is being planned.…

• The New Iran-Syria Agreement Is A Geopolitical Win For China

  Published 16 May 2023 | viewed 2,990 times

  Crucial to China’s multi-pronged, multi-generational ‘One Belt, One Road’ power-grab project is the Shia Crescent of the Middle East. Dominated by Iran, China’s chief longstanding…

• Saudi Aramco’s Disappointing Earnings Are The Least Of Its Problems

  Published 15 May 2023 | viewed 8,287 times

  It might appear counter-intuitive to characterise Saudi Aramco’s first quarter net income of SAR119.54 billion (US$31.88 billion) as bad but, in the context of what…

• Oil Majors Are Succeeding In Securing More Gas From The Middle East

  Published 09 May 2023 | viewed 4,102 times

  TotalEnergies, along with Italy’s Eni and the UK’s BP and Shell, have been at the vanguard of securing new oil and gas supplies for Europe…

• China Is Coming Out Of The Shadows To Defend Its Oil Interests

  Published 08 May 2023 | viewed 75,475 times

  Given the high stakes geopolitical game in which the world finds itself following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, it would be naïve to be…

• What Russia, OPEC, And The West Want From The New Global Oil Market

  Published 01 May 2023 | viewed 10,525 times

  The recent comment by the Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al Ghais, that the International Energy Agency (IEA) should…

• Iraq’s Giant Halfaya Gas Project May Be Finished Ahead Of Time

  Published 01 May 2023 | viewed 3,512 times

  News last week from Iraq Oil Ministry sources that the first stage of a gas processing facility at the Halfaya oil field is now expected…

• China’s Economy Is Picking Up, But Oil Demand May Disappoint

  Published 24 April 2023 | viewed 9,787 times

  China’s economy grew by 2.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the first quarter (Q1), a massive improvement on the previous quarter’s 0.6 percent…

• U.S. Stresses Importance Of LNG For Europe

  Published 24 April 2023 | viewed 3,282 times

  Russian President Vladimir Putin belied that his invasion of Ukraine in 2022 would go largely unopposed by the U.S. and its allies for the same…

• Middle East Flagship Energy Project Nears Final Phase

  Published 17 April 2023 | viewed 5,326 times

  Oman is of vital strategic importance to the U.S.-Europe-Japan axis and the China-Russia axis because of its uniquely advantageous geographical position, which makes it one…

• LNG Giant Qatar Walks A Tightrope Between China And The U.S.

  Published 17 April 2023 | viewed 4,395 times

  Given its geographical positioning, with Saudi Arabia on one side of it and Iran on the other, Qatar has long played a delicate diplomatic balancing…

• TotalEnergies Pushes Ahead With Iraq Megadeal Despite Huge Risks

  Published 11 April 2023 | viewed 4,669 times

  The on-off-on-off US$27 billion four-pronged megadeal between TotalEnergies and the Federal Government of Iraq appears to be back on again, although it is not quite…

• Saudi- U.S. Relations Sour Further On Huge OPEC+ Surprise Cut

  Published 10 April 2023 | viewed 25,899 times

  The surprise huge new cut in oil production from ‘OPEC+’ - the Saudi Arabia-led OPEC group of countries ‘plus’ Russia - highlights that any optimism…

• U.S. Losing Influence As Saudi Arabia Joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization

  Published 04 April 2023 | viewed 73,178 times

  Saudi Arabia’s very public announcement last week that its cabinet had approved a plan to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a ‘dialogue partner’…

• Western Oil Companies Are Not Welcome In Iraq But Russian And Chinese Ones Are

  Published 03 April 2023 | viewed 31,129 times

  Last week’s banning by the Baghdad-based Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) of oil sales made independently by the government of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan…

• Can Libya Really Double Its Oil Output?

  Published 28 March 2023 | viewed 3,879 times

  Before the removal of its long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011, Libya had easily been able to produce around 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd)…

• Battle For Iraqi Oil Heats Up After Iran-Saudi Deal

  Published 27 March 2023 | viewed 21,796 times

  Iraq’s crude oil production has been stuck between the 4.0-4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) level since 2016, with a mean average of about 4.5…