Iraq’s Oil Exports Still Seeing 450,000 bpd Hiccup
Turkey still hasn’t resumed the flow of crude oil from Iraq, with 450,000 bpd in Iraqi oil exports still offline, anonymous sources told Reuters on Friday. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled three weeks ago that Turkey must pay Iraq $1.5 billion in damages for receiving oil from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in Iraq without Baghdad’s permission from 2014 to 2018. Turkey responded by halting the flow of crude oil overseen by the Kurdistan Regional Government. The flows have not resumed despite a temporary agreement that was signed between Iraq and the KRG more than a week ago. Reuters sources have suggested Baghdad has not yet requested that Turkey reopen the pipeline. Turkey previously stated that it wishes to negotiate the $1.5 billion payment, and it wants a resolution on another arbitration case involving the same oil exports to Turkey from the KRG, except this one covers shipments from 2018 onward. Turkey is holding out for in-person negotiations to take place, Reuters sources said. The fallout of the halted flows are multifaceted, with the KRG stripped of more than half a billion dollars in oil revenues, 450,000 bpd of crude oil taken off the global market, and Iraq petitioning a U.S. federal court to enforce the arbitration award. Baghdad said earlier this month that it would work on passing a federal law detailing how oil export revenues would be shared with the Kurdistan Regional Government, referring to it as “a crucial step towards ending the long-standing dispute,” and “creating a positive and safe atmosphere to finally approve the national oil and gas law.” A deal ending the long-running dispute between Erbil and Baghdad could be reached, but until Turkey reopens the pipeline, their efforts to reach an agreement could be fruitless.
Green measures. Clean energy transition panel: Ban diesel 4-wheelers in cities with million-plus pollution by 2027
The Energy Transition Advisory Committee (ETAC), which was tasked by the Centre with creating a clean energy transition roadmap, has suggested banning diesel-operated four-wheelers from million-plus populated cities by 2027. The panel, chaired by former Oil Secretary and Advisor to Prime Minister Tarun Kapoor, also suggested not adding any more diesel-operated city buses in urban areas in a bid to adopt clean fuel in urban public transport in about 10 years. The recommendation assumes importance as the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) in a September 2022 report revealed that the transport sector contributes up to 20 per cent of the PM 2.5 emissions, a key air pollutant. Replacing intra-city transport, which is currently dominated by diesel-operated vehicles, with electric vehicles (EVs) will also reduce dependence on costly imported fossil fuels India has cities with million-plus population such as Lucknow, Kanpur, Bareilly, Nasik, Thane, Nagpur, Gwalior, Chennai, Madurai, and Coimbatore. Among them, the most polluted ones include Delhi and the NCR region, Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Kanpur, and Hyderabad. The government has made the transition of public transport to e-mobility its top priority, which can be judged from the fact that of the total $1.3 billion corpus under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME)-II scheme, around 35 per cent is for e-buses and 25 per cent for electric 3-wheelers in public transport. In March, a Parliamentary panel on EVs urged the government to frame a comprehensive national policy on electric vehicles incorporating the State-level and international best practices. City transport The ETAC projected that city buses are likely to be electric, and city transport has to be a mix of electric buses and Metro by the end of the current decade “By 2030, no city buses should be added, which are not electric. CNG may continue till 2035, but diesel buses for city transport should not be added from 2024 onwards. Long-distance buses will have to be a mixture of electric with battery swapping and CNG/ LNG,” it has suggested. Recommendations The panel said, “Long-term focus on transitioning to EVs with CNG as transition fuel (up to 10-15 years). Vehicles with flex-fuel capabilities and hybrids may be promoted in the short and medium terms. This can be done through the application of fiscal tools like taxation.” It added. “No diesel city buses addition be allowed in urban areas, to drive towards transition towards clean fuel urban public transport in about 10 years.” The panel stressed extending the FAME-II scheme beyond March 2024. Considering public transport offered by State Transport Undertakings (STUs) face challenges of limited charging infrastructure and upfront financing, the scheme may include suitable and graded provisioning for expanding charging infrastructure for city buses.
Russia’s oil export hit near three-year high in March despite Western sanctions
Moscow’s exports of crude oil and oil products rose in March to their highest level since April 2020, jumping by 600,000 barrels a day, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly oil report in April 14. The rise lifted Russia’s estimated revenue from oil exports to $12.7 billion last month. While Russia’s oil revenues rebounded by $1 billion to $12.7 billion, they were still down 43 per cent compared to a year ago as Russia is forced to sell its barrels to a more limited pool of customers who can negotiate greater discounts. The most significant are a ban on Russian seaborne crude imports into the European Union and a refined oil products ban on such as diesel into the bloc. Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the West has imposed a slew of sanctions against Russia including price caps on its crude oil and EU embargoes. But Russia, the world’s second-largest exporter of crude, has found willing buyers in India and China to replace European customers. Still, sanctions have made a significant dent in Russia’s coffers. Last week, the government said declining energy revenues had contributed to a budget deficit of 2.4 trillion rubles ($29 billion) in the first three months of this year. Its overall income plunged nearly 21 per cent compared with the same period in 2022, Reuters reported. Russia retaliated by slashing its production by 500,000 barrels per day, and its partners at the OPEC+ oil cartel shocked the markets by announcing their own output cuts earlier this month. The Paris-based agency said much of the increase was due to a rise in oil product exports, which returned to pre-Covid levels as they climbed by 450,000 bpd to 3.1 million bpd. In March, Russian crude oil exports rose by 100,000 bpd to 5 million bpd with India effectively replacing China as Moscow’s main market in Asia, last month. Additionally, the IEA also said that the oil product shipments destined for the EU almost doubled between February and March to 300,000 bpd.