The Turkish oil refinery company “Tupras” announced on Thursday that it had lost contact with the “St. Nicholas” ship, which transports 140,000 tons of Iraqi crude oil, stressing that the incident would not affect the company’s refining operations.

The company (privately) said in a statement that the ship carrying the Marshall Islands flag was transporting points from the ports of the Iraqi city of Basra before communication with it was cut off off the coast of Oman.

The company also confirmed that there were no Turkish citizens among the crew of the ship owned by the Greek company Empire Navigation.

It stressed that all oil refining operations are continuing in its refineries as planned, and the accident has no impact on the company’s operations.

The statement did not direct the accusation against any party, but it coincides with reports of gunmen, likely Iranian soldiers, seizing an oil tanker in the Sea of Oman.

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Oil prices fell at the beginning of weekly trading on Monday by 2.6 percent compared to the close of the Friday session amid weak global demand for crude.

On Sunday, Saudi Aramco reduced the official selling price of its key Arab Light crude to a premium of $1.50 per barrel above the regional index for February.

This compares to a premium of $3.5 for the current month, which is the lowest level since November 2021.

Aramco’s decision comes after weak spot price differences for Middle Eastern crudes due to China’s weak appetite and increased global supplies, according to an analysis published by Bloomberg earlier today.

By 11:46 GMT, futures prices for Brent crude for March delivery fell by 2.6 percent, or $2.15, to $76.56 per barrel.

The significant reduction in official oil prices by Saudi Arabia reinforced signs of weakness in the global oil demand market in major markets, led by China.

Saudi Arabia is the largest exporter of crude oil in the world, with a daily average of 6.6 million barrels compared to 7.5 million barrels per day in normal circumstances, but the Kingdom participates in the OPEC+ alliance agreement to reduce production.

Last year, oil recorded its first annual loss since 2020 as production expanded from outside OPEC+, and traders looked forward to a slowdown in demand growth, including from the main importer, China.

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Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said that his country plans to become self-sufficient in the field of energy during the next three decades, announcing that oil production in mountain Gabar (east) has exceeded 30 thousand barrels per day.

The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources stated in a statement that Bayraktar held a meeting with a group of Turkish youth in the capital, Ankara, in which he answered their inquiries about topics related to the country’s work in the field of energy.

According to the statement, Bayraktar explained that one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s goals for the “Century of Turkey” is energy independence.

He added: “Therefore, we have a definitive goal in energy, which is to make Turkey completely independent (self-sufficient) in the field of energy and save it from the import problem in the ‘Turkey Century,’ and we hope to achieve this within the next thirty years.”

The “Century of Turkey” is a vision announced by President Erdogan in late 2022, which includes the programs and goals of the Republic in its second centenary.

Bayraktar stressed that independence in the field of energy means Turkey’s independence, and that Turkey’s security in this field is an issue equivalent to Turkey’s national security.

He pointed to President Erdogan’s announcement of the discovery of a natural gas field off the coast of the Black Sea in August 2020, which is the largest in the country’s history, with a volume of gas that may meet between 25 to 30 percent of Turkey’s needs.

In late 2022, Turkey announced the discovery of an additional 170 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea, bringing the total volume of discoveries to 710 billion cubic meters.

The Turkish Minister also referred in the context to the discovery of an oil reserve in the state of Şırnak (east) in May 2023.

He said: “We found crude oil in mountain Gabar and are extracting oil from the region. The daily production extracted from Gabar has exceeded 30 thousand barrels.”

Last May, President Erdogan announced the discovery of an oil discovery with a production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day in the state of Şırnak.

He added at the time: “I would like to announce new good news. We have discovered an oil field with a production capacity of up to 100,000 barrels per day in Gora Gabar.”

According to monitoring data from Turkey’s Mediterranean Program for the years 2024-2026, Turkey’s energy imports rose to a record level, recording $96.5 billion in 2022, accompanied by the impact of the sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which caused commodity prices to rise in the aforementioned year.

However, the decline in energy prices during the current year 2023, according to the same data in September of this year due to the increase in gas reserves in Europe and weak demand for it in China, Turkey’s energy imports decreased by 26.2 percent in the period from January to July. 2023 compared to the same period last year, declining to $41 billion.

In parallel, estimates based on data indicate that Turkey’s energy imports will decrease by 26.4 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 and decline to $71 billion.

It is expected that these imports will reach $77.3 billion in 2024 and $76.3 billion in 2025.

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Ankara’s ambassador to Baghdad, Ali Riza Gunay, discussed with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, Masrour Barzani, in Erbil, the resumption of Iraqi oil exports through Turkey.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq stated that the meeting between Barzani and Gonani witnessed the exchange of ideas regarding developments in Iraq and the strengthening of bilateral relations, and focused on advancing trade cooperation and facilitating travel procedures.

He added that the two sides discussed resuming the flow of oil shipped from the Kurdistan Regional Government to the port of Ceyhan in Adana Province, southern Turkey.

The two parties agreed, according to the statement, on the need to resume oil shipping as soon as possible.

The statement also conveyed through the Turkish ambassador his country’s readiness to resume oil exports from Iraq.

Last Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani said that his country is ready to find a solution to resume oil exports to Turkey, during his meeting with Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alp Arslan Bayraktar and his accompanying delegation in the capital, Baghdad.

It is noteworthy that on March 25, it was announced that the flow of oil from Iraq to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey had stopped against the backdrop of a decision issued by the Paris-based International Court of Arbitration regarding the export of oil between Turkey and Iraq.

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The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said that the OPEC+ alliance meeting scheduled for November 26 has been postponed until the 30th of the same month.

This came in a statement issued by the organization on Wednesday.

The statement stated that the ministerial meeting scheduled for November 26 and the meeting at the technical level on the 25th of the same month were postponed until November 30.

The statement did not give any reasons for postponement, at a time when global oil markets are witnessing price confusion within the range of $79-$94 per barrel of Brent since the outbreak of Middle East tensions.

The coalition is currently implementing reductions in oil production by 3.66 million barrels per day, equivalent to 3.6 percent of global demand for crude until the end of 2024.

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Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced that the Iraqi-Turkish oil pipeline, which was damaged by the February 6 earthquake, is ready and will resume work this week.

This came during his speech at the opening session of the “Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) 2023,” held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

Bayraktar explained that Turkey has long been a reliable route for oil and natural gas, noting that two million barrels of oil pass daily through the Turkish straits currently.

He added that the Iraqi-Turkish oil pipeline, which has been active for about 45 years, has a daily capacity of 500,000 barrels of oil.

He pointed out that once the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline is operational, it will be possible to supply 500,000 barrels of oil to global markets.

Bayraktar stated that Turkey ships large quantities of gas to Europe through the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP).

He continued, “We currently send gas to Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova via the Western Balkans pipeline. We have become a natural gas hub.”

Bayraktar explained that Turkey, which aims to reduce its dependence on abroad in the field of energy, is focusing on investments in oil, gas and renewable energy and believes that nuclear energy investments are an important tool for reducing carbon emissions.

Minister Bayraktar is expected to meet with government officials in the UAE and senior executives of the world’s leading energy companies on the sidelines of the exhibition.

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Data from the Institute of International Finance showed on Wednesday that global debt rose 3.3 percent on an annual basis, or the equivalent of $9.9 trillion, in the second quarter of 2023, reaching a new record level of $307.1 trillion.

The Institute of Finance explained in its quarterly report on global debt that debt rose from the level of $297.2 trillion in the second quarter of 2022.

At the end of the second quarter, global debt was distributed between $57.1 trillion in real estate debt, $90.2 trillion in non-financial entities, $87.3 trillion in government debt, and $71.9 trillion in financial sector debt.

The report explained that high levels of inflation and interest rates suppress bank credit, while markets such as the United States and Japan led this rise.

The report continued: “After seven consecutive quarters of decline, the global debt-to-GDP ratio resumed its upward trajectory in the first half of 2023.”

As interest rates rise and debt levels rise, pushing government interest expenditures higher, domestic debt pressures are expected to increase.

The report finds that the international financial structure is not sufficiently equipped to address unsustainable levels of domestic debt.

The Institute of International Finance stressed the importance of intensified global efforts to reform multilateral development banks to increase climate financing and to accelerate the expansion of environmental, social and governance debt markets.

Successive crises led to an increase in financing needs, with government revenues affected and oil prices falling, which prompted governments and companies to issue debt instruments.

The Institute of International Finance is a global institution that includes more than 470 financial institutions. Its mission is to support the financial industry and risk management. Its membership includes global central banks, major international banks, insurance companies, pension funds, asset managers, and sovereign wealth funds.

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The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the governments of the countries of the world provided subsidies to consumers worth $ 7 trillion for fossil fuels in 2022, reaching a new record.

The fund indicated in a report that governments supported consumers and companies to mitigate the effects of the global rise in energy prices resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic recovery from the Corona epidemic.

The volume of global fuel subsidies around the world rose by 18.6 percent last year from $5.9 trillion in 2021.

The Fund stated that oil, coal and natural gas subsidies cost the equivalent of 7.1 percent of global GDP, which is more than governments spend annually on education (4.3 percent of global income) and about two-thirds of what they spend on health care (10.9 percent).

It continued: “This comes at a time when the world is struggling to limit global warming so that it does not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius, and parts of Asia, Europe and the United States are suffering from extreme heat.”

The Fund believes that reducing subsidies would reduce air pollution, generate revenue, and contribute significantly to slowing climate change.

The fund’s findings come as the World Meteorological Organization says July was the hottest month on record, underscoring the urgent need to limit human-caused climate change.

According to the report, fossil fuel consumption imposes huge environmental costs, mostly caused by local air pollution and the damage caused by global warming.

The fund believes that if governments eliminate subsidies and impose corrective taxes, fuel prices will rise.. “This would prompt businesses and households to consider environmental costs when making consumption and investment decisions.

It revealed that the result would be a significant reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions, cleaner air, fewer lung and heart diseases, and more fiscal space for governments.

The fund estimated that eliminating explicit and implicit fossil fuel subsidies would prevent 1.6 million premature deaths annually and increase government revenues by about $4.4 trillion.

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On Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) maintained expectations for global oil demand growth in 2023 at 2.4 million barrels per day, unchanged from the previous month’s estimates.

OPEC said in its monthly report on Thursday that it maintained expectations of growth in oil demand for the current year at 102.01 million barrels per day, an increase of 2.4 million barrels per day from 2022.

The agency estimated that global demand would increase to 101.96 million barrels per day in the third quarter, and then to 103.21 million barrels per day in the last quarter of the year.

According to the report, global economic growth was revised up slightly in both 2023 and 2024, to stand at 2.7 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.

The report expected an increase in non-OPEC crude oil supplies by 1.5 million barrels per day in 2023, which is a slight upward adjustment from the previous one, and the United States, Brazil and Norway will be the main drivers of this growth.

It pointed to a reduction in the estimates of demand for OPEC oil in 2023 and 2024 by about 100,000 barrels per day, compared to previous estimates.

The report estimated that the demand for OPEC oil would reach 29.3 million barrels per day in 2023, and then reach 30.1 million barrels per day in 2024.

The production of OPEC members (13 members) decreased by 836 thousand barrels per day on a monthly basis last July to reach 27.310 million barrels per day from 28.146 million in the previous month.

The decrease in OPEC production came amid the decrease in the production of 4 countries, led by Saudi Arabia, which recorded a record cut by 968 thousand barrels per day last month to 9.021 million barrels per day, which is a voluntary cut announced in advance.

On the other hand, 9 countries increased their production last month, led by Iran, which increased its oil production by 68 thousand barrels per day.

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Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that tourism is in fact Turkey’s “oil”.

He said in statements to reporters in the state of Antalya on Monday that their goal for the current year is to achieve $ 56 billion in tourism revenues.

He stated that the number of tourists coming to Turkey is constantly increasing every year.

He added, “Our oil, in fact, is tourism, and our goal is very big. We aim, God willing, to achieve revenues of $100 billion by 2028.”

He noted that the target for 2028 will be reached with “partial progress” every year.

Turkey received 51 million 387 thousand and 513 visitors during 2022, an increase of 71.07 percent compared to the previous year 2021, according to a statement by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism in early February.

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