Yemen’s refinery hit by blast

DUBAI: A blast that hit oil pipelines connecting storage tanks at Yemen’s southern port and its 150,000-barrels-per-day Aden refinery caused a fire, a Yemeni official said. A roadside bomb near the pipelines exploded, causing no damage to the refinery or the pipelines, Nasser Shayef, spokesman for the refinery, said.

Egypt to hold global tender

CAIRO: Egypt will hold an international tender for 11 oil and natural gas exploration blocks in the Mediterranean sea and Nile Delta during the second half of 2015-2016, Khaled Abdel Badie, head of state-owned EGAS said.

Iran to boost oil exports

DUBAI: Iran is ready to increase its crude oil exports by 500,000 barrels a day (bpd), the deputy oil minister said, hours after international sanctions on Tehran were lifted, removing an obstacle to exports. "With consideration to global market conditions and the surplus that exists, Iran is ready to raise its crude oil exports by 500,000 bpd," Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia said.

Oman ready to cut oil output

DUBAI: Oman is ready to cut oil output by between five and 10 per cent to prop up prices and all producers should do the same, its oil minister said, adding that the Gulf sultanate was prepared to "do anything" to stabilise the market.

SEC Q4 loss narrows to $386m

RIYADH: Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the Gulf’s largest utility firm, reported a narrowing fourth-quarter net loss. The company made a loss of SR1.45 billion ($386.7 million) in the three months to December 31, compared with a loss of SR1.8 billion in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.