Oil
US airstrikes Bombs Islamic State’s refinery inside Syria
Kurdish fighters battled to halt an advance by Islamic State in northern Syria, while in the east of the country oil refineries that are a key moneymaker for the militant group were targeted by U.S. and Arab airstrikes.
Aircraft and drones operated by the U.S., Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates attacked 12 “modular” refineries that Islamic State uses in its oil-smuggling operations, U.S. Central Command said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
Unlike the opening round of strikes in Syria earlier this week that were led by the U.S., the attack on the small-scale oil facilities was mostly an Arab operation, with six American planes among the 16 aircraft used, Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, told reporters today.
There were conflicting reports from the largely Kurdish area just south of Syria’s border with Turkey, where the Islamic State’s offensive since last week has forced tens of thousands to flee. Today, from the Turkish side of the frontier, Kurdish forces could be seen firing heavy machine guns mounted on two pickup trucks from a hilltop toward the Syrian border village of Siftek, held by militants.
The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a U.K.-based group that monitors the conflict through a network of local activists, said that the Islamist fighters had pulled back from around the region’s main town of Kobani.
‘Economic Asset’
Sirri Sever, a Kurdish lawmaker in Turkey’s parliament, said in an interview in the border town of Suruc that Syrian Kurdish forces have held up the Islamic State advance about 15 kilometers (9 miles) outside the town. “But we don’t know how long they can resist” against a better-armed enemy, he said.
The forces arrayed against Islamic State range from Kurdish guerrillas to the U.S. military, whose air campaign is being carried out in collaboration with the broadest Arab coalition since the 1991 Gulf War. Still, U.S. commanders say it may take years to defeat the group, which has declared a caliphate in regions of Syria and Iraq it controls.
The 12 targets hit yesterday made up a majority of the small refineries controlled by Islamic State in Syria and were left inoperable, Kirby said.
“The point was to render them incapable of using these refineries, which was a significant source of revenue for them,” he said. Even so, the refineries weren’t destroyed completely, in hopes that they can be restored if and when moderate Syrian rebels can take control of them, Kirby said.
Abadi Remarks
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said he was told by the U.S. that the strikes targeted pumping stations because Islamic State “will not be able to replace them, but they are easy to repair later,” after the extremist group is forced out.
“That’s what I’ve been assured,” al-Abadi told reporters at the United Nations.
Islamic State may have been raising more than $2 million a day from oil sales in Iraq and Syria, paid either in cash or bartered goods, according to Luay al-Khatteeb, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center in Qatar. The group controls seven oil fields and two refineries in northern Iraq, and six out of 10 oil fields in eastern Syria, al-Khatteeb said.
Turkish Role
The U.S. began airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq last month, and expanded them to Syria this week. They have hit targets including training compounds, storage facilities and armed vehicles, according to Central Command.
The U.S.-led coalition says its intervention in Syria isn’t intended to support President Bashar al-Assad, who’s also been fighting against Islamic State as well as other armed groups in a 3 1/2-year civil war. The U.S. and its Arab allies favor elements among the anti-Assad rebels that they say are more moderate, though those factions have suffered reverses on the battlefield against both Assad’s army and Islamic State.
With the U.S. predicting a prolonged war, other allies are set to join the attacks. The U.K. parliament will vote tomorrow on whether to carry out airstrikes in Iraq. Canada said it’s weighing a U.S. request for more help.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who’s been cautious about joining the battle in neighboring Iraq and Syria, was due to discuss new steps with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden today, possibly including the creation of a buffer zone inside Syria and the use of Turkish air bases, Hurriyet newspaper said.
Turkey has admitted more than 130,000 mostly Kurdish refugees in the past two weeks as the Islamic State advanced near its border, adding to the more than 1.4 million Syrians already in the country, according to the government.
BLOOMBERG-
In a strategic move to revitalize Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, the Federal Government has unveiled two key fiscal incentives aimed at attracting investment and enhancing energy security.
The announcement was made by Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy on Wednesday.
The first initiative, the Value Added Tax (VAT) Modification Order 2024, introduces critical exemptions for essential energy products and infrastructure, including Diesel, Feed Gas, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Electric Vehicles, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) infrastructure, and Clean Cooking Equipment.
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These exemptions are designed to reduce living costs for Nigerians, promote energy security, and accelerate the transition to cleaner energy alternatives.
The second initiative, the Notice of Tax Incentives for Deep Offshore Oil & Gas Production, offers new tax relief options for deep offshore exploration projects.
This measure aims to position Nigeria’s deep offshore basin as a premier destination for international oil and gas investments, boosting the country’s appeal to foreign investors.
These reforms are part of a broader set of policy initiatives, known as Policy Directives 40-42, endorsed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The directives reflect the administration’s commitment to fostering sustainable development in the energy sector and enhancing Nigeria’s competitive edge in the global oil and gas market.
By Yemie Adeoye
NIGERIA’s President Bola Tinubu has announced that the protracted ExxonMobil-Seplat upstream oil divestment will be formally approved by the Minister of petroleum within a matter of days, just as he announced his government’s intention to expand the Compress natural Gas, CNG buses initiative.
The President who stated this during his Independence day nationwide broadcast stated that the move is in line with his administration’s commitment to free enterprise, free entry and free exit in investments which is the hallmark of his administration investment policy.
“Fellow compatriots, our administration is committed to free enterprise, free entry, and free exit in investments while maintaining the sanctity and efficacy of our regulatory processes. This principle guides the divestment transactions in our upstream petroleum sector, where we are committed to changing the fortune positively. As such, the ExxonMobil Seplat divestment will receive ministerial approval in a matter of days, having been concluded by the regulator, NUPRC, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA. This was done in the same manner as other qualified divestments approved in the sector.”
The President also seized the opportunity to plead with Nigerians to be patient with his administration’s reform policies. “As your President, I assure you that we are committed to finding sustainable solutions to alleviate the suffering of our citizens. Once again, I plead for your patience as the reforms we are implementing show positive signs, and we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel”.
“Our energy transition programme is on course. We are expanding the adoption of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas for mass transit with private sector players. The Federal Government is ready to assist the thirty-six States and FCT in acquiring CNG buses for cheaper public transportation.
Fellow Nigerians, while we are working to stabilise the economy and secure the country, we also seek to foster national unity and build social harmony and cohesion. Our economy can only thrive when there is peace”. he enthused.
As part of the administration’s push to improve Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed support for ExxonMobil’s plan to invest $10 billion in the country’s deep-water oil sector.
Speaking on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, during a meeting with ExxonMobil executives at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Shettima called the investment “a clear testament to the administration’s economic reforms and investor-friendly policies.”
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This announcement follows news that international maritime company DP World intends to develop a multibillion-dollar port project in Nigeria.
Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, shared the development in a statement on Wednesday. He quoted Shettima as saying: “ExxonMobil’s potential investment aligns with the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for a more investment-friendly Nigeria.
We are committed to fostering an environment that supports such transformative projects.”Shettima also discussed the administration’s broader efforts to improve the ease of doing business, highlighting the “Renewed Hope Agenda,” which aims to simplify bureaucratic processes, enhance transparency, and offer fiscal incentives to attract global investors.
“Our administration has taken bold steps to unify the exchange rate, remove fuel subsidies, and implement tax reforms. These measures, though challenging in the short term, are intended to create a stable and predictable business environment in the long term,” he added.
On the oil and gas sector, Shettima mentioned that the government is revising the fiscal framework for deep-water operations to attract investment while ensuring fair returns for the Nigerian people.
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