Why ‘Oil prices should be above $150’

‘Oil prices should be above $150’ Sun, 16 Sep 2012 17:19:17 GMT Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi says the real price for crude oil should be over USD 150 per barrel, noting the current prices stand “very low.” The minister told ISNA on Sunday that the oil prices could potentially rise again. “During the winter, the oil prices always climb. This year too, it would be natural to see the oil prices rise.” Qasemi said one reason behind the hike in oil prices was a 17-percent decline in the output from North Sea due to technical glitches. The price of oil has hit a four-month high due to the illegal oil bans against Iran and in the wake of the US Federal Reserve’s announcement of new economic stimulus plan and the ensuing demand for oil. It is as well due to the spread of unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. The Brent crude prices have hit USD 118 per barrel while Iran’s crude sells at USD 113 per barrel. Last Wednesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the demand for Iranian crude has increased despite sanctions imposed against the country’s oil exports by the European Union (EU) and US. The IEA reported that imports of Iranian oil increased from an estimated 930,000 barrels a day in July to 1.1 million barrels per day in August. At the beginning of 2012, the US and the EU approved new sanctions against Iran's oil and financial sectors. The embargoes aim to prevent other countries from purchasing the Iranian oil or transacting with the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). Washington and the EU have declared that the bans are meant to force Iran to abandon its nuclear energy program, which they claim to include a military component. Iran has vehemently refuted the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to use the nuclear technology for peaceful objectives. ============= You are here: Home » Beyond the Headlines » Beyond the Headlines: Sept. 18, 2012 Beyond the Headlines: Sept. 18, 2012 Dhi Qar Provincial Council Chairman Qusay Abadi conducts a site visit at Garraf oil field on Sept. 17, 2012. (STAFF/Iraq Oil Report) Beyond the Headlines highlights key incidents and developments that didn't make the past week's news, giving readers a ground truth view of Iraq. Our custom research division regularly publishes a far more extensive version of this feature, called Beyond the Headlines Premium. To purchase access, or to commission customized research, please contact us. For sample reports, please click here. By Staff of Iraq Oil Report Published September 19, 2012 Lawsuit in Diyala Gov. controversy BAQUBA – The Diyala provincial council said it will file a lawsuit against Abdul Salam al-Azzawi of the National Accord Movement after he accused members of the council of accepting bribes before selecting a new governor. "The council will file a lawsuit against this official during next week," said councilmember Suhad al-Hayali. "These accusations harshly stabbed the honesty of the council members and is a desperate attempt to create confusion to aff... ============= U.S. stops 20 Iran officials attending U.N. assembly Sat, Sep 22 17:14 PM EDT DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States has denied visas to about 20 Iranian government officials hoping to attend next week's United Nations General Assembly, including two ministers, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Saturday. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a regular at the assembly since he took office in 2005, will give his final speech there on Wednesday and will address a meeting on the "rule of law" on Monday. But of the 160-or-so visas requested by the Iranian delegation two months ago, about 20 were turned down, Fars said. It gave no reason, but many Iranian officials are subject to travel bans under sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program. In Washington, the U.S. State Department had no immediate comment on the matter. Fars did not name the two ministers who were denied visas and said Ahmadinejad would be accompanied by his chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. Fars named two of those banned from going to New York as members of Ahmadinejad's staff: Mohammad Shaikhan, in charge of communications and information, and Mohammad Jafar Behdad, in charge of political affairs. A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said: "Visas for foreign officials to attend UN meetings in the UN headquarters district are adjudicated in accordance with all applicable laws and procedures including both U.S. law and the UN Headquarters Agreement, however, visa records are confidential." As U.N. host country, the United States has a policy of issuing visas for members of delegations, in line with a 1947 pact with the United Nations, regardless of disputes with individual countries. However, it does sometimes refuse entry to government officials and professionals from Iran with which it has had no diplomatic ties since 1979 and which it accuses of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. In 2009, as Iranian authorities were crushing protests against Ahmadinejad's re-election, Iran said a delegation headed by its first vice president had been refused visas to attend a U.N. conference on the global financial crisis. Ahmadinejad, whose second and final term in office ends next year, has used previous U.N. speeches to defend a nuclear program he insists is peaceful and to make verbal attacks on Israel, the United States and Europe. He has questioned the historical truth of the Holocaust and cast doubt on whether Islamist hijackers were really responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001. Most Western envoys walk out of the U.N. chamber during his speeches, in protest. (Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati; Additional reporting by Jim Wolf in Washington; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) =====================