Key Topics of International Petroleum Week: Saudi Gas, OPEC Deal, Shale Oil

The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
TT

Key Topics of International Petroleum Week: Saudi Gas, OPEC Deal, Shale Oil

The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

International Petroleum (IP) Week kicked off on Monday in London- an event where giant oil companies meet with traders and analysts.

There were three key points that were discussed on a wide-scope among a great number of analysts and traders, which are the Saudi plans to import liquefied natural gas, the future of OPEC agreement with exterior producers and the shale oil and its solidity and continuity, especially that it is expected to increase remarkably this year.

Several topics were discussed this year, mainly prices and trends of oil. Natural gas was also among the significant topics tackled, especially that the US has become a primary exporter of natural gas.

Everyone showed optimism towards the oil market and the future of prices. The majority of Platts London Oil & Energy Forum attendants expressed optimism that the oil prices will remain between $65 and $70 in the first quarter of next year, while more than half of the attendants expected the OPEC deal to extend after 2018.

Chris Midgley, head of the Analytics Content Division at S&P Global Platts, said that the demand on natural gas will come from three new markets in the coming years: China, India and Saudi Arabia.

On Tuesday, activities of the International Petroleum (IP) Week kicked off at InterContinental London Park Lane. UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei took part in the event, and during a news conference on Tuesday he said that the deal to cut oil output contributed to reducing oil surplus in the market, but the mission isn’t completed yet.

Oil stocks in developed OECD economies, which were 340 million barrels above the five-year average in January 2017, were just 74 million barrels above that level last month, Ayed Al Qahtani, OPEC’s head of research, told a conference.



Russia is Using Bitcoin, Digital Currencies in Foreign Trade

FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by the Bitcoin Monument after bitcoin soared above $100,000, in Ilopango, El Salvador, December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by the Bitcoin Monument after bitcoin soared above $100,000, in Ilopango, El Salvador, December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo
TT

Russia is Using Bitcoin, Digital Currencies in Foreign Trade

FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by the Bitcoin Monument after bitcoin soared above $100,000, in Ilopango, El Salvador, December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by the Bitcoin Monument after bitcoin soared above $100,000, in Ilopango, El Salvador, December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo

Russian companies have begun using bitcoin and other digital currencies in international payments following legislative changes that allowed such use in order to counter Western sanctions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.

Sanctions have complicated Russia's trade with its major partners such as China or Türkiye, as local banks are extremely cautious with Russia-related transactions to avoid scrutiny from Western regulators, according to Reuters.

This year, Russia permitted the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and has taken steps to make it legal to mine cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Russia is one of the global leaders in bitcoin mining.

“As part of the experimental regime, it is possible to use bitcoins, which we had mined here in Russia (in foreign trade transactions),” Siluanov told Russia 24 television channel.

“Such transactions are already occurring. We believe they should be expanded and developed further. I am confident this will happen next year,” he said, adding that international payments in digital currencies represent the future.

Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin said that the current US administration was undermining the role of the US dollar as the reserve currency by using it for political purposes, forcing many countries to turn to alternative assets.

He singled out bitcoin as an example of such assets, saying that no-one in the world could regulate bitcoin. Putin's remarks indicated that the Russian leader backs the extensive use of cryptocurrencies.