Oman crude oil trading on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) averaged US$105.51 a barrellast year, a fall of nearly $4 against the previous year’s record average annual price.
It was still the third highest Oman value on record, after the 2012 price of $109.30 and $106.65 in 2011.
Oman prices ended the year on a firm footing with the December monthly average on the DME – which is used by Oman and Dubai to set their official selling price (OSP) – at $107.88, compared to $105.97 average price for November. Oman crude for February loading closed at $107.58 on December 31, only a few cents away from the first price of the year back in early January.
Prices in 2013 were generally supported by supply disruptions around the world – particularly Libya – and geopolitical concerns over Syria. More recently, the deteriorating situation in South Sudan underpinned prices, but sporadic falls in production from the likes of Nigeria, Iraq and the North Sea provided strong underlying support.
On the consumption side, the International Energy Agency (IEA) put the global 2013 figure at 91.2 million barrels per day (bpd), up 1.2 million bpd on the year, as improving economic conditions underpinned the demand side.
Looking ahead, the shale oil boom in the United States and Iraq’s plans to further increase output is likely to keep the market well supplied and put a cap on prices, according to a recent Reuters survey.
The survey of industry experts forecast North Sea Brent prices at $103.50 for this year, which would give an implied Oman value of $101.00, based on a differential of $2.50. In addition, the winding down of US economic stimulus in the form of quantitative easing could also have a negative impact on oil prices, according to the survey.
The IEA forecasts that global consumption will grow another 1.2 million bpd this year, with Asia once again the main demand driver. While that may be good news for Middle East producers looking to maintain revenues and the impressive economic growth targets, the boom in US oil production coupled with ongoing debt problems in America and Europe means any upside is likely to be capped.
Paul Young is the head of energy products at Dubai Mercantile Exchange
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
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3. Hajj
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
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2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
