Will Oil Prices Reach $100 ?

Oil prices are heading towards $100 per barrel. This is what President Hugo Chavez said hours after oil prices reached their highest levels ever recording $79, but others recall sharp decline of prices in the last four years and wonder if these markets would witness that once again.
Oil market has continued since 2003 on entering a critical phase of correction after recording its highest levels every year. After reaching its climax last year, oil prices dropped by 36% in the next six months recording $50 per barrel.
Analysts said that last wave of increase is due basically to the flow of new investments and not because of news related to basic climatic factors like storms or tensions in the Middle East. But the reality of tsunami of prices is still, in others’ opinions, is mere political games that flourished whenever differences between countries revive and used as papers in negotiations amid political crises.

International Telecommunication Union Praises Progress Achieved by Tunisia in the Field of Information Technologies

The International Telecommunication Union has issued lately its report for 2007 on the results of the international summit for information community. The report said that Tunisia was the only Arab and African country which connected by the internet in 1991, adding that it enjoyed the second biggest line for entering the internet.

546.000 dinars, The “Jordan International Investment Group” ’s Loses

The losses of the International “Jordan International Investment Group” reached about 546.000 dinars in the first half of this year compared to about 341.000 dinars of the same period of last year.

A Kuwaiti Medical City in Syria

The Syrian cabinet has approved on the project of building a medical city in Damascus countryside. The medical city comprises 10 hospitals, 3 centers for rehabilitation and physical therapy, in addition to a laboratory for teeth industry.

Bahrain Establishes a Holding Company of Gas

The Government of Bahrain intends to establish the holding company for oil and gas with a capital of $3.65 bn. The company will take control over the assets owned by the state in oil and gas companies.

Increase of the Profits of 110 Companies in Kuwait’s Stock Market

110 companies registered in Kuwait stock market achieved profits by more than 1.9 billion dinars compared to 926.7 million dinars which the same companies announced at the same period of last year.

The Iranian Companies are taking Part in the Development of Algeria

The Algerian Minister of Economy Karim Djoudi, said during receiving the Iranian Assistant Minister of Housing and Cities Construction, Mano Shaher Doloai, last Wednesday that Algeria welcomes the participation of foreign companies especially the Iranian companies in the development process in Algeria.

The Turkish “Petrol Ofisi” Seeks to Participate in Exploring and Exploiting Oil in Iran

The Turkish Oil Company “Petrol Ofisi” said in a statement that it seeks to participate in activities of exploration and exploiting oil in Iran.

Ankara Suffers from A Sharp Shortage of Water

Turkish newspapers mentioned that Chairman of Ankara municipality has asked the citizens of the city to take long summer holidays for helping decrease the sharp shortage of water which the Turkish capital suffers from.

Increase of Exports and Foreign Investments in the Arab Countries during Last Year

A newly-issued report by the “Arab Establishment for Investment Guarantee” said that the total volume of Arab exports in 2006 of goods and services exceeded $766 bn, recording an increase of 28% compared to 2005. As for the imports of the Arab countries, they did not exceed during last year more than $481 bn which made the Arab trade balance recorded a surplus by $285 bn.

Russia Becomes the Main Importer of Chinese Cars

Russia came first in the world in the field of importing the Chinese cars in the first half of this year. Russia exported 38.6.000 cars from China with a total value of $450 m. Analysts think that the Chinese expansion in the Russian market cannot be limited but by taking measures of protection by the government.

Companies Indexes

 The Syrian Establishment for Insurance has decided to expand the insurance coverage of the ships by insuring the ships which hoist a foreign flag and owned by Syrian citizens.
 The Governor of Meyssan announced the approval of the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity for establishing an electricity generating station with a total capacity of 250 megawatt, consisting of 2 units the capacity of each is 125 megawatt, working by gas and crude oil.
 Emirat news agency WAM said that the international Emirati petroleum investment company “Ipic” and “Royal Dutch Shell” and the Austrian “OMV” company are studying the project of joint exploration for oil and gas in Turkmenistan.
 The British Airways, the third biggest airline company in Europe said that the profits of the seasonal operation have increased by 28% exceeding expectations by analysts for this period of this year.
 Toyota’s profits have jumped by 32.3% in the last three months reaching $4.13 bn compared to the same period of last year.

Small Indexes

 The number of subscribers of electricity power in Syria reached 4.4 m subscribers, whereas the production of electricity in 2005 reached about 30 billion kilowatt per hour. It is expected that the demand on electricity to reach 44 billion kilowatt per hour in 2010.
 The bureau of the Syrian olive estimated the production for this season to reach 776.000 tons.

Bids & Contracts

 The French “Technip” and “Bechtel” companies for the project of construction and engineering have signed a contract with the Saudi oil company “Aramco” for developing the project of “Khursaniyah” factory for natural gas in Saudi Arabia.

Exhibitions & Conferences

 The Exhibitions of the Egyptian Products in Jeddah, which was due to be held late of this month, has been cancelled due to the unsuitable time for its opening as a result of the absence of the Saudi businessmen in this period of time who are spending their summer holidays abroad.

Indicators is a daily economic watch newsletter about the Near East, issued by New Orient News agency in Beirut, Lebanon. It is available on Voltairenet.org in Arabic and English. Also worth a read is Tendencies, the daily Near East political watch newsletter, available in Arabic, English and French languages.