Monday, November 7, 2016

Saudi Arabia Cuts Off Oil Shipments To Egypt

A Saudi Aramco employee sits in the area of its stand at the Middle East Petrotech 2016, an exhibition and conference for the refining and petrochemical industries, in Manama, Bahrain, September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Reuters: Saudi oil shipments to Egypt halted indefinitely, Egyptian officials say

Saudi Arabia has informed Egypt that shipments of oil products expected under a $23 billion aid deal have been halted indefinitely, suggesting a deepening rift between the Arab world's richest country and its most populous.

Saudi Arabia has been a major donor to Egypt since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi seized power in mid-2013 but Riyadh has become frustrated with Sisi's lack of economic reforms and his reluctance to be drawn into the conflict in Yemen.

During a visit by Saudi King Salman in April, Saudi Arabia agreed to provide Egypt with 700,000 tonnes of refined oil products per month for five years but the cargoes stopped arriving in early October as festering political tensions burst into the open.

Read more ....

Update #1: Saudi Aramco Halts Egypt’s Oil Supplies Until Further Notice -- Bloomberg
Update #2: Saudi Aramco halts oil shipments to Egypt indefinitely -- Al Bawaba
Update #3: Aramco Stops Oil Product Shipments To Egypt -- Oil Price

WNU Editor: Why the cut-off .... probably a difference in policy towards Syria .... Allies Saudi Arabia, Egypt in rare public spat over Syria (AP). In response to this cut-off, Egypt is now looking for other oil sources .... Egypt's oil minister makes rare trip to Iran for oil talks after Saudi suspension (Reuters).

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