SINGAPORE, Nov 1 (Reuters) – An oil price between $70 and
$90 a barrel is a comfortable range for consumers, Saudi Oil
Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Monday, marking a step up from his
earlier statements $70-to-$80 was ideal.

International benchmark U.S. crude CLc1 has been
rangebound for much of this year, but prices have rallied over
the last month, largely in response to a weak U.S. dollar.

LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi helped to calm a record price rally, halt a record crash and restore OPEC’s damaged credibility.

Repeated rumors the 75-year-old minister plans to retire from the top of the world’s most powerful oil ministry have so far proved unfounded.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Gold touched a four-week high on Friday, extending gains from the previous day as investors bought the precious metal and shied away from riskier assets on concern about the health of the global economy.

Fresh U.S. data that would give further pointers to the health of the world’s largest economy could push gold even higher, after unemployment data on Thursday spurred safe-haven demand for gold and the dollar.

DUBAI (Reuters) – A new round of U.S. and European sanctions targets Iran’s dilapidated oil sector from top to bottom, making it even more difficult to maintain output capacity and domestic supplies of fuel.

The United States, seeking to halt Tehran’s nuclear enrichment activities, passed unilateral sanctions earlier this month that for the first time allow it to punish the U.S. operations of international firms who supply fuel to Iran.

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran is depending more on friendly powers in the international arena for fuel supplies after the U.S. passed far-reaching sanctions a week ago that aim to hinder Tehran’s fuel imports and deepen its international isolation.

The Islamic Republic is buying around half of its July gasoline imports from Turkey and the rest from Chinese sellers, oil traders said on Thursday, as most other suppliers have stopped selling due to the U.S. sanctions.

DUBAI, July 8 (Reuters) – Iran is buying around half of its
gasoline imports from Turkey and the rest from Chinese sellers,
oil traders said on Thursday, as most other suppliers have
stopped selling due to U.S. sanctions.

Iran is depending more on those that support it in the
international arena for fuel supplies after U.S. President
Barack Obama signed into law far-reaching sanctions a week ago
that aim to hinder Tehran’s fuel imports and deepen its
international isolation.

DUBAI, June 23 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates’ would
like Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) to step in as its partner at the
$10 billion Shah gas project after U.S. major ConocoPhillips
(COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) withdrew, industry sources in the UAE said on Wednesday.

Agreeing terms would be the biggest issue in coaxing Shell
into taking on the project to produce sour gas in the UAE, the
world’s third-largest oil exporter, sources said.

MUSCAT/DUBAI, June 20 (Reuters) – State-run Oman Oil Company
(OOC) is in talks with Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas to take on
an exploration block ceded by Britain’s BG Group (BG.L: Quote, Profile, Research), a
senior Omani oil official said on Sunday.

Like most of its Gulf neighbours, Oman is short of the gas
it needs to meet rapidly rising demand for industry and power.
Across the region, governments have embarked on exploiting
unconventional gas reserves, such as Oman’s tight gas.

DUBAI (Reuters) – Rumaila, the workhorse of Iraq’s oil industry and its largest producing oilfield, is buzzing with activity as executives, engineers and drillers begin a massive overhaul to nearly triple its million barrels per day output.

At the airport in Basra, capital of southern Iraq, officials struggle to process the unprecedented numbers arriving to join the country’s nascent oil boom.

DUBAI (Reuters) – The Kremlin’s oil arm aims to expand its presence in the Middle East, including Iraq, after signing up to a ground-breaking gas project with a United Arab Emirates energy firm, Russia’s top energy official said.

Rosneft will join Crescent Petroleum in a gas concession in the emirate of Sharjah, Crescent said on Saturday, in the first Middle Eastern foray for the Russian firm