Escalating Tensions in the Middle East Oil Market Giorgos Beleris, Head of the GEF Dubai branch and Oil Research Manager at Refinitiv, discusses the recent tensions on the rise in the Middle East, as well as their impact on the shipping industry.

Production Freeze: Reality Check The continued fall in oil prices have weighed heavily on the revenues of major oil producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, impacting their economic and social liabilities. The deal between Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar to freeze oil output to January levels is the most promising attempt to address the supply-demand imbalance on a global scale. This report outlines the likely impact of such a deal and the possible ramifications to the crude market.

OPEC Oil Flows - February 2016 OPEC’s February exports stood at 24 million bpd according to our analysis of vessel flows, in line with January’s total. Several Gulf producers saw falling output and exports as technical issues and field maintenance impacted production, although Latin American and West African members offset the decline in exports. With some members committed to the production freeze agreement, overall OPEC output is reported to have reduced during the month despite Iran continuing to increase its production...