Russia on Thursday signed an agreement with Egypt to build the country’s first nuclear power plant. Russia also agreed to extend a loan to Egypt to cover the cost of construction. A spokesman for Russia’s state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom said the plant will be built at Dabaa in the north of the country and is expected to be completed by 2022. It is unclear how much the deal is worth, but President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the loan from Russia would be paid off over thirty-five years. “The country and the balance sheet will not bear the cost of building this plant. It will be paid back through the actual production of electricity that will be generated by this plant,” he said. Sisi gave few details about the project, but said it would involve the building of a “third-generation” plant with four reactors. “This was a long dream for Egypt, to have a peaceful nuclear program to produce electricity,” he added. Head of Russia’s state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko said the plant will be the largest Russian-Egyptian project since the Aswan dam. “It will mark a truly new chapter in the history of our bilateral relations,” he said. [Ahram Online, DW, DNE, Reuters, SIS, CNN, 11/19/2015]
Glencore seals Libyan oil deal in scramble for profits
Trading house Glencore has secured a deal to buy as much as half of the oil Libya is currently exporting as it looks to boost trading to help offset flagging profits from mining. The deal offers offer Libya steady sales to international buyers and shifts risks associated with loading oil and chartering vessels at ports to Glencore. Under the arrangement with Libya’s state-run National Oil Corporation, which began in September, Glencore loads and finds buyers for all the Sarir and Messla crude oil exported from the Marsa al-Hariga port. Hariga, which exports up to 140,000 barrels per day, has become Libya’s largest exporting terminal, as the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf terminals remain closed. [Reuters, 11/20/2015]
Kuwait likely to name new oil minister in reshuffle
Kuwait is likely to name a new oil minister soon in a limited energy reshuffle. Sources said Thursday that current Oil Minister Ali al-Omair, who has been facing opposition from within the oil sector, is likely to be replaced, but no official decision has yet been made. One source said that a new acting oil minister is expected to be named early next week. Another source said there may also be changes to the board of the Kuwait’s state run oil companies. Omair recently tried to introduce some changes to the management of state oil companies but was blocked. A reshuffle in the Oil Ministry would not mean a change in Kuwait’s oil policy. A change in policy requires final approval from Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah. [Reuters, 11/19/2015]
Consumer confidence jumps in Turkey after election
Turkey’s consumer confidence index increased in November to its highest level since April 2014, with a 22.9 point rise from last month. According to analysts, the reason behind the jump in consumer confidence is the increase in positive expectations regarding Turkey’s general economic outlook following snap parliamentary elections earlier this month. “We believe the main reason in the sharp rise is a boost in people’s positive feelings about the future of the general economic outlook,” said Garanti Investment Chief Economist Gizem Oztok Altınsac. Turkey’s consumer confidence index fell to its lowest level since January 2009 in September. [Hurriyet, 11/20/2015]
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