Six world powers, including Britain, are due to meet Iranian officials for another round of negotiations over the nuclear issue in Baghdad on May 23.

Hague said the EU wanted to see evidence that Tehran was now taking specific steps to reassure the world that its nuclear programme does not have a military dimension as many countries suspect.

"Now we wait to see some concrete steps and proposals from Iran," Hague told reporters before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

"Without that, of course we have sanctions we have imposed. They will not only be enforced but, over time, intensified."

Negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme resumed last month after a gap of more than a year, offering a chance to ease tensions and avert the threat of a new war in the Middle East. Iran says its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes.

While all sides described the atmosphere in April as positive, Tehran has so far offered few concrete concessions and continues to argue it has the right to a nuclear programme for domestic energy, research and other purposes.

It is facing a raft of intensified international sanctions, including an EU ban on its crude oil exports, which is due to take full effect on July 1.

Tehran has said sanctions should be eased if the international community wants progress in the talks.

But the West in particular has made it clear it will only relax the sanctions if it sees Iran becoming more transparent and cooperative.

The ultimate aim is to pressure Tehran into halting work that it is feared may be intended to give the Islamic republic a nuclear weapons capability.

Christophe de Margerie declined to estimate how much European and U.S. sanctions would impact Iran's around 2.2 million barrels per day of exports, but said oil markets had already priced in disruption.

"The market doesn't believe it will have that much impact otherwise the price of oil would have climbed to a higher level," he said. "So you have the answer in the market."

Total was the second-largest buyer of Iranian oil among the European Union and Turkey in 2011, according to industry and Reuters estimates, but bought no Iranian oil in March and April.

ELGIN LEAK, ANGOLA LNG

Total would end a gas leak at its North Sea Elgin field in the coming days, de Margerie said. The company was waiting simply for good enough weather to kill the well, he added.

The well is leaking around 50,000 cubic metres a day of gas, down from 200,000 cubic metres a day when the leak first started in March.

The Angola LNG project would start production in June, de Margerie said. The LNG would go into the spot market, he added.

Gas from the Angola project was initially destined for the U.S. market, but the rise in domestic shale gas supply there has stunted demand for imported LNG.

"The shareholders in the project are using their trading strength to find the best outlets for the gas," he said.

Total has a 13.6 percent stake in the 5.2 million tonnes per annum Angola LNG project. Chevron owns 36.4 percent and Angolan state oil giant Sonangol has 22.8 percent. Italy's ENI and BP also hold stakes.
 

implementation of the resolution started at 1 o'clock am on Tuesday, 15/5/2012

It is noteworthy that the Syrian government has already raised the price per liter of diesel in 2008 to three times the price of the time, for up to 25 pounds per liter, to return later in the year 2009 to be reduced 5 to pounds, to be returned in the month of May of last year issued a decision reducing the price of a liter diesel from 20 pounds to 15 pounds.

The consumption of diesel fuel in Syria a year up to 7.5 billion liters of fuel oil and that the government supports up to 250 billion Syrian pounds a year note that the cost per a litr importer of this Article according to current prices according to the sources of the Ministry of Oil has reached to 55 pounds
 

Dhiya Jafaar, head of the state-run South Oil Company, told Reuters that the company has already sent letters to consultancy companies and expects to receive offers soon. Iraq’s oil minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] said last week that several firms had been shortlisted.

The winning firm would replace ExxonMobil in leading the project; Exxon reportedly lost the contract in February, but Jafaar told Reuters that this was not connected with the company’s exploration deals in Iraqi Kurdistan, saying instead that the reason was “poor coordination and the project economics submitted by Exxon”.

According to the text of the resolution the names of the founders were: Denise Torkan and Mohammad Faeq Hamidi (from Turkish citizenship) and Juha bin Mohammed Radwan, Mohamed Sobhi, and Muhammad Adnan Mirza They are Syrians.

The resolution obtained by the economic site that the project will produce:

58,376 tons of diesel

1459 tons of petrol

35,318 tons of bitumen

35,551 tons of mineral oil

15,236 tons of paraffin
 

International Brent crude settled at $112.26 on Friday, well off a peak of over $128 in March. Brent has mostly traded above $100 since early 2011, keeping fuel costs high and threatening to damage a fragile global economy.
 

"We want a price around $100, that's what we want," Naimi told reporters ahead of an industry event in Australia. "A $100 price is great."
 

Saudi Arabia is working at bringing Brent crude prices to that level, he added. The kingdom, OPEC's biggest producer, said it pumped 10.1 million bpd in April, its highest for more than 30 years, as it bid to meet growing demand and curb oil prices.

Prices have stayed high in 2012 due to concern about disruption to global supply from U.S. and European sanctions aimed at hurting Iran's crude export revenues and forcing Tehran to halt its nuclear programme. The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran is developing nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies.

Naimi said last week that producers were pumping enough to deal with the impact of the sanctions on the oil market. He reiterated on Sunday that producers were pumping 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) to 1.5 million bpd above demand, which is helping to build inventory.

"That should give comfort to consumers," he said.

Inventories are at the equivalent of around 58 days of demand, but Saudi Arabia would like to see stockpiles build more ready for the seasonal increase in fuel consumption in the second half of the year, Naimi said.

"It should be a little bit higher, because you are going into the third and fourth quarter, and demand will be higher as usual," he said.

The International Energy Agency said on Friday that oil prices were likely to stay high, despite a dramatic improvement in world supply and a big build in stocks, due to the tensions between Iran and the West.

In an interview with the Syrian TV, Allaw said that his ministry is working to provide the local market's gas and diesel needs soon through new contracts with new countries and exporters, with ten new contracts signed already.

He said that Iran is exerting considerable efforts to help provide diesel and gas, with contracts having been signed for four consecutive monthly shipments, the first of which will arrive in early June, in addition to contracts with Venezuela, with a Venezuelan ship carrying diesel will arrive within a few days, adding that Algeria was also contacted and responded positively.

Allaw said that despite the suspension of oil export from Syria, the Syrian government spent USD 3 billion to purchase petroleum products to meet the market's needs, importing more than 2.2 million tons of diesel and around 500,000 tons of cooking gas since September 2011, adding that no ship carrying diesel or gas has reached Syria since April due to sanctions.
 

He pointed out that funds are available and have already been paid to companies, but ships are being prevented from reaching Syria by those who impose sanctions and pressure companies, adding that the ministry has contracted a law firm to file lawsuits due to the unethical damage that is inflicted upon the Syrian people with these sanctions.

Allaw went on to note that local gas production covers 60% of local requirements, while the rest is exported, calling on citizens not to panic or listen to rumors and cooperate by not hoarding gas since this material is available, also in lesser amounts due to the sanctions.

He noted that the sanctions include an embargo on purchasing or transporting Syrian oil and prohibiting companies from dealing with Syria or investing in it, in addition to withdrawing experts and staff, suspending funding, and imposing sanctions on Syrian petroleum companies.

Allaw also pointed out to the terrorist attacks targeting the petroleum sector and its pipeline and facilities.

Not one cargo of gasoil, which can be marketed as diesel, has been delivered to Syria's oil ports Banias and Tartous over the past four weeks, according to data provided by a shipping source.

"The petroleum sector has suffered significant losses due to sanctions, and Syria has reduced its production," the minister said in a statement.

Output has been cut by 35 million barrels per day (bpd), since the European Union and the United States imposed their sanctions in April last year, he said.
 

Allaw highlighted the efforts of Syrian technicians to "continue exploration and production and ensure the country's gas and oil needs are met."

"The ministry is working to overcome the difficulties… posed by the unjust decision of the US and the EU to stop importing Syrian oil," Allaw said, pointing out that Syria previously produced 380,000 bpd and exported nearly 150,000 bpd.

He said that oil giants Shell and Total, and other companies like Croatia's INA and Canada's Petro Canada, had suspended operations in Syria.

The ministry said the sector had also been hit by "acts of sabotage committed by armed terrorist groups attacking oil pipelines and facilities."

The EU has adopted several rounds of sanctions against Syria, expected to tighten further, to pressure the regime of President Bashar Assad to stop its deadly crackdown on a nearly 14-month uprising.

Petroleum Minister Sufian Allaw reviewed the state of operations, production and export in the petroleum sector in light of the sanctions imposed on it, detailing his ministry's efforts in the fields of prospecting and production, underlining the damage caused by the vandalism of terrorist groups to oil and gas facilities and pipelines.

Allaw said that his ministry is working hard to overcome difficulties facing the petroleum sector and provide citizens' needs, particularly after the unjust prohibition on importing and transporting Syrian oil and money transfers which was imposed by the US and the EU.

He said that Syria used to export 150,000 barrels of oil per day out of its daily production of 380,000 barrels, noting that the EU decision to suspend the investment of European companies in Syria caused several oil companies to suspend their operations in Syria and withdraw their expertise and funding, but local expertise took over and are working competently.

Allaw underlined the vicious vandalism carried out by terrorist groups, which led to the martyring of 25 workers in the oil sector and the theft or damaging of more than 100 vehicles, in addition to around 40 bombings and sabotage of pipelines and attacks on facilities and workers.

He said that the recent shortage of cooking gas was due to the difficulties caused by the EU sanctions, and that gas shipments will reach Syria within two days, adding that there are sufficient supplies of diesel fuel and that a shipment of 30,000 tons is due to arrive from Venezuela within two weeks, affirming that the government doesn't intend to raise diesel prices at this point.