Libya does not intend to issue any new oil concession licences this year according to the chairman of the countrys National Oil Corporation (NOC) Shokri Ghanem.

Jordan is pushing ahead with a scheme to supply up to 14 per cent of its energy needs from oil shale as the country is looking at ways to not be so reliant on imports of oil and gas from Gulf countries.

The newly appointed Iraq oil minister, Abdul Karim al-Luaibi, announced in December 2010 that the countrys oil output had risen to 2.6 mn bdp from just under 2.4 mn as a result of a production increase from the giant Zubair and Rumaila oilfields.

Leading global oilfield service company Expro has been awarded a multi-disciplinary contract in Algeria, by Petroceltic International plc.