In an effort to ratchet up the economic sanctions,  the UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company  (ADNOC) refused to accept tanker shipments of condensates (light crude oil) from Qatar.   The UAE has stated that they have invoked a Force Majeure clause in their contract, as their legal basis.

Qatar has stated they will take legal actions presumably for breach of contract.   Usually,  suppliers invoke Force Majeure when certain events  beyond their control make it impossible to fulfill a contract.   It is an odd application of Force Majeure since the halt was done strictly for political purposes.   However,  ADNOC may counter that this refusal was at the direction of the Emir of the UAE, and  beyond their control.

Gas will continue to flow from Qatar to the UAE through Dolphin pipeline.  It is estimated that 40% of the UAE electrical generation depends on this gas.

I don’t know how many barrels of condensate are presently being shipped to the UAE.   The UAE has two refineries, which can each process up to 140,000 barrels of fuel per day and ultimately produce gasoline and diesel.   I will update this blog as information is received.

News Link:  http://www.worldoil.com/news/2017/7/4/qatar-says-fellow-opec-state-uae-halts-oil-imports-in-row

Qatar has stated that the boycott impacts both their country and the other GCC countries involved in the blockage.  It certainly appears this is the case.

Stay tuned,

Dave