Tokyo. The Uzbek government has attracted Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC), JGS and Technopian Corporationto jointly explore and develop oil shale deposits in Uzbekistan, according to the Uzbek State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources (SCGMR).

Baghdad.  Iraq's cabinet on 29 June gave its approval for ratification of a Shell-led initiative covering development of 25-30 trillion cu ft of proven associated gas reserves from four of the major oil projects in the country's southern Basra province. The move comes amid mounting public anger at the lack of electricity, which saw two demonstrators shot dead and the resignation late last month of Iraq's electricity minister.

Abu Dhabi. Opec member Kuwait may buy some of BP's Middle East and Asian assets, according to reports, as part of the UK oil company's attempt to raise funds and fend off takeover bids.

Arabic language daily al-Jarida, citing oil sources, said state-run Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KFP) is reviewing investing in oilfields in Egypt, Yemen and east Asia due to BP's need for liquidity.

Amman. Oil flows from Iraq's Kirkuk oil fields into the Turkish export terminal at Ceyhan resumed early Monday after a suspension of three days due to an attack on the export pipeline in Turkey, a Middle East shipping agent in the port said Monday.

Riyadh. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia has ordered a halt to oil exploration operations to save the hydrocarbon wealth in the world's top crude exporting nation for future generations, the official Saudi Press Agency, or SPA, reported late on Saturday. "I was heading a cabinet meeting and told them to pray to God the Almighty to give it a long life," King Abdullah told Saudi scholars studying in Washington, according to SPA.

Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) has asked engineering firms to express interest in an estimated $100m contract to build new fuel storage facilities in Sharjah's Hamriyah free zone.

The state refiner has asked contractors to state their interest in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by the end of June, and says that it wants to fast-track the project so that it receives bids before Ramadan in mid-August and awards the deal by the end of the year.

Kuwait. The consortium which plans to build the Nabucco natural gas pipeline may add Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co., or IPIC, as a member by year's end, reported Dow Jones Energy Daily quoting a person within the industry has told Thursday.

Tehran. Imposing sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program was a serious mistake, the CEO of French energy giant TotalTotalLoading..., Christophe de Margerie, said.Speaking at an economic forum in Aix-en-Provence in southern France, Margerie confirmed TotalTotalLoading... had suspended fuel deliveries to Iran in line with sanctions adopted by the UN, U.S. and the EU.