Oil & Gas Kuwait’s state oil company to expand in Indonesia State-owned Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company plans to expand its operations in Indonesia, according to the company’s senior executive. Kufpec is a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, tasked with exploring and extracting oil and gas outside Kuwait’s borders. It is active in nine countries across Australasia, Africa, North America and Europe. In Indonesia Kufpec already […] December 11, 2024
Analysis Oil & Gas Opec+ likely to adopt a wait-and-see strategy for 2025 Opec+ leaders have much to consider ahead of their meeting next week – little of it positive for flagging oil prices. First, there is the prospect of a second presidential term for Donald Trump as leader of the world’s largest oil producer and exporter; second, an economic downturn in China that shows no sign of […] November 29, 2024
Renewable Energy Masdar and Silk Road Fund to co-invest in renewables The UAE and China have announced an initiative at Cop29 in Baku to co-invest nearly $3 billion in renewables in developing countries and the global south. Under a memorandum of understanding signed between Silk Road Fund (SRF) of China and UAE’s renewable energy company Masdar, SRF is set to pour up to CNY20 billion ($2.8 […] November 22, 2024
Oil & Gas Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports rise to 3-month high Saudi Arabia burned 36 percent less crude oil for power generation in September – freeing up fuel for exports, which hit a three-month high. The kingdom sold 5.75 million barrels per day in September, 80,000 bpd more than in August, according to data published this week. The figures are from the Joint Organisations Data Initiative, […] November 20, 2024
Renewable Energy Masdar-led consortium to build Saudi solar plant Masdar, the UAE clean energy company, has won a contract with Chinese and South Korean partners to develop a 2GW solar project in Saudi Arabia. The company, along with its partners GD Power of China and the Korea Electric Power Corporation, will build the plant at Al Sadawi, about 500km north of Riyadh in the […] November 20, 2024
Exclusive Renewable Energy Neom Green Hydrogen will hit all markets, says chief Saudi Arabia’s Neom green hydrogen project is 60 percent complete and on track for full-time operation by the end of 2026, a senior official told AGBI. “We’re progressing well on all fronts, including the solar and wind farms, and we have received all the major equipment,” said Wesam Alghamdi, CEO of Neom Green Hydrogen Company […] November 19, 2024
Analysis Artificial Intelligence Oil and gas companies place trust in AI Race to combat falling oil prices Tech offers huge savings Industry hits recruitment wall Lower oil prices and the race for higher returns are pushing regional and national oil and gas companies to spend billions of dollars on artificia... Register now: It’s easy and free This content is available for registered members only. Register for […] November 18, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Oil & Gas IEF head sees Gulf at the top of Trump’s agenda The head of the International Energy Forum has told AGBI he believes the Gulf states will benefit from Donald Trump’s election victory strategically and politically, as well as in terms of investment and trade. The IEF is headquartered in Riyadh and counts the energy ministers of 72 states as members. It describes itself as a […] November 13, 2024
Oil & Gas Adnoc Gas considers M&A deals to meet LNG demand Adnoc Gas is looking at international acquisitions and mergers to cope with what it predicts will be strong demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the next decade, a senior executive said on Monday. “We have the balance sheet to do it, so if there is an opportunity, we will definitely consider it,” chief financial […] November 11, 2024
Mining Minerals come into focus as Egypt wrestles with oil reforms Egypt’s proposed platform to encourage investment into their minerals sector is likely to launch early next year, the minister of petroleum and mineral resources said this week. The so-called Mining Portal, which was originally scheduled to be operational by the end of 2024, is part of a drive to exploit what the government says is […] November 8, 2024
Analysis Oil & Gas Top of Trump’s to-do list: sanctions against Iran Donald Trump’s second term as US president, which is due to start in January, is likely to bring a significant strengthening of sanctions against Iran and a resumption of the “maximum pressure policy”, industry experts believe. In his first term as president, Trump withdrew from the Joint Collective Plan of Action, a 2015 accord which […] November 7, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Oil & Gas Adnoc Drilling JV M&A war chest to rise to $2bn Enersol Energy Solutions, the joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc Drilling and the investment company Alpha Dhabi, is looking to expand its war chest by $500 million to $2 billion. The company has already spent $800 million on acquisitions this year. In its latest deal, the fourth since January, Enersol has acquired a 95 percent […] November 6, 2024
Oil & Gas Italy’s Eni will restart gas drilling in Egypt and Libya Italian energy company Eni is reviving its exploration operations on Zohr, Egypt’s largest natural gas field, by the end of the year, its CEO confirmed on Monday. “After some time, we were not really working on Zohr, we will restart drilling by the end of the year, and we are going to drill another well […] November 5, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Adnoc pioneers agentic AI to boost production forecasts by 90% Highly autonomous artificial intelligence, known as agentic AI, is being used for the first time by Abu Dhabi’s state oil company Adnoc in the hope of massively increasing the accuracy of production forecasts. Adnoc’s CEO Sultan Al Jaber said in a speech on the first day of the Adipec energy conference in Abu Dhabi that […] November 4, 2024
Analysis Oil & Gas Saudi Arabia loses out as US oil refiners turn to Canada US crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia have dropped to one of the lowest points since the start of the decade, as American refiners increasingly turn to supplies from Canada. Imports fell to only 13,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the week ending October 25, according to the US Energy Information Administration – the lowest […] November 1, 2024
Aviation Startup airline Riyadh Air secures $1.3bn credit facility Riyadh Air, the Saudi airline that is due to start operations next year, signed a SAR5 billion ($1.3 billion) credit facility with a syndicate of banks on Wednesday, as it announced an order for 60 more aircraft. The kingdom’s second flag carrier, owned by the PIF sovereign wealth fund, has closed an inaugural Islamic revolving […] October 31, 2024
Analysis Oil & Gas Opec+ overproduction persists as oil price sags Despite a fall in production in September, Opec+ members are not adhering to cuts they have committed to, leading to excess supply and flagging prices, industry experts say. Quota compliance has always been a vexed issue within Opec and Opec+ but oil demand is now so subdued that Saudi Arabia may have to act, the […] October 30, 2024
Oil & Gas New oil minister in Kuwait after reshuffle A new oil minister, Tarek Suleiman Ahmed Al-Roumi, has been appointed in Kuwait as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle. Al-Roumi will replace Nora Suleiman Al-Fassam, who is Kuwait’s finance minister and was overseeing the oil ministry temporarily, the state news agency, Kuna, reported. Al-Fassam stepped in after the resignation in September of the deputy […] October 30, 2024
Analysis Sustainability EU carbon tariff opens door to green GCC manufacturers Europe’s decision to place a tariff on a selected group of carbon-intensive imports may offer a competitive advantage to Gulf manufacturers who are investing in carbon-reducing technologies, industry observers believe. By decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, GCC countries can become the European Union’s privileged trade partners, because producers with lower carbon emissions will get better access to […] October 28, 2024
Analysis Oil & Gas US sanctions unlikely to stop Iran’s oil smugglers Tighter US economic sanctions are unlikely to disrupt Iran’s oil exports in the long run because Tehran has developed a sophisticated system of oil smuggling, using a dedicated fleet of tankers and middlemen in multiple countries, industry observers say. The regime in Tehran has been under US sanctions since the Islamic revolution of 1979. But […] October 23, 2024
Energy Egypt slashes renewables target to focus on natural gas Egypt has cut its renewable energy goal for 2040 from 58 percent down to 40 percent and will focus on natural gas in order to meet increasing energy demand, according to Karim Badawi, the minister for petroleum. Before hosting the Cop27 climate conference in 2022, the North African state announced a target of achieving a […] October 22, 2024
Oil & Gas Aramco CEO bullish on Chinese oil demand Saudi Aramco’s CEO is confident that China’s bid to increase growth will have a positive impact on oil demand, especially due to chemicals needed for its energy transition. Amin Nasser said the world’s second biggest economy needs more chemicals for “the electric vehicles, for solar panels, so that’s huge growth there”. Speaking on the sidelines […] October 21, 2024
