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James Drummond

Editor-in-Chief

An Arabic speaker, the British national’s wide experience in the region includes roles as a former hedge fund correspondent and news editor in the Gulf for the Financial Times, as well as FT correspondent in Cairo and Baghdad, where he covered the aftermath of the US-led invasion. Oxford-educated Drummond is a qualified chartered accountant and anti-money laundering specialist, and has also led geopolitical risk analysis for a number of global banking and corporate institutions

James Drummond
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman lead countries with young populations that benefit from global trade

India and Saudi Arabia’s common bonds

Events may have overshadowed Narendra Modi’s trip to Jeddah this week – the Indian prime minister was forced to cut his visit short because of an attack in Kashmir – but there was much for him to discuss with his Saudi hosts. Amid market volatility and the new dispensation from Washington, Saudi Arabia and India – […]

Iraq's prime minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani Sudani was hosted in London Sir Keir Starmer in January

Old adversaries cut deals in the new Iraq

Strange things are happening in Iraq. Opec’s second-largest oil producer has a capacity of almost 5 million barrels per day and wants to increase that to 6 million bpd over the next three years. In May last year, our columnist Robin Mills noted that in an auction of oil and gas blocks, Chinese companies won 10 bids and a local […]

The GCC states are facing hurdles from US President Trump's 'Liberation Day' trade tariffs

Few good options for US-GCC trade – but options nonetheless

It is often said that US trading partners have few good options when it comes to dealing with President Trump’s “liberation day” last week. Few good options, yes, but the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council at least have options. Oil and gas are excluded from the new tariff regime – if one can call a bookie’s […]

Energy security is the US watchword – bad news for oil exporters

What to make of The New Joule Order by Jeff Currie and James Gutman at Carlyle, the US private equity behemoth, as they consider the future of energy demand? Where does their thinking leave us here in the Arabian Gulf? Currie, a former head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs, and Gutman point out that global […]

The Awali oilfields in Bahrain. The government is pushing for the original site to gain Unesco recognition.

Bahrain at a crossroads: Economic challenges loom

The nodding donkeys in Awali, where oil was first discovered in the centre of Bahrain in 1932, are museum pieces now. The government is pushing for the surrounding oil settlement, an unreconstructed mid-twentieth century company town complete with cricket pitch, pub and church, to be listed by Unesco as a world heritage site. To the north […]

A Russian oil tanker crosses the Bosphorus in Turkey. If Russia faces difficulty with exporting its oil, Gulf states could benefit

Why Russia could ease the Gulf’s oil headache

The Opec+ countries have said that they will conduct “a gradual and flexible return” of 2.2 million barrels a day in production through until the end of next year. Saudi Arabia in particular has been gritting its teeth in holding back over 3 million bpd in spare capacity as it has watched while others – […]

The tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange was rocked by the emergence of DeepSeek, and S&P and Dow Jones have fallen, too

The Gulf is not immune to global economic fluctuations

It has been a torrid week in the US markets. The S&P 500 has fallen 8 percent over the past month – close to correction territory – while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 6 percent. The dollar, too, has been hurt, which is of consequence to the Gulf’s dollar-pegged economies. The greenback has […]

A mother and baby in Karaj, Iran, one of several Gulf states that are falling below the fertility replacement rate

Gulf fertility: falling short of replacement rates

Your starter for 10. The demographics of Tehran most closely resemble those of which city? a) Damascus b) Riyadh or c) Zurich. The answer of course, as any fule kno, is c). True, Zurich lacks a prison with the reputation and commodiousness of Evin, but in terms of population growth –  or lack of it […]

Aerial view of Kuwait City. Kuwait's economic potential is in some ways hindered by its wealth, as 90 percent of its oil revenues go to its Reserve Fund for Future Generations

Kuwait’s economic potential: A wake-up call

Project approvals in Opec’s fifth-largest producer are at their highest since 2017, according to the independent National Bank of Kuwait (NBK). That may be because the emirate is planning to expand oil production capacity by up to 40 percent to 4 million barrels per day, exploiting what was described as a significant discovery last year […]

Adnoc's new acquisitions in the petrochemicals sector are part of its attempts to diversify

Adnoc’s big bet on petrochemicals

Pay attention at the back. Earlier this week Abu Dhabi-listed Fertiglobe reported net profits of $160m for 2024, down by more than half on 2023 because of lower revenues. Meanwhile, net earnings at Borouge, another of Abu Dhabi’s listed petrochemicals ventures, jumped by nearly a quarter year-on-year to $1.2 billion. Borouge reported record production and sales. What […]

Secretary of state Marco Rubio suggests Iran is in US sights but other Gulf economies may fare better

Navigating volatility: The impact on GCC economies

The optimism is welcome – but it may be misplaced. This week the Riyad Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index in Saudi Arabia hit its highest level in more than 10 years – a significant vote of confidence in the Arab world’s largest economy. There was positive news too on jobs in the kingdom. Employment rose “solidly” last year, […]

Tugboats help tow the Greek-registered MT Sounion, which was attacked by Yemen's Houthi militants last year in the Red Sea

Shippers wary of Houthis’ fragile concession

Yemen’s Houthi militia said last week that it will stop targeting US and British ships as they try to pass peacefully through the Red Sea. Instead, the group said in emails to shipping lines that “sanctions” will apply only to Israeli-flagged vessels and ships owned by Israeli nationals or companies – although the Houthis’ grasp […]

In the famously transactional Trump White House, it is likely quid pro quos will be sought

Transactional Trump will seek mutual benefits

There were few guests from outside the US establishment at Donald Trump’s inauguration in the Capitol building on Monday. Along with the past presidents, supreme court justices, members of congress, tech titans, and the military band avoiding an icy Washington day, was Javier Milei, the libertarian president of Argentina. Also present were Giorgia Meloni of […]

The opening of the sixth line of the Riyadh metro should be celebrated, but the country can do better with its economic growth

Balancing the Saudi books to improve growth

The sixth line of the Riyadh metro has now opened – a considerable achievement executed at unprecedented speed, according to architects and engineers interviewed by Valentina Pasquali. But the IMF is predicting growth in the Saudi economy of only 1.5 percent this year. Not so great. It is easy to be sceptical of macroeconomic forecasts, subject as they […]

Larderello geothermal power plant in Italy. Advanced techniques could make it easier to bring geothermal power to the Gulf

Geothermal could be the Gulf’s energy solution 

In Dubai, the sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is due to increase its production capacity in the hydrocarbon-poor emirate to over 4,500MW – roughly three big conventional power plants. In Abu Dhabi, the 2,000MW – 2GW – Dhafra plant is among the largest single-site solar PV power installations in the […]

Cronyism in Syria crowded out foreign investment even before conflict began

Syria’s first needs: energy and investment 

It can get mighty cold in Damascus and Aleppo. Unfortunately, it may be about to feel a lot colder for Syria’s hard-pressed population as supplies of oil and gas dwindle. As our columnist Frank Kane wrote this week, after nearly 14 years of civil war Syrian oil production is not enough to move the dial […]

The striking Riyadh Metro station in Kiing Abdullah Financial District - will it draw Saudis from their cars?

Riyadh Metro could get Saudis to quit their cars

OK. So it did not go entirely as advertised. The first phase of the Riyadh Metro was due to open on Wednesday; instead the system has been inaugurated and operation of three of the six lines – Blue, Yellow and Violet – officially starts on December 1. When the trains do roll, the metro will enable […]

On the agenda: Ed Miliband, UK secretary of state for energy security and net zero, and World Bank president Ajay Banga at the summit on methane at COP29 in Baku

Nobody likes methane seepage. Especially Europe

Liquefied natural gas has always had a heroic reputation in the energy world. Heroic engineering, heroic logistics and heroic expense, yes – but a heroic outcome: clean (or not-so-dirty) energy and a seat with the good guys at the high table of energy transition. Qatar of course, Egypt, Oman, Israel and the UAE – these are the lucky producers and […]

Although China has its own oil industry it remains Saudi Arabia's top importer

China’s plans affect the future of oil

Aramco is betting on China to boost a well-supplied crude market and – here’s hoping in Riyadh – enable Saudi Arabia to unwind production cuts. Amin Nasser, the Saudi state oil giant’s CEO, said last week that he expects demand from China to drive global oil market growth of a healthy 1.5 percent next year. Nasser also […]

Petrol prices in Iran are some of the lowest in the world, making it difficult to unlock the country's oil wealth domestically

Iran’s mission to make the most of oil wealth

Despite some predictable vapouring from hardliners, the Islamic regime in Tehran will mainly be heaving a sigh of relief that Israel did not attack Iran’s oil infrastructure. The IAF avoided the main oil terminal at Kharg Island in the north of the Gulf, major refineries such as Abadan – there are 10 main refining sites in the country – […]

Labour leader Keir Starmer and his chancellor Rachel Reeves could gain from working with Gulf states

Labour would do well to heed the Gulf

There is still another week to go before UK chancellor Rachel Reeves’s first Budget. The long-awaited statement should set the direction and priorities for the new Labour government over the next four years. And, for Gulf investors and many others, it can’t come soon enough. It has not been the best start for the government […]

The entrance to HSBC's headquarters in Hong Kong. The bank's Middle East operations will be based in the building from next year

HSBC to fold Middle East operations into Hong Kong

HSBC Holdings announced on Tuesday that the group’s operations in the Middle East and Turkey will be folded into a unit headquartered in Hong Kong from the beginning of next year.  Stephen Moss, who has been based in Dubai as chief executive of the giant bank’s Middle East operations since April 2021, is leaving at […]