Analysis Manufacturing Aluminium: waiting for the rise in demand With global aluminium prices soft and demand currently waning, the announcement last month of the launch of Kings Aluminium Industries’ AED750 million ($204 million) manufacturing and recycling plant in Abu Dhabi may have seemed unfortunately timed. However, “long term” has always been the name of the game with this lightweight metal, as giant, billion-dollar smelters […] January 5, 2024
Analysis Industry Middle East craves a copper-bottomed future While recent weeks have seen some major ups and downs in the price of copper, for many old hands in the sector this is nothing new. “The one sure thing in copper,” Carlos Risopatron, director of economics and environment at the International Copper Study Group, tells AGBI, “is that you can always rely on volatility.” […] December 22, 2023
Analysis Industry Future is rosy for Mena phosphate producers With Morocco and Saudi Arabia now holding the bulk of the world’s high-quality, accessible phosphate rock reserves, the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is a major centre for the phosphate mining industry’s future growth, analysts say. Morocco alone holds around 70 percent of the world’s total reserves of phosphate rock, the raw material […] November 17, 2023
Analysis Oil & Gas Gulf invests in major oil refinery upgrade programme Gulf states are expanding their oil refining capacity through a series of massive upgrades, at the same time as they drive towards net zero and seek to move away from petroleum and natural gas. The apparent contradiction is, however, only apparent. From Az-Zour in Kuwait to Duqm in Oman, the refinery upgrades are central to […] September 28, 2023
Opinion Sustainability Net zero (noun). Meaning … well, that’s the question Hundreds of governments and companies have 'net zero' policies. But the term's definition isn't always clear September 26, 2023
Analysis Renewable Energy Oman takes green hydrogen gamble Sometimes it takes a country. Oman is dedicating an area the size of Slovakia to solar power projects to produce green hydrogen – gas produced entirely from renewable sources. On June 1 Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, minister of energy and minerals, signed $20 billion of contracts with partners including BP, Shell and the newly […] August 14, 2023
Analysis Economy Kuwait PM’s in-tray: public debt and budget reform Since Kuwait’s new government took office at the start of June, it has provided Kuwaitis – and many international investors – with much to consider. After just six weeks in office, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah’s administration announced a four-year programme featuring 107 major projects. These include completion of Kuwait’s stretch of the […] July 28, 2023
Analysis Energy Bahrain reboots oil and gas to reduce debt and CO2 Bahrain is taking steps to address economic challenges by relaunching its oil and gas holding company as Bapco Energies, with a focus on greater efficiencies and a low-carbon future. The island kingdom’s sovereign rating is one of only two sub-investment grade ratings in the Gulf – with challenges ranging from ageing domestic oil fields to […] June 12, 2023
