Oil & Gas Oman invites bids for 3 onshore oil and gas blocks Oman’s energy ministry has invited investors to bid for three oil and gas concessions. The onshore concessions – Block 36, Block 43A and Block 66 – are close to the sites of previous successful explorations. Scotiabank has been listed as the point of contact for potential investors. The concessions will bring in much needed revenue […] February 5, 2025
Renewable Energy Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Energy to invest in wind power Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Energy, an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for energy projects, is hoping to expand its renewable energy business in South East Asia and Europe. Ahmed Al Dhaheri, NMDC Energy’s CEO, told AGBI that wind will account for as much as 20 percent of the company’s revenues in the next few years, with […] February 5, 2025
Oil & Gas Adnoc moves its US investments to XRG Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s investments in the US now sit within its new international investment arm, XRG, Adnoc’s CEO said on Tuesday, as the oil giant moves to build up a business focused on lower carbon energy and chemicals. The US investments are in an ExxonMobil hydrogen plant and in NextDecade’s liquefied natural gas […] February 5, 2025
Oil & Gas BP to invest up to $25bn to redevelop Iraqi oilfields BP may invest up to $25 billion to redevelop four Kirkuk oil and gas fields in Iraq, according to a media report. The British oil major is likely to commit between $20 billion and $25 billion in a profit-sharing pact that will last more than 25 years, Reuters reported, quoting an unnamed senior Iraqi oil official. […] February 5, 2025
Oil & Gas UK’s Sound Energy helps Morocco enter LNG market Led by the UK company Sound Energy, Morocco is due to enter the liquefied natural gas market by the end of this year, as it finalises the development of its first LNG processing facility. Sound Energy owns a 20 percent stake in the project. The Moroccan mining company Managem owns 55 percent, while the remaining […] February 5, 2025
Oil & Gas Kuwait successfully using drones to inspect oil facilities Kuwait’s first-time use of drones to inspect oil and gas facilities has reduced costs, improved operational efficiency and enhanced worker safety, a local newspaper has reported, without giving numbers. The drones are used to inspect oil and gas fields, petrochemical and refining facilities, and pipelines and export terminals across the country, the Arabic-language daily Alanba […] February 4, 2025
Oil & Gas Saudi Arabia defers Pakistan’s oil dues ahead of IMF review Saudi Arabia has granted Pakistan an oil import financing facility, deferring oil payments of $1.2 billion by one year. The Saudi Fund for Development CEO Sultan Bin Abdul Rehman Al Marshad and Kazim Niaz, secretary of the economic affairs division of Pakistan, signed the agreement in the presence of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, state-backed Pakistan […] February 4, 2025
Opinion Oil & Gas Canada oil tariffs could weigh heavily on global markets Most respectable economists believe it is also bad news for the US economy February 3, 2025
Renewable Energy Acwa Power signs green hydrogen supply deal with Germany Acwa Power, the Saudi power supplier, has signed an agreement with German energy trading company Securing Energy for Europe (Sefe) to supply 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030. Under the memorandum of understanding signed on Monday, Acwa Power will act as the lead developer, investor and operator of green hydrogen and green […] February 3, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq’s compensation plan will aid Kurdish oil exports Iraq’s parliament on Sunday approved a budget amendment to subsidise production costs for international oil companies operating in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The move aimed is at unblocking northern oil exports, lawmakers said. The amendment sets the rate at $16 per barrel, up from an earlier proposal for $7.9 per barrel for transport and production costs, […] February 3, 2025
Oil & Gas Trump’s tariffs will not move oil prices, says Goldman Sachs The new tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on imports from Canada, Mexico and China are likely to have a limited near-term impact on global oil and gas prices, Goldman Sachs said in a note on Sunday. “Potential tariff-driven decline in US natural gas imports from Canada is too small to significantly raise US […] February 3, 2025
Economy Bahrain to increase oil revenue contributions to wealth fund Bahrain has approved plans to increase its contribution from its oil revenues to its Future Generations Reserve wealth fund. King Hamad of Bahrain approved a new modified savings format, amending the 2006 law that dates back to when the sovereign wealth fund was established. The fund was created to allocate and invest amounts deducted from oil […] February 3, 2025
Construction Kuwait project awards reach highest level in seven years Project activity in Kuwait has soared, and the highest value since 2017 was awarded in 2024, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said in its quarterly report. The bank said KD2.7 billion ($8.7 billion) worth of projects were awarded in Kuwait last year, an increase of 44 percent on the previous year. The figures were supported […] February 3, 2025
Energy Oil up 2% after US tariff may kick off trade war Oil prices jumped on Monday after US president Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, raising fears of crude supply disruption from two of the biggest suppliers to the US, but the prospect of lower fuel demand capped gains. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $73.97 a barrel, up $1.44, or […] February 3, 2025
Analysis Renewable Energy Trump’s climate agenda ‘may push UAE investors away from US’ Masdar and the UAE’s other renewable energy companies may need to rethink their US investments now that President Donald Trump has pulled the plug on new offshore wind projects, industry watchers have warned. “We’re not going to do the wind thing. Big, ugly windmills. They ruin your neighbourhood,” Trump said on his return to the […] February 2, 2025
Oil & Gas Much-delayed Kirkuk refinery deal signed by Iraq Iraq has finally signed a deal to build a refinery in the oil-rich Kirkuk province, nearly eight years after it first unveiled the project. It will be built by Iraq’s Rania Group, which is based in Sulaymaniah in the northern autonomous Kurdistan region and has vast operations in the country. The refinery is intended to […] January 31, 2025
Renewable Energy Morocco to invest $3bn in power projects over five years Morocco is planning to invest more than MAD27 billion ($2.7 billion) into power projects in the next five years to expand its electricity network and increase the share of renewable energy, an official has said. The development plan, starting this year, covers conventional electricity, renewable sources and hydrogen projects, said Tarik Hammane, director general of the […] January 31, 2025
Oil & Gas Opec+ to take joint stance on Trump oil policy The Opec+ group of leading oil producers is set to discuss President Donald Trump’s efforts to raise US oil production and take a joint stance on the matter, Kazakhstan said on Wednesday. Trump last week laid out a sweeping plan to help maximise oil and gas production, including by declaring a national energy emergency to speed up permitting […] January 30, 2025
Renewable Energy Tunisia turns to waste to tackle power supply gap Tunisia needs to encourage investment in waste-to-energy projects in order to tackle a massive power supply gap of nearly 60 percent, an energy official was reported on Wednesday as saying. Incentives for such projects include the purchase of their production by the state-owned Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company, said Wael Chouchane, secretary of state for […] January 29, 2025
Energy UAE’s Esyasoft to buy UK provider Good Energy Energy company Esyasoft has agreed to acquire UK renewable electricity provider Good Energy for almost £100 million ($123 million) at 490p per share. The deal, which is subject to shareholders’ approval, represents a premium of 66 percent on Good Energy’s closing price on October 25, the last trading day before the start of the offer period. […] January 28, 2025
Oil & Gas Lunate to buy stake in Adnoc Gas Pipelines Lunate, the alternative investment manager based in Abu Dhabi, is buying a minority stake in Adnoc Gas Pipelines. AGP is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and has lease rights to 38 pipelines covering a total of 982km across the UAE. The gas pipeline network links the UAE’s upstream energy-producing assets and […] January 28, 2025
Opinion Trade Trade policy will be central to Trump’s second term Many of the US president’s fresh executive orders will have substantial ramifications, including in the Gulf January 28, 2025
