Oil & Gas Saudi’s Taqa to quadruple energy investments in Egypt Saudi Arabia’s Industrialization and Energy Services Company (Taqa) plans to quadruple investments in Egypt’s energy sector over the next two years, according to a media report. The company aims to double its business and services in Egypt, as well as expand into deepwater petroleum services by 2026, Daily News Egypt reported, citing Mario Ruscev, executive […] March 6, 2024
Artificial intelligence Aramco launches world’s first industrial AI model Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, has launched a generative artificial intelligence model. The Aramco Metabrain AI, a first for the industrial sector, has 250 billion parameters, or learnable variables, which it adjusts during training to make predictions or generate outputs. It was trained on 7 trillion data points gathered over the company’s 90-year […] March 6, 2024
Analysis Economy Volatility of crude markets masks Saudi non-oil momentum Volatility in global oil markets, which led to Saudi Arabia’s GDP shrinking last year, is masking the strength of the kingdom’s non-oil economy, analysts have said. Its non-oil revenue is forecast to rise by more than 5 percent in each of the next two years, according to Jadwa Investment. The 2023 contraction was driven by […] March 5, 2024
Renewable Energy Neom to produce first green hydrogen this year, CEO says Saudi Arabia’s mega-city Neom is set to produce its first green hydrogen this year, a senior executive has confirmed. Wesam Alghamdi, chief executive of Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC), told a conference in Dubai last week that the Hydrogen Innovation Development Centre will produce eight tonnes of green hydrogen a day on launch this year. […] March 5, 2024
Opinion Oil & Gas Black gold and realpolitik define GCC-China relations China is playing a growing role in energy transition and economic diversification across all Gulf states March 4, 2024
Oil & Gas Opec extends voluntary cuts to support oil market stability Opec+ producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia have stretched their additional voluntary crude supply cuts for another three months, as the oil bloc strives to support the stability and balance of sluggish markets. Oil prices traded flat Monday morning after a slight spike following the Opec announcement. Brent crude traded around $83.50 per barrel. […] March 4, 2024
Energy Hydrogen-producing nations told to put local use first Hydrogen-producing nations should put local use of the green fuel ahead of exports, a conference in Dubai has been told. Francesco La Camera, director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), said making hydrogen a major global export commodity is only a medium to long term prospect. Instead, he said, hydrogen-producing nations should follow […] March 4, 2024
Energy Aramco buys out Chile’s fuel and lubricant retailer Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, has completed the acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Chile’s downstream fuel and lubricant retailer Esmax Distribución SpA (Esmax). The Chilean company owns and operates retail fuel stations, airport operations, fuel distribution terminals and a lubricant blending plant. The transaction, which was announced in September 2023, is […] March 3, 2024
Energy Adnoc buys 25% of Austrian chemical group OMV Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc has formally closed the acquisition of a 25 percent stake in Austrian energy and chemicals group OMV. The energy giant bought the stake from UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company. Financial details were not disclosed. Österreichische Beteiligungs AG, an Austrian independent holding company, holds 31 percent in OMV, […] March 1, 2024
Oil & Gas BP invests $1.5bn in gas projects in Egypt BP will invest $1.5 billion to develop gas projects and drilling in Egypt over the next three to four years. It was revealed two weeks ago that the UK-based energy business and Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc have agreed to pursue a natural gas joint venture in Egypt. The venture, reported by Bloomberg on […] March 1, 2024
Oil & Gas Italy’s Saipem expects Aramco orders to drop 20% Italian energy contractor Saipem is forecasting a 20 percent decline in annual orders from Saudi Aramco to 2027 following the state-backed oil major’s decision to hold its capacity expansion plans. Saipem had annual average orders of around €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) from the Saudi-listed company between 2021 and 2023. It signed a 12-year deal with […] March 1, 2024
Renewable Energy Masdar acquires 49% stake in UK’s offshore wind farms Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar has acquired a 49 percent stake in the 3-gigawatt (GW) Dogger Bank South (DBS) offshore wind farm project in the UK, as part of its global expansion drive. The acquisition is part of the planned £11 billion ($14 billion) joint investment with Germany’s renewables major RWE to support net-zero […] March 1, 2024
Renewable Energy EGA’s industrial data centres go green Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the UAE’s largest non-oil industrial company and one of the world’s largest aluminium producers, has broken ground on the first industrial data centres in the emirates to be totally powered by renewable energy. The two data centres in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah will be developed in collaboration with Scientechnic, a […] March 1, 2024
Energy Acwa Power explores renewables projects in China Saudi renewables major Acwa Power has started due diligence on up to eight projects in China, CEO Marco Arcelli said. “The first one will be announced in the coming few months,” he said in the company’s Q4 2023 financial statement. “2024 will be the first full year of execution for the new growth strategy with […] March 1, 2024
Oil & Gas Adnoc Drilling and Alpha Dhabi to surpass 3-year $1.5bn target A joint venture between Adnoc Drilling and Alpha Dhabi will surpass its $1.5 billion investment target within the three-year timeframe originally set, and is seeking acquisitions in the US and across Europe. Adnoc Drilling, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and Alpha Dhabi Holding, one of Abu Dhabi’s biggest investment companies, announced the […] February 29, 2024
Renewable Energy Egypt signs $40bn deals to develop green energy sector Egypt has signed seven agreements with global companies to develop green hydrogen and renewable energy projects in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, with expected investments worth $40 billion over 10 years. Investment of nearly $12 billion is expected for a pilot phase, followed by another $29 billion for the first phase, the government’s information department […] February 29, 2024
Sustainability Turkey and Europe join up to promote carbon trading The European Energy Exchange (EEX) and Turkish energy bourse Enerji Piyasalari Isletme A.S (Epias) have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop carbon emissions trading in Turkey. “We look forward to working with Epias in creating a robust emissions trading system (ETS) in Turkey by providing our expertise in carbon markets,” said EEX chief executive […] February 29, 2024
Energy Saudi National Bank’s $230m fund to energise oil sector SNB Capital, the investment arm of Saudi National Bank, has launched a $230 million oil and gas fund to offer investors exposure to top-tier energy companies. The Shariah-compliant fund launched by a Dubai-based unit of SNB Capital will invest indirectly in Repsol E&P, a joint venture between Spain energy giant Repsol and US-headquartered investment company EIG. Repsol […] February 29, 2024
Industry Aramco invests $6bn to bolster local supply chain Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, has signed 40 corporate procurement agreements worth $6 billion to boost its localisation programme. The agreements cover supply of a range of products comprising strategic commodities, such as instrumentation and electrical and drilling equipment. The move will strengthen Aramco’s domestic supply chain ecosystem, providing suppliers with long-term demand […] February 28, 2024
Manufacturing Sabic reports loss of $747m as product prices tumble Petrochemicals major Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) reported a net loss of SAR2.8 billion ($747 million) in 2023, as average product sales fell by a fifth. The losses were also driven by the discontinuation of operations at Hadeed, its steel manufacturing subsidiary, which resulted in a loss of around SAR4 billion. In September 2023, Sabic […] February 28, 2024
