Oil & Gas Iraq makes huge oil discovery but faces Opec restrictions Iraq has announced the discovery of a massive oil field expected to significantly increase the country’s hydrocarbon reserves, but Baghdad will face a number of challenges in its attempt to exploit the new resource. The field, located in the central part of the country, contains more than 2 billion barrels of medium and light crude […] January 21, 2025
Oil & Gas Aramco chief expects extra oil demand of 1.3m bpd Saudi oil giant Aramco’s chief executive Amin Nasser said on Tuesday he sees the oil market as healthy and expects an additional 1.3 million barrels per day of demand this year. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Nasser was responding to a question on the impact of US President Donald Trump’s energy […] January 21, 2025
Opinion Oil & Gas He came in like a wrecking ball but how will oil markets react? Donald Trump's slew of 'emergency' orders will have a huge impact on the region's oil producers January 21, 2025
Energy Kuwait discovers new oil and gas reserves State-run Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has discovered large commercial volumes of hydrocarbons at the Al-Jlaiaa offshore field, and expects more discoveries in the area. The estimated reserves within the 74 sq km area include 800 million medium-density barrels of oil and 600 billion standard cubic feet of associated gas, the state-owned Kuwait News Agency reported. […] January 21, 2025
Energy Trump doubles down on energy and trade on first day in job US President Donald Trump pushed forward with multiple, controversial campaign pledges on the first day of his second term in the White House, including on issues such as energy and trade that are bound to affect Gulf economies. Ascribing stubbornly high inflation to “massive” government overspending and “escalating” energy prices, Trump declared after his inauguration […] January 21, 2025
Analysis Oil & Gas Exit of Libya’s oil chief is a sign change must come, say analysts The embattled chairman of the Libyan National Oil Corporation resigned last week after less than three years in post. Farhat Bengdara’s departure was for health reasons, LNOC said, but industry insiders believe it indicates the time has come for structural change and redistribution of oil revenues in Libya. Bengdara had several disagreements with Abdul Hamid […] January 20, 2025
Oil & Gas ‘It’s costing huge sums’ – Iraq may stop buying Iranian gas Iraq may stop importing natural gas from its neighbour Iran when projects to develop the country’s unexploited gas resources are complete, the country’s oil minister has hinted. Hayan Abdel Ghani told the official Iraqi news agency that the bill for Iranian gas imports was sapping Iraq’s coffers, and the Iranian supplies were no longer secure, […] January 20, 2025
Economy IMF cuts Saudi growth forecast on lower oil production The International Monetary Fund has cut its projection for Saudi Arabia’s economic growth this year following the extension of Opec+ production cuts. The IMF now expects Saudi GDP to increase by 3.3 percent in 2025, down from the 4.6 percent it forecast last October. The 2024 growth estimate has been revised to 1.4 percent in […] January 20, 2025
Oil & Gas Libya needs $4bn to increase oil output says minister Libya needs between $3 billion and $4 billion to reach an oil production rate of 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), the acting oil and gas minister Khalifa Abdulsadek has said. A new license bidding round is expected to be approved by the cabinet before the end of January, he told Reuters. Abdulsadek said the Libyan economy heavily relies on oil, accounting for more than 95 percent of […] January 20, 2025
Economy Opec oil cuts add to economy decline in Kuwait The economy of Kuwait shrank by about 4 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2024 because of Opec oil production cuts and under-performance in parts of the non-oil sector. However, the economy is expected to rebound through 2025, a report by the Kuwait Statistical Bureau said. Lower production caused the oil sector […] January 17, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq and Halliburton near deal to up oilfield output by 500% Iraq is close to finalising a development deal with Halliburton, a US oil services provider, to expand the capacity of its Nahr Bin Omar oilfield by 500 percent, a news report said. The oil ministry and Halliburton are expected to sign a confidentiality agreement in the coming days, Bassem Abdul Karim, director general of state-owned […] January 17, 2025
Oil & Gas Kuwait to spend $30bn to increase oil output by 40% Kuwait is planning to expand its oil production capacity by up to 40 percent, despite a bearish outlook for global demand and years of stagnant growth. Khaled Al Sabah, managing director at the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and CEO of Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, told an energy conference last week that the Gulf state plans […] January 16, 2025
Oil & Gas Adia to help fund $1bn Malaysian oil and gas firm Abu Dhabi Investment Company (Adia) is to invest in an oil and gas equipment-making unit in Malaysia. Adia is participating in the $1 billion funding round for Yinson Holdings’ equipment-maker alongside Asian investment firm RRJ Capital and British Columbia Investment Management. The funding, expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, will primarily support […] January 15, 2025
Oil & Gas Shell to relocate Madrid gas trading team to Dubai Shell plans to close its Madrid gas trading operations for tax reasons, Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias has reported. Citing unnamed sources, the report said Shell planned to relocate its gas trading staff of 50 people to Dubai, London and Singapore. The staff includes a team handling commercial activities. The Madrid operations were originally part of […] January 15, 2025
Energy Aramco announces $9bn of localisation investment Saudi Aramco has identified 210 localisation opportunities within 12 sectors with an estimated market size of $28 billion. Wail Al Jaafari, Aramco vice president of technical services, revealed the plans on the opening day of the Iktva Forum in Dhahran on Monday. Iktva, which stands for “in-kingdom technical value add”, “is a top priority in […] January 14, 2025
Oil & Gas Oil prices remain near four-month highs above $80 Oil prices slipped at market open on Tuesday but remained near four-month highs as Chinese and Indian buyers sought new suppliers in the wake of the Biden administration’s toughest sanctions yet on Russian oil. Brent futures slipped 22 cents, or 0.27 percent, to $80.79 a barrel by 01:22 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 16 cents, or […] January 14, 2025
Oil & Gas Oil may hit $90 on Russia curbs and Iran output cut Brent crude oil prices could rise above $85 a barrel in the short-term if the latest round of US sanctions against Moscow leads to lower Russian oil output, Goldman Sachs said on Sunday. Prices could touch $90 a barrel if the decline in Russian output coincides with a reduction in Iranian production, the bank said. US president Joe Biden imposed the broadest package of sanctions so […] January 13, 2025
Energy Iraq breaks ground on first facility to stop gas flaring A consortium comprising state-owned QatarEnergy has begun constructing the first processing facility for the associated gas from the Ratawi field in Iraq’s Basra region. The facility, part of the gas growth integrated Project (GGIP), will be developed at an investment of $250 million and will process 50 million cubic feet per day (cfd) of gas […] January 12, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq proposes moving one of its oldest oil refineries Iraq is considering dismantling one of its oldest oil refineries and moving it outside the capital Baghdad for environmental reasons, but it faces parliamentary objections because of the high cost of the removal. A member of parliament’s oil and gas committee said that dismantling and moving Daura refinery to a remote location outside Baghdad could […] January 9, 2025
Economy Oman’s GDP projected to reach $102bn in 2025 Oman’s gross domestic product (GDP) at constant prices is projected to grow to OR39.43 billion ($102.42 billion) in 2025, up from the anticipated OR38.39 billion in 2024, according to a media report. The Sultanate recorded a GDP increase of 1.9 percent to OR28.15 billion by the end of the third quarter of 2024, compared to […] January 9, 2025
Infrastructure UAE’s NMDC Energy bags $1.1bn projects in Taiwan NMDC Energy, an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for energy projects, has won a subsea gas pipeline and power project contract from the state-owned Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) valued at $1.14 billion. The wholly-owned energy subsidiary of NMDC Group will design, construct and install marine pipelines extending between Taichung and Tung-Hsiao on Taiwan’s west coast. […] January 9, 2025
Oil & Gas Iran seeks to free 25m barrels of oil stuck in Chinese ports Iran is pushing to free 25 million barrels of the country’s oil that has been stuck for six years in Chinese ports because of sanctions imposed by Donald Trump during his first presidency, sources have said. Trump is expected by analysts to tighten sanctions again on Iranian oil exports tolimit Tehran’s income when he returns […] January 8, 2025
