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Oil & Gas

Oil and gas news from the Middle East and beyond. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

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Bernard Looney, former CEO of BP, will join the board of Adnoc’s XRG

Former BP boss named on Adnoc’s investment board

Bernard Looney, the former CEO of BP, is among the board members of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s new lower carbon energy and chemicals investment company, XRG. Formed by Adnoc last month, XRG aims to more than double its $80 billion asset value over the next decade by capitalising on the demand for low-carbon energy […]

Opec on Wednesday also cut its global oil demand growth forecast for the fifth consecutive month

IEA and Opec agree on one thing: 2024 demand was down

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) traditionally diverge strongly in their forecasts for the oil markets.  While this is still the case – the IEA’s 2024 forecast for oil demand growth is about half that of its oil producing rival – the duo’s latest monthly reports […]

Chevron CEO Michael Wirth at the Gastech conference earlier this year. Wirth says the energy transition may take longer than originally hoped

Conflict hampering Mediterranean operations, says Chevron CEO

US energy major Chevron has struggled to keep natural gas production online in the Eastern Mediterranean during the conflict in the Middle East, according to its chairman and chief executive Mike Wirth. Chevron is the largest producer of natural gas for Israel, in particular through two “large” offshore platforms, Tamar and Leviathan, that also supply […]

Qatar is the world’s largest LNG supplier and plans to expand output from 77 mtpa to 126 mtpa by 2027

$500bn QIA to go ‘aggressive’ and close big deals says CEO

The $500-billion Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will be investing more “aggressively” and closing more “big-ticket” deals, according to a news report. Mohammed Al-Sowaidi, the fund’s new chief executive officer, told the Financial Times that QIA will invest with “more frequency” and undertake a review of its investment strategy. The fund remains bullish on the US, […]

Workers on a rig in the Natuna field. Kuwait is investigating further developments in Indonesia

Kuwait’s state oil company to expand in Indonesia

State-owned Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company plans to expand its operations in Indonesia, according to the company’s senior executive. Kufpec is a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, tasked with exploring and extracting oil and gas outside Kuwait’s borders. It is active in nine countries across Australasia, Africa, North America and Europe. In Indonesia Kufpec already […]

People, Person, Adult

Kuwait faces recession but will recover over medium term

The Kuwaiti economy is expected to remain in recession through 2024, but is projected to recover over the medium term, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. Real GDP will shrink by 2.8 percent in 2024, primarily due to additional Opec+ production cuts. However, economic activity will rebound in 2025, with a projected growth of 2.6 […]

Qatar's energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi said oil and gas projects were planned over decades and 'survive governments'

Qatar says Trump’s LNG export plan poses ‘no threat’

Qatar’s energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi believes that US president-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to remove the cap on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will not be a concern for the Gulf nation. Qatar will be able to cope with any competition, Reuters reported, citing Kaabi’s speech at the Doha Forum. However, all LNG projects are driven […]

An oil refinery in Wuhan, China. The sluggishness of the country's economy is a major factor in stagnating oil demand

Fear of oil-price collapse lurks behind Opec+ cuts decision

An Opec+ decision to delay raising oil output for another three months and extend the gradual phase-out of production cuts to the end of 2026 could crimp Saudi hopes for a major GDP boost – but shows how fearful oil states are of a price collapse.  Cuts were scheduled to begin unwinding from October 2024 […]

Petronas LNG CEO Ezran Mahadzir and Adnoc EVP Fatema Al Nuaimi sign the long-term LNG supply agreement

Adnoc Gas strikes LNG supply deal with Petronas

State-backed energy major Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has signed the second sales and purchase agreement for its Ruwais liquified natural gas (LNG) project at Al Ruwais Industrial City. The 15-year contract was signed with Malaysia’s Petronas to supply one million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG. Deliveries are expected to start in 2028 […]

The oil market could now shift focus to the actions of US President-elect Donald Trump

Opec+ delays oil output hike until April

Opec+ on Thursday pushed back the start of oil output rises by three months until April and extended the full unwinding of cuts by a year until the end of 2026 due to weak demand and booming production outside the group. Cuts had been scheduled to begin unwinding from October 2024 but a slowdown in […]

OQBI has offloaded 49% of its shares, with 40% going to retail investors

Oman’s OQBI poised to make Muscat bourse debut

Oman’s OQ Base Industries will debut on Muscat’s bourse on December 15 after the state oil company subsidiary completed a $489 million initial public offering. OQBI, the third OQ unit to float since March 2023, has offloaded 49 percent of its shares. Of the shares sold, 30 percent went to institutions, 40 percent to retail […]

The new facilities will boost Adnoc Gas’s processing capacity by 20 percent, or 1.8 billion standard cubic feet per day

Adnoc Gas awards contract for processing project

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) subsidiary Adnoc Gas has awarded an engineering and design contract for its new gas processing facilities at Bab Gas Cap (BGC) to Australia’s Worley Engineering. Part of the UAE’s gas self-sufficiency drive, the new facilities will increase Adnoc Gas’s current processing capacity by 20 percent or 1.8 billion standard […]

French president Emmanuel Macron and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, attend the signing of the SAF agreement

Saudi and French companies link up for green projects

Saudi Arabia and France have signed commercial agreements to push the development of renewables and green fuel production in the kingdom. The agreements were signed at the Saudi-French Investment Forum, attended by French president Emmanuel Macron in Riyadh. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and France’s […]

QatarEnergy's LNG deliveries to China will commence in January 2025

QatarEnergy to supply LNG to China from next year

​QatarEnergy has signed a long-term agreement with Singapore-based Shell to supply three million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China. The LNG deliveries will commence in January 2025. No financial details were given. The agreement underscores the continued growth of China’s LNG market, which is expected to become the largest globally. […]

Covestro board recommended that shareholders accept Adnoc's takeover offer on November 7

Adnoc’s XRG to take over Germany’s Covestro

XRG, the low-carbon and chemicals investment company founded by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), is to become a major shareholder of German chemicals producer Covestro. The $16.3 billion takeover offer from Adnoc International Germany Holding, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of XRG, has exceeded the minimum acceptance threshold, reaching 69.94 percent as of November […]

A view of the Dubai Mall. GDP growth of the UAE is projected to accelerate to 4.1% in 2025 and 2026, supported by the recovery in oil production

GCC growth to surge to 4.2% in 2025-26 says World Bank

Economic growth in the GCC region is forecast to accelerate to 4.2 percent in 2025-26, but will remain subdued at 1.6 percent in 2024, as the Omani and Kuwaiti economies contract, the World Bank has said. Growth is being driven by the non-oil sector, which has shown robust growth of 3.7 percent thanks to the […]

Workers on an oil rig in New Mexico, US. The incoming Trump administration is giving Opec+ plenty to think about

Opec+ likely to adopt a wait-and-see strategy for 2025

Opec+ leaders have much to consider ahead of their meeting next week – little of it positive for flagging oil prices.  First, there is the prospect of a second presidential term for Donald Trump as leader of the world’s largest oil producer and exporter; second, an economic downturn in China that shows no sign of […]

The Omani government is undertaking an extensive part-privatisation programme to raise money and diversify the country’s stock market

Strong institutional demand for latest Omani IPO

OQ Base Industries (OQBI) has attracted strong institutional interest in its $490 million initial public offering (IPO), the Omani business’s parent company said on Thursday. OQBI, which produces methanol, ammonia and liquefied petroleum gas, will be the third subsidiary of Omani state oil company OQ to float and join Muscat’s bourse. The Omani government is […]