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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

People dance on the deck of the Galaxy Leader, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif

Jet fuel most exposed to Red Sea closure, analysts say

Trade analysts warned on Monday that jet fuel is the commodity most exposed to an interruption of trade in the Red Sea, as the world’s main shipping companies said that they would avoid the waterway because of missile and drone attacks.  Several container shipping lines, including CMA CGM of France, MSC of Switzerland and A.P. […]

Executives from Saudi Aramco and Pakistan's GO sign the agreement

Saudi Aramco acquires 40% stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan

Saudi Aramco will acquire a 40 percent equity stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd. (GO), a privately-owned fuels, lubricants and convenience stores operator, as part of its downstream expansion strategy. The acquisition mark’s the Saudi oil major’s entrance into the Pakistani retail fuels market.  Aramco will now be able to secure new outlets for […]

Cop28 Director General Majid Al Suwaidi talks to the media regarding progress on the Cop28 global stocktake

Cop28 denies ‘favouritism’ in fossil fuel wording

The UN climate talks in Dubai stretched past the Tuesday morning deadline set as tensions mounted over a deal that departed from committing to a phase-out of fossil fuels.  The latest draft of the global stocktake sparked fury from climate activists and politicians last night. Majid Al Suwaidi, director-general of Cop28, told a press conference […]

Visitors view Rio Tinto's 34MW solar farm at its Gudai-Darri iron ore plant. Western Australia is home to much of the country's mining, steel and fossil fuels industry

Western Australia looks to Gulf for green deals

The state of Western Australia – the heart of the country’s mining, steel and oil and gas industries – is planning partnerships with Arab nations to develop its renewables sector and curb emissions.  “We’ve got a dual mission,” Reece Whitby, Western Australia’s minister for environment and climate action, told AGBI during Cop28 in Dubai.  “We’ve […]

Weak global growth in 2024 could prompt further Opec+ cuts if the oil market shifts decisively into surplus, said Fitch Ratings

Fitch predicts strong growth for Mena oil producers in 2024

Oil exporting countries in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region will register stronger growth in 2024, supported by the momentum in non-oil real GDP and stabilising oil production following output cuts in 2023, Fitch Ratings said. Brent crude oil is expected to average $80 per barrel with robust oil prices likely to support […]

Al Jaber calls for ‘flexibility’ on fossil fuel phase-out deal

Cop28 president Sultan Al Jaber has urged delegates to set aside their differences to achieve a deal to phase out fossil fuels. “I need you to step up, and I need you to come out of your comfort zones. And I kindly ask you all to be flexible and to truly and genuinely engage in […]

UAE fossil fuels, fossil fuel phase down, fossil fuel phase out

UAE softens on fossil fuel wording, observers say

The UAE, one of the world’s largest oil producers, is considering supporting an unprecedented agreement towards ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels, observers have told AGBI. Some suggest the parties may agree to a phase-out in easier-to-abate sectors such as power generation, where reducing greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved with existing renewable technologies like solar or […]

European Commission's Wopke Hoekstra speaks at the European Union press conference, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky

Europe stands firm on fossil fuel phase-out deal at Cop28

The European Parliament is heading into the final days of negotiation at the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai with a clear mission to see the absolute end of fossil fuels. At a press conference on Friday, European Parliament member Peter Liese told journalists that the delegation is demanding the “tangible phase out of fossil fuels” […]

Farhat Bengdara, right, with Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi after LNOC signed an $8 billion deal with the Italian energy company

Libyan Oil Company commits to cut gas flaring

The Libyan National Oil Company is joining the wider global oil and gas industry in committing to near-zero gas flaring by 2030, as part of wider efforts by the state-owned energy producer to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. LNOC chairman Farhat Bengdara said in an interview with AGBI at the UN Cop28 climate conference in Dubai […]

Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak says Opec+ must 'restrict volatility'

Russia says Opec+ ‘ready’ to hike oil output cuts in 2024

Opec+ members may increase oil production cuts in the first quarter of 2024 to remove “profiteering and restrict volatility”, according to Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak. The decision by Opec+ to lower oil production by 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter of 2024 will help the world to navigate through […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Vladimir Putin to visit UAE and Saudi Arabia this week

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit the UAE and Saudi Arabia this week, Russian news outlet Shot reported on Monday, citing Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov. The reported visit comes after the Opec+ group of oil producers, which includes all three countries, agreed last Thursday to voluntary output cuts totalling about 2.2 million barrels a day […]

Sultan Al Jaber said there had been 'misrepresentation and misinterpretation' of his position

Al Jaber promises Cop28 is focused on ‘the science’

Dr Sultan Al Jaber defended his work as president of Cop28 on Monday, after criticism of remarks he made about climate science. “Everything this presidency has been working on, and continues to work on, is focused and centred around the science,” he told reporters in a press briefing at the UN summit. The Guardian newspaper […]

Delegates at Cop28 in Dubai. Discussions about phasing out or phasing down fossil fuels – and how quickly – are continuing at the climate summit

No transition without fossil fuels, says GCC energy chief 

As Cop28 negotiators tussle over the future of fossil fuels, a senior GCC official has suggested there will be no energy transition without them. Dr Mohammed Al Rashidi, director of energy and economic affairs at the GCC’s general secretariat, told AGBI at the climate summit: “If fossil fuels were gone from tomorrow, everything would shut […]

The Al-Oyeynah Research Station in Saudi Arabia. Gulf nations are taking steps to increase renewables investment

Shift fossil fuel subsidies to renewables, says lobby chief

Ramping up renewables while increasing oil output “sends the wrong signal” and is not the best way to tackle climate change, says the chief executive of Global Renewables Alliance, a policy group representing the clean energy industry.  “Yes, the two can be done in parallel,” Bruce Douglas told AGBI at Cop28 in Dubai. “But we […]