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Qatar's energy minister cautions that persistently low crude prices jeopardise global energy security and the power needs of emerging technologies

Qatar warns low oil price may hurt AI power needs

Crude prices falling below $60 a barrel would have a detrimental effect on global oil sector investment, and on fast-growing, energy intensive industries such as data centres and artificial intelligence, Qatar’s energy minister has said. “If oil prices decline below $60, there is definitely going to be a decline in investments,” Saad Al-Kaabi said at an […]

Operators at a Saudi Aramco facility. Impacted by lower oil revenues, Aramco's first quarter profits suffered a significant drop

Aramco profits down – and worse is to come, say analysts

Saudi Aramco announced a drop in net income for the first three months of the year on Sunday, due to rising oil prices and higher operating costs. With state and state-affiliated institutions dependent on the national oil company dividends to fund numerous Vision 2030 infrastructure projects, the downturn throws Aramco’s investment plans into doubt. Oil […]

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser at the China Development Forum in Beijing in March. The company will release its Q1 results on Sunday

Aramco to post lower profit and may slash dividend

National oil company Saudi Aramco is forecast to post lower first-quarter profit and may cut its 2025 dividend further as oil prices dip below its self-funding breakeven point, analysts have said. The world’s biggest oil company by production is likely to maintain its guidance for capital expenditure, however. Aramco is expected to post at least […]

Goldman Sachs believes that the high spare capacity and high recession possibility skew the risks to oil prices to the downside

Goldman Sachs expects oil at $60 after Opec+ decision

Goldman Sachs reduced its oil price forecast following decisions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Opec+, to accelerate oil output increases, the bank said in a note on Sunday. Goldman now expects Brent crude to average $60 per barrel for the rest of 2025 and $56 per barrel in 2026, […]

An oil worker in Kazakhstan, which has been exceeding its Opec+ quotas

Opec+ triples additional June barrels to deter quota-breaking

Saudi Arabia and seven members of Opec+ will triple the volume of barrels they add to the market in June, as part of the kingdom’s new strategy to squeeze quota-busting members and boost market share, experts said. Saudi Arabia and seven other countries implementing voluntary cuts decided in an online May 3 meeting to add […]

A drilling rig at the Zhetybay field in Kazakhstan. It defied Opec+ this month when its energy minister said he will prioritise national interests over those of Opec+

Opec+ accelerates oil output hikes despite weak demand

Opec+ has agreed to accelerate oil production hikes for a second consecutive month, raising output in June by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd), the group said on Saturday. This is despite falling prices and expectations of weaker demand. Following an online meeting lasting just over an hour, the producer group announced the supply increase, saying […]

Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter. Riyadh has been angered by Kazakhstan and Iraq producing above their Opec+ targets

Saudi Arabia signals it can live with lower oil prices

Saudi Arabian officials are briefing allies and industry experts to say the kingdom is unwilling to prop up the oil market with further supply cuts and can handle a prolonged period of low prices, sources said. This possible shift in Saudi policy could suggest a move toward producing more and expanding its market share. This […]

An LNG tanker docked in Dubai. The region has a 21% share of global natural gas reserves

Rising gas exports to boost Gulf economies, says IMF

Increased natural gas production in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Oman will boost their economic growth in the medium term, the International Monetary Fund has predicted. Qatar, the world’s third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is due to nearly double its annual output to 142 million tonnes by 2030.  Saudi Aramco said in March […]

Opec+ has already agreed to increase oil output by 411,000 barrels per day in May

Opec+ to consider further oil output increase for June

Several Opec+ members are to suggest the group accelerates oil output hikes in June for a second consecutive month, as a dispute worsens between members over compliance with production quotas. Oil prices hit a four-year low in April, dragged down by a US-China trade war and an unexpected decision by Opec+ to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day […]

A Daesh fighter in the Makhoul mountains near Baiji, Iraq. War devastated the nearby fertiliser plant

Iraq revives war-devastated fertiliser plant

Iraq’s industry and minerals minister broke ground on Thursday on a major fertiliser plant in the north of the country which was destroyed by Daesh militants nearly 10 years ago. Khalid al-Najm laid the ground stone for the plant in Baiji city in the northern Saladin Governorate during a ceremony attended by local tribal chiefs, […]

Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra, Iraq. The seven Opec members making the cuts are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Oman

Saudi Arabia and UAE to cut oil output in Opec’s latest plan

Opec has received updated plans for seven countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE to make further oil output cuts to compensate for pumping above agreed quotas, the group said on Wednesday. Opec+, which includes Opec plus Russia and other allies, has implemented a series of output cuts since late 2022. Its compensation plan is […]

Fatih Birol, Executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), attends the plenary session of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, February 11, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

IEA slashes oil demand outlook as trade tensions bite

The International Energy Agency (IEA) slashed its 2025 oil demand growth forecast on Tuesday, citing rising trade tensions and a weakening global economy. The forecast widens the gap with Opec’s more upbeat outlook. The Paris-based watchdog now expects demand to grow by just 730,000 barrels per day in 2025, down from 1 million bpd previously […]

Opec has reduced its oil demand growth prediction for 2025 by 100,000 barrels a day

Opec cuts 2025 oil demand forecast on tariff trade tensions

Opec on Monday lowered its 2025 forecast for global oil demand growth, warning that rising trade tensions and weaker economic activity are likely to weigh on consumption. Opec, the oil exporters’ group of which Saudi Arabia is the largest producer, expects demand to grow by 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, down from […]

A construction site in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is preparing to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup

Oil price raises $1 trillion question for Saudi Arabia

Questions are being raised about the long-term future of Saudi Arabia’s trillion-dollar infrastructure strategy as oil prices hit a four-year low and global stock markets tumble, according to economists. For the world’s second-largest oil producer, much depends on the trajectory of crude prices. The price of Brent crude has fallen by about 13 percent to […]

US energy secretary Chris Wright will tour oil and gas production sites in the Middle East, looking at ways to cut US production costs

US energy secretary heads to Gulf to secure oil flows

US energy secretary Chris Wright is to begin a nearly two-week tour of three Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, marking his first visit as a US official to the de facto leader of the Opec oil producer group, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The trip, which will also include visits to […]

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. Markets around the world have been rocked by Trump's tariffs

Aramco losses mirror wider Saudi stock plunge

The Saudi stock market opened at more than 2 percent lower on Monday to a 17-month low, following its biggest single one-day drop since the 2008 financial crisis. The Tadawul All Share Index (Tasi) tumbled by about 1,025 points or 8.6 percent following US President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of a minimum 10 percent […]

Opec cited 'continuing healthy market fundamentals and the positive market outlook' for an oil output increase

Oil hit as Opec+ agrees to increase production

Eight Opec+ countries unexpectedly agreed on Thursday to advance their plan to phase out oil output cuts by increasing output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May. The decision prompted oil prices to extend earlier sharp losses. Oil, which was already down over 4 percent on US president Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on […]