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UAE plans to capitalise on logistical, financial and diplomatic support to anti-Qadhafi rebels throughout 2011 are focused on the advancement of a major refinery joint venture. But the terms of the deal have been criticised and its economics are bad for Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC).

UK talks to Saudi Arabia and Oman; France looks to UAE

Gulf states may want to take note of a January report by Barclays Capital suggesting an “unhealthy correlation” between the construction of skyscrapers and subsequent financial crashes.

CROWN PRINCE: Wedding

Saudi Arabia has been keen to stress that it will make up for any shortfall in world oil markets. While he did not directly mention Iran, oil minister Ali Al Naimi told a London conference on 30 January that “any future shortages will be handled”.

Voter turnout in September for the election of half the purely consultative FNC was disappointing and it seems new members are not always consulted on policy. There has been heated debate this year after the government failed to consult the FNC before approving the 2012 budget.

Abu Dhabi has finished its spending review, and announced a number of weighty projects to benefit Emiratis – which, as GSN reported last week, is no surprise for a government anxious to keep its nationals on side, given the example learnt from watching the impact of disenfranchised populations through the region (GSN 915/5

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has said the emirate’s onshore oil concessions will be put to tender when they come up for renewal in 2014, opening the door for Asian firms to boost their presence and casting doubt over the future contracts of the emirate’s long-term partners.

On 22 December, the official state news agency WAM released the following names of six men, naturalised between 1973 and 1986, whose citizenship it was revoking: Hussein Munif Abdullah Hassan Al Jabri, Hassan Munif Abdullah Hassan Al Jabri, Ibrahim Hassan Ali Hassan Al Marzouqi, Shaheen Abdullah Malallah Haider Al Hosani, Ali Hussein Ahmed Ali Al Hammadi and Mohammed Abdul Raziq Mohammed Al Sidiq Al Abeidli.

The ‘jewel in the crown’ of the emirate’s development projects will not be delivered on time, causing observers to wonder if security – as well as economic – concerns could also be at play

On 30 December 2011, the US Defence Department announced that the UAE would be allowed to purchase Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile interceptor systems

Abu Dhabi has agreed a framework for the short- and medium-term planning for technical co-operation between the UAE and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson said the concession structure for foreign partners on Abu Dhabi’s main onshore oilfields needs to be altered when the current agreement expires in 2014.

Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has met Russian foreign minister Sergie Lavrov, who was visiting the UAE to take part in the first Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC)-Russia ministerial meeting for strategic dialogue

As the UAE builds defence capabilities and US backing helps the region stand up to the Iranian threat, the possibility of an Emirati gambit in the Abu Musa and Tunb islands seems more credible