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Lured by a combination of extraordinary prospectivity and attractive fiscal terms, international oil companies (IOCs) are more and more prepared to discount the political risks of signing production-sharing contracts (PSCs) with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), even though those risks are increasing exponentially with the growing acrimony between Erbil and Baghdad.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to override all other issues in Kuwait. While the initial response to the pandemic was exemplary, the implementation of a full curfew on 10 May is causing some to question whether the country can really deal with the coronavirus effectively. The number of new officially confirmed cases has been averaging 900-1,000 a day recently. The total reached 17,568 by 20 May, with 124 deaths.

Some firming of oil prices was to be expected, given the Saudi-led coalition’s assault on Yemen and surging violence in Iraq and Libya – especially as markets are not projecting a major surge in short- or even medium-term Iranian output following the framework nuclear deal signed in Lausanne on 2 April. But market fundamentals suggest the oil price will remain soft into H2 2015, with little sign of a major shift in Saudi thinking ahead of the scheduled 5 June Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ministerial meeting in Vienna.

A year on from the Al-Ula agreement that ended the boycott of Qatar by three of its Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) neighbours – Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – Qatar is enjoying a fresh period of political calm. Indeed, in many ways it now looks to be in a better place than most of its erstwhile foes in the GCC.

Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) announced a reshuffle of the federal cabinet on 25 September, alongside what he termed “a new government strategic approach that will lay the foundations of work for the next 50 years”.

There are many reasons for environmentalists to be suspicions about the UAE's stewardship of the upcoming UN Climate Conference COP28, but it could prove a historic mistake for the mostly western critics to underestimate the summit's president-designate Sultan Al-Jaber. While detractors fear the event is morphing into a vehicle for hydrocarbons industry lobbying, the UAE claims it is serious about renewable energy and is recruiting a potentially powerful southern alliance to its side.