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On 21 June, the price of a barrel of Brent, Europe’s benchmark crude, dipped below $90 for the first time since December 2010. It fell on the back of poor economic signals from both the US and China, leading to speculation that Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states might consider cutting back on the huge spending programmes deployed to maintain political stability. By 15 July, however, Brent contracts were trading at around $100/bbl, pushed up by geopolitical tensions and the prospect of monetary easing programmes in the world’s two biggest economies. And even if prices were to fall again, the Gulf states seem relatively well insulated.

In its first visit to the syndicated credit markets, National Oil and Gas Authority’s Nogaholding business development arm has signed a five-year, $570m Murabaha facility to support the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) refinery’s modernisation, a planned liquefied natural gas import terminal and a natural gas liquids plant being developed by Bahrain National Gas Expansion Company (Banagas).

In a new report, the US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) has identified seven major ‘chokepoints’ for the worldwide maritime transit of oil, which accounted for about 61% of global petroleum and other liquids movements in 2015 (when total world supply was about 96.7m b/d). Among them, the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf is named as the most important strategic chokepoint by volume of oil transit, with 18.5m b/d of crude and petroleum liquids transiting through the area in 2016.

Qatar Airways (QA) has acquired a 9.99% stake in International Airlines Group (IAG), the owner of British Airways (BA) and Spanish flag carrier Iberia, QA said on 30 January. The deal, worth about $1.7bn, represents a push westward for the Qatari airline, which is now the largest shareholder of IAG. In a statement, QA said that it “may consider increasing its stake further over time”, although it had no plans to do so at the moment. Non-European Union (EU) shareholders are only allowed to own up to 49% of EU airlines.

Qatar Petroleum (QP) and ExxonMobil have agreed to invest around $10bn to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Texas, where an affiliated import facility has been sitting idle, and plan to send up to 15.6m tons of LNG to Britain.In a statement on 9 May, Golden Pass Products LLC – which is headquartered in Houston and was formed by affiliates of QP and Exxon – said the two companies had signed a commercial framework agreement for the proposed liquefaction projects at the Golden Pass LNG terminal in Sabine Pass, Texas.

Qatar Petroleum has awarded contracts for eight offshore jackup drilling rigs to support the planned expansion of output at the North Field. The rigs will be used to carry out a programme of drilling 80 new wells, with activity due to start in January 2020.

Kuwait Airways staff staged a sit-in outside the company’s headquarters in Dajeej on 9 January, in protest at alleged plans to cut staff numbers and benefits. Among those present was MP Mohammed Al-Khodair and former employee Ahmed Al-Randi, who told the Kuwait Times that some retired members of staff had been deprived of rights such as annual free tickets.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has given Riyadh the green light to proceed with plans to develop nuclear power, following a 12-day visit to the kingdom by IAEA officials. Following the trip, IAEA Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section technical lead Jose Bastos said “Saudi Arabia is well placed to finalise its plans for construction of its first nuclear power plant.”

Questions are being asked about why the Aden Container Terminal (ACT) has been left behind while Adenites watch the development of nearby ports such as Djibouti and Oman’s Salalah facility.

As sanctions bite, it becomes ever harder to develop energy projects, but western withdrawal opens opportunities for Tehran’s traditional partners as well as domestic companies with shadowy backgrounds

Alubaf Arab International Bank is facing a multi-million dollar pay-out, after losing a case at the High Court in London involving an aircraft financing deal with Bahamas-incorporated Novus Aviation Ltd.The case dates back to March 2013, when Bahrain-based Alubaf contacted Novus saying it was interested in aircraft acquisition and financing deals. After discussing a couple of possible transactions, Alubaf – which is majority owned by Libyan Foreign Bank (LBF) – agreed to join a deal for an Airbus A330-300 to be delivered to Malaysian Airlines in July 2013.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s publication of production-sharing contracts (PSCs) and relevant amendments for all 42 of its licence areas is an important challenge to its critics in Baghdad. The federal Ministry of Oil had previously criticised the Kurdish Natural Resources Ministry for only revealing the terms of a few contracts.

The merger of Norway’s DNO International and Ras Al-Khaimah’s RAK Petroleum (RAK-P) remains on course despite a pair of shareholder rebellions apparently motivated by commercial and personal interests.

The 10 January announcement by Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) that the third-party assignment options held by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the Shaikan and Akri-Bijeel blocks “remain valid and exercisable” clears up a significant doubt over the production-sharing contracts (PSCs).

Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP), one of Iraqi Kurdistan’s leading independent oil and gas companies, has not been having the smoothest of rides. After winning a well-publicised legal battle with Excalibur in December 2013, things appeared to be on the up. But, in early March, the release of a third-party audit on the company’s interests in the Kurdish region showed estimated reserves in the Shaikan Block at just 9.38bn bbls, significantly lower than earlier estimates of 13.7bn bbls. London-listed GKP shares tumbled following the news, and have continued to fall since, ending March at 86.25p, having touched 188.5p in January.