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Energy minister Prince Abdelaziz Bin Salman announced wide-ranging changes on 16 November designed to bolster state utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), improve the transmission network’s reliability and encourage more renewable energy production. Prince Abdelaziz, who is also chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Restructuring the Electricity Sector and of the Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA), said SEC’s net government liabilities – estimated at SR168bn ($45bn) – would be converted into shareholder equity via a sharia-compliant instrument. In addition, fees paid by SEC to the government would be cancelled.

A showcase mega-event has its downsides, even while the climate  talks place the UAE at the centre of the global stage.

Recent gloomy reports on a downturn in Saudi economic growth were underpinned by the announcement that Riyadh was extending its 1m b/d production cut until end-2023. However, the higher prices are not enough to make up for the fall in output. 

Brooge Holdings wholly owns the Fujairah-based Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment Company (BPGIC), which was established in February 2013 by Husam Al-Ameri, an Iraqi, and Hind Mohammed Muktar Ahmed and Odhaid Al-Mansouri, both Emiratis. In 2014 Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, son of President Sheikh Khalifa, became a majority shareholder with 51% of the equity.

Opec+ market discipline has fed into a rise in Brent crude prices to around $90/bbl, which is welcomed in Gulf capitals as an essential element in easing pressure on governments’ huge investment spending. Those higher oil prices are also driven by fears the Gaza war could spread into a much wider regional conflict that Gulf powers have been working to avoid

Aramco started pumping oil from its Manifa field on 10 April, with a view to relaxing output from some of its more mature fields. Production capacity at the field, which lies around 200km north-west of Dammam, is expected to reach 500,000 b/d of Arabian Heavy crude by July 2013, with a goal of 900,000 b/d by 2014. “First-phase production start-up at the Manifa field commenced on April 10, three months ahead of schedule and well under the programme’s approved budget,” Aramco said in a statement. Aramco’s overall capacity will be maintained at pre-Manifa levels, it added.

Allegations about Maan Al-Sanea were first made in the New York Supreme Court in a counter-claim after Ahmed Hamad Al-Gosaibi and Brothers (AHAB) was sued by the UAE-based Mashreq Bank, owned by the Al-Ghurair family, which claimed it was owed

Prince Abdullah Bin Musaid Bin Abdelaziz has succeeded in a court battle to buy businessman Kevin McCabe’s 50% stake in English Premier League club Sheffield United for £5m ($6.2m), in line with a previous legal agreement. Prince Abdullah already owns the other 50%. In a statement he said his “first priority is to secure our position in the top tier for many years to come”. A spokesman said McCabe “sincerely hopes that he is proved wrong in relation to his deep misgivings about the suitability of Prince Abdullah as an appropriate custodian of Sheffield United.”

Sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector have sparked an exodus of western oil companies, but Tehran is turning to one-time allies Russia and China to rescue a faltering

Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) is reportedly evaluating Shuweihat and Taweelah as potential locations for its next independent water and power project. According to

Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) has been rapidly expanding its international investment portfolio for several years, but despite signing a number of co-operation deals and closing many downstream deals, only one concrete upstream project has come to fruition.

Oil minister Bijan Zanganeh is facing sustained criticism from members of the Majlis Majlis-e Shura-ye Eslami (parliament) in the wake of the sharp cut in fuel subsidies in mid-November and the subsequent protests which flared up around the country. Zanganeh faced questions from MPs on 26 November and more than 70 of them have signed an impeachment motion.

National Iranian Oil Company (Nioc) has named the first five local companies which will be allowed to act as partners for international oil companies (IOCs), with more names to be revealed in the future. Nioc deputy head Gholamreza Manouchehri confirmed the list includes PetroIran, Petropars, Mapna Group, Oil Industries Engineering and Construction Group and Industrial Development and Renovation Organisation, according to a report in UK daily The Financial Times. Other names cited by local media, including Jahanpars and Petrogohar, have yet to be confirmed.

UAE-based Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment Company and Sahara Energy Resources DMCC have announced plans to develop a 250,000 b/d refinery in Fujairah. The facility will produce bunker fuel. It is claimed it will be one of the first in the region to comply with new regulations from the International Maritime Organisation which sets a 0.5% cap on the sulphur content in shipping fuel. The IMO2020 rule is due to come into force next year.

Saudi Arabia, a non-nuclear member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1962, has committed to purchasing already enriched fuel on the international market (instead of aiming to master the nuclear fuel cycle), and is a partner in a number of international agreements that support the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Most recently, in 2009, Saudi Arabia signed a Safeguard Agreement with the IAEA, which begins the process of international collaboration to help the kingdom build a civilian nuclear programme. It has not signed the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which gives the IAEA additional inspection authority.