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The Khafji oil field in the Saudi-Kuwait Partitioned Neutral Zone is to resume production in 2019, five years after Saudi Arabia stopped output, according to Japanese contractor Toyo Engineering. Toyo has agreed to a third renewal of its general engineering services agreement with the Al-Khafji Joint Operations joint venture, which it originally signed in 2002.

MBS at centre stage: Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman remains the centre of attention as autocrat and reformer, a populist who is ruthlessly concentrating power in his hands. His unpopularity among elements of the royal family and Islamist circles in May led to rumours he had been the victim of an assassination attempt or some other health and/or political problems. But MBS came back into public view as May wore on. On 30 May he visited the Kremlin in Moscow. for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. MBS was also guest of honour as Russia kicked off the FIFA World Cup against Saudi Arabia on 14 June.

The assault on Derra by government forces and their allies is expected to drive out the last elements of organised resistance from the southern Syrian city that launched the rebellion to overthrow President Bashar Al-Assad in the heady ‘Arab Spring’ year of 2011. Derra’s recapture will confirm Assad’s mastery of large swaths of his tortured country and the primacy of his key sponsor, President Vladimir Putin, in shaping events in a longstanding Russian ally.

The Financial Action Taskforce’s late-June meeting also decided that Iraq would no longer be subject to FATF monitoring under its global AML/CFT compliance process. This was a result of the “significant progress” made by Baghdad in addressing deficiencies previously identified by the FATF, the Paris-based group said.

Since entering the cabinet as first deputy prime minister and defence minister on 12 December 2016, Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s eldest son has acquired a highly visible profile, publicly engaging with heads of state in the region, while simultaneously unfolding plans to reform the economy. Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah Al-Sabah’s elevation to become the most senior cabinet member after prime minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah has underlined his status as a serious contender for the eventual succession.

Allegations over the hacking of email accounts are circulating around the UAE once again, although this time unrelated to Abu Dhabi’s battle with Qatar, the alleged subject of previous incidents. At the centre of the affair is an Iranian-American businessman who was once heavily involved in business dealings in Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK), and who has a long and colourful history of dealings with US government, defence and commercial entities via his aviation interests.

There is renewed speculation that the UAE’s two main airlines – and flagships for their respective emirates – Emirates and Etihad Airways may merge, after it emerged that the expensively assembled Abu Dhabi-based carrier has been offering its pilots the opportunity to move to Dubai-based Emirates for two years on secondment. Loss-making Etihad is in the midst of a restructuring effort that has seen it abandon its strategy of investments in struggling airlines in Europe and Asia, drop unprofitable routes, scale back its fleet and replace its management team.

The current Fujairah crown prince is the ruler’s eldest son, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad; he is married to Sheikha Latifa, a daughter of Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR). This Fujairah family tree was published in July 2018. Alongside the main graphic there are brief profile notes on the key figures, while a feature article (also published in July 2018) provides background and analyses the central role played in UAE politics by Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and the limits to the autonomy of the less powerful emirates

Saudi Aramco continues efforts to improve the efficiency of its operations ahead of its planned, but slow-moving, stock market listing. On 27 May, it signed an unconventional gas stimulation services contract with US firm Halliburton. This is part of Aramco’s plans to develop unconventional gas resources in the north of the country, South Ghawar and the Rub Al-Khali areas to serve the domestic market and contribute to regional economic development. It will involve major hydraulic fracturing and well intervention operations from Halliburton. Work is due to begin this month.

Ministerial grillings: The government survived its latest brush with the National Assembly, following a marathon grilling session by MPs on 30 April of prime minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, oil, electricity and water minister Bakheer Al-Rashidi and social affairs and labour minister Hind Al-Sabeeh. The questioning was followed by votes of no-confidence in Al-Rashidi and Al-Sabeeh on 10 May which they survived; Sheikh Jaber managed to avoid a vote as MPs had failed to reach the required ten votes to table it.

On 31 May, in a case involving a multi-billion dollar litigation that has been going on for almost a decade, Cayman Islands chief justice Anthony Smellie QC ruled there was a fraudulent conspiracy between the business empires of Maan Al-Sanea (MAS) and Ahmad Hamad Al-Gosaibi & Brothers (AHAB). The Gosaibis – which the once high-flying billionaire MAS had married into – had tried to argue they were victims of fraud by MAS and his Saad Group and were therefore not directly liable for claims made against them by their creditors.

The space for political debate in Gulf countries continues to be tightened, with political opponents targeted with arrests and long prison sentences. Among the most recent incidents, in the UAE, prominent human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor was sentenced in late May by the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court to ten years in jail for insulting the “status and prestige of the UAE and its symbols” via postings on social media.

Serge Dassault, the second-generation French aviation entrepreneur, died on 28 May at his office in Paris, aged 93. A funeral service was held on 1 May at Les Invalides in Paris, where French prime minister Édouard Philippe delivered a eulogy. Dassault served as chairman and chief executive of Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation (known as Dassault Aviation since 1990) from 1986 to 2000, and was honorary chairman thereafter.

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived in Kuwait on 28 May for what was described as a “short brotherly visit”. The Qatari leader was met at the airport by his counterpart Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim, prime minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and other senior figures.

After favouring anonimity in its earlier decades – a tradition followed by many other investigative publications to protect writers from undue official pressure – Gulf States Newsletter has, in recent years, tended to name those of its correspondents who had contributed to a specific issue and wished to be publicly identified with the publication. In other cases, we believed it worth noting the locations of un-named contributors. Some of those writing for GSN were not identified at all.