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Five successful bidders have been named for the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources’ fifth mining exploration round; a sixth round is due to be launched later in the year.

Potential deals in Australia and Rwanda would add to a portfolio that already includes stakes in British Airways, Cathay Pacific and China Southern, and is part of a strategy to boost traffic through Doha’s Hamad International Airport.

Prominent go-between: Qatar has emerged as a major player in regional conflicts – making itself very useful to a wide range of partners by acting as an interlocuter between various Islamist movements and western governments in crises from Afghanistan to Gaza.

PTT Exploration and Production has bought its 10% stake in the offshore concession from Germany’s Wintershall Dea, which now plans to close all its operations in the UAE.

The 615,000 b/d Al-Zour refinery has come online more than a decade later than planned, following numerous delays caused by the retendering of contracts, construction issues and parliamentary investigation.

Riyadh has continued to tap a range of sources of finance to support investments in the domestic economy, with Aramco shares worth $11bn being sold and the Public Investment Fund issuing $830m in debt, pushing the PIF’s total debt burden close to $40bn.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s decision to buy a 10% stake in Mozambique’s offshore Area 4 concession from Portugal’s Galp, at a cost of some $1.15bn, further positions the Emirate as a growing investor in African gas.

Dubai has revived plans to turn Al-Maktoum International into the world’s largest airport, pointing to a huge projected upturn in regional carriers’ business in coming decades and the commercial emirate’s determination to counter the challenge posed by regional rivals.

Under Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said and his longstanding predecessor Sultan Qaboos, Oman has carved out a distinctive place in the Gulf. With fewer oil and gas resources than most of its neighbours, the sultanate has followed a more low-key path on the international stage, building up a reputation as an important mediator to reduce tensions between regional and international powers.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is to develop a 2GW offshore wind project in Bahrain and is also part of the winning consortium for a 1.5GW solar power plant in its home market.

A second natural gas discovery within six months has made the UAE company into the ‘sweetheart’ of the Indonesian exploration sector, but there will be challenges in balancing local expectations with Mubadala’s own objectives.

Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan has reportedly struck a multi-billion dollar deal with the under-pressure South Sudanese government, although questions remain about the ultimate source of funds accessed by the Abu Dhabi junior royal who previously raised his profile, in the wake of the Abraham Accords, by taking a stake in controversial Israeli football club Beitar Jerusalem, which soon collapsed.

Governor Prince Turki Bin Talal has launched a regional tourism ‘identity’ for Asir to promote his province, which officials say is slated to receive over $13bn for its development by 2030, the majority of which should come from the Public Investment Fund.

Governments across the region have sought to manage potentially negative impacts of the Gaza conflict, as consumers have latched on to a boycott of US franchises to express their anger over Israel’s actions. While Omanis and Kuwaitis are notably enthusiastic, their Saudi and UAE peers seem less engaged in the protest but, whatever the public response, the boycotts highlight the potential for a dangerous divide to emerge between leaders and their subjects on the emotive Palestinian issue, which most regimes had come largely to ignore until Hamas launched its October attack.

Baghdad and Ankara signed more than 24 agreements and memoranda of understanding during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visit to the Iraqi capital. Defence, water and energy issues were to the fore, but there are still some policy mismatches, not least over attitudes to the Kurdish PKK militia group.