Search results

A UN-brokered deal to remove some 1m barrels of crude from the FSO Safer should avert an environmental disaster at the dangerously unstable wreck near Yemen's Hodeidah port and also points to increasing scope for deals between the Houthis and other authorities.

Iranian officials have announced a large lithium discovery in Hamedan province, south-west of Tehran. Iran is planning to seek international expertise to develop the reserves and to tap private sector investment, but the search for overseas partners will be complicated by US sanctions on the mining sector.

Somalia has been accused by the Sanaa-based Petroleum Exploration and Production Authority (Pepa) of having an unofficial maritime map that includes offshore blocks that are in Yemeni waters. The dispute adds to an already complex situation for the oil and gas sector, amid the ongoing civil war. Despite that, Sanaa authorities say they are seeking interest from IOCs in offshore blocks.

Leaked Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) documents suggest the region’s crude oil production could reach 580,000 b/d by 2027, compared to about 430,000 b/d in 2022 – but only under the most optimistic scenario where investment is fully optimised.

Updates on Regional and international organisations: Another Kuwaiti GCC secretary-general Regional electricity interconnection Support for Palestinians Arab League intellectual property committee World Bank leadership Updates on Opec and energy markets: Bumper year for revenues Opec+ holds solid Alternatives to the dollar? China and India are key players

A hydrocarbons law in Iraq is in the offing, which could provide a stable revenue-sharing platform for years to come, but big obstacles remain to be resolved, leaving Iraqi Kurds in political and financial limbo, while the Kurdish regional oil industry stutters even as big gas developments are being promoted.

The mountainous province in Saudi Arabia's south-west has been earmarked as a future centre for tourism, notwithstanding the threats posed by attacks from Houthi rebels across the border in Yemen. Asir could be a model for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s post-oil development ambitions, as well as for more short-term efforts to stabilise potentially restless populations.

Following threats to refer firms to the General Authority for Competition, the Public Investment Fund has acquired shareholdings in four major contracting companies, giving PIF chair Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman an equity stake he has long had his eye.

The Saudi Fund for Development has agreed to inject $320m into a joint project to build the infrastructure to support a new special economic zone (SEZ) in Oman’s Al-Dhahirah governorate.

The Iraqi government has said it plans to launch a sixth licensing round in the near future, as it makes a renewed effort to boost domestic production of natural gas and reduce imports which it says are costing the state some ID10trn ($6.9bn) a year.

Oman LNG signed a binding term-sheet agreement with China International United Petroleum and Chemical Company (Unipec) to supply 1m tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year for four years, starting in 2025. Oman LNG also signed a ten-year, 1m/yr deal with Turkey’s Botas Petroleum Pipeline Corporation.

QatarEnergy has bought a 30% stake in two offshore blocks in Lebanon in an agreement with France's TotalEnergies and Italian major Eni.

The Industrialisation and Energy Service Company ("TAQA") announced the closure of its 100% acquisition of Al Mansoori Petroleum Services ("AMPS"), expanding TAQA's Well Solutions business internationally.

Ever more for Aramco trading: Saudi Aramco announced on 18 January that its Aramco Trading Company (ATC) arm had acquired United States-based Motiva Trading and launched a new subsidiary, Aramco Trading Americas (ATA). The latter will be the sole supplier and offtaker for Motiva Enterprises, which owns the 630,000 b/d Port Arthur refinery, the largest refinery in North America. Aramco had taken full control of the refinery in 2017, buying out its partner Royal Dutch Shell.

Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) issued a request for proposals (RFP) in January for a 1.5GW solar photovoltaic independent power project in the Ajban area of Abu Dhabi. It is the third major solar plant by Ewec, following the 1.2GW Noor Abu Dhabi and the 1.58GW Al-Dhafra projects.