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The United Nations launched the operation to recover some 1m barrels of oil from the stricken FSO Safer tanker off the coast of Yemen, but it says it is still some $29m short of its funding target to complete the operation.

Saudi Aramco appointed Nasir Al-Naimi as president of its upstream business and Mohammed Al-Qahtani as president of its downstream activities, in a shake-up. Both men will report to group president and chief executive Amin Nasser once they assume their newly-created positions on 1 July.

Iraq has extended a contract to import Iranian gas by a further five years, following talks in Baghdad between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani and visiting Iranian oil minister Javad Owji in May.

Algerian foreign affairs and national community abroad minister Ahmed Attaf arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah on 15 May for bilateral talks and preparations for the planned League of Arab States summit, to be held on 19 May.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said on 2 May that it would develop its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Al-Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi, as the site offered “significant synergies” with its existing operations.

Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (Nedaja) forces took control of the Marshall Islands-registered tanker Advantage Sweet in the Gulf of Oman late April, while it was sailing from Kuwait to Houston, Texas.

While most Gulf energy giants are focused on domestic production, QatarEnergy continues to pursue a distinctive strategy, acquiring large minority stakes in acreage around the world, where it often works alongside TotalEnergies, Eni and Shell.

Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec) has completed the sale of its 10% working interest in two production licences (PLs) in Norway to Lime Petroleum.  It said it had achieved record profits from its Norwegian assets in 2022, describing the sale as one of its most successful divestments.

Government of Iraq in Baghdad and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil reached a new agreement on control of Kurdish oil exports on 1 April, days after the crude pipeline to Turkey was shuttered in response to an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration ruling. However, many questions remain over both sides’ longer-term approach, as well as the attitude of Turkey and international oil companies to the new arrangements.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has partnered with British major BP in a bid to buy 50% of Israel’s NewMed Energy, the largest shareholder in the Leviathan gas field offshore Israel. The deal was presented by the partners as a first step in a potentially broader eastern Mediterranean play.

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.

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.