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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. 

Oman offers significant oil storage facilities at sites including Sohar and Ras Markaz, with the latter having the advantage of being outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Recent data give some grounds for optimism that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s bets on stimulating non-oil growth and liberalising society is yielding dividends, but an IMF report and other recent analysis show just how much further the country needs to go to end its dependency on oil and gas revenues.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said it was pushing ahead with the region’s first geothermal power project, following the conclusion of testing at two wells in Abu Dhabi. 

Saudi Aramco underlined the kingdom's deepening relationships with China when the national champion announced the acquisition of a 10% stake in Rongsheng Petrochemical Company.

While the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) suffers from its Turkish pipeline closure, the federal Government of Iraq (GoI) is also in an uncomfortable situation when it comes to energy trade – despite the good news that TotalEnergies and its partner QatarEnergy have finalised their headline $27bn deal to develop a roster of major hydrocarbons and renewables projects.

Securing workable energy, economic and security relations with Turkey has even greater urgency for Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government as the KRG says it can no longer afford to pay its employees’ salaries due to the closure since late March of the vital crude oil export pipeline.

A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-led project to remove the estimated 1.14m barrels of oil from the stricken floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel Safer got under way, with the first crude being transferred to the replacement tanker Yemen, which was recently retitled from its previous name of Nautica.

Commerce spoke louder than diplomacy when the state-owned QatarEnergy announced a ten-year deal to supply condensate to the Dubai government-owned Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc). It represents the first major commercial deal since the two Gulf Co-operation Council partners (or mainly, in recent years, rivals) agreed in June to reopen their respective embassies.

Iran has been flexing its muscles in oil and gas disputes with its Arab neighbours, in what could be an attempt to ensure the recent trend towards rapprochement with regional and international powers happens on its terms. But factional disputes within the Iranian elite may also be playing a role, as rivals in Tehran try to ensure their vested interests aren’t damaged.

Oil exports: Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani held talks with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss oil exports, in a meeting in Ankara on 20 June. In late March, Turkey halted exports via the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline following an arbitration ruling by the Paris-based International Court of Arbitration.

The former chief executive of Syria-focused Gulfsands Petroleum is targeting upstream oil and gas assets in Oman, as well as solar power opportunities. A return to Syria remains off the table for now, but Sajjad told GSN that "if the door opens again, we’ll be knocking".

There are many reasons for environmentalists to be suspicions about the UAE's stewardship of the upcoming UN Climate Conference COP28, but it could prove a historic mistake for the mostly western critics to underestimate the summit's president-designate Sultan Al-Jaber. While detractors fear the event is morphing into a vehicle for hydrocarbons industry lobbying, the UAE claims it is serious about renewable energy and is recruiting a potentially powerful southern alliance to its side.

Saudi energy minister Prince Abdelaziz Bin Salman (ABS) has adopted a more prolix and confrontational tone than was often apparent in the many years he has spent as a rare senior Saudi royal energy official – although the 63-year-old official has long been known for having a sometimes-quirky nature.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its Opec+ allies agreed an agenda for H2 2023 at the cartel's 4 June ministerial meeting in Vienna.