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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.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has signed two critical contracts for its Hail and Ghasha sour gas development, paving the way for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts on the multi-billion-dollar scheme to be lined up, possibly before the end of this year.

Gas production started at the Mabrouk North-East field at Block 10 in Oman, according to operator Shell. The international oil company has a 53.45% working interest in the block. Its partners are state-owned OQ (13.36%) and Marsa Liquefied Natural Gas, a joint venture between OQ and France’s TotalEnergies (33.19%).

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani travelled to Berlin in January for an official visit – his first to Europe since taking office in October. Energy and security issues dominated the agenda, with discussions about potential Iraqi gas supplies to Germany and the ongoing work by Siemens Energy to rehabilitate Iraq’s electricity sector, following a deal with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity in 2019.

Oman's state energy company OQ signed an agreement with Saudi giant Sabic and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) in late December to develop a jointly-owned petrochemicals complex in the special economic zone at Duqm (Sezad).

Accounts of Saudi energy policy are typically laden with caveats, given the inscrutability of decision-making in the kingdom. Saudi industry veteran Ibrahim Al-Muhannah’s new book Oil Leaders, however, offers an intriguing peak behind the curtain into Saudi and Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) oil politics since the late-1980s.

London-headquartered oil and gas company Gulfsands will formally open its new Middle East and North Africa (Mena) office at the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) on 16 January. Managing director John Bell told GSN the move to create Gulfsands Middle East reflected its new strategic focus on Mena markets, having divested other assets including acreage in Colombia.

The UAE government said on 12 January that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) chief executive Sultan Al-Jaber has been appointed president of the 28th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which is scheduled to be held in Dubai on 30 November-12 December.

With a new government in place in Baghdad and a new oil minister in the shape of industry veteran Hayan Abdulghani, Iraq is looking to cement recent progress in its oil and gas sector, building on crude production that rose to average 4.5m b/d output at end-2022.

QatarEnergy signed a 27-year deal with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) to supply of 4m t/yr of liquified natural gas (LNG) to China. The agreement is the first long-term deal from Qatar’s North Field East (NFE) expansion project, which is expected to come online in 2026.

Ajman Crown Prince Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al-Nuaimi attended the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 20 November. Sheikhs from Dubai and Umm Al-Quwain also attended the final race of the 2022 Formula 1 season, as did many Al-Nahyan members, led by President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed.  Earlier in November, Ammar Bin Humaid inaugurated a $19m liquid petroleum gas (LPG) facility, developed in Northern Sector Al-Jurf Industrial Area 3 by Ajman Gas Company.