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Mozambique's former finance minister Manuel Chang has been extradited to the United States in a grand corruption case in which UAE-based firms feature heavily.

Revised July 2023, this map illustrates Kuwait's oil and gas infrastructure.  The locations of onshore and offshore oil and gas fields and pipelines are marked alongside associated infrastructure including oil refineries, gas processing plants, tanker terminals and LNG facilities. An accompanying box displays 2018 governorate populations alongside their governors. The map is available as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

Hydrogen economy plays: Underlining Oman’s determination to be a first mover in the predicted new global hydrogen economy – an apparent cornerstone of Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said’s more progressive economic policy – energy and minerals minister Salim Al-Aufi signed agreements for two green hydrogen (GH2) projects on 21 June.

Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) said it had received four bids to develop the 1,500MW Al-Ajban solar PV plant as an independent power project (IPP). It is Ewec’s third major PV project in Abu Dhabi and will bring the state-owned Abu Dhabi Power Corporation subsidiary's total solar capacity to around 4GW.

Audit chief resigns: State Audit Bureau (SAB) president Faisal Al-Shaye resigned on 6 July, citing political interference in his work. A number of members of the recently elected National Assembly including Hamad Al-Mudlej had called on Al-Shaye to resign or be sacked over unspecified violations and mismanagement.

Kuwait's finance minister Manaf Al-Hajeri resigned on 11 July, less than a month after his appointment to Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Sabah’s cabinet, reportedly in protest at the decision to move responsibility for the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) over to minister of state for economic affairs and investment Saad Al-Barrak, who also serves as oil minister.

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.

The UAE’s hosting of the COP28 climate summit in November comes just as Gulf companies and investors are playing an ever-bigger role in electricity supply industries across Africa. Among the most prominent players, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power has been an early mover and Abu Dhabi-backed Infinity Power is now developing gigawatts of new capacity.

A private jet usually associated with former Russian president and now National Security Council deputy chairman Dmitri Medvedev made an unexplained visit to Muscat in the wake of the 23-24 June abortive Wagner Group coup.

Saudi-UAE rivalry may soon take on a new sporting dimension, with speculation the two leading men’s professional cycling teams could be backed by the Gulf countries from next season.

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.

Issue 1,173 opens with analysis on tensions between Iran and its Gulf neighbours following the offshore Arash/Al-Dorra gas field’s planned development in disputed waters, Iraq’s overdue payments for gas exports and the seizure of oil tankers in international waters.  GSN’s Politics section also looks into the UAE’s relations with Africa and Russia, after several dozen flights between a military air base in Abu Dhabi and eastern Chad have revived speculation about ties between the Emirates, the Putin regime and the Wagner Group.  Meanwhile Saudi Arabia is creating new facts-on-the-ground in Yemen, while it seeks to get a peace agreement with Houthis. These moves may clash with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council.  The influence of Gulf companies on African energy industries is explored in GSN's Energy and industry section, which also reports on how independent power projects closer to home are attracting leading international developers.  this issue’s Risk Management Reports centre on Kuwait – with an accompanying map – and Oman. GSN View analyses QatarEnergy's announcement of a ten-year deal to supply condensate to Dubai's Emirates National Oil Company.

The UAE and some other GCC governments have proved enthusiastic friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime, running counter to western allies' efforts to isolate the Kremlin. Adding to suspicions that deep ties may go well beyond diverse energy and business relations, several dozen flights by cargo aircraft between a military air base in Abu Dhabi and a remote air strip in eastern Chad have provoked considerable speculation about UAE relations with Moscow and its proxies.

Saudi Arabia is dedicating more attention to southern Yemen, even as it continues efforts to secure a peace agreement with the Houthis in the north. A key aim for Riyadh is ensuring Yemen remains unified. However, this strategy means Saudi allies continue to clash with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is pushing for independence.

Albania's patience with the exiled Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) appears to be wearing thin, following a recent raid on a camp near Tirana.