1. Iraq Breaks From The Past In Fifth Bid Round

    ...ES, 22 September 2017). The addition of revenue sharing is new to this round, although cost recovery terms still differ from the production sharing agreement model prevalent elsewhere in the region. Still, the majors’boycotting of the licensing round – with the exception of Eni’s optimistic bi...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 05
    Published at Fri, 31 Jan 2020
  2. Energean’s Edison Purchase Thrown Off-Track By Algeria Bureaucracy

    ...f Alexandria, are in decline. Substantial investment in new ‘North Abu Qir’ wells in recent years saw a temporary boost. But underlying decline has again taken over. Production of 45,500 boe/d (225mn cfd gas and 5,500 b/d condensate) for 2019 is down from 270mn cfd in 2017 when the new wells ca...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 05
    Published at Fri, 31 Jan 2020
  3. Algeria & Morocco: Uneasy Neighbors

    ...fore GME crosses into Morocco) to the Medgaz jump-off point at Beni Saf (MEES, 22 November 2019). Morocco and Algeria also exchange electricity through three interconnection points. In 2018, Morocco exported 3.9GWh to its neighbor after importing 149.1GWh in 2017. But these numbers pale in co...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 05
    Published at Fri, 31 Jan 2020
  4. Dow Impairs $1.73bn At Sadara, Eyes Debt Rejig

    ...odwill impairment and asset-related charges” of $1.733bn in 4Q19 associated with Sadara. The 3.22mn t/y Sadara petchems project was developed at a cost of $20bn. Sadara started up its central cracker in August 2016 and the last of its finished chemicals units a year later (MEES, 18 August 2017)....

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 05
    Published at Fri, 31 Jan 2020
  5. IMF Highlights Kuwait’s Economic Troubles

    ...ve turned to borrowing in order to fill the budget blackholes, Kuwait’s fractious politics have made this impossible. Unable to get a new debt law through parliament, Kuwait has instead resorted to drawing from its General Reserves Fund since 2017 – a clearly unsustainable strategy. The IMF says th...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 05
    Published at Fri, 31 Jan 2020
  6. Qatar Trade: Surplus Dips In 2019 As LNG Pricing Pressure Augurs Worse To Come

    ...Lower energy prices caused Qatar’s trade surplus to dip in 2019. An increasingly well-supplied LNG market points towards a further slide in 2020. Qatar’s economy has proven resilient ever since the onset of the regional blockade in June 2017 (MEES, 9 June 2017) as its hydrocarbon-driven ex...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 05
    Published at Fri, 31 Jan 2020
  7. Saudi City Of The Future Signs Up For Solar Desal

    ...Arguably the most ambitious, and certainly the most headline grabbing, element of Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s plans to shakeup Saudi Arabia’s economy is Neom. The futuristic “robot city” on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast comes with a $500bn price tag and was first announced in 2017 (MEES, 27 Oc...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 05
    Published at Fri, 31 Jan 2020
  8. SEC: Sales Down, Profits Down

    ...2016 (MEES, 8 January 2016). The utility’s net profits peaked at SR6.91bn ($1.84bn) in 2017, but have since fallen due to changing consumer behavior (see chart). SEC NET PROFITS ($BN)  ...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 05
    Published at Fri, 31 Jan 2020
  9. Saudi PIF Eyes Premier League

    ...gnate Mike Ashley. The UAE’s Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed al Nahyan failed last year in a bid to purchase the club from Mr Ashley, who put the club up for sale in 2017 (MEES, 31 May 2019). Riyadh has been accused of trying to ‘sportswash’ its human rights record. In December Riyadh hosted the heavyweight bo...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 05
    Published at Fri, 31 Jan 2020