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Jonathan Gorvett

Jonathan Gorvett is a journalist, writer and analyst who specialises in Middle Eastern affairs and possesses an in-depth knowledge of countries including Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Turkey

Jonathan Gorvett
One solar panel in North Africa generates two to three times the amount of power that one does in Europe

Plans to bring African energy to Europe face big challenges

At least five multi-billion dollar projects to bring up to 24 gigawatts of solar and wind power energy from sunny North Africa to chilly Europe, assisted by Gulf investment money, are currently being planned. But these ambitious schemes to reduce Europe’s reliance on fossil fuels generally, and energy supplies from Russia specifically, all face major […]

The 'Seapeak Hispania' is seen in the background, loaded with 140,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas from Egypt, bound for Sassnitz in Germany

Egypt’s gas industry caught in vicious circle as demand rises

Egypt’s gas industry is caught in a vicious circle. The country uses natural gas to generate almost 80 percent of its electricity, according to the International Energy Agency, and Globalpetrolprices.com says Egyptian households pay less than EGP1 ($0.02) per kilowatt hour. Demand for power and therefore for gas is surging at a time when production […]

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides (right) in a meeting with Egypt's petroleum minister Karim Badawi

Cyprus-Egypt pipeline paves way for island’s gas industry

After years of high hopes and false starts, Cyprus’s natural gas industry might finally be flowing after the island state agreed this week to pipe prospective gas to Egypt, which is likely to be exported to Europe in liquid form. The deal highlights the potential importance of Cypriot gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly after […]

Men look at jewellery in the gold souk, Dubai. An unprecedented amount of gold has been sent from Dubai and other markets to New York in recent days in response to tariffs

Trump’s tariffs inject volatility into metal markets

President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs have increased uncertainty for global metals and minerals markets.  Demand for gold – a traditional safe haven – soared on Tuesday, with the price of international spot gold rising to $2,819.46 an ounce. The precious metal was trading still higher on Wednesday morning at $2,851.21 an ounce. This is despite […]

Jewellery makers will feel the impact of rising silver prices, as will industries including solar photovoltaics and electric vehicles

Tight supply and strong demand pressure silver prices

Gulf investors – and romantics – may have to keep a watchful eye on silver in the months ahead as tight supply and strong demand make their impact on prices. This will not only have consequences for those looking for jewellery, but also for industries ranging from solar photovoltaics (PV) to electric vehicles (EVs), and […]

The minerals and metals sector dipped slightly on Donald Trump's presidential election victory but has remained largely resilient to talk of tariffs

Trump’s bravado fails to spook minerals market – so far

Ordinarily, commodity markets tend to react strongly when leaders of major global economies announce plans for war and conquest. If those plans involve disrupting one of the world’s most important sea lanes and reversing centuries of peace with two major allies, you might even expect a certain panic. Yet, when US President-elect Donald Trump declined […]

A month after floods struck at the end of October, a man walks past damaged cars in Valencia, Spain

Gulf could turn a crisis into opportunity with catastrophe bonds

Torrential rains, flash floods, cars adrift in streets turned into rivers – these are scenes often seen these days, from Malaysia to Valencia. They are also becoming more common in the Gulf. Flooding in April 2024 in the UAE, for example, killed five people and cost $1.8-$2.3 billion in property damage, according to Gallagher Re […]

Parliament Street in Dublin. The Irish capital is now the world’s largest listing venue for hard currency global sukuk

GCC sukuk’s best-kept secret: Dublin

For many people, the city of Guinness and James Joyce may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about Islamic bonds. Yet, according to a report last month from Fitch Ratings, the Dublin stock exchange – Euronext Dublin – is now the world’s largest listing venue for hard currency global sukuk. […]

Global trade deals with Australia and New Zealand could bolster the UAE's global mining presence

How the UAE has made a global mining power grab

Embracing copper from Peru, lithium from Zimbabwe, tantalum from Kenya and bauxite from Pakistan, the UAE’s mining interests nowadays span three continents. Trade deals with Australia and New Zealand agreed in September may also soon see those interests Down Under. Certainly, Australia’s minister for trade and tourism, Don Farell, hopes so. “The negotiated package,” he […]

An offshore wind farm in China. Zinc is vital for anti-corrosion coating in offshore turbines but China has reached a point of oversupply

Saudi Arabia’s zinc project is set for the long term

In the deserts of Saudi Arabia, 170km southwest of Riyadh, the Khnaiguiyah mining project is the kingdom’s largest mineral exploration site. Geologists and miners are looking to extract 25 million tonnes of zinc and copper ore from this opencast prospect over the next 12 years. That would establish Khnaiguiyah as the Gulf’s first world-level zinc mine […]

The Middle East has some of the world's cheapest renewable energy, but fossil fuels still have some advantages during the energy transition

Costs versus profits in the energy transition debate

The Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) last month reported that, once again, if you want cheap electricity, then renewable energy is by far your best bet. After “spectacular” declines in cost in recent years, according to Irena’s 2023 Costs Report, the global weighted average cost of photovoltaic (PV) solar – the most widespread […]

Polysilicon is used for the production of solar panels and the Gulf could complement China in making them in-country with local materials

Gulf spots opening in China’s polysilicon boom-bust cycle

Solar power capacity across the Middle East region trebled from 3 gigawatts to 9GW between 2020 and 2023, according to the trade association Energy Industries Council.  In the Gulf alone, a further 40GW of photovoltaic (PV) solar power are scheduled for installation by 2030, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), an intergovernmental organisation, says.  For […]

rare earth elements

Rare earth elements: a complex issue that’s vital to net zero

Used in everything from car batteries and fridges to iPhones and elevators, rare earth elements are an ever-present – but rarely noticed – part of daily lives.  They are also now central to the global energy transition, and their importance to Gulf states was highlighted this week by a $180 million investment by Qatar. The […]

Families queue at the Spanish port of Algeciras to board a ferry to Morocco

The changing face of Morocco-Spain relations

For decades now, the start of the European school summer holidays has been the time when thousands of Moroccans living in Europe pile into their cars and head south.  This summer is no exception. Around 6 million car-loads of Moroccans resident abroad (MREs) travel back and forth across the Strait of Gibraltar during this annual, […]

Field, Nature, Outdoors In 2023, El Niño arrived early, impacting crops. The Indian government reacted by banning exports of non-basmati white rice

Weather and politics keep pressure on price of rice

The status of rice as a global food staple means that it is also a political minefield for producer nations. So all eyes are on India as rice prices fluctuate at around a 15-year high.  Different varietals and markets command different prices, but trading on “contracts for difference”, which track benchmark prices, saw the cost of […]

A miner inside a tunnel of the Parrilla silver mine, Mexico. Mexico is the world's biggest producer of mined silver.

Silver is riding high but the market remains volatile

With a gain in its spot price of nearly one-third since the start of the year, silver is now 2024’s best-performing precious metal.  It is a major industrial material with an important role in the green energy transition. Yet, while these factors are combining to give silver a moment, analysts are quick to warn of […]

Crypto miners have been drawn to the Gulf for its low electricity costs and comparatively unrestricted land use rules

Crypto miners see ‘enormous potential’ in the Gulf

With cryptocurrencies edging up again after last weekend’s “halving” – in which the rewards Bitcoin miners get for solving problems is cut in two to maintain scarcity – these are heady days for holders of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Bitcoin miners have been attracted to the Gulf by cheap electricity and established infrastructure.   “GCC […]

US company Albemarle controls 20% of the world's lithium market but Gulf companies have their sights set on production too

Lithium’s highs and lows – and what they mean for the Gulf

For one of the world’s most critical minerals, the past two years have been the best of times and the worst of times. First, lithium prices shot skywards, hitting around $80,000 per metric tonne in 2022 amid fears that global supply would not meet demand. Then, in just a year, the soft, silvery-white metal lost […]

Workers at a uranium mine in Kazakhstan, which produces 43 percent of the world's total

Uranium prices rise with demand for nuclear power

Barakah in the UAE, Dabaa in Egypt, Bushehr in Iran and Akkuyu in Turkey. Nuclear energy is now seen by many countries as central to emissions reduction. It is little surprise then that demand for feedstock – mainly uranium – has been spiking. Prices for the mineral, which is critical to the production of nuclear power […]

There are many steps from mining iron ore to a car rolling off the production line but Saudi Arabia plans to cover them all car being made manufacturing car EV electric vehicle

Saudi Arabia joins the dots from minerals to manufacturing

Consider for a moment how many different steps there are between digging a lump of iron ore out of the ground in Mauritania and pressing the starter button on a new electric vehicle (EV) in Riyadh. The ore must be mined, concentrated, combined with other elements, put through a furnace, a casting machine, cold- or […]

Steel production in the Gulf produces less emissions than traditional coal-fired furnaces used in other regions

Gulf steel has a keen edge on Chinese and Indian rivals

While the Gulf is currently a minor player on the global steel-making stage, economic diversification and the energy transition may be about to change all that. As the world seeks to decarbonise, Gulf steel makers have a head start, already producing lower-carbon steel than global sector leaders China and India. The region’s ample supplies of […]