Oil & Gas Kuwait to reverse decline of world’s second largest oilfield Kuwait has launched a project to reverse a decline in production at its giant Burgan oilfield nearly 80 years after it was brought on stream, according to the local Alseyassah newspaper. Almost the same size as the island of Bahrain, the 780 square km Burgan contains around 70 billion barrels of extractable crude oil, equivalent […] April 8, 2025
Defence Oman spends a quarter of its budget on defence Defence spending ate up just over a quarter of Oman’s budget in 2024, according to a government report. Allocations for defence and security stood at OR2.5 billion ($6.5 billion) for the first 10 months of last year, said the country’s latest Monthly Statistical Bulletin. This was nearly 26 percent of the sultanate’s total expenditure in […] April 8, 2025
Industry GCC aluminium producers will not react ‘hastily’ to US tariffs Gulf Arab aluminum producers will “not react hastily” to new US customs duties and seek new markets for its products, Saudi Arabia’s Aleqtisadia reported, citing a Gulf industry body. Aluminum smelters in the six GCC countries only export about 10 percent of their output to the US market, said Mahmoud Al-Daylami, secretary general of the […] April 7, 2025
Telecoms Egypt to disable imported phones unless users pay tax Owners of imported mobile phones in Egypt will have their devices disabled next week unless they pay tax as part of a drive by Cairo to protect international phone producers operating in Egypt. When the most populous Arab nation invited South Korea’s Samsung and other major smartphone manufacturers to produce their devices in Egypt four […] April 4, 2025
Banking & Finance Lebanese central bank chief tells banks to merge Lebanon’s new central bank governor pledged to depositors on Friday they would recover their money and told local banks to increase their capital through mergers. Karim Souaid said during a ceremony as he took office that small depositors would be given priority in obtaining their funds and that the central bank and the government would […] April 4, 2025
Banking & Finance Kuwait money reforms force exchange shops to close doors Tougher anti-money laundering rules in Kuwait have forced more than 100 exchange companies to close, according to local reports. The Central Bank of Kuwait’s new rules, which took effect on April 1, include closer scrutiny and an increase in minimum capital to KWD2 million ($6.6 million). On Tuesday Khalifa Al Ajeel, Kuwait’s commerce and industry […] April 4, 2025
Oil & Gas Oman’s oil sector received $12bn investment in 2024 Oman says nearly RO5 billion ($12 billion) was pumped into its hydrocarbon sector last year as it pushed ahead with plans to expand production capacity and boost reserves. By the end of 2024, cumulative investment in the sultanate’s hydrocarbon industry totalled around RO24 billion ($62 billion), up from RO19 ($50 billion) at the end of […] April 1, 2025
Economy UK largest source of FDI in Oman, led by oil and gas Companies from the UK were once again the biggest source of foreign direct investment to Oman last year, with FDI focused primarily on oil and gas, Oman government data show. UK companies pumped nearly OR2.85 billion ($7.4 billion) into the sultanate last year, making them accountable for more than half the cumulative stock of FDI, […] March 28, 2025
Trade Oman’s exports rise after Duqm refinery comes online Oman’s exports grew last year as a result of a sharp increase in oil refining production after the Duqm Refinery became operational, official figures show. Export of refined products almost trebled last year after the start-up of the $9 billion Duqm Refinery, a joint venture between the Omani government-owned OQ and Kuwait Petroleum International, a […] March 26, 2025
Economy Egypt’s deficit stretched by high imports and regional tension Egypt’s current account deficit more than doubled in the first quarter of the current fiscal year and the gap is expected to widen further, a Kuwaiti bank says. Key factors for the massive deficit include a surge in imports and lower Suez Canal revenues due to regional tensions, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said in […] March 26, 2025
Economy Kuwait endorses 2025-26 budget with bigger deficit Kuwait has endorsed its budget for the next fiscal year 2025-26 with a higher deficit because of lower expected oil income. An emiri decree published in the official gazette set allocations for ministries and other government offices for the budget which starts on April 1. Spending was put at KD24.5 billion ($80.8 billion) and the […] March 25, 2025
Renewable Energy Tunisia awards solar power projects to international companies Tunisia has awarded four new solar power projects to international companies for the production of 500 megawatts of electricity as part of a drive to expand the share of renewable energy in its mix. Tunisia’s industry, mines and energy minister Fatima Chiboub signed the deals this week with representatives from Germany’s Qair Group, Norway’s Scatec, […] March 25, 2025
Construction China asked by Kuwait to build housing for foreign labourers Kuwait has asked China to appoint a construction company to build six projects to house 220,000 foreign labourers, after accidents that claimed the lives of overseas workers because of improper conditions. The plan has been on the cards for several years but gained momentum last year after a fire in a labour housing complex in […] March 24, 2025
Industry China’s GWM to build its first car plant in Algeria Great Wall Motor (GWM), one of China’s 10 biggest car manufacturers, plans to build its first factory in Algeria, joining others in the country including Fiat, Peugeot and Kia. GWM will build the car assembly plant as a joint venture with an Algerian partner, Elkhabar newspaper and other Algerian publications reported, without identifying the partner. A […] March 21, 2025
Oil & Gas Lower oil income takes $8bn off Kuwait’s trade surplus A fall in oil export revenues caused by lower output and a drop in prices pushed Kuwait’s trade surplus down by nearly $8.5 billion in 2024, official data shows. The surplus plunged by more than 18 percent year on year to reflect the country’s heavy reliance on crude sales in its national income and commercial […] March 20, 2025
Employment Kuwaitis earn nearly five times as much as expats Kuwaiti nationals earn nearly five times as much as their expatriate colleagues, and more than four in every five Kuwaitis work for the government, data from the Central Statistics Administration has revealed. Of 450,000 working Kuwaitis at the end of September, 375,000, or 83 percent, were in the public sector, with the remainder in the […] March 19, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq approves Kirkuk oilfield development deal with BP Iraq has officially endorsed an agreement with UK energy major BP for the development of four oilfields in the northern Kurdish Kirkuk region. The cabinet gave its final approval to the multi-billion dollar contract at a meeting this week headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani, the official news agency said. BP expects to invest up […] March 19, 2025
Aviation Kuwait Airways rules out profit for at least two years State-owned Kuwait Airways does not expect to turn a profit for at least another two years as it struggles to recover from losses built up during the Covid 19 pandemic, its chairman said. Abdulmohsen Alfagaan told Kuwait’s daily Alseyassah that the airline is looking into what airplanes it needs and its network of destinations, anticipating […] March 18, 2025
Infrastructure Iraq’s long delayed Faw port nears completion Iraq’s long-delayed redevelopment and construction of its Faw port near the Arabian Gulf will be completed this year, the Iraq state news agency reported, paving the way for improved access for goods to Iraq and beyond. South Korea’s Daewoo won a $2.6 billion contract to build five main piers at the port in 2010 and […] March 17, 2025
Economy Economy in Lebanon remains severely depressed, IMF says The Lebanese economy remains severely depressed, its condition exacerbated by a two-month war last year between the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group and Israel, in which infrastructure and homes were destroyed, the International Monetary Fund has said. An IMF team visited the country last week and met the new government led by President Joseph Aoun and […] March 17, 2025
Construction Iraq plans to build one million houses in two years The Iraqi government has set an ambitious target to construct 1 million houses within the next two years to tackle a festering post-war housing crisis, according to an adviser to the prime minister quoted in local media. The government is facing elections in October. The new units would be built within 11 projects and involve […] March 13, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq ramps up LNG import projects after US ends Iran waiver Iraq is ramping up development of an offshore liquefied natural gas terminal and a 40km pipeline, as Baghdad seeks to import more gas following a US decision to end the country’s exemption on purchases from Iran, according to local media. Ali Shaddad, a member of the parliament’s oil and gas committee, said work on the […] March 10, 2025
