Saudi Arabia’s economy is set to grow this year at the slowest pace since 2002 as the oil-price plunge drains the kingdom’s finances, according to projections released by the International Monetary Fund and HSBC.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran later this month.
OPEC will soon make efforts to convene before the next scheduled meeting in June as the slump in oil prices is hurting producers, including the world’s biggest exporter, Saudi Arabia, said Emmanuel Kachikwu, Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum resources.
A leading oil and gas expert said an Initial Public Offering (IPO) by Saudi Aramco could potentially be the largest on record.
Saudi Arabia, one of the most tradition- bound societies on the planet, where family structure and tribal patriarchy differ little from a century ago, is suddenly in a hurry. It has done more in the past week than in most years. Over eight days, it has executed dozens of militants, severed ties with Iran and announced numerous steps for a radical rollback of the state that may include privatizing oil giant Saudi Aramco, among the world’s largest companies.
Saudi Arabia is said to be reviewing an IPO (Initial Public offering) with a decision expected to take place in the coming months.
The ramping up of tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran makes it highly unlikely Saudi Arabia will cut its output to help Iran regain market share, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Iraq has offered to act as a mediator to ease tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran that escalated after the kingdom’s execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on two of Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic. Some Sunni Arab nations have followed the Saudis’ lead and severed or downgraded ties with Iran, while others have offered words of caution aimed at calming the situation. The offer by Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, made during a news conference in the Iranian capital, included the diplomat referring to the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr as a “crime”, a description that raised questions as to whether Saudi officials would even consider such an offer. The kingdom and its allies say that Mr al-Nimr was executed after being tried and sentenced to death under Saudi law.
Armed men set a Saudi Aramco bus, carrying employees, on fire in Saudi Arabia amid heightened tensions.
At almost any other time, an escalating diplomatic conflict between OPEC members Iran and Saudi Arabia would mean a spike in oil prices.
Developing political tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have resulted in fluctuating oil prices, with the price of Brent crude having risen to $38.50/bbl, its highest level for three weeks.
There are several reasons why escalating tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia make markets nervous. One of them is that they sit on either side of the Persian Gulf, the world’s biggest concentration of oil tankers.
Oil gained for a second day as Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran a day after its embassy in Tehran was attacked to protest the Saudis’ execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
Saudi Arabia, seeking to cope with the lowest oil prices in more than a decade, may announce cuts in capital spending and other economic measures for next year as it unveils the first annual budget under King Salman. Key officials, including Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf and Economy and Planning Minister Adel Fakeih, are scheduled to discuss the budget and outline the kingdom’s economic policy at a news conference on Monday in Riyadh. An official from Saudi Arabian Oil Co. will also attend. While the government may reduce capital expenditure, it’s unlikely to reduce spending on healthcare, education or major infrastructure projects, according to Fahad Al-Turki, the Riyadh-based chief economist at Jadwa Investment.
In 2015, the fracking outfits that dot America’s oil-rich plains threw everything they had at $50-a- barrel crude. To cope with the 50 percent price plunge, they laid off thousands of roughnecks, focused their rigs on the biggest gushers only and used cutting-edge technology to squeeze all the oil they could out of every well. Those efforts, to the surprise of many observers, largely succeeded. As of this month, U.S. oil output remained within 4 percent of a 43-year high.
As global oil prices tumble, Saudi officials are considering plans to sell shares in state-owned entities and companies, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions, in an attempt to find alternative sources of revenue. The government may sell stakes in ports, railways, utilities and airports, the two people said. Hospitals may also be privatized, one person said. Saudi officials weren’t immediately available for comment. With oil prices down to an 11-year low, Saudi officials are accelerating efforts to reduce the economy’s reliance on revenue from crude exports. They may have missed their best chance when prices were higher, according to economists and an International Monetary Fund study that highlighted how successful attempts depended on policies put in place before the slump.
OPEC raised crude output to the highest in more than three years as it pressed on with a strategy to protect market share and pressure competing producers.
Iran joined Saudi Arabia in saying it would keep on pumping despite oil prices hovering near a six-year low, giving the strongest signal yet that OPEC wouldn’t act at the group’s meeting in Vienna to curb the global supply glut.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, may propose an eventual OPEC production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day that may take affect in 2016, Energy Intelligence reported Thursday, citing a group delegate it didn’t identify.
The majority of OPEC members would agree to a reduction in crude production at Friday’s meeting, with the exception of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf Arab countries, Shana reported, citing Mehdi Asali, director general of OPEC and energy forums at the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum.
Saudi Arabia will discuss all issues at the OPEC meeting on Friday and listen to concerns of other members, said the nation’s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi.
Oil's global glut will be prolonged as US stockpiles see their longest run of gains in seven months.
Saudi Arabia is working with other OPEC members and producers from outside the group to stabilise the market, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said.
Saudi Aramco has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on new business opportunities with HHI (Hyundai Heavy Industries) in Saudi Arabia. The MoU included a multi-faceted framework in areas such as engineering, procurement and construction, downstream, and the development of a casting and forging facility. The agreement also includes the development of a maritime yard in the country.
A British grandfather who was sentenced to a flogging for breaking Saudi Arabia’s strict anti-alcohol laws has been reunited with his family in the UK. Karl Andree, 74, was threatened with 350 lashes after he was caught with home-made wine in Jeddah. He was put on a plane to Britain on Tuesday night after being freed from a Saudi prison, where he had been locked up since August last year.