Oil Updates — Crude falls; Kuwait's oil output over 2.8m bpd – Arab News

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RIYADH: Oil fell by nearly 3 percent on Monday, pressured by expectations of weaker global demand and by US dollar strength ahead of possible large increases to interest rates, though supply worries limited the decline.
Brent crude for November delivery fell $2.64, or 2.89 percent, to $88.71 a barrel by 04.30 p.m Saudi time. 
US West Texas Intermediate for October dropped 2.96, or 3.48 percent, to $82.15.
Kuwait produces more than 2.8 million bpd barrels per day of oil
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s CEO said on Sunday that the Gulf state currently produces more than 2.8 million barrels per day of oil in accordance with its Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ quota.
Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah also said Kuwait has plans to increase crude oil production whenever the market needs it, but currently, the customers of the state-owned corporation still demand the same volumes with no change.
Kuwait produces 650 million cubic feet of gas per day, and plans to increase it to one billion, he added.
On the market environment, he said “ambiguity exists in all markets, whether gas or oil … there are questions about the world economic future, especially with the interest rates hikes and the expected recession in global economies and the extent of their impact on oil demand.”
OPEC and allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, have been ramping up oil output this year as they look to unwind record cuts put in place in 2020 after the pandemic slashed demand.
However, OPEC+ in recent months has failed to achieve its planned output increases due to underinvestment in oilfields by some OPEC members and by losses in Russian output.
Rosneft says it could challenge Germany in court over subsidiary move
Rosneft said on Friday it could go to court to challenge a decision by Berlin to take the firm’s German subsidiary under trusteeship.
In a statement, Rosneft said the move was illegal. Germany, citing the need to protect the economy, is taking over the business’ Schwedt refinery, which supplies 90 percent of Berlin’s fuel.
(With input from Reuters)
DUBAI: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to sign contracts for liquefied natural gas during his visit to the UAE on Sunday, his deputy chancellor said, as Germany looks for new partners to replace Russian energy imports.
“The gas offering is slowly broadening. The government is permanently in talks with many countries,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said, pointing to his own trip to Qatar and the UAE in March.
In May, sources told Reuters that LNG talks between Germany and Qatar were fraught with differences over key conditions, including the duration of any contract.
German is acquiring LNG terminals as part of its efforts to diversify away from Russian gas.
Habeck was speaking in Lubmin in northern Germany, where the government hopes a state-leased floating storage and regasification unit can be operational at the end of 2023 at the earliest.

The government is permanently in talks with many countries.
Robert Habeck, economy minister
“We must show that in times like these, we can plan, authorize and build faster than is usually the case in Germany,” Habeck said of the construction drive, adding that LNG projects in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbuettel were examples of this.
“There is a good, realistic chance … that the two FSRU vessels there will be able to feed into the German gas network from the turn of the year,” he said.
EWEC water project
The Emirates Water and Electricity Co. has invited expressions of interest on the development of Abu Dhabi Islands Reverse Osmosis Independent Water Project.
The project consists of two stand-alone greenfield reverse osmosis seawater desalination plants to be located on Saadiyat Island and Hudayriat Island, reported Zawya. 
Through sustainable and low carbon methods, both plants will produce 100 million imperial gallons per day — covering the water demand of 180,000 households in Abu Dhabi.
“Reverse osmosis is a vital low-carbon intensive seawater desalination technology that enables EWEC to strategically change its water and power generation portfolio, and ultimately contribute to the decarbonization of the energy sector,” stated EWEC CEO Othman Al-Ali.
ADNOC’s transmission system
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s project — a $3.6 billion high-voltage, direct current subsea transmission system — is on the verge of financial close.  
A consortium led by South Korean Kepco — including Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power Co. International and Électricité de France — was awarded the public-private partnership contract last December. 
The transmission system will decrease ADNOC offshore’s carbon footprint by 30 percent through using sustainable power sources in Abu Dhabi’s onshore power network, according to MEED.
Construction on the project is expected to begin soon.
DUBAI: The chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, said on Monday that the sports sector’s contribution to Dubai’s economy exceeded AED9 billion ($2.45 billion) in 2021, the Emirates News Agency reported. This represented 2.3 percent of the emirate’s annual gross domestic product.
He also stated that 105,000 new job opportunities are set to be the created in the growing sector, which as a result will account for 3.8 percent of total employment in Dubai.
Speaking as he chaired a meeting of the DSC’s board of directors, he credited a pioneering regulatory framework and robust infrastructure with helping to develop and shape the sports sector in the emirate. He stated that the government’s support for the industry is a key priority in Dubai’s drive to become the best city in the world to live and work in.
“We are proud of the significant growth in the contribution of the sports sector to Dubai’s annual GDP,” said Sheikh Mansoor.
“In addition to nurturing and fostering Emirati and expat athletes living in the UAE and ensuring the community’s health and happiness, the sports industry is now a significant economic contributor.
“At the DSC, we were keen to measure this growth in the contribution of sports to Dubai’s economy. In line with the best international practices, we conducted a study in association with a major global consultancy. The study analyzed and calculated the economic contribution of sports across different areas of the industry, including sports tourism, investment in sports training academies, sports events, and others.”
The sports sector benefits from Dubai’s position as a preferred global destination for living, working, studying and investing, according to Sheikh Mansoor. He added that the sports council provides state-of-the-art facilities to support the work of “local and international event organizers, which contribute to the growth of the sector.”
He said: “The DSC encourages international sports stars and investors to take advantage of Dubai’s world-class facilities to open sports academies and host major world championships and training camps for various clubs, national teams and champion athletes, as well as to benefit from investment opportunities in its various fields. All these factors contributed to increasing the sector’s economic contribution and the number of employees in various related companies.”
The council’s latest strategy focuses on sports clubs, sporting infrastructure, esports, sports tourism, and sports technology. It also aims to identify major challenges and prepare plans and strategies for future development of the sector.
During the meeting the participants also reviewed plans for the development of football stadiums in Dubai and tasked authorities with implementing them based on an approved timeline.
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank has said that the Saudi Fund for Development will extend a $3 billion deposit currently placed in the bank’s accounts for one year, which financial experts say could boost investor confidence in the South Asian economy.

The State Bank of Pakistan signed the $3 billion deposit agreement with the SFD in November 2021, which was expected to help support Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves, which stood at $8.6 billion as of Sept. 9.

SBP took to Twitter to announce the extension on Sunday and said that it reflected a “continuing strong and special relationship” between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

“Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has confirmed rollover of $3bn deposit maturing on 5Dec22 for one year,” the central bank wrote on Twitter.

The South Asian country only has enough to cover import payments for 40 days. Over the past couple of months, the rupee has plummeted to historic lows against the US dollar, and it continues to remain under pressure due to a demand surge for food and oil imports.

Experts say SFD’s rollover will give some breathing room for Pakistan, whose economy has been struggling to stabilize and is at risk of default. The country also faces the burden of catastrophic floods that have inflicted billions of dollars in damage, affected 33 million people, and killed over 1,500 Pakistanis.

“The rollover has definitely improved the confidence of investors and debt maturity profile of the country because now we have breathing space for another year,” Samiullah Tariq, director of research at the Pakistan Kuwait Investment Co., told Arab News on Monday.

“The sentiments of the market will continue to improve with more rollovers, which would be reflected in the credit default swap and bond yields of the country in the coming days,” he added, referring to expected rollovers of loans from China and the UAE.

The Saudi rollover “will change sentiments in the currency market” and lead to the rupee appreciating against the dollar, Zafar Paracha, general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, told Arab News.

The recent development also showcases the support from Saudi Arabia and is part of the Kingdom’s long-term engagement with Pakistan, Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Ltd., a Karachi-based brokerage firm, told Arab News.

“The rollover is a big help extended by Saudi Arabia to Pakistan as part of its long-term economic relations,” Abbas said.

“Saudi support is critical for Pakistan because coupled with deferred payment for oil imports, the deposits play a vital role for our foreign exchange reserves and currency stability.”
RIYADH: Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia’s July crude oil exports gained for a second-straight month to their highest in more than two years, data from the Joint Organisation Data Initiative showed on Monday.
The Kingdom’s exports rose 2.5 percent to 7.38 million barrels per day in July — highest since April 2020 — from 7.20 million bpd in June.
The country had raised its July crude prices for Asian buyers to higher-than-expected levels amid concerns about tight supply and expectations of strong demand in summer. It had also raised its OSP for European and Mediterranean buyers, but kept US differentials unchanged.
Saudi Arabia was India’s No. 3 supplier in July, and also retained its spot as the biggest exporter to China during the first half of the year.
Saudi production also climbed to its highest in more than two years to 10.815 million bpd from 10.646 million bpd in the previous month.
The Kingdom’s domestic crude refinery throughput fell about 3 percent to 2.763 million bpd in July, while oil products exports stood at 1.429 million bpd.
Earlier this month, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies led by Russia agreed on a small oil production cut to bolster prices that have slid on fears of an economic slowdown.
Monthly export figures are provided by Riyadh and other OPEC members to JODI, which publishes them on its website.
 
Daily trading
Oil edged down slightly on Monday, pressured by expectations of weaker global demand and by US dollar strength ahead of possible large increases to interest rates, though supply worries limited the decline.
Central banks around the world are certain to increase borrowing costs this week to tame high inflation, and there is some risk of a full 1 percentage point rise by the US Federal Reserve.
“Ideas that continued rate increases will slow world crude demand and keep upward pressure on the US dollar is triggering long liquidation in both crude and natural gas this morning,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.
Brent crude for November fell 56 cents to $90.79 a barrel, a 0.6 percent loss by 9:58 a.m. ET (14:58 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate for October eased 47 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $84.64 per barrel.
Oil also came under pressure from hopes of an easing of Europe’s gas supply crisis. German buyers reserved capacity to receive Russian gas via the shut Nord Stream 1 pipeline, but this was later revised and no gas has been flowing.
Crude has soared this year, with the Brent benchmark coming close to its record high of $147 in March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated supply concerns. Worries about weaker economic growth and demand have since pushed prices lower.
 
DOHA: Qatar Airways is hosting the four-day International Air Transport Association World Financial Symposium, the largest gathering of financial leaders in the aviation industry since before the coronavirus pandemic.
The conference, which runs until Sept. 22, is being held under the patronage of Qatari Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif Al-Sulaiti and will focus on reshaping airline resilience in the aftermath of the virus outbreak.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al-Baker said: “We are honored to be hosting the first in-person World Financial Symposium since 2019, especially during our milestone year, celebrating 25 years of operations.
“This vital symposium will bring together financial leaders from airlines and from our many supply chain partners to discuss and debate the path forward and the challenges to be overcome.”
IATA Director General Willie Walsh said: “We are excited to bring the World Financial Symposium to Doha for the first time.
“As the industry continues to recover, the role of finance in rebuilding balance sheets and supporting our sustainability agenda will take center stage in the important discussions taking place over the next few days.”
A highlight of the WFS opening plenary will be a live discussion with Al-Baker and Walsh on the theme of the industry’s future.
Sessions will address topics including, environmental, social, and corporate governance, and sustainable finance trends, achieving carbon net zero by 2050, financial risk management, the road to airline retailing, and customer centricity.
The conference will also examine the future of airline payments and payments as a value creator, as well as understand and prepare for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s BEPS (base erosion and profit sharing) 2.0 project.
In addition, IATA Chief Economist Marie Owens Thomsen will present to the conference a review of the industry’s economic outlook and resilience.
In June, Qatar Airways hosted more than 1,000 delegates and aviation leaders from around the world at the 78th IATA annual general meeting and World Air Transport Summit, the industry’s largest annual event.

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