OPEC oil output slips from 2017 high on renewed Libyan outages

OPEC oil output slips from 2017 high on renewed Libyan outages:

"OPEC oil output has fallen this month by 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a 2017 high, a Reuters survey found, as renewed unrest cut supplies in Libya and other members stepped up compliance with a production-cutting deal. A dip in supply from top two producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq helped to boost OPEC’s adherence to its output curbs to 89 percent, up 5 percentage points from July but still short of the levels above 90 percent achieved earlier in the year. The decline from Libya, and the lack of a further sizeable increase from Nigeria, will ease concerns that extra barrels from the two nations could swamp cutback made elsewhere. Libya and Nigeria were exempt from the cuts because conflict had curbed their production."



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Oman to invest up to $120m in Spanish uranium mine

Oman to invest up to $120m in Spanish uranium mine:

"Oman has agreed to invest up to $120m in a uranium mine in Spain, at a time when energy-rich Gulf States are looking closer at nuclear power. The sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate of Oman has an option to acquire 37 per cent of Berkeley Energia, which is developing the Salamanca mine about three hours west of Madrid. It will also have the right to uranium supply from the mine, known as an offtake."



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Singapore Wins Qantas Stopovers After Airline Dumps Dubai - Bloomberg

Singapore Wins Qantas Stopovers After Airline Dumps Dubai - Bloomberg:

"Singapore notched up a victory over rival aviation hub Dubai as Qantas Airways Ltd. rerouted its classic Kangaroo Route to the U.K. through Asia. With travel demand surging in Asia, Australia’s national carrier will fly from Sydney to London through Singapore instead of the Middle East under a renegotiated alliance with Emirates, Qantas said in a statement Thursday. Reverting Qantas’s 82-year-old, long-haul service through Asia reflects a shift in the balance of power away from the Gulf as the world’s key aviation hubs, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai, joust to retain their roles as key transit points for regional flights. Asia is the fastest-growing air travel market and China is expected to displace the U.S. as the world’s largest aviation market around 2024. "



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Kurdistan pays $1 billion to Dana Gas, partners to settle London case

Kurdistan pays $1 billion to Dana Gas, partners to settle London case:

"Iraq’s Kurdistan region will immediately pay $1 billion to UAE-based Dana Gas and its partners to settle a long-running London court case, the two sides said on Wednesday.

The full and final settlement of the $2.24 billion case is the latest effort by the semi-autonomous region to put its finances in order ahead of a referendum next month seeking independence from the government in Baghdad.

Last week, Kurdistan signed deals with key oil producers on its territory to clear outstanding debts, but the long-running dispute with Dana was still clouding the picture."



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UPDATE 1-Qatar resisting sanctions effectively, IMF official says

UPDATE 1-Qatar resisting sanctions effectively, IMF official says:

"Qatar’s government has acted effectively in protecting the economy against sanctions imposed by other Arab countries, an International Monetary Fund official said on Wednesday after leading an IMF team on a week-long visit to Doha.

“The impact on banks’ balance sheets was mitigated by liquidity injections by the Qatar central bank and increased public sector deposits,” Mohammed El Qorchi said in a statement.

“These reactions reflected effective coordination and collaboration among key government agencies.”"



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GE shifts strategy, financial targets for digital business after missteps

GE shifts strategy, financial targets for digital business after missteps:

"The government of the emirate of Sharjah plans to issue a yuan-denominated bond in China, which could make it the first Middle East issuer in the Chinese interbank bond market, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Sharjah, one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates, is in the process of applying to issue the instrument, known as a panda bond, said the sources, who declined to be named as the matter is not yet public. The size of the planned issue was not known, and the government of Sharjah declined to comment."



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Mideast funds favor Kuwait before FTSE decision, bearish on Qatar: Reuters poll

Mideast funds favor Kuwait before FTSE decision, bearish on Qatar: Reuters poll:

"Middle East funds plan to move aggressively into Kuwaiti stocks as the market prices in expectations that index compiler FTSE will add the Gulf state to its secondary emerging market index, a monthly Reuters poll found. At the end of September, FTSE is to announce its decision on whether to include Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in the index. Analysts at Arqaam Capital and EFG Hermes believe the chances of both countries meeting FTSE’s inclusion criteria are high, though actual entry into index, once a decision was made, would probably not take place until late 2018. Sixty-two percent of respondents expect to raise their allocations to Kuwaiti stocks over the next three months and none anticipate cutting them, according to the poll of 13 regional fund managers conducted over the past week."



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