Qatar Says Holding Talks With Saudi Arabia to End Gulf Crisis - Bloomberg:
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani said his country is holding talks with Saudi Arabia, offering the latest sign that an unprecedented standoff with the kingdom may soon be resolved.
“We have moved from a deadlock in the Gulf crisis to talks about a future vision regarding ties,” he said, according to Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera. “There are talks with the brothers in Saudi Arabia and we hope they will yield positive results.”
The comments come after King Salman of Saudi Arabia invited Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to attend this month’s summit of Gulf Arab monarchies in Riyadh, a step that would mark a major breakthrough in attempts to end the feud.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar in 2017 after accusing the gas-rich state of building close ties with their chief regional foe, Iran, and funding militant groups.
Friday, 6 December 2019
Opec and Russia agree deeper production cuts to prop up oil prices | Financial Times
Opec and Russia agree deeper production cuts to prop up oil prices | Financial Times:
Saudi Arabia moved aggressively to prop up the oil market, agreeing additional curbs in production on top of sealing a new output deal with Opec and its allies.
The so-called Opec+ alliance, which also includes Russia, agreed curbs of 500,000 barrels per day on Friday after two days of fraught meetings in Vienna, with Saudi Arabia pledging additional voluntary cuts of a further 400,000 b/d.
The kingdom has been scrambling to prop up the oil market amid warnings that it faces a severe supply glut in the first half of next year. Saudi Arabia is particularly keen to support the valuation of the state oil company Saudi Aramco, with the kingdom’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman vowing it would hit an elusive $2tn valuation in the coming months.
Talks aimed at reaching a deal had gone on through the night and the decision was finalised on Friday by the countries that have been involved in an oil alliance since 2016. The agreement drove Brent crude 1.4 per cent higher to $64.25 a barrel and took gains for the international oil benchmark to more than 5 per cent over the week.
Saudi Arabia moved aggressively to prop up the oil market, agreeing additional curbs in production on top of sealing a new output deal with Opec and its allies.
The so-called Opec+ alliance, which also includes Russia, agreed curbs of 500,000 barrels per day on Friday after two days of fraught meetings in Vienna, with Saudi Arabia pledging additional voluntary cuts of a further 400,000 b/d.
The kingdom has been scrambling to prop up the oil market amid warnings that it faces a severe supply glut in the first half of next year. Saudi Arabia is particularly keen to support the valuation of the state oil company Saudi Aramco, with the kingdom’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman vowing it would hit an elusive $2tn valuation in the coming months.
Talks aimed at reaching a deal had gone on through the night and the decision was finalised on Friday by the countries that have been involved in an oil alliance since 2016. The agreement drove Brent crude 1.4 per cent higher to $64.25 a barrel and took gains for the international oil benchmark to more than 5 per cent over the week.
Oil rises sharply this week as OPEC+ agrees on deeper output cuts - Reuters
Oil rises sharply this week as OPEC+ agrees on deeper output cuts - Reuters:
Oil prices rose more than 1% on Friday and posted sharp weekly gains after OPEC and its allies agreed to deepen output cuts by 500,000 barrels per day in early 2020.
The additional cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers including Russia - a grouping known as OPEC+ - will last throughout the first quarter. The group will meet again in early March for an extraordinary meeting to set its policy.
Brent futures LCOc1 settled 1.6% higher at $64.38 per barrel and rose about 3% on the week.
West Texas Intermediate oil futures CLc1 rose 1.3% to $59.20 a barrel. They climbed about 7% on the week, their biggest rise since June, after the U.S. government data on Wednesday showed domestic crude stockpiles falling for the first time in six weeks.
Oil prices rose more than 1% on Friday and posted sharp weekly gains after OPEC and its allies agreed to deepen output cuts by 500,000 barrels per day in early 2020.
The additional cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers including Russia - a grouping known as OPEC+ - will last throughout the first quarter. The group will meet again in early March for an extraordinary meeting to set its policy.
Brent futures LCOc1 settled 1.6% higher at $64.38 per barrel and rose about 3% on the week.
West Texas Intermediate oil futures CLc1 rose 1.3% to $59.20 a barrel. They climbed about 7% on the week, their biggest rise since June, after the U.S. government data on Wednesday showed domestic crude stockpiles falling for the first time in six weeks.
#Saudi delivers deeper cuts as OPEC+ oil producers back new pact - Reuters
Saudi delivers deeper cuts as OPEC+ oil producers back new pact - Reuters:
Saudi Arabia spearheaded a deal on Friday that will see the OPEC+ group of oil producers commit to some of the sector’s deepest output cuts in a decade aiming to avert oversupply and support prices.
Saudi with OPEC peers and allies led by Russia backed a plan that could see cuts of as much as 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd), Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said.
Brent oil rose 2% to more than $64 a barrel after the announcement.
The figures include an extra 500,000 barrels per day in cuts to take the OPEC+ target 1.7 million bpd, or 1.7% of global demand, plus Saudi continuing to cut 400,000 bpd more than its quota.
Saudi Arabia spearheaded a deal on Friday that will see the OPEC+ group of oil producers commit to some of the sector’s deepest output cuts in a decade aiming to avert oversupply and support prices.
Saudi with OPEC peers and allies led by Russia backed a plan that could see cuts of as much as 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd), Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said.
Brent oil rose 2% to more than $64 a barrel after the announcement.
The figures include an extra 500,000 barrels per day in cuts to take the OPEC+ target 1.7 million bpd, or 1.7% of global demand, plus Saudi continuing to cut 400,000 bpd more than its quota.
Oil Rig Count Slides Amid OPEC Optimism | OilPrice.com
Oil Rig Count Slides Amid OPEC Optimism | OilPrice.com:
The US oil and gas rig count continued to fall this week, according to Baker Hughes, falling by 3 rigs for the week, according to Baker Hughes, with no obvious end to the fall in sight.
For oil rigs, this week marks the fourteenth decrease out of the last sixteen weeks, falling 107 rigs in that timeframe.
The total oil and gas rig count now stands below 800 for the first time since March 2017, at 799, or 276 down from this time last year.
The total number of active oil rigs in the United States decreased by 5 according to the report, reaching 663. The number of active gas rigs increased by 2, settling at 133.
The US oil and gas rig count continued to fall this week, according to Baker Hughes, falling by 3 rigs for the week, according to Baker Hughes, with no obvious end to the fall in sight.
For oil rigs, this week marks the fourteenth decrease out of the last sixteen weeks, falling 107 rigs in that timeframe.
The total oil and gas rig count now stands below 800 for the first time since March 2017, at 799, or 276 down from this time last year.
The total number of active oil rigs in the United States decreased by 5 according to the report, reaching 663. The number of active gas rigs increased by 2, settling at 133.
A meticulous account of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi | Financial Times
A meticulous account of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi | Financial Times:
On October 2 2018, at 1.14pm, Jamal Khashoggi, probably Saudi Arabia’s best-known journalist, walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, by prior appointment, to collect documents he needed for his forthcoming marriage. He was never seen again.
We now know he was murdered within minutes by a 15-man Saudi hit squad, probably drugged and asphyxiated, then dismembered and stuffed into bags. His desecrated body has not been recovered.
At first, the Saudi authorities shrugged and said Khashoggi had left the consulate — by the back door, although his fiancée Hatice Cengiz was waiting for him at the front door. The Saudis then said a negotiation to persuade Khashoggi to return to Riyadh from self-imposed exile in Washington had gone badly wrong. Khashoggi, a court insider whose outspokenness fell foul of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince and de facto Saudi ruler, had been writing trenchant if measured columns in the Washington Post on the unbridled autocracy of the headstrong young prince. As tempers inside the consulate frayed, the Saudis recounted, a fist-fight broke out and Khashoggi, 60, somehow did not survive it.
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| CCTV footage of Jamal Khashoggi and his fiancée Hatice Cengiz leaving home on the day the Saudi journalist disappeared in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2 2018 © Reuters |
On October 2 2018, at 1.14pm, Jamal Khashoggi, probably Saudi Arabia’s best-known journalist, walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, by prior appointment, to collect documents he needed for his forthcoming marriage. He was never seen again.
We now know he was murdered within minutes by a 15-man Saudi hit squad, probably drugged and asphyxiated, then dismembered and stuffed into bags. His desecrated body has not been recovered.
At first, the Saudi authorities shrugged and said Khashoggi had left the consulate — by the back door, although his fiancée Hatice Cengiz was waiting for him at the front door. The Saudis then said a negotiation to persuade Khashoggi to return to Riyadh from self-imposed exile in Washington had gone badly wrong. Khashoggi, a court insider whose outspokenness fell foul of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince and de facto Saudi ruler, had been writing trenchant if measured columns in the Washington Post on the unbridled autocracy of the headstrong young prince. As tempers inside the consulate frayed, the Saudis recounted, a fist-fight broke out and Khashoggi, 60, somehow did not survive it.
#Saudi Aramco to Lead Elite $1 Trillion-Plus Club After IPO - Bloomberg
Saudi Aramco to Lead Elite $1 Trillion-Plus Club After IPO - Bloomberg:
It seems like only yesterday equity investors had pegged $1 trillion as the dividing line between run-of-the-mill large cap companies and freakishly huge ones. Saudi Aramco just took things to a whole new level.
The oil producer’s initial public offering Thursday valued the company at $1.7 trillion. That may have trailed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s hoped-for $2 trillion valuation, but it gives the Saudi Arabian behemoth about a $600 billion lead on Apple Inc. and Microsoft Inc., the only two other companies in the world worth more than $1 trillion.
The race to $1 trillion had become something of a spectator sport in recent years as technology megacaps led the record-long bull market in U.S. stocks. Amazon.com Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. have also been in the running, although neither passed the milestone.
It seems like only yesterday equity investors had pegged $1 trillion as the dividing line between run-of-the-mill large cap companies and freakishly huge ones. Saudi Aramco just took things to a whole new level.
The oil producer’s initial public offering Thursday valued the company at $1.7 trillion. That may have trailed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s hoped-for $2 trillion valuation, but it gives the Saudi Arabian behemoth about a $600 billion lead on Apple Inc. and Microsoft Inc., the only two other companies in the world worth more than $1 trillion.
The race to $1 trillion had become something of a spectator sport in recent years as technology megacaps led the record-long bull market in U.S. stocks. Amazon.com Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. have also been in the running, although neither passed the milestone.
The Prince Got His World-Beating IPO. Now The Hard Work Begins - Bloomberg
The Prince Got His World-Beating IPO. Now The Hard Work Begins - Bloomberg:
Saudi Aramco’s world-beating initial public offering is a watershed moment for a business that’s bankrolled the kingdom and its rulers for decades. The world’s largest public company will now trade in Riyadh and not New York.
Less clear is how far it will help overhaul the economy of the world’s biggest oil exporter.
First floated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016 with an ambition to raise as much as $100 billion, the share sale was touted as part of a blueprint for life after oil. Saudi Arabia would raise funds off its biggest asset, and use them to develop new industries.
But after global investors balked at hopes to value the company at $2 trillion, the final deal was not quite what the prince had envisaged. Aramco offered just 1.5% of its shares and opted for a local listing, relying almost entirely on Saudi and regional investors.
Saudi Aramco’s world-beating initial public offering is a watershed moment for a business that’s bankrolled the kingdom and its rulers for decades. The world’s largest public company will now trade in Riyadh and not New York.
Less clear is how far it will help overhaul the economy of the world’s biggest oil exporter.
First floated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016 with an ambition to raise as much as $100 billion, the share sale was touted as part of a blueprint for life after oil. Saudi Arabia would raise funds off its biggest asset, and use them to develop new industries.
But after global investors balked at hopes to value the company at $2 trillion, the final deal was not quite what the prince had envisaged. Aramco offered just 1.5% of its shares and opted for a local listing, relying almost entirely on Saudi and regional investors.
UPDATE 1- #Saudi, Russia look to seal deeper output cuts with oil producers - Reuters
UPDATE 1-Saudi, Russia look to seal deeper output cuts with oil producers - Reuters:
Top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia will seek approval for deeper output cuts from OPEC and allies on Friday in an attempt to support prices and head off a new glut building in 2020.
The group of more than 20 producers is considering an extra 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in cuts for the first quarter of 2020 to take the total to 1.7 million bpd, or 1.7% of global demand, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.
OPEC and allied producers, the so-called OPEC+, pump more than 40% of the world’s oil. OPEC+ will meet on Friday with the focus on how the additional cuts are distributed.
“The statement following the meeting on both production targets and their duration will be critical for price discovery,” said analysts at Jefferies.
Top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia will seek approval for deeper output cuts from OPEC and allies on Friday in an attempt to support prices and head off a new glut building in 2020.
The group of more than 20 producers is considering an extra 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in cuts for the first quarter of 2020 to take the total to 1.7 million bpd, or 1.7% of global demand, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.
OPEC and allied producers, the so-called OPEC+, pump more than 40% of the world’s oil. OPEC+ will meet on Friday with the focus on how the additional cuts are distributed.
“The statement following the meeting on both production targets and their duration will be critical for price discovery,” said analysts at Jefferies.
No Riyadh rush as many global investors steer clear of Aramco IPO - Reuters
No Riyadh rush as many global investors steer clear of Aramco IPO - Reuters:
The Saudi Aramco IPO was supposed to be a cornerstone of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious plan to open the gates to foreign investment in the kingdom. But there’s no sign of a stampede.
The state oil giant confirmed on Thursday that its initial public offering would be the biggest in history, raising $25.6 billion. The offering will surpass Alibaba’s 2014 New York flotation and value Aramco at $1.7 trillion - still short of the prince’s $2 trillion goal.
However many global investors focused on emerging markets are set to stay away when Aramco debuts on the Riyadh bourse, expected next week, according to information provided to Reuters by 26 major asset managers outside the Gulf region who collectively manage more than $7 trillion.
Most of the active fund managers said they would likely steer clear of the IPO, citing persistent concerns about risks around governance, the environment and regional geopolitics.
The Saudi Aramco IPO was supposed to be a cornerstone of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious plan to open the gates to foreign investment in the kingdom. But there’s no sign of a stampede.
The state oil giant confirmed on Thursday that its initial public offering would be the biggest in history, raising $25.6 billion. The offering will surpass Alibaba’s 2014 New York flotation and value Aramco at $1.7 trillion - still short of the prince’s $2 trillion goal.
However many global investors focused on emerging markets are set to stay away when Aramco debuts on the Riyadh bourse, expected next week, according to information provided to Reuters by 26 major asset managers outside the Gulf region who collectively manage more than $7 trillion.
Most of the active fund managers said they would likely steer clear of the IPO, citing persistent concerns about risks around governance, the environment and regional geopolitics.
Oil on track for weekly gain as OPEC+ set to confirm supply cut - Reuters
Oil on track for weekly gain as OPEC+ set to confirm supply cut - Reuters:
Oil prices steadied on Friday and were set for weekly gains ahead of a meeting of OPEC and its allies later in the day which is expected to formally agree to more output cuts in early 2020.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia - a grouping known as OPEC+ - agreed on Thursday to more output cuts to avert oversupply as economic growth stagnates amid the U.S.-China trade war.
But OPEC stopped short of pledging action beyond March and analysts have questioned the impact of the latest curbs.
Brent futures LCOc1 were down 3 cents at $63.36 by 0950 GMT but are set to rise 1.5% on the week.
West Texas Intermediate oil futures CLc1 fell 9 cents to $58.34 a barrel. They are set to rise nearly 6% on the week.
Oil prices steadied on Friday and were set for weekly gains ahead of a meeting of OPEC and its allies later in the day which is expected to formally agree to more output cuts in early 2020.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia - a grouping known as OPEC+ - agreed on Thursday to more output cuts to avert oversupply as economic growth stagnates amid the U.S.-China trade war.
But OPEC stopped short of pledging action beyond March and analysts have questioned the impact of the latest curbs.
Brent futures LCOc1 were down 3 cents at $63.36 by 0950 GMT but are set to rise 1.5% on the week.
West Texas Intermediate oil futures CLc1 fell 9 cents to $58.34 a barrel. They are set to rise nearly 6% on the week.