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Ithmar Capital boss becomes NMC Health chairman after it acquires 9% stake - The National

Ithmar Capital boss becomes NMC Health chairman after it acquires 9% stake - The National:

NMC Health said its non-executive chairman, Mark Tompkins, stepped down from the board with “immediate effect”.

It has appointed Ithmar Capital’s managing partner, Faisal Belhoul, executive chairman after the private equity company based in Dubai took a 9 per cent stake in NMC.

Mr Tompkins had been joint non-executive chairman of NMC Health since 2012 alongside the company’s founder, BR Shetty.

Mr Shetty stepped down from his position as joint non-executive chairman of the struggling company last month after disclosures about its governance.

“The board confirms that following a period of ill health over the last few weeks, which has prevented him from participation in board activities, Mr HJ Mark Tompkins has left the board and ceased to be chairman and a director of the company with immediate effect,” NMC Health said after markets closed on Thursday.

Trump Didn’t Calm Oil Markets -- and Now It May Be Too Late - Bloomberg

Trump Didn’t Calm Oil Markets -- and Now It May Be Too Late - Bloomberg:

When Saudi Arabia kicked off its oil-price war and triggered the worst crude crash in a generation, U.S. President Donald Trump lauded the ensuing decline in pump prices, saying it would be “like a tax cut” for Americans.

Weeks later, the crisis remains a low priority for the president, who has continually expressed his satisfaction with cheap gasoline and whose agenda has been consumed by the coronavirus pandemic itself, according to people familiar with the situation.

While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday took the strongest action yet to calm the market -- pressing Saudi Arabia to dial back its production surge -- the kingdom has shown no signs of slowing down.

Now, with thousands of oil jobs hanging in the balance and the U.S. shale industry in upheaval, any action by Trump himself may be too little, too late. Oil’s downturn has rapidly devolved from a simple case of too much supply to a worst-case scenario of total demand destruction -- a problem far harder to solve from the Oval Office.

OPEC Nations Howl for Mercy as #Saudi-Russia Oil War Deepens - Bloomberg

OPEC Nations Howl for Mercy as Saudi-Russia Oil War Deepens - Bloomberg:

With no end in sight to the oil-price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, their former OPEC+ partners are pleading for mercy as the economic damage worsens.

Algeria and Iraq have urged the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to hold emergency consultations as the market buckles under a flood of crude. Nigeria is openly wondering how much of the brutal worldwide contest for market share it can stand. 



There’s little sign that their howls will be heeded in Moscow and Riyadh, where political leaders are digging in for a long conflict. It’s also questionable whether the cartel -- even if its two leaders managed to resolve their differences -- could staunch oil’s losses as demand goes into free fall.

“It’s in our interests, collective interests, to ensure that we are able to stabilize the market,” Nigeria’s Oil Minister Timipre Sylva said in an interview. “I cannot say for now if there’s any truce in sight.”

Oil Tankers Fill at Record Pace as Glut Overwhelms Storage - Bloomberg

Oil Tankers Fill at Record Pace as Glut Overwhelms Storage - Bloomberg:

The world’s oil tankers are being filled with crude at a record pace as the options to store a glut on land rapidly diminish, one of the industry’s largest owners said.

A combination of surging production from key producers worldwide and capitulating demand in the face of the coronavirus outbreak means that land storage is being overwhelmed, said Robert Hvide Macleod, Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management AS. The world is likely overproducing by about 20 million barrels a day, or 20% of normal consumption, he said, echoing wider industry views.

“Oil is going on ships at a speed never seen before,” he said, noting that the tanker fleet is filling up at five times the pace of the last oil glut in 2015.

The oil market’s structure has fallen into a so-called super contango, which means it is now profitable for traders to buy oil today, store it, and reap the profits by selling it at a higher price months or even years down the line. International Seaways Inc., another owner, said on Thursday that the total volume of oil in floating storage may top 100 million barrels during this glut.

Oil plunges more than 5% despite stimulus efforts - Reuters

Oil plunges more than 5% despite stimulus efforts - Reuters:

Oil prices plunged more than 5% on Friday and were on track for a fifth straight weekly loss as demand destruction caused by the coronavirus outweighed stimulus efforts by policymakers around the world.

Both contracts are down nearly two thirds this year and the coronavirus-related slump in economic activity and fuel demand has forced massive retrenchment in investment by oil and other energy companies.

Brent crude was down $2.03, or 7.7%, at $24.31 a barrel by 12:03 p.m. EDT (1603 GMT). U.S. crude was down $1.29, or 5.7%, at $21.31.

“We ran out of ammunition to support the market,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York. “The government used up all their bullets this week - next week the market is on its own.”

#SaudiArabia says no talks on new oil deal as Moscow suggests larger OPEC+ - Reuters

Saudi Arabia says no talks on new oil deal as Moscow suggests larger OPEC+ - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia said on Friday it was not in talks with Russia to balance oil markets despite rising pressure from Washington to stop a price rout amid the coronavirus pandemic and an attempt by Moscow to fix a rift with the de facto OPEC leader.

A three-year supply pact between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including Russia, fell apart this month after Moscow refused to support Riyadh’s plan for deeper production cuts, prompting Saudi Arabia to pledge to raise output to a record high.

The resulting supply boost has coincided with plummeting demand as governments around the world implement national lockdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The twin-pronged assault on prices has sent Brent crude LCOc1 to a 17-year low below $25 a barrel and hammered the income of oil producers.

“There have been no contacts between Saudi Arabia and Russia energy ministers over any increase in the number of OPEC+ countries, nor any discussion of a joint agreement to balance oil markets,” an official from Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said, referring to the wider grouping of oil producers.

Virus Onslaught Deepens Gulf Disquiet Over #Saudi Oil-Price War - Bloomberg

Virus Onslaught Deepens Gulf Disquiet Over Saudi Oil-Price War - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia’s oil-price war with fellow exporting giant Russia bewildered the kingdom’s Gulf allies, unexpectedly shattering their fiscal defenses just when they’re most needed to combat the coronavirus.

The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, along with smaller neighbors, want a return to talks among the OPEC+ cabal of oil powers but the central protagonists, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are digging in.

As the pandemic shuts down major chunks of the global economy, that posture is helping to drive oil even lower, to below $10 in the physical market, sharply curtailing fire-power in Gulf economies still struggling to recover from the last oil price plunge in 2014.

Three officials with a deep knowledge of oil policy in the region, as well as industry insiders, described the Saudi decision early this month to cut prices and lift production as Saudi-driven and unnerving for its partners, who felt compelled to fall in line and have had to push the issue to one side as they focus on the wider problems posed by the virus.

S&P affirms #SaudiArabia rating at 'A-/A-2' with stable outlook - Reuters

S&P affirms Saudi Arabia rating at 'A-/A-2' with stable outlook - Reuters:

S&P Global on Thursday affirmed Saudi Arabia’s sovereign credit ratings at ‘A-/A-2’ with a stable outlook, saying its estimate of the Gulf nation’s strong net asset-stock position on its fiscal and external balances continues to be a key ratings support.

However, prolonged low oil prices without a significant fiscal adjustment could lead to an erosion of the net asset stock position and put pressure on Saudi Arabia's ratings, the agency said in a statement

Survival of the Fittest: Mideast airlines brace for Covid-19 impact - Arabianbusiness

Survival of the Fittest: Mideast airlines brace for Covid-19 impact - Arabianbusiness:

As coronavirus grounds airlines, plunging the industry into unprecedented crisis, Middle East carriers that have been in the red for years must urgently tap assistance from governments facing their own revenue slump. 


Authorities across the region have taken draconian measures to curb the disease, closing airports and halting passenger flights, and bringing major hubs like Dubai and Abu Dhabi to a standstill.

The Arab Air Carriers’ Organization (AACO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have appealed for urgent financial aid from governments, warning that inaction will imperil the industry’s future.

“The airline industry faces its gravest crisis ... For airlines, it’s apocalypse now,” IATA chief Alexandre de Juniac said this week.

#Saudi struggles to find buyers for extra crude as demand dives: sources - Reuters

Saudi struggles to find buyers for extra crude as demand dives: sources - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia is struggling to find customers for its extra oil as demand plummets due to the coronavirus and freight rates surge, industry sources said, undermining the kingdom’s bid to seize market share from rivals by expanding production.

Royal Dutch Shell and U.S. refiners were taking less Saudi crude, Finland’s Neste was not taking any in April and Indian refiners had sought delayed deliveries, the sources said. Polish refiners were also easing up on purchases, they added.

Unipec, the trading arm of Asia’s largest refiner Sinopec, has also decided against lifting more Saudi crude in April after freight rates surged, sources said.

The world’s top oil exporter plans to boost exports sharply after the collapse this month of a three-year deal on cutting supply between Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia.

Oil mixed as government pledges reach $5 trillion in coronavirus chaos - Reuters

Oil mixed as government pledges reach $5 trillion in coronavirus chaos - Reuters:

Oil prices were mixed on Friday as governments took unprecedented steps to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. 

Brent crude was down 34 cents, or 1.2%, at $26 a barrel by 0726 GMT. U.S. crude was up 8 cents, or 0.4%, at $22.68.

Both of the benchmarks are down nearly two-thirds this year and the slump in economic activity and fuel demand has forced massive retrenchment in investment by oil and other energy companies.

Exclusive: Russia calls for new enlarged OPEC deal to tackle oil demand collapse - Reuters

Exclusive: Russia calls for new enlarged OPEC deal to tackle oil demand collapse - Reuters:

A new OPEC+ deal to balance oil markets might be possible if other countries join in, Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said, adding that countries should also cooperate to cushion the economic fallout from coronavirus.

A pact between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia (known as OPEC+), to curb oil production to support prices fell apart earlier this month, sending global oil prices into a tailspin.

“Joint actions by countries are needed to restore the(global) economy... They (joint actions) are also possible in OPEC+ deal’s framework,” Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), told Reuters in a phone interview.

Dmitriev and the Energy Minister Alexander Novak were Russia’s top negotiators in the production cut deal with OPEC. The existing deal expires on March 31.