Did COVID Kill LNG Natural Gas Dreams?

Did COVID Kill LNG Natural Gas Dreams?:

The current minimum amount of positive figures or green shoots are swiftly removed by new depressing figures of crude oil stock volumes in USA or lower estimates of OECD and MENA region GDP figures for 2020. The total impact is still unclear, but one thing has become obvious, energy demand and supply is under pressure, but not yet balancing out the right way.

At present, the main focus when talking about energy demand destruction is on crude oil and its products. Clearly, oil is struggling, but its sister, natural gas is totally on life-support.

The Golden Age of Gas, as presented by the International Energy Agency at the beginning of the 21st Century, seems to be a very short Age, as we are now entering a possible Ice Age of Gas. Demand worldwide is fledgling, main consumer markets are showing no increased demand figures, while the future demand is in doubt.

With being promoted worldwide as the energy transition fuel, natural gas and LNG have been promoted exponentially. The world’s leading oil and gas companies, such as Shell, ENI, Total, in cooperation with national oils QP, ADNOC, Gazprom and others, all have made the ‘rational’ choice to invest in the natural gas E&P sectors from the end of the 1990s onwards.

LATAM Airlines adds $1.3 billion to bankruptcy financing proposal, Brazil unit seeks protection - Reuters

LATAM Airlines adds $1.3 billion to bankruptcy financing proposal, Brazil unit seeks protection - Reuters:

LATAM Airlines, the largest airline group in Latin America, said Thursday it had secured an additional $1.3 billion for its financing proposal before a New York bankruptcy court, while adding its unit in Brazil to the debt restructuring process.

LATAM (LTM.SN) filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection in May, aiming to reorder $18 billion in debt. It was the world’s largest airline to date to seek an emergency reorganization due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, it said it had secured an additional $1.3 billion in funding from Oaktree Capital Management L.P. and its affiliates, enough to meet the company´s financing requirements amid the crisis. The company had already secured $900 million for the process from shareholders Cueto Group and Qatar Airways. “Combined ... it is hoped that financial support will not be required from governments,” the company said in a statement early on Thursday.

MIDEAST STOCKS-Financials buoy #Qatar; blue-chip sell-off trips up Egypt - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Financials buoy Qatar; blue-chip sell-off trips up Egypt - Reuters:

Broad-based gains pushed the Qatari
bourse higher on Thursday, with financial stocks leading the
pack, whereas a wide sell-off pulled down Egypt's blue-chip
share index.

In Qatar, the benchmark share index advanced 1%, as
most of its constituents ended higher. Qatar National Bank
, the Gulf's biggest lender, gained 2.8%, while
petrochemical firm Industries Qatar added 1.9%.

Elsewhere, Commercial Bank was up 1.5%.

On Wednesday, the Qatari cabinet approved a draft resolution
that aims to raise the percentage of Qataris working at
state-owned companies or where the state is an investor to 60%,
state news agency QNA reported.

Oil falls $1/bbl as resurgent pandemic prompts worries about U.S. demand - Reuters

Oil falls $1/bbl as resurgent pandemic prompts worries about U.S. demand - Reuters:

Oil prices fell about $1 a barrel on Thursday as investors worried that renewed lockdowns to contain the spread of coronavirus in the United States would again sink fuel consumption.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 94 cents, or 2.2%, to settle at $42.35 a barrel, after gaining 0.5% on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell $1.28, or 3.1%, to settle at $39.62 a barrel.

“As the U.S., Brazil and other countries continue to get hammered by COVID-19, demand is at stake,” said Louise Dickson, oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy.

The United States reported more than 60,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the biggest increase reported by a country in a single day. Coronavirus cases have been on the rise in 42 of the 50 U.S. states over the past two weeks, according to a Reuters analysis.

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #SaudiArabia #Qatar close

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:

Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.

Oil steady as coronavirus fears offset gasoline recovery signs - Reuters

Oil steady as coronavirus fears offset gasoline recovery signs - Reuters:

Concerns about renewed coronavirus lockdowns in the United States outweighed signs of a recovery in U.S. gasoline demand on Thursday to keep a lid on oil prices.

The market is also in a holding pattern ahead of a meeting on July 15 of the market monitoring panel of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies.

Brent crude futures were up 5 cents, or 0.12%, to $43.34 by 1139 GMT, after gaining 0.5% on Wednesday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dipped 14 cents, or 0.3%, to $40.76, after rising 0.7% the previous day.


“Support will disappear after this week as coronavirus cases are surging in several U.S. states,” Tamas Varga at PVM Oil Associates said, adding that a fall in prices was likely.

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #SaudiArabia #Qatar mid-session

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:

Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.

#Dubai Metro Extension Latest: Route 2020 Opening in September - Bloomberg

Dubai Metro Extension Latest: Route 2020 Opening in September - Bloomberg:

Dubai plans to open a $3 billion extension to its metro rail network in September as the emirate pushes ahead with projects even after a key event to attract millions of visitors was delayed by a year.

“Route 2020 opens to the public this September and will serve 270,000 people,” Dubai’s media office said after its formal inauguration by the emirate’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Dubai’s World Expo 2020 was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government and the private sector had spent billions of dollars building hotels and facilities in expectation of visitors from around the world to the Middle East business hub.

The emirate, which started easing restrictions in the past months after locking down the city to prevent the spread of coronavirus, allowed holiday-makers to resume flying into Dubai from Tuesday. There will be an “aggressive” bounce back in tourism by the year end, Helal Al Marri, director general of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.

#Kuwait's Gulf Cable acquires 14.4% stake in Boursa Kuwait | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Kuwait's Gulf Cable acquires 14.4% stake in Boursa Kuwait | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Kuwait’s Gulf Cable & Electrical Industries has bought a 14.407 percent stake in Boursa Kuwait.

The stake represents 28,925,610 shares bought at a price of 400 fils per share or 11.57 million Kuwait dinars ($37.56 million).

The company had reported a net profit attributable to owners of the parent company of 4.2 million Kuwaiti dinars for the year 2019, compared to a net profit of 8.42 million Kuwaiti dinars for the year 2018.

Gulf Cable & Electrical Industries is a Kuwait-based company that manufactures and exports power cables, control cables, telecommunication cables and overhead conductors.

Emirates lays off more pilots, crew in latest round of job cuts - sources - Reuters

Emirates lays off more pilots, crew in latest round of job cuts - sources - Reuters:

Emirates laid off more pilots and cabin crew this week in another round of job cuts as the Gulf airline shrinks its workforce due to the coronavirus pandemic, four sources said.

The Dubai state-owned carrier is cutting thousands of jobs, including pilots and cabin crew as it manages a cash crunch caused by the pandemic, sources have said.

A company spokeswoman on Thursday did not say how many employees had been made redundant in this week’s job cuts or from which departments. The workforce of 4,300 pilots and nearly 22,000 cabin crew could shrink by almost a third from its pre-coronavirus levels, sources have previously told Reuters. 

Mostly Airbus A380 pilots were affected by the job cuts this week, two sources said, and one of those sources said more redundancies were expected.

#Qatar to raise proportion of Qatari staff in state affiliated companies to 60%: QNA - Reuters

Qatar to raise proportion of Qatari staff in state affiliated companies to 60%: QNA - Reuters:

The Qatari cabinet approved on Wednesday a draft resolution that aims to raise the percentage of Qataris working at state-owned companies or where the state is an investor to 60%, state news agency (QNA) reported.

“The decision also includes other authorities that are subject to the retirement and pensions law,” QNA added of the draft resolution.

MIDEAST STOCKS- #Saudi bourse gains in early trade; other markets quiet - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi bourse gains in early trade; other markets quiet - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia’s stock market rose in early trade on Thursday, supported by petrochemicals and banking shares, while trade on other major bourses in the Gulf was subdued.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index added 0.3%, driven by a 0.4% gain in Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.5% rise in Saudi Arabian Fertilizers.

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it had completed the first batch of its flour milling sector privatisation, according to a statement by the state grain buyer and privatisation centre.

The privatisation process had attracted initial interest from some of the world’s largest agribusiness companies, including Archer Daniels Midland Co and Bunge Ltd and was seen as a litmus test for other large state asset sales to follow.

Dubai’s main share index slipped 0.1%, with Emirates NBD Bank losing 0.8% and logistic firm Aramex down 1.2%.

#AbuDhabi Aims to Attract Skilled Expats by Making Life Cheaper - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi Aims to Attract Skilled Expats by Making Life Cheaper - Bloomberg:

A visitor looks at the view of the city skyline from a breakwater in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

 Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi will bet on attracting technology firms and skilled workers to help its economy rebound early next year, after the twin setbacks of cheaper oil and the coronavirus pandemic battered the United Arab Emirates and the wider Gulf.

Sitting on around 6% of global oil reserves, the emirate’s economy may shrink between 3% and 4% this year before returning to growth in 2021, said Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, chairman of the Department of Economic Development.

Officials want to develop “the knowledge sector and innovation by attracting technology companies to put down roots in Abu Dhabi,” he said in an interview Wednesday. So they are spending on capital projects and investing in startups and strategic industries, especially agricultural science, and looking to lower the costs of entering and living in the emirate, said Al Shorafa, who’s also a member of the Executive Council, the top decision-making body.

The government won’t follow Saudi Arabia, which tripled its value-added tax to help boost state revenues during the virus slowdown.

#Dubai Business Conditions Improve as City Emerges From Lockdown - Bloomberg

Dubai Business Conditions Improve as City Emerges From Lockdown - Bloomberg:

Business conditions in Dubai showed signs of picking up in June as the city reopens after a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Non-oil private sector activity in the Middle East’s business hub improved for the first time since February, according to IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index. The gauge rose from 46 in May to 50 last month -- the mark that separates contraction from growth.

“Business activity was back in positive territory as firms were given a welcome boost from the relaxing of lockdown measures,” said David Owen, an economist at IHS Markit. “Some sectors were on the path back to normality, according to survey respondents, though others presented a more cautious picture, finding that demand in some areas, notably travel & tourism, was still extremely weak.”