Saturday 23 January 2021

Oil Industry Reels as Biden Targets Fossil Fuels in First Days - Bloomberg

Oil Industry Reels as Biden Targets Fossil Fuels in First Days - Bloomberg

Hours after taking office, President Joe Biden made good on a campaign promise to cancel the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Later that day his Interior Department mandated that only top agency leaders could approve new drilling permits over the next two months.

Next week, according to people familiar with the plans, Biden will go even further: suspending the sale of oil and gas leases on federal land, where the U.S. gets 10% of its supplies.

The actions sent oil producers’ stocks tumbling and raised blood pressure across the industry.

“In the first couple of days of the new administration, they are taking actions that will harm the economy and cost Americans their jobs,” said Frank Macchiarola, a senior vice president of policy for the American Petroleum Institute. “We’re concerned, and everyone in the country should be concerned.”

The Interior Department’s order, signed late Wednesday, changes procedures for 60 days while the agency’s new leadership gets into place. It requires top brass to sign off on oil leases and permits as well as decisions about hiring, mining operations and environmental reviews.

#Kuwait Central Bank Allows Lenders to Distribute 2020 Dividends - Bloomberg

Kuwait Central Bank Allows Lenders to Distribute 2020 Dividends - Bloomberg

Kuwaiti lenders will be allowed to distribute cash profits based on their 2020 financial results, the Central Bank of Kuwait said on Saturday.

“In light of the financial data of Kuwaiti banks, that showed strength and solid levels of capital adequacy, and due to not using their provisions during 2020, they can distribute dividends to shareholders in line with their results and net profits, in a way that doesn’t affect the required capital adequacy,” the bank said in a statement.

The Kuwait Banking Association said in June that there would be no distribution of dividends to shareholders for 2020. The decision was taken to enable the banking sector to operate normally and ensure liquidity “until current extraordinary circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic cease to exist,” state-run KUNA news agency reported at the time, citing the association.

#Saudi Aramco said to eye $10bn from pipeline stake sale - Arabianbusiness

Saudi Aramco said to eye $10bn from pipeline stake sale - Arabianbusiness

Brookfield Asset Management and KKR & Co are among top infrastructure investors weighing bids for a stake in Saudi Aramco’s oil pipelines, people familiar with the matter said.

Apollo Global Management and China’s state-backed Silk Road Fund Co have also been studying whether to make offers, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private.

The stake sale could fetch Aramco around $10 billion, the people said.

The world’s top oil producer has asked for expressions of interest and aims to receive non-binding offers next month, according to the people.

Aramco’s advisers are also gauging interest from other potential bidders including sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp., the people said. Some bidders may team up given the size of the transaction, they said.

Unemployment rate in #SaudiArabia down to 14.9% in Q3 2020 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia down to 14.9% in Q3 2020 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

The unemployment rate among Saudis dropped to 14.9 percent in the third quarter of the last year from 15.4 percent in the second quarter while it rose compared to 11.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics announced on Friday.

The unemployment rate among males and females stood at 7.9 percent and 30.2 percent, respectively in the same period.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate among all residents (15 years and above) dropped from 9 percent to 8.5 percent by the end of Q3 2020.

The statistics suggest that the Saudi labor market and economy continue to reel from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The total number of employed persons across the Kingdom stood at13.46 million in Q3 2020. Males accounted for 82 percent, or 10.97 million of the total labor force, while females represented 18 percent, or 2.49 million.