Friday 22 October 2021

Oil hovers below recent highs; ends week up | Reuters

Oil hovers below recent highs; ends week up | Reuters

Oil traded just below multi-year highs on Friday with bullish sentiment about low supplies tamped by concerns from world leaders that demand disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic may not be over.

Brent crude futures rose 92 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $85.53 a barrel. The benchmark, which touched a three-year high of $86.10 on Thursday, was up 1% in the week, its seventh weekly gain.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.26, or 1.5%, to settle at $83.76 a barrel, not far off a seven-year high hit this week. The contract gained 1.7% on the week and was up for a ninth straight week.

Prices have been boosted by worries about coal and gas shortages in China, India and Europe, spurring some power generators to switch from gas to fuel oil and diesel.

Oil rises above $85 a barrel, Brent set for seventh weekly gain | Reuters

Oil rises above $85 a barrel, Brent set for seventh weekly gain | Reuters

Oil prices stayed near multi-year highs on Friday, erasing some earlier losses in Asian trading hours, with concerns about tight supply and stockpiles fuelling bullish sentiment.

Brent crude futures rose 92 cents, or 1%, to $85.53 a barrel at 1335 GMT, after Thursday's three-year high of $86.10. The benchmark is set for its seventh weekly gain.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.05, or 1.3%, to reach $83.55 a barrel, not far off a seven-year high hit this week. The grade is heading for its ninth weekly rise.

Prices have been boosted by worries about coal and gas shortages in China, India and Europe, spurring some power generators to switch from gas to fuel oil and diesel.

Oil stays near $85 a barrel, Brent set for seventh weekly gain | Reuters

Oil stays near $85 a barrel, Brent set for seventh weekly gain | Reuters

Oil prices stayed near multi-year highs on Friday, erasing some earlier losses in Asian trading hours, with concerns about tight supply and stockpiles fuelling bullish sentiment.

Brent crude futures rose 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $84.84 a barrel at 0933 GMT, after Thursday's three-year high of $86.10. The benchmark is set for its seventh weekly gain.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 20 cents, or 0.2%, to reach $82.70 a barrel, not far off a seven-year high hit this week.

Prices have been boosted by worries about coal and gas shortages in China, India and Europe, spurring some power generators to switch from gas to fuel oil and diesel.

Winter weather in much of the United States is expected to be warmer than average, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast.

#Saudi NEOM’s green hydrogen plant to operate in 2026: Air Product’s CEO | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Saudi NEOM’s green hydrogen plant to operate in 2026: Air Product’s CEO | ZAWYA MENA Edition

NEOM’s green hydrogen plant will start operations in 2026, the chief executive officer of Air Products & Chemicals revealed in an interview with Alarabiya.

The project will export hydrogen in the form of liquid ammonia to the world market for use as a biofuel that feeds transportation systems.

Seifi Ghasemi noted that the project is the biggest in the world and that it is the first time for the company to handle a project with this scale, echoing a similar comment from ACWA Power CEO to Arab News.

This comes amid the Kingdom’s directions towards green energy.

#AbuDhabi launches 'Virtual Licence' for non-resident foreign investors | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Abu Dhabi launches 'Virtual Licence' for non-resident foreign investors | ZAWYA MENA Edition

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has launched the "Virtual Licence" allowing the non-resident foreign investors to obtain an economic licence for doing business in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi without any prior residence procedures and from any location outside the United Arab Emirates.

This announcement was made on the sidelines of the Department’s participation in the Abu Dhabi government pavilion in the 41st session of the GITEX Global (Dubai 2021), held under the auspices of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, under the slogan "Nothing Stops People and Tech."

Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, stated that virtual licence is an unprecedented proactive initiative targeting attraction of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) through facilitating the economic activity licensing procedures and requirements, regardless of the location of the investor and no residency requirements shall be met before the issuance of this licence.

He added that this initiative goes in line with the directions of the UAE government to enable cross-border digital trade.

Oil prices drop; Brent on track for first weekly dip in seven | Reuters

Oil prices drop; Brent on track for first weekly dip in seven | Reuters

Oil prices fell on Friday with Brent poised for its first weekly dip in seven weeks as demand for oil products in power generation cooled off amid easing coal and gas prices, while a forecast for a mild U.S. winter also weighed on the market.

Brent crude futures dropped 50 cents, or 0.6%, to $84.11 a barrel at 0645 GMT, extending a $1.21 slump in the previous session.

Brent touched a three-year high of $86.10 on Thursday, but was on track to slip 0.9% in the week, the first weekly dip since Sept. 3.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 49 cents, or 0.6%, to $82.01 a barrel, following a 92-cent loss on Thursday.

"Crude oil has witnessed some correction as part of a sell-off across commodities amid renewed virus concerns and forecast of a milder winter in the United States," said Ravindra Rao, vice president, commodities at Kotak Securities.

Ex-Google Executive Looks to Raise $1 Billion for Middle East Tech Fund - Bloomberg #SaudiArabia

Ex-Google Executive Looks to Raise $1 Billion for Middle East Tech Fund - Bloomberg

STV, a venture capital firm started by ex-Google executive Abdulrahman Tarabzouni, is looking to raise at least $1 billion for its second Middle East technology investment fund, making it potentially the biggest fund of its kind in the region, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company, formed in 2017 with $500 million for its first fund provided entirely by Saudi Telecom Co., has started talks with other potential backers, including Middle East sovereign wealth funds and international pension funds and endowments, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

A computer science graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tarabzouni worked at Morgan Stanley and Oracle Corp. before becoming head of emerging Arabia at Google in 2009. He subsequently held a number of roles at the search giant before leaving Silicon Valley to lead the launch of STV.

Interest in the technology industry in the Middle East has increased the past few years as governments seek to diversify their energy-dependent economies. Investor interest has been piqued by deals like the sale of Dubai-based ride hailing firm Careem to Uber for $3.1 billion in 2019. The pandemic has also accelerated a shift online for many businesses in a region that has a large tech-savvy young population but has been slower to embrace e-commerce.

Since its launch STV has backed many of the tech firms that have quickly risen to prominence. It was an early investor in Careem and also invested in communications platform Unifonic, which received a $125 million infusion led by SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund 2 in September.

STV declined to comment.