#AbuDhabi gives onshore block production license to India's IOC-BPCL JV | Reuters

Abu Dhabi gives onshore block production license to India's IOC-BPCL JV | Reuters

Abu Dhabi has awarded oil and gas production rights for an onshore block to a joint venture of Indian state-run refiners Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL.NS), opens new tab and Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), opens new tab, BPCL said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs of Abu Dhabi has granted rights to Urja Bharat Pte Ltd, an equal joint venture of Indian Oil and Bharat PetroResources, BPCL's exploration and production arm.

The Indian companies have been given production rights for onshore block 1 after completing the exploration phase awarded, opens new tab in 2019.

"Initial exploration efforts have yielded positive results in Onshore Block 1," BPCL said.

Etihad Airways plans IPO no earlier than 2025, sources say

Etihad Airways plans IPO no earlier than 2025, sources say

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways plans to make its stock market debut no sooner than 2025, two people familiar with the matter said, in potentially the first IPO of a major Gulf airline as the UAE's capital ramps up effort to become a global travel hub.

Etihad, owned by sovereign wealth fund ADQ, had considered listing this year, the people said.

However, it wants to present investors with 2024 financial results that will show a strong performance, one of the people said. Geopolitical instability in the region has also weighed on timing, the second person said.

ADQ declined to comment. A spokesperson for Etihad said it "does not comment on rumour or speculation".

Etihad, which started operations in 2003, spent billions of dollars buying minority stakes in other carriers to create larger network through its Abu Dhabi hub and better compete with Gulf peers Emirates and Qatar Airways. But that strategy unravelled as many of those airlines ran into financial trouble.

After a management shake-up and years of paring back operations, Etihad has expanded under new CEO Antonoaldo Neves.

Under its "Journey 2030" strategy, it plans to bolster Abu Dhabi's role as a travel hub connecting Asia and Europe.

Targets include expanding destinations to more than 125 airports by 2030 from over 70 today, and boosting its fleet to over 160 aircraft from around 90 now.

Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport opened a multibillion-dollar new terminal last year that tripled annual capacity to 45 million passengers.

"Our mandate is clear: to deliver extraordinary customer service and sustainable profitability, as the foundation for Etihad's contribution to Abu Dhabi's aspirations," Neves was quoted as saying last November.

The airline last month reported a 48% increase in half-year after tax profit, with passenger numbers rising 38% to 8.7 million. That followed full-year net profits in 2022 and 2023.

Neves told Reuters in March that Etihad was improving transparency, governance and its balance sheet to be ready for an IPO should ADQ decide to list it.

Etihad also faces delays in receiving new aircraft from planemakers Airbus and Boeing, which have forced some airlines to scale back growth plans.

That comes amid a boom in international travel since the pandemic, which governments in the Gulf are riding to pursue reforms aimed at diversifying their economies away from fossil fuels.

The measures include privatising state assets including airlines, and a potential Etihad listing would add to the regional flurry of IPOs in recent years.

The president of bigger rival Emirates said in 2021 the Dubai government was considering an IPO of the airline, and Flynas in Saudi Arabia is looking to list as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported. Flynas declined to comment.

Most Gulf markets in the red on weak oil | Reuters

Most Gulf markets in the red on weak oil | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Wednesday, dragged down by weaker oil prices, while investors awaited key U.S. inflation data that could affect the size of a potential interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week.

OPEC on Tuesday cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 reflecting data received so far this year, and also trimmed its expectation for next year, marking the producer group's second consecutive downward revision.

China accounted for the bulk of the latest downgrade, as OPEC trimmed its forecast of Chinese growth to 650,000 barrels per day in 2024 from 700,000 bpd. Oil use in the world's second-largest economy was facing headwinds from economic challenges and moves to cleaner fuels, OPEC said.

Oil prices rose after dropping more than 3% on Tuesday, but still hovered near three-year lows after OPEC+ revised down its demand forecast for this year and 2025.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab declined 1.8%, hit by a 1.7% fall in Al Taiseer Group (4143.SE), opens new tab and a 5.1% slide in ACWA Power Co (2082.SE), opens new tab.

Elsewhere, oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab dropped 0.7%.

U.S. consumer prices - which came in post market hours - rose marginally in August, but underlying inflation showed some stickiness, which could discourage the Federal Reserve from delivering a half-point interest rate cut next week.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI gaining 0.2% and rising 2.6% year-on-year. Though inflation remains above the U.S. central bank's 2% target, it has slowed considerably.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab fell 0.9%, with Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU), opens new tab retreating 2.7%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab decreased 0.9%.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI), opens new tab finished 0.2% lower, weighed down by a 2.3% fall in Qatar Gas Transport (QGTS.QA), opens new tab.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab advanced 1.3%, led by a 8.8% jump in Egypt Kuwait Holding (EKHO.CA), opens new tab.

#AbuDhabi closes in on German group that helped ‘invent chemistry’

Abu Dhabi closes in on German group that helped ‘invent chemistry’

German chemist Otto Bayer did not know what to do with polyurethane foam when he invented it in 1937. Today the chemical is omnipresent in household appliances and cars, and is at the heart of Abu Dhabi state oil group Adnoc’s effort to seal Europe’s biggest takeover deal this year. 

The target company, Covestro, is a jewel of German industry. Spun out of pharmaceuticals-to-chemicals conglomerate Bayer in 2015, its Leverkusen headquarters sit in the industrial heartland of North Rhine-Westphalia — a state brimming with potential customers for its products. 

But times are not as good as they once were. High energy prices and sluggish consumer demand have hit Germany’s manufacturers, and their suppliers, including Covestro, are feeling the squeeze. 

“Europe is getting less and less competitive, especially Germany,” chief executive Markus Steilemann told the Financial Times at Covestro’s most recent earnings, when the company narrowed its full-year profit outlook. 

The chemicals industry lobby group that Steilemann chairs has warned that Europe’s largest economy is deindustrialising and urgently needs support.