Author: Rigs & Barge World

We are entering the age of electricity,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told the World Economic Forum last week. “While oil and gas will be with us for years to come, what grows the most, very impressive, is electricity demand.” While this is a global phenomenon, it is proving transformative in the Mena region, where governments see low-cost renewables as crucial for their economic diversification strategies. Back in September, Mr Birol told MEES that the region is one of the “blind spots” for electricity demand growth, which the IEA expects will surge 50%, or nearly 760TWh, between 2023 and 2035…

Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, has issued new leadership appointments at the ministry and for several petroleum sector companies. This comes as part of the ministry’s efforts to optimize the use of diverse expertise and introduce new leaders to vacant positions following retirements. Hany Aziz Riyad has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Abu Qir Petroleum Company. He began his career as an engineer at El Waha Petroleum Company (OWAPCO) in 1999, then progressed through various positions until he became Vice Chairman for Operations at El Hamra Oil Company in 2023. Mahmoud Nagy Abdel Shafy…

US energy majors ExxonMobil and Chevron have expressed tentative interest in re-engaging with Venezuela’s petroleum sector following the easing of US sanctions, provided that the country establishes robust legal and political stability, according to Reuters. The shift in tone follows the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issuance of General License 46 on January 29, 2026. The license authorizes established US entities to engage in a broad range of activities involving Venezuelan-origin oil. Simultaneously, Venezuela’s National Assembly enacted a sweeping hydrocarbon reform that reduces the state monopoly held by Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) and grants private producers…

The Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) has begun managing fields recently taken over by government forces that were previously controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (MEES, 23 January). In a 24 January statement, SPC said it is now sending 1.2mn m3/d (42mn cfd) at 35bar (508psi) pressure from the Jebissa oilfield in Hasakah province to the South Middle Gas Plant near Furqlus in Homs. Syrian officials had previously said that government gas production stood at around at 7mn m3/d (247mn cfd), and this should lift that to 8.2mn m3/d (289cfd). That is still well short of domestic demand, and Syria…

Some events capture the world’s attention in ways that blur the line between fact and exaggeration. In many cases, misinformation spreads rapidly—particularly through social media—and is compounded by misleading statements from senior officials, including heads of state and ministers. This is precisely what followed the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US forces in the first week of the year, and subsequent statements by the administration of President Donald Trump that the US government would manage Venezuela’s oil wealth—from investment and refining to marketing—and deploy the revenues as it sees fit. Amid the flood of exaggerated—and in some cases…

On 25 January, Iraq’s oil ministry said it is conducting studies to examine the feasibility of a new pipeline linking Haditha in western Iraq to Syria’s Banias oil terminal on the Mediterranean. Last year, Baghdad approved the long-planned $4.6bn, 2.25mn b/d Basra-Haditha pipeline that will improve deliveries to domestic refineries and serve as a jumping off point for potential export pipelines to the Mediterranean (MEES, 3 January 2025). Iraq is overwhelmingly reliant on the Gulf for its crude oil exports, with only modest amounts of oil from Kurdistan exported through a northern pipeline route to Turkey’s Ceyhan terminal. Iraq is…

The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy (MEWRE) have signed a cooperation agreement to build a 1.2-1.5GW co-generation plant at the South Ratqa heavy oil field. The power plant will produce enough steam to raise the field’s capacity to 120,000 b/d, while also increasing the emirate’s power generation capacity. Kuwait currently produces around 90,000 b/d of heavy oil from the Ratqa and Umm Niqa fields in North Kuwait (MEES, 3 January). The oil is extremely heavy and sour, and its high viscosity means that KOC must apply cyclic steam injection and steam flood…

Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, held talks with high-level representatives from Technip Energies, a global leader in energy transition technologies, to finalize the executive steps for establishing a joint venture (JV) with Egypt’s Enppi and the Petroleum Projects and Technical Consultations Company (PETROJET). The strategic alliance aims to execute major engineering and contracting projects both within Egypt and across international markets, according to a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR). During the meeting, Badawi emphasized that the partnership is designed to create a flexible entity capable of delivering Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) and…

China’s Xingfa Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA), Misr Phosphate Company, El Wadi El Gedid for Mineral Resources and Oil Shale (WADiCO), to develop an integrated industrial project for phosphate, quartz, and silica sand in the Golden Triangle Economic Zone. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, witnessed the signing of the MoU which aims to assess the feasibility of establishing an integrated industrial project focused on maximizing the added value of these mineral resources, as part of Egypt’s broader strategy to develop its mining sector and enhance downstream…

Two sizeable gas field increments are due to lift Israeli gas output to new record highs in 2026. Expansions to the Leviathan and Tamar fields are to add a combined 600mn cfd in the coming months, meaning that production should exceed 3bn cfd later this year for the first time. The bulk of the extra gas will be piped to Egypt, thanks to debottlenecking of the export pipeline network. This year should set Israel firmly back on its growth trajectory, after a year of geopolitical disruption. Full year figures for 2025 are not yet available, but Israeli output likely dropped…