Author: Rigs & Barge World

Kuwait Petroleum company (KPC), a state- owned oil company, has extended the deadline for preliminary bids on its crude oil pipeline network to April 28, citing disruptions from the US–Israeli war on Iran, according to Reuters. The deadline was originally set for April 7 but was pushed back after investors said they needed more time due to the fast-evolving conflict. JPMorgan, HSBC, and two Kuwaiti lenders, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Kuwait Finance House (KFH), are arranging a $6 billion financing syndicate for prospective buyers of the stake, which is estimated to be worth around $7 billion. Meanwhile, the…

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, represented Egypt and delivered a keynote address at the opening of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Critical Minerals Forum in Istanbul, Türkiye. Badawi took part in the high-level ministerial panel discussion held during the opening session, alongside Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources; Mike Kopp, Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of Energy; Rohitesh Dhawan, President and CEO of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM); and the Philippine Undersecretary of Industry. The event drew a distinguished international audience, including mining ministers, officials from…

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), founded in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, faced a historic shift on Tuesday when the United Arab Emirates announced its departure from the cartel. The UAE, one of the group’s most influential producers, had been a member for over 60 years, navigating the bloc’s tumultuous history. It is the fourth largest oil producers in the cartel.By 2024, however, friction grew over the production quota system, which the UAE felt unfairly limited its output despite significant domestic investments in capacity. While Saudi Arabia, the group’s de facto leader, insisted on…

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The UAE announced on April 28 that it is withdrawing from both OPEC and OPEC+, a major setback for the oil producers’ alliance and its leading member, Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters. The decision comes amid the ongoing Iran war, which has triggered an energy shock and rattled global markets. As a long-standing member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the UAE reported that the step was taken after reassessing its energy policies. Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei told Reuters that the decision was taken after a careful review of the regional power’s energy strategies. The choice…

With the ceasefire deadline approaching, US President Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension on the evening of 22 April, stepping back from earlier threats to resume attacks on Iran. In a post on Truth Social, he said the ceasefire would be extended “until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.” Despite initial expectations that both countries would send delegations to Islamabad this week for a second round of talks, meaningful discussions have yet to resume. Tehran is conditioning further talks on the US lifting its recently imposed blockade on Iranian ports…

Egypt and Türkiye are set to strengthen mining sector cooperation. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met Alparslan Bayraktar, Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, in Istanbul to discuss cooperation opportunities in the mining and energy sectors between the two countries, according to a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR). This meeting builds on previous engagements between officials from Egyptian Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA) and Türkiye’s OZ Minerals Company, as well as the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries in May 2025. The meeting included a proposal…

Goldman Sachs has increased its oil price projections for the fourth quarter (Q4), attributing the revision to reduced Middle East output, with Brent crude forecast at $90 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at $83, Reuters reported. In an April 26 report, analysts led by Daan Struyven, co-head of Global Commodities Research and head of Oil Research at Goldman Sachs, suggested that broader economic risks exceed the bank’s base crude scenario, highlighting upward pressure on oil prices, persistently high refined product prices, risks of supply shortages, and the magnitude of the current market disruption. The updated forecast assumes…

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has reinforced the importance of the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline, now Iraq’s only functioning export route following the suspension of Gulf exports. With the waterway’s long-term viability undermined by the threat from Iran, Ankara has renewed calls to expand the ITP and link it directly to Iraq’s major oil fields in Basra, though political, commercial and logistical hurdles remain. Diversifying supply routes from the Middle East to avoid disruptions in the future is also an energy security concern for consumers. The IEA’s Executive Director, Fatih Birol, spoke of the project’s importance to security of supply.…

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly urged the government to launch an initiative to incentivize factories and households to transition to solar energy, stressing that this is a top government priority. This came during the Central Crisis Management Committee meeting, chaired by Madbouly, to follow up on the latest developments of the current crisis. During its meeting, the Committee approved suspending the decision requiring public shops, shopping centers, and restaurants to close at 11 PM, and returning to the normal operating hours previously in effect. The meeting reviewed the latest repercussions of the current crisis, the most recent developments in the status…