Author: Rigs & Barge World

Algeria’s refining sector has been stuck in second gear for the last decade or more, with installed capacity of 677,000 b/d barely up on 2015’s 650,000 b/d. With their diet of domestic light sweet crudes, Algeria’s refineries have a low fuel oil yield of around 16%, but they also churn out a high proportion of naphtha rather than more valuable transport fuels such as gasoline and diesel. Naphtha output has averaged 195,000 b/d over the first nine months of the year, Jodi data shows, accounting for 31% of total output. Meanwhile gasoline production is languishing at just 87,000 b/d, roughly…

On the sidelines of the Oman Green Hydrogen Summit 2025, Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, held a series of meetings aimed at strengthening the presence of Egyptian petroleum companies in Oman and expanding bilateral cooperation in green energy and major infrastructure projects. Badawi met with senior officials from Hydrogen Oman Company (Hydrome) and the Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO), in the presence of the heads of the Petroleum Projects and Technical Consultations Company (Petrojet) and the Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI), and Wael Lotfy, the ministry’s Undersecretary for Projects. The discussions focused on establishing…

Equinor and Shell have officially completed a transaction to combine their United Kingdom (UK) offshore oil and natural gas operations into a new joint venture company, Adura, becoming the UK North Sea’s largest independent producer. According to a press release by Equinor, Adura is jointly owned by Shell and Equinor, each holding a 50% stake. The new entity brings together decades of expertise from the two energy majors. It is positioned to deliver a more cost-competitive and resilient portfolio while maximizing the long-term value of their UK assets. Neil McCulloch has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Adura. With…

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC) is bidding to acquire some of Russian oil company Lukoil’s international assets. Lukoil has been trying to offload its overseas operations after the US hit it with sanctions in late October. It has until 13 December to complete negotiations under an extension granted by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac). IHC’s interest in Lukoil’s assets marks a new development for Abu Dhabi’s energy sector. IHC is a sprawling conglomerate listed on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange (ADX), but 61% of the company is owned by the Royal Group investment vehicle of…

Russian oil company Rosneft reported a 70.1% decline in net income during the first nine months of 2025, falling to RUB 277 billion, according to the company’s financial results. During the same period in 2024, the company’s net income was RUB 926 billion. The company’s revenues from sales declined 17.8% to RUB 6.28 trillion during the period from January through September 2025, compared to RUB 7.64 trillion in the first nine months of 2024. Rosneft noted that its performance for the first nine months of 2025 came under additional pressure due to factors such as tariff indexation outpacing inflation for…

The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, honored Mohannad Atef, a member of the Egypt Upstream Gateway (EUG) team, for receiving the Best AI Agent Award at the International Geomechanics Conference held in Saudi Arabia. The recognition is due to his achievement among 425 participants from around the world. Atef explained that the EUG team to which he belongs developed an innovative model that relies on artificial intelligence techniques to extract and analyze geotechnical data with high precision, by designing an “intelligent agent” specialized in drilling data. This, according to Atef, is based on an advanced integration of…

Morocco is pressing ahead with renewable energy plans in Western Sahara as it builds on renewed momentum in support of its decades-old sovereignty claims to the disputed territory. Just two weeks after Rabat celebrated a ‘historic’ UN Security council vote favoring its ‘Autonomy Plan’ for Western Sahara (MEES, 7 November), Morocco’s energy minister Leila Benali announced plans to add 1.5GW of renewable energy projects in the “southern provinces” – Rabat’s preferred term for the disputed territory – by 2030, with investments totalling 15bn dirhams ($1.62bn). (CONTINUED – 685 WORDS) Read this article for free Gain access to over 60-years of…

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reviewed operational developments at the Sukari gold mine in a meeting with AngloGold Ashanti, the mine operator. The meeting was attended by Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Hoda Mansour, Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Sukari Gold Mines, and  Terry Strong, Senior Vice President of AngloGold Ashanti Africa. Madbouly expressed appreciation for the partnership between the Egyptian government and AngloGold Ashanti, according to a statement by the  Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR).  He confirmed that the two parties have ambitious plans to increase gold production from the mine, a fact that…

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has finalized a complex set of transactions with Abu Dhabi counterparts that will enable it to significantly reduce the carbon intensity of its operations. Under the terms of the agreements, it is selling the captive power generation facilities at its Abu Dhabi complex and will instead purchase electricity from the grid. This electricity will increasingly come from low-carbon sources, enabling EGA to produce more low-carbon aluminum. EGA signed the agreements on 27 November with Abu Dhabi state offtaker Ewec, Abu Dhabi utilities giant Taqa and Dubai’s Dubal Holding. (CONTINUED – 1019 WORDS) Read this article for…

Egypt unveiled a new investment incentives package designed to attract small and mid‑sized mining companies to undertake mineral exploration activities. The announcement was made at the “Explore in Egypt” event, where Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with more than 30 Australian companies and institutions expressing interest in investing in Egypt’s mining sector as part of his visit to Australia. The package includes reduced annual fees during early exploration stages, tax and customs exemptions for exploration equipment and supplies. It also includes the issuance of a single license for searching multiple minerals instead of several licenses. The…