Author: Rigs & Barge World

Saudi Arabia’s government this week approved an expansionary budget for 2026, in which it expects to run an annual deficit of $44bn. There were no surprises in the budget, which tracks the pre-budget announcement from October, with spending of $350.1bn easily outstripping revenues of $305.9bn (MEES, 3 October). This year has proven to be a challenging one for Riyadh’s finances, with the budget deficit surging by $34.5bn to a five-year high of $65.3bn, preliminary Ministry of Finance figures show (see table). This is more than double the originally budgeted figure of $26.9bn. (CONTINUED – 600 WORDS) Read this article for…

Last week’s attacks on the 750mn cfd Khor Mor gas field laid bare the growing role of the Kurdistan Region as an electricity supplier to Federal Iraq. The field is the primary supplier of gas to power plants in Kurdistan, and its temporary closure forced plants across the Region to shut down too. Whereas in previous years the impact of this outside of Kurdistan would have been limited, this time, the shutdowns led to power outages in Federal Iraq. The 26 November strike resulted in the federal grid losing up to 1.2GW of supplies that it was receiving from privately-operated…

During an official visit to London as the head of the Egypt‑UK business mission for mining, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi held talks with Hoda Mansour, Managing Director and Vice Chairwoman of Sukari Gold Mines Company, representing  AngloGold Ashanti. According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ (MoPMR) statement, the meeting focused on deepening cooperation with AngloGold Ashanti, the world’s fourth-largest gold mining company, and channelling additional investment into Egypt. The company recently received two new exploration and exploitation licences in the Eastern Desert to complement its current operations and ambitious Sukari gold mine development plans.…

Turkey finalized a one-year extension of two natural gas import contracts with Russia’s Gazprom totaling 22 billion cubic meters (bcm), while advancing plans to invest in US natural gas production, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced, Reuters reported. State gas importer Boru Hatları ile Petrol Taşıma A.Ş. (BOTAŞ) will continue receiving Gazprom supplies in 2026 under the short-term arrangement, with the original contracts expiring at year-end. Turkey is also negotiating a 10 bcm contract with Iran, set to expire in July 2026, and exploring increased Turkmen natural gas imports through an Iranian swap deal currently at 1.3 bcm annually. Turkey, Russia’s…

Infinity Power, Africa’s largest renewable energy company, signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with POWERCHINA Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited (HDEC) to develop a 200 megawatt (MW) wind farm in the Ras Ghareb region of Egypt’s Gulf of Suez. The project is a flagship initiative under Egypt’s renewable energy program, part of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development-led Energy Pillar of the Nexus Water-Food-Energy (NWFE) initiative. Once completed, the wind farm is expected to supply clean electricity to over 300,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 400,000 tons annually, according to Infinity Power’s statement. “We…

Egypt awarded its first Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production license to the Egyptian Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company (ESAF), a subsidiary of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM). The agreement was signed between ESAF and Honeywell UOP, in the presence of Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi. The agreement marks the launch of Egypt’s first SAF project, to be built in Alexandria. The facility will convert used cooking oil into up to 120,000 tons of jet fuel annually, cutting an estimated 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. According to a statement by the ministry, Badawi described the…

Cheiron has signed with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) an agreement for oil exploration and production in the East Gemsa offshore area in the Gulf of Suez. The deal, which covers the drilling of four new wells, involves overall investments exceeding $30 million, in addition to a $1 million signature bonus. The agreement was signed in attendance of Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ihab Regaei, First Undersecretary of the MoPMR for Production for the ministry, and Samir Raslan, Undersecretary of the MoPMR for Agreements and Exploration. The deal represents a successful partnership model with the Egyptian…

Iran is on course for a fifth consecutive annual increase in oil production, albeit a marginal increase, despite the return of President Trump to the White House in January and the launch of his ‘maximum pressure 2.0’ campaign (MEES, 7 February). Production has averaged 3.27mn b/d over the first ten months of the year (see chart), although volumes have dropped back slightly from their April high point of 3.31mn b/d. Read this article for free Gain access to over 60-years of energy analysis and news Delve into the details backed by data Exclusive information from high-level officials Assess future risks…

ExxonMobil plans to permanently shut down the older of its two steam crackers on Singapore’s Jurong Island, with closure beginning in March and full shutdown expected by June, Reuters reported, citing four sources. The move comes as petrochemical producers worldwide face losses from sharp overcapacity driven largely by China. The 2002-built plant has been winding down as ExxonMobil gradually reduced term contract volumes in Singapore over the past two years. The company’s second Jurong Island cracker, launched in 2013, has a capacity of 1.1 million tons per year and will continue operations. Local buyers are expected to shift to Singapore’s…

Q: Energean has a strong East Mediterranean footprint with producing assets in Israel and Egypt. The key asset is the Karish field offshore Israel, not forgetting the nearby Katlan development. Can you give us an update on those two projects? A: At the moment, you’re absolutely right. It’s Karish and Karish North. Four wells producing a steady capacity of 730mn cfd, we are meeting the contractual arrangements that we have in Israel. We do see seasonality in Israel. Peak demand is during the summer months when the capacity is not enough. The physical capacity of the [780mn cfd Energean Power]…