Saudi Arabia

If an investigation shows that last week’s attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities was launched from Iranian territory, the kingdom would consider it an act of war, but Riyadh is currently seeking a peaceful resolution, a senior Saudi official said. “We hold Iran responsible because the missiles and the drones …

Saudi state oil firm Aramco has told Japanese refiner JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy about a possible change in shipment, raising concern about the kingdom’s ability to supply crude oil a week after attacks on its refineries, the Nikkei Asian Review reported. Aramco did not specify a reason for the …

Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri spoke to the Saudi finance minister on Saturday about support for the Lebanese economy and preparations for the first meeting of a bilateral council, his media office said. Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said on Wednesday that Riyadh was in discussions with the Lebanese government about …

U.S. President Donald Trump has approved sending American troops to bolster Saudi Arabia’s air defenses after Saturday’s attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities, which Washington has blamed on Iran, the Pentagon said on Friday. The Pentagon said the deployment would involve a moderate number of troops and would be primarily …

Saudi Aramco has booked at least 120,000 tonnes of naphtha for September loading from Europe in a rare move as it seeks to plug a supply gap following attacks on its oil facilities on Saturday, industry sources said. Data from Refinitiv Oil Research shows that Aramco chartered vessel British Resolution …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the United States was building a coalition to deter Iran after an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities but it wanted a peaceful resolution. “We are still striving to build out a coalition in an act of diplomacy while the foreign …

Iran warned U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday against being dragged into all-out war in the Middle East following an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has described the weekend strike that initially halved Saudi oil output …

Saudi Arabia is in discussions with the Lebanese government about providing financial support, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said on Wednesday. “We continue to believe and put our money and commitment in Lebanon, we’ll continue to support Lebanon and we are working with its government,” Jadaan said in an interview …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday it looked like Iran was behind attacks on oil plants in Saudi Arabia but stressed he did not want to go to war, as the attacks sent oil prices soaring and raised fears of a new Middle East conflict. Iran has rejected U.S. …

Three distillate tankers have been diverted from loading their cargoes at the Saudi port of Jubail, according to data intelligence firm Kpler. The LR2 Sti Savile Row, chartered by Total to load 103,000 tonnes of ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) at Jubail on Sept 26, was expected to discharge in …

Saudi Aramco informed PetroChina on Tuesday that some of its loadings of light crude oil for October will be delayed by up to about 10 days after Saturday’s attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities, according to a senior Chinese state oil source with knowledge of the matter. However, Aramco, the …

Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry, has affirmed the UAE’s full readiness to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in facing any possible disruption to oil supplies. “We have reached out to Saudi Arabia following the terrorist attack against two Saudi Aramco oil facilities to …

The Joint Committee for Media Cooperation of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council yesterday held its first meeting in Abu Dhabi, under the chairmanship of Turki Al Shabana, Saudi Minister of Media, and Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of the National Media Council. The meeting …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi that the United States has information confirming Baghdad’s denial that Iraqi territory was used to launch an attack on Saudi oil facilities, Iraq said on Monday. “On his part the U.S. Secretary of State said the information …

Britain on Monday said an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities was serious and outrageous but that the full facts were needed on who was responsible before making a response. The attack “was a wanton violation of international law,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, adding that the United Kingdom …

Iran’s foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said on Sunday that the United States and its allies were “stuck in Yemen” and that blaming Tehran “won’t end the disaster”. “Having failed at “max pressure”, @SecPompeo’s turning to “max deceit”.. US & its clients are stuck in Yemen because of illusion that …

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said it attacked two plants at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry on Saturday, knocking out more than half the Kingdom’s output, in a move expected to send oil prices soaring and increase tensions in the Middle East. The attacks will cut the kingdom’s output …

The Trump administration is prepared to tap U.S. emergency oil reserves if necessary after drone attacks shut oil output in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, a Department of Energy spokeswoman said. Energy Secretary Rick Perry “stands ready to deploy resources from the Strategic Petroleum Oil Reserves if necessary …

Drone attacks on two Saudi Aramco factories in Abqaiq and Khurais provinces on Saturday sparked fires that the state oil company brought under control, the Saudi interior ministry spokesman said without identifying the source of the drones. The precise targets and the extent of possible damage were unclear. Aramco did …

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said on Friday he will meet the new Saudi energy minister on Monday and likely discuss plans the kingdom has to build nuclear reactors. Rick Perry said he would meet energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who took over from Khalid al-Falih on Sunday. Perry …

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday said it would release the name of an individual sought by people who are suing the government of Saudi Arabia for alleged involvement in the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks. U.S. prosecutors in New York said in a court filing that Attorney General William …

Republican and Democratic U.S. senators revived an effort to pressure Saudi Arabia over human rights, by pushing the country to fulfill its commitment to provide $750 million this year to help the people of Yemen, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The letter sent on Tuesday to …

A joint venture between state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) and Spanish state-held shipbuilder Navantia signed a 900 million euro ($991 million) deal to adapt Navantia’s combat management systems for Saudi navy corvette ships. The contract was signed at a defense fair in London this week, Saudi state news agency …

Saudi Aramco has hired nine banks as joint global coordinators to lead its planned initial public offering (IPO), slated to be the world’s largest, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. The mandates have been heavily sought by the world’s biggest investment banks for a transaction which, …

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that he and Saudi Arabia’s newly-appointed energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, did not discuss oil price dynamics at their meeting on Tuesday, Russian news agencies reported. Novak also said the current oil price <O/R> was determined by the market, according to …

Saudi Aramco is primed to float on international markets to complement a planned domestic initial public offering (IPO) which has been selected as its primary listing, the state oil giant’s chief executive said on Tuesday. An IPO of Saudi Aramco would happen “very soon”, Amin Nasser cited the kingdom’s new …

Saudi Arabia wants to enrich uranium for its nuclear power program, its energy minister said on Monday, potentially complicating talks with Washington on an atomic pact and the role of U.S. companies. Uranium enrichment has been a sticking point with the United States, especially after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman …

Saudi Arabia’s king appointed his son, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, as energy minister on Sunday, replacing Khalid al-Falih and for the first time handing the portfolio in the world’s top oil exporter to a member of the royal family. Prince Abdulaziz, a longstanding member of the Saudi delegation to the …

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates called on Yemen’s separatists and the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to halt all military actions in south Yemen. A joint statement by the two Gulf states, leaders of an Arab coalition that is battling Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, called on the …

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi highlighted in a phone call the importance of achieving oil market stability through join cooperation, state news agency SPA reported on Thursday. “During the call they discussed areas of mutual cooperation and stressed the importance of joint …

“Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full of blessing, and a guidance for mankind.” — Quran, Chapter 3 (Aale-Imran) verse 96   By: Ibrahim Alalou Muslims from all over the world strive to make the journey of a lifetime. We as Muslims …

Oil producer Saudi Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s Zhejiang Free Trade Zone in eastern China to expand downstream investment, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil exporter, bought a 9% stake in a 800,000 barrel-per-day complex built by Zhejiang …

Yemeni government officials have begun indirect talks with United Arab Emirates-backed southern separatists in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah to end fighting in Aden and other southern provinces, a Yemeni official said on Wednesday. The fight for Yemen’s south has opened a new front in a multi-tiered war …

Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev and Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih will discuss the development of bilateral relations, including agricultural trade, during their meeting on Thursday, the Russian ministry said. In August, Saudi Arabia decided to relax its bug-damage specifications for wheat imports, opening the door to Black Sea …

Interview with Federico Pieraccini, Independent Geopolitical Analyst Specialized in International Relations, Conflicts, Politics and Strategies at the Strategic Culture Foundation. The interview was conducted by Damir Nazarov, a Russian journalist based in Moscow.   1 – The USA has an advantage in all major types of weapons of mass destruction. Why …

Saudi Arabia has named Yasir al-Rumayyan, head of the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, known as the PIF, as chairman of state oil giant Aramco, replacing Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing an unnamed Saudi official. Rumayyan, a former investment banker, was appointed managing director of the Public …

The new head of Saudi Arabia’s anti-corruption commission said he plans to go after graft by ordinary government employees, following a high-profile campaign two years ago that netted princes, ministers and top businessmen. Members of the kingdom’s economic and political elite were detained for months at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel in …

Saudi Arabia created a new ministry for industry and mineral resources, separating it from the kingdom’s colossal energy ministry, and replaced the powerful head of the royal court, in a series of royal orders issued late on Friday. Bandar Alkhorayef, an investor and industrialist plucked from the private sector, was …

The board of Saudi Aramco has determined that listing the state energy giant in New York would carry too many legal risks to make it a realistic option, five sources said, although they said a final decision lay with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. New York was the exchange favored by …

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport with a cruise missile on Wednesday, the group’s military spokesman said in a tweet. Spokesman Yahya Saria said the missile targeted plane hangars and led to air traffic being halted at the airport. The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthis in Yemen said a …

Yemen’s Houthi movement launched drone attacks on oil facilities in a remote area of Saudi Arabia, the group’s Al Masirah TV said on Saturday, but there was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities or state oil giant Aramco. A Saudi-led coalition is battling the Iran-aligned Houthis to try to restore …

Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical (PrefChem), a joint venture between Petronas and Saudi Aramco, has begun to restart a crude distillation unit (CDU) at its oil refinery in Malaysia, Petronas said on Saturday. Malaysia’s state oil firm said the refinery had started feeding crude oil into the unit earlier this week, …

Tens of thousands of Yemenis rallied in Aden on Thursday in support of separatist forces who took over the southern port, the temporary seat of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, in a move that exposed rifts in a Sunni Muslim military coalition. The United Arab Emirates-backed southern separatists seized control of government …

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has reportedly spent billions of dollars on projects that will better serve the pilgrims in yet a new confirmation of the continuing care and attention accorded by the Kingdom’s leadership for infra-structure services in Mecca and the holy sites. Within this context, a number of …