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  • Saudis Increasing Riyadh Water Supply
     

    With the bulk of Saudi Arabia’s drinking water coming from desalination plants, the country’s sky-rocketing population growth puts enormous demand on water supply. Arab News reports that a new desalination plant in the Eastern Province is gearing up to go online. When it is producing, it will nearly double the amount of water flowing into […]

     
  • Internet in the Middle East Still Short of Its Potential
     

    Last week’s third ArabNet conference for digital entrepreneurs in the MENA region was, by the standard of these things, a modest affair. But nonetheless it showed how the regional digital economy has grown, and how it is poised to take off. As one commentator said: “Jordan for the talent, Lebanon for the creativity, Egypt for […]

     
  • Saudi to maintain oil supply if U.S. draws stocks
     

    Saudi Arabia is likely to maintain high oil production in the event consumer countries release emergency stocks, but it will not seek to lure buyers for more oil by discounting its crude, industry sources said. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday in Riyadh sought an assurance from Saudi King Abdullah that the kingdom […]

     
  • Hillary Clinton: Time running out for diplomacy with Iran
     

    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made clear Saturday that time is running out for diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program and said talks aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon would resume in mid-April. With speculation over a possible U.S. or Israel military attack adding urgency to the next round of discussions […]

     
  • Water Brings Green to Saudi Arabia
     

    Over the last two-and-a-half decades, a series of NASA’s Landsat satellites have captured these pictures of the growing agriculture industry in the northern reaches of the Syrian Desert in Saudi Arabia, not far from Jordan. Farmers use a technique called center-pivot irrigation to bring up water from below the desert floor to grow wheat and […]

     
  • U.S. Might Have More Oil Than Saudi Arabia, But…
     

    People are often confused about the overall extent of U.S. oil reserves. Some claim that the U.S. has hundreds of billions or even trillions of barrels of oil waiting to be produced if bureaucrats will simply stop blocking development. In fact, in a recent debate between Republican candidates contending for Gabrielle Giffords’ recently vacated House seat, one candidate […]

     
  • Five short stories from World Energy Outlook
     

    The IEA’s World Energy Outlook (WEO) is an annual tradition, the result of much work, data analysis and presentation. A formative volume is produced for all to read and digest, but few of us have the time to do so in the detail required.  As such we rely to some extent on IEA presentations and summary documents. […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia will act to lower soaring oil prices
     

    In an op-ed in the Financial Times, Ali Al Naimi writes, “High international oil prices are bad news. Bad for Europe, bad for the US, bad for emerging economies and bad for the world’s poorest nations. A period of prolonged high prices is bad for all oil producing nations, including Saudi Arabia, and they are […]

     
  • “Out in the Blue” Part 9 of Video Series “Distant Arabia”
     

    In this clip excerpted with permission from the documentary The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power based on the book of the same name by Daniel Yergin, the story of Tom Barger’s first journey to Saudi Arabia is related through his movies and letters. The complete story is told in Barger’s book […]

     
  • GE wins $200mn power plant conversion contract in Saudi Arabia
     

    GE said it has received a contract for nearly $200 million to supply steam turbine technology, power generation services and distributed control systems for the conversion of Saudi Electricity Co.’s (SEC) PP10 power plant from simple to combined-cycle operation. The project will add 1,300 MW to the plant’s capacity. “The conversion to combined-cycle operation is […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Yemeni leader receives Saudi defense minister in Riyadh

    Rashad Al-Alimi, Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council received on Wednesday Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi Press Agency said. The pair discussed the ongoing efforts to advance the roadmap and reach a comprehensive political solution in Yemen under UN supervision. “I reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to fully supporting Yemen in realizing the aspirations of its people,” Prince Khalid said on X.

  • “If You Build It, They Will Come”: Prospects for Foreign Direct Investment in Saudi Arabia

    Attracting higher foreign direct investment is a key part of the policy roadmap to diversify the Saudi economy. Vision 2030 set a goal of an increase in FDI to $100 billion, or 5.9% of gross domestic product, by 2030. FDI inflows were $29 billion in 2016, when Vision 2030 was announced. Increased FDI will support the development of new industries and sectors, such as artificial intelligence, gaming, advanced manufacturing, mining, renewable energy, and tourism. FDI brings the technology, capital, training capabilities, and business models that are essential for the long-term success and competitiveness of Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy.

  • Saudi Arabia warns of a hot Hajj this year with temperatures of 48°C

    Saudi Arabia has forecast an average high temperature of up to 48ºC in Makkah during the Hajj pilgrimage this month, according to meteorological services.

    “The expected climate for Hajj this year is an increase in average temperatures of one and a half to two degrees above normal in Makkah and Madinah,” National Meteorology Centre chief Ayman Ghulam said on Tuesday.

    He said afternoon temperatures could peak at 48ºC.

  • Saudi Arabia cuts July Arab Light crude oil OSP to Asia

    Saudi Arabia set its flagship Arab Light crude oil official selling price (OSP) to Asia at plus $2.40 versus Oman/Dubai average for July, a document seen by Reuters showed on Wednesday.
    That marks a 50 cent per barrel cut from the June OSP, the first cut in five months and towards the lower end of market expectations according to a Reuters survey.
    Its OSPs for other crude grades sold to Asian customers were slashed by 40-60 cents, the document showed.

  • Is Normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel Still Possible?

    “The issue of Israel recognizing a two-state solution is in its own interest. I firmly believe that a two-state solution, that the establishment of a credible Palestinian state, serves not just the interests of the Palestinians and delivers their right to self-determination; it is also in the interest of Israel and delivers the security that Israel needs and deserves.” Unlike Iran and its allies, who explicitly call for Israel’s destruction, the Saudi position upholds the promise of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative that acknowledges Israel’s right to exist within secure borders but asserts that this can only be achieved through the creation of a viable Palestinian state. This is a view that the Saudis believe reflects the majority position of most Arab and Sunni Muslims.

  • IMF Expects GCC Reserves to Grow by $300-$350 Bln in Three Years on Higher Oil Prices

    The International Monetary Fund expects the foreign reserves of the six oil-rich Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to increase by $300-$350 billion in the next three years, a senior official said on Tuesday.

    The GCC - which comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman - "will benefit from the increase in oil prices", Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, told Asharq TV. Oil prices have risen about 60% from the start of the year as global demand recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Iran General killed in suspected Israel air strike in Syria

    An Iranian General has been killed in a suspected Israeli air strike near the Syrian city of Aleppo, nearly two months after the Islamic Republic warned it would retaliate against attacks on its interests, Iran’s state TV reports. According to the report, Saeed Abyar, described as a Military Adviser, was targeted in a bombing raid resulting in the death of several civilians and “material losses”.

  • Lucid Motors campaign builds emotional bonds with Saudis

    Electric vehicle brand Lucid Motors, in collaboration with MCH Global and Create Production, launched a Ramadan campaign to connect with the Middle Eastern market. The campaign was created to particularly focus on Saudi Arabia.

  • Israel Secretly Targets U.S. Lawmakers With Influence Campaign on Gaza War

    The covert campaign was commissioned by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, a government body that connects Jews around the world with the State of Israel, four Israeli officials said. The ministry allocated about $2 million to the operation and hired Stoic, a political marketing firm in Tel Aviv, to carry it out, according to the officials and the documents.

  • Surprising, Unsettling, Surreal: Roaming Through Saudi Arabia

    All across Saudi Arabia, I’d seen countless projects being built, from simple museums to high-end resorts. These were the early fruits of an $800 billion investment in the travel sector, itself part of a much larger effort, Vision 2030, to remake the kingdom and reduce its economic dependence on oil.

    But I’d begun to see the building projects as something else, too: the striving of a country — long shrouded to most Westerners — to be seen, reconsidered, accepted. And with its doors suddenly flung open and the pandemic behind us, visitors like me were finally beginning to witness this new Saudi Arabia