“The total installed capacity of solar energy in Saudi Arabia was 440MW in 2022, compared to just 22MW in 2013, while Egypt’s total installed capacity of wind energy had risen to 1,643MW from 555MW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. However, the share of renewable energy in the energy mix in the Middle East remains lower than in other regions. While a lot of the renewable energy capacity is expected to come from solar energy due to very favorable irradiation resources, the region also benefits from good wind resources.”
Middle Eastern Countries Continue to Target Higher Renewable Energy Capacity [Fitch Ratings]
“It is very difficult to identify any off-take agreement in Europe [for blue hydrogen]… and they explained it’s because of the high cost. Even the customers in Japan and Korea [which are planning massive H2 economies] are waiting for government incentives. Until they get these incentives, it’ll be costly for them to pursue that blue hydrogen.”
Amin Nasser, CEO, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Aramco struggling to find buyers for its blue hydrogen due to high costs [Hydrogen Insight]
“The Middle East can be part of the solution for the global gas markets as the region continues to ramp up production from its gigantic gas reserves.”
Alexandre Araman, principal analyst for Middle East Upstream, Wood Mackenzie. Middle East gas producers set to spend $120bln to boost output by 2030 [Hellenic Shipping News]
“We no longer feel like we draw that much inspiration from references from Western music. There’s a lot of focus on what we have internally. So it’s like we just realised we have culture. In 10 years what would be cool is to have like a new sound to what Saudi music actually is. It’s like now there’s Western music, but now there’s like our music and it competes at the same level. That for me is the dream.”
Jeddah, award-winning filmmaker Ayman Idriss. Saudi Arabia ‘preserving the past as tourism surges’ [Zawya]
“If you look at real estate markets around the world, the idea of public real estate companies has disappeared to a large extent…Everybody’s converted into REITs, in large part because of tax efficiency, but also because it gives you access to a broader universe of investors.”
-John Pagano, chief executive of Red Sea Global, in an interview in Dubai. Pagano said that RSG is considering a possible public market offering as soon as 2026. [Bloomberg]
“Saudi Arabia is one of the most fascinating countries in the world. It’s a country of both East and West. It’s a country that is connected to Africa. You see that in Balad. It’s a place of a unique cultural intersection, kind of almost like Singapore is, or Hong Kong. It’s a port city.” Sean Foley, professor of Middle East and Islamic history at Middle Tennessee State University [CNN]
“Saudi Arabia’s major shift toward electronic payment comes as the Middle East region remains the fastest-growing real-time payments market globally, with transactions expected to grow from $675 million in 2022 to $2.6 billion by 2027.” Middle East’s real-time transaction growth driven by Saudi Arabia, says new report [Arab News]
“The construction sector continued its ascension during 2022 as the value of awarded contracts returned to pre-pandemic levels… remarkable growth during Q4’22 brought the total value of awarded contracts in 2022 to SAR192.4 billion ($51.3 billion), reflecting a 35 percent increase over 2021.”
“Traders are growing nervous about the danger of recession in the US and disappointed that China’s recovery isn’t displaying all the vigor they’d anticipated. Russia, despite vowing sharp production cuts in retaliation for sanctions over its attack on Ukraine, is showing only mixed signs of following through…That the price rout comes three days into yet another round of supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and the OPEC+ alliance shows just how far market fundamentals have deteriorated.”
-Grant Smith, Bloomberg news, discussing how oil traders’ faith in a bullish 2023 is fading. But he adds that prices “should still pick up from here…and global oil markets remain on track to flip into a supply deficit.” [Bloomberg]
“The construction sector continued its ascension during 2022 as the value of awarded contracts returned to pre-pandemic levels… remarkable growth during Q4’22 brought the total value of awarded contracts in 2022 to SAR192.4 billion ($51.3 billion), reflecting a 35 percent increase over 2021.” [Saudi Gulf Projects]
