“The OPEC+ impasse has taken the wind out of oil bulls’ sails this week…This widening supply and demand gap puts the oil market at risk of over-tightening and should give the OPEC+ leadership ample motivation to resolve their squabble…Or so you would think.”
–Stephen Brennock, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates Ltd., in comments to Bloomberg. Crude is down 2.1% for the week “and the main focus for traders in coming days will be whether the the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners can repairs its split.” [Bloomberg]
“Public equity investors have tired of the oil price volatility. They want cash now, whether from buybacks or regular or special dividends.”
-Todd Dittmann, head of energy at hedge fund Angelo Gordon & Co. U.S. shale drillers, which have played the role of the oil world’s swing producer, are largely standing pat for now as U.S. production is roughly 2 million barrels a day less than it was before the pandemic and the number of active rigs drilling for oil stands at 376, down from 683 pre-Covid-19. [Wall Street Journal]
“To become competitive with the other, more mainstream and more polluting forms of hydrogen — blue hydrogen and gray hydrogen — green hydrogen would need to bring down production costs to less than one dollar per kilogram. As it stands, green hydrogen costs several times that generally falling between $2.50 and $4.50 a kilogram to produce.”
–Haley Zaremba, writing for Oilprice.com, looking at the current buzz around green hydrogen adding that, “Aramco’s willingness to align itself with hydrogen in any sense is big and exciting news for the budding industry.” [Oilprice.com]
“It takes a long time to export anything to Saudi Arabia with the existing road. The new road will cut travel time by more than half. We have to drive for nearly 18 hours to reach Saudi Arabia. I calculate that the new road will take only six hours.”
–Khamis Al Shibli, 44, an Omani fish exporter from the town of Ibri in Oman discussing the almost complete 720 kilometer road from Ibri, Oman to Alkwifriah, Saudi Arabia. Originally scheduled for completion in 2014 the $475 million project passes straight through the Rub Al Khali desert. [The National]
“Trust in the news has grown, on average, by six percentage points in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic – with 44% of our total sample saying they trust most news most of the time. This reverses, to some extent, recent falls in average trust – bringing levels back to those of 2018. Finland remains the country with the highest levels of overall trust (65%), and the USA now has the lowest levels (29%) in our survey.”
–The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism issued the tenth edition of it’s Digital News Report which is based on data from six continents and 46 markets and aims to cast light on the key issues that face the industry. [Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism]
“Commercial competition in the aviation industry has always been fierce, and regional competition is heating up. Some turbulence in regional relations is on the horizon.”
-Robert Mogielnicki, resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute. Saudi Arabia plans to target international transit passenger traffic with its new national airline, going head-to-head with Emirates and Qatar Airways and revving up regional competition. [Reuters]
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Saudi Arabia has entered a post-Wahhabi era, though the exact religious contours of the state are still in flux. Religion no longer has veto power over the economy, social life and foreign policy.”
-Kristin Diwan, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, regarding the evolving role of religion in Saudi Arabia. [France24]
“Our view is, and this came straight from the top, is that this should have been done years ago…There’s no better time than now.”
–Yazaid Al Salloom, the head of Standard Chartered Plc, which has opened its first branch in Saudi Arabia with 35 employees as the kingdom attracts Western banks keen to cash in on the country’s economic reform. [Bloomberg]
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Saudi Arabia has entered a post-Wahhabi era, though the exact religious contours of the state are still in flux. Religion no longer has veto power over the economy, social life and foreign policy.” Kristin Diwan, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, regarding the evolving role of religion in Saudi Arabia. [France24]
“Since I arrived in my role last year, I have been impressed by what I’ve seen emerging in Saudi Arabia. It is truly incredible and inspiring to consider the future potential of Saudi, with its remarkable infrastructure projects and rapidly changing business environment. There is no doubt this is already creating significant opportunity for the hospitality industry. I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of Hilton in Saudi Arabia… Saudi Arabia represents Hilton’s largest development pipeline in the Middle East.”
–Jochem-Jan Sleiffer, Hilton’s president of Middle East, Africa and Turkey, discussing his company’s construction and labor plans in Saudi Arabia. [Hotelier Middle East]
