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Letter from Saudi Arabia: Energy, diplomacy and the art of the deal
Saudi Arabia is growing as a geopolitical and diplomatic force amid an increasingly fractured world
Aramco keeps on spending
As cash-strapped Western governments commit to substantially raising defence expenditure, a similar dynamic is playing out in Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas sector, as Saudi Aramco maintains it heavy capex push despite reduced revenues
Letter from Iran: High-stakes nuclear diplomacy
Iran’s oil is caught in the crosshairs of support from China and Russia and US maximum pressure, with options becoming more and more limited
Mideast Gulf oil exporters may engage in price war
The spectre of Saudi Arabia’s 2020 market share strategy haunts a suffering OPEC+ as Trump upends the energy world
Hydrocarbon Processing Refining Databook 2025: Middle East & Africa
The Middle East is focusing on modernisation and expansion projects, while Africa is seeking to reduce its imports of refined products
Oman’s domestic gas needs raise LNG doubts
Dip in reserves amid soaring power needs raise concerns about the country’s plans for a new LNG train
Turkmenistan, Turkey and Iran in gas triangle
The new agreement for Turkmen gas exports via Iran marks another step in Turkey’s efforts to become regional gas hub but may have limited benefits for Tehran
Letter from Iran: US sanctions cut off crude supply line
Deliveries to China decline by around 1m b/d from move to curb crude exports to Shandong port, putting Iran under further economic pressure
MENA NOCs secure influence in low-carbon future
Regional state-owned firms are transforming their strategies and leveraging their resources to position themselves as clean energy powerhouses, and to ensure they maintain influence in a low-carbon world
Assad’s downfall is bad news for Iran
The collapse of the Syrian dictator’s regime will weaken Tehran in profound ways both economically and geopolitically
Iran Saudi Arabia Oman
Craig Guthrie
27 March 2019
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When power grows out of the oil barrel

Can the Gulf’s ruling families survive the post-oil era?

The brutal military crackdowns launched as the Arab Spring spread across Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen in 2011 contrasts sharply with the response most Gulf countries' leaderships took to the uprisings. Instead of soldiers, civil servants were more quietly deployed, armed with generous counter-revolutionary doles in the shape of cash and energy subsidies. Sweeping subsidies and targeted financial inducements—in some cases to the tune of as much as 4pc of GDP—quickly and bloodlessly placated populaces. But, as Jim Krane argues in Energy Kingdoms, the unspoken social contract on which this relies might not last forever. Having spent years in the region as a journalist, he crafts ins

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