Saudi dealmaker
Fiscal pressures and the Aramco IPO were behind the Saudi change of heart. Riyadh needs this deal to work
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a whole is keen to promote the Opec and non-Opec commitments to reduce oil production - the open-the-floodgates policy now barely mentioned - and Saudi Arabia is the Gulf's chief cheerleader. The kingdom, which had been producing at record high levels during 2016, accepted an output cut of 486,000 barrels a day, giving it a new target of 10.058m b/d. So keen is Saudi Arabia that it be seen to be leading from the front that energy minister Khalid al-Falih couldn't resist telling reporters in early January that not only was the kingdom's output already below 10m b/d, but it was "going the extra mile to lead our colleagues within and outside Opec to make su
Also in this section
24 December 2025
As activity in the US Gulf has stagnated at a lower level, the government is taking steps to encourage fresh exploration and bolster field development work
23 December 2025
The new government has brought stability and security to the country, with the door now open to international investment
23 December 2025
A third wave of LNG supply is coming, and with it a likely oversupply of the fuel by 2028
22 December 2025
Weakening climate resolve in the developed world and rapidly growing demand in developing countries means peak oil is still a long way away
