MEED
Issue No 45 9 - 15 November 2007
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: PROFILE: PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL
Prince Saud al-Faisal is one of the world's longest-serving foreign ministers. He has been the international face of Saudi Arabia for more than three decades. -
ABB Lummus opts for more Sasref work
US-based ABB Lummus Global has opted to carry out the main engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the ultra-low sulphur diesel complex at the Jubail-based Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company (Sasref) refinery. ABB, which beat competition from the US’ Jacobs Engineering to win the original front-end engineering and design (FEED) deal in 2006, held the option to carry out the main construction contract under the original terms of the agreement (MEED 24:11:06). -
Al-Habtoor wins contract to build Gulf Hotel complex
The local Al-Habtoor Engineering Enterprises has been awarded the estimated AED 1,000 million ($272 million) main construction contract for the Gulf Hotel development next to the Grand Mosque on Abu Dhabi island. -
Award nears on Ras Laffan
An award is imminent on the world-scale petrochemicals complex at Ras Laffan, planned by Qatar Petroleum and the US’ ExxonMobil Chemical Company, following final clarification meetings with the three bidders. -
Banks cautious over unique Ras Laffan financing model
The financing model being used for the development of the Ras Laffan C power plant is facing difficulties, with banks nervous about the structure of the deal. -
Bids due for Ghannouch
Commercial bids are due to be submitted by the end of 2007 for the planned 400-MW combined-cycle power plant at Ghannouch near Gabes on the east coast. -
Big oil to boost Manama capacity
International oil companies (IOCs) are pledging to double the capacity of Bahrain’s onshore Awali oil field to 70,000 barrels a day (b/d) and boost gas production to 2,000 million cubic feet a day (cf/d). -
Bourse to offer derivatives trading
The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) will be the first bourse in the GCC to introduce derivatives trading when it launches its derivatives platform in the first half of 2008. The platform is awaiting regulatory approval. -
Budget deficit forecast soars
Jordan’s government is raising its budget deficit forecast for 2007 by almost 50 per cent after weeks of record oil prices. -
Building Kuwait's electricity supply capacity and reducing demand
Kuwait appears to have narrowly avoided a summer of discontent in the power sector. The much-anticipated nationwide power cuts never happened, allowing government ministers and civil servants to breathe a collective sigh of relief. An energy crisis that threatened to engulf the government in political turmoil was avoided at the last minute. -
Cairo awards six cement plant licences
Cairo has awarded licences for six new cement plants and two plant expansions, worth a total of $200 million. -
Can Kuwait oil make the grade?
With ageing light crude fields, Kuwait Oil Company is turning to heavy oil as it looks to up its output to 4 million barrels a day. -
Damascus to close struggling state firms
Damascus could start shutting underperforming state-owned companies in 2008, after a cabinet committee approved the latest set of economic reforms for the country. -
Dubai drives Iran link
Four firms bid to study feasibility of emirate’s plan to import electricity -
Economy: Breaking the inflation cycle
When raging global inflation hit industrial nations in the 1970s, sparking political and financial turmoil, it destroyed the fixed exchange rate system that had underpinned the rebuilding of allied economies in the wake of the Second World War. -
Fichtner to help reform sector
Germany’s Fichtner has won the contract to provide technical advice on implementing the restructuring and privatisation of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). -
Firms vie to build Iraq fence
Bids have been submitted by 14 groups for the estimated SR 4,000 million ($1,070 million) contract to build a fence along the kingdom’s border with Iraq. -
Four compete for Zayed museum
The local Tourism Develop-ment & Investment Company has shortlisted four firms for the architectural competition to design the Sheikh Zayed National Museum on Saadiyat island in Abu Dhabi. -
Funding the future
Kuwait scored a rare success over its Gulf rivals in late October when it was ranked above all other countries in the region for the competitiveness of its economy. More than anything else, it is the way the country has used its oil revenues that has led to its high ranking. -
Jeddah deal faces delay
The Electricity & Water Ministry has delayed the deadline for bids on the Jeddah water network management contract until 5 January. Bids were originally due on 27 November. -
Kingdom rejects share issue
Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI) has criticised the lack of liquidity on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) for hampering its efforts to raise more funding. -
Kurdistan signs deals to increase oil production
Kurdistan has pledged to increase oil output to one million barrels a day (b/d) by 2012 after signing seven new deals with international oil majors and awarding four projects to a new state-owned firm. -
Kuwait telecoms duopoly faces up to competition
Dominance in the Kuwaiti market has proved highly lucrative for mobile phone operators Zain and Wataniya, but profits are likely to fall when a third operator enters the market next year. -
Limitless invites interest in Arabian Canal
Local developer Limitless has invited contractors to express interest in a two-stage tender for construction contracts for the Arabian Canal project in Dubai. -
MARKET IN FOCUS: Saudia Arabia : Future offerings
Unusually for an initial public offering (IPO) in the kingdom, the date of the 25 per cent share sale of the Petro Rabigh petrochemicals company was announced well ahead of time. Subscription to the offering will open on 5 January for a week. Shares will only be available to nationals. -
MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS: Searching for a solution
Prince Saud al-Faisal has been at the heart of Saudi efforts to find a solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict since the Saudi-inspired Arab peace plan was unveiled in Beirut in 2002. -
Muscat to issue revised tender for Nimr
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is set to issue the final revised tender for its innovative water treatment and re-use project at the Nimr oil field in the south. -
Pantera to target Gulf with sharia-compliant hedge fund
US-based Pantera Capital Management is to launch a sharia-compliant hedge fund by the end of 2007, targeted at GCC investors. -
Property demand drives Kuwait real estate prices sky-high
Mega-projects are being delayed by political indecision, while the sector struggles to meet local housing needs. -
Ras al-Khaimah seeks rating
Ras al-Khaimah is the latest emirate to seek a credit rating in anticipation of launching an Islamic bond, following the lead of both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. -
Resignation throws sector into confusion
The resignation of oil minister Bader al-Humaidhi on 5 November, eight days after he was appointed to the post, has thrown the local hydrocarbons sector into confusion. -
Saipem builds gas pipeline to Arzew
Saipem, a subsidiary of Italy’s Eni, signed a $500 million contract on 5 November to build a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pipeline between the Hassi R’Mel gas field and Arzew in the north-west. -
Saline Water invites bids for four plants
State-owned desalination company Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has issued a tender to build four small-scale multi-effect distillation desalination plants. The deadline for bids is 6 January 2008. -
Sanaa in talks over joining World Trade Organisation
Sanaa says it is on track to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) within two years, after pushing for progress during their latest talks on accession. -
Special Report: Kuwait - State of Paralysis
The spat between the Kuwaiti government and the parliament over allegations of ministerial irregularities and political manoeuvring is the latest round in a battle for power that is holding back progress in the country. -
Special Report: Kuwait - State of paralysis
There is rarely a dull moment in Kuwaiti politics. But even by the standards of recent years, the events of the past month must have made even the most jaded observer sit up and take notice. -
Unifying force
The news that Saudi Arabia, together with its five GCC partners, has offered to supply enriched uranium to Iran has taken many observers in the region by surprise. It should not have. The initiative is just the latest sign that the region's economic heavyweight is once again asserting itself on the international stage.A year ago, when MEED revealed that several GCC states, including Saudi Arabia, were pursuing nuclear energy programmes, many analysts felt the policy shift was an attem -
West struggles with accord
International efforts to resolve the conflict in Darfur have suffered another setback after rebel groups boycotted the latest round of peace talks. Richard Nield reports
