Saudi Aramco Chief Says Europe’s Plans on Energy Crisis Are Not Helpful

THE GUARDIAN: Amin Nasser says plans to cap bills and tax energy companies are not long-term solutions

Saudi Aramco’s Amin Nasser said the root cause of the energy crisis had come from underinvestment in fossil fuels. Photograph: Ahmed Yosri/Reuters
The chief executive of Saudi Aramco has said European governments’ efforts to tackle the energy crisis are “not helpful”.

Amin Nasser, who leads the world’s largest oil exporter, said plans to cap consumer bills and tax energy companies were not long-term solutions to the global crisis.

Nasser told a forum in Switzerland: “Freezing or capping energy bills might help consumers in the short term, but it does not address the real causes and is not the long-term solution.

“And taxing companies when you want them to increase production is clearly not helpful.” » | Alex Lawson, Energy correspondent | Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Will Aramco's IPO Succeed? I Inside Story

Saudi Arabia's crown jewel and the world's largest oil producing firm, Aramco, is now set to go public after several delays.

The initial public offering, or IPO, will be on the Saudi stock exchange. How much of the company's for sale and at what price, will be determined later.

Part of the Crown Prince's economic plans for the kingdom, the flotation aims to raise billions of dollars. But estimates of how much it might actually draw, vary widely. Mohammed Bin Salman wants a $2 trillion price tag, many bankers put it at $1.5 trillion.

But can ARAMCO's IPO satisfy his ambitions? And what, if any, are the risks?

Presenter: Dareen Abu Ghaida | Guests: Mohammed Cherkaoui, author and senior fellow at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies; Jeff Colgan, associate professor at Brown University and author of 'Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War'; Joseph Kechichian, senior fellow at King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic studies

Strategic Importance of Aramco and Politics of Saudi Oil

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is heading to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, where he says he will reveal the details of his Gulf security proposal.

Tensions are high in the region after a series of attacks. Most recently, Saudi Arabia's largest oil processing plants have been crippled by Houthi rebel attacks. Saudi Arabia and the United States say Iran is to blame, and US reinforcements are being deployed to the region.

Iran denies involvement in the attacks and has denounced the presence of more foreign troops in the region.

Saudi Arabia may take several months to get their damaged oil facilities back online, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. It contradicts promises by Saudi oil executives of a speedy recovery taking no more than ten weeks.

Aramco's CEO sought to reassure markets in a published letter in which he said the company is "stronger than ever".

Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid joins us live on set.

Can the US Guarantee Gulf Security? | Inside Story

Washington has blamed Tehran for the attack on Saudi oil facilities and says it's now building a coalition against Iran.

The Gulf region is on the edge. Who's responsible for last week's attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, has led to accusations from different sides. The US and Saudi Arabia say Iran is behind the Aramco strikes. But the Houthis in Yemen say they are responsible and have warned of more to come.

The US Secretary of State visited allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE to talk to their leaders. Mike Pompeo said Washington was seeking a peaceful resolution to the crisis, but blamed Iran for seeking an 'all-out war.'

Iran's foreign minister says the U.S. is preparing to use the Aramco incident as an excuse to attack his country, and that Tehran's ready to defend itself. So, will tension escalate even further? Or would diplomacy defuse it?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Nader Hashemi, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver; Mohammad Marandi, Professor of American Studies at the University of Tehran; Adolfo Franco, Republican strategist and former adviser to Senator John McCain

U.S. Embassy Warns Saudi Arabia Oil Workers Of Kidnap Plot

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia has issued a warning about a potential militant plot to kidnap Western oil workers. The warning, issued late Friday, said officials received information about a threat to kidnap the workers, including Americans, from oil fields in the kingdom's Eastern province. The embassy said it had "no…

Mid-East Contagion Fears for Saudi Oil Fields
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Risk analysts and intelligence agencies fear that Egypt's uprising may set off escalating protests in the tense Shia region of Saudi Arabia, home to the world's richest oilfields.

"Yemen, Sudan, Jordan and Syria all look vulnerable. However, the greatest risk in terms of both probability and severity is in Saudi Arabia," said a report by risk consultants Exclusive Analysis.

While markets have focused on possible disruption to the Suez Canal, conduit for 8pc of global shipping, it is unlikely that Egyptian leaders of any stripe would cut off an income stream worth $5bn (£3.1bn) a year to the Egyptian state.

"I don't think the Egyptians will ever dare to touch it," said Opec chief Abdalla El-Badri, adding that the separate Suez oil pipeline is "very well protected". The canal was blockaded after the Six Days War in 1967.

There has been less focus on the risk of instability spreading to Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, headquarters of the Saudi oil giant Aramco. The region boasts the vast Safaniya, Shaybah and Ghawar oilfields. "This is potentially far more dangerous," said Faysal Itani, Mid-East strategist at Exclusive.

"The Shia are 10pc of the Saudi population. They are deeply aggrieved and marginalised, and sit on top of the kingdom's oil reserves. There have been frequent confrontations and street fights with the security forces that are very rarely reported in the media," he said.

The Saudi Shia last rose up in mass civil disobedience in the "Intifada" of 1979, inspired by the Khomeini revolution in Iran. Clashes led to 21 deaths. Mr Itani said it is unclear whether the Saudi military could cope with a serious outbreak of protest in the province.

Saudi King Abdullah is clearly alarmed by fast-moving events in Egypt and the Arab world. In a statement published by the Saudi press agency he said agitators had "infiltrated Egypt to destabilise its security and incite malicious sedition". Read on and comment >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Monday, January 31, 2011

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