Saudi Restructures Oil Giant Aramco; Senior VP Named Acting CEO

On Wednesday, Saudi King Salman appointed Saudi Aramco’s CEO as chairman of the state oil firm and health minister.

UAE’s Topaz Says Secures $550m Loan To Refinance Debt, Expand

The loan consisted of three portions lasting between five and seven years.

Abu Dhabi’s TAQA Says Appoints Acting CFO

Grant Gillon has been appointed the acting chief financial officer of TAQA.

Kuwait Seeking Around $10bn Loan For Clean Fuels Project

The project will upgrade and expand two of the Gulf Arab state’s largest existing refineries.

Oil Dips As Oversupply Outweighs Saudi Royal Reshuffle

In a surprise move, Saudi King Salman on Wednesday appointed his nephew, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, as the new heir apparent.

Aramco CEO Khalid al-Falih Appointed Saudi Health Minister And Chairman

Falih’s replacement as head of Aramco, which he had led since January 2009, was not immediately named.

Saudi Arabia Says Its Crude Exports Fell Slightly In Feb

The Kingdom shipped 7.35 million bpd of crude oil in February this year, down from 7.474 million in January.

Oman Plans Floating Storage For DME Crude Delivery

The storage will increase monthly trade volumes on the DME by two million barrels.

Saudi Arabia Ready To Supply Any Additional China Oil Demand

Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi reiterated that the Kingdom intends to remain the world’s number one oil supplier.

Oil And Gas Firms Urged To Adopt Big Data For Efficiencies, Skills Gap Concerns – Report

Consulting firm Booze Allen Hamilton said regional oil and gas companies adopting big data could increase oil well production by up to eight per cent.

Iran To Start South Pars Oil Production In 2016 – State Media

Ali-Reza Zeighami, manager of the South Pars oil layers project, said new wells were being drilled and would become operational in the second half of the next Iranian year.

Topaz Closes In On Loan Worth Upwards Of $550m – Source

Emirates NBD, First Gulf Bank, Gulf International Bank, HSBC, Noor Bank and Standard Chartered will provide the loan, three sources told Reuters.

Saudi Oil Output Based On Demand, Market ‘Excellent’ – Deputy Oil Min

The world’s top oil exporter is keen to maintain its market share, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz said.

India Seeks First Cut In LNG Imports Under Qatar Deal

New Delhi plans to use a 10 per cent reduction permissible under a 25-year contract with Qatar’s RasGas.

Japan’s Inpex In Talks To Obtain New Abu Dhabi Concession

Inpex was one of 11 firms that bid for stakes in the concession covering Abu Dhabi’s 15 principal onshore fields.

Saudi Sipchem Says Plant Shutdown Cost $4.8m

The closures lasted between 20 and 26 days.

Saudi PetroRabigh Starts Maintenance Work On VDU Unit

The firm said the effect of the work on its financials was unclear and would be announced at a later date.

Oil prices Rise On Middle East Tension

Warplanes struck targets in and around the Yemeni cities despite indications from Riyadh that its campaign would be wound down.

Saudi Cable Co Signs $171m Debt Restructuring

The company is also holding talks with another bank about the possibility of restructuring a further SAR99.6 million of debt.

Oil Prices Hold Steady As Yemen Bombing Continues

Saudi-led coalition warplanes continued bombing Yemen on Wednesday despite an announcement by Riyadh a day earlier that it was ending its campaign of air strikes.

Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City Launches Solar-Powered Eco-Villas

The four-bedroom villa concept includes an array of solar panels that will generate approximately 40,000 KWh per year.

Chevron Saudi Unit Plans To Shut Joint Kuwait Oilfield In May

Chevron’s decision was mainly down to problems getting work permits from the Kuwaiti authorities for its expatriate staff, sources told Reuters

Oil Prices Drop As Middle East Tensions Ease

Oil prices had gained nearly $10 a barrel this month on tensions in the Middle East and concerns over slowing output growth in the United States, before starting to drop back.

Saudi Electricity Co Q1 Net Loss More Than Doubles

It lost 1.94 billion riyals ($517.4 million) during the three months to March 31.

Visiting Venezuelan Delegation To Meet Saudi Deputy Oil Minister -Source

The delegation will meet Prince Abdulaziz because Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi is out of the country on a business trip, a source said.

Abu Dhabi To Invest Over $25bn In Offshore Oilfields -ADNOC Official

The plan is part of the UAE’s strategy of increasing its crude oil output potential to 3.5 million barrels per day by 2017-18.

Saudi Aramco Board Visits South Korean Shipbuilder -Sources

Saudi Arabia has been supplying more crude to Asian markets and Saudi Aramco’s shipping arm has tendered to build 5 very large crude carriers (VLCCs).

Oman Electricity Co To Meet Investors For Potential Debut Dollar Bond Issue

The firm chose Bank Muscat and J.P.Morgan to arrange investor meetings for the bonds in the United States and Europe.

Taiwan CPC To Set Up Oil, LNG Trade Units In Dubai, Qatar

The company expects to set up offices by the end of this year.

UAE’s ADNOC Says No Timeframe For Decision On Onshore Concession

Nine firms bid for stakes in the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO) concession which became available after a 40-year deal expired.