Middle East

Sources familiar with the situation have confirmed that the Trump administration is considering stopping and inspecting Iranian oil tankers on the high seas as part of an international agreement aimed at preventing the spread of weapons. Trump has pledged to reinstate a "maximum-pressure" campaign in order to isolate Iran from global economics and reduce its oil exports down to zero. This is to prevent the country from obtaining nuclear weapons. Trump imposed two new waves of sanctions on Iran in the first few weeks of his second term, focusing on companies and a shadow fleet of old oil tankers without...

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings announced on Tuesday that a consortium, including BlackRock Inc., would purchase an 80% share in a unit which controls ports in Panama at a value of equity equal to $14.21 billion. The sale of 90% of the shares in Panama Ports Company (which owns and operates Balboa Port and Cristobal Port) comes at a time when U.S. president Donald Trump is putting pressure on China to stop its influence and control of the Panama Canal. CK Hutchison operates the ports of Balboa & Cristobal, at the Canal's Pacific & Atlantic entrances, for over two decades....

After making two holes-in one at the DP World Tour South African Open, held at the Durban Country Club in Durban on Friday, Englishman Dale Whitnell could toast his good luck with a few expensive round at the clubhouse. Whitnell, who had never achieved a hole in one in tournament play before, aced both the second and 12th holes in his second round. Both par threes. His rollercoaster 63 puts him at nine under par for the tournament. He is five shots behind South African Shaun Norris (64), the leader in the clubhouse. Whitnell became the second player on tour...

STG Engineering is a Russian firm that operates the Tartous port in Syria. The company said that they were continuing their work as normal and that their contract was not cancelled as some Middle East media had reported. Three Syrian businessmen, as well as media reports in January, suggested that the new Syrian ruling administration had canceled the contract signed by former President Bashar Al-Assad. He fled to Moscow after a lightning rebel attack in December. The semi-official Syrian paper Al-Watan quoted Riad Jourdy at the time as saying that port investment contract was annulled because the Russian company had...

After bad lighting cut short Thursday's opening day of the DP World Tour South African Open, Fredrik From, Sam Bairstow, and Darren Fichardt shared the lead with seven under par. Fichardt had yet to complete his round. The course was covered in huge puddles on Wednesday, and the start of first round was three hours delayed. This left a number of golfers with a lot of time to finish their rounds. From had two eagles on his 65. Both were par fives. Bairstow, on the other hand, managed eight birdies. His round was only marred by a missed shot on...

The Russian port agency reported that a Liberian-flagged cargo vessel carrying corn from a Russian to Turkey port is trying to stop the water leakage after it sustained a crack earlier this week in the Sea of Azov. The vessel Pavel Grabovskiy was loaded with 2,939 tonnes of corn. The vessel, Pavel Grabovskiy, was loaded with 2,939 tons of corn. In a statement released by Rosmorport on Thursday, it was stated that water was being pumped from the damaged ballast tanks and additional equipment to pump water would be arriving soon. Rosmorport sent a statement to the media on Friday...

The chief prosecutor for the city of Genoa announced on Thursday that Italian authorities have opened a terrorism probe into the explosions which damaged an oil tanker last weekend off the coast of northern Italy. This was the fourth such incident in the Mediterranean Sea and Baltic Sea in the past 30 days. Two explosions caused a hole to appear below the surface of the crude oil tanker Seajewel operated by Greece, which was discharging its oil while anchored off the port Savona Vado on Saturday. The alleged attack against the Seajewel was not immediately known. Like the other explosion-hit...

Osama Rabi, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said that the Red Sea Crisis did not provide a viable route to replace this canal. He added that there are positive indicators that indicate a return to stability in the area. Since November 2023, Houthi militants backed by Iran have attacked vessels near the Red Sea. This has disrupted global shipping routes, forcing ships to bypass the Suez Canal, and redirect trade around Africa. The costs for insurance companies are also higher. Abdel-Fattah al Sisi, the Egyptian president, said that the Suez Canal disruption would cost Egypt $7 billion of revenue...

Jamal al-Ghurair said that Al Khaleej Sugar in Dubai is currently operating at 70% of its capacity, as Middle East sugar refineries struggle with overcapacity. This was revealed by the managing director of the company, Jamal al-Ghurair on Tuesday, during the Dubai Sugar Conference. "In the Middle East, there is 60-70% more capacity than the Middle East needs, so the refineries in the region are not operating at full capacity." He told reporters at the conference that some refineries were operating at 30%-40% capacity. Al Khaleej Sugar is the largest refinery in the world of sweeteners based at a port....

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of Dubai-based ports and logistics firm DP World, said that President Donald Trump expected other markets to open if America did. Trump wants fair trade and not free trade. He said this at the World Government Summit held in Dubai. The U.S. president substantially increased tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum on Monday, to a flat rate of 25%. He hopes this will help the struggling industries within the United States. However, it also risks igniting a multifront trade war. Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Brazil will be applied to...

The General Authority for Land and Sea Ports of Syria announced on Wednesday it had signed a contract with the French shipping and logistic group CMA CGM for the operation of the container terminal in the Latakia Port. In a statement, the Syrian port authority stated that the contract will include new terms, mechanisms and payment of previous dues on both sides. CMA CGM didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the discussions leading to the new contract include changes to revenue distribution as well as the length of the contract....

A U.S. official stated on Tuesday that U.S. president Donald Trump would restore his "maximum-pressure" campaign against Iran and bring its oil exports to zero. Iran has threatened repeatedly to close down the Strait of Hormuz as a response to Western pressure. This would lead to the closure of trade in the region and a rise in oil prices. Here are some details on the Strait of Gibraltar: The Strait is located between Oman, Iran and the Gulf of Oman. It connects the Gulf of Oman in the north with the Arabian Sea to the south. The shipping lane is...

LSEG data revealed that Russia sent a diesel cargo on a tanker to Syria under U.S. sanction, marking the first direct supply of this kind to the Middle Eastern nation in over a decade. It is not clear where the cargo will end up. The final destination of the cargo is unclear. The control of Russia over these bases is in danger after the abrupt fall of Bashar Al-Assad last December. Moscow said that it wanted to maintain its control over the bases. According to LSEG, on February 8, the Barbados flagged vessel Prosperity (formerly known as the Gabon flagged...

Five sources familiar with the matter said that a U.S. ambassador will attend the planned Baghdad meeting on Thursday to discuss the resume of Kurdish crude oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan Pipeline. Washington is pushing for the restart. The Iraqi Oil Ministry is hosting talks to accelerate the resumption of oil exports out of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdistan Region. The talks were delayed until Thursday because of disagreements between oil companies and the oil minister over terms. According to one source, an Iraqi official from the oil ministry who was directly involved in the meeting, the U.S. diplomat based in Baghdad...

Treasury Department reported that the United States sanctioned seven top members of Yemen’s Houthi Movement, which is aligned with Iran. Treasury released a statement saying that the individuals had smuggled weapons and military equipment into areas controlled by Houthi in Yemen, and had also negotiated with Russia to buy weapons. Treasury also named Abdulwali Abdoh Hasan Al-Jabri and Al-Jabri General Trading and Investment Co. for recruiting Yemenis in Ukraine to fight on behalf of Russia and raising money to support Houthi Military Operations, it said. The U.S. Government is committed to holding Houthis accountable if they acquire weapons or weapons...

The U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday that it had implemented the designation of Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi Movement as a “foreign terror organization” after U.S. president Donald Trump's request for this move earlier in the year. Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary for State, said that "the Houthis’ activities threaten the safety of American civilians, personnel, and regional partners in the Middle East as well as the stability of the global maritime trade." He added that "the United States will not tolerate any country who engages with terrorist groups like the Houthis under the pretense of legitimate international business." Trump reclassified the...

Iraq's Ministry of Oil announced on Saturday that it had invited international companies under the umbrella of the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan, (APIKUR), as well as firms contracted by the Kurdistan Regional Government to a Baghdad meeting on March 4. The ministry stated that the talks will address existing contract issues and look for agreements aligned with international best practices in oilfield development, while protecting national interests. Discussions are also expected to be held with the Kurdistan Region Ministry of Natural Resources, as part of ongoing efforts to streamline oil activities between Baghdad & Erbil. Baghdad had...

Calculations showed that the Russian energy giant Gazprom's natural gas exports via the undersea TurkStream pipe to Europe reached a new record of over 55 million cubic meters (mcms) per day in this month. The 1,100 kilometres (684 miles), long trunk lying on the Black Sea bed remains Russia's only pipeline gas exporting routes to Europe. Gas transit via Ukraine has been closed on January 1, following the expiration of an agreement to transport Russian natural gas via its neighbour. The twin TurkStream pipeline has a capacity of 15,75 billion cubic meters (bcms) per annum. Entsog is a European gas...

Baghdad is expected to announce the resume of oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline in the next few hours, according to a statement from the Iraqi Oil Ministry. Iraq will export 185,000 barges per day via the state oil marketer SOMO. This quantity will increase gradually, according to a ministry statement. The Turkish government halted oil flows through the Ceyhan Pipeline in March 2023, after the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Ankara pay Baghdad damages of $1.5 billion for illegal exports from 2014 to 2018. Kurdistan regional government announced on Sunday that the Iraqi Kurdistan government had reached an agreement...

LSEG data and traders' reports show that February Urals crude oil loadings to Turkey from Russia's western port ports fell to their lowest level since December 20,22, after Turkey's biggest oil refiner Tupras ceased buying Russian oil. Tupras announced last week that it had stopped purchasing Russian crude oil due to U.S. Sanctions announced on January 10, against Russian energy companies, and tankers transporting Russian oil. LSEG's data and calculations show that the average amount of oil delivered to Turkey by Russia, consisting solely of Urals crude, was around 110,000 barrels a day in February. This is down from about...

After a nearly two-year halt, crude oil could soon flow again through a pipeline connecting the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq with Turkey. According to sources, the Trump administration has piled pressure on Iraqi officials to allow Kurdish crude oil exports to resume or face sanctions along with Iran. The Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq have not yet worked out the details needed for a resumption, such as an acceptable payment mechanism to the oil companies. This is a summary of the dispute over pipelines: What is the latest? Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said...

Alparslan Bayraktar, the Turkish Energy Minister, said on Wednesday that the Iraqi government has not yet confirmed the return of oil flow through the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline. Iraq's Oil Minister said Monday that oil exports will resume from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region next week. This resolves a dispute of nearly two years that has disrupted oil flows, as relations between Baghdad Erbil have improved. The return of the Kurdistan region to normal service is expected to relieve the economic pressure that has been caused by the suspension. This has resulted in delayed salaries for workers from the public sector and the...

The oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors awaited clarification on the Ukraine peace negotiations and amid concerns about disruptions to the supply of crude oil in the U.S. Brent crude futures rose 14 cents (0.2%), or $75.98 per barrel, at 0450 GMT. This could be the start of a third consecutive day of gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures for March gained 16 cents or 0.2% to $72.01, an increase of 1.8% over the Friday close. The contract did not settle on Monday due to the Presidents' Day holiday. The March contract expires Thursday, and the more actively...

The oil prices rose on Wednesday as a result of disruptions to the supply in the U.S., Russia and the markets. Brent crude futures rose 20 cents or 0.3% to $76.04 per barrel at 0146 GMT. This is the third consecutive day that Brent crude futures have risen. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures for March gained 23 cents or 0.3% to $72.08 per barrel. This is up 1.7% since Friday's close after the holiday on Presidents' Day prevented the settlement on Monday. The March contract expires Thursday, and the more actively traded April contract rose 0.3% to $72.04. After...