North Africa

Spanish police announced on Saturday that they had busted a criminal group using helicopters to smuggle Moroccan hashish in "a rare operation" against aerial drug trafficking. The Civil 'Guard spokesperson Gonzalo López said that the 'helicopters could carry up to 900 kg (1,100-2,050 pounds) of hashish, and then transport it by road into other parts of Europe. During raids conducted in the provinces Malaga, Almeria, and Murcia, police seized a helicopter, 657 kg hashish and five firearms. They also seized cash and vehicles. Six people were arrested in the operation that also included Moroccan, Belgian, and Swedish law enforcement agencies....

Abdelhamid Addou, CEO of Royal Air Maroc, said that the Moroccan national carrier Royal Air Maroc expects to start receiving aircraft in 2028 from a major tender for fleet expansion. Addou stated that the tender, launched in April of 2024, is for 200 aircraft up to 2037. The company is currently evaluating Boeing, Airbus, and Embraer's offers. Addou, a reporter at the Arab Air Carriers' Organization General Assembly held in Rabat, said that the tender was currently being finalised. Addou did not disclose the exact value of the tender, but said that about 25% of the order would be wide-body...

A review of public documents and interviews with executives revealed that critical mineral companies have increased their lobbying efforts to Washington in order to benefit from the ambitious investments made by U.S. president Donald Trump to firms considered essential to national safety. The review revealed that at least 12 companies, including those in the lithium, copper and rare earths industries, as well as geothermal, have signed agreements with Washington lobbying firms. Influence campaigns have increased dramatically in recent years to secure federal investment, permit support and long-term guarantees for procurement. The White House is shifting its focus from the historical...

Safran's chief executive said that the French engine manufacturer is "on the right track" to catch up with Airbus on the engine delivery delays by the end this month. Olivier Andries replied that Airbus had announced a good Q3 of deliveries and that we had a good performance with engine deliveries to Airbus during the quarter. Andries, in a telephone conversation about separate plans to build a new engine plant in Morocco noted that Airbus reported a decrease in the number planes waiting for their engines in September. This naturally strengthens our confidence. "I have always said we wanted to...

The Mali Ministry of Territorial Administration announced on Thursday that the transitional government of Mali has filed a complaint against Algeria before the International Court of Justice accusing it of aggression after its neighbour shot down a Malian reconnaissance drone. Mali claimed that Algeria intentionally shot down its drone near Tinzaouaten, in Mali's Kidal Region, during the night between March 31 and April 1, near their shared desert frontier. The statement said: "This blatant attack, which the Malian government strongly condemns and was intended to hinder the neutralisation by the Malian Armed and Security Forces of armed terrorists, is the...

WestJet, a low-cost Canadian airline, announced on Wednesday that it had ordered 67 Boeing aircraft for a fleet upgrade, including seven Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and 60 Boeing 737-10 MAX narrowbodies. The Calgary-based airline said that it has also acquired options to purchase 25 additional 737-10 MAXs and four Dreamliners with delivery dates extending through 2034. WestJet operates 193 aircraft, and it has an order list of 123 jets with 40 options. The average age is 10 years. Alexis von Hoensbroech, Chief Executive Officer of WestJet, said: "With these additions to our aircraft fleet, WestJet will double our Dreamliners." The Boeing...

Transport services were halted in Tunisia Wednesday as workers demanded better working conditions, higher wages and urgent reforms. This added pressure to President Kais Said to address the deepening crisis. Tunisians have suffered from poor public services for many years, particularly in the sectors of health, education, transportation and investment due to a lack of funding and public investments, as well as frequent interruptions in water and electricity supply. Saied, a man who has been in power since 2021 and tightened it, accuses those he believes are conspirators, seeking to undermine the government and exacerbate social tensions. The three-day strike...

Gulf stocks fell across all key markets on Monday as investors weighed concerns about U.S. policy in light of an upcoming deadline for tariffs and lower oil prices against strong corporate earnings. According to EU diplomats, the European Union is looking at broader countermeasures against Washington as the prospects for an acceptable trade deal with Washington are fading. The imposition of tariffs by Donald Trump around the globe could harm global economic growth as well as oil consumption. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index fell 0.3% on the back of broad sector declines, and lower oil prices. This was after it...

Investors weighed positive corporate earnings against the uncertainty of U.S. Trade Policy, following reports that Washington wants a minimum tariff of 15% to 20% in any agreement with the European Union. In spite of global uncertainty, the steady price of oil and strong results from regional giants helped to offset external headwinds. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index is on track to end its longest decline in two years with a 0.2% gain, driven by financials. Saudi National Bank, which is the country's largest lender based on assets, gained over 1.5%, while Al Rajhi Bank (the largest sharia compliant bank) jumped...

The majority of major Gulf stock markets rose on Thursday as a result of positive corporate earnings announcements and results, but the Saudi index is set to continue its losses for the eighth consecutive session. Dubai's main stock index rose 1.2% to a record high of 17-1/2 years, boosted by financial stocks. The shares of Emirates NBD rose 4% on track to increase for the third consecutive session after the top bank announced that it had closed a syndicated loan for Dubai Metro Blue Line Project worth 3.9 billion dirhams. Air Arabia, a budget airline, has risen 5.1% in the...

A source familiar with Wednesday's negotiations said that Brazilian planemaker Embraer was competing with Moroccan airline Royal Air Maroc to supply its aircraft. Source: The African carrier wants to renew and expand its fleet across three sizes, and Embraer has been fighting to secure an order for the smallest. On Wednesday, the local newspaper Folha de S.Paulo had reported that Royal Air Maroc, in conjunction with Embraer and other suppliers, was in discussions to buy up to 200 aircraft. Embraer's second-generation E2 jet family Folha, citing Folha's CEO, reported that the airline is considering the idea. The E2 line is...

A senior State Department official stated on Tuesday that the United States had helped around 400 U.S. Citizens and others fly out of Israel amid conflict with Iran since Saturday. They hope to accommodate even more in the days to come. "We are very aware that there is still capacity and that U.S. citizens still want to leave Israel. The airspace has not been reliably opened. The official stated that the situation is "extremely dynamic". An official stated that the State Department now shares information with 27,000 people about safety and security in the region, as well as leaving it....

Egypt's Cabinet announced on Sunday that it had signed a deal with Qatar's Al Mana Holding to invest $200 million in the first phase of a project to produce sustainable aviation fuel from used cooking oils at Ain Sokhna's Economic Zone along the Suez Canal. The project, which will span 100,000 sqm in the Integrated Sokhna Zone along Egypt's Red Sea coast, will be developed over three phases. In a press release, the cabinet stated that the first phase would have an annual production capacity of approximately 200,000 tons. Egypt claimed that the deal marks the first Qatari investment in...

Industry sources reported on Thursday that premiums for Azeri BTC crude oil compared to Brent dated fell by 12% between November and October. According to the schedule, Azeri BTC crude exports to Turkey from Ceyhan have been set to 16.2 million barrels, down from 17.0 in December. The traders stated that the lower supply of grade "supported" the differentials. CPC, which is responsible for around 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports, suffered a drone attack on November 29th, causing severe damage to one of its three main exporting units. Sources said that exports fell last month from 1.52 million barrels a...

South Sudan's military chief said that troops were sent to the neighbouring Sudan on Thursday to guard the Heglig oilfield near the border. This was after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces took control of the field. Heglig is home to the largest processing facility for South Sudanese crude oil, which accounts for the majority of South Sudanese public revenues. Heglig continues to receive some oil, but at a much reduced volume. Sources in the government said that the Sudanese forces and workers at the Heglig Oil Field withdrew on Sunday from the area to avoid fighting which could have damaged...

In an opaque market, the differentials between urals crude and other grades remained stable on Monday as participants assessed the impact of sanctions placed on Lukoil last month and Rosneft the previous month on the supply of this grade to India and Turkey. Sources in the trade said that two Indian state refiners bought 5 million barrels from spot markets as they continued to search for alternatives to Russian oil supplies. Sources said that Lukoil declared force majore at its Iraqi field of oil, while Bulgaria was preparing to seize the Burgas refinery as its international operations buckled due to...

The official gazette of Egypt announced that Egypt increased prices on a variety of fuel products Friday. This is the second price increase in this year. It's part the government's policy to reduce subsidies and alleviate a budgetary deficit. After a nearly 10% increase, the price of a variety of petroleum products has increased by 10.5% to 12.9%. Get 15% off in April . Egypt said recently that it hoped this would be the final major increase in fuel prices if global markets remain stable. Diesel, the most widely used fuel in Egypt, was raised from 15.50 Egyptian pounds to...

The differential between Brent and Urals crudes dated on Wednesday remained unchanged, but the Azeri BTC plan for exports from Turkey's Ceyhan Port in November was set at 15,3 million barrels compared to the 15.4 million barrels exported in October. Calculations showed that Azeri BTC crude exports would increase by approximately 3% per day in November compared to October. Alexander Novak, Deputy Premier of Russia, said that the country has gradually increased its oil production. It was very close to achieving the output quota set by OPEC+ last month. PLATTS WINDOW There were no bids or offerings reported on the...

The differentials between Urals crude and Brent for the date of February weakened on Monday due to rising shipping costs from Russia to India. This was driven by an increase in cargoes coming from Primorsk and Novorossiisk. Industry sources say that the current freight costs to transport Urals from the Baltic port of Primorsk to India for Aframax tanks rose from $6-6.5 millions for one-way trips in late August to middle September. The traders reported that the prices of Urals at western Indian ports remained constant. The exact plans for October remain unknown, but they expect Urals to continue exporting...

Kuwait's electricity minister announced on Saturday that the country will increase its power generation capacity to 14,05 gigawatts by 2031 in order to meet the rising demand. Kuwait, as a major oil-producing country, is struggling with power shortages due to rapid population growth, urbanization, high temperatures, and maintenance delays in certain plants. The government has had to implement planned power cuts since last year. Subaih Al-Mukhaizim said on X, the minister of electricity and water, as well as renewable energy, that the country managed to successfully manage the summer of 2025 despite some days reaching temperatures of 51 degrees Celsius....

Sources said that the differential between Brent and Urals crudes was stable on Thursday. However, oil loadings at Russia's western port ports were revised due to drone-related damage to refineries and export infrastructure. Two sources familiar with the schedule said that Russia increased its planned oil loads from the Black Sea port Novorossiysk and the Baltic port Ust-Luga for September due to disruptions at Primorsk. Two sources familiar with the situation said that Novatek, a Russian gas company, delivered 70,000 tons of gas to Novorossiysk during the September shutdown of the Ust-Luga complex. As the Ukrainian drone attacks continue traders...

The differential between Brent and Urals crudes dated on Wednesday remained unchanged, as traders awaited any changes to the grade's September export plans. This is because Russian ports and refineries are still repairing after recent drone attacks in Ukraine. Traders said that oil loadings at Baltic Primorsk continued, but they were delayed several days. Some volumes may be diverted to another port. Kazmunaygaz, the state energy company, announced on Wednesday that Kazakhstan will resume oil supply via the Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan pipeline by September 13. PLATTS WINDOW On Wednesday, there were no bids or offers made on Urals,...

Kuwait's national oil company announced on Tuesday that it is looking to revive the project of leasing out its crude oil pipelines and then leasing them back. Kuwait joins Gulf counterparts like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates who are leveraging private capital to acquire strategic energy assets. Media reports last week citing sources familiar with the situation said that the company was considering leasing a part of its network to fund an investment plan covering everything from upstream and petrochemicals. Kuwait Petroleum Corp, at a forum in Kuwait on Tuesday, did not disclose figures. This move is similar to...

Sources said that the differential between Urals and Brent crudes in Russia remained unchanged, but that exports of this grade were revised upwards for September due to lower domestic refining. Two industry sources and calculations show that Russia revised its September crude export plans from western ports up to 2.1 millions barrels per day, an 11% increase over the initial schedule. This is due to drone attacks on domestic refining plants reducing local demand for crude. PLATTS WINDOW On Wednesday, there were no bids or offers made on Urals, Azeri BTC Blend or CPC blend in the Platts Window. The...