Riyadh Air Presents Features of its Future at Dubai Air Show

Riyadh Air, the new national air carrier wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, participated in the Dubai Airshow 2023. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh Air, the new national air carrier wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, participated in the Dubai Airshow 2023. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
20

Riyadh Air Presents Features of its Future at Dubai Air Show

Riyadh Air, the new national air carrier wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, participated in the Dubai Airshow 2023. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh Air, the new national air carrier wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, participated in the Dubai Airshow 2023. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Riyadh Air, the new national air carrier wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, participated in the Dubai Airshow 2023 last week, revealing two categories for the exterior design of its aircraft fleet and a set of strategic partnerships.
The Riyadh Air pavilion at the Dubai Airshow attracted thousands of visitors and a number of senior officials, as well as local and international media representatives.
The exhibition activities also witnessed the participation of officials from Riyadh Air in a number of discussion sessions that touched on topics that included air traffic, innovative technologies and the experiences of passengers, as well as sustainable practices and the means to attract talent in the aviation and air transport sector.
Commenting on the participation in the Dubai Airshow 2023, Riyadh Air CEO, Tony Douglas, said: “It has been an extraordinary week, as a digital start-up we want to disrupt the aviation industry and we have certainly done that at the Dubai Airshow.”
He continued: “Since our launch in March, we have made exceptional progress hitting a number of milestones and in Dubai we have continued to shape the future of air travel with our beautiful second livery with a unique iridescent shine unlike any other aircraft, again capturing the world’s attention and going viral across social channels.”
Douglas stressed that the strategic cooperation concluded by Riyadh Air with Saudia Airlines reflected their common desire to achieve the goals of developing the tourism and travel sector within the Kingdom.
He added: “Our alliance with Lucid Group is a clear reflection of our joint values around sustainably, digital thinking and obsessional attention to detail, while our Lufthansa Systems deal sees us adopt the gold standard of aviation systems. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be sharing more exciting updates, developments and milestones for Riyadh Air, as we continue the momentum and pace towards our maiden flight in 2025 and as the most forward-thinking carrier in the skies.”
Strategic partnerships
Riyadh Air and Saudia signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic cooperation, which will seek to enable guests of both carriers to take full advantage of each airline’s worldwide network through a comprehensive interline and codeshare agreement.
Another MoU was signed between Riyadh Air and Lucid Motors at the Dubai Airshow, marking the first innovative partnership between luxury EV manufacturer Lucid Group and Riyadh Air. The agreement comes in line with a shared vision for the future of sustainable transportation.
Riyadh Air also announced it had signed an agreement with Lufthansa Systems as a partner to mutually drive innovation in digitalization and sustainability. The agreement will see the implementation of an integrated suite from Lufthansa Systems helping unlock digital leadership in aviation sustainability.



Iraq, BP Agree to Develop Four Kirkuk Fields

The logo of British multinational oil and gas company BP is displayed at their booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of British multinational oil and gas company BP is displayed at their booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
20

Iraq, BP Agree to Develop Four Kirkuk Fields

The logo of British multinational oil and gas company BP is displayed at their booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of British multinational oil and gas company BP is displayed at their booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. (Reuters)

Iraq and oil major BP have signed a deal to redevelop four Kirkuk oil and gas fields, BP said on Tuesday, a breakthrough for Iraq, where output has been constrained by years of war, corruption and sectarian tensions.

The signing comes a day before BP plans to update investors on its strategy and is widely expected to reduce investments in renewable energy and shift back to invest more in oil and gas.

BP is expected to spend up to $25 billion over the lifetime of the project, a senior Iraqi oil official told Reuters in early February.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to final ratification by Iraq's government, BP will work with North Oil Co.(NOC), North Gas Co. (NGC) and the new operator to stabilize and grow production, BP said.

Work will include a drilling program, the rehabilitation of existing wells and facilities, and the construction of new infrastructure, including gas expansion projects, it added.

BP said its remuneration will be linked to incremental production volumes, price and costs and will be able to book a share of production and reserves proportionate to the fees it earns for helping to increase production.

BP would boost crude production capacity from the four oilfields in Kirkuk by 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) to raise total capacity to at least 450,000 bpd in 2-3 years, according to a senior Iraqi oil official.

Tuesday's signing came after the two parties agreed on "technical issues and contractual terms, including the economic model of the project," according to a statement from the Iraqi prime minister office.

The BP deal is focused on rehabilitating facilities in four oilfields and developing natural gas to support Iraq's domestic energy needs.

BP was a member of the consortium of oil companies that discovered oil in Kirkuk in the 1920s. BP has estimated that the Kirkuk field holds about 9 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

The company holds a 50% stake in a joint venture operating the giant Rumaila oilfield in the south of the country, where it has been operating for a century.