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Oman Energy Ministry Signs Concession Agreement with Lebanon's CC Energy Development

The Omani Ministry of Energy signed the oil and gas exploration concession agreement with the Lebanese CC Energy Development (Omani News Agency)
The Omani Ministry of Energy signed the oil and gas exploration concession agreement with the Lebanese CC Energy Development (Omani News Agency)
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Oman Energy Ministry Signs Concession Agreement with Lebanon's CC Energy Development

The Omani Ministry of Energy signed the oil and gas exploration concession agreement with the Lebanese CC Energy Development (Omani News Agency)
The Omani Ministry of Energy signed the oil and gas exploration concession agreement with the Lebanese CC Energy Development (Omani News Agency)

Oman's energy ministry signed a concession agreement with Lebanon's CC Energy Development (CCED) for oil and gas exploration in concession areas number 38 and 74 in Dhofar province, the Oman state news agency said on Sunday.

The Lebanese company will conduct geological and geophysical studies and seismic surveys necessary for oil and gas prospecting and exploration operations.

The two concession areas are located in Dhofar governorate: Area No. 38 is situated southwest of the governorate and spans around 17,425 square kilometers, while Concession Area No. 74 is located southeast and spans around 3,064 square kilometers.

Oman's Minister of Energy and Minerals Salem al-Awfi and CCCED's president and director Marwan Salloum signed the concession agreement.

Awfi explained that the agreement reflects the Ministry of Energy and Minerals' commitment to expanding exploration and prospecting for oil and gas resources in Oman and the confidence that the Sultanate enjoys from local and international investors.

Furthermore, the initiative is expected to increase the sector's production capacity.

"By entering into this agreement, we strive to fortify current partnerships and build new ones in this sector, maximize the benefits from oil and gas resources, and employ cutting-edge sustainable technologies in exploration and prospecting operations," he said.

For his part, Salloum said the company's 15-year partnership with the Ministry, which led to our investments in concession areas 3 and 4.

He hoped the signing of the agreement for concession areas 38 and 74 will contribute to strengthening the company's investments in Oman during the coming years.

The director general of investment at Oman's Energy Ministry, Salah al-Dhahab, hoped the results of the geophysical surveys in the two areas would be successful to proceed to the drilling phase.

He pointed out that the signing of the agreements for concession areas 38 and 74 is a new addition to the operational areas, and one of the Ministry's goals is to increase the operating regions of the oil and gas sector.

The official noted that these two areas will be under the umbrella of exploration and prospecting through the signatory company, hoping they will have vast amounts of geophysical survey processing operations.

He noted that one of the areas will include new two-dimensional surveys, and drilling operations will follow if the results are successful.

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Copper Crawls Higher on Softer Dollar and Supply Issues

FILE PHOTO: A coil of copper rod sits on the production line for copper flat wire at the Wellascent factory in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China, August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A coil of copper rod sits on the production line for copper flat wire at the Wellascent factory in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China, August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo
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Copper Crawls Higher on Softer Dollar and Supply Issues

FILE PHOTO: A coil of copper rod sits on the production line for copper flat wire at the Wellascent factory in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China, August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A coil of copper rod sits on the production line for copper flat wire at the Wellascent factory in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China, August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo

Copper prices edged higher on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar and supply issues, but gains were modest due to worries about high oil prices hitting demand.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.5% to $14,319 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading. That marked a decline of 2% since the end of last week.

"Metals have seen light turnover again so far this session with copper finding some support with a slightly softer dollar, but the broader tone remains cautious," Neil Welsh, head of metals at broker Britannia Global Markets, said in a note.

"High energy costs stemming from the ⁠ongoing US-Iran conflict and ⁠signs of industrial weakness in China have weighed on sentiment across the complex."

The dollar index hit its strongest in 17 months this week, but weakened on Friday, making commodities priced in the US currency cheaper for buyers using other currencies.

LME copper has gained 16% over the past six months, largely due to a large shift in ⁠inventories to the US attracted by the prospect of tariffs there, creating shortages elsewhere.

Stocks in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange <CU-STX-SGH> have slumped by 79% over the past four months to 38,744 tons, their lowest since January 2024.

The SHFE was closed for China's National Day and will reopen on October 8.

The prospect of less output in the world's largest copper producer Chile has also underpinned the market, with data on Wednesday showing production fell 12.8% year-on-year in August.

Supervisors at Chile's Escondida copper mine, the world's largest, rejected a collective ⁠contract offer, ⁠paving the way for a potential strike and adding to supply fears.

"This adds to an overall slump in output, as the industry struggles to maintain aging infrastructure amid difficult operating conditions," Reuters quoted Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, as saying in a note.

Among other metals, LME aluminium dipped 0.1% in official activity to $3,121.50 a ton and nickel also shed 0.1% to $15,620.

Zinc rose 0.2% to $3,732.50, lead ticked 0.3% higher to $1,863 and tin was little changed at $54,350.

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Eurozone Inflation Hits Three-year High at 3.8% in September

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
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Eurozone Inflation Hits Three-year High at 3.8% in September

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

Eurozone inflation jumped to 3.8 percent in September, the highest level in three years, as the war in the Middle East fueled a surge in energy costs, official data showed Friday.

The figure for the 21-country euro area was up sharply from 3.2 percent in August and remains well above the European Central Bank's two-percent target, raising the likelihood of another interest rate increase.

The September reading published by the statistical office of the European Union was slightly higher than the 3.7 percent forecast by economists for Bloomberg.

As the US war against Iran drags on, the conflict has caused major disruptions to fuel supplies from the Middle East, including from the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy trade route.

Energy price increases surged to 18.8 percent in September, up from 14.3 percent a month earlier, AFP quoted Eurostat as saying.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, rose to 2.5 percent last month from 2.4 percent in August.

Meanwhile, food and drinks inflation increased to 1.4 percent from 1.1 percent in August.

Eurozone inflation was last above 3.8 percent in September 2023, when it stood at 4.3 percent.

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World Food Prices Near Four-year High in September

A street food vendor pushes a cart along the road in Ho Chi Minh City on October 2, 2026. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
A street food vendor pushes a cart along the road in Ho Chi Minh City on October 2, 2026. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
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World Food Prices Near Four-year High in September

A street food vendor pushes a cart along the road in Ho Chi Minh City on October 2, 2026. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
A street food vendor pushes a cart along the road in Ho Chi Minh City on October 2, 2026. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)

World food prices rose in September to their highest in nearly four years as logistics disruptions and weather concerns affected crop markets, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said.

Fears about a severe El Nino weather pattern have pushed international sugar prices to an 18-month high, while a war-related collapse in Black Sea trade pushed wheat futures to a three-year peak early last month.

The FAO ⁠Food Price Index, ⁠which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of food commodities, averaged 136.0 points, up from a revised 134.0 for August and the highest reading since November 2022.

FAO's benchmarks for cereal, sugar and vegetable oil ⁠prices all rose last month, though meat and dairy quotations fell.

“We are seeing a persistent and increasingly broad-based build up in global commodity prices, as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea combine with climate shocks, putting pressure on energy, transport and key food commodities,” FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said, according to Reuters.

“If sustained, these pressures will soon pass through to consumer food ⁠prices, especially ⁠in food and energy import-dependent countries,” he said in a statement.

In a separate report, FAO kept its forecast for global cereal production in 2026 almost unchanged at 2.979 billion metric tons, 2.1% below the previous year's peak but still the second-largest harvest on record.

FAO cut its forecast for world cereal trade in 2026/27 by 0.7% from September, citing lower wheat and maize export expectations due largely to constrained Black Sea shipping routes.