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Aramco, KAUST to Form Consortium for Nonmetallics and Composites in Energy Applications

Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. (Reuters)
Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. (Reuters)
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Aramco, KAUST to Form Consortium for Nonmetallics and Composites in Energy Applications

Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. (Reuters)
Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. (Reuters)

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has signed an agreement with Aramco to establish a technology consortium focusing on performance and integrity management of nonmetallics and composites in energy applications (ENERCOMP), said KAUST in a statement.

Aramco has joined ENERCOMP as a founding member and first research sponsor to further advance nonmetallic materials in the energy sector.

"The five-year technology consortium represents a significant university-based R&D investment in nonmetallics and composites in the Kingdom, setting an example of bringing a new technology value chain together to strengthen the Kingdom’s position in the energy and materials transitions," said the statement.

The joint investment aims to support the Kingdom’s vision toward sustainability and diversification through the development of less energy-intensive and lower carbon-footprint materials.

Aramco will leverage its experience from relevant initiatives such as the Rice University Carbon Hub in the US and the Nonmetallic Innovation Center (NIC) in the UK to support ENERCOMP in transforming fundamental science into deployable integrity management solutions. This will increase industry confidence in the long-term role that nonmetallics and composites can play as an integral part of the materials transition.

Similar to the NIC model, the initiative will encourage other energy sector players to join the consortium and utilize KAUST’s cutting-edge research capabilities in engineering solutions, AI and material science.

Aramco Senior Vice President of Technology Oversight and Coordination Dr. Ali Al-Meshari said: "Through this collaboration, we aim to create an innovation hub for advanced composites in the Kingdom. By focusing on the development and integration of smart and cost-effective sensors in composite materials and applying emerging AI solutions, we can deploy novel integrity management technologies to the energy industry at large."

Director of ENERCOMP and KAUST Professor of Mechanical Engineering Prof. Gilles Lubineau highlighted the significance of this step, saying that ENERCOMP represents a new era of collaboration between KAUST and energy sector leaders.

The ambitious industry-focused partnership aims to establish a specialized team at KAUST to support engineering applications of nonmetallics and composites throughout the energy value chain. By supporting the Kingdom's nonmetallic and composite agenda, ENERCOMP will deliver innovative solutions crucial for a sustainable future, he added.

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Business

Iraq in Talks with Gulf States on Pipeline Exports beyond Hormuz

Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 
Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 
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Iraq in Talks with Gulf States on Pipeline Exports beyond Hormuz

Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 
Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 

Iraq is in talks with Gulf countries to use their pipeline networks to secure alternative oil export routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz, the state oil marketer SOMO said Thursday.

The move is part of an emergency strategy by the oil ministry to tap regional infrastructure and bypass maritime chokepoints, ensuring Iraqi crude continues to reach global markets while offsetting higher transport costs linked to the current crisis.

Ali Nizar al-Shatari, head of the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), said the ministry is prioritizing negotiations to access Gulf pipeline systems extending beyond the Strait of Hormuz and into the Arabian Sea, allowing exports to avoid areas of military tension.

“The goal is to secure stable routes that guarantee efficient flows of Iraqi oil at lower transport costs,” Shatari said, adding that Iraq generated about $2 billion in oil revenues in March, up 28 percent from February.

He said SOMO exported around 18 million barrels of crude from Basra, Kirkuk and the Kurdistan region by using all available outlets, including southern ports that operated until early March and northern routes to Türkiye’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

As part of efforts to diversify export options, Shatari revealed that the first shipments of fuel oil and Basra Medium crude successfully reached Syrian ports.

He noted that Iraq had signed a deal to export 50,000 barrels per day via this route, describing cooperation with Syria as “very significant,” with storage and security provided to ensure safe delivery to the port of Baniyas.

The route has proven effective and could become a permanent option after the crisis, he added.

Shatari further noted that the oil ministry is close to completing repairs on the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline, which suffered extensive damage in previous years.

Technical teams have inspected the most difficult terrain, with about 200 kilometers (125 miles) still to be assessed in the coming days before full pumping of Kirkuk crude resumes.

In a notable logistical move, Iraq has begun pumping Basra crude northwards for export via Ceyhan.

Flows started at 170,000 barrels per day and are expected to stabilize between 200,000 and 250,000 bpd, helping offset disrupted southern exports and supply energy-hungry markets in Europe and the Americas.

Shatari said Iraq has benefited from rising global prices by selling Kirkuk crude — a medium-grade oil — at strong premiums.

He also confirmed the reactivation of an agreement with the Kurdistan region to reuse the pipeline through the region to Ceyhan, helping lift total exports to 18 million barrels in March.

This came despite a drop in production in Kurdistan fields to about 200,000 bpd due to security threats, he added.

 

 

Business

World Food Prices Rose in March as Iran War Lifted Energy Costs, FAO Says

A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
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World Food Prices Rose in March as Iran War Lifted Energy Costs, FAO Says

A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)

The war in the Middle East has pushed food commodity prices higher due to higher energy and fertilizer costs, the UN's food agency said Friday. 

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said its Food Price Index, which measures the monthly changes in international prices of a basket of food commodities, had increased 2.4 percent in March from February. 

It was the second rise in a row, which the agency said was largely due to higher energy prices linked to conflict in the Middle East. 

Within the index, the category of vegetable oil saw the sharpest rise, of 5.1 percent over February, as palm oil prices reached their highest point since the middle of 2022, due to effects from spiking crude oil prices, FAO said. 

However, a "broadly comfortable" supply of cereal has cushioned the damaged from the conflict, FAO said. 

"Price rises since the conflict began have been modest, driven mainly by higher oil prices and cushioned by ample global cereal supplies," said FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero in a statement. 

But he warned that if the conflict goes on beyond 40 days and the high prices on fertilizer continue, "farmers will have to choose: farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops". 

"Those choices will hit future yields and shape our food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and all of the next." 

Disruptions to production and supply chain routes had also introduced "additional uncertainty" into the outlook for wheat and maize, FAO found. 

Business

Turkish Inflation Near 2% Monthly in March, Below Forecasts

A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
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Turkish Inflation Near 2% Monthly in March, Below Forecasts

A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)

Turkish consumer price inflation was 1.94% month-on-month in March, while the annual figure fell to 30.87%, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed ‌on Friday.

In ‌a Reuters ‌poll, ⁠monthly inflation was ⁠forecast to be 2.32%, with the annual rate seen at 31.4%, driven by ⁠a rise in ‌fuel prices ‌and weather-related pressures ‌on food inflation.

In ‌February, consumer prices rose 2.96% month-on-month and 31.53% year-on-year, broadly in ‌line with estimates and reinforcing expectations that ⁠the ⁠disinflation process may be stalling.

The data also showed the domestic producer index rose 2.30% month-on-month in March for an annual increase of 28.08%.