Saudi National Program to Drive Growth of Mineral Sector

Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs the Cabinet session in Jeddah (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs the Cabinet session in Jeddah (SPA)
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Saudi National Program to Drive Growth of Mineral Sector

Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs the Cabinet session in Jeddah (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs the Cabinet session in Jeddah (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef said that the National Minerals Program will be a strong and supportive tool to enhance the quality of supply chains, ensure continuity of supply to local industries and major projects, develop the country’s infrastructure, and achieve the goals of Vision 2030.

He noted that the program will play an effective role in advancing the growth of the sector and exploiting the mineral resources in the Kingdom.

On Tuesday, the Saudi Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, approved the establishment of the program within the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, with the aim to raise the efficiency and adequacy of supply chains for current and future minerals, and enhancing their continuity in the region and the world, within the country’s efforts to maximize the value achieved from the sector.

Alkhorayef explained that the adoption of the program highlights the Saudi leadership’s endeavor to promote the sector.

He added that Saudi Arabia seeks to develop mineral value chains so that mining becomes the third pillar of the national industry, and to benefit from the Kingdom’s geographical location, which represents one of the most important major commercial intersections, supported by a wide base of advanced, integrated and diverse infrastructure.

The minister indicated that the program will work to fundamentally unify the main roles between the various parties, and fill the existing gaps to ensure the continuity of supply chains for minerals, as well as build local capabilities, contribute to exploration operations, and ensure the stability of supply to local industries and major projects.



US Energy Firms’ Deals with Iraqi Kurdistan ‘Null and Void’, Baghdad Says 

This file photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. (AFP) 
This file photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. (AFP) 
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US Energy Firms’ Deals with Iraqi Kurdistan ‘Null and Void’, Baghdad Says 

This file photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. (AFP) 
This file photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. (AFP) 

Iraqi Kurdistan announced deals worth $110 billion over their lifetime with US firms HKN Energy and WesternZagros on Tuesday, drawing swift opposition from Baghdad's oil ministry which deemed them "null and void".

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced the deals in a speech in Washington, a day after they were flagged by an adviser on social media.

"The regional government is fully committed to developing the energy sector, especially as our reforms represent a significant step towards securing round-the-clock electricity supplies for all residents ...We also hope to contribute to providing electricity to other areas in Iraq," Barzani said, according to a statement released by the Kurdistan government.

The deals involve the development of the Miran and Topkhana-Kurdamir gas fields in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah.

"These contracts are null and void. Natural resources belong to all Iraqis, and any agreement to invest in them must be made through the federal government, not in defiance of the law and the constitution," Iraq's oil ministry said.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The Kurdish region's Ministry of Natural Resources issued a statement in response to the Iraqi oil ministry asserting its right and authority to sign energy deals.

"These deals are based on contracts signed many years ago, which have also been upheld as legal and valid by Iraqi courts... The recent change has been in the operating companies, in accordance with the legal and contractual framework of the existing agreements," it said.

An oil ministry official said agreement signings in Washington were conducted without Baghdad's previous knowledge.

"Signing energy agreements without consulting with the central government will further complicate relations between Baghdad and Erbil and will impact efforts to resume the export of Kurdistan regional oil," said a senior oil ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Key to those exports is a pipeline running through Türkiye halted since March 2023 after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled Ankara violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating Kurdish exports without Baghdad's consent.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.

Foreign energy companies have demanded clarification on repayment of debts accumulated between 2022 and 2023 and have and have sought contract guarantees, according to Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish officials.