QatarEnergy Signs 20-year Naphtha Supply Deal with Shell

QatarEnergy Signs 20-year Naphtha Supply Deal with Shell
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QatarEnergy Signs 20-year Naphtha Supply Deal with Shell

QatarEnergy Signs 20-year Naphtha Supply Deal with Shell

QatarEnergy has entered into a long-term naphtha supply agreement with Shell, supplying up to 18 million metric tons of naphtha to the London-listed company over 20 years from next April.

The project is part of the world's largest natural gas field, which Qatar shares with Iran, where it is known as South Pars, Reuters reported.

"We are delighted to sign QatarEnergy's first 20-year naphtha sales agreement, the largest and longest to date," said Saad al-Kaabi, the head of QatarEnergy and also state minister for energy.

QatarEnergy and Shell maintain a long-standing strategic partnership through multiple joint investments in Qatar and globally, including QatarEnergy's LNG projects, the Pearl GTL plant and other shared ventures.



UAE Cabinet Approves 12% Spending Increase in 2025 Budget

A general view of Abu Dhabi, UAE. (WAM)
A general view of Abu Dhabi, UAE. (WAM)
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UAE Cabinet Approves 12% Spending Increase in 2025 Budget

A general view of Abu Dhabi, UAE. (WAM)
A general view of Abu Dhabi, UAE. (WAM)

The United Arab Emirates' cabinet has approved a balanced budget for the 2025 fiscal year with expenditures rising to 71.5 billion dirhams ($19.47 billion), state news agency WAM said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Gulf state, one of the world's top oil exporters, projects an increase in spending of almost 12% next year from 2024 estimates, but still expects a balanced budget in 2025, since revenue is also budgeted at 71.5 billion dirhams, according to the statement.

The approved annual budget is part of the UAE's multi-year financial plan for the years 2022-2026. The country approved a$52.3 billion budget for 2024-26 last October.

The UAE is a federation of seven emirates, all of which can set individual budgets, in addition to a federal budget. A large focus of the federal budget is on social and welfare spending.

Almost 40% of the 2025 budget will be allocated to social development and pensions, with education accounting for the majority of spending in that sector, followed by healthcare.

More than 35% of the spending is for government affairs, with much smaller allocations for the Infrastructure and Economic Affairs sector and for the Financial Investments sector, the statement said.