عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Agreement Between Aramco, NOV to Manufacture Drilling Rigs, Equipment

Officials from Aramco and NOV during their signing of a joint venture to manufacture the offshore drilling rigs | Asharq Al-Awsat
Officials from Aramco and NOV during their signing of a joint venture to manufacture the offshore drilling rigs | Asharq Al-Awsat
TT
TT

Agreement Between Aramco, NOV to Manufacture Drilling Rigs, Equipment

Officials from Aramco and NOV during their signing of a joint venture to manufacture the offshore drilling rigs | Asharq Al-Awsat
Officials from Aramco and NOV during their signing of a joint venture to manufacture the offshore drilling rigs | Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Aramco announced Thursday that it has signed a shareholder agreement with National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV) to form a joint venture partnership to establish an integrated world-class on-shore rig and equipment manufacturing and aftermarket facility in Ras al-Khair, east Saudi Arabia.

Under the virtue of the agreement, Saudi Aramco will own 30 percent of the joint venture’s shares while NOV will own the remaining 70 percent.

The new joint venture with NOV will be located in Ras al-Khair, near the Jubail Industrial City on the Kingdom’s east coast, and it will serve as a major hub for high specification drilling rigs, using cutting-edge technologies with a capacity to manufacture 10 onshore rigs per year.

The facility will also offer repair services and recertification of a large portfolio of equipment.

It will have the ability to supply drilling packages for offshore Jack-up rigs, and it will localize expertise in multiple disciplines related to on-shore rig manufacturing.

The project is expected to create over one thousand direct and indirect jobs in the Kingdom, and the commissioning of the facility is expected by 2020 with the first rig to be delivered in 2021.

“The Kingdom leadership’s efforts to accelerate economic diversification as part of Vision 2030 is having a significant impact in enabling the creation of new sub-sectors and also in attracting investments from our international partners to our nation’s vital oil and gas industry,” said Saudi Aramco’s President and CEO Amin Nasser in a statement.

“Saudi Aramco’s agreement with NOV is a step in that direction towards the creation of a vibrant energy services sector, which helps us to further advance our In-Kingdom Total Value Add program and expand the procurement of locally manufactured goods and services,” Nasser noted.

He explained that this comes alongside the development of Giga Projects such as the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services.

Executive Director of New Business Development at Saudi Aramco and Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Aramco Development Company Ziad al-Murshed, for his part, said that the new manufacturing facility “will further strengthen the integrated portfolio of oilfield services and equipment being developed by the Saudi Aramco Development Company, which also optimizes Saudi Aramco’s supply chain costs and improves its agility.”

“This investment will also create employment and training opportunities for Saudi youth,” Murshed stressed.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Russia Extends Ban on Gasoline Exports Until February

Gasoline tank trucks are seen outside the Rosneft Achinsk oil refinery plant, one of the biggest Siberian fuel suppliers, near the town of Achinsk, some 188 km (117 miles) west of Krasnoyarsk, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin
Gasoline tank trucks are seen outside the Rosneft Achinsk oil refinery plant, one of the biggest Siberian fuel suppliers, near the town of Achinsk, some 188 km (117 miles) west of Krasnoyarsk, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin
TT
TT

Russia Extends Ban on Gasoline Exports Until February

Gasoline tank trucks are seen outside the Rosneft Achinsk oil refinery plant, one of the biggest Siberian fuel suppliers, near the town of Achinsk, some 188 km (117 miles) west of Krasnoyarsk, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin
Gasoline tank trucks are seen outside the Rosneft Achinsk oil refinery plant, one of the biggest Siberian fuel suppliers, near the town of Achinsk, some 188 km (117 miles) west of Krasnoyarsk, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

Russia has extended the temporary ban on gasoline and fuel exports, including producers and intermediaries, until the end of next February, the Russian news agency Interfax said, citing a government website.

“The new decree extended the temporary ban on the export of gasoline outside the country until February 28, 2026, inclusive. It will be valid for all exporters, including direct producers,” the website wrote.

The decree also extends the ban on the export of marine fuel, vacuum gas oil and other types of gas oils, including volumes purchased at exchange auctions, until 28 February 2026. In this case, the restriction will not apply to direct producers of petroleum products.

Russia introduced the measures at the end of August due to the exacerbation of the fuel crisis.

Several major refineries were attacked by drones in August and September, including Surgutneftegaz's Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, Lukoil's Volgograd refinery and Rosneft's Samara group of refineries.

Prices for gasoline, which are tightly monitored by authorities, were up 10.2%, above general inflation, since the start of the year, with the spike in part attributed to a step up in Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.

Last October, US President Donald Trump mentioned “long lines waiting for gasoline” and said the Russian “economy is going to collapse.”

Trump said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin should settle the war in Ukraine which was making Russia look bad.

Asked about Trump's remarks at an energy conference in Moscow, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees energy and the economy for the government, said that Russia had a stable supply of gasoline.

“We have a stable domestic market supply, we see no problems in this regard,” Novak said.

“The balance is maintained between production and consumption, and we, on the part of the government and the relevant ministries, are doing everything to ensure that this remains the case.”

Russia's seaborne oil product exports fell 17.1% in September from August to 7.58 million metric tons due to less fuel production as various refineries were impacted by drone attacks, data from industry sources and Reuters calculations showed.

The economy is slowing sharply this year and the government forecasts gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.0% after 4.3% growth in 2024 and 4.1% growth in 2023, though the International Monetary Fund has downgraded its 2025 forecast to 0.6% from 0.9%.

Business

Hong Kong Expects 3.2% Growth this Year, Seeks to Maintain Momentum

FILE PHOTO: Tourists relax on the waterfront in front of Victoria Harbour, with the iconic skyline buildings as a backdrop, in Hong Kong, China June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists relax on the waterfront in front of Victoria Harbour, with the iconic skyline buildings as a backdrop, in Hong Kong, China June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
TT
TT

Hong Kong Expects 3.2% Growth this Year, Seeks to Maintain Momentum

FILE PHOTO: Tourists relax on the waterfront in front of Victoria Harbour, with the iconic skyline buildings as a backdrop, in Hong Kong, China June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists relax on the waterfront in front of Victoria Harbour, with the iconic skyline buildings as a backdrop, in Hong Kong, China June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan raised his 2025 economic growth forecast to 3.2% on Sunday, saying the city would bolster its role as a financial center, innovation hub and trade center to maintain the momentum.

In February, Chan had forecast growth of between 2% and 3%.

Hong Kong, the world's biggest venue for initial public offerings this year, will lure more listings from companies in areas such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East and will actively promote internationalization ⁠of China's yuan currency, Chan said in a blog post.

The city will also focus on developing artificial intelligence and biotech to lead the global race in technology and will strengthen its role as a trade hub by helping more Chinese companies expand overseas, Reuters quoted him as saying.

"Looking into ⁠next year, Hong Kong's economy is expected to keep the good trend of growth," Chan said. "Finance, tech innovation and trade will be Hong Kong's key engines of growth as the city actively embraces China's development strategy."

Hong Kong has one of the world's best-performing stock markets this year, with the Hang Seng Index up 30%.

Resilient exports, brisk fixed-asset investment and recovering consumption have helped Hong Kong's growth beat forecast, Chan said.

To ⁠bolster its status as a financial center, Hong Kong will strengthen the competitiveness of its stock market and develop areas including bonds, money market, fintech, commodities and gold trading, he said.

In terms of innovation, Hong Kong will develop AI into a "core industry,” as the technology will define economies' competitiveness and reshape the global economic landscape, he said.

The city is also establishing a center for cross-border supply chain management and trade finance, to better help Chinese companies expand offshore, Chan said.

Business

China Passes Revised Foreign Trade Law to Bolster Trade War Capabilities

Containers are seen at the port in Shanghai, China, Oct. 13, 2025. (AFP)
Containers are seen at the port in Shanghai, China, Oct. 13, 2025. (AFP)
TT
TT

China Passes Revised Foreign Trade Law to Bolster Trade War Capabilities

Containers are seen at the port in Shanghai, China, Oct. 13, 2025. (AFP)
Containers are seen at the port in Shanghai, China, Oct. 13, 2025. (AFP)

China on Saturday passed revisions to a key piece of legislation aimed at strengthening Beijing's ability to wage trade war, curb outbound shipments from strategic minerals, and further open its $19 trillion economy.

The latest revision to the Foreign Trade Law, approved by China's top legislative body, will take effect on March 1, 2026, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

The world's second-largest economy is overhauling its trade-related legal frameworks partly to convince members of a major trans-Pacific trade bloc created to counter China's growing influence that the manufacturing powerhouse ‌deserves a seat at ‌the table, as Beijing seeks to reduce ‌its ⁠reliance on the US.

Adopted ‌in 1994 and revised three times since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, most recently in 2022, the Foreign Trade Law empowers policymakers to hit back against trading partners that seek to curb its exports and to adopt mechanisms such as "negative lists" to open restricted sectors to foreign firms.

The revision also adds a provision that foreign trade should "serve national economic and social development" and help build China ⁠into a "strong trading nation", Xinhua said.

It further "expands and improves" the legal toolkit for countering external challenges, according ‌to the report.

The revision focuses on areas such ‍as digital and green trade, along ‍with intellectual property provisions, key improvements China needs to make to meet the ‍standards of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, rather than the trade defense tools the 2020 revamp honed in on following four years of tariff war with the first Trump administration.

Beijing is also sharpening the wording of its powers in anticipation of potential lawsuits from private firms, which are becoming increasingly prominent in China, according to trade diplomats.

"Ministries have become more concerned about private sector criticism," ⁠said one Western trade diplomat with decades' of experience working with China. "China is a rule-of-law country, so the government can stop a company's shipment, but it needs a reason."

"It's not totally lawless here. Better to have everything written out in black and white," they added, requesting anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak with media.

China's private exporting firms attracted global attention in November after the French government moved to suspend the Chinese e-commerce platform Shein.

The Chinese government increasingly could also find itself at odds with private enterprise when seeking to carry out sweeping bans, ‌such as Beijing's prohibition of all Japanese seafood imports, as Asia's top two economies continue to feud over Taiwan, trade diplomats say.