Azerbaijani Energy Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: OPEC+ Efforts Boost Balance, Organize Global Markets

Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Azerbaijani Energy Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: OPEC+ Efforts Boost Balance, Organize Global Markets

Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The world’s future lies within the “energy mix” concept, but oil will remain a primary energy source for decades to come, said Parviz Shahbazov, Azerbaijan’s energy minister.

According to Shahbazov, efforts spent by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies have helped reinforce and regulate global energy markets.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Shahbazov reaffirmed that Azerbaijan intends on strengthening strategic cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia so that it spans several economic fields and boosts economic collaboration between the two countries, especially in the energy field.

Shahbazov noted that Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan would be partaking in a number of cooperation projects involving renewable energy.

Joint Projects

“We have signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power to lay the foundations for the construction of a 240-megawatt wind park,” Shahbazov told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that the power station’s tremendous capacity is essential not only for renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan but all countries in the region.

Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, is also eyeing cooperation with Riyadh in the field of gas.

“We have a desire to cooperate in the gas sector and gas power generation, which will certainly be one of the channels for expansion of cooperation between the two countries soon,” said Shahbazov.

The minister moved on to reveal that Azerbaijan is expecting the arrival of a Saudi delegation this month, a visit that will give a chance to discuss new opportunities for expanding economic cooperation between Baku and Riyadh.

“We expect a Saudi delegation to visit this month to celebrate together the launch of a 240-megawatt wind power plant. We look forward to soon discussing ways for expanding economic cooperation with the visiting Saudi delegation,” said Shahbazov.

Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan have previously signed various trade, diplomatic and political agreements that Shahbazov said needed more robust activation through additional talks and consultations.

Market Stability

The minister explained that Saudi-Azerbaijani cooperation in the oil and gas sector is vital for the stability of global oil and gas markets.

Moreover, the minister acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s decades-old role in strengthening the global market balance and stabilizing energy prices.

Saudi Arabia has always undertaken leadership initiatives, he noted, adding that Azerbaijan had joined the OPEC+ group, which is one of the most critical channels for stabilizing the global energy market.

“Currently, we see in this formula one of the most important tools for enhancing stability and achieving balance in the global energy market,” said Shahbazov.

“It can address developments in a more appropriate way for the market in the future.”

For Shahbazov, oil will remain the primary energy source for several years to come. Therefore, the role played by OPEC+ in market stability will stay vital for the future of energy.

What is more important than stabilizing prices is ensuring the sustainability of the world’s power supply. Energy prices can change over time, but it will not have the same effect as a shift in global energy supplies.

“For that reason, it is fair to appreciate the efforts of OPEC+,” said Shahbazov.

Regarding gas supplies, he asked an urgent question: Why are there high gas prices in Europe at a time there is a shortage in supplies?

“Despite the existence of strategies to treat the product, it did not prevent the emergence of a price and gas crisis,” noted the minister, adding that the crisis will likely perpetuate into the future, especially during winter.

“However, this situation does not include other countries in the world, as this crisis situation does not apply to the oil sector,” said Shahbazov, praising the efforts spent by OPEC+ to draw an effective roadmap for containing the global energy and oil market.

Pandemic’s Challenging Aftermath

Shahbazov stressed that the coronavirus pandemic had produced a real crisis in global energy markets.

The crisis has highlighted the need for greater cooperation among all parties benefiting from oil production and consumption.

Besides having created a very critical and challenging situation for all actors in energy markets, the pandemic shed light on the massive need for a joint mechanism between OPEC and non-OPEC members. For the time being, OPEC+ is facing this challenging situation and trying to find solutions to contain the crisis.

Shahbazov affirmed that more crises would take place in the future if the mechanism for cooperation remains absent.

“This calls for using our experiences in dealing with such situations to address the urgent issues facing the work of the (OPEC +) mechanisms in global energy markets,” he said.

“In general, we began to cooperate and work with each other and we were able to achieve a form of sustainability for oil supplies,” he noted.

“We were able to launch a program to increase energy production supplies in global markets step by step and month by month, and this program will continue with us until the end of this year and the whole of 2022,” shared the minister.

Saudi Arabia’s Green Initiatives

New energy sources are certainly a factor of prosperity and development for the region, remarked Shahbazov, adding that renewable energy addresses a major global problem: climate change.

In Shahbazov’s opinion, promoting technological discoveries that address climate change by reducing carbon emissions, sustaining food stocks, and establishing environmentally friendly transportation is of paramount importance.

According to the minister, this is what the Saudi Green Initiative cares about and is working on translating on the ground.

“This initiative (Saudi Green Initiative) pushes the world towards much-needed cooperation for a quality of life without climate or environmental disasters,” said Shahbazov.



Saudi Arabia Allows Contracting Exceptions for Firms without Regional HQ

The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Allows Contracting Exceptions for Firms without Regional HQ

The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has introduced greater flexibility into its investment environment, allowing government entities, under strict controls to safeguard spending efficiency and ensure the delivery of critical projects, to seek exceptions to contract with international companies that do not have regional headquarters in the kingdom.

The Local Content and Government Procurement Authority notified all government bodies of the mechanism to apply for exemptions through the Etimad digital platform.

The step is designed to balance enforcement of the “regional headquarters relocation” decision, in force since early 2024, with the needs of technically specialized projects or those driven by intense price competition.

Under a government decision that took effect at the start of 2024, state entities, including authorities, institutions and government-affiliated funds, are barred from contracting with any foreign commercial company whose regional headquarters in the region is located outside Saudi Arabia.

According to the information, the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority informed all entities of the rules governing contracts with companies that lack a regional headquarters in the kingdom and related parties.

Government entities may request an exemption from the committee for specific projects, multiple projects or a defined time period, provided the application is submitted before launching a tender or initiating direct contracting procedures.

Submission mechanism

In two circulars, the authority detailed how to submit exemption requests and clarified the cases in which contracting is permitted under the controls. It said the exemption service was launched on the Etimad platform in November 2025.

The service is available to entities that float tenders through Etimad. Requests for tenders launched before the service went live, as well as those issued outside the platform, will continue to follow the previously adopted process.

Etimad is the kingdom’s official financial services portal run by the Ministry of Finance, aimed at driving digital transformation of government procedures and boosting transparency and efficiency in managing budgets, contracts, payments, tenders and procurement. The platform streamlines transactions between state entities and the private sector.

Technical criteria

When issuing the contracting controls, the government made clear that companies without a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, or related parties, are not barred from bidding for public tenders.

However, their offers can only be accepted in two cases: if there is no more than one technically compliant bid, or if the offer ranks among the best technically and is at least 25% lower in price than the second-best bid after overall evaluation.

Contracts with an estimated value of no more than 1 million riyals ($266,000) are also exempt. The minister may, in the public interest, amend the threshold, cancel the exemption or suspend it temporarily.

More than 700 headquarters

More than 700 multinational companies had relocated their regional headquarters to Riyadh by early 2026, exceeding the initial target of attracting 500 companies by 2030. The program seeks to cement the kingdom’s position as a regional business hub and to localize global expertise.

When announcing the contracting ban, Saudi Arabia said the move was intended to incentivize foreign firms dealing with the government and its affiliated entities to adjust their operations.

It aims to create jobs, curb economic leakage, raise spending efficiency and ensure that key goods and services procured by government entities are delivered inside the kingdom with appropriate local content.

The government said the policy aligns with the objectives of the Riyadh 2030 strategy unveiled during the recent Future Investment Initiative forum, where 24 multinational companies announced plans to move their regional headquarters to the Saudi capital.

It stressed that the decision does not affect any investor’s ability to enter the Saudi economy or continue working with the private sector.

 


IMF Board to Review Staff-level $8.1 Bln Agreement for Ukraine

The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
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IMF Board to Review Staff-level $8.1 Bln Agreement for Ukraine

The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said its board ​would review a staff-level agreement for a new $8.1 billion lending program for Ukraine in coming days.

IMF spokeswoman Jule Kozack told reporters that Ukrainian authorities had completed the prior actions needed to move forward with the request ⁠of a new ⁠IMF program, including submission of a draft law on the labor code and adoption of a budget.

She said Ukraine's economic growth in 2025 ⁠was likely under 2%. After four years of war, the country's economy had settled into a slower growth path with larger fiscal and current account balances, she said, noting that the IMF continues to monitor the situation closely.

"Russia's invasion continues to take a ⁠heavy ⁠toll on Ukraine's people and its economy," Kozack said. Intensified aerial attacks by Russia had damaged critical energy and logistics infrastructure, causing disruptions to economic activity, Reuters quoted her as saying.

As of January, she said, 5 million Ukrainian refugees remained in Europe and 3.7 million Ukrainians were displaced inside the country.


US Stocks Fall as Iran Angst Lifts Oil Prices

A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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US Stocks Fall as Iran Angst Lifts Oil Prices

A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Wall Street stocks retreated early Thursday as worries over US-Iran tensions lifted oil prices while markets digested mixed results from Walmart.

US oil futures rose to a six-month high as Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said no country can deprive the Islamic republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after US President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following talks in Geneva.

"We'd call this an undercurrent of concern that is bubbling up in oil prices," Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said of the "geopolitical angst."

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6 percent at 49,379.46, AFP reported.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent to 6,849.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.6 percent to 22,621.38.

Among individual companies, Walmart rose 1.7 percent after reporting solid results but offering forecasts that missed analyst expectations.

Shares of the retail giant initially fell, but pushed higher after Walmart executives talked up artificial intelligence investments on a conference call with analysts.

The US trade deficit in goods expanded to a new record in 2025, government data showed, despite sweeping tariffs that Trump imposed during his first year back in the White House.