عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Egypt Ramps Up Oil, Gas Production Amid Increase in Oil Prices

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla during the meeting on Monday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla during the meeting on Monday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Egypt Ramps Up Oil, Gas Production Amid Increase in Oil Prices

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla during the meeting on Monday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla during the meeting on Monday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El-Molla, stressed the need for intense efforts to implement an action plan that would meet the goals of increasing oil and gas production, especially with the current rise in international oil prices.

Molla chaired the general assemblies for Khalda Petroleum Company and Qarun Petroleum Company to approve the budget plans for the fiscal year (FY) 2022/23 and the revised budget for 2021/22.

The volume of initial investments at Khalda Petroleum is predicted to reach $900 million.

Khalda Chairman Saeed Abdel Moneim noted that drilling development and exploration activities are set to witness the drilling of more than 100 wells.

It will help achieve an average daily production of 132,000 barrels of crude oil, condensate, butane, and 631 million cubic feet (mcf) of natural gas.

Qarun Petroleum Company’s Chairman Ashraf Abdel-Gawad stated that it plans to produce about 20,500 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) during 2022/23 with investments of $242 million.

The target is achieved based mainly on a drilling program that includes 27 exploration and development wells.

Abdel-Gawad added that the repairs, maintenance, re-running, and completion of wells will continue to achieve the highest production rates and maintain high rates throughout the average lifespan of wells.

Meanwhile, the Western Desert Operating Petroleum Company (WEPCO) announced that it is targeting an increase in oil production by 120% to reach 6,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) during the fiscal year (FY) 2022/23.

The announcement came during a meeting headed by the Minister of Petroleum to approve the planning budgets of WEPCO and Badr Petroleum Company (Bapetco) for FY 2022/23.

WEPCO will manage, operate, and develop the el-Hamra port.

The minister stressed the need to accelerate the implementation of the new expansion plan for el-Hamra port, which is seen as one of the most important petroleum ports in the al-Alamein region.

Molla added that the expansion plan will help the state’s development and construction strategy for al-Alamein by implementing two significant projects.

They include the establishment of warehouses at the port over an area of 120 feddans and the establishment of a petroleum trading zone over an area of 420 feddans which will be part of the national initiative of converting Egypt into a regional hub for trading petroleum products.

Molla praised the progress in developing the infrastructure to supply the western region and al-Alamein with the needed fuel for the state's development strategy.

He pointed to the ongoing steps to establish the infrastructure to supply the western region and New Alamein with its fuel needs to serve the development and urban expansion in the area.

WEPCO’s Chairman Ibrahim Masoud elaborated that this target will be achieved after drilling five exploratory and developmental wells and completing another six with investments worth $28 million.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
TT
TT

IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

Business

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
TT
TT

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

Business

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
TT
TT

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.