OPEC Head Sees 'No Immediate Solution' to High Oil Prices

Delegates are pictured during the opening session of the 12th IEA IEF OPEC Symposium on Energy Outlooks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
Delegates are pictured during the opening session of the 12th IEA IEF OPEC Symposium on Energy Outlooks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
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OPEC Head Sees 'No Immediate Solution' to High Oil Prices

Delegates are pictured during the opening session of the 12th IEA IEF OPEC Symposium on Energy Outlooks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
Delegates are pictured during the opening session of the 12th IEA IEF OPEC Symposium on Energy Outlooks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri

There is no "immediate solution" to high oil prices, Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Wednesday.

The oil-producing countries' capacity to increase crude supply is curtailed by a lack of investment in the industry, said Itoua, who is also Congo’s minister of hydrocarbons.

Itoua was addressing an energy conference in Riyadh.

Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco Trading signed with Egypt’s Red Sea National Petrochemicals Company a non-binding crude oil supply and product offtake agreement, a statement by Aramco Trading said on Tuesday.

Under the agreement, Aramco Trading will supply 100,000 barrels per day of Arabian Crude into Red Sea’s Refining and Petrochemical complex, which is expected to be built at the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Ain Sokhna.

The agreement will pave the way for Aramco Trading to buy products from Red Sea, which include polymers, olefins, and liquid refined and petrochemical products, the company added.



Al-Moammar Receives First Work Order Under HUMAIN Agreement, Worth More Than 148% of 2025 Revenue

A sign identifying Al-Moammar Information Systems Company in Riyadh (company website).
A sign identifying Al-Moammar Information Systems Company in Riyadh (company website).
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Al-Moammar Receives First Work Order Under HUMAIN Agreement, Worth More Than 148% of 2025 Revenue

A sign identifying Al-Moammar Information Systems Company in Riyadh (company website).
A sign identifying Al-Moammar Information Systems Company in Riyadh (company website).

Al-Moammar Information Systems Company (MIS) has received its first work order under its agreement with HUMAIN, with a total value exceeding 148 percent of the company's total revenue for 2025, including value-added tax.

In a statement on Saudi Exchange on Sunday, the company said Work Order No. 1, received on October 1, covers the scope of work related to a capacity of 50 megawatts. This was the scope previously announced as part of a project to design and build data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence technologies.

The company said the financial impact of the work order began in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026.

The work order was received under an agreement signed by Al-Moammar Information Systems with HUMAIN last September, with a value exceeding 689 percent of the company's total revenue for 2025, including value-added tax. The agreement includes an expansion of the project's scope from 50 megawatts to 250 megawatts.

When the agreement was announced, the company said the engineering, procurement, and construction works would be carried out through work orders issued by HUMAIN in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The company would announce each work order upon receipt, including its value, implementation period, and financial impact.

Al-Moammar Information Systems expects to receive additional work orders related to the further expansion of the project in the coming period and will announce any material developments in this regard when they occur.


OPEC+ Agrees to Keep November Oil Output Targets Steady

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) outside its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 28 , 2024. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) outside its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 28 , 2024. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
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OPEC+ Agrees to Keep November Oil Output Targets Steady

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) outside its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 28 , 2024. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) outside its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, May 28 , 2024. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

OPEC+ agreed to keep oil production targets steady for November at a meeting on Sunday, the producer group said, in line with expectations that further output policy adjustments are unlikely until next year.

Seven core members of the group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia made the decision for November in a brief online meeting on Sunday. The core members are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman.

Oil prices had dropped on Friday after European leaders agreed to US President Donald Trump's request to release diesel reserves. Even so, Brent crude remains above $100 a barrel, up from about $73 before the Iran war started in late February.

The Iran war has also delayed the group's output capacity review — crucial to determine members’ 2027 output quotas — because it has thrown estimates of future production potential into uncertainty, industry sources told Reuters last week.

OPEC+ has been raising output targets for much of 2026 after years of production cuts, but most of the increases stayed on paper because of the Middle East conflict.

The seven core OPEC+ members pumped 25 million barrels per day in August, up 630,000 bpd from July, yet still roughly 5 million bpd below prewar levels in February, OPEC data shows.

The seven hold their next meeting on November 1.

OPEC+ still has about 2 million bpd of output cuts in place covering most members. It needs the result of the capacity review to decide how to distribute increases and any changes to output are unlikely before 2027, sources have said.

A separate OPEC+ ministerial group called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), which does not decide policy, also met on Sunday to review the market.


Saudi Arabia Announces Results of Natural Gas Distribution Licensing Competition in Al-Kharj

A worker at one of Saudi Aramco's gas facilities.
A worker at one of Saudi Aramco's gas facilities.
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Saudi Arabia Announces Results of Natural Gas Distribution Licensing Competition in Al-Kharj

A worker at one of Saudi Aramco's gas facilities.
A worker at one of Saudi Aramco's gas facilities.

The Ministry of Energy today announced the results of a competition for a license to establish, own, and operate a natural gas distribution network in the industrial city of Al-Kharj in central Saudi Arabia.

The ministry had previously invited interested investors to participate in the competition to obtain the license and completed the procedures for qualifying bidders, launching the competition, and evaluating the bids.

As part of the competition, Natural Gas Distribution Company was awarded a license to establish, own, and operate the distribution network in the industrial city of Al-Kharj.

The competition will contribute to the objectives of the Liquid Fuel Displacement Program and the replacement of liquid fuels with natural gas, with the aim of maximizing the economic, environmental, and social benefits that the Kingdom derives from its petroleum resources as part of Vision 2030.

The launch of the competition is part of the ministry's efforts to strengthen the natural gas sector's infrastructure and stimulate investment in the sector by creating an attractive competitive environment that enables beneficiaries to access natural gas and improves the quality of services provided.