عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Saudi GDP up 12.2% in Second Quarter, Exceeding Initial Estimate

A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)
A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)
TT
TT

Saudi GDP up 12.2% in Second Quarter, Exceeding Initial Estimate

A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)
A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)

Saudi Arabia's real gross domestic product expanded by 12.2% in the second quarter compared with the same period of 2021, data showed on Wednesday, as the world's top oil exporter reaps the rewards of high crude prices and a post-pandemic recovery.

The second quarter growth figure exceeded a flash government estimate at the end of July of 11.8% GDP growth. The economy grew 2.2% from the first quarter.

"The growth is mainly due to the high increase in oil activities by 22.9% y-o-y," the General Authority for Statistics said.

The oil economy grew 4.4% in the second quarter from the first quarter.

Non-oil activities rose by 8.2% on an annual basis and 4.5% from the first quarter.

Government activities grew by 2.4% in the year to end-June, a 0.4% rise compared to the first quarter.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Egypt Cuts 2040 Renewable Energy Target to 40%, Keeps Focus on Natural Gas

Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Karim Badawi speaks during a panel discussion as top energy executives and ministers meet in Houston for the annual Gastech conference in Houston, Texas, US, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File Photo
Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Karim Badawi speaks during a panel discussion as top energy executives and ministers meet in Houston for the annual Gastech conference in Houston, Texas, US, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File Photo
TT
TT

Egypt Cuts 2040 Renewable Energy Target to 40%, Keeps Focus on Natural Gas

Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Karim Badawi speaks during a panel discussion as top energy executives and ministers meet in Houston for the annual Gastech conference in Houston, Texas, US, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File Photo
Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Karim Badawi speaks during a panel discussion as top energy executives and ministers meet in Houston for the annual Gastech conference in Houston, Texas, US, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File Photo

Egypt has revised its renewable energy target for 2040 down to 40% from a previous goal of 58%, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi said on Sunday, underscoring that natural gas will remain a key part of the country's energy mix for years.

Before hosting the COP27 climate summit in 2022, Egypt pledged to raise renewable energy production to 42% of its energy mix by 2035, later advancing that target to 2030. In June 2024, then-Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker announced an ambitious plan to raise this to 58% by 2040, a target now abandoned, Reuters reported.

"This is a message to all of us to work together to increase discoveries and attract more investments through the bids being offered for exploration, aiming to achieve new discoveries in the region, which holds more wealth, particularly natural gas," Badawi said in the opening session of the Mediterranean Energy Conference 2024.

Since taking office in July, Badawi has met numerous international energy companies, including Italy’s Eni, which plans to start drilling new wells in Egypt's largest gas field, Zohr, in early 2025 to boost production.

Zohr's gas production peaked at 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in 2019, enabling the country to become a net exporter. But output declined to 1.9 bcf/d by early 2024, forcing Egypt to increase gas imports through a pipeline linking it with Israel as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to avoid a load shedding scheme that went on for months.