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UAE's Etihad Rail Connects Vital Freight Terminal to Network’s Main Line

The new line extends from the borders of Saudi Arabia to the port of Fujairah, on the eastern coast, passing through key manufacturing hubs and urban centers. (WAM)
The new line extends from the borders of Saudi Arabia to the port of Fujairah, on the eastern coast, passing through key manufacturing hubs and urban centers. (WAM)
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UAE's Etihad Rail Connects Vital Freight Terminal to Network’s Main Line

The new line extends from the borders of Saudi Arabia to the port of Fujairah, on the eastern coast, passing through key manufacturing hubs and urban centers. (WAM)
The new line extends from the borders of Saudi Arabia to the port of Fujairah, on the eastern coast, passing through key manufacturing hubs and urban centers. (WAM)

UAE's Etihad Rail said it successfully completed the connection process between the railway freight terminal at the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD), the largest inland freight railway terminal in the country, and the UAE National Rail Network.

This achievement comes in line with the goals of the UAE Railway Program, which is the largest integrated system for transporting goods and passengers across the country.

The program aims to connect the country’s key centers of industry and production, open new trade routes and facilitate population movement, state new agency WAM reported.

Upon the completion of Stage Two of the UAE National Rail Network, Etihad Rail will provide logistics solutions from the railway terminal, which is located at the heart of the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi, burgeoning hub of industrial companies in the area.

Executive Director of Rail Relations Sector at Etihad Rail Mohammed Al Marzouqi said: "Connecting the railway freight terminal at ICAD with Etihad Rail’s main line ensures our readiness to start providing our clients with logistics solutions by linking Abu Dhabi with various industrial centers and import and export points.:

"Our network will have a positive impact on end users, as it will contribute to reducing trucks on roads and bring down their maintenance costs," he added.

Etihad Rail is constructing the largest inland railway freight terminal in the UAE in ICAD, spanning just over 2.7 million square feet, the new railway freight terminal at will comprise over 22 buildings and major structures to support operations, processing up to nine trains each day.

It will facilitate the distribution of goods across the countries of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and UAE.

The development of the ICAD railway freight terminal features as a part of Stage Two of the UAE’s national railway network.

The historic project extends from Al on the borders of Saudi Arabia to the emirate of Fujairah, on the eastern coast. Upon completion, Stage Two of the GCC’s railway network will integrate the nation’s ports, manufacturing hubs, and urban centres.

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Business

Iraq Exports 2.6 million bpd from Southern Ports

An oil field in the Dibs area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (Reuters)
An oil field in the Dibs area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (Reuters)
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Iraq Exports 2.6 million bpd from Southern Ports

An oil field in the Dibs area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (Reuters)
An oil field in the Dibs area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (Reuters)

Iraq is exporting around 2.6 million barrels of oil per day from its southern ports so far in September and producing more than 3 million bpd from its southern oilfields, Bassem Abdul Karim, head of Iraq's Basra Oil Company, said on Thursday.

Abdul Karim, speaking at an energy conference in Basra, added that Iraq is transporting around 250,000 bpd of Basra crude to Kirkuk for exports via Ceyhan in Türkiye.

On September 16, Iraq launched a pilot operation to transport crude oil by road from its southern oilfields to a Kirkuk storage facility in an effort to boost supplies to the northern export system and potentially increase shipments through Türkiye's Ceyhan port.

The initiative forms part of broader Iraqi efforts to increase flows through the northern export route after the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted Iraq's shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, its main export route.

Business

Oil Gains on Little Sign of Progress in US-Iran Talks

Gas prices at a Shell gas station above $6 a gallon for regular gasoline and $8 a gallon for diesel are displayed across from a US flag outside of the Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Gas prices at a Shell gas station above $6 a gallon for regular gasoline and $8 a gallon for diesel are displayed across from a US flag outside of the Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
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Oil Gains on Little Sign of Progress in US-Iran Talks

Gas prices at a Shell gas station above $6 a gallon for regular gasoline and $8 a gallon for diesel are displayed across from a US flag outside of the Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Gas prices at a Shell gas station above $6 a gallon for regular gasoline and $8 a gallon for diesel are displayed across from a US flag outside of the Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Thursday as diplomatic talks between the US and Iran showed little sign of progress, while investors focused on uncertainty about a potential US ban on diesel exports.

Brent crude futures were up $1.63, or 1.58%, at $104.71 a barrel at 1200 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.34, or 1.49%, at $93.53 a barrel.

Brent rose to as high as $106.50 earlier in the day, following reports suggesting Iran gave the US one week to meet its publicly stated demands, such as lifting the US naval blockade, Reuters reported.

Iran and the US remain divided over how to end their conflict, but diplomacy must continue, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, after Iran's president told the UN General Assembly that Tehran would never surrender to US pressure.

The official said Tehran was reviewing Washington's response to its peace proposals, which prioritise lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

European diesel futures came off all-time highs on Thursday amid uncertainty about a potential US ban on diesel exports. A White House official on Wednesday denied a report that said the US is preparing a 90-day ban of diesel exports.

A European Commission spokesperson said on Thursday that the EU was concerned about the reported US plans, as such a move would risk a negative impact on both sides.

Analysts and market watchers have warned a US diesel export ban would do little to ease high energy prices and could worsen global supplies and further disrupt economies.

The physical market for oil is nowhere near a fully normalised situation, said Priyanka Sachdeva, head of market insights at Phillip Nova.

"Brent retains a larger geopolitical and sea-route premium because international crude is more directly exposed to Middle East and Hormuz disruption, while WTI benefits more from relatively insulated US supply," Sachdeva added.

US distillate stockpiles, including diesel and heating oil, fell 428,000 barrels to 107.4 million barrels last week, Energy Information Administration data showed.

Meanwhile, US crude inventories rose 3 million barrels to 426.4 million barrels last week, though analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 641,000-barrel draw.

Business

Saudi Aramco Chief: Any Interruption Can be Fixed 'Within Days'

Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser speaks during a press conference. Reuters file photo
Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser speaks during a press conference. Reuters file photo
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Saudi Aramco Chief: Any Interruption Can be Fixed 'Within Days'

Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser speaks during a press conference. Reuters file photo
Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser speaks during a press conference. Reuters file photo

Saudi Aramco can restore disrupted operations within days and is looking at building alternative oil export routes, its President and CEO Amin Nasser said.

Nasser told Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on Thursday that Aramco was studying "a fourth and a fifth route" for crude oil exports in addition to its three primary routes.

Nasser added that the company is considering expanding overseas storage capacity, including in Japan, to strengthen its ability to withstand disruptions.

He stated that Aramco's operations are built with abundant flexibilities in place to continue serving its customers even during disruptions.

He added that observers often assumed Aramco had only two major export pathways, through the Strait of Hormuz or the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea after using the East-West pipeline. In reality, Nasser said, the company could also access the 320km Sumed pipeline, which carries crude from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean through Egypt.

"People think about interruptions in Hormuz, interruptions in Bab-el Mandeb, [but] we never stopped. We continue to supply our customers," he said. "The only thing you do [is] shift more vessels, one way or the other. ... We do have this multiple optionality that allows us to meet our customers' demand."

The chief executive said that the company was also keen to add more optionality in its oil supplies, including building up additional storage capacities abroad to meet short-term disruptions, as well as "a fourth and a fifth route" for exporting crude.

The company was in discussions with the relevant ministry and its partners in Japan on expanding its storage capacity in the country, as well as "doing the engineering and the feasibility and all of the work that is required" for the additional export routes, Nasser said.