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Experts to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Intellectual Property Strategy to Generate Initiatives, Attract Quality Investments

Saudi Arabia moves towards diversifying sources of income and growing the national economy through non-oil output (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia moves towards diversifying sources of income and growing the national economy through non-oil output (Asharq Al-Awsat)
    Riyadh - Mohammed al-Mutairi
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Experts to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Intellectual Property Strategy to Generate Initiatives, Attract Quality Investments

Saudi Arabia moves towards diversifying sources of income and growing the national economy through non-oil output (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia moves towards diversifying sources of income and growing the national economy through non-oil output (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced the launch of the National Intellectual Property Strategy to support the Kingdom’s economy based on innovation and creativity.

According to analysts, the Strategy will push the Saudi economy towards growth and development, enhance the domestic product, bring quality investments to the Kingdom, and generate initiatives and job opportunities.

“This strategy will promote the Saudi economy’s growth and development as it will lead towards innovation and the discovery of hidden potentials in the knowledge, digital and bold economy,” said Muhammad bin Dulaim Al-Qahtani, Professor of Economics at King Faisal University.

“It will also push Saudi sectors towards competitiveness and strengthen the Kingdom’s external position in preserving intellectual property rights,” added Al-Qahtani.

Al-Qahtani also noted that the Strategy will also attract dreamers and innovation lovers to Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, the Strategy will make the Kingdom compete with developed countries in embracing ideas and innovators.

Al-Qahtani indicated that the strategy will lead the Saudi economy towards knowledge, pointing out that the knowledge economy is equivalent to triple the regular economy.

“The launch of the Strategy will contribute to supporting economic growth and social development and protecting the national economy from losses estimated at more than SAR 11 billion ($2.9 billion),” said Essam Mustafa Khalifa, member of the Saudi Economic Association.

Most of the loss referred to by Khalifa can be traced back to the piracy of computer programs and literary works and commercial fraud.

“The Strategy will also contribute to supporting and unifying efforts of sectors concerned with intellectual property rights, including the judicial authorities,” added Khalifa.

Khalifa stressed that Saudi Arabia seeks to produce legislation regarding various types of intellectual property, especially that the Kingdom is a member of the main international conventions related to intellectual property rights.

He pointed out that the Kingdom enacted several previous laws in the field of intellectual rights protection, including the trademark system, the commercial fraud prevention system, the patent system and copyright protection, and the trade names system.

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Will Escalation Stop Israeli Gas Production?

File photo of the Israeli Leviathan field (Reuters)
File photo of the Israeli Leviathan field (Reuters)
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Will Escalation Stop Israeli Gas Production?

File photo of the Israeli Leviathan field (Reuters)
File photo of the Israeli Leviathan field (Reuters)

The American energy giant Chevron, which operates the Leviathan field off the Mediterranean coast of Israel, has decided to suspend work on laying an underwater pipeline, part of its third pipeline project, due to the escalating conflict and fears of potential missile strikes. This follows the earlier closure of the Tamar and Leviathan gas platforms as a “precautionary measure” during the Iranian attack on Israel on Oct. 1.

These developments came as the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Leviathan field, located 130 kilometers off the coast of Haifa, was the target of a missile barrage fired by Hezbollah on Wednesday morning at Mount Carmel and Haifa. Chevron subsequently activated “special procedures,” stating that it was dealing with an operational incident on the drilling platform.

During last week’s Iranian missile attack, Yedioth Ahronoth noted that NewMed Energy, a partner in the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields (the latter located about 19 kilometers off the Gaza Strip coast), informed the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange of Chevron’s decision to temporarily shut down the Leviathan field for several hours.

“In light of the latest security developments and based on the system’s operational considerations, the operator occasionally halts production from the Leviathan reservoir for certain periods,” NewMed Energy, which holds a 45.3% stake in Leviathan, stated to the stock exchange.

Chevron holds a 39.6% stake in Leviathan, while Ratio Energies owns 15% of the project. Chevron also has a 15% stake in Tamar.

Leviathan’s partners approved a $429 million investment on Aug. 1 to launch the preliminary engineering design phase to increase Leviathan’s gas export capacity from the Mediterranean Sea field to 21 billion cubic meters annually.

NewMed Energy stated that Chevron had informed the partners that plans for laying the underwater pipeline have been postponed until Apr. 2025—initially scheduled to begin in the second half of 2025—due to the deteriorating security situation. The delay is expected to be at least six months, affecting next year’s projected cash flow.

Currently, gas from the platform is transported to the shore and integrated into Israel’s national grid, where it is distributed to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.

The Leviathan field was discovered in 2010 by NewMed Energy, Chevron (then known as Noble Energy), and Ratio. Natural gas production from Leviathan began on December 31, 2019, and since then, it has become a key source of gas for Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.

The third pipeline project was initiated by the Leviathan partners in July 2023, aimed at boosting Leviathan’s annual production capacity from 12 billion cubic meters to around 21 billion cubic meters. This increase is intended to meet growing local demand and export to neighboring countries and international markets, according to NewMed Energy.

Israel continues to export gas through pipelines from Leviathan and Tamar to Jordan and Egypt. Israeli exports to Egypt rose from 4.9 billion cubic meters in 2022 to 6.3 billion cubic meters in 2023, while sales to Jordan remained steady year-on-year at 2.7 billion cubic meters. In the second quarter of this year, Leviathan’s total gas production reached 2.8 billion cubic meters, with exports to Egypt rising by 12.5% to 1.8 billion cubic meters during the same period, while 0.6 billion cubic meters flowed to Jordan, according to Energy Intelligence.

Goldman Sachs estimates that the potential global market impact of disruptions at Leviathan and Tamar could reduce global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply by nearly 9 billion cubic meters annually, or 1.7% of global LNG supplies, according to a report by Energy Intelligence.