Aramco CEO: We Will Invest $3.4 Billion to Expand Refinery in US

Amin Hassan Nasser, CEO of oil giant Aramco speaks during the Saudi-US investment forum in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP)
Amin Hassan Nasser, CEO of oil giant Aramco speaks during the Saudi-US investment forum in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP)
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Aramco CEO: We Will Invest $3.4 Billion to Expand Refinery in US

Amin Hassan Nasser, CEO of oil giant Aramco speaks during the Saudi-US investment forum in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP)
Amin Hassan Nasser, CEO of oil giant Aramco speaks during the Saudi-US investment forum in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP)

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said the company will invest $3.4 billion to expand its refinery in the US, a move that reflects Aramco’s commitment to strengthening its presence in global markets, particularly in the integrated energy sector.

During his participation in the Saudi-US Investment Forum, Nasser said Tuesday that Aramco will sign an agreement with the US company Sempra to supply 6.2 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually, as part of the company’s plans to expand in this vital sector.

Aramco is pursuing 7.5 million tons a year of LNG offtake by 2030.

“The US is really a good place to put our investment,” he added.

Nasser explained that Aramco also invests in technology with global companies such as Nvidia, Google, IBM and Qualcomm.

Meanwhile, ACWA Power Chairman of the Board of Directors Mohammad Abunayyan said the company has succeeded in reducing the cost of electricity production from solar energy by 90%, and the cost of wind energy by more than 60%.

He pledged that the company will achieve a similar cost production in energy storage technologies.

“We have made renewable energy sources the backbone of the electricity grid, which is a globally unprecedented achievement,” Abunayyan said.

“Renewable energy has become a permanent source, thanks to the reliance on battery and hydrogen technologies,” he told a panel discussion at the Saudi-US Investment Forum.

Abunayyan said he is optimistic Saudi Arabia will become a digital hub and a global hub for data centers.

“There is no country in the world more capable than the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide energy for data centers,” he said, stressing that Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries able to achieve net-zero emissions while maintaining the stability of the core energy grid.



Saudia to Partially Resume Flights To, From Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman on Saturday

One of Saudia’s aircraft (company website)
One of Saudia’s aircraft (company website)
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Saudia to Partially Resume Flights To, From Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman on Saturday

One of Saudia’s aircraft (company website)
One of Saudia’s aircraft (company website)

Saudia announced on Thursday the partial resumption of its operations to and from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman starting Saturday, April 11.

In a post on its official account on the social media platform X, the airline said the resumption will be carried out through the operation of exceptional daily flights to and from those destinations.

Saudia advised passengers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport, noting that further updates will be published through its official channels.


IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
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IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa

The International Monetary Fund expects to have to provide up to $50 billion in immediate financial assistance to countries affected by the Middle East war, its managing director said on Thursday, with the crisis likely to have lasting economic effects.

"Given the spillovers of the Middle East war, we expect near-term demand for IMF balance-of-payments support to rise to somewhere between $20 billion and $50 billion, with the lower bound prevailing if the ceasefire holds," Kristalina Georgieva said, according to prepared remarks shared with AFP.

She added that food insecurity due to transport and supply chain disruptions caused by the war was expected to affect at least 45 million people.

"Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo ante," she said, as a fragile ceasefire appeared to hold on Thursday.

The IMF will pare its global growth forecast for 2026 based on the impact of the crisis, with spiraling energy costs hitting some vulnerable economies harder than others.

Georgieva said that even in the Fund's "most hopeful scenario," infrastructure damage, supply disruptions and a loss of market confidence among other "scarring effects" meant growth would be less than expected.

She highlighted the "asymmetric" effects of the crisis, hitting low-income energy importers with limited fiscal space much harder than others.

"Spare a thought for the Pacific Island nations at the end of a long supply chain, wondering if fuel will still reach them in the wake of such a severe disruption," she said.


Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
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Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Cyprus' offshore Aphrodite field signed a 15-year deal to sell natural gas to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, one of the ⁠partners in Aphrodite said on ⁠Thursday.

NewMed Energy said a binding term sheet was signed for ⁠the sale of all of the natural gas quantities recoverable from the Aphrodite reservoir with the national Egyptian gas company.

The term could ⁠be ⁠extended by another five years, Reuters quoted it as saying.

Last month, Egypt and Cyprus signed a framework agreement for cooperation on gas.