India Plans Strategic Rare Earths Reserve

FILE PHOTO: A mine worker drives a shovel truck across an open-cast coal mine located in the Ordos mining district, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, March 14, 2014. REUTERS/Fayen Wong/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A mine worker drives a shovel truck across an open-cast coal mine located in the Ordos mining district, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, March 14, 2014. REUTERS/Fayen Wong/File Photo
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India Plans Strategic Rare Earths Reserve

FILE PHOTO: A mine worker drives a shovel truck across an open-cast coal mine located in the Ordos mining district, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, March 14, 2014. REUTERS/Fayen Wong/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A mine worker drives a shovel truck across an open-cast coal mine located in the Ordos mining district, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, March 14, 2014. REUTERS/Fayen Wong/File Photo

India is considering setting up a strategic reserve of critical minerals for emergency use in defense manufacturing, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing a defense official.

The reserve of critical minerals and metals would be used to tide over immediate requirement when needed, the report added, citing Rajesh Kumar Singh, a top Ministry of Defense official who was speaking at a media event in New Delhi.

The Indian defense secretary's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

India has been quietly tapping rare-earth mines in Myanmar to diversify its supply chain away from China, in an unusual engagement with the Kachin Independence Army, Reuters reported this month.

Beijing has sharply restricted exports of processed rare earths to major economies like India this year as it builds geopolitical leverage in a trade war with the United States.

India does have reasonable stocks of critical minerals by all accounts which it should be able to better utilize in the future, Singh said, according to the report.

 



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.