Energy This Week | The National

Hello from The National and welcome to the Energy This Week newsletter, our expert analysis on oil and gas, renewables and clean energy. Oil prices continued a strong start to the year last week, recording a fourth successive weekly gain with Brent crude closing at $80.79 per barrel. Prices were supported by cold weather and by expectations of tighter sanctions on Russia and Iran. But the extension of Opec+ production cuts during this year will reduce economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa, according to the World Bank. It lowered its forecast for growth this year to 3.4 per cent from 4.2 per cent. The UAE’s economy is expected to expand 4 per cent, or 0.1 per cent below June’s projection. The inauguration of Donald Trump as US president brought a jittery start to this week with Brent closing Tuesday 70 cents down at $79.45 per barrel. Markets digested a complex series of measures that will include tighter sanctions on Iran, a turn away from electric vehicles and renewables, and refilling of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, supportive of prices, versus attempts to boost US oil output, which should be bearish. A wider trade policy, including threatened tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, could dent oil and gas imports from the US’s neighbours while slowing the economy and stoking inflation. So far, the impending tariffs do not seem to affect the Gulf . Mr Trump unleashed a series of measures on his first day back in the White House. He declared a national energy emergency, and again promised, “ We will drill, baby, drill ” to boost oil and gas output and bring down energy prices. He once again withdrew the US from the voluntary Paris Agreement on climate change, putting it in company with Iran, Libya and Yemen. This could allow competitors to the US, notably China, to pull ahead in the clean energy race. Alaska could sell liquefied natural gas to Japan, which is “ very interested ”, says the state’s Governor Mike Dunleavy, during his visit to Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The long-stalled $44 billion Alaska LNG project recently took a step forward with a preliminary agreement to develop it. One of Mr Trump’s first measures in office was lifting a freeze on LNG export applications. At the other end of the geopolitical spectrum, Russia discussed supplying gas to Iran , as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Adnoc Gas has started a pioneering project to produce clean fuel hydrogen and graphene from natural gas. The technology is provided by Levidian, a British company. Adnoc was rated the UAE’s most valuable brand and the Middle East’s second, in the annual survey by consultancy Brand Finance. Syria’s postwar economic recovery depends on its energy sector – and the international community needs to ease sanctions to allow reconstruction, writes John Bell , managing director of oil company Gulfsands. Struggling British oil company BP will cut 4,700 jobs and 3,000 contractors, about 5 per cent of its worldwide workforce, as it aims to reduce costs and simplify its business. The firm has changed strategy twice in recent years, shifting into low-carbon businesses and then refocusing on its core upstream oil and gas sector. Chief executive Murray Auchincloss, who had to postpone BP’s capital markets day because of a medical procedure, has sought to rebuild the company’s presence in the Middle East. The UK North Sea, once a core area for BP, is also having a hard time , with oil and gas investment hit by dwindling resources, tax rises and environmental opposition to new developments. Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the World Future Energy Summit have established themselves over the last 20 years. This year’s summit brought the usual host of renewable announcements . Masdar and Emirates Water and Electricity Company will set up a $6 billion solar and battery complex in Abu Dhabi to provide round-the-clock renewable energy. This groundbreaking project means the Sun will shine at night in the Gulf . President Sheikh Mohamed met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and the countries agreed to develop a $1 billion electricity cable to export renewable electricity from Albania to Italy under the Adriatic Sea. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also met Sheikh Mohamed and the two countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement which includes co-operation on renewable energy and AI. Abu Dhabi’s clean energy company Masdar will develop 1 gigawatt of wind, solar and battery storage projects in the Philippines by 2030. The South-East Asian nation, which currently gets 60 per cent of its power from coal, aims to reach 35 per cent renewables by 2030. China’s solar panel maker Trinasolar is looking to set up a $5 billion solar power generation chain in the UAE, says its regional president. Waste management operator Tadweer intends to cut emissions across its UAE operations by 40 per cent by 2035. Saudi state mining company Ma’aden has made “promising” finds of gold and copper in the western part of the country. Ma’aden is investigating strategic minerals critical for energy transition technologies. A joint venture of the mining firm with state oil firm Saudi Aramco will work on extracting lithium, a crucial element for batteries, from oilfield waters.