Adnoc’s XRG is in early talks to buy into Eni’s Libyan oil and gas business

XRG, Adnoc’s international investment arm, is in early talks to buy a stake in Eni’s Libyan oil and gas business, Reuters reports, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Negotiations are at an early stage with no certainty of an agreement. XRG’s need to grow outside the Gulf has become more pressing as the US-Iran conflict continues, one of the sources said.

XRG would be buying into a producer with a direct pipeline to Europe. Libya accounted for 162k bbl/d of oil equivalent of Eni’s production last year, about 10% of the group’s total, through its JV with Libya’s National Oil Corporation, Mellitah Oil & Gas.

That pipeline carries a fraction of its capacity: Libyan gas exports, all of which go to Italy through Greenstream, fell to 105 mmcf/d in 2025, the lowest in 22 years and just 11% of the 2007 record, Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) reported in April.

Eni is working to lift supply: It started up its Sabratha compression project in June, adding about 800 mn cubic meters a year for domestic power and export through Greenstream. It also completed the Bouri Gas Utilization Project and is developing the offshore A&E Structures Project.

The agreement would add to a gas portfolio XRG is building beyond the Gulf. XRG aims to expand its LNG capacity to 20-25 mn tons a year by 2035. It agreed with Eni in June to take 32% each in three of YPF’s Vaca Muerta gas blocks, the upstream base of a USD 12.5 bn LNG project in Argentina, and are partners in Mozambique’s Area 4 floating LNG projects. XRG also holds stakes in Azerbaijan’s Absheron gas and Texas’s Rio Grande LNG.

Libya’s supply risk showed up the day the talks were reported: A pipeline valve from the Hamada and Tahara oilfields to Zawiya was shut, cutting production at both fields, Reuters reported. Libya remains the Mediterranean’s highest-risk gas supplier until it proves it can sustain production.

Going once

Jeddah’s Al Khumrah logistics zone is up for private development: The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has opened expressions of interest from private developers, logistics operators, and shipping companies to develop and operate the 2.4 mn sqm site, according to a post on X. Submissions close on 20 November. The site is meant to support storage, cargo distribution, and re-export, and Mawani has not disclosed an investment value, a concession structure, or a development timeline.

Al Khumrah is meant to sit where Jeddah’s sea, air, and rail freight meet: It would link Jeddah Islamic Port with King Abdullah Port, King Abdulaziz International Airport, and the Kingdom’s planned east-west railway network. Saudi Arabia is already developing a SAR 689 mn, 17-km freight corridor between Jeddah Islamic Port and Al Khumrah — expected to be completed by the end of 2028. The road is designed to accommodate more than 8k trucks daily and increase the port’s operational capacity by over 10%.

The warehouse market is holding up: Jeddah’s industrial and logistics occupancy remained above 90% in 2Q 2026, with rents rising 4.8%. In Al Khumrah itself, Aljazira Reit renewed three warehouse leases during the regional conflict, securing three- to five-year commitments at higher rents.

REMEMBER- Jeddah’s logistics buildout is already attracting capital. Mawani signed seven agreements worth SAR 1 bn in July to expand logistics facilities at Jeddah Islamic Port and Al Khumrah — including a JD Logistics project focused on digital logistics infrastructure.

Double or nothing

Folk Maritime is keeping its target to double its business within three years. The PIF-owned carrier plans to grow by buying secondhand vessels, chartering more ships, and working with partners, with newbuild orders on the table toward the end of that period, CEO Poul Hestbaek told Asharq Business. The goal is to rank among the region’s three largest operators in its segment.

Customers are absorbing most of the added costs through higher freight rates: Marine ins. premiums are running at 10-15 times normal levels due to the Hormuz and Bab Al Mandab risks, and bunker fuel has at times reached three times its usual price, Hestbaek said. Security risks have forced Folk to slow its operations, leaving cargo volumes below forecast. Folk has also moved about 75% of its capacity to the Red Sea, up from roughly half before the conflict.

REMEMBER- Folk paused its expansion earlier this month, with overall costs up 30-40% and some India-Red Sea round trips stretched from about 20 to 30 days. Growth has “flattened out” until conditions normalize, Hestbaek told us.