Saudi Arabia expands crude storage in South Korea

Good morning, all. We lead today’s issue with May’s inflation reading, which rose 1.8% y-o-y on the back of higher housing and personal care prices. Inflationary pressure is expected to ease now that the US and Iran have signed a framework agreement.

PLUS- Al Majed For Oud inked an NBO to snap up a group of healthcare, beauty, and retail assets; AI solutions startup Velents joined Anthropic’s Claude Partner Network; and KAFM DMC secured its first independent debt package.

PLUS- Why did Indian Man Industries snap up National Pipe Company?

Parking oil in Seoul

Riyadh puts more barrels closer to Asia: Saudi Arabia is expanding crude storage inside South Korea’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve — giving Seoul more supply buffer and Riyadh a stronger foothold in one of Asia’s most vital refining markets, the Arabic press reports. The two countries signed an MoU covering cooperation across oil, gas, refining, petrochemicals, energy investment, crude pipeline infrastructure, innovation, and digital transformation.

The mechanisms are simple, but the positioning matters: Saudi barrels stored in Korea can function as commercial inventory for Aramco and as emergency cover for Seoul. In 2023, Aramco inked a five-year agreement with KNOC to store 5.3 mn barrels of Saudi crude at one of KNOC’s storage facilities in Ulsan, South Korea, with the Asian country holding emergency purchase rights over the barrels.

The Kingdom is not the first Gulf producer to run this playbook: UAE energy giant Adnoc has used a similar model with KNOC — securing storage access in Northeast Asia while giving South Korea priority access during supply disruption. Kuwait has also signed a two-year agreement to store 4 mn barrels of crude at Ulsan on similar terms.

IN CONTEXT- “Producers of crude oil and condensates in the Gulf region typically have limited need for large storage capacity beyond what is required for logistical purposes,” global oil markets strategist and former Onyx Group head of research Harry Tchilinguirian previously told EnterpriseAM.

Done renting Tennis?

Qiddiya unveiled the National Tennis Center, a 30-court complex west of Riyadh built to ATP, WTA, and ITF standards. The flagship development features 33k seats across the site, anchored by a 15k-seat retractable-roof center court. Populous is the architect, and construction is already underway.

Good timing: The announcement lands just as the Kingdom’s rented tennis calendar runs dry. The WTA Finals leave Riyadh after this November’s edition, while its three-year hosting run for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah wrapped up last December. The PIF is winding down its LIV Golf financing after 2026 as it shifts toward what it calls more sustainable, high-quality assets. A permanent venue is the brick-and-mortar version of that pivot, potentially handing an obvious home to the PIF-backed ATP Masters 1000 tournament, confirmed for as early as 2028.

Saudi holds Uruguay to a draw

Saudi Arabia and Uruguay drew 1-1 in the early hours of the morning in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup. Abdulelah Al Amri opened the score before Uruguay’s Maxi Araujo tied it. The Green Falcons will face Spain on Sunday at 7pm and Cabo Verde the following Saturday.

And while we’re on the topic of the World Cup: Sports Minister Abdulaziz Al Faisal assured that the Kingdom will prioritize ticket affordability and fan safety when it hosts the 2034 World Cup. “This is something that we're going to work with FIFA on. Nobody wants to see a tournament such as the World Cup where people are struggling to come,” he told Reuters.

IN CONTEXT-This year’s World Cup tickets are the most expensive in the tournament’s history, going up to USD 33k for the final after the dynamic pricing system was implemented.

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The big story abroad

When will Hormuz reopen? That was the main question dominating the opening day of the G7Summit in France. While US President Donald Trump seems confident that the strait will be open to all on Friday — when the US and Iran are scheduled to sign a final agreement — others are less optimistic.

Drama at the summit: G7 members are yet to find common ground on how to handle “the situation in Iran,” one G7 official told Bloomberg. With two more days to go, we’ll be closely watching for developments from the summit.

News of the US-Iran agreement is making waves across stock markets: Equities soared yesterday as the announcement reignited investor confidence — the S&P 500 jumped 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 3.1%. The rally was further supported by SpaceX’s shares rising almost 20% yesterday — their second day of trading. Meanwhile, oil prices continued their fall, with Brent dipping 4.8% to USD 83.17.

Beware the meat wall: The Wall Street Journal is out with a piece looking at a new obstacle standing in the way of the teams playing in this year’s World Cup — the Meat Wall. In this tactic players line up to form a wall in hopes of blocking corner or free-kicks, which the WSJ says has turned “the beautiful game into a wrestling match.”