TODAY: L’imad moves for full control of AD Ports + A.P. Moller Capital takes over Morocco’s Globex Investissement

Good morning, ladies and gents. There’s a theme this morning, and it’s grip — who’s tightening theirs, and on what.

Abu Dhabi’s L’imad is consolidating its ports and logistics empire, with subsidiary ADQ offering a 23% premium to take full control. Elsewhere, A.P. Moller Capital is taking majority control of Globex Investissement — one of the country’s more diversified operators — through its EMIF II and APM Capital Morocco Fund vehicles.

Egypt, for its part, wants to own its gas supply for once, weighing three bids — from Turkey’s BGN, Qatar’s UCC Holding, and an unnamed local player — to build the country’s first onshore LNG regasification terminal at Ain Sokhna.

AND- Speaking of who’s calling the shots: Washington isn’t extending the 60-day US-Iran agreement that lapsed yesterday, US President Donald Trump confirmed — and he’s gone a step further, warning that the US could strike Oman if the Gulf mediator gets in the way of plans to resume traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

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Egypt eyes onshore LNG import terminal

Egypt is weighing three bids to build its first onshore LNG regasification terminal, with Turkish energy trader BGN, Qatar’s UCC Holding, and an unnamed local player competing to develop the facility at Ain Sokhna. The planned facility would initially be able to feed 1 bcf/d of imported gas into the national grid.

The project would pair fixed onshore regasification infrastructure with floating LNG storage at the port. The proposals include different storage configurations of up to 290k cbm. The Egyptian government has not disclosed the expected investment, construction timeline, or when it plans to select a bid.

REMEMBER- The Egyptian government explored building a USD 200 mn onshore regasification unit at the Idku LNG complex in 2025. The plan stalled after it failed to reach an agreement with the plant’s foreign partners.

Why build onshore? Egypt currently relies on four leased floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) — down from five FSRUs after the vessel stationed at Damietta was taken out of service — which can be brought in quickly and relocated once no longer needed. A permanent onshore unit costs more and takes longer to build, but it also gives the country infrastructure it controls long-term and cuts its exposure to a tight, expensive global market for regasification vessels.

The import bill is mounting: The government asked international suppliers to provide some 20 LNG cargoes in September, expected to cost around USD 1 bn. Egypt’s natural gas import bill is earmarked for USD 10.7 bn — for both LNG and piped-gas imports — in FY 2026/27, up 26% y-o-y.

The underlying problem: Domestic gas production currently averages around 3.9 bcf/d, well below demand of some 6.2 bcf/d — climbing to 7-7.5 bcf/d during the summer peak — leaving Egypt dependent on imports to close the gap. The government is targeting a production recovery to 6.6 bcf/d by 2027.

The signal: A permanent regasification terminal is partly an ins. policy against a prolonged domestic gas deficit, but it is also a regional infrastructure play. If production remains weak, the facility gives more secure import capacity. If output recovers, the facility could receive LNG for neighboring markets connected to Egypt’s network.

Khor Fakkan doubles down

Khor Fakkan Port is aiming to more than double annual handling capacity to 10 mn containers, up from an initial target of 5 mn, Emirati state news agency Wam reports, citing the Sharjah Ports, Customs, and Freezones Authority. The east coast port sits on the Gulf of Oman, giving shippers direct access to international routes outside the UAE’s west-coast port cluster and, more importantly, outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Why it matters: Sharjah is pairing that sea access with inland reach, logistics hubs, road networks, border crossings, and GCC trade corridors. It already has deep-water berths and cranes able to handle the world’s largest container vessels. The expansion plans come as the UAE is focusing increasingly on its east-based assets to hedge against future disruption in Hormuz. Adnoc is accelerating construction of its West-East pipeline and DP World is building two new terminals at Fujairah.

Too risky from Yanbu, too costly from Sidi Kerir

At least two Asian refiners asked Aramco to shift September crude loadings from Yanbu to Egypt’s Sidi Kerir — as Houthi-linked security concerns limit tanker availability through the Red Sea, Bloomberg reports, citing traders in the know. Aramco had already assigned Japanese and South Korean customers cargoes from Sidi Kerir for September, while most Chinese, Taiwanese, and Indian refiners were told to load at Yanbu.

Why is Saudi Arabia still loading at Yanbu? It remains the shortest and cheapest route to Asia for buyers able to secure willing tankers. The Red Sea is dangerous, not closed, with some vessels — including Chinese-owned tankers — still crossing Bab Al Mandab.

The switch solves the security problem but creates a cost issue. Sidi Kerir cargoes mean sailing around Africa to reach Asia, on top of a location premium already in Aramco’s pricing. Since September’s Asia price cut — the deepest since 2020 — applies only to crude loaded at Ras Tanura in the Gulf, cargo picked up elsewhere costs more. Add the detour, and at least one refiner may simply skip its September allocation — a flexibility built into annual contracts, according to the business information service.

REMEMBER- Crude exports from Egypt’s Sidi Kerir more than doubled to around 2.3 mn bbl / d in August from some 1 mn bbl / d in July, with Saudi barrels accounting for most of the increase.

Market watch

Oil prices rose this morning as hopes for a Middle East ceasefire faded, reviving energy supply concerns, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures gained around USD 0.62 to USD 91.49 / bbl by 04.08 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased USD 0.75 to USD 85.25/ bbl.

Opec and the IEA are reading the war’s toll on oil demand very differently. Opec expects global oil demand to grow by 580k bbl / d in 2026, averaging 105.7 mn bbl / d, according to the organization’s monthly report. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects global oil demand to contract by 1.6 mn bbl / d, averaging 103.3 mn bbl / d, according to the agency’s latest oil market report. That’s a 2.45 mn bbl / d gap between the two forecasts. Both expect demand to rebound next year — Opec expects growth of some 2.2 mn bbl / d, while the IEA sees a 2.4 mn bbl / d increase.

The IEA’s bigger worry is on the supply side. It expects total global oil supply to fall by 4.3 mn bbl / d to some 102 mn bbl / d this year, leaving supply an average of 1.27 mn bbl / d below demand. The deficit is expected to reach 1.8 mn bbl / d in 3Q after renewed fighting cut Gulf exports by 2.1 mn bbl / d in July alone and left regional output some 8.3 mn bbl / d below pre-war levels.

The Baltic Index edges higher: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose 0.5% to 2,878 points. The capesize index climbed 1.2% to 4,590 points, while the panamax fell by 1% to 2,206 points. The smaller supramax increased 0.4% to 1,628 points.

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