{"id":114706,"date":"2026-05-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/?post_type=issue&#038;p=114706"},"modified":"2026-05-01T09:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T09:36:29","slug":"shielding-the-cloud","status":"publish","type":"issue","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/issues\/shielding-the-cloud\/","title":{"rendered":"Shielding the cloud"},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"114708\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114708\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">1<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">OPENING NOTE<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/another-week-and-month-in-the-books\/\">\r\n                            Another week and month in the books                        <\/a>\r\n                    <\/h3>\r\n\r\n                    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"cta\">\n    <div class=\"cta__btn share-dropdown-cta dropdown-toggle-btn\" style=\"position:relative\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/408834.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        Share Story\n        <!-- Dropdown Menu -->\n        <ul class=\"share-menu\">\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/another-week-and-month-in-the-books\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                    Open in new tab                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/new-tab.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); navigator.clipboard.writeText('https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/another-week-and-month-in-the-books\/')\">\n                    Copy Link                <\/a>\n\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/another-week-and-month-in-the-books\/\">\n                    Facebook                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/facebook-icon2.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/post?text=Another week and month in the books&url=https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/another-week-and-month-in-the-books\/\">\n                    X                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/twitter-icon.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/another-week-and-month-in-the-books\/&title=Another week and month in the books\">\n                    LinkedIn                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/linkedin-icon.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?text=Another+week+and+month+in+the+books+https%3A%2F%2Fenterpriseam.com%2Fmenaplus%2F2026%2F05%2F01%2Fanother-week-and-month-in-the-books%2F\">\n                    WhatsApp                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/whatsapp-icon.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\r\n                    \r\n                <\/div>\r\n\r\n            \r\n            <div class=\"story__body\">\r\n\r\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/another-week-and-month-in-the-books\/\">\r\n                    <div class=\"photo photo--above\">\r\n                                            <\/div>\r\n                <\/a>\r\n\r\n                \n<article id=\"post-114708\" class=\"content-area-description single-story post-114708 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-opening-note tag-enterpriseam tag-geopolitics tag-opening-note wpautop entry\">\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"entry-content\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Good morning, friends.<\/strong> We\u2019re wrapping another week (and month) and the theme still feels a lot like \u201cholding our breath and waiting.\u201d The US yesterday <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/us-military-commanders-brief-trump-new-options-against-iran-axios-reports-2026-04-30\/\" style=\"\">said it was looking into a potential attack<\/a> on Iran to pressure it as ongoing negotiations stall, with Iran throwing back a threat of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/us-seeks-international-help-reopen-strait-hormuz-crude-prices-surge-2026-04-30\/\" style=\"\">\u201clong and painful\u201d<\/a> strikes on the US if it renewed its attacks. Meanwhile, attacks continued in the South of Lebanon despite the ceasefire, with at <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cq5pepj21g8o\" style=\"\">least 9 killed and 23 wounded yesterday alone<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Most of us are also waiting to see what the new post-UAE era of Opec will look like.<\/strong> As we argue in this morning\u2019s Opinion column, below, Abu Dhabi\u2019s defection leaves oil markets with three distinct groups with diverging priorities \u2014 and no direct organization. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The UAE\u2019s membership in Opec isn\u2019t the only thing Riyadh is shedding \u2014 the PIF is <\/strong><strong>formalizing its plans to cut off its funding from LIV Golf<\/strong> after the 2026 season as it reprioritizes its financing and focuses on creating more value at home. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>On a more promising note<\/strong>, regional debt markets look like they\u2019re cracking open again and a handful of M&A agreements \u2014 including Emirates NBD\u2019s move on India\u2019s RBL Bank \u2014 are inching forward. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Feel free to reply to this email <\/strong>if you have questions, comments, or ideas \u2014 we read every email \u2014 and we\u2019ll see you back here on Monday to kick the week off together. \u2013Salma<\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/geopolitics\/\">geopolitics<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/opening-note\/\">Opening Note<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114709\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114709\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">2<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">THE LEDE<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/how-geopolitical-volatility-and-ai-are-reshaping-regional-cybersecurity\/\">\r\n                            Shielding the cloud                        <\/a>\r\n                    <\/h3>\r\n\r\n                    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"cta\">\n    <div class=\"cta__btn share-dropdown-cta dropdown-toggle-btn\" style=\"position:relative\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/408834.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        Share Story\n        <!-- Dropdown Menu -->\n        <ul class=\"share-menu\">\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/how-geopolitical-volatility-and-ai-are-reshaping-regional-cybersecurity\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                    Open in new tab                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/new-tab.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); 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With AI making the tempo and the nature of attacks unpredictable, chief information security officers (CISOs) are increasingly facing what industry experts call \u201calert fatigue,\u201d which is compounded by the need to manage the disjointed tools they deploy to defend against different types of threats. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>You can get your cue from M&A activity in the cybersecurity market:<\/strong> When <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/innovation-and-ai\/infrastructure-and-cloud\/google-cloud\/wiz-acquisition\/\" style=\"\">Google<\/a><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/innovation-and-ai\/infrastructure-and-cloud\/google-cloud\/wiz-acquisition\/\" style=\"\">finalized<\/a> its USD 32 bn acquisition of the AI-native, cloud security provider Wiz in March, it was the latest sign that the model of layering security tools on top of each other could be under duress as new innovators emerge. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>\u201cA hyperscaler bought a cloud security specialist, not a traditional security vendor\u2026 <\/strong><strong>That\u2019s the clearest signal of where the market is heading,\u201d<\/strong> cloud infrastructure and security specialist Jeff Cooper tells EnterpriseAM. By promising an AI-native, cloud-based platform that centralizes the fragmented security tools stack, the Israeli-born startup is pitching a new model that is able to deal with the new landscape of threats by providing \u201ca unified security platform that improves the speed with which organizations can detect, prevent, and respond to threats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">The risk landscape<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>What was already here, just amplified:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cloudflare.com\/learning\/ddos\/what-is-a-ddos-attack\/\" style=\"\">Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS)<\/a> remains the opening move of any geopolitical flare-up. DDoS volumes rose eightfold in the first half of March, according to StormWall data that EnterpriseAM has seen. \u201cIranian-aligned actors have reportedly used it as a first layer to create disruption and divert attention while conducting more serious attacks behind the scenes, including data exfiltration, wiping, infrastructure targeting, or coordinating with physical attacks,\u201d Pam Lindemoen, Retail and Hospitality Information Security and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) Chief Security Officer, tells EnterpriseAM.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The targeting of national infrastructure follows the same long-running playbook:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radware.com\/security\/threat-advisories-and-attack-reports\/ddos-activity-following-operation-epic-fury-roaring-lion\/#menu-tab-company\" style=\"\">53% of<\/a><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radware.com\/security\/threat-advisories-and-attack-reports\/ddos-activity-following-operation-epic-fury-roaring-lion\/#menu-tab-company\" style=\"\">attacks<\/a> in the war\u2019s first days hit government institutions, dominated by DDoS, defacements, and claimed data breaches. Infrastructure attacks have become a tool of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/flashpoint.io\/blog\/escalation-in-the-middle-east-operation-epic-fury\/\" style=\"\">decentralized<\/a> retaliation and economic pressure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>And we\u2019re seeing the rise of proxy targets<\/strong>, with retail and hospitality becoming an obvious target given the visibility generated by any disruptions in these sectors. \u201cBy impacting these high-visibility sectors like retail and hospitality, hacktivists aim to translate geopolitical tensions into tangible economic and public-facing disruptions,\u201d Lindemoen tells us. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>What's genuinely new: <\/strong>Three shifts stand out. The first is <strong>tempo and targeting specificity<\/strong> in the Gulf region, particularly from Iran-linked organizations over the past several years, Cooper tells us. The second is the rise of AI-driven novelties, with attacks that don\u2019t match most existing detection signatures. \u201cThere\u2019s no playbook.<strong> There\u2019s no pattern to match<\/strong>,\u201d Cooper says, marking a sharp break from traditional security operations centers, which are largely built around pattern recognition. The third is the appearance of <strong>credible physical threats against civilian cloud infrastructure <\/strong>(aka data centers), a development Cooper frames as \u201cunprecedented\u201d given how current protections in place are inadequate. \u201cThat gap between the physical threat and the physical defense posture is where I think the real exposure lives right now,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The new normal:<\/strong> The threat baseline established during this surge is not going to recede, experts tell us. \u201cThe cyber war did not begin with the military conflict, and it will not end with any military ceasefire,\u201d Lindemoen says, noting that many Iran-aligned threat groups operate outside direct state control and are therefore not always bound by ceasefire agreements. \u201cThis is the new normal for the foreseeable future,\u201d Lindemoen adds. EFG Hermes Group CISO Osama Hijji is blunter: \u201cThe truth is, we are under attack around the clock, 24\/7, every minute and every second.\u201d <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The pre-war signal was also clear well in advance<\/strong> \u2014 cyber attacks surged days before bombs started dropping, affecting government and financial services, according to CloudSek. \u201cThe cyber war started about 11 days before the physical war did, for instance \u2014 and because we have offices in the Gulf, we started seeing attacks hitting our perimeter there,\u201d Hijji tells us.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>If the truce materializes (and holds)?<\/strong> \u201cWe have no truce; cyber warfare continues and never stops,\u201dHijj adds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">AI is now both the weapon and the shield<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The reason layered defenses are buckling against this new threat profile is, in large part,<\/strong><strong> AI.<\/strong> The technology is simultaneously accelerating attacks and becoming indispensable to defense, and the asymmetry between the two is what's reshaping the architecture beneath every security system. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>On the offensive side, AI is enabling attacks that don\u2019t fit any established pattern.<\/strong> Hijji described one incident at EFG Hermes in which attackers attempted to feed a customer-facing AI chatbot manipulated information and links, prompting the model to \u201clure customers into something the attacker designed\u201d \u2014 a class of attack that didn't exist a generation of security tooling ago. The Iran-linked Handala campaign against Stryker in March is the other end of the spectrum: A credential-driven attack \u2014 a simple but efficient type of attack as old as cybersecurity as a field. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>On the defensive side, AI is being baked into the security layer rather than bolted on top.<\/strong> Cooper describes the architectural shift toward AI-native security as moving toward integrated and centralized capabilities that could keep organizations resilient over the next three to five years. <\/p>\n<p><strong>But confidence in AI-leveraged defense is building up at a slower rate than AI-powered <\/strong><strong>attacks \u2014 and for good reason. <\/strong>\u201cAs confidence builds and track records get established, the industry will gradually extend the boundaries of what AI is allowed to do autonomously. But we\u2019re not there yet, and pretending we are is how you end up with an AI-driven outage that wasn\u2019t necessary,\u201d Cooper explains.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>How does the use of AI look on the defense side? It\u2019s all about automation<\/strong> \u2014 and AI needs to get better with fewer false positives and false negatives so that automation can scale. \u201cIf AI detects activity on a specific low-risk server or component, letting it act without a human is defensible. But major changes to production, configuration changes that affect multiple systems, or shutting down a critical component absolutely require a human,\u201d Cooper says. For now, a reasonable bridge to maximize AI potential would be to allow it to \u201cidentify a potential event, then hand off to a human with a scripted, predictable response,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>But the balance of power is tilted towards attackers, <\/strong>an asymmetry that keeps every CISO up at night. \u201cIt\u2019s easier to find a novel offensive use of AI than it is to build a reliable defense against one,\u201d Cooper says. \u201cYou\u2019re often waiting on a vendor, or building it yourself, and either way, your legacy systems may not plug into AI tooling without a meaningful technology refresh first,\u201d he adds. That means the pace of AI-enabled attacks far outpaces cyber defenders\u2019 ability to build new protections. \u201cThat gap is the real problem,\u201d Cooper tells us. <\/p>\n<p><strong>And that asymmetry is precisely why the market is consolidating on cloud-native, AI-first <\/strong><strong>security platforms<\/strong> \u2014 the only architecture with the promise of data scale and update velocity to keep the gap from widening.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Humans, meanwhile, are not out of the loop, but their role is being redefined.<\/strong> \u201cHuman in the loop isn\u2019t a single rule applied uniformly. It\u2019s a sliding scale tied to the consequence of the action,\u201d Cooper says. AI can autonomously handle low-risk anomalies on a single server, but major changes that touch multiple systems still need human judgment. AI also gets it wrong in both directions with false positives and false negatives. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>And what is our region doing about it? We know Saudi <\/strong><strong>Arabia <\/strong><strong>and the UAE are going all <\/strong><strong>in on AI-leveraged security. <\/strong>In Saudi Arabia, 15% of all AI research output focuses on security, privacy, and cryptography \u2014 the highest within-country ratio globally, according to the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hai.stanford.edu\/ai-index\/2026-ai-index-report\" style=\"\">2026 AI Index Report<\/a>. The UAE comes third globally after India, with 12% of its AI research output focused on these segments. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">A new-ish defense playbook\u2026 and a bigger bill<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>What\u2019s next? <\/strong>As the trends of AI-driven attacks and the centrality of the cloud in business operations becomes more cemented, CISOs need to get their house in order to address the mix of old and new threats. This will require CISOs to build their defenses on three non-negotiable strategic pillars that move beyond the layering philosophy of the last decade.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>#1- Treating credentials as the most likely point of failure.<\/strong> \u201cCredential security remains the most common and most underestimated exposure in enterprise security today,\u201d Cooper says. He recommends consolidating on a dedicated identity provider, on the logic that identity vendors prioritize hardening as their core business in a way general-purpose infrastructure does not. The Stryker breach is the cautionary tale: stolen credentials, exploited at scale.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>#2- Consolidating rather than sprawling \u2014 and this is where players like Wiz come in.<\/strong> Maintaining discipline across many disparate tools is harder than across a unified platform. \u201cThoughtful consolidation on trusted specialist vendors almost always beats vendor sprawl,\u201d Cooper says. Maintaining discipline across many disparate tools is harder than across a unified platform, he adds. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The third is building for compartmentalization<\/strong>. Cooper's analogy is the Titanic: \u201cThe Titanic lacked adequate isolation. One catastrophic breach, and water moved freely through the entire hull.\u201d The fix in shipbuilding was compartmentalization, and the same logic now governs cloud-native security architecture \u2014 contain the breach so it doesn't spread.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>We are yet to see how building cyber defenses on similar pillars could impact budgets, <\/strong>largely because AI is yet to deliver on its potential to cut costs in so many other sectors. Firms like Uber are already reporting ballooning AI costs, and there is the risk that the compute cost required for AI-driven defense could end up exceeding the human salary lines they were meant to displace.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>But so far, CISOs are expecting their budgets to change more in shape than in size. <\/strong>Security spending rose from 0.57% to 0.75% of revenue in 2025, while IT spending climbed from 3.2% to 3.9%, according to the RH-ISAC\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rhisac.org\/press-release\/ciso-benchmark-2026\/\" style=\"\">2026 CISO Benchmark<\/a> Report. 54% of surveyed CISOs expect incremental budget increases this year \u2014 a measured rise rather than a step change, and about 90% expect spending on AI-related security to grow, but mostly through reallocation rather than new funds.<\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/saudi-arabia\/\">Saudi Arabia<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/tech\/\">TECH<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/the-lede\/\">The Lede<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/uae\/\">UAE<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114711\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114711\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">3<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">OPINION<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/from-pricing-power-to-peer-rivalry-the-structural-collapse-of-the-saudi-led-oil-order\/\">\r\n                            Bye-bye Opec, hello three-body problem                        <\/a>\r\n                    <\/h3>\r\n\r\n                    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"cta\">\n    <div class=\"cta__btn share-dropdown-cta dropdown-toggle-btn\" style=\"position:relative\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/408834.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        Share Story\n        <!-- Dropdown Menu -->\n        <ul class=\"share-menu\">\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/from-pricing-power-to-peer-rivalry-the-structural-collapse-of-the-saudi-led-oil-order\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                    Open in new tab                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/new-tab.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); 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An even more difficult question to answer is whether Opec could still credibly set a price level for oil that the rest of the market organizes around and what does this mean for our region. We think these days are behind us now.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>You see, in wonky terms, the dynamic between Saudi Arabia and other Opec members<\/strong><strong> was less that of a cartel<\/strong>, in a traditional sense, and more of what economists speaking with marbles in their mouth would call <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0140988317304012#s0155\" style=\"\">a dominant firm model with a competitive fringe<\/a>. Saudi Arabia, sitting on one of the lowest marginal cost barrels and the largest spare capacity, set the price by adjusting output. Non-Opec producers (the US, the North Sea, later Russia) took the price as given and supplied what they could. The cartel structure held because Riyadh had the capacity to credibly threaten to flood the market with production and make all producers suffer from lower prices as a result. It also worked because the \u201cfringe\u201d was passive enough not to swamp the residual demand curve.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Does this sound confusing and needlessly complicated?<\/strong> Don\u2019t worry. That model just had the last nail driven into its coffin.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The dominant firm structure that gave Opec its pricing power from 1973 to about 2014 is <\/strong><strong>now gone.<\/strong> What replaces it is genuinely unsettled, and the answer matters for every oil-importing economy in the region.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The cracks in that Saudi-led Opec system have been compounding for a decade.<\/strong> US shale broke the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/publications\/wp\/issues\/2016\/12\/31\/an-analysis-of-opecs-strategic-actions-us-shale-growth-and-the-2014-oil-price-crash-44064\" style=\"\">fringe assumption in 2014<\/a>, making non-Opec supply materially more elastic than the dominant firm model required. Saudi\u2019s 2014 abandonment of the swing producer role was a recognition that defending high prices was funding the fringe\u2019s expansion. The 2016 Opec+ pivot \u2014 when Opec and 11 non-Opec members signed the Vienna Declaration of Cooperation to formalize Opec+ \u2014 effectively turned oil-price management from a Saudi-led project into <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/todayinenergy\/detail.php?id=61102\" style=\"\">a Saudi-Russia coordination problem<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>From there, the structure kept shedding pieces.<\/strong> Qatar walked in January 2019, then Ecuador followed in January 2020 and Angola in Jan 2024, each citing a version of the same baseline-versus-capacity grievance. Chronic \u201ccheating\u201d by Iraq, Russia, and Kazakhstan ran in the background throughout.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Coordination failed publicly in March 2020 during the Saudi-Russia price war and again <\/strong><strong>in the July 2021 <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/newsletters\/2021-07-18\/middle-east-newsletter-saudis-uae-end-dispute-that-rocked-opec\" style=\"\">UAE-Saudi baseline dispute<\/a><\/strong> that was papered over rather than resolved. What happened then was that the UAE blocked an Opec+ production deal because its quota baseline (3.17 mn bbl \/ d, set off 2018 production) no longer reflected the capacity it had built (4+ mn bbl \/ d). After two weeks of public stand-off and a Brent spike, Saudi Arabia conceded a partial baseline raise to 3.65 mn bpd, which bought time without resolving anything. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Quota tensions between Saudi and the UAE kept growing, and for good reason.<\/strong> As <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JoumannaTV\/status\/2049367783516033280\" style=\"\">Bloomberg\u2019s Ziad Daoud notes<\/a>, while last year\u2019s average oil price of USD 67 \/ bbl meant the UAE managed to record a budget surplus of nearly 5% of GDP, Saudi Arabia faced a 5% deficit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The UAE kept building capacity, the mismatch kept widening, and this time, the UAE\u2019s <\/strong><strong>exit is probably that same dispute reaching its terminal point.<\/strong> In essence, the UAE exit now is not a rupture, but rather the loudest piece of a slow and inevitable structural collapse.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">So, what are we left with now?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Essentially three large strategic producers (Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE) with a total <\/strong><strong>sustainable production capacity between them of around 27-28 mn bbl \/ d.<\/strong> They each have different fiscal breakevens, different capacity trajectories, different geopolitical ambitions, and different posturing toward Washington \u2014 Russia is ambivalent at best, and Saudi Arabia and the UAE competing directly for attention, influence, and investment. We also still have a US shale fringe that is structurally elastic in a way the original model never assumed. Plus Iraqi, Iranian, and Libyan production that remain in theory viable, but currently volatile for political reasons rather than commercial ones. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>In a nutshell:<\/strong> Three distinct groups, no direct organization, and a complete mess.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>This is, formally, closer to a three-player coordination problem with imperfect monitoring<\/strong><strong> and divergent payoffs.<\/strong> The economics literature on three-player tacit collusion is as unkind as it is complicated, and stable coordination there is harder by a non-trivial margin. As Hamzeh Al Gaaod put it in his note that <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/1459.pdf?utm_source=enterpriseammenaplus.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=enterpriseam-mena-2026-04-29-007-wednesday&_bhlid=7ad4b133e67062f26987102059ad96d664fb6107\" style=\"\">we shared on Wednesday<\/a>, the exit signals \u201ca decisive shift toward an independent, state-driven oil strategy.\u201d Cheating, in cartel terms, is now done by more players \u2014 and who are no longer in the room.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Ok, now, why does any of this matter?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Well, the price floor for the oil markets is now probably weakened severely and <\/strong><strong>permanently.<\/strong> For the next 12-18 months, the reality will be masked by the Strait of Hormuz blockade and lingering production disruptions, keeping prices higher regardless of structure. After is where the picture materially changes. If Saudi Arabia tries to defend prices through deeper unilateral cuts, those cuts could fail faster than they used to. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>If Riyadh accepts a lower realized price and goes for higher market share, the price band <\/strong><strong>stabilizes even lower.<\/strong> This wouldn't bode well for its Vision 2030 expansionary fiscal policy \u2014 and it\u2019s not like they will be able to gather all major producers to set production quotas like before.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The pain from this new order might not just be confined to the Gulf and other oil <\/strong><strong>producers globally. <\/strong>The production levels that funded the GCC\u2019s spending also had a direct impact on the rest of the region\u2019s external accounts. A sustained oil price collapse potentially poses risks to Egyptian, Jordanian, Pakistani, and Indian fiscal positions through three channels at once: GCC remittances; FDI and project finance from Gulf sovereigns (the largest single source of new capital into Egypt over the last three years and rising fast in Pakistan); and goods trade and transit revenues. including Suez Canal receipts. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The broader MENA-India corridor <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/mena-india\/2026\/03\/02\/war-hits-the-gcc-with-knock-down-effect-for-the-india-trade-corridor\/\" style=\"\">is also not immune<\/a><\/strong> as it relies on Gulf-funded demand at one end and Indian growth at the other. Even if India\u2019s direct GCC exposure has narrowed as remittances rebalance toward advanced economies, the corridor and trade channel still reaches Delhi.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>For the medium term, a significant external risk for the region\u2019s oil importers is no longer<\/strong><strong> a sustained oil price spike.<\/strong> It could, oddly enough, be a sustained oil price collapse that would soften the Gulf\u2019s capacity to underwrite everyone downstream of it and with a complicated political rift to manage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Bahrain is the regional canary in the coalmine, though now with a <\/strong><strong>complicating<\/strong><strong> wrinkle, it <\/strong><strong>might be where we first see the impact of this rift.<\/strong> It is the most exposed GCC state to a sustained oil price collapse by an order of magnitude, with <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.efginternational.com\/ch\/insights\/2025\/gcc_economic_resilience_and_growth_diversification.html\" style=\"\">a projected fiscal breakeven<\/a> at around USD 167 \/ bbl in 2030, a double-digit fiscal deficit, and a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/03\/18\/bahrains-economy-is-teetering-on-the-edge\/\" style=\"\">triple-digit debt-to-GDP<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The patronage channel that has historically backstopped Manama<\/strong>, most visibly the USD 10 bn coordinated GCC rescue in 2018, <strong>depended on a regional alignment mechanism<\/strong> that no longer exists in the same form. This channel has not disappeared so much as it has been reorganized. Three weeks before its OPEC exit, on 8 April, the UAE central bank signed a USD 5.44 bn <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/04\/09\/adia-backed-usd-18-3-bn-hologic-buyout-completed-uae-bahrain-ink-aed-20-bn-currency-swap-uks-mha-makes-uae-acquisition\/\" style=\"\">five-year currency swap<\/a> with the Central Bank of Bahrain, on the back of an investment-protection agreement that entered into force in May 2025 and a bilateral tax treaty from 2024. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Read together, these are the architecture of a soft bilateral backstop: <\/strong>Manama gets a peg-defense mechanism that does not run through Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi gets an explicit financial stake in Bahraini stability that competes, rather than coordinates, with Saudi influence. Sure, the canary survives for now, but the cage has changed. Bahrain becomes a place where Saudi-UAE rivalry now plays out on Manama\u2019s balance sheet directly \u2014 and that works as long as the UAE\u2019s commitment holds. It works less well if regional tensions escalate and Bahrain finds itself having to pick a side it didn\u2019t previously have to.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>None of these economic shocks are necessarily a done deal. <\/strong>Yet, from a political and policy point of view, we are in uncharted territory. The next Opec+ meeting could tell us what path Riyadh has chosen. We\u2019ll be watching clues from the language on quota discipline and the tone toward Russia while keeping an eye on potential surprises of news of countries potentially readmitted or added to the organization. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The UAE\u2019s stance will also become clearer over the next few weeks and we\u2019ll see if it<\/strong><strong> withdraws from more regional alliances and organizations<\/strong>. In the corporate world, we\u2019ll also keep a close eye on something like Adnoc\u2019s production trajectory: Capacity additions matter more than headline output now. And we\u2019ll continue to watch Saudi fiscal break-even commentary, which has been creeping toward USD 100 \/ bbl as spending accelerates. The marginal cost of defending that level has probably just risen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>At the end of it all, the dominant-firm era was, ironically, what made the market and oil<\/strong><strong> price floor reliable.<\/strong> We probably just lost that and, with it, we probably lost the aspirations of a stable, policy-coordinated Gulf.<\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/energy\/\">ENERGY<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/opinion\/\">Opinion<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/saudi-arabia\/\">Saudi Arabia<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/uae\/\">UAE<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114713\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114713\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">4<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">ECONOMY<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/pif-cuts-the-liv-golf-cord-amid-softening-macroeconomic-backdrop-in-saudi-arabia\/\">\r\n                            Cooling off                        <\/a>\r\n                    <\/h3>\r\n\r\n                    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"cta\">\n    <div class=\"cta__btn share-dropdown-cta dropdown-toggle-btn\" style=\"position:relative\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/408834.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        Share Story\n        <!-- Dropdown Menu -->\n        <ul class=\"share-menu\">\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/pif-cuts-the-liv-golf-cord-amid-softening-macroeconomic-backdrop-in-saudi-arabia\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                    Open in new tab                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/new-tab.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); 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On a quarterly basis, growth shrank 1.5% compared to 4Q 2025 on the back of oil activities dropping 7.2% q-o-q. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Blame the blockade:<\/strong> The slower growth came as the US and Israel\u2019s war on Iran and disrupted shipments of oil through the Strait of Hormuz led Saudi Arabia\u2019s oil activities to contribute just 0.7 percentage points of GDP growth during the quarter. Non-oil activities \u201cwere the main contributor to GDP growth,\u201d accounting for 1.7 percentage points of the total and growing 2.8% y-o-y. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>REMEMBER-<\/strong> The IMF is expecting Saudi Arabia\u2019s growth to average 3.1% in 2026, the fund said in its World Economic Outlook report <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2026\/04\/15\/imf-trims-global-gdp-forecast-with-dispersed-war-scenarios\/\" style=\"\">last month<\/a>. That figure is 1.4 percentage points lower than the Fund\u2019s initial outlook in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2026\/01\/20\/more-brownie-points\/\" style=\"\">January<\/a>. However, growth is expected to pick up pace again to 4.5% in 2027. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Against that softer macro backdrop, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is tightening its <\/strong><strong>belt \u2014 and getting brownie points from Moody\u2019s for it.<\/strong> The PIF\u2019s newly-approved 2026-2030 investment strategy \u2014 which focuses more on creating value rather than pure growth \u2014 will strengthen the fund's financial resilience and support long-term economic diversification, Moody\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moodys.com\/research\/Public-Investment-Fund-Shift-to-value-creation-from-growth-supports-Issuer-Comment--PBC_1482470\" style=\"\">said in a note<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Exhibit A: PIF is officially cutting the cord from LIV Golf<\/strong>, with the fund set to halt its financial support for the breakaway golf league at the close of the 2026 season, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/sports\/golf\/liv-golf-pga-tour-bryson-dechambeau-3abf7b85\" style=\"\">Wall Street Journal<\/a> reports. The decision, which came after PIF sank USD 5 bn into LIV since its launch in 2022, is due to the fund\u2019s investment strategy no longer lining up with the substantial investment the golf league needs over a longer term. Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, a LIV founder, has stepped down as the league's board chair, and LIV is now pitching outside investors to fund operations from 2027 onward.<\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/economy\/\">ECONOMY<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/macroeconomics\/\">macroeconomics<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/saudi-arabia\/\">Saudi Arabia<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114715\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114715\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">5<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">Infrastructure<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/gcc-project-awards-slow-down-in-1q-as-war-hits-gigaproject-momentum\/\">\r\n                            Sluggish                        <\/a>\r\n                    <\/h3>\r\n\r\n                    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"cta\">\n    <div class=\"cta__btn share-dropdown-cta dropdown-toggle-btn\" style=\"position:relative\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/408834.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        Share Story\n        <!-- Dropdown Menu -->\n        <ul class=\"share-menu\">\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/gcc-project-awards-slow-down-in-1q-as-war-hits-gigaproject-momentum\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                    Open in new tab                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/new-tab.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); 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The regional decline was partially offset by stronger quarters in Kuwait \u2014 where awards were up more than fivefold to USD 8.1 bn \u2014 as well as Qatar (+62.1% to USD 8.8 bn) and Oman.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>IN CONTEXT- The regional war has dampened foreign investor sentiment and caused <\/strong><strong>disruptions at several major energy and industrial facilities across the Gulf. <\/strong>Foreign investors pulled some USD 120 bn from the UAE earlier in the conflict, and some major firms have paused plans to invest further in projects, including London-based data center firm Pure Data Centers. CEO Gary Wojtaszek told <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/04\/29\/oaktree-owned-pure-dc-investment-decisions-gulf-data-centers.html\" style=\"\">CNBC<\/a> recently that the firm is pausing data center investment decisions in the region due to the war until \u201ceverything settles down,\u201d adding, \u201cno one\u2019s going to run into a burning building, so to speak.\u201d <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The Gulf is now also facing a whopping USD 58 bn repair bill for existing energy <\/strong><strong>infrastructure<\/strong>, as well as rising raw material costs, which means a recalibration of project funding is not out of the question. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>This comes as some USD 86.7 bn worth of projects remain in the bid evaluation stage<\/strong>, and USD 52 bn are in tendering. That\u2019s out of an estimated USD 550 bn worth of projects in the pipeline, mostly in construction and transport. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Construction + power took the biggest hits <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Construction led the downturn<\/strong>, falling 64.4% y-o-y to USD 3.4 bn in Saudi Arabia and 39.9% to USD 7 bn in the UAE. Power awards collapsed 95.8% y-o-y in the UAE to USD 333 mn, and came in at just USD 148 mn in Saudi Arabia. Saudi water awards dropped around 85% y-o-y to USD 729 mn, while gas awards there were just USD 16 mn. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The bright spots:<\/strong> The UAE\u2019s transport sector accounted for more than a third of awards at USD 10.1 bn (more than tripling y-o-y) and gas awards more than doubled to USD 8.5 bn. In Saudi Arabia, chemicals posted the largest absolute increase, rising to USD 2.5 bn during the quarter. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">A sluggish year, but sizeable pipeline ahead <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>\u201cGCC project activity is anticipated to witness sluggish momentum in 2026<\/strong>, weighed down by the destabilizing repercussions of the US-Iran conflict for the region as well as for the global economy,\u201d according to Kamco Invest. Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain have declared force majeure on parts of their energy assets, tightening fiscal space and constraining project funding. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Still, the pipeline remains substantial:<\/strong> USD 2 tn-worth of upcoming GCC projects, with Saudi Arabia accounting for nearly 50% (USD 999.3 bn) and the UAE 27.5%. Construction makes up 39.7% of the pipeline, followed by transport (16.3%) and power (15.7%). Saudi Arabia remains MENA\u2019s largest project market under execution at USD 735.1 bn. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>A rebound is tentatively expected from 2027<\/strong>, according to Kamco Invest, in line with the projected rebound in economic activity. There are already some positive signs for 2Q 2026, at least: The UAE kicked off the quarter with <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/04\/28\/more-awarded-contracts-for-palm-jebel-ali-kuwait-petroleum-international-eyes-further-expansion-in-the-uae-and-adia-deploys-more-capital\/\" style=\"\">AED 3.5 bn in contracts<\/a> for Palm Jebel Ali and a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/04\/23\/dubai-metro-plans-another-aed-34-bn-line-connecting-historic-center-to-suburbs\/\" style=\"\">new AED 34 bn Metro Gold Line<\/a> set to break ground. <\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/construction\/\">construction<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/gcc\/\">GCC<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/infrastructure\/\">infrastructure<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/kuwait\/\">Kuwait<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/oman\/\">Oman<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/qatar\/\">Qatar<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/saudi-arabia\/\">Saudi Arabia<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/uae\/\">UAE<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114717\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114717\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">6<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">THE CORRIDOR<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/chinas-zero-tariff-policy-for-nearly-all-african-countries-takes-effect\/\">\r\n                            Continental                        <\/a>\r\n                    <\/h3>\r\n\r\n                    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"cta\">\n    <div class=\"cta__btn share-dropdown-cta dropdown-toggle-btn\" style=\"position:relative\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/408834.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        Share Story\n        <!-- Dropdown Menu -->\n        <ul class=\"share-menu\">\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/chinas-zero-tariff-policy-for-nearly-all-african-countries-takes-effect\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                    Open in new tab                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/new-tab.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); 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The zero-tariff treatment is also designed to \u201chelp Chinese companies explore the African market, bring more opportunities of investment and industrial upgrade to African countries, and build up Africa\u2019s own capacity for development,\u201d Lin said. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>In context: <\/strong>Since late 2024, China has included any nation across the world classified by the UN as a least developed country under its zero-tariff regime, in addition to a set of extensive reciprocal trade agreements across Asia, Australasia, and Latin America that ensure zero-tariff access for most goods.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Also from the China corridor\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Jeddah Islamic Port is <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MawaniKSA\/status\/2049166807366353067\" style=\"\">now directly connected<\/a><\/strong><strong> to China\u2019s Shanghai and Nansha<\/strong>, following the addition of the China United Lines (CULines) SGX shipping service. The new route also connected Jeddah to Egypt and other ports in Malaysia, with a capacity of 2.4k TEUs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Links, links, links: <\/strong>Jeddah has become one of Saudi Arabia\u2019s main tools for adding route density and widening liner access while Red Sea shipping patterns remain under pressure. The port has seen a steady run of new service additions over the past year, including <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2026\/04\/06\/mawani-adds-two-new-pil-services-at-jeddah-islamic-port-italys-gksd-expands-into-saudi\/\" style=\"\">routes<\/a> tied to India, China, Egypt, Jordan, Singapore, Djibouti, Berbera, and Oman. <\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/africa\/\">Africa<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/china\/\">China<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/the-corridor\/\">The Corridor<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/trade\/\">Trade<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114719\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114719\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">7<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">Energy<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/could-shale-reserves-be-libyas-next-oil-gas-frontier\/\">\r\n                            No fracking way                        <\/a>\r\n                    <\/h3>\r\n\r\n                    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"cta\">\n    <div class=\"cta__btn share-dropdown-cta dropdown-toggle-btn\" style=\"position:relative\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/408834.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        Share Story\n        <!-- Dropdown Menu -->\n        <ul class=\"share-menu\">\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/could-shale-reserves-be-libyas-next-oil-gas-frontier\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                    Open in new tab                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/new-tab.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); navigator.clipboard.writeText('https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/could-shale-reserves-be-libyas-next-oil-gas-frontier\/')\">\n                    Copy Link                <\/a>\n\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/could-shale-reserves-be-libyas-next-oil-gas-frontier\/\">\n                    Facebook                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/facebook-icon2.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/post?text=Could shale reserves be Libya\u2019s next oil &#038; gas frontier?&url=https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/could-shale-reserves-be-libyas-next-oil-gas-frontier\/\">\n                    X                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/twitter-icon.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/could-shale-reserves-be-libyas-next-oil-gas-frontier\/&title=Could shale reserves be Libya\u2019s next oil &#038; gas frontier?\">\n                    LinkedIn                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/linkedin-icon.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?text=Could+shale+reserves+be+Libya%E2%80%99s+next+oil+%26%23038%3B+gas+frontier%3F+https%3A%2F%2Fenterpriseam.com%2Fmenaplus%2F2026%2F05%2F01%2Fcould-shale-reserves-be-libyas-next-oil-gas-frontier%2F\">\n                    WhatsApp                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/whatsapp-icon.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\r\n                    \r\n                <\/div>\r\n\r\n            \r\n            <div class=\"story__body\">\r\n\r\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/could-shale-reserves-be-libyas-next-oil-gas-frontier\/\">\r\n                    <div class=\"photo photo--above\">\r\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2025\/5\/725.jpg?fit=1568%2C9999&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"114720\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/could-shale-reserves-be-libyas-next-oil-gas-frontier\/725-jpg\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2025\/5\/725.jpg?fit=%2C&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"[]\" data-image-title=\"725.jpg\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2025\/5\/725.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2025\/5\/725.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" \/>                    <\/div>\r\n                <\/a>\r\n\r\n                \n<article id=\"post-114719\" class=\"content-area-description single-story post-114719 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-energy tag-energy tag-enterpriseam tag-libya wpautop entry\">\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"entry-content\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"> <strong>Chevron\u2019s next move in Libya: <\/strong>Libya\u2019s state oil company, the National Oil Company (NOC), is <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/libyaobserver.ly\/inbrief\/noc-chevron-sign-deal-assess-libyas-shale-oil-and-gas-potential\" style=\"\">partnering<\/a> with US oil giant Chevron for a joint study on the country\u2019s unconventional oil and gas resources. The pair signed an MoU for that effect, agreeing to explore sedimentary reserves in the Sirte, Murzuq, and Ghadames basins. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Uh, what exactly are unconventional resources? <\/strong>These are usually oil and gas resources trapped in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.planete-energies.com\/en\/media\/article\/what-unconventional-oil-and-gas#:~:text=:%20a%20mixture%20of%20sand%20and,Shale%20oil\" style=\"\">hard-to-exploit natural conditions<\/a> and are more expensive to extract as a result. That could be shale oil and gas trapped in low-permeability and porosity reservoir rocks \u2014 as in the case of Libya \u2014 which requires techniques like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking) to create enough pressure to release the fossils. Other unconventional forms could be found in conventional reservoirs, but still need unconventional extraction techniques due to their high viscosity, such as sand oil \u2014 you can find lots of that in Venezuela and Canada. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>But why go unconventional if there\u2019s a slew of traditional exploration opportunities? <\/strong>The answer lies in the timeline and the current global energy landscape. While it's more <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nuoerenergy.com\/news\/is-fracking-cheaper-than-drilling.html\" style=\"\">capital-intensive<\/a>, the time from exploration and drilling to bringing production online is usually much shorter for shale oil and gas. We\u2019re talking days or weeks vs. months or years for conventional reservoirs. That means that shale production developers have better revenue recovery timelines \u2014 and with global oil and gas prices expected to be elevated at least until the end of the year, there\u2019s good reason that an international oil company like Chevron wants to act quickly on shale opportunities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>And while the market case for fracking is solid with record-high oil prices, it\u2019s too early to <\/strong><strong>take this development seriously. <\/strong>For starters, Chevron is yet to put boots on the ground in Libya and is currently adopting a wait-and-see approach despite already securing drilling concessions in the Sirte basin back in February, as we <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/24\/can-high-quality-oil-reserves-and-a-massive-reconstruction-opportunity-draw-global-investors-to-libya\/\" style=\"\">previously reported<\/a>. And after all, we are talking about an MoU looking at assessing the potential rather than an actual shale exploration\/drilling operation. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The possible environmental costs are something that Libya must reckon with, though. <\/strong>Fracking is known for its <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/krakensense.com\/blog\/fracking-groundwater-quality\" style=\"\">risk<\/a> of contaminating groundwater due to its use of high-pressure techniques to force the shale oil and gas out. For a country that depends on underground water for <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/un-igrac.org\/data\/country-profiles\/libya\/\" style=\"\">97%<\/a> of its water supply, any large-scale fracking without strong oversight to ensure site integrity could be risky for Libya\u2019s water security.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>IN CONTEXT- <\/strong>The US has been pushing for economic and political reform in Libya, largely motivated by business opportunities in the country, we\u2019ve been told. The latest US success in Libya came in early April when Libya\u2019s two governments signed on to a unified budget \u2014 Libya\u2019s first in 13 years \u2014 raising hopes for investors that doing business in the country may get less complicated. Many businesses struggle with profits repatriation in the country, and over a decade of parallel spending by Libya\u2019s two governments ultimately triggered a currency crisis back in 2025.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Also from Libya<\/p>\n<p><strong>Another oil discovery, another viability test: <\/strong>A consortium composed of Algeria\u2019s Sonatrach, Oil India, and the Indian Oil Corporation struck oil in block 95\/96 of the Ghadames Basin, the Indian Petroleum Ministry <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PetroleumMin\/status\/2048944232233345375?lang=en\" style=\"\">said<\/a>. The new well \u2014 the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/libyaobserver.ly\/inbrief\/indian-oil-company-announces-new-hydrocarbon-discovery-libyas-ghadames-basin\" style=\"\">fifth<\/a> discovery in the concession block since the consortium <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/english.aawsat.com\/business\/5200605-algerias-sonatrach-resumes-exploratory-drilling-libya\" style=\"\">resumed<\/a> exploration last October \u2014 achieved daily production of 13 mn cubic feet during pumping tests, which means the well is now moving to economic viability assessment. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Background: <\/strong>The consortium first secured drilling rights for eight wells in the concession block in 2008. At least six have been drilled as of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/libyaobserver.ly\/inbrief\/noc-sonatrach-announce-oil-and-gas-discovery-ghadames-basin\" style=\"\">early April<\/a>. <\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/energy\/\">ENERGY<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/libya\/\">Libya<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114721\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114721\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">8<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">MARKETS + DEALS<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/emirates-prices-usd-750-mn-at1-issuance\/\">\r\n                            Reopened                        <\/a>\r\n                    <\/h3>\r\n\r\n                    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"cta\">\n    <div class=\"cta__btn share-dropdown-cta dropdown-toggle-btn\" style=\"position:relative\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/408834.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        Share Story\n        <!-- Dropdown Menu -->\n        <ul class=\"share-menu\">\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/emirates-prices-usd-750-mn-at1-issuance\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                    Open in new tab                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/new-tab.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); 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The move marked the first re-entry by a GCC player into debt markets since the war began and saw pricing tighten to 6.25% from <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/04\/29\/this-morning-gcc-leaders-meet-in-jeddah-emirates-nbd-pushes-ahead-with-at1-issuance\/\" style=\"\">initial price point guidance of 6.75%<\/a>. The six-year, non-call notes will be listed on Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Dubai. The issuance saw orders of more than three times the issuance size, with demand coming from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the UK. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>ADVISORS-<\/strong> Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Citi, Barclays, HSBC, and JP Morgan were joint lead managers and bookrunners. Linklaters was dealer counsel, and Clifford Chance acted as issuer counsel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<hr style=\"height:2px;border-width:0;color:gray;background-color:gray\">\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Kuwait\u2019s crude pipeline sale takes a step forward:<\/strong> JPMorgan, HSBC, National Bank of Kuwait, and Kuwait Finance House are stepping into a USD 6 bn financing syndicate for buyers eyeing a stake in Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's (KPC) pipeline network. The debt package is structured as a 20-year loan priced at around 170 bps over the secured overnight financing rate, people with knowledge of the matter told <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/jpmorgan-among-banks-providing-financing-kuwaiti-oil-pipeline-stake-deal-2026-04-27\/\" style=\"\">Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<hr style=\"height:2px;border-width:0;color:gray;background-color:gray\">\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Emirates NBD also just cleared the biggest hurdle on its USD 3 bn move on Mumbai\u2019s RBL Bank<\/strong> \u2014 India\u2019s Sebi signed off on the \u201cchange of control\u201d in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/webassets.rbl.bank.in\/ir_admin\/regulatory\/RBLSEIntimation30042026Signed.pdf\" style=\"\">a letter dated 29 April<\/a>. The 60% stake (with a path to 74%) would reclassify RBL as a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Qatar Investment Authority-backed Airtel Africa is steering its mobile money arm Airtel Money to a USD 1.5-2 bn London IPO<\/strong> that could value the unit at c. USD 10 bn \u2014 walking away from a UAE listing the regulator had already cleared, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-04-28\/airtel-is-said-to-eye-2-billion-london-ipo-of-mobile-money-unit\" style=\"\">Bloomberg<\/a> reports. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<hr style=\"height:2px;border-width:0;color:gray;background-color:gray\">\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME) is vying for up to 100% of EIH Consulting<\/strong>, a precious metals investment and consulting firm, and its subsidiaries, it said in a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/697265.pdf\" style=\"\">bourse filing (pdf)<\/a>. The EGX-listed SPAC \u2014 the country's first of its kind \u2014 secured initial BoD approval to acquire a controlling stake (50% +1) in EIH and its subsidiaries.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The transaction sits somewhere between the EGX and the physical metals market:<\/strong> Bringing in mobile gold and silver app <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/mngm.com\/about\" style=\"\">Mngm<\/a> \u2014 a precious metals platform developed by EIH Consulting \u2014 pulls CPME beyond SME lending and into retail savings and commodities, which makes sense in a market where gold is the default hedge.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<hr style=\"height:2px;border-width:0;color:gray;background-color:gray\">\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"> <strong>Our friends at Mashreq posted 1Q 2026 net profit of AED 1.9 bn<\/strong>, up 7.5% y-o-y on a 20% jump in non-interest income \u2014 fees and FX now account for 41% of total income, the bank said in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/1652.pdf\" style=\"\">its earnings release (pdf)<\/a>. Customer loans climbed 33% and the cost-to-income ratio sat at 31%.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Higher prices help offset softer sales for Fertiglobe<\/strong>, with the Adnoc-owned urea and ammonia producer and exporter delivering a strong bottom line in 1Q 2026. Adjusted net income nearly doubled to USD 145 mn on higher pricing, even as volumes came under pressure from trade disruptions, dipping 12% y-o-y, according to its <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/1548.pdf\" style=\"\">management discussion and analysis report (pdf)<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/1547.pdf\" style=\"\">earnings release (pdf)<\/a>. Revenue rose 32% y-o-y to USD 915 mn.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">ALSO WORTH KNOWING TODAY-<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Morocco\u2019s ONHYM has kicked off the first fundraising round for the USD 25 bn<\/strong>, 5.6k km Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, marking the agency's debut as a public limited company, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-04-29\/morocco-firm-plans-first-fundraise-for-25-billion-gas-pipeline\" style=\"\">Bloomberg<\/a> reports. The pipeline aims to link West African reserves into European markets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Logistics firm Aramex <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zawya.com\/en\/press-release\/companies-news\/aramex-completes-aed-815mln-debt-refinancing-redomiciling-loans-to-uae-with-competitive-terms-ad0dgf77\" style=\"\">refinanced<\/a><\/strong><strong> AED 815 mn of debt<\/strong>, rolling its USD and GBP loans into one UAE-domiciled facility backed by local and international banks. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>e& finalized its EUR 95 mn buy of broadband operator UPC Slovakia<\/strong>, slotting it under its O2 Slovakia subsidiary, the telco said in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/1649.pdf\" style=\"\">a regulatory filing (pdf)<\/a>. The deal follows the takeover of Telenor Pakistan and the launch of a wholesale hub in Miami.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>BNP Paribas <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/transactional\/bnp-paribas-sell-majority-stake-moroccos-bmci-holmarcom-2026-04-29\/\" style=\"\">is selling<\/a><\/strong><strong> its 67% stake in Moroccan subsidiary BMCI to Holmarcom Group<\/strong>, with closing expected in 4Q 2026. The French lender is keeping its institutional and corporate desk in Casablanca.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\"> Market Snapshot<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Tadawul<\/strong> -0.45% \u2022 <strong>ADX<\/strong> -1.24% \u2022 <strong>DFM<\/strong> -1.63% \u2022 <strong>EGX30<\/strong> -1.19%<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">Brent USD 110.4 \/ bbl \u2022 Gold USD 4,633.1 \/ oz \u2022 USD \/ SAR 3.75 \u2022 USD \/ EGP 53.10<\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/banking\/\">Banking<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/debt\/\">Debt<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/emirates-nbd\/\">Emirates NBD<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/markets-deals\/\">Markets + Deals<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/uae\/\">UAE<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114723\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114723\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">9<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">ALSO ON OUR RADAR<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/latakia-port-lands-syrias-first-ro-ro-service-after-war\/\">\r\n                            Rolling, rolling\u2026                        <\/a>\r\n                    <\/h3>\r\n\r\n                    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"cta\">\n    <div class=\"cta__btn share-dropdown-cta dropdown-toggle-btn\" style=\"position:relative\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/408834.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        Share Story\n        <!-- Dropdown Menu -->\n        <ul class=\"share-menu\">\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/latakia-port-lands-syrias-first-ro-ro-service-after-war\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                    Open in new tab                    <!-- <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"assets\/media\/placeholder\/svg\/new-tab.svg\" alt=\"\"> -->\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"list-inline-item\">\n                <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); 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The operation marks the first use of this <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/04\/10\/the-gulfs-next-lifeline-to-europe-hinges-on-syrias-recovery-and-cutting-through-knots-of-red-tape\/\" style=\"\">Ro-Ro transit model<\/a> at the port, linking Gulf overland flows with Mediterranean shipping routes through Syria.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>More volume is already in the pipeline:<\/strong> Over six vessels are scheduled to call at Latakia, with more than 4k vehicles set to move to and from Gulf markets, alongside other cargo from Europe and North Africa. The activity builds on earlier momentum this month \u2014 when the first transit container rerouted through Syrian territory from Jordan\u2019s Aqaba Port to Latakia.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Egyptian-Emirati alliance to launch USD 500 mn mixed-use portfolio<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Emirates Global has partnered with Egyptian developer <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dcud.com\/en\" style=\"\">Delta Capital for Urban<\/a><\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dcud.com\/en\" style=\"\">Development<\/a><\/strong> to launch a USD 500 mn portfolio of mixed-use projects across Egypt, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zawya.com\/en\/projects\/construction\/egypts-delta-capital-uaes-egri-sign-500mln-partnership-pact-for-mixed-use-projects-mkwxgjra\" style=\"\">Zawya<\/a> reports. The 500-acre portfolio will span residential, commercial, and service projects in Cairo, Kafr El Sheikh, and El Mahalla El Kubra, and first construction moves will begin in 2027. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Another Chinese tiremaker circles Egypt for production base<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Chinese tiremaker <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.linglong.cn\/\" style=\"\">Shandong Linglong<\/a><\/strong><strong> is looking to set up a <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/story.php?story_fbid=122179627664408172&id=61562245173260&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=JurfWQyAXhWdtGqR#\" style=\"\">USD 2 bn tire manufacturing<\/a><\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/story.php?story_fbid=122179627664408172&id=61562245173260&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=JurfWQyAXhWdtGqR#\" style=\"\">complex<\/a><\/strong><strong> in Egypt\u2019s Borg El Arab.<\/strong> While no timeline was given for the complex, company representatives said that they\u2019re looking to secure the required licenses and approvals to move forward with the project. The tiremaker plans to export 90% of output \u2014 primarily tires for cars and heavy vehicles, alongside key feeder products, including rubber and carbon black \u2014 to the US and the GCC. The project will be set up in cooperation with Fit & Fix parent company <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nileprojects.com\/\" style=\"\">Nile Projects and Trading<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Talabat expands its Yanmu presence<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Talabat inaugurated the Middle East\u2019s largest express commerce <\/strong><strong>distribution center<\/strong> in Hassan Allam Utilities\u2019 <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hassanallam.com\/projects\/east-cairo-logistics-park\" style=\"\">Yanmu East Logistics Park<\/a> in Cairo, according to a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EgyptianCabinet\/posts\/pfbid0mvxy7SQrYb3PxY2nGYiVAm6Hnotum1pur1D5GYKoKre3osCoZqSGSVyMpXDjUifal\" style=\"\">cabinet statement<\/a>. The 27k sqm facility has capacity for up to 1 mn items per day. It supports Talabat Mart\u2019s network across 12 cities \u2014 expandable to 17 \u2014 and includes 75k storage locations. This is Talabat\u2019s second facility in Yanmu after <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2025\/07\/17\/talabat-launches-its-largest-distribution-center-in-mena-in-yanmu-east-logistics-park\/\" style=\"\">inaugurating<\/a> a 22.4k sq distribution center last year with a daily capacity of up to 1.6 mn. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Tech\u2019s doing the heavy lifting: <\/strong>The operation runs on real-time systems integrating inventory, retail, and supply chains, with in-house AI models forecasting demand, optimizing stock, and automating processes to minimize losses.<\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/also-on-our-radar\/\">ALSO ON OUR RADAR<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/infrastructure\/\">infrastructure<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/logistics\/\">LOGISTICS<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/ports\/\">PORTS<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/syria\/\">Syria<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/uae\/\">UAE<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114725\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"114725\">\r\n            \r\n                <div class=\"issue-story-header text-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"index-number\">10<\/div>\r\n\r\n                    <p class=\"f-graphik\">WHAT WE\u2019RE TRACKING<\/p>\r\n                    <h3 class=\"story-title\">\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/uae-expected-to-ramp-up-oil-and-gas-investments-after-opec-exit\/\">\r\n                            UAE expected to ramp up oil and gas investments after Opec exit                        <\/a>\r\n                    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wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"114726\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/uae-expected-to-ramp-up-oil-and-gas-investments-after-opec-exit\/999-jpg\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/999.jpg?fit=%2C&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"[]\" data-image-title=\"999.jpg\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/999.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/4\/999.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" \/>                    <\/div>\r\n                <\/a>\r\n\r\n                \n<article id=\"post-114725\" class=\"content-area-description single-story post-114725 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-what-were-tracking tag-energy tag-enterpriseam tag-investments tag-uae tag-what-were-tracking wpautop entry\">\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"entry-content\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Watch this space<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><a id=\"wwtt1\"><\/a> <strong>The<\/strong><strong> UAE is widely expected to accelerate investments in oil and gas after its <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/04\/29\/uae-exits-opec-to-prioritize-capacity-over-quotas\/\" style=\"\">exit from<\/a><\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/04\/29\/uae-exits-opec-to-prioritize-capacity-over-quotas\/\" style=\"\">Opec and Opec+<\/a><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> Abu Dhabi is widely expected to accelerate upstream capacity, drilling, processing, storage, and export infrastructure, Arqaam Capital research head Jaap Meijer <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7454923414345056256\/\" style=\"\">wrote on LinkedIn<\/a>, with Fujairah a likely focus given the \u201cstrategic value of pipeline and export capacity outside the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Capacity could climb fast<\/strong>, with output poised to hit 5 mn bbl \/ d in the near term \u2014 a longstanding 2027 target, up from 4.6-4.9 mn bbl \/ d today \u2014 and 6 mn bbl \/ d in the medium term, Meijer said. A Barclays note picked up by <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/barclays-sees-faster-oil-supply-growth-uae-after-its-exit-opec-2026-04-29\/\" style=\"\">Reuters<\/a> also said the UAE is likely to accelerate oil supply as it works its way out of the current crisis. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Lifting output to 5 mn bbl \/ d \u2014 from a pre-war 3.4 mn bbl \/ d \u2014 would add some USD 40<\/strong><strong> bn in annual gross oil revenue<\/strong>, supporting \u201cfiscal revenues, government-related entity capex, domestic liquidity, and real GDP growth,\u201d Meijer wrote. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Adnoc is already cashing in, sharply hiking its May Murban crude pricing<\/strong> to USD 110.75 \/ bbl from USD 69.45, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zawya.com\/en\/business\/energy\/uaes-adnoc-raises-murban-crude-selling-price-to-11075-bbl-for-may-g7chndbj\" style=\"\">Reuters<\/a> reports, as crude benchmarks remain elevated due to the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent briefly hit USD 126 \u2014 its highest since 2022 \u2014 after reports of a prolonged US naval blockade on Iran, before cooling yesterday to USD 110. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Where do prices go from here?<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-04-29\/trump-hails-uae-s-exit-from-opec-says-will-lower-energy-prices\" style=\"\">US President Donald Trump<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/russia-says-uaes-exit-opec-will-increase-global-production-bring-down-oil-prices-2026-04-29\/\" style=\"\">Russia\u2019s finance minister<\/a> both expect the UAE\u2019s Opec exit to push prices down by spurring more production. Goldman Sachs <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/goldman-says-uaes-exit-opec-raises-medium-term-oil-supply-upside-risk-2026-04-29\/\" style=\"\">is more cautious<\/a>, flagging medium-term upside supply risk as UAE output heads toward 3.8 mn bbl \/ d by this October.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<hr style=\"height:2px;border-width:0;color:gray;background-color:gray\">\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><a id=\"wwtt2\"><\/a> <strong>German-French tankmaker KNDS is investigating a 2013 supply contract with Qatar over <\/strong><strong>allegations of bribery.<\/strong> The \u201clegacy transaction\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/knds.com\/en\/press-releases\/knds-board-of-directors-and-executive-management-statement-regarding-investigation-into-legacy-transaction\" style=\"\">so far does not show signs<\/a> of \u201ccriminal misconduct\u201d from any KNDS employees, with the investigation still underway. Allegations of misconduct to the tune of multi-mn EUR first surfaced in 2019, with Der Spiegel also recently publishing more details this year. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Monetary policy<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Gulf central banks maintained their interest rates this week after the US Federal Reserve <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.federalreserve.gov\/newsevents\/pressreleases\/monetary20260429a.htm\" style=\"\">left its own rates on hold<\/a><\/strong> in what was Jay Powell\u2019s final meeting as chair. Despite plenty of dissent at the Fed, the bank kept the policy rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range, citing persisting inflation and rising energy prices for the move, pointing to a \u201chigh level of uncertainty\u201d stemming from the US-Iran war.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Sign of the times <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The regional aluminum crisis did good things for Norsk Hydro\u2019s<\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hydro.com\/en\/global\/media\/news\/2026\/hydros-first-quarter-2026-strong-results-reflect-solid-operational-performance\/\" style=\"\">bottom line<\/a><\/strong>, which came in higher than analyst expectations at NOK 7.13 bn (USD 770 mn). Norsk Hydro operates Qatalum as a joint venture with Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Company. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Data point<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><a id=\"wwtt3\"><\/a> <strong>7% \u2014 that\u2019s the percentage of board seats held by women across the GCC\u2019s<\/strong><strong> 759 publicly listed companies<\/strong>, according to the 2026 GCC Board Gender Index <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hw.ac.uk\/news\/2026\/womens-representation-reaches-7-across-gcc-boards\" style=\"\">report<\/a> by Heriot-Watt University and Aurora50. That figure remained essentially flat y-o-y, with women\u2019s board representation coming in at 6.9% in 2025. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The breakdown: <\/strong>Saudi Arabia is at the bottom of the GCC\u2019s board gender diversity rankings, with women holding just 2.9% of the 2,014 available board seats in the Kingdom\u2019s publicly listed companies. UAE tops the list with 15%, followed by Bahrain (10.5%), Oman (7%), Kuwait (5.6%), and Qatar (3.2%). Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only two countries where women have secured seats across all sectors.<\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"tags-section\">\n        <div class=\"f-graphik\">Tags:<\/div>\n        <div class=\"tags-list\">\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/energy\/\">ENERGY<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/investments\/\">investments<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/uae\/\">UAE<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                            <a rel=\"tag\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/tag\/what-were-tracking\/\">WHAT WE\u2019RE TRACKING<\/a>\n                <!-- <span class=\"sep\">,&nbsp;<\/span> -->\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"114727\" class=\"issue-section \">\n<div class=\"issue-section__content\">\n<div class=\"stories\">            <!-- Show divider before story section -->\r\n        <div \r\n            class=\"\r\n                story-section            \"\r\n            id=\"calendar\">\r\n            \r\n            <div class=\"story__body\">\r\n\r\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/05\/01\/114727\/\">\r\n                    <div class=\"photo photo--above\">\r\n                                            <\/div>\r\n                <\/a>\r\n\r\n                \n<article id=\"post-114727\" class=\"content-area-description single-story post-114727 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-calendar wpautop entry\">\n\n\t\t\t<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-primary-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-primary-background-color has-background is-style-wide\">\n\n\t\t<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading mt-0 has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color has-normal-font-size\" style=\"padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px\">\n\t\t\t<strong> CALENDAR<\/strong>\n\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"entry-content\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">May 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">12 May<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Qatar Economic Forum (through 14 May).<\/span><span style=\"\"> Qatar<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">21 May<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Central Bank of Egypt monetary policy decision. <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">25 May<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Independence Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Jordan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">27-30 May<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Eid Al Adha (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Region-wide<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">28 May<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Saudi Aramco ex-dividend date. <\/span><span style=\"\">Saudi Arabia<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">June 2026<\/span> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">7 June<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 OPEC+ ministerial meeting. <\/span><span style=\"\">Vienna\/Virtual<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">9 June<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 King Abdullah II Accession Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Jordan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">10\u201314 June <\/span><span style=\"\">\u2014 Syria Buildex International Construction Exhibition. <\/span><span style=\"\">Syria<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">16-17 June<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"> \u2014 US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">July 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">5 July<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Independence Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Algeria<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">9 July<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Central Bank of Egypt monetary policy decision. <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">14 July<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Republic Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Iraq<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">23 July<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Revolution Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">25 July<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Republic Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Tunisia<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">28-29 July<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"> \u2014 US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">30 July<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Throne Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Morocco<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">August 2026<\/span> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">13 Aug<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Women\u2019s National Day. <\/span><span style=\"\">Tunisia<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">20 Aug<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Revolution of the King and the People Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Morocco<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">20 Aug<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Central Bank of Egypt monetary policy decision. <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">21 Aug<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Youth Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Morocco<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">25 Aug<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Prophet\u2019s Birthday (public holiday, markets closed) \u2014 TBD. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">Region-wide<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">31 Aug-3 Sep<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 LEAP technology conference.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"> Saudi Arabia <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">September 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">7-9 Sep<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 AIM Congress. <\/span><span style=\"\">UAE<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">15-16 Sep<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"> \u2014 US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">15 Sep<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 <\/span><span>IMF\u2019s eighth review of Egypt\u2019s USD 8 bn EFF arrangement. <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">16-17 Sep<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Middle East Banking Innovation Summit. <\/span><span style=\"\">UAE<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">23 Sep<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 National Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Saudi Arabia<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">24 Sep<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Central Bank of Egypt monetary policy decision. <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">30 Sep-3 Oct<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Cityscape Egypt 2026. <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">October 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">3 Oct<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 National Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Iraq<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">6 Oct<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Armed Forces Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">15 Oct<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 GCC Made in the Gulf Forum + Exhibition. <\/span><span style=\"\">TBD<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">25 Oct<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Liberation Day (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\"> Libya<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">25-27 Oct<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 World Investment Forum 2026. <\/span><span style=\"\">Qatar<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">26-29 Oct<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Future Investment Initiative.<\/span><span style=\"\"> Saudi Arabia<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">27-28 Oct<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\"> \u2014 US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">29 Oct<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Central Bank of Egypt monetary policy decision. <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700;\">November 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">1 Nov<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Revolution Anniversary (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">Algeria<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">2 Nov<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition + Conference (ADIPEC) opens (through 5 Nov). <\/span><span style=\"\">UAE<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">6 Nov<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Green March Anniversary (public holiday, markets closed). <\/span><span style=\"\">Morocco <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">16 Nov<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Cityscape Global begins (through 19 Nov). <\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400;\">Saudi Arabia <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">December 2026<\/span> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><span style=\"font-weight:700\">17 Dec<\/span><span style=\"\"> \u2014 Central Bank of Egypt monetary policy decision. <\/span><span style=\"\">Egypt<\/span> <\/p>\n\t<\/div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t\n<\/article><!-- #post-${ID} -->\n\n\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> <!-- \/.story -->\r\n    \n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regional cybersecurity, reshaped by volatility + AI | The three-body Opec problem | PIF cuts the LIV Golf cord | GCC project awards slow<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":114707,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114706","issue","type-issue","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"c43da625-28dc-4db3-b831-b2c61c922b22","teaser":"Regional cybersecurity, reshaped by volatility + AI | The three-body Opec problem | PIF cuts the LIV Golf cord | GCC project awards slow","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2023\/3\/585.jpg"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - 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