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Qatar Petroleum, one of the world’s biggest energy companies, plans a new wave of job cuts and spending reductions to cope with the slump in oil and gas demand which has hit global economies, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Economic lockdowns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic look set to cut global energy demand sharply with business activity stalling across much of the globe as the containment measures hammer the world economy, cementing economists’ views of a deep global recession.

Qatar Petroleum’s (QP) Chief Executive Saad al-Kaabi told the company’s employees in an internal memo of the planned staff cuts which would be finalised after Eid-al-Fitr religious holiday for Muslims, which is towards the end of May, the sources said.

“Like all oil and gas companies QP is looking at reducing expenditure due to the market downturn which… will be weak for some time,” one of the sources said, adding that QP’s planned cuts would not impact its energy development plans.

Qatar, a tiny but wealthy country is one of the most influential LNG market players with annual production of 77 million tonnes. It plans to increase its LNG production to 126 million tonnes a year by 2027.

QP will postpone the start of production from its new gas facilities until 2025 following a delay in the bidding process, but is not downsizing the world’s largest LNG project, the North Field expansion, Kaabi told Reuters earlier in April.

The planned job and cost cuts will be the third wave of restructuring by QP over the past 6 years. In 2015, the company said it has reduced its staff numbers in a restructuring and decided to exit all non-core businesses after a plunge in oil and gas prices increased financial pressures on Qatar.

In 2018, it has also merged state-owned LNG producers Qatargas and RasGas into one company.

Kaabi told Reuters in 2018 that QP’s operating costs would be 4 billion Qatar riyals ($1.1 billion) a year lower due to its earlier restructuring, which included cutting as many as 8,000 jobs to create a more streamlined operation.

Source:https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/qatar-petroleum-plans-job-and-cost-cuts-amid-market-downturn-sources/75470056

Beirut: Drilling off the Lebanese coast has shown some traces of gas but no commercially viable reserves, Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar said on Monday.

“Initial drilling results showed the presence of gas at different depths in the geological layers” of block 4, he told reporters at a news conference.

But around two months after drilling started “no gas reservoir, no commercial reservoir was found,” he said.

Anticipation had been high in Lebanon for the results of gas and oil exploration, with many hoping a major hydrocarbon discovery could help redress the debt-burdened economy.

A consortium composed of energy giants Total, Eni and Novatek was awarded two of Lebanon’s 10 exploration blocks in 2018 — block 4, and block 9 near the Israeli border.

French oil firm Total has yet to release its full report on the exploration of block 4, with Ghajar saying it would be ready in two months.

Results from that site are needed to finalise a strategy on how best to probe block 9, where Ghajar said drilling would start as soon as possible.

Exploration of block 9 has been more controversial as Israel claims it belongs to it.

Total has in the past said it was aware of a border dispute affecting less than eight percent of block 9 and would drill away from that area.

Lebanon is one of the most indebted countries in the world, with a burden equivalent to 170 percent of its GDP.

It is grappling with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, now compounded by a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Source:https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/gas-found-off-lebanon-not-commercially-viable-minister/75419416

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Ministry of Industry of Lebanon today launched a new project to develop industrial zones in the country.

The project, funded by the Government of Italy, will focus on helping solve problems relating to business infrastructure, attract investment, foster skilled manpower, and facilitate the growth of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Lebanon currently faces a range of economic problems, many of which are due to a continuing refugee crisis, with refugees now accounting for more than half the population of country.

Industry Minister, Hussein Hajj Hasan, who spoke at the event, said that “the construction of industrial parks in Lebanon helps local manufacturers minimize the costs of production, while enabling them to compete with neighbouring countries”.

UNIDO will work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and the Association of Lebanese Industrialists to prepare the masterplans for establishing pilot industrial zones in three selected locations and developing a capacity-building programme in industrial zone planning and design.

“Lebanon’s Ministry of Industry asked UNIDO to develop a programme to support the establishment of industrial zones to accelerate economic growth in most marginalized areas of the country and also provide basic infrastructure for Lebanese industry and private sector to develop,” said Philippe Scholtes, UNIDO Managing Director.

“We trust that our technical cooperation with Lebanon will help expand industrial production and create the much needed job opportunities.”

This project is part of the new UNIDO Country Programme for Lebanon for the period 2015-2018 that aims to expand industrial production with a special focus on industrial zone development, energy efficiency for industrial SMEs and support for food safety practices in the agro-industrial sector.

Source:https://www.unido.org/news/lebanon-develop-industrial-zones-stimulate-economic-growth

Kuwait Interior Ministry has announced that 611 expats have been repatriated to their native country.

The expats included 342 Egyptians and 254 Filipinos, all over left in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.

In addition, Kuwait flew 306 citizens back to the country on board three planes coming from Lebanon, Egypt and Bahrain as part of a plan to bring back citizens from coronavirus-affected countries.

The ministry said 195 Kuwaitis came from Egypt, 74 from Lebanon and 37 from Bahrain. They were all tested in airport facilities specially installed for this purpose and then taken to compulsory quarantine, according to Kuwait news agency KUNA.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/culture-society/443807-coronavirus-over-600-expats-repatriated-from-kuwait

Kuwait arrested nine expatriates on Monday for violating the country’s newly implemented curfew.

In a statement, the Ministry of Interior’s public relations and security media department, said the nine, who were caught in the Farwaniyah area, will be deported immediately.

The curfew was called on Sunday, ordering citizens to stay indoors between 5pm and 4am, as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The statement said: “The security services tolerate no breach of the rules of the partial nationwide curfew.”

Authorities previously said anyone caught breaking the curfew in Kuwait will be jailed for up to three years and fined $32,000.

It has been revealed that, during the curfew hours, staff from Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) will be using 170 vehicles to deliver medicines.

There are currently 189 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has announced that resident teachers and ministry staff can travel back to their home countries without needing a leave permit.

In terms of resident teachers and staff whose residency visa expires while abroad, the ministry said that efforts will be coordinated with Kuwaiti diplomatic missions to allow them to travel back to Kuwait.

SOurce:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/culture-society/443561-nine-expats-arrested-in-kuwait-for-breaking-coronavirus-curfew

Top oil producers meeting later Thursday intend to cut production by between 10 and 15 million barrels per day, Kuwait’s Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel reportedly said.

The talks between OPEC and other major producers come as oil languishes at near-two decade lows, with Russia and Saudi Arabia’s price war compounding slack demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Through our continuous consultations in the past weeks, I confirm that the intention is to conclude an agreement to cut production by a large amount ranging between 10 million bpd and 15 million bpd,” Fadhel said in an interview with Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai published Thursday.

He said the aim of the huge reduction is to “restore balance to the market and prevent further drops in the prices.”

OPEC, led by leading exporter Saudi Arabia, and other top producers including Russia will meet via video conference later Thursday amid hopes they will agree to cut output to shore up prices.

Fadhel said negotiations were still continuing to secure the participation of a larger number of major producers such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Columbia and Norway.

“There are also very important discussions still ongoing over how to distribute quotas and reductions among the countries,” said the Kuwaiti minister, adding that some progress has been made.

Kuwait, OPEC’s fifth largest producer, boosted its output to over three million bpd amid a price war that sent prices crashing.

Fadhel said he was optimistic about striking a new deal to counter a sharp drop in demand, estimated by some studies at as high as 25 million bpd, or a quarter of global supplies.

Oil prices extended gains Thursday after Russia, the world’s second producer, signalled it was ready to make a big output cut at the OPEC+ meeting.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 4.6 percent to $26.26 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 2.7 percent to $33.73.

Moscow said Wednesday it is willing to cut output by about 1.6 million barrels a day, Bloomberg News reported.

Another key meeting takes place on Friday, when G20 energy ministers hold talks remotely to discuss steps to steady the market.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/energy/444723-oil-producers-intend-to-cut-10-15-mn-barrels-kuwait

Airlines have been given the green light to operate outbound flights for expatriates from Kuwait.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced on Saturday that the suspension of flights would be lifted in order to accommodate members of the expat community who wished to return to their native countries.

The country announced a complete shutdown of passenger flights from March 13. Since then, only repatriation and deportation flights have departed, including several by Kuwait Airways, Turkish Airlines and EgyptAir.

A statement on the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) said: “The DGCA will coordinate with airway companies to schedule the flights for expatriates eager to travel back to their respective home countries.”

Meanwhile, a plane belonging to the Indian Air Force, carrying medical supplies to combat coronavirus, arrived in Kuwait on Saturday.

Kuwait recorded a further 161 cases on Saturday, taking the total number to 1,154. The country has registered just one death to date.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/transport/444902-kuwait-to-resume-outbound-flights-for-expat-repatriation