MEOG - Middle East Oil & Gas

20 May 2026

UAE, Kuwait expand overseas storage to safeguard Asian supply chains

19 May 2026

Kuwait is accelerating a strategy to hold crude reserves overseas to insulate international supply chains from mounting geopolitical risks in the Gulf.

Aramco and Pasqal launch Saudi Arabia's first quantum computer

19 May 2026

Saudi state oil producer Aramco and French firm Pasqal have inaugurated Saudi Arabia's first quantum computer and the Middle East's first commercial Quantum Computing as a Service platform, located at a data centre in Dhahran.

US sanctions Iran oil shipping network targeting tankers and UAE traders

19 May 2026

The United States has sanctioned a network of companies, individuals and 19 vessels accused of facilitating Iranian oil and petrochemical shipments, including an Iranian exchange house and UAE-registered traders.

Iran says damaged energy facilities being rebuilt at full speed

19 May 2026

Iran’s Oil Ministry said it was pressing ahead “with full force” with the reconstruction of facilities battered in air strikes during the recent US-Israeli war against the country.

Lebanon faces 7% GDP slump as economic crisis compounded by Iran war

19 May 2026

Lebanon's economy, already carrying $70bn in financial sector losses from its 2019 banking collapse, is absorbing a second major shock from the Iran war.

Gulf allies avert US Strike on Iran as Washington weighs temporary sanctions relief

19 May 2026

Following interventions by regional leaders, a planned US military strike against Iran was postponed amid reports Washington may temporarily waive oil sanctions during negotiations.

Iran’s Pezeshkian admits oil exports hit by US naval blockade

18 May 2026

President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged that Iran had “run into problems” exporting oil, the first such admission by a senior official since the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports last month.

Iraq's oil exports exceed 9.8mn barrels in April, surpassing $1bn in revenue

18 May 2026

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced its final statistics for crude oil exports and revenues for April, reporting export volumes of nearly 9.9mn barrels and revenues exceeding $1.08bn

Shell to submit final Libya oil and gas exploration study by end-May

18 May 2026

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC has announced progress in discussions with the British energy major Shell (LSE:SHEL) for future exploration and production projects in Libya

Iran state driller returns overhauled rig to service

17 May 2026

Iran has returned a heavy onshore drilling rig to operation after 220 days of repairs and equipment upgrades, in a move officials said would help speed up well maintenance and support the country’s crude production targets.

Egypt’s imports of US natural gas surge 190% y/y in January-February 2026

17 May 2026

Egypt’s imports of US natural gas surged by around 190% year-on-year (y/y) during the first two months of 2026, reaching 82.1bn cubic feet compared with 28.3bn cubic feet in the same period of 2025, according to data from the US Department of Energy

BP considers partial sale of Egypt gas assets amid global restructuring

17 May 2026

British energy major BP (LSE:BP) is considering the sale of part of its natural gas assets in Egypt as part of a broader restructuring strategy aimed at reducing debt and focusing on higher-return projects

Turkey reportedly proposes building Nato fuel pipeline to Romania via Bulgaria

16 May 2026

Turkey has proposed building a fuel pipeline to serve military needs of Nato that would connect Turkey to Romania via Bulgaria, Bloomberg on May 15 cited unnamed Turkish people familiar with the matter as saying.

COMMENT: The Oslo playbook returns to the Middle East

15 May 2026

Norway has become the only NATO country still talking to Tehran. It is doing so for reasons that are partly diplomatic, partly mercantile, and with echos of the original Oslo accord of the 1990s.

ADNOC delivers update on landmark pipeline to Abu Dhabi crown prince

15 May 2026

Abu Dhabi’s crown prince chaired an ADNOC meeting in which he was updated on the status of the company’s landmark West-East Pipeline Project.

Turkey seeks higher Kazakh oil flows to Mediterranean via BTC

15 May 2026

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey wants greater volumes of Kazakh oil to reach global markets through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.

Algeria’s oil export revenues drop 13% y/y in 2025 to $22.4bn despite higher shipments

15 May 2026

Algeria saw its oil export revenues decline by 13% year-on-year (y/y) in 2025 to $22.4bn, despite a slight increase in export volumes

Majors cautiously return to Syria with offshore exploration deals

14 May 2026

Syria has signed initial exploration agreements with Western and Gulf energy majors, testing the cautious return of foreign capital to rebuild its shattered energy sector.

Italy’s Eni targets zero flaring at Iraq’s Zubair field by 2027

14 May 2026

Eni increased its hydrocarbon production in Iraq during 2025, driven by expansion work at the Zubair oil field in southern Iraq. The company also reaffirmed plans to eliminate routine gas flaring at the field by 2027.