Page 7 - MEOG Week 47 2022

MEOG PRICES & PERFORMANCE MEOG

Saudi, UAE ministers deny

talks of output increase

OPEC DISCUSSIONS and agreements on OPEC+ oil Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin
production cuts hit the headlines over the past Salman has been reported as denying recent
month and these levelled out with an agreement reports stating that the Kingdom is currently
by the group on October 5 to cut production by discussing an increase in production by 500,000
2mn barrels per day (bpd). This agreement was bpd with other OPEC+ producers.
set to stand until the end of 2023. The minister added that it is no secret that
Leaders of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, OPEC+ does not discuss any decisions before its
Oman, Bahrain and Algeria all lined up behind meetings, Saudi Press Agency reported.
this agreement, some adding that it was “a purely Prince Abdulaziz repeated that the cartel’s
technical response based on purely economic decision to cut production by 2mn bpd will stand
considerations”. till the end of 2023. He said: “If there is a need to
The point about this is that the statement is a take further measures to reduce production to
counter to a comment from the US that the cut restore balance between supply and demand, we
would boost Russia’s foreign earnings and sug- are always ready to intervene.”
gested that it had been engineered for “political Meanwhile, the UAE’s Minister of Energy and
reasons” by Saudi Arabia, hinting at support for Infrastructure Suhail Mohamed Al-Mazrouei
Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine. denied that his country is “engaging in any dis-
The issue arose at the recent COP27 confer- cussion with other OPEC+ members to change
ence in Egypt where OPEC+ members lined the last agreement which is valid until the end of
up to endorse the steep cut to its output target 2023. We remain committed to the OPEC+ aim
agreed earlier in the month. to balance the oil market and will support any
The issue has rumbled on, however and Saudi decision to achieve that goal.”™

FINANCE & INVESTMENT

PIF hires banks for ADES IPO

SAUDI ARABI SAUDI Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) offshore rigs operating in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
is reported to have hired banks to lead the ini- Qatar, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.
tial public offering (IPO) of drilling firm ADES In September 26.7mn shares (30%) of fellow
International on the Tadawul All Share Index Saudi firm Arabian Drilling Co. were listed on
(TASI), the local stock exchange. TASI.
Sources were quoted by Reuters as saying Arabian Drilling Co. is currently owned by
that JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, SNB Capital – the local Industrialization & Energy Services
the Saudi National Bank’s investment arm – and Co. (TAQA, 51%) and Schlumberger (49%). A
Egypt’s EFG Hermes have been selected as joint 45% stake in TAQA is held by the PIF.
lead managers on the listing, which is expected Arabian Drilling’s fleet comprises 45 rigs and
to attract more than $1bn when it launches next the company noted that the proceeds of the IPO
year. will be leveraged to expand the company’s fleet
A majority share in ADES was acquired by and its operations throughout the Middle East.
Innovative Energy in March last year with the There have long been rumours of plans
financial backing on the PIF, ADES Investments for the two companies to merge, creating a
Holding and Zamil Group Investment Co., del- ‘national champion’ for drilling, and while nei-
isting from the London Stock Exchange where ther company has yet commented on the plans
it was listed in 2017. The deal valued ADES at publicly, such a merger would likely be an effort
$516mn. to emulate the success of ADNOC Drilling,
The company’s focus is mainly on Egypt, the subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.
but also covers Algeria and Saudi Arabia. Ear- (ADNOC), which is the region’s biggest drilling
lier this year, it completed the relocation of its company.
headquarters from Egypt to Al-Khobar in Saudi However, while their focuses remain aligned,
Arabia’s Eastern Province. such a move is likely to have been complicated
ADES’ fleet comprises 84 onshore and by their independent listing on TASI.™

Week 47 23•November•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P7