Page 12 - MEOG Week 30 2021

MEOG NEWS IN BRIEF MEOG

UN panel pays $600mn to
POLICY COMPANIES
Iraq shall not replace fossil Fitch revises Aramco’s KPC for Iraq invasion

oil with more renewable outlook to stable from A United Nations panel paid out $600 million
to Kuwait’s national oil company Tuesday
resources negative as compensation for Iraq’s invasion and
occupation of Kuwait three decades ago.
Iraq shall not replace fossil oil with solar Fitch Ratings, one of the top global credit The U.N. Compensation Commission
energy to produce electricity, Energy and Oil rating agencies, has revised Saudi Arabian Oil said it has so far paid out $51.3 billion
expert Hamza al-Jawaheri said on Monday. Company’s (Saudi Aramco) outlook to stable since approving some 1.5 million claims
In an interview with Shafaq News Agency, from negative while affirming the company’s related to the invasion by governments and
al-Jawaheri said, “solar energy is efficacious in long-term issuer default rating (IDR) at ‘A’. international organizations in 2005.
remote areas or agricultural fields that are not In a new report published on Tuesday, The Kuwait Petroleum Corp. successfully
located anywhere near rivers in order to draw the rating agency said that the revision of claimed $14.7 billion for oil production and
water from wells.” the outlook on Saudi Aramco’s IDR is driven sales losses resulting from damage to the
“However, in urban areas, they are useless by a similar action on the sovereign early country’s oil fields during the 1990-91 Iraqi
and four times more expensive than fossil oil,” this month, while it assessed the oil giant’s invasion and occupation that resulted in the
he added. standalone credit Profile (SCP) at ‘aa+’. U.S.-led Gulf War.
“Iraq is an oil-producing country. It According to the report, Fitch based its The corporation is the sole remaining
supplies 12% of the world’s needs. It is not in forecast on four key assumptions which are claimant and can expect to receive a further
its best interest to adopt renewable energy the following: Brent crude oil prices: $63/per $1.1 billion.
resources,” he continued, “Iraq’s economy is barrel in 2021, $55/per barrel in 2022 and $53/ Under a 1991 U.N. Security Council
rentier that relies on oil to fund its treasury. per barrel in 2023-2024; Upstream production resolution, Iraq set aside a percentage
Promoting alternative energy is not the recovering to around 13 million barrels of oil of proceeds from its oil exports for the
optimal choice to address the power issue in equivalent per day by 2022; Annual dividend compensation fund. That share is currently set
Iraq.” pay-out of $75 billion until 2024; and Capital at 3%, the panel said.
Renewable energy is useful energy that is expenditures (Capex) at $35 billion-$37.5 At the current rate of payment, the final
collected from renewable resources, which are billion per annum in 2021-2024. tranche is expected to be paid within a year.
naturally replenished on a human timescale, The report says that Saudi Aramco’s AP
including carbon neutral sources like sunlight, business profile is very strong. Its lifting
wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. costs ($3/boe in 2020) and upstream Capex
This type of energy source stands in contrast ($4/boe) are much lower than those of OIL
to fossil fuels, which are being used far more international integrated majors and some
quickly than they are being replenished and national oil companies — a significant Abandoned tanker sinks
with more serious damage to the ecosystem. advantage in times of volatile oil prices. The
Renewable energy capacity additions business profile also benefits from a very large causing oil spill in Gulf of
in 2020 expanded by more than 45% from scale of production and long proved reserve
2019, including a 90% rise in global wind life in excess of 50 years. Aden
capacity and a 23% expansion of new solar SAUDI GAZETTE
photovoltaic installations. Mohammed Amzarba, the head of Aden’s port
SHAFAQ NEWS authority was cited by the official Saba news

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 30 28•July•2021