Regional News

  BENGHAZI / Reuters Libya’s U.N.-backed government has signed a deal with an armed brigade controlling the major Ras Lanuf and Es Sider oil ports to end a blockade and restart exports from the terminals shut down since December 2014. Reopening the ports would be a huge step for the North African state, which since the 2011 fall of Muammar ...

  Tribune News Service When the video Don’t Go To Iran first hit the internet this spring, the title made some Iranians fear it would be yet another effort to taint the country’s image. But it was quite the opposite. French filmmaker Benjamin Martinie said the video aimed to clear up misconceptions about Iran, by countering common stereotypes through clips ...

  Bloomberg At the biggest oil market in the world, crude from Iran is back in vogue. The Persian Gulf state boosted exports to major oil consumers in Asia during the first half of this year, after international sanctions that restricted its supplies were eased in January. Japan’s purchases increased 28 percent, India bought 63 percent more, South Korea’s imports ...

Reuters Iraq is negotiating with Exxon Mobil Corp. and Petrochina Co. to develop two oil fields in the south of the country as it seeks to maintain overall production at about 4.8 million barrels a day for the rest of 2016, Deputy Oil Minister Fayyad Al-Nima said. The companies have submitted offers to develop the Artawi and Nahran Omar fields, ...

  TNS Bahrain residents must prepare for a spike in inflation as value-added tax (VAT) gets rolled out, experts have said. GCC states are expected to adopt VAT of up to five per cent from 2018 applying to most goods and services with basic food items, healthcare and education being exempted. The exact date of implementation is not yet known ...

  TNS As much as BD165,000 can be saved a year as part of a new water and energy consumption campaign. It will initially focus on five-star hotels and aim to reduce consumption by three per cent in the next year. The campaign was launched by the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) in partnership with Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority ...

  Reuters OPEC member Algeria says it will launch a new “economic growth model” for the next four years focussed on reforming the tax system to bring in more revenue and reduce dependence on energy exports. The plan is part of long-awaited moves to diversify the North African economy away from oil and gas, which account for 95 percent of ...

  Bloomberg Egypt plans to secure a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to ease a crippling dollar squeeze and restore confidence in the economy, an accord that would be the fund’s biggest aid package in a region pummeled by political unrest and the plunge in oil prices. Stocks surged after authorities said on Tuesday evening they will ...

  KHOBAR / Reuters Foreign engineering companies have bid to build Saudi Aramco’s clean fuels project at the state oil giant’s Ras Tanura refinery, industry sources said. The bid deadline was July 17 for the $2 billion-plus scheme which will remove sulphur from refined oil products and is part of a drive by the kingdom to meet stricter environmental standards ...

  Emirates Business Oman’s continued growth as a tourism destination is set to receive another boost as The Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) is on track to deliver three new hotels, providing more than 900 additional rooms, in 2017/18. The hotels include the five-star W hotel currently under construction alongside the expansion of the Royal Opera House in the heart ...