Saudi Arabia’s hospitality market needs $110bn to complete planned hotel room supply

RIYADH: Oil prices gained on Monday with US fuel demand, tight supply and a slightly weaker US dollar supporting the market, as Shanghai prepares to reopen after a two-month lockdown fueled worries about a sharp slowdown in growth.

Brent crude futures rose 72 cents to $113.27 a barrel at 0408 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 53 cents, or 0.48 percent, to $110.81 a barrel, adding to last week’s small gains for both contracts.

Abu Dhabi-based Borouge sets IPO price

Abu Dhabi-headquartered petrochemicals firm Borouge said on Monday it has set the offer price for its initial public offering, which shows it could raise about $2 billion in the deal, and secured seven cornerstone investors.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Borealis’ joint venture set the IPO price at 2.45 dirhams ($0.67) a share, which implies an equity value of $20 billion.

Borouge said it secured a total commitment of about $570 million from Abu Dhabi state holding firm ADQ, the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, the Emirates Investment Authority, India’s Adani family and entities controlled by International Holding Company, Multiply Group and Alpha Dhabi. 

Iraq aims to establish new oil company in Kurdistan region

Iraq’s federal government aims to establish a new oil company in the Kurdistan region, the oil ministry said on Saturday.

The aim of the new company will be to enter into new service contracts with oil firms currently operating there under the Kurdistan Regional Government, according to a statement.

Oil minister Ihsan Ismael said on May 7 that the ministry would start implementing a February federal court ruling that declared the legal foundations of the Kurdistan region’s oil and gas sector unconstitutional. 

Iraq then wrote to international oil firms operating in the semi-autonomous region requesting they sign new contracts with state-owned marketer SOMO rather than the Kurdistan Regional Government. 

The letters marked the first direct contact between the ministry and oil firms operating in the Kurdistan region. The move follows years of attempts by the federal government to bring KRG revenues under its control, including local court rulings and threats of international arbitration.

(With input from Reuters)