An oil tank at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia. Reuters
An oil tank at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia. Reuters
An oil tank at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia. Reuters
An oil tank at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia. Reuters

Saudi Aramco signs 20-year LNG supply deal with US energy firm Sempra


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Top crude exporting company, Saudi Aramco, has signed a non-binding agreement with US energy company Sempra for 5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas from the Port Arthur LNG Phase two expansion project for a period of 20 years.

The deal contemplates Aramco's 25 per cent participation in the project-level equity of the second phase, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday.

Port Arthur LNG is a facility in south-east Texas for liquefying and exporting natural gas, with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico.

The first phase of the project, currently under construction, includes two trains, along with LNG storage tanks and related infrastructure. The second phase involves the addition of two more trains capable of producing up to 13 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

Trains are the liquefaction units that convert natural gas into LNG. Each train consists of equipment and processes that cool and condense natural gas into its liquid form for storage and transport.

Officials at the agreement signing. Photo: Sempra, Aramco
Officials at the agreement signing. Photo: Sempra, Aramco

“As a potential strategic partner in the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project, Aramco is well placed to grow its gas portfolio with the aim of meeting the world’s growing need for lower-carbon sources of energy,” said Nasir Al Naimi, Aramco's upstream president.

“This agreement is a major step in Aramco’s strategy to become a leading global LNG player.”

The US has quickly become the world's leading LNG exporter, surpassing Qatar in 2023, fuelled by the abundance of shale gas reserves unlocked by advancements in hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking.

“The planned expansion of Port Arthur LNG would help facilitate the broad distribution of US natural gas across global energy markets,” said Jeffrey Martin, Sempra chairman and chief executive.

Saudi Aramco's venture into LNG aligns with Asian emerging economies' efforts to boost natural gas usage while reducing reliance on heavily polluting coal amid an expected rise in electricity demand.

Earlier this month, Aramco signed an initial agreement to offtake 1.2 million tonnes per year of LNG for 20 years from NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas.

Global trade in LNG reached 404 million tonnes last year – up from 397 million tonnes in 2022 – with tight supplies constraining growth, according to Shell's 2024 LNG outlook.

Global LNG demand is estimated to rise by more than 50 per cent by 2040, driven by increasing industrial coal-to-gas switching in China and the use of more LNG in South Asian and South-East Asian countries to support economic growth, the February report said.

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Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat

Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press 

 

 

10 tips for entry-level job seekers
  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

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Wednesday's results

Finland 3-0 Armenia
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Our legal advisor

Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.

Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.

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Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

Washmen Profile

Date Started: May 2015

Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Laundry

Employees: 170

Funding: about $8m

Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures

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Fifa Club World Cup:

When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
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France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
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Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety

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Ability to sleep well diminishes

Academic performance begins to deteriorate

Changes in eating habits

Struggles to concentrate

Refuses to go to school

Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings

Begins to use language they do not normally use

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Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017  

Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer

Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon 

Sector:  Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing

Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed

Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A 

Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds 

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Tesalam Aleik

Abdullah Al Ruwaished

(Rotana)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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On sale: Now

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The currency conundrum

Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”

Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.

This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.

Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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Updated: June 26, 2024, 2:37 PM`