Economics
Kuwait Oil Company set fire to an oil well in the north of the OPEC member state on Wednesday to get rid of gas leaking from the site, state news agency KUNA said.
The state-owned company said levels of the hydrogen sulphide gas from a well at the Rawdatain oil field close to the Iraqi border were "far below danger levels", KUNA said in an SMS alert.
The company said earlier on Wednesday that there had been an oil and gas leak at the well during drilling operations and that no one had been injured.
Brent futures held above $113 on Thursday, buoyed by hopes for steady growth in demand after China, the world's second-biggest oil consumer, posted growth that met expectations, and simmering tension in the Middle East provided additional support.
China's economy expanded 7.4 percent in the quarter to September from a year earlier. That was its slowest pace since the first quarter of 2009, but was in line with a Reuters forecast, with stronger retail sales and industrial output numbers propping up investor sentiment further.
Brent gained 19 cents to $113.41 a barrel by 0233 GMT, after settling 78 cents lower at $113.22. U.S. oil gained 1 cent to $92.13, after ending 3 cents higher.
ExxonMobil has signed contracts to drill in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region by the end of this year, despite claims by Baghdad officials that the company has vowed to "freeze" its controversial contracts.
Exxon has spent or allocated a quarter-billion dollars for exploration, drilling and other work and supplies in Iraq's Kurdistan region, according to an official with knowledge of Exxon and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Cyprus’s finance minister has said he expects final negotiations to start with lenders on financial aid by next week. Vassos Shiarly told reporters a figure had not been set for Cyprus’ financial needs because of a difference of opinion between the government and lenders on the recapitalization requirements of banks.
Asked by Reuters whether he expected discussions with lenders to start before the end of the month, he said: “Within the month, and certainly in the coming week. Time is restricted and there is not much time left.”
A Lebanese teachers’ union on Wednesday declared a nationwide general strike Thursday to protest the government’s failure to send the salary scale draft to Parliament despite a preliminary Cabinet decision to raise certain taxes to fund the wage increase for civil servants and public school teachers.
The Union Coordination Committee called on all public and private schools and government agencies to abide by the strike and threatened to escalate the situation if Cabinet refrained from sending the higher wages bill to the Parliament immediately.
“We call on all public and private school teachers to observe the strike and not be intimidated by the threats of the private school administrations to fire the insubordinate teachers,” the statement said.
Iran has denied accusations that its revolutionary armed forces (IRGC) are planning an environmental disaster in the Strait of Hormuz and use it to have international sanctions against it lifted, local media reported on Wednesday.
The German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported on Sunday it had evidence of a plan by IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari to cause an oil spill to block crude exports through the Strait crucial to the global economy.
US computer manufacturer Dell is aiming to boost its footprint in the Middle East as it looks to counter growing competition to the PC from the tablet and notebook sectors, a senior executive said.
“Dell is a US$60bn company so [the Middle East] is a relatively small proportion but it is growing rapidly. We have been experiencing high double digit growth,” Steve Felice, president and chief commercial officer at Dell, said in an interview in Dubai.
“The business is getting quite large and we had added a lot of resources here, it is five times what it was just a few years ago. So it is an important growing market.
Saudi Arabia will allow females to practice law in a courtroom setting for the first time from next month, it was reported.
According to English language daily Arab News, women will be permitted to approach the Ministry of Justice to obtain the necessary license to practice law in the kingdom as part of broader regulatory changes to how legal professionals operate.
The change comes following the submission by the ministry of new statutes governing female involvement in the legal profession to Saudi’s Council of Ministers, which oversees the implementation of new legislation.
