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Saudi Arabia to cut crude oil exports in April

Agencies
March 11, 2019

Dubai, Mar 11: Saudi Arabia plans to cut its crude oil exports in April to below 7 million barrels per day (bpd), while keeping its output "well below" 10 million bpd, a Saudi official said on Monday, as the kingdom seeks to drain a supply glut and support oil prices.

State-owned Saudi Aramco's oil allocations for April are 635,000 bpd below customers' nominations -- requests made by refiners and clients for Saudi crude, the Saudi official said.

"Despite very strong demand from international waterborne customers at more than 7.6 million bpd, customers were allocated less than 7 million bpd," the official said.

March's oil exports will also be below 7 million bpd, the official said.

The April allocations by Aramco show "a deep cut of 635,000 bpd from customer requests for its crude oil," he added.

"This will keep production well below 10 million bpd in April," the official said, adding that this is also below the 10.311 million bpd that the kingdom has agreed as its production target under an OPEC-led supply cut agreement.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers such as Russia, colloquially known as OPEC+, agreed in December to reduce supply by 1.2 million bpd from Jan. 1 for six months.

"Saudi Arabia is demonstrating extraordinary commitment to accelerating market rebalancing," the Saudi official said, adding that the kingdom expects all other OPEC+ countries to show similar levels of contributions and high conformity.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday that March oil production was 9.8 million bpd and that the country, OPEC's biggest producer, plans to keep its April output at the same level.

Saudi Arabia's oil production in February fell to 10.136 million bpd, a Saudi industry source told Reuters on Friday, down from 10.24 million bpd in January.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Makkah, Jul 31: Organising this year's scaled-down hajj required "double efforts" by Saudi authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic, King Salman said Friday after being discharged from hospital following gall bladder surgery.

Only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom are participating in this year's pilgrimage, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.

"Holding the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic... required reducing the numbers of pilgrims, but it obliged various official agencies to put in double efforts," 84-year-old King Salman said in a speech read out on state television by acting media minister Majid Al-Qasabi.

"The hajj this year was restricted to a very limited number of people from multiple nationalities, ensuring the ritual was completed despite the difficult circumstances," he said.

The speech came on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, a day after the king left hospital following a 10-day stay for surgery to remove his gall bladder.

The hajj, which began on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.

Authorities implemented the "highest health precautions" during the rituals, the king said.

Pilgrims, who were all tested for the virus, are required to wear masks and observe social distancing.

For Friday's "stoning of the devil", the last major ritual of the hajj, Saudi authorities offered the pilgrims pebbles that were sanitised to protect against the pandemic.

In a sign that its strict measures were working, the health ministry reported no coronavirus cases in the holy sites on Wednesday or Thursday.

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News Network
March 18,2020

Dubai, Mar 18: Emirates, one of the world's biggest international airlines, has asked pilots to take unpaid leave to help it mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered demand for global travel.

"To this end you are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave," the airline said in an internal email to pilots, seen by Reuters.

Emirates earlier this month asked some staff to take unpaid leave, although at that time it was not available to pilots.

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News Network
March 9,2020

Riyadh, Mar 9: Schools and universities will be closed in Saudi Arabia from Monday to control the spread of coronavirus.

The Saudi Ministry of Education said the “preventive and precautionary” measures were recommended by the health authorities and are designed to protect students and staff.

The decision covers all educational institutions, including public and private schools, and technical and vocational training institutions.

“The Minister of Education directed that virtual schools and distance education be activated while the schools are closed to ensure that the educational process continues in an effective and quality manner,” the ministry said.

The Kingdom's Education Minister, Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Asheikh, confirmed that the decision was a precautionary step and said that they are conducting daily and weekly evaluations before returning to school.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, confirmed that there have been no coronavirus cases in any educational facility in the Kingdom.

“Thank God, the situation is reassuring, and there has been no case in any educational facility. However, the increasing cases in countries have made us keen to enhance the safety of our sons and daughters. So we coordinated with the Ministry of Education to close the schools temporarily,” he said in a tweet on Sunday.

The education ministry has set up supervision offices to help coordinate the distance learning, and respond to parents’ inquiries.

A new committee set up by the ministry will also ensure the virtual schools are functioning through the distance learning methods provided by the ministry.

These include the virtual school platform (Vschool.sa) and mwterials available from the Apple and Android stores.

It will also provide lessons through the “Ain” TV channeland as well as on YouTube via this link: www.youtube.com/dorosien.

The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque also said on Sunday that it will suspend the visitation programs in its external facilities as part of recommended precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and ensure the safety of visitors.

The facilities include the King Abdulaziz Complex for the Covering of the Holy Kaaba, the Gallery of the Two Holy Mosques, and the Library of the Holy Mosque of Makkah.

“The presidency has taken a series of precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus, by intensifying sterilization work that is taking place around the clock, and has been keen on coordination and joint cooperation with all relevant government sectors,” it said in a statement issued on SPA.

It added that these preventive efforts come within the procedures that are being implemented by the Saudi government seeking to combat the spread of the new virus, to protect the people of the Two Holy Mosques in particular, and citizens and residents in the Kingdom in general.

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