Saudi Arabia

17 April 2020; MEMO: Militant Hindus spreading hatred and committing crimes against Muslims should be expelled from the Gulf, a Saudi Arabian scholar has said, amid a growing number of hate crimes by Hindu supremacists against India’s Muslim minority.

Riyadh, Apr 14 (AFP/PTI) Oil output cuts by OPEC and its allies, together with pledges from other G20 nations and purchases by strategic reserves, could remove 19.5 million barrels per day from the market, the Saudi energy minister said.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that the actual output cuts may be deeper than the headline figure of 9.7 million bpd -- with top producers considering slashing output by 20 million barrels a day under the deal.

RIYADH, Apr 12 (NNN-WAM) – The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, has ordered the extension of the ongoing curfew until further notice, to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, SPA, the order was announced by an official source, at the Ministry of Interior, late Saturday.

RIYADH, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Energy ministers of the Group of 20 (G20) agreed on Friday to ensure the energy market's stability, as well as affordability and security in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but remained quiet on the issue of oil production reduction.

The G20 economies will develop collaborative policy responses to ensure market stability across all energy sources taking into account each member's circumstances, according to a joint statement released after the energy ministers' virtual meeting.

RIYADH, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Opec producers and allies have agreed to cut output by around 10% to counter the slump in demand caused by coronavirus lockdowns.

The group said it would cut output in May and June by 10 million barrels to help prop up prices. The cuts will then be eased gradually until April 2022.

Opec+, made up of Opec producers and allies including Russia, held talks on Thursday via video conference.

Talks were complicated by disagreements between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

07 April 2020; MEMO: Investment bonds issued by Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Aramco, recorded an 8.2 per cent fall in value last month, the worst monthly performance ever after crude oil prices also fell by more than 50 per cent since the beginning of this year, Bloomberg has reported.

The news agency said that the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia has not served Aramco’s bondholders well.

05 April 2020; MEMO: OPEC and Russia have postponed a Monday meeting to discuss oil output cuts until April 9, OPEC sources said on Saturday, as a dispute between Moscow and Saudi Arabia over who is to blame for plunging crude prices intensified, reports Reuters.

05 April 2020; MEMO: Dubai imposed a two-week lockdown Saturday night and Saudi Arabia sealed off parts of the Red Sea city of Jeddah as Gulf states tightened measures in big cities to contain the spread of the coronavirus, reported Reuters.

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi authorities announced a lockdown and a partial curfew in seven neighborhoods of the Red Sea city of Jeddah, starting on Saturday, as part of measures to contain the new coronavirus outbreak, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said residents in those neighborhoods could only go out for grocery shopping and medical care, between 6 a.m (0300 GMT) and 3 p.m. Entering and exiting the neighborhoods will be restricted, it added.

03 April 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia yesterday called for an urgent meeting of the OPEC+ oil producers with the “aim of seeking a fair agreement that will restore the desired balance to the oil markets”, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

The agency said the Saudi invitation came after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.