Julián García Valverde founded Imathia and Consultrans, engineering, consultancy and construction companies. They form part of the consortium of 12 Spanish firms which won the contract for Mecca-Medina AVE high-speed train line. On December 31, it crossed for the first time the 453 kms that separate both cities at 300 km/hour in some parts.
Yesterday, Saudi Aramco signed the contract awarding Técnicas Reunidas the construction of two gas projects promoted by Aramco. One day later, the Spanish company has confirmed its profit warning and announced that profit to September fell 45% to 55,5 million euros from a year earlier.
The Crown Prince and de-facto ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, (MBS) launched an anti-corruption drive to safeguard the reform and modernization of the Saudi economy. Oil meanwhile looks to have broken out to the upside, which is very much a function of Brent Crude rather than West Texas Intermediate. The gap down started to open in August with Hurricane Harvey, not now with Saudi developments.
As Trump played his part in the reshuffle of Saudi Arabia for the succession of Mohammed bin Salman, he could likely play a salient role in the apparent coup in the UAE — this time for the succession of Abu Dhabi’s crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed. The plot could help Trump to have complete control over the Gulf in a way that he wishes for US interests.
Donald Trump is making the mistake of investing in and arming the Saudi regime at the very moment when its foundations are eroding.
Técnicas Reunidas has been awarded by Saudi Aramco the contract for the turnkey project Clean Fuels within the Ras Tanura refinery on the east coast of country. No financial details of the contract have been revealed, but it means a good start to the year for the company and strengthens its position in the Middle East market.
Ahmed Ezzeldin | Since oil prices plummeted from around $100 a barrel in mid-2014 to $50 in September 2016, the fiscal crisis of Saudi Arabia has deepened further. These signals point in one direction: The golden days of the generous Saudi state might be coming to an end.
The precipitous drop in oil prices in particular has forced rentier states, which were able to count on massive energy profits to fund generous state largesse up until a few years ago, to diversify their economic relationships with Europe and the rest of the world. These profits allowed states like Saudi Arabia and Iran to get by with incredibly inefficient economies, which officials in both countries are now actively restructuring in order to stimulate real growth and attract international business.
Following the oil price slump, both wealthy countries will relatively see their privileged economic position trimmed, but they can still capitalize on their status as oil producers, boosting production to defend market share and leading the European M&A market, respectively.