The state-owned Qatar Energy Company announced on Wednesday its acquisition of shares in three offshore exploration areas in Uruguay, from a subsidiary of Shell, in its first entry into the energy sector in this South American country, without revealing the financial details.
Qatar Energy's expansion into exploration in South America strengthens its strategic alliance with Shell. One of its main partners in energy projects inside and outside Qatar.
It was “Qatar Energy”; It is one of the largest producers of liquefied natural gas in the world. It stopped production after declaring “force majeure” as a result of the Iran war, which caused damage to some facilities. It is working to build an investment portfolio in the energy sector over several years, including stakes in Brazil, Cyprus, Egypt, and others.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, CEO of Qatar Energy, said in a statement: “We are pleased to strengthen our relations with our strategic partner (Shell) through these agreements, which represent our first entry into the exploration and production sector in Uruguay.”
The three sectors are located off the Atlantic coast of Uruguay, at depths ranging from 40 to 4,000 metres.
So far, no commercial oil and gas discoveries have been recorded in Uruguay, but companies hope to replicate recent huge discoveries in Namibia, on the other side of the Atlantic, given their similar geological history.
On Wednesday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced restrictions on exports of basic goods; In a move aimed at enhancing tax revenues, at a time when the country is facing increasing economic challenges due to the repercussions of the war in the Middle East.
The President told Parliament that future exports of all natural resources - from crude palm oil, coal and iron ingots - will be done through state-owned companies appointed by the government.
“This means that the proceeds from each export operation will be transferred through state-owned companies appointed by the government, rather than remaining in the hands of the companies operating these activities,” Prabowo said.
Indonesia is one of the world's largest exporters of palm oil, coal and ferroalloy, but Prabowo says the country loses part of its revenues due to corruption and non-transparent practices.
The country's Association of Palm Oil Growers' Organizations (POPSI) criticized these measures, promising that they could "radically change the structure of the national palm oil trade and open the door to broad commercial monopolies."
Prabowo said that regulating exports would enhance the state's tax revenues, while presenting an optimistic report on the performance of the Indonesian economy despite the "geopolitical challenges."
He added: “The primary goal of this policy is to strengthen control and supervision, and eliminate tax evasion, manipulation of invoices, transfer pricing practices, and illicit capital transfers from export proceeds.”
Below are the most important details:
- The new policy is scheduled to begin fully implemented after a three-month transitional period, which can be extended until the end of the year.
During the transitional period, commercial operations between exporters and buyers will continue as usual, but all transactions will be subject to the monitoring of a government agency.
- After the end of the transitional period, all deals will be conducted through a new government unit, “Danantara Somber Daya Indonesia,” which will be subject to the supervision of the sovereign wealth fund “Danantara Indonesia.”
The regulation will be implemented in phases, with the first phase including exports of palm oil, coal, and ferroalloys, provided that quarterly reviews will be conducted to add other export commodities.
- Previously, Indonesian companies exported coal and palm oil directly to foreign buyers, while the government only controlled the volume of production and the approved reference price.
The new system aims to enhance transparency, reduce invoice manipulation, and increase the efficiency of state revenue collection, in addition to supporting the stability of the rupee and enhancing foreign exchange reserves.
Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of thermal coal and palm oil, and plays a pivotal role in supplying major importers such as China, India, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The government also issued a new regulation obligating exporters of natural resources to deposit 100 percent of export revenues in government banks, to be implemented on June 1.
Chinese customs data showed on Wednesday that China's imports of crude oil from Russia, its largest supplier, reached 8.97 million tons last month, or 2.18 million barrels per day, an increase of 11 percent year-on-year.
Crude imports from Saudi Arabia, China's second-largest supplier, in April reached 5.07 million tons, or 1.23 million barrels per day, a decrease of 8 percent from the same period last year.
In April, imports from the UAE fell by 81 percent to 0.58 million tons, or 0.14 million barrels per day.
Imports from Iraq fell by 90 percent, reaching 0.48 million tons in April, or 0.12 million barrels per day, and from Kuwait fell by 85 percent, reaching 0.25 million tons, or 0.06 million barrels per day.
Imports from the Sultanate of Oman fell by 18 percent during the past month, to 2.22 million tons, or 0.54 million barrels per day.
Customs did not record imports from the United States, Venezuela, or Iran.
The Iran war caused a decline in the Gulf countries’ oil exports, after the almost complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil supplies passed.
