NewBase 17-January-2023 Energy News issue - 1584 by Khaled Al Awadi_compressed.pdf

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NewBase Energy News 17 January 2023 No. 1584 Senior Editor Eng. Khaed Al Awadi
NewBase for discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
UAE President, Korean President join celebrations of Unit 3
completion at Barakah Plant
WAM
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Yoon Suk Yeol, President of
the Republic of Korea, visited the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant today to celebrate the completion
of Unit 3 and witness the continued progress of the plant, located in the Al Dhafra region of Abu
Dhabi, UAE.
The Presidential visit comes in line with efforts to build on the existing Special Strategic Partnership
between the UAE and South Korea with the recent signing of a number of government-level
agreements.
The two leaders praised the exceptional achievements marked throughout more than a decade at
the Barakah Plant, the first civil nuclear energy plant in the Arab World and the largest source of
clean electricity in the region.
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His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and President Yoon toured the Barakah Plant, which
generates clean, zero-emissions electricity, sustainably powering the UAE. The two leaders
witnessed the ongoing operation of Units 1 and 2, the completion of Unit 3 and the progress made
on Unit 4 in accelerating the UAE’s clean energy transition, generating the 24/7 the carbon-free
baseload electricity the UAE requires to complement its renewable projects in order to realise the
UAE’s commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2050.
During the visit, the leaders met with the teams working at Barakah, including Emirati and Korean
nuclear energy experts working side by side with specialists from across the globe. More than 50
nationalities are working at Barakah, which once fully operational, will provide up to 25 percent of
the UAE's electricity needs without generating any carbon emissions, while freeing up an equivalent
of billions worth of natural gas resources.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed praised the efforts of the Emirati and Korean experts that
have worked over the past decade to develop the Barakah Plant in accordance with the highest
standards of safety and best practices in the nuclear energy industry. As a result, the Barakah Plant
has become a role model for new nuclear energy projects around the world, generating strategically
important clean energy for the UAE.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed said that the special strategic partnership between the UAE and the
Republic of Korea has brought significant benefits to both countries, enabling bilateral cooperation
in a number of key sectors including nuclear energy. The collaboration plays a vital role in supporting
international efforts to deliver global energy security and drive sustainable development – critical
priorities for all nations given the current parallel challenges of the energy security crisis and climate
change emergency.
“The relationship between the UAE and the Republic of Korea has been continuously strengthened
through the decade-long collaboration in developing the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant. In 2009,
the UAE prioritised energy security while in parallel accelerating a rapid transition to cleaner energy
sources through the use of civil nuclear energy. I am proud of the Emirati, Korean and international
teams working together at Barakah, as they complete another Unit to strengthen the UAE’s clean
electricity portfolio and set the global benchmark for nuclear energy project delivery,” His Highness
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed added.
The two leaders praised initial progress on the recently launched Net Zero Acceleration Programme,
which builds on both nations’ mutual interest in increasing cooperation in the energy sector, as well
as and their proven track record in delivering complex energy megaprojects. Through the
programme, the two countries will work together to identify and develop projects contributing to Net
Zero in both countries and globally. They will leverage areas of competitive advantage to deliver

lower-cost, Net Zero infrastructure across the entire spectrum of technologies required for a
successful clean energy transition.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol highlighted in his speech “the Barakah nuclear fleet, which
has two units in operation and the other two soon to be operational, holds great, monumental
significance as it represents the special strategic partnership between the United Arab Emirates
and the Republic of Korea. Building on the success that we have achieved jointly as partners at
Barakah and capitalising on Team Korea’s excellent nuclear technology and experience, now is the
time for us to further our partnership to a greater height delivering additional cooperation in the UAE
and making headway into third country nuclear markets together. I hope that my visit marks a
watershed for our comprehensive and strategic energy partnership that would extend beyond
nuclear to areas including hydrogen, renewables and carbon capture and storage.”
The UAE and South Korea have had close ties for 40 years. In 2009, the UAE awarded the Prime
Contract for the construction of the Barakah plant to Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO),
which during the peak of construction was the largest nuclear energy project globally. The
relationship formed the basis of a new era of partnership in 2016, when ENEC and KEPCO signed
a Joint Venture agreement to support the sustainable operations of the Barakah Plant over the
coming 60 years of operations and beyond. The relationship was further strengthened through the
elevation of the bilateral relationship to the level of a Special Strategic Partnership in 2018, and now
the UAE and Korea have extended their partnership via a framework to spearhead clean energy
development domestically and internationally, bringing economic and environmental benefits
through the export of new projects, the use of advanced technologies such as SMRs, and clean
hydrogen production.
Once fully operational, the Barakah Plant will provide abundant clean and reliable electricity 24/7 to
power the UAE’s industries and over half a million homes, as well as supporting the UAE’s strategy
for becoming a net-exporter of LNG by 2030. As the Nation looks forward to hosting COP28, the
Barakah Plant is preventing millions of tons of carbon emissions annually whilst helping to meet the
growing demand for energy.

Oman: OQ opens new $463m liquid ammonia plant in Oman
OQ + NewBase
OQ, a global integrated energy group, has announced the launch of its new ammonia plant in Dhofar
governorate of Oman which has been built at an investment of about $463 million. The new facility
will boast a production capacity of 1,000 metric tonnes per day of liquid ammonia.
Like other strategic development projects of the group, OQ’s ammonia plant in Dhofar contributes
to enhancing the in-country added value. The value of OQ’s procurements from Omani companies
amounted to about $199 million, said a statement from the Omani group.
Products manufactured in Oman had a
big share of it. The project has also
contributed to creating many job and
training opportunities. Additionally, it
has supported some social investment
initiatives in Dhofar governorate, it
added.
The plant was inaugurated by Governor
of Dhofar Sayyid Marwan Turki Al
Said in the presence of a number of
senior officials.

Speaking at the opening, Sayyid Marwan said: "The new plant will contribute to supporting the
economic activities in the energy sector, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and
provide direct and indirect employment opportunities for fresh and experienced Omanis."
Ammonia is used as a key ingredient in the production of fertilizers and is an important intermediate
chemical in the manufacturing of synthetic resins, detergents, coolants, synthetic fibres, and
polyurethanes, among other applications.
The new project reflects the efforts exerted by OQ Group to leverage the use of Omani natural
resources, maximize its benefits and boost the processing industries in the Sultanate of Oman, he
stated.
Group CEO Talal Al Awfi said this plant is another economic asset that is being added to OQ’s
investments in Dhofar governorate, which already houses three major projects of the group
including the methanol plant and Salalah LPG Plant, OQ Ammonia Plant, as well as Raysut
Petroleum Products Storage Terminal.
"This plant is integrated with the existing 1 million tonnes per year capacity Methanol plant, which
will enable OQ Group to rationalize the cost and optimize performance and production efficiency,"
he added.-

UAE Masdar has the 'right capital and fuel' to boost renewables,
The National - Fareed Rahman
Abu Dhabi’s clean energy company Masdar has the 'right capital and fuel' to accelerate the
development of renewable projects, according to its chief executive.
"We are sponsored by three very important [and] strong shareholders, [it] started with Mubadala 16
years ago, and recently, we welcomed Adnoc and Taqa to our company," Mohamed Al Ramahi
told Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week on Monday.
"It means that we have also the right capital and fuel, to be clear, green fuel, to accelerate the
deployment of renewable energy.”
Last month, the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, better known as Taqa, Mubadala Investment
Company and Adnoc completed a deal to become shareholders in Masdar. The move is expected
to help Masdar grow rapidly on a global scale under an expanded mandate that covers renewable
power, green hydrogen and other clean energy technology.
Established by Mubadala in 2006, Masdar took a leadership role in the global clean energy sector
and also helped to drive the nation’s economic diversification and climate action agenda.
Masdar currently operates in 40 countries and has a total investment of about $20 billion. The
company is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of at least 100 gigawatts by 2030, with
the majority share of it coming from wind and solar technology.
“We were the first to commit to renewable energy. When the leadership set up Masdar 16 years
ago, the region had zero renewable energy in its energy mix. All of our region was dependent on

fossil fuels, but today, we went from zero to almost 13 per cent of our energy coming from clean
renewable energy sources,” Mr Al Ramahi said. The UAE is also committed to achieving "net zero
by 2050, and we will continue our journey and implement and deploy clean energy solutions”, he said
The Emirates is investing Dh600 billion ($163.3 billion) in clean and renewable energy projects over
the next three decades as it aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. It is building the
Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park in Dubai with a five-gigawatt capacity. Abu Dhabi, which is
developing a two-gigawatt solar plant in its Al Dhafra region, has set a target of 5.6 gigawatts of
solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity by 2026.
“In Africa, we are the largest renewable energy company… deploying and accelerating renewable
energy projects across sub-Sahara, North Africa,” Mr Al Ramahi said.
In November last year, a Masdar-led consortium announced a 10-gigawatt wind project in Egypt.
One of the largest wind farms in the world, it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 23.8 million
tonnes per year, equivalent to 9 per cent of Egypt’s current output, Masdar said.
It also signed an agreement with Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) to develop
renewable energy projects with a combined total capacity of up to two gigawatts.
Masdar and Tanesco are establishing a joint venture entity that will initially focus on the development
of solar PV and onshore wind clean energy projects with a capacity of about 600 megawatts.
Madar also pledged $200 million to finance projects as part of the Energy Transition Accelerator
Financing platform launched by the International Renewable Energy Agency, according to Mr Al
Ramahi.
In 2021, the UAE launched the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing platform to accelerate the
transition to renewable energy in developing countries. Abu Dhabi Fund for Development is also
supporting the platform.
Investment in renewable energy needs to double to more than $4 trillion by the end of the decade
to meet the net-zero emissions target by 2050, the International Energy Agency said in its World
Energy Outlook last year.

Egypt: Eni announces ‘significant’ oil discovery offshore Egypt
Eni + NewBase
Eni announced today a significant new gas discovery at the Nargis-1 exploration well in the Eastern
Mediterranean Sea offshore Egypt. The discovery can be developed leveraging the proximity to
Eni’s existing facilities, the Italian major said in a press release.
Nargis-1 confirms the validity of Eni’s focus on Egypt Offshore, which the company will further
develop following the recent award of exploration blocks North Rafah, North El Fayrouz, North East
El Arish, Tiba and Bellatrix-Seti East.
The company also stated, “Narges 1 confirms the validity of the company’s decision to focus in the
sea in Egypt, which the company will develop thanks to its recent granting of exploration areas north
of Rafah, north of Turquoise, northeast of Arish, Thebes, and Bellatrix City East, whereby the
Egyptian offshore Narges concession covers 445,000 acres (1,800 square kilometres)."
Egypt’s Nargis Offshore Area concession is about 1,800 square kilometers. Chevron Holdings C
Pte. Ltd. is the operator with a 45% interest, while Eni’s wholly owned Affiliate IEOC Production BV
holds a 45% and Tharwa Petroleum Company SAE holds a 10% interest.
Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954, where it operates through the subsidiary IEOC. The
company is currently the country’s leading producer with an equity production of hydrocarbons of
approximately 350,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

U.S. gasoline and diesel retail prices to decline in 2023 and 2024
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO)
We forecast retail gasoline and diesel prices will decline in 2023 and 2024, according to our
latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), after reaching multiyear highs in the first half of 2022.
We forecast that retail prices for regular-grade gasoline will average $3.32 per gallon (gal) in 2023
and continue to decrease to average $3.09/gal in 2024, down from $3.96/gal in 2022.
We expect on-highway diesel prices to decrease to average $4.23/gal in 2023 before decreasing
further to $3.70/gal in 2024. These forecast price decreases are based on our expectation of lower
demand growth for diesel and motor gasoline with continued high production of those products.
In 2023, we expect that limited growth in global demand for gasoline combined with increased
gasoline production will cause gasoline inventories to rise in the United States. We estimate that
annual average U.S. gasoline consumption increased by 0.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2022.
We forecast a decrease in gasoline consumption in 2023 of 0.3 million b/d compared with 2022,
and we expect gasoline consumption will remain similar to 2023 in 2024.
Additional refinery capacity that came online in late 2022, combined with additional capacity
expansions expected to come online in 2023, will also contribute to rising supplies of both gasoline
and diesel fuel internationally, further contributing to lower prices globally in 2023 and 2024. We
also estimate that U.S. refiners will continue to produce gasoline, even as prices decrease, to meet
higher global demand for diesel fuel.
We expect annual U.S. consumption of gasoline will remain less than in 2019 (9.3 million b/d)
through the end of 2024.

However, we estimate that people drove more in the United States during 2022 than during 2019,
before the pandemic. We forecast this trend of increased travel will continue in the United States
during 2023 and 2024, but increased vehicle fleet fuel economy will offset the increase in fleet
vehicle miles traveled.
Vehicle fleet fuel economy is the number of fleet vehicle miles traveled, including hybrid or hybrid-
electric vehicles, divided by all gasoline consumption, also reported in miles per gallon.
U.S. consumption of distillate fuel oil increased from 4.0 million b/d in 2021 to 4.1 million b/d in 2022.
Distillate fuel oil is primarily used in the United States as diesel road fuel, but it is also used for
agriculture, space heating, and industrial uses.
For both gasoline and distillate, U.S. consumption in 2022 was concentrated in the first part of the
year, before high prices began driving consumption down for most of the second half of 2022.We
expect U.S. demand for distillate to remain below 2022 demand through the end of our forecast in
2024.
Although we forecast global demand for distillate fuel oil will remain strong, distillate demand
remains a factor with significant uncertainty in our forecasts for distillate inventories and prices,
especially in Europe where sanctions on Russia have disrupted historical supply patterns for the
fuel. Similar to gasoline, we expect increased global refinery capacity will help lower diesel prices
through 2023.

Europeans Are Looking for Ways to Hack Home Energy Use
Bloomberg
Soaring heating and electricity bills are pushing Europeans to find hacks that will cut their energy
use and reduce costs.
Mats Johansson installed 30 solar panels with a production capacity of 13.5 kilowatts on his house
in Halmstad, southwest Sweden earlier this year. The nation has some of the highest rates of energy
consumption per capita in Europe — largely thanks to cold winters with few daylight hours — which
means that measures to cut back pay off all the more.
The savings equate to “loads of money for me,” Johansson said. His solar panels have produced
more energy than his family uses and have saved them some 22,000 kronor ($2,098) so far this
year.
Johansson’s efforts are being mirrored in homes across Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
sparked the worst energy crisis in decades. Soaring costs of living are forcing households to cut
down on spending, and authorities are actively encouraging consumers to curb energy use.

Two thirds of Swedish households reported making home improvements in the last six months,
which includes switching to more efficient lighting as well as sealing windows and doors. 70% of
Germans say they’ve spent money on energy-saving products this year, and in the UK about a
quarter said they were considering making efficiency-related changes in their homes, according to
a May survey.
Despite such efforts to save energy, the continent’s leaders say more needs to be done to reduce
natural gas consumption, with storage facilities seeing a rapid decline in recent weeks amid the
region’s first real cold snap. The problem is likely to intensify during future winter seasons when the
region can’t count on Russian supplies.
Britain last month launched a one-billion-pound scheme which aims to improve insulation of the
nation’s least energy-efficient homes. In Germany, a similar program that already existed before the
crisis was adapted this year to encourage renovations of older buildings, making it available to more
people.
The focus on energy optimization has also raised interest in so-called “passive houses” — ultra-low
energy buildings that were first conceptualized in the aftermath of the 1970s oil crisis. They combine
various building, insulation and ventilation techniques to trap and reuse body heat, eliminating the
need for conventional heating systems.
Sweden’s Fiskarhedenvillan, a company that builds various types of houses, says it has seen
increased demand for its passive models since the start of the energy crisis.
Norrsken, a UK firm that also manufactures such homes as well as energy-efficient windows, says
there has been a “definite increase” in the number of people inquiring about upgrading their windows
and doors. While their work in the last 12 months has consisted of 66% new-builds, in the last 2
months, home improvements have made up more than half their orders.
For a lot of consumers, however, the squeeze on their cost of living might make spending on home
refurbishments unattainable in the short term. This means more simple hacks to cut electricity use,
such as switching off lights or using lower-power appliances are more widely achievable.

NewBase January 17 -2023 Khaled Al Awadi
NewBase for discussion or further details on the news below you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
Oil holds in sight of recent highs on Chinese demand recovery hopes
Reuters + NewBase
Oil prices slipped on Monday but were holding near their highest levels this month as easing COVID
restrictions in China raised hopes of a demand recovery in the world's top crude importer.
Brent crude rose 25 cents $, or 0.3%, to $84.71 a barrel by 5041 GMT. U.S. West Texas
Intermediate crude was down $0.049, or 0.61%, at $78.85 in thin trade on a U.S. public holiday.
Both contracts rose more than 8% last week for the biggest weekly gains since October after China
abandoned what remained of its zero-COVID policy by reopening its borders on Jan. 8.
China's crude imports rose 4% year-on-year in December, and an expected resurgence in travel for
the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of the week raised the outlook for demand for transportation
fuels.
"The narrative that Chinese growth is going to add to demand is playing a very large part here.
There could be as much as a million barrels per day of demand returning," said Bart Melek, head of
commodity market strategy at TD Securities.
Oil price special
coverage

Traffic levels in China are rebounding from record lows after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions,
resulting in stronger demand for crude and oil products, ANZ analysts said in a note.
But reports over the weekend highlighting an increase in COVID-19 deaths tempered sentiment.
The United Arab Emirates' energy minister, Suhail al-Mazrouei, said on Monday that oil markets
were balanced.
"Brent may now be stabilizing in the $85-$90 range, with WTI just a little lower around $80-$85,"
said Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at OANDA.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy
Agency will release their monthly reports this week, watched closely for indications on the outlook
for global demand and supply.
Investors will also keep an eye on the World Economic Forum in Davos, which opened on Monday,
and a Bank of Japan meeting this week to determine if it will defend its super-sized stimulus policy.

NewBase Specual Coverage
The Energy world –January -17 -2023
CLEAN ENERGY
Energy, Chips, Taiwan: Flashpoints for 2023 in a Fractured World
Bloomberg - Saleha Mohsin, Philip Aldrick, and
A new age of great-power rivalry is redrawing the map of the world economy and forcing business
chiefs to navigate around a growing number of global flashpoints.
With a hot war raging in Europe and a cold one escalating between the US and China, the rest of
the world is under pressure to pick sides. Political leaders are imposing new economic priorities, as
they battle to avert shortfalls of vital commodities — from natural gas to semiconductors — and use
the ones they control as leverage.
For the titans of commerce gathering in Davos this week, all of this marks a shift away from the era
of ever-closer global ties, when big business thought it had succeeded in making the world flat. Now
it’s in for a bumpier ride.
The World Is Becoming More Volatile
In the last few years, measures of economic unpredictability have hit the highest levels in recent
history
Source: Baker, Bloom & Davis
Debate at the World Economic Forum will revolve around these emerging geo-economic risks.
Some center on key goods or markets - like the worldwide focus on energy security since Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, or the US campaign to deprive China of cutting-edge technology. Others are
geographic, above all the threat of conflict in Taiwan.

“We're living in a more fragmented world that includes financial fragility, so one thing that is clearly
on everyone's mind is: Where to invest, and how to invest, in a more multi-polar world,” said Karen
Harris, New York-based managing director of the Macro Trends Group at consulting firm Bain &
Co., before flying out to Davos.
Here is an overview of some of the likely hotspots this year in the increasingly fraught world of
economic statecraft.
Weaponized Energy
Energy is at the heart of the economic war that’s pitting the US and allies against Russia. Both sides
have sought to weaponize it, and there’s potential for further turmoil in 2023.
President Vladimir Putin says Russia won’t sell oil to any nation participating in price caps that the
US and its Group-of-Seven allies are trying to impose. For now, that means a $60 per barrel limit.
The G-7 rules have helped push Russian crude exports well below that threshold — potentially
squeezing Putin’s ability to finance the war.
Russia still has buyers, notably India, China and Turkey. It also has the option of shutting down
supply altogether, which would wreak havoc in oil markets — threatening a repeat of last year’s
crude-price spike that pushed inflation higher everywhere.
Russia’s Lifelines
Four-week average crude shipments from Russia by destination
Source: Vessel tracking data monitored by Bloomberg
It’s not all about crude oil. Similar curbs on refined Russian products like diesel are due to kick in
next month, and some Western officials worry that they could trigger shortages.
And the shutdown of Russian natural-gas pipelines has left a big hole in global supply. So far,
a warm European winter has helped make the shortfall less acute, and bring gas and power prices
down. Still, this year will likely see nations scramble to lock in scarce shipments of liquefied fuel.

The Battle for Chips
Semiconductors, crucial components of everything from electric cars to ballistic missiles and new
artificial intelligence technologies, are emerging as one of the global economy’s most important
battlegrounds.
Over the past year, the Biden administration has wielded various tools including export controls to
prevent China from buying or manufacturing the most advanced chips. It’s also launched a $52
billion subsidy program for the domestic chip industry, to bring manufacturing capabilities back
home.
Designing Semiconductors
The US’s a share of chip design is forecast to lose ground to China by 2030
Source: Semiconductor Industry Association, *2025 and 2030 are forecasts based on the status quo
The US says its blunt-force restrictions are aimed at Chinese military capabilities, while Beijing says
they’re part of a wider effort to halt China’s economic advance. Whatever the case, American allies
will need to be on board for the curbs to work. The Netherlands and Japan, which host some of the
most advanced chip firms, have already agreed.
Compliance will come with a cost, as the firms that make chips or machinery to build them may lose
out on the vast Chinese market. Meanwhile Beijing is ploughing cash into its own semiconductor
industry — though cutting-edge technologies will likely be tough to replicate — and could seek to
retaliate if restrictions are tightened.
War Over Taiwan?
US and European leaders fear the next front in the new cold war — which could turn hot — will be
Taiwan.
China has claimed Taiwan as its own since the ousted nationalist government in Beijing fled there
after the communist revolution. The Pentagon said recently it sees no sign of an imminent attack.

But it expects more of the aggressive behavior that’s become a pattern since former House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi triggered a furious reaction from Beijing by visiting the island in August, with
an increase in military drills and intrusive actions by air and sea. President Joe Biden has promised
to send American forces in the event of an invasion, something he’s ruled out doing in Ukraine.
On top of the obvious risks of a direct conflict between superpowers, there’s an economic dimension
to the standoff. As home to the world’s largest chip maker, TSMC, Taiwan is critical to all kinds of
global supply chains. Even an escalation short of war, like a Chinese blockade, could set off a
colossal domino effect.
A military exercise in Miaoli, Taiwan, in July.
A Chinese move against Taiwan, and the likely Western response, “is a contingency that everyone
is planning for,” says Tim Adams, chief executive of the Institute of International Finance. “Every
single firm is gaming out what those sanctions would look like, and who would be an ally to the US.”
‘Friendshoring’ and Subsidies
Governments are increasingly willing to use their economies as tools of statecraft. On offense, that
might mean denying rivals access to goods or markets. On defense, it means only allies can be
trusted to deliver strategic supplies, an idea known as friendshoring.
But friends can fall out, and the friendliest shore of all is at home. That’s why nations are ramping
up subsidies for their domestic producers — a shift away from free-trade orthodoxy that’s already
causing frictions.
The Biden administration is spending more than $50 billion to boost chipmakers at home, and also
backing the electric-vehicle industry as part of a $437 billion plan to fight climate change. Europe

reacted furiously, accusing its ally of unfair trade practices that incentivize companies to relocate to
the US, and says it may roll out financial supports of its own. The risk is a global subsidies race
where the winners are the countries with the deepest pockets, and the losers are economies in the
developing world already suffering from growing debt burdens.
The Dollar’s Reign
More and more countries — not all of them American adversaries — are seeking ways to conduct
more business outside of the dollar, because they see the US turning its currency into a tool for
advancing foreign-policy objectives.
The Biden administration froze some $7 billion of Afghanistan’s central bank reserves, to keep
money out of the hands of the country’s new Taliban rulers. The US and European Union are
seeking ways to legally confiscate some half-trillion dollars worth of Russian reserves and use them
to rebuild Ukraine.
It will likely take many years to displace the dollar as the world’s reserve asset, if that happens at
all. The greenback’s safe-haven status was evident last year when it soared in the turbulent early
months of the Ukraine war. It’s entrenched in everything from central banking to commodity trade,
and there’s no clear alternative.
Dollar’s Still King...
...but the US currency may face a more concerted challenge in 2023
Still, among countries like China, Russia and Iran — as well as India and the Gulf energy giants,
which have more amicable relations with Washington — the search is on for ways to build trade
links that eschew the dollar. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia last month, which
saw talk of energy deals priced in China’s currency with investment set to flow the other way, may
be a sign of things to come.
The risk for the US and its allies is twofold. Their sanction weapon, which relies on dollar dominance
to be effective, may lose some of its force. And they may face higher inflation, as trade deals
between non-Western economies lock key commodities out of the market, pushing prices up for
other buyers.
“The US dollar is a hex on all of us,” George Yeo, former foreign minister of Singapore, said at a
conference last week. “If you weaponize the international financial system, alternatives will grow to
replace it.”

NewBase Energy News 17 January 2023 - Issue No. 1584 call on +971504822502, UAE
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Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with over 30 years of experience in the Oil & Gas
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1400 popular articles to his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable
energy, waste management, plant Automation IA and environmental sustainability in different parts of the
world. Khaled has become a reference for many of the Oil & Gas Conferences and for many Energy program
broadcasted internationally, via GCC leading satellite Channels. Khaled can be reached at any time, see
contact details above.

NewBase 17-January-2023 Energy News issue - 1584 by Khaled Al Awadi_compressed.pdf

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NewBase 17-January-2023 Energy News issue - 1584 by Khaled Al Awadi_compressed.pdf