LONDON: Abu Dhabi on Sunday struck two oil and gas concession deals, as well as announcing plans to use blockchain technology in the field of energy.
The emirate’s state fund Mubadala bought a 20 percent stake in the Nour gas field off the coast of Egypt from Italian energy company Eni, Reuters reported.
Egypt’s petroleum ministry also said that energy giant BP will buy a 25 percent stake in the concession from Eni, it was reported.
In a separate deal, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said that it had awarded a subsidiary of China ZhenHua a 4 percent stake in its onshore oil concession, previously held by the CEFC China Energy Company.
“With China ZhenHua Oil, we will pursue mutually beneficial cooperation, share business growth opportunities and work together as we deliver on our 2030 smart growth strategy,” Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, UAE minister of state and ADNOC Group CEO, said in a statement.
China ZhenHua Oil is 100 percent indirectly owned by the Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, a Chinese-government agency, the statement added. It operates 11 oil and gas upstream projects in six countries, with gross production of close to 10 million metric tons per year.
ADNOC also said on Sunday that it is collaborating with IBM to pilot a blockchain-based automated system to integrate oil and gas production transactions.
“The groundbreaking system provides a secure platform for the tracking, validating and execution of transactions at every stage, from production well to the end customer,” it said in a statement.
According to ADNOC, using blockchain technology will reduce the time it takes to execute transactions between its operating companies and “significantly” increase operational efficiency.
Abu Dhabi reveals blockchain plan as it strikes oil, gas concession deals
Abu Dhabi reveals blockchain plan as it strikes oil, gas concession deals
Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail
RIYADH: The Real Estate Future Forum opened its doors for its first day at the Four Seasons Riyadh, with prominent global and local figures coming together to engage with one of the Kingdom’s most prospering sectors.
With new regulations, laws, and investments underway, 2026 is expected to be a year of momentous progress for the real estate sector in the Kingdom.
The forum opened with a video highlighting the sector’s progress in the Kingdom, during which an emphasis was placed on the forum’s ability to create global reach, representation, as well as agreements worth a cumulative $50 billion
With the Kingdom now opening up real estate ownership to foreigners, this year’s Real Estate Future Forum is placing a great deal of importance on this new milestone and its desired outcomes and impact on the market.
Aside from this year’s forum’s unique discussions surrounding those developments, it will also be the first of its kind to launch the Real Estate Excellence Award and announce its finalist during the three-day summit.
Minister of Municipalities and Housing and Chairman of the Real Estate General Authority Majed Al-Hogail took to stage to address the diverse audience on the real estate market’s achievements thus far and its milestones to come.
Of those important milestones, he underscored “real estate balance” as a key pillar of the sector’s decisions to implement regulatory tools “with the aim of constant growth which can maintain the vitality of this sector.” He pointed to examples of those regulatory measures, such as the White Land Tax.
On 2025’s progress, the minister highlighted the jump in Saudi family home ownership, which went from 47 percent in 2016 to 66 percent in 2025, keeping the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of 70 percent by the end of the decade on track.
He said the opening of the real estate market to foreigners is an indicator of the sector’s maturity under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He said his ministry plans to build over 300,000 housing units in Riyadh over the next three years.
Speaking to Arab News, Al-Hogail elaborated on these achievements, stating: “Today, demand, especially local demand, has grown significantly. The mortgage market has reached record levels, exceeding SR900 billion ($240 billion) in mortgage financing, we are now seeing SRC (Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co.) injecting both local and foreign liquidity on a large scale, reaching more than SR54 billion”
Al-Hogail described Makkah and Madinah as unique and special points in the Kingdom’s real estate market as he spoke of the sector’s attractiveness.
“Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in international investment indices, one that takes a good share of the Middle East, and based on this, many real estate investment portfolios have begun to come in,” he said.
Al-Ahsa Gov. Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr Al-Saud told Arab News the Kingdom’s ability to balance both heritage sites with real estate is one of its strengths.
He said: “Actually the real estate market supports the whole infrastructure … the whole ecosystem goes back together in the foundation of the real estate; if we have the right infrastructure we can leverage more on tourism plus we can leverage more on the quality of life … we’re looking at 2030, this is the vision … to have the right infrastructure the time for more investors to come in real estate, entertainment, plus tourism and culture.”
