Iraq and Oman plan cooperation in oil and gas sector

Iraq aims to export crude to Oman under a new memorandum of understanding signed by both countries. (AFP)
Updated 04 July 2019
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Iraq and Oman plan cooperation in oil and gas sector

  • ‘The MoU aims at studying the possibility of building a shared oil refinery in Oman’

DUBAI: Iraq and Oman signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the oil and gas sector, including the possibility of building a shared refinery in Oman for processing imported Iraqi crude, the Iraqi oil ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Iraq will aim to export crude to Oman, according to the MoU, import oil products from there and build oil storage facilities in both countries, the statement quoted Iraqi oil minister Thamer Ghadhban as saying.

“The MoU aims at studying the possibility of building a shared oil refinery in the Sultanate of Oman to process the crude oil imported from Iraq,” Ghadban said.

The two countries will also explore prospects of cooperation and investment in exploring and producing oil and gas. In addition to refining, manufacturing, storing and marketing crude oil and oil products between them, the ministry statement said.


Economies must turn AI tokens into growth, says Microsoft CEO

Updated 5 sec ago
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Economies must turn AI tokens into growth, says Microsoft CEO

  • AI tokens are basic units of text read and generated by artificial intelligence models when processing language

DUBAI: Global economies will need to transform AI tokens into economic growth, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.

GDP growth anywhere will be directly correlated with the accessibility of power and resources such as AI tokens, said Satya, adding: “We have a new commodity which is tokens, and the job of every economy is to translate tokens into economic growth. If we have cheaper commodities, it’s better.”

AI tokens are basic units of text read and generated by artificial intelligence models when processing language.

Satya also discussed the importance of diffusing AI technology and implementing it globally.

“Our job is to pioneer the relationship between AI and people so that productivity can increase. The scale of operations can really be increased by utilizing this technology,” he said.

“On the supply side, the ratio of tokens per dollar per watt has to get better. We have to ensure that the supply is there from the chips to the token factory. It's like electricity. We need a ubiquitous grid of energy and tokens that will power the economy.”

On the consumer side, Satya urged all firms to start using it and said both small- and large-scale operations would face different challenges.

“If you start fresh it’s easier to implement these tools, for large organizations there is a fundamental challenge to achieve scale in implementing the change. The change management challenge for large organizations is bigger,” he said.

He added this technology has the ability and demand to be implemented globally.

“We have the ability to deliver tokens all around the world, this will ensure even distribution of resources. The technology is in our hands to create opportunity in the Global South and beyond. As long as there is a demand and an environment to create capital investment, then it's worth it,” he said.