Second Turkish drilling ship stokes EU tensions

Turkey’s first drilling vessel, Fatih, above, has already started searching for gas and oil in waters considered part of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone. (Reuters)
Updated 07 July 2019
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Second Turkish drilling ship stokes EU tensions

  • Cyprus has issued arrest warrants for Fatih’s crew members, accusing the ship of breaching the republic’s sovereign territory

ISTANBUL: A second Turkish ship will begin drilling for oil and gas in a disputed region off Cyprus next week, an official said, ramping up exploration activity despite increasing tensions with the EU, which has deemed Ankara’s search “illegal.”
The discovery of huge gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has fuelled a race to tap underwater resources and triggered a dispute between Turkey and EU member Cyprus, which also plans to ramp up its exploratory activities in the area.
Turkey, which on June 20 sent a second ship for exploratory activities off the eastern Mediterranean, said its actions abide by international law.
“God willing we will be starting the first drilling within a week,” Energy Minister Fatih Donmez was quoted as saying by the private NTV broadcaster. The ship called Yavuz will be exploring off the peninsula of Karpasia, the minister added.

FASTFACT

30% - Gas represents over 30 percent of Turkey’s total energy demand, more than half of which is supplied by Russia.

The EU last month warned against Turkey’s “illegal” drilling, raising the threat of sanctions unless Turkish officials abandon the project. But Ankara insists that it is drilling inside its continental shelf.
Turkey’s first drilling vessel, Fatih, has already started searching for gas and oil in waters considered part of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone.
Cyprus has issued arrest warrants for Fatih’s crew members, accusing the ship of breaching the republic’s sovereign territory.


PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition

Updated 18 February 2026
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PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition

JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.

As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.

The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.

Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.

The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.

CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.” 

The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.

In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”

He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”

He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.

Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.

The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.

Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.

The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.