Middle East

The construction of a metro system for the capital Riyadh will cost a total of $22 billion and will begin early next year. The government expects trains to be running along its six lines by 2019.

The president of the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) Ibrahim bin Mohammed al Sultan said the Riyadh Public Transport Project will be "a major driver of employment and economic development". He called it a "cornerstone" that would "enhance the quality of life" for Riyadh's population of nearly six million.

Qatar possesses what is the third-largest reserve of all known natural gas on the planet, behind only Russia and Iran. According to figures taken in January 2011 reserves in the state were measured at approximately 896 trillion cubic feet. This means that it contains as much as 14 percent of the world’s known natural gas.

Established in 1984, and headquartered in Doha, Qatargas is recognised today as being the largest LNG producing company in the world, with an annual LNG production capacity of 42 million tonnes per annum (MTA).

Avis UAE commenced operations in the UAE in 1975 as a car rental franchisee with the diverse Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba Group. Today, the company has a network of 40 branches, a fleet of over 4,000 vehicles and employs more than 1,800 people has the largest number of branches, and is the only car rental brand that is under the same ownership throughout the Emirates.

Having beaten off France’s Total to the deal, Shell will now work with ADNOC to develop the Bab field. The project in question, which could be worth up to $10 billion over the course of its lifetime, is considered to be a particularly complex undertaking as it contains sour gas, a poisonous and foul smelling product.

Helped by the weaker yen and the money it has raised from asset sales, the Japanese consumer electronics firm now expects to report net income of 40 billion yen compared to its previous forecast of 20 billion yen.

A weaker currency increases the value of Sony's overseas revenues when repatriated back into yen. Sony said it had assumed an average foreign exchange rate of 88 yen to one US dollar for the first three months of this year. But the actual rate had turned out to be 92 yen to one US dollar.

Devised as a way of alleviating Pakistan’s chronic energy shortages, the pipeline has almost been completed on the Iranian side with construction set to begin imminently in Pakistan.

A nationwide power cut last month was blamed on a technical fault in a plant in south-western Balochistan province, but it highlighted the energy challenges the country faces.

A total of 780 kilometres of pipeline is due to be built in the country over the next two years.

Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled the three-year funding programme to support the Afghan Ministry of Mines at an event at Downing Street attended by a host of UK investors and mining contractors.

Estimates of what lies underground in Afghanistan range from $1-3 trillion worth of gold, gems, iron ore, and oil and gas.

The Afghan Minister of Mines, Wahidullah Shahrani, welcomed the new support, saying what Afghanistan needed was "sustainable development for its people in the long term."

Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA) was formed in 1976 as a joint venture between the emirate of Abu Dhabi and an overseas company, its mission to provide the Arabian Gulf offshore oil industry with air support services. Its journey from those tentative beginnings, operating just two aircraft, to become the largest commercial helicopter operator in the Middle East is a remarkable success story. It currently operates more than 100 of its own and its client’s helicopters as well as three fixed wing aircraft, offering its experience and its services globally.

According to numerous geological surveys and available seismic data, the country of Iraq possesses what might well be one of the largest collections of oil reserves on the planet, estimated to total over 350 billion barrels. However decades of sanctions, two Gulf Wars and the subsequent years of civil unrest left its oil infrastructure in dire need of modernisation and investment.

Like its neighbours Oman developed its economy on oil and gas, and like them it is now trying to diversify that economy by establishing industries that will sustain its growth over decades to come. Oman occupies a favourable position on the east coast of the Arabian desert peninsula so in 2004, with the strategically placed Port of Sohar designated as a major industrial hub it made sense to set up an aluminium smelting operation there.