DOHA: The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), the multilateral development bank owned by the 10 members of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), yesterday announced net profits of $109m, for 2012, up three percent compared to 2011. The given net profit is the highest-ever in the organisation’s 37 year history, said a press statement.
The financials highlight Apicorp’s successful track record in generating sustainable returns while effectively supporting the Arab energy industry. The government of Qatar owns a 10 percent stake in Apicorp.
Apuicorp’s total assets rose to over $5bn, an increase of 9.6 percent from 2011 while net asset value per share jumped over 7 percent to $1744.
Ahmad bin Hamad Al Nuaimi, Chief Executive and General Manager of Apicorp said: “We are delighted to have achieved record financial results for a third year in a row. Apicorp has a successful history in facilitating the availability of capital for the Arab energy sector, and despite the continued economic headwinds in 2012, it has continued to play a strong counter-cyclical role in supporting its clients across the Arab world.”
Al KHOBAR: Saudi Aramco has invited bids for the construction of a 2,400MW power plant in Jizan, near a 400,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery which it is currently building, two industry sources said yesterday.
The plant will use integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology to convert vacuum residue fuel from the refinery into a synthetic gas, the state-run oil company said in a description of the project distributed at a signing ceremony for the refinery, which is due to come on line in 2016. Bids are invited by mid-August and the gas produced is expected to help power Saudi Arabia’s west coast cities.
“IGCC is one way of increasing the efficiency of the consumption of hydrocarbons, especially fuel oil, liquid fuels,” Ahmad al-Khowaiter, a chief engineer at Aramco, told a power conference in Dammam yesterday. “So that is what we are trying to do, move to newer technology that allows us to get the most value from those liquids.”
BRATISLAVA: Slovakia’s unemployment rate fell slightly for a third month running to 14.41 percent in April as warmer weather helped employment in construction and agriculture, official data showed yesterday.
In March, the rate in the eurozone country reached 14.68 percent from 13.40 percent 12 months ago. Against a background of 26 million people out of work across the 27-member EU, Slovak Labour Minister Jan Richter told reporters Monday the string of monthly downticks was “reason for cautious optimism.”
The Peninsula/Agencies
