In The Spotlight
The Petrofibre facility in Al Khobar. (Image source: Petrofibre Arabia)
Fibre optic monitoring technologies for infrastructure protection
Petrofibre Arabia Equipment Company Ltd., the first Saudi manufacturer specialising in advanced fibre optic monitoring systems, will host a live technology showcase on 16–17 June 2026, demonstrating Saudi-made solutions designed to strengthen pipeline integrity, infrastructure security, and operational reliability across the energy sector
The event will feature live demonstrations of FibreLeak™, Petrofibre Arabia’s Pipeline Leak Detection System (PLDS), which uses distributed temperature sensing, and FibreGuard™, its Intrusion Detection System (IDS), which uses distributed acoustic sensing. Both are developed to provide continuous real-time monitoring of critical assets using Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing technologies.
The showcase will bring together asset owners, EPC contractors, engineering consultants, industrial operators, and technology specialists from across Saudi Arabia to experience the practical application of locally manufactured monitoring solutions for pipelines, industrial facilities, and critical infrastructure.
Headquartered in Al Khobar, Petrofibre Arabia designs, manufactures, installs, and supports advanced fibre optic monitoring systems serving the oil and gas, petrochemical
, utilities, industrial, and infrastructure sectors. The company provides complete lifecycle support including engineering, system design, commissioning, training, and long-term maintenance services.
FibreLeak™ enables operators to detect and locate potential leaks at an early stage, helping reduce environmental risks, product losses, and operational disruptions. FibreGuard™ provides continuous monitoring of pipeline corridors and critical infrastructure by identifying unauthorized activities, third-party interference, and potential security threats before they develop into major incidents.
As part of Saudi Arabia’s industrial transformation, Petrofibre Arabia is contributing to the localisation of advanced monitoring technologies traditionally supplied from international markets. The company is approved within Saudi Aramco’s supplier ecosystem and has achieved Saudi Aramco Plant Number and 9COM registration, reinforcing its commitment to quality, compliance, and local manufacturing excellence.
The technology showcase reflects the company’s broader vision of positioning Saudi Arabia as a regional centre for intelligent infrastructure monitoring technologies while supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 through innovation, industrial localisation, and the development of nationally manufactured high-value technologies.
By combining advanced fibre optic sensing capabilities with local engineering expertise, Petrofibre Arabia continues to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s ability to protect critical infrastructure, improve asset integrity, and support safer, smarter, and more sustainable operations across the Kingdom and beyond.
For more information, visit www.petrofibrearabia.com
The curated digital destination is designed to help energy companies discover and deploy AI agents, domain models and digital applications from SLB and partners. (Image source: SLB)
SLB launches SLB Digital Marketplace
As the deployment of agentic AI advances throughout the industry, SLB has launched the SLB Digital Marketplace, a curated digital destination designed to help energy companies discover and deploy AI agents, domain models and digital applications from SLB and trusted partners
The marketplace includes around 200 digital products including existing Ocean store solutions and new solutions from SLB and over 30 partners. These products span Delfi and Lumi SaaS applications, plug-ins, workflow extensions, data connectors, and Tela AI skills, agents and foundation models. SLB's suite of digital platforms — Tela, Delfi, and Lumi — covers the full spectrum of energy software: from AI-powered workflows and cloud-native E&P applications to intelligent workspace tools for energy teams worldwide. With a family of agentic workflows and full integration across all SLB digital products, Tela agentic AI assistant helps users interface with its agents through natural language.
With the advancement of agentic AI, energy companies will need access to a broader ecosystem of specialised tools that work together across planning, operations, data and AI.
For energy professionals, the marketplace provides a single destination to evaluate and access trusted digital capabilities that extend workflows across the Delfi and Lumi environments, enabling them accelerate agentic workflows and build their own bespoke ecosystem, from subsurface to production, well construction, sustainability to data management. For developers, partners and ISVs, it provides the opportunity to publish and scale solutions across the SLB ecosystem.
“AI in energy is shifting from promise to performance,” said Olivier Le Peuch, chief executive officer of SLB. “The SLB Digital Marketplace is designed to accelerate that shift by creating an open ecosystem where innovation can scale, solutions can interoperate and customers can move faster from insight to action. This is how we translate AI into real performance across the energy system.”
“No single company can build every agent, model or application the energy industry will need,” said Rakesh Jaggi, president of SLB’s digital business. “The SLB Digital Marketplace is the next expression of our commitment to openness, giving energy professionals more choice while maintaining the governance and quality standards required for enterprise operations.”
Oil prices fall on announcement of peace agreement
Oil prices have fallen to just over US80/bbl, their lowest level since April, and stocks risen following President Donald Trump’s announcement that Washington and Iran have reached an agreement to end the war
A formal signing of the agreement is due to take place on Friday 19 June in Switzerland.
While the text of the agreement has not yet been released and the details are still unclear, Trump said that hostilities have ceased, the Strait of Hormuz will fully open on 19 June toll-free, and the US blockade will be lifted, although how the Strait will be controlled is not clear.
“Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Trump said on his social media account, Truth Social.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed, “A permanent and immediate end to the war has been declared on all fronts.”
The agreement would extend the ceasefire for 60 days to allow negotiations to begin about Iran’s nuclear programme, and lead to a final peace agreement. Plenty of thorny issues remain to be resolved, however which could potentially scupper the deal and lead to renewed conflict.
Claudio Galimberti, chief economist, Rystad Energy commented, “This deal, if it holds, is the most workable outcome available to all parties at the table, which gives it a degree of credibility. Washington has an incentive to avoid a spike in gasoline prices ahead of the midterms, while Tehran is seeking sanctions relief and restored export revenues, and the global economy has a strong interest in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.”
However the sequencing dispute, with both sides insisting the other must move first, remains the main barrier, while Lebanon continues to represent a wildcard that neither Washington nor Tehran fully controls, he notes. While a credible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would be one of the most important developments for the global economy, a return to normalised market conditions immediately upon signature in Switzerland would look optimistic.
“It will take time for production to ramp back up, for logistics to normalise, and for the risk premium embedded in crude prices to dissipate, particularly given that the structural shift implied by the UAE’s exit from OPEC+ is not reversed by any near-term diplomatic outcome.
“If the deal holds, it will therefore represent a step in the right direction, and an important one at that, but still a step rather than a destination.”
Even if the agreement holds, it is likely to take some time for traffic through the Strait to return to pre-war levels, with marine insurance rates remaining at a high level, mines needing to be cleared, and tankers needing to be repositioned.
Restarting oil production and getting all the elements of the logistics and supply chain in place could take months.
Total pre-conflict supply across the six Gulf producers stood at 24.2mn bpd in January 2026; current output has fallen to 12.4 million bpd, Rystad notes. Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest single share of lost barrels at 3.8mn bpd, followed by Iraq at 2.8mn bpd and Kuwait at 2mn bpd.
Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie's view is that if the negotiations continue to make progress, and the Strait of Hormuz is reopened within a few weeks, oil supply from the strongest producers in the Gulf region can be restored relatively quickly, with shipping and logistics likely to be the bottleneck in the early phases of the recovery, rather than upstream producers.Countries with more complex assets, particularly Iraq, will take longer to recover, but could still return close to pre-war levels in six to nine months.
Ed Crooks, vice chair Americas at Wood Mackenzie, says that while Interest in coal, renewables and nuclear power has grown, as has the focus on hydrocarbon assets outside the Middle East, particularly in the Americas, the structural advantages of the Gulf producers as sources of low-cost oil and gas have not changed.
"When exports can flow freely from the region again, they will be highly competitive in world markets," he said.
The webinar will explore how drone technology is being used to perform remote NDT inspections, collect critical asset data and create digital twins that support more effective asset integrity management. (Image source: Flyability)
Webinar: NDT drones for the oil and gas industry
Oil Review Middle East, in association with Flyability is hosting a webinar on “NDT drones for the oil and gas industry: from innovation to implementation" on Tuesday 14 July at 2pm GST
The oil and gas industry continues to face increasing pressure to improve safety, reduce operational downtime and enhance inspection efficiency. Increasingly, operators are deploying drone technology to improve inspection quality, enhance safety and drive greater operational efficiency across oil and gas assets, discovering new ways to conduct inspections in hazardous and confined spaces while minimising risks to personnel.
This practical session will explore how drone technology is being used to perform remote NDT inspections, collect critical asset data and create digital twins that support more effective asset integrity management. Through real-world case studies and industry experience, attendees will gain valuable insights into implementing drone solutions within their own operations.
Register here
Key highlights
• Visual inspections: Learn how drone technology is improving access to difficult and hazardous inspection environments
• Remote NDT applications: Explore the use of UT spot measurements and other remote inspection capabilities
• Digital twins: Understand how digital asset models are supporting integrity monitoring and maintenance planning
• Industry success stories: Hear practical examples from asset owners and service providers successfully utilising drone technology
• Implementation strategies: Gain insights into integrating drone-based inspections into existing operational workflows.
Our expert speakers:
• Fabio Fata, senior sales manager, Flyability
• Senan Khatib, certified AUV pilot/instructor and UAV field specialist Sagerdrone
• Abdullah Al-Rahmah, head of UAV team, Saudi Aramco
• Jacob Swidy, head of inspection technology and digital transformation, Saudi Aramco
Don’t miss this opportunity to take away exclusive insights from the leading lights of the drone technology world!
Register here
Musaab Al Mulla (right) in conversation with Daniel Evans, VP, global head, fuels & refining, S&P Global Energy. (Image source: S&P Global Energy)
The role of refining in resilient energy systems
At the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum & Gas Conference (MPGC) held in London, Musaab Al Mulla, Aramco's vice president of market analysis and sustainability, underlined the need for the recognition of the role refined products play in resilient energy systems, which has been brought into sharp focus in the current crisis
Al Mulla highlighted the need for a realistic approach to the role of oil and gas as the engine for economic growth and the impact of the crisis on products ranging from helium to materials and fertilisers, with shortages of the latter in turn impacting food supply.
A common theme of the event was the need for resilience and redundancy in the energy system to be able to weather such crises. Al Mulla highlighted Aramco’s focus on long-term strategic planning and investment for the future, as exemplified by its investment in the east-west pipeline which is now not only transporting crude but also products, building flexibility into the system, transporting crude to refineries for export and ensuring refined products get to market.
“The world has realised the need for more investment in pipeline infrastructure and domestic refining to ensure industry is working together,” he said.
He remarked that the crisis has demonstrated demand is resilient and has exposed the underinvestment in refineries, with capital flows being redirected towards the energy transition and resulting in a deficit of 3mn bpd.
“We need to build refineries and infrastructure while also reducing emissions,” he said, noting that Aramco has one of the lowest emissions intensities.
Discussing demand for refined products, he noted that demand for jet fuel continues to grow and refinery utilisation is at record rates.
“We believe demand will continue to be resilient, and low carbon products will be important as well,” he said.
He foresaw strong growth in chemicals with the market for durable materials growing in multiple sectors, noting that carbon-based materials can help reduce emissions. Replacing steel with polypropylene in cars can reduce emissions by 80%, for example. He also highlighted growth in demand for low carbon aviation fuel (lcaf), fossil-based jet fuel, which is 10% lower in emissions than conventional jet fuel, and complements sustainable aviation fuel (saf) as it addresses some of its limitations.
Highlighting the continuing long-term strategic importance of refining, he stressed that gasolene will still account for a significant proportion of transportation fuel by 2050.
With resilience, reliability and sustainability being global challenges, Al Mulla said that resilience for Aramco means building on operational excellence, long-term investment in oil and gas, new energies and low carbon, and localisation, noting Aramco’s 70% localisation target to ensure a resilient supply chain.
“Resilience is correlated with sustainability, you can’t be sustainable if you are not resilient,” he said. It involves not only having the flexibility to be able to adapt to shocks, but also having the capacity to innovate and grow supply while also reducing emissions, he added.
Commenting on the Middle East’s attractiveness as an investment destination, he said, “Clearly the region remains the hub for oil and gas petrochemicals and refining, and it has shown its infrastructure and energy system have been resilient in this historic crisis.”
He said Aramco is also looking at other regions, and urged the need for more investor-friendly policies in Europe, where there is a need for more domestic refining and chemicals so as not to be dependent on other regions.
Discussing the role of gas, Al Mulla said there will be increasing demand to fulfil the growing demand for power from data centres, highlighting the move towards regional data centres.
In the current market, the physical impact of OPEC's decision will be very limited. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
OPEC+ decision to raise production likely to have limited impact
The seven OPEC+ countries, which previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and November 2023, namely Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, have agreed to increase production by 188,000 bpd from July
However, the impact of this increased production quota is likely to be limited, according to Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy
“With the Strait of Hormuz closed, the issue is not whether OPEC+ raises paper quotas, but whether additional barrels can actually reach the market,” he said.
“OPEC+’s decision to continue increasing production by 188,000 barrels per day confirms that the group remains on track to unwind the first tranche of voluntary cuts by September, if not earlier. But in the current market, the physical impact of such a decision would be close to zero.”
Leon noted that not only is the Gulf facing oil export obstacles, Russia is also under pressure as a result of intensifying drone attacks on its oil infrastructure.
“The latest increase will likely expose a widening gap between OPEC+ targets and Russia’s actual production capacity,” he said.
“The more important question is what happens after the first tranche of voluntary cuts has been fully unwound. The capacity assessment currently undergoing should serve as the basis for 2027 quotas, but with the Strait of Hormuz closed and several producers operating far below normal levels, it will be very difficult to accurately assess each country’s sustainable production capacity. That makes the next quota reset much more politically sensitive.”
Once the Strait of Hormuz reopens and flows gradually recover, the market could face a very large surplus, he pointed out, driven by returning OPEC+ supply, stronger US shale output and weaker demand after a period of very high oil prices. The UAE, now free from its OPEC quotas, would also likely ramp up production.
Once restocking concludes, OPEC+ may be forced to implement cuts again.
“That is when cohesion will become the central issue. OPEC+ cohesion is easy to maintain when the market does the discipline for you. The real test is whether that holds when the barrels come back, stocks rebuild and members have to decide who cuts.”
At the moment though, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz seems a distant prospect, given the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Iran, which has caused the oil price to spike again.
“Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, markets remain concerned that even a peace agreement would not immediately restore normal energy flows due to damaged infrastructure, mined waterways, and production outages,” commented MUFG Bank, echoing other industry analysts. “The renewed escalation has reinforced fears of prolonged supply disruptions, keeping upward pressure on oil prices despite OPEC+ plans to gradually increase output.”
The webinar will address the risks and realities of dissimilar flange connections. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Webinar: The risks and realities of dissimilar flange connections
Oil Review Middle East is hosting an exclusive webinar by GPT Industries on Dissimilar Flange Connections: Corrosion Risks, Misconceptions, and Practical Solutions, on Thursday 18 June at 9.30am GST
Dissimilar flange connections are widely used across industries, yet they remain a misunderstood and underestimated source of corrosion risk, operational failure, and unexpected cost. This webinar will explore why these connections exist, how they behave in real-world environments, and the critical factors that influence their performance. It will provide practical insight into the risks and realities of dissimilar flange connections, with a focus on corrosion mechanisms, common misconceptions, and effective mitigation strategies to improve reliability and reduce long-term costs.
The session will cover:
✔️ Understanding galvanic corrosion in dissimilar flanges
✔️ The dangers of localised corrosion and its impact on asset reliability
✔️ Common misconceptions around cladding and sealing methods
✔️ Available mitigation strategies, including coatings, bolting practices, and flange isolation kits
✔️ How to apply practical decision-making frameworks based on risk, environment, and lifecycle cost considerations
Register here
GPT Industries is a leading global manufacturer of critical pipeline sealing and electrical isolation products to protect the world’s pipelines, people and environment. With a focus on safety, performance and reliability, the company employs advanced engineering and manufacturing processes to meet the challenging demands of the oil and gas, water/wastewater, hydrogen and construction and infrastructure industries.
Expert presenters will be Rebecca ZImbra – product engineer, GPT Industries, metallurgical/materials engineer with industry, management, and research and development experience and expertise in materials testing, cathodic protection, failure analysis, and weld inspection; and Nick Bander, director – Engineering and Product Management at GPT Industries, an experienced technical team manager with a focus on manufacturing, pipeline corrosion mitigation, oil and gas, energy, and water/wastewater industries, and expertise in team/people development, product application, product design, pipeline, sealing, corrosion, and cathodic protection.
Don't miss this opportunity to gain exclusive practical insights into corrosion risks, mitigation strategies, and decision-making approaches for dissimilar flange connections!
Register here