Good morning, friends. Energy policy and travel (thank you, Founding Day holiday) dominate the conversation on Saudi on what is otherwise a reasonably slow news day at home and an achingly slow one abroad.

But slow ≠ boring: What domestic news there is today is particularly meaty. Enterprise: All beef, no filler.

UP FIRST: Aramco’s recent decision to shelve plans investment in new production capacity came on the back increasing emphasis on cleaner energy, Reuters reported yesterday, citing statements by Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman during the International Petroleum Technology Conference in Dhahran. “I think we postponed this investment simply because.. . we’re transitioning,” he said. The state oil giant is flexible when it comes to investing in growth and can comfortably shift emphasis between oil, natural gas, petrochemicals and renewables, he said.

ICYMI- Aramco made a surprise announcement last month that it was putting on hold its expansion plan and will target a “maximum sustained production capacity” of 12 mn barrels of oil per day. That’s about 1 mn bpd below the target of 13 mn bpd by 2027 that it had set back in 2020.

Prince Abdulaziz’s remarks are significant and underline a substantially more nuanced energy policy than the Kingdom was given credit for during the late 2023 COP28 climate conference in Dubai, where we were cast as the spoiler. Saudi will pump oil for so long as there is demand — while laying the groundwork for a diverse energy industry and an economy in which hydrocarbons are vastly less central. The latest case in point: See our lead news item on the sale of green power to Europe.

Aramco remains ready to raise output if necessary, CEO Amin Nasser told reporters on the sidelines of the event. “We have adequate spare capacity of about 3 mn barrels,” he said. “And as a company — because this is a decision for the government — we remain ready whenever they want to increase [maximum sustained capacity]; we are always ready to expand,” Nasser added.

ALSO FROM NASSER-

#1- Growth in global oil demand will be “robust” this year, Bloomberg quotes him Nasser as saying. “We see 104 mn barrels of demand for this year, so a growth of about 1.5 mn barrels,” he said “So it is robust.” This will mark a second year of growth after OPEC figures showed global oil demand hitting a record of over 102 mn bpd in 2023.

#2- A secondary offering in Aramco would be a “shareholder decision,” Nasser said in statements picked up by Reuters. This is the first confirmation by an official on a floated plan seeing the state-owned oil giant selling shares in a secondary offering.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Neom unit is accepting bids for 800 MW solar project:Enowa is poised to receive bids engineering, procurement, and construction work on its 800 MW Shiqri solar power farm, MEED reports. The deadline for the project, which is located in Tabuk, was originally slated for early February before being delayed to 3 March 2024. At least four companies have already been invited to bid. Enowa is a unit of Neom.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- The Energy Ministry is working on multi-GW solar tenders, Al Eqtisadiah reported yesterday, citing statements by Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman during the IPTC in Dhahran. The ministry is working on launching 30 GW solar tenders, he said, without providing further details on the bidding process or a timeline for the tenders.

REMEMBER- The Kingdom unveiled plans in December to more than double its renewables target to 130 GW by 2030. It plans to add 20 GW in renewable energy annually to reach 130 GW by 2030, up from a previous target of 58.5 GW, according to earlier statements by the Energy Minister. The government is ready to export up to 150 GW of green hydrogen or electricity, he added.

TOURISM WATCH

#1- Expect talk of travel and tourism to pick up in the days ahead as we look forward to the Founding Day long weekend on 22-24 February. Global business news essential Skift is dissecting the recent news that we’ve blown past the government’s target of 100 mn tourist trips by 2030, taking note of rising spending, a fast-diversifying mix of experiences, and the challenge of counting domestic tourist trips.

BACKGROUND- The Tourism Ministry’s new target is to see 150 mn tourism trips (80 mn by domestic travelers, 70 mn by international travelers) by 2030, as we noted last week.

#2- Thinking of traveling for Founding Day? Odds are good you’re looking at a break in Egypt, followed by India, Turkey, the UAE, and the United Kingdom, according to data released yesterday by Skyscanner. Rounding out the top 10 searches by Saudi travelers: Morocco, Thailand, Italy, France, and Indonesia.

#3- IMF boss ❤️ AlUla: IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said she was impressed by the quality of her experience in AlUla during a recent vision.

She also likes our economic policy: The Kingdom’s economy has become more dynamic as it seeks to reduce its reliance on oil exports, Georgieva told Al Arabiya (watch, runtime: 0:49) on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Today is your last chance to apply to cycle three of the Flat6Labs Riyadh Seed Program. The program offers early stage startups some SAR 500k in cash funding, up to SAR 2.4m in follow-on funding, access to investors, legal support, and exclusive business networking events. And you get to work with the folks at Flat6, who are as smart as they are good humans. You can apply here.

#2- Arizona State University’s mascot Sparky the Sun Devil could be taking up residence in Riyadh: Education Minister Yousef Al Benyan discussed with US officials opening a branch for Arizona State University in the Kingdom during a visit to Washington last week, state news agency SPA reported yesterday. His statements came during a forum focused on education investments in the Kingdom attended by over 150 US investors and representatives.

#3- SDAIA launched theNational Occupational Standards Framework for Data and AIaimed at setting guidelines to “standardize and improve occupational practices and applications” in the industry, according to a post on X. The framework outlines the necessary expertise and skills required for those in the industry. It also separately launched the “Saudi Standards for Smart Cities” to develop a framework for operations in smart cities.

DATA POINT- The number of documented commercial lease contracts rose 15% y-o-y in January to reach a record 59.5k for the month, the government’s rental e-services platform Ejar said yesterday on X.

SPORTS-

#1- Al-Thuqbah clinched the top spot in archery at the 2024 Arab Women’s Sports Tournament with a commanding 6-0 victory in the final showdown against Emirati host Sharjah, Arriyadiyah reports. Women’s clubs Capital, Al-Ittihad, Al-Khaleej also participated in the event, which wrapped up yesterday. Some 63 teams from 15 Arab countries participated.

#2- Getting ready for the AFC Champions League: A delegation from the Asian Football Confederation is in town to assess how ready Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena stadium is to host the remainder of Al Hilal’s games in the AFC Champions League, Al Riyadiah reported yesterday, citing two sources close to the matter. Reps from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and Al Hilal will also be evaluating the stadium as a host of the club’s games in the Roshn Saudi League.

The stadium is already a Guinness World Record holder: The Kingdom Arena, which can accommodate more than 40k fans, was built in a record two months. It was inaugurated in late January where Al Hilal beat Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 4-3 in the Riyadh Season Cup. The second game at the stadium saw Al Hilal crowned champions after they beat rivals Al Nassr 2-0. It recently received two Guinness World Records certifications as the largest indoor football stadium with the largest seating capacity.

#3- Riyadh Season said it will host the Egyptian Cup final between Al Ahly and Zamalek on Friday, 8 March at Al Awwal Park stadium, according to a statement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It would not be inaccurate to say that it’s an achingly slow news morning globally — and what news there is out there is a dog’s breakfast.

Overall: Gaza peace talks in Cairo lead the front page of the Financial Times, while Bloomberg ’s lead piece adds that US President Joe Biden is pushing for a six-week break from fighting. The Wall Street Journal is obsessing over whether the US Supreme Court will hear Donald Trump’s challenge to a lower court ruling that denies him blanket immunity for crimes he may have committed as president.

We do, however, have a couple of nice SIGN OF THE TIMES pieces for your consideration:

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Saudi Capital Market Forum will open on Monday, 19 February and wrap up on Tuesday. Held under the theme “Powering Growth,” the event will bring together members of the global financial landscape for discussions on the capital markets and investment strategies.

The Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale will kick off in Diriyah on Tuesday, 20 February and wrap up on Friday, 24 May. Headlined After Rain, it will be led by German curator Ute Meta Bauer and features 92 artists from 43 countries. It will see several new commissions, including a joint project documenting “Saudi futurism” since the 1940s by local artist Ahmed Mater and Berlin-based photographer Armin Linke.

The Future Investment Initiative (FII) will host a two-day priority summit in Miami starting Thursday, 22 February.

The annual tech event LEAP will open in Riyadh on Monday, 4 March and continue through Thursday, 7 March. Dubbed the “Digital Davos”, the event will bring together the global tech industry for discussions on the future of technology.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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