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VIENNA – With oil prices steady around $80, OPEC countries are returning to energy investment projects postponed at the height of the economic crisis, while foreign firms are playing a major role.

OPEC nations used the sidelines of this weeks meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to speak about their plans for significant investments in energy infrastructures.

And with oil demand set to rise over the long term, investment in the energy sector, from drilling projects to building new refineries is essential.

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AL-KHOBAR – Demand for steel in top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to rise this year by 8 percent with consumption nearing 6.4 million tons, Saudi Arabian Basic Industries (SABIC) said on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabian authorities in 2008 imposed restrictions on exports of steel and scrap metal due to tight supply in the domestic market. SABIC, which controls the kingdoms biggest steel producer Hadeed, said on its website that total production capacity at local plants run at full tilt is about 7.3 million tons.

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DUBAI/LONDON – Lenders to Dubai World will get a range of options including full repayment once Abu Dhabi decides how much additional support it will provide its debt-strapped neighbour, sources close to the discussions said.

Bankers in London and the Gulf are divided over how Dubai should restructure the $26 billion debt pile dogging its flagship holding company, leading the emirate to consider parallel offers in an effort to please all, the sources said.

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JEDDAH – Saudi Arabias oil production is still down this year compared to 2008 levels, Saudi Aramcos chief executive was reported as saying on Tuesday.

Crude oil production fell in 2009 and production is still declining this year when compared to the 2008 production level, Khalid Al-Falih was quoted as saying in the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. “(Oil) drilling activities for production are on the decline unlike exploration,” Falih said.

Overall drilling for oil this year is expected to remain the same as last year but Aramco would increase gas drilling activities, industry sources said this week.

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JEDDAH/DUBAI: Speculation over dividends and earnings pushed most Middle East markets higher on Tuesday, but gains were limited and investors remained cautious amid an uncertain global outlook and a dearth of local news.

Saudi Arabia’s index fell to a five-week low as the world’s top oil exporter belatedly reacted to crude’s four-week, 12 percent slide and the consensus view is for further sideways regional trading. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed 0.34 percent down at 6,200.69 on Tuesday with losses in almost all sectors, except for two sectors, which were the Agricultural & Food Industries and the Real Estate Development sector, which were up 0.60 percent and 0.64 percent respectively. Otherwise, sector losses ranged from a loss of 0.09 points in the Retail sector to a loss of 1.51 percent in the Multi-Investment sector. Overall market breadth was negative with 24 advancers and 100 decliners registering an AD ratio of 0.24, the Jeddah-based Financial Transaction House (FTH) said in its daily market commentary.

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DUBAI: The central bank of the United Arab Emirates forecast the countrys growth to be low in 2010 but better than the previous year, its governor told a media briefing on Monday, according to a source at the briefing.

Sultan Nasser Al-Suweidi told local media the central bank expected the growth rate in 2009 to be slim, while the 2010 rate would be low but better than in 2009, the source said.

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TEHRAN – Irans constitutional watchdog approved a contentious law that would sharply slash energy and food subsidies – a move that could provoke more unrest in a country struggling under international sanctions, double-digit inflation and a government crackdown on the opposition.

The bill was formally approved by the Guardian Council, state television Web sites reported Wednesday, roughly a week after Iranian lawmakers signed off on the plan proposed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Guardian Council is a hardline body that must vet all legislation before it becomes law.

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DUBAI – A top official for the worlds biggest sovereign wealth fund said Monday the bulk of its holdings are still in the US and Europe, and that the Abu Dhabi fund sees “significant, long-term investment potential” in both regions despite the global downturn.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authoritys managing director said “many substantial risks” remain as the global economy struggles to recover, however. Among the threats he cited are policies that could restrict cross-border investments by big overseas investors such as ADIA.

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RIYADH: The Saudi central bank reiterated on Monday its commitment to peg the riyal to the US dollar, saying it brings stability, as business leaders hit out at the bank for not doing more to spur anemic lending growth.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agencys (SAMA) Governor Muhammad Al-Jasser sought to inject a dose of realism at a rare meeting with leaders of the private sector, which has endured a particularly tough 2009 as growth shrank to 2.5 percent from some 4.5 percent in 2008.

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AL-KHOBAR – Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has received two bids from four Saudi-owned firms to build, own and operate a new export-oriented refinery in Jizan, industry sources said.

Earlier this month, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said he expected the winning bid to be announced by the end of the year. The tender for Jizan has been delayed several times, after initial plans to open bidding in the second quarter of 2007.

Saudi industrial group Tasnee teamed up with Saudi Nama Chemicals Group and Saudi Advanced Refineries and Petrochemicals Co (ARPC) to form a consortium, two sources said.

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