Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing the country of supporting extremism. Qatar denies the allegations.

Qatar and Russia have long been rivals in global gas markets. Qatar's supplies came under the spotlight in the past month after Saudi Arabia cut economic and diplomatic ties, in a move ratcheting up a wider violent and diplomatic conflict in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia effectively grew its recoverable oil resources by 73 billion barrels this year after lower tax rates for state producer Saudi Aramco boosted the country's estimated prospective resources.

"We are willing to sit and talk," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told CNN late on Tuesday. He said his country was "protecting the world from potential terrorists".

Qatar faces rising competition from a tide of new LNG from sources including Australia, which is expected to surpass it as the world's top exporter by 2019.

Успех совместных действий по сокращению добычи нефти открыл новую страницу во взаимодействии стран ОПЕК и не входящих в ОПЕК государств: «Это касается не только стабилизации рынка нефти – открываются новые перспективы для двустороннего сотрудничества, реализации совместных проектов по добыче, транспортировке и переработке углеводородов на территории участвующих государств и третьих стран, технологического взаимодействия».

Net foreign assets at the central bank shrank by $8.5 billion from the previous month to $492.9 billion in April, reaching their lowest level since 2011, central bank figures showed on Sunday. They fell 13.9 percent from a year earlier.

No one envies the Saudi Arabians now. Yes, the Brent price has rebounded from its of 2015-16 lows to stabilise over $50. At the Opec meeting in Vienna this week the delegates agreed to extend production curbs for another nine months.

Saudi Aramco today signed agreements with major U.S. companies which will pave way for the company to enhance its business synergy with the U.S. as well as attracting investments from its U.S. counterparts to the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia will go into the meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producers in Vienna on May 25 determined to maximize its oil revenue through high prices, even if it must make large production cuts in return.

The recent steps to increase the transparency of fiscal policy through the publication of the Fiscal Balance Program and the First Quarter Budget Report are very welcome. This greater transparency will help private businesses and investors better plan their investment and employment decisions.

Saudi Arabia’s conventional approach to market management is no longer working: crude has fallen back below $50 a barrel, US shale oil output is again on the rise and Saudi-led Opec, if anything, is worse off than when it agreed the supply deal back in November, having cut volumes for little upside on price.

Торгово-экономическое сотрудничество России и Катара демонстрирует высокие темпы и имеет солидный потенциал.

Saudi Arabia aims to produce 10 percent of its power from renewable sources in the next six years as it pushes ahead with a multi-billion-dollar plan to diversify its energy mix and free up more crude oil for export.

Aramco is gearing up for a share listing next year, aiming to get a valuation of up to $2 trillion in what could be the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO).