Saudi Arabia to extend voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day until the end of the year

Published

2 years ago

September 5, 2023

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Oil prices eased in Asian as concerns over slow demand from top crude importer China grew after bearish trade and inflation data, outweighing fears over tighter supply arising from output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia.

David Mcnew | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday extended its 1-million-barrels-per-day voluntary crude oil production cut until the end of the year, according to the state-owned Saudi Press Agency.

The reduction will put Saudi crude output near 9 million barrels per day over October, November and December and will be reviewed on a monthly basis.

Riyadh first applied the 1 million-barrels-per-day reduction in July and has since extended it on a monthly basis. The cut adds to 1.66 million barrels per day of other voluntary crude output declines that some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have put in place until the end of 2024.

Fellow heavyweight oil producer Russia — which leads the contingent that joins OPEC nations in the OPEC+ coalition — also pledged to voluntarily reduce exports by 500,000 barrels per day in August and by 300,000 barrels per day in September. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Tuesday said that it will extend its 300,000 barrels-per-day reduction of exports until the end of December 2023 and will likewise review the measure on a monthly basis, according to the Kremlin.

The cuts are described as voluntary because they are outside of OPEC+’s official policy, which commits every non-exempt member to a share of production quotas. OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais has previously said that resorting to voluntary reductions outside of OPEC+ decisions does not suggest divisions in policy views among alliance members.

The Ice Brent futures contract with November delivery was up $1.07 per barrel to $90.07 per barrel at 2:13 p.m. London time, with WTI futures higher by $1.40 per barrel to $86.95 per barrel.

Saudi stakes

Saudi Arabia faces a difficult juggling act between implementing oil production cuts and the blow to its crude-reliant economy. Losses incurred by trimming production — and, indirectly, marketing volumes — could be partially offset by increases in Riyadh’s sale prices and in the global oil prices that underpin them.

After languishing below $75 per barrel for the better part of the first half of the year, global futures prices shot up by more than $10 per barrel over the summer, most recently boosted by security risks in OPEC member Gabon and the threat of disruption in the Gulf of Mexico, in the wake of Hurricane Idalia.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency expects increasing supply tightness in the second half of 2023 as demand recovers in China, the world’s largest crude importer.

Saudi Arabia depends on oil revenues to support several so-called “giga-projects” designed to diversify its economy. Crude output cuts and a fall in oil prices earlier this year led to a slowdown in Riyadh’s GDP, which expanded by an annual 1.1% in the second quarter, down from 3.8% in the previous quarter and 11.2% in the same period of 2022.

Saudi state-controlled Aramco typically sells crude supplies through annual contracts that often state minimal volumes to be made available to clients. While Aramco and its customers can mutually agree to forego this requirement, customers can insist on receiving their contracted volumes — which would push Saudi Arabia to either withdraw from its dwindling stocks or increase production.

At stake is also the prospect of conceding market share to Russia and Iran which produce similar-quality crude to Saudi Arabia and have primarily directed their exports to China, offering heavily discounted prices.

Iran’s oil minister Javad Owji in the middle of August said in Google-translated comments reported by state news agency IRNA that his country was producing as much as 3.19 million barrels per day, despite ongoing U.S. sanctions that have deprived Tehran of European and most Asian buyers.

— CNBC’S Dan Murphy contributed to this report

Environment

Uber launches true driverless robotaxi operations in the Middle East with WeRide [Video]

Published

7 hours ago

November 26, 2025

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Uber launches true driverless robotaxi operations in the Middle East with WeRide [Video]

Just over a year after Uber announced a strategic partnership in the Middle East with autonomous vehicle specialist WeRide, the companies have officially begun offering the public robotaxi rides without a driver or safety operator present on board.

Today’s latest milestone involving robotaxi operations in the Middle East dates back to September 2024, when Uber and WeRide initially announced a strategic partnership to bring autonomous rides to the UAE.

Three months later, the partner officially launched autonomous rides in Abu Dhabi, but with a safety operator present in the vehicle. At the time, Uber and WeRide said the supervised rides were “laying the groundwork” for a true driverless commercial operations planned for 2025.

That day has come.

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WeRide and Uber have confirmed that commercial robotaxi operations are officially underway in Abu Dhabi without any safety operators on board – a first for the Middle East.

Uber rolls out Middle East robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi

Uber shared details of its latest milestone late this evening or in the afternoon in the Middle East, depending on where you are.

Beginning today (Wednesday) customers in Abu Dhabi can select an UberX or Uber Comfort ride that enables them to be matched with a fully autonomous WeRide robotaxi without a driver inside. Riders in the Middle East can also increase their chances of hailing one of these driverless rides by select the “Autonomous” option in the Uber app.

In order to qualify, the prosepctive rider’s route must be part of WeRide’s operating territory in Abu Dhabi and a dedicated WeRide GXR Robotaxi vehicle (seen in the featured image above) must be available.

Similar to Uber’s partnership with Waymo in Austin and Atlanta, the global rideshare network will oversee fleet operations for WeRide vehicles, handling end-to end rider support. It has tapped Tawasul Transport to facilitate vehicle cleaning, maintenance, inspections, charging, and depot management. WeRide will remain responsible for vehicle testing.

As you may recall last spring, Uber and WeRide announced an expansion to their strategic partnership beyond the Middle East (although Dubai will be the city for its next robotaxi rollout). Over the next five years, Uber and WeRide intend to deploy true driverless public rides in 15 additional cities, some of which will be in Europe.

As promised, here’s some b-roll footage from Uber showing how riders in Abu Dhabi can order a WeRide robotaxi:

Source: Uber

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Environment

ChargePoint brings 40+ new fast-charging ports to metro Detroit

Published

13 hours ago

November 26, 2025

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ChargePoint brings 40+ new fast-charging ports to metro Detroit

ChargePoint metro Detroit — Photo: ChargePoint

Metro Detroit is about to get a big boost of fast EV chargers, with more than 40 new ChargePoint ports set to come online across multiple sites owned by the Dabaja Brothers Development Group.

The first ultra-fast charging site just opened in Canton, Michigan. It’s owned and operated by Dabaja Brothers, who plan to follow it with additional ChargePoint-equipped locations in Dearborn and Livonia.

“We started this project because we saw a gap in our community – there was almost nowhere to charge an EV in Canton, and a similar lack of charging across metro Detroit,” said Yousef Dabaja, owner/operator at Dabaja Brothers.

Each metro Detroit site will feature ChargePoint Express Plus fast charging stations, which can deliver up to 500 kW to a single port, can fast-charge two vehicles at the same time, and are compatible with all EVs. The stations feature a proprietary cooling system to deliver peak charging speeds for sustained periods, ensuring that charging speed remains consistent.

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The stations operate on the new ChargePoint Platform, which enables operators to monitor performance, adjust pricing, troubleshoot issues, and gain real-time insights to keep chargers running smoothly.

Rick Wilmer, CEO at ChargePoint, said, “This initiative will rapidly infill the ‘fast charging deserts’ across the Detroit area, allowing drivers to quickly recharge their vehicles when and where they need to.”

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Environment

Mercedes-Benz opens its first DC fast charging hub at Starbucks

Published

17 hours ago

November 25, 2025

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Mercedes-Benz opens its first DC fast charging hub at Starbucks

Mercedes-Benz charging Starbucks — Photo: Mercedes-Benz HPC North America

Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging and Starbucks have officially opened their first DC fast charging hub together, off the I-5 in Red Bluff, California.

The 400 kW Mercedes-Benz chargers are capable of adding up to 300 miles in 10 minutes, depending on the EV, and every stall has both NACS and CCS cables – they’re fully open DC fast chargers.

Mercedes-Benz HPC North America, a joint venture between subsidiaries of Mercedes-Benz Group and renewable energy producer MN8 Energy, first announced in July 2024 that it would install DC fast chargers at Starbucks stores along Interstate 5, the main 1,400-mile north-south interstate highway on the US West Coast from Canada to Mexico. Ultimately, Mercedes plans to install fast chargers at 100 Starbucks stores across the US.

Mercedes-Benz HPC opened its first North American charging site at Mercedes-Benz USA’s headquarters in Sandy Springs, Georgia, in November 2023 as part of an initial $1 billion charging network investment. As of the end of 2024, Mercedes had deployed over 150 operational fast chargers in the US, but it hasn’t disclosed an official number of how many chargers are currently online.

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Andrew Cornelia, CEO of Mercedes-Benz HPC North America, is leaving the company at the end of the month to become global head of electrification & sustainability at Uber.

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