QATAR GROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
Saudi Businessman Offers 1,000 One-Riyal coins to Doha Museum [Jun 4]
“A Saudi businessman has offered a collection of 1,000 silver Saudi one-riyal coins to the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. The businessman, Bassam Omar Salama, said that the collection was part of 3 million Saudi one-riyal coins minted in the United States in 1944 at the request of King Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud. In a letter he sent to the museum on the occasion, Salama said he had received 3,000 silver Saudi one-riyal coins and was gifting 1,000 of them to the Museum of Islamic Art in recognition of its role in preserving rare Islamic collections, Qatar News Agency reported. Bassam said that he recovered the money from a cargo with three million silver Saudi one-riyal coins shipped to the port of Ras Tannoura, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region, during World War II. However, the ship, SS John Barry, never made it to the port after it was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the Arabian Sea more than 185km off Oman in August 1944 and sank in waters so deep that no one thought she could ever be salvaged. “The treasure remained underwater until 1994 when a team of my friends financed an operation to recover the treasure with the aid of the US government..” [Complete Report]
Qatar 2022 Gathers Momentum [Jun 4]
“The leader of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid tells World Football Insider the Gulf state’s campaign has gathered momentum. Qatar was ranked second behind England in WFI’s World Cup Bid Power Index published last week, with Russia in third spot and USA fourth. Australia dropped out of the top four from the No.2 position they occupied in the February edition. Commenting on the bid power index, Qatar bid CEO Hassan Al Thawadi told INSIDER: “We are involved in a race with strong competition, so this kind of positive recognition for our bid and hosting concept demonstrates how far we have come over the past year. “We are delighted that the Qatar offer is being welcomed, understood and supported. Players and fans will benefit from our compact hosting concept, enabling them to stay in the same base throughout the entire competition.”..” [Complete Report]
Wealthy Qatar Tries to Build Niche as Conflict Mediator [Jun 4]
“Sudanese rebel leaders, far from the war in Darfur, whiled away their free time in recent months smoking fruit-flavoured waterpipes and dining at all-you-can-eat buffets in Doha luxury hotels as peace talks wore on. Their stay is on gas-rich Qatar’s tab, part of government efforts to boost the tiny Gulf Arab state’s credentials as the mediator-of-choice in regional and international conflicts. “Qatar is a good place for negotiation, because the climate here is good for it. They are not seeking to benefit from the negotiation, unlike Chad and other neighbouring countries,” said Hassan al Sadig, a negotiator from Darfur’s main rebel group who was staying at the Doha Movenpick. Qatar, sitting in the shadow of top oil exporter and political rival Saudi Arabia, has endeavoured to cut a unique profile as a diplomatic arbiter and peace broker in recent years, interceding in conflicts from Lebanon to Yemen and, most recently, Darfur..” [Complete Report]
Royal Dutch Shell Imports 2nd LNG cargo at $5.2/mmBtu [Jun 4]
“Royal Dutch Shell has imported its second spot shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this fiscal, industry sources said. Shell yesterday received a LNG cargo from Qatar at its Hazira import facility in Gujarat, they said. QatarGas, a natural gas company of Qatar, sold the shipment to Petronet at about $5.20 per million British thermal units. This price is before levy of 5 per cent customs duty, regasification charges, local taxes and margins. Shell India’s spokesperson could not be contacted immediately for comments. The company had imported a cargo at $4.93 per mmBtu in early April. Petronet LNG, the company that operates nation’s only other operational LNG import facility at Dahej, in Gujarat, has not imported any shipment from the spot market since December. The flooding of gas from Reliance Industries’ eastern offshore KG-D6 field, coupled with no spare capacity in GAIL India’s pipeline network that transports gas to users in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, had cramped out spot LNG purchases..” [Complete Report]
Firm Appeals Against The Qatari Investment At Astakos [Jun 4]
“Engal energy appealed to Greece’s energy watchdog against the decision to grant Qatar a licence to create a 1010MW power unit. Qatar had said it would incest some invest 3 bil. euro to create a LNG terminal and an unit that will produce electric power in the Astakos Naval Industrial Zone (NAVIPE) in the western part of Greece. Qataris were granted a licence in 15 days, a record time. Engal said it had also submitted a request to create a biomass unit in the area. The firm notes that RAE, the energy watchdog, should have evaluated the two applications in a comparable way..” [Complete Report]
