Latest news with #HorizonEngage
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Nigeria offers oil tax relief for cost-cutting measures
LAGOS, May 30 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has signed an executive order introducing a performance-driven framework for oil sector operators, designed to link tax incentives directly to verifiable cost savings. Under the new Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost Efficiency Incentives Order 2025, operators who successfully implement industry-standard cost reductions in onshore, shallow water, and deep offshore fields will qualify for defined tax relief. These tax credits will be capped at 20% of an operator's annual tax liability. "This Order is a signal to the world: we are building an oil and gas sector that is efficient, competitive, and works for all Nigerians," Tinubu said in a statement. "It is about securing our future, creating jobs, and making every barrel count." Analysts say success will largely be dependent on implementation. "President Tinubu referred in the announcement to the importance of alignment between government agencies. Succeed there and this could be highly significant towards improving Nigeria's investment appeal," said Clementine Wallop, director for sub-Saharan Africa at Horizon Engage. This order is a key component of the government's ongoing reforms aimed at boosting competitiveness within the sector. Last year, Nigeria offered a 25% gas utilisation investment allowance for equipment and plant for new and ongoing projects, and began streamlining contracting processes as part of commercial enablers to make offshore drilling more attractive. These incentives, while they haven't yielded investments in a new field, have spurred a few producers to return to existing fields.
Forbes
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Yemeni Militias May Be Planning A Ground Offensive Against The Houthis
President Trump's air campaign against the Houthis in Yemen has led rival Yemeni factions in the country to consider seizing a potential opportunity to launch a ground offensive against their adversary. The anti-Houthi groups hope to uproot the Houthis from strongholds along the Red Sea coast, including the port of Hodeidah, and have already received advice from private American security contractors, according to a Wall Street Journal report in April. Whether an offensive will materialize in the coming weeks and months, and whether it might prove capable of wresting any significant territory from the Houthis, still remains to be seen. Trump ordered extensive airstrikes against the Houthis on March 15, targeting its military infrastructure and leadership. Yemeni groups hope this air campaign will enable them to mount an offensive while their adversary is under heavy bombardment. U.S. airstrikes have hit over 800 suspected Houthi-related targets in the six weeks since Trump launched this campaign, the US military announced on April 27. Alex Almeida, a security analyst at the energy consultancy Horizon Engage who has conducted fieldwork in Yemen, believes there is 'little hard evidence' in the short term that any offensive has moved beyond mere talk or initial planning. 'That said, there does seem to be some real momentum within the ROYG (Republic of Yemen Government) for a renewed offensive, as well as increased cooperation among the key military players in the Presidential Leadership Council, which is a notable shift,' Almeida told me. 'The combat effectiveness of the anti-Houthi forces varies significantly - some groups like the Salafi Giants brigades are combat-proven fighters that can deploy and fight anywhere in Yemen,' Almeida said. 'But large sections of the frontline are held by local tribal or semi-tribal Yemeni army forces that have dubious offensive value.' The analyst believes the key question is whether American airstrikes, and any other support to anti-Houthi forces, could 'offset the absence' of ground forces from the United Arab Emirates. Emirati forces previously played a key role in past offensives against the Houthis in 2015-2018. The Journal report stated that the UAE raised the ground offensive plan with US officials. However, the Emirates has since denied reports of its involvement, as has Saudi Arabia, which previously led an anti-Houthi coalition and carried out a large-scale air campaign against the group from 2015 to 2022. Mohammed Al-Basha of the Basha Report, a Virginia-based risk advisory firm, believes the likelihood of ground operations resuming in Yemen is 'moderate to high,' especially along the country's western coast. However, he clarified that these operations would more likely be 'a defensive response to Houthi mobilization' than 'a UAE- or US-backed' initiative. 'The Houthis currently view Vice President Tariq Saleh's National Resistance Forces as their primary adversary in that region,' Al-Basha told me. 'The broader anti-Houthi coalition is fragmented, consisting of eight smaller armed groups with conflicting ideologies and competing visions for Yemen's future. Their infighting and absence of unified command and control have allowed the Houthis to consolidate power and expand.' While the United States shares these group's goals of combating the Houthis and degrading its capabilities, it may not provide extensive direct support for any ground offensive. Any support would most likely be limited to providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to anti-Houthi militias and perhaps some precision airstrikes in support of any offensives they manage to mount. 'The Trump administration remains cautious about deeper military entanglements, especially in protracted conflicts like Yemen,' Al-Basha said. 'However, securing the Red Sea coastline aligns with core U.S. national security interests, particularly in protecting commercial and naval freedom of navigation — a principle the Houthis have challenged repeatedly since their first attack on a US Navy vessel in 2016.' 'Recapturing parts of the coast would disrupt Houthi supply chains, smuggling routes, and launch sites for UAVs and missiles while also undermining their political leverage in any future peace talks.' Developments in the wider Middle East could ultimately influence events on the ground in Yemen. The Houthis threatened to resume their attacks on international shipping in March as the brief ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a Houthi ally in the Gaza Strip, broke down. Additionally, the U.S. is presently engaged in nuclear talks with the primary state backer of the Houthis, Iran. 'A lot will depend on how U.S.-Iran talks play out and how the Gaza war develops during the coming weeks and months,' Almeida of Horizon Engage said. 'A U.S.-Iran deal or another ceasefire in Gaza would likely cause Trump to lose interest in Yemen and take any anti-Houthi offensive off the table.' A fourth round of U.S.-Iran was scheduled for Saturday in Oman but was postponed 'for logistical reasons,' the Sultanate's foreign minister announced on X. 'On the other hand, if U.S.-Iran negotiations stall or break down, we could see the Trump administration ramp up US support for the ROYG forces as a way to pressure Iran and the Houthis,' Almeida added. Regardless of the outcome of the Gaza war and the Iran nuclear talks, it appears Saudi Arabia and the UAE have little appetite for another confrontation with the Houthis, especially since their relations with Iran have markedly improved in recent years. 'The UAE has been busy putting down several new airfields in Yemen that could, in theory, be used to logistically sustain a renewed ROYG ground offensive, but it's also unclear whether Abu Dhabi would be willing to reengage, even with U.S. backing,' Almeida said. While Trump's air campaign against the Houthis is the most intense American one yet, it may not inflict lasting blows against the group without a concurrent ground offensive that captures and holds territory. Al-Basha noted that without ground operations, the Houthis would likely have 'space to regroup, rearm, and sustain future attacks' against its leadership and weapons. 'Just recently in Jordan, a two-man cell using Chinese machinery was able to manufacture 300 short-range rockets — now imagine what the Houthis are capable of, given they control 80% of Yemen's population and over a quarter of its territory,' Al-Basha said. While there are limits to what airstrikes alone can achieve, the present US air campaign ordered by Trump just over a month ago has already demonstrated it can achieve things it predecessors throughout the past decade could not. 'Unlike the Saudi-led coalition, which faced significant constraints from the international community, today's global consensus is shifting against the Houthis,' Al-Basha said. 'Moreover, U.S.-supported operations are more capable of minimizing civilian casualties and collateral damage, in contrast to the widely criticized Saudi-UAE air campaign.'
Forbes
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Prospects And Challenges Of A Yemeni Ground Offensive Against Houthis
President Trump's air campaign against the Houthis in Yemen has led rival Yemeni factions in the country to mull seizing a potential opportunity to launch a ground offensive against their adversary. Whether an offensive will materialize in the coming weeks and months or prove capable of wresting any significant territory from the group remains to be seen. The anti-Houthi groups hope to uproot the Houthis from strongholds along the Red Sea coast, including the port of Hodeidah, and have already received advice from private American security contractors, according to an April 14 Wall Street Journal report. Trump ordered extensive airstrikes against the Houthis on March 15, targeting its military infrastructure and leadership. Yemeni groups hope this air campaign will enable them to mount an offensive while their adversary is under heavy bombardment. U.S. airstrikes have hit over 800 suspected Houthi-related targets in the six weeks since Trump launched this campaign, the US military announced on April 27. Alex Almeida, a security analyst at the energy consultancy Horizon Engage who has conducted fieldwork in Yemen, believes there is 'little hard evidence' in the short term that any offensive has moved beyond mere talk or initial planning. 'That said, there does seem to be some real momentum within the ROYG (Republic of Yemen Government) for a renewed offensive, as well as increased cooperation among the key military players in the Presidential Leadership Council, which is a notable shift,' Almeida told me. 'The combat effectiveness of the anti-Houthi forces varies significantly - some groups like the Salafi Giants brigades are combat-proven fighters that can deploy and fight anywhere in Yemen,' Almeida said. 'But large sections of the frontline are held by local tribal or semi-tribal Yemeni army forces that have dubious offensive value.' The analyst believes the key question is whether American airstrikes and any other support to anti-Houthi forces could 'offset the absence' of ground forces from the United Arab Emirates. Emirati forces previously played a key role in past offensives against the Houthis in 2015-2018. The Journal report stated that the UAE raised the ground offensive plan with US officials. However, the Emirates has since denied reports of its involvement, as has Saudi Arabia, which previously led an anti-Houthi coalition and carried out a large-scale air campaign against the group from 2015 to 2022. Mohammed Al-Basha of the Basha Report, a Virginia-based Risk Advisory, believes the likelihood of ground operations resuming in Yemen is 'moderate to high,' especially along the country's western coast. However, he clarified that these operations would more likely be 'a defensive response to Houthi mobilization' than 'a UAE- or US-backed' initiative. 'The Houthis currently view Vice President Tariq Saleh's National Resistance Forces as their primary adversary in that region,' Al-Basha told me. 'The broader anti-Houthi coalition is fragmented, consisting of eight smaller armed groups with conflicting ideologies and competing visions for Yemen's future. Their infighting and absence of unified command and control have allowed the Houthis to consolidate power and expand.' While the United States shares these group's goals of combating the Houthis and degrading its capabilities, it may not provide extensive direct support for any ground offensive. Any support would most likely be limited to providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to anti-Houthi militias and perhaps some precision airstrikes in support of any offensives they manage to mount. 'The Trump administration remains cautious about deeper military entanglements, especially in protracted conflicts like Yemen,' Al-Basha said. 'However, securing the Red Sea coastline aligns with core US national security interests, particularly in protecting commercial and naval freedom of navigation — a principle the Houthis have challenged repeatedly since their first attack on a US Navy vessel in 2016.' 'Recapturing parts of the coast would disrupt Houthi supply chains, smuggling routes, and launch sites for UAVs and missiles while also undermining their political leverage in any future peace talks.' Developments in the wider Middle East could ultimately influence events on the ground in Yemen. The Houthis threatened to resume their attacks on international shipping in March as the brief ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a Houthi ally, in the Gaza Strip broke down. Additionally, the US is presently engaged in nuclear talks with the primary state backer of the Houthis, Iran. 'A lot will depend on how US-Iran talks play out and how the Gaza war develops during the coming weeks and months,' Almeida of Horizon Engage said. 'A U.S.-Iran deal or another ceasefire in Gaza would likely cause Trump to lose interest in Yemen and take any anti-Houthi offensive off the table.' 'On the other hand, if U.S.-Iran negotiations stall or break down, we could see the Trump administration ramp up US support for the ROYG forces as a way to pressure Iran and the Houthis.' A fourth round of U.S.-Iran was scheduled for Saturday in Oman but was postponed 'for logistical reasons,' the Sultanate's foreign minister announced on X. Regardless of the outcome of the Gaza war and the Iran nuclear talks, it appears Saudi Arabia and the UAE have little appetite for another confrontation with the Houthis, especially since their relations with Iran have markedly improved in recent years. 'The UAE has been busy putting down several new airfields in Yemen that could, in theory, be used to logistically sustain a renewed ROYG ground offensive, but it's also unclear whether Abu Dhabi would be willing to reengage, even with U.S. backing,' Almeida said. While Trump's air campaign against the Houthis is the most intense American one yet, it may not inflict lasting blows against the group without a concurrent ground offensive that captures and holds territory. Al-Basha noted that without ground operations, the Houthis would likely have 'space to regroup, rearm, and sustain future attacks' against its leadership and weapons. 'Just recently in Jordan, a two-man cell using Chinese machinery was able to manufacture 300 short-range rockets — now imagine what the Houthis are capable of, given they control 80% of Yemen's population and over a quarter of its territory,' Al-Basha said. While there are limits to what airstrikes alone can achieve, the present US air campaign ordered by Trump just over a month ago has already demonstrated it can achieve things it predecessors throughout the past decade could not. 'Unlike the Saudi-led coalition, which faced significant constraints from the international community, today's global consensus is shifting against the Houthis,' Al-Basha said. 'Moreover, U.S.-supported operations are more capable of minimizing civilian casualties and collateral damage, in contrast to the widely criticized Saudi-UAE air campaign.'
CBS News
05-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Argentinian president doubles down on Trump support, attends Mar-a-Lago event as the world reacts to tariffs
Europe vowed retaliation . China plotted tariffs of its own . Mexico scrambled to blunt the blow. But while the world's leaders were wringing their hands over President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs on U.S. imports , Argentina's right-wing president was ebullient, feted at Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. As part of his enthusiastic outreach to Mr. Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei flew from one of the planet's southernmost nations all the way to Palm Beach for 24 hours to receive an award honoring his libertarian agenda and, he'd hoped, to chat with Mr. Trump , who was also scheduled to attend the right-wing "American Patriot" gala. "Make Argentina Great Again!" Milei bellowed from the ballroom stage at at Mar-a-Lago late Thursday. It would have been the fourth face-to-face meeting between the leaders since Mr. Trump's election victory last November as President Milei, who has imposed a sweeping austerity program to fix Argentina's long troubled economy, offers himself as one of Mr. Trump's strongest allies in the global culture war against the "woke" left. Whether Milei's staunch alliance with Mr. Trump can actually help crisis-stricken Argentina remains to be seen, analysts say. "He has a special relationship with Trump that has been good for him politically, but he needs to translate that into being good for the country economically," said Marcelo J. García, director for the Americas at New York-based geopolitical risk consultancy Horizon Engage. "He hasn't managed to do that yet." Earlier this year, Milei pulled Argentina out of the World Health Organization after the U.S. announced its own exit . He threatened to quit the Paris climate accord after Mr. Trump did . He outlawed gender change treatments for minors after Mr. Trump banned transgender athletes from participating in women's sports. He even promoted a cryptocurrency token echoing the $Trump memecoin — at great political cost. In Milei's case, the cryptocoin Libra collapsed and left investors holding the bag, to the tune of $250 million. He later admitted that he posted about the coin without properly vetting the details. Milei has also slashed government spending, similarly to what Mr. Trump and Elon Musk have done with the Department of Government Efficiency. He has reduced government spending in Argentina by over 30% since taking office in 2023 by eliminating about a dozen government agencies, laying off 10% of the federal workforce and freezing state wages and pensions. While the cuts have lowered the country's hyperinflation, they have pushed up unemployment and poverty rates. Weekly protests have been held criticizing the cuts. The cuts were something Milei promised while running for office, even wielding a chainsaw during his campaign. He then gifted Musk a giant chainsaw modeled after the power tool. Musk waved the chainsaw during remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Railing against socialism and feminism at speaking events all over the world — including at CPAC — Milei has fashioned himself into something of a MAGA celebrity. While U.S. partners and rivals alike were criticizing Mr. Trump's tariffs, a tux-clad Milei was holding forth beside a painting of Mr. Trump's pumped fist, reveling in the opportunity to prove himself a dogged champion of the American president. "As you can see, we conduct policy with actions, not mere words, and on that we agree with President Donald Trump," Milei told the crowd at Mar-a-Lago, drawing cheers at the mention of the American president's name as he spoke in Spanish. In Buenos Aires, Milei's government sought to reconcile Mr. Trump's major round of tariffs with its own radical libertarian ideology and fervent support for free trade. "We do not believe this is an attack on free trade, quite the opposite," Milei's spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, said of Mr. Trump's announcement. "I don't see why there should be so much concern about this." For all the leaders' mutual flattery, Argentina was slapped with a 10% minimum tariff. But officials framed it as uniquely preferential treatment. The front page of Argentina's largest-circulation daily, Clarín, declared: "Trump raises the tax on our products less than on other countries." In Washington, Argentine Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein on Thursday held what he described as "highly productive" meetings with top U.S. trade negotiator Jamieson Greer and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, releasing rosy statements promising that Argentina was on its way to negotiating a free-trade agreement with the U.S. Milei praised progress toward the free deal in his Mar-a-Lago speech. But far more important to the Argentine leader is a hoped-for $20 billion bailout with the International Monetary Fund. The badly needed cash would help Milei keep his ambitious economic reforms on track as pressure mounts on the country's sparse foreign currency reserves. Milei has already used executive powers to remove the need for Congress to approve a new IMF program. But the loan hasn't cleared the finish line, with negotiators still haggling over how much cash Argentina, a serial defaulter that owes some $44 billion to the fund, will be allowed to access up-front. It was against this backdrop on Wednesday that Milei, accompanied by his economy minister, hopped on the plane to the U.S., the fund's biggest stakeholder. He told journalists he expected "an informal meeting" with Mr. Trump, who was instrumental during his first term in helping Argentina secure a major $56 billion loan from the fund in 2018. But on Friday, Milei's much-anticipated photo-op with Mr. Trump was nowhere to be found in his publicist's slick montage of the Argentine president snapping selfies with fans on Mar-a-Lago's red carpet. The president's office said nothing about his meeting — or, non-meeting — with Mr. Trump, and did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Mr. Trump arrived at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach very late Thursday evening after attending an event with professional golfers at one of his golf courses near Miami. The White House didn't say whether he and Milei met. Major Argentine newspapers cited anonymous officials saying the leaders never met, drawing instant scorn from his political enemies. "When I woke up, I thought I'd find on TV the photo-op with your 'friend' Trump that you went looking for," left-wing former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wrote on social media. "What a way to mess around and spend money on nothing."
The Hill
05-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Argentina's Milei doubles down on Trump bromance as the world reels from trade shock
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Europe vowed retaliation. China plotted tariffs of its own. Mexico scrambled to blunt the blow. But while the world's leaders were wringing their hands over President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs on U.S. imports, Argentina's right-wing president was ebullient, feted at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. As part of his enthusiastic outreach to Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei flew from one of the planet's southernmost nations all the way to Palm Beach for 24 hours to receive an award honoring his libertarian agenda and, he'd hoped, to chat with Trump, who was also scheduled to attend the right-wing 'American Patriot' gala. 'Make Argentina Great Again!' Milei bellowed from the ballroom stage at at Mar-a-Lago late Thursday. It would have been the fourth face-to-face meeting between the leaders since Trump's election victory last November as President Milei, who has imposed a sweeping austerity program to fix Argentina's long troubled economy, offers himself as one of Trump's strongest allies in the global culture war against the 'woke' left. Argentina waits for the bromance to bear fruit Whether Milei's staunch alliance with Trump can actually help crisis-stricken Argentina remains to be seen, analysts say. 'He has a special relationship with Trump that has been good for him politically, but he needs to translate that into being good for the country economically,' said Marcelo J. García, director for the Americas at New York-based geopolitical risk consultancy Horizon Engage. 'He hasn't managed to do that yet.' Earlier this year, Milei pulled Argentina out of the World Health Organization after the U.S. announced its own exit. He threatened to quit the Paris climate accord after Trump did. He outlawed gender change treatments for minors after Trump banned transgender athletes from participating in women's sports. He even promoted a cryptocurrency token echoing the $Trump memecoin — at great political cost. Railing against socialism and feminism at speaking events all over the world — most recently, the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he gifted Elon Musk a giant chain saw modeled after the power tool he wielded during his 2023 campaign — Milei has fashioned himself into something of a MAGA celebrity. While U.S. partners and rivals alike were criticizing Trump's tariffs, a tux-clad Milei was holding forth beside a painting of Trump's pumped fist, reveling in the opportunity to prove himself a dogged champion of the American president. 'As you can see, we conduct policy with actions, not mere words, and on that we agree with President Donald Trump,' Milei told the crowd at Mar-a-Lago, drawing cheers at the mention of the American president's name as he spoke in Spanish. A libertarian defends Trump's tariffs In Buenos Aires, Milei's government sought to reconcile Trump's major round of tariffs with its own radical libertarian ideology and fervent support for free trade. 'We do not believe this is an attack on free trade, quite the opposite,' Milei's spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, said of Trump's announcement. 'I don't see why there should be so much concern about this.' For all the leaders' mutual flattery, Argentina was slapped with a 10% minimum tariff. But officials framed it as uniquely preferential treatment. The front page of Argentina's largest-circulation daily, Clarín, declared: 'Trump raises the tax on our products less than on other countries.' In Washington, Argentine Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein on Thursday held what he described as 'highly productive' meetings with top U.S. trade negotiator Jamieson Greer and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, releasing rosy statements promising that Argentina was on its way to negotiating a free-trade agreement with the U.S. Cash-strapped Argentina hopes for an IMF bailout Milei praised progress toward the free deal in his Mar-a-Lago speech. But far more important to the Argentine leader is a hoped-for $20 billion bailout with the International Monetary Fund. The badly needed cash would help Milei keep his ambitious economic reforms on track as pressure mounts on the country's sparse foreign currency reserves. Milei has already used executive powers to remove the need for Congress to approve a new IMF program. But the loan hasn't cleared the finish line, with negotiators still haggling over how much cash Argentina, a serial defaulter that owes some $44 billion to the fund, will be allowed to access up-front. It was against this backdrop on Wednesday that Milei, accompanied by his economy minister, hopped on the plane to the U.S., the fund's biggest stakeholder. He told journalists he expected 'an informal meeting' with Trump, who was instrumental during his first term in helping Argentina secure a major $56 billion loan from the fund in 2018. Milei mum on Trump meeting But on Friday, Milei's much-anticipated photo-op with Trump was nowhere to be found in his publicist's slick montage of the Argentine president snapping selfies with fans on Mar-a-Lago's red carpet. The president's office said nothing about his meeting — or, nonmeeting — with Trump, and did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Trump arrived at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach very late Thursday evening after attending an event with professional golfers at one of his golf courses near Miami. The White House didn't say whether he and Milei met. Major Argentine newspapers cited anonymous officials saying the leaders never met, drawing instant scorn from his political enemies. 'When I woke up, I thought I'd find on TV the photo-op with your 'friend' Trump that you went looking for,' left-wing former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wrote on social media. 'What a way to mess around and spend money on nothing.'
