LONDON / Reuters Global oil demand is expected to pick up this year but supply is growing at a faster pace, leading to a rise in inventories in the first quarter of 2018, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The IEA raised its forecast for oil demand this year to 99.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from 97.8 million bpd ...

SINGAPORE / Reuters Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices fell this week as demand eased in North Asia on expectations for higher temperatures in the region and as nuclear reactors restart in Japan, limiting the need for gas for power generation. Spot prices for May delivery slipped to around $7.70 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), said several trade ...

LONDON / Reuters BP is seeking buyers for its stake in a 50-year-old oil and gas business in Egypt as it focusses on newer deepwater gas fields off the country’s Mediterranean coast, banking sources said. The London-based company has in recent weeks pitched to potential buyers its stake in Gulf of Suez Oil Company (GUPCO), a joint venture with the ...

Bloomberg Glencore Plc and Vitol SA are among companies submitting bids for a stake in the Indeni Petroleum Refinery, Zambia’s only fuel processor, according to the southern African nation’s development agency. Seven offers were made for a stake in the 20,000 barrel-a-day plant, including from the China Petroleum Technology & Development Corp., Philia Trading Pte Ltd, and a group including ...

DUBAI / Reuters Construction work has begun on a joint venture to build a shipyard on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast, oil rig builder Lamprell Plc said in a statement. The joint venture, International Maritime Industries (IMI), started operations after reaching agreement for a loan from the state-backed Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), the statement said. The SIDF agreed in principle ...

Bloomberg Brazil fuel imports are set to fall from a record as the country’s state-owned oil company lowers prices in a bid to regain market share. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, which owns 13 out of the 16 refineries in the country, cut diesel prices by 47 percent and gasoline by 38 percent at the refinery gate since January. As a result ...

Bloomberg National interests are starting to test the united front that the 27 remaining European Union members have shown so far during the Brexit talks, according to three people with knowledge of the process. Less than a week before EU leaders meet to consider a transition deal for the UK, their officials have aired their differences over the way forward, ...

Bloomberg Siemens Healthineers AG shares soared in their trading debut in Frankfurt after the health-equipment company’s German parent raised 4.2 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in the country’s second-biggest initial public offering in almost two decades. Stock in the maker of medical scanners and X-ray machines rose as much as 6.8 percent and was 5.8 percent higher at 29.63 euros on ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration is considering trilateral Nafta language to promote telecommunications competition that could help bring the issue to a close after Mexico rejected demands spurred by AT&T Inc. that it considered overly restrictive, according to three people familiar with the issue. The US Trade Representative’s office is weighing the proposal after receiving the backing of Mexican regulators, according ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook met with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the technology giant’s new Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, according to a tweet from Mnuchin. In the Twitter post, Mnuchin thanked Cook for a commitment to invest $350 billion in the US. Earlier this year, Apple said it would be investing that amount in the ...