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DUBAI / WAM Drydocks World on Monday held a steel-cutting ceremony to mark the start of production on a conversion project for Boskalis B.V. According to a press statement, Drydocks World will convert a drill ship YAN into an offshore installation vessel named Bokalift 2. This vessel is designed to carry out offshore operations for windmill installations in Taiwan. The …

Bloomberg The government of Nigeria, whose revenue could be slashed by more than half this year due to the oil-price slump, finalised plans for a revised budget that keeps spending almost intact, and that will mean more borrowing. Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed got approval from the West African’s nation’s cabinet to go ahead with the new budget that cuts expenditure …

Bloomberg In the face of an unprecedented oil market collapse, Opec+ is responding with an urgency never seen before. With unusual speed, the alliance is launching an unparalleled program of production cutbacks this month to offset the slump induced by coronavirus pandemic. The 23-nation coalition is well on its way to cutting 9.7 million barrels of daily crude output — …

Bloomberg The outlook for global oil markets has “improved somewhat,” with demand a little stronger than expected and supply reined in by a brutal price crash, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. World oil production is on track for a “historic decline” this month to the lowest level in nine years, the IEA said in a monthly report. Opec and …

NEW YORK / WAM The UAE has emphasised that multilateralism and international cooperation remain essential to resolving global challenges at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe and lessons learned for preventing future atrocities. “While we commemorate the end of the Second World War on European …

Bloomberg Oil traded near a five-week high as investors weighed the nascent recovery of demand against concerns about a resurgence in coronavirus cases if lockdowns are relaxed too early. The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said oil use will be below pre-coronavirus levels for at least a year, highlighting the depth of the collapse in consumption. The top …

Abu Dhabi / WAM The UAE has strongly condemned the terror attack that targeted a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul and another that targeted a funeral, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed in a statement its utter denunciation of these criminal acts and rejection of all forms of violence, which …

Emirates Business Coronavirus has caused a significant impact on the way consumers shop and make payments. With social distancing rules in place, many of them have embraced contactless payments and digital wallets as a safer way to manage their money. According to data gathered by AksjeBloggen, the global digital payments market is expected to continue rising in the following years, …

Bloomberg Oil pared last week’s gain as fears of a potential resurgence in global coronavirus cases countered tentative signs of a demand recovery. Futures fell 2.3% in New York to trade near $24 a barrel. China put Shulan, a city near the North Korean border, in lockdown over the weekend, while in the US, the White House was hit with …

Bloomberg When Bharat Gite reopened his aluminum parts factories in India’s western city of Pune, he spent days servicing idle machines, sanitising his premises and putting in place social distancing norms for staff. As India begins gradually easing stay-at-home restrictions across the country, Gite’s experience shows how reopening economy isn’t going to be a straightforward exercise. On top of the …