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Bloomberg The Trump administration outlined plans for selling drilling rights on every acre of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, despite acknowledging potential oil spills and impacts to polar bear and caribou that roam through the region. The Interior Department’s draft environmental impact statement, published online, is a major milestone in the administration’s push to sell drilling rights in …

Bloomberg Crude drilling increased in American fields even as explorers face the biggest quarterly drop in oil prices since 2014. Working US oil rigs rose by 10 this week to 883, according to data released by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. More than 100 additional rigs have been deployed across American fields this year. It’s likely one of the last …

ABU DHABI / WAM Digital economy can contribute more than $3 trillion to Arab GDP growth, according to key recommendations and insights from the First Arab Digital Economy Conference, which concluded in the UAE capital on Wednesday. The importance of adopting the vision of the Arab digital economy for the growth opportunities of the Arab countries’ GDP is in direct …

Bloomberg Donald Trump declared victory over IS, as officials said he’s ordered a full withdrawal of US forces from Syria in a sharp reversal of American policy that appeared to take the Pentagon by surprise. The US military is working to quickly carry out Trump’s order, according to the officials, but it wasn’t clear how soon the approximately 2,000 troops …

DUBAI / WAM The number of Chinese tourists travelling to the GCC is expected to increase 81 percent from 1.6 million in 2018 to 2.9 million in 2022, according to data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 28 to May 1, 2019. The latest research from Colliers International, …

Bloomberg Recent pledges of $2 billion in investment for South Sudan’s oil may be just the start, with the war-torn nation expecting further agreements in early 2019, its petroleum minister said. Ezekiel Lul Gatkuoth’s prediction comes as the African nation’s warring sides prepare to form a power-sharing government in the latest bid to end five years of conflict. The country, …

Bloomberg China bought huge amounts of Middle East and West African crude as oil prices were collapsing in November. Oil tankers loaded 6.5 million barrels a day from ports in the two regions for Chinese buyers in November, a 26 percent increase compared with the average over prior 10 months, ship tracking compiled by Bloomberg shows. With deliveries taking between …

Bloomberg Jagged Peak Energy Inc is considering expanding its footprint in the oil-rich Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The oil and gas company, with a market value of $2.2 billion, is working with an adviser to pursue bolt-on acquisitions, said the people, who asked not to be identified because …

RIYADH / WAM The Saudi Council of Ministers, chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has approved the largest budget in the Kingdom’s history with SAR1.106 trillion spending in 2019, approximately 7 percent higher than the projected expenditure by the end of the fiscal year 2018. This came in a session held …

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and its project partner Cepsa have announced the awarding of a key contract, as both companies move forward with plans to develop a world-scale linear alkyl benzene (LAB) plant in the Ruwais Derivatives Park. The LAB project is the first of the derivative units to be advanced under Adnoc’s …