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MANILA / Reuters The Philippines is looking to seal a pact with China within a few months to jointly explore for oil and gas in a part of the busy South China Sea waterway claimed by both countries, a Philippine official said on Monday. In February, the two countries agreed to set up a special panel to work out how …

LONDON / Reuters Oil rose on Monday, recovering some of the decline on the potential impact on global growth from a trade dispute between China and the United States as well as rising US output. Markets were also eyeing the situation in Syria after reports – denied by the Pentagon – that US forces had struck a major air base …

LAGOS / Reuters Nigerian energy company Neconde has launched an arbitration case against Royal Dutch Shell, the West African firm’s chief executive said, alleging the oil major continued to lift crude and failed to remit funds after a lease had been sold. The oilfield in question, Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42, is also at the centre of corruption allegations. Shell …

Bloomberg The Middle East is emerging as a potential beneficiary of the brewing trade war between the US and China as the Asian nation strikes back with retaliatory tariffs on American petrochemical products. If China goes ahead with its proposal to slap a 25 percent tariff on polyethylene and liquid propane, which were among 106 American goods targeted, buyers in …

Bloomberg Saudi Basic Industries Corp plans to boost production capacity 70 percent by 2025 as the Middle East’s dominant chemical maker works with new joint-venture partners and expands its footprint in the heart of the US shale boom. Increasing chemical production is crucial to Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” blueprint, which envisions creating higher-value products and jobs, Yousef al Benyan, chief …

LONDON / Reuters Gasoline stored in ships off Europe’s coast has ballooned to more than 400,000 tonnes, putting pressure on the continent’s traders to compete for buyers once summer demand starts. Several vessels have joined the three initially booked to store fuel off Europe’s ports in mid-March, and brokers said even barges have held cargoes of gasoline for three to …

ALGIERS / Reuters Algeria is offering motorists incentives to more than double the number of cars running on natural gas by 2021 in an effort to reduce consumption of costly imported fuel amid strained public finances, officials said. The North African country has been struggling with a halving since 2014 of vital oil and gas revenues, which make up 60 …

ASTANA / Reuters Kazakhstan hopes to settle a profit sharing dispute with global energy companies developing the Karachaganak gas condensate field by June, its deputyenergy minister said, after talks were repeatedly extended. Eni and Shell have the biggest stakes in the Karachaganak project, which they jointly operate. “Negotiations on the Karachaganak project are rather active, we meet almost daily, our …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s state oil company will soon sign an agreement with a British oilfield services firm to explore building chemical facilities in Texas, according to people familiar with the matter. The agreement with TechnipFMC Plc involves a study for a potential chemical unit on the US Gulf Coast that would be able to produce materials used in gasoline and …

MANAMA / Reuters A new discovery off the coast of Bahrain is estimated to contain at least 80 billion barrels of tight oil, the kingdom’s biggest ever find, Bahrain’s oil minister said. Bahrain said it had discovered extensive tight oil and deep gas resources off the west coast of the kingdom. Independent appraisals by US-based oil consultants DeGolyer and MacNaughton …