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Bloomberg Oil halted gains as US explorers resumed their drilling binge, raising concerns over whether output cuts by OPEC and its allies will be enough to clear a glut despite a pledge from Russia that it’s committed to the curbs. Futures in New York fell 0.2 percent after data showed American producers added oil rigs for the seventh time in …

BAGHDAD / Reuters The head of Iraq’s state-oil marketer SOMO said that he expected oil prices to remain at current levels for the whole of 2018. “I expect oil prices to stay stable at their current levels at least until the end of 2018,” SOMO chief Alaa al-Yasiri told reporters at a SOMO event in Baghdad. “Oil price stability depends …

Bloomberg The Democratic Republic of Congo granted Total SA a one-year extension to a license allowing it to explore for oil along the Ugandan border. Total must meet objectives including developing a drilling program before the new permit expires January 26, 2019, Oil Minister Aime Ngoy Mukena said in a written response to questions. The company is also expected to …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans to meet top global executives, including the heads of Apple Inc and Google, during his first trip to the US since becoming heir to the throne of the world’s largest oil exporter, according to a person briefed on the trip’s details. Crown Prince Mohammed, known among journalists and diplomats as MBS, …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is cutting back on its dealings with some German companies amid a diplomatic spat with its top European trading partner, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Government agencies have been told not to renew some non-essential contracts with German firms following comments made in November by Germany’s then-foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, two of the people …

Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA may have misled regulators in Nigeria by wrongly attributing oil spills to theft and sabotage in order to avoid paying compensation to affected communities, rights group Amnesty International said. “Amnesty International researchers have identified that at least 89 spills may have been wrongly labeled as theft or sabotage when in fact they …

Reuters Iran has nearly doubled gas production at South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, in the past year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, according to state media. Gas production at South Pars increased from 285 million cubic meters to 555 million cubic meters in the past Iranian calendar year, which started in late March 2017, Rouhani said, …

Bloomberg Large digital companies operating in the European Union, such as Alphabet Inc. or Twitter Inc., could face a 3% tax on their gross revenues based on where their users are located, according to a draft proposal by European Commission. The draft was circulated and outlines how a targeted levy on gross revenues would increase the tax bill digital giants …

Bloomberg Global finance chiefs are set to warn that the broadest and stro-ngest economic expansion since the turn of the decade would be thrown into jeopardy if governments turn inward. In the draft of a statement that finance ministers and central bankers will discuss during talks in Buenos Aires beginning on Monday, the Group of 20 repeated a pledge to …

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 …