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Bloomberg Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. reduced its output target for oil and natural gas due to the drop in crude prices that started in 2014, Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah said. Kufpec, a unit of state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp., revised its production goal for 2020 to 150,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent from 200,000 barrels a …

Bloomberg Iraqi Kurdistan-focussed Genel Energy expects oil and gas production to fall for a third year in 2018, it said, as it shifts its focus to two new gas fields. The decline in production is due to a continuing slide in output from the Taq Taq field, once considered Genel’s flagship field, after the well hit water in 2016. Genel’s …

Bloomberg The world’s political and corporate elite gathered in the Swiss ski resort of Davos delivered a robust defense of globalisation as US President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines in his first major trade action. The push-back also came as a group of 11 countries, including Japan and Canada, agreed to move forward on …

Bloomberg The influential Koch political network is urging President Donald Trump to reject a proposal made by the US Chamber of Commerce to increase the federal gas tax to help modernise American roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Last week, the chamber called on Congress and the Trump administration to raise federal fuel taxes by 25 cents a gallon, pass initiatives …

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund has raised its economic growth forecasts for Saudi Arabia as oil prices rise, though the pace of expansion remains below government estimates. Gross domestic product will likely grow 1.6 percent this year, the IMF said, compared with an earlier forecast of 1.1 percent. The Washington-based lender also revised its 2019 economic growth forecast to 2.2 …

Bloomberg Oil’s advance slowed after prices hit a new three-year high amid signs that US crude stockpiles increased last week. Futures were little changed in New York after closing at the highest level since December 2014. Industry data signalled inventories rose by 4.76 million barrels last week, which will be the first gain in 10 weeks if confirmed by a …

KHOBAR / Reuters An advisory council to Saudi Arabia’s government has asked the kingdom’s securities regulator to study the impact of listing Saudi Aramco on the local bourse amid concern that a huge initial public offering could damage the market. The Shura Council’s fiscal committee has also asked the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to make sure that the stock market’s …

Bloomberg Iceland’s hope of finding oil offshore its coast is fading after China and Norway decided to back out of the island nation’s only remaining exploration license. Cnooc Ltd., China’s state-controlled producer, and Petoro AS, Norway’s state-owned oil company, decided to relinquish their interest in the license, Iceland’s National Energy Authority said in a statement. Their junior partner, Eykon Energy …

Bloomberg Japan’s thermal coal imports rose to a record last year and liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases climbed for the first time in three years, as the fuels filled the gap in power generation left by the country’s slow restart of its nuclear power plants. The figures underscore the country’s continued reliance on imported fossil fuels for power generation, as …

BEIJING / Reuters China is pulling in ships from all over to avoid a natural gas supply squeeze ahead of another cold snap and as the world’s most populous nation prepares for Spring Festival celebrations. Fuel demand in January and February typically slows as temperatures improve compared with the busiest month, December, but data suggests this year could buck the …