News

DUBAI / WAM A twenty-one percent increase in Chinese arrivals to the GCC is expected by 2021, rising to 2.5 million visitors annually, according to data released ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2018, which takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre in April. Published by Colliers International, the data predicts Saudi will experience the highest proportionate increase in …

Bloomberg India’s biggest oil and gas explorer has widened its first debt-raising plan to as much as $5.48 billion to buy state-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Oil & Natural Gas Corp’s board has approved raising as much as 350 billion rupees in loans to buy the government’s 51.1 percent stake in HPCL, Chairman Shashi Shanker said in New Delhi. That …

BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq agreed a deal with US energy company Orion on Monday to process natural gas extracted at its giant Nahr Bin Omar oilfield. The memorandum of understanding, signed in Baghdad by representatives of the oil ministry and the US company, will allow Orion Gas Processors to build facilities to capture the gas from the field located in …

Bloomberg Libya’s powerful black market traders are encountering an unfamiliar sight: people showing up with bundles of dollars for sale. Rising oil prices have relieved financial pressure on Libya, allowing authorities to channel more dollars to importers since the start of the year. Meanwhile, the central bank has eased restrictions on currency transfers that had made the black market the …

Bloomberg Brent crude steadied after Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to continue supply cuts. Futures rose as much as 0.5 percent in London before paring those gains. Output limits should remain through 2018 as rebalancing may be achieved next year, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said in a Bloomberg television interview held with his Russian counterpart. Russia is prepared …

Bloomberg Philadelphia Energy Solutions LLC, owner of the largest oil refinery serving the New York Harbor gasoline and diesel market, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, a joint-venture between The Carlyle Group LP and a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners LP, filed a petition in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Chief Executive Greg Gatta said in a memo …

DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia has asked banks for proposals to refinance its $10 billion international syndicated loan and to help the sovereign raise funds through other means, the country’s debt management office said. In addition to the req- uest for proposals (RFP) on the loan refinancing, the government has issued RFPs covering further US dol- lar debt capital market …

MUSCAT / Reuters Global oil producers are in agreement that they should continue cooperating on production after their deal on supply cuts expires at the end of this year, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Sunday. It was the first time Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, had publicly stated OPEC and non-OPEC producers would keep cooperating …

Bloomberg Kuwait is weighing plans to sell dollar-denominated bonds, according to people familiar with the matter, joining other Gulf Cooperation Council states also said to be considering sales. Officials from the oil-rich Gulf nation have held talks with banks about the possibility of a sale as soon as the first quarter, two of the people said, asking not to be …

Bloomberg Despite Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s January 9 declaration that Florida is “off the table” for offshore oil drilling, that activity is actually still on the table. The acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management made clear that Zinke’s decision, announced on Twitter and described to reporters in the Tallahassee airport, doesn’t stop a formal process of considering …