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VIENNA / WAM The 2017 OPEC World Oil Outlook (WOO) has been launched at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, with expectations that total primary energy demand is set to increase by 35 percent in the period to 2040. First published in 2007, the WOO offers a thorough review and assessment of the medium- and long-term prospects to 2040 for the ...

BASRA / Reuters Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to exit the Majnoon oilfield and hand over its operation to the state-run Basra Oil Co. by the end of June 2018, two oil officials close to the deal said on Wednesday. A letter signed by Iraqi oil minister Jabar Luaibi, dated August 23 and seen by Reuters, gave appr- ...

Bloomberg Chevron Corp. is planning a significant drilling program in the Duvernay shale formation, marking a vote of confidence in Canada’s energy industry in a year when it joined other majors in selling assets there. The initial development in the East Kaybob section of the formation will encompass about 55,000 acres (22,000 hectares), the San Ramon, California-based company said. Chevron ...

BEIJING / Reuters China has raised its 2018 crude oil import quota for “non-state trade,” generally meaning independent refiners, by 55 percent over 2017, raising the clout of the independents in the global market after a setback this year. The move took market participants by surprise after Beijing cut the quotas to independents for 2017. The annual quota setting, announced ...

Bloomberg China Literature Ltd.’s red-hot debut may spur parent Tencent Holdings Ltd. to consider spinning off other parts of a $470 billion empire that spans everything from movies to music streaming. Tencent’s e-books business soared almost 90 percent on its debut, Hong Kong’s largest tech coming-out party since 2007. That marked the best first-day performance this year among IPOs of ...

Bloomberg JD.com Inc. will buy $2 billion of US goods, more than half of which is beef and pork, in a deal that coincides with President Donald Trump’s visit to China. JD.com, China’s second-largest online mall, will buy more than $1.2 billion of beef from the Montana Stock Growers Association and pork from Smithfield Foods Inc over the next three ...

­­­­­­­­­­­Bloomberg Electric-car production in the EU got a spur on Wednesday as EU regulators acted to close a technological gap with China by seeking stricter emission curbs on manufacturers such as Volkswagen AG and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. The European Commission, the EU’s regulatory arm, proposed a 30 percent reduction in car discharges of carbon dioxide by 2030 compared with ...

Bloomberg The UK’s exit from the European Union should be prevented due to the “far-reaching impact” Brexit would have, Germany’s Council of Economic Experts, which advises Chancellor Angela Merkel, said on Wednesday. If Britain does leave the bloc, an agreement is needed that would minimise the damage for both sides, the council said in its annual report. With talks likely ...

Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s app is close to surpassing Apple Pay in usage for mobile payments in the US, giving the world’s largest retailer even more clout as a growing number of people shop with smartphones. Available in 4,774 stores, Walmart Pay is enrolling tens of thousands of new users a day, up from thousands four or five months ago, ...

Bloomberg Two former Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc executives pleaded guilty to US charges that they orchestrated international bribes at the engine maker for more than a decade. The cases, also involving three other individuals, focus on efforts to secure a $145 million contract to power a gas pipeline from Kazakhstan to China. The action comes about 10 months after Rolls-Royce agreed ...