Regional News

Bloomberg Puerto Rico plans to cancel a $300 million contract to rebuild the hurricane-ravaged electrical grid that went to a tiny company based in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s Montana hometown, the head of the island’s power utility said. Ricardo Ramos, executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or Prepa, said he will request permission from the utility’s board ...

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is considering a more expansionary budget than planned for 2018, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said. Authorities were already planning an expansionary budget, “and we are considering even a potential further expansion,” Al-Jadaan said in an interview at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. “We think the economy requires that support and development requires that support.” The drive ...

Bloomberg Total SA posted the highest earnings from pumping oil and gas in more than two years, illustrating the improving fortunes of an indus- try that’s endured the deepest downturn in a generation. Total’s earnings followed surprisingly strong profits from ConocoPhillips and Statoil ASA, driven by a combination of higher crude prices and deep cost cuts. Exxon Mobil Corp. and ...

Bloomberg Even for wind farms, middle age is a time for nips, tucks and sometimes replacement surgery. At least 600 megawatts of US wind farms have already undergone significant upgrades, primarily in California, and NextEra Energy Inc., the largest producer of North American wind power, said it expects to invest as much as $3 billion to upgrade or replace aging ...

Bloomberg After years of being sidelined by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, wind farm developers are dusting off plans for massive offshore turbines that may someday generate more electricity than a nuclear reactor. Christie, a Republican whose term ends in January, effectively blocked wind farms off his state’s coast by never fully implementing a program that would subsidize the projects. ...

Bloomberg Representatives from about 40 companies are expected to accompany President Donald Trump on the first presidential trade mission to China from Nov 8-10 and sign deals for billions of dollars in US investments. One of the biggest deals the Trump administration is currently negotiating is a multibillion-dollar energy investment from Chinese oil and gas giant China Petroleum & Chemical ...

Bloomberg Brent surged above $60 a barrel for the first time in more than two years amid enthusiasm that OPEC may extend its supply-restraint deal and indications that the situation between Iraq and the Kurds remains fragile. The global benchmark jumped to levels last seen in July 2015 and crude in New York closed near an eight-month high. Saudi Arabian ...

RIYADH / Reuters The $500 billion mega-city planned by Saudi Arabia will be floated on financial markets alongside oil giant Saudi Aramco as part of the kingdom’s drive to diversify away from oil, the crown prince told Reuters in an interview. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also said Aramco’s initial public offering is on track for next year and the ...

QUITO / Reuters Ecuador will ask to withdraw from OPEC for two years if the organization does not approve its request to be exempt from production quotas, the oil minister said. The Andean country, which is facing a huge deficit and funding needs because of low oil prices and a devastating earthquake last year, is planning to present its request ...

Bloomberg Oil was little changed before the release of US inventory data, while OPEC and its allies reassured traders that they’ll complete their strategy to clear a global crude surplus. Futures slipped 0.5 percent in New York after rising 1.1 percent. Government data on is forecast to show that inventories of crude oil fell and gasoline rose, both for the ...