Regional News

Bloomberg Norway’s oil industry is in full recovery mode, but the country’s top petroleum lobbyist is worried about growing opposition ahead. At the same time as it gave a big boost to investment forecasts for next five years, Norwegian Oil and Gas Association sounded one of its starkest warnings yet on political risk facing the nation’s biggest industry. Explorers and …

Bloomberg Mexico’s opposition is accusing the government of addressing the issue of fuel theft irresponsibly as supply fears spread to the nation’s capital. Members of the senate are calling for the newly appointed energy minister Rocio Nahle and Petroleos Mexicanos chief executive Octavio Romero to explain how they will fix fuel distribution amid shortages at gasoline stations in central Mexico, …

Bloomberg Electricite de France SA’s Italian unit has attracted potential bidders including Neptune Energy and Warburg Pincus’s Apex International Energy for its oil and gas business, people familiar with the matter said. Bidders for Edison SpA’s exploration and production assets, primarily located in Egypt and Italy, may offer as much as $2 billion, the people said, asking not to be …

Bloomberg Sinopec Corp’s trading losses shouldn’t deflect investors from the potential opportunity presented by its shares holding near a two-year low. The refining giant, officially called China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, has slumped 10 percent in the past month amid a global oil rout and after it reported losses on derivatives linked to crude prices at its main trading unit …

Bloomberg Idaho regulators rejected Hydro One Ltd’s $3.4 billion takeover of Avista Corp, the second time state officials cited political risks in Ontario as grounds to nix the Canadian company’s effort to buy the US utility. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission said “the management of Hydro One is subject to the province’s political pressure,” and the takeover would therefore be …

Bloomberg American drivers are likely to pay a little less for gas this year and President Donald Trump is happy to take credit. The projected $2.70 a gallon pump price for 2019 is 3 cents lower than 2018 levels, although this year’s high could reach $3 as soon as May and top $4 in some cities, according to GasBuddy’s Price …

Bloomberg Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd will extend its strategy of trimming top executive positions to include lower ranking managers and finally the general workforce as South Africa’s cash-strapped power utility looks to cut costs, according to a person familiar with the plans. The state-owned company last month reduced its highest executive structure to nine positions from 21 by regrading and …

Bloomberg With brand-name drillers unwilling to jump in, Venezuela is resorting to a newly formed US company for help in shoring up production from its crude reserves, the largest in the world. Schlumberger Ltd and Halliburton Co, the world’s biggest oil-service providers, have announced over $2 billion in combined write-offs for unpaid bills in Venezuela since the second quarter of …

Bloomberg Jobs in the Texas oil patch dropped for the first time in almost two years, according to the state’s workforce commission. The number of workers handling exploration and drilling duties fell by 500 to 247,700 in November 2018 compared with the previous month, according to the latest data from the Texas Workforce Commission. Snapping a streak of 23 months …

Bloomberg Brent crude surged to its best weekly gain in more than two years, as encouraging economic news out of the US helped oil markets turn the page on 2018’s price collapse. The global benchmark closed higher, ending the week up 9.3 percent for its best showing since December 2016. Oil rallied alongside the US stock market following a strong …