Regional News

Bloomberg Almost two years after the biggest gas leak in US history sprung from a Sempra Energy natural gas storage field in Southern California, the state is ready for the complex to reopen. Sempra Energy’s Aliso Canyon field near Los Angeles is safe to operate at about 28 percent of capacity, with the ability to store as much as 23.6 …

Bloomberg Total SA is in talks with Myanmar to supply the country’s most populous city, Yangon, with liquefied natural gas. The French energy giant may also build a power plant, according to Xavier Preel, general manager of Total E&P Myanmar. Total, which sold about 11 million tons of LNG last year, is seeking to expand its footprint in downstream activities …

Bloomberg OPEC and Russia’s plan to clear the global oil glut hasn’t worked as they hoped, but there’s little expectation the world’s largest producers will act more aggressively when they meet this weekend. Oil has slumped into a bear market and inventories remain stubbornly high despite a deal between OPEC and 10 countries outside the group to cut output. The …

Bloomberg Oil dropped the most in two weeks as a report that OPEC’s July supply will be the highest this year fueled worries over a global glut. Futures tumbled 2.5 percent in New York, erasing gains from earlier this week. Supply from OPEC is set to exceed 33 million barrels a day this month as members including Saudi Arabia and …

Bloomberg In his final days atop General Electric Co., Jeffrey Immelt still can’t throw off oil’s stink. In his farewell earnings report, the chief executive officer ended his 16-year tenure by telling Wall Street that GE’s earnings are likely to be disappointing the rest of this year. The culprit: sputtering energy markets. It was the latest setback for a CEO …

Bloomberg Australia’s largest power generator, AGL Energy Ltd., has urged the government to exclude coal from its planned clean energy target and said there is no appetite among private investors to fund new coal-fired power plants. AGL, which sources 77% of its electricity generation from coal, said including the fossil fuel in the target would send wrong signal for industry, …

Bloomberg The weather was hot and humid on July 21, 1977, the day the US government began stockpiling oil. It started small. Just 412,000 barrels of Saudi Arabian light crude stashed in a Southeast Texas salt cavern. In the wake of the Arab oil embargo, which sent prices through the roof and forced Americans to ration gasoline, creating a national …

Bloomberg Oil bulls grappling with OPEC’s weakened resolve to curb output are also having to worry about waning demand in the world’s biggest buyer of overseas crude. State-run China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the globe’s largest oil refiner, will process about 1 million metric tons a month less than previously planned over June to August, according to people with knowledge …

Bloomberg Oil was steady amid mixed signals on US crude invento-ries, with industry data showing supplies increased last week while government statistics were expected to indicate a decline. Futures were little changed in New York after adding 0.8 percent. US inventories rose by 1.63 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the API data. That contrasts with a …

Bloomberg Libya’s rebounding oil output is undermining the supply curbs masterminded by Saudi Arabia and Russia. But any pleas for the OPEC member to exercise restraint will probably be resisted by the technocrat overseeing the North African nation’s turnaround. Production has climbed to a four-year high of 1.1 million barrels a day, with Libya adding output since April that’s equivalent …