Regional News

Bloomberg Ecuador has dealt a blow to OPEC unity by announcing it will start raising oil production this month, arguing it needs the money. OPEC has for years cheated on its own agreements, particularly when oil prices fail to recover after an output cut. But Ecuador has taken the rare step of saying publicly it will increase production, making it …

Bloomberg Oil traded near $46 a barrel as crude production rebounded in Libya, an OPEC member exempt from output curbs. Futures gained 0.3 percent in New York after sliding 1.1 percent on Monday. Libya has increased output to 1.1 million barrels a day, according to a person familiar with the matter. The country will attend a meeting with some OPEC …

Bloomberg Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil trader, walked away from a deal to buy a stake in the Richards Bay Coal Terminal from a company controlled by South Africa’s Gupta family. “The consortium comprising Vitol and Burgh Group Holdings will not be proceeding with the acquisition,” the commodities-trading house said in a statement. The proposed deal, first reported …

Bloomberg Petronet LNG Ltd. sees a lifeline arriving for its loss-making Kochi liquefied natural gas import terminal by 2019 after it boosts capacity use fourfold. The only LNG terminal in southern India is operating at about 10 percent of its 5 million-ton-a-year capacity, according to Finance Director R.K. Garg. Capacity use may increase to 2 million tons annually after a …

Bloomberg Oil skeptics are letting a little sunshine in. After the worst June for oil in six years, hedge-fund bets on declining West Texas Intermediate retreated. That made room for futures to rebound more than 5 percent last week on optimism that the summer will finally boost demand for crude and gasoline. “The market is starting to recognize that demand …

Bloomberg China Three Gorges Corp., a state-owned electricity producer, has emerged as the leading bidder for Odebrecht SA’s Chaglla hydropower plant in Peru, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Odebrecht aims to reach a deal with the Beijing-based company in the next few weeks on the sale of the 456-megawatt power plant, the people said, asking not to …

Bloomberg Oil steadied above $46 a barrel in New York after China’s economic growth in the second quarter slightly surpassed expectations, while OPEC’s commitment to supply curbs faltered. Futures were little changed in New York, after rising 5.2 percent last week. The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.9 percent from a year earlier, compared with the 6.8 percent median estimate …

Bloomberg Kuwait plans to raise oil-production capacity to as much as 4.75 million barrels a day after 2030 as the OPEC member builds refineries in Asia to process more of its crude, the head of state-run Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd. said. The Gulf country, which currently can pump up to 3.15 million barrels a day, has plans to increase capacity …

Bloomberg Centrica Plc and Stadtwerke Muenchen GmbH agreed to combine assets to set up a new European exploration and production company and may sell shares in the venture after two years. The UK’s biggest energy supplier to homes will own 69 percent of the business and the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, Centrica said in a …

Bloomberg “This ain’t your daddy’s oil,” the commercial proclaims, cutting to shots of spray paint being made and a wall covered in fanciful graffiti. “Oil strikes a pose. Oil taps potential. Oil pumps life.” Oil, in short, is cool, the industry’s branding braintrust has declared. The 30-second spot rolled out this year is part of a broader American Petroleum Institute …