Regional News

Bloomberg Suncor Energy Inc is working with Alberta’s government to help mitigate the “unintended consequences” of mandated oil cuts, a policy company opposed from the start and now says is hitting it disproportionately hard. Suncor said its initial required output curtailment is higher than the 8.7 percent industrywide level, without giving specific amount. That makes it harder to maintain safe …

Bloomberg Attorneys general from nine coastal states are intervening in a lawsuit aimed at blocking seismic surveys that could help pinpoint oil under Atlantic waters but also imperil whales and dolphins. The move brings the heft and resources of top state law enforcement officials to a fight over the future of oil and gas exploration along the US East Coast. …

Bloomberg With oil hovering just above its lowest level since August 2017, at least one large investor is dumping a BlackRock Inc exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the global energy industry. Two large blocks of the $1.4 billion iShares Global Energy ETF, or IXC, sold. The first was 1.1 million shares worth $34 million at 10:37 am in New York, and …

Bloomberg The Trump administration outlined plans for selling drilling rights on every acre of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, despite acknowledging potential oil spills and impacts to polar bear and caribou that roam through the region. The Interior Department’s draft environmental impact statement, published online, is a major milestone in the administration’s push to sell drilling rights in …

Bloomberg Crude drilling increased in American fields even as explorers face the biggest quarterly drop in oil prices since 2014. Working US oil rigs rose by 10 this week to 883, according to data released by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. More than 100 additional rigs have been deployed across American fields this year. It’s likely one of the last …

Bloomberg Recent pledges of $2 billion in investment for South Sudan’s oil may be just the start, with the war-torn nation expecting further agreements in early 2019, its petroleum minister said. Ezekiel Lul Gatkuoth’s prediction comes as the African nation’s warring sides prepare to form a power-sharing government in the latest bid to end five years of conflict. The country, …

Bloomberg China bought huge amounts of Middle East and West African crude as oil prices were collapsing in November. Oil tankers loaded 6.5 million barrels a day from ports in the two regions for Chinese buyers in November, a 26 percent increase compared with the average over prior 10 months, ship tracking compiled by Bloomberg shows. With deliveries taking between …

Bloomberg Jagged Peak Energy Inc is considering expanding its footprint in the oil-rich Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The oil and gas company, with a market value of $2.2 billion, is working with an adviser to pursue bolt-on acquisitions, said the people, who asked not to be identified because …

Bloomberg SSE Plc and Innogy SE terminated plans to create the UK’s second-biggest utility, the latest sign of pressure on the industry from increasing regulation. SSE’s board decided it wasn’t in the best interest of the company to proceed with the deal to combine its retail business with Innogy’s Npower unit after it emerged last month that more cash would …

Bloomberg Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is boosting Petroleos Mexicanos’ budget to 464.6 billion pesos ($23 billion) next year to reverse flagging oil production and increase domestic fuel output. The proposal sent to the lower house of congress would increase Pemex’s total budget, including capital investments, by 14 percent in 2019 compared with 407 billion pesos this year, according …