Regional News

  BEIRUT / Reuters Lebanon’s government has prequalified eight more companies to bid for its first round of offshore exploration and production licences after prequalifying 46 companies in 2013, Energy and Water Minister Cesar Abou Khalil said on Wednesday. The bidding process for offshore blocks 1, 4, 8, 9 and 10, was postponed for years because of political paralysis in …

  Bloomberg For Russian oil companies, the historic agreement to boost prices by cutting output in conjunction with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was an easy win. Extending the deal will be less straightforward. Cuts so far this year came alongside the traditional seasonal stagnation in Russian production, meaning the country made relatively few sacrifices in exchange for an …

  Bloomberg India toppled Japan as the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge to provide cooking gas cylinders to the poor and wean them off polluting fuels drove up consumption. Imports of LPG, mostly used as cooking fuel, soared 23 percent during the financial year that ended March 31 to 11 million tons, …

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia may offer “almost interest-free” loans to companies in labor-intensive industries as part of a plan to stimulate an economy squeezed by low oil prices and spending cuts, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said. Al-Jadaan, speaking in an interview in Washington, also said the government is on track to slash its budget deficit by 30 percent this year …

  Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp. won’t be allowed to bypass US sanctions against Russia to resume drilling for oil in a joint venture that seeks to tap billions of barrels of that country’s crude. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the decision was made after consultation with President Donald Trump, according to a statement. Exxon initially requested the drilling waiver in …

  SINGAPORE / Reuters Crude oil sales from storage tanks around Singapore rose to an 11-month high in March, with nearly half of the volumes going to China and traders clearing inventories ahead of record shipments to Asia expected to arrive in April. Traders sold a total of 22.6 million barrels of crude from storage in Singapore, southern Malaysia and …

  Bloomberg Oil traded near its lowest in two weeks as comments from some OPEC producers that the group will extend output cuts were undermined by signs of rising supply. Futures were little changed in New York after a gain in US output sparked a decline of 3.8 percent on Wednesday, the biggest loss since March 8. The first three …

  Bloomberg Oman Oil Co., the sultanate’s state-owned energy producer, is seeking advice from banks to sell some energy assets and list units on the local stock market, following plans by its larger peer Saudi Arabian Oil Co. to offer shares to the public. The oil and gas producer, which has stakes in overseas businesses, wants to attract more foreign …

  Bloomberg Norway can’t afford an abrupt cut in spending if the economy of western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer is to continue growing, according to the man who most polls suggest will be prime minister after elections this year. Jonas Gahr Store, the leader of Norway’s opposition Labor Party, warned against a sudden adjustment after record expenditure by …

  Bloomberg The oil boom in the Permian Basin, America’s most prolific crude play, has become a gas boom. With its $2 billion takeover of EagleClaw Midstream Ventures LLC, Blackstone Group LP became the latest company to bet on gas in a basin better known for its oil reserves. Its interest lies in “associated gas” — a term used to …