Regional News

  Reuters Pressure on Qatar’s state finances is easing because of higher oil prices and the government may not need to issue an international bond this year, but it is still seeking ways to save money, finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi said. “We may not issue a bond this year given where oil prices are – right now we are ...

  Bloomberg Qatar Petroleum is exploring for oil and gas in Cyprus and Morocco as part of a strategy to expand the tiny Gulf emirate’s global energy investments. The world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas known as QP must cope with local limits on growth as it seeks to expand its LNG business and increase its production and reserves ...

  Bloomberg The oil-trading boom that cushioned the profits of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc through the price slump of 2015 and early 2016 is over. BP said it made a “small” loss trading oil in the fourth quarter, while Shell last week said trading profits “flattened” in late 2016. The fall off in trading contributed to worse-than-expected ...

  Bloomberg Donald Trump and global crude producers are set to take prices on a bumpy ride this year, according to the world’s biggest independent oil trader. As investors are kept on tenterhooks over US policies and whether OPEC and other nations will curb output as pledged, global benchmark Brent crude may vacillate between $52 and $62 a barrel, according ...

  Reuters Turkey has transferred government stakes worth billions of dollars in Turkish Airlines, major banks and fixed-line operator Turk Telekom to a sovereign wealth fund set up last year to help finance big-ticket infrastructure projects. Ankara has ambitious plans for the fund, established last August with initial capital of 50 million lira ($13.6 million). It wants the fund to ...

  TEHRAN/ AP Iran’s nuclear chief says it will have 60 percent more stockpiled uranium than it did prior to the landmark 2015 agreement with world powers after a shipment expected later this week. Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday as saying that Iran will receive a final batch of 149 tons of ...

  CAIRO / AP Egypt’s Central Bank says that the country’s foreign reserves have reached $26.4 billion in January, up from $23 billion in November. The bank announced the increase in a brief statement posted online Monday. The rise comes after the government secured a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. In order to qualify for that loan, ...

  Bloomberg OPEC cut output by 840,000 barrels a day last month, but has more work to do to fully comply with last year’s historic production deal. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 32.3 million barrels a day in January, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts, oil companies and ship-tracking data. The 10 members of the group ...

  Bloomberg The oil industry’s struggle through the worst slump in a generation showed signs of easing, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc managing to reduce its record debt for the first time since the downturn began. Rising oil prices and billions in cost cuts allowed Europe’s largest energy company and fellow giant Exxon Mobil Corp. to generate enough cash to ...

Bloomberg The exchange that’s home to Brent crude futures hired a consultant to discuss with traders, banks and other market participants measures to revamp how North Sea oil prices are calculated. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) hired Energex Partners, founded by former Morgan Stanley oil traders, to discuss potential changes to the multi-layered North Sea market that includes both physical and ...