Regional News

  ANKARA / Reuters Turkey’s growth will be below potential in 2016 and this year, the International Monetary Fund said, citing political uncertainty, strained relations with Europe and insecurity at home and in the region. The IMF said growth in 2016 would be 2.7 percent, below the government’s official 3.2 percent forecast, rising to just 2.9 percent in 2017, below ...

  Bloomberg Axeon Specialty Products LLC is shuttering the US largest asphalt refinery when the country might need it the most. The Stamford, Connecticut-based company announced last month it plans to close its Paulsboro, New Jersey, refinery, and convert it into a terminal. The planned shutdown comes as President Donald Trump has pledged to build new roads, highways and bridges ...

  Bloomberg Vivint Solar Inc. is getting back to its roots. This time last year, the Blackstone Group LP-backed rooftop solar installer was trying to close its proposed acquisition by SunEdison Inc., then the world’s largest clean-energy company. Now, 11 months after that deal fell apart, it’s again partnering with sister company Vivint Smart Home. Chief Executive Officer David Bywater ...

  Reuters Increased refinery maintenance in Asia and the Middle East is expected to boost profits for operators in other regions in the first half of this year, market watchers said on Wednesday. Refineries worldwide ran hard during the past two years to capitalise on low oil prices, with Chinese refineries processing a record amount of crude in 2016, meaning ...

  Bloomberg Iraq’s decision not to reciprocate for US President Donald Trump’s visa ban on citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries offers some reassurance for US oil companies working in OPEC’s second-biggest crude producer. US companies working in Iraq include Exxon Mobil Corp. and oil-service providers Schlumberger Ltd., Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. Most expatriates in Iraq work on ...

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s energy policies are good for the petroleum industry and Saudi Arabia sees no problem with growth in US oil production as long as it’s in line with demand, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said. “President Trump has policies which are good for the oil industries,” Al-Falih said in an interview with the BBC. “He has ...

  Bloomberg For years the oil industry has appealed to the executive branch and courts to de-fang a US rule forcing Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and other producers to disclose their payments to foreign governments. Now, the Republican takeover in Washington is handling it for them. The House of Representatives is set to vote this week on killing a ...

  Bloomberg Offshore gas-pipeline owners faced off again with Norway in an Oslo court on Tuesday in an appeal trial over tariff cuts that investors claim will cost them about $1.8 billion in income. The plaintiffs, companies owned by investors including Allianz SE and Canadian pension funds, are seeking to overturn a 2015 ruling that the government had acted lawfully ...

  Reuters Saudi Arabian money supply growth picked up in December in a sign that the economy is regaining strength after a slump last year caused by low oil prices and government austerity measures, central bank data showed on Sunday. Annual growth in M3 money supply, the broadest money supply measure, rose to 0.7 percent in December, its highest level ...

  Bloomberg PetroChina Co., the country’s biggest listed oil and gas producer, said full-year net income in 2016 fell by as much as 80 percent, putting it on pace to report a record-low profit. The slump is due to lower international oil prices and domestic natural gas prices dropping “drastically” compared with the previous year, it said in a filing ...