Regional News

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp., the US energy behemoth, signed deals to move ahead on a proposed multibillion-dollar petrochemical project and a gas import terminal in southern China, contrasting with trade tensions between the two nations that may escalate this week. The Irving, Texas-based company signed cooperation framework agreements with the Guangdong provincial government, it said in a statement, following a …

Bloomberg Malaysia has finally scrapped three China-backed pipeline projects after halting work on them following the shock elections in May that saw an opposition alliance assuming power for the first time in the country. A finance ministry spokeswoman confirmed that the country has cancelled three China-backed pipeline projects. The Financial Times earlier cited Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng saying …

Bloomberg India’s efforts to sell a $1.6 billion stake in Oil & Natural Gas Corp. has run into concerns that government policies on fuel pricing would weigh on the state-run explorer’s share price, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Investors and fund managers that met with Indian government officials during a US roadshow last month voiced concern that …

Bloomberg Equatorial Guinea may exclude oil-service companies TechnipFMC Plc, Subsea 7 SA and Schlumberger Ltd. from the country because they aren’t complying with local-content rules over training and jobs, said a government official. Major oil companies could be asked by the end of September to cancel their contracts with those service providers and issue new tenders, the official said, asking …

Bloomberg I Squared Capital, the private equity firm led by former Morgan Stanley executives, is considering a sale of Irish power producer Viridian Group Holdings Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter said. The infrastructure-focussed investment firm is sounding out potential buyers to gauge their interest in Viridian, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information …

Bloomberg The price to access unexplored shale assets on the New Mexico side of the Permian Basin soared to $95,001 an acre in a federal government auction, a record high for North America’s biggest oil field. The state’s previous record was $40,001 an acre set in December, according to a statement by the US Department of the Interior. Overall, the …

Bloomberg Mexico’s next president said he will continue with tenders for drilling service contracts starting when he takes office. “We are preparing the rescue plan for the oil industry that will consist of producing more crude oil soon, and we will need these companies that have experience, most of them national companies,” President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. “We are …

Bloomberg The vibrations of the shale boom are now shaking the futures market. A visible decline in open interest of West Texas Intermediate crude futures contracts for delivery five or more years in the future is due to the growth of tight oil fields and the shift in producers’ need to hedge oil so far out in the future, according …

Bloomberg Africa is entering the oil-hunt spotlight as drillers, flush with cash after crude’s recovery, are turning their attention back to the continent’s potentially vast resources. The world’s biggest companies from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc are setting up camp across Africa. Armed with stronger balance sheets and higher crude prices the industry is …

Bloomberg The world’s biggest offshore oil driller may reactivate two to three mothballed rigs a year as the industry embarks on a full-fledged recovery for deepwater exploration. In announcing a $2.7 billion deal for a rival operator, Transocean Ltd. cited a forecast by energy consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. that day-rates in waters more than two miles deep will more than …