Regional News

Bloomberg French energy utility Engie SA faces a 120 million-euro ($139 million) tax bill after the European Union said it benefited from an unfair fiscal arrangement with Luxembourg. Concluding a state-aid probe into the tax affairs of Engie, the European Commission on Wednesday said Luxembourg selectively deviated from provisions of national law to help lower the tax bill for France’s …

Bloomberg The biggest US shale region will have to shut wells within four months because there aren’t enough pipelines to get the oil to customers, the head of one of the industry’s largest producers said. The worsening bottleneck in the Permian region that straddles west Texas and New Mexico offers an unexpected fillip to OPEC and other oil producers outside …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s crude exports jumped in the first half of June, before the world’s largest oil exporter meets with other producer states to thrash out a collective production policy. Observed shipments from the country’s Persian Gulf and Red Sea ports averaged 7.388 million barrels a day during the first 15 days of June, compared with 7.145 million barrels a …

Bloomberg For the first time ever, Moody’s Investors Service cut its outlook for US utilities to negative, warning that the sector’s debt levels have reached their highest since the financial crisis and may remain there for months. The sector’s consolidated debt-to-equity ratio has hit the highest level since 2008 as companies finance mergers, acquisitions and other investments in renewable energy …

Bloomberg Shale oil hasn’t always been Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s best friend, but they’re working on the relationship. Shell is said to have bid, with partner Blackstone Group LP, on a portfolio of US shale assets BHP Billiton Ltd. wants to sell for about $10 billion. If it wins, the Anglo-Dutch oil major could exceed its goal of doubling its …

Bloomberg The oil industry’s ugliest battle is heading for a climax in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. But SandRidge Energy Inc is probably bound for the auction block anyway. Whether SandRidge or activist investor Carl Icahn wins control of the board this week, the oil and natural gas explorer is expected to sell some or all of its drilling rights as …

Bloomberg Siemens AG is committed to its gas-turbine unit while recognising that it has to reduce capacity and cost amid a market slowdown, according to a memo with instructions on how to respond to media inquiries about the future of the business. The memo was sent by Lisa Davis, managing board member responsible for the power and gas division, according …

Bloomberg Baytex Energy Corp. agreed to buy rival western Canadian oil producer Raging River Exploration Inc., in a deal valued at C$1.6 billion ($1.2 billion) that includes about 260,000 acres in the emerging East Duvernay Shale basin. Under the pact, holders of common shares of Raging River will receive 1.36 common shares of Baytex for each Raging River Share owned, …

Bloomberg On a tropical island just off the coast of Nigeria, hundreds of engineers work around the clock to produce liquefied natural gas at a plant the size of Lower Manhattan. Operator Nigeria LNG Ltd says it will decide later this year whether to invest more than $10 billion to boost capacity by 40 percent. That would allow the Bonny …

Bloomberg World energy ministers representing about two thirds of the global population tussled over how the world can achieve a cleaner energy future. The compromise answer: Natural gas, at least for now. A consensus statement from G20 energy ministers meeting in Argentina cited the potential of natural gas “to expand significantly over the coming decades.” Meanwhile, the group said that …