Regional News

Bloomberg OPEC member Algeria is looking to boost spending outlined in its 2018 budget by 6 percent, capitalizing on high oil prices ahead of presidential elections next year. A proposed amendment to the 2018 budget law would raise spending to almost 9.13 trillion dinars ($79 billion). The additional funds would be directed to the investment budget, which will rise 12 ...

Bloomberg BP Plc is weighing an acquisition of some of BHP Billiton Ltd.’s energy assets as the British oil major seeks more US shale, according to people familiar with the matter. The London-based company is working with Morgan Stanley to advise on the plans, said the people, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. BP is weighing ...

Bloomberg AltaGas Ltd.’s proposed $4.6 billion buyout of WGL Holdings Inc. took a step closer to approval, with the two companies announcing a potential settlement with several groups in the District of Columbia. The settlement in principal may be a sign that the D.C. Office of People’s Counsel and other local organizations won’t oppose the deal, and was announced in ...

Bloomberg Russia reaffirmed its pledge to an alliance with OPEC, despite two months of breaching its target under a global oil-output deal. The country remains “fully committed” to bringing balance to the crude market, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement. Russia’s compliance with the deal was 95.2 percent in April, after a rate of 93.4 percent in ...

Bloomberg Rosneft PJSC plans to start a $2 billion share buyback this year, while also cutting spending and debt. The state-run producer, which pumps more than 40 percent of Russia’s crude, has already signalled a shift towards more efficient “organic” growth, ending years of deal-driven expansion that made it the country’s most indebted company. The latest announcement could boost Rosneft’s ...

Bloomberg OPEC continues to over-deliver on its production cuts, with output falling further last month as the group nears its goal of rebalancing the oil market. The cartel pumped 31.93 million barrels a day, down from a revised 31.97 million in March, a Bloomberg News survey of analysts, oil companies and ship-tracking data found. OPEC and a group of non-OPEC ...

Bloomberg Britain is so cold it’s keeping more of the natural gas it produces and imports for itself. Over the past month, UK gas exports have repeatedly plumbed the lowest levels in at least a decade for this time of the year. Usually, with winter past and heating demand subsiding, Britain would have ample supplies to ship to the continent. ...

Bloomberg BP Plc capped a shaky Big Oil earnings season on a more upbeat note, as shareholders reacted positively to the highest profit in years even as the continuing burden of oil-spill payments pushed debt higher. The results show how investors in the London-based company are feeling the effects of two life-altering events. BP is still paying its way through ...

Bloomberg While plunging output in Venezuela captures the oil world’s attention, problems are quietly festering in another OPEC nation. Angola, once Africa’s biggest crude producer, is suffering sharp declines at under-invested offshore fields, with output dropping almost three times as much as the nation pledged in an accord with fellow OPEC members. With the losses set to accelerate — a ...

Bloomberg First-quarter profit at Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the Middle East’s biggest petrochemicals producer, rose on higher prices and sales volumes, in spite of a 1.1 billion Saudi riyal ($290 million) charge for restructuring. Net income increased 5.4 percent to 5.51 billion riyals compared with the same quarter a year earlier, the Riyadh-based company said in a statement to the ...