Regional News

Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s agreement to sell out of oil-sands producer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. brings its $30 billion divestment goal within reach. The Anglo-Dutch company’s Shell Gas BV unit will divest all its shares in Canadian Natural for total pretax proceeds of $3.3 billion, The Hague-based Shell said. The sale serves the dual purpose of shedding one of …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s non-oil revenue climbed 63 percent in the first quarter of 2018, propelled by improved tax collection as part of a drive to reduce the economy’s reliance on income from oil exports. Revenue rose to 52.3 billion riyals ($14 billion), partly due to the introduction of value-added taxation and measures taken over the past two years, including a …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said bringing global oil inventories back to their five-year average isn’t the target of OPEC’s output cuts, and the group is yet to accomplish its goal of stabilising markets. The rolling five-year average of stockpiles is inflated by the glut that’s been around since 2014, Khalid Al-Falih said in Tokyo. The objective of production curbs …

Bloomberg Sasol Ltd. expects a “volatile environment” for crude oil as geopolitics help sway the market. “It’s going to move back and forth depending on what’s happening in the world — political tensions, supply disruptions,” said Steve Cornell, co-chief executive officer of the South African energy and chemicals company. Market drivers include the much-anticipated US decision on the global nuclear …

Bloomberg The big, rushed and opaque deal for an enigmatic Chinese energy company to buy into Russia’s state oil behemoth has disintegrated. CEFC China Energy Co.’s agreement last year to purchase a $9 billion stake in Rosneft PJSC came to end as the sellers decided not to proceed with the deal. Separately, meetings scheduled for investors holding 15.1 billion yuan …

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 …