Regional News

LONDON / Reuters The United Nations has blacklisted a North Korean ship for receiving oil in an October transfer that breached UN sanctions, as first revealed by Reuters. Reuters in December reported that Russian tankers had supplied fuel to North Korea, which relies on imported fuel to keep its struggling economy functioning, by transferring cargoes at sea. European security sources …

Bloomberg America’s most prolific oil field is now its worst market for natural gas. A pipeline shortage that’s leaving gas trapped in West Texas’ Permian Basin means prices for the fuel there are the lowest of any major US hub, wresting that distinction from Appalachia’s Marcellus Shale. Prices for Permian gas, produced alongside oil in the play, have tumbled 32 …

Bloomberg Bahrain, the smallest energy producer in the Persian Gulf, discovered its biggest oil field since it started producing crude in 1932, according to the country’s official news agency. The shale oil and natural gas discovered in a deposit off the island state’s west coast “is understood to dwarf Bahrain’s current reserves,” Bahrain News Agency reported, without giving figures. US …

Bloomberg Crude fell as a sell-off in equity markets signalled a flight from riskier investments. Futures slid as much as 1.9 percent in New York. US stocks declined as China imposed retaliatory tariffs on US goods, the latest move in escalating trade dispute between world’s largest economies. At the same time, supply concerns that prompted hedge funds to increase bullish …

Reuters The Iraqi cabinet approved a plan to raise the nation’s crude oil output capacity to 6.5 million barrels per day by 2022, according to a government statement. Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said in January capacity was currently close to 5 million bpd. The country is producing more than 4.4 million bpd in line with an agreement between the …

BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq plans to award oil and gas exploration and development contracts in 11 new blocks on April 15, oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said. Iraq had initially set June 21 as the date to open the bids for the new blocks, located in border areas with Iran and Kuwait, and in offshore Gulf waters. Bidding documents will …

HONG KONG / Reuters China is taking its first steps towards paying for imported crude oil in yuan instead of the US dollar, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, a key development in Beijing’s efforts to establish its currency internationally. Shifting just part of global oil trade into the yuan is potentially huge. Oil is the world’s …

Bloomberg Fifty-five years after starting natural gas production from Europe’s biggest field, the Netherlands have signed its death warrant. Output from the Groningen deposit will be cut by two-thirds from the year starting October 2022 and halt by 2030 to ensure the safety of people in the province of the same name after earthquakes linked to extraction, Economy Minister Eric …

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp., Total SA and Lukoil PJSC are among international companies interested to win rights to develop 11 oil and gas border fields as OPEC’s number two producer continues to build production capacity. Iraq plans to hold a bidding round on April 15 and award service contracts the same day for companies to develop 11 onshore and offshore …

Bloomberg An upbeat shale patch, much to OPEC’s dismay, is hiring and ready to drill for more oil as producers are comfortably making a profit. But you have to be big if you’re competing in America’s prime spots. The vast majority of explorers surveyed for a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas report said they could profitably drill a new well …