Regional News

Bloomberg Oil halted gains as US explorers resumed their drilling binge, raising concerns over whether output cuts by OPEC and its allies will be enough to clear a glut despite a pledge from Russia that it’s committed to the curbs. Futures in New York fell 0.2 percent after data showed American producers added oil rigs for the seventh time in ...

BAGHDAD / Reuters The head of Iraq’s state-oil marketer SOMO said that he expected oil prices to remain at current levels for the whole of 2018. “I expect oil prices to stay stable at their current levels at least until the end of 2018,” SOMO chief Alaa al-Yasiri told reporters at a SOMO event in Baghdad. “Oil price stability depends ...

Bloomberg The Democratic Republic of Congo granted Total SA a one-year extension to a license allowing it to explore for oil along the Ugandan border. Total must meet objectives including developing a drilling program before the new permit expires January 26, 2019, Oil Minister Aime Ngoy Mukena said in a written response to questions. The company is also expected to ...

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans to meet top global executives, including the heads of Apple Inc and Google, during his first trip to the US since becoming heir to the throne of the world’s largest oil exporter, according to a person briefed on the trip’s details. Crown Prince Mohammed, known among journalists and diplomats as MBS, ...

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is cutting back on its dealings with some German companies amid a diplomatic spat with its top European trading partner, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Government agencies have been told not to renew some non-essential contracts with German firms following comments made in November by Germany’s then-foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, two of the people ...

Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA may have misled regulators in Nigeria by wrongly attributing oil spills to theft and sabotage in order to avoid paying compensation to affected communities, rights group Amnesty International said. “Amnesty International researchers have identified that at least 89 spills may have been wrongly labeled as theft or sabotage when in fact they ...

Reuters Iran has nearly doubled gas production at South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, in the past year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, according to state media. Gas production at South Pars increased from 285 million cubic meters to 555 million cubic meters in the past Iranian calendar year, which started in late March 2017, Rouhani said, ...

LONDON / Reuters Global oil demand is expected to pick up this year but supply is growing at a faster pace, leading to a rise in inventories in the first quarter of 2018, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The IEA raised its forecast for oil demand this year to 99.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from 97.8 million bpd ...

SINGAPORE / Reuters Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices fell this week as demand eased in North Asia on expectations for higher temperatures in the region and as nuclear reactors restart in Japan, limiting the need for gas for power generation. Spot prices for May delivery slipped to around $7.70 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), said several trade ...

LONDON / Reuters BP is seeking buyers for its stake in a 50-year-old oil and gas business in Egypt as it focusses on newer deepwater gas fields off the country’s Mediterranean coast, banking sources said. The London-based company has in recent weeks pitched to potential buyers its stake in Gulf of Suez Oil Company (GUPCO), a joint venture with the ...