Regional News

LONDON / Reuters State oil giant Saudi Aramco signed a preliminary deal to pursue international gas opportunities with Royal Dutch Shell as part of top crude exporter Saudi Arabia’s diversification drive before the listing of Aramco. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in London between the two companies was during the official visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ...

Bloomberg The leaders of France and India reiterated their intention to start work by the end of this year on what could become the world’s largest nuclear power plant, advancing talks that have continued for nearly a decade. French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Electricite de France SA and India’s monopoly atomic energy producer, Nuclear ...

Bloomberg Sunrun Inc., the largest US residential-solar company, is seeking about $500 million to fund more rooftop-power systems, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. South African bank Investec Plc is leading the five-year deal, according to the people, who declined to comment because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The funds would refinance and expand an existing credit ...

Bloomberg Short-selling is creeping back into the oil market as fears increase that the US will be awash with oil again. Hedge funds boosted bets on falling West Texas Intermediate crude prices by the most this year after American production surged to record levels. While OPEC this week reaffirmed its commitment to rebalancing the market, US fields are forecast to ...

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s oil company isn’t afraid of electric vehicles. As it prepares to sell a stake in the company to investors, the CEO reassured a Houston audience that the need for petroleum isn’t going away any time soon. “I am not losing any sleep over ‘peak oil demand’ or ‘stranded resources,”‘ Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said ...

BEIJING / Reuters Top officials from China’s two largest oil and gas producers have urged the government to offer tax breaks for the building of gas storage facilities and importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to help avoid another gas crunch in the winter ahead. Sinopec Vice President Ma Yongsheng said the central government should subsidise the construction of underground gas ...

Bloomberg Oil rose in tandem with global equity markets, shrugging off concerns over a new wave of crude production from the US as fears of a global trade war eased. Still, the International Energy Agency’s warning that OPEC production cuts will unleash a supply surge from the US and other producers maintained a note of caution in the market. Oil ...

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s former oil minister has some advice for anyone worried about a possible drop in future demand for crude: Chill. “I would like to put everyone at ease, there are no such worries,” Ali al-Naimi said in Manama, Bahrain, when asked if he sees a threat to oil demand from climate policies and increasing use of electrical vehicles. ...

Bloomberg The Dominican Republic expects to draw interest from energy titans BP Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. when it opens the country to natural gas and oil exploration for the first time later this month, joining a push by governments across the Caribbean to develop energy production. The government plans to open two land blocks for oil exploration and two ...

Bloomberg The US will dominate global oil markets for years to come, satisfying 80 percent of global demand growth to 2020 as the shale boom keeps OPEC under pressure, the International Energy Agency said. “The US is set to put its stamp on global oil markets for the next five years,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a report ...