Regional News

CAIRO / Reuters Saudi Arabia and Egypt set up a $10 billion joint fund to develop a planned mega-city, committing more than 1,000 square kilometres in the south Sinai, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo. The deal came at the start of Crown Prince Mohammed’s first public trip abroad since becoming heir apparent ...

Bloomberg In front of the Petroleum Club of Midland, Texas — capital of the booming Permian shale region — an electronic display flashes two crucial pieces of information: the oil price and the number of drilling rigs. For the past year, both figures have been climbing as OPEC oil production cuts led to higher prices, spurring added drilling activity in ...

Bloomberg Climate change is critical to future energy markets but its effect on Chevron Corp.’s oil and gas business will be minimal for decades to come, according to a company report. With the prospect of tighter emission controls, carbon pricing and growth in renewable energy, some investors and activists are pushing companies to reveal the potential impact on their businesses. ...

Bloomberg Libyan oil is gushing again with production and exports surging to the highest in years. Despite unresolved domestic conflicts that first erupted after the ouster of dictator Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has somehow found a way to get its crude flowing. Already this year, it’s secured commitments from some of the world’s biggest energy companies, including at least three new ...

Bloomberg Russia is sending more natural gas to Europe than ever before as a blast of Arctic air lifted demand for heat and electricity, underlining the region’s dependence on its eastern neighbour. The freeze severely tested Europe’s energy network over the past week. Spot gas prices tripled to a record, drawing in more Russian supplies by pipeline and prompting a ...

TOKYO / Reuters ExxonMobil Corp has declared force majeure on exports from its Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which has been shut since a powerful earthquake, an industry source familiar with the matter said. At least 31 people were killed by the 7.5 magnitude quake, and Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has declared a state of emergency across ...

Bloomberg Londoners this morning woke up to the rare sight of the city blanketed in snow as the icy blast from Siberia that’s causing havoc across Europe will linger for at least this week. Temperatures across Europe have plummeted and forecasters predict they will remain as much as 8 Celsius below average (14.4 Fahrenheit) in Britain through the weekend. UK ...

BEIJING / Reuters At least 10 of China’s domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants have resumed output in the past week after the government cut off their supply, providing the first signs that the country’s gas supply crunch is starting to ease, company sources said. The return of the plants, which liquefy domestically produced gas that is then trucked to ...

Bloomberg Oil is poised for its first monthly decline in half a year as January’s rally fades on growing fears over booming US shale supply. Futures in New York were little changed, putting them on course for a 2.8 percent drop in February. An industry report was said to show US oil inventories rose last week, which would be the ...

Bloomberg Oklahoma is tightening its rules for fracking after studying a new cluster of earthquakes in one of the hottest US regions for drilling. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission announced that all explorers within certain areas must use equipment known as a seismic array, which detects movement underground. The regulators also lowered the quake threshold for pausing work from 3.0 magnitude ...