Regional News

Bloomberg Oil’s slowing down as danger signs flash ahead. Futures are on course for their biggest drop in seven weeks amid concern an investor frenzy for risky assets may be overextending markets, while a weak dollar that had lifted commodities is gaining back some strength as Treasury yields advance. Sentiment is also being hurt as American crude inventories were forecast ...

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp. is set to invest $50 billion over the next half decade in a return to the oil giant’s spending habits before crude suffered its worst price rout in a generation. With oil prices now hovering above $65 a barrel in New York, Exxon Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods disclosed a program that includes the Permian Basin ...

Bloomberg The enthusiasm in the oil markets is breaking records. Hedge funds reported record wagers on continued price increases for both US and global oil benchmarks, along with gasoline and diesel. Meanwhile, producers are hedging production at record rates as oil experiences its best January since 2006. “There is a lot of interest in the direction of crude oil,” Rob ...

BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq plans to build an oil refinery at the port of Fao on the Gulf with two Chinese companies, and is seeking investors to build three more, the oil ministry said on its website on Monday. The refinery in Fao will have a 300,000 barrel-per-day capacity and include a petrochemical plant, it said. Two other refineries, each ...

LONDON / Reuters Tehran is ready to file a case with the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) over the quality and price of gas it receives from Turkmenistan, the Iranian oil minister said on Monday, as a dispute between the two nations over payments escalates. The Central Asian nation stopped gas exports to Iran in January 2017, saying it was ...

Bloomberg In the latest reminder that coal still dominates the world’s biggest energy consumer, Chinese power producers are warning of supply tightness while one northern province plans to pause switching homes and industries to natural gas to avoid further heating shortages. Four of China’s biggest generators sent an “emergency report” dated Jan. 22 to the National Development & Reform Commission, ...

Bloomberg Saudi Aramco’s chief executive said the most important tax paid by the state-owned energy giant will fluctuate with the price of oil, a significant move ahead of the company’s initial public offering this year. Adjusting the 20 percent royalty on oil revenue Aramco currently pays would help the kingdom to raise extra money if prices climb. While not unusual ...

Bloomberg US natural gas soothsayers are at a stalemate. Bulls say more arctic air may vault futures above $4 for the first time since 2014. Bears see the February contract expiration and a warm spell dragging them lower. Welcome to the suddenly uncertain world of fuel trading. Eight of 17 traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted prices that ...

BERLIN / Reuters European gas networks can cope with further production cuts at the Dutch Groningen field as the government seeks to limit earthquake risks, a leading pipeline company and gas industry official said in an interview. The Dutch government had said that output at the major European field, which used to provide 53 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year ...

Bloomberg The fracking frenzy in Colorado is spurring a tense faceoff between shale drillers in the region and residents seeking a better handle on the dangers in their own backyards after a killer pipeline explosion last year. Gov. John Hickenlooper ordered a review of oil and natural gas operations after the April blast, which destroyed a home, killed two men ...