Beijing / Reuters China will become the world’s second-biggest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it overtakes South Korea, shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon showed. This is a huge boost to Asia’s emerging spot market as Chinese buyers rely much more on short-term purchases to meet their needs than their counterparts in Japan and South Korea. Shipping data …
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Bloomberg Oil retreated from its highest close in more than two years amid low volume, even as a pipeline carrying crude to Libya’s export terminal was said to need a week for repairs following an explosion. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures both slipped after the US benchmark rose 2.7 percent, breaching $60 a barrel for the first time …
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Bloomberg Kuwait struck a 15-year deal with Royal Dutch Shell Plc for liquefied natural gas, locking in supplies as neighbours in the oil rich Gulf consider their own import strategies. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are the only importers of LNG in the region, with Bahrain joining the club in 2019. Saudi Arabia is looking at natural gas assets …
Read More »Bloomberg Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said he was optimistic there would be a balance between supply and demand by the first quarter of 2018, leading to a boost in oil prices. Global oil inventories have decreased to an acceptable level and there were positive signs that oil market prices would improve significantly in 2018, Luaibi told journalists. A slight …
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Bloomberg Three years after causing an oil-price crash, the shale boom may not be enough to meet rising global demand because the industry has cut back so sharply on higher-risk mega-projects. Discoveries of new reserves were the fewest on record and replaced just 11 percent of what was produced, according to a Dec. 21 report by consultant Rystad Energy. While …
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BEIJING / Reuters Russia held on as China’s largest crude oil supplier for the ninth month in a row in November, also topping Saudi Arabia for the year so far, Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday. Shipments from Russia in November reached 5.12 million tonnes, or 1.26 million barrels per day (bpd), up 11 percent from a year ago, according …
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Bloomberg India’s biggest oil explorer plans to snatch up producing assets to reach its goal of raising overseas output by more than half in about three years, a faster route than drilling for new reserves. ONGC Videsh Ltd., the overseas investment unit of state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp., spent $2.2 billion last year on an existing Russian project, which …
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DUBAI / Reuters Oman will delay the introduction of a 5 percent value-added tax until 2019 instead of introducing it next year as originally planned, local media reported, a decision that may hurt its effort to strengthen shaky state finances. All six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council agreed among themselves to impose VAT at the start of 2018. But …
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Bloomberg French tycoon Dominique Louis is doubling down on atomic power, betting that global warming will foster a nuclear renaissance. Three months ago, his nuclear engineering group Assystem SA sold 61 percent of its automotive and aircraft business for 400 million euros ($472 million). Louis used the proceeds to buy back some of the company’s shares and acquire 5 percent …
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Bloomberg Oil’s bull run is grinding to a halt. Hedge funds lowered their bets on Brent crude after they rose to a record a week earlier. And the net-bullish position on West Texas Intermediate, which hit a nine-month high last month, dwindled for a third straight week. The message: After a months-long build-up, investors are wavering, concerned US crude will …
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