Regional News

Bloomberg Oil extended gains toward $58 a barrel as US drillers targeting crude reduced the rig count for the first time in four weeks. Futures added 0.7 percent in New York after rising 0.5 percent. US explorers trimmed the number of rigs by four to 747 last week, according to Baker Hughes data. Hedge funds have boosted bets on rising …

Bloomberg Nigeria’s rush to keep its citizens supplied with fuel is expected to boost purchases of European gasoline in December, offering a potential respite to European refineries and storage terminals threatened by an oversupply that has battered margins. Nigeria has been on a gasoline buying spree after fuel queues built up at filling stations this month, even as the government …

Bloomberg China has ordered the country’s biggest explorers to cut their use of natural gas to divert more of the fuel to the north, where a harsh winter is causing shortages. China National Petroleum Corp., China Petrochemical Corp. and China National Offshore Oil Corp. should reduce the consumption of natural gas in their refineries, oil drilling and liquefied natural gas …

Bloomberg Big Oil’s slump is over and industry domination beckons, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. In 2018, companies from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Exxon Mobil Corp. will find themselves with a surplus of cash to fund dividends, ruling the world of deep water mega-projects and even coming out ahead in tax negotiations with oil-reliant governments around the globe, …

Bloomberg New Jersey became the latest state to consider subsidizing nuclear power with a $320 million-a-year plan to keep struggling reactors from going out of business. The state’s two plants would get extra payments for providing emission-free power under legislation introduced in Trenton. The move follows similar efforts by New York and Illinois and comes amid pressure from Public Service …

Bloomberg The trains are running late for Canada’s oil producers just when they need them the most. After a two-week shutdown of one of the largest export pipelines to the US caused oil to back up in Alberta tank farms, Canadian railroad companies struggling to fulfill commitments to ship other commodities aren’t able to help ease the oil glut. “It’s …

Bloomberg Crude’s rally fizzled out for a third week, with prices stalled near $57 a barrel as concerns over excess supplies next year temper enthusiasm for OPEC’s extended production curbs. Futures in New York closed just about where they started, with small gains over the past two days merely offsetting losses in previous sessions. While the halt of the Forties …

Bloomberg A week ago, Cameroon was getting ready to jostle for space in a global liquefied natural gas market already crowded with new supplies from the US and Russia. Now the extra output couldn’t come at a better time. France’s Perenco SA and US-traded Golar LNG Ltd. will start shipments from their $1.2 billion LNG project off Cameroon in February, …

Bloomberg Lebanon granted its first offshore energy rights to a group comprising Total SA, Eni SpA and Novatek PJSC, joining a regional race to find and develop oil and natural gas wealth in the eastern Mediterranean after years of delay. The cabinet awarded two licenses in its first offshore bidding round, allowing the companies to jointly explore blocks 4 and …

DAMMAM / AGENCIES Saudi Aramco signed on Wednesday agreements with foreign and local companies worth at least 39 billion riyals ($10.4 billion). The bulk of the memorandum of understanding agreements were part of a drive to promote local manufacturing, the company said. One agreement was also signed with drilling and oil service company Schlumberger worth 6 billion riyals. Meanwhile, the …