Oil/Gas

  LONDON / Reuters Global demand for oil is finally close to outstripping supply after nearly three years of surplus production, despite growth in the overhang of unused crude, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday. The agency said oil stocks across the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) fell by 17.2 million barrels in March. Over the first ...

  Bloomberg Relying on natural gas to fuel Europe’s second-largest economy was never going to be easy for the UK, even before Brexit. Britain’s once vast North Sea gas fields are fading, and even after a decade of trying, the island nation hasn’t replicated the fracking boom that turned the US into the world’s largest producer. Gas imports have jumped ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE non-oil total foreign trade volume of 2015 reached approximately AED 1.56 trillion, with the direct trade data, representing 68% of the UAE total trade volume with the value of AED 1.06 trillion and the Free Zone Trade data, representing 32% of the UAE total trade volume with the value of AED 497 billion. ...

CAIRO / Reuters Egypt will reduce spending on fuel subsidies by nearly 43 percent in the 2016/17 budget due mainly to lower global energy costs, officials said on Saturday. Finance Minister Amr al-Garhy told a news conference state energy subsidies would fall to 35 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.94 billion) from about 61 billion pounds in the 2015/16 budget. Consumers reacted ...

Bloomberg Kuwait agreed with Saudi Arabia to resume production at an offshore oil field shared by the two OPEC members, the official Kuwaiti news agency reported, without giving a specific time for the restart. The two countries are preparing to start maintenance at Khafji, Kuwait News Agency reported, citing the nation’s acting oil minister, Anas al-Saleh, speaking in parliament. Production ...

Reuters Iranian oil flows to Europe have begun to pick up from a slow start after sanctions were lifted in January, but trading sources say a lack of access to storage part-owned by Tehran’s Gulf Arab rivals now looms large on a list of obstacles. European countries accounted for more than a third of Iran’s exports, or 800,000 barrels a ...

Emirates Business Experts from Indosuez Wealth Management commented at a media roundtable that low oil prices could be an impetus for change and reforms across the hydrocarbon-based economies of the GCC region. “This is clearly a time to push for change in the GCC countries, as there is immense pressure on state revenues due to lower oil prices. Challenging situations ...

Reuters Iranian oil flows to Europe have begun to pick up from a slow start after sanctions were lifted in January, but trading sources say a lack of access to storage part-owned by Tehran’s Gulf Arab rivals now looms large on a list of obstacles. European countries accounted for more than a third of Iran’s exports, or 800,000 barrels a ...

Bloomberg Technology entrepreneur Karim Brahiti sees opportunities springing from the biggest threat Algeria’s economy has faced in decades. “The plunge in oil prices is a necessary evil that will force us to get out of our comfort zone and find alternatives,” said the 36-year-old Brahiti, now investing back home after years spent scouring for contracts in sub-Saharan Africa countries. “The ...

Aberdeen / AP It’s Thursday night and the Spider’s Web watering hole is packed with beefy guys in windproof jackets and massive backpacks. The exhausted oil rig workers pile their bags against the wall, play pool or just slump in the leather seat. But despite the crowded atmosphere, there’s not much laughter. It’s not work that bothers them, but the ...