Bloomberg Oil exploration in Norway’s Arctic seems to have lost some of its appeal after a disappointing drilling campaign. Only 11 companies applied for exploration licenses in the latest round — the nation’s 24th — which focused heavily on the Barents Sea, the Petroleum and Energy Ministry said in a statement on its website. That’s down from 26 in the …

JUBA / Reuters South Sudan still owes neighbouring Sudan $1.3 billion from a 2012 deal that ended a dispute over oil payments between the two nations, the deputy finance minister told Reuters before he was sacked last week. The previously undisclosed amount is equivalent to eight years worth of oil revenues for South Sudan at current prices, according to former …

Bloomberg Oil analysts have raised their forecasts for the crude price next year after major producers agreed to extend output cuts, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. Production disruptions in Libya and Nigeria and economic depression in Venezuela that has cut crude output will also support oil prices, the analysts said. Benchmark Brent crude futures are now forecast to average …