RIYADH / Reuters The $23 billion Riyadh Metro launched an auction on Sunday for private companies to name and advertise in select metro stops when the system opens in 2019, an initiative that could generate millions of dollars to help cover operational costs. Construction on the 176-kilometre (110 miles) metro began in 2014 after contracts were awarded to consortiums headed …

BEIJING / Reuters China has bought a rare cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Norway, Reuters shipping data shows, the latest sign that the world’s second-largest economy has rushed to increase spot purchases to ensure fuel supplies ahead of the coming winter. Trade flow data on Thomson Reuters Eikon shows LNG tanker Grace Cosmos, with a cargo of 143,625 …

BEIRUTH / Reuters The only bidder in Lebanon’s first tender for five offshore energy blocks was a consortium made up of France’s Total, Italy’s ENI and Russia’s Novatek, Minister of Energy and Water Cesar Abi Khalil said. The consortium submitted two bids for block 4 and block 9, Abi Khalil said in a statement on Facebook. Lebanon sits on the …