Bloomberg Italy is looking to shed its status as one of Europe’s most expensive gas markets, but the way it plans to do so has riled traders. Lawmakers will likely discuss a proposed national energy strategy that would overhaul the country’s gas sector and may cut prices by 5 percent. Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda seeks to turn the plan, …

SINGAPORE / Reuters Spot prices for October-loading Iraqi Basra Light crude in Asia have slipped to discounts against its official selling price and could stay weak for another month after the producer did not cut prices for November, four trade sources said. Iraq kept the November official selling price for Basra Light to Asia unchanged even as Saudi Arabia trimmed …

ALGIERSE / Reuters Algeria’s state energy company Sonatrach is facing difficulties meeting clients’ demands for gas exports, its chief executive said, citing unwieldy beaucracy and the need to attract more foreign expertise. Sonatrach, Algeria’s cash cow and a major gas supplier to Europe, has been shaken by corruption scandals, the frequent departure of top executives and bureaucratic inefficiencies that have …