Bloomberg The world’s biggest oil exporter is ramping up efforts to develop natural gas with plans for a 15-fold boost in output from unconventional deposits of the fuel. Saudi Aramco is building facilities to tap shale gas in the kingdom’s oil-rich eastern region and is making “a lot of progress” towards this goal, CEO Amin Nasser told report-ers in Dammam. …

DUBAI / WAM Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED), mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to launch an index that will evaluate the cost of doing business for SMEs in Dubai. The MoU was signed by …

Bloomberg Anadarko Petroleum Corp, the oil producer at the center of a bidding war, posted adjusted earnings for the first quarter that beat analysts’ estimates as oil and gas sales rose versus last year. The Texas-based driller said it earned 53 cents a share, excluding one-time items that included a $316 million loss attributed to the settlement of commodity derivatives. …