MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – In April 2017, a group of Mexican executives filed into the Texas governor’s mansion in Austin for a meeting they hoped would help save a trillion-dollar trade deal. They had a simple pitch for their audience – Republican Governor Greg Abbott, a handful of business leaders and some party donors: it … Read more‘Don’t shoot yourself in the foot’: Inside Mexico’s campaign to save NAFTA

Apr 25, 2019, by Aliaksandr Kudrytski and Maciej Martewicz (Bloomberg) Russian oil flows to parts of Europe were halted after customers complained of unusual impurities in the crude, adding another disruption to the global oil market and pushing prices in London above $75 a barrel. Poland, which receives oil through a northern section of the … Read moreRussian Oil to Parts of Europe Halted Due to Contamination

Apr 25, 2019, by Samuel Potter (Bloomberg) Everything is fine Well done to Facebook Inc., whose first-quarter revenue rose a better-than-projected 26 percent on the strength of its advertising business. (Five Things loves it when the good guys win. Speaking of which, the company also said it’s setting aside a few billion dollars or so related to … Read moreFive Things to Know in World Business Today

LONDON (Reuters) – Israel’s Delek Group is close to clinching Chevron’s oil and gas fields in the British North Sea, which have a price tag of around $2 billion, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Delek, via its North Sea oil and gas operator Ithaca Energy, could reach an agreement within days, two of … Read moreDelek closing in on $2 billion deal for Chevron’s North Sea oilfields: sources

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers including Shell, Total and Petronas are increasingly selling from global supply pools instead of dedicated projects as buyers leverage a fuel surplus to force ever more flexible deals. This marks an accelerated turning from traditional long-term contracts that lock customers into taking regular volumes … Read moreGlut forces LNG producers to offer flexible deals from global portfolios

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is in talks to buy BP’s stake in the Shearwater oil and gas field in the British North Sea for around $250 million, three industry sources told Reuters. Shell, the field’s operator, announced plans last year to expand a gas hub around Shearwater, including the construction of a new … Read moreShell in talks to buy BP stake in North Sea gas field: sources

Apr 24, 2019, by Sharon Cho and Grant Smith (Bloomberg) Oil pulled back from a six-month high as an industry report signaling a gain in U.S. crude inventories partly offset concerns over America’s campaign to halt Iranian exports. Futures in New York fell as much as 0.8 percent. Crude stockpiles rose by 6.86 million barrels … Read moreOil Slides as U.S. Supplies Allay Fears Over Iran Sanctions

Apr 24, 2019, by Anthony DiPaola, Matthew Martin and Yousef Gamal El-Din (Bloomberg) Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said the world’s biggest oil exporter sees no need to take immediate action in the crude market, signaling a cautious response to the U.S. decision to tighten sanctions on Iran. The kingdom won’t significantly raise output in May … Read moreSaudi Arabia Sees No Need for Immediate Action on Oil Market

Apr 24, 2019, by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg) April 30 Negotiators led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing next week as both sides seek to have a trade agreement signed in the coming weeks. Despite market confidence that a deal will be done, economists continue to count … Read moreFive Things to Know in World Business Today

DUBAI (Reuters) – Gulf OPEC producers can step in to meet any oil supply shortage following a U.S. decision to end waivers on buyers of Iranian crude, but will first wait to see whether there is actual demand, OPEC and industry sources said. The United States has decided not to renew exemptions from sanctions against … Read moreGulf OPEC members ready to raise output if there is demand: sources

(Reuters) – The United States has made a bad mistake by politicizing oil and using it as a weapon, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in a parliamentary session on Tuesday, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. Oil prices on Tuesday hit their highest level since November after Washington announced all waivers on imports … Read moreU.S. making a mistake politicizing oil: Iran oil minister

Apr 23, 2019, by Anna Andrianova and Dina Khrennikova (Bloomberg) Vladimir Putin’s poll ratings are down after a tax hike squeezed cash-strapped consumers. But the Kremlin has opened the coffers to give as much as $8 billion this year to another key constituency: oil companies awash in record profits. The handouts are part of a … Read moreKremlin Offers Oil Giants $8 Billion Payout as Russians Struggle

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices hit their highest since November on Tuesday after Washington announced all waivers on imports of sanctions-hit Iranian oil would end next week, pressuring importers to stop buying from Tehran and further tightening global supply. Brent crude futures were at $74.25 per barrel at 1055 GMT, up 21 cents or 0.28 … Read moreOil hits highest since November as U.S. to tighten Iran sanctions

Apr 23, 2019, by Jack Wittels (Bloomberg) Demand for the shipping industry’s main fuel is widely expected to collapse like never before in 2020, so it might come as a surprise that its value is soaring. High-sulfur fuel oil at the Dutch port of Rotterdam in January is now trading at about $16 a barrel … Read moreWith Demand Poised to Collapse, the Price of Ship Fuel Rockets

Apr 23, 2019, by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg) Crude jump Oil is adding to yesterday’s gains, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate for June delivery trading above $66 this morning while Brent crude was also higher. The move comes in the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to end waivers on the ban of Iranian … Read moreFive Things to Know in World Business Today

Apr 22, 2019, by Salma El Wardany (Bloomberg) The U.S. is ending waivers that let countries buy Iranian crude without running afoul of sanctions, threatening to squeeze oil supplies in an already tight market. The decision may also jeopardize the deal that OPEC and allied suppliers including Russia reached to limit output until the end … Read moreHow Trump’s Stifling of Iran Waivers Affects the OPEC+ Oil Cuts

Apr 19, 2019, by Francois de Beaupuy (Bloomberg) Total SA plans to start a digital factory in the coming weeks to tap artificial intelligence in a bid to save hundreds of millions of dollars on exploration and production projects, according to an executive. The use of artificial intelligence to screen geological data will help identify … Read moreTotal Plans to Use Artificial Intelligence to Cut Drilling Costs

Apr 22, 2019, by Lorcan Roche Kelly and Samuel Potter (Bloomberg) Crude jump The Trump administration won’t renew waivers that allowed countries to buy Iranian crude without facing U.S. sanctions, according to four people familiar with the matter. Oil rose to the highest level in almost six months as investors, already concerned about supply constraints, … Read moreFive Things to Know in World Business Today

DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco will acquire Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) 50 percent stake in their Saudi refining joint venture SASREF for $631 million, the two companies said on Sunday. The purchase, which is part of Aramco’s strategy to expand its downstream operations, will be completed later this year, they said in a joint statement. … Read moreAramco to buy Shell’s stake in Saudi refining JV for $631 million

Apr 19, 2019, by Brian Parkin, William Wilkes and Vanessa Dezem (Bloomberg) President Donald Trump’s bid to dump a glut of liquefied natural gas on Europe is getting an unlikely boost: stringent regulations on shipping emissions that are prompting the continent’s shipyards to hunt for alternatives to high-polluting diesel. The International Maritime Organization will clamp … Read moreTrump’s LNG Push Is Helping Power German Green Cruise Liner Boom

Apr 17, 2019, by Brian Wingfield and Prejula Prem (Bloomberg) An alliance of countries that includes Russia is cutting oil production to end a global glut. One of the big winners: the nation’s own crude exporters. The supply cuts from the so-called OPEC+ nations, coupled with U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, have reduced the … Read moreOPEC+ Cuts Oil Production and Russia’s Crude Exporters Win

Apr 18, 2019, by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg) Sluggish German manufacturing remains a weak spot for the euro area, with this morning’s Purchasing Managers Index for the sector coming in at a lower-than-expected 44.5 in April. A measure for services rose to 55.6, keeping the composite gauge in expansive territory. PMI for the region overall slipped to … Read moreFive Things to Know in World Business Today

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian refiners are increasing their planned purchases from OPEC nations, Mexico and the United States to make up for any loss of Iranian oil if the U.S. enforces sanctions more harshly from next month, sources and company officials said. All four Indian state-owned refiners that buy Iranian oil are confident of … Read moreIndian refiners turn to OPEC, Mexico, U.S. to make up Iran oil gap

Apr 17, 2019, by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg) 6.4 percent Chinese gross domestic product rose 6.4 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, beating economist estimates. The better-than-expected number was driven by March data, with retail sales growth for the month at 8.7 percent and factory output recording a surprise 8.5 percent jump. The data … Read moreFive Things to Know in World Business Today

(Reuters) – The Supreme Court of the Netherlands dismissed Ecuador’s attempts to annul decisions of an international arbitral tribunal that ordered Ecuador to prevent enforcement of a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron Corp anywhere in the world, the U.S. oil major said on Tuesday. Chevron said the Dutch court’s decision upholds rulings of two Dutch … Read moreChevron says Dutch Supreme Court rejects Ecuador’s $9.5 billion claim

Apr 16, 2019, by Cecile Gutscher (Bloomberg) ‘More, quicker’ As U.S. bank reporting season kicks into high gear, better-than-expected results from Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are doing little to assuage qualms about the pace of revamps at underperforming units. At Goldman, investors are fretting about slumping equity-trading revenue. At Citi, it’s stalling growth in the … Read moreFive Things to Know in World Business Today

Apr 16, 2019, by Serene Cheong (Bloomberg) Oil’s march back toward a four-year high is now facing some roadblocks in the form of demand in Asia, though the path may clear to allow further gains later this year. While the current rally in global benchmark prices to over $71 a barrel will put pressure on … Read moreOil’s Facing Odds of Demand Worsening Before Getting Better

Apr 16, 2019 by Grant Smith (Bloomberg) After managing to revive oil prices through production cutbacks, OPEC now risks squandering its victory again by letting crude surge too high. In the first quarter, coordinated production curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies helped oil rally the most in almost a decade, … Read moreOPEC Gambles With Success of Production Cuts as $80 Oil Looms

Apr 15, 2019, by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg) Fed up with the Fed President Donald Trump took another swipe at the Federal Reserve on Twitter yesterday, blaming it for reducing growth and keeping a lid on equity prices. Trump has often expressed impatience with the monetary authority and the latest attack comes as his two picks … Read moreFive Things to Know in World Business Today

Apr 14, 2019, by Christoph Rauwald (Bloomberg) Volkswagen AG unveiled an electric sport utility vehicle concept to challenge Tesla Inc.’s Model X as part of the auto industry’s largest push into battery-powered vehicles. The full-size SUV, available from 2021, features rotating lounge-seats covered in so-called AppleSkin — an artificial leather made in part from apple-juice … Read moreVW Unveils Apple-Skinned SUV Challenger to Tesla’s Model X

Apr 14, 2019 by Arsalan Shahla (Bloomberg) An Iranian exchange has offered investors as much as 6 million barrels of oil so far this year. Only a single deal closed, for the minimum 35,000 barrels. Iran’s oil production and exports have slumped after the U.S. reinstated sanctions last year, and new curbs are set to … Read moreIran Is Peddling a Million Barrels of Oil Again. No One Wants It

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – A dispute between Haiti and a U.S. energy trading firm is leading to long blackouts and fuel shortages in the Caribbean nation, feeding anger at President Jovenel Moise’s government following the collapse of a supply deal with Venezuela last year. The capital Port-au-Prince’s fragile power grid was dealt a blow when Novum … Read moreDispute with U.S. energy trader worsens Haiti’s fuel crisis

Apr 12, 2019, by Heesu Lee and Grant Smith (Bloomberg) Oil headed for a sixth weekly increase as falling OPEC production tightened global crude markets, offsetting concerns that slower economic growth will weaken demand. Futures rose 1.4 percent in New York on Friday and have gained 2.2 percent this week, heading for their best run … Read moreOil Heads for Sixth Weekly Gain Amid Falling OPEC Production

Apr 11, 2019, by Ben Sharples (Bloomberg) — It’s been a stormy month for benchmark coal prices in Asia, with the potential for reverberations across the globe. A double whammy of Chinese import curbs and collapsing gas prices in Europe have whacked Australian thermal coal, at a time when demand weakens after the winter heating … Read moreCoal’s Collapse Crowns Winners and Losers From China to the U.S.

Apr 12, 2019, by Lorcan Roche Kelly (Bloomberg) Earnings The first-quarter reporting period begins for big U.S. banks today, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. due to post earnings before the bell. Bank CEOs have spent much of the year so far trying to manage expectations, with JPMorgan warning in February that … Read moreFive Things to Know in World Business Today

Apr 11, 2019, by Stephen Cunningham (Bloomberg) A report commissioned by proponents of U.S. anti-OPEC legislation said that fears of retaliation by the oil cartel are overblown. The “No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act,” or NOPEC, would subject the group of oil producers to possible antitrust action by the Justice Department. Opponents warn that … Read moreRetaliation Risks From NOPEC Bill Exaggerated, Proponents Say

April 11, 2019, by AFP (Arabian Business) Paris-based International Energy Agency said production by OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia dropped to its lowest level in two years in March. Saudi Arabia has slashed its oil production by more than promised as part of a pact to boost oil prices, the International Energy Agency said Thursday, while … Read moreSaudi oil production cuts deeper than promised, says IEA

(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday agreed to sell its 22.45 percent stake in the Caesar Tonga field in the Gulf of Mexico for $965 million in cash to a subsidiary of Israeli energy conglomerate Delek Group. Located in the Gulf of Mexico, 300 km south of Louisiana, the field’s current production rate is … Read moreShell sells stake in Gulf of Mexico field for $965 million