Saturday 13 April 2019

Chevron Mega-Deal Highlights the Revival of American Energy - Bloomberg

Chevron Mega-Deal Highlights the Revival of American Energy - Bloomberg:

For all the ink spilled over climate change and the global energy transition, the world’s biggest energy companies are focusing on where it all began: American oil.

Chevron Corp.’s $33 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., announced Friday, will make the U.S. company the largest producer in the dusty plains of the Permian Basin by giving it control of an oil-rich area twice the size of Los Angeles.

The deal, the industry’s biggest in four years, is fueling speculation about what arch-rivals Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc will do next and which other Permian operators are in their sights. Furthermore, it cements the booming oil patch in West Texas and New Mexico as arguably the most dynamic force shaping the global energy market right now. Output there is forecast to grow by millions of barrels in years to come, meaning global producers can’t afford to ignore it.

Fresh debate on lifting WhatsApp, Skype call ban in #UAE | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Fresh debate on lifting WhatsApp, Skype call ban in UAE | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Debate about lifting the ban on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has erupted again in the UAE following comments of a popular Emirati commentator and columnist. "It's so frustrating that Skype is banned in the UAE. How are we meant to conduct interviews and meetings? Such a contradiction in 2021 & 2071 Visions goals," said Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, who is a well-known lecturer and researcher on social, political and culture affairs in the Arab Gulf states.

A Twitteratti Yousif said removal of ban on free calling apps is long overdue here.

"Lifting the ban on Skype and FaceTime is really overdue. Also, Internet service at home is mostly monopolised by one provider (Du or Etisalat). Mobily (UAE's Etisalat) changed the game in Saudi market, hope something like that happens in the UAE, or regulator gets involved," Yousif said in a reply to Al Qassemi's tweet.