Oil gas top drives

THE government stands ready to protect and preserve the Philippines’ oil and gas resources in the West Philippine Sea, a Cabinet official said on Wednesday. “Should any foreign state engage in petroleum activities inside the Philippine petroleum jurisdiction, the Department of Energy (DoE) shall take the necessary steps to protect our licensees and preserve our resources,” said Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi in a statement Cusi made the pronouncement after President Rodrigo Duterte said the country cannot reclaim the West Philippine Sea or assert its rights without bloodshed. “If we go there, really to find out and assert jurisdiction, it would be bloody. It will result in a violence that we cannot maybe win,” Duterte, in his public address, said on Monday. Nonetheless, Cusi said the department stands “firmly” behind Duterte’s decision and action in asserting the country’s exclusive licensing authority over petroleum and other resources in the seabed and subsoil of the contested ... » Learn More about Govt ready to protect oil and gas resources

HONG KONG  – Asia markets saw big falls Wednesday with fears over a renewed coronavirus surge weighing on global investor sentiment and US equities deepening their retreat from last week’s record highs. Countries around the world are urgently working to accelerate vaccination campaigns and revive their pandemic-ravaged economies, with new variants of the pathogen driving unprecedented infection numbers in some of the worst-hit nations. While both the Dow and the S&P 500 finished last week at new peaks and also posted their fourth consecutive weekly gains, shares have fallen over the past two days as earnings season enters its second week. Losses were also sharp in Europe, with both London and Paris ending around two percent lower. “Global stocks are still plumbing the lows after renewed virus concerns spooked markets overnight,” said Stephen Innes of Axi. “The surge has led to increased travel restrictions and severely dented parts of the priced to perfection reopen ... » Learn More about Asia markets a sea of red on renewed virus fears

OSLO: Norway's $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, posted a first-quarter profit thanks to strong stock markets, it said on Wednesday. The fund had a 4.0% return on investment, earning 382 billion crowns ($45.7 billion) between January and March, beating its own benchmark index. "The rise of the equity market was to a great extent driven by the finance and energy sectors," the fund's deputy CEO Trond Grande said in a statement. While stocks earned a return of 6.6%, the fixed income portfolio had a loss of 3.2% while unlisted real estate had a positive return of 1.4%. The fund invests the Norwegian state's revenues from oil and gas production into 9,100 companies worldwide, owning 1.4% of all listed shares globally, and also invests in bonds, property and green infrastructure. ($1 = 8.3575 Norwegian crowns) - Reuters ... » Learn More about Norway’s wealth fund earned $46 billion in Q1 as stocks rose