London — After the near collapse of his company following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster and a three-year slump in oil prices, BP CEO Bob Dudley is hardly relaxed. "It doesn’t feel like we are in a serene time for any energy company," Dudley tells Reuters in an interview. BP is stronger today than at any other time since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig accident. With oil prices at…

Glencore is close to a $1bn deal to buy Chevron’s assets in SA and Botswana, potentially scuppering an earlier agreement with China’s Sinopec, according to three people familiar with the matter. Glencore would complete the deal within the next six weeks, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. The assets include a 100,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Cape Town and more than…

South Africa's consumer inflation came out at 4.5% for April, up from 3.8% in March. The big culprits behind the rise in inflation were the increases in fuel prices and alcoholic beverages, TreasuryONE said in a snapnote. The rand came under pressure on Wednesday as Turkey placed emerging market currencies in focus, with the local unit testing R12.69 to the US dollar earlier - currently back at R12.64, according to…

The government will soon be consulting major roleplayers in the petroleum sector on the construction of a new refinery in SA, Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said on Wednesday. He said a detailed plan should be finalised by the end of November. A regulatory framework to provide policy certainty to the industry would be completed by the end of 2018. Construction of a new refinery will require significant investment and a…

Johannesburg – The direct impact of the US sanctions on Iran would be felt on fuel prices, although South Africa does not import oil from the Middle East state, the Department of Energy said on Thursday. South Africa imports almost a quarter of its fuel, and the country ceased to receive oil from Iran in 2012. “As far as the immediate impact of the US sanctions on Iran are concerned,…

US president Donald Trump has pulled out of a deal with Iran and chosen to re-impose sanctions on the country – which spells bad news for the rand, the petrol price, and any businesses tied up in the Middle Eastern nation. On 8 May 2018 the US announced its decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement and to re-impose economic sanctions against Iran. Under the…

French energy giant Total plans to boost oil exploration and open more petrol stations SA. Total pumped a record amount of oil and gas in the first quarter and expects output growth to exceed its 6% target this year, thanks to acquisitions and new projects from the Arctic to West Africa. In SA, the company plans to expand its network of more than 500 fuel stations and finish a deep-water…

An attempt to prosecute oil companies for colluding — because they abide by South African laws whereby the government sets the price of fuel every month — has collapsed. "There is no admission of guilt, the respondents maintain that the conduct was not unlawful and the commission has elected not to pursue the matter further," the Competition Tribunal said in a statement on Friday. This ends a case forwarded by…

Toll fees across South Africa have risen by between 6% and 7%, signalling yet another financial blow to already cash-strapped South Africans. This, according to the Automobile Association (AA), comes at a time when fuel is touching on record high levels, in part because of the hefty increases to indirect taxes added to fuel prices at the beginning of the month. “The financial weight of all of these increases is…