Mon, Jun 27, 2016 page15

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  ENERGY

  TransCanada sues US

  TransCanada has formally filed a US$15 billion suit against the US government for blocking its controversial project for an oil pipeline linking Canada with the Gulf of Mexico, legal documents show. The company first announced its intention to sue in January, but then sought negotiations toward “an amicable settlement of the dispute” surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline, according to legal documents posted on its Web site. Unable to settle, the company formally filed suit late on Friday, saying that denial of a permit to complete the pipeline was “unjustified” under the North American Free Trade Agreement and that the decision also exceeded US President Barack Obama’s constitutional powers. The Calgary-based company is seeking US$15 billion for losses it says it suffered because of the pipeline’s rejection.

  ENERGY

  Crescent expects oil rally

  Crescent Petroleum Co, an oil and natural gas producer in Egypt and Iraq, expects crude prices to improve this year as supply becomes more in line with demand. The UK’s decision to leave the EU will not have a lasting effect on crude prices and London will remain a center for international oil and gas companies, chief executive officer Majid Jafar yesterday said in an interview in Dubai. Oil fell 4.9 percent in New York and London on Friday after the UK voted to exit from the 28-member bloc. Benchmark Brent crude settled at US$48.41 per barrel. Crude has gained about 30 percent this year on supply disruptions from Nigeria to Canada and falling production in the US. OPEC members have produced crude without limits since 2014 in an effort to maintain market share and force higher-cost suppliers such as US shale to rein in production.

  SHIPPING

  Ship set to cross canal

  A giant Chinese-chartered freighter was to nudge its way through the Panama Canal yesterday to mark the completion of nearly a decade of expansion work forecast to boost global trade. The vessel, especially renamed COSCO Shipping Panama, was to inaugurate the widened canal in an hours-long voyage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean via a new shipping lane and gigantic locks that have been fitted to the century-old waterway. The expansion work carried out since 2007 — and delivered two years late at a cost of at least US$5.5 billion — allows a new generation of much larger ships, known as Neopanamax class vessels, to ply the canal. The expansion is also to allow Panama to lure massive liquified natural gas tankers for the first time. Panama’s plan behind the expansion is to triple the US$1 billion in revenues it gets from canal shipping fees.

  UNITED STATES

  Firms taken by surprise

  The risk that Britain could yank itself out of the EU had been telegraphed for more than a year, but even US companies with “Brexit” contingency plans have said they were shocked it is now on track to become reality, and are just beginning to work through all of the implications. Caught off guard, some US firms have rushed to place foreign currency orders hedging against further declines in the pound. Many are seeking legal advice on the impact on trade agreements and regulations, while others begin to consider a potential drop in demand from European economies, company executives and consultants told reporters. International law firm Dechert LLP received so many calls from business clients after Thursday’s referendum result became clear that it set up a special hotline to handle the volume.
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