VIENNA (AP) — OPEC countries failed Thursday to agree on measures to influence crude supplies and prices, in a missed opportunity to show the resolve that for decades let them set how much consumers and industries worldwide would pay for gasoline, heating and related necessities. At the same time, OPEC officials argued the cartel was alive and well, scoffing at ...

PARIS (AP) — Striking workers created blackouts by cutting power to a big electricity line in western France and occupied train tracks at a Paris railway hub Thursday as unions at nuclear plants and the national rail service protested the proposed abolition of some French labor protections. Workers have sector-specific demands, but are also tapping into months of widespread anger ...

WARRI, Nigeria (AP) — Militants blew up strategic gas and crude pipelines belonging to Shell and Agip on Saturday in an increasingly fierce campaign that has chopped Nigeria’s oil production in half, militants and residents said. A new militant group, calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers, reported in social media that they had dynamited the trunkline linking the Dutch-British Shell ...

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Memorial Day holiday weekend is generally considered the start of the summer driving season, and this year it’s highlighted by relatively low gasoline prices. GasBuddy.com says the average retail price of a gallon of gas in North Dakota is up more than a nickel over the week to $2.26. But that’s still almost 30 cents ...

VIENNA (AP) — OPEC is not yet in safe harbor. But ahead of a top-level meeting, the 13-nation oil cartel appears close to weathering the storm of slumping crude prices that threatened to bankrupt some members and called into question its relevance. After touching a 13-year low early this year, the price of oil has moved steadily upward to its ...

PARIS (AP) — French company Technip has signed a preliminary $500 million deal to upgrade a key Libyan oil facility, along with Italy’s Eni and Libya’s state oil company. The move is part of French diplomatic efforts to boost Libya’s fragile unity government. The signing in Paris on Tuesday comes as Libyan forces are fighting to push back Islamic State ...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Utilities Board has called a meeting for Wednesday to consider allowing construction to begin on an oil pipeline in areas outside federal jurisdiction. Houston-based Dakota Access LLC wants to begin digging the Iowa portion of a 1,150-mile pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois. Construction has begun in North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois ...

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — A phased return of more than 80,000 residents of the fire-damaged oil sands city Fort McMurray will begin Wednesday as planned, Alberta’s premier announced Tuesday. Rachel Notley said that the wildfire is no longer an imminent threat to the city and critical infrastructure has been repaired. The massive wildfire destroyed about 2,400 structures almost a month ...

PARIS (AP) — France is bracing for new strikes this week and continues to face a gasoline shortage, with six out of height refineries blocked or partially disrupted by protests against a labor law. About 20 percent of gas stations were still low or empty across the country Tuesday, according to the UFIP national oil industry lobby. Some French labor ...

LONDON (AP) — Consumer prices across the 19-country eurozone fell again in May but look set to rise in the months ahead due to the recent pick-up in oil prices — an outlook that means the European Central Bank will likely refrain from announcing more stimulus measures this week. Official figures published by statistics agency Eurostat on Tuesday showed inflation ...