Grant Smith The price of crude oil rose to almost $70 a barrel, a level last breached in November, as global crude supplies tightened, while hopes for an end to the US-China trade impasse lifted financial markets.

Preparations to float shares of Saudi Aramco next year are proceeding, but no decision has been taken yet on the venue for the international listing, the chief executive of the state oil company has said.

Oil reached levels last seen more than two years ago as Saudi Arabian King Salman’s anti-corruption drive shook the world’s biggest crude exporter just weeks before major producers gather to discuss prolonging historic production caps.

China is offering to buy up to 5% of Saudi Aramco directly, in a move that could give Saudi Arabia the flexibility to consider various options for its plan to float the world’s biggest oil producer on the stock market.

Oil prices stabilised after Saudi Aramco said it plans to make “the deepest customer allocation cuts in its history” in oil supplies in November to help reduce global inventories and balance the market.

Saudi Arabia aims to sell about 5% of state oil company Saudi Aramco in an IPO next year, and stock exchanges from the UK to Japan are vying for what may be the world’s richest IPO.

The Saudi king has bucked tradition by naming his successor without consulting the extended royal family. Bernard Haykel looks at the heir apparent who has a plan for when the oil runs out.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has raised pricing for July sales of all crude grades to Asia, the US, and north-west Europe.

To understand why Saudi Arabia changed course and decided Opec should go back to managing supply, look at two of the kingdom’s biggest policy challenges: The urgent need to plug holes in its budget and the plan to sell a stake in the state-owned oil monopoly.

Exxon Mobil was demoted from the top credit rating by Standard & Poor’s for the first time since the Great Depression as the collapse of the biggest oil-market rally in history strangled cash flows.

Irish-founded engineering services group, Kentz has secured a second major contract win in under a week, yesterday announcing the award of a five-year framework contract for general engineering services on the SAMREF refinery in Saudi Arabia.

Liverpool have denied the club has been put up for sale by its American owners.

With a blue chip client base of some of the world’s top oil, gas and mining companies, and with its work backlog valued at $2.73bn, engineering group Kentz is confident about its growth plans, CEO Christian Brown tells John Daly

The software behind Minority Report — the film where Tom Cruise speeds through video on a large screen using only hand gestures — is making its way into the real world.

Several hundred people have protested in Shiite eastern Saudi Arabia but hundreds of police prevented protests in the capital calling for democratic reforms.

Saudi Arabia has stepped in to cover oil shortages stemming from the unrest in Libya.

Somalian pirates today announced they had released a Saudi supertanker seized last year with its $100m (€74m) cargo.

Somali pirates have collected more than £100m (€119m) in ransoms over the past year, it emerged today.

OIL prices are staying stubbornly high and governments internationally are struggling to deal with this increasingly worrying trend.

China’s growing thirst for oil will place a greater strain on the world’s top supplier, Saudi Arabia, at the very time doubts are being raised about the kingdom’s ability to substantially increase production.

Saudi security forces have stormed an expat housing complex where suspected Islamic militants are holed up with a reported 50 hostages after attacking oil company offices.

OPEC, supplier of a third of the world’s oil, is planning to cut production from its highest level in 18 months to prevent a price slump as demand slows and Iraqi sales near a return to the market.