Iran is one of the most sanctioned countries in the world. But restrictions imposed by the United States have largely failed to stymie Iran's oil exports, the backbone of its flailing economy.U.S. sanctions have cut off Iran from most of its traditional customers, forcing Tehran to find new buyers and sell its oil at discounted prices.But China’s willingness to buy record amounts of Iranian oil, Tehran's mastery of sanctions-evading tactics, and Washington's reluctance to strictly enforce sanctions have made U.S. measures against Iran’s…

Via Metal Miner The Rare Earths MMI (Monthly Metals Index) saw a massive rebound after four months of sharp declines. All in all, the index rose by a whopping 14.36%. This enormous increase could indicate that prices for rare earth metals finally found a bottom between March and April. Chinese Rare Earth Metals Profits Still Declining China’s mining and processing industries continue to experience a drop in profitability despite the nation’s attempts to keep its grip on the critical rare earths market. A key state-owned company, China…

Despite indicating they would refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) by the end of this year, the Department of Energy has now canceled solicitations offered last month. Citing rising oil prices, the DOE said, “We will not award the current solicitations for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site and will solicit available capacity as market conditions allow.” Three million barrels of oil had been slated for delivery to the Bayou Choctaw SPR site in August and September. The SPR is the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil.…

As the energy transition continues at pace, reducing the carbon footprint of traditionally high-emitting industries is increasingly crucial to limiting global emissions. Of these hard-to-abate sectors, steel manufacturing is one of the most challenging. Despite incentives and tax breaks designed to promote the production of green steel – produced using zero-carbon electricity – European steel mills are facing an up-hill struggle. The long-term economic viability of green steel versus grey steel – produced using fossil fuels –…

Shares in names like VW, Mercedes and Stellantis were lower this week, heading into Wednesday's session, after news of "falling demand" in Europe.  In the first quarter of this year, Europe's top two car manufacturers faced a downturn due to diminished demand in China and domestic markets, Financial Times reported on Tuesday this week. Volkswagen Group saw a significant decline in profits, dropping by a fifth from the previous year to €4.6bn, largely attributed to declining resale values and supply issues at Audi, a key brand within the…

Exxon Mobil Corporation has finalized its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, marking a monumental milestone in the energy sector. With a price tag of $60 billion, this deal stands as one of the largest oil-and-gas acquisitions in recent memory, reshaping the landscape of the industry. The completion of this megadeal significantly bolsters Exxon's presence in the coveted Permian Basin. This strategic move effectively doubles Exxon's footprint in the region, solidifying its position as a dominant player in one of the most prolific oil-producing…

Exxon Mobil Corporation has finalized its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, marking a monumental milestone in the energy sector. With a price tag of $60 billion, this deal stands as one of the largest oil-and-gas acquisitions in recent memory, reshaping the landscape of the industry. The completion of this megadeal significantly bolsters Exxon's presence in the coveted Permian Basin. This strategic move effectively doubles Exxon's footprint in the region, solidifying its position as a dominant player in one of the most prolific oil-producing…

Exxon Mobil Corporation has finalized its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, marking a monumental milestone in the energy sector. With a price tag of $60 billion, this deal stands as one of the largest oil-and-gas acquisitions in recent memory, reshaping the landscape of the industry. The completion of this megadeal significantly bolsters Exxon's presence in the coveted Permian Basin. This strategic move effectively doubles Exxon's footprint in the region, solidifying its position as a dominant player in one of the most prolific oil-producing…

Exxon Mobil Corporation has finalized its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, marking a monumental milestone in the energy sector. With a price tag of $60 billion, this deal stands as one of the largest oil-and-gas acquisitions in recent memory, reshaping the landscape of the industry. The completion of this megadeal significantly bolsters Exxon's presence in the coveted Permian Basin. This strategic move effectively doubles Exxon's footprint in the region, solidifying its position as a dominant player in one of the most prolific oil-producing…

Metal Miner Metals markets recently saw UK metal and mining multinational Anglo American reject a £31.1 billion ($38.8 billion) takeover bid from Australia’s BHP. Meanwhile, shareholders in the latter company continue to urge an increase in the offer price.On April 26, London- and Johannesburg-listed Anglo American’s board of directors unanimously rejected BHP’s unsolicited, all-share offer made the previous day. Under the offer, Anglo American would demerge all its shareholdings in Anglo American Platinum Limited and Kumba…

The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) offered on Friday another 31 licenses for North Sea exploration in the final tranche of the 33rd oil and gas licensing round.   In all three tranches of the licensing round, the UK regulator has awarded over the past few months a total of 82 licenses to 50 companies. The first tranche offered 27 licenses in October 2023, with the second offering 24 licenses in January 2024. The 33rd round has attracted 115 bids from 76 companies across 257 blocks and part-blocks, NSTA said.…

The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) offered on Friday another 31 licenses for North Sea exploration in the final tranche of the 33rd oil and gas licensing round.   In all three tranches of the licensing round, the UK regulator has awarded over the past few months a total of 82 licenses to 50 companies. The first tranche offered 27 licenses in October 2023, with the second offering 24 licenses in January 2024. The 33rd round has attracted 115 bids from 76 companies across 257 blocks and part-blocks, NSTA said.…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count fell by 8 to 605 this week, compared to 748 rigs this same time last year. The number of oil rigs fell by 7 this week, after falling by 5 in the week prior. Oil rigs now stand at 499--down by 89 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 3 this week to 102, a loss of 55 active gas rigs from this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs rose by 2. Meanwhile,…

Chevron is repairing a mechanical fault in a turbine at one of the three LNG production trains at its Gorgon LNG facility in Australia, with works expected to take weeks, the local unit of the U.S. supermajor told LNG Prime on Friday.    The fault at the turbine occurred in the afternoon local time on Tuesday, April 30, the company said on Friday.   Chevron Australia has already started working to repair the fault, with works expected to “take a number of weeks,” a spokesperson for Chevron Australia told LNG…

Over 3,000 tonnes of gold were produced globally in 2023. In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu lists the world’s leading countries in terms of gold production. These figures come from the latest USGS publication on gold statistics (published January 2024). China, Australia, and Russia Produced the Most Gold in 2023 China was the top producer in 2023, responsible for over 12% of total global production, followed by Australia and Russia. Gold mines in China are primarily concentrated in eastern provinces such as Shandong, Henan, Fujian,…

TC Energy Corporation reported on Friday an increase in comparable earnings for the first quarter of 2024 versus the same period last year, beating analyst estimates, as natural gas pipeline deliveries from western Canada to domestic and export markets jumped to a record. The Canada-based pipeline operator booked comparable earnings of US$0.91 (C$1.24) per common share for the first quarter, compared to US$0.89 (C$1.21) per common share for the first quarter of 2023.   The earnings per share for Q1 2024 topped the average analyst…

TC Energy Corporation reported on Friday an increase in comparable earnings for the first quarter of 2024 versus the same period last year, beating analyst estimates, as natural gas pipeline deliveries from western Canada to domestic and export markets jumped to a record. The Canada-based pipeline operator booked comparable earnings of US$0.91 (C$1.24) per common share for the first quarter, compared to US$0.89 (C$1.21) per common share for the first quarter of 2023.   The earnings per share for Q1 2024 topped the average analyst…

Bearish sentiment is building in oil markets after the latest U.S. economic data sparked concerns over demand. Rising oil inventories and a potential cooling in geopolitical tensions only added to the downward pressure on oil prices.Friday, April 3rd 2024The disappointment of the money markets with yet another hotter-than-expected set of US inflation data, aggravated by higher crude inventories and slackening geopolitical risk, has triggered a notable drop in oil prices, with both WTI and Brent shedding more than $5 per barrel since last…

OPEC convened a workshop today to address oil overproduction issues and devise comprehensive compensation plans to make up for previous overages, according to an official OPEC press release. The push for production cut compliance comes as the price of Brent crude is trading down roughly $6 per barrel over the last 30 days. The workshop brought together technical experts from Iraq and Kazakhstan, along with industry professionals from secondary sources, and was prompted by the recent mandates outlined in the 35th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting…

OPEC convened a workshop today to address oil overproduction issues and devise comprehensive compensation plans to make up for previous overages, according to an official OPEC press release. The push for production cut compliance comes as the price of Brent crude is trading down roughly $6 per barrel over the last 30 days. The workshop brought together technical experts from Iraq and Kazakhstan, along with industry professionals from secondary sources, and was prompted by the recent mandates outlined in the 35th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting…