The United States is considering a fresh barrage of sanctions against Russia’s oil exports if Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects a peace agreement for Ukraine, anonymous sources with knowledge of the plans told Bloomberg on Wednesday.  Earlier this week, the U.S. and Ukraine both signaled progress in negotiations about a peace agreement during talks in German capital city of Berlin. Washington is now reportedly offering Ukraine security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense pledge.  However, key issues…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 1.3 million barrels during the week ending December 12, after losing 1.8 million barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 424.4 million barrels according to government data, which is 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories…

Ukraine has damaged an offshore drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer field in the Russian Caspian Sea in a drone attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday.  As a result of a strike on December 14, drones damaged the gas drilling rig at the Grayfer oilfield. Following the damage, all 14 wells at the platform have halted operations, Ukraine said today, claiming yet another hit at a field in the Caspian Sea.   Grayfer is operated by Russian major Lukoil, as well as the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields in the north Caspian…

Ukraine has damaged an offshore drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer field in the Russian Caspian Sea in a drone attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday.  As a result of a strike on December 14, drones damaged the gas drilling rig at the Grayfer oilfield. Following the damage, all 14 wells at the platform have halted operations, Ukraine said today, claiming yet another hit at a field in the Caspian Sea.   Grayfer is operated by Russian major Lukoil, as well as the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields in the north Caspian…

Ukraine has damaged an offshore drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer field in the Russian Caspian Sea in a drone attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday.  As a result of a strike on December 14, drones damaged the gas drilling rig at the Grayfer oilfield. Following the damage, all 14 wells at the platform have halted operations, Ukraine said today, claiming yet another hit at a field in the Caspian Sea.   Grayfer is operated by Russian major Lukoil, as well as the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields in the north Caspian…

Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in southern Russia and a fuel depot in the Rostov region overnight, Kyiv’s military confirmed via Telegram on Wednesday, continuing a relentless campaign to dismantle the energy infrastructure financing Moscow’s war effort. The latest barrage, which lit up the night sky over the Krasnodar region on December 17, targeted the Slavyansky Oil Refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban.  Ukrainian defense officials stated the refinery was being used to supply fuel to Russian occupation forces. While…

Norway’s water and energy directorate NVE has proposed stricter rules for power grid operators to be ready to repair links and power lines in case of sabotage.  NVE wants all operators and the whole power system to raise preparedness and awareness against threats and sabotages, NVE’s director general Kjetil Lund said. That’s why the regulator is now clarifying additional requirements in the proposed regulation, Lund added.  “If the power system stops functioning, Norway will stop functioning within a short time,”…

Norway’s water and energy directorate NVE has proposed stricter rules for power grid operators to be ready to repair links and power lines in case of sabotage.  NVE wants all operators and the whole power system to raise preparedness and awareness against threats and sabotages, NVE’s director general Kjetil Lund said. That’s why the regulator is now clarifying additional requirements in the proposed regulation, Lund added.  “If the power system stops functioning, Norway will stop functioning within a short time,”…

Oil prices spiked early on Wednesday morning in Asia as President Trump announced a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela."  At the time of writing, West Texas Intermediate crude futures had climbed 1.25% on the news to trade at $55.96, reflecting heightened market risk premiums amid fears that more Venezuelan supply will be taken offline. In the same post, Trump labeled the Venezuelan government a “foreign terrorist organization”, justifying the move as part of an effort…

The global oil market looks well-supplied at the end of the year, with output sufficient to absorb a supply disruption in Venezuela, the world’s biggest crude resource holder. The escalating U.S.-Venezuela tensions in recent weeks, a tanker seizure, and further U.S. sanctions squeezes on Nicolas Maduro and his allies, including companies operating tankers, have cut Venezuela’s production to a seven-month low.   The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated Venezuela’s oil supply at 860,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November,…

A Utah company has unearthed a massive deposit of critical minerals, describing it as potentially “one of North America’s most significant” finds to date. According to Ionic Minerals Technology, assays from its Silicon Ridge project in Utah have confirmed the presence of 16 critical minerals, including germanium and gallium, in the halloysite-hosted ion-adsorption clay (IAC) system, a geological system that’s easier to extract minerals from compared to the conventional hard-rock. Located in Provo, less than 20 miles south…

Four states in the Northeastern U.S.—Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York—are experiencing an energy emergency following an outage at a major propane hub. The issue highlights how essential energy security is, especially during peak demand season. In late November, the Marcus Hook terminal in Pennsylvania had an incident with an electric transformer that disrupted the loading of propane for three days. That incident, however, caused extended problems, with the operator of the facility, Energy Partners, unable to pump propane…

Global electricity demand is on track to more than double by 2050. Maintaining energy security and keeping energy affordable without throwing climate goals out the window will require a whole lot more renewable energy capacity, but – just as importantly – it will also require a huge leap in energy efficiency. But despite the critical importance of improving energy efficiency, it remains “a massively underutilised route to reducing emissions and improving returns.” The fossil fuel industry – which still accounts for…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States saw yet another large draw, this time of 9.3 million barrels in the week ending December 12. Crude oil inventories shrank by 4.8 million barrels in the week prior. Crude oil inventories in the United States are so far showing a net decrease of just 9.2 million barrels for the year, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)…

On a recent flight from Los Angeles to Phoenix, I glanced out the window as the aircraft slowly descended over the open desert west of the city. The landscape shifted abruptly from endless scrubland to an expanse of mirrored rectangles stretching to the horizon. I took several pictures, and my phone’s GPS later confirmed what I was seeing: the Mesquite Solar Complex in Arlington, Arizona—one of the largest photovoltaic installations in the United States. From above, the site resembles an enormous geometric tapestry. On the ground, it…

Saudi Arabia’s Midad Energy has emerged as one of the leading contenders to buy Russian oil major Lukoil’s international assets, a deal that could reshape ownership of roughly $22 billion worth of oilfields, refineries, and fuel stations as U.S. sanctions force Moscow-linked firms to unwind overseas holdings, according to people familiar with the matter. Lukoil is seeking to sell its foreign operations after sweeping U.S. sanctions imposed in October sharply restricted its ability to operate and finance assets outside Russia. The portfolio…

Saudi Arabia’s Midad Energy has emerged as one of the leading contenders to buy Russian oil major Lukoil’s international assets, a deal that could reshape ownership of roughly $22 billion worth of oilfields, refineries, and fuel stations as U.S. sanctions force Moscow-linked firms to unwind overseas holdings, according to people familiar with the matter. Lukoil is seeking to sell its foreign operations after sweeping U.S. sanctions imposed in October sharply restricted its ability to operate and finance assets outside Russia. The portfolio…

A Reform government would partially nationalise Rolls-Royce as a quid pro quo for helping it ramp up its small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear programme “as fast as it possibly can”, its policy chief has said. In a wide-ranging interview setting out his party’s plans for the UK economy, Zia Yusuf told City AM that Reform would actively “accelerate our national champions”, taking inspiration from Donald Trump’s decision to buy a stake in US chipmaker Intel. “What we would do, is say, Rolls-Royce,…

The government of Canada and the province of Alberta reached a major milestone in late November, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen energy collaboration and sustainable economic development. A core pillar of the announcement is a contingent bitumen pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia, targeting at least 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of capacity for waterborne exports. The news comes shortly after several Canadian midstream operators announced brownfield crude oil pipeline expansions with the potential…

Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA is facing wider crude discounts, stuck cargoes, and growing pressure from buyers to rewrite trading terms after the United States seized a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, traders and sources told Reuters. The seizure of the very large crude carrier Skipper near Venezuela’s coast last week marked Washington’s first interception of a tanker transporting Venezuelan crude. The move came alongside new U.S. sanctions on six vessels and their associated companies, tightening the screws on President…