Unsurprisingly following Israel’s largest-ever military strikes against Iran over the weekend, none of the scheduled talks for Sunday between the Islamic Republic and the U.S. over a new Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or colloquially ‘the nuclear deal’) took place. Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that: “The other side [the U.S.] acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless [...] You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime…

Oil prices dropped nearly 4% on Monday, erasing much of last week's conflict-driven gains, as traders reacted to signs of easing tensions between Israel and Iran. The reversal came sharply after a Wall Street Journal report indicated that Iran is urgently signaling its desire to halt hostilities and resume negotiations over its nuclear program. Brent crude fell approximately 3.65% to trade near $75.50 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped about 3.71% to around $70.27 during intraday trading.  The sharp retreat comes…

Oil prices dropped nearly 4% on Monday, erasing much of last week's conflict-driven gains, as traders reacted to signs of easing tensions between Israel and Iran. The reversal came sharply after a Wall Street Journal report indicated that Iran is urgently signaling its desire to halt hostilities and resume negotiations over its nuclear program. Brent crude fell approximately 3.65% to trade near $75.50 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped about 3.71% to around $70.27 during intraday trading.  The sharp retreat comes…

Oil prices are likely to remain capped below $80 per barrel despite the escalating Israel-Iran conflict, research firm Rystad Energy said on Monday, as Iran and Israel continue to trade strikes with the escalation now in its fourth day.   “Based on our earlier disruption simulations, we see oil prices capped below $80 per barrel,” Mukesh Sahdev, Rystad Energy’s Global Head of Commodities Markets – Oil, said in a market update, carried by Africa Oil+Gas Report.  The conflict appears likely to be contained and…

OPEC’s crude oil production rose by 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 27 million bpd in May, with producers part of the OPEC+ agreement raising output by much less than the 411,000 bpd headline hike planned for last month as some members compensated for past overproduction.  The five OPEC members that have pledged cuts in the OPEC+ agreement – Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, and Algeria – and are now gradually unwinding these cuts had to raise their combined output by 310,000 bpd in May.   But OPEC’s Monthly…

Uranium enrichment is a pivotal process within the global energy landscape and holds significant geopolitical implications. It is a critical step in preparing uranium for use, whether as fuel for nuclear power plants that generate electricity or, in highly concentrated forms, for nuclear weapons. Understanding uranium enrichment is essential for anyone following developments in alternative energy production, international security, and the complex balance of global power. This comprehensive guide will explore the fundamentals of uranium enrichment,…

Managers and owners of oil tankers are wary of offering their vessels for routes around the Middle East as the intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran increases fears of disruption to oil flows.  Since Friday, when Israel launched a coordinated attack on Iranian nuclear sites, there have been few offers for producers and traders that want to book tankers to ship crude from the Gulf, anonymous shipbrokers and charterers told Bloomberg on Monday.  The start of the conflict caused freight rates to jump and vessel owners to be hesitant…

As the European Union seeks to end its dependency on Russian energy, the European Commission is set to propose this week a ban on new contracts for natural gas supply with Russia on the basis of trade law, which needs a majority vote approval instead of a unanimous EU call.  EU companies will be banned from signing new contracts for Russian gas, based on trade law, which is aimed at sidestepping vetoes from Hungary and Slovakia, the Financial Times reported on Monday, quoting a summary of the proposals it had seen.   Hungary and…

As the European Union seeks to end its dependency on Russian energy, the European Commission is set to propose this week a ban on new contracts for natural gas supply with Russia on the basis of trade law, which needs a majority vote approval instead of a unanimous EU call.  EU companies will be banned from signing new contracts for Russian gas, based on trade law, which is aimed at sidestepping vetoes from Hungary and Slovakia, the Financial Times reported on Monday, quoting a summary of the proposals it had seen.   Hungary and…

As the European Union seeks to end its dependency on Russian energy, the European Commission is set to propose this week a ban on new contracts for natural gas supply with Russia on the basis of trade law, which needs a majority vote approval instead of a unanimous EU call.  EU companies will be banned from signing new contracts for Russian gas, based on trade law, which is aimed at sidestepping vetoes from Hungary and Slovakia, the Financial Times reported on Monday, quoting a summary of the proposals it had seen.   Hungary and…

As the Israel-Iran conflict shows no signs of abating, oil supply from the Middle East could become vulnerable if the two sides decide to attack vital energy infrastructure in the region, RBC Capital Markets said, warning that energy, and oil in particular, are now “clearly in the crosshairs.” The Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and military leadership at the end of last week escalated with Iran’s response with missiles toward Israel, some of which penetrated Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and hit cities…

Amid heavy planned seasonal maintenance, crude oil processing at China’s refineries dipped by 1.8% in May from a year earlier, to the lowest level in nine months.  Chinese refiners processed a total of about 13.92 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil last month, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics cited by Reuters. Throughput slumped to the lowest level since August last year as several major state-run and private refiners underwent scheduled maintenance ahead of the peak driving season.  The processing…

Amid heavy planned seasonal maintenance, crude oil processing at China’s refineries dipped by 1.8% in May from a year earlier, to the lowest level in nine months.  Chinese refiners processed a total of about 13.92 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil last month, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics cited by Reuters. Throughput slumped to the lowest level since August last year as several major state-run and private refiners underwent scheduled maintenance ahead of the peak driving season.  The processing…

TotalEnergies plans to spend about 30% of its capital expenditure (capex) on boosting its integrated power business, Patrick Pouyanne, the chief executive of the French supermajor, said at an energy conference on Monday.  The company looks to increase the share of the power business in its portfolio to 20% by the end of the decade, the executive said at the ongoing Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. When Shell, BP, and Equinor backtracked on their pivot to renewables and reduced investments in low-carbon energy solutions, TotalEnergies…

All of Baker Hughes Middle Eastern projects are operating as normal, the oilfield services giant’s chief executive Lorenzo Simonelli has told Reuters. “Currently, all of our employees are safe, and the facilities continue to run and operate,” Simonelli said. “Hopefully there's a de-escalation of tensions.” Israel and Iran continued firing missiles at each other over the weekend and today, suggesting such hopes may be premature at this point. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards corps said after the latest barrage that…

Oil started the week with a gain, after an Iranian missile attack caused damage to the Haifa refinery in Israel over the weekend, prompting a partial shutdown, Israeli media reported, saying the facility remained operational. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $74.83 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate at $73.77 per barrel. The damage, according to the Haifa refinery’s operator, Bazan, was localized at pipelines and transmission lines, the Times of Israel reported. The publication added that Iran launched some 40 missiles…

For decades, the United States has been the world’s biggest producer of nuclear energy, accounting for 30% of global production. The country, however, currently imports 98% of the uranium feedstock it needs to power its 94 nuclear reactors. Indeed, the U.S. accounts for less than 1% of the world’s uranium output, with Kazakhstan, Canada, and Namibia accounting for nearly two-thirds of global production.  But things have not always been this way. The country’s nuclear age peaked in the 1960s to the mid-1980s when it was the…

Brent crude futures opened more than 4% higher on Sunday evening, trading above $77 per barrel, as tensions between Iran and Israel erupted into open military conflict targeting critical energy infrastructure. The spike follows an 8% jump on Friday, marking one of the sharpest two-day increases in oil prices in recent years. Over the weekend, Israel launched a wave of coordinated airstrikes on Iran, hitting key energy facilities in and around Tehran. The Shahran fuel depot in northern Tehran, a vital distribution point supplying around 8 million…

In the past, oil price wars were short, sharp and, to those who profited from them, sweet. Now, an oil price war is a more cautious affair—assuming what OPEC is doing with its supply return is a price war, of course. And because most assume just that, all eyes are on the group’s chances of success. These are uncertain, to say the least, with most demand forecasts predicting a disaster for prices. OPEC and its friends from OPEC+ decided to start returning 411,000 barrels daily to the global oil market in May. Since then, they have agreed…

The clean energy revolution will depend on a steady supply of critical minerals to support the manufacturing of a wide range of technologies, from wind turbines to electric vehicle batteries. While not all of these ‘critical’ materials are rare, they are not naturally available everywhere in the world, leading to potential geopolitical minefields as competition over these supply chains heats up.  The United States Energy Act of 2020 provided an operational definition of ‘critical minerals’ as those that are: essential…