Cenovus Energy on Friday announced it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to acquire MEG Energy Corp in a cash and stock deal valued at US$5.7 billion (C$7.9 billion), including assumed debt. The agreement between Cenovus and MEG marks the end of a months-long saga in which suitors have sought to buy MEG Energy. Earlier this year, Strathcona Resources made an unsolicited offer to acquire MEG Energy, but MEG’s board rejected the offer and advised shareholders to reject it too and not tender their shares. MEG’s board said…

Cenovus Energy on Friday announced it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to acquire MEG Energy Corp in a cash and stock deal valued at US$5.7 billion (C$7.9 billion), including assumed debt. The agreement between Cenovus and MEG marks the end of a months-long saga in which suitors have sought to buy MEG Energy. Earlier this year, Strathcona Resources made an unsolicited offer to acquire MEG Energy, but MEG’s board rejected the offer and advised shareholders to reject it too and not tender their shares. MEG’s board said…

Over the past month, friends, family, and acquaintances have asked why their electricity bills have skyrocketed. One friend wrote, “I am curious if you have any thoughts about why electric bills are doubling and, in some cases, tripling? People in my area are in shock. In two months, my bill doubled.” I live in Phoenix, and we actually have reasonable electric bills because we are served by the Palo Verde Generating Station. Despite the intense heat here, my electric bill never rises above $300 except in July. More on that later. …

Just days after flows on the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia resumed following a Ukrainian attack on a pumping station, Ukraine hit the infrastructure anew, and supplies to the central European countries were suspended again.   Major Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said early on Friday that Ukraine had again hit the pumping station at Unecha.   Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto posted on Facebook on Friday that due to the latest attack, oil pipeline deliveries would…

Just days after flows on the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia resumed following a Ukrainian attack on a pumping station, Ukraine hit the infrastructure anew, and supplies to the central European countries were suspended again.   Major Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said early on Friday that Ukraine had again hit the pumping station at Unecha.   Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto posted on Facebook on Friday that due to the latest attack, oil pipeline deliveries would…

Private Chinese firm China Concord Resources Corp (CCRC) is developing two oilfields in Venezuela, from which it expects to produce 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude by the end of next year, thanks to a planned investment of $1 billion, an executive involved in the project told Reuters on Friday. Private Chinese operators are a rare sight in Venezuela, where Chinese state-held majors have developed oilfields in the past.   Yet, CCRC has signed a 20-year production sharing contract with Venezuela and is already producing 12,000 bpd from…

The United States has sanctioned a Greek shipping entrepreneur, a network of his companies, and two Chinese crude oil terminal and storage operators as the Treasury is taking additional actions to disrupt Iranian oil exports and the shadow fleet enabling them.   The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Greek national Antonios Margaritis, his network of companies, and nearly a dozen vessels involved in Iran’s shadow fleet. “Margaritis has leveraged his decades of experience…

The United States has sanctioned a Greek shipping entrepreneur, a network of his companies, and two Chinese crude oil terminal and storage operators as the Treasury is taking additional actions to disrupt Iranian oil exports and the shadow fleet enabling them.   The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Greek national Antonios Margaritis, his network of companies, and nearly a dozen vessels involved in Iran’s shadow fleet. “Margaritis has leveraged his decades of experience…

China’s Sinopec has made two significant discoveries of shale gas in central-southwestern China containing over 100 billion cubic meters, the company has said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post. Sinopec called the discoveries proof that the deposit, called Hongxing, had strong resource potential and would contribute to national energy security. The company added that the geology at the sites was challenging, with the reserves at depths between 3,300 and 5,500 meters. Despite the challenges, Sinopec’s test well at one of the…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Israel’s push to seize Gaza City, complete with a fresh reservist call?up and heavy strikes on the outskirts, plays into Gulf red?line management: Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have treated Israeli latitude as transactional, not open?ended. The political price inside the Gulf rises when the operation looks like an occupation or when casualty optics dominate regional media cycles; that’s when Riyadh slows the normalization narrative down and Abu Dhabi tightens the valves at the working level (permits,…

Sudan’s civil war is moving into a new phase, triggered by a reshuffle in Khartoum. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has moved loyalists into critical command slots and pulled an array of forces (regular army units, Darfur rebels aligned with the state, tribal auxiliaries, even Islamist brigades) into a unified chain of command. The step looks bureaucratic on the surface, but represents an attempt to close the gaps that allowed the RSF to grow into a rival military power. A tighter command structure means fewer competing fiefdoms, fewer opportunities…

Light crude oil futures rose for the week, closing Thursday at $63.52, up $1.54 or +2.48% from last Friday’s close, as geopolitical tensions, bullish inventory data, and renewed demand optimism drove a shift in market sentiment. The recovery followed two weeks of selling pressure and marked a return of bullish interest as supply-side risks reentered focus. Peace Talks Collapse, Rebuilds Geopolitical Risk Premium Crude began the week trading cautiously, weighed down by hopes that a diplomatic breakthrough in the Ukraine-Russia conflict could…

A couple of weeks ago, Mexico’s National Oil Company (NOC) and the federal administration unveiled the Pemex Strategic Plan 2025–2035, a comprehensive roadmap for Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to boost oil production, reduce debt, and promote energy sovereignty through increased public and private investment. Key goals of the blueprint include achieving oil production of 1.8 million barrels per day by 2030, increasing natural gas output, securing funding through government support and private partnerships, and integrating energy…

Global crude oil exports continue to hold strong and above the latest ten-year seasonal average. Demand, however, is also holding strong this summer, absorbing an increase in South American supply led by Brazil and Guyana, and production hikes in the Middle East as OPEC+ continues to ease output cuts. As a result, the market appears balanced near the end of the peak summer consumption period in the northern hemisphere. But fears are that oversupply will materialize in the fourth quarter to depress prices, once peak demand season and the unwinding…

Russia and India are looking for ways to continue trading oil, and Russia has offered what it calls a special mechanism to the India side to ensure this—despite U.S. President Trump’s threat to impose an additional tariff of 25% on Indian exports if the country keeps buying Russian oil. The news about a special mechanism broke earlier this week, with Reuters citing Russian diplomats from the embassy in New Delhi as talking about it but without providing any details. “I want to highlight that despite the political situation, we…

Libya’s eastern-based parliament is preparing to approve a 2019 maritime pact that would allow Turkey to explore for oil and gas in Libyan waters, according to people familiar with the talks in Benghazi and Ankara. Most obstacles to the accord have been cleared, they said, a striking reversal for the east—long aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army and historically opposed to Turkish involvement. Tripoli, which already maintains close ties with Ankara, backs the deal. If ratified, Turkish survey and drilling…

Via The Cradle Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed 12 cooperation agreements during Pezeshkian’s official visit to Minsk on Wednesday, strengthening ties between the two nations in defiance of US sanctions. A joint statement was signed alongside the dozen cooperation agreements which cover politics, international law, health, pharmaceuticals, industry, environment, tourism, art, media, free trade zones, industrial and special economic zones, and investment. Officials said…

  Russia and India are interested in collaborating on joint energy projects, including oil and gas production in Russia’s Far East and Arctic shelf, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday after meeting with his Indian counterpart in Moscow. Earlier this month, the United States announced an additional 25% tariff on India over its imports of crude from Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order enacting an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, explicitly targeting India’s ongoing imports…

German prosecutors confirmed Thursday that a Ukrainian national has been arrested in Italy on suspicion of coordinating the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, one of the most damaging strikes ever carried out against European energy infrastructure. The September blasts ruptured Nord Stream 1, which had carried 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually to Germany, and left Nord Stream 2 inoperable before it could begin operations. The suspect, identified as Serhii K., was detained by Italian police in the Rimini province under a European…

German prosecutors confirmed Thursday that a Ukrainian national has been arrested in Italy on suspicion of coordinating the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, one of the most damaging strikes ever carried out against European energy infrastructure. The September blasts ruptured Nord Stream 1, which had carried 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually to Germany, and left Nord Stream 2 inoperable before it could begin operations. The suspect, identified as Serhii K., was detained by Italian police in the Rimini province under a European…