Fuel oil imports into China jumped by 40% in July to the highest level in seven months as falling refining margins raised refiners’ interest in lower-cost feedstock and the province of the independent refiners increased tax rebates on imports. China’s fuel oil imports jumped to about 401,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, up by 40% compared to the prior month, and up by 42% compared to July last year, according to customs data cited by Reuters. Chinese fuel oil imports had started recovering in June, following an 18-month low in May.…

A couple of years ago, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) made a bold prediction that wind and solar energy will make up half of the planet’s electricity generation by the middle of the century, thanks to the rapid transition to low-carbon energy. However, the intermittent nature of these sources makes large-scale storage critical as renewable energy becomes the dominant power source, with the experts predicting that battery storage is set to boom in the coming years. And now experts at Wood Mackenzie have put a number on it, saying the…

When Aramco listed on the Tadawul stock exchange in Riyadh, many hailed the move as the listing of the decade and bet on whether it would immediately reach top market cap status. Six years later, Aramco has turned into something of a disappointment—because of oil prices. One could argue with confidence that December 2019 was perhaps not the best time to list a major oil company, but that was only clear in hindsight, after the 2020 Covid lockdowns destroyed demand for crude oil, plunging prices deep down. Yet the rebound in demand that followed…

With Russia focused on Ukraine, Washington is stepping up its efforts to ensure that Moscow cannot re-establish itself so easily in its previously vital strategic Middle East and North Africa strongholds of Syria and Libya. The U.S. and Great Britain were instrumental in the removal from power of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and in the similar ousting of Syria’s long-term president Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Over the 23 years, Washington and London appear to have learned that quickly putting into place a plan to ensure economic…

Mexico is betting on ‘complex geology’ development to reverse the fortunes of its state-owned oil and gas giant Pemex, which has been struggling with declining production and enormous debts in recent years. A return to unconventional exploration could be a boon to the Mexican firm’s production and profits and to the state’s finances.   New Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum is open to shale resource development, unlike her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had cancelled previous contracts and…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell this week, shrinking by 2.4 million barrels in the week ending August 15. Analysts had expected a 1.2-million-barrel draw. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up nearly 8 million barrels, 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) rose by 400,000 barrels to 403.4 million barrels in the week ending August 15.…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell this week, shrinking by 2.4 million barrels in the week ending August 15. Analysts had expected a 1.2-million-barrel draw. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up nearly 8 million barrels, 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) rose by 400,000 barrels to 403.4 million barrels in the week ending August 15.…

It is a long time coming, but the impoverished South American country of Suriname is poised to enjoy the fruits of a major oil boom. For nearly a decade, the government, in the capital Paramaribo, hungrily eyed neighboring Guyana’s drilling success, which transformed that country into the world’s newest petrostate. Yet Suriname’s offshore drilling, despite yielding positive results, repeatedly experienced uncertainty and delays. This took place as the economic situation in the former Dutch colony deteriorated, causing to President…

The Interior Department just laid out a decades-long offshore leasing calendar under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, locking in regular auctions in the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Cook Inlet. At least 30 Gulf sales and six in Cook Inlet are scheduled, according to a Department of the Interior press release—the clearest signal yet that the Trump administration is leaning hard into offshore drilling as the backbone of its energy agenda. The Gulf still does the heavy lifting when it comes to US oil production, pumping 14–15% of…

The Interior Department just laid out a decades-long offshore leasing calendar under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, locking in regular auctions in the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Cook Inlet. At least 30 Gulf sales and six in Cook Inlet are scheduled, according to a Department of the Interior press release—the clearest signal yet that the Trump administration is leaning hard into offshore drilling as the backbone of its energy agenda. The Gulf still does the heavy lifting when it comes to US oil production, pumping 14–15% of…

The U.S. East Coast dodged a massive bullet this week as powerful Category 3 Hurricane Erin passed near the Bahamas on Tuesday morning. Instead of making landfall, Erin is expected to unleash rough surf from Central Florida to Canada before curving out into the western Atlantic later this week. This has certaintly brought excitement for East Coast surfers.  At 0500 ET, Erin was approximately 700 miles southwest of Bermuda and 750 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras.  "Erin forecast to substantially grow in…

With coal accounting for 54% of Asia’s power mix last year, the region faces a significant challenge in meeting its net-zero ambitions. In a bid to cut emissions, several Asian countries are turning to ammonia for power generation, particularly through co-firing, blending low-carbon ammonia with coal or natural gas. Rystad Energy expects China, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea to emerge as key hubs for this transition. However, a sizeable supply gap remains, with about 8.8 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of ammonia needed to meet 2030 targets.…

Barack Obama has one. So do Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jimmy Carter. And it seems abundantly clear that Donald Trump is bucking for one too – a Nobel Peace Prize awarded to a sitting US president. Trump has gone on a peace-making offensive over the past few weeks. He is not only the driving force in trying to end Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine, but he is also at the center of efforts to settle the almost four-decade-long conflict in the Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Success in both cases is far from certain.…

BP’s massive 440,000-barrel-per-day Whiting refinery—the largest in the U.S. Midwest—was forced into flaring late Monday after severe thunderstorms dumped heavy rain across northwest Indiana, flooding the site and surrounding neighborhoods. The company said in a statement that materials were being burned in the flare stacks to maintain safe operations and that response teams were on the ground to manage the situation. BP has not clarified whether output has been curtailed. The Whiting facility, perched on the southern edge of…

BP’s massive 440,000-barrel-per-day Whiting refinery—the largest in the U.S. Midwest—was forced into flaring late Monday after severe thunderstorms dumped heavy rain across northwest Indiana, flooding the site and surrounding neighborhoods. The company said in a statement that materials were being burned in the flare stacks to maintain safe operations and that response teams were on the ground to manage the situation. BP has not clarified whether output has been curtailed. The Whiting facility, perched on the southern edge of…

Security guarantees for Kyiv are a key issue at the heart of efforts to bring an end to fighting amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and now White House special envoy Steve Witkoff has put the term "Article 5-like" center stage. Witkoff told CNN on August 17 that it was agreed during the Alaska summit that Washington and its allies could offer "game-changing" assurances to Ukraine in the form of "Article 5-like protections," though he did not provide specifics. Witkoff said that, following President Donald Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin,…

The Trump-Putin and subsequent Trump-Zelenskiy meetings provided ample talking points for the markets at large; however, the lack of sanctioning threats has been mostly a bearish factor for crude prices. The price drops of late have been relatively tiny, with ICE Brent still trading around $66 per barrel, yet the upside from here seems to be minimal, barring a sudden escalation.  

U.S. utilities have signed billions of dollars worth of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals this year, driven by the desire to position themselves for the power demand surge. The electric, gas, and water utilities sector has so far this year agreed more than $60 billion worth of asset and corporate acquisition deals, according to  LSEG data cited by Reuters. Some of the biggest deals include Constellation Energy, the biggest owner of U.S. nuclear power plants, buying Calpine in a cash and stock deal valued at an equity purchase price…

U.S. utilities have signed billions of dollars worth of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals this year, driven by the desire to position themselves for the power demand surge. The electric, gas, and water utilities sector has so far this year agreed more than $60 billion worth of asset and corporate acquisition deals, according to  LSEG data cited by Reuters. Some of the biggest deals include Constellation Energy, the biggest owner of U.S. nuclear power plants, buying Calpine in a cash and stock deal valued at an equity purchase price…

Japan has pledged to buy more American energy products as part of the July trade deal with the United States, but no Japanese refinery is built to handle 100% U.S.-sourced crude, Japan’s refining industry says. In July, the U.S. completed what President Donald Trump touted on Truth Social as “a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made.”  Under the trade agreement, Japan’s goods imported in the United States will face a 15% tariff, lower than the 24% proposed in early April and the 25% tariff…