Russian oil giant Lukoil has declared force majeure at the 400,000-barrels-per-day West Qurna-2 oilfield in Iraq after the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s top oil firms, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.  Following the October 22 U.S. sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, Iraq has stopped all cash and crude payments to Lukoil, according to Reuters’ sources.  Last week, reports emerged that Iraq’s state oil marketing company SOMO had canceled three crude loadings from Lukoil this month after the U.S. sanctioned…

Russian oil giant Lukoil has declared force majeure at the 400,000-barrels-per-day West Qurna-2 oilfield in Iraq after the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s top oil firms, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.  Following the October 22 U.S. sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, Iraq has stopped all cash and crude payments to Lukoil, according to Reuters’ sources.  Last week, reports emerged that Iraq’s state oil marketing company SOMO had canceled three crude loadings from Lukoil this month after the U.S. sanctioned…

Russian oil giant Lukoil has declared force majeure at the 400,000-barrels-per-day West Qurna-2 oilfield in Iraq after the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s top oil firms, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.  Following the October 22 U.S. sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, Iraq has stopped all cash and crude payments to Lukoil, according to Reuters’ sources.  Last week, reports emerged that Iraq’s state oil marketing company SOMO had canceled three crude loadings from Lukoil this month after the U.S. sanctioned…

Kyiv and many Ukrainian regions faced extensive power cuts and outages as crews struggled to repair infrastructure battered by Russian air attacks. Power was reduced in most regions for eight to 16 hours on November 9, state energy provider Ukrenergo said, adding that consumption restrictions were scheduled for November 10 as well. "The reason for the introduction of restrictions is the consequences of massive Russian missile and drone attacks on energy facilities," the company said. "It is difficult to recall such a [large] number of direct strikes…

In early Asian trade on Monday, crude oil prices were climbing after the United States Senate passed a funding agreement that could end the federal government shutdown. At the time of writing, WTI had climbed to $60.20 while Brent was trading at $64.05, both up by roughly 0.7%. Senate negotiators had struck a deal ahead of a Sunday evening session to begin advancing a House-passed continuing resolution. After nearly two hours, the funding measure passed with the support of eight Democrats. The package combines the continuing resolution with a “minibus”…

Europe’s rush to shake off Russian gas dependence and Asia’s push to buy higher volumes of American energy while negotiating trade deals have created a booming export deal market for U.S. LNG exporters and developers, even at increased liquefaction fees.    Year to date, American LNG developers have signed sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) for existing and future export plants for a total of 29.5 million metric tons per year, according to data from consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group cited by Reuters. The volume of…

Oil from offshore Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale play will be key sources of cost-competitive non-OPEC oil supply through 2030, Rystad Energy has predicted. Rystad has predicted that global liquids demand will peak in the 2030s at around 107 million barrels per day (bpd), maintain a plateau above 100 million bpd through the 2040s before declining to around 75 million bpd by 2050. According to the Norwegian energy consultancy, non-OPEC+ supply will be key to balancing the global market, with cheap oil from South…

US President Donald Trump unveiled a slew of trade, diplomatic, and mineral deals as he hosted Central Asia’s five leaders for a summit and dinner meant to shore up Washington's influence in the region. Flanked by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance at a long table at the White House, Trump said that he was committed to making US relations with Central Asia "stronger than ever" as the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan hailed a new era of ties. “Sadly, previous American…

The United Kingdom has rapidly developed its wind energy sector over the last two decades to become one of the biggest wind power producers worldwide. As the government aims to accelerate the green transition through greater investment in renewable energies and upgrading the national grid, the U.K.’s wind sector is expected to continue growing substantially in the coming decades. Meanwhile, recent studies suggest that the deployment of more wind power has helped significantly reduce consumer energy bills. There is approximately 15.7 GW of…

Asia has been the driver of global demand for liquefied natural gas for years now, with its fast-growing economies guzzling energy at elevated rates. This year, however, has seen this change. Asian demand for LNG is weakening—but Europe’s is on a substantial rise, more than offsetting Asia’s weakness, despite plans to reduce consumption of all hydrocarbons. LNG imports to Asia last month stood at 22.84 million tons, Kpler data, cited by Reuters’ Clyde Russell, showed. This was a slight increase from September but palpably…

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has declared an oil and gas “emergency” in the North East of Scotland as she pushes the Labour government to overturn its ban on new oil and gas licenses.  Badenoch has pledged to “get Britain drilling again” in a new campaign in partnership with the Scottish Conservatives. The announcement marks the Conservative leader’s growing focus on oil and gas, splitting from previous party leaders who were more critical of fossil fuels. Badenoch, who is currently in Aberdeen, has called on Chancellor…

One of Europe’s automotive manufacturing powerhouses, Slovakia, has been hit hard by tariffs and increased competition, which are threatening its role in the global auto market. Since the creation of the Bratislava Automobile Works (BAZ) in the 1970s, Slovakia has gradually developed its reputation as a major automotive manufacturer. It now produces the highest number of cars per capita each year, with an annual output of over one million vehicles. Slovakia became known as “Europe’s Detroit,” attracting automakers such as…

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is up for review in 2026, and the resulting policy outcome could have transformational importance for global energy markets and value chains. Even though it would seem that the United States, Mexico, and Canada are in an era of increasing political tension and division, the common strategic priorities of the North American bloc far overshadow the divergences and competing interests. Strengthening energy trade and mutual support to ramp up energy production and localized energy and manufacturing…

Advanced air mobility (AAM) may no longer be a pipedream, as several cities around the globe are conducting pilot projects in the hope of launching commercial operations over the next decade. Innovations in AAM could lead to the launch of air taxi services in several spots worldwide, helping commuters to avoid traffic and get to their destinations faster. Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles rely on electric propulsion, powered by electric motors that allow them to take off and land vertically, reducing the urban space needed…

Oil production from offshore Brazil, Guyana and Suriname, as well as Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale is well-positioned to supply cost-competitive barrels until 2030. Global oil demand is expected to remain robust throughout the 2030s, putting pressure on currently producing assets to keep pace. Rystad Energy’s research forecasts global liquids demand to peak in the early 2030s at around 107 million barrels per day (bpd), remaining above 100 million bpd through the 2040s before gradually declining to about 75 million bpd by 2050. Non-OPEC+…

A joint green-energy project involving Azerbaijan and Georgia has cleared an initial European hurdle, and its blueprint for exporting electricity from the Caspian Basin to the EU will now undergo a cost-benefit analysis. The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) opted to include the project, known as the Black Sea Green Energy Corridor, in a group of infrastructure projects under consideration within the framework of a Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP 2026). “Over the course of 2026, all projects…

President Donald Trump told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday that the U.S. is “looking at” exempting Hungary from sanctions targeting Russian oil a move that chips away at one of the few symbolic levers the U.S. still maintains over Russia’s energy exports while signaling flexibility toward an ally that’s long played both sides of the energy chessboard. The exemption talk comes just as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to halt Russian oil shipments to Hungary through the Druzhba pipeline,…

Petrobras is closing out 2025 on a high note, preparing to launch yet another floating production unit at the massive Búzios oil field after setting multiple output records and raising shareholder payouts. The company has confirmed that the P-78 FPSO will begin producing in December, adding up to 180,000 barrels per day of new capacity at what is now the world’s largest producing oil field. The vessel arrived off Rio de Janeiro in late September and marks Petrobras’ latest step in an aggressive pre-salt expansion drive that continues…

Petrobras is closing out 2025 on a high note, preparing to launch yet another floating production unit at the massive Búzios oil field after setting multiple output records and raising shareholder payouts. The company has confirmed that the P-78 FPSO will begin producing in December, adding up to 180,000 barrels per day of new capacity at what is now the world’s largest producing oil field. The vessel arrived off Rio de Janeiro in late September and marks Petrobras’ latest step in an aggressive pre-salt expansion drive that continues…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count in the US rose to 548 this week, according to Baker Hughes, down 37 from this same time last year.  The number of active oil rigs stayed the same in the reporting period, according to the data, at 414. Year over year, this represents a 65-rig decline. The number of gas rigs rose by 3 to 128, which is 26 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count fell by…