Azerbaijan is sending conflicting signals about its readiness for peace in the wake of the announcement that an Armenian-Azerbaijani treaty is ready for signing. Since the two states finalized the treaty text on March 13, talk in Azerbaijan has been far more about war than peace. On the same day that Armenia disclosed the treaty text had been finalized, Caliber.az, a news outlet closely aligned by the Azerbaijani government, published a commentary accusing Yerevan of preparing to launch a military offensive. “A new war with Azerbaijan, ……

The boss of Centrica, the FTSE 100 parent company of British Gas, has seen his pay slashed by almost half for the group’s latest financial year. Chris O’Shea took home £4.3m for the 12 months, down from the £8.2m he received in the prior year. O’Shea, who has been CEO of the FTSE 100 company since 2020, had previously received £4.49m in 2022. His latest pay packet included a base salary of £845,000, £1.4m from the annual incentive plan and £2m from the long-term incentive plan. Last year’s…

Ecuador's state-run oil company, Petroecuador, has declared force majeure at the operations of its SOTE pipeline after a landslide ruptured the pipeline, releasing tens of thousands of barrels of oil. Petroecuador has yet to determine the size of the spill, but has so far removed 225,000 cubic metres of material that collapsed on the pipeline. The company says the force majeure will last up to 60 days in a bid to give it enough time to take all necessary actions to minimise the incident. Petroecuador added it has enough oil in its inventories to…

Ecuador's state-run oil company, Petroecuador, has declared force majeure at the operations of its SOTE pipeline after a landslide ruptured the pipeline, releasing tens of thousands of barrels of oil. Petroecuador has yet to determine the size of the spill, but has so far removed 225,000 cubic metres of material that collapsed on the pipeline. The company says the force majeure will last up to 60 days in a bid to give it enough time to take all necessary actions to minimise the incident. Petroecuador added it has enough oil in its inventories to…

On 26 February, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to end General License 41, which allowed Chevron to operate in Venezuela despite sanctions. Meanwhile, there are other “specific licenses” for oil and gas companies at risk. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had created a system to monitor at least part of Venezuela’s oil industry by waiving sanctions for certain American, European, and Indian companies but with strict limitations. Four corporations that were authorized by licenses…

The chief executives of some of the largest Canadian energy companies called on Canada’s main political parties to declare a Canadian energy crisis and key projects in the “national interest,” which would speed up reforms, planning, and construction of new oil and gas pipelines and LNG terminals. The open letter from 14 CEOs representing the four largest pipeline companies and 10 largest oil and natural gas companies was delivered to Canada’s political party leaders on Wednesday. “This is in answer to inquiries on…

The energy markets could be on the verge of a Black Swan Bull Market, signaling potential volatility and major geopolitical shifts. After a brief lull in military confrontations in the Middle East, tensions are once again escalating between Israel and its adversaries—Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, and the Houthis. Recent attention has focused on developments in Syria, where a newly emerging Islamist extremist regime, led by self-proclaimed President Al Jolani, is struggling to maintain control. His forces are engaged in a sectarian war against opposition…

The chief executives of some of the largest Canadian energy companies called on Canada’s main political parties to declare a Canadian energy crisis and key projects in the “national interest,” which would speed up reforms, planning, and construction of new oil and gas pipelines and LNG terminals. The open letter from 14 CEOs representing the four largest pipeline companies and 10 largest oil and natural gas companies was delivered to Canada’s political party leaders on Wednesday. “This is in answer to inquiries on…

Crude oil inventories in the United States saw an increase of 1.7 million barrels during the week ending March 14, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday. Crude oil prices were trading down prior to the crude data release by the U.S. Energy Information Administration after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a build of 4.593 million barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories amid a strong gasoline draw. The Brent benchmark was trading down 0.14% at 10:05 a.m. ET at $70.46 —essentially…

European ESG funds have invested $134 billion (123 billion euros) in companies actively pushing fossil fuel expansion projects or lacking a credible Paris-aligned coal phase-out plan, in what NGOs Urgewald und Facing Finance say is a massive greenwashing by well over one-third of the 14,000 ESG-labeled funds analyzed. The ESG funds are known as Article 8 and Article 9 funds under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), adopted in 2021. The so-called Article 8 funds are registered as “promoting” ESG goals, while…

European ESG funds have invested $134 billion (123 billion euros) in companies actively pushing fossil fuel expansion projects or lacking a credible Paris-aligned coal phase-out plan, in what NGOs Urgewald und Facing Finance say is a massive greenwashing by well over one-third of the 14,000 ESG-labeled funds analyzed. The ESG funds are known as Article 8 and Article 9 funds under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), adopted in 2021. The so-called Article 8 funds are registered as “promoting” ESG goals, while…

European ESG funds have invested $134 billion (123 billion euros) in companies actively pushing fossil fuel expansion projects or lacking a credible Paris-aligned coal phase-out plan, in what NGOs Urgewald und Facing Finance say is a massive greenwashing by well over one-third of the 14,000 ESG-labeled funds analyzed. The ESG funds are known as Article 8 and Article 9 funds under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), adopted in 2021. The so-called Article 8 funds are registered as “promoting” ESG goals, while…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia hit energy infrastructure in Ukraine just hours after President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump he would halt such strikes, as he warned of a "long path" to a cease-fire in the war on Ukraine. Speaking at a news conference in Helsinki after a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on March 19, Zelenskyy said he will talk to Trump later in the day after the negotiations between Washington and Moscow fell short of achieving Trump's goal of an agreement on a 30-day cease-fire.…

The world’s largest independent oil trader, Vitol, will buy stakes in some upstream assets in West Africa from Eni for $1.65 billion, subject to closing cash adjustments, the Italian energy major said on Wednesday. Eni has been pursuing in recent years the so-called ‘dual exploration model’, under which it sells part of its majority stakes to other companies to fast-track oil and gas discoveries to production. Vitol, for its part, has been looking to get into more upstream and downstream assets after the world’s biggest…

The world’s largest independent oil trader, Vitol, will buy stakes in some upstream assets in West Africa from Eni for $1.65 billion, subject to closing cash adjustments, the Italian energy major said on Wednesday. Eni has been pursuing in recent years the so-called ‘dual exploration model’, under which it sells part of its majority stakes to other companies to fast-track oil and gas discoveries to production. Vitol, for its part, has been looking to get into more upstream and downstream assets after the world’s biggest…

The world’s largest independent oil trader, Vitol, will buy stakes in some upstream assets in West Africa from Eni for $1.65 billion, subject to closing cash adjustments, the Italian energy major said on Wednesday. Eni has been pursuing in recent years the so-called ‘dual exploration model’, under which it sells part of its majority stakes to other companies to fast-track oil and gas discoveries to production. Vitol, for its part, has been looking to get into more upstream and downstream assets after the world’s biggest…

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host on Wednesday a group of oil company executives in the first such sit-down since his return to the White House. President Trump will meet at a closed-door event members of the executive committee of the American Petroleum Institute (API), a source with knowledge of the planning of the meeting told Reuters. The chief executives of the biggest U.S. oil producers and refiners are among the leaders of the API executive committee. The Trump-industry meeting comes amid falling oil prices and a Trump Administration…

Since the days of President Jimmy Carter and the 1970s oil crisis, the United States has relentlessly pursued the utopia of energy independence. One of Trump's many "Unleashing American Energy" directives requires the Secretary of the Interior to instruct the director of the USGS to "consider updating the survey's list of critical minerals, including for the potential of including uranium." Unfortunately, the U.S. remains heavily reliant on China’s rare earths, with the Middle Kingdom supplying nearly three-quarters of its needs.  China…

It’s “drill, baby, drill” time in the U.S. shale patch—but mostly for natural gas. U.S. producers continue to keep oil output steady amid WTI Crude prices below $70 per barrel and aren’t breaking discipline just because the Trump Administration wants lower oil prices. But the natural gas producers focused on the shale gas plays Appalachia, Marcellus, Haynesville, and the Eagle Ford have reasons to boost their output after a year in which many of them had to curtail production due to multi-year low prices. Price Rally…

The expectation of tariffs on US copper imports is helping to push copper prices higher, along with tight supply, robust demand, and events in China, the world’s largest consumer of the industrial metal. Mining.com reported copper prices traded near a five-month high Monday, due in part to the Chinese government’s unveiling of an action plan over the weekend by to boost consumption. Demand from China’s property sector, a key source of metals demand, has been weak. Copper for May delivery on the Comex in New York was trading 1%…