Oil prices spiked early on Wednesday morning in Asia as President Trump announced a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela."  At the time of writing, West Texas Intermediate crude futures had climbed 1.25% on the news to trade at $55.96, reflecting heightened market risk premiums amid fears that more Venezuelan supply will be taken offline. In the same post, Trump labeled the Venezuelan government a “foreign terrorist organization”, justifying the move as part of an effort…

The global oil market looks well-supplied at the end of the year, with output sufficient to absorb a supply disruption in Venezuela, the world’s biggest crude resource holder. The escalating U.S.-Venezuela tensions in recent weeks, a tanker seizure, and further U.S. sanctions squeezes on Nicolas Maduro and his allies, including companies operating tankers, have cut Venezuela’s production to a seven-month low.   The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated Venezuela’s oil supply at 860,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November,…

A Utah company has unearthed a massive deposit of critical minerals, describing it as potentially “one of North America’s most significant” finds to date. According to Ionic Minerals Technology, assays from its Silicon Ridge project in Utah have confirmed the presence of 16 critical minerals, including germanium and gallium, in the halloysite-hosted ion-adsorption clay (IAC) system, a geological system that’s easier to extract minerals from compared to the conventional hard-rock. Located in Provo, less than 20 miles south…

Four states in the Northeastern U.S.—Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York—are experiencing an energy emergency following an outage at a major propane hub. The issue highlights how essential energy security is, especially during peak demand season. In late November, the Marcus Hook terminal in Pennsylvania had an incident with an electric transformer that disrupted the loading of propane for three days. That incident, however, caused extended problems, with the operator of the facility, Energy Partners, unable to pump propane…

Global electricity demand is on track to more than double by 2050. Maintaining energy security and keeping energy affordable without throwing climate goals out the window will require a whole lot more renewable energy capacity, but – just as importantly – it will also require a huge leap in energy efficiency. But despite the critical importance of improving energy efficiency, it remains “a massively underutilised route to reducing emissions and improving returns.” The fossil fuel industry – which still accounts for…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States saw yet another large draw, this time of 9.3 million barrels in the week ending December 12. Crude oil inventories shrank by 4.8 million barrels in the week prior. Crude oil inventories in the United States are so far showing a net decrease of just 9.2 million barrels for the year, 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)…

On a recent flight from Los Angeles to Phoenix, I glanced out the window as the aircraft slowly descended over the open desert west of the city. The landscape shifted abruptly from endless scrubland to an expanse of mirrored rectangles stretching to the horizon. I took several pictures, and my phone’s GPS later confirmed what I was seeing: the Mesquite Solar Complex in Arlington, Arizona—one of the largest photovoltaic installations in the United States. From above, the site resembles an enormous geometric tapestry. On the ground, it…

Saudi Arabia’s Midad Energy has emerged as one of the leading contenders to buy Russian oil major Lukoil’s international assets, a deal that could reshape ownership of roughly $22 billion worth of oilfields, refineries, and fuel stations as U.S. sanctions force Moscow-linked firms to unwind overseas holdings, according to people familiar with the matter. Lukoil is seeking to sell its foreign operations after sweeping U.S. sanctions imposed in October sharply restricted its ability to operate and finance assets outside Russia. The portfolio…

A Reform government would partially nationalise Rolls-Royce as a quid pro quo for helping it ramp up its small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear programme “as fast as it possibly can”, its policy chief has said. In a wide-ranging interview setting out his party’s plans for the UK economy, Zia Yusuf told City AM that Reform would actively “accelerate our national champions”, taking inspiration from Donald Trump’s decision to buy a stake in US chipmaker Intel. “What we would do, is say, Rolls-Royce,…

The government of Canada and the province of Alberta reached a major milestone in late November, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen energy collaboration and sustainable economic development. A core pillar of the announcement is a contingent bitumen pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia, targeting at least 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of capacity for waterborne exports. The news comes shortly after several Canadian midstream operators announced brownfield crude oil pipeline expansions with the potential…

Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA is facing wider crude discounts, stuck cargoes, and growing pressure from buyers to rewrite trading terms after the United States seized a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, traders and sources told Reuters. The seizure of the very large crude carrier Skipper near Venezuela’s coast last week marked Washington’s first interception of a tanker transporting Venezuelan crude. The move came alongside new U.S. sanctions on six vessels and their associated companies, tightening the screws on President…

The prospect of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan appears to be fueling a feud between Baku and its other South Caucasus neighbor, Georgia.  Two media outlets in Azerbaijan that are often seen as reflecting official thinking have published a series of scathing reports in recent weeks, accusing the Georgian government of obstructing Azerbaijani trade. The reports contend Georgia is acting purposefully to undermine the provisional Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal signed in Washington in August.  There appear to be multiple…

The price of Russia’s crude has tumbled over the past three months to its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, weighed down by intensified U.S. sanctions and falling international benchmarks. Russian crude shipped out of all major export terminals on the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and Far East port of Kozmino fetches just about $40 per barrel currently, per Argus Media data cited by Bloomberg on Tuesday. The discount of Russia’s crude to Brent has widened since the U.S. sanctioned the top Russian oil producers and exporters,…

The price of Russia’s crude has tumbled over the past three months to its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, weighed down by intensified U.S. sanctions and falling international benchmarks. Russian crude shipped out of all major export terminals on the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and Far East port of Kozmino fetches just about $40 per barrel currently, per Argus Media data cited by Bloomberg on Tuesday. The discount of Russia’s crude to Brent has widened since the U.S. sanctioned the top Russian oil producers and exporters,…

The UK North Sea is being reshaped by consolidation at a pace not seen since the aftermath of the 2014 oil price crash. In the past twelve months alone, a series of mergers has concentrated more than 500,000 boe/d of production into a handful of operators, as companies respond to a 78% marginal tax rate, falling output and an investment environment that has effectively closed to new developments. Deals involving Harbour Energy, TotalEnergies, Shell, Equinor and Ithaca Energy have created fewer but larger players managing a basin where production…

Shell has restarted a process to sell its minority 37.5% stake in the Schwedt refinery in Germany, whose majority shareholder is now-sanctioned Russian state oil giant Rosneft, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.  Shell has opened a data room this month and is seeking offers for its stake in the refinery by the end of January, according to some of Reuters’ sources.  The Schwedt refinery, the fourth-largest refinery in Germany, used to process Russian oil before Germany cut off supplies…

In this week’s newsletter, we will take a quick look at some of the critical figures and data in the energy markets this week.     We will then look at some of the key market movers early this week before providing you with the latest analysis of the top news events taking place in the global energy complex over the past few days. We hope you enjoy.India Is Buying Less Russian Oil, But Why Exactly?- Despite plentiful reports of Indian refiners halting imports of Russian oil after the US sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil on…

US and Ukrainian officials said they made substantial progress in two days of talks aimed to bring an end to Russia's invasion closer, with Washington reportedly offering Kyiv security guarantees modeled on NATO's Article 5 mutual defense pledge. While questions remained about key issues, including the fate of territory that Kyiv continues to hold in the eastern Donetsk region, US President Donald Trump said it appeared as though a deal to end Europe's largest and deadliest conflict since World War II was closer than ever. "We're trying to get…

Oil prices fell by 2% early on Tuesday as hope of a peace deal in Ukraine increased, sending Brent crude below $60 per barrel to the lowest level since May.  As of 9:47 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the front-month Brent Crude futures prices traded down by 2.10% below the $60 per barrel threshold, at $59.29.  The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, slipped by 2.22% and traded at $55.56 per barrel by early morning ET. The U.S. oil price has plunged by 22% year to date and is on track for the worst performance since 2018. Brent, for its part, has lost 20%…

Pakistan and Russia are discussing a potential cooperation agreement in the oil sector, including in exploration, production, and refining, Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told Russian news agency RIA on Tuesday.   “All of these areas are Russia’s strengths. And we would be very happy if Russia agreed on an agreement in this sector with Pakistan,” the Pakistani official was quoted as saying by RIA.   Earlier this year, Russia’s Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said that Russia discussed the…