Libya’s first oil licensing round in more than 17 years, launched by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in March 2025, was meant to signal the country’s upstream comeback after more than a decade of war and fragmentation. The round offered 22 onshore and offshore blocks, including 19 undeveloped discoveries, and drew strong early interest: 44 companies and one consortium applied, with 37 pre-qualified by July. Established players such as Eni, TotalEnergies, BP, Repsol and OMV were joined by a wide range of international entrants, from…

Long dominated by its agricultural and oil sectors, Sudan is now keen to unlock its vast mineral wealth as Africa's third-largest, and the world's thirteenth-largest, nation in terms of mineral diversity. Sudan is a major African gold producer, with the sector becoming a crucial source of foreign exchange following the loss of 75% of its oil revenue after the secession of South Sudan in 2011. However, ~75% of its resources remain unexplored, with deposits of copper, iron ore, chromite, zinc, base metals, uranium and various rare earth elements…

The Trump Administration could face an energy dilemma ahead of the midterm elections. The U.S. energy dominance agenda and booming LNG exports – pillars of the Administration’s policy – are boosting domestic natural gas demand and raising American energy bills. U.S. LNG exports are hitting record highs, and are set to continue setting records in the coming months and years as new plants are being commissioned, built, and approved, with the strong backing of the Trump Administration. However, soaring demand for feedgas from the…

Last week, the Trump administration delivered “one of the single largest deregulatory actions in U.S. history” when it ended the 2009 “endangerment finding,” which definitively and legally classified carbon dioxide as a threat to public health. This legislation fundamentally underpinned any legal authority at the federal level to restrict greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. As such, this action rescinds all emissions standards for cars and trucks effective immediately, with enormous implications for the electric…

Japan has made the first commitments under a $550-billion investment program that made part of its trade deal with President Trump. Those first commitments are worth $36 billion and include what Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has called “the largest natural gas generation facility in history.” The U.S. and Japan sealed a trade deal last summer, featuring a reduction in proposed tariffs—from 25% to 15%—on Japanese imports and a $550-billion Japanese investment pledge for the U.S. economy. Japan also pledged under the deal…

Every few years, a statistic captures the climate debate and briefly dominates headlines. The latest one comes from an analysis highlighted by Inside Climate News, claiming that just 32 companies are responsible for roughly half of global carbon dioxide emissions. It is a striking figure. It is also deeply unconstructive. Not because the data is wrong, but because the conclusion many draw from it has very little to do with how emissions can actually be reduced in a complex, fast-changing global energy system. Correlation Is Not Control Most of…

Bulgaria’s Lukoil Neftohim Burgas refinery has saved $8 million in just two months after dropping its Swiss-based trading intermediary Litasco SA, with Special Commercial Administrator Rumen Spetsov telling Russia’s parliamentary committee that the savings came mainly from scrapping commission fees previously paid to the middleman between the refinery and Lukoil’s oil reserves, Novinite reported on Thursday. Spetsov said the refinery's financial position has further stabilized through deferred payments and barter deals (exchanging…

Bulgaria’s Lukoil Neftohim Burgas refinery has saved $8 million in just two months after dropping its Swiss-based trading intermediary Litasco SA, with Special Commercial Administrator Rumen Spetsov telling Russia’s parliamentary committee that the savings came mainly from scrapping commission fees previously paid to the middleman between the refinery and Lukoil’s oil reserves, Novinite reported on Thursday. Spetsov said the refinery's financial position has further stabilized through deferred payments and barter deals (exchanging…

Bulgaria’s Lukoil Neftohim Burgas refinery has saved $8 million in just two months after dropping its Swiss-based trading intermediary Litasco SA, with Special Commercial Administrator Rumen Spetsov telling Russia’s parliamentary committee that the savings came mainly from scrapping commission fees previously paid to the middleman between the refinery and Lukoil’s oil reserves, Novinite reported on Thursday. Spetsov said the refinery's financial position has further stabilized through deferred payments and barter deals (exchanging…

Cenovus Energy on Thursday reported a surge in fourth-quarter net earnings from a year earlier as its upstream production rose by 5% on the year to hit a record high.  Cenovus Energy’s net earnings jumped to US$683 million (C$934 million) for the fourth quarter, up from US$107 million (C$146 million) for the same period of 2024.  The fourth-quarter operating results included record upstream production of 917,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), and downstream crude throughput of 465,500 barrels per day (bpd), representing…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 9 million barrels during the week ending February 13, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Thursday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 419.8 million barrels according to government data, which is 5% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories fell by 609,000 barrels in the period. Crude prices…

London-listed energy giant Centrica shares plunged nine per cent on Thursday morning after the group paused its share buyback programme in the face of a major earnings hit. The owners of British Gas reported lower 2025 earnings than in the previous year, but the group says it was resilient in a challenging market. The group’s adjusted operating profit fell some 50 per cent, from £1.6bn in 2024 to £800m, while adjusted pre-tax profits landed at £1.4bn as energy prices stabilised following the previous year’s spikes.…

Georgia’s Black Sea port of Kulevi, a hub for Black Sea oil shipments, may soon face European Union sanctions over allegations that the Georgian government has used it to help Russia move crude needed to finance its war in Ukraine. The potential sanctions place Azerbaijan, whose state-controlled energy entity SOCAR owns an oil terminal in Kulevi, in a tough spot. According to RFE/RL, which obtained a draft of the EU’s upcoming 20th sanctions package, the bloc is considering banning transactions with four ports allegedly used…

Global oil demand fell by 614,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December compared to November 2025, and plunged by 536,000 bpd from December 2024, driven by lower U.S. demand, the monthly report by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Thursday.  At the same time, oil production surged by 2 million bpd in December 2025 compared to the same month of 2024, according to the most recent data self-reported by 48 countries to JODI and shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF).    The surge…

Global oil demand fell by 614,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December compared to November 2025, and plunged by 536,000 bpd from December 2024, driven by lower U.S. demand, the monthly report by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Thursday.  At the same time, oil production surged by 2 million bpd in December 2025 compared to the same month of 2024, according to the most recent data self-reported by 48 countries to JODI and shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF).    The surge…

Global oil demand fell by 614,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December compared to November 2025, and plunged by 536,000 bpd from December 2024, driven by lower U.S. demand, the monthly report by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Thursday.  At the same time, oil production surged by 2 million bpd in December 2025 compared to the same month of 2024, according to the most recent data self-reported by 48 countries to JODI and shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF).    The surge…

Global oil demand fell by 614,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December compared to November 2025, and plunged by 536,000 bpd from December 2024, driven by lower U.S. demand, the monthly report by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Thursday.  At the same time, oil production surged by 2 million bpd in December 2025 compared to the same month of 2024, according to the most recent data self-reported by 48 countries to JODI and shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF).    The surge…

Iranians are marking the end of the traditional 40-day mourning period for those killed during the height of the deadly state crackdown on mass protests last month with renewed public shows of dissent. During memorial ceremonies held across Iran in recent days, mourners have staged small demonstrations and chanted slogans against Iran’s clerical rulers. Security forces have tried to curb the protests and, in some cases, used gunfire to disperse crowds. At least 7,000 people were killed during the nationwide protests that erupted in late December…

Repsol has nearly $5.4 billion in receivables to collect from Venezuela, the Spanish group said in its annual 2025 report on Thursday.  Venezuela owes Repsol 4.55 billion euros, or $5.36 billion, and this includes debt for oil and gas supplies, arrears in payment of interests, and financing for its Petroquiriquire joint venture with Venezuela’s state-held oil firm PDVSA, according to the report.   Repsol also disclosed in a separate statement on the Q4 earnings that the U.S. administration last Friday issued new licenses enabling…

Following a 4% surge on Wednesday, oil prices advanced by another 1.6% in European trade early on Thursday to send Brent to above $71.50, the highest level in six months, as concerns about a U.S. military campaign in Iran intensified. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, was up by 1.71% at $71.55 in morning trade in Europe, as the U.S.-Iran talks appear to make no headway, while the U.S. is amassing military forces near the Persian Gulf. The U.S. benchmark oil prices, WTI Crude, also jumped to trade at $66.37 per barrel, up by 1.83% on the…