U.S.–Iran nuclear talks in Oman cooled oil markets, pushing Brent back to $67 and setting up volatility as vague outcomes leave sentiment hostage to headlines. Friday, February 06, 2026 The start of US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman has had a placating effect on oil markets, with ICE Brent sliding back to $67 per barrel, set for a more than 5% weekly loss after a stellar string of gains in January. The complete vagueness of the meeting’s agenda and the lack of public commentary on the outcome thereof could amplify sudden price moves next…

Japan’s trading company Mitsui & Co is in an advanced stage of talks with QatarEnergy to buy a minority stake in one of Qatar’s mega expansion projects, anonymous sources with knowledge of the development told Reuters on Friday.   Qatar’s state firm QatarEnergy is undertaking the world’s biggest LNG expansion project with multiple phases of expanding the export capacity of the offshore North Field, the world’s largest non-associated natural gas field, which Qatar shares with Iran. Mitsui is close to buying…

Oil Majors' Shareholder Payouts Under Pressure Oil majors continue to publish their Q4 2025 results, with UK-based energy giant Shell joining the ranks of those that missed fourth-quarter expectations by reporting an 11% decline in profits (at $3.3 billion).  Whilst Norway’s state oil firm Equinor cut its buyback programme by 70% and cut 2026 capital expenditures, more investor-exposed majors prefer to keep their shareholder payouts unchanged.   Shell has bought back a quarter of its stock over the past four years, totalling…

A consortium comprising Chevron and a group led by an investment bank continues negotiations with Lukoil and U.S. officials to buy the Russian firm’s international assets, even as Lukoil has signed a preliminary non-exclusive deal with Carlyle, multiple sources with knowledge of the ongoing talks tell Reuters.  Last week, Lukoil announced it had agreed to sell most of its international assets to private equity giant Carlyle.    The agreement is not exclusive and is subject to conditions such as the procurement of necessary…

WTI crude oil futures are wrapping up a volatile week with the market trading at $62.99, down $2.22 or -3.40%. With one day left before the week ends, the primary driver of the choppy trade has been the reduction of the risk premium after reports on Thursday said the United States and Iran were talking. Monday's Plunge Sets the Tone The week started with a sharp selloff on Monday after President Trump said over the weekend that Washington and Tehran were in discussions. The news caught the market off guard and triggered immediate profit-taking…

Chevron has signed an MoU with Syria’s state oil company and a Qatari partner to evaluate offshore oil and gas potential in Syrian territorial waters in an agreement that covers data access and early-stage technical assessment only. It includes no drilling commitment, no development plan, and no production timeline. It does not alter Syria’s current oil output. It’s a tantalizing prospect. Syria’s coastline sits within the Levant Basin, the same petroleum system that delivered Tamar, Leviathan, and Karish offshore Israel.…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Iran seized two foreign-crewed oil tankers in the Persian Gulf this week, taking the crews into custody and accusing the vessels of carrying smuggled fuel. The operation was carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps near Farsi Island, an area Iran routinely uses to assert control over shipping lanes. The seizures came just before U.S. and Iranian officials are due to meet in Oman on Friday, for talks that remain loosely defined. On the water, Iran is reminding everyone that it can raise costs and…

Tankers carrying a total of up to 12 million barrels of crude oil are either en route or close to China in East Asian waters, waiting for buyers in the world’s top crude importer, as India is pulling back.    Five of these tankers signal ‘for orders’ or ‘China for orders’ as their status, per data intelligence firm Kpler cited by Bloomberg on Friday.   ‘For orders’ typically means the cargo doesn’t have a destination port or buyer. Six other vessels are en route to offshore Singapore…

Russian oil exports to India fell to less than 25% of the country’s total imports in December, from 34% in November, hitting the lowest in 38 months, The Hindu reported, citing data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Russian oil purchases in December were worth $2.71 billion, down from $3.72 billion a month earlier, and from a high of $5.87 billion in May 2024. In volume terms, India imported 5.8 million tons of Russian crude in December, or about 1.39 million barrels daily. This was the lowest monthly total since February…

Ahead of the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks on Friday, Tehran signaled that the negotiations will likely be a long process, dashing hopes of a quick and more sustainable de-escalation of tensions in the key oil-producing Middle Eastern regions.   Oil prices initially rose early on Friday in Asian trade on the news, with Brent climbing to $68 per barrel and WTI Crude prices trading at $64 a barrel, before both fell back later in the day.  Investors and speculators seemed to interpret the signals from Iran to mean the initial round of discussions…

India’s largest private refiner, Reliance Industries, is buying Venezuelan crude again, securing the first Indian purchase of oil from the world’s top reserves holder since the U.S. took control of Venezuela’s oil sales early last month. Reliance Industries has purchased a cargo of around 2 million barrels, an anonymous source with knowledge of the deal told Bloomberg on Friday. Reliance Industries last bought crude from Venezuela in the middle of 2025, under a special waiver from the U.S. Administration from mid-2024. Last month,…

Mexico is looking for ways to keep supplying oil to Cuba amid a U.S. squeeze on energy supplies to the island nation without triggering a response from Washington, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources. “There are talks happening almost every other day,” one of these sources told the publication. “Mexico doesn't want tariffs imposed, but it is also firm in its policy of helping the Cuban people.” Earlier this month, President Trump threatened he would impose import tariffs on any nation that ships oil to Cuba as he…

The oil price rally has finally run out of steam, with oil prices declining for the first time in three days, with the selection of Kevin Warsh as the next U.S Federal Reserve chair (expected to be more dovish than Jerome Powell), the notable ratcheting down of rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran, a business-as-usual OPEC+ meeting and reduction in the U.S. tariff rates on India all acting against oil prices. However, the biggest catalyst was Iran’s revelation that it will hold talks with the United States, easing fears of imminent strikes…

After years of antagonism between the federal government and Alberta over additional outlets for crude, Canada and the oil-producing province are finally on the same page regarding Canadian,/ oil exports. It took a major geopolitical and trade shift from Canada’s long-term ally and top trade partner, the United States, to have the federal government of Canada support a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the Canadian West Coast. The pipeline is expected to boost Canadian oil exports to Asia, the world’s driver of global oil demand growth,…

Speculation about the peak in demand for hydrocarbons has abounded for years as parts of the world struggle to reduce their consumption of coal, oil, and gas. Peak coal resurfaced this week, following data showing that Asian seaborne imports of the energy commodity had inched down by 4.4% in 2025, from an all-time high in the previous year. As usual, the peak coal story is likely premature. Data from Kpler showed this week that Asian buyers imported a total of 1.09 billion metric tons of coal in 2025, down from 1.14 billion tons imported in the…

Shares in Volvo Cars crashed the most on record in Stockholm, with Bloomberg data going back to late 2021, after it reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations. A toxic blend of higher US tariffs, cuts to EV subsidies, a stronger Swedish krona versus a weaker dollar, and an intensifying price war in China all squeezed fourth-quarter profitability, the Swedish-origin automaker detailed in its earnings release. It reported an Ebit margin of just 2% and an operating income that came in well below Bloomberg Consensus estimates.…

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy says it has seized two vessels near Farsi Island allegedly carrying large quantities of smuggled fuel, the country's Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported Thursday - at a moment the nation's military has its "finger on the trigger" amid threats from the Trump White House and Israel. More than one million liters of diesel were discovered aboard the ships, according to the IRGC Navy's public relations office, and the seized 15 foreign crew members have been handed over…

Shell’s CEO Wael Sawan told CNBC the company is actively considering multibillion-dollar offshore natural gas investments in Venezuela that could start production in the next few years, pending regulatory approvals. The comments mark one of the clearest public signals yet that Shell is weighing a major push into Venezuelan energy assets after years of sanctions and uncertainty. The potential targets are offshore gas opportunities. Sawan said these projects could be activated within months, which is about as tight a timeline as Big Oil ever…

Shell’s CEO Wael Sawan told CNBC the company is actively considering multibillion-dollar offshore natural gas investments in Venezuela that could start production in the next few years, pending regulatory approvals. The comments mark one of the clearest public signals yet that Shell is weighing a major push into Venezuelan energy assets after years of sanctions and uncertainty. The potential targets are offshore gas opportunities. Sawan said these projects could be activated within months, which is about as tight a timeline as Big Oil ever…

As US Vice President JD Vance prepares to visit the Caucasus, Armenia is sending signals that it is leaning toward selecting an American company to build a new nuclear reactor to replace the antiquated, Russian-built Metsamor facility.   Armenia's minister of territorial administration and infrastructure, David Khudatyan, told journalists on February 3 that the government has decided the new nuclear plant would have a modular design. That is good news for the United States, which is widely recognized as the global leader in modular…