Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 6 million barrels during the week ending August 15, after growing by 3 million barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The build brings commercial stockpiles to 420.7 million barrels according to government data, which is 6% 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 suggested that crude oil inventories…

Global oil demand jumped in June by more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from May, while production growth has half that figure, leaving inventories at below the five-year averages, the latest data by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Wednesday. Oil demand in 48 JODI-reporting countries surged by 1.23 million bpd month-on-month and by 638,100 bpd year-on-year in June, according to the most recent data by JODI shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF). The monthly surge in global demand was driven mainly…

Global oil demand jumped in June by more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from May, while production growth has half that figure, leaving inventories at below the five-year averages, the latest data by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Wednesday. Oil demand in 48 JODI-reporting countries surged by 1.23 million bpd month-on-month and by 638,100 bpd year-on-year in June, according to the most recent data by JODI shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF). The monthly surge in global demand was driven mainly…

Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles against Ukraine on August 19, in a kinetic response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's White House talks with US President Donald Trump and key European allies. Ukrainian regional officials said that over 24 hours Russian shelling across the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson regions had claimed the lives of 15 people and injured at least 76 more. It was reported that the Poltava region was hit particularly hard, leaving over 1,500 residents without electricity. In Chernihiv, drones…

Ithaca Energy, one of the biggest independent oil and gas companies in the UK North Sea, raised its 2025 production guidance for the second time this year, on the back of a strong first-half performance. Following average production of 123,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) for the first half of the year, Ithaca Energy on Wednesday upgraded its full-year production range to 119,000–125,000 boe/d from 109,000-119,000 boe/d previously expected. Ithaca Energy has more than doubled its oil and gas production and became the largest…

Ithaca Energy, one of the biggest independent oil and gas companies in the UK North Sea, raised its 2025 production guidance for the second time this year, on the back of a strong first-half performance. Following average production of 123,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) for the first half of the year, Ithaca Energy on Wednesday upgraded its full-year production range to 119,000–125,000 boe/d from 109,000-119,000 boe/d previously expected. Ithaca Energy has more than doubled its oil and gas production and became the largest…

Fuel oil imports into China jumped by 40% in July to the highest level in seven months as falling refining margins raised refiners’ interest in lower-cost feedstock and the province of the independent refiners increased tax rebates on imports. China’s fuel oil imports jumped to about 401,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, up by 40% compared to the prior month, and up by 42% compared to July last year, according to customs data cited by Reuters. Chinese fuel oil imports had started recovering in June, following an 18-month low in May.…

A couple of years ago, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) made a bold prediction that wind and solar energy will make up half of the planet’s electricity generation by the middle of the century, thanks to the rapid transition to low-carbon energy. However, the intermittent nature of these sources makes large-scale storage critical as renewable energy becomes the dominant power source, with the experts predicting that battery storage is set to boom in the coming years. And now experts at Wood Mackenzie have put a number on it, saying the…

When Aramco listed on the Tadawul stock exchange in Riyadh, many hailed the move as the listing of the decade and bet on whether it would immediately reach top market cap status. Six years later, Aramco has turned into something of a disappointment—because of oil prices. One could argue with confidence that December 2019 was perhaps not the best time to list a major oil company, but that was only clear in hindsight, after the 2020 Covid lockdowns destroyed demand for crude oil, plunging prices deep down. Yet the rebound in demand that followed…

With Russia focused on Ukraine, Washington is stepping up its efforts to ensure that Moscow cannot re-establish itself so easily in its previously vital strategic Middle East and North Africa strongholds of Syria and Libya. The U.S. and Great Britain were instrumental in the removal from power of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and in the similar ousting of Syria’s long-term president Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Over the 23 years, Washington and London appear to have learned that quickly putting into place a plan to ensure economic…

Mexico is betting on ‘complex geology’ development to reverse the fortunes of its state-owned oil and gas giant Pemex, which has been struggling with declining production and enormous debts in recent years. A return to unconventional exploration could be a boon to the Mexican firm’s production and profits and to the state’s finances.   New Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum is open to shale resource development, unlike her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had cancelled previous contracts and…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell this week, shrinking by 2.4 million barrels in the week ending August 15. Analysts had expected a 1.2-million-barrel draw. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up nearly 8 million barrels, 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) rose by 400,000 barrels to 403.4 million barrels in the week ending August 15.…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell this week, shrinking by 2.4 million barrels in the week ending August 15. Analysts had expected a 1.2-million-barrel draw. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up nearly 8 million barrels, 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) rose by 400,000 barrels to 403.4 million barrels in the week ending August 15.…

It is a long time coming, but the impoverished South American country of Suriname is poised to enjoy the fruits of a major oil boom. For nearly a decade, the government, in the capital Paramaribo, hungrily eyed neighboring Guyana’s drilling success, which transformed that country into the world’s newest petrostate. Yet Suriname’s offshore drilling, despite yielding positive results, repeatedly experienced uncertainty and delays. This took place as the economic situation in the former Dutch colony deteriorated, causing to President…

The Interior Department just laid out a decades-long offshore leasing calendar under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, locking in regular auctions in the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Cook Inlet. At least 30 Gulf sales and six in Cook Inlet are scheduled, according to a Department of the Interior press release—the clearest signal yet that the Trump administration is leaning hard into offshore drilling as the backbone of its energy agenda. The Gulf still does the heavy lifting when it comes to US oil production, pumping 14–15% of…

The Interior Department just laid out a decades-long offshore leasing calendar under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, locking in regular auctions in the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Cook Inlet. At least 30 Gulf sales and six in Cook Inlet are scheduled, according to a Department of the Interior press release—the clearest signal yet that the Trump administration is leaning hard into offshore drilling as the backbone of its energy agenda. The Gulf still does the heavy lifting when it comes to US oil production, pumping 14–15% of…

The U.S. East Coast dodged a massive bullet this week as powerful Category 3 Hurricane Erin passed near the Bahamas on Tuesday morning. Instead of making landfall, Erin is expected to unleash rough surf from Central Florida to Canada before curving out into the western Atlantic later this week. This has certaintly brought excitement for East Coast surfers.  At 0500 ET, Erin was approximately 700 miles southwest of Bermuda and 750 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras.  "Erin forecast to substantially grow in…

With coal accounting for 54% of Asia’s power mix last year, the region faces a significant challenge in meeting its net-zero ambitions. In a bid to cut emissions, several Asian countries are turning to ammonia for power generation, particularly through co-firing, blending low-carbon ammonia with coal or natural gas. Rystad Energy expects China, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea to emerge as key hubs for this transition. However, a sizeable supply gap remains, with about 8.8 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of ammonia needed to meet 2030 targets.…

Barack Obama has one. So do Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jimmy Carter. And it seems abundantly clear that Donald Trump is bucking for one too – a Nobel Peace Prize awarded to a sitting US president. Trump has gone on a peace-making offensive over the past few weeks. He is not only the driving force in trying to end Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine, but he is also at the center of efforts to settle the almost four-decade-long conflict in the Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Success in both cases is far from certain.…

BP’s massive 440,000-barrel-per-day Whiting refinery—the largest in the U.S. Midwest—was forced into flaring late Monday after severe thunderstorms dumped heavy rain across northwest Indiana, flooding the site and surrounding neighborhoods. The company said in a statement that materials were being burned in the flare stacks to maintain safe operations and that response teams were on the ground to manage the situation. BP has not clarified whether output has been curtailed. The Whiting facility, perched on the southern edge of…