Global natural gas markets are tightening this heating season, leading to higher costs of LNG supply to Europe in what could be a colder winter than the two previous mild winters. Europe has stepped up imports of liquefied natural gas in recent weeks, especially LNG from the United States, where the benchmark gas prices at Henry Hub are significantly lower compared to the European benchmark, the Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures. With peak demand season in the northern hemisphere approaching, Europe is competing with Asia for LNG supply, which is driving…

Crude oil inventories in the United fell by 5.935 million barrels for the week ending November 15, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a smaller build of 250,000 barrels.   For the week prior, the API reported a 4.753 barrel build in crude inventories.   So far this year, crude oil inventories have fallen by more than 5 million barrels since the beginning of the year, according to API data.     On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic…

Crude oil inventories in the United fell by 5.935 million barrels for the week ending November 15, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a smaller build of 250,000 barrels.   For the week prior, the API reported a 4.753 barrel build in crude inventories.   So far this year, crude oil inventories have fallen by more than 5 million barrels since the beginning of the year, according to API data.     On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic…

One of President-elect Donald Trump’s key achievements when first in office was keeping the benchmark oil prices within a very carefully managed range – ‘The Trump Oil Price Range’. The lower part of this is US$40-45 per barrel of the Brent benchmark, which is the price at which the bulk of U.S. shale oil producers can breakeven and make a good profit on top. The upper part is US$75-80 per barrel, which ties into historical data showing that a gasoline price of under US$2 per gallon has been most advantageous for U.S. economic…

When Donald Trump floated the idea of slapping 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, it was more than just a shot across the bow—it was a cannonball aimed squarely at North America’s deeply entwined trade ecosystem. U.S. oil producers are warning that a tariff on heavy oil imported from Canada would raise consumer prices at the pump. Some pundits are dismissing these threats as political bluster, while others are cautioning not to shrug off the notion entirely. If enacted, these tariffs could strain trilateral relations built…

When Donald Trump floated the idea of slapping 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, it was more than just a shot across the bow—it was a cannonball aimed squarely at North America’s deeply entwined trade ecosystem. U.S. oil producers are warning that a tariff on heavy oil imported from Canada would raise consumer prices at the pump. Some pundits are dismissing these threats as political bluster, while others are cautioning not to shrug off the notion entirely. If enacted, these tariffs could strain trilateral relations built…

Triggered by incoming US President Donald Trump, the next four years could prime the liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets for a golden era. Based on his campaign pledge, the returning president’s expected policies are likely to accelerate US LNG infrastructure expansion through deregulation and faster permitting, bolstering global supply. This could strengthen the sentiment around global LNG supply after years of uncertainty, helping to unleash long-term demand. Even so, an untimely supply boost will heighten the risk of a medium-term market…

U.S. natural gas producers are preparing for stronger demand and higher prices for their product as data center proliferation accelerates further and years of depressed gas prices become a thing of the past. They are not letting it all happen by itself either—gas executives are in talks with data center developers to build them where the gas is. “Expectation of a step change in power demand has created opportunities for increasing dialogue around the potential for power generation and data projects within the Permian Basin,” the…

Russia overnight launched 188 drones and four cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine -- a record number of projectiles in a single attack, Kyiv's air force said, as NATO and Ukrainian envoys prepared to gather in Brussels to assess Moscow's launching last week of an experimental missile at a Ukrainian city. Ukrainian air-defense systems "tracked 192 air targets -- four Iskander ballistic missiles and 188 enemy drones," the air force said in a message on Telegram. It added that 76 Russian drones were shot down over 17 Ukrainian regions, while another…

The United States set a new crude oil production record in August 2024, averaging 13.4 million barrels per day (bpd), according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This figure eclipsed the previous peak of 13.3 million bpd in December 2023 and solidified the U.S.'s position as the world’s top oil producer—a title it has held since 2018. Through the first eight months of 2024, monthly production only dipped below 13 million bpd once, reflecting a consistent upward trend. According to the EIA, the United States’ average…

The United States set a new crude oil production record in August 2024, averaging 13.4 million barrels per day (bpd), according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This figure eclipsed the previous peak of 13.3 million bpd in December 2023 and solidified the U.S.'s position as the world’s top oil producer—a title it has held since 2018. Through the first eight months of 2024, monthly production only dipped below 13 million bpd once, reflecting a consistent upward trend. According to the EIA, the United States’ average…

In May of 2014, during President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Beijing on May 21, China and Russia signed a 30-year gas supply agreement worth $400 billion. At the time, Russia was staging a war with Ukraine and faced increasing economic sanctions from the West. Then, in 2022, Russia signed yet another 30-year agreement to supply natural gas to China just before launching its invasion of Ukraine. At the time of the initial 30-year agreement, Putin claimed that the $80 billion worth of new production and pipeline infrastructure needed to…

Turkey is seeking a U.S. sanctions waiver to continue using a now-sanctioned Russian bank for paying for its energy imports from Russia, while also talking with Russian officials about the future of energy trade and payments. Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Gazprombank in what the Treasury said was “another major step in implementing commitments made by G7 leaders to curtail Russia’s use of the international financial system to further its war against Ukraine.”…

Turkey is seeking a U.S. sanctions waiver to continue using a now-sanctioned Russian bank for paying for its energy imports from Russia, while also talking with Russian officials about the future of energy trade and payments. Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Gazprombank in what the Treasury said was “another major step in implementing commitments made by G7 leaders to curtail Russia’s use of the international financial system to further its war against Ukraine.”…

Oil markets are fully focused on this Sunday's OPEC+ meeting after top officials from the three biggest producers in the alliance met on Tuesday.- European gas prices have surged almost 45% this year and forecasts for cold weather threaten to add pressures on gas supply, further aggravated by US sanctions on Gazprom’s very own banking subsidiary, Gazprombank.- For most of November temperatures in Northwest Europe have been trending along the 30-year average line or below, marking the first cold winter since 2021, and leading to gas inventories…

It is unlikely that Russian gas giant Gazprom, a shareholder in Nord Stream 2, would agree to hand over ownership of the pipeline to a U.S. investor, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, commenting on a report that a U.S. businessman plans to bid for the pipeline. U.S. businessman Stephen P. Lynch, who has lived in Russia for two decades and has done business there, has sought a U.S. license to try to buy Nord Stream 2, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. Lynch has sought a license from the U.S. Treasury to negotiate buying…

It is unlikely that Russian gas giant Gazprom, a shareholder in Nord Stream 2, would agree to hand over ownership of the pipeline to a U.S. investor, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, commenting on a report that a U.S. businessman plans to bid for the pipeline. U.S. businessman Stephen P. Lynch, who has lived in Russia for two decades and has done business there, has sought a U.S. license to try to buy Nord Stream 2, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. Lynch has sought a license from the U.S. Treasury to negotiate buying…

U.S. oil and gas supermajor Exxon does not expect American producers to gear up in a “drill, baby, drill” mode once Donald Trump becomes U.S. President, as companies will maintain the spending discipline of the past few years. “We're not going to see anybody in 'drill, baby, drill' mode," ExxonMobil Upstream President Liam Mallon said at the Energy Intelligence Forum conference in London, as carried by Reuters. “A radical change (in production) is unlikely because the vast majority, if not everybody, is focused on the economics…

Top officials from the three biggest producers in the OPEC+ alliance – Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iraq – met on Tuesday to discuss the state of the global oil market, days before the group is set to meet on December 1 to decide how to proceed with the production cuts. Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani held on Tuesday a joint meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, the Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office said. “The…

The resumption of oil exports from Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) to the Turkish port of Ceyhan was discussed in detail last week by Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani and the country’s Parliamentary Finance Committee, a senior energy sector source who works closely with the Oil Ministry told OilPrice.com. These flows were stopped on 25 March 2023 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Turkey to pay the Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) in Baghdad damages of US$1.5…