BP Plc’s (NYSE:BP) subsidiary BP Trinidad and Tobago (“BPTT”) signed a production-sharing agreement with Trinidad last week for the giant Cypre subsea gas development, and is now targeting first gas in 2025, Zacks reports.  Cypre is BPTT’s third subsea development in the region and is poised to significantly enhance the country’s natural gas production capacity. Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas production has been declining, making the Cypre project critical for the twin island country. Average production…

China is doing the unthinkable and dethroning once dominant Japanese automakers, who are struggling to compete in China. China is the world's largest car market and domestic brands are dominating with a surge of electric vehicles. Chinese companies are also expanding into Southeast Asia, challenging the long-standing dominance of brands like Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi, according to w new report by Bloomberg. Between 2019 and 2024, Japanese automakers experienced the steepest market share declines in China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia,…

Shares of the 11 companies that operate under giant Indian industrial conglomerate Adani Group, soared on Wednesday, a week after Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of Adani, and other executives were indicted in New York for their alleged roles in a multi-million-dollar bribery and fraud scheme.  Leading the rally was Adani Total Gas, which surged 15.7%, Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Green Energy zoomed 10%, Adani Power jumped 7.0%, and Adani Enterprises climbed 1.7%per cent on the BSE. The shares were traded on heavy volume, with Adani…

Shares of the 11 companies that operate under giant Indian industrial conglomerate Adani Group, soared on Wednesday, a week after Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of Adani, and other executives were indicted in New York for their alleged roles in a multi-million-dollar bribery and fraud scheme.  Leading the rally was Adani Total Gas, which surged 15.7%, Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Green Energy zoomed 10%, Adani Power jumped 7.0%, and Adani Enterprises climbed 1.7%per cent on the BSE. The shares were traded on heavy volume, with Adani…

Russia unleashed a "massive" attack on Ukraine’s infrastructure on November 28, leaving more than 1 million people without power in freezing temperatures across the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of a "despicable escalation," as the Interior Ministry recorded damage to infrastructure in nine regions. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the latest attack was Moscow's "response" to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with U.S. medium-range ATACMS missiles. Speaking during a trip to Kazakhstan, Putin…

The price of petrol and diesel in the UK fell between June and October 2024 but the margin retailers are making from each visit to the pump has surged. According to new figures from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fuel prices decreased in the period because, in part, of the changing crude oil prices and refining spreads, both of which are driven by global factors. The watchdog said that average petrol and diesel prices at the end of October were 134.4 and 139.7 pence per litre (ppl) respectively. This is a decrease of 10.0 ppl and 10.4…

Crude oil markets faced significant volatility this week, shaped by shifting geopolitical landscapes, evolving supply-demand balances, and key policy speculation within OPEC+. The combination of these factors resulted in fluctuating prices, with a bearish tilt into Tuesday’s close. Geopolitical Developments Erode Risk Premium This week, oil markets reacted sharply to geopolitical news, particularly the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, which aimed to de-escalate the conflict involving Hezbollah. The news spurred…

Canada’s Oil Industry Roils from Trump’s Tariff Threat - Canada’s oil industry has been disconcerted and confused after US president-elect Donald Trump vowed to slap a new 25% tariff on all US imports from Mexico and Canada on January 20, 2025, his first day in office. - Canada happens to be the largest crude supplier to the US markets, with Canadian flows further boosted this year by TMX flows moving to PADD 5 refiners, climbing to 4.3 million b/d lately. - Oil and gas supplies from Canada were previously excluded from tariffs…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire that went into place on Tuesday continued to hold at the time of writing on Thursday. The ceasefire applies only to trading fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel continues as usual with its Gaza campaign. In the meantime, the ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant (former defense minister) for their actions in Gaza. Those warrants remain questionable as Israel did not sign the ICC founding documents (France argues). Another propaganda move…

Suddenly, everything is about a tiny, unrecognized state that few will ever have heard of: Somaliland. The fate of this piece of geopolitical real estate is now tied up with everything from Israel’s war on Gaza to the Houthi attacks on the Red Sea, and quite a few geopolitical centers of activity in between the two. The fact that a UK defense minister is spreading rumors that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump will officially recognize Somaliland, a strategic breakaway region of Somalia that sits on the Red Sea, is only one of many dominoes…

U.S. businessmen are quietly lobbying President-elect Donald Trump to drop the ‘maximum pressure campaign’ on Venezuela in his second term in office and strike a deal with Nicolas Maduro, the Wall Street Journal reports. A deal with Maduro would meet, the lobbyists say, two key Trump campaign priorities—reducing illegal migration and reducing energy prices for U.S. consumers. Instead of seeking a regime change in Venezuela by ratcheting up sanctions, which impoverished even more people who flee Venezuela and many end up in the…

U.S. businessmen are quietly lobbying President-elect Donald Trump to drop the ‘maximum pressure campaign’ on Venezuela in his second term in office and strike a deal with Nicolas Maduro, the Wall Street Journal reports. A deal with Maduro would meet, the lobbyists say, two key Trump campaign priorities—reducing illegal migration and reducing energy prices for U.S. consumers. Instead of seeking a regime change in Venezuela by ratcheting up sanctions, which impoverished even more people who flee Venezuela and many end up in the…

Private Chinese refiners, who buy most of Iran’s crude, have recently scoured West Africa and the Middle East for supply unsold in previous trade cycles, as flows of Iranian crude have dropped amid higher prices and preparation for the incoming Trump Administration. China’s independent refiners, the so-called teapots, are key buyers of Iran’s sanctioned crude, and the two sides have established a trade relationship favorable for both. Iran gets to sell its crude that nearly everyone else shuns, while China’s independent…

The OPEC+ group has decided to move the meeting on its near-term oil production plans to December 5 from December 1, due to a scheduling conflict, OPEC said on Thursday. The meeting will now take place on Thursday, December 5, via video conference, as several ministers will be attending the 45th Gulf Summit in Kuwait City on December 1, OPEC added in a brief statement about the change in schedule. At the December meeting, the members of the OPEC+ alliance are expected to discuss how to proceed with the oil production cuts in the new year. OPEC+…

The OPEC+ group has decided to move the meeting on its near-term oil production plans to December 5 from December 1, due to a scheduling conflict, OPEC said on Thursday. The meeting will now take place on Thursday, December 5, via video conference, as several ministers will be attending the 45th Gulf Summit in Kuwait City on December 1, OPEC added in a brief statement about the change in schedule. At the December meeting, the members of the OPEC+ alliance are expected to discuss how to proceed with the oil production cuts in the new year. OPEC+…

Despite expected higher arrivals in November, Asia’s crude oil imports are on track to decline this year compared to 2023, confirming market concerns about weaker oil demand than previously expected. This month, a rebound in Chinese crude oil imports is set to push overall Asian crude arrivals higher compared to October and September, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research cited by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell. But the tracked import data for the first 11 months of the year showed that Asian crude oil imports are on course to…

Money managers have piled up bullish bets on U.S. gasoline futures as seasonal inventories have dropped over the past two months to lower levels than average. While traders, hedge funds, and other portfolio managers have reduced their bullish bets on the U.S. benchmark futures, WTI Crude, the bets on rising U.S. gasoline futures have increased over the latest reporting week and over the weeks since September. The fastest drawdown in gasoline inventories for this time of year since 2010 attracted managed money into the NYMEX gasoline futures, which…

Earlier in the year, energy analytics firm Wood Mackenzie predicted that a second Trump presidency could place a huge part of renewable energy investments at risk, increase carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes more by 2050 and delay peak fossil fuel demand by 10 years beyond current forecasts. Not surprisingly, WoodMac expects the fossil fuel sector to benefit from Trump: the analysts have predicted that less spending on low carbon energy could boost demand for natural gas by 6% or 6B cf/day by 2030. And now commodity analysts at Standard Chartered…

The 29th Conference of the Parties for Climate Change, commonly known as COP29, ended with outrage and dismay—emotions demonstrated by developing nations after developed ones agreed to raise annual climate finance but nowhere near what was asked for. But there was outrage among climate activists, too. Because, once again, the world refused to commit to a phaseout of hydrocarbons. Apparently, it’s Saudi Arabia’s fault. “The Arab Group will not accept any text that targets specific sectors, including fossil fuels,” Saudi…

Azerbaijan endured lots of criticism during COP29. Environmentalists accused the host nation of trying to use COP29 as a “greenwashing” exercise, while European officials condemned President Ilham Aliyev for making provocative statements during the gathering, accusing him of undermining efforts to contain global warming. The barrage of criticism obscures an important aspect of Azerbaijan’s environmental record. Aliyev’s government is not a recalcitrant actor when it comes to climate action, nor is it solely preoccupied with…