Energy security and affordability have trumped fears of stranded assets in recent years, prompting the world’s biggest international oil and gas firms to shift focus back to exploration after years of trying to develop clean energy solutions. Big Oil has scaled back investments in renewables, at least those majors that tried to become key green energy providers, as poor returns from clean energy and demand, cost, and regulatory challenges further diminished the appeal of returns on investments in solar and wind. Back to the Basics European…

Colombia’s oil and gas reserves could be revised up this year compared to 2024, but oil output continues to drop amid a hostile climate to oil and gas, social and security issues, and international majors bailing on Colombia. Colombia’s oil production could suffer another major blow as the investment climate will further sour after the United States this week stripped Colombia of its so-called U.S. Drug Certification. This means that the Trump Administration no longer believes Colombia is fully cooperating with the U.S. counter-narcotics…

The fate of Citgo, the jewel in the crown of Venezuela’s PDVSA, may be decided by the end of this week. The Venezuelan state-owned oil company may lose its prized asset. The creditors that fueled the process that led to the auction for Citgo may be left with empty hands, as well. The U.S.-based refining company used to have a total processing capacity of over 800,000 barrels daily, the biggest U.S. outlet for Venezuelan heavy crude. Yet in 2019, amid tightening U.S. sanctions on the government in Caracas, Citgo cut its ties with the parent…

US President Donald Trump has said NATO countries should stop buying Russian oil if they want Washington to tighten sanctions on Moscow -- but achieving this could be time consuming and challenging. Only three NATO nations currently import Russian crude: Hungary, Slovakia, and Turkey. Of the three, Turkey is the big one. "According to our data, (Turkey) is the third largest Russian oil importer globally," Petras Kanitas, a Vilnius-based analyst at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), told RFE/RL on September 15. "Turkey buys…

Shale oil wells are gushers in their first year, then deplete rapidly. Shale companies therefore, have to keep ploughing more money into production just to keep output flat, a phenomenon known as the “Red Queen Syndrome,” named after Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’. Shale wells typically bleed off 70 to 90% in their first three years and drop by 20 to 40% a year without new drilling. A recent IEA Report confirms this, stating that the world’s oil and gas fields are declining at a faster…

When we see prices rise and fall at the gas pump, we generally have an idea of what is driving the changes. Typically, it’s movements in the underlying price of oil, or sometimes there are refinery issues that can impact gasoline prices even when oil prices are stable. And people generally blame the oil companies in any case. The electricity markets are far more opaque. Electricity bills have skyrocketed in many places this summer, but the reasons you hear depend on who you ask.  Politicians blame climate mandates, utilities point to…

Oil prices declined in Wednesday’s intraday trading after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, marking the first cut since December 2024, and signaled more cuts could be coming this year.   All but one Fed official voted for the cut, with Governor Stephen Miran the lone dissenter. Miran served as President Donald Trump’s Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers before his Tuesday swearing-in as Fed Governor. Brent crude for October delivery slipped 0.85% to trade at $67.92 per barrel…

Oil prices declined in Wednesday’s intraday trading after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, marking the first cut since December 2024, and signaled more cuts could be coming this year.   All but one Fed official voted for the cut, with Governor Stephen Miran the lone dissenter. Miran served as President Donald Trump’s Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers before his Tuesday swearing-in as Fed Governor. Brent crude for October delivery slipped 0.85% to trade at $67.92 per barrel…

Via Metal Miner Global iron ore markets are under renewed pressure as futures prices continue to fall, driven by mounting concerns over China’s faltering economy and weakening demand from its steel and property sectors. Meanwhile, current iron ore prices continue to fluctuate. According to reports, iron ore futures fell to their lowest levels in a week on Monday, September 1, with the January contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange dropping 2.67% to about US $107.09 (766 yuan) per metric ton. This was the lowest figure seen since…

Kazakhstan has restarted oil shipments through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline after a one-month suspension, restoring a key westward export route that bypasses Russia. State company KazMunayGas confirmed that 8,800 tonnes of crude from the Kashagan field were loaded at the port of Aktau on September 13, bound for Azerbaijan. A second shipment is scheduled for September 20, according to local outlet Kapital.kz. The crude will travel by tanker across the Caspian Sea to Baku before entering the BTC system for delivery to Turkey’s Ceyhan…

In its quest to gain access to the sea to facilitate exports, Uzbekistan is eyeing the Iranian port at Chabahar, situated in the Gulf of Oman. But even in the exploratory phase, Tashkent is encountering significant obstacles.   Facilitating Uzbek access to Chabahar was high on the agenda of the first-ever trilateral consultations on the foreign ministerial-level involving India, Iran and Uzbekistan, held in the Iranian capital Tehran earlier in September. The delegations were headed by mid-level Foreign Ministry officials. The…

Morgan Stanley is merging its Global Energy and Global Power & Utilities investment banking teams into a single worldwide unit, a move aimed at sharpening its coverage of clients across oil, gas, electricity, and renewables, Reuters reported on Wednesday.  According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, the bank will operate the new Global Power and Energy group under a dual leadership model. John Jameson, previously head of Global Power & Utilities, and Andrew Ward, head of Global Energy, will serve as co-heads. The memo framed the…

Morgan Stanley is merging its Global Energy and Global Power & Utilities investment banking teams into a single worldwide unit, a move aimed at sharpening its coverage of clients across oil, gas, electricity, and renewables, Reuters reported on Wednesday.  According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, the bank will operate the new Global Power and Energy group under a dual leadership model. John Jameson, previously head of Global Power & Utilities, and Andrew Ward, head of Global Energy, will serve as co-heads. The memo framed the…

Morgan Stanley is merging its Global Energy and Global Power & Utilities investment banking teams into a single worldwide unit, a move aimed at sharpening its coverage of clients across oil, gas, electricity, and renewables, Reuters reported on Wednesday.  According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, the bank will operate the new Global Power and Energy group under a dual leadership model. John Jameson, previously head of Global Power & Utilities, and Andrew Ward, head of Global Energy, will serve as co-heads. The memo framed the…

The US is weighing the creation of a $5 billion mining investment fund, which would mark its largest step yet into direct dealmaking to secure critical minerals, according to a Bloomberg report out this morning. As a result, shares of rare earth companies MP Materials and USAR are both surging higher on the news... Ironically, the amount proposed is about half of what we suggested earlier this summer... Bloomberg writes that the US International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) is in talks with New York–based Orion Resource Partners to form…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 9.3 million barrels during the week ending September 12, after adding 3.9 million barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The draw is one of the largest weekly draws seen over the last few years, and brings commercial stockpiles to 415.4 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…

Chevron and state-owned Israel Natural Gas Lines Ltd have signed an agreement to build a natural gas pipeline from Israel’s giant Leviathan gas field to Egypt, Leviathan project participant NewMed Energy has said.  Chevron’s unit Chevron Mediterranean Limited, the operator of the Leviathan Project, agreed with Israel Natural Gas Lines to provide transmission services for the flow of natural gas from the Leviathan reservoir to Egypt through the Nitzana Project.  The project is for onshore connection between the Israeli transmission…

Chevron and state-owned Israel Natural Gas Lines Ltd have signed an agreement to build a natural gas pipeline from Israel’s giant Leviathan gas field to Egypt, Leviathan project participant NewMed Energy has said.  Chevron’s unit Chevron Mediterranean Limited, the operator of the Leviathan Project, agreed with Israel Natural Gas Lines to provide transmission services for the flow of natural gas from the Leviathan reservoir to Egypt through the Nitzana Project.  The project is for onshore connection between the Israeli transmission…

Microsoft has announced its largest ever UK investment, pledging £22bn to expand AI infrastructure and build the country’s largest supercomputer, as president Donald Trump touched down in London for his state visit. The commitment forms part of a wider US-UK Tech Prosperity Deal, encompassing £31bn of American investment across AI, quantum computing, and advanced nuclear energy in a move hailed as “historic” by tech chiefs and diplomats. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer described the mega cash injection as “a…

Commodity trading giants Vitol and Glencore are set to formally bid to buy Chevron’s 50% stake in a major refinery in Singapore, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing several sources with knowledge of the plans.  As Chevron is looking to cut costs and reshuffle priorities in the downstream business, the U.S. supermajor will be seeking final binding bids for its 50% stake in Singapore Refining Company (SRC) next month, according to Reuters’ sources.  Singapore Refining Company, which operates Singapore’s second-biggest…