A suspected Iranian spy ship that its own government calls an "intelligence and logistics" vessel returned home this week after a three-year mis, as well as more recently lingering near Yemen for months. The Iranian 'spy ship' BEHSHAD (9167289), which had a hand in the Red Sea Crisis by assisting Houthis in launching attacks against commercial and naval vessels over the past several months, has now returned to Iran after a 3-year deployment. We were able to verify her in… pic.twitter.com/NqJ3LYdIWY — TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers)…

Africa’s biggest oil producer, Nigeria, plans to offer up to 20% of its crude oil production for trading on its commodities exchange, Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, the chief executive of the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange, told Bloomberg in an interview published on Friday. The official didn’t elaborate on when the exchange’s first-ever crude trading would begin. The goal of the launch of crude oil trading is to expand access to financing for the oil and gas industry, on which Nigeria relies for most of its foreign…

Russian oil company Bashneft, part of state-controlled giant Rosneft, has installed metal mesh at its refineries to protect them from drone attacks from Ukraine, Russian media reported on Friday, quoting Radiy Khabirov, the head of the Bashkortostan region where Bashneft is based. “We don't stop there. There are a number of solutions there, which I won't talk about yet. They are classified. But believe me, we worry about this very much,” the Bashinform agency quoted Khabirov as saying.   This year, Ukraine has intensified…

Russian oil company Bashneft, part of state-controlled giant Rosneft, has installed metal mesh at its refineries to protect them from drone attacks from Ukraine, Russian media reported on Friday, quoting Radiy Khabirov, the head of the Bashkortostan region where Bashneft is based. “We don't stop there. There are a number of solutions there, which I won't talk about yet. They are classified. But believe me, we worry about this very much,” the Bashinform agency quoted Khabirov as saying.   This year, Ukraine has intensified…

Russian oil company Bashneft, part of state-controlled giant Rosneft, has installed metal mesh at its refineries to protect them from drone attacks from Ukraine, Russian media reported on Friday, quoting Radiy Khabirov, the head of the Bashkortostan region where Bashneft is based. “We don't stop there. There are a number of solutions there, which I won't talk about yet. They are classified. But believe me, we worry about this very much,” the Bashinform agency quoted Khabirov as saying.   This year, Ukraine has intensified…

Russian oil company Bashneft, part of state-controlled giant Rosneft, has installed metal mesh at its refineries to protect them from drone attacks from Ukraine, Russian media reported on Friday, quoting Radiy Khabirov, the head of the Bashkortostan region where Bashneft is based. “We don't stop there. There are a number of solutions there, which I won't talk about yet. They are classified. But believe me, we worry about this very much,” the Bashinform agency quoted Khabirov as saying.   This year, Ukraine has intensified…

Russian oil company Bashneft, part of state-controlled giant Rosneft, has installed metal mesh at its refineries to protect them from drone attacks from Ukraine, Russian media reported on Friday, quoting Radiy Khabirov, the head of the Bashkortostan region where Bashneft is based. “We don't stop there. There are a number of solutions there, which I won't talk about yet. They are classified. But believe me, we worry about this very much,” the Bashinform agency quoted Khabirov as saying.   This year, Ukraine has intensified…

Russian oil company Bashneft, part of state-controlled giant Rosneft, has installed metal mesh at its refineries to protect them from drone attacks from Ukraine, Russian media reported on Friday, quoting Radiy Khabirov, the head of the Bashkortostan region where Bashneft is based. “We don't stop there. There are a number of solutions there, which I won't talk about yet. They are classified. But believe me, we worry about this very much,” the Bashinform agency quoted Khabirov as saying.   This year, Ukraine has intensified…

Russian oil company Bashneft, part of state-controlled giant Rosneft, has installed metal mesh at its refineries to protect them from drone attacks from Ukraine, Russian media reported on Friday, quoting Radiy Khabirov, the head of the Bashkortostan region where Bashneft is based. “We don't stop there. There are a number of solutions there, which I won't talk about yet. They are classified. But believe me, we worry about this very much,” the Bashinform agency quoted Khabirov as saying.   This year, Ukraine has intensified…

Oil price volatility has climbed dramatically as tensions between Israel and Iran escalate, with Brent breaking the $90 mark early on Friday morning before falling back to the $86 handle.Friday, April 19th 2024The drastic seesawing of oil prices in recent trading sessions reflects the uncertainty surrounding the Israel-Iran conflict, with initial reports of Israeli strikes on Iranian soil ratcheting up Brent above $90 per barrel, only to see them plunge back to $86 per barrel following Tehran’s dismissal of their impact. The reimposition…

The U.S. Administration finalized on Friday a strategy to help protect federal lands, which includes restricting access to drilling and mining in a large part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The Public Lands Rule is aimed at helping safeguard the health of America’s public lands by ensuring that the U.S. protects clean water and wildlife habitat, restores land and waters that need it, and makes informed management decisions based on science, data, and Indigenous knowledge, the Interior Department’s the Bureau…

The U.S. Administration finalized on Friday a strategy to help protect federal lands, which includes restricting access to drilling and mining in a large part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The Public Lands Rule is aimed at helping safeguard the health of America’s public lands by ensuring that the U.S. protects clean water and wildlife habitat, restores land and waters that need it, and makes informed management decisions based on science, data, and Indigenous knowledge, the Interior Department’s the Bureau…

The U.S. Administration finalized on Friday a strategy to help protect federal lands, which includes restricting access to drilling and mining in a large part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The Public Lands Rule is aimed at helping safeguard the health of America’s public lands by ensuring that the U.S. protects clean water and wildlife habitat, restores land and waters that need it, and makes informed management decisions based on science, data, and Indigenous knowledge, the Interior Department’s the Bureau…

SLB (NYSE: SLB), the world’s largest oilfield services provider, reported on Friday 14% higher net income for the first quarter compared to the same period last year, amid strong international drilling demand that more than offset a weaker North American market.  SLB has been saying for several consecutive quarters that it expects strong international drilling business going forward, boosted by a rebound in offshore drilling and growing demand for oil and gas. SLB saw its net income rise to $1.07 billion for the first…

Selling Pressure, Profit-Taking Dominate Trade This week, crude oil markets experienced significant volatility to the downside, driven by geopolitical concerns, unexpected inventory adjustments, and changes in demand. Although escalation fears between Israel and Iran loomed over the markets, price responses were muted, reflecting a complex set of influences on oil pricing. Geopolitical Tensions and Market Responses Concerns over potential supply disruptions due to tensions between Israel and Iran were top of mind this week. However, Israel’s…

Oil markets have largely discounted the Iranian missile and drone barrage directed at Israel because it was essentially a ruse designed not to inflict any damage, but to save face at home and abroad. Almost all of the missiles were intercepted by Israeli defense systems, yet Tehran was able to boast of its first direct attack on Israel.  What should be more worrisome for oil markets is Israel’s response to Iran’s response (to Israel’s response), which came around midnight on Thursday, when first reports of an explosion inside…

1. Venezuela Braces for Impact After US Reimposes Sanctions -  The Biden administration reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry after its six-month waiver expired on 18 April, with the White House providing oil firms with a 45-day grace period to wind down operations. - The US waiver was linked to President Maduro’s agreement to hold a free and fair presidential election in July and to allow opposition politicians to participate, but both Maria Corina Machado and her proxy replacement Corina Yoris were barred from running.…

Over the years, one of my most profitable investment research techniques has been to look for companies whose stock has been dragged down by negativity around the market in which they operate, even though they themselves are well-run, efficient, and profitable, characteristics that will enable them to survive a downturn and emerge stronger should competitors go under or cut back operations significantly when times are tough. So, when there is a flood of bad news about an industry and every stock is getting hit, I start sniffing around, looking…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict At midnight on Thursday, the six-month temporary oil sanctions relief Washington granted Venezuela last October expired, and the Biden administration moved to reimpose those sanctions, which was met with backlash in Caracas, where the move was described as a U.S. attempt to “control and manipulate the Venezuelan oil industry”. Nicolas Maduro was given every opportunity to comply with the conditions of the sanctions relief, yet, has continued to work to ban, arrest, or otherwise prevent the rise of…

Russia was India’s single largest oil supplier for a second consecutive fiscal year, as surging imports of Russian crude dragged down the share of OPEC and Middle East supply to India to a record low, Reuters reported on Friday, citing data from tanker-tracking data obtained from industry sources. In the 2023/2024 fiscal year ended March 31, the share of Middle East oil supply of India’s oil imports slumped to as low as 46% -- the lowest on record dating back to 2001-2002, according to the Reuters analysis. This compares with a…