The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska could see more oil and gas exploration if the Trump administration is successful in reversing Biden-era limits on drilling for hydrocarbons in an area that is also the country’s largest tract of undisturbed land. Reuters said the move is consistent with Trump’s goal to slash regulations on oil and gas development and increase domestic fuels production as part of his energy agenda. Last year the administration of Joe Biden prohibited oil and gas leasing on 10.6 million acres of the National Petroleum…

Having arrived in Central Asia to make deals, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did a lot of name-checking during a policy address at the Astana International Forum. First, she went for the low-hanging fruit, giving a shout-out to Marco Polo, pointing to the legendary 13th century Venetian merchant-explorer to support her assertion that it is in “the DNA of the Italian people” to seek new trade possibilities. She then dusted off a name that had fallen out of favor for decades — Halford Mackinder, the early 20th century British…

Via Metal Miner   India is seeing mixed reactions to U.S. President Donald Trump’s new announcement that he is imposing a 50% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports from the country. While the Indian Government sought to play down the new Trump tariffs, with one minister dubbing its impact as “minor,” some analysts, experts and trade bodies are not too sure. Many from this lobby have already expressed grave concern about the likely fallout of the new wave of tariffs on India’s steel and aluminum sectors. Some Officials…

Libya's eastern-based parliament has approved a 69 billion Libyan dinar ($12.7 billion) budget for its Development and Reconstruction Fund, overseen by Belgassim Haftar, son of eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar.  The fund is intended to finance infrastructure projects over the next three years, but is sparking major political backlash in the midst of a brewing crisis that has seen armed clashes in Tripoli in May and June, risking all-out civil war.  A group of 113 members of the House of Representatives (HoR) have urged Speaker…

Libya's eastern-based parliament has approved a 69 billion Libyan dinar ($12.7 billion) budget for its Development and Reconstruction Fund, overseen by Belgassim Haftar, son of eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar.  The fund is intended to finance infrastructure projects over the next three years, but is sparking major political backlash in the midst of a brewing crisis that has seen armed clashes in Tripoli in May and June, risking all-out civil war.  A group of 113 members of the House of Representatives (HoR) have urged Speaker…

Libya's eastern-based parliament has approved a 69 billion Libyan dinar ($12.7 billion) budget for its Development and Reconstruction Fund, overseen by Belgassim Haftar, son of eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar.  The fund is intended to finance infrastructure projects over the next three years, but is sparking major political backlash in the midst of a brewing crisis that has seen armed clashes in Tripoli in May and June, risking all-out civil war.  A group of 113 members of the House of Representatives (HoR) have urged Speaker…

Net zero costs which push up energy prices and “anchor” businesses’ ambitions to grow must end, the boss of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will tell government officials at an event in London on Thursday evening.  Rain Newton-Smith, the chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), is set to urge the Treasury and Department for Business and Trade to roll out an industrial strategy that tackles high UK energy costs which currently far surpass prices seen in competing economies such as France,…

The European Commission has given Bulgaria the go-ahead to join the eurozone single currency region as of January 1, 2026, the country's second major step in just one year on its path to full integration into the European Union. The commission, which met on June 4 to convey its decision on the issue, said Bulgaria fulfils the four nominal convergence criteria that are used to evaluate whether a country is ready for euro adoption. "The euro is a tangible symbol of European strength and unity," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.…

Japan’s top refiner, Eneos Corp, has reported an unplanned shutdown at its 77,000 bpd No.3 crude distillation unit (CDU) at the Kawasaki refinery near Tokyo. The outage began June 4 with no timeline given for a restart. While the scale of the disruption is relatively modest in global terms, the implications run far deeper. This is the latest in a string of outages for Eneos—one CDU was just brought back online in Mizushima after planned maintenance, while another in Sakai remains offline until July. But more critically, it reflects…

The United States posted a record surge in industrial exports in April, driven by strong global demand for materials such as chemicals, metals, and petroleum byproducts — even as crude oil exports fell by over $1.1 billion, highlighting volatility in energy trade patterns. According to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday, total exports of industrial supplies and materials rose by $10.4 billion month-over-month — a key driver behind the U.S. trade deficit narrowing to $74.6 billion. However, crude oil exports, which usually serve…

The ambitious plans of Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Sudani to reinvigorate paused agreements and forge new initiatives in the state’s vitality sectors with the world’s energy giants—from Eastern Asia to Europe and the U.S.—were seen as potential drivers for achieving energy independence and rapid development. These moves also seemed to bolster his bid for a second term as Prime Minister. However, recent developments show a difficult road ahead, despite significant steps taken toward his goal. Iraq’s energy infrastructure,…

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is the most promising lever known today to accelerate progress toward a net zero future, says Delta Air Lines. The clean jet fuel, which can be made from used cooking oil, wastes, or plants, reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 80%, the aviation industry says. However, SAF faces many challenges on the runway to take off. Scale and cost are the two biggest and interconnected challenges for the industry to begin replacing petroleum-based kerosene. High Costs, Low Availability “Unfortunately, there…

Calgary-based Vermilion Energy Inc. will sell its assets in the United States for $88 million (C$120 million), which will complete its exit from the U.S. and allow it to reduce debt and focus on natural gas assets in Canada and Europe. The assets in the sale consist of about 5,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day boe/d of production, of which 81% is oil and liquids, as well as 10 million barrels of oil equivalent of proved developed producing reserves, Vermilion Energy said on Thursday. Vermilion Energy expects to close the transaction in the…

Calgary-based Vermilion Energy Inc. will sell its assets in the United States for $88 million (C$120 million), which will complete its exit from the U.S. and allow it to reduce debt and focus on natural gas assets in Canada and Europe. The assets in the sale consist of about 5,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day boe/d of production, of which 81% is oil and liquids, as well as 10 million barrels of oil equivalent of proved developed producing reserves, Vermilion Energy said on Thursday. Vermilion Energy expects to close the transaction in the…

Calgary-based Vermilion Energy Inc. will sell its assets in the United States for $88 million (C$120 million), which will complete its exit from the U.S. and allow it to reduce debt and focus on natural gas assets in Canada and Europe. The assets in the sale consist of about 5,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day boe/d of production, of which 81% is oil and liquids, as well as 10 million barrels of oil equivalent of proved developed producing reserves, Vermilion Energy said on Thursday. Vermilion Energy expects to close the transaction in the…

US President Donald Trump says his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, warned him "very strongly" of Russia's intention to respond to Ukraine's drone attack, which struck dozens of long-range bomber aircraft across Russian regions over the weekend. In a post on Truth Social on June 4, Trump described his latest phone call with Putin as a "good conversation," though he noted it was not the kind of conversation that would lead to immediate peace. According to Trump, the call lasted 75 minutes, and Ukraine's surprise drone attack, carried out by…

Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices rose early on Thursday as the maintenance season on gas infrastructure in Norway, the top supplier to Europe, began. Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, were rising by 2% as of 12:15 p.m. Amsterdam time on Thursday. Yearly maintenance works started this week on the Kollsnes gas processing plant in Norway, which limits pipeline gas flows to Europe from Norway, its single largest gas supplier. Three years ago, Norway replaced Russia as the biggest gas supplier to…

Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices rose early on Thursday as the maintenance season on gas infrastructure in Norway, the top supplier to Europe, began. Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, were rising by 2% as of 12:15 p.m. Amsterdam time on Thursday. Yearly maintenance works started this week on the Kollsnes gas processing plant in Norway, which limits pipeline gas flows to Europe from Norway, its single largest gas supplier. Three years ago, Norway replaced Russia as the biggest gas supplier to…

Russian crude oil production stayed just below the country’s quota in the OPEC+ agreement in May, unidentified sources with knowledge of the data told Bloomberg on Thursday. Russia classified its oil and gas production data in early 2022, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, the market relies on ship-monitoring data to track exports, anonymous sources familiar with the actual numbers, and calculations based on observed exports and domestic refining. According to Bloomberg’s sources, Russia’s oil production averaged…

Iraq’s federal government holds the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) legally responsible for continued oil smuggling operations from Kurdistan outside Iraq, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Thursday. The ministry “reserves the right to continue to take all legal actions in this regard,” it added in a press release, in which it called on the Kurdistan Region Government once again to comply with the Iraqi Constitution, the Decisions of the Federal Court and the other relevant laws, including the General Budget Law. All these laws…