13 de diciembre de 2024.- François Bayrou, centrista de 73 años y líder del partido Movimiento Demócrata (MoDem), fue nombrado como nuevo primer ministro de Francia, informan desde el Palacio del Elíseo. Bayrou ejerció como ministro de Educación y fue candidato presidencial en las elecciones de 2002...

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States stayed the same this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, after rising in the week prior. The total rig count remained flat at 589 total rigs, according to Baker Hughes, down 34 from this same time last year. The number of oil rigs stayed the same at 482—down by 19 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by one rig, landing at 103, a loss of 16 active gas rigs from this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs fell by…

Hungary and Bulgaria are in a bind. With U.S. sanctions hitting Gazprombank—the go-to middleman for Russian gas payments—the two are scrambling to figure out how to keep the gas moving without breaking the rules. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claims they have cracked the code with a “legal-financial solution.” Meanwhile, Bulgaria is keeping its cards close to the vest, simply saying they’ve discussed an “option” that could work for everyone. For Hungary, Russian gas is a lifeline they’re…

Hungary and Bulgaria are in a bind. With U.S. sanctions hitting Gazprombank—the go-to middleman for Russian gas payments—the two are scrambling to figure out how to keep the gas moving without breaking the rules. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claims they have cracked the code with a “legal-financial solution.” Meanwhile, Bulgaria is keeping its cards close to the vest, simply saying they’ve discussed an “option” that could work for everyone. For Hungary, Russian gas is a lifeline they’re…

Hungary and Bulgaria are in a bind. With U.S. sanctions hitting Gazprombank—the go-to middleman for Russian gas payments—the two are scrambling to figure out how to keep the gas moving without breaking the rules. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claims they have cracked the code with a “legal-financial solution.” Meanwhile, Bulgaria is keeping its cards close to the vest, simply saying they’ve discussed an “option” that could work for everyone. For Hungary, Russian gas is a lifeline they’re…

13 de diciembre de 2024.- El Servicio Administrativo de Identificación, Migración y Extranjería (Saime) anunció el pasado jueves que se habilitaron cinco nuevas oficinas para la atención de ciudadanos extranjeros que residen en Venezuela. «Desde este 12 de diciembre todos los ciudadanos extranjeros ...

The energy sector has endured yet another lackluster year, with the S&P 500 Energy Sector having returned 7.1% in the year-to-date, the fourth lowest among the 11 market sectors in the S&P 500. Both Oil & Gas as well as renewable energy stocks have underperformed, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLE), the famous oil and gas benchmark, having gained 7.3% YTD compared to -22.6% return by the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (NASDAQ:ICLN) and 27.6% by the S&P 500. Unfortunately, both fossil fuel and clean energy sectors…

12 de diciembre de 2024.- La Guardia Nacional Bolivariana (GNB) detuvo a dos personas que transportaban material de guerra, según reportes. Tales detenciones se realizaron en las entidades fronterizas de Táchira y Zulia. En el punto de atención al ciudadano ubicado en Capacho (Táchira), los milit...

Trafigura saw its net profit for the financial year 2023/2024 ended on September 30 plunge by 62% as the commodity trading giant recorded a loss of $1.1 billion related to serious misconduct by individuals in its Mongolian oil business. Trafigura booked a net profit of $2.8 billion for FY2024, down from a $7.3 billion profit in FY2023 and $6.8 billion for FY 2022, the oil and metals trading house said on Friday. The underlying performance was strong, with strong contributions from all three core businesses – Oil and Petroleum Products; Metals,…

Even though Russia’s grand military plans are increasingly failing, as seen in Syria and the developments in Ukraine, leaving Putin’s grand strategy in disarray, Western critical infrastructure is currently under an onslaught of Russian hackers. A major report by Cyble Research, dated December 6, indicated that Russian hackers are intensifying their attacks on critical infrastructure, evolving from Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks and website defacement to tampering with operational technology (OT) controls on critical systems.…

13 de diciembre de 2024.- En el salón Manuel Taborda de la Gerencia Regional de Salud de los Trabajadores en Maracaibo, el pasado 10 de diciembre, en el marco de la conmemoración del Día de los Derechos Humanos decretado en 1948 por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas adoptando la Declaración...

Bolivia y Cuba se unirán a los BRICS como países socios a partir del 1 de enero de 2025, declaró el viceministro ruso de Exteriores, Serguéi Riabkov. "[Bolivia y Cuba] forman parte del grupo que ha recibido una invitación. Estamos seguros de que todo saldrá bien en lo que se re...

Moldova on Friday declared a nationwide state of emergency for 60 days, expecting Russian pipeline gas supply to cease from January 1, 2025. The Parliament of the country, which currently receives Russian gas via Ukraine, approved overnight a proposal from Prime Minister Dorin Recean to declare a state of emergency, which begins on December 16. Moldova has been trying to fend off Russian influence in the breakaway Transdniestria region, a narrow strip of land between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border, which isn’t recognized by the…

Oil prices are climbing once again as geopolitical risk rises and the threat of new U.S. sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet threatens supply.Oil prices have finally outgrown the pains of the OPEC+ meeting, with the potential threat of sanctions now front and center this week. New G7 sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet, Chinese concerns about buying Iranian crude with Trump coming into office, and looming nuclear sanctions on Tehran have added some geopolitical risk premium to oil, lifting Brent back to $74 per barrel, posting the first weekly…

Con el propósito de proyectar como sector productivo al estado Falcón, una delegación de inversionistas y autoridades de la República Popular China recorrieron la Zona Económica Especial (ZEE) Península de Paraguaná, a fin de evaluar sectores de inversión y así establecer nuevas alianzas. y co...

End of Assad Regime Raises Risks of Syrian Fuel Shortages - The fall of the Assad regime in Syria after Bashar al-Assad fled the country and ended his 24-year tenure as president might engender a widespread fuel shortage across the Middle Eastern country.   - The Syrian port of Baniyas was dependent on Iranian fuel supplies and the approximately 60,000 b/d of oil that Tehran was sending to Syria kept the country’s two existing refineries operational. - As representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rose to prominence in Syria, Iranian crude…

Light crude oil futures climbed 4.52% this week as of Thursday, reflecting a mix of supportive and limiting factors that shaped market activity. Key drivers included Chinese economic policy changes, Middle Eastern unrest, U.S. inventory levels, and global supply forecasts. China’s Economic Policies Stoke Demand Optimism China’s announcement of a "moderately loose" monetary policy boosted expectations for higher crude demand. This marked the country’s first easing of monetary policy in over a decade, aimed at addressing weak economic…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict The Iraqi parliament has delayed a decision on Kurdish crude oil exports until January, prolonging a year-long suspension of deliveries amid disputes over authority and compensation. The deadlock stems from disagreements over the costs of oil production and transport in Kurdistan, prompting Kurdish parliamentarians to withdraw from discussions. An ICC ruling in March 2023 in favor of Iraq barred Turkey from authorizing Kurdish exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline without Baghdad's approval, further complicating…

After a 54-year rule, the Assad regime was toppled last weekend by a rebel advance that managed to overthrow the regime without much of a fight, largely because Assad’s forces deserted as the rebels advanced, while allies Russia, Iran, and Iranian proxy Hezbollah failed to come to Assad’s rescue (in Syria, at least). Israel followed up in a clean sweep operation, conducting nearly 500 airstrikes in 48 hours, taking out strategic Syrian military targets to avoid them falling into the hands of whatever new leadership emerges from the…

U.S.-based Kosmos Energy said it is in early preliminary discussions to potentially buy Tullow Oil in an all-share transaction that could create an oil producer focused on Africa. “There can be no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made,” Kosmos Energy said, confirming an earlier statement from Tullow Oil that it had been approached for talks by Kosmos. The U.S.-based oil and gas company reserves the right to vary the form and/or mix of the offer consideration and vary the transaction…