Oil Gains Nearly 2% on US Inventory Draw, Fear of Supply Disruptions
Oil prices surged nearly 2% on Wednesday, buoyed by a drop in U.S. crude oil stockpiles and another round of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, countering weakening prices earlier this week as demand worries sent traders to the exit. At 11.4…
OPEC’s Oil Production Rose in February Despite Cut Extension
Despite the voluntary production cuts of several major producers of the OPEC+ alliance, OPEC’s oil production rose in February by more than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared to January, driven by higher production in Libya, which is exempted fro…
U.S. Remains World's Largest Oil Producer for Sixth Year in a Row
The United States produced more crude oil than any other country in 2023, for the sixth year in a row, with production averaging 12.9 million barrels per day, up from 12.3 million bpd in 2019, which set a global record at the time, according to the En…
Germany Still Hasn’t Ruled Out Expropriation of Rosneft’s Assets
Germany could still expropriate Rosneft’s German assets, the country’s economy ministry said on Friday, in a warning to the Russian oil giant to propose potential buyers of its assets.Germany extended its trusteeship over Rosneft’s assets in German…
Venezuela’s State-Run Refiner Sees Profit Tumble 81%
Venezuela’s state-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum’s net profits fell 81% in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to its most recent regulatory filing on Thursday.The state-run refinery, which operates three refineries in the United States, saw its ne…
Oil Prices Could Surprise to the Upside This Year
Crude oil prices recently logged their second monthly gain in a row as OPEC+ extended their supply curb deal until the end of Q2 2024. The gains have been considerable, with WTI adding about $7 per barrel over the month of February.Yet a lot of analys…
Bangladesh To Launch Offshore Oil and Gas Bidding Round
Energy-starved Bangladesh will invite later this week international bidding for 24 offshore oil and gas exploration blocks as the south Asian country looks to increase its domestic energy supply.Bangladesh will launch on March 10 an international bidd…
This Could Be A Gamechanger For Natural Gas In Europe
Supergiants like Exxon are focused on big offshore venues like Guyana and Namibia, leaving behind prime onshore natural gas assets in Europe - a region that is now desperate for affordable domestic resources that aren’t controlled by Russian Gazprom.…
OPEC Lifts Production in February
OPEC raised its oil production in January despite voluntary production cuts that the group was supposed to be adhering to, according to new data published on Friday by Bloomberg.A new Bloomberg survey showed that OPEC’s production rose by 110,000 bar…
Kuwait’s Fuel Oil Exports Jump to Record as New Refinery Ramps Up
Fuel oil exports from one of OPEC’s top crude exporters, Kuwait, are estimated to have hit a record-high level in February, as the new Al-Zour Refinery has ramped up fuel processing to full capacity.In February, fuel oil exports from Kuwait reached a…
Oman Increases Its Appeal To China And Iran With Game-Changing Duqm Project
The long-awaited US$8.5 billion 230,000-barrels per day (bpd) Duqm Refinery Project (DRP) – and its ancillary projects (costing another US$10 billion or so) – were officially inaugurated on 7 February, increasing the already significant allure of th…
Canada’s Oil and Gas Firms To Boost Upstream Capex To $30 Billion in 2024
Canada’s oil and natural gas sector is set to boost upstream capital expenditures to around US$30 billion (C$40.6 billion) in 2024, up slightly from an estimated actual investment of US$28.8 billion (C$39 billion) for 2023, the Canadian Association o…
Sasol Earnings Slump on Weaker Oil and Petrochemical Prices
South Africa’s energy and chemicals firm Sasol booked a 34% decline in its core earnings for the second half of 2023 due to lower crude oil and petrochemicals prices. Sasol reported on Monday core headline earnings per share (HEPS) of $0.95 (18.39 S…
Iraq Reopens Refinery after a Decade-Long Shutdown
Iraq reopened on Friday its rehabilitated North Oil Refinery in Baiji, which had been inactive for more than 10 years and which brings OPEC’s second-largest crude producer closer to being self-sufficient in oil products, the Prime Minister Media Offi…
UK Quits Treaty Allowing Oil Firms to Sue Governments Over Climate Policy
The UK will leave the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), a 1994 pact that allows oil and gas companies to sue governments over their climate policies for compensation for lost profits.The Energy Charter Treaty was originally designed to promote internationa…
Sri Lanka Pays Partial Oil Debt to Iran with $20M in Ceylon Tea
Sri Lanka has repaid $20 million in oil debt to Iran with tea in a move that Sri Lanka officials say do not violate U.S. sanctions on Iran, Agence France Presse reports. In April 2022, Sri Lanka defaulted on $46 billion in foreign debt, earning a $2.9…