Mexico’s Finance Ministry announced Tuesday it will launch a new financial operation to support the country’s embattled state oil company, Pemex—the most indebted energy firm in the world. The operation involves issuing “Pre-Capitalized Notes,” a form of financing designed to strengthen Pemex’s balance sheet without a direct government guarantee. The plan—part of an ongoing effort to prop up a company mired in debt, production decline, and operational dysfunction—is noticeably short on specifics.…

Mexico’s Finance Ministry announced Tuesday it will launch a new financial operation to support the country’s embattled state oil company, Pemex—the most indebted energy firm in the world. The operation involves issuing “Pre-Capitalized Notes,” a form of financing designed to strengthen Pemex’s balance sheet without a direct government guarantee. The plan—part of an ongoing effort to prop up a company mired in debt, production decline, and operational dysfunction—is noticeably short on specifics.…

One of the glaring omissions to many dedicated energy market observers in the past few years has been the U.S.’s avoidance of meaningfully punishing countries who support rogue states. This can be either through offering logistical support that enables such a state to continue to export whatever it wants or by buying these exports, which effectively bankrolls these states to pursue their illegal activities. A full arsenal of primary or secondary sanctions have been available to Washington to do so, but they have never been used in full force…

The ongoing push by EU countries to target Russia’s primary revenue source—oil and gas exports—has received a significant boost. With its 18th sanctions package, the EU has agreed not only to hit Moscow’s energy sector harder but also to impose a significantly lower price cap on Russia’s oil exports. The package faced internal resistance, particularly from Slovakia, which had been blocking the deal over the past week. Slovakia’s current government holds a more pro-Russian stance and is concerned about the EU’s…

Despite posting second-quarter earnings in line with expectations, Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) warned on Tuesday that the oilfield services market will be softer in the short to medium term than previously expected.   Halliburton reported today a net income of $472 million, or $0.55 per share, for the second quarter of 2025. That’s up from the net income of $204 million, or $0.24 per share, for the first quarter of 2025. The Q2 per-share earnings met the analyst consensus estimate of $0.55 compiled by The Wall Street Journal. North…

Chevron is approaching a production plateau in the Permian Basin—America’s top oil field—and expects this shift to generate billions in free cash flow, according to Bloomberg. The company is cutting back on drill rigs and frack crews as it nears its long-term target of 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, which it expects to sustain through 2040. “We’re going from growth to cash generation,” said Bruce Niemeyer, president of Chevron’s shale business. “We’re already in the earliest phases…

Via Metal Miner Sources tell MetalMiner that lower seasonal demand has continued to push hot-rolled coil prices down in northern Europe since late June. In terms of steel prices, this means that mills are now quoting €540–550 ($625–640) per metric ton ex-works for August rolling and September delivery, down from €570 ($660) reported on June 23. It is also important to note that cold-rolled coil typically carries a premium of about €100 ($115) per metric ton. Meanwhile, import prices have already dropped below €500…

Gasoline prices in the U.S. are flirting with a milestone not seen since 2021: a national average below $3 per gallon. The combination of tepid summer demand, surging imports, and a bearish oil market has put downward pressure on prices—even during what’s typically peak driving season. In the runup to the July 4th holiday, the national average fell to $3.14 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. This is the lowest summer level in four years, according to AAA. Finished motor gasoline product supplied (a proxy for demand) during the July…

Gasoline prices in the U.S. are flirting with a milestone not seen since 2021: a national average below $3 per gallon. The combination of tepid summer demand, surging imports, and a bearish oil market has put downward pressure on prices—even during what’s typically peak driving season. In the runup to the July 4th holiday, the national average fell to $3.14 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. This is the lowest summer level in four years, according to AAA. Finished motor gasoline product supplied (a proxy for demand) during the July…

Gasoline prices in the U.S. are flirting with a milestone not seen since 2021: a national average below $3 per gallon. The combination of tepid summer demand, surging imports, and a bearish oil market has put downward pressure on prices—even during what’s typically peak driving season. In the runup to the July 4th holiday, the national average fell to $3.14 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. This is the lowest summer level in four years, according to AAA. Finished motor gasoline product supplied (a proxy for demand) during the July…

Brent crude remains stuck below $70 per barrel as top EU officials doubt the probability of a trade deal being concluded. Diesel’s Bullish Run Continues as Gasoline Summer Boom Totters - Proving most of industry watchers wrong, diesel continues to strengthen in July, contradicting usual commodity cycles that should place the premium on more seasonal products such as gasoline and defying expectations that Donald Trump’s tariff warfare would primarily weaken middle distillates. - US diesel stocks have been below the 5-year range since…

CNOOC Ltd, China’s top offshore crude oil and natural gas producer, has launched production of heavy crude from its Kenli 10-2 Oilfields Development Project, which is the largest shallow lithological oilfield offshore China, the company has said.  The project in the southern Bohai Sea will see 79 development wells commissioned, including 33 cold recovery wells, 24 thermal recovery wells, 21 water injection wells, and 1 water source well.   CNOOC expects the project to achieve peak production of about 19,400 barrels of oil equivalent…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a fresh round of peace talks with Moscow is set for July 23 in Turkey as the West steps up pressure on the Kremlin to agree to a cease-fire, even while Russian forces continue to launch deadly air strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. "Today, I discussed with Rustem Umerov the preparation for a prisoner exchange and another meeting with the Russian side in Turkey," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on July 21, referring to the new head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense…

Indonesia prepares to sign an $8-billion contract with U.S. engineering company KBR Inc to help it build 17 modular refineries, as part of the U.S.-Indonesia trade deal, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the plans and a government presentation it has seen.  Last week, Indonesia and the United States reached a trade deal, under which the U.S. tariffs on Indonesian products will be lowered to 19% from an initial levy of 32%.   Indonesia was slapped with one of the highest tariffs - 32% - in the “liberation…

Indonesia prepares to sign an $8-billion contract with U.S. engineering company KBR Inc to help it build 17 modular refineries, as part of the U.S.-Indonesia trade deal, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the plans and a government presentation it has seen.  Last week, Indonesia and the United States reached a trade deal, under which the U.S. tariffs on Indonesian products will be lowered to 19% from an initial levy of 32%.   Indonesia was slapped with one of the highest tariffs - 32% - in the “liberation…

The UK government signed on Tuesday the final investment decision to build the $51-billion Sizewell C nuclear power plant, which will help Britain generate more low-carbon electricity.  The final investment decision was made possible after new investors joined the government and French energy giant EDF. The UK will have an initial 44.9% stake to become the single biggest equity shareholder in the project. The other shareholders include La Caisse with 20%, UK energy group Centrica with 15%, and Amber Infrastructure with an initial 7.6%. EDF…

Small refiners in the Shandong province, home to China’s independent refineries, are restarting operations under new ownership in a move that could exacerbate China’s overcapacity and thin-margin problems.   Three refineries which went bankrupt last year are on track to be revived—one is already operational and talks about the restart of the other two are ongoing, unnamed traders and analysts have told Bloomberg.  Shandong Changyi Petrochemical Co, previously operated by refining and chemicals giant Sinochem, was…

Britain is set to lose a refinery that failed to attract any buyers after going into insolvency in June, leaving the country with four refineries in total. Prax Group, the owner of the Lindsey refinery, declared insolvency amid mounting losses at the facility, with several hundred jobs set to be lost if it could not sell it. The Starmer government tried to find a buyer for the refinery and energy security minister Ed Miliband even suggested financial support could be granted to refineries to avoid further insolvencies. However, with that same government…

Shell and other major energy players have withdrawn from a high-profile effort to establish a global “net zero” emissions benchmark, after draft proposals effectively demanded an end to new oil and gas developments, according to documents seen by the Financial Times. The companies—Shell, Norway’s Aker BP, and Canada’s Enbridge—exited an expert advisory group convened by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a widely followed climate standard-setter whose approval is sought by global corporations ranging…

Mergers and acquisitions in the global upstream oil and gas sector clocked in at just over $80 billion in the first half of 2025, good for a 34% year-over-year decline amid volatile oil prices and tariff concerns by the Trump administration. According to Rystad Energy, M&A was particularly weak in the first quarter, with deal value totalling just $28 billion compared to $66 billion in the first quarter of 2024. This was largely as a result of lackluster activity in North America, with the region’s share of global deal value dropping to…