Oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday afternoon, following a dip in Monday's trading session. Today's oil price action follows Friday’s biggest intraday surge in three years following the Israeli strikes on Iran.  The market’s worst fear—a major supply disruption in the Middle East—hasn’t materialized yet. And it may not, as was the case in the previous Israel-Iran flare-ups in recent years.   What Happened?  Oil prices spiked by 13% immediately after Israel hit Iran’s nuclear facilities…

“G7 members must fully ban imports of Russian energy – oil, coal, natural gas, uranium. Canada, with the world’s fifth-largest oil reserves and as a top-three uranium producer, can help fill the gap.” The statement was made this week by the head of the G7 research group, a University of Toronto political science professor.  But can Canada really replace Russia entirely on the global energy scene? That might be tough. Both Russia and Canada are in the top five oil producers globally. Russia is third, and Canada is fourth,…

Given that around 97% of its government revenues come from oil, it might seem obvious to all Libya’s principal factions that increasing production is a very good idea. There is plenty of scope to do so, as before the removal of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 it had easily been able to produce around 1.65 million bpd of predominantly high-quality light, sweet crude oil. Additionally positive back then was that production had been on a rising trend, up from about 1.4 million bpd in 2000. Further increases were on the horizon to push…

Oil bulls have finally found some relief as crude prices rallied to multi-month highs, driven by escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, which continue to trade attacks in one of the region's most volatile periods in recent years. As of Tuesday morning, Brent crude for August delivery had surged $9 from a week earlier to reach $75 per barrel, with WTI following suit.  Prices, which had remained under pressure much of the year due to concerns over oversupply and flagging demand, are now being buoyed by the specter of widening geopolitical…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell sharply, by 10.133 million barrels in the week ending June 13 after analysts had estimated a 600,000-barrel draw. The API reported a 337,000 barrel inventory decrease in the prior week. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up 7.6 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) climbed 200,000 barrels…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell sharply, by 10.133 million barrels in the week ending June 13 after analysts had estimated a 600,000-barrel draw. The API reported a 337,000 barrel inventory decrease in the prior week. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up 7.6 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) climbed 200,000 barrels…

Via Metal Miner The European Commission (EC) has expressed concern about Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to double import tariffs on steel. The U.S. President proclaimed the new “Trump Tariffs” during a speech at US Steel’s Mon Valley-Irwin works in Pennsylvania on May 30. “We strongly regret the announced increase of U.S. tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50%,” the European Union’s executive body said in a May 31 statement. “This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and…

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump met on the sidelines of the G7 summit to agree a trade deal that will remove tariffs on the UK aerospace sector and save carmakers from facing aggressive taxes on exports.  The pair of world leaders heaped praise on one another while the UK government said the likes of Rolls Royce were set for a “huge win” while car manufacturers could “breathe a sigh of relief”.  During the brief meeting in Western Canada, Trump claimed Starmer had “done what they haven’t…

Egypt has begun rolling out a full-scale emergency energy plan, scrambling to balance limited fuel supplies against surging national demand after Israel shuttered its largest offshore gas field amid the escalating Iran-Israel conflict that has deprived Cairo of critical Israel gas supplies.  The plan, announced by the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources just days prior and already in full force as of Tuesday, includes the immediate suspension of gas deliveries to multiple industrial sectors. To stabilize the national power…

Kazakhstan has taken the meaning of multi-vector foreign policy into a new dimension: to split atoms, Astana has decided to divide a tender, creating deals to build two nuclear power plants when only one had previously been authorized. With Kazakhstan’s two powerful  neighbors, Russia and China, both vying aggressively to secure the contract to build the planned reactor on the shores of Lake Balkhash, Astana faced a difficult choice. Not wanting to face potential blowback for offending either the Kremlin or Beijing, Kazakh officials…

The Arctic is gaining global attention as melting ice unlocks access to vast natural resources. From “ecosystem services” like climate regulation to lucrative mineral and oil reserves, this chilly region’s economic value is surprisingly large. In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu breaks down the Arctic’s annual economic value based on the results of a 2017 study from Tanya O’Garra titled Economic Value of Ecosystem Services, Minerals, and Oil in a Melting Arctic. Data and Methodology The economic values of…

Brent crude spiked over 2.5% on Tuesday after Israel launched an airstrike on Iran’s underground uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed. The strike damaged critical centrifuge halls at the fortified Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, sharply escalating fears of regional conflict and potential supply disruptions. At 10:38 a.m. ET, Brent was trading at $75.55, up 3.17%, while West Texas Intermediate rose to $73.94, up 3.02%.  The direct hit on Iran's nuclear infrastructure has reignited…

Oil rallied almost 3% on Tuesday morning as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate. Will Israel Strike Iran’s Upstream Infrastructure?- As the Israel-Iran war shows no signs of abating, market participants are speculating whether Israel could target Iran’s oil export infrastructure after its strikes on the South Pars gas field.   - Up until now, Iranian oil exports have seen no impact from the barrage of missile strikes with May exports posting a multi-year high of 1.8 million b/d and June loadings keeping the same…

PetroChina’s trading arm is looking to boost the flexibility of its LNG trading portfolio with supply from North America, a senior executive at the Chinese state-run oil and gas giant told Reuters on Tuesday. LNG supply from U.S. LNG exporters typically doesn’t have restrictions on destination, unlike volumes from Qatar, for example. The Middle Eastern LNG exporter, the second-largest in the world after the United States, prefers to sign long-term supply agreements with buyers with restriction clauses for where the LNG can be delivered.…

PetroChina’s trading arm is looking to boost the flexibility of its LNG trading portfolio with supply from North America, a senior executive at the Chinese state-run oil and gas giant told Reuters on Tuesday. LNG supply from U.S. LNG exporters typically doesn’t have restrictions on destination, unlike volumes from Qatar, for example. The Middle Eastern LNG exporter, the second-largest in the world after the United States, prefers to sign long-term supply agreements with buyers with restriction clauses for where the LNG can be delivered.…

Tesla’s enigmatic chief executive, Elon Musk, gets a lot of flak, but if there’s one area you would think he’d be untouchable, it’s innovation. Beyond falling out with the US President and colonising Mars, Elon Musk’s next favourite pastime looks set to be robotaxis, with Tesla preparing to launch its first fleet in Austin, Texas, later this month. Many view Musk’s venture into driverless taxis, an undeniably risky bet, as a signal of Tesla’s failure to keep up with cutting-edge Chinese brands in the electric…

The currencies of several major Asian oil importers are ripe for depreciation with the spike in international crude oil prices, analysts at Barclays said on Tuesday.  The surge in oil prices in recent days “implies risks for most Asian FX in the near term, especially if oil prices move even higher in the event of a potential escalation in the conflict,” Barclays’ analysts wrote in a note to clients carried by Bloomberg.  Thailand’s baht, the Taiwanese dollar, and the Korean won are the Asian currencies most at…

The currencies of several major Asian oil importers are ripe for depreciation with the spike in international crude oil prices, analysts at Barclays said on Tuesday.  The surge in oil prices in recent days “implies risks for most Asian FX in the near term, especially if oil prices move even higher in the event of a potential escalation in the conflict,” Barclays’ analysts wrote in a note to clients carried by Bloomberg.  Thailand’s baht, the Taiwanese dollar, and the Korean won are the Asian currencies most at…

Amid an escalating Israeli air campaign against Iran, calls are mounting in Tehran to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and close the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil routes. The archenemies have been trading fire since June 13 after Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, military bases, and residential areas in a bid to hinder Tehran’s program and eliminate top military leadership. Several high-profile Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)…

A peak in global oil demand is still on the horizon, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, doubling down on its forecast that demand will plateau by the end of the decade.  China’s oil demand, which increased by a cumulative 6 million barrels per day (bpd) in the decade to 2024, is set to peak earlier than previously expected, the agency said in its annual Oil 2025 report for the medium term.  While China – the world’s top crude oil importer – accounted for 60% of the global increase in oil consumption…