Russia could consider adjusting the oil price level in its so-called budget rule amid falling oil prices, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday. Under the budget rule, Russia has a baseline price of $60 per barrel of oil, above which it funnels excess revenue to its National Wealth Fund, a rainy-day reserves fund. However, when the price is below $60 per barrel – as Russia’s crude grades have been for two months now – Russia taps into the fund to offset shortfalls in revenue from oil and gas exports. Changing the so-called…

Russia could consider adjusting the oil price level in its so-called budget rule amid falling oil prices, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday. Under the budget rule, Russia has a baseline price of $60 per barrel of oil, above which it funnels excess revenue to its National Wealth Fund, a rainy-day reserves fund. However, when the price is below $60 per barrel – as Russia’s crude grades have been for two months now – Russia taps into the fund to offset shortfalls in revenue from oil and gas exports. Changing the so-called…

US President Donald Trump again lashed out at his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after Russia capped a three-day bombing spree with its biggest aerial attack of the more than three-year war, which the Kremlin responded to by saying its defending its "national interests." Trump said he has so far "protected" Russia from undisclosed painful measures but hinted he was losing patience as Putin continues to ignore his push for a cease-fire. "What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already…

The value of Russian crude oil exports have sunk in May to the lowest level in over two years, data on shipments and Russian crude prices compiled by Bloomberg showed on Wednesday. The volume of Russian crude oil exports in the four weeks to May 25 barely changed from the previous four weeks to May 18, but the value of the shipments dropped to the lowest level since April 2023, according to the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee. In the four weeks to May 25, Russia exported on average 3.39 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil,…

The value of Russian crude oil exports have sunk in May to the lowest level in over two years, data on shipments and Russian crude prices compiled by Bloomberg showed on Wednesday. The volume of Russian crude oil exports in the four weeks to May 25 barely changed from the previous four weeks to May 18, but the value of the shipments dropped to the lowest level since April 2023, according to the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee. In the four weeks to May 25, Russia exported on average 3.39 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil,…

The value of Russian crude oil exports have sunk in May to the lowest level in over two years, data on shipments and Russian crude prices compiled by Bloomberg showed on Wednesday. The volume of Russian crude oil exports in the four weeks to May 25 barely changed from the previous four weeks to May 18, but the value of the shipments dropped to the lowest level since April 2023, according to the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee. In the four weeks to May 25, Russia exported on average 3.39 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil,…

China has asked its coal-fired power plants to boost stockpiles with domestic supply as authorities aim to push up local demand and prices, anonymous sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. Coal prices in China have been depressed this year, weighing on the profits and profitability of the coal producers. China’s coal prices have dipped by about 20% so far in 2025. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the state planner of China, has asked coal power plants to boost stockpiles by 10%, according to Reuters’…

After six years of reviews and delays, Australia’s federal government has approved a proposal that would see the operating life of its biggest and oldest LNG plant extended to 2070. Murray Watt, Australia’s Minister for the Environment and Water, said on Wednesday that he has decided to approve the extension of the life of the North West Shelf gas processing plant in Karratha, Western Australia, subject to strict conditions, “particularly relating to the impact of air emissions levels from the operation of an expanded on-shore…

After six years of reviews and delays, Australia’s federal government has approved a proposal that would see the operating life of its biggest and oldest LNG plant extended to 2070. Murray Watt, Australia’s Minister for the Environment and Water, said on Wednesday that he has decided to approve the extension of the life of the North West Shelf gas processing plant in Karratha, Western Australia, subject to strict conditions, “particularly relating to the impact of air emissions levels from the operation of an expanded on-shore…

After six years of reviews and delays, Australia’s federal government has approved a proposal that would see the operating life of its biggest and oldest LNG plant extended to 2070. Murray Watt, Australia’s Minister for the Environment and Water, said on Wednesday that he has decided to approve the extension of the life of the North West Shelf gas processing plant in Karratha, Western Australia, subject to strict conditions, “particularly relating to the impact of air emissions levels from the operation of an expanded on-shore…

The OPEC+ group could start talks about establishing the baselines for individual members’ production quotas for 2027 as early as today, delegates from the alliance told Reuters on Wednesday. Some big OPEC producers, such as Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait, plan to raise their oil production capacity in the coming years. These countries have argued that they deserve higher baseline production levels as they expand capacity. The UAE, for example, has won a higher baseline for 2025 and 2026. The baselines are important in OPEC…

A quiet frontier in South America is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most volatile energy flashpoints. The disputed region of Essequibo, a sparsely populated expanse administered by Guyana but claimed by Venezuela, has seen tensions simmer for years. But a combination of geopolitical ambition, economic desperation, and energy opportunity is now threatening to tip the standoff into open conflict. At stake is one of the most valuable stretches of territory in the world—an area that, until recently, few outside the region had heard…

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed what's been dubbed the “big, beautiful bill”, with the legislation designed to leverage deep cuts to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) credits to pay for tax cuts, immigration enforcement and extra spending on defense. The contentious bill is now headed for the Senate, where it faces its final test, with all Democrats but only a handful of GOP lawmakers critical of the huge increase it will bring to the national debt. According to a recent analysis by the International Council…

This week, a private arbitration panel in London began hearing the arguments of U.S. supermajors ExxonMobil and Chevron regarding their rights to one of the world’s most lucrative oil projects. Guyana’s Stabroek block has an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil in place discovered so far by the consortium of ExxonMobil, U.S. Hess Corp, and CNOOC of China. The high-volume, low-cost development offshore the South American country, which started production just five years ago, is already pumping more than 660,000 barrels per day (bpd) of…

Sales of drilling rights in the oil sands of Alberta are on the decline, reversing an earlier boom. The trend, attributed to Trump’s tariffs and the consequent oil price dive, was aggravated by OPEC+’s decision to unwind its cuts faster than expected. It’s also not going to affect production outlooks for Canadian oil. Land prices in Alberta’s oil sands are down 18% from last year to C$771 per hectare, or $561, Bloomberg reported this week. The trend reflects a wider decline in land lease prices, at 25% from a year ago, and,…

The shipping industry’s target of net-zero carbon emissions has boosted demand for biofuels, which are compatible with existing ship engines and therefore can be adopted relatively easily. However, Rystad Energy analysis shows that the capacity to produce biofuels—such as biodiesel and bio-liquefied natural gas (bio-LNG)—is not keeping up. Unconstrained biodiesel demand exceeds total supply and the outlook for bio-LNG is equally restricted, in both allocation and production. Biofuels could be a more cost-effective alternative…

With six little words, Elon Musk has relegated the oil industry to a historical footnote. This, despite the oil industry underpinning the workings of the entire world. “Compared to solar, oil is small-time,” Musk posted on X, delivering a withering verdict on the fossil fuel era. No charts, no caveats. Just a blunt assertion that the sun—not crude oil—will define the future of global energy. From a man whose fortunes straddle both electricity and ambition, the message was clear: oil may have powered the past, but it won’t…

Via Metal Miner   Chinese mills are churning out steel, aluminum and even refined copper at near-record levels and sending the surplus abroad, a trend steel industry analysts say could pressure industrial metal prices in the United States. After a year of lagging domestic demand, China’s exports of construction and manufacturing metals have surged, flooding global markets with cheap supply. U.S. manufacturers and procurement teams are watching closely. Chinese Steel Exports Hit Multi-Year Highs China exported 110.7 million tons of steel…

OPEC+ will press on with its plan to increase its oil production quotas for the month of July, anonymous sources have told Reuters—with the group staying the course despite the low oil price environment. OPEC has long argued that it makes output decisions based on supply and demand expectations—not oil prices. The group is planning to meet on Wednesday, with three delegates from the OPEC+ group telling Reuters that it is not expecting to change its policy that it set previously: increase production quotes each month until all the production…

OPEC+ will press on with its plan to increase its oil production quotas for the month of July, anonymous sources have told Reuters—with the group staying the course despite the low oil price environment. OPEC has long argued that it makes output decisions based on supply and demand expectations—not oil prices. The group is planning to meet on Wednesday, with three delegates from the OPEC+ group telling Reuters that it is not expecting to change its policy that it set previously: increase production quotes each month until all the production…