U.S. refining giant Phillips 66, which will close its LA refinery later this year, will lay off in December most of the workers at the plant, Reuters reports, citing sources with knowledge of the plans.   Last October, Phillips 66 said it would shut down its refinery in the Los Angeles area in the fourth quarter of 2025, due to “market dynamics.” Approximately 600 employees and 300 contractors currently operate the Los Angeles-area refinery, Phillips 66 said when it announced the closure. “We understand this decision…

The U.S. Administration wants the EU to make unilateral cuts to its tariffs on American goods and abolish a proposed digital tax for trade negotiations to advance, sources briefed on the U.S. trade negotiators’ latest stance have told the Financial Times. The U.S. hit the EU with a 20% ‘reciprocal’ tariff in early April, but the Trump Administration later backtracked on the so-called reciprocal tariffs following a major market rout triggered by fears of recession. The United States has now left a baseline 10% tariff on all countries…

Mexico’s Pemex plans to cut 3,000 jobs as part of a restructuring move aimed at reducing its expenses, Bloomberg has reported, citing a company document. The restructuring should lead to savings to the tune of $540 million, the document showed, by transferring over $300 million from Pemex’s personnel budget to its exploration and production department and help increase oil and gas output. The drive will also result in a more simplified corporate structure with the closure of three sub-directorates and nine management areas to streamline…

Crude oil prices were set for a weekly decline today, following a report that OPEC+ was planning to add another 411,000 barrels daily to its output in July in an extension of its accelerated rollback of output controls. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $64.06 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate at $60.80 per barrel. Both were down by some 2% from Monday. According to a Reuters report, a stronger U.S. dollar contributed additionally to the weekly trend in oil prices. The dollar rally came on the back of Congress passing the…

Many people are perhaps familiar with the term “petrostates”, which usually denotes oil-rich nations that are deeply intertwined with the oil industry, often facing economic and political challenges due to oil price fluctuations and the potential decline in hydrocarbon resources. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, and Iran are some of the world’s leading petrostates. But with the world’s electrification drive now in full gear, scientists have coined the term “electrostates” to refer to…

After two years of booming activity, the merger and acquisition space in the U.S. has slowed down significantly. Buyer are turning their attention from quantity to quality and focusing on extracting as much value from deals they made previously. Also, they’re running out of targets. After two booming years, it was really only a matter of time before this happened. The megadeals of 2023 and 2024 were the highlight of that period, which followed the 2022 profit windfall the industry enjoyed amid the war escalation in Ukraine. Yet megadeals…

Beijing has strengthened its dominance in the supply chains of critical minerals and rare earth elements despite a push by the Western nations to reduce reliance on China. The heavily concentrated supply of critical minerals in a handful of countries and China’s export controls are raising the risk of “painful disruptions” in the market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned in its new annual report, Global Critical Minerals Outlook. While the world has acknowledged that diversification of the critical minerals supply is…

Turns out Washington isn’t buying what Brussels is selling—at least not yet. While the EU is lobbying to lower the G7’s $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian crude to $50 (with Ukraine yelling from the back row for a $30 tag), U.S. officials remain politely unconvinced. A European official attending the G7 finance powwow in Banff, Canada, told Reuters that the U.S. Treasury team thinks market forces are already doing the heavy lifting. With Brent prices wobbling around $64—and Russia’s Urals blend clocking in at a $10…

Turns out Washington isn’t buying what Brussels is selling—at least not yet. While the EU is lobbying to lower the G7’s $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian crude to $50 (with Ukraine yelling from the back row for a $30 tag), U.S. officials remain politely unconvinced. A European official attending the G7 finance powwow in Banff, Canada, told Reuters that the U.S. Treasury team thinks market forces are already doing the heavy lifting. With Brent prices wobbling around $64—and Russia’s Urals blend clocking in at a $10…

Turns out Washington isn’t buying what Brussels is selling—at least not yet. While the EU is lobbying to lower the G7’s $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian crude to $50 (with Ukraine yelling from the back row for a $30 tag), U.S. officials remain politely unconvinced. A European official attending the G7 finance powwow in Banff, Canada, told Reuters that the U.S. Treasury team thinks market forces are already doing the heavy lifting. With Brent prices wobbling around $64—and Russia’s Urals blend clocking in at a $10…

Exploitation of the vast Vaca Muerta shale in Argentina’s central southwest has unlocked a gargantuan unconventional hydrocarbon boom for the crisis-riven South American country. Rising oil and natural gas production from the 7.7-million-acre shale play is responsible for Argentina’s burgeoning hydrocarbon output, which is proving to be a silver bullet for the crisis-prone economy. President Javier Milei’s economic shock therapy, coupled with soaring oil and natural gas production, has put Argentina on the path to recovery. Growing…

China’s decades-long reign as the world’s top oil demand driver is nearing its end, according to new research published by Moody’s Investors Service demonstrating that China’s crude demand is expected to peak within the next 3–5 years, while India will continue to hold the lead in global oil demand growth through at least 2030. Moody’s attributes China’s demand plateau to slowing economic growth, a shrinking population, a plateau in vehicle ownership, and a rapid shift toward EVs and energy diversification.…

China’s decades-long reign as the world’s top oil demand driver is nearing its end, according to new research published by Moody’s Investors Service demonstrating that China’s crude demand is expected to peak within the next 3–5 years, while India will continue to hold the lead in global oil demand growth through at least 2030. Moody’s attributes China’s demand plateau to slowing economic growth, a shrinking population, a plateau in vehicle ownership, and a rapid shift toward EVs and energy diversification.…

Western energy supermajors are faced with an increasingly difficult challenge: either keep their promise of returning ever-higher shareholder returns or risk spurning investors to save their balance sheets. Record cash has been allocated to shareholders, but with recent double-digit dips in oil prices not reversing, these payouts will be increasingly difficult to maintain. Rystad Energy estimates that the majors will likely need to reduce both investment and shareholder payouts to balance their cash flows in the current oil price environment. “Recent…

The text that passed the House on a 215-214, party-line vote early Thursday is even less favorable to clean energy interests than a previous draft that industry groups widely panned, UtilityDive reported. The bill terminates the 48E investment and 45Y production tax credits for non-nuclear clean energy projects placed in service after 2028, with no phaseout period. Projects must begin construction within 60 days of the bill’s enactment — likely later this year — to be eligible for the credits. The version the House…

Elon Musk has issued a stark warning to those behind violent attacks against Tesla, vowing criminal consequences for what he described as “evil” acts of politically motivated vandalism and threats. Speaking in a virtual interview at the Qatar economic forum on Tuesday, the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive said he had taken the recent wave of violence and backlash “personally”, and was unequivocal in his condemnation of those behind them. He said: “I’m not someone who has ever committed violence, yet massive…

The European Union spent more on Russian fossil fuels in 2024 than it provided to Ukraine in military and financial assistance, according to new data published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). First reported by Euromaidan Press on Thursday, the analysis shows that the EU paid approximately €7 billion more on Russia energy imports than it doled out to Ukraine last year. Despite an array of sanctions and public commitments to wean off Russian oil and gas, Brussels ended up spending an estimated €46 billion on Russian…

Realism is still far away in the European green hydrogen sector; the IEA reports significant constraints. It is high time to bring a more realistic approach to the forefront of our strategies.Realism still seems to be out of reach when the world hydrogen sector has been sailing into the Port of Rotterdam, all having coffee at the World Hydrogen Summit 2025. The last day's optimism has been vented by major green hydrogen producers, technology suppliers, and a wide range of governments, led by the Dutch government and its counterparts from Oman,…

"With great power competition rising, the ocean floor, Arctic, and lunar surface are becoming the front lines of global security and economic progress — but they remain energy deserts," says Tyler Bernstein, the Chief Executive Officer of a venture-backed nuclear battery startup called Zeno Power. Zeno Power just received $50 million in Series B funding to continue its work to develop nuclear batteries for extreme environments. “With this round of funding, we’re on track to demonstrate full-scale systems in 2026 and deliver the…

Nigeria’s government is urging the oil companies operating in the country to collaborate to increase oil output in the producer that hasn’t been able to pump to its OPEC quota for years. Nigeria’s crude oil production averaged 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter of the year, well below the 1.8 million bpd quota in OPEC, Ekperikpe Ekpo, Nigerian Minister of State for Gas, said at a local industry conference. “Production growth…hinges on optimising our existing resources and exploring new frontiers,”…