The U.S. Treasury Department has unleashed a sweeping wave of sanctions targeting a sprawling network of companies and individuals accused of facilitating Iranian oil and petrochemical exports in violation of existing sanctions. The action, announced Friday, strikes at the financial and logistical infrastructure underpinning Iran’s shadow energy trade—particularly its crude exports to Asia. At the center of the designations is Nasser Zarrin Ghalam and Partners Company, based in Tehran, which U.S. authorities say orchestrates illicit…

The U.S. Treasury Department has unleashed a sweeping wave of sanctions targeting a sprawling network of companies and individuals accused of facilitating Iranian oil and petrochemical exports in violation of existing sanctions. The action, announced Friday, strikes at the financial and logistical infrastructure underpinning Iran’s shadow energy trade—particularly its crude exports to Asia. At the center of the designations is Nasser Zarrin Ghalam and Partners Company, based in Tehran, which U.S. authorities say orchestrates illicit…

ICE Brent is poised to close the week above $66 as trade optimism lifts sentiment, while stubborn geopolitical tensions and shifting wildfire risks keep supply concerns alive. June 6th, 2025 ICE Brent futures are set to close this week above $66 per barrel, a more than 3% weekly gain after markets were buoyed by the prospect of US-China trade talks all the while derailed US-Iran and Russia-Ukraine negotiations have kept geopolitical risk premia intact. Supply risks from Canada’s wildfires seem to be subsiding after Alberta saw some rain earlier…

The fuel economy standards issued under former President Biden exceeded legal authority, the U.S. Department of Transportation said on Friday. Under the so-called Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program (CAFE), the Biden Administration included electric vehicles (EVs) in calculating fuel economy regulations. Now the Trump Administration published a ‘Resetting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program’ rule, in which it declared that the Biden-era rule and rule-making exceeded legal authority. Last month, Transportation Secretary Sean…

Wary of the ‘Hockey Stick’, Oil Traders Hedge Their 2025 Exposure - Open interest in WTI calendar spread options - contracts that see market participants bid on the future value of crude oil futures across different delivery months – has reached an all-time high as traders expect this year’s assumed oversupply to only materialize in 2026. - The prompt spread between July and August was trading around $0.90 per barrel for most of this week, whilst the difference between December 2025 and December 2026 was a mere $0.50 per…

HSBC’s forecast that Brent Crude prices would remain around $65 per barrel later this year could be too optimistic as OPEC+ continues to raise production, which will result in a bigger-than-expected surplus after the summer ends. “Our new scenario assumes regular hikes from October to December and leaves the 2.2mbd of voluntary cuts fully unwound by the end of 2025,” the bank said in a note on Friday carried by Reuters. OPEC+ producers have just said they would boost July production by another 411,000 barrels per day (bpd), citing…

Venezuela hasn’t waited long to replace Western service providers in its oil industry after the U.S. sanctions, and has signed at least nine agreements with foreign firms, including from China, sources with knowledge of the deals told Bloomberg. Under the U.S. sanctions, Western oil producers were given time until May to wrap up their operations in Venezuela, home to the world’s biggest crude oil reserves. U.S. licenses for the biggest oilfield service providers – Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, and Weatherford International…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict On June 1, Ukraine executed Operation Spiderweb, a meticulously planned drone offensive targeting five Russian airbases, including facilities in Siberia. The operation reportedly damaged or destroyed approximately 34% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet, including nuclear-capable aircraft, marking a significant escalation in Ukraine's military capabilities. In retaliation, Russia launched a massive missile and drone assault across Ukraine on June 6, with Kyiv experiencing one of the deadliest attacks since April.…

Turkey is back in the spotlight this week, and Erdogan is at it again. This time, he’s gotten rid of five more opponents as he rather brazenly and publicly picks off his rivals one by one (or in this case, five by five). On Thursday, Erdogan fired five district mayors from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), allegedly for corruption. That move is intended to shore up his previous move in March to arrest Istanbul’s Mayor, Ekrem ?mamo?lu, his most dangerous political rival, on alleged financial crimes charges. That single…

On the surface, this is not a good time to be investing in alternative energy in the US. The current White House administration is not just pro-fossil fuel but often seems to be actively opposed to alternative and “green” energy.  However, as the recent support for nuclear power, or at least the small modular reactor version of it, shows, that really isn’t the case. Donald Trump may have a curious hatred of wind turbines but other than that, this administration does understand that the energy demands of a modern industrialized…

Light crude oil futures rallied this week, closing Thursday at $63.37 per barrel—up approximately 4.2%—as the market digested a cocktail of bullish catalysts. Traders responded to unplanned supply disruptions in Canada, measured output policies from OPEC+, and escalating geopolitical tensions, while contending with uncertain demand signals and trade-related optimism. OPEC+ Holds Course as Saudi Arabia Defends Market Share OPEC+ stuck to its plan of a 411,000 barrel per day increase for July, reassuring traders who feared a steeper hike…

Spain did not import any crude oil from Venezuela in April, ahead of a U.S. deadline in May for foreign operators to wind down operations in the South American country, official Spanish data showed on Friday. Earlier this year, Spain’s imports of crude oil from Venezuela jumped by nearly 60% in January and February compared to the same period of 2024. Spain’s energy major Repsol was one of several foreign companies, which also included U.S. Chevron and Italy’s Eni, allowed by the Biden Administration to operate in Venezuela and…

Spain did not import any crude oil from Venezuela in April, ahead of a U.S. deadline in May for foreign operators to wind down operations in the South American country, official Spanish data showed on Friday. Earlier this year, Spain’s imports of crude oil from Venezuela jumped by nearly 60% in January and February compared to the same period of 2024. Spain’s energy major Repsol was one of several foreign companies, which also included U.S. Chevron and Italy’s Eni, allowed by the Biden Administration to operate in Venezuela and…

The Dangote oil refinery in Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude processing facility, has been buying increasing volumes of U.S. crude WTI despite the fact that Nigeria is the biggest crude oil producer in Africa. But Africa’s top OPEC member has been struggling to materially boost domestic crude output, so the 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery has been sourcing more WTI crude as the facility is ramping up to capacity. So far this year, U.S. crude has accounted for a third of the purchases of the Dangote refinery, according to vessel-tracking…

Slowing fuel demand in China and weaker growth elsewhere have prompted the biggest private refiners in India to raise their fuel sales at home as margins abroad are falling. Reliance Industries of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, as well as Nayara Energy, whose largest shareholder is Russia’s oil giant Rosneft, are increasing their fuel sales in India, Reuters reports. India’s fuel demand growth remains solid and will rise at a steady clip in the coming years. India’s growing demand contrasts with trends in China in recent months. Chinese…

The UK’s upcoming industrial strategy should include action to slash energy costs which are among the highest in the world and hinder growth, the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee warned in a report on Friday, as business leaders are also calling for a decisive action to cut industrial energy costs. The UK government is set to unveil an industrial strategy next week—Britain’s first such strategy this decade—to spur growth in an ever-changing geopolitical and trade landscape. The Industrial Strategy “must…

The Permian basin has been the chief growth driver for U.S. shale oil production. The most prolific shale basin in North America has been the focus of attention for industry players and traders alike. But there might be a problem with the Permian. U.S. oil growth may be a bit too dependent on it. For proof, look no further than the Energy Information Administration’s drilling productivity report, which is now part of its Short-Term Energy Outlook. Month after month, the EIA reveals that of all major oil basins in the country, the Permian…

Nuclear energy stocks have been on a tear again after U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders that will facilitate the expansion of nuclear energy production, including expediting the regulatory approvals for new nuclear reactors. The Trump administration intends to reform the nuclear energy sector by overhauling the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), allowing the DoE to build nuclear reactors on federally-owned land, enhancing research at the U.S. Department of Energy and expanding domestic uranium mining and enrichment. And, Big…

The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska could see more oil and gas exploration if the Trump administration is successful in reversing Biden-era limits on drilling for hydrocarbons in an area that is also the country’s largest tract of undisturbed land. Reuters said the move is consistent with Trump’s goal to slash regulations on oil and gas development and increase domestic fuels production as part of his energy agenda. Last year the administration of Joe Biden prohibited oil and gas leasing on 10.6 million acres of the National Petroleum…

Having arrived in Central Asia to make deals, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did a lot of name-checking during a policy address at the Astana International Forum. First, she went for the low-hanging fruit, giving a shout-out to Marco Polo, pointing to the legendary 13th century Venetian merchant-explorer to support her assertion that it is in “the DNA of the Italian people” to seek new trade possibilities. She then dusted off a name that had fallen out of favor for decades — Halford Mackinder, the early 20th century British…