It was a completely unsurprising surprise announcement.  In a highly unusual statement issued on June 14, a Saturday, Kazakh authorities said they had selected Russia’s state-owned Rosatom to build Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant, binding the country further to its northern neighbor. “Finally, the spectacle is over,” Kazakh economist Aset Nauryzbaev, who opposed the project, said in a video after the announcement.  The real surprise came later the same day when Almassadam Satkaliyev, the chair of Kazakhstan’s…

Russia hiked its fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) exports to India and Turkey in May as buyers preferred to purchase more fuel oil amid falling prices, according to shipping and trade data reviewed by Reuters. Russia’s oil products have been banned in the EU and other Western countries since 2023, so Moscow redirected most of the shipments to Asia and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has emerged as the top buyer of Russia’s fuel oil as it is taking advantage of discounted prices to use the fuel for summer electricity generation. But Russian…

Russia hiked its fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) exports to India and Turkey in May as buyers preferred to purchase more fuel oil amid falling prices, according to shipping and trade data reviewed by Reuters. Russia’s oil products have been banned in the EU and other Western countries since 2023, so Moscow redirected most of the shipments to Asia and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has emerged as the top buyer of Russia’s fuel oil as it is taking advantage of discounted prices to use the fuel for summer electricity generation. But Russian…

Fuel producers just scored a green light from the nation’s highest court to go after California’s aggressive emissions standards. In a 7-2 decision Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that energy companies like Valero’s Diamond Alternative Energy do, in fact, have standing to challenge the EPA’s 2022 decision that allowed California to impose tougher emissions and electric vehicle mandates than the federal baseline. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said plainly: “The government generally may not…

Fuel producers just scored a green light from the nation’s highest court to go after California’s aggressive emissions standards. In a 7-2 decision Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that energy companies like Valero’s Diamond Alternative Energy do, in fact, have standing to challenge the EPA’s 2022 decision that allowed California to impose tougher emissions and electric vehicle mandates than the federal baseline. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said plainly: “The government generally may not…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell yet again this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, following a 4-rig decrease in each of the two weeks prior. The total rig count in the US fell by 1 to 554 rigs, according to Baker Hughes, down 34 from this same time last year. The number of oil rigs fell by 1 to 438 after falling by 3 during the previous week—and down by 47 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 2 this week, to 111 for a gain of 13 active…

Two swallows do not a summer make. Well, okay, Aristotle didn’t put it that way, but we are betting that a lot of utility investors are hoping so. Here’s what happened on the same day. Two news stories.  USA Network, the Gannet news service, reported that the N.Y. State legislature is not just looking at rising electricity rates, but they are legislating. Eight bills passed by the Senate and on their way to the Assembly, calling for the designation of an additional Public Service Commission member as consumer advocate (weren’t…

Iran Loads Every Available Barrel of Oil on Its Tankers  - Confronted with the prospect of the Trump Administration potentially attacking its infrastructure, Iran has been maximizing exports and sending as much produced crude as possible to its terminal in Kharg Island. - Iran’s main crude oil loading port, Kharg has a capacity to store approximately 28 million barrels of oil, and recent satellite imagery indicates most tanks are completely full, adding some 5 million barrels over the past week. - Since Israel attacked Iran on June 13,…

Geopolitical risk raced back into oil markets last week with Israel's strikes on Iran, and Donald Trump's uncertainty about how he will react is only going to create more volatility in oil prices.Friday, June 20th, 2025 The unpredictable nature of the Israel-Iran conflict has seen Brent bounce in a wide range of $70.56 to $79.04 per barrel this week, set for a slightly bearish closing around $77 per barrel after the Trump administration pushed out the timeline of its potential involvement in the Gulf. US Federal Reserve decisions, OPEC+ policy,…

Refiners in Asia have asked for additional oil supply under term contracts this summer as the conflict between Israel and Iran is hiking premiums for spot supply, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources in the oil trade industry. As hostilities escalate, spot premiums for oil supply from the Middle East jumped this week to the highest level in four months, to more than $3 per barrel. Meanwhile, the official selling prices (OSPs) that Middle Eastern exporters set for their term supply for loading the following month are currently lower than the…

Crude oil prices climbed sharply last week as the conflict between Israel and Iran worsened, raising fears that global oil supplies could be affected. The situation quickly became one of the most closely watched issues in the oil market, pushing prices to their highest levels since January. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude both rose nearly 7% over the week, as investors responded to the growing threat of disruptions in the Middle East. The jump in prices came after Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian military and nuclear targets.…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Russia is signaling a desire to re-enter the global energy conversation on new terms, with Russian sovereign wealth chief Kirill Dmitriev floating the idea of U.S.–Russia–Saudi cooperation to stabilize oil markets. This proposal is less about near-term supply dynamics and more about geopolitics—specifically, Putin’s attempt to reassert relevance amid declining influence in Syria, stagnation in Ukraine, and growing dependence on non-Western partners. By adopting language that echoes Donald…

European diesel prices rallied for a fifth straight session, driven by mounting anxiety that critical Middle East shipping lanes could be choked off. The conflict between Israel and Iran has raised alarm bells across the EU, which has become increasingly dependent on fuel shipments transiting the Strait of Hormuz since losing access to Russian supplies.  "Supply-security fears are driving the surge in European diesel prices," Eugene Lindell, head of refined products at energy consultancy FGE NexantECA, told Bloomberg. "Many importers are rushing…

Russia is preparing to sell off chunks of its most prized state-owned companies in a desperate bid to raise cash—reviving an old strategy with a history of smoke, mirrors, and self-dealing. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov confirmed Friday that firms in the energy, transport, and finance sectors are on the chopping block as Moscow scrambles to fund a ballooning war budget and entice private capital in a post-sanctions economy. Though no names were dropped, this is the same playbook that’s repeatedly floated Rosneft and other energy giants…

Russia is preparing to sell off chunks of its most prized state-owned companies in a desperate bid to raise cash—reviving an old strategy with a history of smoke, mirrors, and self-dealing. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov confirmed Friday that firms in the energy, transport, and finance sectors are on the chopping block as Moscow scrambles to fund a ballooning war budget and entice private capital in a post-sanctions economy. Though no names were dropped, this is the same playbook that’s repeatedly floated Rosneft and other energy giants…

Father and son, Albert and Gordon Huddleston, part of the Texas oil dynasty of H.L. Hunt, are expected to become even richer if a rumored $8-billion deal with Mitsubishi Corp goes through. Albert and Gordon Huddleston are descendants of Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, who founded and grew the family oil business in the 1930s and 1940s with hundreds of producing wells in East Texas. Reports emerged earlier this week that Mitsubishi Corp. is about to acquire the shale and pipeline assets of Aethon Energy Management, founded by Albert Huddleston, who is…

Father and son, Albert and Gordon Huddleston, part of the Texas oil dynasty of H.L. Hunt, are expected to become even richer if a rumored $8-billion deal with Mitsubishi Corp goes through. Albert and Gordon Huddleston are descendants of Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, who founded and grew the family oil business in the 1930s and 1940s with hundreds of producing wells in East Texas. Reports emerged earlier this week that Mitsubishi Corp. is about to acquire the shale and pipeline assets of Aethon Energy Management, founded by Albert Huddleston, who is…

China saw its shipments of rare earth magnets to foreign markets crash by 53% in May to the lowest level for any month since February 2020, according to data from the General Administration of Customs cited by Reuters. At the beginning of April, China announced it would curb its exports of dysprosium, gadolinium, scandium, terbium, samarium, yttrium, and lutetium. These so-called “heavy” and “medium” rare earth elements are mostly used in automotive applications, including rotors and motors and transmission…

China saw its shipments of rare earth magnets to foreign markets crash by 53% in May to the lowest level for any month since February 2020, according to data from the General Administration of Customs cited by Reuters. At the beginning of April, China announced it would curb its exports of dysprosium, gadolinium, scandium, terbium, samarium, yttrium, and lutetium. These so-called “heavy” and “medium” rare earth elements are mostly used in automotive applications, including rotors and motors and transmission…

Israel is in control. The U.S. is not, because it currently has no foreign policy to speak of. It is entirely reactionary, which means what happens next is impossible to predict. It will be based on mood, age, and ego, not foreign policy. This is an Israeli war, the end game of which is to ensure there can be no U.S.-Iran diplomacy. And back in Washington, this war is also a tool of self-destruction for the Republican party, divided now like never before and pulling Trump in two different directions–the war-mongering allies in the Senate…