India’s state-run refiners have requested urgent guidance from the government in New Delhi following a social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump, reported by AP News, announcing a 25% tariff on Indian exports to the United States effective August 1, and warning of an additional penalty tied to India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. The announcement has unsettled procurement teams that had previously structured Russian crude purchases through intermediaries and non-dollar payments under the assumption they would remain outside…

A Serbian military special operations brigade has completed joint training with a Chinese brigade in China despite strong objections from the European Union and the United States. The joint training ran from July 19-28 and took place in Hebei Province in northern China as Serbia, a candidate country for EU accession, tries to balance its European integration while maintaining close ties with Beijing and Moscow. "The training provided a boost to military cooperation and enhanced the interoperability of combat teams in executing missions alongside…

U.S. GDP expanded at a 3% annualized rate in the second quarter, beating most forecasts and suggesting surprising economic resilience, according to fresh data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The news lifted oil prices modestly on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbing 1.43% to $70.20 per barrel and Brent crude rising 1.19% to $73.37. Gasoline also rose 1.10% to $2.243, but heating oil slipped 1.51% to $2.427. Natural gas plunged over 3% to $3.03/MMBtu, driven by milder weather forecasts and softening industrial demand in key…

Brazil’s crude oil exports to the U.S. are facing an uncertain future as Washington prepares to impose sweeping 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports starting August 1—up from the current 10%. While it remains unclear whether crude oil will be included in the list, analysts and industry groups are already warning of major disruptions. The U.S. is Brazil’s third-largest oil buyer, importing around 189,000 barrels per day (bpd) in Q1 2025, or 11% of Brazil’s total oil exports, according to data from ship-tracking firm Vortexa and…

U.S. GDP expanded at a 3% annualized rate in the second quarter, beating most forecasts and suggesting surprising economic resilience, according to fresh data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The news lifted oil prices modestly on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbing 1.43% to $70.20 per barrel and Brent crude rising 1.19% to $73.37. Gasoline also rose 1.10% to $2.243, but heating oil slipped 1.51% to $2.427. Natural gas plunged over 3% to $3.03/MMBtu, driven by milder weather forecasts and softening industrial demand in key…

A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula early Tuesday triggered tsunami alerts across the Pacific through Wednesday, leading to heightened monitoring of oil and gas infrastructure in the Russian Far East.  Russian authorities later on Wednesday lifted tsunami warnings along the Sakhalin coast, according to The Guardian, following updated seismic readings and water level normalization. While initial shoreline flooding was reported in Severo-Kurilsk and paramilitary units were deployed in readiness, there have…

A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula early Tuesday triggered tsunami alerts across the Pacific through Wednesday, leading to heightened monitoring of oil and gas infrastructure in the Russian Far East.  Russian authorities later on Wednesday lifted tsunami warnings along the Sakhalin coast, according to The Guardian, following updated seismic readings and water level normalization. While initial shoreline flooding was reported in Severo-Kurilsk and paramilitary units were deployed in readiness, there have…

Via Metal Miner Recent movements in aluminum prices show the metal holding strong despite global economic shifts and region-specific challenges in extraction and refining operations. On July 25, aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange climbed to a four-month high, ending the week at US$2,656.5 and US$2,657 per ton, an increase of $10.5 or 0.39%. According to reports, the uptick was primarily fueled by renewed optimism in Chinese demand and mounting pressure from global supply constraints. On the same day, the three-month…

Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 7.7 million barrels during the week ending July 25, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The build brings commercial stockpiles to 426.7 million barrels according to government data, which is still 6% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories grew by 1.539 million barrels. Crude prices were…

While many analysts said that the latest EU sanctions against Russia would be moot without U.S. support, one Indian refiner partly owned by Russia’s oil giant Rosneft has been hit hard by the EU measures against Russian oil customers.  India-based Nayara Energy, which owns the country’s third-largest refinery with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) and which is 49% owned by Rosneft, has troubles selling the fuels it has produced.  At least three tankers that have loaded fuel from Nayara Energy’s refinery have…

While many analysts said that the latest EU sanctions against Russia would be moot without U.S. support, one Indian refiner partly owned by Russia’s oil giant Rosneft has been hit hard by the EU measures against Russian oil customers.  India-based Nayara Energy, which owns the country’s third-largest refinery with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) and which is 49% owned by Rosneft, has troubles selling the fuels it has produced.  At least three tankers that have loaded fuel from Nayara Energy’s refinery have…

As part of the U.S.-EU trade deal agreed over the weekend, the EU committed to purchasing a mindblowing $750 billion worth of US energy products over three years ($250 per year) including LNG, oil, and nuclear fuel (again this is very big picture: neither side has detailed what was included in the energy deal - or whether it covered items such as energy services or parts for power grids and plants). There is just one problem: this number is laughably unrealistic because it would require the redirection of most US energy exports towards Europe and…

Microsoft has restored its services to Indian refiner Nayara Energy, which was hit by EU sanctions earlier this month due to Russia’s oil giant Rosneft owing a large stake in the Indian company.  Two weeks ago, the EU adopted the 18th sanctions package against Russia, targeting a hundred more ‘shadow fleet’ tankers, energy trade, and traders and banks enabling it.      In a first move against customers of Russian oil, the EU sanctioned Russian and international companies managing shadow…

Kazakhstan and Turkey discussed a potential increase of Kazakh oil exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline to Turkey during the visit of Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Ankara.  Tokayev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed increased cooperation in the energy sector, including higher Kazakh oil exports via the BTC pipeline, the office of the Kazakh president said.  Kazakhstan raised its oil exports via BTC by 12% to about 785,000 tons, or about 34,000 barrels per day (bpd), in…

Portugal’s Galp Energia has begun receiving offers for its massive Mopane oil discovery off Namibia’s coast, signaling that one of Africa’s most promising new hydrocarbon frontiers could be edging closer to commercial production. The company told investors earlier this month it’s in advanced talks with potential buyers and expects to announce a sale later this year. Galp controls an 80% stake in Mopane and, according to Bloomberg, is preparing for a development that could involve two floating production storage and offloading…

The U.S.-EU trade deal calls for the European Union buying $250 billion worth of American energy every year over the next three years. While additional U.S. energy supply would further help the bloc on its path to ditch Russian energy imports within a couple of years, the volumes needed to meet the goal in the trade deal are so high that they are unrealistic, according to analysts. U.S. LNG developers and exporters are riding the momentum with the end of the Biden-era moratorium on new project approvals and a Trump Administration ready to support…

The Permian Basin produces over 5 million barrels of oil daily. With that, the Permian also produces a lot of wastewater, which has started to turn into a problem. Some drillers are even suing others for ruining their reserves. Back in May, the Texas Railroad Commission sent out notices to companies applying for licenses for wastewater disposal wells in the basin, stating that there were ground pressure issues caused by wastewater disposal. The number of new ones was to be restricted. This is one problem that does not have a straightforward solution,…

Despite years of climate summits and net-zero targets, global coal consumption and production both hit record highs in 2024. According to the newly released 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy, global coal demand reached an all-time high of 165.1 exajoules (EJ), a powerful reminder of how deeply the world still relies on this carbon-intensive fuel. The Asia-Pacific Powerhouse At the heart of coal’s resilience is Asia. China alone accounted for a staggering 56% of global coal consumption last year, burning through 92.2 EJ. That’s…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose this week, adding 1.539 million barrels in the week ending July 25. This is a stark constrast to the expected 2.5 million barrel draw that analysts had expected. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up nearly 13 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) saw another rare drop this week, adding…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose this week, adding 1.539 million barrels in the week ending July 25. This is a stark constrast to the expected 2.5 million barrel draw that analysts had expected. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up nearly 13 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) saw another rare drop this week, adding…