OPEC will bring in an independent consultant to evaluate the production capacity of its member states, Kuwait’s Oil Minister Saad Al Barrak said Wednesday, in what marks a rare external audit of the group’s internal metrics as quota negotiations intensify ahead of 2026. Speaking to reporters in Kuwait City, Al Barrak said the consultant would provide a “technical, neutral assessment” of each producer’s sustainable output, a process designed to ensure future production baselines reflect real capacity rather than self-reported…

OPEC will bring in an independent consultant to evaluate the production capacity of its member states, Kuwait’s Oil Minister Saad Al Barrak said Wednesday, in what marks a rare external audit of the group’s internal metrics as quota negotiations intensify ahead of 2026. Speaking to reporters in Kuwait City, Al Barrak said the consultant would provide a “technical, neutral assessment” of each producer’s sustainable output, a process designed to ensure future production baselines reflect real capacity rather than self-reported…

Russia is grappling with fuel shortages and price hikes after a string of Ukrainian attacks on its oil refineries. To protect supplies in Russia, where long lines at gas stations have been reported in some regions, Moscow has banned or restricted the export of gasoline and diesel. The move has triggered fuel shortages and price rises in some of the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, which are heavily reliant on Russian energy. Tajikistan Among Hardest Hit Tajikistan, which imports almost all its fuel -- mostly from Russia -- has been among…

Cenovus Energy Inc. said on Wednesday it had built up a 9.8% stake in MEG Energy over the past week, days before MEG shareholders are expected to vote on a Cenovus takeover offer that could put an end to a two-month-long bidding war.    Cenovus Energy on Wednesday revealed it had bought an additional 3,276,460 common shares of MEG Energy through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange or other Canadian alternative exchanges or markets.  Following the latest acquisition, Cenovus beneficially owned, directly or indirectly,…

Cenovus Energy Inc. said on Wednesday it had built up a 9.8% stake in MEG Energy over the past week, days before MEG shareholders are expected to vote on a Cenovus takeover offer that could put an end to a two-month-long bidding war.    Cenovus Energy on Wednesday revealed it had bought an additional 3,276,460 common shares of MEG Energy through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange or other Canadian alternative exchanges or markets.  Following the latest acquisition, Cenovus beneficially owned, directly or indirectly,…

When war in Afghanistan ended in 2021, the Central Asian republics could now focus on investments in human development and physical infrastructure without the prospect of violence spilling over the border from Afghanistan. One of the republics, Uzbekistan, pursued what Yunis Sharifli has called a “multi-vector transport strategy” coupled with a “good neighbor” foreign policy. The region has seen many proposed regional transport links, such as the Kabul and Kandahar corridors through Afghanistan to Pakistan, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan…

Hungary won’t accept any outside pressure on its energy supply policy and will continue to rely on Russia for oil and gas imports, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday, while attending an energy forum in Moscow.    “We have never been let down (by Russia). The deliveries have always arrived... Contracts were always respected. And my question is only why we should cut this relationship,” Szijjarto said, as carried by Reuters. Hungary has continuously clashed with its fellow EU member states…

Hungary won’t accept any outside pressure on its energy supply policy and will continue to rely on Russia for oil and gas imports, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday, while attending an energy forum in Moscow.    “We have never been let down (by Russia). The deliveries have always arrived... Contracts were always respected. And my question is only why we should cut this relationship,” Szijjarto said, as carried by Reuters. Hungary has continuously clashed with its fellow EU member states…

Hungary won’t accept any outside pressure on its energy supply policy and will continue to rely on Russia for oil and gas imports, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday, while attending an energy forum in Moscow.    “We have never been let down (by Russia). The deliveries have always arrived... Contracts were always respected. And my question is only why we should cut this relationship,” Szijjarto said, as carried by Reuters. Hungary has continuously clashed with its fellow EU member states…

In a move with major implications for the global automotive industry, the U.S. federal government has implemented a 15% import tariff on auto imports from the European Union. According to a federal register notice from September 24, the move affects cars as well as auto parts. That notice went on to indicate that the duties are also retroactive to August 1. The Move Follows a Protracted Negotiation The new tariff follows an August 21 announcement by the United States and the EU regarding a “Framework for an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and…

The Norwegian government on Wednesday proposed to raise the spending from the country’s oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, in next year’s budget, according to the draft budget of the Labor party, which won a second term in office at the general elections last month.  The Labor government of Jonas Gahr Støre will need support from its junior partners in the coalition to pass the bill in Parliament.  The 2026 budget proposes to use $57.4 billion (579 billion Norwegian crowns) from the Government…

The world needs more investment in oil and gas as they will continue to account for a large part of the global energy mix in 2050, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Wednesday, reiterating the cartel’s view that investment in new supply will be needed in the foreseeable future.  Primary energy demand will jump by 23% by 2050, Al Ghais said in remarks to the Russian Energy Week conference in Moscow, as carried by Reuters. And oil will still represent 30% of total global energy consumption in 2050, OPEC’s Secretary General…

Despite the $10 per barrel decline in oil prices, TotalEnergies expects its earnings and cash flow to have increased in the third quarter from a year earlier, on the back of higher oil and gas production and an annual surge in refining margins.   TotalEnergies expects its oil and gas production for the third quarter 2025 at 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), up by 4% year-on-year, the French supermajor said in a trading update on Wednesday, ahead of the full Q3 results to be published on October 30.  The output…

Despite the $10 per barrel decline in oil prices, TotalEnergies expects its earnings and cash flow to have increased in the third quarter from a year earlier, on the back of higher oil and gas production and an annual surge in refining margins.   TotalEnergies expects its oil and gas production for the third quarter 2025 at 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), up by 4% year-on-year, the French supermajor said in a trading update on Wednesday, ahead of the full Q3 results to be published on October 30.  The output…

Despite ongoing international sanctions and the recent bombing campaign against it by Israel and the U.S., Iran is continuing its push the record levels of oil production it reached in 2024. According to official data and industry sources, last year saw the Islamic Republic produce around 4.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, plus a further 725,000 bpd of other liquids, which marked a post-1979 Iranian Revolutionary record. Understandably, production slumped slightly in the aftermath of the heightened military activity between Tehran,…

Over the past couple of years, the global offshore wind sector has been facing growing pains, with supply chain constraints, policy volatility, and economic headwinds threatening a power segment that has been slated to become the most dominant wind energy source in many regions. These challenges are increasingly forcing companies in the space to abandon projects and undergo strategic restructuring as the momentum for offshore wind and other nascent clean energy industries, such as hydrogen, wanes. To wit, last year, Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) announced…

The UK and Norway, two neighboring jurisdictions in the North Sea, have chosen starkly different paths to handle their oil and gas resources. The net-zero-obsessed UK is driving investors away with regulatory and tax uncertainty, while Norway – also aiming for net zero – backs further exploration and cashes in on the massive royalties. The result of the different approaches to the North Sea’s oil and gas has become glaringly evident this decade. The UK imports growing volumes of oil and gas as its mature fields are depleting and…

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is placing unprecedented strain on global energy sources and grid infrastructure. In response to runaway projected growth trends, public and private investors are fast-tracking new data center projects at a massive scale. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global investment in data centers reached half a trillion dollars in 2024, representing a nearly two-fold increase over the course of two years. But this rate data center addition has produced a new problem, as their construction is currently…

Sales of electric vehicles in the United States hit an all-time high in the third quarter. Normally a welcome piece of news for EV makers, the record was prompted by the end of tax incentives for EV buyers, which expired at the end of September. From now on, it’s likely to be bad news for car companies with EV plans. Kelley Blue Book reported sales of electric cars in the quarter to September shot up by 40.7% on the previous quarter and by 29.6% on the year. This trend pushed the average car price for the third quarter of the year to over…

The record gold rally of the past few months “may have peaked in trendiness”, a top investment bank has predicted despite the precious metal hitting fresh highs on Monday fuelled by Donald Trump’s threat last week to upend trade with China. Deutsche Bank said that while it was not predicting “an impending correction”, the length and intensity of the yellow metal’s upturn has made a “period of more neutral behaviour” more likely. “The gold rally of September-October may have peaked in trendiness,”…