Energy

The Kuwaiti cabinet cancelled plans to construct the Al-Dabdaba solar plant, which would have provided 15 percent of the oil sector’s needs of electrical energy, due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The cabinet decided to cancel the decisions on the project due to the spread of coronavirus and its impacts on …

Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) said on Saturday it would maintain a blockade on oil production and exports that the National Oil Corp (NOC) says has cost the country $6.5 billion in lost revenue. Friday’s loading of a first tanker since January with oil from storage had led NOC …

OPEC member Algeria, facing financial pressure after a fall in energy revenue, will launch a new economic plan to reduce reliance on oil and gas and give the private sector a greater role, the government said on Tuesday. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was elected in December, has repeatedly vowed to …

The powerful Hezbollah group said on Tuesday it is in talks with the Lebanese government about the possibility of Iran supplying the country with refined oil products in exchange for Lebanese pounds. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, said a “calm discussion” was underway with the Beirut government …

Iran will retaliate against any country that carries out cyber attacks on its nuclear sites, the head of civilian defence said, after a fire at its Natanz plant which some Iranian officials said may have been caused by cyber sabotage. The underground Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) is one of …

Every day, energy merchants collect and scrutinize whatever information they can find on fuel demand to get a trading edge: from satellite data tracking oil tankers worldwide to thermal images from cameras on pipelines and storage tanks. Real-time data on fuel demand would be the ultimate prize. On-the-spot gasoline consumption …

The civil war in Libya is currently on hold as Russia and Turkey are expected to reach a deal over the control of the strategically important city of Sirte. If no compromise is made, the conflict will likely escalate again, and other foreign powers are expected to directly involve in …

An “incident” has occurred at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility but no damage was caused and the site is operating as usual, the national Atomic Energy Organisation said on Thursday. The Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP), covering 100,000 square meters and built eight meters underground, is one of several Iranian facilities …

Iran plans to export oil from a port on its Gulf of Oman coast by March, the president said on Thursday, a shift that would avoid using the Strait of Hormuz shipping route that has been a focus of regional tension for decades. Tensions have spiked between Tehran and Washington …

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday accused France, Germany and Britain of serving Iran’s arch-foes the United States and Israel by drafting a nuclear resolution against Tehran. “Behind (the) facade, E3 are accessories to (U.S. President Donald) Trump & (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu—& in no position to …

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Thursday that “an agreeable solution is possible” for the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s request for access to two nuclear sites in the country. France, Britain and Germany, all parties to Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers, have submitted a draft resolution to the …

Iran could send two to three cargoes a month in regular gasoline sales to ally Venezuela, sources say, helping offload domestic oversupply but risking retaliation from U.S. President Donald Trump who has sanctions on both nations. Iran has since April sent five tankers totalling about 1.5 million barrels to the …

Iraq affirmed its commitment to the OPEC+ oil production cut deal but asked the group to take into consideration the members’ economic situation in sharing the burden of future cuts, Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi said on Sunday. “We are seeking to set new rules in future over sharing burden …

Seizing on Donald Trump’s conciliatory tone after Tehran released an American Navy veteran, Iran’s foreign minister challenged the U.S. president on Friday to return to the nuclear deal that Washington abandoned two years ago. Iran freed Michael White on Thursday as part of a deal in which the United States …

Turkey may begin oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean within three or four months under a deal it signed with Libya that was condemned by others in the region including Greece, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Friday. Libya’s internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) signed the maritime delimitation deal …

France, Germany and Britain on Saturday criticised a U.S. decision to end sanctions waivers allowing work on Iranian nuclear sites designed to prevent weapons development. “We deeply regret the U.S. decision to end the three waivers,” the three European countries said in a joint statement. “These projects, endorsed by U.N. …

The United States’ decision to end sanctions waivers that had allowed some work to proceed at Iranian nuclear sites will only provoke Tehran into developing nuclear weapons, Interfax cited Russian Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov as saying on Thursday. “The U.S. is pushing them and in the end they are provoking Iran …

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak is due meet oil majors to discuss the implementation of global oil production curbs and the possible extension of the current level of cuts beyond June, sources familiar with the plans told Reuters. The meeting on Tuesday is a further sign that Moscow is committed …

President Vladimir Putin discussed Russia’s cooperation with Iraq over an OPEC+ deal to reduce oil supply in a telephone conversation with Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the Kremlin said on Monday. The two men noted the importance of continuing their countries’ joint efforts in the oil markets, the Kremlin said. …

Iraq and Saudi Arabia agreed on Saturday to continue working to re-balance markets and stressed their commitment to output cuts agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies, Saudi state news agency SPA said. The comments came after Iraq’s Finance Minister Ali Allawi, who is …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned on Saturday of retaliatory measures against the United States if Washington caused problems for tankers carrying Iranian fuel to Venezuela, the semi-official news agency Mehr reported. “If our tankers in the Caribbean or anywhere in the world face trouble caused by the Americans, they (the …

Venezuela’s military will escort Iranian tankers bringing fuel to the gasoline-starved country as soon as they enter its exclusive economic zone, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Wednesday. His comments came after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said the shipment should “alarm” Latin America. Both OPEC members are U.S. adversaries …

The United States is considering measures it could take in response to Iran’s shipment of fuel to crisis-stricken Venezuela, a senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration told Reuters on Thursday. The United States has a “high degree of certainty” that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is paying Iran tons …

Saudi Aramco is looking to restructure its deal to acquire a controlling stake in petrochemicals maker SABIC after a more than 40% drop in SABIC’s value following a slump in oil prices in coronavirus pandemic, two sources told Reuters. Aramco last year agreed to buy a 70% stake in Saudi …

The U.S. Departments of State and Energy should commit to regular briefings to relevant committees in Congress on talks about nuclear power cooperation with Saudi Arabia, a congressional watchdog said in a report on Monday. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said Congress should consider amending the 1954 Atomic Energy …

Oil and gas exporter Algeria plans to develop other natural resources including uranium, gold and phosphate with the help of foreign investors after the end of the health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Friday. The North African country’s economy still relies heavily on energy …

Saudi Arabia is exploring re-routing millions of barrels of oil onboard tankers sailing to the United States if President Donald Trump decides to block imports of crude from the kingdom, shipping and trade sources say. Some 40 million barrels of Saudi oil are on their way to the United States …

President Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration was considering the possibility of stopping incoming Saudi Arabian crude oil shipments as a measure to support the battered domestic drilling industry. “Well, I’ll look at it,” Trump told reporters at a daily news conference after he was asked about requests …

The number of people facing acute food insecurity could nearly double this year to 265 million due to the economic fallout of COVID-19, the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. The coronavirus crisis will push more than a quarter of a billion people to the brink of …

Behind a Saudi-Russian truce to stabilise oil markets with a record output cut, market players are seeing the two production heavyweights still trading blows in the physical market. The rivals said last week they were ready to take measures if necessary to balance the market by cutting combined output with …

Saudi Aramco has offered oil refineries in Asia and Europe the option to defer payments for crude cargo deliveries by up to 90 days as plants struggle with shrinking demand, four refining industry sources said. The credit terms, which Saudi Arabia’s national oil company has offered through unidentified Saudi banks, …

Saudi Arabia and other oil producers in the OPEC+ group pushed back on Friday on a Mexican plan to cut less than requested under plans for global supply curbs, two sources from the OPEC+ group said on Friday. One source said the dispute, which held up efforts to finalise the …

President Donald Trump said on Monday that OPEC had not pressed him to ask U.S. oil producers to reduce their output to support global prices, which have been hard-hit by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump said U.S. oil production had already fallen, anyway. “I think it’s happening …

Energy ministers from the Group of 20 major economies will convene an extraordinary meeting by video conference on Friday “to ensure energy market stability”, according to an internal document seen by Reuters. The call was organised by G20 host Saudi Arabia, which is locked in an oil price war with …

Deep output cuts by OPEC and other oil producing nations will not prevent a huge build up of crude, the head of the IEA said on Friday, urging the world’s richest economies to discuss broader ways to stabilise oil markets. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told …

President Vladimir Putin will meet the heads of Russia’s top oil companies for talks on Friday, the Kremlin said, describing the atmosphere on the global market as “unfavourable”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that the meeting would be held in the same format as one …

The world is about to run out of oil storage and U.S. shale producers are selling crude for almost nothing but they are still refusing to shut production, hoping to survive the storm, one of the world’s biggest oil traders said. The continuing production shows the challenges that Russia and …

The OPEC+ crude oil exporter group is debating cutting global supply by 10 million barrels per day (bpd), an OPEC source said on Friday, adding that any further cuts must include producers from outside the alliance. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had brokered a deal that could …

Recent negotiations involving leaders from major oil-producing nations and the United States will prove irrelevant for oil prices, which are low because of depressed demand, the chief executive of Brazil’s Petrobras said on Thursday evening. During an online event hosted by Brazilian brokerage XP, Petrobras CEO Roberto Castello Branco said …

The United States does not know formal details of Saudi Arabian and Russian plans to reduce oil supply yet and will not ask U.S. domestic oil producers to chip in with their own cuts, a senior administration official told Reuters on Thursday. President Donald Trump said in a tweet earlier …

U.S. President Donald Trump said he has invited U.S. oil executives to the White House to discuss ways to help the industry “ravaged” by slumping energy demand during the coronavirus outbreak and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Trump also said he had talked recently with the leaders …

The Trump administration plans to lease out space for energy companies to store oil in the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, after a previous effort to buy millions of barrels for the emergency stockpile was canceled over a lack of funding, according to two people briefed on the matter. The new …

Top U.S. officials have for now put aside a proposal for an alliance with Saudi Arabia to manage the global oil market, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter, an idea one of them said came from White House national security advisers. That the concept was even considered …

Iran said on Tuesday its natural gas exports to Turkey have stopped after an attack on a pipeline inside the neighbouring country, an Iranian official told state TV. “This morning, terrorists attacked a natural gas pipeline inside Turkey near Iran’s Bazargan border with Turkey …Flow of gas has been halted,” …