International

Japanese automakers are looking for ways to catch up with European and U.S. competitors in China, which has grown to become the world’s largest car market. Around 2 million vehicles were sold in China in 2000, before the country joined the World Trade Organization. Sales have since grown over tenfold …

China will loosen blanket restrictions on energy consumption in order to ensure environmental and climate targets do not erode future economic growth, according to a policy document issued after an agenda-setting meeting of the country’s top leaders. The country will also move towards capping carbon dioxide emissions from overall energy …

Higher Saudi prices for January, lower overall demand for crude amid the Omicron uncertainty, the Chinese crackdown on illicit practices at its independent refiners, and refinery maintenance season starting in late Q1 2022 have resulted in Asian refiners abstaining from extra Saudi crude supply for loading in January. Refiners in …

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait confirmed that they are working to increase production from the Khafji and Wafra joint operations, Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a joint statement. The two parties agreed to implement the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the neutral zone and the adjacent submerged zone, the statement added …

The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it will sell 18 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) on Dec. 17, as part of a previous plan to try to reduce gasoline prices. The Biden administration announced last month it would release about 50 million …

Saudi Arabia will supply full contracted oil volumes to most of its buyers in Asia, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the Kingdom’s moves. This will be the fourth month in a row during which Saudi Arabia has supplied full volumes, which suggests that crude oil supply is …

Attempts to cut investment in oil and gas to combat climate change are “misguided,” Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo told an energy conference on Wednesday, December 8, arguing that producers have a critical role to play during the transition to cleaner fuels. Speaking at …

The first major contracts for Saudi Arabia’s Jafurah field – supposedly, the biggest shale gas field outside the U.S. – were awarded last week, as the Kingdom aims to become the third largest natural gas producer in the world by 2030, to the point where it could even become a …

In the showdown over Russia’s implicit threat to invade Ukraine, the United States and European allies are eyeing what they see is a major vulnerability for Moscow — the just-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline to carry natural gas to Europe. US officials made clear Tuesday after President Joe Biden’s two-hour …

Iraq expects the price of oil to rebound and rise above $75/b in the coming months because current prices are “inappropriate” for producers, the country’s oil minister said Dec. 6, as OPEC+ sticks to its plan to boost output by 400,000 b/d in January. “I think the current oil price …