International

On May 27, the European Union formally approved its 150 billion-euro ($170 billion) scheme to boost defense spending in the bloc. The so-called SAFE (Security Action For Europe) regulation was first proposed in March by the European Commission in response to calls from member states for financial and political support …

Italy’s industry needs an urgent plan from the government to help reduce the high energy costs, which are higher than in other European countries, the president of the Italian business lobby, Confindustria, said on Tuesday. “Our companies continue to incur energy costs that are more than 35% higher than the …

Iraq has filed a lawsuit against the United States over oil contracts between American companies and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, escalating a constitutional dispute that has long threatened to destabilize the country’s energy sector, Reuters reported. According to Iraqi media, the lawsuit was filed on Monday …

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have announced a new oil discovery in the so-called Partitioned Zone (PZ) between the two OPEC heavyweights which share equally output from the area. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait announced on Monday that Wafra Joint Operations had made a new oil discovery in the North Wafra Wara-Burgan …

Russian military vessels are escorting oil tankers traversing the Gulf of Finland, Finland’s defense minister told media this weekend, saying this was “a completely new development.” The news follows an attempt last week by the Estonian navy to stop a tanker carrying Russian oil, which prompted the appearance of a …

Despite oil trading low at $60, OPEC+ this week is expected to continue to further open the taps. This follows pressure from US President Donald Trump and group leader Saudi Arabia’s quest to penalise allies that breach the cartel’s quotas. In past months, Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other OPEC+ …

The European Commission is already preparing its 18th package of sanctions against Russia, which will disconnect about 20 banks from the SWIFT payment system and impose trade bans exceeding €2.5B in value. The EU also intends to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream gas pipeline projects for the first time. …

Iraq ranked fourth among the top oil exporters to China in April 2025, China’s General Administration of Customs revealed on Sunday. The Administration noted that Iraq exported approximately 4.59 million metric tons of crude oil to China last month—equivalent to about 29.32 million barrels. Russia topped the list of oil-exporting …

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven democracies agreed during a meeting in western Canada that Russia could face further sanctions if it resists a push toward a cease-fire in its war in Ukraine. The G7 finance chiefs condemned Russia’s “brutal war” in a communique on …

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, underlined the continued importance of natural gas in the global energy mix during a leadership dialogue at the World Gas Conference (WGC) in Beijing, Trend reports. Speaking at the event, Minister Al-Kaabi said that economic …