International

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 …

While the federal government of Iraq welcomes cooperation with U.S. energy firms, Baghdad noted on Friday that direct deals with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region violate the Iraqi constitution and need to go through the federal authorities with federal approval. Earlier this week, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq …

The U.S. Administration wants the EU to make unilateral cuts to its tariffs on American goods and abolish a proposed digital tax for trade negotiations to advance, sources briefed on the U.S. trade negotiators’ latest stance have told the Financial Times. The U.S. hit the EU with a 20% ‘reciprocal’ …

Ukraine is urging the G7 to slash the price cap on Russian oil to $30 per barrel, down from the current $60, in a bid to tighten the financial screws on the Kremlin as its war drags into a third year. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha made the case in Brussels …

Kazakhstan’s oil production rose 2% in May, defying yet another OPEC+ quota and testing the limits of Saudi Arabia’s patience with overproducers. According to an industry source cited by Reuters, the country pumped an average of 1.86 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in the first 19 days of …