Faced with a paralyzing gasoline shortage, President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela is using Covid-19 to keep everyone home. Iranian tankers are on their way as he considers longer-term solutions including a private market for imports and sales and a price increase at the pump to kill the black market. Under …
Read More »Aramco Is First Oil Major to Regain Pre-Price-War Share Price
Saudi Aramco is the first major global oil producer to see its stock recover to the level it traded at before the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Aramco climbed 3.1% in Riyadh on Tuesday, advancing for a record sixth day alongside an extended increase in the price of …
Read More »Oil Nations End Price War with Biggest-Ever Output Cut Amid Pandemic
OPEC, Russia and other oil producing nations agreed on Sunday to cut output by a record amount, representing about 10 percent of global supply, to support oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic. The group, known as OPEC+, agreed to reduce output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for May-June, …
Read More »Russia’s Yamal LNG Sends Early Shipment via Arctic Route
Russia’s biggest liquefied natural gas producer is sending the fuel across the Arctic to China more than a month earlier than usual as the ice that typically blocks the route thaws. The Christophe de Margerie, an ice-class vessel serving Novatek PJSC’s-led Yamal LNG project, departed from the production plant in …
Read More »Venezuela Is Close to Lose Its Most-Prized Oil Asset Citgo
The U.S. Supreme Court justices declined on Monday to review a federal court’s ruling that had allowed Canadian miner Crystallex to take over shares of U.S. refiner Citgo in compensation for US$1.4 billion for the expropriation of assets in Venezuela. U.S. refiner Citgo is the crown jewel in the holdings …
Read More »U.S. Shale’s Quick Response to Falling Oil Prices Is Paying Off
In brokering the end to the global oil-price war last month, the Trump administration assured leaders that America’s shale patch would throttle back production. But few expected that the cuts would run this deep — and happen so quickly. Drillers are laying down rigs and shutting in wells at a …
Read More »Russian Nord Stream Pipeline Vessel Docked at Construction Site
Satellite photos show the ship that is a prime candidate to finish the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline linking Russia and Europe has docked at a key port in Germany. The Akademik Cherskiy has moved into the port of Mukran, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Berlin, where …
Read More »Saudis Send Less Oil to Asia
Saudi Arabia stood by its pledge to curtail oil output under the OPEC+ deal, reducing shipments to the prized Asian market. Saudi Aramco cut contractual volumes for June loading to at least seven Asian customers, according to traders notified by the state-owned company. Three other regional buyers received what they …
Read More »IEA Head Sees Oil Use below Pre-Virus Levels for at Least a Year
It will take more than a year, and perhaps several, for oil demand to recover to what it was before the coronavirus shuttered economies and caused energy markets to collapse, according to the head of the International Energy Agency. Crude demand of about 100 million barrels a day prior to …
Read More »Word’s Biggest LNG Exporter Positioned to Risk a Harsh Battle that could Mimic Oil’s Plunge
Hemmed in by weak demand and scarce storage, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas may soon face a stark choice: curb output or ignite a battle for market share that has the potential — just as in the oil market — to turn gas prices negative. Qatar began …
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