As we have reported over the last year, EU authorities have been doing everything in their power to stifle EV production based in China, fearing that the lower cost models coming from the east are warping the European market and putting domestic producers at a disadvantage. Now as part of …
Read More »Shell Turns Germany’s Top Refinery Green
Shell is gearing up to transform its largest German oil refinery, Rheinland, turning the crude-centric Wesseling site into a base-oil powerhouse. The overhaul, set to kick off next quarter, signals a major shift as Shell pivots from conventional oil refining toward high-grade lubricants. Goodbye crude processing at Wesseling—by 2025, that …
Read More »Soaring Chinese Crude Futures Attract High Middle East Volumes
Soaring crude futures prices on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) have opened the arbitrage for traders to deliver in November what could be this year’s highest volumes of crude from the Middle East to the Chinese exchange, trade sources have told Reuters. The prices of the November futures contract …
Read More »Saudi Aramco Keeps Huge Dividend despite Lower Profit
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company by production and market value, reported on Tuesday a 15.4% annual decline in third-quarter earnings, due to lower oil prices and weaker refining margins, but maintained its $31.1 billion quarterly dividend, most of which goes to the Kingdom. Aramco, which is also the …
Read More »Belgium is Building World’s First Artificial Energy Island in the North Sea
The North Sea is famous as one of Europe’s top crude production sites, with the UK and Norway accounting for about 80% of the region’s output. Unfortunately, the North Sea has already entered a phase of terminal decline. Last year, the oil basin produced 34 m tonnes of oil, its …
Read More »Oil Prices Spike after OPEC+ Delays Production Cut Decision
Crude oil prices started the week with a gain of over $1 per barrel following reports that OPEC+ had decided to postpone a planned partial rollback of its production cuts. The group was supposed to bring back some 180,000 barrels daily in supply from December but it had conditioned that …
Read More »Europe’s Gas Crisis isn’t over despite Full Storage
A year ago, European politicians declared the gas crisis from the near-complete halt of Russian supplies was over. The EU had turned to alternative natural gas suppliers, assuring there would be enough to prevent shortages and steep prices. These assurances now appear premature. Last week, European benchmark gas prices hit …
Read More »Oil Traders Uncertain as OPEC+ Weighs December Surprise
Oil traders can’t seem to agree on where OPEC+ will steer production next, and it’s anyone’s guess if the cartel’s December hike is still on the table. OPEC+ has touted plans for a boost, but the group’s go-to mantra—adjusting output based on market ‘realities’—is giving traders pause. According to a …
Read More »Vietnamese EV Maker Gets $1 Billion in Funding Led by UAE
Vietnam’s electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast Auto is expected to receive at least $1 billion in overseas funding led by Emirates Driving Company (EDC), Abu Dhabi’s leading driver training and road safety institute, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, quoting a source with knowledge of the agreement. VinFast and its parent company, Vingroup, …
Read More »Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Talks Gain Momentum after BRICS Summit
Following months of stalled negotiations, the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process is moving again. Despite the newfound optimism that a deal is close, both sides have given no indication of how they intend to settle major differences. Following a brief meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city …
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