Lukoil Trading Arm Falls Apart Under US Sanctions
U.S. sanctions are dismantling what remains of Lukoil's Litasco, once Russia's biggest oil trader and a rival to top Swiss houses and oil majors, five sources told Reuters.The measures, which also target state-owned Rosneft, took effect on Friday as Washington seeks to choke off Moscow’s ability to fund its war in Ukraine. They have thrown Lukoil’s global operations into limbo, from oilfields in the Middle East to fuel pumps and refineries across Europe.Cut off from the global financial system…
US and Saudi announce new business deals during investment forum
Saudi Arabian and U.S. officials highlighted billions of dollars in new investments on Wednesday, coinciding the Saudi Arabian Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Washington visit. According to the program for the event, the CEOs of Chevron and Qualcomm as well as General Dynamics, Cisco, General Dynamics, Pfizer, and Alphabet's Google will attend the U.S. Saudi Investment Forum in Washington. Also attending are senior executives from IBM and Andreessen Horowitz as well as Boeing…
Saudi Crown Prince tries to improve image of Saudi Arabia with top corporate executives
WASHINGTON, November 19 - Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was reintroduced to Washington by President Donald Trump with a glowing White House endorsement, will rub shoulders on Wednesday with some of the most powerful corporate executives in America. According to the program for the event, the CEOs of Chevron and Qualcomm will attend, along with senior executives from IBM and Alphabet's Google. Also attending are Boeing, Halliburton Adobe, Aramco State Street, Parsons Corp., and Salesforce.
Elon Musk, Jensen Huang to talk AI at US-Saudi investment forum
According to a document that was seen by us, Elon Musk of Tesla and Jensen Huang of Nvidia will be taking part in a panel discussion about artificial intelligence and technology on Wednesday at the U.S. Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in Washington. The document stated that "This conversation will examine the emerging forces shaping a new wave of technological advancement, highlighting architectures, models and investments driving…
Lukoil to Sell International Assets
Russia's Lukoil is selling its international assets after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the company.Washington refused to approve the sale of assets to Swiss commodity trader Gunvor, throwing Lukoil's operations in disarray and leading to a scramble of potential buyers.The U.S. Treasury cleared potential buyers to talk to Lukoil until December 13. They will need separate approval for specific deals. U.S. oil major Chevron is studying options to buy some global assets of Lukoil, sources have said. U.S.
Source: CEOs of Chevron Qualcomm and Pfizer will attend US-Saudi event.
According to a source with knowledge of the event, CEOs from Chevron and Qualcomm will be attending the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in Washington this week, during the visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Bin Salman is expected to highlight the increasing business ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States during his first visit to the U.S. in 2018. The event will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 19.
How much will the price of ROI-LNG drop by 2026? Russell
The market for liquefied gas is bracing itself for an increase in supply, mostly from the top exporter, the United States. However, it is not clear how low the spot price will need to fall to clear these additional volumes. According to commodity analysts Kpler, the global supply of super-chilled gasoline is forecast to reach 475 million metric tonnes in 2026. This represents a 10.2% increase over the 431 millions tons predicted for 2025.
UBS: Data centres will drive the energy storage boom cycle in the next five years
UBS Securities predicts that the growth of AI-driven data centres in the U.S. will drive a "boom" cycle for energy storage over the next five year as it is necessary to balance out the fluctuations in wind and solar power generation. Yan Yishu, an analyst at UBS Securities in Hong Kong, told the media on Wednesday that global energy storage demand is expected to increase by 40% year-on-year globally in 2026. The demand for AI data centers in the U.S. has been very strong, but the main bottleneck is electricity.
US sanctions threaten to disrupt Lukoil's international assets
The sale of Lukoil's overseas assets to Swiss commodity traders Gunvor has been blocked by Washington, which is a result of U.S. sanctions. Lukoil has a global footprint that includes upstream oil and natural gas projects, refineries, and fuel distribution networks in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. The company produces a half-million barrels of crude oil per day, 0.5% of the global oil production, outside of Russia in countries like Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. Here are some details on its international assets.
METI: Sakhalin-1 vital for Japan's energy security as US sanctions Russian shareholders
Japan's Industry Ministry said on Friday that the country's energy safety is dependent on foreign projects including Russia's Sakhalin-1. This comes after new U.S. Sanctions against Rosneft, a major shareholder along with Japanese partners. Washington sanctioned Rosneft, a Russian oil company, and Lukoil last month as the latest step to get the Kremlin's attention to the Ukraine war. The U.S. has agreed to allow the two companies' operations to end until November 21, 2018.
INTERVIEW-Iraq's prime minister: Iraq can only disarm its factions when the US leaves.
Iraq has promised to put all weapons under state control, but this will not happen as long as a U.S. led coalition is in the country, which some Iraqi factions see as an occupier force, said the prime minister on Monday. The Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stated that a plan is still in place for the multinational anti-Islamic State Coalition to leave Iraq by September 2026, as it was one of Iran’s closest Arab Allies. This was because the threat posed by islamist militant groups has diminished significantly.
INTERVIEW-Iraq's prime minister: Iraq can only disarm its factions when the US leaves.
Iraq has promised to put all weapons under state control, but this will not happen as long as a U.S. led coalition is in the country, which some Iraqi factions see as an occupier force, said the prime minister on Monday. The Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stated that a plan is still in place for the multinational anti-Islamic State Coalition to leave Iraq by September 2026, as it was one of Iran’s closest Arab Allies. This is because the threat posed by islamist militant groups has diminished significantly.
ExxonMobil warns EU laws could lead to Exodus from Europe
ExxonMobil, the U.S. energy company, will be unable to do business in Europe if the EU does not loosen a law on sustainability that penalises companies with fines up to 5% of their global revenue. Woods has joined a chorus of energy producers outraged by the EU's law that requires businesses doing business within the EU to fix any human rights or environmental problems in their supply chain. Woods said on the sidelines the ADIPEC…
Nikkei reports that Japan's PM has rejected the US request to ban Russian imports of energy
The Nikkei daily, citing Japanese officials, reported that the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had told U.S. president Donald Trump during their meeting on Wednesday in Tokyo that it would be difficult to ban Russian LNG imports. Sakhalin-2 is a project in which Japanese companies Mitsui & Mitsubishi have stakes. Before Trump's Asia visit this week, the U.S. encouraged buyers of Russian oil, including Japan to stop imports and put sanctions on Moscow’s two largest oil exporters…
Indian refiners pause new Russian oil orders, await clarity, sources say
Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Indian refiners had not placed any new orders to purchase Russian oil since the sanctions were implemented, because they awaited clarification from both the government and their suppliers. Sources who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak with the media said that some refiners use the spot market to meet their crude needs. Sources claim that Indian Oil, a state-run company, has published a tender to purchase oil.
IEA predicts record LNG demand to lower prices and spur demand
The International Energy Agency announced on Monday that a record amount of liquefied gas production capacity will be coming online by 2030. This is expected to change the dynamics of the gas market, strengthening global supply and easing pressures. In its "Gas 2025", medium-term outlook, the IEA stated that by 2030, 300 billion cubic meters per year of LNG will be exported. This capacity is mainly in the United States and Qatar.
China Suspends Russian Oil Purchases Due to Sanctions
Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow's two biggest oil companies, multiple trade sources said on Thursday.The move comes as refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports from Moscow, to comply with the U.S.
Halliburton's profits beat expectations on the back of steady drilling demand in North America
Halliburton's third-quarter profits surpassed Wall Street expectations on Tuesday thanks to the steady demand for oilfield equipment and service in North America. The North America segment's quarterly revenue was $2.4 billion. This is the same as a year ago, but it's above analysts’ average estimates of $2.17billion. Halliburton stated that the results were supported in part by the increased stimulation activity on U.S. soil…
Zelenskiy believes that peace in the Middle East can lead to peace in Russia
On Thursday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said that the momentum of the Middle East Peace Process would help to end the more than three-and-a-half-year-old conflict between his country and Russia. Zelenskiy posted on Telegram that "we have a meeting with President Trump planned tomorrow. Zelenskiy didn't refer to Trump's promise, during a phone conversation with Vladimir Putin on Thursday, that he would hold new discussions.
Oil Prices Drop Amidst Gaza Ceasefire Plan As Risk Premium Fades
Oil prices declined to multi-month lows on Friday as the market's risk premium faded after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan to end the war in Gaza.Brent crude futures were down $1.73, or 2.7%, at $63.49 a barrel at 1316 GMT. Earlier, they fell to $63.27, the lowest since early June.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.71, or 2.8%, to $59.80. The contract had dropped to $59.57 a barrel, the lowest…