U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row for the first time since mid-March, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by three to 547 in the week to May 1, its highest since early April. Despite this week's rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 37 rigs, or 6% below this time last year. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose [Read more]

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order broadening U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government, two White House officials told Reuters, as he seeks to put more pressure on Havana after ousting Venezuela's leader from power. The fresh sanctions target people, entities and affiliates that support the Cuban government's security apparatus or are complicit in corruption or serious human rights violations, the officials said, as well as agents, officials or supporters of the [Read more]

Venezuela's oil exports rose 14% to 1.23 million barrels per day in April, the highest in more than seven years, fueled by more sales to the United States, India and Europe, shipping data and documents from state company PDVSA showed on Friday. The South American country has been draining oil inventories and recovering crude output in recent months following the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January, which led to a flagship supply pact between the governments of U.S. President [Read more]

In thrall to an AI boom that has sent stocks to record highs and harbouring hopes of a short-lived Iran war, investors have yet to prepare for a doubling of physical oil prices. The window to do so may soon be closing. There are plenty of reasons for market confidence, largely centred on the artificial intelligence galaxy of hyperscalers, semiconductor makers and software developers and robust earnings growth. The S&P 500 hit fresh record highs on Thursday. While price pressures are [Read more]

The United Arab Emirates' withdrawal from OPEC is widely seen as lessening the clout of the producer group and initiating a race to boost output, ultimately resulting in sharply lower crude oil prices. However, the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran has upended global crude markets to such an extent that expecting what might otherwise seem the most obvious outcome is likely flawed thinking. It may be the case that the UAE decision to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting [Read more]

A senior United Arab Emirates official said on Friday Tehran could not be trusted over any unilateral arrangements it makes for the Strait of Hormuz, in a sign of deep mistrust on all sides as efforts to end the Iran war remained at an impasse. Two months into the conflict, the vital sea channel is still largely closed because of an Iranian blockade and the U.S. Navy is blocking exports of Iranian crude oil. The blockade has choked off 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies, pushing up global [Read more]