Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday blasted President Donald Trump for failing to ramp up sanctions to pressure Russia to end its four-year war in Ukraine, noting the European Union had designated nearly 900 targets in 2025 compared to just two for the U.S. In an analysis released on the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion, Democratic staff on the Republican-led panel identified hundreds of potential targets they said Trump could have imposed sanctions on during his first [Read more]
Carney knew of South Bow’s Keystone XL plans before White House meeting, source says
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was aware of oil company South Bow's plans to revive parts of the canceled Keystone XL pipeline to the United States when he floated the idea to U.S. President Donald Trump in October, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. South Bow, the Canadian pipeline company behind the canceled Keystone XL pipeline, is considering reviving some of the already-built line in an expansion project aimed at transporting more Canadian oil to the United States, [Read more]
Ten years after first cargo, US LNG dominance set to keep growing
In the ten years since the first export cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) left Texas, the United States has grown rapidly into the top supplier of the ultra-cooled fuel to world consumers. That dramatic expansion shows no sign of slowing down, with analysts and industry executives projecting that record U.S. LNG export capacity will double in just five years. Whether the world market, already showing signs of saturation, will be able to absorb those supplies is an open [Read more]
Occidental CEO says industry needs $70/barrel oil to grow production
The oil industry needs crude prices to rise and sustain at $70 per barrel in order to grow output, executives said on Tuesday. U.S. oil production can be maintained at its current level in the $60 to $65 price range, said Vicki Hollub, CEO of U.S. oil producer Occidental, during an Energy Aspects conference in Washington. Benchmark Brent crude prices declined about 19% last year, pressured by concerns about a global oversupply of oil and uncertainty about U.S. trade policy. U.S. President [Read more]
Iran’s foreign minister says deal with U.S. within reach ‘only if diplomacy is given priority’
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that a deal with the U.S. was "within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority", days ahead of expected talks between the two sides in Geneva. "Iran will resume talks with the U.S. in Geneva with a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal in the shortest possible time," he said in a post on X. (Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Muhammad Al Gebaly Editing by Gareth Jones) [Read more]
Continental Resources says Argentina shale resource could be ‘another Permian’
Argentina's shale oil resource could be similar in size to that of the Permian Basin, the top oilfield in the U.S., Continental Resources CEO Doug Lawler said on Tuesday. Argentina's projections show that oil output could reach 1.5 million to 2 million barrels per day in the next few years, but the U.S. oil firm believes the potential could be higher, Lawler said during an Energy Aspects conference in Washington. "It has the characteristics, the rock quality that it could very easily be [Read more]
US and China hold the keys to containing a Mideast oil shock: Bousso
A serious military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran could trigger a major disruption in Middle East oil supplies. The vast oil reserves the U.S. and China hold could prove critical in containing it. For now, uncertainty dominates in this protracted standoff, with U.S. and Iranian officials continuing to hold indirect talks, as American military forces amass in the region. What kind of military action Washington might choose - and Tehran’s potential response - remain open questions. For [Read more]
Oil majors running Kazakh Kashagan field file arbitration over $4.6 billion fine
Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni, Exxon and other shareholders in Kazakhstan's Kashagan oilfield have started arbitration proceedings against a 2023 environmental fine worth around $4.6 billion, a Shell spokesperson said, the latest in a growing web of complex legal disputes in the country's hydrocarbon industry. In early 2023, Kazakhstan's government fined the consortium known as NCOC 2.3 trillion tenge - then worth $5.4 billion - for ecological violations related to an inspection the year before [Read more]
Middle East oil exports push tanker costs to 6-year-high amid threat of US-Iran war
The cost of shipping oil has surged to the highest in six years, fuelled by a wave of crude exports from the Middle East as traders accelerate charters ahead of possible military conflict between the U.S. and Iran, industry sources said. The cost of hiring a very large crude carrier (VLCC) to carry up to 2 million barrels from the Middle East to China has more than tripled from the start of the year to over $170,000 a day on Tuesday, the highest since April 2020, LSEG data showed. Middle [Read more]
Oil rises to near seven-month high on US–Iran tensions, trade policy
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, nearing seven-month highs, with traders assessing geopolitical risks ahead of another round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, while U.S. trade policy uncertainty added to broader concerns. Brent crude futures rose 59 cents, or 0.8%, to $72.08 a barrel by 0424 GMT, while U.S. crude futures climbed 57 cents, or 0.9%, to $66.88 a barrel. Brent is trading at its highest since July 31, while WTI is at its firmest since August 1. "At this stage, geopolitics is clearly [Read more]