Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary agreed on Thursday to upgrade the interconnection and transport capacity of their gas grids, part of their long-standing efforts to diversify gas sources and boost their role in Europe’s energy supply chain. In 2016, the four countries agreed to develop the necessary infrastructure for the realisation of the so-called Vertical Gas Corridor, which will enable bidirectional gas flows from Greece to northern Europe, through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. After Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in the wake of the war in Ukraine, European countries ...

Upstream investment in Russia’s oil and gas sector is set to plunge 30 per cent to $35 billion this year amid sanctions and a mass departure of foreign companies, Rystad Energy said in a report. Energy companies have been leaving Russia — the world’s second-largest crude oil exporter — following its invasion of Ukraine in February. Before the conflict, investment in the country’s oil and gas production was expected to reach $50 billion this year. “The war in Ukraine has cost the Russian oil and gas sector dearly, with project ...

The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Saturday for a lower price cap on Russian oil than the one agreed to by Ukraine’s Western supporters, while Russian authorities called the $60-per-barrel cap harmful to free, stable markets. Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s office, wrote on social media that the price ceiling set by the European Union, Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, and the United States on Friday didn’t go far enough. The cap is set to take effect Monday, along with an EU embargo on Russian oil shipped by ...

U.S. consumption of diesel, heating oil and other distillate fuel oils has started to fall in response to high prices and a slowdown in manufacturing activity and freight transport. The volume of distillate supplied to the domestic market (a proxy for consumption) was 4.01 million barrels per day (bpd) in September, down from 4.03 million bpd in the same month a year earlier. Distillate supplied was lower compared with a year earlier in four of six months between April and September, data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed. ...

OPEC+ agreed to stick to its oil output targets at a meeting on Sunday as the oil markets struggle to assess the impact of a slowing Chinese economy on demand and a G7 price cap on Russian oil on supply. The decision comes two days after the Group of Seven (G7) nations agreed a price cap on Russian oil. OPEC+, which comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, angered the United States and other Western nations in October when it agreed to cut output ...

The international Price Cap Coalition has finalised its work on implementing an oil price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil. EU Member States in the Council have also just approved in parallel its implementation within the EU. The cap has been set at a maximum price of 60 USD per barrel for crude oil and is adjustable in the future in order to respond to market developments. This cap will be implemented by all members of the Price Cap Coalition through their respective domestic legal processes. Ursula von der Leyen, ...

Massive supply disruption in Europe and soaring global prices. No other commodity has faced the extreme challenges of global gas since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I caught up with Kateryna Filippenko, Director, Global Gas Research, to find out her team’s latest views on the market. How does this winter in Europe look? Better than we could have hoped for a few months ago in some respects, but it’s been at a severe cost. Extremely high prices throughout the year have stretched affordability for consumers and weakened the economy. High prices ...

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices rose for the second consecutive week on higher gas prices in Europe where a cold spell is on the horizon, but ample Asian inventories are expected to curb prices in the coming weeks. The average LNG price for January delivery into northeast Asia LNG-AS was $35 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up $4, or 13%, from the previous week, industry sources estimated. “It’s been a little choppy this week in Asia, the market pushed up from some spot activity from a major ...

Regular retail gasoline prices on the West Coast had substantial price swings this year, especially in the fall. According to our Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, retail gasoline prices on the West Coast averaged $5.82 per gallon (gal) in June, then decreased to average $4.94/gal in August, before increasing to average $5.69/gal the week of October 3. By the week of November 28, 2022, West Coast gasoline prices had fallen to $4.59/gal. This year’s gasoline price volatility reflects how sensitive West Coast prices can be to relatively small changes in ...

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised a price cap set by his Western allies on Russian oil exports, calling it “weak”. The cap, approved on Friday, is aimed at stopping countries paying more than $60 (£48) for a barrel of seaborne Russian crude oil. Russia says it will not accept a cap on prices for its oil exports. The measure – due to come into force on Monday – intensifies Western pressure on Russia over the invasion. But Mr Zelensky called the price cap “a weak position” and not “serious” ...

Russia “will not accept” a price cap on its oil and is analysing how to respond, the Kremlin said in comments reported on Saturday, in response to a deal by Western powers aimed at limiting a key source of funding for its war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had made preparations for Friday’s price cap announcement by the Group of Seven nations, the European Union and Australia, the Russian state news agency TASS reported. “We will not accept this cap,” RIA news agency quoted him as saying. ...

U.S. energy firms this week left the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating unchanged for the first time since June, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday. The U.S. oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, remained unchanged at 784 in the week to Dec. 2, Baker Hughes said. That puts the total rig count up 215, or 38%, over this time last year. U.S. oil rigs held at 627 and gas rigs were at 155. With ...

A member of Iran’s parliament says oil sales by the country rose by 20% in the first half of the calendar year that started in late March against the previous six-month period to reach 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd). Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi said on Saturday that Iran had also increased its exports of petroleum products over the March-September period. The announcement confirms previous reports by global tanker tracking services which indicated that Iran has been increasing its oil exports in recent months despite a continued regime of US sanctions ...

Venezuela’s oil minister and top representatives of state-run company PDVSA on Friday signed contracts with U.S. oil firm Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) intended to help revive the nation’s oil output and expand operations. The United States last week granted Chevron a six-month license authorizing it to take a broader role in existing projects in U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela, a move to encourage political talks between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the country’s opposition towards elections. The contracts include the PDVSA-Chevron joint ventures Petroboscan and Petropiar, officials said. The agreements are expected ...

Oil futures slipped 1.5% in choppy trading on Friday ahead of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Sunday and an EU ban on Russian crude on Monday. Brent crude futures settled down $1.31, a 1.5% drop, at $85.57 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.24, or 1.5%, to $79.98 per barrel. Both contracts dipped in and out of negative territory, but notched their first weekly gains at around 2.5% and 5%, respectively, after three consecutive weeks of ...