East European Countries


Energy Markets

The Russian army claims that Kyiv attacked three civilian energy infrastructures during the Russia-US discussions

The Russian Defence Ministry announced on Tuesday that Ukraine launched three attacks against Russian civilian energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia on Monday, as Russian and U.S. representatives held discussions about a potential ceasefire agreement. In a statement, the ministry stated that Ukraine had launched on Monday attacks against infrastructure owned by Rosseti, the Svatovo Gas Distribution Station in Russia-controlled Eastern Ukraine, as well as an underground storage facility for gas in Crimea. After a telephone call between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday of last week, Russia has announced that it will cease its attacks...







Energy Markets

Oil & Gas

Oil & Gas Refining

As peace talks continue, the most dangerous city in Ukraine is desperate for a break from drones.

Kherson, a Ukrainian city on the frontline of the conflict with Russia for three years, has more reasons than others to want to see an end to it. They are wary of talks because they have experienced occupation and constant attacks after Russian forces were pushed out. Serhiy (64), a security guard, is lying in a hospital with his foot bandaged. He claimed he was on his way to work as a security guard, when he was struck by a grenade that was dropped by a drone operated by Russian forces. He refused to reveal his family name, and asked...

Oil & Gas Refining

The average price of Russian oil fell by 24% in March, compared to the budgeted target.

Calculations show that the price of Russia's oil mix in roubles is currently on average 24% lower than the budgeted level for 2025, due to the strengthening currency and the weakening global oil prices. This drop in spending will put more pressure on the budget already under strain due to high military expenditure. Since the middle of January, the rouble has been rising amid hopes for a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. The average rate of 87.4 roubles per $1 has been averaging 87.4 so far this year, down from 92.9 roubles last month. When calculating the average tax...

Oil & Gas

Moldova signs 30 million euro deal with France for energy efficiency

After meeting her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Moldovan President Maia Sandu announced that the French Development Agency and Moldova signed a deal worth 30 million euros ($32.5million) on Monday. The agreement aims to improve energy efficiency in the post-Soviet country. Sandu said at a joint press conference that the agreement with Agence Francaise de Developpement would help "reduce energy wastage, lower costs and increase our energy independence". The pro-European Moldovan government accused Russia of creating a fake energy crisis in order to destabilize the country before parliamentary elections. This came after Russian gas producer Gazprom halted exports of its product...

Oil & Gas

Russian prosecutors try to recover assets from former Gazprom manager

A court spokeswoman announced on Friday that Russian prosecutors had filed a lawsuit to recover assets of former Gazprom Manager Kirill Seleznyov. Interfax reported that Seleznyov, along with two other defendants, were suspected of diverting 150 billion roubles (about $1.75 billion) from Gazprom. Darya Lebedeva posted on Telegram, that the Frunzensky Court in St. Petersburg had registered the lawsuit but did not specify the value. Seleznyov has been a close ally to Alexei Miller, the CEO of Gazprom for many years. He served as a member of its management board for over 15 years. Seleznyov is the head of RusChemAlliance...

Oil & Gas

ADNOC's agreements with European companies

ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.), a state-owned company, has pursued a number of mergers and acquisitions with European companies with the aim of diversifying and developing its renewable energy and chemicals operations. ADNOC has been involved in the following deals and discussions: COVESTRO ADNOC announced on October 1 that it had agreed to purchase German chemicals manufacturer Covestro for $14.7 billion. This is one of the largest foreign takeovers in the Gulf, and is intended to reduce the country's heavy reliance on oil during the energy transition. ADNOC will merge with OMV its polyolefin business to create a chemical...

Oil & Gas

EU Commission delays announcement of plan to phase-out Russian energy imports

A schedule released on Wednesday showed that the European Commission had, for a third time, postponed its announcement about its plan to reduce the region's dependence on Russian energy imports. The original date was March 26, but it has now been pushed back to an unknown date. The Commission refused to comment on the new date. In November, Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen stated at a parliament hearing that the plan would be presented during his first hundred days as a commissioner. However, this date has been delayed twice. Originally, the plan was to be unveiled in February. After Russia's full-scale...

Refined Products

Oil prices steady as market eyes Russia-Ukraine peace deal

Oil prices were little altered on Monday, as investors awaited developments in a possible Russia-Ukraine deal that may ease sanctions disrupting the global supply flow. Brent crude futures were up 7 cents to $74.81 per barrel at 0430 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was unchanged at $70.75 per barrel. After U.S. president Donald Trump and officials of his administration announced that they had begun talks with Russia to end war in Ukraine, the market kept a close eye on the progress of peace negotiations. If negotiations result in a resolution, then more Russian barrels will enter the global supply,...

Oil & Gas

Stocks surge in Russian rouble after Trump-Putin meeting

The Russian rouble, and its stocks, surged Thursday following a phone conversation between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. In the call the two leaders discussed how to end the Ukraine War. According to data on the over-the counter market, at 0745 GMT the rouble had risen 3% against the dollar and was trading at 90.90, its highest level since September 2024. During the trading session, the rouble briefly reached the highest level since September 11 at 89.90. The rouble has gained 20% against the dollar since the beginning of the year. The Moscow Exchange index (MOEX),...

Oil & Gas

Governor of Krasnodar says that a drone attack caused a fire at an oil depot in Russia.

The governor of Krasnodar said that a drone attack from Ukraine overnight caused a fire to break out at an oil storage depot in the southern Russian region. 55 firefighters were battling the blaze. In recent days, a series of drone strikes by Ukraine against Russia's energy infrastructure has sparked fires at a major refinery in Volgograd and at the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant. Veniamin Kodratyev said, "The fire is contained and there are no injuries," on Telegram, as a team of 19 firefighters tried to extinguish flames. Kondratyev didn't specify which depot was burning or the extent of damage....

Oil & Gas

Moldovan opposition leader forms coalition against Sandu in parliament elections

The Moldovan opposition leader, Alexandr Stoianoglo who lost the presidential vote held in November, announced on Friday that he would lead a coalition consisting of three parties against the pro-Western majority ruling at the parliament elections this year. Last year, the former prosecutor general was closer than anyone expected to unseating pro Western President Maia Sandu. She lost in a runoff after campaigning on a balanced foreign policies that looked to Russia and West. He was backed by a pro-Moscow party. The election is expected to be a close one and could result in Sandu's pro Western PAS party losing...

Oil & Gas

Doosan Skoda Power seeks $105 million in Prague IPO

Czech Republicbased turbine producer Doosan Skoda Power launched a preliminary public offering on Monday, seeking to raise 2.53 billion crowns ($ 105. million) by offering up to a 3rd of its shares in a Prague. listing. The company, whose supreme moms and dad is South Korea's Doosan. Corp, serves consumers including energy groups CEZ. , EPH and Orlen, and earned a profit of 559.3. million crowns on revenue of 4.8 billion crowns in 2023. The offer will consist of existing and brand-new shares, with the. price range set at 220-260 crowns per share, the company said. Last rates is expected...

Oil & Gas

Moldova's separatist region says gas running out

The leader of Moldova's. separatist Transdniestria area, gripped by power and heating. cuts, said on Friday that gas reserves would be exhausted within. days and prompted the central federal government to end synthetic delays. and offer new products. However Moldova's prime minister said the option could be. solved only if Russian gas manufacturer Gazprom resumed. shipments to Moldova, or if the pro-Russian separatist region. agreed to pay for gas secured on European markets. Transdniestria, which split from Moldova as the Soviet Union. was collapsing, had actually long gotten Russian gas passing through. Ukraine, however authorities in Kyiv, secured a nearly...

Fossil Fuels

Crude Oil

Trading house bosses predict a long road back for Russian energy

The lifting of sanctions against Russian energy will likely be gradual and patchy. This means that the return of Russian oil and gas beyond Asia in the near term is unlikely to be significant. The heads of Vitol Mercuria Trafigura Gunvor, who used to dominate the Russian oil trade prior to the 2022 invasion in Ukraine, said at the FT Commodities Global Summit held in Switzerland that they would be very cautious when trading Russian volumes. None of them, however, excluded the possibility of supplying Russian energy. This demonstrates a radical change in approach that is being considered by industry...

Fossil Fuels

Kremlin: Russia has called off drone attack on Ukrainian infrastructure for energy

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that Russia has suspended its attacks against Ukrainian energy infrastructure following a telephone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. It also said it had shot down drones bound for Ukraine while they were still in the air. In a phone call with Trump, Putin agreed to temporarily cease attacking Ukrainian energy installations. However, he declined to endorse the 30-day ceasefire requested by Trump. Ukraine accuses Russia of striking Ukraine's energy infrastructure over night. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters that Russia has called off an attack on Ukrainian targets in the energy infrastructure and...

Natural Gas Utilities

RPT-Ukraine Bets on US LNG as Gas Import Needs Rise

The state gas company of Ukraine said that it may import large quantities of U.S. natural gas via terminals located in Germany, Greece and Poland this year, as Kyiv continues to struggle with the effects of Russian attacks against its infrastructure. The White House is leading the talks to end more than three long years of war following Russia's invasion in Ukraine. Kyiv announced on Tuesday that it would accept a ceasefire offer, but Moscow is yet to accept one. The importation of U.S. natural gas to Ukraine could strengthen the economic relationship between Washington and Ukraine, while the presence...

Mining

Mineral Resources

Mineral Resources

US envoy Witkoff is optimistic about Ukraine talks and says Putin wants peace

Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy to the Ukraine war, expressed optimism ahead of the high-stakes negotiations in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. He said that he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin wished to end the conflict. Witkoff, a Fox News reporter, said: "I think he's looking for peace." Later on Sunday, a U.S. delegation will hold discussions in Saudi Arabia with Ukrainian officials about a possible partial truce between Ukraine and Russia. U.S. officials and Russian officials are scheduled to hold further talks Monday in Saudi Arabia. "I believe that on Monday you will see some real progress in Saudi...

Mineral Resources

Minister: Poland wants to resume production anti-personnel minings

Poland has announced that it is ready to resume production of antipersonnel landmines. This comes after the Baltic States and Warsaw both announced plans to withdraw from the treaty which bans the use of these mines. The three Baltic Republics and Poland will be able to stockpile and use anti-personnel land mines once again if they decide to withdraw from the 1997 Ottawa Convention. More than 160 countries have ratified the convention or joined it. This is part of the response to what the Baltics say is an increasing threat by Russia. When asked about plans to leave the Ottawa...

Mineral Resources

Severstal, a Russian construction company, warns of risks in the region that bans migrant workers

Severstal, a Russian steelmaker, slammed the decision of a regional governor on Friday to ban migrant construction workers. The company said that the move could have serious consequences for industrial projects. The company responded quickly and strongly to the ban announced by Georgy Filimonov on Thursday, the governor of Vologda, northwest of Moscow. The clash between a powerful regional political figure and a major company highlights Russia's dependence on migrant workers, and the challenges that businesses face as they grapple with a severe labour shortage. Severstal issued a statement about the ban that said, "Such measures could jeopardize the implementation...

Mineral Resources

Russian diamond producer Alrosa announces a 77.3% profit drop for the full year

Alrosa, the diamond-producing company in Russia that has been hit by sanctions, reported on Friday a drop of 77.3% on its 2024 net profits year-on-year. The revenue was 239.1 billion Russian roubles. In January 2024, the Group of Seven (G7) banned the direct importation of Russian diamonds. The European Union and G7 then banned the import of diamonds from Russia via third-country sources. Alrosa has been subject to U.S. sanctions by the United States since 2022. Alrosa produces the most rough diamonds in terms of volume. In 2024, revenue was down by 25.9% on an annual basis. Many companies are...

Mineral Resources

Rusal, a Russian company, will begin production of the rare-earth element scandium in 2019.

Rusal, a Russian aluminium manufacturer, announced on Thursday that it will build a production facility capable of producing 1.5 tonnes per year of the rare-earth material scandium. The capacity can be increased to 19 metric tons a yearly. The announcement comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin asked Russia to increase its rare-earth metals output, and just as U.S. president Donald Trump is preparing to sign an agreement with Ukraine to tap mineral reserves which can be used for a variety of industries from consumer electronics to defence. Rusal announced in a press release that the investment in this project...

Mineral Resources

Ukraine announces a mineral deal with the US

Ukraine announced on Wednesday that it had reached a preliminary agreement to transfer revenue from its mineral resources to United States before President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's expected visit to Washington on Friday. The agreement is crucial to Ukrainian efforts to secure strong support from U.S. president Donald Trump, who seeks to end Russia's war against Ukraine quickly. U.S. and Russian talks, which have excluded Kyiv so far, are set to continue Thursday. "The most important thing to me is that we are not in debt." Zelenskiy said that there is no debt of $500 billion, $350 billion, or $100 billion in...

Mineral Resources

Putin talks about aluminium and rare earths deals with US

Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, offered to explore rare earth metal deposits with the U.S., and also supply aluminum for the U.S. market. He was laying the foundations of a future deal between the U.S. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, had earlier stated that "major transactions in economic development with Russia" were to take place. Putin convened, within two hours of Trump’s statement, a rare earth metals meeting with his economic advisers and ministers. After the meeting, Putin told state television that he was ready to offer his American partners, "and by 'partners', I do not mean only administrative and...

Mineral Resources

Rusal, a Russian company, cancels bond placings following EU sanctions

Market sources reported that Rusal, the Russian aluminium manufacturer, cancelled on Monday a placement of Yuan and Rouble bonds after the EU banned imports of primary aluminium from Russia in a new package of sanctions. The European Council included an aluminium ban as part of its 16th package of sanctions against Russia, but also introduced a quota to facilitate the transition. This quota is 275,000 tons per year for aluminum imports from Russia. In 2024, the EU imported approximately 344,000 tons (or aluminimum) from Russia. In 2024, the EU Commission reported that Russian aluminium only accounted for 6% of all...

Mineral Resources

As Trump talks about a deal, Russian forces advance onto Ukraine's vital minerals

Russia, just like U.S. president Donald Trump, is envious of Ukraine's natural resource - its forces are now closing in on an enormous lithium deposit. Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy that he wanted Kyiv's minerals to be handed over in exchange for U.S. support. Vladimir Putin is gaining control over Ukraine's wealth as Washington and Moscow prepare to negotiate an end to the war that has lasted three years. According to data obtained from Ukrainian military blog Deep State, Russian forces have seized more than a fifth (including rare earth reserves) of Ukraine and are now less than four...

Mineral Resources

Russia moves on Ukraine's vital minerals while Trump talks about a deal

Russia, just like U.S. president Donald Trump, is envious of Ukraine's natural resource - its forces are now closing in on an enormous lithium deposit. Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy that he wanted Kyiv's minerals to be handed over in exchange for U.S. support. Vladimir Putin is gaining control over Ukraine's wealth as Washington and Moscow prepare to negotiate an end to the war that has lasted three years. According to data obtained from Ukrainian military blog Deep State, Russian forces have already taken over a fifth part of Ukraine, including rare earth reserves. They are now less than...

Environment

Poland's Tusk anticipates $160 billion in investment by 2025 to spur the growth

The total amount of investment in Poland will likely exceed 650 billion Zlotys ($160 Billion) by 2025, according to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who announced a package of policies including tax reductions and deregulation. In recent years, the economy was one of Europe's most dynamic. This growth is largely due to private consumption and double-digit wage increases in a tight labor market. Analysts say that investment is a weakness of the country, as it attempts to catch up with wealthy western European nations. Tusk said at a press conference held at the Warsaw Stock Exchange that "Investment in Poland by...

Mineral Resources

Continental's ContiTech Division to close four factories in Germany

ContiTech, a division of German auto parts supplier Continental, will close four plants, and reduce the size of two more, according to a company announcement on Thursday. This will affect 570 employees. The group is aiming for more than 7,000 cuts in its restructuring plan, which it has been working on since over a month. It aims to save 400 million euro ($417 million), a dollar a day by 2025. ContiTech will close its factories in Bad Blankenburg and Stolzenau, as well the combined sites of Frohburg & Geithain in Germany. The company also said that production at its Hannover-Vahrenwald...