Europe

Energy Secretary Chris Wright of the United States said that after arriving in Venezuela on Tuesday, the oil companies in the U.S. as well as?other countries will sign deals in Caracas tomorrow that will result in a more-than-doubling in crude production over the next few year. Wright is in Venezuela for a day-long visit, his second trip since U.S. troops seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's office in January. Venezuelan oil production peaked at over 3 million barrels a day in the late 90s, but then plummeted due to a lack investment, poor management and U.S. sanction. In recent months, it...

The Polish chemicals group Grupa Azoty announced on Tuesday that it had informed prosecutors of alleged safety violations during the launch in 2023 of its flagship Polimery Police Project. State-controlled chemicals manufacturer said in a press release that the Polimery Police Plant, operated by an Azoty Unit, was built without the necessary permits and under conditions that could have put employees and residents at risk. The documentation cited by the company alleged that there were a number of defects, and that permits had only been issued in 2024 - months after the plant’s?ceremonial opening. Malgorzata Crolak, Deputy CEO, said: "Our...

An oil refinery in Russia's Yaroslavl region, Slavneft-Yaroslavnefteorgsintez, or ?YANOS, suspended oil processing at two ?of its three crude distillation units after a drone ?attack on August ?28, two industry ?sources ?told . The local governor stated on Friday that the facility had been hit by debris from an Ukrainian drone. Sources claim that the attack caused damage to the AVT-3 primary unit of crude distillation with a daily capacity of 17,140 metric tonnes, which is about 40% of the refinery's total capacity. The AVT-4 unit, with a daily capacity of 14,300 tons, represents 33% of the total capacity. The...

According to two sources in the industry, Russia's gasoline production fell to 70% of its domestic consumption by the end August. This was after a series drone attacks forced major refineries into suspension of operations. Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russia's infrastructure to reduce Moscow's revenue. This has created a fuel shortage that has forced Russia import petroleum products, and maintain sales restrictions throughout the country. After a short respite in July when local authorities began to?ease or lift restrictions on fuel sale, shortages returned in Russian regions by August. According to sources, gasoline production dropped at the end...

Brazil's oil export tax is in a state of uncertainty after a local court ruled to suspend the levy and the Foreign Trade Chamber approved extending it for another 60-days. These contradictory moves have left the future of 12% tax unclear, and the oil companies are challenging it. This could lead to a legal battle between the Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva administration and the oil producers. Sources familiar with the issue said that the Foreign Trade Chamber?Camex had approved the extension of tax due to expire September 9. A 'federal court' had granted an injunction to suspend the tax...

Shipping data shows that Turkey increased its diesel imports from the United States and India to record levels in August. This was due to a Russian ban of diesel exports, and to wider disruptions caused by Iran's war. According to Kpler, the commodities data firm, Turkey has imported Indian diesel at a rate of more than 120.000 barrels per day, while its imports from the U.S. have reached 90,000 barrels per daily. Kpler data dating back to 2017 shows that these volumes are the highest monthly totals ever recorded. After Ukrainian strikes on refineries disrupted the domestic supply, Russia has...

The Russian rouble fell sharply against the U.S. Dollar on Thursday. It lost more than 2%. China's currency, the yuan, also hit multi-month lows as a result of fading tax-related support amid rising imports and lower oil prices. Analysts have predicted that August will be the weakest rouble month of the year so far, due to the Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure, which are driving up the imports for fuel and equipment for refinery repair, increasing the domestic demand for foreign currency. The rouble was supported earlier in the week by exporters who sold?foreign currency revenue before Friday's monthly taxes....

The 'Amur Gas Chemical Complex', located in Russia's Far East, announced on Thursday that the death toll from a fire which broke out earlier this week was now 15. The plant announced on Wednesday that six Chinese citizens were among the seven victims of the fire. In a Thursday?Telegram, it said that 14 of the 15 victims were foreigners without revealing their nationalities. The report said that 39 people are still?in hospital, nine of whom were airlifted to Moscow. The complex is a joint venture between Sinopec and Sibur, a Chinese oil and gas firm. It claims to be one...

The Kremlin reported on Wednesday that U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials but did not meet Vladimir Putin during a trip to Moscow, which U.S. president Donald Trump referred to as "semi routine." Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters that Putin was briefed about the outcome of the visit on Tuesday. The visit came at a time when the war in Ukraine is dragging on and efforts to achieve a lasting peace with the United States and Iran are stalled. Peskov refused to reveal what was discussed or provide further details. "All I can say is...

The Elysee Palace announced on Monday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had visited Paris and agreed to build a manga-themed amusement?park near Paris?. The Elysee said that the project, which is based on the popular Japanese manga and anime series Dragon Ball Z, would be built in Cergy-Pontoise to the northwest of Paris, and was expected to create 22,000 jobs. Macron advisers claim that the idea came about after French President Emmanuel Macron discovered a common interest in Dragon Ball Z with Saudi Crown Prince during Macron's trip to Saudi Arabia 2025. The project will be funded by...

The Financial Times reported that Shell has attracted interest from bidders such as ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell and others for its U.S. chemical assets, which could fetch up to $8 billion. The report cited people who were familiar with the matter as saying that the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and the chemicals division of the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, had also expressed an interest in the?assets. Shell is looking to sell off underperforming chemical?plants. Shell, ExxonMobil and Kuwait Petroleum have not responded to requests for comment outside of regular business hours. Shell, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell Apollo and Kuwait Petroleum did not...

Kazakhs began voting 'Sunday in a snap election for a new parliament that appeared to be strengthening the power of President Kassym Jomart Tokayev over this 'Central asia country. The election was triggered after the adoption of a revised constitution in early this year. This new constitution consolidated parliament into a single chamber, reducing it from two. Kazakhstan's Supreme Court said last month that Tokayev who took office in 2019 was allowed to run for another seven-year term under the new constitution. Opinion polls show a majority of people support 'Adilet', a pro Tokayev party that was founded only a...

A record low smelter treatment term, a year of underperformance by mines and a scramble to get metal at the London Metal Exchange. If you think this is the description of the copper markets, then think again. Zinc is under pressure now, even though copper may face a structural shortage in the future. LME zinc for three months hit a four-year-high of $3,990 per ton on Monday. LME stocks have remained low throughout the year. The registered inventory is 100,525?tons but nearly a third are in the form?cancelled warrants? awaiting physical loading-out. The time-spreads will be emphasized in a similar...

The Serious Fraud Office of Britain has settled with a Kazakh mining company ENRC that accused the agency and law firm Dechert for causing them huge losses during an important criminal investigation. The settlement announced on Wednesday by ENRC and Dechert appears to bring to an end the more than 10 year legal saga that began when the SFO began investigating allegations of bribery committed by ENRC between 2009-2012 to secure mining contracts for the Democratic Republic of Congo, which the company denies. The London High Court previously ruled that the SFO wouldn't have opened an investigation into the alleged...

Four sources said that the top?global aluminum producers offered Japanese buyers a premium of $310-$325 per metric tonne for primary metal shipments in October and December, down by 18%-22% on the current quarter. Japan is the largest importer of light metals, and the premiums it agrees to each quarter for primary metal shipments over the London Metal Exchange cash price are the benchmarks in the region. Japanese buyers had agreed to pay a premium of $395 per ton for the period July-September The increase was between 12% and 13% compared to the previous quarter. A source from a Japanese trading...

BHP's commercial officer Rag Udd will step down by the end of January in order to pursue a career outside the company. This was revealed in a memo sent out on Tuesday. The miner is now left with a difficult role -- negotiating iron-ore deals with China. Some analysts and investors had considered Udd as a candidate for the "top job" at BHP. Brandon Craig, who started in July, was given the position. According to the memo, Udd will have been working at BHP in Singapore for 30 years by the time he leaves. Udd?was responsible for BHP's negotiation with...

Sibanye-Stillwater announced on Tuesday that its Australian copper project has been?approved'. This comes after the company reported a rise in profit for the first half of this year due to higher prices for gold and platinum group (PGM). Johannesburg-based miner, Johannesburg-based miner, said that the Mt Lyell Copper-Gold Project execution will commence in the first six months of 2027 with the first production expected to begin in early 2029. Mt.?Lyell is Sibanye's first experience in copper mining. It is estimated that the annual output of copper will be?26,000 tons by 2032. Sibanye said that the total cost of this project...

Two U.S. officials said on Monday that the U.S. company North American Blue Energy Partners would take over oilfields controlled by several Chinese firms and a Russian firm. They said that the 'takeover' will be part of an oil production agreement President Donald Trump has announced with Venezuela. According to officials, the projects were part of 14 new contracts awarded to U.S.-backed North American Blue Energy Partners. NABEP, owned by U.S. oil magnate Harry Sargeant, is now controlled and managed by Venezuelan Alejandro Betancourt. Last week, Trump said that the U.S. has secured access to 64 billion barrels (or a...

IG Metall - Germany's largest union - warned on Monday that it would resist any attempts by Volkswagen to undo a restructuring package previously agreed. However, the union did not threaten strikes in advance of a critical board meeting scheduled for the end of this week. Since July, Volkswagen's management has been at odds with its unions over what could be the biggest overhaul of the automaker to date. This includes?plant closings, the carving-out and 50,000 more layoffs. It would be less than two-years after the most recent package, which was reached following months of intense talks and warning strikes,...

Gold prices fell on Friday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's remarks later that day at the Jackson Hole symposium to gauge the direction of the central bank's money policy. By 1203 GMT, spot gold had fallen 0.1% to $4,594.61 an ounce. The price of gold reached a three-month-high of $4,696.18 after the U.S. Treasury announced support measures for bonds with long-term maturities. U.S. Gold Futures fell?0.4% to $4,647.20. Kyle Rodda is a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com. He said, "I believe price action has been fairly constructive in recent months, and we are not seeing much...

The gold price rose on Friday, as investors awaited the remarks of Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the 'Jackson Hole Symposium' later that day. This will help gauge the direction the central bank is taking with its monetary policy. By 1032 GMT, spot gold had risen 0.1% to $4,606.73 an ounce. The price of gold reached a three-month-high of $4,696.18 after the U.S. Treasury announced support measures for bonds with long-term maturities. U.S. Gold Futures?were barely changed at $4.660.10. Kyle Rodda is a senior financial market analyst with Capital.com. He said, "I believe price action has been fairly constructive...

According to the website of the Supreme Court in Singapore, Japan's Mizuho Bank Ltd has filed a lawsuit against the Singapore-based operating entity 'Radiant World' that trades iron ore. A court listing on Friday showed that Mizuho Bank is the banking division of Mizuho Financial Group and it has filed an injunction to stop Radiant World Corporation from doing business. The court listing didn't provide any details about the injunction that was sought. Bloomberg News, citing court documents, reported that another creditor, the?Singapore-based trade-finance company Incomlend is suing Pinkesh Nahar and his company for $34million. Radiant World has been 'frozen...

The gold price rose on Friday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium later that day in order to gauge the future monetary policies of the central bank. By 0839 GMT, spot gold had risen 0.1% to $4,607.47 an ounce. The price of gold reached a three-month-high of $4,696.18 after the U.S. Treasury announced support measures for bonds with long-term maturities. U.S. Gold Futures are little changed at $4,661.20. Kyle Rodda is a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com. He said, "I believe price action has been fairly constructive in recent months, and...

Market participants were waiting for the remarks of Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Symposium, hoping to gain insight into the central banks future interest rate policy. By 0652 GMT, spot gold had not changed much from $4,603,91 per ounce. The price of gold reached a three-month-high of $4,696.18 after the U.S. Treasury announced support measures for bonds with long-term maturities. U.S. gold futures fell 0.1% to $4 657.10. Matt Simpson, senior analyst at StoneX, stated that the case for Warsh leaning hawkish was greater than for him to not do so. This could lead to gold...