North Asia

Three sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed that MOL, a Hungarian oil company, has informed U.S. officials of its interest in purchasing international assets from sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil. This adds to a growing number of potential buyers. In October, the United States imposed sanctions against Russia's largest private oil producer as part of its efforts to press Moscow to end their war in Ukraine. This forced Lukoil into announcing the sale of foreign assets. Sources have confirmed that Lukoil has been in talks with oil majors Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Middle Eastern investors before the December...

Two sources with knowledge of the matter claim that Bernd Bergmair (former majority owner of adult entertainment group Pornhub) has approached the U.S. Treasury to buy international assets from sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil. As part of its efforts to press Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, the U.S. imposed Sanctions on Lukoil - Russia's largest private oil producer. Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and other oil giants have approached U.S. authorities to get permission to speak to Lukoil. Bergmair, through his lawyer, declined to say which assets he is interested in. He also refused to confirm whether he has already...

According to a report by the state news agency TASS on Tuesday, dividends from the state-owned Russian electricity companies will fund investments in the industry. The article quoted Yevgeny G. Grabchak, Deputy Minister of Energy as saying that the hydro-generation company Rushydro along with grid operator Rosseti will be included in this scheme. Dividends will be paid to a special institution for development and used to help power companies. This includes subsidizing bank interest rates. According to a draft of a law, the Energy Ministry proposed last month that electricity companies limit dividend payments in order to release funds to...

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Tuesday that the country will continue to allow payments and transactions with the U.S. sanctioned Russian oil company NIS, until the end the week. This is despite the threat of secondary sanctions. Gazprom and Gazprom of Russia, who own the majority of NIS, are required to sell their shares in the company. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on NIS because it is owned by Russians. Vucic, the president of Serbia, said that payments made with NIS by its banks, which includes the central bank will continue through Monday. After meeting with government officials responsible...

Five Iraqi sources who are directly involved in the matter confirmed that Exxon Mobil had approached the Iraqi Oil Ministry to express their interest in purchasing the majority stake of Russian company Lukoil in the West Qurna 2 giant oilfield. Exxon is expanding its presence in Iraq, as the U.S. company returns to the country after sanctions imposed by the U.S. Exxon refused to comment, while Lukoil did not respond to the request for comment. The U.S. Treasury has given potential buyers permission to speak to Lukoil up until December 13 but will require approval for specific transactions. Last month,...

Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, reported a 70% drop in net income from January to September, falling by $3.57 billion or 277 billion Russian roubles. The company attributed the decline to high interest rates and cheaper oil, as well as a stronger rouble. Shell and TotalEnergies have seen their quarterly profits fall due to lower oil prices. Rosneft stated that the increased "anti-terror" security was putting additional pressure on its results. The company didn't elaborate on specific security measures. Ukraine has increased drone attacks against Russia's energy infrastructure. Rosneft reported that its revenues dropped 17.8% to 6.29 trillion rubles in...

The NOVA.RS TV in Belgrade reported that the operations at Serbia's Russian owned NIS oil refinery had ceased due to a shortage of crude oil. This is the latest indication that U.S. sanction on the project may threaten fuel supplies throughout the Balkan nation. NIS officials and the Serbian government declined comment. In January, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department placed sanctions on Russia’s oil sector, including NIS. NIS is owned in majority by Russia’s Gazprom and Gazprom. US repeatedly granted NIS waivers until the sanctions came into force in October. The banks then stopped...

Alexander Novak, Deputy Premier of Russia, told reporters that the country will reach its OPEC+ production quota at the end or beginning of 2026. I think it will happen in the next few weeks, or maybe even by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Novak replied, "We'll see what the companies do," when asked about when Russia will reach its quota. The Russian quota is around 9.5 million barrels of oil per day for November. Novak stated that Russia increased its oil production steadily in November, and the rate of growth was slightly higher than...

Sources familiar with the situation said that Exxon Mobil, a U.S. oil giant, is considering buying parts of Lukoil’s international assets. Sources claim that Exxon is evaluating options to purchase Lukoil assets, in Kazakhstan. Both the U.S. firm and the Russian company have stakes in the Karachaganak field and Tengiz field. Chevron, a partner in these assets as well, is also examining options to purchase them, according to a report on Monday. Two sources claim that Exxon could also be considering a bid for the West Qurna 2 oil field in Iraq. This field is operated by Lukoil, and is...

The U.S. Treasury announced on Monday that U.S. sanction against Russian oil giants Rosneft, and Lukoil have already reduced Russian oil revenues. They are also likely to reduce Russian oil sales in the future. In a press release, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control stated that their analysis of the first market impact of sanctions announced on the 22nd of October showed they were "having their intended effect of dampening Russian revenue by lowering Russian oil prices and therefore the ability of the country to fund its war against Ukraine." The Treasury's action was one of the strongest U.S....

A senior White House official stated on Monday that President Donald Trump would be willing to sign legislation imposing sanctions on Russia, as long as the ultimate decision-making power remained with him. Trump told reporters on Sunday night that he was "OK" with Republicans working on legislation to impose restrictions on countries that do business with Russia because Moscow failed to negotiate a deal with Ukraine. Trump suggested that lawmakers could add Iran to sanctions measures. Both Senator Lindsey Graham, and U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick are Republicans. They sponsored legislation to impose restrictions on countries that do business with Russia....

On Monday, the Russian rouble fell against the U.S. Dollar and the Chinese yuan as the corporate sales of foreign currencies, which had supported the rouble over the past few weeks, decreased. The rouble fell more than 0.4% against the dollar at 1050 GMT and was down 0.2% against the yuan at 1140 on the Moscow Stock Exchange. The traders believe that the currency sales of Russia's two major oil companies, Rosneft & Lukoil - both sanctioned in the U.S. - have supported the rouble. The traders did, however, note the recent irregularity of corporate forex sales. The U.S. has...

The Trump administration allowed transactions on Thursday with Lukoil outside of Russia, with a small waiver from sanctions imposed by the U.S. in October because the company's revenue is used to support Moscow's war against Ukraine. A posting on the Treasury Department website stated that the transactions for approximately 2,000 stations in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as the Americas were authorized until April 29, 2026. In October, President Donald Trump imposed sanctions against Lukoil, one of Russia's largest oil companies. This triggered a rush of buyers to buy its assets, estimated at $22 billion. These...

In just a few short years, China's electric vehicle industry has captured more than half of its domestic market. This has led to a decline in sales for gasoline-powered cars from the once dominant global automakers. Foreign players were not the only losers. Chinese automakers who had been in business for decades also saw their sales plummet and responded by flooding foreign markets with fossil fuel vehicles that they couldn't sell domestically. Despite the fact that Western policymakers are protecting their markets by imposing tariffs on China's heavily subsidized EVs to protect them, U.S. automakers and European automakers will face...

India's oil exports to Russia are expected to reach their highest level for five months in November, according to preliminary data from Kpler, as refiners scrambled to secure barrels before a U.S. date to stop transactions with Russian oil producers sanctioned by the United States. India, which is the third largest oil importer in the world, was the biggest purchaser of discounted Russian crude shipped by sea after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit South Asia next month. His last visit was in December of 2021, just a few months after...

India's Russian crude oil imports will be at their lowest level in three years by December. They were already higher than they had been for several months in November as refiners sought alternatives to avoid violating Western sanctions. The United States, Britain and the European Union have all tightened sanctions against Moscow in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Washington's most recent measures target top Russian oil producers Rosneft, and Lukoil. The deadline for buyers of Russian oil to end their dealings with these two companies was November 21. Separately the EU set a deadline of 21 January after which...

The oil prices fell Monday, continuing the losses of last week as Russia and Ukraine peace talks moved closer to a resolution, while the U.S. Dollar strengthened. Brent crude futures dropped 14 cents or 0.22% to $62.42 a barrel at 1:48 GMT. West Texas Intermediate fell 15 cents or 0.26% to $57.91 per barrel. Last week, both crude benchmarks fell about 3% and reached their lowest settlements in over a month. Market participants were concerned that a Russia/Ukraine agreement could lift sanctions against Moscow and flood market with previously sanctioned supplies. The sell-off in oil prices was primarily triggered by...

Sources and data show that despite Ukraine's largest drone attacks, Russia's oil production has only fallen by 3% in this year. Refineries have avoided a sharp decline in fuel output by using spare capacity to offset the damage caused by the strikes. Ukraine has intensified drone attacks in Russia. The aim is to destroy oil refineries and depots, and shut down pipelines, as well as Moscow's main source of funding the war in Ukraine. The majority of attacks took place at the beginning of 2025, then resumed in August. At least 17 major refineries were targeted by Ukrainian drones, which...

The chairman of Bulgaria's state reserves agency announced on Tuesday that the country has only one month's worth of gasoline left, as it prepares for the impending U.S. sanction against Russia's Lukoil. Lukoil owns Bulgaria's biggest oil refinery, and the majority of its storage and pipeline infrastructure. Last month, the U.S., Britain, and France imposed sanctions against Lukoil, and Rosneft - Russia's largest oil companies - over Moscow's conflict in Ukraine. This threatened their operations, which still stretch across Europe. The U.S. sanction, scheduled to start on November 21, has raised concerns over fuel supplies in Bulgaria ahead of winter,...

Helsingin Sanomat, citing Teboil's spokesperson, reported Friday that the Finnish petrol station chain Teboil is out of fuel due to U.S. sanctions imposed on its parent company. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on October 22 that Rosneft (Russia's oil company) and Lukoil would be subject to sanctions as a result of a policy shift regarding Moscow's conflict in Ukraine. He also said that companies who do business with these two groups may face sanctions. The U.S. Treasury referred to Gunvor as Russia's "puppet", and indicated that Washington was against the deal. On November 6, a deal between Gunvor, a...

The oil prices fell on Tuesday due to weaker manufacturing data and a stronger US dollar. In addition, the OPEC+'s decision to pause production increases in the first quarter next year may signal their concern over a possible supply glut. Brent crude futures were down 31 cents or 0.5% to $64.58 per barrel at 12:27 pm (1726 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was down 33 cents or 0.5% at $60.72. The high dollar valuation is putting pressure on crude futures today. U.S. stocks are also experiencing a large downside correction during the early trading as the government shut down...

The oil price was flat on Friday but headed for a third monthly decline as a strong dollar, weak China's data, and increased supply from major producers worldwide weighed. Brent crude futures recovered some of their earlier losses and were now up 29 cents or 0.5% at $65.29 per barrel at 1303 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was up 53 cents or 0.9% at $61.10 per barrel. Dollar-denominated goods such as oil are more expensive because the U.S. currency is near its three-month-highs. Sources said that Saudi Arabia may cut its crude oil price in December for Asian buyers...

The oil prices fell on Friday and are heading towards a third consecutive monthly decline as the stronger dollar has capped gains in commodities, while a rising global supply from major producers offsets the effect of Western sanctions against Russian exports. Brent crude futures fell 33 cents or 0.51% to $64.67 per barrel at 0027 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was $60.22 per barrel, down by 35 cents or 0.58%. In a recent note, ANZ analysts stated that a stronger USD impacted investor appetite for commodities. The greenback gained after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated on Wednesday that a...

The Turkish government said that it was continuing talks with Qatar and Oman to procure Eurofighter Typhoon jet fighters. This follows a Monday deal with Britain for the purchase of 20 jets. The agreement between NATO allies Turkey, Britain and France aims to strengthen their relationship and boost Turkish air defences. Ankara said that it also wanted to purchase 24 jets from Qatar and Oman, even if they were lightly used. Analysts have called the British Prime Minister Keir starmer's deal worth 8 billion pounds ($10.7billion) expensive. The Turkish Defence Ministry announced at a briefing held in Ankara that the...