North Asia

Israel launched strikes against Iran on Friday. It targeted its nuclear facilities, missile factories, and military commanders as part of a long-term operation, which it has warned will be prolonged, to stop Tehran from building atomic weapons. According to the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, oil storage and refining plants were not damaged by the attack. Here are some interesting facts about the energy industry of the country, its exports, and the impact that previous Western sanctions had on it. SANCTIONS & OPEC According to OPEC, Iran's oil output peaked in the 1970s. In 1974 it reached a...

Keith Kellogg - the envoy of U.S. president Donald Trump - scolded on Wednesday, a Russian official, for inciting fears of a third world war after Trump warned that President Vladimir Putin "played with fire" regarding Ukraine. Trump warned that Russia would have suffered "REALLY BAD things" if not for Trump's post on Truth Social. What Vladimir Putin does not realize is that without me, a lot of bad things, and I do mean BAD, would have happened in Russia. Trump stated in a Truth Social posting on Tuesday that "He's playing with flames." Former president Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Trump's...

RIA News Agency reported that Alexander Novak, the Russian prime minister, said on Monday morning that the OPEC+ grouping of major oil producers had not yet discussed raising output by another 411,000 barley per day before its meeting. On May 28, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia will host an online ministerial conference. Novak told RIA that he expected the two to discuss the current market conditions, forecasts, and "adjustments". Eight OPEC+ nations will meet separately, who had committed to voluntary extra cuts in oil production. Three OPEC+ source told us earlier...

Afghanistan's acting Commerce Minister said that the Taliban administration has advanced discussions with Russia to allow banks from both sanction-hit economies, Russia and Afghanistan, to settle trade transactions in local currency worth hundreds of millions in dollars. Haji Nooruddin, Azizi's minister, said on Thursday that the Afghan government had made similar offers to China. He said that discussions had taken place with the Chinese Embassy in Kabul. Azizi stated that technical teams in both countries were working on the proposal with Russia. As Moscow looks to use national currencies as a way to move away from the dollar, and Afghanistan...

Gazprom, the state-owned Russian energy giant, announced on Thursday that it had decided not to pay a dividend for 2024's results. This was in accordance with the position of the government and despite last year's return to profitability. The government is not helped by the absence of dividends, since it owns just under half of the share capital. It faces a number challenges, including falling oil and gas revenue, rising inflation, increased military spending, and a budget gap. Gazprom shares fell 4.42% to 130.5 roubles at the Moscow Stock Exchange as of 1335 GMT after the announcement. According to the...

Rosneft, the country's biggest rare earth metal deposit and largest oil company, acquired Tomtor on Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin urged the development of this field to be accelerated last year. Tomtor is located in the northern part of Siberian Yakutia region. It's a major project for Russia to increase production of metals used in the defense industry, mobile phones, and electric cars. Rosneft, according to the official Russian state registry, took control of Vostok engineering, the project operator, on May 20, 2018. Rosneft didn't immediately respond to a comment request. In November, Putin accused Tomtor's operator of delaying its...

Andriy Sibiha, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, said that Ukraine wanted the Group of Seven Advanced Economies to lower its price limit on Russian oil shipped by sea to $30 per barrel. The G7's current price cap is $60 per barrel. This was imposed because of Russia's conflict in Ukraine. Sybiha, a journalist from Brussels, told reporters that the reasonable price cap for oil is 30 dollars. The European Union (EU) and Britain (UK) announced new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday. They said that the sanctions would target the "shadow fleet" in Moscow of oil tankers, financial firms and other companies...

Valdis Dombrovskis, European Economic Commission Commissioner, said that the EU will propose this week to the G7 Finance Ministers a reduction of the current $60 per barrel cap on Russian oil seaborne as part the new sanctions against Moscow. Dombrovskis didn't mention the level at which the European Union wants the price cap to be lowered. However, EU officials who were briefed about the discussions stated that the EU would suggest $50 per barrel. When asked by reporters if the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Canada next week would include a proposal to lower this cap, he replied: "Yes." The...

Donald Trump said that he would be meeting with the presidents from Russia and Ukraine to discuss stopping the "bloodbath" in Ukraine. What are the obstacles that the U.S. President faces when he is trying to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia and Ukraine? SECURITY GUARANTEE Ukraine, which has been subjected to a full scale invasion in 2022, and witnessed Russia annex Crimea, needs security guarantees from major powers, primarily the United States. Sources involved in the talks say that the problem is that a security agreement without teeth could leave Ukraine vulnerable. Diplomats talked about a "robust" security guarantee,...

What are the possible contours of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine? SECURITY GUARANTEE Ukraine, which has been subjected to a full scale invasion in 2022, and witnessed Russia annex Crimea, needs security guarantees from major powers, primarily the United States. The Budapest Memorandum of 1994, in which the U.S., Russia and Britain agreed to refrain from using force against Ukraine and respect Ukrainian sovereignty was not enough for the Ukrainian government. The powers agreed to take the matter to the United Nations Security Council in the event of an attack on Ukraine. Sources involved in the talks say...

According to LSEG and market sources, the number of Russian diesel and gasoil seaborne exports decreased in April due to refineries performing seasonal maintenance. The industry also held back supplies for the expected increase in domestic demand over the summer months. Calculations based on LSEG data and other market sources showed that the total diesel and gasoil exported from Russian ports dropped to about 3.3 millions metric tons in March, a 10% drop. Shipping data shows that in April, the two main importers of Russian gasoil and diesel were Turkey and Brazil. Last month, diesel and gasoil exported from Russian...

In a ceremony broadcast on state television, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a strategic agreement with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Interfax, a Russian news agency, reported that the two leaders also spoke about energy and oil in their meeting at Moscow. In the agreement, Russia & Venezuela stated that they would promote joint efforts within OPEC +, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, and other organisations involved in the energy industry. The agreement stated that "the parties will promote an equitable and stable development of global markets for energy without using unfair competition instruments." The two companies agreed to work together...

The U.N. Nuclear Watchdog's Board of Governors, which consists of 35 nations, declared Iran in violation of its nonproliferation obligations for the first time since almost 20 years on Thursday. This could lead to a report being made to the U.N. Security Council. The major step represents the culmination of several simmering standoffs between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency that have arisen ever since President Donald Trump, during his first term in office, pulled the U.S. from a nuclear agreement between Tehran and other major powers. That deal then unraveled. Iran is likely to escalate its nuclear program,...

Rafael Grossi, the chief of the U.N. Nuclear Watchdog agency, said that Iran's purchase of secret documents from the watchdog is a "bad" step and goes against the spirit that should exist between Tehran and the agency. In a confidential report sent to its member states by the International Atomic Energy Agency on May 31, it said that "conclusive proof" had been provided by Iran of Iran's active collection and analysis of Agency documents. The report stated that this "raises grave concerns regarding Iran's collaboration spirit" and could undermine IAEA work in Iran. But Tehran, in a recent statement to...

The head of the UN nuclear safety watchdog stated on Tuesday that the idled Zaporizhzhia plant, which is occupied by Russia, was not in a position to restart at this time due to the lack of cooling water and a stable electricity supply. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said that water would need to be pumped out of the Dnipro River to restart the plant. It hasn't generated electricity for almost three years. In March 2022, Russia occupied the facility in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Region, Europe's biggest nuclear plant. This was shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion against its neighbor. The...

Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkish Energy Minister, said that Turkey has been in discussions with Candu Energy of Canada and other companies about plans to build Turkey's second and third nuclear plants. Bayraktar, who spoke to journalists during a trip to southeast Turkey Monday, said that Turkey wanted to "put names" on the projects it planned for this year. "Russia, South Korea, and China are all interested in the second or third power plant. He said that in addition to the countries and companies mentioned above, we were also in negotiations with other nations. Canada is one of them. "The Candu company,"...

On Wednesday, the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program accused the United States of interfering with Beijing’s efforts to cooperate in space programmes with Europe and other partners. Wu Weiren told foreign media in a rare, exclusive interview that China had a policy of "open space diplomacy" in contrast to the U.S. and was open to cooperating with both developing and developed nations on lunar exploration. Wu said that the International Lunar Research Station, an initiative led jointly by Russia and China, to establish a permanent lunar base by 2035 was progressing well. Already, 17 countries and organisations have...

The Finnish customs authority announced on Thursday that it was investigating a possible breach of Russian sanctions involving documents relating to the construction and operation of a nuclear plant. The Economic Crime Investigation Unit of Finnish Customs released a statement that the preliminary investigation focused on an important number of archived documents which were allegedly taken from a warehouse in Kymenlaakso to Russia. According to preliminary investigations, certain data are classified as materials subject to sanctions against Russia. Finnish Customs refused to comment on the matter further but stated that the managing director for a construction firm involved in the...

Iranian state media reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Moscow on Friday to deliver to Russian President Vladimir Putin a message sent by the Islamic Republic's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. U.S. president Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Iran of bombings and secondary tariffs, if Tehran fails to reach an agreement with Washington regarding its disputed nuclear programme. The United States have also moved additional warplanes in the region. Both sides characterized the U.S.-Iran talks held in Oman at the weekend as constructive and positive. Araqchi stated on Wednesday, ahead of the second round of negotiations that will...

Two sources who have direct knowledge of the case said that Italian prosecutors opened an investigation on possible terrorism and espionage after a drone flew over a research centre for the EU in northern Italy several times. Sources said that the European Joint Research Centre in Ispra on Lake Maggiore reported five drone flyovers by commercial drones in March. The images suggested the drone was of Russian origin. The JRC was opened as a site for nuclear research in 1960. The source said that the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into terrorism-related spies, including those who spied...

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant was a Russian facility, and it was impossible to transfer control of this plant to Ukraine or other countries. The ministry said that it was also not permissible to operate the plant jointly, as it would make it impossible to ensure the safety of the station in terms of both physical and nuclear security. The report said that the Zaporizhzhia Region, which is partly controlled by Russian troops, was one out of four regions in Ukraine to be annexed into Russia as a result of referendums held seven...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that he will speak with Vladimir Putin of Russia on Tuesday to discuss ending the Ukraine conflict. The question of who controls the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is likely to play a major role in the discussions. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of drone attacks and military activity around Zaporizhzhia - Europe's biggest nuclear plant - and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned about the dangers of a catastrophe there for years. The plant is located 500 kilometers (300 miles), away from the site where the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster, which...

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that future discussions between Russia and the United States will include discussions on Iran’s nuclear program, a topic it claimed had been "touched on" during an initial round U.S. - Russia talks last month. Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Russia had agreed to help the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump communicate with Iran about various issues including Tehran's nuclear program and its support for anti-U.S. regional proxies. Although the Kremlin did not confirm this, it has stated that Iran will now be one of many topics that Washington and Moscow will discuss in greater detail....

Rafael Grossi, the U.N. chief nuclear watchdog, defended his decision on Monday to send staff across Russian territory in order to relieve their colleagues at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine as an "extraordinary" exception. Since September 2022 - roughly six months after Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine - the International Atomic Energy Agency has had a small presence there. Since then, the IAEA has replaced or rotated its staff 26 times. Ukraine's Energy Minister sent Grossi a note saying that the latest rotation which, for the first time, passed through Russian territory was "in violation" of Ukraine's...