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Oil & Gas

Oil & Gas

Sources say that the Russian cartel office has proposed a complete ban on gasoline exports.

Three industry sources said that the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has proposed an export ban on gasoline to combat high fuel prices. At the moment, only a small percentage of gasoline exported by re-sellers is restricted, whereas oil companies have a license to sell fuel abroad. The restrictions will last until August 31. FAS refused to comment. The government decides on any possible export ban, but the regulator can make its own proposals. The proposal to tighten restrictions was made as the domestic wholesale gasoline price in Russia on a commodity market jumped up to a 2-year high this month,...

Oil & Gas

Ukrainian forces attack an oil depot in Russia’s Rostov Region

The Ukrainian military reported that Ukrainian forces attacked and destroyed an oil depot located in the southern Rostov region of Russia, which was used to supply Russian troops in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces announced that the military’s special operations units in conjunction with rocket and artillery forces had struck the Atlas plant in Rostov Region, not far away from Ukraine’s eastern border. In a Telegram statement, the General Staff confirmed that "our forces have struck in the area where the target is located." "A fire was observed." "The results of the...

Oil & Gas

Moscow promises to closely supervise foreign businesses returning to Russia

Igor Krasnov is the Russian Prosecutor-General, who led the government's effort to seize property valued at 2.4 trillion rubles ($31 billion). He said that foreign companies returning to Russia would be closely monitored to ensure Russia benefits. In the three years since Russia began its war in Ukraine, Moscow has taken over a dozen assets owned by foreigners under its management. This year, prosecutors have increased the seizure and confiscation of assets in Ukraine. As the economy slows down after two years of high growth, fueled by military spending, Russian officials try to strike a balance between protecting the economy...

Oil & Gas

Finance Ministry: Russian energy, transportation, and finance companies are among the candidates for privatisation

The Russian state-owned energy, transport, and financial sectors are among those that will be privatised, said Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Friday as Moscow sought to raise money for the federal government budget. Moscow, shunned since the start of the Ukraine conflict by Western capital, has sought ways to increase domestic private investment and economic efficiency, as well as, ultimately, boost budget revenues, given that Russia is spending heavily on the war. Siluanov, at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, said on Friday, "It's a very delicate topic right now. But I can tell you that it's energy, finance and...

Oil & Gas

G7 needs to raise pressure on Russia, von der Leyen says

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said that more pressure should be applied to Russia in order to secure a ceasefire. She urged G7 nations intensify sanctions to achieve this goal. The leaders of the largest industrial countries are meeting in Canada’s Rockies, along with European nations. They want to keep the conflict in Ukraine on the minds of U.S. president Donald Trump, despite the fighting between Israel and Iran taking place in the Middle East. The European Union has decided to adopt new sanctions against Russia. However, they have not been able to convince Trump, who...

Oil & Gas

Overview of Iran's Energy Industry and Infrastructure

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...

Oil & Gas

U.S. criticizes Russia for inflaming WW3 fears following Trump's "playing with Fire" remark

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...

Oil & Gas

Novak, the Russian oil minister, says that there has been no discussion yet about the OPEC+ increasing their oil production from July.

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...

Oil & Gas

Taliban talks with Russia and China about trade in local currency

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...

Natural Gas Utilities

Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, has scrapped its dividend due to high interest rates

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...

Mineral Resources

Rosneft has taken control of Russia's biggest rare earth deposit.

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...

Oil & Gas

Ukraine wants G7 to lower price cap on Russian oil to $30 per barrel

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...

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Putin: No need for OPEC+ intervention in the oil market because of Iran-Israel conflict

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said that the conflict between Iran & Israel had not caused oil prices to rise significantly. He also stated that the OPEC+ oil producers did not need to intervene on the oil market. Brent crude futures reached their highest level since late January as investors were on edge due to the escalation of a recent air war between Israel, Iran and Syria. Putin stated that the price of crude oil is now around $75 per barrel. Before the conflict escalated, it was $65. "We see, of course, that the current Middle East situation, as well...

Fossil Fuels

Rosatom will explore the construction of a high-capacity reactor in Uzbekistan

Rosatom, the state-owned nuclear corporation of Russia, signed a deal with Uzbekistan’s Atomic Energy Agency on Friday to examine the feasibility and cost of building a nuclear power plant capable enough to generate large amounts in this Central Asian nation. Rosatom has already planned to build smaller nuclear units in Uzbekistan. The agreement was signed with the Uzbek Government at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Over the weekend, the Kazakh government also asked the Russian energy company to lead a group to build the country's first nuclear power station. The five former Soviet Central Asian republics do not have...

Fossil Fuels

The wife of a Russian oligarch has asked the UK court to jail her husband for unpaid legal fees

The wife of an oil tycoon from Russia asked a London judge on Wednesday for a jail sentence against her husband. She claimed that he repeatedly refused to pay the legal fees she incurred in their multimillion-dollar divorce case. Elena Kroupeeva, Mikhail Kroupeev's wife, accuses him of refusing numerous court orders after their 36-year-old marriage ended. The legal team of Kroupeeva told the court that the couple split in "tempestuous circumstances" after Kroupeeva learned in 2023 that her husband was living a double-life with a second secret family in Russia for the majority of the past 20 years. Kroupeev began...

Crude Oil

Power Markets

Nuclear Power

Russia claims it is too soon to estimate the damage caused by US bombs to Iranian nuclear facilities

The Kremlin stated on Wednesday that the damage caused by U.S. airstrikes on Iran's nucleus facilities last weekend was still too early to determine. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, said "No" when asked if Russia held its own data on the extent of damage. I don't believe that anyone has realistic data at this time. "It's likely too early to have such data. We need to wait for them." The U.S. president Donald Trump claimed at the weekend that these strikes "obliterated Iran's nuclear facility". Three sources familiar with the situation said that an initial U.S. Intelligence assessment determined...

Power Markets

InterRAO, a Russian energy company, says that electricity exports will fall by 4% in this year due to lower supplies to China

The head of the state-owned energy company InterRAO stated that Russian electricity exports have fallen by around 4% this year due to a large drop in supplies going to China. He also predicted that the amount would fall by the exact same amount by 2025. InterRAO's total exports fell by 17.6% to 8,53 billion kilowatt hours in 2024. The decline in exports was caused by the Russian Far East's power system restrictions, which reduced exports to China. Kazakhstan will account for 54% of Russia’s electricity exports by 2024. This makes it the largest export market. "As at mid-June total electricity...

Power Markets

Kremlin denies it helped Iran little

The Kremlin reacted to criticism on Tuesday that it hadn't done enough for Iran. It said it had taken "a clear position" in condemning U.S. Vladimir Putin condemned the "unjustified attacks" by the United States on Iranian nuclear sites, which he had signed a treaty of strategic cooperation with in January. He stated on Monday that Russia will try to assist the Iranian people. However, he did not give any specifics. Earlier this week, Iranian sources said that Tehran was not impressed by Russia's support. When asked about the comparisons with the overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad last year,...

Power Markets

Rosneft's head says OPEC+ can increase oil production by a year

Igor Sechin said that the OPEC+ group, which includes major oil producers around the world, could accelerate its production increases by a year compared to their initial plan. He said the decision of OPEC+ to increase output now looks far-sighted and justifiable in light of the conflict between Israel and Iran. In April, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia shocked the oil markets by agreeing to a larger-than-expected increase in output for May, despite low prices and a slowing of demand. OPEC+ decided to increase prices by more than originally planned. "The...

Coal

Russia signs an investment agreement with Myanmar and sees offshore oil prospects

The Russian government signed an agreement on Friday with Myanmar that could provide new opportunities to Russian energy companies operating in the country. After signing the agreement with Kan Zaw (Minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of Myanmar), the Myanmar Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and the Economy, Maxim Reshetnikov, said: "We particularly note the Myanmar side's readiness to attract Russian companies for the development of offshore gas and oil fields." The deal will help speed up projects, including those in Myanmar's Dawei Special Economic Zone where a 660MW coal-fired thermoelectric power plant is under construction. Russia is building...

Nuclear Power

Regime change in Tehran? Putin: Iran consolidates around its leaders

When asked if he agrees with Israeli statements regarding a possible regime change in Tehran, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded on Thursday by saying that Iranian society is consolidating around the Islamic Republic’s leadership. Putin has spoken as Trump Keep the World Guessing As residents of Iran's Capital city began to leave the city after the sixth day of Israel's airstrike, many wondered if the U.S. was going to join Israel in its bombardment of Iranian missile and nuclear sites. Putin said that all sides must find ways to end the hostilities so as to ensure both Iran's rights to...

Power Markets

Russia notes Iran's commitment towards NPT and says Israeli attacks against Iran are illegal

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned on Tuesday the continued Israeli attacks against Iran and said that a diplomatic solution could only be reached to resolve the conflict regarding Tehran's nuclear program. The ministry posted a statement on Telegram saying that "Israel's continued intensive attacks on Iran’s peaceful nuclear sites violate international law, create unacceptable threats to the international security of the world and lead to a nuclear disaster ...,"." The report said that the widespread condemnation of Israeli action showed that Israel only found support "from states that are actually co-participants, and who act for opportunistic purposes." The Ministry noted...

Nuclear Power

Kremlin: Russia is willing to mediate in Iran and accept Tehran's Uranium.

The Kremlin announced on Monday that Russia is still ready to serve as a mediator between Israel and Iran. Moscow's proposal to store Iranian Uranium in Russia also remains on the table. Tehran claims it has a right to peaceful nuclear energy, but the rapid progress of its uranium-enrichment programme has sparked fears across the Gulf and the West that the country is trying to build a nuclear bomb. enriched uranium It is possible to ease the crisis by converting nuclear fuel from Iran into civilian reactor fuel. This proposal is still on the table and it is still relevant....

Nuclear Power

IAEA Board declares Iran in violation of non-proliferation obligations

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,...

Power Markets

Grossi: Iran's obtaining IAEA documentation is bad and shows poor co-operation.

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...

Nuclear Power

IAEA chief: No way to restart Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant at this time

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...

Power Markets

Energy Minister: Turkey is in talks with Candu about nuclear plants

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,"...