Iran is boosting natural gas production from Phase 11 of the giant South Pars field after bringing online a key new well, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. The eighth well at South Pars 11 – the 11th phase of development at the world’s largest natural gas discovery, which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf – will raise output from South Pars by 3 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d), Iranian state-run firm PetroPars said on Tuesday. Thus, the total natural gas output at the giant South Pars field has reached 20 mcm/d.…

A while ago, in a article about investment opportunities, we concluded that water was the new oil, the commodity that would provide one of the the best returns in the future. A bit hyperbolic, maybe? But there is another aspect of water relevant to resource industries, namely that its scarcity will inhibit or raise costs of resource development, including that of oil and gas. Take fracking, which made America’s petroleum industry great again. It requires large quantities of water. And after the fracking, the drillers have to do something…

Taiwan is pledging to buy more U.S. oil and gas, which is a focus of the tariff talks with the Trump Administration, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday. “Increasing purchases from the United States, including natural gas, oil, and other essential national energy sources, is not only the next focus of the tariff negotiations between Taiwan and the U.S., but also an important part of Taiwan's efforts to strengthen its energy autonomy and resilience,” Lai’s office said, as carried by Reuters. Currently, Taiwan’s…

Oil markets are bracing for the next big external shock as Trump's trade war with China continues to escalate and talks of a potential nuclear deal with Iran threaten to bring fresh supply to markets. - The start of trade negotiations between the United States and Asia Pacific countries has been marked by evident interest in US LNG projects, whilst the likes of South Korea and Japan kept relatively mum about crude. - Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te announced that Taipei would seek to increase the share of US LNG imports from the current…

Richard Kinder doesn’t lose sleep over trade wars or chatbots. The billionaire co-founder of Kinder Morgan waved off the industry handwringing over U.S.-China LNG tariffs and the supposedly overhyped energy appetite of AI data centers. “Our view is that any loss of the Chinese market will be more than offset by the efforts of governments in the EU and Asia to increase the imports of US LNG,” he said on the company’s recent Q1 earnings call. Translation: let Beijing play tariff tag—Kinder’s pipelines are still…

Richard Kinder doesn’t lose sleep over trade wars or chatbots. The billionaire co-founder of Kinder Morgan waved off the industry handwringing over U.S.-China LNG tariffs and the supposedly overhyped energy appetite of AI data centers. “Our view is that any loss of the Chinese market will be more than offset by the efforts of governments in the EU and Asia to increase the imports of US LNG,” he said on the company’s recent Q1 earnings call. Translation: let Beijing play tariff tag—Kinder’s pipelines are still…

Previously we explained that the US-China trade war has been unique in that the US was hit fast and hard, mostly through capital markets and financial linkages, which travel instantaneously with acute consequences (the recent dump of US treasuries by China and subsequent purchases of the yuan and perhaps gold took effect in milliseconds, and prompted a cottage industry of narratives how the US dollar is losing its reserve currency status). At the same time, the impact to the Chinese economy takes a while to propagate, as supply chains take weeks…

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports jumped by nearly 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February compared to January, the latest data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Tuesday. Crude exports from the world’s biggest crude exporter averaged 6.547 million bpd in February, up from 6.073 million bpd in January, according to the JODI database, which compiles self-reported figures from individual countries. Saudi crude oil production averaged 8.947 million bpd in February, essentially flat compared to the 8.917 million…

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports jumped by nearly 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February compared to January, the latest data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Tuesday. Crude exports from the world’s biggest crude exporter averaged 6.547 million bpd in February, up from 6.073 million bpd in January, according to the JODI database, which compiles self-reported figures from individual countries. Saudi crude oil production averaged 8.947 million bpd in February, essentially flat compared to the 8.917 million…

Chinese scientists have achieved a significant milestone in clean energy tech after successfully adding fresh fuel to an operational thorium molten salt reactor, Chinese state media has reported. According to Guangming Daily, the 2-megawatt experimental reactor is located in the Gobi Desert, and the latest milestone puts China at the forefront in the race to build a practical thorium reactor–long considered a more abundant and safer alternative to uranium.  More significantly, China has relied heavily on long-abandoned American research…

Amid heightened uncertainty about trade and economies, gold prices have hit multiple record highs this year, while oil prices have slipped to four-year lows as concerns about global oil demand spiked with all the trade and tariff chaos. Gold hit another record high on Monday as the U.S.-China trade war escalated and the U.S. dollar weakened amid persistent fears of a recession. Gold, the safe-haven asset, has benefited from the market chaos, while riskier commodity assets, such as crude oil, have suffered amid deteriorating oil demand outlooks.…

That energy commodities will be the first to suffer from the trade spat between the United States and China was only to be expected. As tension—and tariff rates—rise, energy commodity trade has plummeted. And it has spread to one major U.S. export segment: petrochemical feedstock. Last year, propane exports from the United States hit a record high since records began back in 1973. These exports had been rising for 17 years straight, the Energy Information Administration reported last month, as natural gas production boomed—and…

Just one day after U.S. negotiators met their Iranian counterparts in Oman to discuss drawing up a new nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), Energy Secretary Chris Wright flew into Saudi Arabia to talk about a nuclear deal with the Kingdom as well. Such a deal with Riyadh would place enormous pressure on its historical religious, political and military enemy Tehran to reach an agreement on its own nuclear energy programme with the U.S. sooner rather than later. It would also be pivotal in reversing the decade-long drift of Saudi…

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures declining nearly 3% as markets reacted to perceived progress in U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations and mounting concerns over global demand.? Brent crude was trading down 2.2% at $66.59, and the U.S. crude benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was down 1.92% at $63.44, unsure of how to weigh the impact of a fast-evolving tariff war theater against what analysts are interpreting as a positive progress towards shifting away from military threats.  Earlier…

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures declining nearly 3% as markets reacted to perceived progress in U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations and mounting concerns over global demand.? Brent crude was trading down 2.2% at $66.59, and the U.S. crude benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was down 1.92% at $63.44, unsure of how to weigh the impact of a fast-evolving tariff war theater against what analysts are interpreting as a positive progress towards shifting away from military threats.  Earlier…

Libya's dinar has plunged to record lows, driven by a sharp decline in oil revenues and escalating political unrest. The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) devalued the currency by 13.3% on April 6, setting the official rate at 5.5677 dinars per U.S. dollar—the first such move since 2020. However, the black-market rate has soared to over 7.20 dinars per dollar, reflecting deepening economic instability.? In a modest sign of recovery, Harouge Oil resumed production at its Amal Fields B-102 well, pumping 1,500 barrels per day. While this development…

The Trump administration’s tariff regime, intended to boost US manufacturing and inflict punitive damage on Chinese manufacturing, has disrupted multiple industrial supply chains into the US with cascading effects across other regions. For the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s oilfield services (OFS) sector, the effects are indirect but may be significant if unmitigated by national oil companies (NOCs) and OFS suppliers. With the US turning more inward, these companies can pivot sourcing to take advantage of foreign sources…

Via Metal Miner The Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) saw a significant bullish action month-over-month, rising by a total of 8%. The U.S. precious metals market (and precious metals prices in general) saw dramatic swings over the past five weeks amid a backdrop of stubborn inflation, evolving interest rate expectations, new tariffs and geopolitical tensions. All of these factors have all come together to pull the index in different directions. Meanwhile, manufacturing buyers continue to feel whiplash from rapid price movements.…

Kazakhstan is adopting a non-confrontational stance as it finesses trade relations with the United States, seeking engagement rather than retaliation over the imposition of US tariffs. Deputy Trade Minister Zhanel Kushukova told journalists on April 17 that the government intended to send a delegation to Washington to hold talks on a variety of trade issues, including tariffs. The Trump administration initially hit Kazakh goods with a 27-percent tariff rate, but subsequently scaled the rate back provisionally to 10 percent. In addition, the Trump…

Ukrainian authorities reported dozens of Russian missile and drone attacks on April 21, just hours after US President Donald Trump voiced hope that an agreement would be reached between the two countries this week. Strikes were reported in Kyiv and other Ukrainian towns and cities. A man was reportedly injured by shelling in Kherson. A Ukrainian drone strike was reported in Russia’s Belgorod region. Russian state media cited the Defense Ministry in Moscow as saying that the country’s forces had “resumed” fighting in Ukraine…