With the next round of EU sanctions on Russia due for renewal in July, Brussels is cooking up a workaround to one persistent problem: Hungary. Specifically, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who’s been repeatedly threatening to walk unless he gets what he wants. Traditionally, renewing sanctions requires unanimous support from all 27 EU member states. That’s been increasingly awkward, thanks to Orbán’s not-so-secret bromance with Vladimir Putin and his tendency to use sanction votes as leverage for unrelated goodies.…

With the next round of EU sanctions on Russia due for renewal in July, Brussels is cooking up a workaround to one persistent problem: Hungary. Specifically, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who’s been repeatedly threatening to walk unless he gets what he wants. Traditionally, renewing sanctions requires unanimous support from all 27 EU member states. That’s been increasingly awkward, thanks to Orbán’s not-so-secret bromance with Vladimir Putin and his tendency to use sanction votes as leverage for unrelated goodies.…

Extending sanctions against Russia has been one of the most pressing issues for the European Union -- especially this year. And Hungary's record of holding out against such sanctions has officials in Brussels worried about what will happen when the next extension deadline comes around, this time in July. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has for a long time voiced opposition to the EU's sanctions on the Kremlin and refused to agree on any new measures that target energy imports into the bloc from Russia. These rollovers happen every six months…

As the oil markets digest the impact of Trump's tariffs, every major institution seems to be lowering its forecast for both demand and prices.- Pre-tariff frenzy has helped Chinese exports beat expectations in Q1 2025, with total exports rising 12.4% year-over-year in March, triple of analyst expectations and amounting to a hefty $313.9 billion.- Not even US-China trade saw notable changes last month as Beijing’s trade surplus surged to $27.6 billion on the back of a 4.5% year-over-year increase in bilateral trade.  - Chinese refiners…

Global oil supply is set to rise by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, lower by 260,000 bpd than the growth expected last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, citing lower-than-forecast production from the United States and Venezuela. The U.S.-China trade war escalation and the tariffs on imports into the U.S. have sent oil prices plummeting this month. The U.S. benchmark oil price, WTI Crude, has now slumped to levels that American producers have flagged are below their breakeven price. “The significant…

Global oil supply is set to rise by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, lower by 260,000 bpd than the growth expected last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, citing lower-than-forecast production from the United States and Venezuela. The U.S.-China trade war escalation and the tariffs on imports into the U.S. have sent oil prices plummeting this month. The U.S. benchmark oil price, WTI Crude, has now slumped to levels that American producers have flagged are below their breakeven price. “The significant…

Global oil demand is expected to grow by just 730,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year amid escalating trade tensions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, slashing the previous month’s growth forecast by 300,000 bpd. Escalating trade tensions have negatively impacted the economic outlook, the IEA said today in its Oil Market Report (OMR) for April, and sees further slowdown in demand growth next year, when consumption is now forecast to increase by only 690,000 bpd. Risks to the forecast “remain rife given the fast-moving…

Pakistan is actively considering the idea of importing U.S. crude oil for the first time to seek a reduction of its trade surplus with America and avoid one of the highest tariffs – currently paused – on its goods sold in the United States. Crude oil is one of the products that Pakistan is actively exploring to buy from the U.S. to appease President Donald Trump, a Pakistani government source and an executive at a local refinery told Reuters on Tuesday. Pakistan imported about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil last year, mostly…

Pakistan is actively considering the idea of importing U.S. crude oil for the first time to seek a reduction of its trade surplus with America and avoid one of the highest tariffs – currently paused – on its goods sold in the United States. Crude oil is one of the products that Pakistan is actively exploring to buy from the U.S. to appease President Donald Trump, a Pakistani government source and an executive at a local refinery told Reuters on Tuesday. Pakistan imported about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil last year, mostly…

The temperature in downtown Muscat over the weekend was 35 degrees Celsius, but for the swarms of high-level officials from the U.S. and Iran buzzing around busily discussing a new ‘nuclear deal’ it probably felt a lot hotter than that. On the one side was the delegation from the U.S. who found themselves in direct talks with their Iranian counterparts largely because their President threatened military action against the Islamic Republic if they did not attend. Washington’s core aim is to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons…

Two weeks ago, China announced a slew of countermeasures in retaliation against punitive tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump, including extra levies of 34% on all U.S. goods as well as export curbs on rare earth minerals. Under the new restrictions, exporters will now be required to apply for a license from China’s Ministry of Economy and also disclose the final use of rare earth elements (REE) and critical metals such as dysprosium, gadolinium, samarium, scandium, terbium, yttrium and lutetium.  This wasn’t the first time Beijing…

Is the Iraq-Türkiye Cooperation Set to Skyrocket? Iraq’s struggling oil and gas sectors may be on the verge of a breakthrough as cooperation between Baghdad and Ankara intensifies. According to Turkish media, Türkiye is advancing plans to expand its energy collaboration with Iraq significantly. Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, recently announced that proposals are underway to construct new oil and natural gas pipelines stretching from Basra to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. In tandem, Ankara…

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices dipped into the low $60 per barrel range following President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announced on 2 April. While the subsequent 9 April move to pause the new levies at 10% for most countries for the next 90 days helped WTI prices recoup some losses, the market remains extremely volatile. This price level is well above the fundamental upstream breakevens for most US shale players, especially those in the Permian. However, Rystad Energy finds that additional corporate items, including higher…

Based on Moscow’s new energy plan, Russian crude oil production and exports are set to remain flat until 2050, and output is projected to settle at around 540 million metric tons by the end of this decade, crimped by U.S. and European Union sanctions, Bloomberg reported on Monday. In 2023, Russia produced 531 million metric tons. In terms of exports, Russia’s new energy plan projects flat exports through 2050 of around 235 million tons annually. While oil production is set to see zero growth from now until the middle of the century,…

The majority of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) have sidelined net zero practices, according to a survey of around 500 business owners, in signs that net zero policies are increasingly falling out of fashion.  President Donald Trump’s abandonment of Biden-era green policies has driven a global trend that is seeing firms and governments move away from prioritising climate change.  Now this survey appears to suggest that UK firms are following suit as higher cost pressures bite.  More than half of business owners have deprioritised…

Based on Moscow’s new energy plan, Russian crude oil production and exports are set to remain flat until 2050, and output is projected to settle at around 540 million metric tons by the end of this decade, crimped by U.S. and European Union sanctions, Bloomberg reported on Monday. In 2023, Russia produced 531 million metric tons. In terms of exports, Russia’s new energy plan projects flat exports through 2050 of around 235 million tons annually. While oil production is set to see zero growth from now until the middle of the century,…

The World Bank is under fire over allegations of impropriety in financing the Rogun Dam project in Tajikistan. Specifically, bank officials are facing accusations that they failed to comply with procedures to account for potential environmental and socio-economic harms associated with the project. A statement issued April 8 by the World Bank’s Inspection Panel, an independent investigative body, announced the registration of a formal Request for Inspection, in effect a complaint, concerning the bank’s involvement in the Rogun hydropower…

Average national prices for a gallon of gasoline at the pump on Monday fell for the first time in a month, according to GasBuddy, dropping 8.2 cents per gallon compared to a week ago, with prices still 7.8 cents higher than a month ago, and 46.9 cents higher than this time last year.  Diesel is also tracking this month with gasoline, with the national average per gallon of diesel dropping 4.8 cents week-on-week, resting at $3.546 per gallon on Wednesday, according to GasBuddy data.   “After oil’s sharp drop over the last…

Average national prices for a gallon of gasoline at the pump on Monday fell for the first time in a month, according to GasBuddy, dropping 8.2 cents per gallon compared to a week ago, with prices still 7.8 cents higher than a month ago, and 46.9 cents higher than this time last year.  Diesel is also tracking this month with gasoline, with the national average per gallon of diesel dropping 4.8 cents week-on-week, resting at $3.546 per gallon on Wednesday, according to GasBuddy data.   “After oil’s sharp drop over the last…

Average national prices for a gallon of gasoline at the pump on Monday fell for the first time in a month, according to GasBuddy, dropping 8.2 cents per gallon compared to a week ago, with prices still 7.8 cents higher than a month ago, and 46.9 cents higher than this time last year.  Diesel is also tracking this month with gasoline, with the national average per gallon of diesel dropping 4.8 cents week-on-week, resting at $3.546 per gallon on Wednesday, according to GasBuddy data.   “After oil’s sharp drop over the last…