Economics
Hungary's Orban says U.S. intervention in Venezuela good for energy markets
U.S. President Donald Trump, Orban's ally, who has exempted Hungary from U.S. sanctions on Russian energy for the 2026 Hungarian election year, has made clear that he wants to share in Venezuela's oil riches.
Opinion: U.S. oil refiners win, Chinese rivals lose in Trump’s Venezuela strike
Speaking on Saturday after announcing Maduro’s arrest on Truth Social, Trump said he would maintain the U.S. embargo on exports of sanctioned Venezuelan crude oil for now, but also stated that the U.S. would run Venezuela "for a period of time," suggesting U.S. restrictions could be lifted very soon.
India asks refiners for weekly Russian oil import data as it seeks U.S. trade deal
India became the biggest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude following the 2022 outbreak of the Ukraine war. But those purchases have fueled a backlash from Western nations, which have targeted Russia's energy sector with sanctions, arguing that oil revenues help fund Moscow's war effort.
Serbia's NIS gets U.S. approval to resume production in its refinery
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on NIS in October as part of broader measures against Russia's energy sector after granting a series of waivers since January.
Residual fuel fills Venezuela's storage tanks as exports cut to minimum
Most ships bound for Venezuelan ports for December and early January cargo deliveries have made U-turns, as the blockade spooks even vessels not under sanctions.
Indian Oil buys first Colombian oil under Ecopetrol contract
Indian refiners are scouting for crude as tighter U.S. and European Union sanctions on Moscow's producers and vessels are disrupting Russian oil imports.
China begins issuing second batch of 2026 crude import quotas to refiners
The newest allocation, combined with a small batch issued in late November, accounts for about 70% of the refiner's total quota for next year.
Ghana's Tema oil refinery restarts after 9-yr shutdown
Refining began on December 19 at the 45,000-bpd refinery, which had been shut since 2017.
Five energy market trends to track in 2026, the year of the glut
This past year was a wild one for the oil and gas industry, punctuated by the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, U.S. President Donald Trump's trade wars, the intensified targeting of energy infrastructure in Russia in its war against Ukraine, OPEC’s often perplexing production decisions and the recently threatened U.S. blockade of Venezuela.
Serbia's NIS gets U.S. approval to negotiate sale of Russian stake
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on NIS in October, as part of broader measures against Russia's energy sector, after granting a series of waivers since January.
- Petrobras delivers LPG sold at steep premiums despite Lula move to annul auction 4/3
- Plug Power to supply 275-MW GenEco electrolyzer system for Hy2gen’s Courant decarbonized ammonium nitrate project 4/3
- Vietnam refinery boosting jet fuel production 4/3
- China plans to upgrade some petrochemical plants, phase out others by 2029 4/3
- Morocco has diesel stocks for 51 days, energy ministry says 4/3
- Nigeria's Seplat Energy hit by strike amid push for higher output 4/3
