Economics
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.
China's teapots boost Russian ESPO buying amid record discounts
Discounts for Russian ESPO Blend crude loading in January have widened to a record $7–$8 per barrel versus ICE Brent upon delivery in Chinese ports, as Western sanctions pressure weighs on the grade.
Gazprom in talks with Hungary's MOL over NIS stake sale
The United States announced sweeping sanctions targeting Russia's oil sector in January over Moscow's war in Ukraine, but, for NIS, their application was postponed several times before finally coming into effect on October 8.
Glencore buys majority stake in Dutch fuel company FincoEnergies
Finco is a major player in the Dutch wholesale fuel market and in the region's biofuels and low-carbon fuel sectors.
bp picks first outsider CEO Meg O'Neill after abrupt Auchincloss exit
O'Neill, who will take over in April following the abrupt exit of Murray Auchincloss, becomes bp's first external CEO in its more than century-long history and the first woman to lead any of the world's top five oil majors.
Cuba on edge as U.S. seizure of oil tanker puts supply at risk
A U.S. move this week to seize an oil tanker out of Venezuela is poised to make a bad situation worse for a crisis-stricken Cuba already struggling to source enough oil to power its ailing economy and electrical grid.
- Valero Energy Q4 profit beats estimates; shares surge 1/30
- Dow launches "Transform to Outperform" to raise the competitive industry benchmark for productivity and growth to enable improved returns 1/30
- Russian oil refineries' peak maintenance expected in January and September 1/30
- U.S. lifts some Venezuela sanctions to ease oil sales 1/30
- Keppel, Aster plan sustainable aviation fuel project in Singapore 1/30
- Boeing, Israel's Technion to develop sustainable aviation fuel, as sector grapples with 2050 goal 1/30

