State giant China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, is planning to shut down for about two months the crude processing capacities at several refineries. These temporary closures from the middle of March to the end of May would affect about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude processing capacity, per data compiled by Reuters from trade and industry sources.
OPEC’s heavyweights Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait, as well as Oman (not an OPEC producer but an OPEC+ member) exported on average 5.51 million barrels per day (bpd) of refined petroleum products in 2024, up by more than 7% on the year, per the data.
The Corentyne block was supposed to be a much-needed diversification play in Guyana’s oil scene, which is basically ExxonMobil’s playground. With the U.S. supermajor running the show in the Stabroek Block—home to over 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent—the Frontera-CGX partnership was a scrappy underdog trying to carve out a slice of the pie.
The Trump administration just turned up the heat on Iran’s oil operations, slapping fresh sanctions on Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad and a handful of shadowy tankers sneaking crude to China. Treasury’s reasoning? Paknejad is allegedly funneling billions in oil revenue directly to Iran’s armed forces, and the ships—some flagged in Hong Kong, Liberia, and Seychelles—are playing an elaborate game of maritime hide-and-seek to keep the crude flowing.
Qatar is set to supply Syria with natural gas via Jordan with Washington’s approval, Reuters has reported. Qatar was one of the fiercest opponents of the deposed Bashar al-Assad and one of the strongest supporters of the rebels-turned rulers currently in charge. The gas would be transferred from Jordan via a pipeline to the Deir Ali power plant in southern Syria, where it could boost power supply by up to 400 megawatts. According to the Qatari Charge d’affaires in Syria Khalifa Abdullah Al Sharif, the plan aims to increase power production by an initial 400 MW to the country’s power capacity range up to around 4,000 MW.
The U.S. Treasury announced the sanctions on Thursday, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying that “The Iranian regime continues to use the proceeds from the nation’s vast oil resources to advance its narrow, alarming self-interests at the expense of the Iranian people. Treasury will fight and disrupt any attempts by the regime to fund its destabilizing activities and further its dangerous agenda.”
Russia is increasingly using cryptocurrencies in its oil trade with top clients China and India amid U.S. sanctions, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources, who said Russian oil traders were using the cryptocurrencies to facilitate the conversion of yuans and rupees into rubles.
Avangrid announced the investment at CERAWeek in Houston, Texas. At the energy conference Iberdrola executive chair Ignacio Galán and Avangrid chief executive Pedro Azagra met with key U.S. policymakers including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Bergum, who is also chair of the White House National Energy Dominance Council.
Exxon Mobil Corp.’s oil discovery in 2015 has transformed Guyana’s economic fortunes, filling the government’s coffers with billions of dollars from oil exports. But it’s also left the nation’s outlook extremely intertwined with the whims of the crude market at a time when an expectant population is looking for a rapid uplift in living standards.
Net Power Inc. has reset its plans for Project Permian (SN1) following the completion of the front-end engineering design (FFED) for its first utility-scale project in West Texas. The company said in a media release that the cost estimate was significantly higher than expected, prompting the company to pause long-lead releases for the project.