“Crude production, not including condensates, is at the lowest levels since 1979, before Pemex exploited its massive oil deposits. It’s at rock bottom,” said Oscar Ocampo, an energy analyst at the nonprofit Mexican Institute for Competitiveness. “In refining, the operational losses they’re delivering are massive. The more they refine, the more money they lose.”
The companies said, “Through their innovative efforts and focus on efficient practices, these industry leaders aim to shorten the concept-to-electron timeline, ensuring that electricity generation capacity is quickly brought online to help meet demand”.
The government’s aid package would be effective for three months, the official added, as Italy expects energy prices to start declining after the end of the winter season.
Salvini also expressed hope that there would be a ceasefire in Ukraine in the next three months, which would help lower energy prices.
Canadians overwhelmingly support retaliatory tariffs, with Bloomberg reporting that 82% support export levies on oil exports if Trump imposes tariffs on Canadian oil. Whereas Canadians traditionally considered export taxes on energy to be politically divisive, the robust backing reveals the level of anger amongst the public over Trump’s actions and gives Justin Trudeau’s government greater license to respond in kind if Trump carries out his threat.
OPEC wasn’t keen on responding to President Trump’s pressures at the time, nor does it appear to be factoring into their decision now. But Trump’s recent decisions—global tariffs, sanctions on Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, and the US President’s favorable view of the oil industry as opposed to renewables are all making OPEC+’s decisions particularly complex as it attempts to properly manage supply in line with demand.
Chevron has been exporting some 240,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude to the United States daily thanks to the waiver. The company also had big plans for its Venezuelan operations, aiming to boost exports from just one of them, Petropiar, by as much as 50% this year, to a total of 143,000 barrels daily.
Trafigura Group’s head of oil trading Ben Luckock has named U.S. foreign policy towards Iran as the biggest upside risk to crude prices in an otherwise well-supplied market.
Crude oil inventories in the United States saw a decrease of 2.3 million barrels during the week ending February 21, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled the National Energy Dominance Council that is tasked with enhancing America’s energy security and cutting reliance on foreign entities.
Trinidad and Tobago plans to request an extension from the Trump administration for a US licence allowing Shell and National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) to develop Venezuela’s Dragon gas project, Reuters reported on Tuesday.