Energy Commissioner: EU's Russian import ban is legal and will stop 'blackmail,'
Dan Jorgensen, the EU's Energy Commissioner, told reporters on Monday in Lisbon that the decision to ban Russian imports was "100% legal", adding that it would prevent Russia weaponizing energy. Last week, European Union countries approved a law that will ban Russian gas imports until late 2027. This is a concrete step towards a political commitment to sever?energy relations with Moscow four years after Russia’s?full scale invasion of Ukraine. EU ministers approved this measure despite Hungary and Slovakia's opposition. Bulgaria abstained, and Hungary plans to contest it before the EU court. Jorgensen stated that Hungary is free to challenge this?law at court.
In March, a Greek-led joint venture will provide US LNG to Ukraine
It was announced?on a Monday that a Greek joint venture had signed its first contract to'supply U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas to Ukraine in March.' Greece is seeking to strengthen its role as a gas transit route into Europe, which has plans to ban Russian imports by the end of 2027. Ukraine is facing its worst energy crisis since the end of World War II as its 'energy sector' crumbles due to Russian strikes, bitter cold and accumulated damage. Last week, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed that the country had "significantly diversified" its natural gas supplies.
Germany's gas production in numbers
Katherina Reiche, Germany's Economy minister is in Saudi Arabia seeking closer ties with the country on energy. Berlin is looking to diversify this sector as its dependence on U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas grows. Why is?GAS Supply a Problem in Germany? Germany was dependent on Russia to supply most of its natural gas for decades. This provided Europe's largest economy with a relatively cheap source, which was a major advantage for industry. The end of the relationship with Russia has forced Germany, which has only lignite as its main fossil fuel source, to look for more expensive alternatives. WHERE DOES GERMAN GET ITS GAS FROM?
EUROPE GAS-European plunge on milder forecasts, U.S.-Iran diplomacy
Dutch and British wholesale price fell to a two-week low on Monday as the forecasts cooled down and on hopes tensions between Iran and the United States would ease. The Dutch benchmark front month?contract?" at the TTF hub fell 4.92 euros to 34.73 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh) or $12.06/mmBtu by 0904 GMT. This was its lowest level since January 19. The contract for April fell from 32.50 Euros/MWh to 2.90 Euros. Gas prices for the next week dropped 10.50 cents to 92.00 pence per therm. Analysts at Mind Energy say that prices opened down due to a combination of milder weather predictions over the weekend and easing tensions between the US and Iran.
OPEC+ agrees that oil production will remain unchanged despite Iran tensions
OPEC+ decided to keep its oil production unchanged for March during a meeting on Sunday, the producer group reportedly said. This was despite crude prices hitting six-month highs due to fears that the U.S. might launch a military attack on OPEC's member Iran. Brent crude oil closed at $70 a barge on Friday, near the $71.89 high it reached on Thursday. The eight OPEC+ member countries met as prices rose to a six-month peak. Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates along with Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Oman, and Kazakhstan have all increased their production quotas from April to December 2025 by approximately 2.9 million barrels a day…
Sources say that OPEC+ will not increase oil production in March due to the price spike.
Three OPEC+ delegates said that OPEC+ will likely?keep its planned pause for oil production increases in?March?" when it meets on Sunday. This is even though crude prices have reached six-month highs due to fears the U.S. might launch a strike against OPEC member Iran. The eight OPEC+ member countries met as Brent crude prices closed at $70 a bar on Friday. This was close to the?six-month peak of $71.89 on Thursday. Despite speculation about a glut of supply in 2026, it is expected that prices will fall. Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates along with Kazakhstan…
Trump announces India will purchase oil from Venezuela
U.S. president Donald Trump said on Saturday that India would buy Venezuelan crude oil to help replace some of the Russian oil it buys, the third largest oil importer in the world. Trump said to reporters on Air Force One, as he flew from Washington to his Florida vacation home, "We have already made that deal. Three people with knowledge of the issue said that on Friday, the United States told Delhi they could resume purchasing Venezuelan oil soon to replace Russian oil imports. India stopped purchasing oil from Caracas in last year's after Trump imposed a 25% tax on countries that bought Venezuelan oil.
Trump declares that India will purchase oil from Venezuela and not Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said India will buy Venezuelan oil, helping to replace some of the Russian oil that the world's third-biggest oil importer buys. "We've already made that deal, the concept of the deal," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to his vacation home in Florida from Washington.Reuters reported on Friday that the United States has told Delhi it could soon resume purchases of Venezuelan oil to help replace imports of Russian oil, citing three people familiar with the matter.India stopped buying oil from Caracas last year after Trump in March imposed a 25% tariff on countries buying Venezuelan oil.In his comments on Saturday…
Whiting refinery workers reject contract extensions
United Steelworkers members at ?BP's 440,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Whiting, Indiana, rejected the company's ?offer to extend their contract ?by ?28 days at the largest refinery in the U.S. Midwest, the company said in a statement on Saturday. United Steelworkers Local 7-1 which represents about 800 workers in Whiting said on Friday, 'in a statement sent to its members, that the two sides are still apart but that workers should continue to report to work according to schedule to ensure the safe operation of the facility. The union stated that "while there is no intention to stop work, we need to be ready." Our plans for a strike or lockout were initiated.
Baker Hughes reports that US drillers added oil and gas rigs in the US for the second consecutive week.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that U.S. firms added oil and natural gas rigs this week for a second consecutive week for the first since December. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, increased by two in the week ending January 30 to 546, its highest level since December. Baker Hughes reported that despite this week's increase in rigs the total count is still 36 rigs or?6% lower than this time last year. Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs remained at 411 in this week. Oil and gas rig counts declined by 7%…
Trinidad and Tobago talks with Indian Oil about reviving refinery
Trinidad and Tobago is in talks with ?Indian Oil Corp to restart its mothballed 165,000-barrel-per-day Guaracara oil refinery, Energy Minister ?Roodal ?Moonilal said, as the Caribbean nation looks to revive refining capacity shut more than seven years ago. The refinery in the south was shut down in 2018 by the previous government, which blamed its closure on massive losses and debt. Moonilal said in an interview at the India Energy Week that "we can come up with a new type of commercial structure" for Indian Oil. If all goes well, by the end of next year, or end-2026, I think we could be on track to start back at some level of production.
In January, the US accounted for 60% of Europe's LNG imports.
Data?showed that the United States provided 60% of Europe's liquefied gas in this month. This confirms its position as Europe's leading LNG?supplier, as European officials are becoming wary of their?growing dependence?on U.S. Energy. Kpler, a data analytics company, shared that the 60% share represented an increase compared to both January 2025 and last month, when U.S. imports accounted for 53% of EU exports. Kpler stated that the 5.36 million tons of LNG the EU imported from the U.S. during January was the second highest volume ever for any month, only to be exceeded by October 2025. The increase in gas demand was partly due to the cold weather.
Exxon CEO: First LNG expected at Golden Pass in March
Exxon Mobil's CEO Darren Woods announced on Friday that production?of liquefied gas will begin at the Golden Pass export terminal in Texas in March. This marks a significant milestone for the project. The?project, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and the U.S. government, will be the newest LNG?plant in the U.S. After construction began in 2019, the $10 billion project has suffered from delays and cost increases. The project had to switch its lead contractor when it filed for bankruptcy, claiming overruns in cost. Woods stated during Exxon’s…
Poland increases air defences by $1.7 billion with a Kongsberg drone-defence purchase
Norwegian defence company, 'Kongsberg Gruppen' announced on Friday that it has won a 16 billion crown order ($1.67billion) from Poland for a?drone defense system. This is part of a larger effort to upgrade Poland's air defence network. Poland is stepping up its efforts to improve air defences following a Russian drone invasion in September that exposed the vulnerability of the country to spillover effects from the conflict? in neighbouring Ukraine. "Poland is responsible for all expenses, organizations and everything else that's supposed to be done in order to guarantee security along the eastern border of Poland…
Hokkaido Electric will build a new gas-fired power plant and LNG terminal by the mid-2030s
Hokkaido Electric Power announced on Friday that it would build a new gas fired power station in Tomakomai (northern Japan) and a terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the mid-2030s. This will be to meet the rising demand of electricity from data centres and semiconductor plants. The project is part the utility's strategy to expand their gas business. They cite significant potential in Hokkaido for a switch towards lower-carbon gas, where oil and coke still make up a large portion of energy consumption. The new plant is expected to have a 0.5-1 gigawatt capacity and will be able to use cleaner fuels like hydrogen, ammonia, along with?gas.
Bousso: ROI-Oil is not able to break through the range of its current price because it needs a shock from Iran's supply, but a tough talk.
Even though oil prices rose 15% in January on the back of fears that a new U.S. attack on Iran was imminent, they remain in a narrow range. A well-supplied crude oil market will not allow for much more price increase from either side. It would take a massive action to?have a lasting impact on the global balance of supply and demand. Brent crude futures are at their highest level since July last year. This puts the global benchmark in line for its largest monthly gain since January 20, 2022 when Russian forces prepared to invade Ukraine. A series of major disruptions has collided and escalating risk in the Middle East.
Sources say that OPEC+ will pause oil production in March due to the price increase.
Five delegates said that OPEC+ will likely pause its oil production increases in March when it meets on Sunday. This is despite crude prices rising above $70 a barrel on fears the U.S. might launch a strike against OPEC member Iran. Brent crude is at its highest level since August. The eight OPEC+ member countries, who pump half of the world's oil supply, met as Brent crude prices rose to $72 a barrel. Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates along with Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Oman, and Kazakhstan raised their production quotas from April to December 2025 by about 2.9 million barrels a day, or roughly 3% of world demand.
EUROPE GAS: Prices firm on LNG storage and concerns
The prices of Dutch and British gas contracts were mostly firmer on Friday. This was due to low storage levels and the cold weather that has been continuing. Also, there are concerns about Iran and its geopolitical implications for liquefied gas shipments. LSEG data show that the January contract?at TTF hub?was up 0.48 euros at 40.45 'euros?per MWh on its last trading day, or $14.12/mmBtu by 0947 GMT. However, the main focus is now on the March contract which has gained 0.47 euros to 38.85 Euro/MWh. The Dutch day-ahead contracts was down by 0.06 euros at 40.35 Euro/MWh. The British gas day-ahead price rose by 1.57 pence, to 103.57 p/therm.
Canada and Australia LNG cargoes headed to the Atlantic after Arctic storm in a rare move
Ship tracking data revealed that at least three LNG cargoes, loaded in Australia and Canada, are headed to Europe and the Americas, instead of Asia, their usual destination. This is because an Arctic storm has curtailed?exports out of the U.S. The diverting of "supply" away from Asia could lead to a tightening in supply and support the spot LNG price in that region. The price of gas has risen globally due to the increased demand. "Pacific cargoes could be brought into the Atlantic to backfill lost?U.S. Alex Froley is a senior LNG analyst with energy consultancy ICIS. He said that the drop in feedgas flowing to U.S.
US crude production still down by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from winter storm, according to consultancy estimates
According to Energy Aspects consultancy, around half a million barrels of crude oil per day or 0.5% of the global supply was offline in the United States on Thursday as an Arctic blast gripped large areas of the country in the aftermath of a weekend winter storm. This week, production outages in the U.S. as well as in Kazakhstan have led to an increase in U.S. benchmark oil futures to a five month high. On Thursday, oil prices rose by 3% due to fears that the U.S. would attack Iran. Since Wednesday, production of around 100,000 bpd has been restored. The weekend saw a peak of around 2,000,000 bpd in outages. The Energy Information Administration forecast that U.S.