Vucic: Serbia has one week to solve the NIS refinery crises
Aleksandar Vucic, president of Serbia, said that Serbia had seven days to decide how to protect fuel supplies at the Serbian NIS refinery without nationalisation. Washington wants to see the Russians completely divested from NIS which runs Serbia's sole refinery. On Saturday, it gave its owners three months in order to find a buyer. Officials project that there is only enough crude oil for the Serbian refinery to run until November 25, according to officials. Vucic, speaking on Sunday at a live broadcast of a government meeting on state TV, said: "The refinery must run.
Slovakia imports two-thirds its gas from non-Russian suppliers this year
Denisa Sakova, Minister of Economy, said that Slovakia's dominant importer of gas, SPP, has only received 33% this year, from Russia. The rest is from other suppliers. Slovakia rearranged its gas supplies after Ukraine stopped transiting Russian gas in the first month of this year. However, it was keen to continue receiving Russian Gazprom gas through its contract with Turkstream and Hungary. The lower Russian volumes are a dramatic drop from 2024 when Russian gas was the majority of SPP’s supply. Sakova, a reporter…
Carlyle is exploring options to purchase Lukoil's foreign assets, according to sources
Three sources familiar with this situation have confirmed that the U.S. Carlyle private equity firm is looking at options to purchase foreign assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil. As part of their efforts to get the Kremlin into peace talks on Ukraine, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Lukoil and blocked its attempt to sell assets ahead of the November 21, sanctions deadline. Lukoil produces 2% of the world's oil at home and abroad. It has announced that it is looking for buyers of its international assets. These assets produce 0.5% of the global oil, and are valued at about $22 billion based on filings from 2024.
Lukoil attracts buyers for its foreign assets
The foreign assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil, which range from Egypt to Kazakhstan are attracting bidders. Time is running out for the deals to be completed before U.S. sanctions are enforced. As part of their efforts to get the Kremlin into peace talks on Ukraine, the U.S. has imposed sanctions against Lukoil. They have already blocked Lukoil’s attempts to sell foreign assets before the deadline of November 21, 2015. Sanctions have already affected Lukoil operations in Iraq and at pump stations in Finland, as well as a refinery located in Bulgaria.
Equinor anticipates a tighter European gas markets this winter
Equinor's chief financial officer said on Wednesday that the outlook for Europe's gas market is tighter this winter than most had anticipated, as storage levels in Europe are 12 percentage points less than they were a year earlier. In 2022, the Norwegian company will overtake Russia's Gazprom to become Europe's largest natural gas supplier when Moscow's invasion of Ukraine disrupts decades-old energy ties. He said that Europe was entering winter, the time of highest demand, and gas storages were 83% full. This is 12 percentage points less than last year.
Equinor Q3 core profits fall more than expected
Equinor announced a 9.9% decline in its third quarter profits, which was higher than expected. Oil and gas prices have fallen since a year earlier. The company has maintained its production forecast. Equinor's poll of 21 analysts predicted that the Norwegian energy group would earn $6.31 billion in adjusted earnings for July-September, a slight drop from $6.89. The company's forecast for 2025 capital expenditure of $13 billion was not changed. Equinor, like rivals Shell and BP, promised in February to increase oil and gas production while reducing investment in renewables.
After a drone attack in Ukraine, a giant Russian gas plant has suspended its intake of Kazakh gas
Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry said that a drone attack in Ukraine forced the Orenburg gas processing facility, the largest of its kind anywhere, to stop receiving gas from Kazakhstan. Yevgeny Solntsev, the regional governor of Orenburg, had stated earlier in the day that the drone attack had partially damaged the plant and caused a fire at an atelier at the plant. Kommersant, a Russian media outlet, reported that the fire was put out later, citing an operator. Ukraine has intensified its attacks against Russian refineries…
US Postpones Sanctions on NIS Oil Company
The U.S. has postponed sanctions on Serbia's Russian-owned NIS oil company, which runs Serbia's only oil refinery, for one week until October 15, Belgrade-based Nova Ekonomija news portal reported on Wednesday, citing sources.The reported extension comes as the U.S. extended a license for Croatian oil pipeline operator JANAF to transport crude to Serbia for another week, as it seeks to complete the delivery of contracted volumes, JANAF said on Wednesday.NIS did not respond to a request for comment.The U.S. imposed the sanctions on NIS in January…
Sources say that the daily oil production of Kazakhstan's Karachaganak fell by 24 percent in September m/m.
Two industry sources and calculations show that the production of oil in Kazakhstan's Karachaganak gas field dropped to 200,000 barrels a day (bpd), from 264 300 bpd, in August. This coincided with maintenance at Russia’s Orenburg Gas Processing Plant (GPP). According to sources, the production of oil and condensate from Karachaganak, a light oil type, fell by 24% between September 8 and 30 as Gazprom, Russia, carried out scheduled maintenance at its Orenburg processing facility. The plant processes the raw gas from Karachaganak - one of Kazakhstan's biggest fields. Karachaganak's oil and gas production are tightly linked.
Foreign Minister: Hungary will buy 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Engie in France
Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that Hungary will buy 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas between 2028-2038 from the French energy company Engie. Szijjarto stated that Engie will sell 400 million cubic meters (mcm), of gas, to Hungary each year under the "longest LNG contract in Hungary’s history". Hungary consumes approximately 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year. It is still Europe's largest buyer of Russian Gas. In the beginning of this year, Slovakia, Hungary, and other European countries rejected plans by the European Commission to phase out Russian energy and gas imports.
Energy Minister: Russia will increase LNG exports from Arctic and Sakhalin to China
The Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said that the Russian Energy Ministry plans to increase LNG imports from China through the Arctic LNG 2 project and Sakhalin 2 project, and "serious progress" has been made, according to Expert magazine. Arctic LNG 2, which is 60 percent owned by Russia's Novatek has been shipping LNG since last summer. Cargoes are being delivered to the Beihai LNG Terminal and two storage facilities in Russia. Tsivilev, quoted by Expert as saying that Russia "plans" to increase its supplies to China of both pipeline gas and liquefied gas (LNG), notably from the Arctic LNG 2 project and Sakhalin 2 project.
Vucic: US will impose sanctions against Serbia's Russian owned NIS
Aleksandar Vucic, president of Serbia, announced on Thursday that the U.S. would impose sanctions on the Russian-owned Serbian oil company NIS from October 1, which operates the country's only oil refinery. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury placed initial sanctions on Russia's petroleum sector on 10 January, and gave Gazprom a 45-day deadline to sell its NIS holdings. The U.S. has now postponed sanctions six times since August, the last time from September 26 to August. Vucic told the local media that sanctions would be imposed on NIS as of October 1. Vucic is currently in New York.
Russia expects the new Sakhalin-3 project to begin operations in 2028
Russian news agencies reported on Thursday that the country is expecting to begin natural gas production in 2028 at the new Sakhalin-3 Project in the Pacific Ocean to supply gas to China as well as for domestic use. Valery Limarenko said that Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, and regional authorities were working together on a plan for a refinery to be built in southern Sakhalin, to produce jet-fuel, diesel, and naphtha using gas condensate. A crisis in the relations between Russia and the West due to the conflict in Ukraine has led to Russia diversifying its oil exports from Europe towards Asia.
Russia downgrades gas exports, production outlook
Russia's forecasts for 2025 gas and oil exports have been lowered, while projections on oil exports have increased. The fallout of its conflict with Ukraine as well as its strained relations with the West continue to impact the energy sector. While Russia's economy is still thriving despite the sanctions, signs of stress are appearing in several industries. Gazprom, the state-owned gas exporter, suffered losses of nearly $7 billion in 2023. This was its first loss since 1999 due to a breakup with the European Union. Russian gas is now only 18% of European imports. This is down from 45% by 2021.
Sources say that the Astrakhan Gas Plant in Russia has ceased operations following a drone attack.
Three industry sources have confirmed that the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant, owned by energy giant Gazprom in Russia, stopped producing motor fuel after an attack by drones caused a fire on September 22, according to three sources. The fire was said to have engulfed an entire condensate unit that had a production capacity of three million metric tonnes per year. It produces diesel and gasoline. The plant near the Caspian sea, about 1,675 km from the Ukrainian border could only resume production within a few weeks or months. Gazprom didn't immediately respond to a comment request.
Russia's LNG Exports by Destinations and Volume
EU sources confirmed on Friday that the European Commission would propose to ban Russian LNG imports a year sooner than originally planned as part of the 19th package sanctions against Moscow. Here are some statistics about Russia's gas exports, by volume and destination. In January-August 2025, Russia exported 18.8 million metric tonnes of liquefied gas. Of this amount, 9.5 million tons went to Asia while 9.2 millions tons went to Europe. Eurostat reports that the share of Russian liquefied gas imported by the EU in the second quarter 2025 has decreased from 22% to 14%.
Sources say that the German Economy Ministry is open to the idea of a SEFE-Uniper tie-up.
According to two sources familiar with the situation, the German economy ministry, which is responsible for the ownership of former SEFE Gazprom, would be open to combining the company with a bailed-out Uniper. Deliberations about a partial merger are taking place as the German government, which owns both companies after saving them for a total of 19.8 billion euro ($23.4 billion), during Europe's Energy Crisis, is considering exit options. One person said that while the German economy ministry was in favor of a tie up scenario, the finance ministry in Germany, which holds 99.12% of Uniper, is more sceptical.
Ukrainian drones strike Russian oil refinery and petrochemical complex
Ukraine announced on Thursday that drones it had used in Russia struck an oil refinery and a major oil-processing and petrochemical facility. This was part of a campaign intensifying to disrupt the oil and gas industry in Moscow. In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified drone attacks against Russian energy infrastructure, targeting the key facilities in an effort to reduce Moscow’s export revenues, and to stir up domestic unrest. Russia, which targets Ukraine's infrastructure for energy regularly, calls these attacks "acts terrorism". As a result, there are gasoline shortages in some parts of Russia.
Shell Signs 10-year Gas Supply Deal with MVM CEEnergy
Oil and gas major Shell signed a 10-year natural gas deal with Hungary's MVM CEEnergy on Tuesday, in a move designed to strengthen its presence in central and eastern Europe.Shell, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) trader, said it would sell around 200 million cubic metres (mcm) of natural gas a year to the Hungarian natural gas wholesaler MVM CEEnergy, beginning in January 2026.MVM Group receives a large amount of its gas from Russia, unlike energy providers in most European countries following…
TASS reports that Russia's top oil executive said Asian oil demand is still growing.
Alexander Dyukov of Russian oil giant Gazprom said that the demand for crude oil in Asia continues to increase, while China, among other countries, has been replenishing its crude stocks, according to TASS. OPEC+ agreed this month to increase oil production in October, as Saudi Arabia tries to regain its market share. However, the group will slow down the rate of increases compared to previous months because of an expected weakening in global demand. Dyukov, head of Russia's four largest oil producers, nevertheless said that demand is still strong. The global oil consumption increases in summer.