natural gas trades at a 5 month low; US oil inventories at a 41 week high; distillates inventories at a 17 month low

natural gas trades along a 5 month low; US oil inventories at a 41 week high; distillates inventories at a 17 month low; gasoline demand at a 28 week high; gasoline imports at a 34 week high

oil prices finished lower for the third time in four weeks on reports of progress in US talks with Iran and on indications that OPEC would increase its output in June…after rising 5.2% to $64.68 a barrel last week on hopes for US trade deals with China and with Europe, an OPEC commitment to cut production, and new US sanctions on Iranian oil exports, the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for May delivery dropped nearly 3% on global markets on Monday amid signs of progress in discussions between the US and Iran, and on continued worries about tariffs that could reduce fuel demand, then took another hit in New York when financial markets tanked after Trump stepped up his attacks on Fed Chairman Powell over monetary policy, and settled $1.60 or more than 2% lower at $63.08 a barrel amid reports of progress in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, with a third round of talks set for later in the week…however, oil prices climbed more than $1 per barrel in Asian trading on Tuesday, following fresh U.S. sanctions against Iran and a surge in equity markets, then continued to rally on forced short selling of the expiring May oil contract in New York, which ended trading $1.23 higher at $64.31 a barrel after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the ongoing tariffs showdown against China was unsustainable, while the more actively traded US benchmark oil contract for June settled $1.26, or 2% higher at $63.67 a barrel…with markets now citing the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for June delivery, prices extended their gains in Asian markets on Wednesday, climbing more than 1% as traders responded to a fresh wave of US sanctions on Iran, a sharper-than-expected decline in US crude inventories, and a more conciliatory tone from US President Trump, but turned lower after Kazakhstan said it would prioritize national interests over those of the OPEC+ alliance, risking further tensions within the cartel, then tumbled in New York trading after the official EIA inventory data showed a small gain, against the large draw earlier reported by the API, and settled $1.40 lower at $62.27 a barrel after sources said OPEC+ would consider accelerating its oil output increases in June…oil prices edged higher in early trading on global markets Thursday, as traders weighed the potential impact of a possible production increase by OPEC+​, amid mixed signals from the White House regarding tariffs and ongoing nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, then traded in a narrow range in New York as the market continued to weigh a potential OPEC+ output increase against the Trump administration’s softened tone on China, and settled 52 cents higher at $62.79 a barrel…​but oil prices fell Friday morning after China denied being engaged in any active tariff negotiations with the U.S., contradicting comments by Trump and Treasury Secretary Bessent earlier in the week, but recovered to settle 23 cents higher at $63.02 a barrel on a sign that the trade war between the two countries could be easing after China exempted some U.S. imports from its steep tariffs….oil price quotes still ended 2.6% lower for the week, while the contract price of the benchmark oil for June delivery, which had settled the prior week at $64.01 a barrel, ended 1.5% lower…

at the same time, natural gas prices finished lower for the sixth time in seven weeks on near record production, weakening demand, and a bearish storage report….after falling 9.2% to a 10-week low of $3.245 per mmBTU last week on forecasts that mild weather and anemic demand would persist through early May, the price of the benchmark natural gas contract for May delivery opened 9.1 cents lower on Monday and steadily decreased throughout the trading session due to a combination of milder weather forecasts reducing heating demand and ample storage levels easing supply concern, and settled 22.9 cents lower at a 5 month low of $3.016 per mmBTU as production picked up, weather-driven demand remained weak, and LNG feedgas flows slipped as Chinese buyers turned elsewhere for their fuel….May natural gas opened 6.1 cents higher on Tuesday, but retreated from that level to settle 0.9 cents lower at $3.007 per mmBTU on near record output through April and on forecasts for mild weather that would keep both heating and cooling demand low through early May…the front month natural gas contract opened 0.2 cents lower on Wednesday and fluctuated near the $3.00 price level throughout the trading session before settling 1.5 cents higher at $3.022 per mmBTU….natural gas prices opened 8.6 cents lower on Thursday and continued slipping throughout the morning as a bearish storage report signaled oversupply, but rebounded from an intraday low of $2.866 to settle 9.2 cents lower at a 5 month low of $2.930 per mmBTU as the EIA reported looser than expected inventory data and traders positioned ahead of the May contract’s expiration….natural gas prices fluctuated between gains and declines through midday Friday, as traders positioned for the pending rolloff of the prompt month’s options at days end, and the contract expiration on Monday, and settled seven-tenths of a cent higher at $2.937 per mmBTU, amid loosening balances and weak shoulder season demand, and thus ended 9.5% lower for the week…

The EIA’s natural gas storage report for the week ending April 18th indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage rose by 88 billion cubic feet to 1,934 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our natural gas supplies 478 billion cubic feet, or 19.2% below the 2,412 billion cubic feet of gas that were in storage on April 18th of last year, and 44 billion cubic feet, or 2.2% less than the five-year average of 1,920 billion cubic feet of natural gas that had typically been in working storage as of the 18th of April over the most recent five years….the 88 billion cubic foot injection into US natural gas storage for the cited week was more than the 80 billion cubic foot addition to storage that forecasters were expecting ahead of the report, while it was close to the 86 billion cubic foot that was added to natural gas storage during the corresponding week in April of 2024, but \much more than the average 58 billion cubic foot addition to natural gas storage that has been typical for the same mid-April week over the past five years…

The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data from the EIA

US oil data from the US Energy Information Administration for the week ending April 18th indicated that after a big drop in our oil exports, we again had surplus oil left to add to our stored crude supplies for the tenth time in twelve weeks, and for the 18th time in forty-one weeks, despite a decrease in the supply of oil that the EIA could not account for...Our imports of crude oil fell by an average of 412,000 barrels per day to average 5,589,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average 189,000 barrels per day over the prior week, while our exports of crude oil fell by an average of 1,551,000 barrels per day to average 3,549,000 barrels per day, which, when used to offset our imports, meant that the net of our trade of oil worked out to a net import average of 2,040,000 barrels of oil per day during the week ending April 18th, an average of 1,139,000 more barrels per day than the net of our imports minus our exports during the prior week. At the same time, transfers to our oil supplies from Alaskan gas liquids, from natural gasoline, from condensate, and from unfinished oils averaged 457,000 barrels per day, while during the same week, production of crude from US wells was 2,000 barrels per day lower at 13,460,000 barrels per day. Hence, our daily supply of oil from the net of our international trade in oil, from transfers, and from domestic well production appears to have averaged a total of 15,963,000 barrels per day during the April 11th reporting week…

Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 15,889,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending April 18th, an average of 326,000 more barrels per day than the amount of oil that our refineries reported they were processing during the prior week, while over the same period the EIA’s surveys indicated that an average of 102,000 barrels of oil per day were being added to the supplies of oil stored in the US… So, based on that reported & estimated data, the crude oil figures provided by the EIA appear to indicate that our total working supply of oil net imports, from transfers, and from oilfield production during the week ending April 18th averaged a rounded 35,000 barrels per day less than what what was added to storage plus our oil refineries reported they used during the week. To account for that difference between the apparent supply of oil and the apparent disposition of it, the EIA just plugged a [ +35,000 ] barrel per day figure onto line 16 of the weekly U.S. Petroleum Balance Sheet, in order to make the reported data for the supply of oil and for the consumption of it balance out, a fudge factor that they label in their footnotes as “unaccounted for crude oil”, thus indicating there must have been an error or omission of that magnitude in the week’s oil supply & demand figures that we have just transcribed…Moreover, since 722,000 barrels per day of oil supply could not be accounted for in the prior week’s EIA data, that means there was a 687,000 barrel per day difference between this week’s oil balance sheet error and the EIA’s crude oil balance sheet error from a week ago, and hence the changes to supply and demand from that week to this one that are indicated by this week’s report are off by that much, meaning the week over week changes that we have just cited are garbage….However, since most oil traders react to these weekly EIA reports as if they were gospel, and since these weekly figures therefore often drive oil pricing and hence decisions to drill or complete oil wells, we’ll continue to report this data just as it’s published, and just as it’s watched & believed to be reasonably reliable by most everyone in the industry…(for more on how this weekly oil data is gathered, and the possible reasons for that “unaccounted for” oil supply, see this EIA explainer….also see this old twitter thread from an EIA administrator addressing these ongoing weekly errors, and what they had once hoped to do about it)

This week’s rounded 102,000 barrel per day average increase in our overall crude oil inventories came as an average of 35,000 barrels per day were being added to our commercially available stocks of crude oil, while 67,000 barrels per day were being added to our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the sixty-eighth SPR increase in the past seventy-eight weeks, following nearly continuous SPR withdrawals over the 39 months prior to that… Further details from the weekly Petroleum Status Report (pdf) indicate that the 4 week average of our oil imports fell to 6,061,000 barrels per day last week, which was 6.8% less than the 6,503,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same four-week period last year. This week’s crude oil production was reported to be 2,000 barrels per day lower at 13,460,000 barrels per day as the EIA’s estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was 1,000 barrels per day higher at 13,021,000 barrels per day, while Alaska’s oil production was 3,000 barrels per day lower at 439,000 barrels per day.….US crude oil production had reached a pre-pandemic high of 13,100,000 barrels per day during the week ending March 13th 2020, so this week’s reported oil production figure was 2.7% higher than that of our pre-pandemic production peak, and was also 38.8% above the pandemic low of 9,700,000 barrels per day that US oil production had fallen to during the third week of February of 2021.

US oil refineries were operating at 88.1% of their capacity while processing those 15,889,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending April 18th, the highest in fourteen weeks, up from their 86.3% utilization rate of a week earlier, but down from the 91.7% utilization rate of fifteen weeks earlier, initially reflecting the impact of January's below freezing weather on Gulf Coast refineries, and then the onset of US refinery’s usual Spring maintenance…. the 15,889,000 barrels of oil per day that were refined this week were 0.1% more than the 15,871,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending April 19th of 2024, but were 4.2% less than the 16,583,000 barrels that were being refined during the prepandemic week ending April 19th, 2019, when our refinery utilization rate was at 90.1%, closer to normal for this time of year…

With the increase in the amount of oil being refined this week, gasoline output from our refineries was also significantly higher, increasing by 661,000 barrels per day to 10,073,000 barrels per day during the week ending April 18th, after our refineries’ gasoline output had increased by 466,000 barrels per day during the prior week.. This week’s gasoline production was 10.2% more than the 9,142,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the week ending April 19th of last year, and was 3.0% more than the gasoline production of 9,781,000 barrels per day during the prepandemic week ending April 19th, 2019….on the other hand, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) decreased by 62,000 barrels per day to 4,626,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had increased by 50,000 barrels per day during the prior week. With that modest production decrease, our distillates output was 3.2% less than the 4,779,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending April 19th of 2024, and was 8.6% less than the 5,064,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the pre-pandemic week ending April 19th, 2019…

Even with this week’s big increase in our gasoline production, our supplies of gasoline in storage at the end of the week fell for the tenth time in eleven weeks, decreasing by 4,476,000 barrels to 229,543,000 barrels during the week ending April 18th, after our gasoline inventories had decreased by 1,958,000 barrels during the prior week. Our gasoline supplies fell by more this week despite the production increase because the amount of gasoline supplied to US users rose by 952,000 barrels per day to a 28 week high of 9,414,000 barrels per day, even as our exports of gasoline fell by 179,000 barrels per day to 675,000 barrels per day, and even as our imports of gasoline rose by 327,000 barrels per day to a 34 week high of 858,000 barrels per day.…Even after thirty-seven gasoline inventory withdrawals over the past sixty-three weeks, our gasoline supplies were 1.2% higher than last April 12th’s gasoline inventories of 226,743,000 barrels, and were about 3% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of the year…

With the decrease in this week’s distillates production, our supplies of distillate fuels fell for the 20th time in 30 weeks, decreasing by 2.353,000 barrels to a seventeen month low of 106,878,000 barrels during the week ending April 18th, after our distillates supplies had decreased by 1,851,000 barrels barrels during the prior week.. Our distillates supplies decreased again this week because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of domestic demand, rose by 45,000 to 3,903,000 barrels per day, and even as our exports of distillates fell by 41,000 barrels per day to 1,156,000 barrels per day, while our imports of distillates fell by 5,000 barrels per day to 97,000 barrels per day...But after 40 inventory withdrawals over the past 66 weeks, our distillates supplies at the end of the week were 8.3% below the 116,582,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on April 19th of 2024, and were about 13% below the five year average of our distillates inventories for this time of the year…

Finally, despite the big increase in our oil exports, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage rose for the 14th time in twenty-six weeks, and for the 24th time over the past year, increasing by 244,000 barrels over the week, from a 40 week high of 442,860,000 barrels on April 11th to a 41 week high of 443,104,000 barrels on April 18th , after our commercial crude supplies had increased by 515,000 barrels over the prior week… After that modest increase, our commercial crude oil inventories were still 5% below the most recent five-year average of commercial oil supplies for this time of year, but were about 28% above the average of our available crude oil stocks as of the third weekend of April over the 5 years at the beginning of the past decade, with the big difference between those comparisons arising because it wasn’t until early 2015 that our oil inventories had first topped 400 million barrels. After our commercial crude oil inventories had jumped to record highs during the Covid lockdowns in the Spring of 2020, then jumped again after February 2021’s winter storm Uri froze off US Gulf Coast refining, but then fell sharply due to increased exports to Europe following the onset of the Ukraine war, only to jump again following the Christmas 2022 refinery freeze-offs, our commercial crude supplies have somewhat leveled off since, and as of this April 18th were 2.3% less than the 453,625,000 barrels of oil left in commercial storage on April 19th of 2024, and 3.9% less than the 460,914,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on April 21st of 2023, but were 7.1% more than the 413,733,000 barrels of oil we had left in commercial storage on April 15th of 2022…

This Week’s Rig Count

The US rig count increased by two during the eight day period ending April 25th (including Easter), the second increase in six weeks, as 2 rigs targeting oil and 1 rig targeting natural gas were added, while a miscellaneous rig was shut down...for a quick snapshot of this week's rig count, we are again including below a screenshot of the rig count summary pdf from Baker Hughes…in the table below, the first column shows the active rig count as of April 25th, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (April 17th) and this week’s (April 25th) count, the third column shows last week’s April 17th active rig count, the 4th column shows the change between the number of rigs running on Thursday and the number running on the Friday before the same weekend of a year ago, and the 5th column shows the number of rigs that were drilling at the end of that reporting period a year ago, which in this week’s case was the 26th of April, 2024…

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New Permits Issued for Horizontal Wells in Columbiana County - – An energy company that holds a sizable leasehold position in Columbiana County has been awarded new permits this year to boost production from the Utica-Point Pleasant shale formation, according to records from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Hilcorp Energy Co., based in Houston, has so far this year secured seven new permits to drill horizontal wells in Elk Run Township and was subsequently awarded permits to deepen these wells, ODNR records show. Hilcorp was awarded the new well permits Jan. 16, and then approved to drill deeper April 10. All the wells are located at the Elkrun Johnston pad, ODNR data show. Hilcorp’s wells in Columbiana County have emerged as strong producers of natural gas, according to ODNR data. During the fourth quarter of 2024, for example, Hilcorp’s Columbiana County wells produced 16.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas, ODNR data show. The county’s top producing gas well for the period was Hilcorp’s Unkefer 8H well, which yielded 797.496 million cubic feet of gas. Columbiana County’s wells, including those owned by Hilcorp, Encino Energy subsidiary EAP Ohio – which yielded 8.5 billion cubic feet – Pin Oak Energy and Geopetro LLC together produced 25.1 billion cubic feet of gas during the quarter, an increase of nearly 20% compared with the previous quarter. The county’s horizontal wells last year also produced a total of nearly 1.5 million barrels of oil, a record for this section of the Utica-Point Pleasant. The oil wells are part of EAP Ohio’s Utica portfolio. As of Dec. 31, 2024, Hilcorp has registered 82 horizontal wells in Columbiana County, all of which produced natural gas. The wells didn’t report any oil production for all of 2024, records show.

Trump BLM Restarts O&G Leasing in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest - Marcellus Drilling News -- Did you know that there are federal lands in the Marcellus/Utica? The Wayne National Forest (WNF) is a patchwork of public and private mineral rights that covers over a quarter of a million acres of the Appalachian foothills in southeastern Ohio. For years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) blocked new permits and shale drilling in WNF. During the first Trump administration, the BLM began to auction off federal leases and permits (see our stories about BLM auctions in WNF here). However, a federal judge blocked drilling in WNF in 2021, after Biden seized control of the White House (see Federal Judge Blocks Permits to Drill in OH’s Wayne Natl Forest). The long nightmare of Joementia is now over. The BLM in the second Trump administration recently announced it has restarted the leasing process in WNF.

EQT to Expand in Marcellus Shale by Buying Blackstone's Olympus --EQT Corp. agreed to buy Blackstone Inc.’s Olympus Energy for $1.8 billion, a move that will expand the shale driller’s Appalachian natural gas empire. Olympus, one of Blackstone's oldest energy investments, owns gas wells and pipelines in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions. The deal calls for EQT to provide 26 million common shares and $500 million in cash, according to a statement Tuesday. It’s expected to close early in the third quarter.

EQT to Buy Marcellus Assets from Olympus Energy for $1.8 Billion - Natural gas producer EQT Corporation has agreed to buy upstream and midstream assets of Olympus Energy for $1.8 billion in a deal that would bolster EQT’s inventory in the Marcellus and Utica shale gas regions. The total consideration of $1.8 billion is composed of approximately 26 million shares of EQT common stock, representing $1.3 billion based on the 20-day volume-weighted average price as of April 21, 2025, and $500 million in cash, as adjusted pursuant to customary closing purchase price adjustments, EQT said in a press release. EQT expects to close the transaction early in the third quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approval and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The bolt-on acquisition of the upstream and midstream assets of Olympus Energy allows EQT to again access to a vertically integrated asset base and an unlevered free cash flow breakeven price comparable to EQT’s peer leading position at the low end of the cost curve, EQT President and CEO Toby Z. Rice said. Olympus Energy has over 10 years of high-quality Marcellus inventory at maintenance activity levels, with an additional 7 years of upside from the Utica. The assets which EQT is buying are positioned adjacent to several proposed power generation projects, providing potential strategic value upside, the company said. At the end of 2024, EQ’s Rice said he was bullish on the short and long-term gas demand prospects as power utilities scramble to provide electricity to the new data centers. EQT looks to tap new gas customers in Virginia, the center of the AI boom, Rice told Bloomberg in an interview in October. “We’ve got a lot of these retired coal facilities that have existing electric infrastructure already built. You just need to put in the power plant, switch that coal with natural gas and it could be a faster opportunity,” Rice said, referring to the need for a lot of additional power for AI data centers. .

SRBC Approved 58 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use Permits in March - Marcellus Drilling News -- The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its completely dysfunctional and irresponsible cousin, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the April 19 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC gave his approval to or renewed 58 general water use permits in March for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Blair, Bradford, Clearfield, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania.

33 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 14 – 20 -- Last week was another strong week for new permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica. For the week of April 14 – 20, the number of permits was down three from the previous week, but still very strong. Last week, 33 new permits were issued in the M-U. In the Keystone State (PA), 25 new permits were issued, a dramatic increase from five two weeks ago. The top permittee was Range Resources, with 10 permits, half of which were in Allegheny County and the other half in Washington County. Seneca Resources received six permits, all of which were in Tioga County. EQT and its subsidiary Rice Drilling also scored six permits, with four in Fayette County and two in Greene County. PA General Energy got two permits in Lycoming County, and Olympus Energy received one permit in Allegheny County. ALLEGHENY COUNTY | ASCENT RESOURCES | CARROLL COUNTY | ENCINO ENERGY | EOG RESOURCES | EQT CORP | FAYETTE COUNTY | GREENE COUNTY (PA) | JEFFERSON COUNTY (OH) | LYCOMING COUNTY | NOBLE COUNTY | OLYMPUS/HUNTLEY & HUNTLEY | PENNSYLVANIA GENERAL ENERGY | RANGE RESOURCES CORP | SENECA RESOURCES | TIOGA COUNTY (PA) | WASHINGTON COUNTY

Duke Energy Secures Deal for 11 GE Vernova Gas-Fired Turbines - Marcellus Drilling News -- We spotted a press release that caught our attention. Duke Energy, owner of electricity utility companies serving 8.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, has just sealed a deal with GE Vernova to buy up to 11 7HA gas turbines to power new gas-fired power plants. That’s in addition to eight 7HA turbines Duke has already purchased from GE Vernova. While the timing for deliveries was not specified, the announcement implies that Duke is getting its turbines sooner rather than later, which is saying something because lately there has been a years-long waiting list for these types of turbines. And yes, there is a connection to the Marcellus/Utica.

Want to build a gas plant? Get in line. - So you want a new gas power plant? Better start waiting. As an ongoing policy experiment in Texas shows, even a helping hand from the state can’t get steel in the ground ahead of schedule. Last year, Texas officials announced that the developers of 17 energy projects would be eligible to receive low-interest, state-backed loans to add enough new gas plants to the state’s main electric grid to power nearly 2.5 million homes. But since then, seven have withdrawn or been ruled ineligible for the so-called Texas Energy Fund, as has a replacement project, with reasons ranging from financing to supply chain trouble. With the Trump administration eager to get new fossil fuel plants online in order to meet growing electricity demand and fuel an artificial intelligence boom, the troubles in Texas offer a sobering warning: The market is not ready to build new plants as quickly as regulators want.The Texas Energy Fund was created by state legislators and approved by voters in 2023 as part of a push to install more dispatchable generation — the type that can be turned on or off — at a time when low prices and regulatory ease meant renewable energy — power that isn’t always available — was flooding the market. The state set aside $5 billion to give low-interest loans to gas plant developers and saw $39 billion worth of demand. But the realities of construction put a dent in the program’s promise. Last week, the Texas Public Utility Commission denied the loans for a 162-megawatt plant sponsored by Frontier Group of Companies and a 900-megawatt project from EmberClear Management. The PUC did not cite a reason for the denials.In a statement, Frontier said it would continue to pursue opportunities and “we remain confident in the strategic value of our project to support Texas’ long-term reliability goals.”Several other projects have withdrawn, with some critics noting that deadlines could be hard to meet or that the constraints on financing were not competitive. A letter from developer WattBridge said that the program’s terms “introduce risk and costs that result in lower than anticipated returns with elevated risks.” Notably, French developer ENGIE told the PUC in February that it was withdrawing a 930-megawatt project, saying that “equipment procurement constraints” meant they would not be able to meet state deadlines. At the same time, lawmakers are considering a bill that would require that 50 percent of new generation on the main Texas grid be gas-powered, with warnings that the state won’t be able to support data centers and manufacturing without it. The situation in Texas is a microcosm of the reality across the power sector. After years of declining demand for gas power, skyrocketing demand fueled by the tech industry has grid operators and utilities suddenly desperate for new fossil fuel plants. But the supply chain had already adapted to lower demand, meaning parts are now years away. According to data from Rystad Energy, planned natural gas generation capacity is up to 28.5 gigawatts, the highest level since the first half of 2022 and a near doubling from forecasts in June 2024.Major gas turbine companies are “witnessing a significant uptick in orders from North America, signaling strong market anticipation of further gas capacity needs,” said Marina Domingues, head of U.S. new energy at Rystad, in an email. “However, this demand surge coincides with record backlogs across these suppliers, creating bottlenecks with potential waiting times extending up to five years for new turbine installations.”Some tech companies are even directly competing, willing to build gas plants on site rather than wait to connect to the grid, further driving up competition for limited parts. And that’s on top of labor shortages, which are also slowing down construction, and the significant cost of equipment.According to investment bank Jefferies, the cost of a new gas turbine is about 50 percent higher than just 10 months ago. Siemens Energy, one of the largest domestic manufacturers, said in an email that “persistently high demand” means that manufacturing slots are shrinking and that slots are “selling faster than they can increase manufacturing capacity.”

Range Says Tariffs Aren’t Slowing LPG, Ethane Exports to Europe- Marcellus Drilling News -- Range Resources issued its first quarter 2025 update yesterday. Range produces a significant volume of NGLs (ethane and propane), in addition to methane (natural gas). Range CEO Dennis Degner told analysts yesterday that, no matter “how the tariff dust settles,” demand is expected to be “relatively strong” for its U.S. East Coast volumes of NGLs. Degner said that 80% of Range’s propane (LPG) production is exported by ship. “And all of it is going to Europe right now,” he said. “So we really don’t have a current exposure to the Chinese market.” Smart company.

US Natgas Prices Drop 7% to 5-Month Low on Record Output, Lower Demand Forecasts - (Reuters) – U.S. natural gas futures dropped about 7% to a five-month low on Monday on record output and forecasts for milder weather and lower demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. Gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 22.9 cents, or 7.1%, to settle at $3.016 per million British thermal units, their lowest close since November 19. That kept the front-month in technically oversold territory for a third day in a row for the first time since October 2024. Analysts noted mild weather should allow utilities to keep injecting lots of gas into storage through early May. U.S. gas stockpiles were currently around 7% below normal levels for this time of year after cold weather in January and February forced energy firms to pull large amounts of gas out of storage, including record amounts in January. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states rose to 106.6 billion cubic feet per day in April, up from a monthly record of 106.2 bcfd in March. On a daily basis, output rose to a record 108.0 bcfd on April 18, up from 106.6 bcfd on April 17 and an average of 106.7 bcfd over the prior seven days. That topped the prior all-time daily high of 107.5 bcfd on April 12. Looking ahead, however, analysts noted energy firms could start cutting back on oil drilling in the coming weeks due to the roughly 11% drop in U.S. crude futures so far in April. Any reduction in oil drilling in shale basins such as the Permian in Texas and New Mexico and the Bakken in North Dakota could boost gas prices by cutting gas output. Meteorologists projected temperatures in the Lower 48 states would remain mostly warmer than normal through May 6. LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, will hold around 98.1 bcfd this week and next. The forecast for this week was lower than LSEG’s outlook on Thursday before the long Good Friday holiday weekend. The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big LNG export plants operating in the U.S. climbed from a monthly record of 15.8 bcfd in March to 16.1 bcfd so far in April on rising flows to Venture Global’s 3.2-bcfd Plaquemines export plant under construction in Louisiana. U.S. LNG feedgas was still on track to hit a new record in April despite the brief shutdown of a liquefaction train at Freeport LNG’s 2.1-bcfd export plant in Texas on April 17 and an expected reduction in flows to Cheniere Energy’s 4.5-bcfd Sabine plant in Louisiana, according to LSEG data. Flows to Sabine were on track to fall to a two-week low of 4.0 bcfd on Monday, down from 4.4 bcfd on Sunday and an average of 4.6 bcfd over the prior seven days. Flows to Freeport remained around 2.1 bcfd from April 18-21 after falling to 1.6 bcfd on April 16 when liquefaction Train 1 at the plant shut due to an issue with a compressor system, according to a company filing with state environmental regulators and LSEG data.

NYMEX NatGas Closes Below $3 for First Time Since November - Marcellus Drilling News -- Yeah, it happened. And we’re not happy about it. Yesterday, the NYMEX “front month” futures contract for May sank below and stayed below $3/MMBtu, closing at $2.930/MMBtu, some 9.2 cents lower than the closing price from the day before. It was the lowest settlement price since Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. The spot price for physically traded natural gas slipped, too. If there was any bright spot, the NGI Appalachia Regional Average price, an average of all the spot price trades in the Marcellus/Utica region, gained a penny yesterday.

U.S. LNG Developers Attempting to Insulate Tariff Impacts as Price Uncertainty Grows - As LNG exporters calculate the potential impacts to export projects from ratcheting trade tensions, Woodside Energy Group Ltd. is trying to ease investors’ fears about added costs to Louisiana LNG’s development. During the first quarter, Australia’s largest oil and natural gas producer reached some critical milestones for the proposed 16.5 million ton/year first phase of its U.S. project. Earlier in the month, Woodside disclosed a 40% sale of its interest in the project and signed on Uniper SE as a foundational offtaker. CEO Meg O’Neill said the company was “progressing at pace toward a final investment decision” (FID) for the project as it works to finalize another equity agreement.

Tariffs a Drag, but LNG and Data Center Orders Going Strong, Says Baker Hughes CEO -Baker Hughes Co. is taking “proactive steps” to mitigate the potential impact of tariffs on its international business, the CEO said Wednesday, but customer support for LNG technology and data center power generation continues unabated. Bar chart showing Baker Hughes' primary energy demand outlook. Expand CEO Lorenzo Simonelli discussed first quarter results and laid the groundwork for 2025 during a conference call. It’s an uneasy time for customers, both exploration and production (E&P) companies and industrial firms, he said. “The global economy has started cautiously this year due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, uncertainty around trade policy and tariffs, China's slower growth rate and lingering inflationary pressures,” Simonelli told investors. “Specifically for Baker Hughes, we continue to monitor the evolving landscape closely and are taking proactive steps to mitigate the potential impact of changes in trade policy, particularly tariff rates.”

China’s Oil Supertankers Face $5.2-Million Fee per U.S. Port Call -- The U.S. is introducing fees on operators of China-built vessels calling at U.S. ports. The U.S. move to penalize China-built and China-owned vessels calling at U.S. ports could lead to an oil supertanker made in China and operated by a Chinese company facing a fee of up to $5.2 million per call at a U.S. port, shipbrokers have estimated.The U.S. last week announced fees on vessel owners and operators of China based on net tonnage per U.S. voyage. The previous proposal was a per-port-entry fee of up to $1.5 million on Chinese-built vessels, and up to a $1 million per-port-entry fee on any vessel (Chinese-built or non-Chinese-built) for operators that have any Chinese-built vessels in their fleet or orderbook.Now, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) plans to impose fees on operators of Chinese-built ships based on net tonnage or containers, increasing incrementally over the following years.Commenting on the new USTR move, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, “Ships and shipping are vital to American economic security and the free flow of commerce.”“The Trump administration’s actions will begin to reverse Chinese dominance, address threats to the U.S. supply chain, and send a demand signal for U.S.-built ships,” Greer added.Under the new plan, the fee on a China-made China-operated supertanker could reach up to $5.2 million per call because of the large tonnage of the supertankers compared to smaller oil tankers, according to the research arm of Arrow Shipbroking Group cited byBloomberg. The previous per-call only fee would have charged up to $3.5 million for a tanker to call at a U.S. port. Oil traders have already started to avoid hiring tankers built in China amid concerns that port fees could be coming for Chinese vessels at U.S. ports as part of a plan by President Donald Trump to revitalize the American shipbuilding industry. Oil traders and charterers that are booking vessels to call, load, or discharge cargoes at U.S. ports are seeking vessels not built in China, market sources told Bloomberg earlier this month.

Interior preps inventory of federal onshore oil and gas resources - As the Trump administration seeks to boost fossil fuels, a mapping agency at the Interior Department is preparing a comprehensive estimate of oil and gas resources on public lands for the first time.The initiative would potentially give the energy industry new insight into what untapped oil and gas resources could be explored throughout 700 million subsurface acres of federal lands. For a half-century, the U.S. Geological Survey has regularly assessed the amount of oil and gas that is buried underground across the country’s oil-producing basins. In past years, assessments of “priority geologic provinces” have not specified which portions of recoverable resources are on privately owned or public land, according to Alicia Lindauer, program coordinator for the Energy Resources Program at USGS.“In response to the continuing national need and our responsibility to provide actionable data on energy resources to Secretary Burgum and land management offices within the Department of the Interior, the USGS is currently compiling estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources under federal lands of the onshore United States,” Lindauer said in a statement to POLITICO’s E&E News.

Interior shifts policy to boost offshore oil and gas production - The Interior Department on Thursday changed an offshore oil and gas policy that will allow operators to produce oil from more geologic layers at once.The action targets part of the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of America earlier this year. Interior officials wrote in a news release that the change in policy could increase production in the Gulf by about 10 percent — or more than 100,000 additional barrels a day over the next 10 years. Interior officials wrote in a press release that the policy change follows Trump’s Unleashing American Energy executive order, which ordered agencies to review policies that “impose an undo burden” on the development of domestic energy resources.“We’re delivering more American energy, more efficiently, and with fewer regulatory roadblocks,” Burgum said in a statement. “That means lower costs, more jobs, and greater security for American families and businesses as President Trump promised.”

Texas PUC approves high-voltage transmission plan for Permian - Texas regulators on Thursday approved the first extra-high-voltage transmission lines on the state’s main power grid in a bid to better serve the oil-rich Permian Basin.The new lines will carry twice the voltage of existing transmission infrastructure on the grid run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT. The grid covers about 90 percent of the state. Despite their higher cost, state regulators on the Public Utility Commission found that the new lines would reduce congestion on the existing transmission system and prepare the state to meet booming demand from electrification of the oil fields and other load growth.In all, the state found, building new 765-kilovolt lines, rather than the standard 345-kilovolt lines currently in use on the grid, could save the state money in the long run by avoiding future construction.“This decision brings ERCOT into the 21st century,” Matthew Boms, executive director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, said in a statement. “As electricity demand surges, we need a grid that’s built for the future — reliable, efficient, and cost-effective. Today’s vote is a strong step toward that goal.”

Oil companies expected a big business boom under Trump. Now they're worried — The San Juan Basin, in the northwestern part of New Mexico, is one of the oldest federal lands drilling areas in the U.S. It's a huge swath of barren, brown high desert that first started booming in the 1950s. Today, some 40,000 wells pockmark the rolling hills of the Four Corners region, several thousand of them still reliably pump up light sweet crude oil and natural gas through the old iconic pumpjacks. But this historic and remote drilling region has struggled for the last decade or more."It used to be an epicenter," says Sean Dugan, the third-generation president of Dugan Production, a family drilling business in the boom-and-bust town of Farmington. "When the majors left, they took all their rigs with them."He's talking about the major international companies like Chevron and BP that started pulling out of the basin after the 2008 financial crisis, namely when natural gas prices slumped.Many left for shale drilling areas like the Bakken in North Dakota or thePermian Basin in southern New Mexico and Texas where drilling on private land was more productive, lucrative and economical. Today it's only the smaller independents like Dugan still hanging on. But he sees potential for another boom out here. "Oh yeah, we've got a lot of tricks up our sleeves," . "The basin has a lot to give. We've barely begun to tap its potential." Local drillers say more than half the natural gas reserves in this region have yet to be tapped. And the hope is all the new computer data centers being built in places like Phoenix will want cheaper gas-powered electricity. But watching a group of roughnecks on a rig in grubby overalls moving huge, long steel pipes, Dugan's smile begins to fade to a smirk. "Your polypipe, which is what these pipelines are made out of now. That all comes from the Asian markets," Dugan says. Dugan says the cost of doing business out here was already expensive and President Trump's trade war is making it worse. Many oil and gas company executives, particularly the larger ones, initially celebrated Trump's return to the White House. But lately, that optimism for higher oil company profits appears to have faded amid growing fears of a recession. "You know, drill baby drill and lower oil prices are not simpatico," In other words, if Trump tanks the economy and oil prices hover at or below the cost of production, you can remove all the regulatory barriers you want, but companies will be wary of drilling new wells. "I think the whole tariff thing is going to backfire on Trump," Dugan says he wakes up every morning and checks the news on tariffs. He used to spend about $80,000 on a load of pipes that come from South Korea. Now, he figures it could be up to $120,000. His company was one of the few locally to avoid mass layoffs at the start of the pandemic in 2020 when oil prices tanked.Today Dugan says he wants to plan for ten years out. But he doesn't even know what's going to happen tomorrow. "It just kneecaps ya when all this uncertainty and volatility is in the air,"

Halliburton sees more risk creeping into oil industry’s outlook - Halliburton, one of the world’s largest oil field service providers, signaled Tuesday that the effects of U.S. tariffs and lower oil prices could weigh on the energy industry in the months ahead.The Houston-based company reported a nearly 7 percent drop in revenue in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. And trade policies could lower Halliburton’s earnings by 2 to 3 cents per share in the second quarter, said Eric Carre, the company’s chief financial officer, during a call Tuesday with analysts and investors.Halliburton’s financial reports are often seen as a harbinger of where energy markets may be headed. Amid fears of a recession and tumbling stock prices, many U.S. energy executives are digesting uncertainty throughout the market. One big unknown: how President Donald Trump’s tariff plans will shake out across the globe.Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller said Tuesday that he’s confident in his company’s economic outlook for the coming year. But he noted that volatility since January has embedded more risk in the company’s position.

Shale Slowdown? Halliburton Sounds the Alarm The heightened oil market and macroeconomic uncertainties in recent weeks are baffling not only analysts. Halliburton, the oilfield services giant with the highest exposure to the U.S. fracking market, has just warned investors that its U.S. customers are re-evaluating drilling activity plans for 2025.“Looking forward, many of our customers are in the midst of evaluating their activity scenarios and plans for 2025,” Halliburton’s chairman, president, and CEO, Jeff Miller, said on the first-quarter earnings call this week.Halliburton reported Q1 revenues, beating analyst expectations. Earnings, excluding a pre-tax charge of $356 million, were in line with estimates.However, North America revenue in the first quarter of 2025 fell by 12% from a year earlier to $2.2 billion. Halliburton said the decline was primarily driven by lower stimulation activity in U.S. onshore operations and decreased completion tool sales in the Gulf of Mexico.International revenue also fell, but only slightly, by 2% versus the first quarter of 2024.Analysts were closely watching Halliburton’s Q1 figures – which kicked off the earnings reporting season of the big oilfield services providers – for clues about where North America drilling is heading amid uncertainties about the economy and the willingness of oil producers to keep drilling activity levels as U.S. benchmark oil prices fell into the low $60s per barrel.The macroeconomic uncertainty, the cost of equipment with the Trump Administration’s tariffs, and the oil prices barely at breakeven levels at some fields and wells have prompted analysts to lower their estimates of U.S. oil production growth this year and next.“Activity reductions could mean higher than normal white space for committed fleets, and, in some cases, the retirement or export of fleets to international markets,” Halliburton’s Miller said on the earnings call.“The last three weeks have been highly dynamic as the trade environment injected uncertainty into markets, raised broad economic concerns, and along with faster than expected return of OPEC production weighed on commodity prices,” the executive added.Apart from heightened macro and oil price uncertainties, Halliburton flagged it would be hit by the U.S. tariff policies—in the region of $0.02 to $0.03 per share impact on the earnings per share for the second quarter of the year. “We are doing a lot of work on mitigating the impact of tariffs. We have a well diversified supply chain,” Eric Carre, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Halliburton, said on the earnings call.“We have a lot of levers we can pull. But really, to be more clear in terms of the overall impact, we need a bit more clarity and stability in the structure of tariffs, so that we can really understand what levers we can pull and then what the overall outcome is going to be,” the executive added. “So there’s just a lot of moving parts right now. And I think we’ll be able to give you more color in three months from now.”

Interior plan slashes environmental reviews to 1 month - The Trump administration’s plan Wednesday to tap into emergency authorities to fast-track some energy projects drew a mix of industry praise and warnings of legal fights to come.The move to expedite environmental reviews would only apply to certain projects, such as mining and oil and gas drilling. Wind and solar energy would be excluded, according to the Interior Department. Interior laid out a strategy for truncating the environmental reviews — an ambitious goal that arrives as the Trump administration fires staff across the federal bureaucracy and offers voluntary buyouts and early retirements.While the administration’s plan drew immediate praise from industry, including the mining sector, conservation groups and legal experts blasted the directive as an unnecessary attempt to push through energy projects with rushed reviews. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a statement said the push is a direct response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of an energy emergency in January. “The United States cannot afford to wait,” Burgum said. “We are cutting through unnecessary delays to fast-track the development of American energy and critical minerals—resources that are essential to our economy, our military readiness, and our global competitiveness.” The department plans to tap into emergency authorities to fast-track the completion of less-intensive environmental assessments, which can take about a year, to just 14 days. Projects requiring a full environmental impact statement — usually a two-year process that can include complex water quality analyses and a close look at the effects extraction could have on endangered species — will be reviewed in less than a month.Rich Nolan, president of the National Mining Association, said the department’s effort is critical to bolstering critical mineral projects and supply chains that China currently dominates. He also noted that mine development in the U.S. is among the slowest in the world. It takes about 29 years from a deposit being discovered to actually mining, according to a report from the data analytics firm S&P Global Market Intelligence.“With this streamlined process, we can better compete with China, advance responsible projects, feed our supply chains with responsibly sourced materials and reliably meet the material and energy demands of modern life,” said Nolan.

Keystone oil pipeline shut down after "mechanical bang" reported - The Keystone Pipeline was shut down after a "bang" was reported Tuesday morning in North Dakota, according to Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager with the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. "An employee on a pump station heard what was described as a mechanical bang" at 7:44 a.m., Suess told CBS News, adding that the employee immediately shut down the pipeline and notified emergency personnel. South Bow, a liquid pipelines business that has managed the pipeline since 2024, said control center leak detection systems detected a pressure drop in the system. The company said a shutdown and response was initiated at approximately 7:42 a.m. The affected segment has been isolated, South Bow said, and operations and containment resources have been mobilized to the site. The rupture occurred at milepost 171, near Fort Ransom, South Bow said. A release of crude oil from the pipeline was confined to an agricultural field south of the pump station, Suess said. He told the Associated Press that oil was reported surfacing 300 yards south of the pump station. Emergency personnel responded to the site, he said. The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality said in a news release that its personnel were responding to the spill and would oversee remediation efforts. The cause of the rupture and the volume of crude oil spilled was not immediately available. Suess told the AP that no people or structures were affected by the spill, and a nearby stream that only flows during part of the year was not impacted but was blocked off and isolated as a precaution. South Bow said it was making "appropriate notifications to our regulators, landowners and customers." The pipeline, which went online in 2011, carries crude oil from Canada to the United States. The pipeline runs through North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri to reach refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma. A proposed extension to the pipeline that would have carried crude oil to Gulf Coast refineries was shut down in 2021 after years of protests. The pipeline has had at least three significant spills since 2017, CBS News previously reported. The largest spill was in 2022, when an estimated 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into a creek in Kansas.

Newsom asks regulator to keep oil refineries in business - Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to make sure oil refineries can continue to operate profitably in California, he wrote in a letter to a top energy regulator Monday. Newsom asked California Energy Commission Vice Chair Siva Gunda to “redouble” his efforts to make sure refiners “continue to see the value in serving the California market, even as demand for fossil fuels continues its gradual decline over the coming decades.”“I am directing you … to reinforce the State’s openness to a collaborative relationship and our firm belief that Californians can be protected from price spikes and refiners can profitably operate in California — a market where demand for gasoline will still exist for years to come,” wrote Newsom. The letter comes three days after Valero Energy, which provides 9 percent of the state’s refining capacity through its Benicia refinery, announced plans “to idle, restructure, or cease refining operations” at the site by the end of April 2026.

LNG Export Project Timing Weighs on North American Natural Gas Price Forecasts —The Offtake -A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers

• 16.8 Bcf/d: Pipeline constraints between Texas and Louisiana could cause more price volatility around the nation’s LNG export corridor without investment in more Gulf Coast storage capacity, according to analysts with East Daley Analytics. Based on design capacities, current LNG feed gas demand on the border is around 7.8 Bcf/d, but can rise higher as producers increase efficiency with their trains. By the end of the decade, demand is projected to reach 16.8 Bcf/d, potentially straining current pipeline capacities in the region.
• C$2.50/Mcf: Despite a glut of supply weighing on prices in Canada, producers are largely maintaining capital programs to grow volumes ahead of LNG Canada’s startup later this year. Researchers with Morningstar DBRS trimmed their forecast for an average 2025 AECO price of C$2.75/Mcf to $2.50 (C$1.00/US72.0 cents). Morningstar maintained a forecast of prices rising to $3 in 2026 and 2027 as LNG Canada “gradually absorbs surplus Canadian gas production.”
• 2.56 Mt: Asia is showing increased demand for U.S. LNG volumes, driving exports to an all-time high. Around 2.56 million tons (Mt) of U.S LNG is expected to be imported globally by April 26, according to Kpler predictive data. The week’s total exports could surpass a previous high point of 2.48 Mt that was set at the start of April. Along with additional cargoes hitting the water from Corpus Christi and Plaquemines LNG raising export totals, Japan and South Korean buyers have been securing more U.S. volumes since the beginning of the month.
• 1%: The Trump administration has finalized plans aimed at increasing the use of U.S.-flagged LNG vessels in the global natural gas market. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a final action outlining requirements for at least 1% of LNG exports to be transported by “U.S.-flagged and U.S.-operated vessels” starting in 2028. The requirement is set to rise to 2% by 2037 and 15% by 2047. Currently one LNG vessel, the American Energy managed by Crowley Maritime Corp., is operating under a U.S. flag.
• 4 Commissioners: Former FERC Chair Willie Phillip’s departure from the Commission signals a potential Republican majority for the regulatory agency overseeing the nation's energy infrastructure. However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will have two Democrats and two Republicans until the Trump administration’s nominee is fully confirmed. Researchers with ClearView Energy Partners LLC said in a recent note that the Senate could take “several months” to confirm a new commissioner given a heavy legislative agenda.

Trade War, Geopolitical Tensions Expected to Curb Global Natural Gas Consumption in 2025 -Global natural gas demand is expected to fall this year amid a tight market and increasing macroeconomic uncertainties, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). A chart showing year/year natural gas demand growth by region. Year/year (y/y) demand growth is forecast to slow to 1.5% in 2025, IEA said in its latest quarterly natural gas report. This year’s growth is again expected to be driven by Asia, where consumption is forecast to expand by a little more than 2%, which would be below the region’s 5.5% growth rate in 2024. Geopolitical tensions, an expanding trade war and tight supply and demand balances are expected to limit demand this year.

JKM Under Pressure as Mild Weather, Trade War Delays Restocking – LNG plant outages in Asia continued as the week got underway, keeping supplies tight in a market grappling with uncertainty amid a broader trade war. Most markets were closed Friday for the Easter holiday, and the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in Europe won’t resume trading until Tuesday. TTF gained 4% last week after falling the previous three weeks during a volatile stretch as President Trump pursued tariffs against most U.S. trading partners. Other than Asian supply outages, fundamentals are on stable footing. Norwegian natural gas exports to the rest of Europe have rebounded to nearly 12 Bcf/d after unplanned outages at multiple fields in recent weeks.

Chinese Buyers Working to Sell, Swap U.S. Cargoes Amid Trade Tensions — China’s LNG imports continue to fall, and the country is sending more of its cargoes to other buyers. Bar graph showing monthly U.S. LNG exports to China. According to Kpler, China has re-exported 11 cargoes so far this year, compared with one over the same period in 2024. A record four cargoes were reloaded in March and all have gone to Asian buyers, it said. Another three vessels that were headed to China have been diverted to Japan and Singapore. Kpler’s predictive data also showed that China was on track to import 4.97 million tons of the super-chilled fuel in April, the sixth month in a row of year-over-year import declines. Related Tags

U.S., China Tariffs Add Upside Risk to Global LNG Supply Outlook - The escalating trade war between China and the United States is shifting natural gas trade, according to import data, raising supply tensions and LNG price volatility. Bar graph showing U.S. LNG exports to China on a monthly basis going back years. Market speculation has been swirling since February, when China retaliated against the Trump administration’s initial tariff threats with a 15% duty on U.S. natural gas exports. Since then, stakes have ratcheted up with China levying a 125% duty on goods from the United States and U.S. officials countering with a 145% tariff. Poten and Partners’ Jason Feer, global head of business intelligence, said China’s direct tariff on LNG doesn’t prevent buyers from importing U.S. gas, but blunts the competitive edge that has lifted the country’s LNG export industry.

Oil spill at Lochinver Harbour had ‘minimal’ impact, officials say after large quantity of MGO is recaptured - Highland Council say the impact on operations at Lochinver Harbour was “minimal” after emergency response equipment had to be deployed to tackle an oil spill at a bunkering point yesterday morning. Harbour officials say a “large” quantity of marine gas oil (MGO) was able to be captured and contained after an immediate response prompted the clean-up operation. The spill had originated from a fuel dispenser housing which had a burst seal. A Highland Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that an incident occurred at one of the bunkering points at Lochinver harbour around 10:30 yesterday resulting in marine gas oil entering the water. “Emergency response spill equipment was immediately deployed by the harbour staff on site and a large quantity of the spilt MGO was successfully captured and contained. “Relevant authorities were contacted and have been kept informed during the clean-up operation. “The impact on harbour operations was minimal.” A spokesperson for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said: “SEPA were notified of an incident involving a spillage from the fuel bunkering facilities at Lochinver Harbour on April 21, 2025. “The Highland Council Harbours Authority advised the spillage of fuel had been stopped, and mitigation measures deployed. “We continue to liaise with the Highland Council as site operator and provide advice regarding the clean-up during the open investigation into the incident. “We encourage anyone who spots signs of a potential pollution incident to contact SEPA as early as possible via the Pollution Hotline 0800 80 70 60 or submit an online form at sepa.org.uk/report.”

Pančevo: At least 82.000 liters of oil spilled – Vreme -- Tens of thousands of liters of oil were spilled in the Pancevo Refinery during transfer. The Institute for Public Health took water samples in the vicinity of the barge, as well as in the "Milje" section of the Danube, in order to determine the degree of pollution When pouring oil from the Oil Refinery Pancevo about 21 liters spilled into the barge of the company "Naftahem" Novi Sad on April 7 around 82.000 a.m. OIL into the protective barrier around the barge and potentially into the Danube River, announced the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office (OJT) in Pancevo, stating that this was determined by the investigation. "The prosecutor on duty went to the field immediately after receiving the notification and conducted an investigation with the policemen of the Pancevo Police Department, in the presence of the provincial inspectors for environmental protection, the republican inspectors for navigation safety, as well as the republican inspector for the transport of dangerous goods," states the statement of OJT Pancevo. The investigation established that on April 20, a barge belonging to the company "Naftahem" Novi Sad docked at berth number three at the Pancevo Oil Refinery, and that on April 21, between 7.02:7.35 a.m. and 82.000:XNUMX a.m., during the loading of oil from the Pancevo Oil Refinery into that barge, oil in the amount of about XNUMX liters spilled into the protective barrier around the barge and potentially into the Danube. The Institute for Public Health took water samples in the vicinity of the barge, as well as in the "Milje" part of the Danube in order to determine the degree of pollution, while OJT Pancevo in cooperation with PU Pancevo and competent inspections will take further measures and actions related to the mentioned event and determining the cause of that environmental accident.

Russia's Oil Exports To China and India Rebound - Russia is boosting its crude oil exports, with shipments to China and India rebounding as traders and buyers have reshuffled tanker supply chains following the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil trade and shadow tanker fleet from early this year.The Biden Administration’s farewell sanctions on Russian oil trade from January 10 were the most aggressive yet. Many of the vessels, specialized tankers, and shuttle tankers transporting Russia’s oil from the Arctic and Far East Pacific fields and production clusters to Asia have now been sanctioned. Crude oil loadings in February and early March reflected the initial shock to the oil trade flows from the sanctions. Buyers preferred to deal with non-sanctioned tankers and entities, which reduced Russia’s exports to its key markets – China and India – as the supply chain needed to adjust to the sanctions. Chinese state firms halted or reduced purchases of Russian crude for February and March loadings as they were assessing the impact of the sanctions and the possibility of secondary sanctions. India was scrambling to procure crude on non-sanctioned tankers.The market soon found workarounds to beat the sanctions—China’s independent refiners in the Shandong province began taking in increased volumes of Russian crude delivered via ship-to-ship (STS) transfers from sanctioned tankers to smaller vessels offshore Singapore and Malaysia. Moreover, the Trump Administration – unlike the Biden administration – appears to be much more lenient on Russian oil exports than on Iran’s. President Donald Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign on Iran has seen the United States impose sanctions on Iran’s oil trade several times since the President took office. The U.S. sanctions extended to target specific Chinese importers of Iranian crude oil. While the U.S. is targeting the Iran-China oil trade, it is also trying to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. engagement with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has prompted hopes in Russia (and concerns among Western countries) that the U.S. sanctions on Russian oil could be eased in the near future. Talks on a Russia-Ukraine agreement appear nowhere close to the finish line, and the U.S. has signaled that the Trump Administration could abandon efforts to broker a peace agreement if progress isn’t made very soon and unless clear signs emerge that a deal can be reached. Yet, the sanctions enforcement of Russian oil exports appears limited, especially compared to the continual U.S. campaign to bring Iranian oil exports to zero while seeking to negotiate a new nuclear deal to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.Amid the geopolitical shift of the Trump Administration and the reshuffled tanker supply chain, Russian crude oil exports have jumped in the past month.In the week to April 20, Russia’s observed crude oil shipments averaged 3.35 million barrels per day (bpd), up by 220,000 bpd from the previous week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.The four-week average to April 20 has rebounded to 3.21 million bpd, up from 3.13 million bpd in the four weeks to April 13, per the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee. The four-week average to April 20 showed that Russian shipments recovered about a quarter of the losses from the previous weeks, Bloomberg’s estimates showed.Russian exports to China and India recovered in March from the lows seen in February. Chinese crude oil imports topped 12 million bpd in March, the highest volume since August 2023, as flows of Iranian and Russian crude jumped last month. Stranded Russian Arctic crude cargoes are now targeting Chinese teapot buyers via STS transfers using the dark fleet, while state giants such as Sinopec return to buying Russian crude after several weeks of pause to consider the potential implications of the U.S. sanctions.In March, China’s seaborne crude imports from Russia surged by 42% month-on-month, reaching the highest volumes since October 2024, according to ship-tracking and customs data compiled and analyzed by Finland-based research group Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).India’s crude import volumes from Russia also soared in March, by 41% from February, to hit the highest level since July 2024. Russian crude accounted for 36% of India’s total crude imports, CREA’s analysis showed. Going forward, crude loadings from Russia’s Western ports on the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea are set to rise by 5-10% on a daily basis in May compared to April, as domestic refinery runs are set to drop, industry and trade sources told Reuters this week.

Saudi Arabias crude oil exports jumped by 500,000 bpd in February- Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports jumped by nearly 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February compared to January, the latest data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Tuesday. Crude exports from the world’s biggest crude exporter averaged 6.547 million bpd in February, up from 6.073 million bpd in January, according to the JODI database, which compiles self-reported figures from individual countries. Saudi crude oil production averaged 8.947 million bpd in February, essentially flat compared to the 8.917 million bpd output in January, the database showed.That’s perfectly in line with the Saudi pledge in the OPEC+ agreement to keep its production capped at about 9 million bpd.Saudi Arabia has not only been shouldering the largest volume of the OPEC+-wide cuts as a top producer, but it is also cutting production by another 1 million bpd in a unilateral move.Saudi Arabia’s oil production is expected to rise slightly in April and more in May after the OPEC+ group began easing the cuts by a total of about 138,000 bpd this month. Production and supply from Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ are set to further increase in May, by a larger volume than the market was anticipating.Earlier this month, OPEC+ decided that it would continue to add production next month with a production hike in May three times the expected amount.OPEC+ producers see “healthier oil market outlook,” and that’s why they decided to add 411,000 barrels bpd to their combined supply from May, bundling three monthly increases in output in the May production levels. OPECsaid.OPEC also noted that the decision to go ahead with a large production boost in May could also “provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation.”Saudi Arabia has been strictly sticking to its pledge to keep production capped at 9 million bpd until April, but other OPEC+ participants, especially Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Russia, have struggled to pump at or below their quotas.

Oil Prices Slide Amid US-Iran Talks and Fears Over Fuel Demand Impact -- Oil prices dropped nearly 3 percent on Monday amid signs of progress in discussions between the US and Iran, while investors continued to worry about economic challenges, including tariffs that could reduce fuel demand. By 1448 GMT, Brent crude futures had fallen by $1.93, or 2.8 percent, to $66.03 a barrel, following a 3.2 percent increase on Thursday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also dropped $1.69, or 2.6 percent, to $62.99 a barrel, after a 3.54 percent rise in the previous session. Thursday was the last trading day of the previous week due to the Good Friday holiday. In diplomatic developments, US and Iranian officials agreed to begin drafting a framework for a possible nuclear deal, according to Iran’s foreign minister. A US official described the talks as making “very good progress.” This diplomatic momentum follows new US sanctions imposed last week on a Chinese independent oil refinery, which Washington accuses of processing Iranian crude, intensifying pressure on Tehran.

Oil Slips on Risk-Off Mood, Fed Uncertainty - Oil fell as President Donald Trump stepped up his criticism of Jerome Powell over monetary policy, rattling financial markets, while a growing trade war between the US and China threatens to cripple global energy demand. West Texas Intermediate futures slid by 2.5% to settle near $63 a barrel, the biggest decline since April 10. Oil demand worries returned to the forefront as China warned countries against striking deals with the US that could hurt Beijing’s interests, while Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said his country won’t concede to all US demands. Broader financial markets carried a risk-off tone on Monday, hurting many commodities. A gauge of the dollar fell to the lowest since December 2023 and US stock-index futures retreated after Trump threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trading volumes trended lower in Monday’s session, with some countries observing holidays to mark Easter and as the May WTI futures contract approached its Tuesday expiry. “Oil looks like it’s taking a leg lower on general risk-off moves,” said Ed Bell, head of research at Dubai lender Emirates NBD Pjsc. “The prevailing mood around oil still looks negative,” he said, citing lower demand outlooks and global growth forecasts. Elsewhere, Iran’s foreign minister said his country had a “better understanding” with the US on a range of principles after talks Saturday on Tehran’s nuclear program. The discussions, which lasted for more than three hours, will resume Wednesday in Oman, and have the potential to affect Iranian crude supplies. Oil has declined sharply this month, touching a four-year low at one point, driven by investors’ fears that the onslaught of tariffs and counter-levies between the US and its biggest trading partners will sap crude demand. The drop has been compounded by the OPEC+ alliance’s decision to bring back production at a faster-than-expected pace, reviving concerns about a supply glut. WTI for May delivery fell 2.5% to settle at $63.08 a barrel in New York. The more-active June contract settled at $62.41. Brent for June settlement traded 2.5% lower to settle at $66.26 a barrel.

Oil falls over 2% on signs of progress in US-Iran talks, demand fears (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 2% on Monday on signs of progress in talks between the U.S. and Iran, while investors remained concerned about economic headwinds from tariffs that could curb demand for fuel. Brent crude futures were down $1.70, or 2.5%, at $66.26 a barrel, after closing up 3.2% on Thursday. Thursday was the last settlement day last week because of the Good Friday holiday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.60, or 2.5%, to $63.08 a barrel, after settling up 3.54% in the previous session. "The U.S.-Iran talks seem relatively positive, which allows for people to start thinking about the possibility of a solution," "The immediate implication would be that Iranian crude would not be off the market." Markets also have lower liquidity due to the Easter holiday, which can exacerbate price moves. In the talks, the U.S. and Iran agreed to begin drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran's foreign minister said, after discussions that a U.S. official described as yielding "very good progress." The progress follows further sanctions by the U.S. last week against a Chinese independent oil refinery that it alleges processed Iranian crude, ramping up pressure on Tehran. Markets also came under stress on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump repeated criticisms about the Federal Reserve. The U.S. economy could slow down unless interest rates are lowered immediately, Trump said on Monday. Gold prices rose to another record, with jitters rippling into energy markets due to concerns about demand, according to analysts. Wall Street's main indexes lost more than 1% each. Meanwhile, OPEC+, the group of major producers including the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, is still expected to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day starting in May. However, some of that increase may be offset by cuts from countries that have been exceeding their quotas. A Reuters poll on April 17 showed investors believe the tariff policy will trigger a significant slowdown in the U.S. economy this year and next, with the median probability of recession in the next 12 months approaching 50%. The U.S. is the world's biggest oil consumer..

Oil prices rebound over $1 per barrel after U.S. sanctions on Iran - Oil prices climbed more than $1 per barrel on Tuesday, rebounding from the previous session’s sharp decline. The rise followed fresh U.S. sanctions against Iran and a surge in equity markets, signaling renewed investor confidence. Brent crude futures rose by $1.74, or 2.6%, reaching $68 per barrel by midday. The May U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude contract, set to expire Tuesday, gained $1.96, or 3.1%, to settle at $65.04. The more actively traded June WTI contract increased by $1.92, or 3.1%, to $64.33. The U.S. issued new sanctions targeting a prominent figure in Iran’s liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil shipping sector, along with his associated corporate network. These measures come amid ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. While recent discussions made some headway, no final agreement has been reached, raising concerns that Iranian oil exports could face further constraints. In financial markets, U.S. stocks advanced as attention shifted back to corporate earnings. This helped bolster crude prices after a sharp equities selloff in the previous session had contributed to oil’s Monday losses, when both Brent and WTI dropped more than 2%. Despite Tuesday’s rebound, global oil markets remain under pressure from broader economic concerns. The International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for the year, citing historically high U.S. tariffs and escalating trade tensions. In addition, Russia’s economy ministry lowered its projection for Brent crude’s average 2025 price by nearly 17% from its earlier estimate. In the U.S., preliminary data suggested that crude oil and gasoline stockpiles declined last week, while distillate inventories rose.

Crude Oil Futures Jump Over $1 Following Bessent's Remarks -- Crude oil futures climbed over $1 on Tuesday after the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent anticipated a de-escalation in the trade war between the United States and China. The NYMEX WTI futures contract for May delivery rose by $1.23 to $64.31 bbl, while ICE Brent for June delivery gained $1.02 to $67.28. Front month WTI and Brent contracts were down $0.58 and $0.93 from the start of the week, respectively. May RBOB gasoline futures climbed $0.0304 to $2.0957 gallon, while the front-month ULSD futures contract rose by $0.0390 to $2.1479 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index recovered from losses recorded in previous trading sessions, climbing by 0.696 points to 98.740. According to AP, Bessent said Tuesday that the ongoing tariffs showdown against China is unsustainable. The Trump administration has levied a total of 145% trade tariff on imported Chinese goods, but China has responded with retaliatory 125% taxes on imports from the U.S. Separately, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that global growth is expected to decline "reflecting effective tariff rates to levels not seen in a century and a highly unpredictable environment," according to its World Economic Outlook released Tuesday morning. The IMF also anticipates global inflation to decline at a slower rate reaching 4.3% in 2025 and 3.6 % in 2026.

Oil prices stage recovery on new Iran sanctions, equities rally - Oil prices rose more than $1 per barrel on Tuesday, as new U.S. sanctions against Iran and rising equity markets helped spark a recovery rally from the prior session's steep selloff. Brent crude futures rose $1.18, or 1.78%, to close at $67.44 per barrel. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract for May, which expires on Tuesday, gained $1.23, or 1.95%, to settle at $64.31. The United States on Tuesday issued fresh sanctions targeting an Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil shipping magnate and his corporate network. Although talks between Washington and Tehran over the latter's nuclear program made progress over the past weekend, failure to reach a deal could weigh heavily on Iran's oil exports amid tightening U.S. sanctions, said John Kilduff, partner at New York-based Again Capital. "Either some nuclear deal is agreed or the U.S. tries to drive Iran's oil flows to zero, and its increasingly looking like a zero-flow scenario," Kilduff said. A surge in equity markets, indicative of higher risk appetite from investors, also aided oil prices, Mizuho analyst Robert Yawger said. U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as investors focused on corporate earnings, after President Donald Trump's mounting criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell led to a sharp selloff in the previous session. Brent and WTI benchmarks fell more than 2% on Monday due to the progress in U.S.-Iran talks and the equities selloff. Despite Monday's recovery, concerns that U.S. tariffs could slash global economic activity will continue to weigh on oil prices going forward, analysts warned. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its economic outlook for this year, citing U.S. tariffs at 100-year highs and rising trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. Meanwhile, Russia's economy ministry cut its forecast for the average price of Brent crude in 2025 by nearly 17% from its projection in September, according to documents seen by Reuters. U.S. crude oil and gasoline stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week, while distillate inventories are likely to have risen, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday, ahead of weekly reports from the American Petroleum Institute and the Energy Information Administration.

Oil prices rose over 1% after fresh Iran sanctions, inventory drops lifts prices - Oil prices extended their gains on Wednesday, climbing more than one percent as markets responded to a fresh wave of US sanctions on Iran, a sharper-than-expected decline in US crude inventories, and a more conciliatory tone from US President Donald Trump on trade and monetary policy. Brent crude futures rose by $1, or 1.5%, to reach $68.44 a barrel by 0640 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 99 cents, or 1.6%, to $64.66 a barrel. The gains followed Tuesday’s upward momentum, underpinned by tightening supply signals and shifting geopolitical developments. The latest boost to prices came after the US Treasury announced new sanctions targeting Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh, an Iranian energy shipping magnate, and his affiliated corporate network, which has facilitated the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and crude oil to global markets. The sanctions are viewed as a renewed attempt by Washington to curb Tehran’s energy exports, sparking concerns of further supply disruptions in an already volatile market. “The US issued fresh sanctions targeting Iranian energy supplies, which worried markets,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. She added that expectations of progress in US-China trade talks also supported benchmark prices. Investor sentiment was further buoyed by a reported 4.6 million barrel drop in US crude oil inventories last week, according to preliminary data from the American Petroleum Institute. The decline far exceeded analysts’ expectations of an 800,000 barrel reduction, reinforcing optimism about resilient demand and tighter supply. Oil markets also reacted to signs of a policy shift in Washington. President Trump, after weeks of criticism directed at the Federal Reserve, stepped back from his earlier threats to remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell and hinted at a less confrontational approach. He also suggested that tariffs on Chinese goods could be reduced significantly as part of a potential trade deal—though he clarified they would not fall to zero. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at a closed-door session during a JP Morgan investor conference, echoed a similar tone, stating that while negotiations with China had not yet begun, he expected a “slog” rather than a breakdown, indicating hopes for eventual de-escalation in trade tensions. Crude prices have been under pressure in recent months due to fears that prolonged trade disputes between the US and China could dampen global economic growth and energy demand. However, the confluence of geopolitical developments, tightening inventory data, and a thaw in rhetoric has offered the market a near-term reprieve. Official US government data on oil stockpiles is expected later on Wednesday, with markets keenly watching for confirmation of the inventory draw.

Oil Prices Tumble On Report Some OPEC+ Members Want Accelerated Output Increase - Oil turned lower after Kazakhstan said it will prioritize national interests over those of the OPEC+ alliance, a move that risks fueling further tensions within the cartel. Overnight saw prices rally after bigger than expected inventory drawdowns reported by API in the US, but that was all erased this morning as Kazakhstan’s newly appointed energy minister Erlan Akkenzhenov said the country is not able to reduce production at its three largest projects as they are controlled by international oil majors, Reuters reported. He said the country will prioritize its national interests over commitments to the OPEC+ alliance. Update 10:33 am ET: What was already an ugly day for oil on the back of the Kazakhstan comments that it would effectively not adhere to OPEC+ quotas, turned even uglier after Reuters came out with another oil hit piece, reporting that "some" OPEC+ member countries arepushing for another output increase. The report said its OPEC sources said there were calls for that to be tabled at the May 5 meeting and enacted in June. Why OPEC+ would agree to flooding the world with oil at a time when most major countries are already teetering on recession, and a flood of production could send oil crashing and spark budget crises across OPEC+ nations, was unclear. What was clear is that whoever commissioned the Reuters report, was short oil, as WTI dumped as low as $61.53 from a session high just shy of $65. The move lower shows just how overly sensitive financial markets have become in recent months. Kazakhstan has been 'over-producing' for years with OPEC unable to control them... but suddenly it's an issue?

WTI Prices Tumble As Official Crude Inventory Data Disappoints, Production Remains Near Record Highs - Overnight gains on the heels of across the board inventory draws reported by API (and some optimism on easing China tensions) have been dashed this morning after comments from the new Kazakh energy minister (pushing back against production cuts for his always over-producing nation). This was then amplified with headlines that other OPEC nations were pushing for accelerated output increases. But for now, all eyes are on the official data... API

• Crude: -4.57mm
• Cushing: -354k
• Gasoline: -2.18mm
• Distillate: -1.64mm

DOE

• Crude: +244k
• Cushing: -86k
• Gasoline: -4.476mm
• Distillate: -2.35mm

The official data was considerably worse than API's with DOE reporting a small crude build vs API's big draw. Products did see major drawdowns... Imports of Canadian crude oil fell for the third consecutive week to 3.3 million barrels a day. The decline is partly explained by the weeklong outage of the Keystone pipeline, the conduit that delivers supplies from the oil sands to US refineries. The drop-off weighed on overall crude imports into the US. Gasoline imports climbed to the highest since August as we gear up for summer driving season. Total US crude stocks rose for the fourth week helped by the addition of 468k barrels to the SPR...

Oil falls 2% after sources say OPEC+ to mull accelerating output (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped 2% on Wednesday as sources said OPEC+ would consider accelerating its oil output increases in June, but losses were curbed following a report that U.S. President Donald Trump may cut tariffs on Chinese imports. Brent crude futures settled down $1.32, or 1.96%, at $66.12 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended $1.40, or 2.2%, lower at $62.27. . Global benchmark Brent hit a session high at $68.65, its highest since April 4, before the OPEC+ news. Several OPEC+ members will suggest that the group accelerate oil output increases for a second consecutive month in June, three sources familiar with OPEC+ talks told Reuters. There have been recent tensions among OPEC+ members over compliance with production quotas. "It wouldn’t surprise me that OPEC wants to raise production. It could raise concerns about the cohesion of the cartel. Maybe they’re tired of holding back production increases," said Phil Flynn, an analyst with Price Futures Group. Both benchmarks pared some losses in early afternoon trade after Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry issued a statement saying that Kazakhstan, not an OPEC member but an ally in the OPEC+ group, was a responsible participant in the international energy community and it was interested in predictability and the demand and supply balance. Kazakhstan has angered other OPEC+ members by producing more than its allotted quota. "Our participation in OPEC+ is an important tool for ensuring global stability, creating conditions for the implementation of national plans and attracting investment. We are committed to constructive work within the framework of the agreement and fulfilling our obligations," the statement quoted Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov as saying. Earlier, Akkenzhenov told Reuters his country will prioritise national interests over those of the OPEC+ producer group when deciding its oil output levels. The market also saw some support after government data showed that U.S. crude stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week, while both gasoline and distillate inventories fell more than expected. "We saw another bullish products inventory decline during build season," said Josh Young, chief investment officer at Bison Interests. "It doesn't seem to reflect potential demand decline from Trump's tariff/trade war, yet." News on tariffsalso helped curb some oil price losses. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration would look at lowering tariffs on imported Chinese goods pending talks with Beijing, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, adding that any action would not be made unilaterally. The China tariffs are likely to come down to between 50% and 65%, according to a Wall Street Journal report, citing a White House official. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believes that excessively high tariffs between the U.S. and China will have to come down before trade negotiations can proceed. Trump has backed away from the threat of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after days of criticising the Fed for not cutting interest rates, easing investor fears about economic uncertainty. The U.S. issued new sanctions targeting an Iranian shipping magnate whose network handles Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Oil Prices See Slight Increase Globally --Oil prices edged higher in early Thursday trading, recovering slightly after a nearly 2% drop in the previous session. Investors are weighing the potential impact of a possible production increase by OPEC+ amid mixed signals from the White House regarding tariffs and ongoing nuclear talks between the United States and Iran. As of 00:38 GMT: Brent crude futures rose by 6 cents, or 0.09%, to $66.18 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 7 cents, or 0.11%, to $62.34 per barrel. The previous session's 2% drop followed a Reuters report citing three informed sources that several OPEC+ members are likely to propose accelerating oil production increases for a second consecutive month in June. Production quota compliance has previously been a contentious issue within the group. Prices received some support from signs that the U.S. and China may be nearing new trade talks, offering a glimmer of optimism for global economic stability.

Signs the U.S. and China Could Be Moving Closer to Trade Talks - The oil market posted an inside trading day on Thursday following Wednesday’s volatile trading session. The market continued to weigh a potential OPEC+ output increase against the Trump administration’s softened tone on China. The crude market posted the day’s trading range by mid-morning. The market traded to a high of $63.31 early in the morning on signs that the U.S. and China could be moving closer to trade talks. U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. and China held trade talks on Thursday morning refuting China’s claims to the contrary. However, the crude market gave up some of its gains and posted a low of $61.99. The market later settled in a sideways trading range from $62-$63 during the remainder of the session as the market remained pressured by the possibility of an oversupply, with OPEC+ members possibly suggesting an acceleration of oil output increases for a second month in June and Kazakhstan indicating a reluctance to adhere to its agreed output quota. The June WTI contract ended the session up 52 cents at $62.79 and the June Brent contract settled up 43 cents at $66.55. The product markets ended higher, with the heating oil market settling up 1.68 cents at $2.1437 and the RB market settling up 2.18 cents at $2.1057. President Donald Trump turned his criticism on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday after Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones overnight, saying “Vladimir, STOP!” He made his comments a day after saying Ukraine’s leader was hampering peace talks on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. Later, U.S. President Donald Trump said he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin will listen to him on stopping the strikes on Ukraine. He said that he has his own deadline for ending Russia’s war in and that Ukraine and Russia have to both negotiate. He said the next few days will be very important in his drive for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. Bloomberg News reported that the United States will demand that Russia accept Ukraine’s right to have its own army and defense industry as part of a peace agreement between the two nations. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they next meet. Valero Energy Corp’s Chief Operating Officer, Gary Simmons, said its license to import fuel into Mexico was reinstated following a suspension in early April. Tax authorities in Mexico suspended Valero’s import license earlier this month amid an intensifying crackdown against illegal motor fuel flows to the country. Reuters reported that Kazakhstan’s public defiance of the OPEC+ oil production alliance could signal its exit from the group and push Saudi Arabia into a price war. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack called for patience on monetary policy amid high levels of uncertainty, and did not rule out monetary policy changes by June if the data suggested action was needed. Federal Reserve Governor, Christopher Waller, said it won’t be until the latter half of the year before the U.S. central bank gets some clarity on how tariffs are affecting the economy, suggesting the policymaker sees no imminent need to change the current setting of monetary policy.

Oil prices settle up on weaker US dollar, mixed economic news (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Thursday as investors weighed a weaker U.S. dollar, potential OPEC+ output increase, mixed economic news, conflicting U.S. tariff signals and news from the Russia-Ukraine war. Brent crude futures rose 43 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $66.55 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 52 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $62.79. In the U.S., the number of people filing for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, suggesting a resilient labor market despite economic turbulence caused by tariffs on imported goods. Businesses are increasing prices and cutting financial guidance due to higher costs stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war, which has also roiled global supply chains. U.S. Federal Reserve officials indicated in television interviews they see no urgency to change monetary policy as they seek more information to determine how trade tariffs are affecting the economy. "Markets are still trying to make sense of the data, as employment stats show a resilient labor market while the Fed tempers bullishness with commentary that unemployment rates may be affected by tariffs," analysts at energy consulting firm Gelber and Associates said in a note. The U.S. dollar (.DXY), opens new tab staged a broad retreat on Thursday, as investor gloom over the lack of any real progress towards defusing the U.S.-China trade war reasserted itself. A weaker U.S. currency makes dollar-priced commodities like oil less expensive for buyers using other currencies. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday he was ready to travel to Europe for talks on Tehran's nuclear program. France indicated European powers were ready for dialogue if Tehran showed it was seriously engaged. Successful talks with Europe and the U.S. would likely result in the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil exports. Iran is the third biggest oil producer in OPEC behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Trump criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday after Russia pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones overnight, saying "Vladimir, STOP!" On Wednesday, Trump said Ukraine's leader was hampering peace talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, which could allow more Russian oil to flow to global markets. Russia is one of the world's biggest oil producers along with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. Still, many European countries are trying to phase out imports of Russian oil due to the war. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the commission will present a roadmap in the next two weeks on keeping an EU pledge to quit Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Russia is a member of the OPEC+ group. Reuters reported on Wednesday that several OPEC+ members had suggested the group accelerate oil output increases for a second month in June. "They would be stuffing barrels into a global economy that is already struggling with U.S. tariffs and a trade war between the two largest global economies - the U.S. vs. China," "OPEC+ would be hard pressed to pick a worse time to add barrels,"

Oil prices set for weekly losses; OPEC+ output hike plan, U.S.-China tariffs weigh - Oil prices fell Friday, on track for sharp weekly losses as expectations of increased OPEC+ supply and lingering uncertainty over U.S.-China tariff talks weighed on sentiment. At 08:10 ET (12:10 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in June fell 1.2% to $65.70 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate WTI crude futures dropped 1.2% to $62.06 per barrel. Both contracts were set to decline over 3% this week, having fallen more than 10% in April. Several OPEC+ nations are pushing to accelerate oil output hikes in June, extending May’s surprise boost, as internal disputes over quota compliance deepen, Reuters reported Wednesday. The proposed increase—potentially matching May’s 411,000 barrels per day rise—comes as oil prices hover near four-year lows amid a U.S.-China trade war and oversupply concerns. "This comes after Kazakhstan said that it’s unable to lower oil output and plans to prioritise domestic interests over OPEC+ obligations. Kazakhstan has been pumping well above its production target following an expansion project at the Tengiz field," said analysts at ING, in a note. "Further disagreement between OPEC+ members is a clear downside risk, as it could lead to a price war." Also weighing Friday was the publication of an interview with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Time magazine, in which the president said he would consider it a “total victory” if the U.S. has high tariffs of 20% to 50% on foreign countries a year from now. Expectations that negotiations would bring down tariffs in the near future, particularly between the U.S. and China, had prompted something of a recovery in oil prices in the latter half of the week. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the Trump administration is considering reducing tariffs on Chinese imports to de-escalate trade tensions. Prior to this, Trump hinted at potential trade negotiations with China, saying a potential deal could lead to a “substantial” reduction in tariffs. But "it won’t be zero," he added. A reduction of duties could lead to increased economic activity in China, the world’s largest crude importer. Oil prices had also been aided by escalating geopolitical tensions following Russia’s deadliest missile and drone assault on Kyiv in nearly a year. The attack marked a significant intensification of the Ukraine conflict. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a direct rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to "stop" the aggression and warning that the strikes jeopardized ongoing peace negotiations. The price uptick reflected fears that the conflict could further disrupt energy markets, especially considering Russia’s role as one of the world’s top crude oil producers.

Oil Prices Decline as Tariff Relief Hopes Wane -- Oil futures fell Friday morning and were on track for a weekly decline. This came after China denied being engaged in any active tariff negotiations with the U.S. Comments from President Trump and Treasury Secretary Bessent hinting at trade negotiations with China had led to a short-lived rally earlier in the week. NYMEX-traded WTI for June delivery fell by $0.54 to $62.25 bbl, and ICE Brent for June delivery dropped $0.57 to $65.98. May RBOB gasoline futures were down $0.0010 to $2.1047 gallon, while the front-month ULSD futures contract rose $ 0.0057 to $2.1494 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.267 points to 99.435. The contradictory and conflicting messaging of the Chinese and U.S. governments on the issue of tariffs has increased uncertainty and dashed hopes for a deal in the near future that would see lower overall tariffs. However, China may still proceed with unilaterally exempting certain goods from import duties.

Oil posts weekly fall on tariff worry and rising supplies (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Friday but posted a weekly decline, under pressure from market expectations of oversupply and uncertainty around tariff talks between the U.S. and China. Brent crude futures settled 32 cents higher at $66.87 a barrel, taking losses to 1.6% over the week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 23 cents to $63.02 a barrel, marking a weekly decline of 2.6%. Sign up here. China exempted some U.S. imports from its steep tariffs in a sign on Friday that the trade war between the world's top two economies could be easing, though Beijing quickly knocked down U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that negotiations were underway. "Traders now view further (crude price) gains as unlikely in the short term due to the continued trade war among top global consumers and speculation that OPEC+ may accelerate production hikes from June," Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said. Oil prices fell earlier this month to four-year lows after tariffs sparked investor concern about global demand and a selloff in financial markets. While the risk is that a weaker economy will erode demand, supplies could swell. Several OPEC+ members have suggested the group accelerate oil output increases for a second month in June, Reuters reported earlier this week. An end to the war in Ukraine also has the potential to add to supplies if it allows more Russian oil to reach global markets. A three-hour meeting on Friday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff was constructive and narrowed differences when it came to ending the war in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said. In an indication of future supply, the number of oil-directed drilling rigs rose by 2 to 483 in the week to April 25, data from oil services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday.

Syrian Leader Sharaa Says Willing to Normalize Relations With Israel - Syria’s leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has reportedly expressed openness to normalizing relations with Israel under certain circumstances, ending decades of acrimony between the two neighboring states. Sharaa reportedly discussed the matter with Rep. Cory Mills (R – FL) during his visit to Syria.The exact terms of this offer weren’t made public, though Rep. Mills said that Sharaa also gave him a note to deliver to President Trump. Syria is keen to get international sanctions eased, and that is likely to be a top condition for such a move.Syria’s ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has actually raised the prospect of normalizing relations with Israel before, indeed even before they successfully took over the country in December. HTS made clear that they didn’t consider Israel an enemy and would allow them to open an embassy in Damascus, as well as in Beirut (though they have not conquered Lebanon so that’s not up to them).Israel invaded Syria more or less immediately after HTS came to power, however, and has been expanding into growing amounts of Syria’s southwest, in addition to constantly launching strikes against targets across Syria. Presumably normalization would also be conditioned on an end to Israeli attacks and occupation of Syrian soil.That may mean it’s a non-starter from Israel’s perspective, as Israeli officials have indicated that they view a permanent control of that part of Syria as a “vital” part of their military strategy for the region.Sharaa making such an overture by way of the US is an interesting twist on the matter, as the US has previously been pushing Israeli interests on Syria as a condition for even considering extending sanctions waivers, for instance demanding Syria ban all Palestinian groups in the country.Syria hasn’t done that, but they did just recently arrest a couple of top Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) members in what is being call a “good faith” offer to the US, though at present there’s still no confirmation the PIJ people are actually being charged with anything.

IDF Chief Tours Occupied Syria, Says Long-Term Control ‘Vital’ - IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir toured the Israeli-occupied area of southwest Syria on Sunday, speaking with commanders and approving new orders to continue the military operations against the area into the future, suggesting a long-term stay is the plan.Israel invaded Syria in December, following the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seizing power from the Assad government. The IDF began by seizing the UNDOF demilitarized zone along the border between Syria and the already-occupied Golan Heights. They didn’t stop there, however, and have since moved deeper into the Quneitra and Daraa Governorates.Zamir presented Israel has having invaded Syria because it “fell apart,” ignoring that Israel and several other nations backed the Islamist rebellion for years to oust Assad, which ultimately led HTS to seize control in 2024. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaynahu even claimed credit for the regime change, while invading at the same time.Zamir is now presenting military control over this part of Syria as “vital” and “the best possible way” for Israel to defend itself. Israel has made much of the idea that the Islamist HTS poses a threat to them in the region.This is in spite of the reality that Islamist groups weren’t attacking Israel along the UNDOF demilitarized zone in the first place, nor has HTS suggested being hostile to Israel in any way. In fact, even before they took power HTS was talking about its desire to normalize relations with Israel, and open an Israeli embassy in Damascus.HTS hasn’t even resisted the Israeli invasion and occupation so far, but Zamir’s talk about the significance of continuing to control the area suggests, as other Israeli officials have, that this isn’t some short term operation. Defense Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly said Israel will remain in Syria “indefinitely,” and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fox said that Israel intends to retain a “permanent presence” inside Syria.

Turkey Halts Offensive Against Syria’s Tishreen Dam Amid US-Mediated Talks - Months of fighting over control of the Tishreen Dam in Syria’s Aleppo Governorate seems to be on hold now, according to reports from Kurdish officials, after Turkey agreed to mediated talks and a “provisional” halt to shelling the dam. Turkey and their allies in the SNA faction had been attacking the Kurdish SDF in growing amounts in recent months, expelling them from the area around Manbij and pushing toward Tishreen Dam and striking the area around the city of Kobani.The US is mediating the talks, and one of the new bases the US plans to position troops at is near to the dam, so clearly they would prefer the area to not be an active battlefield between US-allied Kurds and US-allied Turkey.The Kurdish civilian authority, the AANES says that talks are ongoing and Damascus is aware of them, though Turkey has so far not agreed to a broader ceasefire expanding into the whole Kurdish northeast of Syria.The SDF has met with protesters recently at the Tishreen Dam to reassure them. The hydroelectric dam is a major source of electricity and fresh water from the Euphrates River, and there was fear that the loss of the dam would cripple Kurdish Syria economically. This has led to civilians rallying there to “protect” the dam, though they too have often come under attack.The situation seems to be changing with the Syrian government getting involved too, as recently the SDF agreed to hand over security control of the dam to a joint patrol of SDF and Syrian military forces, though the dam remains under civil control of the AANES.

US Plans To Relocate Troops in Kurdish-Controlled Syria to Two New Military Bases - - The US plans to establish two new military bases in Kurdish-controlled Syria where it will relocate troops as part of a drawdown of its forces in the country, Rudaw reported on Monday. Bassam Ishaq, a US-based member of the political wing of the US-backed SDF, said the US would establish one new base near the Tishreen Dam in northern Syria and another in the southeastern Deir Ezzor province near the Iraqi border.The Tishreen Dam has been the site of heavy fighting between the SDF and the Turkish-backed SNA. Under an integration deal, the SDF is handing over the dam to the Syrian government, which is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an offshoot of al-Qaeda.Ishaq said that the US plans to leave 400 troops in Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria. The US also has bases in areas not controlled by the SDF, including at Al Tanf in southern Syria. From Al Tanf, the US helped a militia it backs to join in on the HTS offensive that ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Pentagon announced last week that it would be pulling more than 1,000 troops out of Syria as part of a “consolidation” of its forces in the country. “This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the US footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand US forces in the coming months,” said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. Parnell’s announcement came after media reports said that the US had informed Israel that it was planning to reduce its military footprint in Syria. The reports said Israel is opposed to any US withdrawal or drawdown from the country over concerns that it would lead to an expanded Turkish presence.

Hezbollah Won’t Disarm While Israeli Troops Remain in Lebanon, Leader Says -Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem made a special broadcast over the weekend, announcing that the organization will not agree to fully disarm so long as Israeli ground troops remain in southern Lebanon as so long as Israeli warplanes continue to violate Lebanese airspace.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed last week that there are ongoing talks with Hezbollah aiming at their disarmament, with a goal to have it done this year. The ongoing Israeli attacks and occupation, however, look like they could be an obstacle.Some progress has been made toward measures required under the November ceasefire. Last weekend, it was reported that Hezbollah had handed over most of its former military sites south of the Litani River. The Lebanese Army was taking those sites over, dismantling many, and also taking some sites north of the river, despite that not being required by the ceasefire. Disarming is a tricky matter though. Despite Hezbollah reporting they don’t have any remaining presence south of the Litani, Israel carries out daily attacks against that area, usually on the pretext of targeting Hezbollah. Israel launched multiple deadly attacks on Sunday, killing one in Houla, in the south, and also killing one person in a drone strike against a car in Kfaryachit, a Maronite Christian village in the far north of Lebanon. Two other people were reported wounded in those strikes.Aoun said the disarming process was a “sensitive, delicate issue,” adding that the repeated Israeli strikes against Lebanon create an unfavorable situation for completing the effort, and that Lebanon will not be forced to rush into it. Qassem says Hezbollah has already fulfilled all obligations it had under the ceasefire. Meanwhile, Israel has carried out over 2,700 violations since the ceasefire went into effect on November 26. This includes both regular airstrikes and the active control of five military outposts Israeli forces built inside Lebanon during the ceasefire, which Defense Minister Israel Katz says they intend to retain indefinitely.The pullout seems unlikely in a timely fashion, and indeed Israeli ground troops have been advancing deeper into Lebanon in recent days. Between that and the Israeli strikes, there is a sense that the war isn’t really over. Post war reconstruction was seen as a top priority for President Aoun and other Lebanese officials. Over $11 billion in damage is reported to have been done to southern Lebanon during the invasion and occupation. The US has blocked Gulf states from providing any reconstruction aid to Lebanon until Israel is satisfied. That seems unlikely to happen, meaning the reconstruction is effectively on hold, and reorganizing Lebanese defense around the military as opposed to Hezbollah, is likely to only go so far so long as the wartime situation remains unresolved.

UN: Gaza Is Facing Worst Humanitarian Situation Yet Due to Israeli Blockade - The UN’s humanitarian office, OCHA, warned on Tuesday that Gaza is facing its worst humanitarian situation yet, as a total Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid and all other goods has been imposed for more than 50 days.“Right now is probably the worst humanitarian situation we have seen throughout the war in Gaza,” Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for OCHA, said at a press briefing in Geneva, according to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency.Also on Tuesday, the UN’s Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA, said Gaza had become a “land of desperation” and warned of spreading hunger.“Hunger is spreading & deepening, deliberate & manmade,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X. “Two million people: a majority of women & children are undergoing collective punishment.”Lazzarini said that aid trucks, including 3,000 from UNRWA, are ready to enter Gaza but are being blocked by Israel. “The siege must be lifted, supplies must flow in, the hostages must be released, the ceasefire must resume,” he said.The US has strongly backed Israel’s collective punishment of the civilian population of Gaza. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee released a video statement on Monday in response to calls for him to pressure Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and blamed Hamas for the Israeli blockade.

New US Ambassador to Israel Backs Israel's Total Blockade on Gaza - Mike Huckabee, the US’s new ambassador to Israel, responded to the World Health Organization (WHO) asking him to pressure Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza by shifting the blame to Hamas, backing Israel’s collective punishment of the civilian population of Gaza.“What I would like to suggest is that we work together on putting the pressure where it really belongs — on Hamas,” Huckabee said in a video statement released on his X account.Huckabee called for Hamas to “sign an agreement” so humanitarian aid could go to the people of Gaza. He said when that happens, and the Israeli hostages are released, “then we hope that that humanitarian aid will flow and flow freely, knowing that it will be done without Hamas.” Hamas has been offering to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but Israel has refused. Israel also refused to implement the full truce deal that was signed in January, which required humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. On March 2, Israel imposed a total blockade on all goods entering the Strip. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week that no humanitarian aid would be entering Gaza and called the blockade on aid one of Israel’s “central pressure tools” against Hamas. Katz also vowed an indefinite Israeli occupation of the territory the IDF has captured in Gaza. Huckabee was expected to staunchly back Israel’s crimes against Palestinians in his role as US ambassador due to his history of pushing for the Israeli annexation of the West Bank, which he calls Judea and Samaria. He is a Christian Zionist who believes the occupied Palestinian territory was given to the modern state of Israel by God. While visiting an Israeli settlement in the West Bank in 2017, Huckabee claimed the territory was not under Israeli occupation. “I think Israel has title deed to Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee told CNN. “There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”

Israel's Ben Gvir Says US Republicans Support His Plan To Bomb Food in Gaza - Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is visiting the US and said on Wednesday that during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago, he received support from Republican leadership for his plan to bomb food and aid warehouses in Gaza.“I had the honor and privilege to meet with senior officials of the Republican Party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate,” Ben Gvir wrote on X.“They expressed support for my very clear position on how to act in Gaza and that the food and aid warehouses should be bombed in order to create military and political pressure to bring our hostages home safely,” the minister added.Ben Gvir has been calling for Israel to bomb humanitarian aid that was allowed into Gaza during the short-lived ceasefire. “The government must also order the bombing of the aid stockpiles that have accumulated in Gaza in enormous quantities during and before the ceasefire,” he said in March after Israel imposed a total blockade on all goods entering Gaza.The Trump administration has strongly backed Israel’s blockade on aid and the collective punishment of the civilian population in Gaza, a clear war crime under international law.In another post on Wednesday, Ben Gvir, leader of the far-right Jewish Power party, vowed that “not a single gram” of food will enter Gaza until Israeli hostages are released, although Israel has refused Hamas’s offer to free all the captives in exchange for a permanent ceasefire.“I see the reports about the debate over who should deliver ‘humanitarian’ aid to Gaza: Well, this is a fundamentally foolish debate, because not a single gram of aid should enter the entire Strip as long as our hostages are held there—not by some external organization, nor by IDF soldiers,” Ben Gvir said.

Israel's Smotrich Says 'Gaza Problem Must Be Eliminated,' Hostages Not Main Priority - On Monday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said freeing Israeli captives in Gaza was not the “most important goal” and called for Israel to eliminate the “Gaza problem.” Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionist party, suggested Israel had the opportunity to “eliminate” Gaza now that President Biden was out of office, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had been fired, and members of opposition parties were out of the Israeli government. “We need to eliminate the Gaza problem,” Smotrich said in a radio interview. “We have a tremendous opportunity, and the excuses are gone: there’s no Biden, no Gallant, Gantz or Eisenkot – we must storm Gaza and end the problem, and prove to the whole world and the people of Israel that there is a military solution to terror.” Smotrich also criticized former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi for letting some humanitarian aid into Gaza. Smotrich recently said that “not even a grain of wheat” will enter Gaza, which has been under a total Israeli blockade since March 2.Smotrich’s comments on Monday angered family members of Israeli hostages in Gaza. “The families have only one word this morning: shame. At least the minister is revealing the harsh truth to the public – this government has consciously decided to abandon the hostages,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, according to Haaretz.“Minister Smotrich, history will remember how you hardened your heart to your brothers and sisters in captivity and chose not to save them – some from death, others from disappearance,” the group added. Hamas has repeatedly offered to free all remaining Israeli captives in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but the Israeli government has refused those terms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear that his ultimate goal is a total Israeli military occupation of Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.