Energy Focus Washington from

Saudi Aramco Says Customers Unaffected by Houthi Attack on Jeddah Facility

November 24, 2020 Focus Washington

An official from the Saudi Aramco oil company on Tuesday said customers were unaffected by an attack that came from Yemen’s Houthi group at a petroleum products distribution plant in the north of Jeddah city, […]

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OPEC+ Panel Sees Weaker Oil Demand in 2021

November 17, 2020 Focus Washington

OPEC and its allies have revised oil demand scenarios for 2021 with demand seen weaker than previously anticipated, a confidential document seen by Reuters shows, supporting the case for a tighter supply policy next year. […]

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Global Oil Demand Unlikely to Get Vaccine Boost Until Later in 2021

November 12, 2020 Focus Washington

Global oil demand is unlikely to get a significant boost from the roll-out of vaccines against COVID-19 until well into 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, a view that is likely to […]

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Saudi Aramco’s Net Profit Drops 45% in the Third Quarter on Weak Oil Demand

November 3, 2020 Focus Washington

Saudi Aramco’s net profit fell 44.6% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year, reflecting continued damage to oil demand and prices from the global coronavirus pandemic, CNBC writes. Net […]

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The Worst Is Over For Oil Markets, Saudi Energy Minister Claims

October 29, 2020 Focus Washington

The worst of the oil market is behind us, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday at CERAWeek’s India Energy Forum, OilPrice reported. “We are still vigilant. I think there is […]

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Oil Falls 2% as Rise in U.S. Crude Stocks Fans Oversupply Fears

October 28, 2020 Focus Washington

Oil prices slid about 2 percent on Wednesday, giving up most of the previous day’s gains, as a surge in U.S. crude stocks and growing coronavirus infections in the United States and Europe fanned fears […]

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Oil Advances, but Outlook Gloomy as Coronavirus Cases, Supply Grow

October 27, 2020 Focus Washington

Oil prices rose on Tuesday after recent sharp losses, but market sentiment remains muted as surging COVID-19 cases around the world hurt the outlook for crude demand while supply is rising, Reuters informed. Brent crude was […]

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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Russia’s Putin Discuss Global Oil Markets

October 16, 2020 Focus Washington

Key OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia and Russia have urged fellow oil producer countries to stick to supply cuts agreed earlier this year, as the International Energy Agency warns of limited capacity in the market to […]

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Energy Companies Restarting Operations Following Hurricane Delta

October 12, 2020 Focus Washington

U.S. energy companies were returning workers and restarting operations at storm-swept production facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast on Sunday, two days after Hurricane Delta barreled through the area, Reuters reported. Chevron Corp, Royal Dutch […]

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Oil Prices Head for 11% Weekly Jump on North America, Norway Outages

October 9, 2020 Focus Washington

Oil prices inched up on Friday, setting both benchmark contracts on track for their biggest weekly gains since early June, on the back of supply outages caused by a storm in the Gulf of Mexico […]

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Trump Extends Drilling Ban off North Carolina, Virginia

September 26, 2020 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump said on Friday he had extended a ban until 2032 on oil drilling off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia, weeks after a similar extension affecting offshore drilling in the waters […]

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IAE Says Oil Demand Recovery Set to Slow for Rest of 2020

September 15, 2020 Focus Washington

The International Energy Agency (IEA) trimmed its 2020 oil demand forecast on Tuesday, citing caution about the pace of economic recovery from the pandemic, Reuters writes. The Paris-based IEA cut its 2020 outlook by 200,000 […]

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IEA Sees Oil Market Stuck Between No Major Slowdown but Stalled Recovery

September 7, 2020 Focus Washington

The global economy is likely not headed for any major slowdown due to COVID-19 but piled-up storage and uncertainty over China’s oil demand cloud oil markets’ recovery, an official with International Energy Agency (IEA) said, […]

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Oil Holds Near Five-Month High on U.S. Output Cuts and Inventories

August 26, 2020 Focus Washington

Oil rose towards $46 a barrel on Wednesday, near the highest since March, lifted by U.S. producers shutting most of their offshore Gulf of Mexico output ahead of Hurricane Laura and a report showing a […]

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Oil Gains on Storm-Hit U.S. Output and COVID-19 Treatment Hopes

August 24, 2020 Focus Washington

Crude oil prices rose on Monday as storms closed in on the Gulf of Mexico, shutting more than half its oil production, and on signs of progress in development of a COVID-19 treatment, Reuters informs. […]

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Lobbying for Russian Pipeline Spikes in Washington

August 4, 2020 Focus Washington

As U.S. lawmakers plot to stop one of Moscow’s most important projects in Europe, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, lobbyists supporting it are busier than ever but disclosing few details of their work, according to […]

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UAE Fires up First Nuclear Plant in the Arab World

August 1, 2020 Focus Washington

The UAE has successfully conducted start up operations at Barakah, the first nuclear plant in the Arab world. Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant has been successfully started up by Nawah Energy Company, […]

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Tesla’s Musk Says Open to Supplying Batteries to Other Automakers

July 29, 2020 Focus Washington

Tesla’s Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Tuesday that the company is open to licensing software and supplying powertrains and batteries, Reuters writes. Tesla has previously supplied batteries to Mercedes and Toyota Motor under […]

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Saudi Arabia Top Oil Exporter to China in June

July 28, 2020 Focus Washington

Saudi Arabia’s oil exports to China increased by 15 per cent in June compared with the same month last year, RT reported on Sunday. Chinese refineries recorded an increased demand in March and April when the oil […]

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Oil Slips as U.S.-China Friction, Rising Virus Cases Weigh on Markets

July 27, 2020 Focus Washington

Oil prices edged lower on Monday as rising coronavirus cases and tensions between the United States and China pushed investors toward safe-haven assets, Reuters writes. Brent crude LCOc1 dipped 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $43.26 […]

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Saudi Oil Revenues Continue To Slide After Ending Price War

July 24, 2020 Focus Washington

Oil revenues for the world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, continued to slide in May after the Kingdom ended its oil price war with Russia, with the income from oil exports plunging by 65 percent […]

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Oil Prices Slip as U.S. Inventories, Virus Fears Grow

July 22, 2020 Focus Washington

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as industry data showed a bigger-than-expected inventory build in the United States, where climbing coronavirus cases may further dent fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer, Reuters informed. In […]

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OPEC+ Eases Record Oil Cuts as Economy Recovers From Pandemic

July 15, 2020 Focus Washington

OPEC and allies such as Russia agreed on Wednesday to ease record oil supply curbs from August as the global economy slowly recovers from the coronavirus pandemic but said a second wave of the virus […]

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U.S. Puts Pressure on Maritime Industry to Cut off Venezuela’s Oil

July 13, 2020 Focus Washington

Several companies that certify vessels are seaworthy and ship insurers have withdrawn services to tankers involved in the Venezuelan oil trade as the United States targets the maritime industry to tighten sanctions on the Latin […]

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Oil Demand to Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels by 2022, Goldman Analysts Say

July 3, 2020 Focus Washington

Analysts at Goldman Sachs expect global oil demand to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2022, citing a pick-up in commuting, a shift to private transportation and higher infrastructure spending, CNBC reports. In a research note […]

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Oil Falls Below $40 on Record U.S. Inventories, COVID Fears

June 25, 2020 Focus Washington

Oil slipped below $40 a barrel on Thursday after a more than 5% fall the previous session, as record-high U.S. crude inventories and a resurgence in coronavirus cases cast doubt on a recovery in fuel […]

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U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Mexican Firms, Individuals Linked to Venezuelan Oil Trade

June 19, 2020 Focus Washington

The United States on Thursday blacklisted Mexico’s Libre Abordo and a related company, accusing them of helping Caracas evade U.S. sanctions in the first formal action by the U.S. Treasury Department against Mexican firms involved […]

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U.S. Drilling Industry Claims Offshore Ban Would Crush Government Revenues

May 26, 2020 Focus Washington

A U.S. ban on new offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, which presidential hopeful Joe Biden promised to enact if elected, would lead to hundreds of thousands of job losses and billions in lost […]

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Iran Starts Shipping Fuel to Venezuela

May 25, 2020 Focus Washington

The first of five tankers carrying Iranian fuel has reached gasoline-starved Venezuela in a show of defiance by two U.S. adversaries flouting American sanctions aimed at unseating their authoritarian governments, the Wall Street Journal reported. […]

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Saudi Arabia Raises Oil Prices As Demand Recovers

May 10, 2020 Focus Washington

Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco raised the price for all its crude oil grades to all regions for June in a move that analysts see as the start of demand recovery—and this move sent oil […]

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