Free Republic

Vitol Group handed a record $10.6 billion to its executives and senior staff through share buybacks last year, as the fallout of the energy crisis continued to deliver extraordinary riches to the world’s commodity traders. The share repurchase — almost certainly the highest such payout in the industry’s history — means privately held Vitol has distributed over $31 billion to its partners in the past decade, according to the company’s audited annual accounts seen by Bloomberg News. The numbers show how the disruptions that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have handed a spectacular bonanza to a small group of commodity...

No, your car isn’t running on liquefied dinosaurs. The good stuff, unless you want a stable environment, of course. Image Credit: Alexander Knyazhinsky/Shutterstock.com At some point, you have probably heard somewhere that oil comes from dinosaurs, as if every time you fill up at the gas station, you are pumping refined velociraptor into your Volvo. It’s a vivid image, but it’s not true. Despite how widespread the belief is, oil isn’t made from decomposed dinosaurs. “For some strange reason, the idea that oil comes from dinosaurs has stuck with many people," geologist Reidar Müller from the University of Oslo explained...

In a remarkable move, President Donald Trump’s administration has successfully reopened a key oil reserve in the Pacific Ocean after it was offline for a decade. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum led the charge to restart the Santa Ynez Unit in just five months. The region is estimated to contain 190 million barrels of recoverable oil. The reserve is capable of providing 80 percent of regional production. The effort had been delayed for years under previous administrations due to bureaucratic red tape. The Santa Ynez Unit, which had been out of operation since 2015 due to an oil spill caused by...

Six days before polls closed in the New York City mayoral primary, and hours after former Mayor Michael Bloomberg injected an extra $5 million into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's mayoral PAC, a group of Muslim Americans began mobilizing nationwide. A few donors told ABC News they knew they couldn't match Cuomo's donors, but believed a small jolt might give Zohran Mamdani a final push in the Democratic primary.

Not soon after the general election, and within two weeks of each other, two major financial institutions have left a United Nations Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). This is after they joined three years ago, pledging to require environmental social governance standards (ESG) across their platforms, products and systems. According to the "bank-led and UN-convened" NZBA, global banks joined the alliance, pledging to align their lending, investment, and capital markets activities with a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, NZBA explains. Since April 2021, 145 banks in 44 countries with more than $73 trillion in assets have joined NZBA, tripling...

Following the winter storm in February 2021, all three members of the Public Utility Commission and six members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas board of directors resigned. The CEO of ERCOT was also fired. During the February 2021 winter storm, transmission companies inadvertently cut power to parts of the natural gas supply chain when ERCOT ordered the utilities to reduce power demand or risk further damage to the grid. That decision aggravated the problem as natural gas producers were unable to deliver enough fuel to power plants. At the same time, some wells were unable to produce as...

Uganda and Tanzania are set to begin work on a massive crude oil pipeline a year after the International Energy Agency warned that the world risked not meeting its climate goals if new fossil fuel projects were not stopped. The two East African countries say their priority is economic development...Eighty percent of the 1,440km- (895 mile) pipeline, whose construction will begin in a few months, will be in Tanzania including a terminal-storage facility in Chongoleani.French energy giant Total Energies and Chinese energy firm CNOOC International also have a stake in the $5bn (£4bn) venture.Because of the waxy nature of Lake...

Oil prices extended their slide during Tuesday trade in Asia as Iranian state media announced a ceasefire deal, easing investors’ concerns over supply disruptions.US West Texas Intermediate crude last slumped by 2% to $67.13 per barrel, hitting its lowest level in nearly two weeks. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 1.8% to $67.17 a barrel. Late on Monday, Trump announced what he called “a complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran in a post on social media, which he said he hoped would become permanent. Iranian state media announced Tuesday a ceasefire has been “imposed on the enemy.”…

Two large California oil refineries are shutting down, triggering mounting concerns from state legislators, industry groups and many others.Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson of the Gardena district bluntly described his concern during a recent Sacramento hearing.“This is a tremendous loss,” Gipson told NBC Los Angeles, referring to the looming closure of the Phillips 66 plant near L.A. "The jobs that it holds, the individuals… working each and every day, those individuals live in my district, they shop in my district, they add to the economy in my district."Shutting down refinery powerhousesThe Phillips 66 and Valero’s Benicia sites are set to close...

U.S. oil prices retreated from weekly highs as markets assessed the potential for a reprieve in Middle East turmoil following a week of escalating tensions. The U.S. crude oil price benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, fell 8% to less than $68 a barrel, the lowest level since mid-June. The global Brent crude price benchmark likewise fell about 8%. Major stock indexes ended the day in positive territory. Just after 1 p.m. Monday, Iran said it had launched missiles toward a U.S. base in Qatar. Reports suggested the missiles had been intercepted. Markets viewed the strikes "as more of a symbolic retaliatory...

Following the US bombing of its nuclear sites, Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil chokepoint. Rather than direct retaliation on the Iranian mainland, the US should counter this threat by seizing Kharg Island, the terminal through which 90% of Iran’s oil is exported. Additionally, the US should issue an ultimatum to Iran’s two navies—the IRGC’s coastal patrol and the regular blue-water navy to either dock and surrender or be sunk, thus ensuring freedom of navigation without a broader, destructive war on Iranian soil.

The Cyprus visit is a calculated effort to advance India's Mediterranean strategy by countering the Turkey-Pakistan alignment, they added. Cyprus's maritime connectivity and strategic location position it as a potential hub in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).With Cyprus set to hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council in 2026, PM Modi's visit -- the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 23 years -- paves the way for deeper India-EU collaboration during Cyprus's leadership term. This visit comes amid heightened Turkey-Pakistan solidarity, particularly following Turkey's support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.Cyprus, engaged in territorial disputes with Turkey, naturally...

Prior to President Donald Trump authorizing targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday, federal agents and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers have been arresting Iranian nationals, nearly all men, in the U.S. illegally. In the last few months, federal prosecutors have also brought terrorism charges against Iranians, including those in the U.S. working for the Iranian government. Iran is a designated state sponsor of terrorism. Iranian nationals illegally in the country are considered “special interest aliens” under federal law. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Sunday issued a warning to all Americans to be on a heightened...

About two years ago, Sonar21 released an article detailing how the Biden Administration tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to reduce oil prices and bolster the faltering economy, a move aimed at gaining political advantage during the 2022 midterm elections. Biden released approximately 260 million barrels rapidly, potentially damaging the aging salt caverns through deformation and shrinkage. In 2000, the SPR office estimated that the facilities had a remaining life span of twenty-five years, assuming routine maintenance. Assuming refiling the SPR at three million barrels a month, it would take a staggering seven years to replace the 260 million barrels....

On June 1, 2025 crude oil was $60.00 per barrel. As of this morning crude oil is $76.50 per barrel. Today will be a slow trading day as it is a holiday.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon. Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine´s position on the battlefield, especially because Western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports. “The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,” Zelenskyy said. “The Russians are getting stronger...

US stock futures fell Thursday as an Israeli attack on Iran shook global markets, leading oil prices to spike as the Israeli defense minister declared a state of emergency. Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) dropped 1.5%. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) plunged 1.6%, and those attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) sank 1.7%. On Thursday night, Israel conducted what it called a "preemptive strike" against Iran, citing fears over development of nuclear weapons in Tehran. Explosions erupted across the Iranian capital, reports said. Crude oil (CL=F) soared 8% as the strikes hit the third largest producer...

Deadhorse, Alaska It’s unusual to find a cabinet-level official—much less three—standing on a makeshift platform amid barren permafrost, enduring “balmy” 20-degree weather, 4,650 miles by road from the White House. It’s a show of commitment to an overlooked yet central theme of this Trump administration—setting free the private economy. That plank of the Trump agenda has been eclipsed by drama over tariffs and the Republican tax bill, though it is economically as important and moving far faster. Leading it are Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. Joe Biden instituted a “whole...

MIT researchers have developed a new membrane that separates various types of fuel by molecular size, potentially eliminating the need for the energy-intensive process of crude oil distillation. Turning crude oil into everyday fuels like gasoline, diesel, and heating oil demands a huge amount of energy. In fact, this process is responsible for about 6 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Most of that energy is spent heating the oil to separate its components based on their boiling points. Now, in an exciting breakthrough, engineers at MIT have created a new kind of membrane that could change the game....

The proposal is regarding 13 million acres of government-owned Arctic land that is part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.. The Interior Department on Monday proposed the restoration of oil and gas drilling in the Arctic after it had previously been restricted by the Biden administration. The proposal is regarding 13 million acres of government-owned Arctic land that is part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, which is a total area of 23 million acres that former President Warren G. Harding set aside in 1923 as an emergency supply of oil for the Navy. The Naval Petroleum Reserves...