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Europe is currently importing over one million barrels per day of Russian oil, attempting to fill up before the EU-wide embargo on Russian crude imports comes into effect (5 December). Oil prices have fallen as demand concerns grow and China struggles with Covid lockdowns, and Europe is attempting to take advantage of those lower prices to stock up on oil. Alternative sources of crude oil are abundant for Europe

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen warlord who is one of the biggest supporters of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, has said that he wants to quit. In a video on his Telegram channel, Mr Kadyrov said that he had been president of Chechnya in Russia’s North Caucasus for 15 years and didn’t want to “outstay” his welcome... He was promoted as Chechnya’s leader by Mr Putin in 2007 and has been a vocal supporter of the Russian president ever since, backing the initial invasion of Ukraine in February with his fighters. Mr Kadyrov’s father, Akhmat, had fought Russian forces in the...

Russia said Tuesday that it would not resume natural gas flow to the European Union until sanctions are lifted, all but acknowledging that it is intentionally inflicting an energy crisis on Europe as a means of countering Western economic punishment for its invasion of Ukraine... “It is important to recall that there is not just one gas pipeline from Russia to Europe,” European Commission energy spokesman Tim McPhie said Monday. “If there was a technical problem which was impeding supplies via Nord Stream 1, there would be a possibility, if there was willingness, to deliver gas to Europe through other...

France’s state-held utility giant EDF will restart all its nuclear reactors in the country this winter, potentially alleviating the energy crisis in Europe during peak heating season. Currently, more than half of EDF’s reactors are out of operation either because of maintenance or technical issues. “EDF has committed to restart all its reactors for this winter,” French Energy Transition Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said at a news conference on energy security on Friday. EDF operates a total of 56 reactors in France, but 32 of them are currently either undergoing maintenance or experiencing technical issues, the minister added. Every week starting...

Investments in new liquified natural gas (LNG) infrastructure are set to surge, reaching $42 billion annually in 2024, Rystad Energy research shows. These greenfield investments are 20 times the amount in 2020 when just $2 billion was invested... Russian volumes are primarily dependent on the successful completion of the Novatek-operated Arctic LNG 2 project, which is potentially in jeopardy as sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict have led to delays in the commissioning of Train 2 and Train 3. Project partners TotalEnergies and JOGMEC have halted all financing related to the scheme in the Russia-Ukraine war, followed by the...

India shipped in 877,400 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Russia in July, a drop of around 7.3 percent from June, while India’s oil imports from Saudi Arabia increased to 824,700 bpd in the month, a rise of 25.6 percent from June. This was the highest oil take by India from Saudi Arabia for three months, according to industry data, and the figures also marked the first fall in India’s crude oil imports from Russia since March.

U.S. natural gas prices take a sharp turn lower after Freeport LNG said on Tuesday it now expects to restart its shuttered export plant in early to mid-November, and ramp up to a sustained level of at least 2B cf/day by the end of November, delaying the timeline from a previous estimate of October. Freeport LNG's newest recovery plan will utilize the company's second loading dock as a lay berth until loading capabilities at the second dock are reinstated in March 2023, when it anticipates being capable of operating at 100% of capacity. Nymex front-month natural gas futures (NG1:COM) for...

Natural gas demand in major consuming countries stood in June at 104 percent of year-ago levels, but production was flat compared to 2021 levels, new data from the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Wednesday. While U.S. natural gas production has been rising in recent months alongside LNG exports, Russian gas production has plummeted since Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February. In June, Russian gas production plummeted 18 percent month on month, falling for three consecutive months. Russia’s gas output in June was at 70 percent of March levels, according to data from JODI, which compiles self-reported...

A former member of Russia’s Duma who was expelled for anti-Kremlin activities has claimed that Russian partisans were allegedly behind a car bomb which blew up the daughter of one of Vladimir Putin’s close political allies on the outskirts of Moscow (Darya Dugina, daughter of Alexander Dugin). Speaking in Kyiv, where he is based, Ilya Ponomarev alleged the explosion on Saturday evening was the work of the National Republican Army, which he claimed was an underground group working inside Russia and dedicated to overthrowing the Putin regime... Ponomarev said partisans inside Russia were ready to conduct further similar attacks against...

Claims made by Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States is intentionally prolonging the Russia-Ukraine conflict may not be as implausible... Sean Spoonts, a U.S. Navy veteran and editor-in-chief of Special Operations Forces Report (SOFREP), told Newsweek that President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seem to have separate policy goals in mind. "It seems like while Ukraine would like to end the war quickly and decisively defeat Russian forces and drive them out of their country, U.S. policy almost seems designed to prolong the conflict hoping to bring about the collapse of Russia itself, both militarily and...

Now there's a growing sense that Europe might not only meet its gas targets but also exceed them... Injections to Europe’s gas storage are running about nine weeks ahead of last year... European gas storage levels are above 70%, and have even surpassed the 5-year average. By November 1st, the EU will likely hit 80% natural gas storage capacity (its goal) – in time for peak winter demand. Germany is even aiming for 95% capacity, and is already at 75%... Indeed, analysts at Standard Chartered Plc are saying that President Vladimir Putin’s gas weapon will be effectively blunted by the...

Three months after Russia’s brutal months-long siege of Mariupol came to an end, life hangs by a thread for those who stayed behind. Russian airstrikes and artillery pounded Mariupol, reducing what was once a vibrant port city into a landscape of rubble. More than 20,000 people are believed to have been killed in Russia’s siege but the real number could be much higher, according to the Mariupol City Council. There are mass graves with unidentified bodies outside of the city. Though incessant shelling ceased after the last Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol fell to Russia in mid-May, those who survived the...

French President Emmanuel Macron signed protocols on NATO accession for Finland and Sweden on Saturday, AFP reported with reference to the Elysee Palace. "This sovereign choice by Finland and Sweden will strengthen their security in the face of the existing threat in their immediate vicinity and will make a significant contribution to the collective position and our European security," the press service of the French leader's administration was quoted as saying. On August 3, the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) of France ratified the protocol on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. The accession of Finland and...

Biden on Tuesday signed documents endorsing Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, the most significant expansion of the military alliance since the 1990s as it responds to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Biden signed the U.S. "instrument of ratification" welcoming the two countries, the final step for their endorsement by the United States... The U.S. Senate backed the expansion by an overwhelming 95-1 last week... NATO's 30 allies signed the accession protocol for Sweden and Finland last month, allowing them to join the nuclear-armed alliance once all member states ratify the decision. The accession must be ratified by the parliaments of...

The U.S. Defense Department believes that as many as 80,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine less than six months ago, a top Pentagon official told reporters today... The United States has now provided nearly $10 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, nearly twice Kyiv’s military budget in 2021... The Pentagon initially estimated that Russia deployed about 120 battalion tactical groups, the Kremlin’s go-to combined arms unit, for the war—numbering around 100,000 troops. Experts said the new casualty estimate is likely to include Russian paramilitary and volunteer forces,...

Oil prices have fallen to their lowest levels since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Recession fears are putting a damper on demand for oil, sending futures down 10% this week alone. Gas prices in the US have been falling for 49 straight days. Benchmark US West Texas Intermediate settled 2.1% lower at $88.54 a barrel on Thursday — down about 10% this week so far. They were trading at $88.98 a barrel at 12:10 a.m. EDT on Friday. Benchmark international Brent crude oil futures settled 2.75% lower at $94.12 a barrel on Thursday — down 14% this week...

The OPEC+ group gave the go-ahead to lift their oil production targets for September by 100,000 bpd... Today's OPEC+ meeting is the first meeting since the group decided to roll back by the end of August all the cuts from May 2020, when the current agreement started. Analysts had expected the alliance to endorse either flat targets for September compared to August, or a slight increase. Ahead of the meeting on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of the State approved on Tuesday a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia—OPEC's top producer—of PATRIOT MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical Ballistic Missiles (GEM-T) and...

“Further disruptions are expected as Russia seeks to increase political and economic pressure on Europe as winter approaches,” Penny Leake, Research Analyst for Europe Gas and LNG at Wood Mackenzie, said, commenting on the restart of the Nord Stream pipeline... If Nord Stream flows remain at around 40% capacity, the EU could be able to fill its gas storage to over 80% by November, WoodMac analysts say. But if Nord Stream flows reduce to zero by August this year, Europe will only be able to refill its storage to 70-75% by the start of winter, risking some demand curtailments and...

Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada leveraged a recent gathering of Taliban-aligned religious leaders to consolidate power and advance efforts to implement a hardline governance program. Akhundzada is taking on a more proactive role as the Taliban navigates internal tensions and faces continued attacks from the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (IS-KP). The Taliban gathered more than 3,500 people from across Afghanistan for an “Assembly of Ulema [Religious Scholars]” from 29 June to 2 July. The attendees were primarily religious leaders affiliated with the Taliban movement, indicating that the gathering intended to shore up support for the Taliban instead of broadening its...

A rare occurrence is taking place as all 100 members of the United States are agreeing on something. They want the Biden Administration to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called on President Joe Biden to make the designation July 28 during a news conference. “The United States Senate — all 100 members — are urging the Biden Administration to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism,” Graham said... Blumenthal noted that the designation is more than just symbolism as it would implement concrete actions that would affect Russia’s dealing...