North Asia

The defence ministry reported that a marine drone of the type used during the war in Ukraine, a neighbouring country, self-detonated in Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta, near an oil terminal. No casualties were caused, according to the ministry. Raed Arafat, the deputy interior minister, said that two helicopters were scouring the area to look for drones. "We now know that there is a risk of self-detonation. We have... evacuated in case there are other drones," said Arafat. "We're not panicking, these measures are only preventative." Two people were injured by the explosion, which occurred a week after the...

Two industry sources reported on Monday that the Volgograd oil refinery, owned by Lukoil, in Russia's south, had suspended oil processing after a sabotage attack from Ukraine, which resulted in fires and damage. Peace talks to end the Ukraine war have stagnated. Last week, the local governor reported that at least two people were injured and one killed in an 'Ukrainian drone strike' on the Volgograd area. Sources claim that the crude distillation unit CDU-1 was shut down. This unit accounts for 40% capacity of the plant. CDU-6 and CDU-5 were also shut down. Lukoil has not responded to our...

Saudi Arabian state oil producer Saudi Aramco raised its official selling price for liquefied gas by 1% to 3% between June and July, while Algerian Sonatrach cut it from 18% to 31% because of a higher supply on the Mediterranean market. Saudi Aramco increased its June OSPs by $10 per metric ton, to $760 for propane And?by $20 per ton up to $820 for butane . LPG comes in two types: Propane and Butane. They have different boiling points. LPG is used primarily as fuel for cars and heating, as well as as a feedstock for other chemicals. Sonatrach has...

The Ukrainian military said that it had attacked the Sheskharis Oil Terminal in Russia, one of the largest on the Black Sea. It also struck the nearby Grushova oil depot. On Telegram, the Ukraine General Staff reported that the overnight attack caused a fire to break out at the Sheskharis Terminal. The general staff of Ukraine also reported that a tanker called Chrysalis had been hit in the Black Sea. In recent months, Ukraine has increased its number and size of strikes on Russian oil refineries and transportation facilities, in an effort to reduce Russia's revenue from oil and natural...

Sources in shipping and trade said that freight rates for tanker shipments from Russia's western port to India dropped in mid-May because of seasonal factors, a large supply?of shadow flotte vessels and global shifts in shipping. The blockade of Strait of Hormuz is still in place. Meanwhile, the shift of tankers to the Atlantic has a negative impact on the rates in Europe as ships who previously worked in the Gulf relocate. Lower freight rates support higher netbacks of Russian?oil imports. Estimates suggest that the latest reduction in freight rates could boost?Urals price by $3 to $7 per barrel on...

LSEG data and industry sources showed that a Russian diesel cargo had been floating off the coast of Chile for almost two months. This is despite fuel shortages in parts of South America. The latest shipping disruption is the delay in?dispharging?. According to market sources, this is due to a rise in fuel prices that has occurred since mid-February in response the Iran War. This has led some traders in the spot market sector to look for higher margin deals. Shipping data shows that the tanker MT Sauri loaded around 30,000 metric tonnes of?diesel in Russia's Baltic Port of Vysotsk,...

Data from industry sources and calculations showed that Russia's seaborne product exports fell by 9.8% from one month to the next and 17% compared to a year earlier, reaching 7.77 million metric tonnes, according to a report released on Friday. This was as Ukrainian drones attacked ports and refineries. Kyiv intensified its attacks to disrupt Moscow's ability of financing the Ukraine War, forcing 700,000 barrels a day of Russian crude processing capacity off-line between January and April. The April export of oil products dropped to its lowest level since November 20,25 when two major Black Sea ports, Tuapse & Novorossiysk,...

Finland said on Friday that suspected drone activity in the skies above the capital region of the country no longer posed any threat, and the situation had returned to normal. Yle, the public broadcaster, reported that earlier in response to this situation, the country's defense forces scrambled a?fighter plane and other emergency services. The danger is over. "People can?go?to work?and?school safely," Interior minister Mari Rantanen wrote in a social media post on the website X. A statement posted on the airport's website said that traffic at Helsinki Airport had also resumed after a suspension of three hours. Authorities are taking...

Three traders reported that the premiums for Russia's Urals oil have fallen in India as refiners reduced purchases amid weak margins. Russian Urals crude for delivery to Indian ports in?June trades at a premium between $2-4 per barrel compared to Brent. This is down from $6-7 per barrel for cargoes delivered in May, traders reported. Since early March, the price of Urals in Indian ports has been higher than that of Brent. This is because the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran caused oil to be diverted through the Strait 'of Hormuz. The traders say that Urals prices will not...

LSEG and market sources reported that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports increased by 8% in April from March. This is only a slight decrease from the 3.3 million metric tonnes?exported a year earlier. Exports rose despite repeated Ukrainian attacks on ports and refineries, weather disruptions and a surge in global demand. Primorsk, a Baltic port, was attacked in late March and earlyApril. The Black Sea port of Tuapse was also attacked, and a nearby Tuapse Refinery owned by Rosneft had to stop operations after a Ukrainian drone attack on April 16. Sources said that the ultra-low-sulphur Diesel shipments from...

Saudi Arabian state oil producer Saudi Aramco has held its official selling prices for liquefied petroleum gas in May, while Algerian Sonatrach cut it by up to 18%, due to a higher global supply. Saudi Aramco’s?OSPs for May were at $750 per metric ton of propane Butane is priced at $800 a ton . Propane and butane, two types of LPG, have?different boiling point. LPG is used primarily as fuel for vehicles, for heating and for other petrochemicals. Sonatrach has reduced its?May OP for propane from $700 to $150 per ton And?for Butane by $20 per ton?to $880 . The...

U.S. Treasury?Secretary Scott Bessent urged China on Monday to step?up diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to open up the Strait?of Hormuz for international shipping. He added?that this subject will?be?discussed?when Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week. Bessent stated during a Fox News Channel live interview that "China should step up and do some diplomacy to get the Iranians open the Strait." Bessent stated that China bought 90% of Iran's electricity, "so?they?are financing the largest state-sponsor of terrorism." He stated that he was encouraging China to "join us" in the international operation to open up the strait....

On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is ready to resume supplies of gas to 'Germany through the 'Nord Stream Pipeline which was heavily damaged by underwater explosions. Putin told reporters in St. Petersburg one of two lines of Nord Stream 2 was intact and could begin pumping gas "tomorrow." "I am not joking, just press the?button to start the gas flowing." "But for that, the German government must make a decision," he said. Putin did say that Nord Stream is under U.S. Sanctions and Germany would need to come up with an agreement in order to remove them....

A senior member from Germany's far right Alternative for 'Germany (AfD), met with one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top advisors, as well as the director of energy 'group Gazprom. He called for a reopening the Nord Stream Gas Pipeline. Markus Frohnmaier, the AfD's spokesperson for foreign policy, attends Putin's economic showpiece in St Petersburg despite warnings by Germany's Foreign Ministry, which stated that it "explicitly warned the AfD about these trips". Frohnmaier posted on social media that he met with Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom, and Kirill Dimitriev, Putin’s special envoy to invest and cooperate in the economy, on...

Three industry sources said that in May, Russia's oil exports via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia were restored to normal levels at 165,000?barrels?per day. After a long outage, Slovakia and Hungary began receiving crude oil through the pipeline on April 23, following a month-long interruption. The first month following the resumption of the oil route is May. Sources said that Hungary and Slovakia only received 55,000 bpd during April when the route was operational for just a week. Although the flow of oil through the pipeline is now "unrestricted", May deliveries were lower than the levels seen before...

On Wednesday, the?body overseeing Bosnia’s peace process will meet to select a new envoy. Schmidt, appointed in 2021, resigned?unexpectedly?in May from the Office of High Representative. This office monitors implementation of U.S.-backed Dayton peace accords that ended Bosnia’s war in 1995. Schmidt, who was appointed to the Office of the high Representative in 2021 and resigned unexpectedly in May, said he quit under "enormous" U.S. pressure. It is a difficult time for Bosnia as it remains deeply divided on ethnic lines. Washington has been a strong supporter of the country, but in its May report on Western Balkans, the U.S....

The 'CEO' of Ukraine's state railway said that the company must increase freight rates by at least 45% in order to restore its finances. The railway is still a crucial part of Ukraine's logistic network. It carries both passengers and freight. The increased expenditure on infrastructure and security is putting pressure on its cash flow, at a time of debt restructuring. Oleksandr P. Pertsovskyi, CEO of Ukrzaliznytsia, said that freight rates must be raised because the railway cannot subsidise the rest of the economy with its own resources. "We understand the challenges that some sectors of the economic are facing....

Caleb Orr, Assistant Secretary of State for the United States, said that a U.S.-Azerbaijan delegation signed 'commercial agreements' worth more than $8 billion and Washington will invest in Azerbaijan's energy sector. Orr said that the United States wanted to play a bigger role in Azerbaijan’s energy infrastructure projects. Orr responded to a query by saying, "We plan concrete investments in the?energy?sector." He said ExxonMobil was still an important partner for Azerbaijan, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding on new exploration possibilities at the Baku Energy Week?last year. Washington also supports Chevron's new exploration agreement signed during this year’s event. Orr...

As part of a contract, BP, the British energy'major' said that it is 'on track to... hand over?the _running of _the Baku-Tbilisi - Ceyhan (BTC ) oil pipeline. to Azerbaijani SOCAR on July 1. The pipeline, which has been in operation since 2006, is capable of moving more than 1 million barrels per day. The pipeline is designed to transport oil from the Caspian Sea, through Iran and Russia's Caucasus, to the Mediterranean. Giovanni Cristofoli is BP's regional 'president' for Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as Turkey. He announced the transfer via a press release, stressing it wasn't about BP...

Calculations showed that the average daily natural gas supply to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline by Russian energy giant Gazprom rose 3% from a year earlier to a total of '47.4 millions cubic metres in may, according to calculations released on Monday. The only remaining transit route for Russian gas into Europe is through Turkey after Ukraine decided not to extend the five-year agreement with Moscow that expired in January 2025. According to calculations based on data from the European Gas Transmission Group Entsog, total Russian gas supplies via TurkStream reached a record?1.47 billion cu ft last month. This is...

Russian and Ukrainian authorities confirmed that Ukrainian drones struck energy targets in several Russian regions over the weekend, including an oil pipeline pumping station and an oil refinery. This was part of an intensifying campaign against Russian infrastructure. Ukraine's General Staff reported that it struck the Saratov refinery along the Volga River, causing an?large fire. Roman Busargin, the Saratov Regional Governor, said via Telegram that "civil Infrastructure" was damaged by the strike. He did not provide any further details. The Russian Defence Ministry said that it had shot down 216 drones over night. Kyiv also said it had struck the?Lazarevo...

The Iran War is shaping up as one of the largest?supply shocks' in the history the aluminum market. According to the International Aluminium Institute, the Gulf's production of this metal, used in sectors such as transportation, packaging and solar panels, plummeted in April to its lowest level for over a decade. The regional run-rates fell by 2 million metric tons annually between March and April. In missile strikes, two Gulf aluminium smelters were damaged. Al Taweelah, the Emirates Global Aluminium plant in Al Taweelah will require a year to repair. At least one other manufacturer - Qatalum has reduced its...

Kommersant reported that the?Russian-installed governor Yevgeny Balitsky said Friday that emergency blackouts were occurring in the 'Russia-controlled region of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia. According to Kommersant, he did not provide any further details but said that critical infrastructure worked as usual. Vladimir Saldo said in Telegram that nine areas were cut off from the grid following drone attacks. Local authorities reported on Telegram that in the early morning hours of Friday, Russian defence systems worked to repel drone attacks over Moscow and the Yaroslavl Region?in the north. Sergei Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow, said in Telegram that four drones heading for Moscow...

In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian energy installations as the peace talks have not produced any progress. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said that there are no dangers to the fuel supply in Russia. He was responding to a report on a drop in oil refinery in the central region of the country after recent drone attacks by Ukraine. The following is a chronological summary of the recent attacks that followed Russian strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities and their impact. SYZRAN On Thursday, the Ukrainian military and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed that Ukrainian drones had struck Rosneft's...