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Sources say that Russian oil exports are expected to increase after drone strikes have shut down refineries.
Two industry sources say that Russia will increase its exports to two million barrels of oil per day from its western ports in August. This is about 200,000 barrels more than the previous estimate. The reason for this is because two refineries have cut back on their production following drone attacks by Ukraine. The additional oil could add downward pressure on the global oil markets, as OPEC+ and its allies including Russia have already agreed to increase their output. Following the drone attacks late on Saturday, several crude distillation unit at Rosneft's refineries in Ryazan, and Novokuibyshevsk, were shut down. The sources estimated that repairs would take about one month. The sources spoke under condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media. Rosneft has not responded to requests for comment. Sources and calculations indicated that the increase in the previous planned 1.77 million BPD will require adding up to 10 Aframax tanks, each of which can carry between 80,000 to 100,000 metric tons, to the loading schedule. The US is also pressuring India, which is the largest buyer of Russian oil, including Urals, and seaborne oil, to reduce purchases. In recent weeks, Indian refiners have reduced their Russian oil purchases while increasing the purchase of alternative grades. Steve Witkoff, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, arrived in Moscow Wednesday morning in order to press for a deal on peace in Ukraine before a deadline set forth by U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump has threatened sanctions against Ukraine if an agreement cannot be reached. Ryazan will process 262,000 barrels per day in 2024. This is nearly 5% the total Russian refining output. Novokuibyshevsk produced 115,000 bpd by 2024. Barbara Lewis (Reporting and editing)
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The key facts about the landmark Sicily Bridge project
The Italian government approved the construction on Wednesday of the longest single-span span bridge in the world, which will connect Sicily with the mainland. This project has been delayed for years due to financial and environmental concerns. The right-wing Government of Prime Minister Giorgia Melons has allocated 13.5 billion euro ($15.63billion) over the next ten years for its construction and facilities around it. The following are some key facts about this bridge. They were compiled from data provided by the Italian Infrastructure Ministry and the construction company Webuild. Webuild is the leader of the Eurolink consortium that has won the contract for the design and construction of the Messina Strait Bridge. The consortium includes the Spanish group Sacyr as well as the Japanese group IHI. Total Length The suspension bridge will be the longest in the world, measuring 3.7 km (2.3 mi) long and 3.30 km (2.05 mi) wide. DECK WIDTH The deck will have a width of 60 meters, six lanes for road traffic (three lanes in each direction), and two tracks for railways. There will also be two service lanes. Two towers will stand 399 meters tall, weigh 55,000 tons, and be made of steel. Each tower will be made up of two legs, connected by three crossbeams. The towers are set on two circular reinforced concrete foundations that will be connected with a crossbeam. The Calabria and Sicily towers will each have a 55-metre diameter. The four main cables will each have a diameter 1.26 meters and be made of 44,323 wires. The bridge should remain stable even in winds up to 292 km/h. It has a lifespan of 200-years. The bridge will remain open 24 hours per day, 365 of the year. INFRASTRUCTURE The project involves the construction of over 40 km of new roads, railways and tunnels in Messina, Sicily, as well three new underground stations. Under full load, the clearance is reduced to 70 meters. SAFETY The bridge is designed to withstand earthquakes of major magnitude and wind speeds that are far greater than any previous records in the area. TIMELINE Construction should take seven years. The opening is possible in 2032 or 2033.
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German Minister warns of risks in offshore auctions after no bids
The German Economy Minister Katharina Reiche warned Wednesday that faulty site selection and changing market dynamics are undermining the offshore wind tenders. This is because Germany's most recent offshore auctions have received no bids. The Federal Network Agency, BDEW, the utility association, reported that the Federal Network Agency said there were no bids on Wednesday for two August tenders to build offshore wind farms with capacities of 2,000 MW or 500 MW. Commissioning dates are 2031 or 2030. Reiche stated that the area tendered was more risky due to its geological and geographical conditions. It is located in deep water where erosion of foundations could occur and structural conditions can be very challenging. The first question to ask is whether the designated areas were appropriate or if potential risks for developers...were underestimated. Reiche said at a Berlin news conference that "we need to examine this critically". The developer's reluctance was also due to changing market conditions, with customers not willing to continue Power Purchase Agreements in periods of low electricity prices. They prefer to purchase their electricity directly on the market. She added that the Federal Network Agency must review its bid design and adopt UK-style reforms in order to protect Germany's offshore potential. The German network regulator did not comment immediately on the results. BDEW also cited the rising costs of projects and capital due to geopolitical tensions, supply chain bottlenecks and the increasing difficulty in predicting price and volume risks on the electricity market. The announcements came after a slow start for the sector in 2025, when Germany failed to add a single turbine to the grid. Industry groups also urged the government to improve auction measures to encourage more turbine additions. According to the consultancy Deutsche WindGuard commissioned by lobbies for data collection, the country's installed offshore capacity was 9.2 gigawatts at the end of 2025, the same as December 31, 2024. However, 1.9 GW are currently under construction. (Reporting and editing by Ed Osmond, Riham Alkousaa)
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Maguire: Trump's policy reversal has slowed down but not stopped US solar capacity.
The U.S. President Donald Trump has scrapped subsidies and tax breaks that were given to renewable energy developers. This has not slowed down but rather slowed the growth of solar power in the United States. Cleanview, an energy data portal, shows that the installed capacity of utility scale solar systems has increased by 10% in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year. The average annual growth rate since 2015 is 29%, a far cry from the projected 33% in 2024. The fact that the capacity of renewable energy still increased this year is a positive for advocates of clean energy, especially given the Trump administration's strong anti-renewables position and the policy uncertainty it has created for power developers. The federal tax credit for solar systems will be reduced from 2026. This could lead to a faster pace of solar system deployment before the year's end. Here is a summary of the major trends in the U.S. Solar Market as of mid-2025. PATCHY PROGRESS The overall growth rate in 2025 has been about 10%, but there are wide variations in the rates of expansion across states. Texas, the state with the most solar capacity, recorded a 14% increase in its utility-scale footprint in 2025. This has given rise to hopes that the demand for solar will continue to be strong despite the elimination of federal subsidies. California, the second largest solar market in the world and a historically leading leader in clean energy deployment, has only seen a 2% rise in solar power capacity in 2025. Solar advocates were shocked by the sudden slowdown in 2025, when California's solar power capacity had grown by 13% per year on average since 2020. They are now worried about a collapse of solar demand nationwide. Solar sector is also concerned by the data on the uptake of solar in Florida, which is the third largest solar market. At first glance, the year-to date expansion statistics aren't too bad: capacity has increased by 8% compared to last year and is now just below 12,000 megawatts. Since January, utilities have not added any utility-scale solar capacity, which may indicate that the work to increase solar power production in Florida has ceased since Trump took office. The work has also been at a standstill in North Carolina, Nevada and New Mexico - all of which are in the top 10 in terms solar capacity. New Mexico is ranked 15th. A BIGGER PICTURE Arizona, the 5th largest solar producer state in the US, has seen a 24% increase in utility solar capacity compared to a year earlier. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Idaho have all seen capacity growth rates that are far higher than the national average. Solar system producers are now eager to close deals before the federal subsidy cuts at the end the year. This will lead to further expansions of solar capacity for utilities and residences. This should further boost the overall growth of solar capacity in the United States despite the drastic cuts to federal subsidies and tax incentives that could loom after 2025. These are the opinions of the columnist, an author for. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X.
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The Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey will resume exports of Iraqi goods on Wednesday or Friday
Iraq's Oil Minister, Hayan Abdel Ghani, announced on Wednesday that after a 2-year hiatus oil exports will resume through Turkey's Ceyhan Pipeline later on Thursday or Wednesday, according to Iraqi State News Agency INA. Abdel-Ghani stated that an agreement was concluded with the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding the resumed crude oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan Pipeline. He told INA that "80,000 barrels of oil per day would be exported through SOMO, the Iraqi state-owned oil marketing company," referring to Turkey's Ceyhan Pipeline. Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline has been off-line since 2023 after arbitration court ruled Turkey must pay $1.5 billion damages for unauthorised imports between 2014-2018. The ruling is being appealed by Turkey. The pipeline transported around 450,000 barrels of oil per day from Iraq, including 370,000 barrels of KRG crude. Baghdad claimed that SOMO is the only entity authorized to manage crude oil exports through the Turkish port.
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The PMIs indicate a slower growth rate for the major Gulf bourses
The major Gulf stock markets fell on Wednesday as investors focused on corporate earnings and the tepid performance of the private non-oil sector. Dubai's benchmark index of stocks fell by 0.3% with all sectors falling. Dubai Investments fell 1.7%, and Dubai Islamic Bank declined 1.4%. DIB, the largest Islamic bank in UAE, reported an increase of 10.7% in its second-quarter net profits attributable shareholders. The benchmark Abu Dhabi index fell 0.2%. This was due to a drop of 1.3% in Burjeel Holding and a fall of 4% in Phoenix Group. ADNOC Gas however rose 1.5% following a 16% increase in its second-quarter profit. The company also declared a dividend of $1.792 Billion, an increase of 5% from the previous year. A survey released on Tuesday showed that the growth of non-oil businesses in the United Arab Emirates slowed in July to its lowest pace in over four years, due to geopolitical tensions. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index of stocks was not much changed at the start of trading, as gains in energy, healthcare and industry stocks were offset by losses in finance, real estate and materials. Dr Soliman Abdel Kader Hospital rose 3.9% following a 59% rise in net profit for the quarter. Seera Group Holding fell 2.7%. The net profit of a tour and travel company fell by 72.9% in the second quarter. The Riyad Bank Purchasing Management Index showed that Saudi Arabia's private non-oil sector expanded in July at a slower rate than it did the month before, according to the report. Report said that the output growth rate has slowed to its lowest level since January 2022 and that new export orders have fallen for the first nine months. The benchmark index in Qatar was up by 0.2%. This was mainly due to a rise of 1.2% in Industries Qatar, and a gain of 1.6% in Mesaieed Petrochemical.
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South Korea will offer visa-free entry to Chinese tourists starting in late September
The government announced on Wednesday that South Korea would offer visa-free access to Chinese tourist groups for a limited time, from September 29, 2018 through June 20, 2026. This is to promote foreign tourism in advance of the Asia-Pacific Summit. After China announced last November that it would offer visa exemptions to South Koreans, and other foreign visitors from various countries, the offer of visa-free entry was made public in March. The new South Korean government of President Lee Jae Myung, a liberal, is expected to improve relations between the two nations. After a meeting on measures to revive tourism in advance of the Asia-Pacific Summit, the Tourism Ministry said that the decision to introduce this measure before a Chinese holiday in early October would help boost the economy at home, despite a rebound in foreign visitors. South Korea will host a meeting of leaders of 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), from October 31 through November 1, in the city of Gyeongju. This is a gathering at which the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and the U.S. president Donald Trump may hold separate discussions. Stocks of South Korean department store, casino, hotel and beauty product manufacturers rallied in hopes that Chinese demand would boost their sales. Hankook Cosmetics shares surged by 9.9%, Hotel Shilla jumped 4.8%, Casino operator Paradise rose 2.9%, and Hyundai Department Store shares increased 7.1%. (Reporting and editing by Jihoon Lee)
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Honda's Q1 operating profits fall 50% due to tariffs; it raises its full-year forecast
Honda Motors reported a 50% decline in its first-quarter operating profits on Thursday. The company attributed the drop to a stronger yen, and also the tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump. However, the company increased its forecast for the full year. The second largest carmaker in Japan reported a quarterly operating profit of 244.2 billion yen (1.66 billion dollars) for the period April-June, which is more than 20% below the average estimate of 311.7 million yen according to LSEG's poll of seven analysts. Honda reported that the 27.5% tariffs on U.S. imports, which comprise a 2.5% rate plus a 25% tax imposed by Trump last April, had reduced its operating profit by approximately 125 billion yen for the first quarter. The automaker has said that the tariffs have had a smaller impact on its operating profit for the full year than they estimated in May. The automaker now expects to lose 450 billion yen for the year compared with 650 billion previously. The company increased its forecast for full-year operating profits to 700 billion yen (from 500 billion yen) and stated that it expected the yen's value to be lower than previously anticipated.
Germany scraps gas storage tax
The German cabinet approved on Wednesday a draft bill to abolish a gas storage tax for all consumers, in an attempt to reduce energy costs.
After decades of relying heavily on Russian gas that was cheap, Europe's biggest economy now faces high energy prices, which are putting pressure on its energy-intensive, export-oriented industries, such as metals and chemicals production.
The tax was introduced in 2020 to cover the cost of replacing Russian gas when Moscow stopped supplying it.
Berlin imposed the fee on German consumers only after pressure from Germany's neighbors.
According to estimates by the government, eliminating the levy would provide relief of approximately 3.4 billion euro ($3.93 billion). This will save an average household of four between 30 and 60 euros each year. (1 euro = 0.8655 dollars) (Reporting and editing by Madeline Chambers, Holger Hansen)
(source: Reuters)