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Russia is now "so deeply invested in the Maduro regime that the only realistic option is to double down." Financial Times' Alexander Gabuev says that Rosneft owns two offshore gas fields in Venezuela and holds stakes in assets boasting more than 20 million tonnes of crude. Caracas owes Rosneft USD 3 billion. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido last month declared himself interim president, winning the backing of the United States. Russia, meanwhile, supported Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolás Maduro, who has led the oil-rich nation since 2013. The Kremlin is extending help to Maduro while the United States is imposing sanctions...

Russia’s top banker has called on Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, warning that the four-year-old conflict is dragging the country into economic collapse. German Gref, head of the state-controlled Sberbank, said ordinary Russians are increasingly feeling the economic effects of the war, which are being worsened by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s oil refineries. “I think we are all worried about the same thing. I don’t believe there is anyone in this country whose primary concern is anything other than an end to military hostilities as soon as possible,” Gref told state TV on Tuesday, as reported...

The Trump administration intends to ask Congress to allow E15, an ethanol-gas blend, to be sold at the pumps year-round, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told CBS News. The 15% ethanol blend is usually only available part of the year under a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency as temperatures rise to help ease high gas prices. The administration plans to make the request when it submits a supplemental funding request to lawmakers, the official said. Several requests on budget matters and non-budgetary matters were scheduled to be sent to the Hill on Wednesday. A lower 10% ethanol...

So, how are gas prices where you are?Two weeks ago in my part of S.E. Tennessee: $4.49 - $4.69/gal Today? I filled up at $3.29/gal as I'm going to my good friend Lazamataz's house in Georgia, and we're going to take in an Atlanta Braves v. San Francisco Giants game tomorrow in a Corporoate Suite.

The amount of oil in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve plunged last week to the lowest level since 1983 as the Trump administration continues to deploy emergency oil to minimize the damage from the war with Iran. According to federal data released Monday, US officials released another 8.9 million barrels from the SPR last week alone. “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases, combined with releases by other governments and China reducing its exports, have prevented the Armageddon scenario of $150 oil from happening to date.” The emergency oil released since the war with Iran start will have to get replaced over...

Foreign intelligence services are using "spy turtles" and "spy fish" to snoop on China, the country's Ministry of State Security said Friday. "An unseen covert war of espionage is currently unfolding" in the seas around China's coast, the ministry wrote in a post on the WeChat social media platform. In recent years, overseas spy agencies have been "continuously collecting and stealing sensitive maritime data through various new types of espionage equipment," it said, including "spy turtles and spy fish." In certain Chinese waters, "relatively large living marine animals have been fitted with sensors to swim in specific areas, collect ocean...

The housing market was expected to rebound this year, but the Iran war has changed that trajectory... In early June, the average 30-year fixed-rate was 6.52%, according to Freddie Mac. Just before the war began, rates fell below 6% for the first time in years... The rate environment is typically driven by numerous economic and political events, but the war is driving the movement now, Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, said. “Over the last couple of months, the rate market has been held hostage by this conflict in Iran,” he said. “When it looks like a ceasefire is in...

President Trump has reportedly told his aides to prepare for a prolonged US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical waterway for global energy flows. On Wednesday, the president told Axios he is maintaining the blockade until Iran agrees to a deal over its nuclear program. The pressure campaign carries mounting costs beyond Iran. While the near-total cessation of flows through the key waterway is cutting off hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Tehran, it’s also choking key corners of the global market. By extending the blockade, Trump is wagering that Iran’s export-dependent economy will...

But the deepest of the Finger Lakes hides secrets down below. Many have heard what can only be described as cannon shots coming out of nowhere. Known as “Seneca guns” or “Seneca drums,” the phenomenon was thought by the local Seneca Tribe to be the bellowing shouts of Manitou, the Great Spirit, when he was angry. Later, European settlers thought they were hearing ghosts of Seneca warriors still fighting for their land as the ground turned red with blood. It also inspired James Fenimore Cooper to write his short story The Lake Gun, in which he observes: “A sound resembling...

Prices at gas pumps are starting to sink and oil is on track to drop 20% in May — its largest one-month decline since 2020 — as investors remain optimistic that a deal to end the Iran war is near. As of Friday, national average gasoline prices had eased to $4.39 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s about 17 cents lower than the 2026 peak price of $4.56 a gallon – though it’s still nearly 50% higher than pre-war prices. Brent crude oil had fallen 1.3% to $91.51 a barrel as of about 2:50 p.m. ET Friday. The global benchmark...

A natural gas explosion destroyed a residential building in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, injuring at least four people on Thursday afternoon, Dallas-Fire Rescue confirms. Sources tell NBC 5 that 23 people lived in the building and officials said 12 residents have been accounted for. DFR told NBC 5 they were called to a large 3-alarm fire triggered by a gas explosion at a residential building located in the 400 block of E. 9th Street shortly before 1 p.m. At about 2:20 p.m., the fire was increased to four alarms, and by 3:23 p.m., to five alarms. NBC 5...

Washington — President Trump said in a phone interview with CBS News Monday morning that he aims to suspend the federal gas tax "for a period of time." "I think it's a great idea," the president said. "Yup, we're going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we'll let it phase back in." Gas prices have soared over 50% since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, hitting a high of over $4.52 on Sunday, according to AAA. Analysts say the prices are likely to remain high with Iran...

There have been persistent rumors that industry insiders are bracing for a widespread shortage of motor oil. Are these rumors accurate? I decided that I was going to investigate this and discover the truth. Unfortunately, I have very bad news. Multiple sources within the industry are confirming that we are facing much higher prices and physical shortages of certain products if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened soon.I realize that what I have just shared is not welcome news, but it isn't going to do any good to stick our heads in the sand.According to Axios, supply chains for...

Peru has decided to tap its fuel reserves to protect domestic supply and contain the impact of what is already being described as the country’s worst energy crisis in the last 20 years, following a gas pipeline rupture that severely disrupted the national energy system. The measure was announced by Prime Minister Denisse Miralles, as authorities moved to respond to the emergency triggered by the shutdown of a section of pipeline operated by Transportadora de Gas del Perú (TGP) in the Megantoni district. The incident led to restrictions in gas deliveries to industrial users and the power sector, while the...

WASHINGTON — President Trump called Monday for the temporary suspension of the federal gas tax to give Americans relief at the pump amid surging oil prices caused by the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. “I think it’s a great idea,” Trump told CBS News during a brief phone interview. “Yup, we’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in.” Gasoline has been taxed at 18.4 cents per gallon since the 1990s to generate up to $40 billion in annual revenue for the Highway Trust...

In case of any doubt about Norway’s commitment to maintain – and expand – its production of gas and oil offshore, the energy minister, Terje Aasland, has a pithy response: “We will develop, not dismantle, activity on our continental shelf.” This week, to the alarm of environmental campaigners, he announced that three gasfields off the country’s southern coast would reopen by the end of 2028 – nearly three decades after they closed – to meet a shortfall caused by the impact of the war in Ukraine and disruption to supplies from the Middle East. The decision will help keep gas...

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday once again shut down the idea of a possible gas tax holiday as gas prices in the state climb near record highs and as experts suggest it's something lawmakers could do to help consumers. "Is Donald Trump promoting that? Why isn't Donald Trump providing a federal gas tax holiday?" the governor said when KCRA 3 asked him if he would consider the holiday.

The national retail average for a regular gallon of gas was $4.457 on Monday. That's a 1-cent increase from Sunday, according to the American Automobile Association, and 35 cents more than last Monday. At this time last year, a gallon of gas was $1.29 cheaper. The surging prices seemed to stabilize or even decrease for about two weeks, following a temporary ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran that has been indefinitely extended. However, the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route where roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes, has effectively remained closed or extremely limited to passage...

World map of gasoline prices…..Germany 9.36, France 8.80, Russia 3.30, Hong Kong 15.36…..

President Donald Trump pushed back Monday on his own energy secretary's claim that a return to $3-a-gallon gas will not come through the end of the year. "No, I think he’s wrong on that, totally wrong," Trump told The Hill on Monday, when asked about Energy Secretary's Christopher Wright's interview with CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. Trump remains steadfast in his conviction that gas prices in America are going to drop precipitously "as soon as this ends," referring to the oil blockade in the Strait of Hormuz... "The blockade is very powerful, very strong," Trump added to The...