Free Republic

Ukrainian attacks set an oil export terminal ablaze in St. Petersburg on Sunday, as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones across Russia in one of its largest ever aerial bombardments. The attack comes amid deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump criticizing Kyiv for its strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. One person was killed and five more were wounded in the attack, which sparked fires at both the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot, said local Gov. Alexander Beglov. A logistics center belonging to Russian retailer Ozon and a data center for local...

An international oil benchmark hit $110 per barrel on Friday, as the industry faces persistent shocks from the U.S.-Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, hit $110 during Friday trading. That marked the first time it has reached that high since May 20, less than three months after the U.S. and Israel launched the Iran conflict. The commodity was trading at roughly $109.75 as of late Friday afternoon. Brent crude prices peaked in late April, when the benchmark topped $120 per barrel. Oil prices shot up during the early months of the conflict with...

Newly declassified State Department emails and documents show former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch received frequent briefings from top aides on Burisma and Hunter Biden, conflicting with her congressional impeachment testimony. Internal emails also show her deputy in Kyiv believed the Burisma/Biden relationship was adversely affecting U.S. policy. ======================================================================= Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, one of the Democrats’ star witnesses in their first impeachment of Donald Trump, received repeated briefings, emails and memos related to the Ukrainian energy company that employed Hunter Biden, according to declassified documents that directly conflict with her and other witnesses’ testimony in the failed...

Former Vice President Mike Pence called on President Donald Trump to “rescind” his agreement to lift sanctions on Russian diesel fuel and stand up to “Russian aggression,” as Pence believes he did in his first term. “For our National Security, for the security of our Allies in Europe including Ukraine, President Trump should rescind this deal immediately and return to the strong policies of our four years in the White House; impose harsh sanctions on any nation purchasing Russian energy and work with our allies to ensure Ukraine has the military support it needs to repel and defeat this Russian...

Gasoline-only cars fell below 50% of global new vehicle sales for the first time, as the Hormuz crisis and record fuel prices accelerated the shift toward EVs. EV sales surged across major markets, with European BEV sales jumping 52% year-over-year in August and second-quarter global EV sales rising 35% from Q1. High oil and fuel prices could permanently accelerate EV adoption, although charging infrastructure and critical-mineral supply remain major constraints. The share of gasoline cars in global vehicle sales fell below 50% for the first time ever as the Hormuz shock and the resulting record-high fuel prices accelerated the previously...

Yemen-based Ansar Allah, widely known as the Houthis, continues to have a profound impact on global security. The group’s ongoing operations in the Red Sea affected an estimated US $1 trillion worth of maritime cargo between October 2023 and May 2024, and despite periodic kinetic attacks, its operations show no signs of abating. Moreover, evidence suggests the Houthis enjoy the financial and military backing of Russia and China, in addition to their established ties with Iran. This Insight explores the Houthis’ financing mechanisms, including leveraging technology to evade sanctions and the involvement of foreign facilitators with demonstrable and plausible ties...

The Trump administration argues that its proposed multibillion-dollar Russian oil deal would advance American foreign policy interests and lower energy prices. But most of the ownership in the deal would go to a group of Middle Eastern investors, including some with business ties to key U.S. officials involved in the negotiations, according to people familiar with the talks. The deal, for a worldwide portfolio of oil fields, refineries and gas stations now owned by the sanctioned Russian energy giant Lukoil, has become intertwined with the U.S. talks with Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. The United States government, through...

"Half of Russia’s six largest diesel-producing refineries were forced to cut or halt output in September after strikes, according to a Reuters tally. ... Other forces have tightened diesel. Gulf refineries were damaged after the Iran war widened in February."

Venezuela’s Cardón refinery — the country’s second-largest plant — was fully halted on Tuesday after a gas-line fire and explosions at its diesel hydrotreater. The blaze was brought under control in under an hour with no reported injuries, but PDVSA has not issued a damage assessment or restart timeline. The outage hits an already fragile domestic fuel system far more than U.S. supply. Cardón (sometimes rendered Cardon; the query’s “Ardon” matches this plant, not neighboring Amuay) sits at Punto Fijo in Falcón state and is half of the Paraguaná Refining Center. A social-media video posted by OSINTtechnical showed a large...

"Americans could pay far more to heat their homes with oil this winter than last, a new analysis reviewed by Axios shows, as volatile energy markets and the Iran War deepen the affordability crisis. Why it matters: Heating bills are eating into household budgets before winter sets in, with stark divides between fuel types. By the numbers: Families that heat with oil could pay about 50% more this winter than last, according to estimates from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), up from its 31.3% projection in mid-September. The average cost of heating a home with oil is expected...

Sailors are reportedly being offered as much as $25,000 a trip to move trapped oil through the dangerous, war-rattled Persian Gulf – meaning producers are spending up to $40 million total for a multi-day trip... The jaw-dropping payments – sometimes worth two or three times a sailor’s typical monthly salary – are an attempt to convince crew members to risk the potentially deadly strikes... Fresh data on Monday showed the payouts are working, as crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz reached 16.5 million barrels per day in September – far above lows of 5 million barrels a day in...

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) wrote a 26 page "open letter" to the American people saying "Islam requires believers to stand up to tyrants. By electing Democrats who will oust Trump from office the people of America will prove themselves worthy of membership in our faith and will not be killed after an Islamic regime supplants the evil, deceitful, and violent politicians who are responsible for America's current state." The letter went on to assert that "the defeat of Zionist candidates by democratic socialists in this year's Democratic primary elections shows that more Americans are aligning themselves with the...

The East-West line is the Kingdom's bypass of the Strait of Hormuz, carrying crude from the eastern fields to Red Sea export capacity, and headlines confirming it is flowing normally tend to appear only when some disruption or threat to Gulf transit is already in the price. In past episodes of Gulf supply anxiety, the market's sensitivity has split between actual interruption to flows, which is rare, and the perceived risk premium around chokepoints, which is common and has historically faded once continuity of throughput is confirmed. Confirmation of normal operations typically works to unwind whatever premium the disruption story...

Iran’s oil minister, Mohsen Paknejad, has resigned and been replaced by the country’s top oil executive, the president’s office says in a statement, amid a blockade on Tehran’s oil exports by the United States. “Following the acceptance of Mohsen Paknejad’s resignation, Hamid Bovard,” the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company, “has been appointed as acting Minister of Oil by a decree from the president,” says the statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB. In a news bulletin on the minister’s resignation, state television runs an interview with an official from the Iranian presidential office who says Paknejad initially offered his...

The deliveries promised in the deal depend on supplies from two natural gas deposits located in Siberia – the Chayanda oil and gas condensate field in Yakutia and the Kovykta gas condensate field in the Irkutsk Region. The two together have natural gas reserves of 4.1 trillion cubic meters, but neither has yet been developed. ...“a propaganda spin to justify the $70 billion price tag the state has splurged on” for construction of a pipeline to China. “Usually, the costs for similar state funded projects always overstretch the initial price tag,” ... Industry insiders say Gazprom doesn’t have the technology...

For all the griping we hear about our state — healthcare, education, crime, economic opportunity — there sure has been a lot of talk lately about ownership of our assets. (Turn the page for opinions about the Sandia Mountains.) Last week, Texas lawmakers met to study the possibility of the Lone Star State annexing “one or more contiguous counties” in southeastern New Mexico because of the region’s conservative leanings and oil production. It’s been a fantastical debate for several years, as southeastern New Mexico residents on paper align more closely to the culture of West Texas than Santa Fe. While...

Trump is the great magnetic north of our political metabolism. Harold Macmillan, prime minister of Great Britain from 1957 to 1963, was once asked by a journalist what was the most troubling problem he faced during his prime ministership. “Events, my dear boy, events,” was his reply. It was ever thus, of course. But in the great pudding of life, the currents of events seem to cluster more thickly in some moments than in others. I understand that every age is naturally inclined to exaggerate the importance and vividness of its own dramas. The incessant beat of our 24-hour news...

Russia has become a danger to Britain and the country must be prepared to take steps to defend itself and its allies, the former head of MI6 says. Sir John Sawers, who recently retired after five years as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Russia poses a "state to state threat".

It’s looking unlikely that southeastern New Mexico will become part of the Lone Star State any time soon. Texas lawmakers announced they intended to explore absorbing New Mexico’s oil-rich southeastern counties this spring, drawing predictable ire from elected officials in the Land of Enchantment. Late Wednesday night, the Texas House of Representatives did end up discussing the subject at a meeting of its Governmental Oversight Committee in Austin. Lawmakers admitted the issue was a bit of a joke, but acknowledged the issue could be a way to broach some concerns on both sides of the state line. New Mexico state...

The United States on Thursday told its European allies, particularly Germany and France, to "immediately" release their strategic reserves of diesel to help lower the soaring price of the refined fuel. It comes a day after President Donald Trump floated the possibility of banning US diesel exports to stem the rise in prices. At an emergency meeting of the European Union's energy task force on Friday, an EU spokesperson said the bloc "fully rejects" the ban threat, saying it would "undermine ... trust in the US." Average US diesel prices have surged over 70% to $6.39 per US gallon (€1.50...