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SANDY — A Utah couple is being accused of money laundering and smuggling oil into the U.S. alongside Mexican cartels, after they were arrested during a multi-state raid by U.S. Marshals, according to court documents. James Lael Jensen and his wife, Kelly Anne Jensen, were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday. The couple and two of his sons are being federally indicted for allegedly conspiring to smuggle 2,881 shipments of oil from Mexico that they knew were illegal. The family is accused of moving at least $300 million from Mexico to the U.S. The couple was arrested...

Russia's economy ministry has cut its forecast for the average price of Brent crude in 2025 by nearly 17% from what it saw the price would be this year in its September calculations, according to documents obtained by Reuters. -snip- The ministry sees the price for Urals, Russia's main blend, at $56 per barrel - against the $69.7 per barrel Russia has based its 2025 budget on - and below the $60 'cut off' price, which determines how much money is sent to the budget reserve National Wealth Fund (NWF). -snip- The price of Urals crude oil is crucial for...

Dubai -- US airstrikes targeting an oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 74 people and wounded 171 others, the group said Friday, marking the single-deadliest known attack under President Donald Trump’s new campaign targeting the rebels. Assessing the toll of Trump’s campaign, which began March 15, has been incredibly difficult as the US military’s Central Command so far has not released any information on the campaign, its specific targets and how many people have been killed. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels strictly control access to areas attacked and don’t publish information on the strikes, many of which likely have...

Obama intel chief violating Iran sanctions? Board member of Chinese government-owned company in deal with Tehran Charles "Chas" Freeman JERUSALEM – President Obama's nominee for a top intelligence post sits on the board of a major oil company owned by the Chinese government that is in the midst of a multibillion dollar deal with Iran which may violate U.S. sanctions, WND has learned. The oil company is widely seen as conducting business deals meant to expand China's influence worldwide. One of its recent attempts to purchase a large U.S. oil firm drew bipartisan congressional opposition amid fears the deal would...

April 14 - BP (BP.L), opens new tab has made an oil discovery at the Far South field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, it said on Monday, as the energy major seeks to grow production under a strategy reset announced earlier this year. The exploration well was drilled in Green Canyon Block 584 about 120 miles (193.12 km) off the coast of Louisiana. Both the initial well and a sidetrack encountered oil. Preliminary data indicates a potentially commercial volume of oil and gas, the company said in a statement. It also said it plans to increase output in the...

Russia’s Finance Ministry has faced major setbacks in its efforts to reduce the budget deficit through foreign borrowing. The collapse in oil prices, fueled by President Donald Trump's trade war, is taking a significant toll on Russia’s economy, leaving a gaping hole in the country's budget without an apparent solution. This issue is highlighted in a blog post by Russian economist Vyacheslav Shiryaev, News.Az reports citing foreign media. The Finance Ministry is scrambling to fill the budget void as oil revenues plummet, but it faces reluctance from creditors. The latest auction of government bonds (OFZ 26221) was a failure, with...

Estonian authorities detained and boarded a ship in the Baltic Sea that belongs to Russia’s shadow fleet, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Friday. The vessel, which Michal said did not sail under any nation’s flag but was previously registered to Djibouti according to publicly available records, was detained near Tallinn Bay in an operation involving helicopters. “Early this morning, the Estonian Navy detained a sanctioned vessel with no flag state,” Michal said in a post on social media. “Our authorities are currently on board, inspecting its legal status and safety.” The ship was heading to the port of Ust-Luga, a...

-snip- Urals crude, Russia’s main export blend, has plunged this week to its lowest level since 2023, at about $52 per barrel — roughly 30 percent below the $70 benchmark used in Russia’s 2025 budget planning. The slide followed a sharp drop in international oil markets after Trump’s tariffs on China took effect and after a surprise OPEC+ decision to increase production. Oil exports make up about 30 percent of the country’s budget revenue and have been key in propping up Russia’s war machine three years into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The decline in prices is edging close to...

U.S. crude oil futures fell more than 6% on Wednesday, as China slapped retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. after President Donald Trump’s sweeping levies took effect. The U.S. benchmark dropped $4.01, or 6.7%, to $55.57 per barrel by 7:53 a.m. ET. Global benchmark Brent tumbled $4.04, or 6.4%, to $58.78.

MOSCOW, April 8 (Reuters) - A sharp drop in global oil prices triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs poses a risk to the Russian economy, the state TASS news agency cited Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of Russia's central bank, as saying on Tuesday. She was quoted as saying that the central bank was analysing the fallout, but as saying that a technical budget rule would smooth out the consequences for the budget. As of Monday, Brent and WTI had slumped 14% and 15% respectively following Trump's April 2 announcement of "reciprocal tariffs" on all imports. "You are absolutely right...

Russia's economy is facing further turmoil as the price of its flagship Urals crude oil plummets to its lowest value since early 2023. On Friday, Russian Urals oil prices fell to about £43 per barrel ($53), with projections suggesting they could dip to £40 ($50) if the downward trend in global oil prices continues. -snip- The oil price crisis comes just as Russia faces rising domestic inflation, with everyday goods, such as food and fuel, becoming increasingly expensive. Ordinary Russians feel the impact, with the cost of basic goods, including bread, milk, and potatoes, rising dramatically. The country now finds...

Saudi Arabia has made the biggest drop in oil prices in two years — it has reduced the price of its main oil grade, Arab Light, to $2.30 per barrel for Asian customers. According to Bloomberg, this decision came just a few days after OPEC+ decided to increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day more sharply than expected. In addition, “Trump’s tariffs” have also dealt a serious blow to world oil prices — oil prices have fallen by $10 in one day: from $75 to $65 per barrel. This is the lowest level in three years. For Russia, whose...

Russian revenues from oil and gas plunged by 17% in March from a year earlier, according to data from Russia's finance ministry. Oil and gas revenues for the Kremlin fell to $13.1 billion (1.1 trillion Russian rubles) last month, while revenues for the first quarter dipped by nearly 10% on the year to $31.4 billion (2.64 trillion rubles), the official Russian data showed. Much of the decline was likely attributable to the lower oil prices in February and March, as well as the initial chaos with Russian oil trade after the U.S. sanctions from early January-the most aggressive sanctions on...

---Down 7.35% as I post this--- Eight key OPEC+ producers on Thuesday agreed to raise combined crude oil output by 411,000 barrels per day, speeding up the pace of their scheduled hikes and pushing down oil prices...The group was widely expected to implement an increase of just under 140,000 barrels per day next month.

NBC: "Just hours ago, President Trump called me to tell me he is 'pissed off' with Russia's President Putin and threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Russia's oil."

The Interior Department announced Thursday that in the first three months of 2025, the federal government brought in nearly $40 million in revenue from oil and gas lease sales on public land. The development proves the worth of President Donald Trump’s vision to unleash American energy dominance, a top official said. "This quarter’s lease sales demonstrate Interior’s unwavering commitment to fostering American Energy Dominance, and we are grateful to those who produce energy on federal lands," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. "By building on the commonsense, pro-growth policies of the Trump administration, we’re ensuring public lands are...

Kingston (Jamaica) (AFP) – Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads Thursday to Guyana to offer to put the newly oil-rich nation under the US security umbrella as neighboring Venezuela asserts claims. A decade after the discovery of vast reserves, the small South American nation is poised this year to become the world's largest producer of oil on a per capita basis, outpacing Qatar and Kuwait. With tensions on the rise between Guyana and US nemesis Venezuela, Rubio will sign a memorandum of understanding that outlines security cooperation, according to the State Department. President Donald Trump's administration said it envisioned a...

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge in Alaska on Tuesday ruled the Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel seven oil and gas leases that had been issued for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said terms of a 2017 tax law that set the stage for the first-ever lease sale in the refuge’s coastal plain in early 2021 suggested that leases could only be canceled by a court order. She sent the matter back to the Department of Interior for further action. President Donald Trump upon his return to office in January signed...

WASHINGTON, D.C.: U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has announced plans to open more land for oil and gas drilling in Alaska and remove restrictions on building an LNG pipeline and mining road. This follows President Donald Trump's order to boost energy development in the state. Burgum said the government will reopen 82 percent of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve for leasing and allow drilling on 1.56 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). He also lifted restrictions on land near the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and Dalton Highway, allowing Alaska to move forward with the Ambler Road and Alaska LNG Pipeline...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and in view of the national emergency declared with respect to Venezuela in Executive Order 13692 of March 8, 2015 (Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela), as continued most recently in the notice of February 27, 2025 (Continuation of the National...