Sanctions

The State Department this week waived fresh sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 AG (NS2) consortium that is building the natural gas pipeline from Russia to Europe as the Biden administration looks to strengthen relationships in the region. The 745-mile, 5.3 Bcf/d line as designed would traverse the Baltic Sea from Russia, to Greifswald, Germany.…

The Trump administration has unveiled a potentially quixotic effort to halt the controversial $11.4 billion Nord Stream 2 (NS2) natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany by threatening to sanction companies that help complete the last 100 miles of the 745-mile line. The State Department plans to alter the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act…

Russia will likely complete by next year the undersea Nord Stream 2 (NS2) natural gas pipeline to Germany despite ongoing U.S. efforts to scuttle the $11 billion project, analysts said. The start-up of the 5.3 Bcf/d NS2 could curb a potential recovery of U.S. LNG exports even if the Covid-19 pandemic recedes next year, said…

After a sharp retreat down to the $40/bbl range in 2018, Brent crude oil prices are back above $60, and two key dates this spring could provide the momentum to drive prices even higher than currently forecast.

Global oil demand flipped from a five-year high in the third quarter at 2.1 million b/d to a one-year low in the fourth quarter of 1.0 million b/d, which does not bode well as new Iranian output overcomes declines in U.S. production, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Tuesday.

Total monetary sanctions handed down by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) this year totaled more than $3.2 billion, including an $800 million sanction, the largest in the commission’s history, according to Chairman Timothy Massad.

A bill calling for additional sanctions against Russia is picking up support in the U.S. Senate, in part due to electioneering before the November vote. It would bar American companies from investing in and supporting projects in the Russian deepwater, Arctic offshore and shale oil production.

Sanctions imposed on Friday by the Obama administration threaten to choke billions in joint development agreements between Russia’s OAO Rosneft to drill for Arctic and unconventional oil and gas with ExxonMobil Corp.

BP plc on Tuesday reported a 65% increase year/year in profits in 2Q2014 on clear signs of recovery in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). However, Group CEO Bob Dudley warned that Russian investments are growing more risky on escalating economic sanctions.