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Latest market news

New Kazakhstan prime minister targets energy sector

  • Market: Crude oil, LPG, Oil products
  • 12/01/22

Kazakhstan's new prime minister Alihan Smaiylov identified priorities for the energy sector at today's first meeting of his government, which was appointed in the wake of the violent unrest that swept the country last week.

He ordered development of measures for regulating the oil products market. Protests against rising prices for LPG — widely used as motor fuel in Kazakhstan — were the starting point for last week's upheaval. The government reduced LPG prices and froze prices for other motor fuels in an attempt to quell the initial protests. Smaiylov said proposals for excise taxes on gasoline producers and intermediaries should be developed within a week. And he ordered the economy ministry and other government agencies to develop proposals for reform of the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund, which holds the state's stakes in shares in oil and gas firm Kazmunaigaz, Kazakh Railways and other companies.

By John Gawthrop

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14/08/26

US threatens indefinite blockade on Iran: Update

US threatens indefinite blockade on Iran: Update

Adds details on President Trump's territorial claim to strait of Hormuz Washington, 14 August (Argus) — President Donald Trump is threatening an indefinite naval blockade against Iran — and a US territorial claim on the strait of Hormuz — marking a new approach to pressuring Tehran. The US resumed its naval blockade against Iran a month ago, seeking to ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran following the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire deal. Trump on Wednesday said the US had "total control" over the strait of Hormuz and might "keep it", even as Iran continues attacking passing ships. On Friday, Trump escalated his rhetoric at an event in New York. "After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz strait a territory of the United States," Trump said. Those remarks come as the Trump administration prepares to unveil new economic sanctions against Iran next week, while pledging to maintain a naval blockade against Iran indefinitely. "We can hold it as long as we need to. Indefinitely," US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday. The growing prospect of indefinite war marks a shift from earlier in the conflict, when Trump kept claiming that a US victory was only weeks away. Trump has been claiming "total control" over the strait of Hormuz, while saying that Iran's ability to threaten vessels will diminish because the country is "totally broke". Iran also claims to have control over vessel traffic through the strait. "The strait of Hormuz is closed. Our control over all movements is complete and decisive," Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp Navy commander Ali Azami posted on X on Thursday. Iran is using sporadic drone and missile attacks to curtail traffic through the strait. The UAE on Friday said Iran had attacked two vessels affiliated with state-owned oil company Adnoc as they were transiting the strait of Hormuz. Such attacks may be nearly impossible for the US to stop, absent a massive escalation in the war or a ceasefire deal, analysts say. "There's no simple solution to it," Hudson Institute senior fellow Michael Doran said at an event the Washington-based think tank hosted on Thursday. "We have a messy conflict, which is going to be with us for many, many months, and probably years to come." The threat of indefinite war has created a tricky political environment for Republicans heading into the midterm elections on 3 November. On Friday, Trump said consumers currently paying an average of $4/USG for gasoline in the US should remember that that higher price is providing a "great service" for the world. "For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have" a nuclear weapon, Trump said. Trump administration officials say crude exports out of the Mideast Gulf are higher than would appear from available ship tracking data. US energy secretary Chris Wright said pipelines are exporting 6mn b/d, while tankers are exporting 8mn-9mn b/d through the strait of Hormuz. "In round numbers today, 14mn-15mn b/d are leaving the Arabian Gulf region, versus the 20mn b/d pre-conflict," Wright said Thursday in a Fox News interview, referring to the Mideast Gulf. "So we're short 4mn-5mn b/d from this region, but it's much smaller hole than people think it is." By Chris Knight and Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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UAE says two Adnoc ships attacked by Iran

14/08/26
News
14/08/26

UAE says two Adnoc ships attacked by Iran

Singapore, 14 August (Argus) — The UAE's foreign ministry in a statement early today condemned an attack against two vessels affiliated with state-owned oil company Adnoc. The UAE denounced "the hostile Iranian attack that targeted two vessels affiliated with Adnoc as they transited the strait of Hormuz". No injuries have been reported. The latest incident comes after an attack on another Adnoc vessel on 8 August . The UAE's foreign ministry said that targeting commercial shipping and using the strait of Hormuz as a "tool of economic coercion or blackmail represents represents acts of piracy by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, and constitutes a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security". This brings the total number of Adnoc vessels struck to 18. The attacks have caused one fatality and 20 injuries to crew members. Iran and Oman are continuing negotiations on a mechanism for safe navigation through the strait. The two countries are not yet at a point of discussing details such as whether to impose transit fees on traffic through the waterway, but the "provision of maritime services for traffic through the strait should be compensated", Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on 10 August, cited by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. Ice Brent futures were largely steady in early Asian trading today. The Ice front-month October Brent contract was at $86.88/bl at 10:45 Singapore time (02:45 GMT), compared with $87.07/bl on 13 August. The Nymex front-month September crude contract was at $81.11/bl, compared with $81.25/bl on 13 August. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Citgo sees record ULSD exports at Texas terminal

13/08/26
News
13/08/26

Citgo sees record ULSD exports at Texas terminal

Houston, 13 August (Argus) — US-based refiner Citgo reported record high exports of ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) from its terminal in Brownsville, Texas, in the second quarter, as the prolonged US-Iran war limited global supplies of the fuel. ULSD export sales at Brownsville in the second quarter more than doubled the previous high set in the third quarter of 2025, Citgo said in an earnings release. The company did not disclose specific volumes. US fuel prices, especially distillates, have soared since late February because of global supply shortages caused by the US-Iran war. The higher distillate prices have led many US refiners to maximize diesel yields, with Citgo saying its 471,000 b/d Lake Charles refinery in Louisiana reached record distillate production in April. US independent refiner Marathon Petroleum also recently cited demand in Latin America and Europe for its booming diesel business, while Chevron pointed to an increase in European diesel demand as one reason for an expected tighter products market in the third quarter. Citgo said on Thursday that its overall international market activities in the second quarter were led by cargoes delivered to Europe, the Caribbean and South Africa. Citgo reported a profit of $936mn in the second quarter, up from $100mn in the second quarter of 2025 on strong refining margins. Auction and arrest limbo Citgo's status has been unclear for many years as its three US refineries, lubricant plants and midstream and retail assets are being auctioned off in a US court to satisfy debt defaults and expropriations owed by its parent company, Venezuelan-owned PdV. A US federal judge in November affirmed a $5.9bn bid from Amber Energy, an affiliate of New York hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, as the winner in the auction. Amber's bid included a separate agreement to settle litigation claims with 75pc of a group of PdV bondholders for $2.13bn. The sale is not finalized and appeals in the case are pending in a US court. The US' arrest of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on 3 January and the lifting of sanctions on Venezuela's oil exports have added new uncertainties to Citgo's fate. Even though it is owned by PdV, Citgo has operated under a board appointed by the Venezuelan opposition and vetted by the US government since 2019, after the US denounced Venezuela's 2018 presidential election as illegitimate. Since then, the US has recognized the government led by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, a long-time Maduro ally, and restarted diplomatic relations. By Eunice Bridges Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Unconventional reserves jump in Argentina

13/08/26
News
13/08/26

Unconventional reserves jump in Argentina

Montevideo, 13 August (Argus) — Recoverable shale oil and condensate reserves in the Vaca Muerta unconventional formation are 30.1bn bl, nearly double the prior estimate, Argentina's energy secretary's office said on Thursday. The previous total from 2013 was 16bn bl of technically recoverable shale oil and condensate, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The study evaluated three technical factors, finding a 22pc increase in productive areas, a 39pc increase in net pay thickness — the rock formation capable of producing oil — and a 54pc increase in the recovery factor. The numbers reflect Argentina's rapid transformation into one of South America's principal oil producers, with output in July at 914,900 b/d, up by 17pc from the same month last year. State-run YPF leads a nine-company consortium, Vmos, that is finishing a crude export complex that includes a 437km (262-mile) pipeline from Vaca Muerta, in southern Neuquen province, to a dedicated export terminal in Punta Colorada, on the coast of Rio Negro province. It will have six storage tanks, each with a 750,000 bl capacity. It will begin pumping 190,000 b/d in the final quarter of this year and will increase to 390,000 b/d in mid-2027 and reach 550,000 b/d. An existing, privately led consortium, Oldelval, is completing a new 207km pipeline that will add 220,000 b/d, bringing capacity to more than 700,000 b/d. The combined Vmos-Oldelval pipeline puts the company on track to have capacity to export more than 1mn b/d in 2027. In upstream, YPF's LLL Oil project will produce 240,000 b/d by 2032, while private companies operating in Vaca Muerta have submitted plans to ramp up production with new wells, adding another 310,000 b/d over the coming decade. The new reserves were calculated by a multi-sector group that included representatives from the secretary's office, top production companies — Chevron, Pampa Energia, Pan American Energy, Pluspetrol, Tecpetrol, Vista and YPF — universities and the private oil and gas institute, IAPG. By Lucien Chauvin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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PdV's tanker arm reemerges to control oil ports

13/08/26
News
13/08/26

PdV's tanker arm reemerges to control oil ports

Houston, 13 August (Argus) — Venezuela's state-owned oil and products shipping arm, PdV Marina, has moved into a more central position in managing crude and product shipments as the US has exerted control over the sector since its 3 January takeover, sources say. PdV Marina now handles all operations related to oil ports, taking that function from the national ports authority, Bolivariano de Puertos, a source in the operations department of PdV Marina who asked not to be named said. The arm is also now also overseeing loadings out of Venezuelan ports by Trafigura and Vitol, the two international traders most active in Venezuela after the US government approved them to market unsanctioned Venezuelan oil. PdV Marina receives reports and daily cargoes schedules but most of the shipments are carried out on tankers not owned by PdV Marina. PdV Marina also in November had suspended a joint venture with Cuban state-owned Cubametales, which was a previous buyer of Venezuelan crude and has been sanctioned by the US since 2019. Venezuela — previously Cuba's main supplier of oil — has sent no new shipments to Cuba since the US arrested former leader Nicolas Maduro on 3 January. PdV Marina previously focused more on management of its own fleet, which consisted of 22 tankers before former president Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999. But lack of proper maintenance has reduced the number of working tankers to five, pushing PdV to use more chartered vessels. PdV Marina's involvement in Venezuela's crude flows had dwindled in recent years, especially after a series of corruption allegations related to the mismanagement of funds meant to modernize and repair tankers under the former administration of Adan Chavez in 2020. Some $3bn in cyptocurrency funds that Venezuela's government said in 2023 that it had lost was also related to port management, as much of the funds dealt with unpaid crude already shipped by Venezuela . The port management change is part of a broader strategy by the US to exert its influence both in Venezuela's oil shipments as well as at ports of call in central and South America, a former supervisor at PdV Marina and current lecturer in maritime and energy issues said. The source also asked not to be named. PdV through PdV Marina has been part of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code mechanism crested in 2004 by the International Maritime Organization to strengthen security and safety measures. Improving infrastructure and overhauling Venezuela's oil ports and tankers to better comply with the code will be essential for Venezuela to further increase it oil output from 1.2mn b/d, industry sources have said. US refiners have indicated that they are eager to absorb more Venezuelan crude , and US imports from Venezuela hit their highest in nine years at 743,000 b/d in the latest week, according to preliminary US Energy Information Administration data. By Jose Chalhoub Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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