India and Saudi Arabia are to collaborate on the development of two integrated refinery and petrochemical plants in India. The plan was announced after Indian prime minister Narendra Modi met Saudi counterpart Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on 22 April, as part of the India–Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council. Saudi Arabia in 2019 pledged to invest $100bn in India in several sectors including energy and petrochemicals. No further details have been provided but the projects could be Indian state-run BPCL's planned facility in Andhra Pradesh and oil firm ONGC's refinery project in Gujarat, according to industry participants. Plans for a 1.2mn b/d refinery in Ratnagiri alongside the UAE's Adnoc have been abandoned because of logistical and land acquisition challenges, industry participants say.
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US officials squabble on Chevron's Venezuela future
US officials squabble on Chevron's Venezuela future
Caracas, 22 May (Argus) — Chevron will be allowed to continue producing and exporting Venezuelan crude, or maybe it will not, depending on which senior US official is speaking. Secretary of state Marco Rubio took to social media late Wednesday night to insist that Chevron's waiver from US sanctions will end as planned on 27 May, contradicting US presidential envoy Ric Grenell's statement a day earlier. "The pro-Maduro Biden oil license in Venezuela will expire as scheduled next Tuesday May 27th," Rubio posted from his personal account on X. Rubio referred to an authorization, originally issued under former president Joe Biden in 2022, that allowed Chevron to import crude into the US produced in its joint venture with state-owned PdV. Grenell had said on Wednesday that he expected an extension of the license after he helped secure the release of US Air Force veteran Joseph St Clair from a Venezuelan prison. Chevron has until 27 May to wind down all business in Venezuela, and neither the company nor the US Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, have disclosed if the license would be extended or modified. Venezuela's national assembly president Jorge Rodriguez earlier this week had suggested that the US under President Donald Trump would seek to extend the original license to prevent China from taking over Chevron's space in its joint ventures with PdV. Sources close to the issue in Venezuela had heard until late Wednesday that the extension was in the works. "It's going to happen, Friday is what we are hearing", the source said, indicating multiple currents in the Trump administration. But Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado lobbied against extending the waiver, saying Chevron's presence helps support the Maduro regime, an opposition source in Caracas said. "The [US] wants their hostages, but they are not super eager to hand Maduro a win in return", the source, who has liaised with DC for the opposition said. "La señora complained." By Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iraq signs integrated energy deal with China’s Geo-Jade
Iraq signs integrated energy deal with China’s Geo-Jade
Dubai, 22 May (Argus) — Iraq's oil ministry has signed an agreement with China's Geo-Jade Petroleum and local firm Basra Crescent to expand the capacity of the 20,000 b/d Tuba oil field and develop a suite of downstream and power assets, in a move that mirrors recent integrated energy deals with international partners. A key component of the South Basrah Integrated Energy Project will be to raise Tuba's production capacity to 100,000 b/d, oil minister Hayan Abdulghani said at the signing ceremony in Baghdad on 21 May. The project will also include processing of up to 50mn ft³/d of associated gas. Downstream components include a 200,000 b/d refinery, a 620,000 t/yr petrochemical plant and a 520,000 t/yr fertilizer facility. A 650MW thermal power plant and a 400MW solar plant will also be part of the project, Abdulghani said. No financial details or project timelines were disclosed. The agreement marks a further step in Geo-Jade's expansion in Iraq, following its successful participation in the country's fifth and sixth licensing rounds. While the company now holds multiple upstream assets in Iraq, it has yet to bring any into production. The deal follows a similar multi-billion dollar agreement signed with TotalEnergies in 2023 , which bundled gas processing, water treatment and solar power with development of the Ratawi field. In February this year, BP signed a major upstream deal with Iraq that also includes power, water and potentially exploration. By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Mexican GDP outlook dims on tariffs: IMEF
Mexican GDP outlook dims on tariffs: IMEF
Mexico City, 21 May (Argus) — Mexico's association of finance executives IMEF lowered its 2025 growth forecast for a fourth consecutive month, citing the growing impact of US tariffs on the economy. GDP is now expected to grow just 0.1pc in 2025, according to IMEF's May survey, down from 0.2pc estimates in April, 0.6pc in March and 1pc in February. The number of respondents forecasting a contraction in GDP rose to 16, or 37pc of the sample, from nine in April. While the US has granted some exemptions and discounts for Mexican goods meeting regional content rules, IMEF said the effective tariff rate on Mexican exports remains higher than that for Canada, Brazil, India, Vietnam and others. "We're already seeing the [tariffs'] impacts," said IMEF economic studies director Victor Herrera, adding that May trade data will likely show a sharp drop in Mexican exports to the US. Trade is also being hit by a screwworm outbreak in cattle that led to port closures last week and curtailed beef exports, which account for $1.3bn in annual exports. More automakers could relocate or scale back production in Mexico, Herrera said, after Stellantis confirmed plans to shift some operations to the US and recent reports Nissan may close one or both of its Mexican plants. In response, Mexico this week sent deputy economy minister Luis Rosendo Gutierrez to Tokyo to meet with Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and Honda executives. IMEF cut its 2025 job creation forecast to 200,000 in May from 220,000 in April. Mexico's social security administration IMSS reported only 43,500 new jobs over the past 12 months as of 5 May. Beyond trade, IMEF flagged uncertainty from recent constitutional reforms and the potential for a US tax on remittances as additional risks to growth. The group held its 2025 inflation forecast steady at 3.8pc, despite Mexico's consumer price index rising to 3.93pc in April from 3.80pc in March . IMEF noted concerns about a potential rebound in inflation later this year after the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 9pc on 8 May — the third such cut in 2025. The group now sees the end-2025 rate at 7.75pc, down from 8pc previously. IMEF expects the peso to end the year at Ps20.80/$1, slightly lower than the Ps20.90/$1 forecast in April. The peso recently strengthened to Ps19.34/$1, though Herrera said this reflected dollar weakness more than peso strength. By James Young Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EPA to set biofuel mandate 'very soon': Zeldin
EPA to set biofuel mandate 'very soon': Zeldin
New York, 21 May (Argus) — Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin stressed Wednesday that the US is working quickly to propose and finalize new biofuel blend mandates. EPA last week sent proposed Renewable Fuel Standard volumes for 2026 — and likely at least one future year — to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review, the final step before a draft rule can be released. Zeldin referenced that process at a Senate hearing Wednesday and said "we expect the proposed rule to be finalized and released very soon." Asked by US senator Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska) whether the agency was planning on releasing something by summer or fall, Zeldin said he was eyeing a "much, much faster" timeline. "We'll finalize this as quickly as we possibly can," he said. Zeldin has stressed at recent House and Senate hearings that the agency is expediting the months-delayed rulemaking. Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, EPA requires oil refiners and importers to blend annual amounts of different types of biofuels into the conventional fuel supply. EPA decisions on volume mandates — and on requests for exemptions from small refiners — are highly influential for crop feedstock demand, biofuel production margins and retail fuel prices. Zeldin said last week at a House subcommittee hearing that EPA was also weighing what to do with a backlog of requests from small refiners for exemptions from program requirements. "None of these were getting approved at all in the last administration," Zeldin said. "We want to get caught up as quickly as we can." EPA has not commented more recently on its specific timeline and plans, but the agency said earlier this year that it wanted to get the frequently delayed biofuel program back on its statutory timeline. The Clean Air Act requires new volumes to be finalized 14 months in advance of a compliance year, which in this case would require proposed volumes for 2027 to be released soon for public comment and then finalized before November this year. A coalition of industry groups, including the American Petroleum Institute and Clean Fuels Alliance America, have pushed the agency to hike the biomass-based diesel mandate from 3.35bn USG this year to a record-high 5.25bn USG next year. Other groups, including fuel marketers, have urged more caution given a sharp drop in biofuel production to start 2025 and uncertainty about the future of a federal clean fuel tax credit being renegotiated in Congress. As part of the White House process, outside groups can seek meetings with the Trump administration to present their views on a pending regulation. Meetings are scheduled through 4 June on the proposed volumes — and through 9 June on a related rule to cut last year's cellulosic biofuel quota — though the US has expedited the process before. Last year, President Joe Biden's administration cancelled previously scheduled meetings on the initial proposal to cut cellulosic targets as a way to more speedily exit the review process. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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