Oil drifted higher after the biggest two-day decline since 2022 as President Donald Trump downplayed the prospects of near-term sanctions relief for Iran and a government report showed a large drop in US crude stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate edged up 0.9% to settle just below $65 a barrel, after slumping 14% over the previous two sessions. Trump said the US would hold a meeting with Iran next week, but maintained that he is “not giving up” a maximum-pressure campaign targeting Tehran’s petrodollars. Still, he declared the tensions in the region as “over.” Elsewhere, US government data showed the country’s crude inventories fell for the fifth straight week, dropping by 5.8 million barrels to sit at an 11-year seasonal low. The data bolstered WTI’s prompt spread — the difference between its two nearest contracts — to $1.46 a barrel in backwardation, a bullish structure that signals a tight near-term market. Limiting the rally, Bloomberg reported that Russia is open to another output hike at the next OPEC+ meeting if the alliance deems such an increase to be necessary, after pushing back against further production increases in a previous meeting. The OPEC+ alliance is due to hold discussions on July 6 to consider a further supply boost in August. “Today’s move in crude looks like a combination of factors: a technical bounce after an oversold selloff, a walk-back of yesterday’s surprise comments on Iranian sanctions, and supportive EIA data,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group. “While the second-half outlook still points to a surplus, and bearish sentiment remains, near-term balances look tighter than the broader narrative suggests.” Trump’s comments appeared to reverse his remarks on Tuesday giving China, Iran’s biggest crude customer, the green light to carry on buying its oil. The announcement on social media

Billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani have partnered to sell transportation fuels using their respective groups’ retail stations across India, bolstering their distribution network across the world’s third largest oil consumer. Reliance Industries’s Jio-bp venture will set up gasoline and diesel dispensers at compressed natural gas retail outlets of Adani Total Gas Ltd., according to a joint statement Wednesday. Similarly, the Adani group and TotalEnergies JV will install CNG dispensing units at Jio-bp’s pumps. The agreement will apply to both existing and future outlets. This is the second business collaboration between the billionaires’ groups, after Reliance bought a 26% stake in a 500 MW power project of Adani. Private firms such as Jio-bp, Shell India and Nayara Energy have struggled to expand fuel retail operations in the country where nearly 90% of the more than 97,000 gasoline and diesel outlets are run by state refiners. The government maintains a tight grip over pump prices through the companies it controls, particularly during periods of sharp spikes in global rates, to keep inflation in check.  In 2021, Jio-bp had unveiled plans to expand their fuel network to 5,550 stations in five years, but they have so far reached only 2,000 outlets. The partnership between Adani and Reliance may provide a fillip to the struggling plan. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

Dive Brief: Eighteen trade associations representing utilities, power plant developers and electrical equipment manufacturers on Friday urged Senate leaders to preserve a more lenient standard for energy projects to qualify for the technology-neutral clean energy investment and production tax credits in the Republican budget bill.  Reverting from the “start of construction” standard in the current Senate Finance Committee text to the more restrictive “placed in service” standard in the version the House passed last month would “upend investment expectations, introduce substantial business uncertainty, harm electricity customers, and risk delaying or even canceling critical U.S. energy infrastructure projects already underway,” the letter said. The Senate Finance Committee text still sets a high bar for wind and solar generation, restricting full credit eligibility to projects that start construction by the end of this year and dropping credit values to 60% and 20% for projects that break ground in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Nuclear, geothermal and other clean energy technology developers can earn credits on projects that break ground well into the 2030s. Dive Insight: With Congressional Republicans facing a self-imposed July 4 deadline to send the budget bill to President Trump, the Senate could vote as soon as Friday on its version of the package. If it passes, House and Senate negotiators would then hash out a compromise bill for both chambers to vote on. Provisions pertaining to the technology-neutral clean energy tax credits the Inflation Reduction Act authorized in 2022 could change at any point during the process.  Current policy allows wind, solar and other clean energy technologies to qualify for the full investment or production tax credits — generally 30% of the total qualifying project value — through 2032. The House budget bill would begin phasing out credit eligibility for projects placed in service next year and eliminate it completely

Dive Brief: Companies canceled $1.4 billion in new clean energy factories and projects in May, as Congressional Republicans work through a reconciliation bill expected to dramatically pare back clean energy tax incentives, according to a report released Monday by clean energy nonprofits E2 and the Clean Economy Tracker. Nearly $15.5 billion in new factories and electricity projects have been canceled since the beginning of the year, according to the report. The majority of those investments were slated for Republican-held congressional districts, where $9 billion worth of canceled investments were planned. While the version of the reconciliation bill working through the Senate would reduce some of the cuts in the House-passed version, it still drastically cuts incentives for wind and solar. Dive Insight: E2 has been tracking clean energy manufacturing and project announcements monthly since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in August 2022, but only began tracking cancellations in Q1 of this year. The updated cancellation calculations come after E2 previously reported nearly $8 billion in clean energy projects were canceled, closed or downsized in the first fiscal quarter of 2025. Monday’s report found that 30 projects have been canceled, closed or downsized since the beginning of the year. May’s cancellations included General Motors scrapping a $300 million EV manufacturing facility, and battery maker Li-Cycle canceling and closing four battery manufacturing plans in three states. Li-Cycle’s May updates included abandoning plans for a $960 million battery storage manufacturing facility planned for New York. Corporations and organizations across the clean energy economy expressed broad concerns about the version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that passed in the House of Representatives before Memorial Day in the U.S. Local leaders and some GOP lawmakers have expressed a need to conserve and tweak the clean energy tax credits, respectively. E2 Communications Director

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith played down concerns that the secession movement in her province will scare away investors, saying it’s up to the government of Mark Carney to prove Canada can be a more attractive place for capital.  Polls show a significant minority of Albertans are interested in exploring independence from Canada, partly because they’re frustrated about environmental rules that limit the development of oil and gas. The cancellation of proposed crude oil pipelines including Energy East is the result of federal “anti-investment policies,” Smith said, and she argued Carney must reverse those measures if he wants to tamp down separatism. “They have to take responsibility for the fact that that sentiment is there,” the Alberta leader said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Calgary. “I’m telling him what the pathway is to have it subside, and I guess it’ll be up to him to choose whether or not he takes that pathway.” A survey published last month by the Angus Reid Institute said 36% of Albertans would likely vote to leave in a referendum on seceding from Canada. But the polling firm also found many of those people would be open to changing their minds if concessions are made to help the province’s No. 1 industry, such as scrapping the emissions cap and the ban on large oil tankers off much of British Columbia’s coast. Both were policies of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  The tanker prohibition restricts Canada’s ability to ship Alberta oil to Asian markets, and is one reason the vast majority of its crude is sold to US refiners at a discount. Removing it is one of nine demands Smith made after Carney became prime minister.  Smith reiterated that she doesn’t support secession from Canada but her government recently passed legislation that makes it easier for citizens to force referendums. A petition of just 177,000 voters’ signatures

In a release sent to Rigzone recently, Maersk Training announced the opening of a new maritime and safety training facility at Fletcher Technical Community College in Houma, Louisiana. The company stated in the release that this expansion marks a significant milestone in Maersk Training’s commitment to enhancing workforce development, safety, and operational performance in key industries across the Gulf Coast. “By combining world-class training expertise with Fletcher’s strong educational foundation, the facility will equip workers with essential skills and certifications to enhance safety and performance in real-world job settings,” Maersk Training said in the release. “Louisiana serves as an energy hub, playing a critical role in the nation’s oil, gas, and maritime industries,” the company added. “As one of the top oil and gas production areas in the world, the region is home to a substantial workforce dedicated to the energy sector. This makes Houma an ideal location for Maersk Training’s expansion, ensuring workers have access to high-quality, industry-specific training,” it continued. In its release, Maersk Training noted that the new maritime and safety training facility at Fletcher Technical Community College will primarily serve the offshore oil and gas industry and the maritime sector. The center will offer a wide range of industry-accredited training courses focused on offshore safety and survival, as well as industrial safety, according to Maersk Training, which said course certifications will be approved by industry bodies such as OPITO, OSHA, STCW, IADC, and API. “One of the most exciting aspects of the facility is its OPITO and STCW-certified courses, including Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET) and Tropical Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (T-HUET),” Maersk Training said in the release. “Unique to this location, the training will utilize a twin-fall davit launched from a working barge into the intracoastal waterway, providing the most realistic OPITO-certified