Oil dropped 2.1% to settle near $59 a barrel, weighed down by swelling crude inventories and signs of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will join trilateral meetings with the US and Russia Friday, stoking hopes of a breakthrough to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine. An end to sanctions on Russia would add to an already oversupplied global market. In the US, crude inventories rose 3.6 million barrels while gasoline stocks reached their highest level since 2021 and exports fell by more than a half-million barrels a day. In Kazakhstan, repairs at a key Black Sea oil-loading facility are nearing completion while a backlog of cargoes at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal is easing. Supplies are also returning to the global market from Venezuela, while Indian refiner Reliance Industries Ltd. has once again purchased Russian crude, with deliveries scheduled to February and March. Offering something of a floor to prices, the International Energy Agency, which advises major economies, nudged up its estimate for oil demand growth on Wednesday. That will offer some relief for producers, but the agency still maintained its view for a major glut this year. “The geopolitical temperature has eased a few degrees,” said Ole Sloth Hansen, a strategist at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen. But with a range of supply threats unresolved, and colder weather set to bolster US demand, prices will likely “hold firm.” Oil Prices WTI for March delivery fell 2.1% to settle at $59.36 a barrel in New York. Brent for March settlement fell 1.8% to settle at $64.06. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share

Secretary Wright issues letter to grid operators detailing how unused backup generation can keep the grid stable, save lives, and lower costs during the coming winter storm. WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today it is prepared to take emergency action to prevent blackouts during winter storm Fern. In a letter today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright asked the nation’s grid operators to maintain communication with DOE during the storm and be prepared to make backup generation resources at data centers and other major facilities available as needed. DOE estimates more than 35 GW of unused backup generation remains available nationwide. These actions could mitigate blackouts and reduce costs for potentially hundreds of millions of Americans during the winter storm.  “The Trump administration will not stand by and allow the previous administration’s reckless energy subtraction policies and bureaucratic red tape put American lives at risk,” said Secretary Wright. “We have identified more than 35 GW of unused backup generation that exists across the country and are taking action to ensure that if the nation needs it, the generation will be made available. Rest assured, President Trump and the Energy Department remain committed to doing everything in our power to mitigate blackouts and lower energy costs for the American people.” On day one, President Trump declared a national energy emergency after the Biden administration’s energy subtraction agenda left behind a grid increasingly vulnerable to blackouts. According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), “Winter electricity demand is rising at the fastest rate in recent years,” while the premature forced closure of reliable generation such as coal and natural gas plants leaves American families vulnerable to power outages. The NERC 2025 – 2026 Winter Reliability Assessment further warns that areas across the continental United States have an elevated risk

The Trump administration has no plans to directly provide security to oil producers in Venezuela, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday, dismissing the notion US troops will be used to address companies’ concerns about safety in the troubled nation. “We are not going to get involved in providing on-the-ground security,” Wright said during an interview with Bloomberg Television. “The US involvement right now in controlling the flow of funds in Venezuela gives us huge leverage to reduce the criminality in that country, reestablish peace and better business conditions.” Oil executives and industry leaders have stressed companies need political and legal reforms, contract certainty and security guarantees before investing in Venezuela following the apprehension of former President Nicolás Maduro. While US President Donald Trump has vowed to provide “total safety” to companies operating there, it remains unclear how the US would accomplish that.   During the interview Thursday, Wright said the steps the US has taken in Venezuela have already made the nation a more secure place to work and that oil companies are well versed in operating in challenging environments around the world.   Ultimately, he said, Venezuela will need a representative government, new laws and changes to its constitution.     “But that will take time,” Wright said. “There’s always different risk and reward situations in time, which is why the wildcatters will move first,” Wright said. “The bigger, longer-term, tens of million of dollars of investment, they’re going to wait until there’s more clarity in that environment.”  Wright said he plans to travel to Venezuela within the next few weeks to meet with government officials, look at the oil infrastructure and meet with the nation’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez. “We will definitely see a number of American oil and gas companies going down as well and investigating opportunities

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that the Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) is restructuring, revising, or eliminating more than $83 billion in Green New Scam loans and conditional commitments from the Biden-era loan portfolio. This action follows an exhaustive first-year review of the previous administration’s $104 billion principal loan obligations, including approximately $85 billion rushed out the door in the final months after Election Day. Previously known as the Loan Programs Office (LPO), EDF continues to reform the office to more responsibly steward taxpayer dollars and support financing opportunities that accelerate the deployment of affordable, reliable, and secure American energy. During the first year of the Trump administration, EDF conducted a thorough review of each borrower to ensure loans were a responsible investment of taxpayer dollars and aligned with the Administration’s priorities. “Over the past year, the Energy Department individually reviewed our entire loan portfolio to ensure the responsible investment of taxpayer dollars,” Secretary Wright said. “We found more dollars were rushed out the door of the Loan Programs Office in the final months of the Biden Administration than had been disbursed in over fifteen years. President Trump promised to protect taxpayer dollars and expand America’s supply of affordable, reliable, and secure energy. Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut, the newly re-structured Energy Dominance Financing is playing a key role in fulfilling that mission.” EDF has eliminated around $9.5 billion in government-subsidized, intermittent wind and solar projects, and is replacing them with investments in natural gas and nuclear uprates that provide more affordable and reliable energy for the American people. Of the $104 billion in Biden-era principal loan obligations, EDF has completed or is in the process of de-obligating almost $30 billion, with another $53 billion in revision. EDF currently has more than $289 billion

Listen to the article 14 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. In 2026, the renewable energy industry is facing considerable headwinds from Trump administration policies. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act set a new July 4 deadline for wind and solar projects to start construction to qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act’s production and investment tax credits, most notably. It also set new, strict foreign entity of concern rules for which the Treasury Department has yet to issue final guidance. The OBBBA was “definitely a bad outcome for the industry, worse than most people expected,” said Dan Smith, vice president of markets at DSD Renewables, a provider of distributed renewable energy resources. “I think we all expected something to happen, but this was a little more draconian than we and most people we know were hoping for,” he added.  “Now is the time to be disciplined and focused and be realistic about what projects we’re going to be able to complete under the ITC and which ones are just likely not going to benefit.” Dan Smith Vice president of markets at DSD Renewables The administration is also dragging out the timeline for approving projects in federal lands and waters. The Department of the Interior has been issuing stop-work orders to offshore wind projects and revoking their permits, and it cancelled its environmental review for the 6.2-GW Esmeralda 7 solar project on federal land in Nevada, saying it would instead review each of the seven project components individually. Renewables poised to meet rising demand Despite these setbacks, some industry sectors still see considerable opportunity for renewables in the U.S., as renewable energy generation can often come online more quickly and cheaply than a fossil fuel plant.  Analysts continue to forecast staggering load growth over the

Europe is set to receive some of its first shipments of Venezuelan oil in almost a year after traders rolled out offers worldwide to sell cargoes at the behest of the Trump administration.  The ship Poliegos is on its way to pick up Venezuelan oil and deliver it to a port in Italy, according to a shipping report seen by Bloomberg. Energy trader Vitol Group, which together with Trafigura Group was enlisted by the US to sell Venezuelan oil, is listed as owner of the cargo.  Another crude tanker named Folegandros is also scheduled to set sail from Venezuela to the Mediterranean in the coming days, according to people familiar with the matter, adding the vessel would deliver the barrels to Repsol SA’s oil refinery in Cartagena, Spain. A spokesperson for the Madrid-based company declined to comment. The crude, scheduled to arrive in Europe in February, is part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to shore up the Venezuelan economy after three decades of mismanagement, underinvestment and corruption. The pace and scale at which the nation’s output and exports is restored will be an important detail in an oil market that’s dealing with a large supply excess, with global prices stuck near $60 a barrel. Vitol declined to comment.  After the Jan. 3 capture of strongman Nicolás Maduro by US forces, Trump officials enlisted the help of Vitol and Trafigura to help sell as much as 50 million barrels of oil, with proceeds earmarked to help rebuild the country’s economy. The shipments would market the first visible exports of Venezuelan oil to Europe since April, when the Vitol-backed Saras SpA took 1 million barrels of Merey 16 oil to the Sarroch refinery in Italy, according to vessel movements compiled by Bloomberg. The traders are quickly moving Venezuelan barrels as the US