Oil climbed as the market assessed the risk of additional US sanctions on Russia and the chance that nuclear talks with Iran will fail to produce an agreement. West Texas Intermediate rose 1.6% to settle near $62 a barrel after President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire” by escalating attacks on Ukraine. The US is weighing additional sanctions on the country after aggressive measures against Russia’s oil industry earlier this year sent crude rallying past $80 a barrel. The commodity eased off of intraday highs on news that Russia-Ukraine talks will be held in Istanbul on June 2. Elsewhere, the New York Times reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing on with threats to disrupt talks between Washington and Tehran by striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. A wrong turn in the negotiations stands to crimp flows from the OPEC member. Still, bearish forces loom in the background. OPEC+ on Wednesday ratified group-wide production quotas this year and next, ahead of a decision by eight key members over the weekend on whether to bolster output again in July. Members held preliminary talks last week on making a large production hike for a third consecutive month, according to delegates. The early conference likely stifled any remaining hope among the broader group of OPEC+ members for a slower-than-anticipated production unwind, said Robert Yawger, director of the energy futures division at Mizuho Securities USA. “Now, the market is at the mercy of OPEC on Saturday,” he said. The ramp-up of idled production by OPEC and its allies has stoked fears about oversupply and added to the pressure on prices. Parts of the futures curve for Brent are in contango — a bearish structure that signals ample supply. Oil has trended lower since mid-January, with sweeping tariffs from the

Bahrain, the smallest oil producer in the Persian Gulf, is seeking liquefied natural gas imports and considering long-term deals as the market appears well supplied, according to the boss of its state energy company. Bapco Energies this month received an LNG cargo after restarting a floating import terminal and is expecting another in June, Chief Executive Officer Mark Thomas said. The company has already awarded a tender for supplies of the fuel in June and July and could seek more cargoes for later in the year, he said, without naming the seller. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the response we’ve gotten from suppliers,” he said. “The market is very dynamic right now,” meaning the company has been able to buy spot cargoes available from various suppliers, he said.  The US-led trade war has weighed on the outlook for global growth and energy demand in recent months, particularly in China — a major buyer of LNG — leaving more fuel available for other buyers. In addition, new projects are expected to come online in the coming years and contribute to supply, attracting demand from buyers who may have previously been priced out of the market. The island nation, which discovered oil in 1932, could also issue tenders before the end of this year for more LNG cargoes in 2026 and 2027, Thomas said in an interview on the sidelines of the MPGC conference in Bahrain. He’s also considering seeking a long-term contract for supply as Bapco Energies tries to balance its spot and shorter-term deals. Bahrain is also seeking to foster its own domestic gas deposits and has given a contract to EOG Resources Inc. to develop unconventional supplies, Thomas said. The concession could yield its first gas for the market this year, Thomas said. Bapco Energies is also finishing ramping

The Trump administration issued a stripped-down license to Chevron Corp. to remain in Venezuela, allowing the company to conduct minimal maintenance on equipment but prohibiting it from producing oil in the sanctioned South American nation.  The waiver granted Tuesday by the Treasury Department is similar to the one the company operated under during President Donald Trump’s first term, according to a person familiar with the decision who asked not to be identified. Bloomberg News reported Friday that Chevron would receive the license.  This new license was issued just as a previous one, which required Chevron and other oil majors to wind down production operations in Venezuela, expires.  Chevron said in an email that its “continued presence in Venezuela remains in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including the sanctions framework provided for by the US government.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that the U.S. would let that previous license lapse as scheduled, dispelling earlier expectations of an extension to the wind-down period. Ric Grenell, a special envoy for the Trump administration, had said an extension was coming after he met with Venezuelan officials and returned with a US veteran who had been imprisoned there.  The latest, more restrictive license could represent a strategic win for all parties, potentially fostering continued talks between the two countries.  It wasn’t immediately clear whether other oil companies operating in Venezuela are receiving similar licenses to the one granted to Chevron.  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.

Vistra on Tuesday asked federal regulators for two-year extensions to interconnection deadlines for solar and battery storage projects in Illinois totaling 833 MW, saying the independent power producer faces multi-year wait times to acquire key equipment. The projects include 440 MW of solar and 106 MW of battery storage at the retired coal-fired Edwards power plant in Bartonsville and 287 MW of storage at the retired coal-fired Joppa power plant in Joppa, according to filings Vistra made at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The projects have been in development since at least 2022. “The petitioners have been diligently pursuing the development of these resources, which can make an important contribution towards meeting resource adequacy needs in Illinois and the [Midcontinent Independent System Operator] region,” Vistra said in its requests at FERC. However, supply chain constraints, growing demand for electrical equipment spurred by Inflation Reduction Act incentives and rapid load growth have significantly increased the time it takes to get critical equipment, according to Vistra. “These supply chain constraints have been compounded by uncertainty and disruption arising from recent increases in import duties and continued uncertainty regarding the future trajectory of U.S. trade policy,” the Irving, Texas-based company said. Vistra has signed contracts reserving capacity with an equipment supplier for needed transformers, but the supplier expects it cannot deliver them until the fourth quarter of 2029, according to the filings. Also, Vistra’s suppliers expect it will take three years to deliver breakers for the projects rather than the 12 to 18 months that typically have been required to obtain the equipment, the company said. Vistra has interconnection agreements that set an Aug. 31, 2028, commercial operation deadline for the Joppa battery project and a Dec. 31, 2028, deadline for the Edwards project. The company asked FERC to extend the deadlines by

Dive Brief: The White House wants to deploy 300 GW of net new nuclear capacity by 2050 and have 10 large reactors under construction in the U.S. by 2030 while expanding domestic nuclear fuel supplies, according to an executive order President Trump signed Friday.   Trump signed three other orders on Friday to accelerate Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews of reactor license applications and reconsider strict NRC radiation limits; expand departments of Energy and Defense roles in nuclear power plant licensing and siting; and speed up deployment of new test reactors.  Nuclear power advocates hailed the orders as a boon for the industry, but warned that staff cuts at NRC and DOE could slow progress. A representative for the Union of Concerned Scientists said the proposed reforms would make the public less safe. Dive Insight: Shares of publicly-traded advanced nuclear and reactor fuel companies soared on Friday, suggesting investors see Trump’s orders as more than just words on paper.  Oklo, the advanced reactor developer previously chaired by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, was up more than 20% since Friday afternoon. Oklo’s shares got another boost Tuesday morning as it announced a design and development partnership with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to accelerate deployment of its Aurora powerhouses. Shares of small modular reactor developer NuScale and uranium suppliers Centrus Energy and Uranium Energy also rose more than 20% in Friday and early Tuesday trading. Trump’s “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base” executive order called on Wright and other cabinet secretaries to develop a national policy for spent nuclear fuel management. The order singles out recycling and reprocessing activities that could benefit companies like Oklo, which plans to build fuel reprocessing capabilities and is developing reactors that can run on recycled fuel. Another order, “President Donald J. Trump Deploys Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National

Diana Hernández is an associate professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and co-managing director of the Energy Opportunity Lab in the Center of Global Energy Policy. Vivek Shastry is a senior research associate at the Center on Global Energy Policy in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Millions of American families are struggling to afford their energy bills. This situation could worsen as electricity prices — particularly in the Northeast — face potential hikes due to reciprocal tariffs from Canada. As energy prices fluctuate, and federal assistance programs face potential cuts, cities, states and utilities must take proactive steps to ensure that their most vulnerable residents can keep their lights on and homes heated and cooled. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, in his introductory remarks after swearing in, shared a troubling statistic: one in 10 Americans had received a utility disconnection notice in the past year. In his new role, one of his goals would be to “shrink that number to zero” by making energy more abundant and affordable. By flooding the market with fossil fuels again, the price of electricity and gas would decrease. However, the primary federal program to tackle energy affordability — the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) — does not fall under Secretary Wright’s purview. LIHEAP is funded through the Department of Health and Human Services, and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has reportedly terminated the entire staff running the $4 billion LIHEAP program. In 2023, more than 7 million Americans received assistance through LIHEAP. Despite its importance, LIHEAP reaches only 17% of eligible households, leaving a gaping hole in the energy safety net. Without it, those relying on it to meet energy needs will be at grave risk. Some have called