Oil fell as the dollar strengthened and traders doubted US President Donald Trump’s plan to pressure Moscow would disrupt Russian exports. West Texas Intermediate slid 0.7% to settle above $66, extending Monday’s losses. Trump told reporters the US will impose a 19% tariff on goods from Indonesia after teasing the deal earlier in the day. The dollar strengthened, making commodities priced in the currency less attractive. Trump’s plan to pressure Russia into a ceasefire with Ukraine that was released Monday didn’t directly target energy infrastructure, a decision that brought some bears off of the sidelines. The administration intends to impose 100% tariffs on Russia only if the hostilities don’t end with a deal in 50 days, allaying fears of near-term supply tightness. “Since the start of the Ukraine war, it has become evident that halting Russian oil trade by targeting Russian sellers or the numerous shippers and payment intermediaries is nearly impossible,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts led by Natasha Kaneva wrote in a note. Prices briefly popped on comments by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright that the US is considering creative ways to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, before resuming their decline. Futures also came under pressure as investors liquidated their positions in WTI’s so-called prompt spread ahead of the contract expiry. US crude’s prompt spread — the difference between its two nearest contracts — held steady at around $1.16 a barrel in backwardation. While that’s still a bullish pattern, with nearer-term prices above those further out, it’s notably lower than Monday’s peak of $1.49. The gauge is set to be closely followed as the market’s focus shifts back to supply. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries partly pushed back against an International Energy Agency report that Saudi Arabia’ crude production surged in June. The cartel’s figures show

Egypt is delaying some liquefied natural gas deliveries as its newest import facilities haven’t yet started operating. A small number of cargoes due to arrive in July are being rescheduled for next month, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The delay is not expected to be material or recurring, they said. The most populous Arab country has turned into a major LNG importer amid deteriorating domestic gas production and high consumption. Last month, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. agreed on large LNG deals with suppliers including Saudi Aramco, Trafigura Group and Vitol Group, with contracts starting as soon as July and lasting as long as two and a half years. However, imports so far remain in line with recent months’ levels despite peak summer demand in the nation. Supplies have been coming in through the country’s only operational floating import terminal, the Hoegh Galleon vessel, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.  Egypt has leased two more vessels for imports, Energos Power and Energos Eskimo. While the terminals have arrived in the country, and Egypt ordered expedited connection to the grid, they have not yet imported cargoes, according to the ship-tracking data. Both new terminals won’t be ready to receive LNG until the end of July, another person with knowledge of the matter said, as the onshore portion of the equipment is not ready yet. Egypt’s oil ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. declined to comment. 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.

China refined the most crude oil in nearly two years in June, as plants returned from seasonal maintenance to seize on better margins for fuels like diesel. Refining output rose to more than 15.2 million barrels a day, the strongest pace since September 2023, according to Bloomberg calculations based on figures released by the statistics bureau on Tuesday. Compared to June last year, volumes surged by 8.5 percent, reversing the declines seen in April and May. Improved margins and fewer idled units supported robust refining activity, with further strength expected this month as new plants come online, said Amy Sun, an analyst with GL Consulting, a think tank affiliated with Mysteel OilChem.  Diesel cracks, a measure of profitability, at independent refiners rose to nearly $18 a barrel at one point late last month, the highest since 2023, according to data tracked by consultant JLC International. Run rates at state-owned refineries soared to nearly 84 percent of capacity at end-June, the highest in more than three months, JLC’s data showed.  The refinery output is in line with the rise in crude purchases reported for June, which hit their highest level since August 2023 on a daily basis, according to Bloomberg calculations. Imports are expected to accelerate as the country adds as much as 140 million barrels of oil to replenish its Strategic Petroleum Reserves from later this year, Energy Aspects said in a note. 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 knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy.

President Donald Trump’s threat to impose financial penalties on Russia has put the spotlight on the two biggest buyers of Moscow’s crude — India and China — but markets remain skeptical of disruption, for now. India became a major importer of Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. More than a third of overall purchases have been from the OPEC+ producer this year, compared with less than 1% prior to the war, according to data from Kpler. China’s imports have also climbed over the same period. Still, the initial reaction from the market to Trump’s remarks was nonchalance. Global benchmark Brent fell almost 2% to close below $70 a barrel on Monday, suggesting little concern around the potential impact to crude flows. Trump said penalties would come in the form of “secondary tariffs,” without providing details, and would be implemented in 50 days if Russia doesn’t end hostilities with Ukraine. Matt Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, said the action effectively represents sanctions on nations buying Russian oil. Whitaker specifically cited India and China. Russian flows to India reached 2.1 million barrels a day in June, the biggest monthly intake in nearly a year, and close to the record set in May 2023, data from Kpler show. China’s purchases haven’t accelerated at the same pace, but have been consistently above 1 million barrels a day since the war. “If push really comes to shove, and India cannot buy any crude oil from the Russian system, then India has optionality with the other OPEC members,” said Mukesh Sahdev, head of commodity markets at Rystad Energy A/S. But “it will be at a higher cost,” he added. Barrels from the Middle East and Africa could help plug the gap of lost Russian supply, but the crude would be more expensive. Imports from Saudi Arabia

Google will buy up to 3 GW of hydroelectric power from Brookfield Renewable, with an initial focus on the PJM Interconnection and Midcontinent Independent System Operator footprints, the companies said Tuesday. The “hydro framework agreement” will help Google run its data centers and other operations on carbon-free power all the time, according to the companies. The first 20-year contracts under the agreement are for the output from Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydro facilities in Pennsylvania, which total about 670 MW, according to the companies. The contracts will generate more than $3 billion in revenue, Brookfield and Google said. Brookfield is relicensing the Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydro facilities at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Brookfield said the agreement is part of its strategy to deliver dispatchable clean power to the technology sector. Brookfield’s top four corporate power purchasers are Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google. On May 1, Microsoft said it would buy more than 10.5 GW of clean energy projects from Brookfield Asset Management and its Brookfield Renewable affiliate between 2026 and 2030. Brookfield Renewable owns about 21 GW of hydro, wind, solar and storage assets worldwide, and its project development pipeline totals about 69 GW, according to the company. With PJM facing tight supply-demand conditions, partly driven by data center development, Joseph Bowring, the grid operator’s market monitor, has urged FERC to require that data centers use new generating resources to meet their needs instead of relying on existing resources.

Dive Brief: U.S. utilities and power plant developers added about 12 GW of new generation resources between January and April of this year, compared to 11 GW over the same period last year, according to the latest monthly infrastructure report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  The vast majority of that generation — some 9.5 GW — was solar, trailed by wind with 2 GW and 500 MW of gas. “High probability” additions by April 2028 include 90 GW of solar, 23 GW of wind and 19.5 GW of gas, according to the report. It also projected the likely addition of 631 MW of hydropower and 92 MW of geothermal steam.  Dive Insight: The report showed the continued dominance of solar in new generation capacity amid robust demand growth projections. That could change, however, as the Republican tax cuts and spending bill take effect. The law signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 dramatically cut incentives for wind and solar, phasing out tax credits and imposing restrictions on the types of projects that qualify. Trump followed that with an executive order instructing the Treasury Department to take a narrow approach in its interpretation of the law regarding wind and solar.  The country added 62.5 miles of transmission lines from January to April, 2025, including, most recently, Entergy Louisiana’s 1.8-mile, 500-kV Wise-Bayou Labutte transmission project.  The report did not include a breakdown of transmission built over the same period last year. In total, grid operators added nearly 1,700 miles of transmission in 2024, about a third of it high voltage 500 kV.  FERC’s report follows a separate analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that estimated solar generation would rise by a third this summer. “By summer 2026, we forecast solar generation will grow by another 19% to 147 BkWh, which means