Emma Slawinski
Editor, Platts Insight 
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June 7, 2019 12:19 UTC 
(1)
As world leaders and oil company executives gathered at the St Petersburg Economic Forum from June 6, major figures in the world of oil staked out their position on issues of pricing and supply. Russian President Vladimir Putin put the onus on Saudi Arabia to make the case for continuing a supply cut agreement set to expire at month’s end, saying that Russia could do fine with an oil price in the range of $60-65/b. |
Nadia Rodova
Managing editor
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June 3, 2019 09:09 UTC
(0)
Russia seems to be entering a new stage of sanctions adaptation, building on its growing technological capabilities in energy, as well as access to alternative sources of financing to become less dependent on cooperation deals with Western companies. The collapse of two major deals between Russian and western oil companies in 2019 may indicate that Moscow is now looking to reduce its exposure to Western financing and technology as it braces itself for expected tougher sanctions. |
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Emma Slawinski
Editor, Platts Insight 
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May 31, 2019 14:39 UTC
(0)
Market sources told S&P Global Platts that major steel billet buyers in Thailand and Indonesia were avoiding Iranian material in favor of sources like Russia, Vietnam and Malaysia. |
Annette Hugh
Director, Americas market development
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May 30, 2019 09:26 UTC
(1)
Brazil is stepping on the oil and gas accelerator, hoping to further develop its upstream assets with additional E&P bid rounds later this year – all amid the country’s efforts to improve the investment climate. The new government, under President Jair Bolsonaro, wants to keep investor interest growing in the energy sector – and beyond. With this goal in mind, representatives of his administration, as well as Brazilian oil and gas companies, have had a strong presence at events in Houston this spring, as they try to court international upstream developers. |
Paul Hickin
Associate editorial director
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May 29, 2019 10:09 UTC
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Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, spoke to Paul Hickin about the new oil market dynamics unleashed by US shale production, challenges facing Venezuela, and heightened geopolitical risk. In 2012, Fatih Birol predicted that the US would become the largest oil producer by the end of the decade. In an exclusive interview with S&P Global Platts at the IEA headquarters in Paris, Birol did not hold back in outlining the impact US supply is now having on OPEC. The ardent supporter of Turkish soccer team Galatasaray, who has never driven a car, is also worried that Middle East producers may score an own goal if they do not diversify their economies quickly. |
Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA
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May 28, 2019 09:55 UTC
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Keeping fuel prices low is a political priority for US President Donald Trump. Just don’t bet on him gambling with America’s emergency oil stocks to achieve a second term in office, at the risk of jeopardizing energy security for the world’s largest economy. Created in the early 1970s, soon after the oil shock caused by OPEC’s disastrous response to the Yom Kippur war, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) remains arguably America’s most important economic buffer. Ironically, the first oil pumped into the giant salt caverns acquired by the US government was shipped from Saudi Arabia. |
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Emma Slawinski
Editor, Platts Insight
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Energy and commodities highlights: US steel and aluminum tariffs, Middle East oil and electric power
May 24, 2019 13:43 UTC
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Tariffs and trade deals are sticking to the top of the commodities agenda, after the US reached an agreement to remove Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico. The deal, announced on May 17, removes US import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, without imposing quotas to cap imports. |
Seth Clare
Senior pricing specialist
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May 21, 2019 10:48 UTC
(4)
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations set to take effect in 2020 have sparked mountains of research on the expected costs for the energy and maritime sectors. Less thought has been given to IMO 2020’s environmental consequences, especially on water demand. The US refining complex will need more water than ever before after IMO 2020 comes into effect. This conclusion is based primarily on forecasting from S&P Global Platts Analytics and the US Energy Information Administration along with the findings of recent academic research. |
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Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA
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May 20, 2019 07:10 UTC
(1)
Drone attacks on pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the mysterious alleged sabotage of tankers near Fujairah sent pulses racing, but a phony war in the Persian Gulf failed to trigger a feared triple-digit surge in crude prices. A hot war, however, between the US and Iran could be an entirely different matter. |
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Emma Slawinski
Editor, Platts Insight
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May 17, 2019 11:26 UTC
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The past week was marked by heightened geopolitical tensions as attacks on ships and oil infrastructure in the Middle East spread jitters through oil markets. On May 12, the UAE government said that four commercial vessels suffered “sabotage” in the Gulf of Oman, without giving more specific details about the nature of the attack. The following day, a drone attack halted flows through Saudi Arabia’s main oil transport pipeline to terminals and refineries on the Red Sea. |
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