US Mulls $1B Settlement for Abandoned Wind Farms
U.S. officials are drafting agreements to pay nearly $1 billion to oil major TotalEnergies as compensation for the cancellation of leases for wind farms in federal waters off New York State and North Carolina, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.Under the terms of the proposed settlements, the U.S. Interior Department will cancel the leases in federal waters for two projects, known as Attentive Energy and Carolina Long Bay, the NYT said, citing documents.The Justice Department will then pay more than $928 million to TotalEnergies…
Trump Upset as Other Nations Reject Call for Hormuz Warship Escorts
Several U.S. allies rebuffed Donald Trump's call on Monday to send warships to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, drawing criticism from the U.S. president, who accused Western partners of ingratitude after decades of support.The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is in its third week with no end in sight. The critical Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flow, remains largely closed off, raising energy prices and fears of inflation.The conflict has already imposed economic costs on U.S.
Trump Demands Other Countries Help Secure Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration is talking to seven countries about helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, calling on them to help protect ships in the vital waterway that Tehran has mostly blocked to oil tanker traffic.With the conflict creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait."I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory…
Additional LNG Exports from Plaquemines LNG Approved
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has authorized an immediate 13% increase in exports at Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG Terminal in Louisiana.The authorization allows additional exports of up to 0.45 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of U.S. natural gas as LNG to non-free trade agreement (FTA) countries from the Plaquemines LNG Terminal.Plaquemines LNG is now authorized to immediately export a total of 3.85 Bcf/d to both FTA and non-FTA countries.“At a time when Iran and its terrorist proxies attempt to disrupt the global energy supply…
Trump Threatens to Escalate Iran War, But Says It Could End Soon
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to escalate the war with Iran if it blocked oil shipments from the Middle East, even as he predicted a quick end to the conflict.Trump's warning came at the end of a day that saw global financial markets seesawing on concerns that Iran's security establishment was rallying behind new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and was not prepared to back down any time soon.Trump said the United States had inflicted serious damage on Iran's air force and navy and predicted the conflict would end well before the initial four-week time frame he had laid out…
Trump Weighs Easing Russia Sanctions
U.S. President Donald Trump is considering easing oil sanctions on Russia and releasing emergency crude stockpiles as part of a package of options aimed at curbing spiking global oil prices amid the Iran conflict, according to multiple sources.The deliberations reflect White House worries that the surge in oil prices following more than a week of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran will hurt U.S. businesses and consumers ahead of the November midterm elections, when Trump's fellow…
Trump Orders Oil Tanker Insurance Support, Says Navy Could Escort Ships
The U.S. Navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, adding he had ordered the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and financial guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf.The move marks one of the administration’s most aggressive steps yet to attempt to contain soaring energy prices amid escalating conflict in the Middle East that has raised risks to shipping through key waterways.Global crude prices have spiked since Israeli and U.S.
Greenland Says “No Thanks” to Trump's Hospital Ship
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Sunday "no thanks" to U.S. President Donald Trump's idea of sending a hospital ship to Greenland, a territory that Trump has repeatedly said he wishes to take over.Trump said on Saturday on social media he was working with Louisiana Governor and special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, to send a hospital boat to Greenland."President Trump's idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted. But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens.
Trump declares that India will purchase oil from Venezuela and not Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said India will buy Venezuelan oil, helping to replace some of the Russian oil that the world's third-biggest oil importer buys. "We've already made that deal, the concept of the deal," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to his vacation home in Florida from Washington.Reuters reported on Friday that the United States has told Delhi it could soon resume purchases of Venezuelan oil to help replace imports of Russian oil…
US Files for Warrants to Seize Dozens More Tankers
The U.S. government has filed for court warrants to seize dozens more tankers linked to the Venezuelan oil trade, four sources familiar with the matter said, as Washington consolidates control of oil shipments in and out of the South American country.The U.S. military and Coast Guard have seized five vessels in recent weeks in international waters that were either carrying Venezuelan oil or have done so in the past. The seizures were part of Washington's campaign to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of power that culminated in U.S.
Cuba Defiant After Trump to Cut Venezuelan Oil
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said no more Venezuelan oil or money will go to Cuba and suggested the Communist-run island should strike a deal with Washington, ramping up pressure on the long-time U.S. nemesis and provoking defiant words from the island's leadership.Venezuela is Cuba's biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in early January amid a strict U.S.
Trump-Class Battleship Unveiled, Defense Contractors Put on Notice
U.S. President Trump on Monday announced plans for a new "Trump class" of battleships, marking the start of an expanded naval buildup and signaling increased scrutiny of defense contractors over production delays and cost overruns.Trump said the new battleships would be larger, faster and "100 times more powerful" than any previously built, forming the centerpiece of what he called an expanded "Golden Fleet" aimed at cementing U.S. naval dominance.The program will begin with two vessels and is expected to grow to between 20 and 25 ships, Trump said.
Trump Finalizes US Gulf Lease Sale, Proposes Alaska Sale
The Trump administration will hold an auction for drilling oil and gas off the U.S. Gulf next month and has proposed another in a waterway in southern Alaska, it said on Friday.The lease sale in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump refers to as the Gulf of America, will make about 80 million acres available. The sale, which will take place on December 10, will be the first of 30 sales in the region through 2040 that were included in Trump's tax law which he signed in July.The Gulf's offshore continental shelf spans roughly 160 million acres…
Trump Administration Seeks to Negotiate with China on Shipping
The Trump administration said on Thursday it would pursue negotiations with China over its dominance of shipbuilding and ocean logistics as it formalized plans for a one-year pause on U.S. port fees on China-linked vessels as part of a broader deal to reduce trade tensions.The U.S. Trade Representative's office said in a Federal Register notice that it would pause for a year starting November 10 all punitive actions against China resulting from its "Section 301" unfair trade practices investigation.
US Says It Hit Colombian Rebel Vessel
U.S. forces attacked a vessel associated with a Colombian leftist rebel group, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday, the same day President Donald Trump called Colombian President Gustavo Petro an "illegal drug leader" and said payments to the South American nation would cease.Trump's comments marked a new low in relations between Bogota and Washington, which have frayed since Trump returned to office in January and since his administration launched a series of strikes…
US Strike Kills Six Off Venezuela, Trump Says
A U.S. strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela on Tuesday killed six suspected drug traffickers, President Donald Trump said, the latest such operation in recent weeks as the U.S. builds up military forces in the region.The strike is the most recent example of Trump's efforts to use U.S. military power in new, and often legally contentious, ways, from deploying active-duty U.S. troops in Los Angeles to carrying out counter-terrorism strikes against drug trafficking suspects.In a post on Truth Social…
USTR and China Yet to Discuss New Export Controls by Phone
Trade Representative Jamison Greer said on Sunday that the U.S. reached out to China for a phone call following an announcement that it was expanding its rare earths export controls but Beijing deferred, while China accused the U.S. of what it called "double standards.""I can tell you that we were not notified, and quickly, as soon as we found out from public sources, we reached out to the Chinese to have a phone call, and they deferred," Greer told Fox News' "Sunday Briefing," while calling China's move "a power grab."U.S.
Trump Seals Icebreaker Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump and Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb sealed an agreement on Thursday for the U.S. Coast Guard to acquire up to 11 icebreaker ships to bolster U.S. national security in the Arctic.Trump and Stubb have established friendly ties since Trump regained power in January, and the two met in March at the president's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and played a round of golf.The two leaders approved a memorandum of understanding on icebreaker cooperation that is intended to lay the foundation for commercial agreements between the U.S.
Determining Trump's China-Linked Port Fees is Shipowners’ Responsibility
The U.S. is one week away from imposing port fees on certain vessels with links to China, a move expected to cost the top 10 carriers $3.2 billion next year as President Donald Trump seeks to address China's growing dominance on the high seas."While some observers believe the October 14 deadline may be extended — or even scrapped — as part of broader negotiations, the uncertainty has already unsettled carriers, adding another layer of geopolitical risk to fleet deployment strategies…
Shell Exec Says Trump Halting Wind Projects is Harmful
The decision by President Donald Trump administration to halt fully permitted offshore wind energy projects is "very damaging" to investment, President of Shell U.S. Colette Hirstius told the Financial Times in a report published on Sunday.The executive told the newspaper that energy projects with proper permits should be allowed to continue and warned the political pendulum in the U.S. could eventually swing back against the oil and gas sector."I think uncertainty in the regulatory environment is very damaging.
Russia Condemns US Boat Strikes off Venezuela
U.S. forces hit another vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, adding that the U.S. would also start looking at drug trafficking occurring on land.Trump made the comment during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk, next to the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. It was not immediately clear if he was referencing a strike announced Friday by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth."In recent weeks, the Navy has supported our mission to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water ...
US to Revoke Approval for New England Wind Project
President Donald Trump's administration plans to revoke federal approval of Avangrid's planned New England Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, according to a court filing on Wednesday.The legal maneuver is the latest move by U.S. authorities to stymie development of offshore wind energy, which Trump has called ugly, expensive, and unreliable. Last week, the administration also said it was reconsidering approval of SouthCoast Wind, another planned Massachusetts project.In recent weeks…
Asia to Take More US LNG ... but is it Enough to Placate Trump?
There are early signs that some Asian countries are stepping up their imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) as part of trade deals with President Donald Trump.Asia's imports of the super-chilled fuel are on track to hit an eight-month high of 2.01 million metric tons in August, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.But of far more importance is the Kpler estimate that Asia's LNG imports from the United States will surge to 3.61 million tons in October, which…