2025-10-24 07:45

BUDAPEST, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Hungary is working on finding a way to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday, without giving details but giving no indication that he planned to defy the restrictions. U.S. President Donald Trump, a close ally of the Hungarian leader, on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting Lukoil and Rosneft, as he tries to pressure Moscow into agreeing a ceasefire in Ukraine. Sign up here. Trump's move drove up oil prices and left questions for Hungary and Slovakia, the biggest buyers of Russian oil in the European Union after securing exemptions from EU restrictions. Orban said that he has talked to Hungary's oil and gas company MOL (MOLB.BU) , opens new tab about the sanctions. "We are working on how to circumvent this sanction," he said in an interview with state radio Kossuth. MOL's refineries in Hungary and Slovakia, with a total capacity to process 14.2 million tonnes of crude oil a year, are reliant on Russian crude transported through the Druzhba pipeline. MOL's Slovak unit Slovnaft said on Thursday it was analysing the possible impact on its operations of U.S. sanctions, which should come into effect later in November. Last year MOL ran into problems with deliveries when Ukraine sanctioned Lukoil. The company struck deals to take ownership of the affected crude oil volumes at the Belarus-Ukraine border to keep flows coming. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungary-working-how-circumvent-us-sanctions-russian-oil-companies-pm-orban-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 07:39

Benchmarks pare early-day gains spurred by Thursday's sanctions Brent, US crude both gain over 7% in the week Chinese state oil majors to suspend Russian oil purchases Indian refiners set to cut their Russian crude imports HOUSTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday as skepticism crept into the market about the Trump administration's commitment to sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies over the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures settled 5 cents, or 0.1%, lower at $65.94 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures finished at $61.50 a barrel, down 29 cents, or 0.5%. Sign up here. Both benchmarks had risen earlier in the session, extending gains of more than 5% made on Thursday after the sanctions were announced, but retreated in the last two hours of trading. They still ended the week over 7% higher, the biggest weekly rise since mid-June. "There is renewed skepticism these sanctions will be as harsh as they are said to be," said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital LLC. U.S. President Donald Trump hit Russia's Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab with sanctions to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war. The two companies together account for more than 5% of global oil output, and Russia was the world's second-biggest crude oil producer in 2024 after the U.S. The sanctions prompted Chinese state oil majors to suspend Russian oil purchases in the short term, trade sources told Reuters. Refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, were set to sharply cut Russian crude imports, industry sources said. "Flows to India are at risk in particular," Janiv Shah, a vice president of oil markets analysis at Rystad Energy, said in a client note. "Challenges to Chinese refiners would be more muted, considering the diversification of crude sources and stock availability." Kuwait's oil minister said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would be ready to offset any shortage in the market by raising production. The U.S. said it was prepared to take further action, while Putin derided the sanctions as an unfriendly act, saying they would not significantly affect the Russian economy and talking up Russia's importance to the global market. Britain imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil last week and the European Union approved a 19th package of sanctions against Russia that includes a ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas. The EU also added two Chinese refiners with a combined capacity of 600,000 barrels per day, as well as Chinaoil Hong Kong, a trading arm of PetroChina (601857.SS) , opens new tab, to its Russian sanctions list, its official journal showed on Thursday. Looking ahead, investors were also focusing on a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week as the pair work to defuse long-standing trade tensions and end a spate of tit-for-tat retaliatory measures. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-dip-after-surge-remain-track-weekly-gain-amid-supply-fears-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 07:24

India premium unchanged at $25/oz this week China market flips to premium as demand improves Spot gold poised to snap nine-week winning streak Oct 24 (Reuters) - Physical gold demand in India ticked lower this week as buyers held back purchases, anticipating a deeper price correction, while a pullback in rates sparked buying interest in China and Singapore. Indian dealers were this week quoting a premium of up to $25 per ounce over official domestic prices, inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, unchanged from last week. Sign up here. Domestic gold prices were trading around 122,700 rupees per 10 grams on Friday after hitting a record high of 132,294 rupees last week. Meanwhile, spot gold prices were on track for their first weekly drop in 10. "Last week, buyers were snapping up gold at any price available in the market. But this week, the price correction has made them cautious, with some postponing purchases in hopes of a bigger drop," said a Mumbai-based jeweller. Indians were celebrating the Dhanteras and Diwali festivals in the last few days, occasions when buying gold is considered auspicious and which are among the busiest gold-buying days in the country. New import orders are now being placed cautiously and for smaller quantities, as the recent price correction is expected to lower the base import price next week, said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank. The base import price of gold, which is used to calculate import duty, is set fortnightly. In top consumer China, bullion changed hands anywhere between discounts of $20 to a premium of $8 an ounce over the global benchmark spot price . "Despite gold prices fluctuating sharply between $4,000 and $4,300/oz, there has been little evidence of traders offloading physical holdings," said Bernard Sin, regional director of Greater China at MKS PAMP. "Sellers remain limited, while investors continue to hold positions amid macroeconomic uncertainty and declining real interest rates." Gold in Hong Kong was sold at par to a premium of $2.20, while in Singapore , gold traded between at-par prices and a $2.50 premium. "We continue to see good demand, especially this week when prices came down, we've seen quite a number of clients coming to buy both gold and silver to take this opportunity to enter the market," said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based GoldSilver Central. In Japan, gold was sold at a $1 premium over spot prices. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/asia-gold-india-demand-cools-after-festive-rush-price-fall-propels-buying-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 07:21

Satellite Chemical is China's biggest importer of US ethane Project paused amid trade tensions, lack of government and regulatory approvals Ethane cracker is part of multibillion-dollar expansion plan SINGAPORE, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Satellite Chemical (002648.SZ) , opens new tab, China's largest importer of U.S. ethane, has paused plans to build its third ethylene unit amid protracted U.S.-China trade tensions and a lack of required government and regulatory approvals, five industry sources said. The new cracker, costing roughly $1 billion and with a capacity of up to 1.5 million metric tons per year (tpy) would process ethane into ethylene, a key petrochemicals building block. It is part of the company's multibillion-dollar phase 3 expansion in Lianyungang, a city in eastern China. Sign up here. China buys half of U.S. ethane exports and secures nearly all of its ethane imports from the U.S. The delay demonstrates the potential pitfalls of the country's growing reliance on U.S. ethane. The pause, which two sources said occurred around June, followed escalation in the U.S.-China tit-for-tat trade war in April, when Beijing slapped a 125% duty on U.S. goods including ethane, before waiving it later in the month. In late May, the U.S. imposed temporary restrictions on ethane exports after accusing Beijing of slowing rare earths shipments. Satellite was about to start construction of the new cracker after almost completing construction of at least one petrochemical derivative unit in Lianyungang in the second quarter, two of the sources said. However, the company was ordered by the central government to halt construction as Beijing was worried that rising demand for U.S. ethane could hand Washington additional leverage amid trade tensions, three sources added. In addition, authorities found that Satellite did not have necessary regulatory approvals for the cracker, having only been given a green light for the downstream units, two sources said. The sources declined to be identified as the details are not public. Satellite, in response to a query about the government pause order and the status of regulatory approval, said the "company consistently abides by Chinese law and applicable global regulations." Satellite told Reuters it would provide updates on any progress on its projects via stock filings. China's National Development and Reform Commission, responsible for approving large industrial investments, did not respond to a request for comment. In an October 15 client note, JPMorgan analysts said Satellite may have to wait until U.S.-China trade relations stabilise to resume building the third cracker, which would delay the entire phase 3 expansion that had been slated for start-up in the first half of 2027. OTHER PROJECTS CONTINUE Satellite is expected to proceed with several downstream projects, such as alpha-olefin and polyolefin elastomer (POE) units that make high-performance plastics used in automobiles, and packaging, three of the sources said. Key units under the phase 3 project include two 500,000-tpy polyethylene units, five 100,000-tpy alpha-olefin units and three 200,000 tpy of POE facilities, Satellite said in a stock filing in mid-2024. Satellite was one of the earliest Chinese companies to process abundant and cheap U.S. ethane - a by-product of natural gas production - into ethylene. It operates two such crackers capable of producing 2.5 million tpy of ethylene combined, making it the world's largest single importer of U.S. ethane. Compared with oil-based technology, ethane is more cost-efficient and lower in emissions. To secure feedstock, Satellite invested in a 180,000-barrel-per-day terminal in Nederland, Texas, in a joint venture with U.S. firm Energy Transfer (ET.N) , opens new tab in 2018. Satellite and Energy Transfer also agreed a supply deal with annual shipments of over 3 million tons of U.S. ethane that lasts through 2030. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinas-satellite-chemical-pauses-ethylene-project-amid-us-trade-tensions-sources-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 07:20

Rhino Resources gathers critical data next year Company aims for first oil title in Namibia Looking at FID by Q1 2027 to fast-track projects CAPE TOWN, Oct 24 (Reuters) - African oil and gas company Rhino Resources plans to drill an appraisal well on a Namibian prospect next year and take a flow test on another as it races TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab to first oil in the southern African nation, its chief executive said. The appraisal well, potentially part of a block-wide program and subject to government approval, is planned for Capricornus where light oil was found and a flow rate of 11,000 barrels a day tested, while the drill stem test is planned for Volans, its latest high liquid-yield gas condensate find. Sign up here. The new data will help guide the company as it looks to fast-track its discoveries offshore Namibia, where TotalEnergies expects to take a final investment decision (FID) on its Venus field next year. "There's a fair amount of uncertainty at this stage, not because of the quality of discoveries, but more because we have such optionality on our hands we want to make sure we make the right decision for the right reason," CEO Travis Smithard said. He was speaking to Reuters at Rhino Resources' headquarters in Cape Town. Options include possibly co-developing Capricornus and Volans, which are only 15 km (9 miles) apart, he said, as the company also looks at buying new seismic data to the north of its block that could unlock the Sagittarius trend. Rhino Resources, which is in a joint venture partnership with BP-Eni backed Azule Energy, aspires to take its own FID on its fast-track development by the end of 2026 or the first quarter of of 2027, he said. "We're also being told by various Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) owners and builders that there is a very strong possibility of being able to get an FPSO ready and commissioned for first oil in 2030." Future developments of Rhino's discoveries could be much simpler, Smithard said, as the Capricornus discovery was in shallower waters, possibly requiring less subsea infrastructure, and it has a lower gas-to-oil ratio than Total's Venus. Besides Namibia, Rhino also holds onshore acreage in five blocks across South Africa and is actively looking for new investment opportunities across the continent and elsewhere. "The geology is fundamental, but the above-ground risk is also critical and something that we consider strongly when making investment decisions." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/rhino-resources-plans-new-appraisal-wells-flow-test-namibia-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 07:12

LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Gold funds received their largest weekly inflow on record in the week to Wednesday, Bank of America Global Research said in a note citing EPFR data, a week in which the precious metal's price surged to a new record, before retreating sharply. Gold funds saw inflows of $8.7 billion in the week BofA said, putting the inflows over the last four months at $50 billion, larger than all inflows in the prior 14 years. Sign up here. Gold spiked to a record of $4,381.21 per ounce on Monday before retreating as investors booked profits and momentum trades unwound. It was last at $4,092.60/oz. https://www.reuters.com/business/global-markets-flows-bofa-urgent-2025-10-24/