London, August 13, 2025, (Oilandgaspress) –––Oil prices down as investors weighed US President Donald Trump’s deferral of tariffs on China against possible outcomes from his planned meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. WTI for September delivery fell 79 cents to settle at $63.17 a barrel in New York. Brent for October settlement dropped 51 cents to settle at $66.12 a barrel.
Norway’s $1.9 trillion sovereign wealth fund pared back its holdings in oil and gas majors including Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp in the first half of the year.
The fund trimmed its position in Exxon to 1.32% from 1.46% at the end of 2024. Its second-biggest energy holding, Shell Plc, was reduced to 2.55% from 2.78% during the same period. Positions in Chevron, BP Plc and TotalEnergies SE were all cut, according to holdings posted on its website on Tuesday. Oil prices retreated in the first half, despite a spike in June due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. President Donald Trump’s trade policies and moves by OPEC+ nations to keep increasing output quotas weighed on the outlook for energy demand and raised concerns around oversupply. Read More
The Ecopetrol Group presented its financial and operating results for the second quarter and first half of 2025, reflecting the strengthening of its operations, advances in efficiency, and progress in the energy transition.
The EBITDA margin was 38% in the quarter and 40% in the half-year, levels above the average of industry peers reported to date.
Net income: This quarter reached 1.8 trillion pesos, supported by strong operating progress and impacted by the drop in crude oil prices (-22%), inflation, and new taxes; without external factors, it would have been 3.2 trillion pesos. In the first half of the year, net income totaled 4.9 trillion pesos, with 79% of the impact explained by external factors and the remainder by local events.
Debt: Strong financial position, with a Gross Debt/EBITDA ratio of 2.4 times, below the target of 2.5 times; excluding ISA, whose nature requires higher leverage levels, it falls to 1.7 times. The Net Debt/EBITDA ratio was 2.2 times (1.6 times excluding ISA).
Cash flow: At the end of June, Ecopetrol Group’s cash flow stood at 13.1 billion pesos, with positive free cash flow of 3.1 billion pesos.
Outstanding production and operation
Record production: The highest half-year production since 2015 was achieved, with 751 thousand barrels per day equivalent (kboed) and 755 kboed in the second quarter, driven by Caño Sur, CPO-09 and the Permian operation.
Transportation and Refining: Transported volumes reached 1 million 88 thousand barrels per day and refining loads reached 405 thousand barrels per day (kbd), benefiting from the completion of maintenance and operational improvements.
Lifting cost: Thanks to energy efficiency, operational control, and optimization of internal consumption, Ecopetrol managed to reduce lifting costs to below $12 per barrel, a level it plans to maintain until the end of the year.
Advances in energy transition
Renewable energy: acquisition of 100% of the Windpeshi wind project (205 MW) in La Guajira.
Imported gas: first long-term commercialization of imported gas in Colombia (60 GBTUD), through 4- and 5-year contracts.
Strengthened investment and efficiency program underway
Investments totaling $2.852 billion in the first half of 2025, 86% of these resources were allocated to growth projects and future value generation. The geographic distribution was 62% in Colombia, 17% in Brazil, 15% in the United States, and 6% in other regions. Fifty-nine percent of the investments focused on energy security and cash flow generation, while the remainder was allocated to energy transition initiatives.
Efficiency plan: 2.2 billion pesos in profits (+27% compared to the plan), mainly in OPEX and revenue. Read More
Baker Hughes Rig Count: : International +27 to 913, : U.S. -1 to 539 Canada +3 to 180
U.S. Rig Count is down 1 from last week to 539 with oil rigs up 1 to 411, gas rigs down 1 to 123 and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 5.
Canada Rig Count is up 3 from last week to 180, with oil rigs down 2 to 122, gas rigs up 4 to 57 and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 1.
International Rig Count is up 1 from last month to 914 with land rigs down 10 to 720, offshore rigs up 11 to 194.
The Worldwide Rig Count for July was 1,621, up 22 from the 1,600 counted in June 2025, and down 92, from the 1,713 counted in July 2024.
| Region | Period | Rig Count | Change |
| U.S.A | August 8, 2025 | 539 | -1 |
| Canada | August 8, 2025 | 180 | +3 |
| International | July 2025 | 914 | +1 |
| Baker Hughes |
Audi is set to blaze a trail in China’s ultra-competitive luxury NEV market with its strategy of combining its century-old German engineering excellence with cutting-edge Chinese technological innovation.
The strategy is well illustrated at the company’s ongoing Technology Week that kicked off on Thursday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, where two heavyweight models were launched.
The Q6L e-tron, built on the Premium Platform Electric, integrates a 107 kWh CATL ternary lithium battery and an 800V high-voltage system, combined with Huawei Qiankun ADS, deeply customized for the model.
Similarly, the A5L sedan, based on the Premium Platform Combustion, offers a China-market extended wheelbase and custom features such as cloud-sensing seats. It also includes Huawei Qiankun ADS tailored for China’s roads.
“Partnerships with Huawei and others enable us to integrate the best of both worlds,” said Michael Arndt, president of FAW-Audi Sales Co. Read More
Mission Zero Technologies (MZT) has confirmed that the third deployment of its Direct Air Capture technology (DAC) is now live at Deep Sky’s flagship Alpha project in Alberta, Canada.
Marking Mission Zero Technology’s first international deployment, the system progressed rapidly from first delivery through to live operations in the space of 10 months. MZT’s containerised system will recover up to 250 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere per year powered entirely by solar energy. The captured carbon will be processed by Deep Sky and stored securely underground, once the Alpha site becomes fully operational later this summer.
This deployment represents MZT’s third DAC system and first outside the UK, joining two systems already in operation. The company’s second DAC facility, developed in partnership with O.C.O Technology (O.C.O) and the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), is also capable of recovering around 250 tonnes of CO2 per year from the atmosphere. This carbon supply is fully-integrated for direct use in O.C.O’s building materials production facilities to enable carbon-negative limestone.
Meanwhile, Mission Zero Technologies’ first plant, developed in partnership with the University of Sheffield, recovers 50 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 annually for the production of a pioneer Sustainable Aviation Fuel. By comparison, this latest Canadian deployment represents a fivefold increase in carbon capture capacity, alongside a 60% reduction in cost. This underscores the pace of technical progress achieved since this initial deployment in 2023, as well as the value of the operational data collected and the pace of iteration as MZT develops its next-generation products, capable of multi-kilotonne annual CO2 recovery. . Read More
Customer satisfaction with new energy vehicle sales and services in China has risen in 2025, with domestic brands narrowing the gap with premium international competitors, according to a J.D. Power study released on Thursday.
The China New Energy Vehicle Sales Satisfaction Index Study shows overall satisfaction rose to 781 points on a 1,000-point scale, up 8 points from 2024. The index measures the sales experience among NEV owners within 2 to 12 months of purchase.
Chinese brands led satisfaction scores in several key categories, including showroom reception, customer follow-up and test drive experience. Li Auto ranked highest among mass market brands with a score of 804, followed by Xpeng (800). Nio led among premium and domestic brands with a score of 806, ahead of Mercedes-Benz (788). The survey also highlighted the role of word-of-mouth in sales growth, with 12.5 percent more customers citing brand reputation as a deciding factor compared to the previous year. Test drive experiences were identified as a crucial touchpoint influencing referrals. Read More
Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday morning, buoyed by a softer US dollar following mild US inflation data that solidified expectations for an interest rate cut in September. Meanwhile, market participants looked ahead to this week’s high-stakes talks between US and Russian officials regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine.At the time of writing, gold futures rose 0.2% to $3,404.90 per ounce, while spot gold inched up by 0.1% to $3,357.03 per ounce. Read More
Iraq and Syria have agreed to study the possibility of reactivating the Banias pipeline to export Iraqi oil through Syrian territory.
The agreement was reached during talks held today in Baghdad between Hayan Abdul-Ghani Al-Sawad, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil of Iraq, and Mohammed Bashir, Minister of Energy of Syria.
The discussions resulted in a decision to form a joint committee to examine the condition of the pipeline and assess the feasibility of resuming exports through it, with a proposal to engage an international consultant to determine the pipeline’s operational readiness, pumping systems, and the viability of rehabilitation.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Oil, carried by the Iraqi News Agency, Al Sawad said that Iraq has achieved significant progress in gas investment and oil refining, and aims to increase export capacities from its southern outlets, resume exports through the Turkish pipeline via the port of Ceyhan, and study proposals for exports via the Syrian Banias pipeline and the Lebanese Tripoli pipeline. . Read More .
Energy podcast explores booming demand for air conditioning
A new episode of the IEA podcast Everything Energy looks at the surge in global demand for air conditioning as incomes and temperatures rise.
In the episode, which is now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, we hear from Brian Motherway, who leads the IEA’s work on energy efficiency. He walks through the latest global data on air conditioning demand, the consequences for energy affordability and reliability, and key solutions to keep cooling accessible without overstressing power systems.
The IEA launched the new version of the Everything Energy podcast earlier this year. The series offers insights on issues at the centre of the global energy dialogue through conversations with IEA experts about key trends.. Read More
Nayara Energy, the Indian refiner in which Russia’s oil giant Rosneft holds 49%, is set to import in August the lowest volume of crude ever as the EU sanctions cripple procurement plans and sales of refined petroleum products. Nayara Energy is expected to import just 94,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude this month, Bloomberg reports, citing ship-tracking data and trade sources.
The August import volumes are set to be the lowest in the history of the refinery, India’s second-largest, with a capacity to process 400,000 bpd, and would compare to average import levels of about 366,000 bpd for the period July to September 2024.
Nayara Energy has so far imported almost 2.9 million barrels of Russia’s flagship Urals crude grade in August, but currently no shipments are planned for the rest of the month, per vessel-tracking data and a shipbroker cited by Bloomberg.
The Indian refinery’s troubles began last month when the EU adopted the 18th sanctions package against Russia, targeting a hundred more ‘shadow fleet’ tankers, energy trade, and traders and banks enabling it. Read More
Iraq’s oil ministry is considering exporting oil through Lebanon’s Tripoli port and will study reviving the dormant Iraq-Syria oil export pipeline, it said on Tuesday. The ministry plans to form a joint committee to assess the pipeline’s condition.
The announcement came during a visit by Syria’s energy minister to Baghdad to discuss cooperation in oil, gas and energy.
Iraq dispatched a high-level delegation to Damascus in April to assess the feasibility of reviving the Iraq–Syria oil pipeline, a move Baghdad is counting on to diversify export routes amid expanding production capacity. Read More
OPEC raised estimates for world demand growth in 2026 by 100,000 barrels a day to 1.4 million a day, a fractionally higher rate than this year, on stronger economic expectations. It trimmed forecasts for supply growth outside the group by the same amount.
A monthly report showed that in July, OPEC+ raised crude output by 335,000 bpd to 41.94 million bpd during the same period.
In return, OPEC has downgraded its forecast for US oil supply growth next year, paving the way for Brazil to become the largest source of non-OPEC+ output expansion in 2026, according to the Monthly Oil Market Report.
US liquids output is now expected to rise by just 130,000 b/d — down by 80,000 b/d from last month’s report and sharply lower than the 510,000 b/d projected in January. The revision reflects sustained capital discipline and weaker momentum in drilling activity, the MOMR said.
Brazilian supply is forecast to increase by 160,000 b/d in 2026, making it the top contributor to non-OPEC+ growth.
Total non-OPEC+ supply is now projected to grow by 630,000 b/d next year — 100,000 b/d less than previously expected. OPEC left its 2025 non-OPEC+ supply growth forecast unchanged at 810,000 b/d.
In the report, OPEC also increased its forecast for world economic growth slightly this year to 3.0% as US President Donald Trump’s administration signs some trade deals and the economies of India, China and Brazil outperform expectations. Read More
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price | Change |
| Crude Oil (WTI) | USD/bbl | $62.68 | Down |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | USD/bbl | $65.73 | Down |
| Bonny Light 12/08/25 CBN | USD/bbl | $69.78 | Down |
| Dubai | USD/bbl | $68.71 | Down |
| Natural Gas | USD/MMBtu | $2.79 | Down |
| Murban | USD/bbl | $67.72 | Down |
| OPEC basket 12/08/25 | USD/bbl | $68.91 | Up |
Porsche’s Bug Bounty programme has already proven itself to be highly successful, with several hundred IT security researchers from around the globe taking part. Their contributions have significantly improved Porsche’s information security and provided valuable insights into potential methods and areas of attack. Thanks to this success, the programme is being gradually expanded and will return on 18 August 2025.
The programme is also supported by integrated artificial intelligence, which helps to increase the speed and quality of the review process for submitted reports. This marks an important step in further optimising collaboration between security researchers and the Porsche team.
A complementary cybersecurity measure
The Porsche Bug Bounty Programme complements the existing services of the global cybersecurity team and is implemented by Porsche’s IT experts. It encourages creativity and collective intelligence within the global IT security community. Initiatives are announced via established bug bounty platforms, and if a participant reports a genuine security vulnerability, they receive a financial reward. .Read More
More Energy, Oil & Gas Stories !!! �The squeaky wheel gets the oil�
OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup | Compiled by: OGP Staff, Segun Cole , victor@oilandgaspress
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