The Biden administration will “calibrate” its sanctions policy towards Venezuela depending on how the high-stakes election unfolds in the OPEC nation on Sunday, U.S. officials said, signaling that Washington could ease punitive measures if President Nicolas Maduro holds a fair vote. But the U.S. also put Maduro on notice that if he claims victory without [Read more ..read more

The United States is prepared to calibrate its Venezuela sanctions policy depending on what happens in Sunday’s presidential election in the Latin American country, senior U.S. officials told reporters on Friday. Washington will be watching the post-election transition period and will adjust its response accordingly, the officials added. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Costas Pitas and [Read more ..read more

U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row, boosting the monthly count by the most since November 2022, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by [Read more ..read more

A massive wildfire that destroyed about a third of the western Canadian tourist town of Jasper is still out of control but rain and cooler conditions are helping firefighters, authorities said on Friday. Jasper is in the middle of Alberta’s mountainous Jasper National Park, a major tourist attraction. The town and park, which draw more [Read more ..read more

Baker Hughes cut its outlook for spending by oil producers on Friday, citing lower drilling activity by North American companies, joining other oilfield service companies in warning about softness in the region. However, the company raised its full-year revenue and profit estimates, banking on strong international growth and demand for gas equipment. Shares of the [Read more ..read more

CALGARY – MEG Energy Corp. says it has started bringing workers back to its Christina Lake oilsands site after evacuating all non-essential personnel last week due to wildfires in northern Alberta. CEO Darlene Gates said on a conference call Friday that the fire drew so close to the site that at one point flames were [Read more ..read more

The Alberta Government brought in $10.7 MM on its July 24th Crown land sale. In total, 15,870 hectares were sold at an average price of $673/ha. Click here to see the full land sale results on BOE Intel ..read more

The Canadian government will likely stall the sale of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline until after the national election in 2025, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing officials familiar with internal discussions. (Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore ..read more

Steady rain is likely to help firefighters working to contain a massive wildfire that has devastated parts of the western Canadian tourist town of Jasper, authorities said on Friday. Jasper is in the middle of mountainous Jasper National Park in the province of Alberta. A huge fast-moving fire has damaged or destroyed up to half [Read more ..read more

Oil prices rose slightly on Friday but remained on track for a third straight week of declines due to weak demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer, and expectations of a ceasefire deal for the Gaza war and related violence in the Middle East. Brent crude futures for September rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, [Read more ..read more