Ukraine Claims Drone Attacks on Two Russian Oil Refineries
The Novokuibyshevsk plant in the Samara region and the Ryazan refinery were hit, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a Saturday Facebook post. Ukrainian drones also struck a fuel depot in Russia's Voronezh region and an electronics facility in Penza, it said. All the targets were part of Russia's war apparatus, the military said.
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CNN
23 minutes ago
- CNN
OPEC+ makes another large oil output hike in market share push
Oil & gas Investing Corporate news RussiaFacebookTweetLink Follow OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain market share, as concerns mount over potential supply disruptions linked to Russia. The move marks a full and early reversal of OPEC+'s largest tranche of output cuts plus a separate increase in output for the United Arab Emirates amounting to about 2.5 million bpd, or about 2.4% of world demand. Eight OPEC+ members held a brief virtual meeting, amid increasing U.S. pressure on India to halt Russian oil purchases - part of Washington's efforts to bring Moscow to the negotiating table for a peace deal with Ukraine. President Donald Trump said he wants this by August 8. In a statement following the meeting, OPEC+ cited a healthy economy and low stocks as reasons behind its decision. Oil prices have remained elevated even as OPEC+ has raised output, with Brent crude LCOc1 closing near $70 a barrel on Friday, up from a 2025 low of near $58 in April, supported in part by rising seasonal demand. 'Given fairly strong oil prices at around $70, it does give OPEC+ some confidence about market fundamentals,' said Amrita Sen, co-founder of Energy Aspects, adding that the market structure was also indicating tight stocks. The eight countries are scheduled to meet again on Sept. 7, when they may consider reinstating another layer of output cuts totalling around 1.65 million bpd, two OPEC+ sources said following Sunday's meeting. Those cuts are currently in place until the end of next year. OPEC+ in full includes 10 non-OPEC oil producing countries, most notably Russia and Kazakhstan. The group, which pumps about half of the world's oil, had been curtailing production for several years to support oil prices. It reversed course this year in a bid to regain market share, spurred in part by calls from Trump for OPEC to ramp up production. The eight began raising output in April with a modest hike of 138,000 bpd, followed by larger-than-planned hikes of 411,000 bpd in May, June and July, 548,000 bpd in August and now 547,000 bpd for September. 'So far the market has been able to absorb very well those additional barrels also due to stockpiliing activity in China,' said Giovanni Staunovo of UBS. 'All eyes will now shift on the Trump decision on Russia this Friday.' As well as the voluntary cut of about 1.65 million bpd from the eight members, OPEC+ still has a 2-million-bpd cut across all members, which also expires at the end of 2026. 'OPEC+ has passed the first test,' said Jorge Leon of Rystad Energy and a former OPEC official, as it has fully reversed its largest cut without crashing prices. 'But the next task will be even harder: deciding if and when to unwind the remaining 1.66 million barrels, all while navigating geopolitical tension and preserving cohesion.'
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
OPEC+ makes another large oil output hike in market share push
OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain market share, as concerns mount over potential supply disruptions linked to Russia. The move marks a full and early reversal of OPEC+'s largest tranche of output cuts plus a separate increase in output for the United Arab Emirates amounting to about 2.5 million bpd, or about 2.4% of world demand. Eight OPEC+ members held a brief virtual meeting, amid increasing U.S. pressure on India to halt Russian oil purchases - part of Washington's efforts to bring Moscow to the negotiating table for a peace deal with Ukraine. President Donald Trump said he wants this by August 8. In a statement following the meeting, OPEC+ cited a healthy economy and low stocks as reasons behind its decision. Oil prices have remained elevated even as OPEC+ has raised output, with Brent crude LCOc1 closing near $70 a barrel on Friday, up from a 2025 low of near $58 in April, supported in part by rising seasonal demand. 'Given fairly strong oil prices at around $70, it does give OPEC+ some confidence about market fundamentals,' said Amrita Sen, co-founder of Energy Aspects, adding that the market structure was also indicating tight stocks. The eight countries are scheduled to meet again on Sept. 7, when they may consider reinstating another layer of output cuts totalling around 1.65 million bpd, two OPEC+ sources said following Sunday's meeting. Those cuts are currently in place until the end of next year. OPEC+ in full includes 10 non-OPEC oil producing countries, most notably Russia and Kazakhstan. The group, which pumps about half of the world's oil, had been curtailing production for several years to support oil prices. It reversed course this year in a bid to regain market share, spurred in part by calls from Trump for OPEC to ramp up production. The eight began raising output in April with a modest hike of 138,000 bpd, followed by larger-than-planned hikes of 411,000 bpd in May, June and July, 548,000 bpd in August and now 547,000 bpd for September. 'So far the market has been able to absorb very well those additional barrels also due to stockpiliing activity in China,' said Giovanni Staunovo of UBS. 'All eyes will now shift on the Trump decision on Russia this Friday.' As well as the voluntary cut of about 1.65 million bpd from the eight members, OPEC+ still has a 2-million-bpd cut across all members, which also expires at the end of 2026. 'OPEC+ has passed the first test,' said Jorge Leon of Rystad Energy and a former OPEC official, as it has fully reversed its largest cut without crashing prices. 'But the next task will be even harder: deciding if and when to unwind the remaining 1.66 million barrels, all while navigating geopolitical tension and preserving cohesion.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Could Ukraine's Homegrown Drones Industry Put American Defense Contractors Out of Business?
Key Points Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wants to equip all U.S. Army units with cheap, first-person view (FPV) military drones. Ukraine has become a leader in the production of cheap, FPV drones. Now, a "mega deal" could be in the works, worth up to $30 billion for Ukraine to sell drones to America in exchange for missiles. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › On July 10, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced a sea change in U.S. defense policy. More than a decade ago, America pioneered the wide-scale use of military drones, flying Predator drones first on surveillance, then strike missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the decades since, U.S. dominance of this groundbreaking defense technology eroded, to the extent that "global military drone production skyrocketed over the last three years," while the U.S. all but stood still. Now, said the SecDef, it's finally time to "support our industrial base, reform acquisition, and field new technology" to equip the U.S. military "with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires." All of which sound like fine ideas. But over the past few days, a new question has emerged: Will our defense base actually get to build these drones -- or might they end up getting built by someone other than American defense contractors? Uncle Sam is looking for a few good drones As a first step to upping America's drone game, Hegseth directed that the Pentagon open a competition to buy 10,000 Purpose-Built, Attritable Systems (also known as kamikaze, one-way attack, first-person view, or FPV drones) for under $2,000 apiece, and to get the purchase done within 12 months. One week later, the Pentagon hosted a demonstration of 18 American-made drone prototypes that might fit the bill. (Or might not. Most American drones manufactured by AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) and Kratos Defense and Technology (NASDAQ: KTOS), or even Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) or still-private defense contractor Anduril, after all, are reported to cost "tens of thousands of dollars" each.) This might complicate Pentagon plans. On the one hand, the Defense Department wants to support American defense contractors. But on the other hand, it wants to buy drones cheap. So what's the solution? While American companies figure out a way to build the number of drones the Pentagon needs, for a price the Pentagon will be willing to pay, another country with hard-won experience manufacturing affordable, expendable FPV drones may be able to step in and fill the gap. I'm talking about Ukraine. "I'll trade you drones for missiles" The past three years have given Ukraine a lot of experience in the development and use of FPV drones in real-world conditions -- and given Ukrainian defense companies a lot of experience building drones on a budget. The country's expertise in drone warfare became especially evident in June, when a Ukrainian operation dubbed Operation Spiderweb saw 117 FPV drones deployed within Russia to damage or destroy dozens of high-value Russian military aircraft on the ground. It was both a military and a PR coup for Ukraine, and probably instrumental in the latest development in this drone saga, reported just last week: According to the Kyiv Independent newspaper, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are currently discussing a "mega deal" that would see Ukraine trade FPV drones (which it's good at producing) for long-range missiles (which it struggles to produce). And the price should certainly be right. Reliable sources have Ukraine building basic FPV drones for as little as $400 -- and much more advanced "fixed-wing interceptor" drones for air defense for just a fraction of the cost of even the cheapest American military drones: $5,000. Details of the mega deal remain in flux. It might be a straight trade of Ukrainian drones for American missiles. Or the deal could take the form of offsetting purchases, with Ukraine spending money to buy U.S. missiles, and the U.S. turning around and using some of that money to buy Ukrainian drones. An even more intriguing option, suggests The Independent, would be for Ukraine to "share its drone expertise [and technology] with the U.S.," helping teach American defense companies to produce effective FPV drones on the cheap, and perhaps taking a license fee in exchange. This might take the form of joint ventures with American defense giants as well. As an example, Zelensky announced Thursday last week that Ukraine has inked a "50/50 partnership" with the Danish government to produce Ukrainian drones in Denmark. And here's the real kicker: Zelensky says a similar agreement with the U.S. is already "in place," and could be worth anywhere from $10 billion to $30 billion in total value. What this means for investors Thirty billion dollars sounds like a big deal, albeit it's not clear how the math would work. Are we talking $30 billion in missile sales to Ukraine, and another $30 billion in drone sales to the U.S.? Or $10 billion in missile sales, offset by $20 billion in drone sales? Vice versa? Or something entirely different? The one thing that is clear, is that if this deal is "in place," it's a deal a lot of big U.S. defense contractors will be interested in, and in all sorts of ways. Beyond drone-focused contractors like AeroVironment and Kratos, many of the larger defense contractors, which have struggled to break into the drones business in a big way, might welcome finding a side door into the business through licensing technology from Ukraine. And even those that don't could benefit financially on the other side of the exchange, building U.S. missiles for sale to Ukraine in exchange for Ukrainian drones. With potentially tens of billions of dollars up for grabs, this is a "mega deal" worth watching closely. Trump's Tariffs Could Create $1.5 Trillion AI Gold Rush The Motley Fool's analysts are tracking a massive shift in U.S. tech. Over $1.5 trillion is already flowing into infrastructure, AI, and advanced manufacturing… and the number keeps climbing. Following a major tariff policy shift, a new AI Gold Rush is taking shape, and we think . It builds the tech infrastructure that Apple, OpenAI, and others suddenly can't live without. We just released a full write-up on this under-the-radar stock — and why now might be the exact moment to move. Continue » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AeroVironment and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Could Ukraine's Homegrown Drones Industry Put American Defense Contractors Out of Business? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
