Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud arrives for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna on June 3, 2023.
Joe Klamar | Afp | Getty Images
The influential Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, on Sunday made no changes to its planned oil production cuts for this year, as coalition chair Saudi Arabia announced further voluntary declines.
OPEC+ also announced in a statement that it will limit combined oil production to 40.463 million barrels per day over January-December 2024.
Previously, the alliance agreed to a 2 million barrels-per-day decline in October. Some OPEC+ members also announced some voluntary drops of just over 1.6 million barrels per day in April. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Sunday that all voluntary cuts, which were initially set to expire after 2023, will now be extended until the end of 2024, in comments reported by Reuters.
Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said Riyadh will implement an additional voluntary one-month 1 million-barrel-per-day cut starting this July, which can be extended. This will bring the kingdom’s total voluntary declines to 1.5 million barrels per day over the period, reining in its production to 9 million barrels.
The move of the 23-country alliance follows contentious talks that dragged well into the night on Saturday, as well as a more-than four-hour Sunday meeting of the alliance’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which recommends, but does not implement, policy.
At stake for OPEC+ is a battle to reconcile an outlook of tighter supply in the second half of the year, current macro-economic and inflationary concerns, and intergroup diplomacy.
Ahead of the meeting, Saudi oil minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in late May warned oil market speculators to “watch out,” in a comment widely read as heralding another supply cut.
It remains to be seen if the 2024 reduction in output will offer long-term support to current oil futures prices when markets open on Monday, following months of pressure from global financial turmoil since the start of the year.
Brent futures most recently settled at $76.13 per barrel on Friday, with several OPEC+ delegates noting the deepening divide between prices and supply-demand fundamentals.
Back to bases
The producers’ alliance also agreed to review baselines — the starting level from which producers cut their output during OPEC+ agreements, usually by a similar percentage — for 2025, following a study of countries’ output capacities by oil analysts IHS, Wood Mackenzie and Rystad Energy.
A higher baseline translates into a higher output ceiling. Critically, baselines are often reused in new iterations of OPEC+ agreements and their review and later adjustment are often contentious, meaning they could bind producers longer term.
OPEC heavyweight UAE has been long vying for an upward revision to its baseline, receiving part of such a concession in July 2021.
Other producers of the alliance, such as Angola and Nigeria, have meanwhile long fallen short of lifting their output to their assigned OPEC+ quotas amid sabotage, depleting capacity and underinvestment — but potential changes to their baselines to reflect these realities were not formally broached before because of the sensitivity of these discussions, delegates told CNBC.
The luxury carmaker channeled its inner superhero with this one. Genesis unveiled the new GV60 Mountain Intervention Vehicle (MIV) this week in Switzerland, an off-road EV that can climb mountains. The concept is designed for extreme rescue missions. Check it out below.
Meet the Genesis GV60 MIV rescue EV concept
Genesis showed off the new GV60 MIV this week at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Crowds lined up to see it at the AMERON Davos Swiss Mountain Resort, not far from the WEF venue.
Based on its first dedicated EV, the GV60, the concept is designed to tackle extreme terrain and weather on rescue missions.
The purpose-built vehicle gains off-road elements like snow tracks and medical and emergency communication systems for rescue missions on mountains or other extreme terrain. Other upgrades include a custom heavy-duty roof rack and rear hatch rack.
Genesis added large carbon fender flares to warn those nearby and protect the vehicle from damage in extreme weather.
With a fully electric powertrain, the Genesis GV60 MIV has no tailpipe emissions, protecting the environment. It’s also nearly silent, with minimal noise pollution.
Inside, the off-road electric SUV includes custom sports seats, adding to the GV60’s already impressive interior design.
The concept follows the upgraded GV60, revealed earlier this month. Genesis updated it with redesigned front and rear bumpers, more tech, and added luxury.
Like the new 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5, based on the same E-GMP platform, the upgraded GV60 is expected to feature a bigger battery providing more range. Powered by an 84 kWh battery, the 2025MY now has up to 318 miles range, up from 303 miles in the outgoing model (77.4 kWh battery).
The 2025 Genesis GV60 starts at $52,350 in the US and has a range of up to 294 miles. Once the upgraded model arrives in 2026, the electric SUV could have a range of up to 300 miles.
2025 Genesis GV60 trim
Range (EPA-est)
Starting Price*
Standard RWD
294 miles
$52,350
Standard AWD
264 miles
$55,850
Advanced AWD
248 miles
$60,900
Performance AWD
235 miles
$69,900
2025 Genesis GV60 prices and range by trim (*excluding $1,350 destination fee)
What do you think of the GV60 MIV? Should Genesis get these onto the mountains? Or should it stick to on-road luxury cars? Let us know in the comments.
A ship carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) is towed out of the Port of Rotterdam on January 13, 2025 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Pierre Crom | Getty Images
Natural gas exporter Venture Global will begin trading Friday in the first major initial public offering under the Trump administration, testing investor appetite for energy stocks as the White House looks to implement a sweeping agenda aimed at boosting oil and gas production.
“The Trump administration has made very clear they support growing LNG exports,” Venture CEO Mike Sabel told CNBC in an interview Friday.
Venture Global is currently the second-largest LNG exporter in the U.S. behind Cheniere. Venture priced its initial public offering of 70 million shares at $25 to raise $1.75 billion for a total valuation of $60.5 billion.
This is far below the company’s original target. Venture had originally planned to offer 50 million shares in a range of $40 to $46, which would have raised about $2.2 billion at the midpoint for a total valuation of $110 billion.
Still, Venture’s IPO is the largest by an oil and gas company in a decade and the fourth-largest since 2000. At a valuation of around $60 billion, it would be the tenth-largest publicly traded energy company.
Venture is locked in arbitration with customers, including majors such as Shell, over contracted deliveries from its Calcasieu Pass plant in Louisiana.
President Donald Trump on Monday declared a national energy emergency and issued an executive order overturning the Biden administration’s pause on new LNG export projects, removing a potential obstacle to Venture’s growth.
Trump’s policies, combined with cold winter weather and expected robust demand from artificial intelligence, is helping to drive both natural gas prices and related stocks higher. Cheniere shares, for example, have climbed more than 20% since Trump was elected. Natural gas prices rose 44% over that same time.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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Correction: Venture Global’s CEO is Mike Sabel. An earlier version of this story misspelled his name.
Rivian (RIVN) already has several automakers reaching out about potential supply deals for software and other EV tech. According to Rivian’s Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid, its new partnership with Volkswagen has other OEMs “knocking on our door.”
Will Rivian and VW supply EV tech to other automakers?
After launching “Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC,” their new software and EV joint venture in November, the collaboration is already showing potential.
Bensaid, who co-leads the new joint venture with VW’s Casten Helbing, said in an interview on Thursday (via Reuters) that the collaboration is in talks with at least a few other automakers over potential supply deals for software and EV architecture.
“I’d say that many other OEMs are knocking on our door,” he said. Although no names or other details were revealed, Bensaid added that “there is demand.”
The software leader explained that Rivian is prioritizing its smaller, more affordable R2 until 2027 while integrating the new tech into upcoming VW, Audi, Porsche, and Scout brand EVs.
Bensaid added that the new JV “today becomes one of the key partners” for other automakers who want to “make a leap from a technological standpoint.”
Last week, German news outlet Spiegel reported that VW could expand the partnership with Rivian. Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said, “We are thinking about sharing modules and bundling purchasing volumes.”
VW is already planning to invest $5.8 billion, which, according to Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, is a “meaningful financial opportunity.”
Rivian is already using the platform and software stack on its Gen 2 R1S electric SUV and R1T pickup, a drastic upgrade from the previous version. The architecture uses seven electronic control units (ECUs), down from 17 in the Gen 1 models.
The new models also include Rivian’s new in-house autonomy system, the Rivian Autonomy Platform, which consists of 11 cameras, five radars, and other features for added driver assist (ADAS) features.
At the opening of the new Rivian Space in San Francisco on Thursday, Scaringe said the company plans to roll out hands-free driving this year. It’s expected to be similar to Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD). In 2026, Rivian will launch an “eyes-free” system as it advances new tech and software.
Electrek’s Take
The JV with Volkswagen could be significant for Rivian as it looks to accelerate growth in 2025. After shutting down its Normal, IL manufacturing plant last April for upgrades, Scaringe said the company is already seeing “a meaningful reduction” in material costs.
Rivian’s R2, starting at around $45,000, is expected to open an entire new market. Analysts expect the VW partnership to provide enough funding for the R2 to enter production, which is expected in the first half of 2026.
Last week, Rivian closed its loan agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE) for up to $6.6 billion in financing for its new manufacturing plant in Georgia. The EV maker has already started hiring construction and management workers, with recruitment “expected to ramp quickly.”
Will Rivian’s EV architecture and software “become the platform of choice in the Western world” aside from Tesla? That’s what Canaccord Genuity analysts said in a note to investors.
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