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Fuels
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Open in Browser →The U.S. Army Just Called China’s Bluff in the Rare Earth War
Just recently, in a span of about six weeks, one impressive company was selected by the U.S. Army to build and operate rare earth processing facilities on an American military base…the first time the Army has ever done this. That same company closed $100 million in institutional financing, giving it a war chest of roughly $130 million. It was also formally added to the Russell 3000 Index. And it locked in MOU’s for feedstock agreements covering billions of tonnes of rare earth-bearing material from sources across Wyoming, Appalachia…
Oil Prices Ignore the Warning Signs in Physical Markets
Oil price movements since the start of March this year have become the topic of dozens of discussions. Many have been puzzled by futures prices and why they haven’t gone through the roof given the severe disruption in Middle Eastern supply. It appears the reason is sheer optimism and a bet on market adaptability. However, there is a problem with that. Adaptability has limits. Many commentators like to compare the current oil price—and supply—situation to 2022, when Russia’s incursion into eastern Ukraine prompted an actual…
The World’s Largest Sand Battery Is Now Online
Modern power grids require a constant, real-time balance between supply and consumption. Unfortunately, the integration of wind and solar energy makes power grids unstable due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy generation. To prevent localized grid blackouts or harmful voltage spikes, utilities are increasingly pairing renewables with battery storage and/or rapid-response natural gas plants to smooth out fluctuating supply. However, Finland has now come up with a rather eccentric method to store excess renewable energy and release it…
Refined Fuels, Not Crude, Are Driving the Oil Market Crunch
Oil prices have just come off a fresh two-month high as the crude oil market has tumbled this week amid signals of de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict. Despite the slump in crude prices and the extreme volatility in the past five months, the refined product market continues to tighten with refining margins at record highs because the supply of petroleum products is much tighter than crude supply. Refining margins held at record highs even as crude oil prices soared last week to $100 per barrel. That’s because global gasoline, diesel,…
Australia to Study First New Oil Refinery Since 60s
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Tuesday announced a study for a new refinery in Karratha in Western Australia, backed by A$4 million ($2.8 million) of government funds.
US Crude Oil Inventories Build Again Despite Hormuz Disruption
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 3.296 million barrels in the week ending July 24. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories grew by 2.603 million barrels. Commercial crude oil inventories excluding the SPR have lost just over 54 million barrels over the last fifteen weeks, with US crude inventories down just 3 million for the year, according to API data, kept in check by draws from the SPR. For the week ending July 24, another 3.7 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the…
Oil Tumbles on Diplomatic Optimism
Crude futures posted their biggest three-day decline since 2020 as hopes for diplomacy with Iran reduced supply concerns.
New Solar Cell Design Solves A Problem That's Plagued Panels for Decades
Solar power is far and away the cheapest form of new energy to install in nearly every context around the world. Even in the United States, where the cost of solar additions has jumped up 18 percent since Trump’s tariffs took hold, solar remains the most affordable option for energy capacity expansion. It stands to reason that solar is therefore the fastest growing form of energy in the world, However, as the solar sector has gone gangbusters, profitability has been squeezed thanks to an increasingly competitive market. Developing more advanced…
OPEC+ Prepares to Stop Raising Oil Output Targets
OPEC+ is preparing to approve one more production increase for September and then put the monthly quota parade on hold through the end of the year. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman are expected to raise their combined September target by about 188,000 barrels per day when they meet on August 2, sources told Reuters. That would match the increases announced for June, July, and August and complete the return of a 1.65-million-bpd voluntary cut agreed in 2023, adjusted for the UAE’s departure from OPEC in May.…
U.S. Sale Of Venezuela’s Oil Hits $13 Billion Since Trump’s Takeover
President Donald Trump revealed on Monday that sales of Venezuela’s oil by his administration have generated more than $13 billion since the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, claiming that the revenue has effectively “paid for that war many times over”. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump was responding to a Financial Times’ report that came out a week ago that estimated that roughly $13 billion in Venezuelan oil revenue is held in frozen U.S. Treasury accounts as a black box…
Saudi Aramco Shuts 400,000-Bpd Refinery After Houthi Strike
Saudi Aramco shut its 400,000-barrel-per-day Jazan refinery on July 27 after a Houthi attack damaged the facility, according to an IIR note seen by Reuters. IIR said the strike damaged the refinery’s Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle complex and tank farm. Repairs are tentatively expected to be completed by August 15. Tentatively is doing some fairly heroic work there. The attack took place Saturday, and video verified by Reuters showed a large plume of smoke rising from the refinery. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group…
Central Asia Seeks New Trade Route to Pakistani Ports
Uzbekistan appears to be hedging its bets when it comes to Afghanistan’s ability to serve as a trade corridor. Over the past year, Tashkent has ramped up its engagement with Afghanistan, setting an ambitious target of almost tripling annual bilateral trade volume over the next few years. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev also recently stated that the government was “actively working” with the Taliban leadership to create a trans-Afghan rail route to speed the flow of Uzbek goods to Pakistani seaports. But according…
Why Did Trump Just Give Saudi Arabia the Fast Track to a Nuclear Weapon?
At the beginning of Donald Trump’s first term as U.S. President in 2017, a senior White House official commented off-the-record to OilPrice.com that: “We’re not going to put up with any more crap from the Saudis.” The comment had followed the end of the 2014-2016 Oil Price War that had seen the Kingdom rally its fellow OPEC members to ramp up their collective oil production in order to crash oil prices to cause the bankruptcy of as many American shale oil producers as possible, as analysed in depth in my latest book…
Defense Tech Investment Hits Record High as Arms Giants Ramp Up Startup Funding
Investment in defence tech start-ups has reached a record high this year as the world’s biggest arms companies step up spending on new military technology. New figures from Dealroom show defence contractors including BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Airbus have participated in $4.1bn (£3bn) of venture capital funding rounds so far this year, the highest figure on record. Meanwhile, separate research from White & Case found 42 defence mergers and acquisitions were completed globally in the first half of 2026, up 56 per cent from…
Hitting EU Renewables Targets Could Slash Gas Demand a Quarter by 2030
The European Union could save a lot on LNG imports by 2030 if it achieves its heat pump, solar, and wind installation targets…so much so that the bloc could save twice the gas it imports from Qatar, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said on Tuesday. IEEFA, which advocates for an accelerated energy transition, estimates that heat pump deployment and increased solar and wind generation reduced the EU's natural gas demand by 8.8 bcm in 2024. That's equivalent to about two-thirds of EU imports of Qatari LNG that…
Oil Prices Retreat, But the Strait of Hormuz Remains the Wild Card
Trump's latest comments cooled oil prices, but talks over ending the Strait of Hormuz blockade could prove far more consequential. Hedge Funds Pile Back into Oil as Chokepoint Risks Return - The signing of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding triggered one of the largest hedge fund sell-offs for crude futures and options, however the closure of the Strait of Hormuz (and now of Bab el-Mandeb) has made bullishness in vogue again. - Net positions held by hedge funds and other money managers in ICE Brent futures and options rebounded…
North America Enters Rig Addition Streak
North America added five rigs week on week, according to Baker Hughes' latest North America rotary rig count.
Senators Announce Deal on New Russia, Iran Sanctions Bill
A bipartisan group of senators announced a deal Tuesday.
Tata Power Targets 2032 for India's First Private Nuclear Plant
Tata Power, one of India’s biggest integrated power utilities, plans to build its first nuclear power plant by 2032 as the country opens the civil nuclear sector to private companies, CEO Praveer Sinha told Bloomberg Television in an interview on Tuesday. “What we can expect is that early part of 2028 we will start possibly the construction activity,” Sinha told Bloomberg. “We are targeting that 2032-2033, we will have the first of the nuclear plants ready in the private sector,” the executive added. Tata Power, which…
States Oppose FERC Plan to Widen Blanket Gas Pipeline Permitting
Over a dozen states and the District of Columbia protested a proposed 'rulemaking' by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to broaden the kinds of gas pipeline projects that qualify for review exemptions.
Baker Hughes Posts Nearly 50 Percent YoY Increase in Orders
Baker Hughes saw 'robust demand across Power Systems and LNG, with particularly strong momentum in power generation'.
Oil Market Rapidly Strips Out Iran War Premium
Oil prices dropped yesterday and today as the market rapidly stripped out its Iran war premium, Petros Pantzari, Chief Dealer at Monaxa, said.
Barossa Ships First Condensate Cargo to South Korea
The shipment of about 300,000 barrels will be delivered to a refinery in Incheon.
Tributes Pour in for Sir Ian Wood
Tributes have poured in for Sir Ian Wood following news that the Aberdeen-based businessman has passed away.
Eni Greenlights Cyprus' First Hydrocarbon Project
Expected to start production 2028, the Cronos field is designed to produce up to 500 million cubic feet per day of gas, which will be processed into liquefied form in Egypt for export mainly to Europe.
Weekly road fuel prices
Road fuel price statistics providing average UK retail 'pump' prices on a weekly basis.
Oil Tankers Reroute to Egypt amid Houthi Threat
Empty supertankers are heading to Egypt's Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir to collect Saudi crude as observable traffic at the kingdom's key Red Sea export hub dwindles following threats from Houthi militants.
The Next Fort Knox? Why the Army is Going All-In On Rare Earths
In 1937, the Army guarded the first shipments of a critical resource, U.S. gold, as it was transferred into Fort Knox. Nearly 90 years later, Washington faces a similar situation with a very different resource. The Army picked REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) to build a facility to process dysprosium and terbium at Utah’s Tooele Army Depot - two rare earths that keep high-performance magnets working in weapons, radar, sonar and electric motors. Gold went to Fort Knox because America was unsure they could protect it from threats abroad. Rare earths…
$100 Oil Puts Big Tech’s $725 Billion AI Bet at Risk
Crude oil prices are retreating after Brent hit $100 again last week as the United States and Iran took a break from hostilities over the weekend. Yet with the outcome of the war still highly uncertain, the outlook for stock markets has dimmed. Add to that Big Tech’s AI spending binge and fresh warnings about energy commodity shortages, and we are looking at extended market turbulence ahead. Last week saw a rare pile-up of adverse market developments that must have shaken the confidence of many a market bull. Besides the oil price spike,…
Jet Fuel Spike Blows a Hole in Airline Profit Forecasts
The fresh spike in jet fuel prices in July upended the profit guidance of U.S. airlines, whose management teams had to readjust earnings estimates for the year just days ahead of reporting second-quarter results. The re-escalation in the Middle East earlier this month resulted in a 20% spike in jet fuel prices during the two weeks in which air carriers were reporting their April-June earnings and attempting to guide earnings for the third quarter and the rest of the year. The extreme volatility in crude oil and consequently, jet fuel prices,…
The U.S. Is Walking Into Iran’s Escalation Trap
“I feel like a jackass caught in a Texas hailstorm -- I can’t run, I can’t hide and I can’t make it stop.” U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s desperate comment to aide, Bill Moyers, came after a massive and sustained aerial bombing campaign in North Vietnam -- codenamed ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’ -- had failed in its aim of pressuring the North Vietnamese leadership into peace talks to end the spiralling conflict that became the 19-year Vietnam War. Shortly after, on 8 March 1965, following advice…
Brent Tumbles Nearly 9% on Diplomacy
Oil prices plunged as the US paused strikes on Iran and supply concerns eased with resumed Kazakh exports.
Expand Energy to Buy Twin Eagle for $1.25B
Expand Energy Corp. agreed to buy gas marketer Twin Eagle Holdings NA LLC from private equity firm Five Point Infrastructure for $1.25 billion.
What If the Most Valuable Part of an EV Isn't the Car?
Rapid depreciation in China's electric vehicle market is often portrayed as evidence that EVs are becoming disposable consumer electronics. Yet the opposite may prove true. While the vehicle loses value, the battery increasingly becomes a long-lived energy asset with multiple commercial lives ahead of it. For decades, critics of electric vehicles have warned about one inevitable problem. What happens when millions of batteries reach the end of their lives? Images of mountains of discarded battery packs have become a familiar feature of debates…
The Trade Routes Iran Cannot Afford to Lose
The future of relations between Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and Iran under a government now dominated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is likely to feature pragmatic economic and transit cooperation amid heightened caution, with short-term disruptions from the 2026 conflict and longer-term continuity driven by mutual interests in connectivity and multipolarity. Iran's Shift to IRGC Leadership (as of mid-2026) Following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and…
A Skeptical Look at Elon Musk's AI Utopia
Our tech overlords tell us that artificial intelligence will soon create a world of abundance while solving our major problems such as climate change. Just so you know who I'm talking about, I have previously defined our tech overlords as "a grab bag of technology companies, technology scientists and inventors, and technology investors and journalists who have bewitched the modern world through inventions that speed up our daily lives without necessarily making them better." In a recent interview with The Economist magazine,…
Kazakhstan Restarts CPC Oil Exports After Week-Long Black Sea Shutdown
Kazakhstan resumed crude exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) on Monday after the operator reopened its Black Sea marine terminal and resumed accepting crude from producers following a week-long suspension triggered by drone attacks, Kazakhstan’s Astana Times reported. Two tankers were loading crude from the Chevron-led Tengizchevroil project at the Novorossiysk terminal, while producers resumed delivering oil into the CPC pipeline system, Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said. The ministry added that export operations…
Nvidia's $250 Billion OpenAI Guarantee Puts AI Capex Concerns Back in Focus
Nvidia is in early talks to provide up to $250 billion in financing guarantees to help OpenAI lease computing capacity from a planned $500 billion, 10-gigawatt data center facility in Ohio, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The proposed deal highlights investor concerns that the AI bubble has been fueled by circular financing. The SoftBank-led project is located in southern Ohio and, when fully built, would support 10 gigawatts of computing capacity, or roughly equivalent to the output of 10 large nuclear reactors.…
China to Resell First US LNG Cargo in a Year Instead of Importing It
Chinese buyers that received the first U.S. LNG cargo in over a year plan to resell it on another market to profit from higher prices elsewhere and avoid paying a 25% tariff, sources familiar with the plans told Bloomberg on Monday. The Yangpu port in south China earlier this month received a cargo of U.S. LNG from the Plaquemines LNG export terminal operated by Venture Global in Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish. This was the first U.S. shipment of gas to China in more than a year. But the gas was offloaded into bonded storage, without being…
Leaked UK Grid Report Warns Net Zero Push Raises Blackout Risks
The UK’s net zero push risks leaving the country with higher electricity bills and more susceptible to blackouts, according to a leaked report commissioned by the national grid system. The report, produced by energy consultancy firm Cornwall Insight for the National Energy System Operator (Neso) and shared with The Times by a whistleblower, revealed that Neso cannot accurately map the modern power system amid the government’s green energy push. The whistleblower warned that Neso, which is owned by the government, was “flying blind,…
TotalEnergies to Appeal Court Order to Adapt Business to Climate Goals
TotalEnergies will appeal a landmark decision of the Paris Judicial Court from last month, which ordered the French supermajor to align its business to climate change goals as it held it responsible for climate change. In a statement on Monday, TotalEnergies said that it had decided to appeal the ruling, rendered under the French duty of vigilance law, arguing that “climate change, as a global phenomenon, does not fall within the scope of the duty of vigilance law.” The French supermajor also considers that “Imposing companies…
Halliburton Bags Spate of Middle East Contracts in July
Halliburton announced a spate of contract awards in the Middle East this month.
Pentagon Suppliers Warn U.S. Won't Have Magnet Capacity By 2027
The Trump administration is weighing whether to extend access to some Chinese rare earth materials beyond the January 1, 2027 cutoff after U.S. producers acknowledged they cannot build sufficient domestic processing and magnet capacity before the deadline, Reuters reported on Monday. Industry executives and Pentagon suppliers told Reuters that U.S. processing and magnet manufacturing capacity remains insufficient to meet despite billions of dollars in federal support for new mines, separation facilities and downstream manufacturing. The gap threatens…
Brookfield to Acquire Blackstone BESS Portfolio in North America
The transaction represents an enterprise value of around $7 billion and an equity value of $3 billion.
CPC Oil Terminal Resumes Kazakh Crude Exports
The main terminal for exporting Kazakhstan's oil resumed loadings after drone attacks on vessels caused an output cut last week.
Indian Refinery MRPL Bars Crude Suppliers From Hormuz, Red Sea Routes
India’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) has become the first Indian refinery to tell crude suppliers to avoid both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, inserting the restriction into a spot tender for up to 1 million barrels of crude. The tender seeks cargoes for delivery between August 25 and September 6 and specifies that crude loading or transit through either the Red Sea or the Strait of Hormuz is to be avoided. Business Standard reported that no previous Indian refiner has included the requirement in a spot crude import…
Temporary Calm in Iran Conflict Masks Risk of Broader Middle East War
Tehran said it had halted retaliatory attacks against US allies in the Middle East as Washington refrained from attacking Iran for the second night in a row. A top military official in Tehran, meanwhile, threatened to widen Iran’s attacks across the region, suggesting that Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen could step up attacks on Red Sea shipping traffic.The overnight lull in attacks on July 26 came two days ahead of a key meeting scheduled in Washington between President Donald Trump and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.That July 28 visit…
Oil Price Action Telling a Nuanced Story, JPM Says
'Price action...is telling a more nuanced story', J.P. Morgan analysts said.
US DOE Seeks Innovations on Pipeline Efficiency, By-Product Conversion
The Energy Department launched a funding opportunity of up to $65.5 million for research, development and deployment projects that maximize pipeline productivity and value creation from oil and gas by-products.
Woodside's Browse Gas Project Declared State Priority
The Western Australian government granted the Browse to North West Shelf Project, which would connect three offshore fields to the existing Karratha plant, a State Significant Project status, operator Woodside said.
Brent, WTI Oil Prices Both Down Over 5 Percent
'The immediate decline reflects a reduction in the geopolitical premium', Naeem Aslam, CIO at Zaye Capital Markets, said.
Kuwait Agrees $16B Pipeline Leaseback with Blackstone, Brookfield, KKR
Kuwait Petroleum signed a record $16-billion partnership agreement allowing three major North American investors to own minority stakes in its entire domestic and export pipeline network.
Lull in Fighting as Iran Holds Hormuz Talks with Oman
The U.S. paused an almost two-week run of strikes against Iran for a second night while the Islamic Republic signaled it was refraining from any retaliatory attacks and held talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil Prices Plunge 5% After U.S. and Iran Halt Attacks
Oil prices plunged by more than 5% in early Asian trade on Monday as the U.S. and Iran halted attacks after two weeks of escalation that had driven Brent above $100. At the time of writing, WTI crude was trading at $84.47, down 5.39%, while Brent crude had fallen to $91.80, a decline of 5.15%. The retreat came after Washington signaled on Friday that it would temporarily halt its bombing campaign against Iran. Talking to Face the Nation on Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said that the pause was "giving diplomacy some space"…
China’s Rare Earth Strategy Is Forcing a U.S. Manufacturing Revolution
Beijing is now desperately attempting to bring rare earth manufacturing back inside its own borders, exclusively. New Chinese export restrictions specifically target American plans to begin the country’s first commercial production of rare earth magnet materials by 2027. To counter that move, REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) is rebuilding every major stage of North America’s rare earth industry. Over the past two years, the company has assembled heavy rare earth feedstock, separation, metallization, alloy production, and permanent magnet manufacturing…
Standard Chartered: Oil Markets Must Now Price Two Middle East Chokepoints
Oil prices gave up earlier gains on Friday after reports that Pakistan is trying to broker a return to U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations. China is strongly backing the effort as the conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to threaten its energy security and weigh on its economy. Brent crude for September delivery fell 4.4% to trade at $96.36 per barrel at 1.35 pm ET while WTI crude for September delivery was down 3.6% to change hands at $88.86/bbl. However, Standard Chartered says the latest pullback may prove temporary as Middle…
U.S. Jet Fuel Costs Soar as Iran War Hits Airlines Again
U.S. airlines are grappling with soaring jet fuel costs again after the return of hostilities in the Middle East shattered the three-week-long U.S.-Iran ‘deal to make a deal’ and sent Brent crude oil prices soaring past $100 per barrel again. The U.S. jet fuel market has been tightening since March, although there haven’t been concerns about any shortages in America, unlike in Europe, which in April was supposed to run out of stockpiles within six weeks. Europe didn’t see shortages, but the global markets tightened, and…
Argentina’s Oil Production Soars as Vaca Muerta Breaks New Records
Argentina’s massive shale oil and gas boom is going from strength to strength. The economically crisis-prone South American country yet again reported record monthly oil and natural gas production for May 2026. This couldn’t come at a better time for Argentina and South America. Rising global geopolitical risks, notably due to war in the Middle East, and domestic economic hazards hold the potential to derail the significant economic gains Argentina has made over the last two years. Ministry of Economy data shows May 2026 oil production…
Molten Salt Reactors Just Cleared A Major U.S. Regulatory Hurdle
domestic nuclear energy sector is set to bounce back as the technology finds favor among the public and policymakers alike for its ability to provide round-the-clock clean energy. At a time when data center hyperscalers are driving up energy insecurity and climate deadlines are drawing ever closer, the nuclear option is looking better and better. And not only is the United States trying to kickstart the expansion of traditional nuclear energy, it’s also trying to establish a place at the vanguard of next-gen nuclear energy technologies. Just…
Oil Market's Glut Narrative Just Blew Up
Less than a month ago, analysts were warning of a looming glut of crude oil as tanker traffic via the Strait of Hormuz began to recover amid a U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Within days of these warnings, the ceasefire was a painful memory, missiles were flying again, and now Yemen’s Houthis are striking tankers in the Red Sea, which makes two blocked oil chokepoints and a very real danger of a global recession. Brent crude this week topped $100 per barrel on reports that the Houthis had struck two Saudi tankers in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which Saudi…
Australia’s Clean Energy Boom Is Gathering Speed
Australia has big renewable energy ambitions and is well on its way to shifting dependence away from coal to cleaner alternatives. Having long depended on coal, the government now aims to establish a more diverse energy mix to ensure that Australia can be energy self-sufficient in the years to come, while supporting a green transition. This aim is being reflected by market forces, as energy companies invest heavily in a diverse range of energy sources. Australia is home to an extensive ageing coal fleet, meaning the government must decide whether…
Eni to Acquire Prax Stations in 4 Countries
The transaction will give the Italian energy major about 320 service stations across Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.
Can an AI Black Box Be Trusted to Run a Nuclear Reactor?
China has unveiled a daring new plan to integrate artificial intelligence throughout the nuclear energy life cycle. This week, at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) revealed a new plan for safely integrating artificial intelligence into the nuclear sector, called ADANES – the Accelerator-Driven Advanced Nuclear Energy System. The system “fundamentally changes the safety logic that governs conventional nuclear reactors” and marks a major turning…
The Carbon Capture Boom Is Starting to Crack
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology grew in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic as several governments and private companies pledged to support a green transition. The use of CCS was expected to help decarbonise hard-to-abate industries until a long-term transition to clean energy could be achieved. However, in recent years, many have become more sceptical about the effectiveness of CCS technologies, as several projects have failed to perform. CCS technology is used to capture carbon dioxide at emission sources, so it can be transported…
UCLA Scientists Turn Plastic Waste Into Pure Hydrogen Fuel
Green hydrogen was supposed to be a silver bullet solution for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors like shipping and steelmaking. It was the buzziest technology out there – and then it fizzled out completely. But after years of languishing in labs without reaching any meaningful level of commercialization, hydrogen is making a roaring comeback thanks to back-to-back scientific breakthroughs and renewed interest in the fossil fuel alternative against the backdrop of the global oil and gas crisis brought on by the United States’ and Israel’s…
EU Backs Off Methane Rules as Energy Security Fears Mount
The European Commission (EC) has informed EU governments that they should waive penalties for oil and gas companies that breach its methane emissions law for the next three years, owing to pressure from the United States government to scrap the rules. While the decision is not binding, many member states are expected to follow the EC’s advice. The EC made the move after the U.S. and Qatar, as well as oil and gas industry groups and most EU member states, voiced concerns about the strict rules and demanded change. Several states feared…
Global Inflation Angst Is Back
Spiking energy prices, more U.S. tariffs, and mushrooming spending on artificial intelligence are reawakening investors' inflation fears.
The Strait of Hormuz Closure Is Already Hitting Supermarket Prices
Crop prices just hit a three-year high, indicating major downstream pain soon to come at the supermarket. There are two major factors leading to high crop prices and a potential global food crisis: heat waves and intensifying conflict in the Black Sea threatening to disrupt global grain trades, and volatility in fertilizer markets stemming from the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is referring to the unfolding situation in fertilizer supply chains as an “input crisis”…
Brent Pulls Back From $100
Crude declined after reports on US-Iran diplomacy and continued Red Sea oil flows reduced immediate supply concerns.
SLB Climbs Most in 6 Months
SLB, the world's biggest oil field services provider, rose the most in more than six months.
SLB Sees Growth Broadening Beyond Mideast
The company, which helps clients drill oil wells and map underground pockets of crude, said the conflict is encouraging customers to spread investment across more regions.
The Red Sea Is Becoming Saudi Arabia's Biggest Oil Bottleneck
For years, Saudi Arabia's strategic answer to any disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has been remarkably straightforward. If volumes via the Persian Gulf were threatened, the answer was to pump west through the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea. Markets have always seen this as reassuring, while strengthening Saudi energy security and reducing dependence on Hormuz. Current developments in the Red Sea, especially Bab El Mandab, however, have exposed a critical weakness in that assumption. The East-West Pipeline is not solving the total…
$4,000 Gold Is Changing Lives Across Central Asia
As the price of gold has hovered around $4,000 an ounce in recent weeks, the men in the small-scale mines north of the village of Soykechar in Uzbekistan have watched every bounce and slide. They pull up apps on their phones that show various price points. The local TV stations announce the price. And, by word of mouth, they know the quote on the black market. “We are trying to make better lives, and we can buy good clothes for the children, better food, and we can go to private hospitals,” said Doniyor, the 34-year-old machinery manager…
Russia's Biggest Black Sea Oil Port Goes Quiet as Drone Threat Grows
Russia's largest Black Sea oil export terminal has effectively gone offline just days after drone attacks shut down the neighboring Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, tightening another artery that moves crude onto the global market. The Sheskharis terminal at Novorossiysk hasn’t loaded a crude tanker since July 21, according to Bloomberg. Sheskharis exported an average of about 650,000 barrels per day during the first half of the year. Losing those barrels, even temporarily, comes on top of the disruption at CPC, which normally handles…
Oil Shock Could Turn Super El Niño Into an Inflation Problem Again
The world isn't just staring down another weather event. It's staring down a weather event colliding with a supply-driven oil shock. JPMorgan warned Friday that a "super" El Niño combined with higher energy prices from the Middle East conflict could slow the decline in global inflation next year, adding roughly 0.3 percentage points to headline inflation worldwide. The bank puts the odds of the current El Niño strengthening into a "very strong" or "super" event at 81% by the end of the year, with a 97% probability conditions persist…
US Oil Drillers Take A Break As Oil Prices Hover Near $100
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 587, up 45 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs fell by 2, reaching 450 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 35 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 1 and now stand at 127, which is 5 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed at 10. The latest EIA data showed…
Saudi Red Sea Crude Exports Have Sank 41% Since March Peak
Saudi Arabia, which at the start of the Iran war redirected virtually all crude exports through its East-West pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea, has seen crude exports from Yanbu crumble by 41% to about 2.39 million barrels per day (bpd) by June, from a peak of 4.07 million bpd in March, Wood Mackenzie vessel tracking and cargo data showed. Despite the near-total concentration of exports through Yanbu, volumes have declined steadily from the March peak, according to WoodMac's tracking data. By June, Yanbu loadings had fallen to around 2.39 million…
Why the Latest Oil Rally May Be Far From Over
The dual disruption of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb is tightening global oil flows, raising transport costs and fueling expectations of $100 oil. Friday, July 24, 2026 The double blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb has turbo-boosted oil prices this week, with both ICE Brent and WTI gaining $10 per barrel on the week. Whilst technically the Bab el-Mandeb could be bypassed through the Suez Canal, resulting in longer routes and higher costs, the dramatic decline in transits via the Hormuz should be of particular worry to the oil markets.…
How the U.S. Became the World's LNG Superpower
Global liquefied natural gas exports grew by about 1.2 trillion cubic feet in 2025. The United States supplied approximately 1.10 trillion cubic feet of that increase. Put another way, roughly 93% of the world’s additional LNG came from the United States. The scale of that contribution is even more striking considering where the industry stood a decade ago. In 2015, the United States exported less than 0.03 trillion cubic feet of LNG. By 2025, exports had reached 5.2 trillion cubic feet, making the United States the world’s largest…
India Scours Angola, Venezuela for Crude as Mideast Supply Dries Up
Indian refiners are in search of crude supply from as far as Angola in Africa and Venezuela in South America as their term supplies from the Middle East are trapped again and unable to reach India as planned. Some of the biggest state-held refiners in India, the world’s third-largest crude oil importer, are looking for and testing new crude grades, to offset part of the supply lost to the Middle East conflict, senior refinery executives told Indian outlet Economic Times. “We diversified our crude sourcing outside of the Strait of Hormuz,…
India Scours Angola, Venezuela for Crude as Mideast Supply Dries Up
Indian refiners are in search of crude supply from as far as Angola in Africa and Venezuela in South America as their term supplies from the Middle East are trapped again and unable to reach India as planned. Some of the biggest state-held refiners in India, the world’s third-largest crude oil importer, are looking for and testing new crude grades, to offset part of the supply lost to the Middle East conflict, senior refinery executives told Indian outlet Economic Times. “We diversified our crude sourcing outside of the Strait of Hormuz,…
ADNOC Issues Seventh Crude Tender Since June Despite Hormuz, Red Sea Risks
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ADNOC has issued its seventh tender offering crude from the United Arab Emirates since the beginning of June, expecting to sell millions of barrels of oil between August and October, both from within and outside the Persian Gulf. Despite the renewed threats to supply from the Strait of Hormuz and the new threats to shipping in the Red Sea by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, ADNOC is inviting interested buyers to bid by the middle of next week for crude loading between August and October, Reuters reported on Friday,…
ADNOC Issues Seventh Crude Tender Since June Despite Hormuz, Red Sea Risks
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ADNOC has issued its seventh tender offering crude from the United Arab Emirates since the beginning of June, expecting to sell millions of barrels of oil between August and October, both from within and outside the Persian Gulf. Despite the renewed threats to supply from the Strait of Hormuz and the new threats to shipping in the Red Sea by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, ADNOC is inviting interested buyers to bid by the middle of next week for crude loading between August and October, Reuters reported on Friday,…
USA Crude Oil Stocks Rise Week on Week
Crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 411.7 million barrels on July 17, the EIA's latest weekly petroleum status report showed.
No Breakthrough as Top U.S. and Russian Diplomats Meet Over Ukraine
The top US and Russian diplomats met in a new push to find an end to Moscow's more-than-four-year-old war on Ukraine, but both sides signaled no new breakthroughs or cause for optimism. The July 23 meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came with US efforts to broker a peace deal frozen as the Trump administration shifts focus to the Iran war, and the Kremlin shows no sign of softening its maximalist war demands. Following their meeting, which lasted just 35 minutes, Rubio described the talks…
Santos Narrows 2026 Production Forecast
The Australian company narrowed its output guidance for the year from 101-111 million barrels of oil equivalent to 99-105 MMboe, despite ramp-up at the Barossa and Pikka oil and gas projects.
Pakistan Transporters Threaten Nationwide Strike Over Fuel Price Hikes
Pakistan’s alliance of goods transporters has warned it could launch a nationwide strike over soaring fuel costs in another economic pressure that the South Asian country is feeling from the Middle East crisis. “Transporters across Pakistan should remain prepared; a nationwide strike call can be given at any time,” Malik Shehzad Awan, president of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance, said in a statement carried by local media on Friday. The alliance slammed the Pakistani government’s decision to hike fuel prices in the…
Overseas Buyers In Hot Pursuit of USA Crude
U.S. crude is drawing overseas interest from Asian and European refiners.
Hormuz Tanker Crossings Sink to Lowest Level Since May as War Risk Spikes
Only one oil tanker transited the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the lowest number of crossings since May 7, as war risks spiked this week to hike crude oil prices above $100 per barrel again. Three tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, but this number crumbled to just one on Thursday, according to Kpler’s vessel-tracking data cited by Reuters on Friday. The New Giant, a supertanker loaded with about 2 million barrels of Basrah crude from Iraq, exited the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, with China’s Rizhao port expected…
Novatek Posts Higher H1 Revenue
However, adjusted net profit for January-June 2026 fell nine percent year-on-year to RUB 216.49 billion.
Saudi Crude Tanker Goes Dark to Slip Through Bab el-Mandeb
At least one oil tanker carrying Saudi crude oil has transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait with its transponder switched off as risks to vessels in the Red Sea spiked this week after the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipments and targeted vessels offshore Yemen. The Merbabu tanker, owned by a Greek company and laden with Saudi crude oil, transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the so-called dark mode, which many shippers and tanker operators used for months to move undetected to hostile targeting in the Strait of Hormuz. The Merbabu emerged…
Analysts Map 4 Potential USA-Iran Conflict Scenarios
Rystad Energy mapped four potential U.S.-Iran conflict scenarios to assess their impact on oil prices.
Aphrodite Group Secures MOU for Sale of Cypriot Gas to Egypt
The Chevron-led Aphrodite consortium, Cyprus Hydrocarbons and Egyptian Natural Gas signed a memorandum of understanding to enable the piped export of 100 percent of production from the Aphrodite field to Egypt.
OEUK Hails 'Constructive Meeting' with New Energy Sec
Offshore Energies UK announced that its CEO, David Whitehouse, had a 'constructive meeting' with the UK's new Secretary of State for Energy.
China Snaps Up Russian Oil as Mideast Risks Mount
Chinese buyers are snapping up Russia's flagship ESPO crude weeks earlier than usual, as heightened risks to Middle East oil flows prompt refiners to secure supplies before they're needed.
Lithium Prices Sink To Five-Month Lows Amid Oversupply Jitters
Lithium prices have sunk to a five-month low as the return of previously idled mine capacity triggered fears of a massive market oversupply. Lithium prices on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX), the most active lithium carbonate contract, fell to 136,800 yuan ($20,210) per tonne on Wednesday, nearly 30% below their multi-year highs reached in mid-May. The sharp pricing downturn is linked to a wave of accelerating mine restarts and expansions across China and Australia. Last month, China’s EV battery giant, Contemporary Amperex Technology…
Trump Administration Eyes Offshore Nuclear to Power AI Boom
The Trump administration is studying the deployment of offshore nuclear power generation, with the Marine Minerals Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission agreeing this week to coordinate on any future developments. The announcement comes amid surging electricity demand driven by Big Tech. “Submerged reactor systems have been safely deployed in naval applications for decades, demonstrating their potential as a reliable source of energy in demanding marine environments. While no commercial deployment on the Outer Continental Shelf…
OPEC+ Set to Raise Output Again—Even as Members Can't Pump It
OPEC+ is expected to approve another production target increase when eight key producers meet on August 2, extending a months-long campaign to unwind voluntary supply cuts that have existed largely on paper since the Iran war upended Gulf exports. Reuters reported Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman are expected to raise their combined September production target by another 188,000 barrels per day, matching the increases announced for June, July, and August. The problem is that quotas have been rising…
The AI Paradox Reshaping Clean Energy Research
Artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword for the energy sector. The rapid buildout of data centers to support widespread integration of large language models in virtually every economic sector imaginable, from our energy grids to your electric toothbrush – yes, really – is pushing energy demand growth projections to unprecedented levels, threatening to far outpace energy capacity additions and imperil energy security on a global scale. On the other hand, artificial intelligence holds enormous promise for improving energy efficiency…
Matador Buys Permian Assets for $1.3B
Matador Resources Co. agreed to buy Permian Basin assets from EnCap Investments LP for about $1.3 billion in cash.