Green energy equities are continuing their growth phase, supported by geopolitical disruption and structural demand shifts, although the recovery remains incomplete and uneven across segments and companies. After losing nearly 60% of its value between its 2021 peak and the November 2023 trough, the Rystad Energy Green Energy Index has rebounded, returning almost 40% over the prior year and 9% in the first quarter this year. The index stands at around 88 (versus a January 2021 baseline of 100), still roughly 38% below its 2021 peak, but over a year…

Back in the last century, smart alecks said that commercial fusion would always be 50 years in the future. Now, energy consultant Wood Mackenzie has taken to discussing developments in nuclear fusion as if they might not be far off. A big change in view, considering that even recently, experts figured that harnessing nuclear fusion for commercial purposes was at least fifteen years away. In fact, the best-known international fusion effort, the ITER project based in France, projects an in-service date for its fusion reactor in the early 2040s (fifteen…

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) covers less than one-half percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It remains very small after many years of development and reform. It is recovering from a downturn after press revelations of overproduction of credits in Indonesia and elsewhere. The quality of credits, their actual accounting for removal or avoidance of 1 metric ton per credit, is a constant concern. Yet this small market plays an important niche role in testing methods and technologies. And it might become increasingly important as it…

Phillips 66 has shipped crude oil from Texas to the U.S. East Coast on a foreign-flagged tanker, the first such cargo since Washington waived the Jones Act last month, Kpler ship-tracking data shows. The Bakken crude was loaded in early April at a Phillips 66 terminal in Beaumont, Texas, onto the Malta-flagged Htm Warrior. The vessel is destined to carry the cargo to the Trainer oil refinery in Pennsylvania, owned by Delta Air Lines subsidiary Monroe Energy. The long-standing Jones Act requires that cargo moving between U.S. ports travel on vessels…

Canada’s pledge to contribute 23.6 million barrels of oil to the International Energy Agency’s coordinated release will add little new supply to an already tight market because the volumes are not incremental, BMO Capital Markets said in an interview with Bloomberg, adding that the barrels in question were coming from production growth that was already in motion before the Iran-driven disruption. “It’s not really a function of what’s happening in Iran or any request from the federal government to say, what can we contribute…

Every time oil prices rise, Europe falls into the same familiar cycle. Politicians promise relief, analysts debate OPEC strategy, governments consider subsidies, and consumers prepare for higher transport and heating costs. It is a ritual of crisis management that assumes one thing above all else: oil will remain central, and Europe’s role is simply to cope with the consequences. China is taking a different approach. Rather than endlessly managing fossil-fuel volatility, it is steadily reducing how much oil matters to its economy. That is…

The war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have created the largest energy security threat the world has ever faced, Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told CNBC on Thursday. “We are facing the biggest energy security threat in history,” Birol told CNBC, building on the IEA’s assessment at the start of the war that the Middle East war is creating the biggest supply disruption in the history of the oil market. “As of today, we’ve lost 13 million barrels…

The war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have created the largest energy security threat the world has ever faced, Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told CNBC on Thursday. “We are facing the biggest energy security threat in history,” Birol told CNBC, building on the IEA’s assessment at the start of the war that the Middle East war is creating the biggest supply disruption in the history of the oil market. “As of today, we’ve lost 13 million barrels…

In a political climate where bipartisan unity is increasingly rare, a consensus is forming among US lawmakers and foreign policy heavyweights: The relationship between Moscow and Tehran has moved far beyond diplomatic convenience. Instead, they argue, it has hardened into a “transformational” military alliance -- a deepening axis that is drastically shaping battlefields in the Middle East and Ukraine. At a hearing of the Helsinki Commission on April 21, the rhetoric was as sharp as the intelligence reports. Congressman Joe Wilson, a…

Russia says it’s still pumping and shipping crude into a tightening global market, but it’s not bringing any new ideas to the table ahead of the next OPEC+ meeting, even as supply shrinks and demand climbs during the worst energy crisis in years. The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia would continue to export oil to global markets. Russia has framed its steady flows as a stabilizing force amid the Iran war, which is disrupting supply chains and trapping barrels in the Middle East. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is helping…

If U.S. President Donald Trump had already succeeded in his real core aim of changing the regime in Iran, the world would very different today — and Washington’s leverage over Beijing and Moscow would have expanded dramatically. A pro?West Iran, led by a government aligned with Washington, would control the vital Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el?Mandeb Strait, which together account for up to 45% of global oil flows. And with Washington directing the strategic framework, China would not continue receiving discounted Iranian oil if a…

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday requested cooperation from the world's top crude oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, in expanding energy deliveries to Japan amid the ongoing supply crunch. In a telephone call with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman today, Takaichi “expressed her appreciation for Saudi Arabia's continued supply of crude oil to Japan via Yanbu Port even after the outbreak of the situation, and requested cooperation toward the expansion of energy supply to Japan,” the office of the Japanese PM said…

Russian oil has reportedly started to flow once again through the Druzhba pipeline to the European Union after months of a blockage in Ukraine. At the same time, Russia is reportedly halting the flow of Kazakh oil via Druzhba to Germany as of May 1, an action that some regional experts describe as an attempt at geoeconomic retaliation. According to Kazakh officials, Russia is claiming that “a lack of technical capability” is forcing Moscow to halt Kazakh shipments via Druzba, the KazTag news agency reported April 22. “This is…

The UK's development finance institution and impact investor, British International Investment, plans to mobilize about $20 billion in new capital into developing countries to help them with energy supply and boost climate initiatives. The new five-year strategy of the British International Investment (BII) is focused on accelerating the flow of private capital to developing countries, the UK development finance institution said on Thursday. Of the £15 billion, or $20 billion, of capital, BII will contribute up to $10.8 billion (£8…

Oil prices were rallying again on Wednesday after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) captured two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude for June delivery gained 2.99% to trade at $101.40 per barrel at 3.49 pm ET, while the corresponding WTI crude contract was up 3.18% to change hands at $92.52/bbl. Iranian state media reported that the vessels violated maritime regulations, operated without permits, and tampered with navigation systems. The IRGC identified the seized ships as Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Liberia-flagged…

Asian countries have been buying all the oil they can get their hands on since the Strait of Hormuz shut down for business. Thanks to ample supply of seaborne crude oil, mostly consisting of sanctioned Russian and Iranian crude, the shock from the fallout of the war has been somewhat mitigated—but not for long. As that supply runs out, the shock is looming ever larger. Iran closed Hormuz for traffic right after the United States and Israel bombed it on February 28. Since then, tanker traffic has been sporadic, sending international oil prices…

Oil producers in the Middle East would typically rejoice at oil prices of $100 per barrel as they would see windfall revenues from their exports. But since the Iran war trapped most oil and gas shipments at the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf economies have lost billions of dollars in oil revenues and haven’t seen any upside from the oil price spike. The United Arab Emirates, one of the richest Gulf countries, hasn’t been spared from crashing revenues from oil, and tourism, too, as airlines have cut routes to avoid the war zone, which the…

Saddam Hussein’s favorite movie was reportedly “The Godfather.” A central theme in the story is the attempts of Michael Corleone, the godfather, to turn the Corleone Family into a legitimate business. Many of today’s leaders of Iraq’s Iran-aligned militias (and their families) were persecuted by Saddam’s security services and could not enjoy the luxury of foreign films, but they would understand Michael’s dilemma. The “founding charter” of Iraq’s militias is arguably Coalition Provisional…

A reprieve from high gasoline prices in California is in the works — though it won’t please everyone in a state that has vilified Big Oil.On Monday, Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) and Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) announced they have secured enough long-term shipper commitments to advance a proposed pipeline to supply fuel to Arizona and California. According to the companies, the Western Gateway Pipeline will connect Midwest and Gulf Coast refinery supply to Phoenix, Arizona and California markets with connectivity to Las Vegas, Nevada, via Kinder…

Hochschild Mining revealed a near 40 per cent rise in the average price of the gold it produces this morning, burnishing the appeal of a sector with a long history in the City. The news propelled shares in the £3bn, 100-year-old firm onto the leaderboard of the FTSE 250. Hochschild's stock strode over 2% higher to 672p, the fourth-biggest rise of the day. In a trading update for the first quarter, it reported an “average realisable price” for gold of $4,471/ounce for gold. At its annual results in March, the equivalent figure…