China’s power sector is undergoing a visible transformation. Electricity demand rose by 5% between 2024 and 2025, reaching 10,368 TWh, yet coal-fired generation declined by 113 TWh to 6,294 TWh in a year, reducing its share in the power mix. The entire increment in electricity demand was absorbed by nuclear and renewable sources, whose combined output rose by 617 TWh. On paper, this reflects a decisive shift away from coal and toward low-carbon energy. In practice, however, coal is not disappearing from China’s industry – it is…

Winter in the Mid-Atlantic region is certainly winding down, and March is always an unpredictable month. Early next week, a fast-moving Alberta Clipper is forecast to bring yet another round of wintry weather to the region before a spring warm-up arrives by mid-month. Marko Korosec, lead forecaster at SWE, wrote in a new weather note that the Alberta Clipper is set to spread snow, ice, and freezing rain from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic beginning Sunday and continuing through Tuesday. Korosec continued: A new winter storm will set the stage…

A consortium led by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and U.S. gas giant EQT Corp. (NYSE:EQT) have agreed to acquire global power utility, AES Corp. (NYSE:AES), for $15 per share in cash, totaling an enterprise value of approximately $33.4 billion. The deal, which includes major pension and investment funds, represents a ~40% premium for AES shares and includes the assumption of debt with a cash equity value of $10.7 billion. AES will continue to operate as a utility, with regulated businesses in Ohio and Indiana expected to…

JPMorgan Chase has warned that Brent crude oil prices could spike to $120 per barrel if a full-scale conflict in the Middle East leads to a sustained disruption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, estimating that Gulf producers can only sustain normal production for roughly 25 days if the Strait is completely blocked, after which saturated storage would force a total shutdown of regional production.  Oil prices were surging on Monday, with Brent crude for April delivery up 8.7% to trade at $79.28 per barrel at 9.00 am ET while the corresponding…

The world’s biggest maritime insurers and insurers’ clubs are ending war risk coverage for vessels transiting the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, following the escalation of the conflict in Iran.  As of midnight London time on March 5, most major insurers will terminate war risk coverage, various circulars from the insurance clubs say.  The American Steamship Owners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association issued on Sunday a Notice of Cancellation in respect of war risks exposures within the Persian/Arabian Gulf…

Qatar’s state-owned energy giant QatarEnergy has stopped all liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, shutting down the country’s entire LNG output after Iranian drone strikes hit its major facilities at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed. The shutdown removes roughly 20% of the world’s LNG supply from the market and sends ripples through already volatile global energy markets. QatarEnergy said in a statement on its website Monday that “due to military attacks on QatarEnergy’s operating facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City…

Qatar’s state-owned energy giant QatarEnergy has stopped all liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, shutting down the country’s entire LNG output after Iranian drone strikes hit its major facilities at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed. The shutdown removes roughly 20% of the world’s LNG supply from the market and sends ripples through already volatile global energy markets. QatarEnergy said in a statement on its website Monday that “due to military attacks on QatarEnergy’s operating facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City…

Cellphone footage showing tongues of flame and thick, black smoke billowing from a ship in the Strait of Hormuz is an ominous image underlining fears of disruption to global oil supplies amid the US and Israeli conflict with Iran. The straits are a vital global trade route for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Skylight, a 7,600-ton oil and chemical tanker, was just north of the Omani port of Khassab, near to the narrowest point of the strait where the shipping lane is just 3 kilometers wide. It was one of three civilian ships reportedly…

Oil prices surged on Monday as the fallout from U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran rippled through global energy markets, with tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz already heavily impacted and military strikes continuing across the region. In early Asian trade, Brent futures broke the $80 mark, briefly trading at $82.37 before trimming gains slightly as markets digested volatility. Similarly, WTI futures climbed rapidly, soaring past the $72 mark in early trading before dropping back to $71 at the time of writing. The spike in oil…

Oil prices surged on Monday as the fallout from U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran rippled through global energy markets, with tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz already heavily impacted and military strikes continuing across the region. In early Asian trade, Brent futures broke the $80 mark, briefly trading at $82.37 before trimming gains slightly as markets digested volatility. Similarly, WTI futures climbed rapidly, soaring past the $72 mark in early trading before dropping back to $71 at the time of writing. The spike in oil…

In a typical Chinese rare earth processing plant, 200 workers move through a maze of massive chemical tanks, risking life and limb to produce the materials that power everything from fighter jets and missile components to cellphones. Hundreds of these facilities operate across China, and they give Beijing overwhelming control over the single most critical choke point in the modern industrial economy. But now, in Saskatchewan, Canada, a hi-tech plant of engineers and chemists is beginning to break that monopoly. The facility is built around an AI…

China's imports last year broke yet another record, despite talk of waning oil demand. Since the start of this year, the world’s biggest oil importer has continued buying crude at elevated rates, but this may be about to change as prices extend their rally. Brent crude has been hovering around $70 per barrel for over a week now, and the outlook remains rather bullish compared to forecasts from the end of 2025, which could not foresee the latest geopolitical developments and their potential implications for supply security. China, while not…

BP is betting big on the U.S. shale patch to raise its worldwide production and accelerate drilling while keeping a tight capital budget. The UK-based supermajor is doing something few other pure shale producers are doing. Shale drillers have been slowing drilling activity, or at least not spending too much on raising production, amid volatile oil prices that have dropped below the estimated break-even levels too many times to count in the past few months. For example, Diamondback Energy, one of the biggest names in the patch, plans to keep activity…

Several Middle Eastern states have introduced overarching national strategies with aims to diversify their energy mix to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, as they also seek to expand their economies beyond a dependence on oil and gas revenue. This has led countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, to invest heavily in the expansion of their renewable energy and cleantech industries.  Oil and gas production has provided several Middle Eastern countries with significant revenue for many decades, allowing…

For decades, the West has been sleepwalking into dependency. While we built the world’s most advanced fighter jets, smartphones, and electric vehicles, we quietly surrendered the most important component of modern tech. Rare earth elements. Today, China controls 95% of the world’s rare earth processing capacity…a leverage point so powerful, it could cripple Western economies in a matter of months. But in the heart of Canada, the tide is finally turning. Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), Canada’s second-largest research…

The race for nuclear fusion is heating up around the world as scientific breakthroughs continue to pick up speed. For years, the joke was that the ability to unlock commercial nuclear fusion would always be 30 years away. But now it truly might be – or, with the way the timeline is picking up pace, maybe even sooner.  Already this year, researchers on opposite sides of the globe have announced critical advancements in nuclear fusion research and development. A team of scientists in Russia has reached a fusion milestone by successfully…

Many countries around the globe are rapidly ramping up their renewable energy capacity and moving away from fossil fuels in a bid to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. However, decarbonising certain sectors, such as heavy industry, is not so simple. Various companies worldwide are searching for ways to decarbonise the steel industry, with little luck to date. While some companies have adapted operations to ensure their steelmaking is cleaner than it once was, producing green steel is no easy feat, and it could take several years to make significant…

The world’s largest pumped hydro energy storage facility is nearing completion in China. The megaproject will bring China one step closer to its goal of being the world’s first and preeminent electrostate, and will advance the nascent but rapidly growing long-duration energy storage sector. The storage project being built at the Lianghekou Dam in Western Sichuan plateau will have four units of 300 megawatts (MW) each when completed, making it the largest facility of its kind. The project will house a conventional hydropower plant in…

Governments worldwide have been racing to unlock the secret to nuclear fusion energy for several decades, with the aim of producing abundant, clean energy. While several generation milestones have been achieved in recent years, accomplishing commercial-scale production continues to be extremely complex. However, with more recent successes, are we edging closer to achieving this goal and producing vast quantities of clean power? Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the sun and stars. Fusion takes place when two atomic nuclei – typically…

For decades, the West has been sleepwalking into dependency. While we built the world’s most advanced fighter jets, smartphones, and electric vehicles, we quietly surrendered the most important component of modern tech. Rare earth elements. Today, China controls 95% of the world’s rare earth processing capacity…a leverage point so powerful, it could cripple Western economies in a matter of months. But in the heart of Canada, the tide is finally turning. Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), Canada’s second-largest research…