The United States is about to experience a resurgence in nuclear energy. The federal government is expected to continue restarting shuttered nuclear power plants in the coming years to meet the increasing demand for clean, dependable energy essential for powering the economy of tomorrow.  "There are a couple of nuclear power plants that we probably should, and can, turn back on," Jigar Shah, director of the US Energy Department's Loan Programs Office, told Bloomberg in an interview. In March, Shah's office approved a loan to Holtec…

Just as Russia had started to bring back some refinery capacity damaged by Ukrainian drone attacks earlier this year, a new wave of drone attacks hit a major refinery owned by Rosneft, for a second time. Rosneft’s Ryazan refinery southeast of Moscow caught fire after the overnight drone attack, an anonymous Ukrainian military source with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg News on Wednesday. The refinery in the region of Ryazan, whose main city of the same name is some 120 miles southeast of Moscow, was first attacked…

Arguably the two greatest military errors of the 100 years have been Japan’s attack on the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. In both cases, they snapped the U.S. out of prolonged moments of introspection, and into the broader focused force for good that it and its key allies represent to many people around the world. In the Middle East, then-President Donald Trump’s comments encapsulated in his ‘Endless Wars’ commencement address to the United…

The race is still on for the best battery, with challengers to lithium-ion technology abounding. Not all of these are made equal, and it’s questionable if any would be able to dethrone li-ion batteries, but the market may turn out to be big enough for more than one technology. Lithium-ion has been the dominant rechargeable battery technology for years, and there’s a good reason for this. Li-ion batteries are compact, they charge relatively fast, and they’re durable—unless they’re in an EV that gets into an accident…

On a global level, rich nations have a greater capacity to transition toward clean technologies and leave cheap and abundant fossil fuels in the ground. Nevertheless, the richest countries are also responsible for the lion’s share of greenhouse gas emissions, while the poorest communities are left the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Now, it’s more urgent than ever for all of humanity to jump on the clean energy bandwagon, but that’s much easier for those with the means to adopt often pricey…

After the biggest first quarter for global upstream dealmaking in five years, the industry could see another $150 billion of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the remainder of 2024. With global M&A deal value crossing the $64 billion mark already this year, it represents the strongest first-quarter performance since 2019 and a 145% increase on the first quarter of 2023, fueled primarily by consolidation in the US shale patch. Deals in North America totaled $54 billion in the first quarter of the year, about 83% of the worldwide total,…

Azerbaijan has spent much of the past half-year thumbing its nose at the United States and European Union over Western criticism of Baku’s authoritarian political practices. But it appears the West has at least one weapon in its arsenal capable of getting Azerbaijani leaders’ attention. That tool is money. Or more specifically, the ability to hinder Azerbaijani officials from moving around the world and spending it. Rights advocates in Baku and elsewhere say it is no surprise an Azerbaijani court released a prominent opposition figure,…

Uranium stocks moved higher late in the US cash session after a report from Bloomberg, citing "people familiar with the matter," revealed that the Biden administration is considering an executive order to ban Russian imports of enriched uranium after congressional efforts stall.  Officials from the White House National Security Council, the Department of Energy, and other top-level officials have discussed reducing reliance on Russian uranium imports. The people said the potential ban could include waivers similar to legislation that quickly…

Profits at ExxonMobil and Chevron have dropped compared to the record-highs of the past two years, but the U.S. supermajors are doubling down on oil production from the two most prolific growth basins, the Permian shale patch and a top-performing block offshore Guyana.   Both Exxon and Chevron plan to further boost their footprint and oil production in the U.S. and the South American country. Until a few months ago, the key growth driver was higher drilling activity and improved efficiency in the Permian. Now, major acquisitions worth more…

OPEC’s crude oil production fell in April, according to a new Reuters survey, with news of the fall likely to add support to falling oil prices. According to the survey, the results of which were released on Tuesday, OPEC’s crude oil production fell to 26.49 million barrels per day—that’s a 114,000 bpd drop from the levels OPEC produced in March, according to OPEC’s official March figure. According to revised Reuters figures for March production, the group’s ouput sagged by 99,000 bpd in April. The survey is…

"You and I are not just driving along any road, we are driving along the great Silk Road," Ertugan, the driver who is taking me east toward the border with China, says with pride. But today instead of camel caravans carrying silk and spices, the route rumbles with trucks hauling sneakers and bed linen. As we near Zharkent, a city in Kazakhstan's southeastern Zhetysu region, we approach a car transporter that has been burned to a husk along with the Chinese electric vehicles it was hauling to market. According to Ertugan the fire was sparked either…

As part of their commitment to compensate for exceeding production quotas, certain OPEC+ members have submitted detailed plans outlining how they intend to implement these compensatory cuts. Both Iraq and Kazakhstan, nations that had surpassed their agreed-upon oil production targets by several hundred thousand barrels per day in the first quarter of the year, have submitted their respective plans to the alliance. Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry confirmed via email that it has finalized its schedule for compensatory cuts. Iraq has also submitted its…

WTI crude found resistance at $81 per barrel this morning, countering a sell-off as traders discount geopolitical risk.Despite Strong Production Momentum, US Oil Majors Fail to Impress- ExxonMobil and Chevron reported a combined net profit of $13.7 billion in their Q1 2024 earnings, $8.2 and $5.5 billion respectively, as oil majors saw squeezed natural gas prices and lower refinery margins, marginally offset by higher oil production. - ExxonMobil’s Q1 results have disappointed the market, prompting the largest intraday decline since…

Tepid demand for diesel and other distillate products such as heating oil has had traders competing for storage tanks on the U.S. East Coast to wait out the current market weakness, Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting data from storage broker The Tank Tiger.      Demand for distillate storage at New York Harbor has jumped to around 300,000 barrels in April, compared to no bidder interest in March, according to The Tank Tiger’s data that assesses interest in leasing storage tanks. A warmer winter in the U.S. has left more…

Tepid demand for diesel and other distillate products such as heating oil has had traders competing for storage tanks on the U.S. East Coast to wait out the current market weakness, Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting data from storage broker The Tank Tiger.      Demand for distillate storage at New York Harbor has jumped to around 300,000 barrels in April, compared to no bidder interest in March, according to The Tank Tiger’s data that assesses interest in leasing storage tanks. A warmer winter in the U.S. has left more…

Tepid demand for diesel and other distillate products such as heating oil has had traders competing for storage tanks on the U.S. East Coast to wait out the current market weakness, Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting data from storage broker The Tank Tiger.      Demand for distillate storage at New York Harbor has jumped to around 300,000 barrels in April, compared to no bidder interest in March, according to The Tank Tiger’s data that assesses interest in leasing storage tanks. A warmer winter in the U.S. has left more…

Via Metal Miner   Although the beginning of the year offered mixed signals for the global economy, US markets today continue to experience positivity. Prices for general markets witnessed an uptrend in late February, followed by a continuation in March and a reversal in April. Fueled by buyer sentiment, the S&P 500 index notched its best first quarterly performance since 2019, ending the month of March at all-time highs. Meanwhile, recent economic data defied recessionary fears, with unemployment remaining shockingly low. Other factors,…

The G7 group of the world’s most industrialized nations is set to announce later on Tuesday a pledge to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2035 but could include some leeway to Germany and Japan, Reuters reports, citing diplomatic sources. The energy, climate, and environment ministers of the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States – are meeting between Sunday and Tuesday at a palace near Turin to discuss ways to address climate change. Phasing out coal-fired…

The G7 group of the world’s most industrialized nations is set to announce later on Tuesday a pledge to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2035 but could include some leeway to Germany and Japan, Reuters reports, citing diplomatic sources. The energy, climate, and environment ministers of the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States – are meeting between Sunday and Tuesday at a palace near Turin to discuss ways to address climate change. Phasing out coal-fired…

Natural gas markets have kicked off the new week on a bullish note, with Henry Hub gas prices jumping 26.4% to $2.03/MMBtu while natural gas futures are up 5.5% at 1330 hrs ET in Monday’s session. The rally appears to have been triggered by concerns regarding the termination of Russian gas flows.  Back in 2019, Russia and Ukraine signed a five-year pipeline transit agreement to supply natural gas to Europe. Both countries have continued to honor the contract despite Russia waging war on Ukraine for two years now. But that arrangement…