State-held Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) is considering following in the footsteps of its Saudi and Abu Dhabi peers by tapping major international infrastructure investors to buy a stake in its crude oil pipeline network in a deal that could be valued at about $7 billion, sources with knowledge of the plan told Reuters.  The Kuwaiti national oil company has held initial talks with several major investors about the potential transaction. The world’s biggest asset manager BlackRock, as well as Brookfield Asset Management, EIG Partners,…

In this week’s newsletter, we will take a quick look at some of the critical figures and data in the energy markets this week.  We will then look at some of the key market movers early this week before providing you with the latest analysis of the top news events taking place in the global energy complex over the past few days. We hope you enjoy. Traders Go Full Bull as Brent Defies Oversupply Worries - Defying expectations for a year of enormous oversupply, oil prices have had their strongest start to a year since 2022, with ICE Brent…

Supertanker rates to ship crude on the key Middle East-to-China route have surged to a six-year high as Persian Gulf supply to India soars and traders rush shipments to precede a potential U.S. military campaign in Iran, industry data and sources tell Reuters. The daily rate for hiring a very large crude carrier (VLCC) capable of shipping 2 million barrels of crude jumped to as much as $170,000 on Tuesday, tripling since the beginning of 2026.   A number of factors have contributed to the surge, most notably the increased demand from…

Supertanker rates to ship crude on the key Middle East-to-China route have surged to a six-year high as Persian Gulf supply to India soars and traders rush shipments to precede a potential U.S. military campaign in Iran, industry data and sources tell Reuters. The daily rate for hiring a very large crude carrier (VLCC) capable of shipping 2 million barrels of crude jumped to as much as $170,000 on Tuesday, tripling since the beginning of 2026.   A number of factors have contributed to the surge, most notably the increased demand from…

The European Union has failed to agree on more sanctions on Russia, which were planned to be in place by the fourth anniversary of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The bloc's foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels on February 23, failed to clinch a deal following opposition from Hungary and Slovakia. "I really regret that we didn’t achieve agreement today, considering that tomorrow is the sad anniversary of the start of the war, because we need to send a strong signal to Ukraine that we keep on supporting Ukraine -- and also…

The UK on Tuesday slapped sanctions on Russia’s oil pipeline giant Transneft and targeted Russia’s dark web of illicit oil traders and shadow fleet operators, to attempt to further stifle Russian oil revenues on the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. The UK government announced today almost 300 new sanctions on Russia, including on PJSC Transneft, which transports more than 80% of Russian oil exports, “further hampering the Kremlin’s desperate scramble to find buyers for its sanctioned oil.” In addition,…

The UK on Tuesday slapped sanctions on Russia’s oil pipeline giant Transneft and targeted Russia’s dark web of illicit oil traders and shadow fleet operators, to attempt to further stifle Russian oil revenues on the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.   The UK government announced today almost 300 new sanctions on Russia, including on PJSC Transneft,?which transports more than 80% of Russian?oil exports, “further hampering the Kremlin’s desperate scramble to find buyers for its?sanctioned oil.?”  …

Oil prices were close to a seven-month high early on Tuesday amid speculation about potential U.S. strikes on Iran as a last-ditch round of talks approaches with what analysts see minimal chances of success. After rising in Asian trade, the two major crude oil benchmarks were near parity on the morning ET on Tuesday, but still hovering near seven-month highs as traders assess the chances of a new U.S. military campaign in Iran.  The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was up 0.26% to trade at $66.48 per barrel as of 7:46 a.m. ET. The international…

Italy’s Eni is poised to reach next month a final investment decision to develop two offshore gas fields in Indonesia, the head of the Southeast Asian country’s upstream regulator said on Tuesday.   Eni is set to approve in March the development of the Geng North and Gendalo-Gendang gas projects in the Kutei basin, Djoko Siswanto, the head of the Indonesian regulator SKK Migas, said, as carried by Reuters.  Eni will manage the projects via its new joint venture with Malaysia’s Petronas for joint asset management…

For decades, nuclear energy has been regarded as the black sheep of the energy universe, thanks to drawbacks such as high costs, risk of thermal runaway leading to catastrophic accidents as well as the hazardous by-products of nuclear plants. Nuclear waste is notorious for the fact that it can remain dangerously radioactive for many thousands of years. Currently, there are thousands of metric tons of used solid fuel from nuclear power plants worldwide and millions of liters of radioactive liquid waste from weapons production sitting in temporary…

Last week, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright called on the International Energy Agency to stop fixating on climate change and instead return to its original focus on energy security. The call came in the context of plans by the U.S. federal government to significantly increase the amount of oil and gas the country exports—plans for energy dominance. Europe is the top destination for these plans, and it may have to ditch its net-zero plans as well if it wants energy security. “We’ve gotten off track on energy ... it has gotten…

As the West is looking at ways to shake off China’s dominance in rare earths supply, it is also moving toward breaking the Chinese stronghold on the pricing of these minerals critical for the defense and auto industries and national security. The United States is developing and pitching to allies a price floor mechanism to protect the rare earths markets and mineral supply from Chinese manipulation and government policies aimed solely at strengthening China’s dominant grip on the global market. The move from the U.S. to have a Western…

In 2025, the share of renewables in U.S. electricity generation has surpassed 25 percent. Over the course of the past 20 years, their share has continuously risen from just 8.6 percent in 2007. At the same time, as Statista's Kathraina Buchholz details in the infographic below, coal in electricity generation fell from a share of 49 percent to just 16.4 percent last year. You will find more infographics at Statista While Trump administration's policies regarding renewable energy and greenhouse gases have yet to show their full…

Indian refiners' crude processing (throughput) fell by 0.2% month-on-month in January 2026, reaching 5.63 million barrels per day (bpd) or 23.81 million metric tons, marking a slight decrease after December throughput clocked in at 5.64 million bpd. India's fuel consumption in January came in at 21.05 million metric tons, down from 21.71 million in December but was nearly 3% up compared to January 2025. India relies on imports for over 80% of its crude supply, primarily sourcing from Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the United States. India's…

Indian refiners' crude processing (throughput) fell by 0.2% month-on-month in January 2026, reaching 5.63 million barrels per day (bpd) or 23.81 million metric tons, marking a slight decrease after December throughput clocked in at 5.64 million bpd. India's fuel consumption in January came in at 21.05 million metric tons, down from 21.71 million in December but was nearly 3% up compared to January 2025. India relies on imports for over 80% of its crude supply, primarily sourcing from Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the United States. India's…

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage has long been described as essential for decarbonising heavy industry, yet progress has remained uneven across regions. While North America and parts of Europe have dominated early deployment, the next major growth market is increasingly clear. India is now positioning itself to become one of the most important arenas for CCUS globally, not because it is following others, but because its industrial reality leaves few viable alternatives. Why India Cannot Decarbonise Without CCUS India is already the world’s…

China and France, in February 2026, both addressed the impact of growing renewables penetration in their electric power generation sectors. The Chinese announced that they would retrofit formerly base-load coal-fired power plants to run more intermittently. The government-owned French utility, EDF, announced that it would do the same with much of its nuclear fleet, at considerable expense. The reason? To accommodate the growing penetration of lower-cost renewables in their respective electricity markets. (In the US, we would watch California and…

More than half a million homes and businesses across seven states were left without power after a winter storm swept across parts of the U.S. Northeast on Sunday and Monday. Massachusetts-based Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) was the hardest-hit utility after 135,797 of its 3.3 million customers were left in the dark, while Ohio’s FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) saw 81,257 of its 6.2 million U.S. customers affected. A massive historic winter storm is currently lashing the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The storm has triggered blizzard warnings…

More than half a million homes and businesses across seven states were left without power after a winter storm swept across parts of the U.S. Northeast on Sunday and Monday. Massachusetts-based Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) was the hardest-hit utility after 135,797 of its 3.3 million customers were left in the dark, while Ohio’s FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) saw 81,257 of its 6.2 million U.S. customers affected. A massive historic winter storm is currently lashing the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The storm has triggered blizzard warnings…

More than half a million homes and businesses across seven states were left without power after a winter storm swept across parts of the U.S. Northeast on Sunday and Monday. Massachusetts-based Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) was the hardest-hit utility after 135,797 of its 3.3 million customers were left in the dark, while Ohio’s FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) saw 81,257 of its 6.2 million U.S. customers affected. A massive historic winter storm is currently lashing the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The storm has triggered blizzard warnings…