For most of the last decade, OPEC and Russia, collectively referred to as OPEC+, have aligned their interests in maintaining high oil prices and set production quotas that furthered this goal. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest member, has, as part of its Vision 2030 Initiative, a multi-trillion-dollar goal of diversifying its economy away from dependence on hydrocarbons and uses oil revenues to fund this initiative. Russia relies upon oil revenues for about a third of its general revenue, and to fund the war in Ukraine.  Both countries in…

A year ago, BP predicted that oil demand growth could peak before 2030. In that, the company was in tune with the IEA and a host of other forecasters. This year, BP has changed its prediction. Now, the supermajor expects demand growth to continue until the mid-2030s—and then start declining slowly. In the latest edition of its Energy Outlook, BP wrote that “Oil demand declines over the outlook but continues to play a significant role in the global energy system over at least the next 10-15 years”. The decline, according to the…

Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project is rapidly transforming from a sanctioned stalemate into a strategic lifeline for China’s energy security. Despite years of delays, Western sanctions, and logistical hurdles, the venture has begun delivering liquefied natural gas to Chinese terminals via the Northern Sea Route—marking a pivotal shift in global energy flows. Arctic LNG 2, Russia’s flagship liquefied natural gas development on the Gydan Peninsula (the West Siberian Coast in the Kara Sea), was designed to produce nearly 20 million…

Argentina’s federal government, for over a decade, has hungrily eyed the vast hydrocarbon potential of the Vaca Muerta (dead cow in Spanish) shale formation in Neuquén Province. It was in 2011 that the Peronist government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner seized 51% of YPF from Spanish energy major Repsol, provoking a major backlash from financial markets and Big Oil. Despite the considerable negativity surrounding YPF’s nationalization, it was the catalyst that saw the driller emerge as a driving force for the successful…

American President Donald Trump recently demanded that Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban allow the U.S. to take back Bagram Airfield, the military airfield near the capital city, Kabul. He declared, "BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN" if Afghanistan does not return the base to the U.S.  The Taliban promptly rejected Trump’s demand, though it said it seeks political and economic ties with Washington. Why would Trump want U.S. forces to return to Bagram? Trump is concerned that China may move into the airfield, and he recognizes it has a…

Angola’s state oil company, Sonangol, is preparing to list up to 30% of its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) sometime in the next 24 months in what would be a milestone that could reshape not only the company itself but the country’s broader economic trajectory. For decades, Sonangol has been more than a petroleum producer, acting also as Angola’s financial engine and a political tool as well as a national symbol. The decision to partially privatize the company is, therefore, far more than a market exercise, it is a…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during his recent meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, called on the Kremlin to “take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war.” Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, during a September 24 appearance at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute, said no one should be holding their breath waiting for Russia to make sincere moves to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine. The war, he suggested, acts as the glue that keeps Vladimir Putin’s regime…

Russia expects to sell natural gas to China at significantly lower prices than it charges in Europe and Turkey, according to a draft outlook from the Economy Ministry tied to the 2026 budget. The document, seen by Bloomberg, projects that Chinese deliveries will be priced at least 27 percent below European and Turkish levels over the next three years, with the gap widening to 38 percent in 2025. The numbers lay bare the price Moscow is paying for its eastward pivot. With Europe largely off the table, Russia has funneled volumes into the Power of…

Russia expects to sell natural gas to China at significantly lower prices than it charges in Europe and Turkey, according to a draft outlook from the Economy Ministry tied to the 2026 budget. The document, seen by Bloomberg, projects that Chinese deliveries will be priced at least 27 percent below European and Turkish levels over the next three years, with the gap widening to 38 percent in 2025. The numbers lay bare the price Moscow is paying for its eastward pivot. With Europe largely off the table, Russia has funneled volumes into the Power of…

The northern European countries are currently embroiled in a Russian hybrid warfare attempt, a situation that demands immediate and decisive attention. Denmark, a member of both the EU and NATO, is set to host a European Union Summit in Copenhagen this week, with the primary focus on Russian aggression in Ukraine and its hybrid warfare tactics. The Danish transportation ministry has already taken steps to ban all civilian drone flights in Danish airspace, underscoring the urgency of the security situation. Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, and other…

Russia expects to sell natural gas to China at significantly lower prices than it charges in Europe and Turkey, according to a draft outlook from the Economy Ministry tied to the 2026 budget. The document, seen by Bloomberg, projects that Chinese deliveries will be priced at least 27 percent below European and Turkish levels over the next three years, with the gap widening to 38 percent in 2025. The numbers lay bare the price Moscow is paying for its eastward pivot. With Europe largely off the table, Russia has funneled volumes into the Power of…

Via Metal Miner The copper market recently experienced a significant development that could have big implications for global supply. Metals and mining multinational Anglo American has finalized an agreement with National Copper Corporation of Chile (Codelco) to merge operations at their respective Los Bronces and Andina copper mines, putting them among the top 5 largest sites in the world. According to a September 16 announcement, the agreement will unlock up to $5 billion in value from the adjacent sites. “The joint mine plan has been developed…

Pacific Gas and Electric has unveiled a $73-billion spending program through 2030 to overhaul California’s grid as electricity demand from artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure explodes, Reuters reported on Monday. The utility said the plan will support as much as 10 gigawatts of new load from data centers slated for development in its service territory over the next decade. Brent crude and copper traders aren’t the only ones recalibrating supply-demand curves. U.S. utilities are now staring down a structural load shock driven…

Pacific Gas and Electric has unveiled a $73-billion spending program through 2030 to overhaul California’s grid as electricity demand from artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure explodes, Reuters reported on Monday. The utility said the plan will support as much as 10 gigawatts of new load from data centers slated for development in its service territory over the next decade. Brent crude and copper traders aren’t the only ones recalibrating supply-demand curves. U.S. utilities are now staring down a structural load shock driven…

Pacific Gas and Electric has unveiled a $73-billion spending program through 2030 to overhaul California’s grid as electricity demand from artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure explodes, Reuters reported on Monday. The utility said the plan will support as much as 10 gigawatts of new load from data centers slated for development in its service territory over the next decade. Brent crude and copper traders aren’t the only ones recalibrating supply-demand curves. U.S. utilities are now staring down a structural load shock driven…

Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) identified Brazil as a key non-OPEC oil producer responsible for driving global production growth. A swathe of world-class ultra-deepwater pre-salt oil discoveries, the first made in the Lula field during 2006, are driving a massive offshore oil boom. Not only is Brazil Latin America’s largest oil producer, but the country is receiving substantial investment from Big Oil, which is driving production to record highs. By July 2023, petroleum output for the first time eclipsed 3.5 million barrels…

Crude oil flows from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI) through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP from Kirkuk to Ceyhan resumed on Saturday (27 September) for the first time since 25 March 2023. This followed agreements between the various interested parties, comprised of the Iraq Kurdistan regional government (the KRG), the foreign oil and gas firms operating in the KRI, the Federal Government of Iraq (FGI), Turkey, and the U.S. This latter entrant into the two-and-a-half-year fray is the key reason for the sudden lack of objections…

Declining revenues from oil and gas amid lower prices this year have prompted the Algerian government to consider a bond issue to raise the equivalent of $2.3 billion. Algeria’s government plans a seven-year Islamic bond issue, the so-called sukuk, of 297 billion Algerian dinars, or $2.3 billion, broadcaster Asharq TV reports, as quoted by Bloomberg. The issue will be offered to Algerian nationals in and outside Algeria; foreigners are not allowed in the subscription period beginning in early November. Algeria, an OPEC member and one of the…

There's an old saying that I won't spell out completely, but which most readers will certainly have heard at least once in their lives, to wit: "Don't sh-- where you eat." It is an all-purpose warning about not pursuing incompatible activities in the same place, particularly activities that produce either physical waste or emotional complications. In this case, the waste part is wastewater emitted by oil wells drilled into shale deposits, which must undergo extensive hydraulic fracturing (often called fracking) before the oil can be freed. What…

The export availability of crude oil from Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan continues to increase after the pipeline from northern Iraq to the Turkish Mediterranean coast resumed flows on Saturday, one of the foreign companies operating in Kurdistan said on Monday.  UK-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum confirmed that crude oil exports from its operated Shaikan field in Kurdistan via the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline commenced on Saturday, September 27, 2025.  “Export volumes are expected to reach full capacity in the next…