Ed Miliband has reaffirmed the UK’s ambitious 2030 clean power goal with the biggest ever expansion of offshore wind farms that could add as much as £1.8bn a year onto households’ energy bills. The government unveiled an auction of offshore energy sites with a total capacity of 8.4 gigawatts, far outstripping analyst estimates and enough to power roughly 12m homes. Miliband, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, hailed the new wind farms as a “monumental step towards clean power by 2030” that will…

Coterra Energy is kicking the tires on what would be one of the biggest U.S. shale mergers in years, holding talks about a possible combination with Devon Energy, according to people familiar with the matter. Nothing is signed, nothing is guaranteed, but the market liked the idea enough to send shares of Coterra Energy sharply higher on the day. The deal would be a classic all-stock shale mashup: two midsize operators with large footprints in the Permian Basin trying to bulk up as oil prices sit stubbornly around $60 a barrel. Coterra carries a…

As Iran’s clerical rulers face one of the biggest threats to their grip on power in years and the United States threatens potential military action in support of Iranian protesters, China has few options -- and growing hesitancy -- to help its partner in Tehran. Beijing’s inaction reflects the pragmatic nature of their alignment, which is based more on convenience rather than goodwill or trust, experts say. Those limits have been on display as the Iranian authorities wage an unprecedented and bloody crackdown on mass antiestablishment…

Oilfield services company Haliburton (NYSE:HAL) says it expects to make a quick return to Venezuela, with company CEO Jeff Miller saying the company could be active in the South American country in a matter of months. Halliburton aims to help rebuild the nation’s dilapidated oil and gas infrastructure, and has downplayed the risk of responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for $100 billion in investments. Jeff Miller told Energy Source that Haliburton’s business model means that it does not face the same kind of risk as…

Oilfield services company Haliburton (NYSE:HAL) says it expects to make a quick return to Venezuela, with company CEO Jeff Miller saying the company could be active in the South American country in a matter of months. Halliburton aims to help rebuild the nation’s dilapidated oil and gas infrastructure, and has downplayed the risk of responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for $100 billion in investments. Jeff Miller told Energy Source that Haliburton’s business model means that it does not face the same kind of risk as…

The United States and Armenia have agreed on an implementation framework to develop a trade corridor that is the centerpiece of the provisional Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal signed last summer in Washington. According to the document, the United States will have a majority stake in developing infrastructure for what is known as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, announced the memorandum of understanding following a January 13 meeting…

Following improved stability in the Red Sea, shipping giant Maersk is returning to the trans-Suez route connecting the Middle East and India with the U.S. East Coast, the Denmark-based company said on Thursday.  After the successful trans-Suez transits of two vessels in the past weeks, A.P. Moller - Maersk has decided to implement the first structural change of a service back to the trans-Suez route, the shipping giant said.  The return to the Red Sea and Suez Canal route applies to the MECL service, which is solely operated by Maersk…

Following improved stability in the Red Sea, shipping giant Maersk is returning to the trans-Suez route connecting the Middle East and India with the U.S. East Coast, the Denmark-based company said on Thursday.  After the successful trans-Suez transits of two vessels in the past weeks, A.P. Moller - Maersk has decided to implement the first structural change of a service back to the trans-Suez route, the shipping giant said.  The return to the Red Sea and Suez Canal route applies to the MECL service, which is solely operated by Maersk…

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday, proposing the creation of a $2.5 billion critical minerals reserve in the United States.  The reserve would be a move to encourage mining and refining domestically as the U.S. looks to break China’s near-total monopoly in critical minerals and rare earths supply, refining, and pricing.   The bill says that China has moved to “weaponize its influence over prices and volumes in the contest for access to critical minerals,” and asserts that the goal is…

China continues to nearly single-handedly prop up global coal consumption and new coal-fired power generation, despite being also the world’s leading investor in renewables and battery storage.  China is set to commission as many as 85 coal-fired power generating units this year, out of a total global of 104 coal projects slated for start-up in 2026, according to data by non-profit Global Energy Monitor (GEM) cited by the Financial Times. Of all the 63 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power generation expected to begin commercial operations…

With traders across the globe refreshing their X accounts every 3 seconds, expecting to see news of imminent "kinetic action" in Iran, they instead got a report from NBC indicating that military action is far from certain and could take days to launch. According to the report which cites multiple anonymous sources - including a U.S. official, two people familiar with the discussions and a person close to the White House - Trump has told his national security team that "he would want any U.S. military action in Iran to deliver a swift…

Canada and China signed on Thursday several cooperation agreements, including in the energy sector, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed “a new era” in bilateral relations during an official visit to China.  Energy, forestry, food safety, crime, and culture were areas in which the two economies pledged cooperation as Canada is seeking to diversify trade partners away from the United States in the face of the hostile trade policy of the Trump Administration.  In the energy space, Canada and China agreed to discuss…

Canada and China signed on Thursday several cooperation agreements, including in the energy sector, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed “a new era” in bilateral relations during an official visit to China.  Energy, forestry, food safety, crime, and culture were areas in which the two economies pledged cooperation as Canada is seeking to diversify trade partners away from the United States in the face of the hostile trade policy of the Trump Administration.  In the energy space, Canada and China agreed to discuss…

Oil prices fell sharply in early Asian trade on Thursday, with both major crude benchmarks retreating by around 3 percent as markets reacted to comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that appeared to lessen the likelihood of an imminent U.S. military strike on Iran. At the time of writing, WTI crude was down $1.86, or 3.00 percent, at $60.16 per barrel, while Brent crude stood at $64.57, down $1.95, or 2.93 percent on the day. This drop in prices represents a significant reversal from earlier in the week when geopolitical risk sent prices climbing…

European officials are now publicly warning that a unilateral U.S. military move on Greenland would rupture NATO. Greenland has responded by saying any defence activity must sit inside the alliance, and Denmark has backed that position publicly ahead of senior-level talks with Washington. This is no longer being handled through Denmark and NATO behind closed doors. Allies are now saying in public what they will and will not accept. They will not accept a U.S. military presence or control in Greenland outside NATO structures. They will not accept…

Investors continue to bet on the AI boom, but this year they see energy and power providers as the most compelling opportunities to increase exposure to the AI theme, the world’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock, said in its 2026 Investment Directions report this week. Respondents in a recent survey of hundreds of BlackRock clients believe in the AI theme and its value, but they are seeking to diversify in and around AI, expanding their exposure beyond the Magnificent Seven, hyperscalers, and Big Tech. More than half—54%—of BlackRock’s…

At the start of the year, sentiment in the oil market was overwhelmingly and deeply bearish. Most forecasts pointed to a glut, and a sizable one at that. Then the U.S. struck Venezuela, took its acting president to stand trial in the U.S., and threatened Iran, Mexico, and Colombia that they were next. Protests broke out in Iran. Saudi Arabia and the UAE took different sides in Yemen. Brent crude is already over $65 per barrel. Geopolitics has always been a wild card for the oil market. There is always a potential for supply disruption in some large…

A race for critical minerals is redefining global geopolitics as world powers rush to shore up supply chains of the finite materials that power the energy and tech sectors. Demand for rare earth metals and other critical minerals has seen a meteoric rise in recent years as the world increasingly electrifies and the tech sector becomes ever more robust and omnipresent. Due to the central role of these ingredients in global and national economies, competition for these supply chains is far more than just a commercial concern – it’s become…

American Petroleum Institute (API) CEO, Mike Sommers, alongside other industry leaders like TotalEnergies' (NYSE:TTE) Patrick Pouyanne, have warned that reviving Venezuela's oil industry will be a long, costly, multi-billion dollar process requiring clear legal frameworks, strong investment security, and significant infrastructure amid political pushes for quick returns. While small production increases (100k-200k bpd) might happen sooner, especially from areas like Lake Maracaibo where Chevron (NYSE:CVX) operates, the energy leaders have emphasized…

Oil traders and shipping companies are scrambling to expand tanker operations to move Venezuelan crude as Washington prepares to take delivery of sanctioned oil following the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Trading houses and oil majors including Chevron, Vitol, and Trafigura are competing for U.S. government-backed export deals after President Donald Trump said Venezuela could hand over up to 50 million barrels of crude to the United States. Trafigura told U.S. officials last week…