The Treasury Department has quietly issued an exception to its own Russian sanctions list, allowing transactions with Lukoil-branded gas stations that are outside Russia through April 29, 2026. On paper, it’s a small and specific waiver. In practice, it’s Washington acknowledging a problem that it can’t actually solve without creating another. Lukoil’s retail footprint stretches far beyond Russia’s borders. It has around 200 stations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York—all of which would have been stymied…

As the global energy transition accelerates, the race to secure critical minerals is shifting from remote mines to battery recycling facilities.  A new report projects the global circular battery economy will surge from $23.29 billion in 2024 to nearly $78 billion by 2032. However, this aggressive growth forecast comes amid a turbulent period for the industry, characterized by volatile commodity prices and a race to build infrastructure before a tidal wave of spent electric vehicle (EV) batteries hits the market. From Environmental Niche to…

U.S. data center power demand could reach 106 GW in 2035, BloombergNEF said Monday in one of the more aggressive load growth estimates to date. The report comes as some energy industry analysts and executives warn that an artificial intelligence bubble or speculative data center proposals could be fueling excessive load growth projections.  A report from Grid Strategies released last month said utility forecasts of 90 GW additional data center load by 2030 were likely overstated; market analysis indicates load growth in that time frame is…

The daily rates for chartering a vessel to transport commodities have surged this year, with oil tanker rates skyrocketing by 467%, as shippers of a growing commodity supply are grappling with a series of route disruptions and sanctions.   Despite the typically weaker commodity demand period toward the end of each year, the last weeks of 2025 don’t show any weakness in the vessel rates for transporting crude oil, LNG, iron ore, or wheat.   The unusual strength at the end of the year has seen oil tanker rates on the key…

The daily rates for chartering a vessel to transport commodities have surged this year, with oil tanker rates skyrocketing by 467%, as shippers of a growing commodity supply are grappling with a series of route disruptions and sanctions.   Despite the typically weaker commodity demand period toward the end of each year, the last weeks of 2025 don’t show any weakness in the vessel rates for transporting crude oil, LNG, iron ore, or wheat.   The unusual strength at the end of the year has seen oil tanker rates on the key…

Crude oil exports from the Russian terminals on the Black Sea were much lower in November than originally planned as bad weather and Ukrainian attacks on infrastructure have delayed loadings and departures, Reuters reported on Thursday, quoting sources in the industry. Both the port of Novorossiysk and the CPC terminal loading most of Kazakhstan’s crude have been hit by drone attacks in recent weeks, with damaged infrastructure delaying loadings of the Russian grades Urals and Siberian Light, as well as Kazakhstan Export Blend Crude…

The daily rates for chartering a vessel to transport commodities have surged this year, with oil tanker rates skyrocketing by 467%, as shippers of a growing commodity supply are grappling with a series of route disruptions and sanctions.   Despite the typically weaker commodity demand period toward the end of each year, the last weeks of 2025 don’t show any weakness in the vessel rates for transporting crude oil, LNG, iron ore, or wheat.   The unusual strength at the end of the year has seen oil tanker rates on the key…

Argentina’s state-run energy firm YPF expects to take together with its foreign partners the final investment decision for the $20-billion Argentina LNG project in the middle of 2026, YPF’s chief executive Horacio Marin told Reuters on Thursday. YPF, Italy’s Eni, and XRG, the new energy investment company of Abu Dhabi’s national oil firm ADNOC, are developing the Argentina LNG (ARGLNG) project. Argentina LNG will be an integrated upstream and midstream gas development project designed to develop the resources of the huge…

Ukrainian negotiators were set to meet with European officials in Brussels, and later US officials in Florida, days after a five-hour Kremlin meeting with a visiting White House delegation where President Vladimir Putin doubled down on his hard-line conditions to end the war on Ukraine. Ahead of the December 4 meetings, Putin repeated longstanding and unbending demands on Ukraine’s sovereignty and military force in an interview with India Today. "It all comes down to this: Either we liberate these territories by force or Ukrainian troops…

As concerns mount about looming heating and electricity shortages in Kyrgyzstan this winter, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have pledged to help Bishkek avert a crisis. Fears about shortages stem from extremely low water levels in the Toktogul reservoir, a major source of hydropower in Central Asia, as well as for water used by downstream states for irrigation during the summer.  Top-level government officials from all three states signed an agreement in late November in Almaty, under which Kyrgyzstan agreed to minimize…

Edison will launch next year renewable power projects worth more than $700 million (600 million euros) that will add over 500 megawatts to its renewables capacity in Italy, the Italian energy group said on Thursday.  The Italian firm, part of France’s EDF Group, currently has another 250 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy projects under construction.  The new construction will launch in 2026 and, according to estimates, will employ a total of around 1,000 workers and 200 supplier companies. The new projects, most of which would…

Vår Energi confirmed on Thursday an oil discovery very close to its Goliat field in the Barents Sea, the first operating Arctic oilfield offshore Norway.Vår Energi, the top independent producer offshore Norway, encountered oil at the Goliat North exploration well, five kilometers (3 miles) north of the Goliat field. The discovery boosts the overall gross discovered resources at the so-called Goliat Ridge and could be tied back to the nearby Goliat floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit.  Vår Energi and its…

Back in 2016, Murban crude was introduced into the Dubai basket, along with Al-Shaheen, as a response to a lack of supply and price volatility caused by limited physical crude availability for the benchmark. Murban comes from the Murban oil field in Abu Dhabi--one of the seven emirates that form the United Arab Emirates--and is produced by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). It’s a light sweet crude with a sulphur content of 0.78% and an API gravity of 39.9 degrees. The move to include it in the basket was intended to deepen the pool…

Many of the resource-rich countries in Africa have intensified efforts to become more attractive for exploration and production (E&P) investment. Reforms in licensing rounds, production sharing contracts, and fiscal policy are improving investor returns and are set to drive $41 billion in upstream investment in 2026, the African Energy Chamber’s State of African Energy 2026 Outlook shows. From legacy oil producers Nigeria and Angola to emerging exploration hotspots such as Namibia, African resource holders are looking to compete with…

Asian imports of liquefied natural gas are set for a decline this year as prices prove too high for some importing nations, forcing them to look for alternatives, while others boost domestic supply. European imports, on the other hand, are headed for another record year as flows shift. Imports of LNG in Asia this year are on course to reach 276 million tons in total, after a strong November, at 22.99 million tons and an even stronger estimated December, when imports could reach 26.86 million tons. All this is according to data from Kpler cited…

Russia’s dependence on oil and gas revenues has long been one of the country’s greatest economic strengths. That same dependence is now becoming one of its most significant vulnerabilities. In November, Russia’s energy revenues fell sharply, underscoring how sanctions, weak crude prices, and currency dynamics are converging to squeeze Moscow’s finances at a time of elevated military spending. According to recent estimates, Russia is expected to collect roughly 520 billion rubles—about $6.6 billion—from oil and…

Notions of renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gases are nice, but costly energy prices are forcing a shift in Europe’s priorities. Reuters reported this week that two members of the European Union — Greece and Italy — and the UK are loosening their opposition to new oil and gas drilling, even as the continent builds out renewables to slash greenhouse gas emissions and meet climate targets. Greece in November issued its first offshore oil and gas exploration license in more than 40 years to a trio of companies including Exxon…

The global aluminum recycling market is set for a substantial expansion, projected to reach $91.3 billion by 2032, as industrial consumers aggressively pursue low-carbon material sources to mitigate skyrocketing energy costs and meet stringent decarbonization targets. The forecast, detailed in a new market analysis, highlights a fundamental shift in the global metal supply chain. The recycling market, valued at $57.2 billion in 2024, is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2%.  This growth is structurally linked…

Norway has temporarily halted its deep-sea mining plans by postponing the first licensing round until at least 2029, following a political agreement with the Socialist Left Party for the state budget. The four-year delay to exploration and extraction activities in Norwegian waters was achieved through budget negotiations, although the government maintains its underlying policy has not changed. The decision has been welcomed by environmental groups like the WWF and the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition as a major win for environmental protection,…

Norway has temporarily halted its deep-sea mining plans by postponing the first licensing round until at least 2029, following a political agreement with the Socialist Left Party for the state budget. The four-year delay to exploration and extraction activities in Norwegian waters was achieved through budget negotiations, although the government maintains its underlying policy has not changed. The decision has been welcomed by environmental groups like the WWF and the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition as a major win for environmental protection,…