For years, heat pumps were seen as the fragile heroes of mild climates, efficient in theory but unreliable when the mercury dropped. That narrative has now collapsed under the weight of experience. From the frozen lakes of Finland to the prairies of Canada, heat pumps are thriving where they were once thought impossible. The data from the multiple past winters tells the story clearly. Even in subzero temperatures, installations are growing faster than almost any other clean heating technology. This shift is more than a technical achievement; it…

U.S. gasoline prices are set to fall to the lowest level since 2020, thanks to increasing supplies, despite some ongoing refinery maintenance, GasBuddy has predicted. GasBuddy has predicted that U.S. motorists will pay an average of $2.79 per gallon on Christmas Day, down from $2.95 per gallon a year ago. That will mark the cheapest gas since prices averaged $2.26 per gallon in the Christmas of 2020. “Christmas is often when gas prices settle near the lowest levels of the year, and 2025 is no exception,” said Patrick De Haan, head of…

Brazil, Guyana, and Argentina are set to be major drivers of non-OPEC oil supply growth in 2026, accounting for half of the expected 0.8 million barrels per day (b/d) increase in 2026 the U.S. Energy Information Administration has predicted. According to the energy watchdog, Brazil's growth will mainly be driven by new offshore pre-salt projects coming online, including the start-up of Equinor’s (NYSE:EQNR) Bacalhau field in October as well as the start-up of two additional FPSOs by Petrobras in December. EIA has projected a 0.2 mb/d increase…

Brazil, Guyana, and Argentina are set to be major drivers of non-OPEC oil supply growth in 2026, accounting for half of the expected 0.8 million barrels per day (b/d) increase in 2026 the U.S. Energy Information Administration has predicted. According to the energy watchdog, Brazil's growth will mainly be driven by new offshore pre-salt projects coming online, including the start-up of Equinor’s (NYSE:EQNR) Bacalhau field in October as well as the start-up of two additional FPSOs by Petrobras in December. EIA has projected a 0.2 mb/d increase…

Since early December 2025, a wave of protests has swept across Iran, ranging from human rights campaigns in major urban areas to labor strikes in industrial hubs. As Statista's Tristan Gaudiat reports, part of the growing popular unrest concerns the accelerating use of the death penalty by the Iranian regime (more than 1,000 executions documented so far in 2025), while the country's economic situation has significantly deteriorated. Iran is currently facing one of its most severe economic and social crises of the decade, as the country grapples…

The latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has revealed lingering pessimism in oil markets, with executives seeing lower activity and higher costs amid weak oil prices, but AI is offering hope for improved efficiency. Activity in the oil and gas sector fell in the final quarter of the year with the business activity index remaining negative at -6.2, unchanged from the third quarter.The company outlook index improved slightly to -15.2 from -17.6 in the third quarter, suggesting continuing pessimism among firms. Oil and gas production…

The latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has revealed lingering pessimism in oil markets, with executives seeing lower activity and higher costs amid weak oil prices, but AI is offering hope for improved efficiency. Activity in the oil and gas sector fell in the final quarter of the year with the business activity index remaining negative at -6.2, unchanged from the third quarter.The company outlook index improved slightly to -15.2 from -17.6 in the third quarter, suggesting continuing pessimism among firms. Oil and gas production…

European Union sanctions are “slowly but surely” choking Russia’s oil exports -- and are also stepping up in speed and scope, according to the 27-nation bloc’s chief sanctions official. EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan told RFE/RL in an interview on December 16 that while enforcement was “a game of cat and mouse,” the measures were working and Russia’s revenues were “suffering.” O’Sullivan spoke in a video call from Brussels two days before an EU summit that’s due to consider…

The United States is considering a fresh barrage of sanctions against Russia’s oil exports if Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects a peace agreement for Ukraine, anonymous sources with knowledge of the plans told Bloomberg on Wednesday.  Earlier this week, the U.S. and Ukraine both signaled progress in negotiations about a peace agreement during talks in German capital city of Berlin. Washington is now reportedly offering Ukraine security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense pledge.  However, key issues…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 1.3 million barrels during the week ending December 12, after losing 1.8 million barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 424.4 million barrels according to government data, which is 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories…

Ukraine has damaged an offshore drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer field in the Russian Caspian Sea in a drone attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday.  As a result of a strike on December 14, drones damaged the gas drilling rig at the Grayfer oilfield. Following the damage, all 14 wells at the platform have halted operations, Ukraine said today, claiming yet another hit at a field in the Caspian Sea.   Grayfer is operated by Russian major Lukoil, as well as the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields in the north Caspian…

Ukraine has damaged an offshore drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer field in the Russian Caspian Sea in a drone attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday.  As a result of a strike on December 14, drones damaged the gas drilling rig at the Grayfer oilfield. Following the damage, all 14 wells at the platform have halted operations, Ukraine said today, claiming yet another hit at a field in the Caspian Sea.   Grayfer is operated by Russian major Lukoil, as well as the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields in the north Caspian…

Ukraine has damaged an offshore drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer field in the Russian Caspian Sea in a drone attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday.  As a result of a strike on December 14, drones damaged the gas drilling rig at the Grayfer oilfield. Following the damage, all 14 wells at the platform have halted operations, Ukraine said today, claiming yet another hit at a field in the Caspian Sea.   Grayfer is operated by Russian major Lukoil, as well as the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields in the north Caspian…

Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in southern Russia and a fuel depot in the Rostov region overnight, Kyiv’s military confirmed via Telegram on Wednesday, continuing a relentless campaign to dismantle the energy infrastructure financing Moscow’s war effort. The latest barrage, which lit up the night sky over the Krasnodar region on December 17, targeted the Slavyansky Oil Refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban.  Ukrainian defense officials stated the refinery was being used to supply fuel to Russian occupation forces. While…

Norway’s water and energy directorate NVE has proposed stricter rules for power grid operators to be ready to repair links and power lines in case of sabotage.  NVE wants all operators and the whole power system to raise preparedness and awareness against threats and sabotages, NVE’s director general Kjetil Lund said. That’s why the regulator is now clarifying additional requirements in the proposed regulation, Lund added.  “If the power system stops functioning, Norway will stop functioning within a short time,”…

Norway’s water and energy directorate NVE has proposed stricter rules for power grid operators to be ready to repair links and power lines in case of sabotage.  NVE wants all operators and the whole power system to raise preparedness and awareness against threats and sabotages, NVE’s director general Kjetil Lund said. That’s why the regulator is now clarifying additional requirements in the proposed regulation, Lund added.  “If the power system stops functioning, Norway will stop functioning within a short time,”…

Oil prices spiked early on Wednesday morning in Asia as President Trump announced a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela."  At the time of writing, West Texas Intermediate crude futures had climbed 1.25% on the news to trade at $55.96, reflecting heightened market risk premiums amid fears that more Venezuelan supply will be taken offline. In the same post, Trump labeled the Venezuelan government a “foreign terrorist organization”, justifying the move as part of an effort…

The global oil market looks well-supplied at the end of the year, with output sufficient to absorb a supply disruption in Venezuela, the world’s biggest crude resource holder. The escalating U.S.-Venezuela tensions in recent weeks, a tanker seizure, and further U.S. sanctions squeezes on Nicolas Maduro and his allies, including companies operating tankers, have cut Venezuela’s production to a seven-month low.   The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated Venezuela’s oil supply at 860,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November,…

A Utah company has unearthed a massive deposit of critical minerals, describing it as potentially “one of North America’s most significant” finds to date. According to Ionic Minerals Technology, assays from its Silicon Ridge project in Utah have confirmed the presence of 16 critical minerals, including germanium and gallium, in the halloysite-hosted ion-adsorption clay (IAC) system, a geological system that’s easier to extract minerals from compared to the conventional hard-rock. Located in Provo, less than 20 miles south…

Four states in the Northeastern U.S.—Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York—are experiencing an energy emergency following an outage at a major propane hub. The issue highlights how essential energy security is, especially during peak demand season. In late November, the Marcus Hook terminal in Pennsylvania had an incident with an electric transformer that disrupted the loading of propane for three days. That incident, however, caused extended problems, with the operator of the facility, Energy Partners, unable to pump propane…