Top US officials have been eager to capitalize on the Trump-ordered military raid on Caracas, which saw the Venezuelan capital bombed and its longtime socialist leader, Nicolás Maduro, captured without major incident and transferred to US soil, where he's facing federal drug charges related to narco-trafficking and gun-running. Hawkish pundits are already clamoring for more muscular action targeting Tehran (and other supposed 'rogue' actors) at a moment of ongoing economic protests in Iran, pressuring Islamic Republic leaders. Trump is issuing…

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that U.S. President Donald Trump is serious about taking over Greenland, adding that a U.S. attack on a NATO ally would be the end of all, with concern in Copenhagen renewed after Washington’s recent actions against Venezuela hardened views on Trump’s use of power. "If the United States decides to militarily attack another NATO country, then everything would stop -- that includes NATO and therefore post-World War II security," Mette Frederiksen told Danish television network…

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that U.S. President Donald Trump is serious about taking over Greenland, adding that a U.S. attack on a NATO ally would be the end of all, with concern in Copenhagen renewed after Washington’s recent actions against Venezuela hardened views on Trump’s use of power. "If the United States decides to militarily attack another NATO country, then everything would stop -- that includes NATO and therefore post-World War II security," Mette Frederiksen told Danish television network…

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that U.S. President Donald Trump is serious about taking over Greenland, adding that a U.S. attack on a NATO ally would be the end of all, with concern in Copenhagen renewed after Washington’s recent actions against Venezuela hardened views on Trump’s use of power. "If the United States decides to militarily attack another NATO country, then everything would stop -- that includes NATO and therefore post-World War II security," Mette Frederiksen told Danish television network…

Iraq’s Oil Ministry has confirmed that it is expediting the development of the Gharraf and Nassiriyah gas projects, with full operations expected to begin by early 2027, and production capacity reaching 200 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d). This fast?tracking is being presented as a long?overdue step toward energy self?sufficiency, but the real stakes lie far beyond the technicalities of associated?gas capture. For the West, reducing Iraq’s dependence on Iranian gas is a strategic imperative aimed at weakening Tehran’s…

Aesop's Fables date back to the 7th century BCE and may be the first known written expression of an often repeated proverb, namely: Necessity is the mother of invention. In the story called "The Crow and the Pitcher," during a terrible drought a thirsty crow finds water in a partially full water pitcher. But the mouth of the pitcher is too small to allow the crow to reach the water. The crow discerns that if it drops enough pebbles in the pitcher, this will raise the water level. So the crow proceeds with this plan and finally gets a drink. Aesop's…

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has revealed that global oil supplies exceeded demand in 2025, leading to a sharp decline in oil prices. Monthly average Brent crude oil prices declined from $79 per barrel in January to $63 per barrel in December, the lowest monthly average price since early 2021. Meanwhile, oil prices averaged $69 per barrel in 2025, the lowest in five years even after adjusting for inflation. Oil markets responded to a raft of (mostly) negative catalysts throughout the year. Oil prices fell in the first half of the…

Billionaire Harold Hamm’s Continental Resources will buy assets from Argentina’s Pan American Energy, Bloomberg reported on Monday, in the latest development in the company’s push into the Vaca Muerta shale basin. Continental has agreed to buy Pan American’s non-operating interests in four oil blocks from.  The Oklahoma City-based company is regarded as one of the pioneers of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling led to the U.S. shale revolution. Harold Hamm took the company private in late 2022 by buying out…

Billionaire Harold Hamm’s Continental Resources will buy assets from Argentina’s Pan American Energy, Bloomberg reported on Monday, in the latest development in the company’s push into the Vaca Muerta shale basin. Continental has agreed to buy Pan American’s non-operating interests in four oil blocks from.  The Oklahoma City-based company is regarded as one of the pioneers of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling led to the U.S. shale revolution. Harold Hamm took the company private in late 2022 by buying out…

The FTSE 100 kicked off the new year on the front foot with a morning rally after the fallout from the United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sent a batch of City stocks on the march. London’s blue-chip index sprung up towards the 10,000 points mark as markets opening before giving up some gains to land 0.2 per cent higher at near 9,970. Leading the pack was defence and metal stocks after President Donald Trump’s strike on Venezuela – and openess to further escalation with other nations – sent…

Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA has started reducing oil production and has asked its joint ventures, including those with Chevron, to also cut output, as storage space is running out amid the U.S. naval blockade and oil export embargo.   PDVSA has asked Petrolera Sinovensa, its joint venture with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), as well as its joint ventures with Chevron – Petropiar and Petroboscan, to reduce production via shutting off some wells and clusters, sources with knowledge of the operations have told…

Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA has started reducing oil production and has asked its joint ventures, including those with Chevron, to also cut output, as storage space is running out amid the U.S. naval blockade and oil export embargo.   PDVSA has asked Petrolera Sinovensa, its joint venture with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), as well as its joint ventures with Chevron – Petropiar and Petroboscan, to reduce production via shutting off some wells and clusters, sources with knowledge of the operations have told…

Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA has started reducing oil production and has asked its joint ventures, including those with Chevron, to also cut output, as storage space is running out amid the U.S. naval blockade and oil export embargo.   PDVSA has asked Petrolera Sinovensa, its joint venture with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), as well as its joint ventures with Chevron – Petropiar and Petroboscan, to reduce production via shutting off some wells and clusters, sources with knowledge of the operations have told…

Shares in supermajor Chevron and the biggest U.S. refiners soared in pre-market trade on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump opened the door to American investment in Venezuela’s oil industry following the capture of Nicolas Maduro.  Chevron, which is currently the only U.S. and Western oil firm authorized by the United States to operate in Venezuela, saw its shares jump by 6% in pre-market trade.   Chevron, as well as other integrated U.S. oil companies, are set to benefit from the touted opening of Venezuela’s…

Venezuela has shipped out about a dozen oil tankers carrying crude and petroleum products in recent days, with vessels departing in dark mode, TankerTrackers.com said on Monday.  All these tankers that have stealthily left Venezuela have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, according to TankerTrackers.com data cited by Reuters. The dozen or so departures have taken place despite the U.S. blockade off Venezuela, which is aimed at preventing sanctioned tankers from going to and from the South American country.  It was not immediately clear…

Venezuela has shipped out about a dozen oil tankers carrying crude and petroleum products in recent days, with vessels departing in dark mode, TankerTrackers.com said on Monday.  All these tankers that have stealthily left Venezuela have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, according to TankerTrackers.com data cited by Reuters. The dozen or so departures have taken place despite the U.S. blockade off Venezuela, which is aimed at preventing sanctioned tankers from going to and from the South American country.  It was not immediately clear…

With deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a US jail, President Donald Trump warned the South American country's authoritarian rulers they will "pay a very big price” if they don't “cooperate” with Washington, even amid global concerns over the US military strike. Trump, in an interview published on January 4 in The Atlantic, warned acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez that “if she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.” The leftist Rodriguez,…

Billions of barrels of Venezuela’s oil claimed by major state-owned Chinese and Russian companies under current deals are now in doubt following the U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro, according to investment bank Morgan Stanley.   Oil giant and top Asian refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, is entitled to as many as 2.8 billion of barrels under current agreements with Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA, per a note by Morgan Stanley Research cited by Bloomberg. That’s the single biggest clam by a…

Throughout history, the United States has frequently intervened militarily to secure and protect its oil interests. What makes Saturday morning’s capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro different is that, this time, the stated motive was clear.  In 1953, after Iran’s Prime Minister, Mosaddegh, nationalized Anglo-Iranian oil interests, the U.S. and UK initiated Operation Ajax in order to oust him from power and regain control of the oil. It wasn’t until August 2013 that the CIA officially admitted to its role…

The United States will keep what it calls an oil quarantine on Venezuela even after U.S. forces bombed Caracas and captured President Nicolas Maduro. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, this quarantine is as far as the U.S. “running Venezuela” would go. “We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking,” the top official said, clarifying earlier statements by…