Crude oil prices are in retreat after rising on the possibility of U.S. strikes on Iran. Before the retreat, however, Brent crude and WTI had jumped to the highest in months, countering bearish forecasts for the year—and tearing traders between geopolitics and fundamentals. In fundamentals, the majority of observers and forecasters are unanimous that the supply of crude oil is substantially higher than demand. In fact, Goldman Sachs recently revised its price predictions for 2026, saying it now expected Brent crude to go even lower after…

Cuba has been experiencing a worsening energy crisis for several years, which has led it to rely heavily on Venezuela for its fuel. Following the United States' intervention in Venezuela earlier this month, Cuba is expected to lose a vital supply chain for fuel, putting increasing pressure on the government to respond to the energy crisis. In the short-term, this will likely mean relying more heavily on oil-rich neighbours, such as Mexico, to provide supplies. However, Cuba must look for a long-term solution to its energy problems to bring an end…

TAG is the gas transmission operator responsible for the main transport corridor connecting Cabiunas, Brazil (Point I), the biggest gas injection point in the country, located from Rio de Janeiro to Ceara (Point O). TAG will play a central role in integrating new domestic gas supply from the Sergipe Alagoas deepwater project (SEAP), liquefied natural gas (LNG) entry points, and demand centers across Brazil’s Southeast and Northeast regions. The ECOMP Itajuipe compressor station proposal addresses a bottleneck in TAG’s pipeline network…

Egypt expects to significantly expand its energy sector in the coming years, with recent oil discoveries in the Western Desert and big plans to develop its renewable energy capacity. Egypt started the year off by signing $1.8 billion worth of renewable energy agreements. The deals include contracts with Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec and China’s Sungrow. This is part of the North African country’s aim to achieve a 42 percent contribution of renewable energy to electricity generation by the end of the decade. The first project…

Projections for the AI sector’s energy needs in the coming years are massive in scale. The International Energy Agency expects AI’s energy demand to double between now and 2030, presenting a serious challenge for energy security in many nations and regions where large data center developments are planned.  But planning ahead for data center development and their associated energy needs is an almost impossible task. The real and future energy use of artificial intelligence is incredibly hard to pin down due to the rapid growth and…

In the second installment of a three-part series focused on South American pipeline infrastructure, we head to Brazil. The country faces the challenge of reinforcing its pipeline network to absorb growing pre-salt gas while managing declining imports from Bolivia. Although higher volumes of Argentine gas are expected to reach Brazil via Bolivia over the medium to long term, network upgrades will be required to ensure security of supply during the transition. TAG is the gas transmission operator responsible for the main transport corridor connecting…

The boss of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, has warned global markets not to underestimate current risks, as the US banking giant hiked its provisions for bad loans. The world’s most influential banker said that whilst the US economy had remained “resilient” and consumer and business trends were “generally healthy,” ongoing risks persisted. “Markets seem to under-appreciate the potential hazards – including from complex geopolitical conditions, the risk of sticky inflation and elevated asset prices,” Dimon…

The Trump administration is exploring a workaround to America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve problem: swapping heavy Venezuelan crude for U.S. medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into SPR caverns. According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while U.S. producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange. It’s a crude-for-crude swap designed to solve a very practical issue that Washington rarely likes to admit…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell by 1 this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US  to 543 this week, down 37 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 1 during the reporting period, according to the data. Oil rigs are now at 410, which is 68 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 2 to 122, which is 24 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed at 11. The…

Talen Energy is following in the footsteps of utility peers Vistra and Constellation by spending billions of dollars acquiring gas generation assets to expand their capacity and grow market share in the growing power demand market. After spending about $3.5 billion to acquire gas generation capacity in Pennsylvania and Ohio back in July 2025, the company announced it spent another $3.5 billion to acquire two more gas facilities in Ohio. With the newly announced 2.6 GW added to last year’s 2.9 GW, Talen…

Russia is in negotiations with Beijing to potentially resume power supply to China, the Russian Energy Ministry told Reuters on Friday, after a Russian media report said that China halted electricity imports from Russia due to high prices.  On Friday, Russian business daily Kommersant reported that China on January 1 stopped buying any electricity from Russia.  The Chinese refusal to buy Russian electricity was the result of high Russian export prices, which in 2026 topped the domestic power prices in China for the first time, Kommersant…

Russia is in negotiations with Beijing to potentially resume power supply to China, the Russian Energy Ministry told Reuters on Friday, after a Russian media report said that China halted electricity imports from Russia due to high prices.  On Friday, Russian business daily Kommersant reported that China on January 1 stopped buying any electricity from Russia.  The Chinese refusal to buy Russian electricity was the result of high Russian export prices, which in 2026 topped the domestic power prices in China for the first time, Kommersant…

Oil markets are trapped in a Trump-driven guessing game, with Iran fears lifting prices one moment and calming signals pulling them back the next. Friday, January 16, 2026 Will Donald Trump attack Iran again or not? That has been the multi-billion-dollar question of this week, with the initial price rally seeming to suggest an emphatic ‘yes’, only for Trump to pour cold water on the war hysteria by claiming there’s no executions in Iran. With news on Venezuela lacking real market impact lately, ICE Brent’s seesawing around…

Companies operating in Egypt continue to make oil and gas discoveries and drill new wells at the start of the year, further boosting hydrocarbon production as the North African country looks to reduce import dependence.  Several companies have drilled successful wells in the Western Desert, Eastern Desert, and the Nile Delta, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said on Friday.   The new wells are expected to add around 47 million cubic feet of natural gas and about 4,300 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and…

Companies operating in Egypt continue to make oil and gas discoveries and drill new wells at the start of the year, further boosting hydrocarbon production as the North African country looks to reduce import dependence.  Several companies have drilled successful wells in the Western Desert, Eastern Desert, and the Nile Delta, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said on Friday.   The new wells are expected to add around 47 million cubic feet of natural gas and about 4,300 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and…

Iran has been a major supplier of military equipment to Russia in recent years, especially since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but experts have told RFE/RL that this support no longer plays a key role in Moscow's war effort. Iranian missile sales to Russia, including air defense missiles and ballistic missiles, have totaled $2.7 billion since October 2021, according to a January 12 Bloomberg report citing an unnamed Western security official. The volume of trade is not publicly disclosed by Moscow, and Iran denies…

Over the last week or so, crude oil futures have been volatile, with a sharp run up to over $62, followed by a dramatic dip back below $60. Given crude’s normal volatility, that is not really surprising. What is surprising in some ways, though, is the fact that this bout of volatility was driven by the words of President Trump. You would think that, by now, traders would have learned that trying to predict the actions of this administration based on what they are saying at any given moment is a fool’s errand. Opinion is divided as to…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Syria is moving into a dangerous new phase. Damascus is pushing Kurdish forces out of Aleppo. Kurdish autonomy west of the Euphrates is no longer being tolerated, and the order to withdraw east is not a bargaining position. The Aleppo advance changes leverage. Once Kurdish forces lose their urban footholds, they lose political weight quickly. That is why the protests in Kurdish areas are growing out of desperation over the loss of negotiating leverage. At the same time, Washington is running a parallel play…

The United States is setting up an air defence coordination unit in Qatar while publicly warning Iran about the use of lethal force. The unit itself is small and specific. It pulls together radar feeds, satellite warnings, and airspace tracking so U.S. systems and Gulf partners are looking at the same picture if something is launched. It does not plan strikes. It does not pick targets. It does not authorize action. Its job is to reduce confusion in the first minutes after an incident. The move raises the profile, but it is meant to contain what…

Light crude oil futures posted one of their most volatile weeks in months, swinging nearly $4 from a low of $58.45 to a high of $62.36 before settling at $59.17 on Thursday evening—up just $0.05 or +0.08% for the week. The dramatic price action was driven primarily by escalating and then rapidly diminishing geopolitical tensions surrounding Iran, compounded by the resumption of Venezuelan oil exports. Iran Takes Center Stage as Primary Market Driver The week's dominant narrative centered on Iran, where massive protests and a violent government…