The loss of fertilizer shipments coming from the Persian Gulf as a result of the Iran war got me thinking about the chemist Justus von Liebig, a prominent 19th-century proponent of the mineral theory of plant nutrition. Liebig is the popularizer of what is now known as Liebig's Law of the Minimum. The law states that the least available essential nutrient limits the growth of plants. This means once a grower runs out of one essential nutrient, adding extra of others will not make up for the lack of the one that is limited. Liebig's eponymous law…

Leading clean energy utility, NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE), has agreed to buy Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) in an all-stock transaction valued at $66.8 billion, marking the largest power utility acquisition on record. The merger unites Florida-based NextEra Energy and Virginia-based Dominion Energy to create the world’s largest regulated electric utility, a power sector titan with an enterprise value exceeding $400 billion including debt. The historic consolidation is directly driven by the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, with high-performance…

As U.S. President Donald Trump landed in Beijing last Wednesday for a two-day summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, his aides would have been acutely aware that he had faced extensive criticism in the past for his cosy dealings with the Chinese leader before, especially during his first presidential term. The fact that the summit had been postponed from late March, following the escalation of the war in Iran, will have naturally raised at least one potential topic of conversation, if not two. China remains the key financier -- through…

European airlines are becoming increasingly confident the continent would avoid a jet fuel shortage this summer as refiners maximize jet fuel output and buyers diversify imports to offset supply losses from the Middle East with increased shipments from the U.S. and Nigeria. A month into the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis, airlines, officials, and analysts started warning that Europe had mere weeks of jet fuel supply and an inevitable crunch would arrive in the middle of May, or by the end of May at the latest. Fatih Birol, executive director…

For years, global LNG markets operated under a fairly comfortable assumption. Qatar would remain a stable supplier, the Middle East would continue functioning as the center of global LNG trade, and buyers in Europe and Asia could rely on long-term contracts to keep gas flowing. That assumption is now under pressure. Damage to energy infrastructure in the Middle East, rising geopolitical instability, and growing concerns about shipping security have injected a new layer of risk into global LNG markets. At the same time, demand is accelerating from…

An Australian trade union is threatening to start a strike at an LNG export facility from May 27, in a two-week-long industrial action that could further tighten the global LNG supply, which is already stretched thin amid the Iran war and the closed Strait of Hormuz. The Offshore Alliance union, the Australian Workers Union, and Maritime Union of Australia, on Monday notified Japanese company Inpex there could be 243 stoppages and work bans at Inpex’s Ichthys LNG facilities between May 27 and June 10, after the unions and the company failed…

Recent oil price shocks in response to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz underscore the importance of oil-producing countries outside of the Middle East. One of the most important is Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy and oil producer. The country is experiencing an epic decades-long oil boom, which was responsible for production hitting a new record high for March 2026. This places Brazil on track to become a top-five global producer by the end of the decade, making the country important to bolstering energy security in the Americas.…

The U.S. Federal Reserve is set to begin a new era after former governor Kevin Warsh won a highly polarized 54-45 Senate confirmation vote to replace Jerome Powell as the Fed Chair. A close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, Warsh will face a difficult job balancing complicated policies and conflicting goals. He is also under strong pressure from Trump to cut interest rates, even as inflation rises, partly because of higher oil prices. Oil prices rose again on Monday following Trump’s stark warning to Iran following reports of attacks on…

The Trump administration has allowed a controversial waiver on sanctions targeting Russian seaborne oil to expire, reimposing restrictions that had temporarily enabled countries such as India to continue purchasing Russian crude despite Western efforts to curb Moscow's wartime revenues. The move, which took effect on May 16 after the Treasury Department declined to renew General License 134B, highlights the increasingly difficult balance Washington faces between tightening pressure on the Kremlin and preventing further disruption to global energy…

Indian oil refiners are structurally equipped to handle potential disruptions after the United States allowed its key sanctions waiver on Russian seaborne crude purchases to expire. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently confirmed that India has built adequate energy buffers to navigate global volatility, with the country holding around 60 days of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) along with 45 days of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stockpiles. “We have not had any difficulty in getting the crudes which we want,” Hindustan…

The oil and gas crunch caused by the war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, has cost global businesses $25 billion, Reuters reported today, adding that the bill is going to climb higher still. The publication analyzed corporate statements issued after the war started, finding that as many as 279 companies had cited the war as a reason for defensive actions, including price hikes and production cuts to cushion the blow from soaring oil and gas prices. Other companies from Reuters’ sample had opted for suspending dividend payments and share…

Oil prices climbed in early Asian trade on Monday as drone attacks on both the UAE and Saudi Arabia further dimmed hopes of any de-escalation in the region. The lack of a breakthrough on an Iran agreement during Trump's visit to China also added to upward pressure for oil prices, with fears of major global shortages now rising rapidly. At the time of writing, WTI front-month futures were trading at $108.20 per barrel, up 2.59% on the session, while Brent had climbed to $111.50 per barrel, up 2.03%. The latest drone strikes included an attack that…

The world is running out of oil. Implausible three months ago, the likelihood of a crude shortage on a global scale is becoming increasingly realistic with each day that the Strait of Hormuz remains almost completely blocked. Analysts are no longer modeling for a swift end to the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran. They are now also allowing for an extended period of severe energy flow disruptions—and it is not looking good. Kpler reported earlier this month the cumulative loss of oil supply in the Middle East since February…

Dealmaking in the U.S. shale patch jumped to a two-year high in the first quarter as M&A activity rebounded from a slump. U.S. upstream mergers hit $38 billion in Q1 2026, marking the highest quarterly total in two years despite a sharp slowdown in March due to a spike in volatility tied to the Middle East conflict. According to Enverus Intelligence Research, the U.S. Shale Patch has likely entered yet another consolidation wave, with a higher-for-longer oil price environment expected to supercharge both corporate mega-mergers and private asset…

Experts warn that critical minerals mining could go the way of the oil and gas industry if we are not careful, with developing countries worldwide being exploited for their resources. As more countries around the globe invest heavily in growing their renewable energy capacity, governments are racing to secure their critical mineral supply chains to support the growth of the green energy and cleantech sectors. However, rapid sectoral growth could threaten both the environment and communities in mineral source countries if not developed sustainably. …

Our global energy landscape is shifting faster and in more complex ways than ever before as it is besieged by geopolitical, economic, and logistical challenges. The world’s energy systems were already undergoing a seismic shift in response to climate change, but are now contending with major, largely unforeseen push and pull factors from the artificial intelligence boom and the unfolding energy crisis spurred by the United States’ and Israel’s war in Iran. Meeting skyrocketing global energy needs without compromising energy security…

After years of delays and restrictions to private investment, Mexico’s renewable energy sector is expected to undergo a transformation as President Claudia Sheinbaum encourages greater private sector participation to expand the country’s energy sector. Solar and wind energy will be a major focus, thanks to Mexico’s favourable climatic conditions, which will go hand in hand with the expansion of the country’s transmission network.  In March 2025, President Sheinbaum announced a new National Energy Reform that opened…

Even though the Xi–Trump summit in Beijing was supposed to project stability, the outcome was clearly the opposite. In real terms, the meeting could ultimately be remembered as the moment the world began to understand that there is no viable great-power strategy to contain the Iran war or to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The latter will have a long-lasting, debilitating effect on the stability of global shipping and energy markets. Even when taking into account all the choreography, ceremonial handshakes, and triumphant statements, the meeting…

Local and international energy companies are vying for additional exploration blocks in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale basin as the Middle East crisis and the blocked Strait of Hormuz are reigniting a global race to tap resources outside conflict zones.     What was a predominantly U.S. business until a few years ago, shale exploration and production is now gaining momentum outside North America. And Argentina’s Vaca Muerta is top of the list of oil and gas companies, including U.S. shale giants, as a de-risked basin with…

Researchers have been exploring the use of different technologies to improve battery storage as part of the race to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and shift away from fossil fuels. While lithium-ion batteries have significant potential to support utility-scale energy storage, their heavy reliance on lithium has encouraged researchers worldwide to explore other avenues to make battery storage cheaper and more sustainable. Batteries have been vital components in the rollout of renewable energy, used to support intermittent energy sources,…