An experimental Chinese nuclear plant reportedly just crossed a historic threshold, successfully operating the world’s first thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR). The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics has broken a major scientific barrier by successfully converting thorium to uranium in a historic first. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports that the breakthrough, which took place at an experimental reactor out in the Gobi Desert, is “poised to reshape the future of clean sustainable…

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in Kyrgyzstan as part of a three-country tour of Central Asia to reaffirm Beijing’s status as the region’s top trading partner following US diplomatic inroads at a high-profile summit in Washington earlier this month. US President Donald Trump hosted the five Central Asian presidents at the White House in early November for a summit focused on tapping into the region’s abundant and strategic critical mineral wealth. While not in the spotlight, China’s growing economic and political influence…

I’ve followed the promise of small modular reactors (SMRs) and next-generation nuclear in several of my earlier pieces on OilPrice. The argument is familiar: nuclear provides low-carbon baseload, ensures energy security, and will one day deliver affordable, clean power. It sounds persuasive, until you look at the numbers. New nuclear remains slow, expensive, and deeply reliant on state support. In today’s European power markets, where renewables are already driving prices to record lows or even negative territory, the idea that nuclear…

Turkmenistan is home to over two-thirds of the 25 largest methane emissions sites identified worldwide so far in 2025, according to an academic monitoring initiative. Researchers at UCLA’s Stop Methane Project mapped over 3,100 methane plumes at oil & natural gas extraction “sites in dozens of countries of all income levels and in all world regions.” They based the findings on data provided by Carbon Mapper, a non-profit working to fully chart “greenhouse gas emissions to empower mitigation action.” …

The G-20 is tiptoeing around China with a sledgehammer. In a draft declaration seen by Bloomberg, leaders called for shielding the global critical-minerals value chain from “unilateral trade measures inconsistent with WTO rules”—a diplomatic way of saying: everyone noticed what China did this year. Beijing’s licensing chokehold on dysprosium, terbium, and other heavy rare earths rattled supply chains from missile makers to EV plants, and the repercussions are still rolling through the system. Over the past six months, the…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count in the US rose by 5 to 554 this week, according to Baker Hughes, down 29 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 2 in the reporting period, according to the data, reaching 419. Year over year, this represents a 60-rig decline. The number of gas rigs rose by 2 to 127, which is 28 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count rose by…

Venezuela’s Parliament has approved a 15-year extension of the country’s oil-producing joint ventures with Russian companies, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Telegram as the South American country doubles down on its strategic alliance with Russia.  The 15-year extension now allows the joint ventures established under the strategic energy alliance between the two countries to continue operations until 2041, Rodriguez said, adding it is a crucial step toward Venezuela’s energy development.  “No…

Reclining on stage at the 26th COP summit in his native Glasgow, Alan Jope was at home both literally and spiritually. The Unilever chief executive had spent three years establishing himself as one of the corporate world’s most passionate climate and diversity advocates, vowing to accelerate his predecessor, Paul Polman’s, environmental, social and governance leadership. And with his company a principal partner at the biggest climate summit in history, the Scotsman’s efforts had reached their natural apogee. “We think there…

International Holding Company (IHC) of Abu Dhabi has expressed interest to the U.S. Treasury to potentially acquire the international assets of Russia’s Lukoil, the UAE conglomerate told Reuters on Friday, joining a growing number of suitors for the foreign assets of the now sanctioned second-largest oil company in Russia.  IHC told Reuters in response to a query whether it had expressed interest in Lukoil’s international assets to the U.S. Treasury Department, “Yes, we have expressed interest in Lukoil's foreign assets.”  …

Forecasts of milder weather in the weeks ahead and the proposed U.S. peace plan for Ukraine pushed down on Friday European benchmark natural gas prices to their lowest level since May 2024.  Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, traded down by 2.5% at $35 (30.38 euros) per megawatt-hour (MWh) at 11 a.m. in Amsterdam. This was the lowest the benchmark price has been since May 2024, as the latest weather models predict milder temperatures in the weeks ahead after the current cold snap in northwest Europe. …

News of Zelenskyy considering the peace proposal comes on the same day that new U.S. sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil officially take effect, targeting key subsidiaries in an effort to restrict Kremlin revenue from fossil-fuel sales. November 21st, 2025. Donald Trump’s 28-point peace proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war has become the main talking point of oil markets this week, with potentially higher Russian supply capping ICE Brent futures below $63 per barrel. Refined products markets, in the meantime, are exploding as middle distillate…

For a quarter century, China has been the dominant driver of rising global carbon emissions. Its rapid industrialization, swelling electricity demand, and unprecedented construction boom have shaped the world’s carbon trajectory more than any other country. But the latest data show something atypical on China’s relentless climb higher: a pause. New analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) shows that China’s CO? emissions were essentially flat in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the year before.…

Equinor has started delivering natural gas to Prague’s gas and electricity company Pražská plynárenská under a 10-year long-term agreement for supplies into the Czech Republic, the Norwegian energy major said on Friday.  The gas deliveries, which started in October, will last until 2035. Information on volumes, terms and conditions are confidential, Equinor said.   Pražská plynárenská will use the gas to supply households and businesses in the capital city of Prague and other parts…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict This week is the clearest escalation yet in U.S.-Venezuela relations. Trump has allegedly signed a covert-action finding authorizing CIA operations inside Venezuela, moving the U.S. posture from pressure to active shaping. At the same time, there is a carrier group already positioned in the Caribbean, and we’ve seen a revival of back-channel chatter during which Maduro has tested the idea of a 2-3 year transition and which DC has already rejected. Both the covert and military options are now in play for…

Libya’s fuel-smuggling economy has moved well beyond leakage and petty diversion. It is now a structured parallel system tied into the state’s own operating channels, with both eastern and western power centers benefiting. As we have repeatedly said, this is the fake stability that keeps the country from erupting into civil war again.  The revenue loss (north of $20B from 2022-2024) tracks with the period when refinery runs, allocation schedules, and tanker dispatches were repeatedly adjusted in ways that created excess product…

Crude oil spent last week trading with a bearish tilt as the market digested a rapid sequence of supply and geopolitical developments. The tone heading into Friday was defined by weakness, with WTI settling at $58.66 on Thursday, down $1.38 or 2.30%, after traders reassessed the impact of a potential Russia-Ukraine diplomatic framework and the likelihood of looser sanctions. Earlier support driven by Russian export disruptions faded quickly once flows resumed, leaving the market more responsive to surplus signals than temporary outages. While refined-product…

The COP30 climate summit is ditching an earlier draft of a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, according to the latest draft of negotiating texts at the global gathering in Belem, Brazil.  Many countries at COP30 have mobilized and supported a so-called “roadmap” to transition away from fossil fuels. But the latest draft document of the summit has removed reference to transitioning away from fossil fuels entirely, Reuters reports.  While more than 80 countries joined the call for a roadmap to move away from fossil…

UK households will pay slightly higher energy bills in the first quarter of 2026 after energy market regulator Ofgem on Friday raised the Energy Price Cap by 0.2%, against expectations of a 1% drop.   The UK has a so-called Energy Price Cap in place, which protects households from excessively high bills by capping the price that energy utility providers can pass on to them. Energy bills in Britain have declined from the record highs in 2022 and 2023, but they are still about 35% higher compared to before the Russian invasion of Ukraine…

UK households will pay slightly higher energy bills in the first quarter of 2026 after energy market regulator Ofgem on Friday raised the Energy Price Cap by 0.2%, against expectations of a 1% drop.   The UK has a so-called Energy Price Cap in place, which protects households from excessively high bills by capping the price that energy utility providers can pass on to them. Energy bills in Britain have declined from the record highs in 2022 and 2023, but they are still about 35% higher compared to before the Russian invasion of Ukraine…

Saudi Arabia made investment commitments of as much as $1 trillion during the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the United States. The sum is a substantial increase on an original pledge of $600 billion, but it is also a sign that the relationship between two of the world’s largest oil producers is back on track. The relationship, dating back to the early 20th century, was rather damaged during the Biden administration, in part due to its focus on the energy transition, which put it at odds with Saudi Arabia as an economy heavily…