We spend a lot of our time talking about reserves and capacity in the energy sector. But for the serious money, the most critical asset isn't the price of oil or the megawatt. It’s the paper that guarantees how those resources will be sold. A company’s contract portfolio, not its latest discovery, is often times the real barometer of its financial stability. This distinction forces a fundamental choice: are you betting on a company fully exposed to merchant risk, relying entirely on whatever price the spot market offers today? Or are…

I've put the word "evacuation" in the title of this piece in quotes because it's not clear where Tehran's 9.8 million people, or some significant number of them, would evacuate to as water supplies run dangerously low. Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian has been criticized for saying out loud how bad the situation is: "If it does not rain in Tehran by December, we should ration water; if it still does not rain, we must empty Tehran." Doubtless, Iranian water authorities will force severe restrictions on Tehran's residents if the rains—which…

Global lithium prices surged on Monday after a demand upgrade from China led traders to revisit near-term supply assumptions across the battery-materials market. The move followed an update highlighted by the Financial Post, which reported renewed buying interest after Ganfeng Lithium’s chairman outlined stronger expectations for 2026 battery-grade consumption. Chinese market data detailed the shift, with a report from STCN noting that multiple lithium-mining and processing stocks posted sharp gains as trading desks reacted to projections…

Iran, having seen its key nuclear facilities blown up by the Israeli and US surprise attacks of last June, and having long been under Washington and Western-led sanctions, could now be signaling a major olive branch. It is telling the West that there is nothing to worry about in terms of allegations of uranium enrichment or that it is striving toward a nuclear weapon. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the Islamic Republic has been unable to enrich uranium since the 12-day US-Israeli war. In a very blunt and direct answer…

The international companies part of the deal to restart Kurdistan’s oil exports have seen the lifting of the first cargo from the semi-autonomous Iraqi region for export from the Turkish terminal of Ceyhan since pipeline exports to the Mediterranean port resumed at the end of September.  London-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum confirmed on Monday that a first lifting of Kurdistan crude allocated to it and other international oil companies for pipeline exports during September and October 2025 had been completed by the nominated trader…

Kyrgyzstan is going into low power mode in the hopes of staving off a heating and electricity crisis this winter, precipitated by low water levels in reservoirs used to generate hydropower. In a comprehensive address on the state of the nation’s power supply system, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov announced a bevy of energy-saving measures in response to an anticipated electricity deficit and pleaded with citizens to be patient with government efforts to address structural problems. Japarov reported that the country’s…

Another Russian overnight massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine has had some serious spillover effects, as the Turkish flagged LPG tanker "Orinda" carrying thousands of metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas was reportedly struck at the port of Izmail in Odesa. The Turkish vessel was reportedly struck directly by a Russian drone, prompting the immediate evacuation of all 16 crew members, with no casualties reported. Stillframe, aftermath of strike Other civilian vessels were also damaged, with firefighting and emergency crews…

Another Russian overnight massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine has had some serious spillover effects, as the Turkish flagged LPG tanker "Orinda" carrying thousands of metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas was reportedly struck at the port of Izmail in Odesa. The Turkish vessel was reportedly struck directly by a Russian drone, prompting the immediate evacuation of all 16 crew members, with no casualties reported. Stillframe, aftermath of strike Other civilian vessels were also damaged, with firefighting and emergency crews…

The price of Russia’s flagship Urals crude at the Black Sea plunged to as low as $36.61 per barrel at the end of last week, the lowest in nearly three years, as the U.S. sanctions on the two biggest Russian producers and exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, are slated to take effect from Friday.  On Thursday last week, the price of Urals loaded at the Novorossiysk port in the Black Sea slumped to $36.61 per barrel, before recovering slightly on Friday, according to data from Argus Media and Bloomberg. That’s the lowest Urals has traded…

Orlen, the largest refiner in Poland and eastern Europe, is venturing into superfast electric vehicle charging and has opened its first EV charging hub in Poland, to be followed by 50 others over the next two years, Krzysztof Kaczy?ski, Executive Director for Electromobility at Orlen, told Bloomberg News.  Earlier this month, Orlen commissioned its first modern fast-charging hub for electric vehicles under the ORLEN Charge network. The facility, located along the S7 expressway, will allow drivers to charge their vehicles up to an optimal level…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to overhaul the country’s scandal-ridden energy sector as he looks to stem outrage following accusations of wide-spread corruption that have included an old friend and former business partner. Zelenskyy said the leadership of at least three state-run energy companies would be sacked and quickly replaced and that other changes were in the works. The scandal comes as Ukraine is under massive pressure from intensifying Russian air strikes on energy installations around the country as the deep cold…

Kazakhstan has filed for arbitration in a Swiss court in its lawsuit against major international oil firms as the OPEC+ producer seeks billions of U.S. dollars of damages from Big Oil over contract delays, bribery, and cost overruns, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The country, where international majors including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, Eni, and TotalEnergies, have developed massive oilfields, has two separate arbitration cases with as much as $166 billion in claims against the majors for damages, mostly because of lost revenues…

Oil prices moved lower in early Asian trading on Monday, erasing the modest gains posted last week, as crude loadings resumed at the key Russian export hub of Novorossiysk following a two-day suspension of operations at the Black Sea port. At the time of writing, front-month Brent crude futures had dropped by 64 cents to $63.75 per barrel, while WTI crude futures were trading at $59.43 per barrel, down 66 cents from Friday’s close. Last week’s rally of more than 2% for both benchmarks was underpinned by a disruption at Novorossiysk…

Global LNG supply is rising and growth will accelerate in the next two years as major projects in the top exporters, the United States and China, come on stream. Supply growth is set to outpace the global LNG demand increase, leading to an oversupplied market from the end of 2026 onwards, analysts say. The coming glut will likely depress spot LNG prices in Asia, where the price-sensitive buyers such as South Asian importers India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh could benefit from the price drop and boost demand. For Europe, the expected LNG oversupply…

In recent years, a growing number of fossil fuel lobbyists have attended the annual United Nations COP climate summits. Previously, host country leaders and event organisers have justified the attendance of these lobbyists by saying that they play an integral role in supporting the green transition, and that their cooperation is needed to meet climate goals. However, with studies showing that not enough change is being made by fossil fuel companies to support the global green transition, many are questioning their right to attend the climate summits. …

With COP30 now underway in Belém, Brazil, it can feel as though the world is backsliding when it comes to curbing emissions. Since the last climate summit, major oil companies have scaled back their climate goals, the U.S. has cancelled billions in clean-energy grants, and even Bill Gates has called for a new approach to countering climate change. But those headlines don’t reflect the inexorable progress that is being made across a variety of clean energy sectors, even if the rate of growth in some areas may be slowing. Some of the…

Since the Labour Party came into power in the United Kingdom in July 2024, there has been a major change in the government’s approach to energy. The U.K. is now rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels towards green alternatives, with ambitious climate goals set for the end of the decade and mid-century. Ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil this month, Prime Minister Kier Starmer reaffirmed his commitment to creating a green economy, while the U.K. energy minister Ed Miliband said we must not give up on tackling global warming. …

A shadow fleet is quietly swelling across the world’s oceans, packed with sanctioned barrels from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. For now, those tankers have kept to the sidelines of the global market—but the sheer scale of crude idling offshore could soon jolt prices, depending on whether the oil ever finds a buyer. Of course, Russia's oil shipments abroad have been in the spotlight over the past few weeks, as the media rush to report how Chinese and Indian buyers are canceling orders and switching to Middle Eastern and American oil until…

Geothermal energy is becoming Big Tech’s newest darling. Silicon Valley is upending its deep pockets into enhanced geothermal startups in a bid to stay one step ahead of the massive energy demand growth trend being spurred by the AI boom. Geothermal boasts key advantages over leading clean energy technologies, most notably the fact that it’s a constant, baseload clean energy source and that it’s one of vanishingly few zero-carbon alternatives with broad bipartisan support in the United States. As a result, this relatively niche…

United States President Donald Trump is putting his money where his mouth is as he doubles down on efforts to accelerate the expansion of the country’s nuclear energy sector. The government will spend billions in public funding to reinvigorate U.S. nuclear power, following decades of underinvestment. Unlike renewable energy, Trump views nuclear power as key to expanding the U.S. electricity generation capacity and recently announced the target of quadrupling nuclear capacity by 2050. In May, President Trump signed an executive order calling…