Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 3.3 million barrels during the week ending May 22, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Thursday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 441.7 million barrels, according to government data, which is now 2% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories saw a draw of 2.8 million barrels in the period.…

A ruling against the Russian energy behemoth Gazprom issued by a special court in the Kazakh capital Astana will not be enforced by the government, Kazakhstan’s justice minister has stated. The comments call into question the Astana International Financial Center’s (AIFC) independence from government interference and are likely to sow doubts among foreign investors that they can obtain a fair hearing in case of financial disputes involving state-connected entities. The AIFC is set up as a special economic zone to attract foreign investors…

Chevron has filed a request to buy 70% in an oil and gas exploration block offshore southwest Greece in what would be another step in the U.S. supermajor’s expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean. Chevron wants to buy 70% in an exploration block, whose concession rights are currently 100% owned by Helleniq Energy, the Greek Energy Ministry said on Thursday. The U.S. energy giant and Helleniq Energy are partners in several other offshore exploration blocks that Greece has recently awarded. Now Chevron seeks to expand its footprint and become…

Energy giant Uniper warns that Germany could face natural gas shortages in the winter if it doesn't accelerate the rate of filling gas storage sites. Uniper's chief executive Michael Lewis called for incentives for companies to stock up gas in storage in an interview with Germany's business daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Germany's gas storage sites were only 30.6% full as of May 27, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. That's well below the 38.65% filled storage at the same time last year. “If we don’t fill the gas…

BP’s ousted chair has hit back at the group’s decision to fire him over governance issues, launching a robust defence of his short-lived tenure on the supermajor’s board and rejecting the “false narrative” surrounding his sudden departure. In a move poised to plunge the London-listed energy giant into a full-blown governance crisis, Albert Manifold defended his record as chair, and said he drove “genuine change at BP – cutting costs, challenging excess and holding the organisation to higher standards”.…

Energy investment in India is set to reach a record high of $170 billion this year, driven by spending on solar installations and expansion of oil refining capacity, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its new World Energy Investment 2026 report out on Thursday. Over the past five years, India's energy investment has increased by 11% on average, with solar PV investment up by 25% in this period, and investment in oil refining jumping by 23%. Together, these two sectors have contributed to one-fourth of India's energy investment growth.…

As Washington races to build a rare earth supply chain that can survive the Pentagon’s 2027 ban on Chinese-origin materials, REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) has locked in long-term supply from one of the largest known heavy rare earth deposits in the world. The company announced last Thursday that it has signed a definitive 15-year offtake agreement with Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML) covering 15% of Phase 1 production from the Tanbreez project in southern Greenland, a massive heavy rare earth deposit containing Dysprosium and Terbium, the…

Two weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump paid a visit to Beijing for a high-level summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with a view to stabilizing bilateral trade, securing new business deals, and seeking China's diplomatic leverage to help manage the conflict in Iran. Trump traveled with a delegation of high-level American CEOs to encourage China to open its markets to U.S. tech companies, and managed to secure several multibillion-dollar deals. The summit yielded a modest tactical detente and improved diplomatic normalcy between the two rival…

Global oil inventories are fast approaching a critical point, with Asia the first facing “minimum operational levels” and Europe close behind. This is the latest in a growing series of warnings from industry experts about the state of oil supply and the prospects of a severe shortage. It seems the world is running out of time to avert a much bigger crisis than we already have. Asia is already struggling with supply, Jeff Currie, Senior Advisor at the Carlyle Group, told CNBC this week. Speaking on the sidelines of an industry event…

A Russian tanker carrying 270,000 barrels of diesel fuel, which is under US and EU sanctions, spent weeks trying to reach crisis-hit Cuba, which is also under US sanctions, as well as amid what's essentially become a full energy blockade, but has failed to reach the island nation and turned southward toward Brazil. The exiled Russian outlet, The Insider, has detailed the following based on maritime tracking data: The Russian-flagged tanker Universal (IMO: 9384306), which had been drifting for almost a month in the Sargasso Sea approaching…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week ending May 22. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 9.1 million barrels. US crude inventories have risen by 22 million barrels so far this year, according to API data. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending May 22, 9.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the new total to 365.1 million barrels—the…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week ending May 22. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 9.1 million barrels. US crude inventories have risen by 22 million barrels so far this year, according to API data. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending May 22, 9.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the new total to 365.1 million barrels—the…

Floating solar farms could be significantly more efficient than solar farms on land thanks to the natural cooling effects of seawater, according to new findings from a comparative study conducted by researchers from the National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) in Taiwan. The floating solar panels used in the study produced 12 percent more energy than the on-land models, with potentially huge implications for global energy security and decarbonization pathways. The study, published this month in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy,…

The sudden halt of liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows from the Middle East has prompted Asian buyers to seek long-term solutions to secure supply from sources not needing the blocked Strait of Hormuz. As Qatar’s LNG shipments are under force majeure until at least mid-August and full LNG export capacity may not be restored for another five years, LNG customers are looking to sign long-term supply deals with exporters outside of conflict areas. Thailand, the top LNG importer in Southeast Asia, is now looking to boost its U.S. gas supply to…

China just expanded its national emissions trading scheme to cover steel production. The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism entered its definitive phase in January, putting a financial penalty on emissions-intensive steel. Simandou, the world's largest untapped deposit of high-grade iron ore, shipped its first cargoes to China in late 2025. The market for lower-grade ore is contracting. The market for ore that can feed cleaner steelmaking is growing. BHP just canceled the project that would have positioned it for the second market. Instead,…

With Election Day fast approaching, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government is hoping that shows of support from the United States and European Union will give it a boost at the polls. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio paid a brief visit to Yerevan on May 26, during which he signed a Charter on Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership together with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan. The two also inked a framework agreement concerning the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, envisioned as a key cog in the…

Germany’s day-ahead electricity prices soared by 29% on Wednesday as a heatwave across Europe boosted cooling demand while low wind speeds reduced wind power generation. The lower wind speeds and the resulting lower power output from wind turbines are raising the need to fire up natural gas and coal-fired power production, which is more expensive than wind power generation. An early heatwave is sweeping through northwest Europe with unusually high temperatures these days, lifting demand for air conditioning. Forecasts for Thursday’s…

Germany’s day-ahead electricity prices soared by 29% on Wednesday as a heatwave across Europe boosted cooling demand while low wind speeds reduced wind power generation. The lower wind speeds and the resulting lower power output from wind turbines are raising the need to fire up natural gas and coal-fired power production, which is more expensive than wind power generation. An early heatwave is sweeping through northwest Europe with unusually high temperatures these days, lifting demand for air conditioning. Forecasts for Thursday’s…

For months, China’s reduced appetite for oil and LNG imports has helped ease some of the pressure on already-strained global energy markets. But Beijing’s current strategy appears less about weakening demand and more about caution amid the Iran war and the growing risks surrounding Middle Eastern supply routes. Chinese buyers have been drawing down inventories, slowing refinery activity, and delaying spot purchases while waiting for safer and potentially cheaper cargo opportunities. The problem for global markets is that this balancing…

Japan’s industry ministry will officially switch the benchmark for calculating gasoline price subsidies back to Dubai crude prices from Brent crude, effective June 4, after Dubai crude prices stabilized and the gap between Dubai and Brent has narrowed, allowing for more accurate subsidy calculations. Earlier in the spring, the Japanese government briefly shifted the benchmark to Brent crude in an attempt to limit surging gasoline prices shortly after the Iran war begun. However, oil price volatility has now cooled off considerably, with Dubai…