Rising oil supply amid tepid demand growth has prompted forecasters and analysts to predict a large surplus on the market going into 2026. All experts and investment banks estimate that the market is accumulating inventories and will continue to do so in early 2026, when oil demand is typically at its weakest in any year. The forecasts of oversupply vary considerably, but regardless of how large the surplus would be, 2026 will likely be the last year in which the market will have to work through a glut, analysts such as Goldman Sachs say. Despite…

The production of US natural gas and demand for it will both end the year at record highs, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook cited by Reuters on Dec. 9. For dry gas production and LNG exports, the totals will keep rising in 2026. EIA projected dry gas production will rise from 103.2 billion cubic feet per day in 2024 to 107.7 bcfd in 2025 and 109.1 bcfd in 2026. That compares with a record 103.6 bcfd in 2023. The agency also projected domestic gas consumption will rise from a record 90.4 bcfd…

Artificial intelligence could help the energy industry tap an additional one trillion barrels of oil by making more of these barrels economical to extract. Wood Mackenzie analysts made the prediction recently, adding fuel to an already heated debate: is AI going to accelerate the transition or, as the Wood Mac prediction suggests, hinder it by extending the world’s reliance on oil and gas? For the energy industry, the question is rather irrelevant. From the perspective of companies in the business of extracting energy commodities, AI is a…

The global energy landscape is undergoing a decisive structural shift, moving away from the century-old model of centralized utility dependence toward localized, autonomous power networks. According to a new industry report by Credence Research, the global market for decentralized microgrid solutions is projected to nearly triple in value over the next decade, reaching $17.16 billion by 2032. This trajectory represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.74%, driven by a confluence of geopolitical instability, accelerating renewable energy…

The European Commission is expected to launch a nearly $1.4 trillion (1.2 trillion euros) package to upgrade cross-border electric grids and accelerate planning and permitting as the EU looks to strengthen power links and accommodate a growing share of renewable electricity generation. The European Commission is set to unveil the trillion-dollar package to fast-track grid upgrades and renewable projects permits, and boost cross-border cooperation, a leaked document seen by Euronews showed this week. The Commission has identified eight key grid…

Workers at Brazil's Oil & Gas giant Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE:PBR), aka Petrobras, have announced a nationwide strike starting December 15, terming the company's latest counteroffer for a labor agreement as "disrespectful”. Petrobras workers have been pushing for changes to the employee compensation structure, claiming there’s a deficit in the retirement fund. However, Reuters cited an unnamed source as saying that contingencies have been put in place, with the strike unlikely to affect operations or production. …

Britain’s AI boom is running straight into an energy wall, and nuclear power was supposed to act as its crutch to get around it. Instead, the government has hit pause, just as data centre demand is set to explode, leading investors wondering whether the UK risks talking itself out of its opportunity. Recent analysis from the Nuclear Industry Association and Oxford Economics warned that data-centre electricity demand will jump more than fivefold by 2030, swallowing nearly nine per cent of the UK’s total power use. The AI labs and hyperscalers…

Elon Musk's space transportation company SpaceX is targeting a raise of $25 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) in the coming year, in a move that will give it a valuation of over $1 trillion, making SpaceX one of the world’s most valuable companies, thanks in large part to the rapid expansion of its Starlink satellite internet business as well as plans to launch a direct-to-mobile service. SpaceX is currently engaged with banks about the IPO expected to come in June or July 2026. According to Crunchbase, SpaceX is the world's…

Elon Musk's space transportation company SpaceX is targeting a raise of $25 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) in the coming year, in a move that will give it a valuation of over $1 trillion, making SpaceX one of the world’s most valuable companies, thanks in large part to the rapid expansion of its Starlink satellite internet business as well as plans to launch a direct-to-mobile service. SpaceX is currently engaged with banks about the IPO expected to come in June or July 2026. According to Crunchbase, SpaceX is the world's…

A new wave of consolidation is on the horizon for small- and medium-sized US shale producers, largely driven by an appetite for scale in a merger and acquisition (M&A) environment that is getting increasingly competitive. Scale and efficiency are key catalysts for exploration and production (E&P) players who are seeking favorable business valuations, with acquisitions emerging as a key calculation of shareholder value by rewarding operators who keep volumes high and costs low. To build scale and survive another consolidation wave, the smaller…

Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) is currently engaged in talks with the Trump administration over its Venezuelan operations, with Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth emphasizing that its continued presence there is beneficial to U.S. interests, while Washington’s military buildup in the Caribbean seeks to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Last week, Chevron flew its employees to its oil production sites in Venezuela, defying a warning by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration regarding the dangers of air travel due…

Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) is currently engaged in talks with the Trump administration over its Venezuelan operations, with Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth emphasizing that its continued presence there is beneficial to U.S. interests, while Washington’s military buildup in the Caribbean seeks to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Last week, Chevron flew its employees to its oil production sites in Venezuela, defying a warning by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration regarding the dangers of air travel due…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is ready to hold elections in the war-torn country if the United States and other partners can provide the security necessary to ensure the vote can be held safely. The White House has been pushing for Ukraine to hold elections -- US President Donald Trump told Politico in an interview published on December 9 "it's time"-- even though Ukraine's constitution doesn't allow for elections during wartime. In a shift from previous statements, Zelenskyy said he would push parliament to draft legislation…

Germany’s networks regulator, Bundesnetzagentur, expects 1.4% higher revenues for electricity distribution network operators from 2029 onwards as the authority tweaks regulations to make grid investments more attractive.  Bundesnetzagentur oversees the revenues and earnings for the electricity and gas networks in Germany. “Investments in the German electricity grid will become more attractive” under the new rules, the regulator’s president Klaus Müller said on Wednesday as Bundesnetzagentur unveiled proposals for…

Germany’s networks regulator, Bundesnetzagentur, expects 1.4% higher revenues for electricity distribution network operators from 2029 onwards as the authority tweaks regulations to make grid investments more attractive.  Bundesnetzagentur oversees the revenues and earnings for the electricity and gas networks in Germany. “Investments in the German electricity grid will become more attractive” under the new rules, the regulator’s president Klaus Müller said on Wednesday as Bundesnetzagentur unveiled proposals for…

Germany’s networks regulator, Bundesnetzagentur, expects 1.4% higher revenues for electricity distribution network operators from 2029 onwards as the authority tweaks regulations to make grid investments more attractive.  Bundesnetzagentur oversees the revenues and earnings for the electricity and gas networks in Germany. “Investments in the German electricity grid will become more attractive” under the new rules, the regulator’s president Klaus Müller said on Wednesday as Bundesnetzagentur unveiled proposals for…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 1.8 million barrels during the week ending December 5, after adding a modest 600,000 barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 425.7 million barrels according to government data, which is 4% 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 suggested that crude oil inventories…

Senegal looks to nationalize an offshore natural gas project, currently operated by U.S.-based Kosmos Energy, to meet its domestic gas demand, Senegalese Energy Minister Birame Souleye Diop has said.  “It's a project we have operators for, and we want to nationalise it and give Petrosen, which has the expertise, the opportunity to develop this project to meet domestic gas needs... without ruling out the possibility of exporting,” Reuters quoted Diop as saying at a conference in Senegal.  Dallas-based Kosmos Energy became operator…

Echoing what has become a now daily refrain by commodity bears everywhere, Saad Rahim, chief economist of commodity-trading giant, Trafigura, said that the oil market faces a “super glut” next year as a burst of new supply collides with weakness in the global economy. According to Rahim, new drilling projects and slowing demand growth would weigh further on already depressed crude prices next year. “Whether it’s a glut, or a super glut, it’s hard to get away from that,” Rahim said in remarks alongside the company’s…

Solar and wind project approvals on federal lands have virtually stopped this year as the Trump Administration rolls back Biden-era clean energy laws and permitting regulations and shows openly hostile attitude toward green energy developments.  Since President Donald Trump was sworn in in January, only one project, a solar development, has been approved on federal lands, according to a Reuters review of permitting data. No wind or solar project has cleared approval for development on federal lands since July, when a new order stipulated that…