Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Iran is now trying to shift tack, openly appealing to Trump’s transactional approach to foreign policy as nuclear talks resume in Geneva. Tehran is talking about clear economic benefits for the United States. They have pointed to oil and gas field development, mining projects, and access to critical minerals as areas where American companies could invest if sanctions are eased. The Iranian Foreign Minister is meeting US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for a third round of negotiations, and an opportunity…

Wall Street spent the week staring at tariff percentages, but the real story went down at the Supreme Court. The Court struck down Trump’s previous global tariff program, ruling that emergency powers under IEEPA could not be used to impose sweeping import levies. That decision wiped out the legal foundation for the structure that had collected more than $175 billion in duties. Trump responded by invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows temporary tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days in response to balance-of-payments or currency…

WTI crude oil posted a volatile and ultimately lower week as a record U.S. inventory build collided with an evolving diplomatic effort between Washington and Tehran. The April contract touched a seven-month high of $67.28 on Monday before reversing sharply, finishing near $65.31 by Thursday night, down $1.17 or 1.76% on the week. Iran-U.S. Negotiations: From War Premium to Cautious Optimism The dominant theme all week was the diplomatic standoff over Iran's nuclear program. Early in the week, crude was underpinned by a significant geopolitical…

Economists and oil market analysts have hiked their oil price forecasts for 2026 amid rising geopolitical tensions and heightened war premium due to the U.S.-Iran standoff.  Both crude oil benchmarks are now expected to average above $60 per barrel this year, with price forecasts higher by about $1.50 per barrel compared to a month ago, the monthly Reuters poll showed on Friday.  Despite ongoing concerns about an oversupplied market, the 34 analysts and economists surveyed by Reuters in February raised their projections in view of uncertainties…

Croatia can ensure crude oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia, which haven’t received Russian oil for a month following damage on the Druzhba oil pipeline, the Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, has said.  “Croatia is here as a neighbor, partner and friend to ensure the energy security and smooth functioning of the economies of both Hungary and Slovakia,” Croatian state media quoted Plenkovic as saying.  Hungary and Slovakia are releasing oil from their strategic petroleum reserves after Russian crude flows via…

The U.S. Department of Justice is siding with Argentina in a legal case of $18 billion relating to the 2012 nationalization of Argentinian oil company YPF.  In 2012, the Argentine government took control of the country’s largest oil and gas company, YPF S.A.   The legal fight stems from Argentina’s 2012 expropriation of YPF shares from Spain’s Repsol without extending a mandatory tender offer to YPF’s then minority shareholders—Petersen Energia and Eton Park Capital.  After the renationalization…

India seeks to slash imports of thermal coal used in its power sector by 30% this year as it wants to use more of its domestic coal supply, industry and government sources have told Reuters. Last year, India’s power sector burned almost 50 million tons of imported thermal coal. This year, the country plans to slash that imported coal dependence by 15 million tons, according to Reuters’ sources with knowledge of the plans.   Yet, India will not use less coal overall—it will simply seek to replace the imported fuel with…

The struggle for geopolitical supremacy is rapidly becoming a struggle over one critical resource - rare earth magnets.They will determine whether the United States can build military equipment at scale, whether weapons can be replaced as fast as they are used, and whether industry can keep pace with demand across an economy measured in the tens of trillions of dollars. For the United States, winning this strategic competition hinges on a single, difficult capability: the domestic production of magnet materials at scale. While many other Western…

The U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed a 126% preliminary countervailing duty on Indian solar cells and modules, effectively closing off the lucrative U.S. market and exacerbating overcapacity issues for India’s burgeoning solar sector. The levies follow a complaint by the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade (AASMT), claiming that Indian firms benefited unfairly from government subsidies. AASMT, a coalition that includes U.S.-based First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Mission Solar as well as China’s Hanwha Qcells, filed…

When the UAE experienced severe floods two years ago, many questioned the country’s practice of so-called cloud seeding—the dispersion of certain chemicals in the air to basically squeeze more rain from clouds—as a possible cause of the floods. Officially, that explanation was rejected, yet cloud-seeding is not an unproblematic practice—and it is being employed more and more. Middle Eastern countries where rainfall is scarce are among those that have been seeding clouds for the longest time, but they are not the only ones.…

Last year was an event-filled period for South America’s growing oil industry. The continent’s energy map is being rewritten by a few unexpected world-class oil booms, which makes the region a key source of non-OPEC production growth. There is also the potential for Venezuela to reemerge as a major petroleum producer after U.S. President Donald Trump launched Operation Southern Spear in August 2025, which culminated with President Nicolas Maduro’s capture in a daring night raid. Let us take a closer look at what lies ahead for…

The UK may be quietly inching toward an awkward admission: the windfall tax experiment on oil and gas has been a flop. The Treasury is holding talks with North Sea oil and gas producers about potentially scrapping the Energy Profits Levy before its scheduled 2030 expiry, according to people familiar with the discussions. After multiple extensions and rate hikes, the levy has pushed the sector’s headline tax burden to 78% — a level producers argue borders on confiscatory, and a level critics argue borders on ridiculosity. The EPL was…

Researchers in Hong Kong and China have developed a new form of battery that is more eco-friendly and longer lasting than lithium ion batteries –  and it runs on tofu brine. The new water battery is still in research phases, but if the technology proves to be scalable enough to hit commercial markets, it could be a game-changer for the energy and tech sectors. “Compared with current aqueous battery systems … our system delivers exceptional long-term cycling stability and environmental friendliness under neutral conditions,”…

Americans spend close to half a trillion dollars per year on electricity. The electric industry spends over a quarter trillion dollars a year on a capital program to replace old plants and add new ones to enable it to serve new demand. The industry and its customers have conflicting feelings about big capital spending. On the one hand, the spending should assure better service (good for consumers) and increase the rate base (good for utility investors). On the other hand, the spending will surely raise prices because the new plant and equipment…

The rare earth issue facing the United States is not a mining story. It’s a materials story.Modern defense systems are not built on ore bodies. They are built on rare earth metals, alloys, and permanent magnets. And while the U.S. has resources in the ground, it still does not reliably control the steps that turn mined material into usable, qualified inputs for industry and defense. That exposure sits in the middle of the supply chain, after mining and before finished components. It’s the point where separated material must be converted…

The rare earth issue facing the United States is not a mining story. It’s a materials story.Modern defense systems are not built on ore bodies. They are built on rare earth metals, alloys, and permanent magnets. And while the U.S. has resources in the ground, it still does not reliably control the steps that turn mined material into usable, qualified inputs for industry and defense. That exposure sits in the middle of the supply chain, after mining and before finished components. It’s the point where separated material must be converted…

The rare earth issue facing the United States is not a mining story. It’s a materials story.Modern defense systems are not built on ore bodies. They are built on rare earth metals, alloys, and permanent magnets. And while the U.S. has resources in the ground, it still does not reliably control the steps that turn mined material into usable, qualified inputs for industry and defense. That exposure sits in the middle of the supply chain, after mining and before finished components. It’s the point where separated material must be converted…

The rare earth issue facing the United States is not a mining story. It’s a materials story.Modern defense systems are not built on ore bodies. They are built on rare earth metals, alloys, and permanent magnets. And while the U.S. has resources in the ground, it still does not reliably control the steps that turn mined material into usable, qualified inputs for industry and defense. That exposure sits in the middle of the supply chain, after mining and before finished components. It’s the point where separated material must be converted…

Federal regulators have officially reopened a door California politicians have spent years trying to weld shut. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Thursday announced it will prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement for potential oil and gas lease sales in the Northern, Central, and Southern California program areas, launching the first formal step required under NEPA. Translation: California’s offshore leasing conversation is no longer theoretical. The notice covers roughly 11,876 lease blocks spanning about 65 million…

With the Russian-Ukraine war entering its fifth year, Kazakhstan is grappling with lots of uncertainty concerning oil exports, a critical revenue stream for Astana. The threats to budgetary stability faced by Kazakhstan are not solely related to the warfare in Ukraine: Astana is also facing prolonged and complicated negotiations with foreign partners over renewed operating agreements for key oil fields.  Over the near term, Ukraine poses the main challenge for Kazakhstan’s oil exports. Kyiv is threatening to significantly increase attacks…