As Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s refineries and the halt of Ukrainian shipments of Russian oil to central EU member states limit outlets of Russian crude, Moscow is boosting shipments via ports.   Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports averaged 3.39 million barrels per day (bpd) in the four weeks to February 15, per ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Oil exports have been rising for a fourth consecutive week, as week-by-week comparisons are not particularly relevant due to weather conditions in the winter and other factors,…

As Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s refineries and the halt of Ukrainian shipments of Russian oil to central EU member states limit outlets of Russian crude, Moscow is boosting shipments via ports.   Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports averaged 3.39 million barrels per day (bpd) in the four weeks to February 15, per ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Oil exports have been rising for a fourth consecutive week, as week-by-week comparisons are not particularly relevant due to weather conditions in the winter and other factors,…

As Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s refineries and the halt of Ukrainian shipments of Russian oil to central EU member states limit outlets of Russian crude, Moscow is boosting shipments via ports.   Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports averaged 3.39 million barrels per day (bpd) in the four weeks to February 15, per ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Oil exports have been rising for a fourth consecutive week, as week-by-week comparisons are not particularly relevant due to weather conditions in the winter and other factors,…

Residents of Smederevo, a Serbian industrial city already blanketed by pollution from a Chinese-owned steel mill, are pushing back against plans for a $2.8 billion oil refinery backed by Chinese state-owned companies -- a project negotiated largely out of public view. Nearly two years after the refinery was announced, Serbia's government has refused to release the framework agreement signed with China Energy International Group. Serbia's Energy Ministry told RFE/RL the deal was a "business secret" and disclosing the agreement would interrupt negotiations…

Portland General Electric Company has agreed to buy select power plants and utility operations of Berkshire Hathaway’s PacifiCorp in Washington State for $1.9 billion, the Portland-based firm said on Tuesday.  The price of the acquisition represents a purchase price multiple of 1.4 times the estimated 2026 rate base.    As part of the deal, Portland General Electric (PGE) will buy three generation facilities: the Chehalis gas-powered plant with a capacity of 477 megawatts (MW), the Goodnoe Hills wind facility with 94 MW…

A second round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear program concluded on February 17, according to Iran's state broadcaster. The outcome remains unclear, as neither side has issued a statement or spoken to the media. Mediated by Oman, the negotiations aim to resolve the years-long dispute over Iran's nuclear program as the United States continues to amass forces in the Arabian Sea. President Donald Trump has warned that failure to reach a deal could lead to military strikes. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah…

In 2010, as the aftershocks of the financial crisis rattled Dubai and crude remained the ultimate hard currency, an $8 billion cash-for-oil proposal surfaced linking the United Arab Emirates and China. Newly released U.S. Department of Justice emails now show that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, also known as Prince Andrew, agreed to help pursue the idea during an official trip to Beijing in his capacity as the UK’s special trade representative. Correspondence also shows that he shared the oil proposal via email to convicted sex offender Jeffrey…

In 2010, as the aftershocks of the financial crisis rattled Dubai and crude remained the ultimate hard currency, an $8 billion cash-for-oil proposal surfaced linking the United Arab Emirates and China. Newly released U.S. Department of Justice emails now show that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, also known as Prince Andrew, agreed to help pursue the idea during an official trip to Beijing in his capacity as the UK’s special trade representative. Correspondence also shows that he shared the oil proposal via email to convicted sex offender Jeffrey…

In 2010, as the aftershocks of the financial crisis rattled Dubai and crude remained the ultimate hard currency, an $8 billion cash-for-oil proposal surfaced linking the United Arab Emirates and China. Newly released U.S. Department of Justice emails now show that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, also known as Prince Andrew, agreed to help pursue the idea during an official trip to Beijing in his capacity as the UK’s special trade representative. Correspondence also shows that he shared the oil proposal via email to convicted sex offender Jeffrey…

In 2010, as the aftershocks of the financial crisis rattled Dubai and crude remained the ultimate hard currency, an $8 billion cash-for-oil proposal surfaced linking the United Arab Emirates and China. Newly released U.S. Department of Justice emails now show that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, also known as Prince Andrew, agreed to help pursue the idea during an official trip to Beijing in his capacity as the UK’s special trade representative. Correspondence also shows that he shared the oil proposal via email to convicted sex offender Jeffrey…

Iran will close parts of the critical oil shipping lane in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz, for a few hours on Tuesday as it is conducting military drills in the area, Iran’s Fars news agency reports.   The partial closure is due to “security precautions,” per the semi-official Iranian news agency cited by Reuters.   Iran’s naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday launched a military drill, dubbed “Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz,” on the eve of the…

For decades, oil prices could swing wildly on even the distant prospect of war in the Middle East. With U.S. shale, that changed, leading many to assume that anything short of an oil blockade in the Strait of Hormuz will leave oil markets cold—and such a blockade is highly unlikely. This, however, is a false sense of security. Geopolitics can still flip the script on oil bears. The most recent oil price rally was prompted by the threat of a military escalation between the United States and Iran. Interestingly, the oil blockade that the United…

For the first time ever, China now has more operating power capacity from clean energy sources than capacity running on fossil fuels, thanks to a decade of booming solar and wind installations.     China, the undisputed global leader in clean energy investment, has 52% of operating power capacity coming from non-fossil fuel sources as of February 2026, while 48% of installed capacity is fossil fuel-based, according to data tracked by Global Energy Monitor.  For years, China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas polluter,…

After years of steady energy consumption rates, the Great Lakes region is expected to see a 2 to 3 percent annual rise in energy demand over the next ten years as data centers pop up at a rapid clip to support the AI boom. Not only will this growth rate place extra stress on local energy grids (and therefore on consumers’ bottom lines), it could also pose a real threat to water resources in an area where freshwater is rarely thought of as scarce. “The energy story emerging today is one of tumultuous change in energy supply and demand…

A slew of high-quality oil discoveries in offshore Block 58 by TotalEnergies and its 50% partner, APA Corporation, has seen the tiny South American country of Suriname touted as the next Guyana. While Suriname’s offshore waters hold considerable petroleum potential, the country’s oil boom has been fraught with delays. Conflicting geological data, high gas-to-oil ratios, poor drilling results and economic headwinds are weighing heavily on the former Dutch colony’s oil boom. There is no certainty that Suriname will ever enjoy the…

The history of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), their danger to the ozone layer, and the drive to replace them reminds me of an observation from former CBS news correspondent and commentator Eric Sevareid: "[T]he real cause of problems is solutions." When chemists F. Sherwood Roland and Mario Molina asked where chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) go after leaking from refrigerators and air conditioners or being intentionally released from aerosol cans, they did not know that the answer would lead to the world-shaking discovery that these chemicals were threatening…

Operations at the Mukran LNG terminal in Germany’s Baltic Sea have resumed following successful icebreaking operations to clear a navigable channel. The facility had been temporarily disrupted by heavy sea ice, preventing cargo ships from departing.Situated on Ruegen island, the Mukran LNG terminal is operated by Deutsche ReGas, which has been utilizing floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) such as the Energos Power and Neptune. After a slow start, the terminal achieved record-high gas deliveries by the second quarter of 2025,…

During the Cold War, the Kremlin worried about the threat posed by American nuclear missiles. Now, Russian leaders seem panicked at the thought of an American nuclear reactor at their doorstep. Since the United States and Armenia signed a nuclear cooperation deal on February 9 during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Yerevan, the Kremlin has seemingly gone to a civilian equivalent of DEFCON 3 with a wide-ranging effort to scuttle the construction of a US-designed nuclear plant on Armenian soil. In addition to media…

Hungary and Slovakia have formally requested that Croatia authorize the transit of Russian crude oil via the Adriatic pipeline, following the complete suspension of oil flows through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline, which has been out of service since January 27. The two countries seek to use the Adria pipeline (operated by the Croatian state-owned company Janaf), which connects the Croatian port of Omišalj to refineries in Hungary and Slovakia.  According to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó,…

Hungary and Slovakia have formally requested that Croatia authorize the transit of Russian crude oil via the Adriatic pipeline, following the complete suspension of oil flows through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline, which has been out of service since January 27. The two countries seek to use the Adria pipeline (operated by the Croatian state-owned company Janaf), which connects the Croatian port of Omišalj to refineries in Hungary and Slovakia.  According to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó,…