The decision by Washington to block Iraq from importing gas from Turkmenistan via a swap deal with Iran may prove problematic for Baghdad, but it could reignite interest in building a trans-Caspian pipeline that enables Turkmen gas to flow to Europe.  Washington’s decision was part of an effort to ramp up sanctions pressure on Tehran and was not specifically intended to punish either Baghdad or Ashgabat, although both will be impacted. Iraq is suffering from crippling power shortages, and importing gas from Turkmenistan…

When the PBS reporter asked the energy consultant about electricity prices, you knew he was trying to be fair, you know, both sides of the story. Wasn’t it true that having an AI center in the area might lower electricity prices? Yes, the consultant replied, because the electric industry’s costs are largely fixed, so if it had excess capacity and could spread those costs over more customers (AI facilities, presumably), that would lower costs to all customers. Fixed costs, economics 101. Then he said that where there was no excess capacity,…

The United Arab Emirates doesn’t expect oversupply on the oil market as demand remains solid, the energy minister of one of OPEC’s top producers said on Monday.  On Sunday, the OPEC+ producers, including the UAE, decided to pause their reversal of the production cuts in the first quarter of 2026, after a small increase in December. Citing “seasonality” and historically weaker demand in the first quarter of any year, OPEC said it would halt the production increases in January, February, and March.  One of the OPEC+…

The United Arab Emirates doesn’t expect oversupply on the oil market as demand remains solid, the energy minister of one of OPEC’s top producers said on Monday.  On Sunday, the OPEC+ producers, including the UAE, decided to pause their reversal of the production cuts in the first quarter of 2026, after a small increase in December. Citing “seasonality” and historically weaker demand in the first quarter of any year, OPEC said it would halt the production increases in January, February, and March.  One of the OPEC+…

The advance in AI and the surge in data center build-out have pushed global energy investment needs to $4 trillion annually, Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC chief executive, said on Monday.  Large oil producers have been warning for years that investment in supply needs to rise to meet constantly growing global energy demand. Now the new AI age requires even more investment in energy supply and grids, Al Jaber said today in his opening address to the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi.  Al…

A Ukrainian drone attack hit Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse on November 2, setting an oil tanker ablaze and damaging port infrastructure, in the latest of a series of strikes on Moscow's crucial oil sector. A source in Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service it had fired dozens of drones at the facility, which has been targeted in multiple attacks this year. "Five drone hits were recorded. As a result of the attacks, a tanker caught fire and at least four oil tanker [loaders]...were disabled. Port buildings were also…

Oil prices rose modestly in early Asian trading on Monday after OPEC+ opted for a limited production increase in December and delayed further hikes in the first quarter of 2026, signalling caution amid demand uncertainty. At the time of writing, Brent was trading up 0.54% at $65.12 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate traded at $61.33, up 0.57% from the previous close. In a Sunday online meeting, eight OPEC+ members agreed to raise production by 137,000 barrels per day in December 2025, a figure in line with the increases seen in October and…

Ten years after the landmark Paris Agreement to pursue net-zero emissions by 2050, the world faces a slowing transition to clean energy despite record-breaking renewable capacity installations.    Much has changed in the energy systems in the decade since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. These systems faced a global pandemic, the first war in Europe since WWII, an energy crisis, a U.S. government that questioned climate change, and backlash against net-zero policies in banking and equity investment.    Some…

Concern has been rising that artificial intelligence is killing jobs, and there is evidence to support this. But in the energy industry, executives are loving AI. A fifth of energy companies are already using the technology, and an overwhelming majority of executives believe AI is a force for good. For energy, it has been. AI is driving energy demand much higher than ever before, and it has reasserted the reliability of supply as a top priority. In a report released this week, the UAE’s ADNOC and Microsoft reported that 87% of companies they…

The Global Methane Pledge was launched at the COP26 climate summit to accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions worldwide. However, since joining the pledge, many countries have failed to cut their methane emissions at the rate needed to meet global warming reduction targets. While the focus of climate change is often centred around carbon emissions, the fact that methane heats the planet up to 80 times more than carbon dioxide over two decades is less widely discussed. Methane has contributed around 30 percent of the increase in global temperatures…

Germany just made a huge bet on nuclear fusion, putting an exclamation point at the end of its historic u-turn on nuclear energy policy. A new action plan from Chancellor Friedrich Merz aims to ensure that the world’s first commercial fusion reactor and throws €1.7 billion ($1.98 billion) in funding behind the cause. The unexpected announcement is making major waves in what is already a conflicted political environment when it comes to energy planning. This announcement comes as something of a shock considering that Germany has been…

While many countries around the globe pledge to transition away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives, the use of coal for power generation has once again risen. Several governments have committed to cutting coal production and use over the coming decades, due to its reputation as the “dirtiest fossil fuel”. Coal is being increasingly replaced with less-polluting fossil fuels, such as natural gas, as countries gradually expand their renewable energy sectors to transition towards green energy. However, it seems that despite big…

Oil prices were little changed in the current week, with bearish sentiment still ruling the markets after the U.S. agreed to a one-year truce to its trade war with China, despite reports that Indian refiners are ditching Russian oil following fresh U.S. sanctions. Brent crude for December delivery traded at $65.07/bbl at 2.22 pm ET on Friday, a slight drop from $66.48/bbl a week ago, while the corresponding WTI contract was changing hands at $60.92/bbl, down from $61.95/bbl.  Last week, the Trump administration announced fresh sanctions targeting…

Shipping and aviation are considered to be some of the hardest to abate sectors when it comes to decarbonization. Together, these two sectors account for a whopping 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and that figure is likely going to rise as more goods are shipped and more flights are booked each and every year. But a new biofuels breakthrough may provide a long-range fuel alternative for the heavy transport and aviation industries. Emissions from the aviation sector have quadrupled since the 1960s, even as flying has become more than twice…

AI seems to be the tide that raises all energy boats. Policymakers and private enterprises around the world are adopting an all-of-the-above approach to energy sourcing – clean energy pledges be damned – in order to shore up energy security in an era of unprecedented flux. Governments around the world are greenlighting new projects to boost energy production as fast as they can in an attempt to stay one step ahead of looming energy shortages, while tech moguls bet big on proven as well as unproven energy technologies. But while the…

The United States is looking to develop new rare earth minerals supply chains to reduce China’s dominance of the sector. In October, President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met at the White House to sign an agreement for the strengthening of the critical minerals and rare earths supply chain, with $8.5 billion in projects outlined.  Rare earths are critical minerals that are used in a variety of applications, including the production of magnets for weapons platforms, semiconductor manufacturing, robotics,…

As the world’s solar power capacity continues to grow year on year, companies are increasingly looking for ways to expand capacity without relying heavily on arable land to develop projects. Several energy companies are assessing the use of alternative locations to develop solar projects, such as deserts, farms, and waterways. Fiving sites a dual use reduces the negative impact of the project on the environment, thereby helping to make these types of solar projects more sustainable. Energy companies have long been criticised for their use…

After decades of stagnation, nuclear energy is staging a comeback — and it’s no longer the gigawatt-scale reactors of the past leading the charge. Small modular reactors, once dismissed as niche or speculative, have moved to the center of a global energy and geopolitical pivot. Their appeal lies in scalability, siting flexibility, and the promise of dedicated, carbon-free baseload power—a vital ingredient in an era defined by the AI energy demand surge and industrial decarbonization. The shift from ambitious blueprints to billion-dollar…

U.S.-Venezuela tensions are again rippling through energy and security markets, prompting President Donald Trump to rule out immediate military strikes while maintaining a buildup of American naval assets in the Caribbean.  His comments followed reports of U.S. patrols and maritime interdictions targeting narcotics routes linked to Caracas, a campaign that has drawn condemnation from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and prompted renewed appeals to the U.N. Security Council.  Newsweek reported that Washington’s military…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Russia’s campaign in Ukraine has tightened, with fresh missile and drone strikes on energy infrastructure across Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro cutting nationwide power and forcing Kyiv into rolling blackouts. Moscow claims incremental territorial gains (about 40 square miles over the past week); however, none decisive enough to alter the front. Putin publicly confirmed a test of the nuclear-capable Poseidon torpedo, signaling that deterrence theatrics remain part of Russia’s messaging mix as winter sets…