China will aim to use more renewable energy such as green hydrogen and green ammonia to avoid curtailments of solar and wind power whose soaring capacity sometimes boosts clean power generation beyond the limits of the grids.  China will promote and support the use of renewable energy beyond the electricity generation sector over the next five years, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Wednesday in a new plan on integrating renewable energy in the economy to 2030.  Green hydrogen and green ammonia are produced using renewable…

China will aim to use more renewable energy such as green hydrogen and green ammonia to avoid curtailments of solar and wind power whose soaring capacity sometimes boosts clean power generation beyond the limits of the grids.  China will promote and support the use of renewable energy beyond the electricity generation sector over the next five years, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Wednesday in a new plan on integrating renewable energy in the economy to 2030.  Green hydrogen and green ammonia are produced using renewable…

US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in June slowed down the nuclear program, likely buried Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and effectively paused enrichment activities. The attacks prompted Iran to reevaluate its nuclear strategy, and after declaring the end of international oversight of its nuclear program due to the expiry of the 2015 nuclear deal in October, Tehran -- which maintains it has never and will not seek to weaponize its nuclear program -- now operates with strategic opacity. Recent satellite images analyzed…

Despite the challenging geopolitical landscape, Turkey's energy strategy remains resilient, with no immediate plans to pivot away from Russian crudes. US and European sanctions on Russian oil and gas are really starting to bite. The media, however, is presenting a much rosier picture than the facts on the ground show. As one of the leading outlets for Russian crude, Turkey, a NATO member, currently in discussion on membership of the EU, shows a much darker picture when talking about its perceived pivot away from Moscow’s crude than facts…

Oil prices tumbled on Tuesday, with Brent down 2.46% at $63.56 a barrel at 9:54 a.m. ET, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slid 2.64% to $59.43, as traders reacted to fresh signals of easing supply pressure and waning demand momentum through early 2026. The drop came after OPEC revised its projections to show a “balanced” market next year, moving further from the deficit forecast it held earlier this fall. The update suggests that additional OPEC+ production and resilient non-OPEC output could offset modest demand growth, erasing near-term…

Oil prices tumbled on Tuesday, with Brent down 2.46% at $63.56 a barrel at 9:54 a.m. ET, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slid 2.64% to $59.43, as traders reacted to fresh signals of easing supply pressure and waning demand momentum through early 2026. The drop came after OPEC revised its projections to show a “balanced” market next year, moving further from the deficit forecast it held earlier this fall. The update suggests that additional OPEC+ production and resilient non-OPEC output could offset modest demand growth, erasing near-term…

Chevron plans to grow its free cash flow into the next decade as it focuses on higher profits and returns to shareholders instead of growing oil and production, the U.S. supermajor’s five-year plan to 2030 showed on Wednesday.    Chevron will raise output, but its primary focus will be on boosting free cash flow and earnings per share via deeper cost cuts, synergies from the Hess acquisition, and reduced capital expenditure (capex).   “Chevron expects to maintain capital and cost discipline while investing to…

Chevron plans to grow its free cash flow into the next decade as it focuses on higher profits and returns to shareholders instead of growing oil and production, the U.S. supermajor’s five-year plan to 2030 showed on Wednesday.    Chevron will raise output, but its primary focus will be on boosting free cash flow and earnings per share via deeper cost cuts, synergies from the Hess acquisition, and reduced capital expenditure (capex).   “Chevron expects to maintain capital and cost discipline while investing to…

Aluminum prices in the U.S. climbed to new record highs on Monday as domestic inventories tightened sharply, driven by the Trump administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs designed to bolster and revitalize America’s industrial base. According to Bloomberg, the all-in U.S. aluminum price, combining the London Metal Exchange (LME) benchmark and the U.S. Midwest delivery premium, hit a record high of $4,816 per ton, nearly double the level from the December 2023 lows. The U.S. remains heavily dependent on foreign aluminum imports, lacking…

Baker Hughes (NYSE:BKR) has taken a decisive role in reviving one of America’s most ambitious energy projects. The Houston-based oilfield services firm has signed definitive agreements with Glenfarne Alaska LNG LLC, a subsidiary of Glenfarne Energy Transition, to supply power generation equipment and main refrigerant compressors for the long-delayed Alaska LNG Project. The partnership positions Baker Hughes as both technology provider and investor in the $44 billion development, one of the largest single energy infrastructure undertakings…

The highly focused development of the U.S.’s shale oil and gas sectors from the early 2010s transformed it from one of the world’s biggest importers of both into one of its leading exporters of both. But it did much more than this: it reversed the balance of energy power in the world from where it had been left at the end of the 1973 Oil Crisis. As forecasts for the demand for gas continue to surge on fears of further global conflicts and on the dramatic expansion of data centres around the globe, the Middle East is looking to expand…

From indispensable bridge fuel to dirtier than coal, natural gas has gone through a few turbulent years recently, culminating in the EU’s risky legislation that could see it left out in the cold and dark, and investors’ newfound—or newly remembered—appetite for investments in gas. In the final year of his term, President Biden imposed a moratorium on new LNG export capacity, based on a study by a researcher who claimed that LNG production resulted in more emissions than burning coal. This was perhaps meant to drive investors…

The pariah of fossil fuels has been given pride of place in the Trump administration’s ambitions for a more secure supply of critical minerals. Last week, the Interior Department added 10 minerals to a list it deems essential for the US economy and national security. Along with metallurgical coal used in steelmaking, the list includes copper, silver, boron, lead, phosphate, potash, rhenium and silicon. As reported by Reuters, The list serves as a blueprint for Washington's push to secure supplies of materials needed for defense, manufacturing,…

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev are meeting in Moscow this week to discuss gas cooperation and the impact of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil majors with operations in Kazakhstan. The talks come as the Kremlin faces tighter restrictions on Lukoil and Rosneft, both sanctioned last month by the Trump administration. Lukoil holds stakes in Kazakhstan’s Tengiz and Karachaganak projects, which are operated by Western majors and remain dependent on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) for exports. The CPC—controlled…

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev are meeting in Moscow this week to discuss gas cooperation and the impact of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil majors with operations in Kazakhstan. The talks come as the Kremlin faces tighter restrictions on Lukoil and Rosneft, both sanctioned last month by the Trump administration. Lukoil holds stakes in Kazakhstan’s Tengiz and Karachaganak projects, which are operated by Western majors and remain dependent on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) for exports. The CPC—controlled…

Mergers are back in fashion, especially now that the government no longer objects as much as before. Why do a merger?  Well, the merging parties always say that the merger will strengthen competition (good for the public), lower operating costs (good for shareholders), and be transformative (which we can’t translate). Cynics say the merger partners and arrangers have other motives, because the mergers produce huge fees for bankers and lawyers and bonuses for the executives,  and ongoing benefits for executives because the bigger…

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is no longer a futuristic idea or a climate scientist’s dream, it has become an unavoidable necessity for the sectors that cannot decarbonize through renewables or electrification alone. Cement, steel, refining, chemicals, these industries have one practical path to cutting emissions in the short term: capturing and storing their CO?. Yet while the United States is rapidly turning that vision into reality, Europe continues to wrestle with frameworks, regulations, and price signals that fail to deliver. The…

Nigeria will open its 2025 oil licensing round on December 1, as the Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) steps deeper into the role once dominated by the state oil company. The move signals President Bola Tinubu’s intent to boost output, court investors, and drive the economy toward his $1-trillion target. Announcing the round in London, NUPRC chief Gbenga Komolafe said it marks a fresh phase under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). He told executives from oil majors and banks that financing remains the biggest barrier to growth,…

While the market is finally starting to grapple with the most unpleasant question of who will plug the funding gap needed to build out all the data centers required to make the AI dream a reality, a gap which Morgan Stanley recently calculated would be as large as $2.9 trillion in capex funding needs, of which at least $1 trillion will come in the form of debt (and mostly private debt)... ... there is another, just as critical question: who will fund the energy buildout that powers these data centers?  Recall, last December Morgan Stanley…

Kenya’s long-stalled Turkana oil dream has a new driver. Gulf Energy Ltd., a Nairobi-based trader, plans to start producing crude from the South Lokichar Basin by the end of 2026—nearly fifteen years after Tullow Oil’s original discovery. Tullow sold its long-delayed Turkana project to Gulf Energy in April for $120 million, finally bowing out after years of trying — and failing — to get the oil out of the ground. Tullow's partners, TotalEnergies and Africa Oil, had already walked away the year before when financing…