The Trump Administration’s openly hostile policy toward wind, solar, and electric vehicles is setting the stage for much slower emissions reductions than previously anticipated, a new report says. The U-turn in U.S. energy policies under President Donald Trump could more than halve the pace of America’s decarbonization, research provider Rhodium Group said in its annual Taking Stock 2025 analysis this week. “Openly hostile to wind, solar, and electric vehicles” Solar and wind installations and EV uptake could nosedive with…

America’s power grid is straining under the weight of a fast-changing energy landscape. Beyond the usual summer hum of air conditioners, power demand is surging from electric vehicle chargers and sprawling new data centers. At the same time, the infrastructure built to deliver reliable electricity is aging and showing its limits. From Texas heatwaves to California blackouts, the warning signs are impossible to ignore. This isn’t a technical challenge—it’s an economic and political reckoning. If the grid fails, it won’t…

The UK’s refining landscape is undergoing its sharpest contraction in decades. On April 29, Scotland’s only refinery Grangemouth ceased operations after more than a century of crude processing. The 145,000 b/d facility operated by Petroineos (a joint venture between China’s PetroChina and privately owned Ineos) had long been flagged as uncompetitive, with management warning in late 2023 that it could no longer operate profitably. Its planned conversion into a fuel import and storage hub highlights a broader shift: rather than…

Three days ago, the eight members of OPEC+ agreed to increase oil output from October by 137,000 barrels per day, a much lower clip compared to the 555,000 bpd increase announced for August and September and 411,000 bpd in June and July. The Sunday announcement means that the group has started unwinding the second tranche of 1.65 million bpd in production cuts more than a year ahead of schedule, having fully unwound the first tranche of 2.5 million bpd since April. Oil markets have reacted positively to the smaller-than-expected production increases,…

The European Union announced on Thursday that it will lock in its deadline to phase out Russian oil and gas imports by January 1, 2028, holding firm even as Washington demands an accelerated timetable. According to Reuters, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen confirmed the commitment following talks in Brussels with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.  Draft legislation is now being prepared to prevent new short-term contracts with Russian suppliers, ensuring the exit remains enforceable. The decision follows a pointed intervention from President…

The European Union announced on Thursday that it will lock in its deadline to phase out Russian oil and gas imports by January 1, 2028, holding firm even as Washington demands an accelerated timetable. According to Reuters, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen confirmed the commitment following talks in Brussels with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.  Draft legislation is now being prepared to prevent new short-term contracts with Russian suppliers, ensuring the exit remains enforceable. The decision follows a pointed intervention from President…

The European Union announced on Thursday that it will lock in its deadline to phase out Russian oil and gas imports by January 1, 2028, holding firm even as Washington demands an accelerated timetable. According to Reuters, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen confirmed the commitment following talks in Brussels with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.  Draft legislation is now being prepared to prevent new short-term contracts with Russian suppliers, ensuring the exit remains enforceable. The decision follows a pointed intervention from President…

American warships are once again patrolling the Caribbean while Venezuelan fighter jets fly overhead. A boat, alleged to be manned by drug smugglers, although this is now widely disputed, was blown up by the US military on September 2nd. The deployment underscores the volatile state of US-Venezuela relations, which in the past two years have swung from Chevron’s license being revoked to its partial renewal, and now to violent escalation. The common thread behind these developments is a narrative revived in Washington: the existence of the…

Tanker markets staged a comeback in August, and this time the rebound wasn’t subtle. Suezmax rates shot up 34% month-on-month, according to OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report published on Thursday, with the West Africa–US Gulf Coast run alone surging 38%. VLCCs weren’t far behind, climbing 19% on Middle East–East routes. Even the humble Aframax joined the party, racking up a 23% gain on Caribbean–US East Coast voyages. Clean tankers, on the other hand—i.e., tankers carrying refined petroleum products—looked…

Tanker markets staged a comeback in August, and this time the rebound wasn’t subtle. Suezmax rates shot up 34% month-on-month, according to OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report published on Thursday, with the West Africa–US Gulf Coast run alone surging 38%. VLCCs weren’t far behind, climbing 19% on Middle East–East routes. Even the humble Aframax joined the party, racking up a 23% gain on Caribbean–US East Coast voyages. Clean tankers, on the other hand—i.e., tankers carrying refined petroleum products—looked…

Could Donald Trump become the first US president to visit Central Asia? Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been pushing for it, and, on September 7, Trump seemed to praise Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and briefly float the idea of a visit. As Trump left the White House to attend the US Open tennis tournament, a Kazakh reporter asked if he would visit Kazakhstan. Trump responded, “I may. I had a great conversation with him. Say ‘hello’ to him. He’s a good man.” Whether the off-the-cuff remark actually…

OPEC’s view of global oil demand growth was left unchanged as of today’s September Monthly Oil Market Report, at 1.3 million bpd for 2025, with non-OECD economies once again doing the heavy lifting. The OECD share of demand growth is negligible at 0.1 million bpd, while Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Latin America make up the balance. For 2026, OPEC sees demand inching higher to 1.4 million bpd. The supply figures, however, are more contentious. Producers outside the OPEC+ framework are set to add 0.8 million bpd next year and…

Ballooning energy prices are placing a major strain on households across the United States. The spike in energy costs is largely thanks to the rapid spread of AI integration. The huge boom in AI infrastructure is causing national energy demand to rise at a rapid clip, and its average consumers who are now paying the price. In a 2024 survey, one in three households in the United States reported forgoing necessities, including food and medicine, in order to pay their energy bills. Now, even more U.S. families are at risk of sliding into energy poverty…

Saudi Arabia’s crude shipments to China are expected to rebound in October to a level with the August volumes of more than two-year highs, after Saudi state oil giant Aramco slashed the price of its crude for Asia next month. Aramco is expected to ship as many as 51 million barrels of Saudi crude to China in October, multiple trade sources told Reuters on Thursday. This volume is equal to 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd) of Saudi exports to China, the world’s top crude importer, and would be on par with the August levels when the…

Saudi Arabia’s crude shipments to China are expected to rebound in October to a level with the August volumes of more than two-year highs, after Saudi state oil giant Aramco slashed the price of its crude for Asia next month. Aramco is expected to ship as many as 51 million barrels of Saudi crude to China in October, multiple trade sources told Reuters on Thursday. This volume is equal to 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd) of Saudi exports to China, the world’s top crude importer, and would be on par with the August levels when the…

China appears to have become a regular importer of liquefied natural gas from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia as the third cargo in two weeks has just discharged gas at a Chinese import terminal.    The LNG tanker Zarya, sanctioned by the United States, unloaded on Wednesday over 160,000 cubic meters of LNG from Arctic LNG 2 at the southern Chinese Beihai LNG Terminal in Guangxi, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing ship-tracking data from LSEG and Kpler.  The Arctic LNG 2 export project roared back to life this…

Iraq plans to build an oil pipeline to Oman as OPEC’s second-largest producer seeks to boost exports and diversify export routes for its crude out of the Middle East.   Iraq and Oman have reached a preliminary agreement for a pipeline from Iraq to the port of Duqm on the Gulf of Oman, Ali Nizar, director general of the Iraqi state oil marketing company SOMO, told Shafaq News on Thursday.  The project has yet to identify the route of the future Iraq-Oman pipeline. The two countries are discussing whether to have an offshore…

Iraq plans to build an oil pipeline to Oman as OPEC’s second-largest producer seeks to boost exports and diversify export routes for its crude out of the Middle East.   Iraq and Oman have reached a preliminary agreement for a pipeline from Iraq to the port of Duqm on the Gulf of Oman, Ali Nizar, director general of the Iraqi state oil marketing company SOMO, told Shafaq News on Thursday.  The project has yet to identify the route of the future Iraq-Oman pipeline. The two countries are discussing whether to have an offshore…

The shock of Israel’s first-ever strike on Qatari soil is reverberating in Tehran, where the attack is fueling doubts over the very purpose of negotiations with the West. For many Iranian pundits, the timing of the strike -- hitting Hamas leaders as they allegedly reviewed a US-backed cease-fire and prisoner exchange proposal with Israel -- has reinforced suspicions that diplomacy is little more than a “trap.” In the aftermath, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian that the…

Russia’s crude and fuel export revenue slumped by $920 million in August compared to July, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates in its latest monthly report.  The discounts of Russian crude grades widened last month amid the U.S. pressure on India for buying oil from Russia, while Russian refinery production slumped as Ukraine hit several processing facilities with drones.  As a result, Russia’s crude and petroleum product export revenues plunged by $920 million from July to $13.51 billion in August, the IEA’s…