A consortium of UK-based supermajor BP, Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas firm SOCAR, and Israeli company NewMed Energy on Monday signed a licensing agreement to explore for natural gas offshore Israel, the Energy Ministry of Israel said. The deal marks BP’s entry into Israel and the first exploration effort outside Azerbaijan for the state company SOCAR. The three-way consortium was given licenses to explore for natural gas in the so-called Zone I as part of Israel’s efforts to boost its domestic gas supply and exports to foreign…

Mild winter temperatures pushed China’s electricity generation to only the third drop in the January - February period since 1990. China’s power generation declined by 1.3% in January and February from a year earlier, per data from the National Bureau of Statistics cited by Bloomberg. China combines January and February economic and industry data releases to smooth out the effect of the Lunar New Year which falls in one of these two months every year. The first annual drop since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in early 2020 was…

Chinese refiners booked a 2.1% increase in production over the first two months of the year as holiday travel pulled demand for fuels higher, helped by the start of a new refinery a few months earlier, Reuters has reported, citing China’s National Bureau of Statistics. The increase came from state-owned refineries while private operators, the so-called teapots, reduced their run rates in January and February to tackle higher crude oil costs resulting from U.S. sanctions targeting Russian and Iranian crude, of which the teapots are big buyers.…

The International Energy Agency just threw a bucket of ice water on oil bulls, reporting that crude supply is outpacing demand by 600,000 bpd and slashing its demand outlook for the year. And the IEA isn’t alone. The world’s biggest oil traders are also sounding the alarm, turning bearish as overproduction ramps up both inside and outside OPEC. “The industry is over-drilling now, that is clear,” Gunvor’s chairman Torbjörn Törnqvist told Bloomberg in an interview on the sidelines of CERAWeek. “We are…

Over the past decade, the global energy sector has turned its attention to Latin America thanks to the region’s critical role in the ongoing electrification drive. Latin America produces nearly 40% of the world’s lithium supply, and is home to over 65% of global reserves. Unfortunately, LATAM hardly gets a passing mention in another booming industry: Liquified Natural Gas or LNG. Currently, only Peru and Trinidad & Tobago export LNG. Interestingly, Brazil remains one of the largest LNG importers in the region despite having more…

Energy policy is set to take center stage at Australia’s upcoming federal election, which will be held on or before 17 May 2025. The election will serve as a referendum on nuclear energy, aiming to address the country’s long-term energy needs while tackling rising energy prices and the high cost of living. However, grid instability, power shortfalls, a looming gas shortage and infrastructure bottlenecks have created a perfect storm that could derail the country’s more immediate energy transition as energy security issues come…

Wave energy could be primed for a swell of progress thanks to open data sharing. While advancements in wave energy have been piecemeal to date, an Australian startup believes that open-sharing principles can revolutionize research and development in the sector, with potentially huge ramifications for decarbonizing global energy grids.  Waves contain a huge amount of energy. According to a 2023 figure from the United States Energy Information Administration, “the theoretical annual energy potential of waves off the coasts of the United…

Five years after an Exxon-led consortium produced the first oil offshore Guyana, the country is pumping more than 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and has become South America’s fifth-largest oil exporter. Guyana and ExxonMobil expect oil production to jump to 1.3 million bpd by 2030, which would double the current output volumes. With higher production came a surge in Guyana’s crude oil exports in recent years. More than half of these are going to Europe, where refiners have been increasingly appreciating Guyana’s crude…

The Renewables MMI (Monthly Metals Index) moved sideways month over month, increasing a slight 1.86%. Meanwhile, renewable energy projects could face some challenges from a combination of tariffs and changing Federal policies. Trump Administration’s Energy Policies Reshape the Renewable Sector Since taking power in January, the Trump administration has reshaped the U.S. renewable energy landscape by introducing some significant policy changes. So far, the White House has declared a national energy emergency, imposed tariffs on critical metals…

Nigeria has long been known for being an oil-rich state, as the biggest fossil fuel producer in Africa. In recent years, the government has increasingly focused on expanding the country’s renewable energy capacity to boost its energy security. However, this month, President Donald Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright pledged to support fossil fuel development across Africa, which could encourage countries such as Nigeria to continue exploiting their oil and gas resources.  This month, the new Trump administration’s energy secretary…

India has been courting foreign and domestic investment in its clean energy industry in an effort to shore up energy security and meet the nation’s lofty decarbonization goals. But a new report reveals that while India has offered up record-breaking clean energy tenders, they have been met with weak demand, revealing a number of major obstacles for the sector.  The Indian government is targeting a minimum of 500 GW of non-fossil power capacity by 2030. This represents a huge uptick from their current levels, which clock in at approximately…

As Europe’s energy demand continues to grow, the region’s transmission infrastructure is in dire need of an upgrade. There have long been concerns about investment in Europe’s grid lagging behind renewable energy investment and therefore delaying the deployment of clean power. However, recent assessments have demonstrated just how imminently grid modernisation is needed, if the region hopes to achieve its end-of-decade climate goals.  According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), at least 1,500 GW of renewable energy…

Half of the world’s carbon emissions come from just 36 companies, according to a recent analysis. Countries worldwide have been battling to decarbonise their economies by investing in renewable energy and clean tech, moving away from fossil fuels, and reducing emissions from some of the most polluting industries. Despite their best efforts, it seems that the world may fail to achieve the 1.5-degree heating target outlined in the Paris Agreement climate accord unless the most polluting companies work to rapidly reduce their emissions. …

Armenia and Azerbaijan appear to have resolved their differences on two negotiating points, clearing the way for the signing of a peace agreement that would end more than 35 years of conflict.  Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced March 13 that “the text of the Peace Agreement has been agreed upon.” The statement added that Yerevan had accepted Azerbaijani proposals on the two sticking points that had delayed finalization of the draft treaty for months. The statement did not provide further details concerning the…

Shale titan Harold Hamm isn’t mincing words—if oil prices stay this low, drilling in some of America’s prized shale fields could grind to a halt. Speaking at CERAWeek in Houston, the Continental Resources founder warned that with oil hovering near $65 a barrel, many U.S. fields are already on shaky ground. “When you get below the cost of supply, you can’t ‘drill, baby, drill,’” Hamm told Bloomberg. “That shuts you down.” It’s not exactly the raucous celebration oil executives had…

Shale titan Harold Hamm isn’t mincing words—if oil prices stay this low, drilling in some of America’s prized shale fields could grind to a halt. Speaking at CERAWeek in Houston, the Continental Resources founder warned that with oil hovering near $65 a barrel, many U.S. fields are already on shaky ground. “When you get below the cost of supply, you can’t ‘drill, baby, drill,’” Hamm told Bloomberg. “That shuts you down.” It’s not exactly the raucous celebration oil executives had…

China, Russia, and Iran demanded an end to Washington's "illegal, unilateral sanctions" on Tehran, after three-party talks on the Iranian nuclear issue in Beijing on March 14. But a leading sanctions expert involved in past nuclear talks with Iran says lifting sanctions as a precursor to negotiations is neither likely nor advisable. The meeting included Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi. "We conducted in-depth exchanges of views on the…

Alaska's LNG project is back in the spotlight with a new aggressive timeline: first exports by 2030. Bold? Absolutely. Realistic? Yes, according to Governor Mike Dunleavy speaking at CERAWeek. The $44 billion venture would move 3.5 billion cubic feet per day from the North Slope down an 800-mile pipeline to an LNG terminal, shipping out to eager buyers in Asia. According to Dunleavy, interest is strong from Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand—markets that have been hungry for stable, long-term LNG supply. In February, for example, Taiwan…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States held steady this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, following a 1-rig decrease in the week prior. The total rig count in the US stayed at 592 rigs, according to Baker Hughes, down 37 from this same time last year amid the pervasive Drill Baby Drill sentiment of the Trump Administration, tariff wars, and sanctions. The number of oil rigs rose by 1 to 487—down by 23 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 1 again…

Barclays sees Brent Crude prices at $74 per barrel this year, down by $9 from its previous forecast, as it slashed its global demand growth estimate in mounting economic uncertainties. “We turn neutral on oil prices relative to the curve and consensus, as we revise down our 2025 demand outlook 510,000 barrels per day due to soft high?-?frequency indicators and elevated economic uncertainty,” Barclays analysts wrote in a note on Friday carried by Reuters. The UK-based bank now sees this year’s demand growth at 900,000 bpd. But…