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…

The renewable energy boom has been heating up around the world, with many countries shattering their previous records for clean energy expansion year after year. But in many grids, the rapid growth of renewables has outpaced the advancement of critical supportive infrastructure, from sufficient power lines to reliable and practical energy storage options. As a result, renewable energy is facing a two-pronged and seemingly dichotomous problem – too many new clean energy projects without a grid to plug into, and too much clean energy already…

The Russian owners of Serbia’s only refinery Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) have requested an extension of a U.S. license to operate as they negotiate to cede control of the facility to a third party, Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic said on Tuesday.  Gazprom Neft and Gazprom affiliates hold a majority stake in NIS, with the Serbian state owning the remaining 29.9%.  The U.S. has waived the sanctions against NIS several times since it sanctioned Russia’s oil industry in January this year. The sanctions on…

The Russian owners of Serbia’s only refinery Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) have requested an extension of a U.S. license to operate as they negotiate to cede control of the facility to a third party, Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic said on Tuesday.  Gazprom Neft and Gazprom affiliates hold a majority stake in NIS, with the Serbian state owning the remaining 29.9%.  The U.S. has waived the sanctions against NIS several times since it sanctioned Russia’s oil industry in January this year. The sanctions on…

As momentum builds toward COP30, Rystad Energy has analyzed over 400 historical and updated NDCs to assess how well the global energy system aligns with the Paris Agreement goals. Most submissions focus on short-term decarbonization in power, energy, and transportation, setting clear targets for renewables and electric vehicle (EV) adoption, with alternative fuels and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) for hard-to-abate sectors. This year, signatory countries are submitting their commitments under NDC 3.0. While many targets seem more…

China is encouraging private investment in state-led major energy and infrastructure projects and could allow private investors to have more than 10% in certain projects, the government said in a landmark directive aimed at boosting investment and reinvigorating the economy. The projects open to minority private shareholding will need state approval and can be in railways infrastructure, nuclear power, hydropower, inter-provincial and inter-regional transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines, LNG import and storage facilities, and water supply projects,…

The Trump administration’s drive toward expanded military operations in the southern Caribbean Sea - ostensibly aimed at Venezuelan drug networks - suffered a severe blow in last week’s Senate vote. The resolution, rejected in a close 51-49 vote, exposed just how brittle Republican support for military expansion has become. The Senate vote follows weeks of rising unease about Trump’s opaque strategy in the Caribbean. Despite attempts to frame the operation as part of a renewed counter-narcotics effort, the absence of clear objectives…

China is encouraging private investment in state-led major energy and infrastructure projects and could allow private investors to have more than 10% in certain projects, the government said in a landmark directive aimed at boosting investment and reinvigorating the economy. The projects open to minority private shareholding will need state approval and can be in railways infrastructure, nuclear power, hydropower, inter-provincial and inter-regional transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines, LNG import and storage facilities, and water supply projects,…

All but two Indian refiners have skipped placing orders for Russian crude for December after the U.S. sanctioned Russia’s top oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, sources with knowledge of the purchases told Bloomberg on Tuesday.  India’s refiners, which have come to rely on cheap Russian crude in the past three years, have withdrawn from the December purchasing window which typically closes by November 10.    Five large refiners, including state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum…

All but two Indian refiners have skipped placing orders for Russian crude for December after the U.S. sanctioned Russia’s top oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, sources with knowledge of the purchases told Bloomberg on Tuesday.  India’s refiners, which have come to rely on cheap Russian crude in the past three years, have withdrawn from the December purchasing window which typically closes by November 10.    Five large refiners, including state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum…

Oil prices gained on Tuesday as fresh U.S. sanctions on Russian oil disrupted exports. OPEC+ Plays the Waiting Game as Stock Builds Loom Large - This winter’s LNG markets are unlikely to replicate last year’s tightness as key Asian buyers have built up sufficient inventories ahead of Q4 2025 and have minimized spot purchases in October. - South Korea, having imported a whopping 5 million tonnes LNG in August, has been winding up imports in recent months amidst ample stocks, whilst Chinese LNG imports were 15% lower year-over-year in…

Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdog has announced a "large-scale operation" exposing tens of millions of dollars of graft in the energy sector in the midst of Russia's full-scale invasion. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said the joint operation with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has found the scheme involves "a high-level criminal organization" aimed to "influence strategic enterprises in the public sector, in particular JSC 'Energoatom.'" The home of businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio,…

Iran will not compromise its national security but is open to talks aimed at reaching a “peaceful” nuclear deal with the United States, Iranian deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on Tuesday.  The U.S. and Iran held several rounds of negotiations early this year, before the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June.  Throughout the talks prior to the bombings, Iran’s uranium enrichment efforts were a major sticking point, with the U.S. insisting that enrichment is a “very, very clear red line.” …

A month ago, Chinese oil heavyweight CNOOC boasted its pipeline network had hit 10,000 kilometers. That network was going to further grow to 13,000 km, the company said soon after it announced a fresh offshore discovery in the South China Sea. What CNOOC is doing is what all Chinese oil majors are doing: ramping up domestic supply of oil and gas. It is the safest kind of supply. Chinese state energy companies have spent some $468 billion on exploration and production since 2019, Bloomberg reported earlier this month, noting that the amount was…

Venezuela’s economy is in tatters, putting additional pressure on the country’s embattled leader, Nicolas Maduro, at a time when the U.S. Administration is increasing its military presence in the Caribbean region and striking alleged drug boats offshore the world’s largest crude oil reserves holder.    The economic collapse of Venezuela, exacerbated by the U.S. sanctions on its oil industry and exports, has left many Venezuelans increasingly disillusioned with the regime and supporting an ousting of Maduro. …

Lately, big tech cheerleaders, including Meta Platforms’ (NASDAQ:META) Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Jeff Bezos and OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, have warned we are in an AI bubble, with stock market valuations, heavy speculation and market exuberance beginning to mirror those of the dot-com era that eventually led to the famous stock market crash 25 years ago. Meta has announced plans to spend over $100 billion on AI and infrastructure in the coming three years; Apple plans to invest more than $500 billion in the U.S. over…