The numbers are not adding up at Tajikistan’s signature infrastructure project, the Rogun Dam. An independent audit of the project’s financial statements has found a $540 million accounting gap and has determined that electricity-production operations at the work-in-progress facility are losing money. Controversy is nothing new for the Rogun project, which, if completed to its maximum specifications, would become the world’s tallest dam. Critics argue the dam is a white elephant in the making that…

MINNEAPOLIS – Las calles de los Estados Unidos se han convertido en un escenario de confrontación y duelo tras el asesinato de Renee Nicole Good, una madre de 37 años y observadora legal, durante un operativo de la oficina de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE). El suceso, ocurrido en...

Russia’s crude oil production dipped to 9.326 million barrels (bpd) in December, down by over 100,000 bpd from November and nearly 250,000 bpd lower than Moscow’s OPEC+ quota, sources familiar with classified government data told Bloomberg on Friday. The fresh U.S. sanctions on Russia’s top producers Rosneft and Lukoil drove the lower crude output at the end of last year. Russian crude volumes accumulated in floating storage amid buyer hesitancy, low spare storage capacity onshore, and Ukrainian drone attacks on export and refining…

9 de enero de 2026.- El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, informó este viernes que mantendrá el despliegue militar en el Caribe al argumentar supuestas razones de seguridad. El mandatario hizo el anuncio a través de su red Truth Social, indicando que «todos los barcos permanecerán en su...

La cadena británica BBC se encuentra nuevamente bajo el escrutinio público tras la filtración de una presunta directriz interna que instruye a sus periodistas evitar la palabra "secuestrado" al informar sobre la extracción forzada del presidente de Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, junto a s...

El miércoles 7 de enero de 2026, varias ciudades de Colombia fueron el escenario de grandes movilizaciones. Esto fue en respuesta a las amenazas del presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, hacia el presidente colombiano Gustavo Petro. En plazas y calles, los participantes llevaron pancartas con ...

El vicepresidente del Consejo de Seguridad de Rusia, Dmitri Medvédev, calificó como una "catástrofe universal en el ámbito de las relaciones internacionales" el secuestro del presidente, Nicolás Maduro, perpetrado por Estados Unidos tras la agresión militar contra el país el pasado 3...

Nicolás Maduro Guerra, hijo del presidente venezolano secuestrado por EE.UU., Nicolás Maduro Moros, ofreció detalles sobre el asalto e invasión ejecutado por las tropas del Pentágono el pasado 3 de enero, que dejó como resultado una "masacre" en la que fueron

Iran unrest and tempered Venezuela expectations lifted Brent toward $63 a barrel. Friday, January 09, 2026 Iran protests have added some impetus to 2026’s heretofore surprisingly bullish start, putting potential supply disruptions back on the agenda. Moreover, the failure of the Trump government to entice US oil majors to invest in Venezuela and Treasury Secretary Bessent’s call for ‘wildcatters’ to drill there soothed some concerns that Venezuela’s oil production could soar in the near term. As such, ICE Brent is…

El canciller de Venezuela, Yván Gil, emitió un contundente pronunciamiento a través de sus canales oficiales, cuestionando enérgicamente las recientes declaraciones del presidente de Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi. Gil denunció la falta de autoridad moral y política de Orsi para intervenir en los asunt...

Russia fired a new nuclear-capable ballistic missile with multiple warheads at western Ukraine, part of a barrage of missiles and drones that pounded Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, where at least 4 were killed and dozens wounded. Russia's Defence Ministry said on January 9 that the use of the missile, called the Oreshnik, was in response to an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in late December that Moscow said had targeted a residence used by President Vladimir Putin. Kyiv denied the allegation, and the CIA has also called the allegation false.…

Before I left for my break over the holidays, I penned an article outlining what I expected for crude in 2026. That is not an original idea, I will grant you, but I have found over the years that having a base case: a rational, unemotional, clearly defined view of what, all things being equal, will drive market pricing in the long term. Every short-term opinion can then be weighed against that long-term view in order to set appropriate time horizons and parameters for potential trades.  But, as we now know, all things would not remain equal…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are discussing an arrangement that would see Pakistan supply JF-17 fighter jets in exchange for financial support or loans. The development is destabilizing because it pulls Saudi defense planning toward a nuclear-armed partner outside the US security structure that has anchored Gulf deterrence for decades. It means Saudi security decisions would no longer run primarily through Washington, Iran would have to account for Pakistan in any confrontation with Riyadh, and the US would no…

There are historical precedents for one power taking control of another country’s oil, but they are rarer than headlines suggest, and they usually occurred under conditions of war, occupation, or overt regime subjugation. That’s what makes Venezuela a precedent.  The closest analogue is Iran. In 1953, when then-Iranian PM Mohammad Mossadegh nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Britain and the U.S. responded by removing the government itself. After the coup, Iran’s oil did not return to Iranian control. It was reorganized…

The week ending January 9, 2026, was anything but ordinary for crude oil markets. As of late Thursday, WTI was trading at $58.42, up $1.10 or 1.92% for the week so far, with a weekly high of $58.87 and a low of $55.76. While these numbers might suggest relative stability, the forces at play beneath the surface tell a far more dramatic story—one that could reshape global energy markets for years to come. The Venezuela Shock The single biggest story this week was President Trump's military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan…