The 2024 hurricane season was relentless, and it took U.S. energy infrastructure along for the ride. Above-average storm activity—18 named storms, five of which were major hurricanes—created disruptions in electricity markets and oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes Helene and Milton, both Category 3 storms, were the heavy hitters. Making landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast in late September and early October, they wreaked havoc on power grids, petroleum supply chains, and inland states as they barreled north.…

The UN climate conference, COP29, held in Baku in November garnered plenty of global attention. But another, lower-profile UN-sponsored COP, shorthand for conference of parties, convened earlier in December in Saudi Arabia. That COP tackled another global warming-related challenge – the spread of desertification.  Barron Joseph Orr, the lead scientist for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), cautioned at the COP about a “knock-on effect” in which warming-caused loss of agricultural land can cause the loss…

17 de diciembre de 2024.- El jefe de las Tropas de Defensa Radiológica, Química y Biológica de las Fuerzas Armadas de Rusia, Ígor Kirílov, ha muerto la madrugada de este martes en Moscú a causa de la explosión de un artefacto, según lo confirmó la representante oficial del Comité de Investigación ru...

  Last week, China imposed export bans on antimony, gallium, and germanium—all of which are listed on China’s dual-use export control list. Other minerals on the list and, thus, at risk of future bans include aluminum, magnesium, and zinc, among others. Beyond their economic importance, many of these minerals have military applications. For example, tungsten superalloys are used in military turbines and armor-piercing munitions, while bismuth is used in ammunition and alloys for defense. With many minerals, the U.S. government…

17 de diciembre de 2024.- El exmandatario señala que la orden de aprehensión en su contra emitida por la Fiscalía General de Bolivia es parte de una campaña de «lawfare» o «guerra judicial» en su contra para inhabilitarlo políticamente de cara a las próximas elecciones. A raíz de una orden de apr...

17 de diciembre de 2024.- Irlanda notificó hoy una multa por 251 millones de euros a la transnacional estadounidense Meta por fallas en su red de Facebook, que propiciaron el pirateo de millones de cuentas individuales. En nombre de la Unión Europea (UE), la Comisión de Protección de Datos del p...

Normally, the week leading up to the winter holiday in the European Union is the busiest, with thorny decisions to be made before the year ends. Just look at last year, when EU leaders eventually gave Moldova and Ukraine the green light to start accession talks, granted Georgia candidate status, and approved a rather wide-ranging sanctions package on Russia. They also agreed to channel some previously frozen funds for Hungary while controversially failing to get Budapest's thumbs up for a 50 billion euro ($53 billion) package for Ukraine. (That…

Sometimes, no deal is better than a bad one—or so Kosmos Energy seems to think. The U.S. oil and gas firm abruptly called it quits on its potential takeover of West Africa-focused Tullow Oil, sending Tullow’s shares into a 10% tailspin on Tuesday. Kosmos didn’t offer up a reason, but “challenging” seems to be the word of the day: operational overlaps, debt-heavy balance sheets, and the ever-delicate dance with the Ghanaian government likely threw a wrench in the works. Had the two companies tied the knot, the combined…

17 de diciembre de 2024.- La Sala Penal del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia anuló una sentencia que favorecía a Oscar Rafael Aponte Landaeta, quien se desempeñó como presidente de Aceites y Solventes Venezolanos (Vassa), empresa adscrita a Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa). Esa decisión de la Sala Pena...

Previously, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico for failure to clamp down on drugs and migrants crossing the border, with Canadian oil imports not exempt. Analysts have pointed out that imposing tariffs on Canada would drive up fuel prices for Americans, throwing into turmoil the biggest supplier of crude to the U.S. According to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan, more than 20% of the oil processed by U.S. refiners is imported from Canada. According to De Haan, consumers in the…

17 de diciembre de 2024.- El Consulado General de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela en Milán, Italia, realizó un evento que consistió en llevar a esa sede diplomática una flor, en un acto especial para conmemorar los 194 años de la siembra del más grande hombre de América: Simón Bolívar, el 17 d...

India’s second-largest fuel retailer, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), plans to raise its refining capacity by 10 million tons per year by 2028, as the biggest Indian refiners consider a massive expansion to processing capacity to meet growing demand. State-controlled BPCL expects to raise its total refining capacity to 45 million tons per year by 2028 from the current 35.3 million tons per year, BPCL’s head of refining Sanjay Khanna said on Tuesday, as carried by Reuters. The increase in refining capacity is expected to…

17 de diciembre de 2024.- El Ministerio Público (MP) informó que fueron condenados de 15 a 20 años de prisión Gilbert Cruz, Edgar Trillo, Teresa Pinto, Solangela Mendoza y Marcos Pratolongo, quienes fueron acusados por el delito de complicidad en el asesinato del cantante Tirone González, mejor cono...

Russian crude oil exports by sea have dropped by 11% from a recent high in October, due to maintenance at the Baltic port of Primorsk, pressure for Russia to align with its OPEC+ quota, and increased sanctions pressure. In the four weeks to December 15, Russia’s seaborne crude exports averaged 3.06 million barrels per day (bpd), tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday. That’s 11% lower compared to a recent peak of a four-week average volume of 3.46 million bpd in early October, according to the data reported by…

Este lunes, el viceministro ruso de Asuntos Exteriores, Serguéi Riabkov, anunció que el grupo de los BRICS, compuesto por Brasil, Rusia, India, China y Sudáfrica, celebrará una reunión de urgencia para discutir la crisis en Siria después del reciente golpe de Estado. “En los B...

La vicepresidenta sectorial de Ciencia, Tecnología y Salud, Gabriela Jiménez resaltó este lunes que Venezuela debe promover y desarrollar con tecnología e innovación propia los sistemas de Inteligencia Artificial (IA), que responden a los valores e intereses de la patria. La afirmac...

Spare oil production capacity at the highest quartile in history is weighing on Brent crude prices, and time spreads have looked undervalued since the summer, according to Goldman Sachs. The expectations for a large surplus next year are also likely weighing on the deferred time spreads, the investment bank said in a recent note. “Nevertheless, we believe neither currently low inventory levels nor our expected 2025 surplus of 0.37mb/d warrant the oversupply priced in the futures curve,” the Wall Street bank’s analysts wrote. “Deferred…

Spare oil production capacity at the highest quartile in history is weighing on Brent crude prices, and time spreads have looked undervalued since the summer, according to Goldman Sachs. The expectations for a large surplus next year are also likely weighing on the deferred time spreads, the investment bank said in a recent note. “Nevertheless, we believe neither currently low inventory levels nor our expected 2025 surplus of 0.37mb/d warrant the oversupply priced in the futures curve,” the Wall Street bank’s analysts wrote. “Deferred…

El Fiscal General de Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, emitió un comunicado a través del Ministerio Público donde informa que entre los días 10 y 14 de diciembre se solicitó, acordado con el Poder Judicial, la revisión de 179 medidas a procesados por los hechos violentos postelectorales del 28 de...

El Ejecutivo nacional, representado por la Vicepresidencia Ejecutiva, el Ministerio de Desarrollo Minero Ecológico y la Corporación Venezolana de Minas (CVM), suscribió el contrato de concesión de la planta "Loma de Níquel" con una multinacional con 25 años de experiencia en el secto...