It has been an eventful year for U.S. shale oil and gas. Low prices—at least in oil—a double down on capital discipline, and drilling efficiency gains that pushed the U.S. total to a record high again were the hallmarks of 2025. The next frontier? Recovery rates.  Recovery rates for shale oil wells are much lower than the rates for conventional wells. The average is around and below 10%, compared with 30% to 35% for conventional wells. Given the prominence of shale basins in the United States’ total oil production, it was…

Chevron has quietly cut the price of Venezuelan crude sold to U.S. refiners after American forces seized a tanker off the country’s coast, tightening an already-fragile export channel and adding fresh volatility to Gulf Coast markets. Traders familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Chevron sold a batch of Venezuelan crude on December 11 at weaker levels than a similar offer just two days earlier. The timing was impossible to miss: the discount came immediately after U.S. forces boarded and seized the Skipper, a sanctioned crude carrier…

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) has invented a type of graphite that can extend the life of electric-vehicle batteries by as much as 30%, pushing the oil major further into advanced battery materials as automakers look for longer-lasting cells and supply chains less reliant on China.  “We’ve invented a new carbon molecule that will extend the life of the battery by 30%,” Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods, adding that it’s a “revolutionary step change in battery performance.” According to Woods, several EV…

PUERTO ESPAÑA, Trinidad, 15 de diciembre de 2025— El gobierno de Trinidad y Tobago anunció el lunes que permitirá el acceso de las fuerzas armadas estadounidenses a sus aeropuertos en las próximas semanas, a medida que aumentan las tensiones entre Estados Unidos y Venezuela, informó Pren...

What looked at first like a bizarre local accident in western Norway should have set off every alarm bell in Europe.   In April 2025, someone remotely seized control of a hydroelectric dam in Bremanger, opened its floodgates, and let millions of cubic meters of water roar downstream for hours. Only months later did Norway’s intelligence service quietly confirm that the culprits were linked to Moscow. And this act wasn’t meant to destroy the dam — it was a calling card. Most Europeans still think the war stops at…