The Iran war suddenly turned what had started as a year of oversupply in global oil and LNG markets into the worst oil and gas supply disruption in history. Three months after the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, the world has already lost 1 billion barrels of crude oil supply, oil and gas prices have found a new, much higher floor, and whipsaw with violent volatility nearly every day, trade routes have shifted, and tanker rates have spiked. Actual supply shortages are emerging in Asia, while global crude and fuel inventories…

The United Kingdom is focused on diversifying its energy mix away from fossil fuels to boost energy security and support decarbonisation aims. This includes expanding its nuclear power capacity with the development of two large-scale nuclear plants - Sizewell C and Hinkley Point C, as well as developing small modular reactors (SMR). However, its nuclear ambitions have not quite gone to plan, following years of delays and rising construction costs. Sizewell C in Suffolk, eastern England, received its planning approval in 2022, was greenlit in 2025,…

Nuclear fuel is becoming a geopolitical battleground as the world increasingly turns to nuclear energy to contend with skyrocketing energy demand projections. The combination of an oil-based energy crisis emanating out of the Strait of Hormuz, the enormous and ballooning energy needs of artificial intelligence, and the urgent imperative of decarbonization is garnering a renewed interest in nuclear energy as a carbon-free, efficient, and round-the-clock power source. Moreover, nuclear energy can be produced pretty much anywhere, making it a strategic…

Over the last two decades, solar panels have fallen in price while efficiency has increased. Greater uptake and high levels of investment in research and development have led to vast improvements in solar power technology. As panel prices fall and governments worldwide look to diversify their energy mix and cut emissions, several developers are now launching mega-projects to meet the growing demand. Most major solar projects developed in recent years provide hundreds of megawatts of clean power. However, as operators become more ambitious and governments…

China has been cited as an example of a country that has managed to insulate itself relatively well against oil crises. With over a billion barrels in estimated inventories before the war in the Middle East started, China was the poster child of forward planning in energy security. But this could change, and if it does, it would make an already severe crisis even worse. Kpler sounded the alarm about that prospect earlier this month, reporting that Chinese refiners have reduced their purchases of oil from overseas because of the price surge caused…

The Iran war has handed the United States a rare opportunity: a new dawn of energy dominance in an increasingly fractured world. With coordinated US-Israeli strikes disrupting the Strait of Hormuz from late February, roughly 20% of global LNG supply has been stripped from the market since early March. Prices have surged across Asia and Europe. And into that vacuum, American gas has flowed. The numbers speak for themselves. US LNG exports to Asia jumped sharply in April, with nearly a quarter of all American cargoes heading to a region that simply…

Cuba has been experiencing a worsening energy crisis for several years, which previously led it to rely heavily on Venezuela for its fuel. Following the United States’ intervention in Venezuela in February, the energy crisis has grown even worse, as Cubans face regular blackouts and the economy suffers. Cuba requires about 100,000 barrels a day to power its grid and meet the regular transportation demands. It fulfils just 40 percent of this demand domestically. In January, the Trump administration imposed a fuel blockade on Cuba, which led…

Russia and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have signed a military agreement, in a move that signals deepening cooperation between the sides, experts said. The deal was signed on May 27 by Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, and the Taliban’s defense minister, Mohammad Yaqub, on the sidelines of a security forum outside of Moscow, Russian media reported. Neither side has released the text of the military cooperation agreement or offered details about its scope, making it difficult to gauge whether the deal represents…

Morocco is rapidly becoming a renewable energy powerhouse thanks to its favourable weather conditions and proximity to Europe. The North African country has rapidly developed its solar energy sector and is now looking to become a major green hydrogen and sustainable shipping hub. Morocco has long been heavily dependent on fossil fuel imports and continues to use coal to produce around 60 percent of its electricity. However, in recent years, it has been working to develop its renewable energy sources, with high levels of private investment in the…

Three decades ago, I had just graduated from Texas A&M University and taken my first job as a chemical engineer in Corpus Christi, Texas. At the time, few people would have expected that this Gulf Coast city would one day sit at the center of the global energy system. Corpus was an important regional hub—refineries, chemical plants, steady industrial activity—but it wasn't viewed as a strategic asset on the world stage. Today, it is exactly that. The Port of Corpus Christi has become the largest crude oil export hub in the United…

Colombia’s rapidly approaching 2026 presidential election is generating considerable concern about the economy, notably the country’s oil industry. Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla who won the 2022 election to become Colombia’s first left-wing president, introduced policies aimed at reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels. While this spurred the development of renewable energy, it is responsible for sparking an energy crisis in Colombia. There is hope that a new president will revive Colombia’s economically…

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid has warned that the current global energy shock cannot simply be dismissed as transitory, given already-elevated baseline inflation. Speaking at a conference in Iceland, Schmid pointed out that inflation has stalled near 3% and remained above the Fed's 2% target for a long time, making it challenging for the central bank to "look through’’ surging oil prices. Schmid has argued that current monetary policy may not be restrictive enough, reinforcing his hawkish stance on monetary…

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid has warned that the current global energy shock cannot simply be dismissed as transitory, given already-elevated baseline inflation. Speaking at a conference in Iceland, Schmid pointed out that inflation has stalled near 3% and remained above the Fed's 2% target for a long time, making it challenging for the central bank to "look through’’ surging oil prices. Schmid has argued that current monetary policy may not be restrictive enough, reinforcing his hawkish stance on monetary…

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid has warned that the current global energy shock cannot simply be dismissed as transitory, given already-elevated baseline inflation. Speaking at a conference in Iceland, Schmid pointed out that inflation has stalled near 3% and remained above the Fed's 2% target for a long time, making it challenging for the central bank to "look through’’ surging oil prices. Schmid has argued that current monetary policy may not be restrictive enough, reinforcing his hawkish stance on monetary…

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid has warned that the current global energy shock cannot simply be dismissed as transitory, given already-elevated baseline inflation. Speaking at a conference in Iceland, Schmid pointed out that inflation has stalled near 3% and remained above the Fed's 2% target for a long time, making it challenging for the central bank to "look through’’ surging oil prices. Schmid has argued that current monetary policy may not be restrictive enough, reinforcing his hawkish stance on monetary…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 562,  down just 1 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 4 to 429 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 22 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs stayed the same at 125, which is 16 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig stayed the same at 8. The latest EIA data…

Recently signed deals between Georgia and Azerbaijan are raising fresh questions about Tbilisi’s strategic direction and energy security. The deals flowed out of a May 18 meeting in Baku between Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Those talks occurred just weeks after Aliyev’s visit to Tbilisi, where he also met Georgia’s de facto ruler, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Despite their political significance, the full texts of the agreements signed while Kobakhidze was in Baku remain undisclosed,…

The Philippines has received its first cargo of Iranian crude, Reuters reported on Friday, citing tanker-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa. A Suezmax vessel capable of carrying up to 1 million barrels of crude that departed from Iran's Kharg Island in late March made a ship-to-ship transfer offshore Singapore onto another tanker, which delivered the oil to the Bataan refinery in the Philippines in the middle of May, according to the data. The delivery was the first Iranian cargo to the Philippines, which is one of the Asian countries worst hit…

Brent crude is heading for its biggest weekly drop in two months as markets bet on a 60-day ceasefire extension and partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. ICE Brent is set to post its largest weekly loss in two months, dropping by almost 10%, as media reports present a 60-day extension of the current ceasefire and a temporary Hormuz navigation deal as close to being a done deal. Whether US President Trump and Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei agree to the deal or not, Brent at $92 per barrel suddenly feels much more comfortable for oil importers.…

The Philippines has received its first cargo of Iranian crude, Reuters reported on Friday, citing tanker-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa. A Suezmax vessel capable of carrying up to 1 million barrels of crude that departed from Iran's Kharg Island in late March made a ship-to-ship transfer offshore Singapore onto another tanker, which delivered the oil to the Bataan refinery in the Philippines in the middle of May, according to the data. The delivery was the first Iranian cargo to the Philippines, which is one of the Asian countries worst hit…