China is tentatively considering whether to curb exports of solar manufacturing equipment to the United States in what could become another significant export restriction of a technology in which Chinese companies are global leaders. Officials in China have discussed whether such a measure should be implemented, but talks have not progressed yet to asking feedback from the Chinese manufacturers on a potential restriction, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing numerous sources familiar with the deliberations.     Over the past two…

Australia is facing a historic energy crisis, with much of its Gulf-sourced energy facing not one but two blockades. But at least some parts of the country are doing something about it, even if it is too little, too late.  Western Australia will establish its own strategic reserves of diesel fuel to ease “acute shortages,” the state’s government said. As Bloomberg reports, the government signed a deal with Cambridge Gulf to buy and store 4 million liters of diesel, which is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, according…

Lawmakers in Maine have approved a bill temporarily banning the construction of large data centers until November 2027 in a move that could make Maine the first U.S. state to legislate a pause in the AI centers expansion, which has weighed on consumer energy bills. The Maine Legislature passed the bill, which still needs Governor Janet Mills' final approval. The bill would block large data centers that draw over 20 megawatts of power until November 2027. The bill, LD 307, would also create a new Data Center Coordination Council, which is expected…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 900,000 barrels during the week ending April 10, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 463.8 million barrels according to government data, which is still 1% above the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories saw a build of 6.10 million barrels in the period.…

US President Donald Trump suggested that talks with Iran could resume in a day or two, while the US military said that no ships slipped through a naval blockade targeting vessels headed to or from Iranian ports in the first 24 hours of the restrictive measure. Trump ordered the blockade after US-Iranian peace talks in Islamabad on April 11-12 failed to produce an agreement to end the war, which began with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28. In comments to the New York Post on April 14, he indicated that negotiators could meet again…

An analysis by The Guardian has revealed that the world's largest Oil & Gas companies, as well as major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, will make an extra $234 billion in windfall profits by the end of the year if oil prices continue to average $100 per barrel. According to the exclusive report, based on Rystad Energy data, the world's top 100 oil and gas companies recorded more than $30 million per hour in paper profits in the first month of the U.S-Israeli war in Iran that began in late February. Oil markets remained steady…

In 1992, China’s political leader Deng Xiaoping made a comparison that should’ve set off alarms across the West: “There is oil in the Middle East; there is rare earth in China.” Instead, for the next 30 years, Western governments largely treated rare earth processing as low-value work — something they could hand off to whoever would do it cheapest. But then REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) came along with partners and started building domestic processing capability while most of the industry was still looking the other way.…

The message given by Ursula von der Leyen to electrify the European economy is strategically coherent, politically appealing, and, on the surface, even unavoidable. It will be the real deal to decarbonize industry and power transport, reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, and anchor Europe’s competitiveness. The latter is especially valid in an increasingly fragmented geopolitical order. Electrification is presented as the backbone of Europe’s future prosperity and security. However, beneath this clear vision lies a far more uncomfortable…

Nuclear energy is poised for a major comeback in the United States. Donald Trump has made the revitalization of the domestic nuclear power sector a major aim of his administration, with the stated goal to reestablish the United States as the global leader in nuclear energy. The idea is that updating and expanding the United States' aging nuclear fleet will give the country a major leg up in terms of energy independence and autonomy. However, the U.S. nuclear energy sector – like the vast majority of the global nuclear sector – is extremely…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose 6.10 million barrels in the week ending April 10. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories rose by 3.719 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 1.3 million barrel draw. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down to alleviate the pressure on prices. For the week ending April 10, 4.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the new total to 409.2 million barrels. This is 316.3 million barrels shy of maximum capacity.…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose 6.10 million barrels in the week ending April 10. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories rose by 3.719 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 1.3 million barrel draw. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down to alleviate the pressure on prices. For the week ending April 10, 4.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the new total to 409.2 million barrels. This is 316.3 million barrels shy of maximum capacity.…

France is shifting its response to rising fuel costs away from short-term relief and toward long-term electrification, according to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. Instead of expanding fuel subsidies after oil prices spiked due to the Iran conflict, the government plans to redirect funding into helping households and businesses transition to electric energy, according to Bloomberg. Under the plan, annual support for electrification will nearly double to €10 billion by 2030, up from €5.5 billion today. The increase will come from…

Just as oil prices on the futures market slip again on hopes for a quick end to the war in the Middle East, the head of the International Energy Agency issued a warning: prices are going to go higher yet. “Prices are already high, but they are not reflecting the severity of the problem — I agree there is a disconnect,” Fatih Birol said at an event this week, as quoted by Bloomberg. “But I think soon we will see they will converge, which is an extremely sensitive issue for the global economy.” The war has so far cost…

Anticipating that US attention could be focused on Iran and the Persian Gulf for a long time, Armenia is seeking to attract additional investors in TRIPP, the planned trade corridor that Yerevan foresees as a cornerstone of its economic future. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan have indicated in recent days that the bilateral agreement between the US and Armenia on building TRIPP, or the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, is moving forward. But both leaders now indicate that Armenia wants to attract…

Extreme volatility in crude futures prices has eased in recent days, although the market reacted with an 8% jump early Monday to the news of failed U.S.-Iran talks and the beginning of a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.  Traders continue to react to any signal of how the worst-ever disruption energy market would unfold, but with uncertainty still very high, oil market participants bet on and try to predict movements. The worst of the volatility may have passed, as investors and speculators appear to have exhausted their capacity to respond…

Equinor is dialling back its exposure to renewables, offloading a significant stake in Scatec ASA in a move that underscores a sharper focus on capital discipline and shareholder returns amid heightened energy market volatility. In an announcement early Tuesday, Equinor said it sold 8.07% of Scatec ASA at NOK 125 per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately NOK 1.6 billion ($150 million). Following the transaction, Equinor retains an 8.05% stake and has agreed to a 90-day lock-up on its remaining shares. Scatec confirmed the transaction…

Equinor is dialling back its exposure to renewables, offloading a significant stake in Scatec ASA in a move that underscores a sharper focus on capital discipline and shareholder returns amid heightened energy market volatility. In an announcement early Tuesday, Equinor said it sold 8.07% of Scatec ASA at NOK 125 per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately NOK 1.6 billion ($150 million). Following the transaction, Equinor retains an 8.05% stake and has agreed to a 90-day lock-up on its remaining shares. Scatec confirmed the transaction…

British voters want Rachel Reeves to cut taxes and reduce energy costs in order to focus on growth, as a majority of people felt the UK economy was “poor”, new research has shown. Polling by Freshwater Strategy for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a free market think tank, suggested that the vast majority of Brits wanted the Labour government to focus on economic growth more than it currently does.  The findings back up the Labour government’s primary mission, which is to grow the UK economy.  But respondents…

China saw its lithium battery exports jump by 50% in the first quarter from a year earlier as global demand for green technologies surged amid the worst disruption to oil and gas supply due to the war in the Middle East. Exports of all green technologies manufactured in China surged in March and in the first quarter, making Chinese clean energy manufacturers winners in the war-induced oil shock. China’s exports of lithium batteries soared by 50.4% between January and March, compared to the same quarter of 2025, Wang Jun, deputy director of…

China saw its lithium battery exports jump by 50% in the first quarter from a year earlier as global demand for green technologies surged amid the worst disruption to oil and gas supply due to the war in the Middle East. Exports of all green technologies manufactured in China surged in March and in the first quarter, making Chinese clean energy manufacturers winners in the war-induced oil shock. China’s exports of lithium batteries soared by 50.4% between January and March, compared to the same quarter of 2025, Wang Jun, deputy director of…