Asian nations are scrambling to find new oil and gas suppliers as the Iran war stretches on and negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz remain murky at best. Asia, the primary purchaser of oil and gas supplies out of the Gulf, has been hit hardest by the sudden blockage of approximately one-fifth of the world's crude trade. Energy prices are soaring throughout the region, and global oil reserves are running dangerously low. As a result, Asian leaders are racing to establish new sources of energy, from accelerating home-grown clean energy infrastructure…

Ukraine's state energy regulator has cut storage fees for natural gas by 11% in a bid to accelerate domestic gas injection, with an option to further lower the rate if capacities are booked long-term for at least one year.  The discount creates favorable tariff structures to leverage Ukraine's massive storage capabilities. Ukraine has set a target to store at least 14.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, good for 34% of total capacity, before the 2026–2027 heating season. Ukraine is home to Europe's largest underground gas storage capacity,…

Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu deserve thanks for boosting Eurasia connectivity after their attacks on Iran resulted in the collapse of ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Unfortunately, the attacks may reduce real labor incomes by as much as US$3 trillion globally by 2027, according to the International Labour Organization.  The direct cost to the U.S. taxpayer for military operations is US$29 billion (so far) according to the Pentagon, and about US$35 billion in extra gas and diesel costs since the start of the war, according to…

Donald Trump returned from Beijing calling his two-day summit with Xi Jinping a "success,” but the rare earth market is less convinced.  Despite closely watched talks on May 14-15, no formal agreement emerged on China's export controls, and shipments of the critical heavy minerals that power everything from F-35 fighters to electric vehicles remain well below historical levels. That is the assessment from BMI, the Fitch Group research unit, which said China's stranglehold on global rare earth supply is expected to "stay firmly in place"…

Russia sharply escalated threats against Kyiv, warning of "systematic and consistent strikes" as Russia's top diplomat urged American citizens to evacuate the Ukrainian capital. A day after Moscow pummeled the Kyiv region with hundreds of drones -- and a powerful new hypersonic missile -- Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 25 to advise him to pull American diplomatic staff and US citizens out of Kyiv. Russia has justified its increasing threats citing an attack on a school dormitory in the Russian-occupied…

An LNG tanker linked to Russia's Arctic gas trade and sanctioned by the UK has stopped at a port in northern Norway in the first appearance of such a vessel under Western sanctions in these waters. The Clean Ocean LNG tanker, which the UK sanctioned in October 2025 due to links to sanctioned Russian LNG trade, made a 12-hour stop off the port of Honningsvåg in northern Norway a week ago, ship tracking data reviewed by High North News (HNN) showed on Tuesday. Russia has been using sanctioned tankers to move its LNG out of Arctic export projects…

Oil prices whipsawed after reports of a possible U.S.-Iran framework deal briefly sent Brent plunging, only for fresh U.S. strikes on Iran to push crude back toward $100. Probable Super Niño Adds Insult to Injury for LNG Buyers - The arrival of a powerful El Niño this year, potentially even a 'Super Niño’ with sea surface temperature anomalies exceeding +2°C, could roil commodity markets simultaneously to ongoing shocks from the US-Iran war. - Hotter weather will boost cooling demand and lift overall consumption of…

The chair of BP has been fired after less than a year, after “serious concerns” about his conduct were lodged with the energy major’s board. Albert Manifold was stripped of his roles as chair and director of the London-listed petrochemicals giant having only taken the reins last July, with director Amanda Blanc saying the board had unearthed several cases of serious misconduct during his tenure. The ousting was reportedly on account of his “volcanic” temper towards colleagues, which stretched to verbal abuse and bullying.…

Japan is looking to protect the assets of Japanese companies operating in Russia, including in some energy projects, by keeping communication channels open, a top Japanese official said on Tuesday. “We have been dispatching Japanese government officials to Russia to maintain contact, and this current dispatch is part of that ongoing effort,” Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s Trade Minister, said at a briefing, as carried by Bloomberg. Several major Japanese companies continue to operate in Russia although most firms from Japan’s Western…

The U.S. military carried out “self-defense strikes” on Monday in southern Iran against targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said. The strikes were designed “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” CENTCOM said in a statement to The Epoch Times. “U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” CENTCOM spokesman Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said in a statement. The attack…

India-based KPI Green Energy expects to raise up to $1 billion from the launch of an infrastructure investment trust backed by renewable energy assets, KP Group’s top executive told Reuters on Tuesday. KPI Green Energy Limited, a Gujarat-based solar and hybrid power generating company of KP Group, expects to launch the renewable infrastructure investment trust at the end of the 2027/2028 financial year, KP Group’s chairman and managing director, Faruk Patel, told Reuters. The planned trust is expected to have between 1.5 gigawatts (GW)…

Oil markets traded in an unusual pattern in Tuesday’s early morning session, with Brent crude prices rising while WTI crude fell, a shift from their usual lockstep movements.  Brent crude for July delivery gained 3.16% to trade at $99.18 per barrel at 9:00 am ET on Tuesday… With the comparable WTI crude contract falling 4.09% to change hands at $92.65/bbl a day after U.S. strikes in Iran clouded an expected peace deal.  Brent tends to react more strongly to Middle East shipping risk because it is tied more closely to seaborne…

Concerns about energy security and the push in many countries to boost electrification to replace road transportation fuels are making clean energy investments hot again. As the Middle East crisis and the still closed Strait of Hormuz forces governments into action, renewable stocks and markets are poised for a rebound from institutional investors and hedge funds after a few years of weak returns, according to analysts, investors, and officials. “You need a price signal and then capital and investments will flow into this and the supply will…

Concerns about energy security and the push in many countries to boost electrification to replace road transportation fuels are making clean energy investments hot again. As the Middle East crisis and the still closed Strait of Hormuz forces governments into action, renewable stocks and markets are poised for a rebound from institutional investors and hedge funds after a few years of weak returns, according to analysts, investors, and officials. “You need a price signal and then capital and investments will flow into this and the supply will…

One of Europe's biggest wind turbine makers, Germany-based Nordex, is calling for stricter EU regulations to exclude non-western equipment from the supply chain of new renewable projects, as the European industry remains concerned about China's market dominance in the clean energy supply chain. "We believe the western-origin principle should therefore apply to all new wind capacity connecting to European grids, not only publicly supported projects," Nordex's chief executive officer José Luis Blanco told the Financial Times in an interview…

Oil prices opened trade this week with a decline on reports that a deal between the U.S. and Iran was imminent. Brent crude slipped below $100 for the first time in days. But then President Trump said there was no rush on a deal and the U.S blockade in Hormuz would remain. While traders scratch their heads, analysts are warning that crude could remain well above $100 per barrel for years. This is literally uncharted territory for oil. Negotiations with Iran were “proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner,” the U.S. president…

India’s refined petroleum demand growth forecast has received a major downgrade, with rising crude oil import costs, a weaker rupee and government-led austerity and conservation measures expected to dramatically cut oil demand. According to Kpler, India’s refined products demand growth will now come in at just 77,000 barrels per day (kbd) in the current year, down nearly 40% from its previous forecast of 128 kbd. The data and analytics firm has revealed that India's state-run retailers are passing rising import and crude costs to consumers…

Mexican state oil giant Pemex was spared a rating downgrade at Moody’s despite the agency slashing Mexico’s sovereign rating to just one notch above junk status. Yet, the affirmation of Pemex’s ratings masks the struggles of the heavily indebted Mexican oil firm, which has failed to deliver profits even as oil prices surged to above $100 in recent months. Moody’s Ratings on Friday affirmed the ‘ca’ standalone credit strength of Petroleos Mexicanos, as Pemex is officially known, as well as the B1 Corporate Family…

Next year, the United Nations will assess whether Singapore is ready to produce nuclear energy. The International Atomic Energy Agency will begin its review in 2027 in order to determine whether Singapore can make an “informed decision” on potentially deploying next-gen nuclear power as a part of its energy portfolio in coming years. The move comes at a time of enhanced international interest in nuclear power as a baseload clean energy alternative, as well as extreme turmoil in Asian energy markets as a result of the war in Iran and…

Policymakers, politicians, and the media have been talking about the need for better water policy in the desert southwest of the United States for decades. As the Colorado River, a major source of water for much of that area, continues to shrink, policymakers are having a hard time keeping up with nature. A new 10-year plan contemplates cutting water supplies for Arizona, Nevada, and California by up to 40 percent, depending on availability. Not surprisingly, these states don't like the plan that the Trump Administration said it will impose on…