A Russian tanker carrying 270,000 barrels of diesel fuel, which is under US and EU sanctions, spent weeks trying to reach crisis-hit Cuba, which is also under US sanctions, as well as amid what's essentially become a full energy blockade, but has failed to reach the island nation and turned southward toward Brazil. The exiled Russian outlet, The Insider, has detailed the following based on maritime tracking data: The Russian-flagged tanker Universal (IMO: 9384306), which had been drifting for almost a month in the Sargasso Sea approaching…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week ending May 22. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 9.1 million barrels. US crude inventories have risen by 22 million barrels so far this year, according to API data. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending May 22, 9.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the new total to 365.1 million barrels—the…

Floating solar farms could be significantly more efficient than solar farms on land thanks to the natural cooling effects of seawater, according to new findings from a comparative study conducted by researchers from the National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) in Taiwan. The floating solar panels used in the study produced 12 percent more energy than the on-land models, with potentially huge implications for global energy security and decarbonization pathways. The study, published this month in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy,…

The sudden halt of liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows from the Middle East has prompted Asian buyers to seek long-term solutions to secure supply from sources not needing the blocked Strait of Hormuz. As Qatar’s LNG shipments are under force majeure until at least mid-August and full LNG export capacity may not be restored for another five years, LNG customers are looking to sign long-term supply deals with exporters outside of conflict areas. Thailand, the top LNG importer in Southeast Asia, is now looking to boost its U.S. gas supply to…

China just expanded its national emissions trading scheme to cover steel production. The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism entered its definitive phase in January, putting a financial penalty on emissions-intensive steel. Simandou, the world's largest untapped deposit of high-grade iron ore, shipped its first cargoes to China in late 2025. The market for lower-grade ore is contracting. The market for ore that can feed cleaner steelmaking is growing. BHP just canceled the project that would have positioned it for the second market. Instead,…

With Election Day fast approaching, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government is hoping that shows of support from the United States and European Union will give it a boost at the polls. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio paid a brief visit to Yerevan on May 26, during which he signed a Charter on Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership together with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan. The two also inked a framework agreement concerning the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, envisioned as a key cog in the…

Germany’s day-ahead electricity prices soared by 29% on Wednesday as a heatwave across Europe boosted cooling demand while low wind speeds reduced wind power generation. The lower wind speeds and the resulting lower power output from wind turbines are raising the need to fire up natural gas and coal-fired power production, which is more expensive than wind power generation. An early heatwave is sweeping through northwest Europe with unusually high temperatures these days, lifting demand for air conditioning. Forecasts for Thursday’s…

Germany’s day-ahead electricity prices soared by 29% on Wednesday as a heatwave across Europe boosted cooling demand while low wind speeds reduced wind power generation. The lower wind speeds and the resulting lower power output from wind turbines are raising the need to fire up natural gas and coal-fired power production, which is more expensive than wind power generation. An early heatwave is sweeping through northwest Europe with unusually high temperatures these days, lifting demand for air conditioning. Forecasts for Thursday’s…

For months, China’s reduced appetite for oil and LNG imports has helped ease some of the pressure on already-strained global energy markets. But Beijing’s current strategy appears less about weakening demand and more about caution amid the Iran war and the growing risks surrounding Middle Eastern supply routes. Chinese buyers have been drawing down inventories, slowing refinery activity, and delaying spot purchases while waiting for safer and potentially cheaper cargo opportunities. The problem for global markets is that this balancing…

Aluminum prices in London are up nearly 17% since the onset of the U.S.-Iran conflict, as a growing chorus of top commodity desks, including Mercuria, Goldman, JPMorgan, and others, warn that the market is facing a major supply shock. That disruption, driven firstly by Middle East smelter outages and the Hormuz maritime chokepoint, is now colliding with new concerns that China may be forced to curtail output amid energy-use and emissions inspections, according to Bloomberg.  More color from the report: Chinese authorities are now moving to…

The Russian government has reached the final stages of implementing a comprehensive ban on diesel and aviation fuel (kerosene) exports following a devastating wave of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes that have knocked out a quarter of the nation’s total oil refining capacity, effectively paralyzing critical energy infrastructure across central Russia. Key energy hubs hit in recent weeks include the Ryazan, Moscow, Kirishi and NORSI (Nizhny Novgorod) refineries processing roughly 238,000 tons per day (83 million metric tons per year), accounting…

The Russian government has reached the final stages of implementing a comprehensive ban on diesel and aviation fuel (kerosene) exports following a devastating wave of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes that have knocked out a quarter of the nation’s total oil refining capacity, effectively paralyzing critical energy infrastructure across central Russia. Key energy hubs hit in recent weeks include the Ryazan, Moscow, Kirishi and NORSI (Nizhny Novgorod) refineries processing roughly 238,000 tons per day (83 million metric tons per year), accounting…

The war in Iran and the accompanying shipping bottleneck are triggering a historic crisis in the aluminum market, with potentially devastating knock-on effects across sectors that depend on the base metal. Aluminum is the third most used metal in the world, behind only iron and steel. Aluminum is prized for its high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and excellent conductivity — properties that make it essential for everything from beverage cans and cooking foil to aerospace components and power grids. Key sectors utilizing aluminum…

TotalEnergies will keep its fuel price caps across all its services stations in France through June amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the French supermajor said on Wednesday. TotalEnergies first announced in March caps on the price of gasoline and diesel it sells at its French stations as international crude oil prices soared after the Iran war began. Since then, the company has extended the price cap policy for April and May, and is now extending it through the end of June. TotalEnergies vows to pass on to customers any declines in international…

TotalEnergies will keep its fuel price caps across all its services stations in France through June amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the French supermajor said on Wednesday. TotalEnergies first announced in March caps on the price of gasoline and diesel it sells at its French stations as international crude oil prices soared after the Iran war began. Since then, the company has extended the price cap policy for April and May, and is now extending it through the end of June. TotalEnergies vows to pass on to customers any declines in international…

Petrol prices in the UK have hit a new high since the Iran war began, as the price of oil jumped back up to $100 per barrel following fresh US strikes. The average price of a litre of petrol is now 159.43p in the UK, according to motoring services firm the RAC. This petrol price is the highest since December 2022, and 26.6p more expensive than on February 28, the day the US and Israel first launched strikes on Iran. Diesel prices, however, remain below their mid-April peak at 184.96p per litre, 6.58p lower than on April 15.  Chancellor extends…

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan says that the world may eventually have to reduce its consumption of oil and natural gas to bring volatile energy markets into a balance. Speaking at a closed-press conference, Logan emphasized the reality of physical supply constraints, noting that the current rate of oil and gas consumption is not sustainable. Logan expects energy markets to stabilize before too long, though it may force a downward adjustment in global consumption. The Bank of Dallas chief did not provide near-term economic…

Permian Basin innovator LibertyStream is betting big that the “drill baby drill” era may have an unexpected side effect: a surge in lithium feedstock flowing through America’s existing oil infrastructure network. Every single day, Texas’ prolific Permian Basin oil production also handles more than 20 million barrels of produced water. And that mineral-rich wastewater brought to the surface during crude production contains dissolved lithium. As U.S. drilling activity expands, so does the volume of potential lithium feedstock…

Oil prices dropped by around 4% early on Wednesday as hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal outweighed concerns about rapidly drawing inventories as the Strait of Hormuz remained closed on the back of fresh U.S.-Iran hostilities. As of early Wednesday trade in Europe, WTI Crude, the U.S. benchmark, is down by 4.32% at $89.83 per barrel. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, had fallen 3.66% to $95.94, remaining below the $100 a barrel mark for the third consecutive day. Traders and speculators appear hopeful, again, that the United States and Iran could…

Over the past five or so years, the global electric vehicle (EV) market has been rapidly transforming from a niche segment into a mainstream industry thanks to plunging battery costs, aggressive emissions standards and an influx of affordable models from major manufacturing hubs, most notably, China. Back in 2022, the EV sector achieved an important milestone after global sales crossed 10 million for the first time ever. But now, the sector has crossed another milestone, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) reporting that 20.7 million EVs…