China’s latest oil import data has been rather bullish, with November imports rising 5% year on year. Not only that, but China is building new storage capacity, so it can keep buying more crude, instead of demonstrating that its oil demand growth is weakening, as forecasters say. China is making oil demand forecasting uncertain. FGE NexantECA, for instance, recently reported that China’s apparent demand in October had been revised downwards to 14.6 million barrels of crude daily, or 570,000 barrels daily less than earlier expected.…

Canada could approve the development of a new oil pipeline, four years after plans for the cross-border Keystone XL Pipeline were scrapped over environmental and human rights concerns. While Canada’s oil-rich Alberta province is highly supportive of the plan, environmentalists and Indigenous leaders are concerned about what impact the development of a new pipeline might have on both land and communities. This marks a significant shift away from the national energy policy of recent years, which was increasingly focused on decarbonisation.…

As hyperscale operators race to deploy increasingly powerful infrastructure, the thermal limits of traditional data centers are being tested, triggering a massive surge in demand for advanced cooling technologies. According to a new report from Verified Market Reports, the global data center cooling market was valued at $14.21 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $34.12 billion by 2033. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3% over the forecast period, a trajectory driven by a fundamental shift in how the internet’s…

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the global energy landscape has changed significantly, as the United States and Europe introduced strict sanctions on Russian energy. This led to a rapid movement away from Russian oil and gas by Europe, as countries scrambled to find alternative supplies. As Russia lost many of its main energy trade partners, it also looked elsewhere, offering oil and gas at heavily discounted prices. The tactic worked, as China and India stockpiled vast quantities of low-cost Russian energy. Moscow now aims to strengthen…

Escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela could lead to profound changes in the oil industry of the world’s largest crude resource holder. Any regime change of President Nicolas Maduro could be a game-changer for oil production in Venezuela, U.S. access to Venezuela’s heavy crude fit for U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, and America’s influence in the Western Hemisphere and Latin America. Although it’s not certain that U.S. President Donald Trump would necessarily pursue regime change or an incursion of some…

In the remote geology of western Newfoundland, a specific formation of ancient oceanic crust is shifting from a subject of academic study to a target for industrial decarbonization. The region’s ophiolite belts, sections of Earth’s mantle pushed onto land, are drawing attention for their theoretical ability to produce low-cost hydrogen while permanently mineralizing carbon dioxide. This geological convergence arrives as the energy sector seeks scalable alternatives to manufactured hydrogen. While "green" hydrogen produced via electrolysis…

The economics of battery storage systems (BESS) in Europe look much rosier following changes to the European Union’s (EU) power pricing structure in October, with several countries offering the potential for BESS profits to rise more than a 15%, according to Rystad Energy analysis. The new EU system sets power prices every 15 minutes, rather than every hour, giving BESS operators more opportunities to buy electricity when it’s cheap and sell it when prices rise. Since the new system was implemented, arbitrage potential has increased…

The United Kingdom has big plans for its nuclear sector, with the construction of two conventional nuclear plants underway and plans to develop small modular reactor (SMR) technology. France’s EDF Energy is managing the development of the Hinkley Point C power plant in Somerset and Sizewell C in Suffolk, while Rolls-Royce was recently selected as the preferred bidder to construct the U.K.’s first SMRs. However, the plans do not stop there. In December, the country’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband stated the government has “only…

An electrified future is going to require a whole lot of batteries. Keeping our power grids stable and our cars running won’t only necessitate huge increases in production for current battery models, but it will also hinge on the development of new technologies that have better energy efficiency, quicker charging, longer duration, and diversified supply chains. Currently, the market is almost completely dominated by lithium-ion batteries, but a litany of alternatives are quickly progressing through research and development phases and could…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is traveling to Turkmenistan for festivities December 12 marking the Central Asian state’s 30th anniversary of neutrality. While in Ashgabat, Erdogan will also hold talks with Turkmen leaders likely focusing on the topic of natural gas supplies. Speaking to reporters earlier in December, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Ankara is working to expand gas imports via a long-time arrangement with Iran, augmented by a swap deal with Turkmenistan. A lack of clarity about sanctions currently…

South Sudan has moved troops into Sudan’s Heglig oil field under what it calls a tripartite agreement with Sudan’s two warring factions. The move is a rare arrangement aimed at shielding critical oil infrastructure as fighting escalates across West Kordofan. South Sudan’s army chief of staff, Paul Nang, appeared in a video address from Heglig, saying South Sudanese forces entered the field following an agreement between President Salva Kiir, Sudanese Armed Forces leader Abdelfattah El Burhan, and Rapid Support Forces commander…

South Sudan has moved troops into Sudan’s Heglig oil field under what it calls a tripartite agreement with Sudan’s two warring factions. The move is a rare arrangement aimed at shielding critical oil infrastructure as fighting escalates across West Kordofan. South Sudan’s army chief of staff, Paul Nang, appeared in a video address from Heglig, saying South Sudanese forces entered the field following an agreement between President Salva Kiir, Sudanese Armed Forces leader Abdelfattah El Burhan, and Rapid Support Forces commander…

The global market for artificial intelligence (AI) chips is projected to skyrocket from $203.24 billion in 2025 to nearly $565 billion by 2032, driven by an insatiable demand for real-time analytics and generative AI capabilities.  According to a new report by MarketsandMarkets™, the sector is forecast to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.7% over the next seven years. This trajectory highlights a critical pivot in the global technology infrastructure, where specialized silicon is becoming as vital a commodity as the…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell by 1 this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US  to 548 this week, according to Baker Hughes, down 41 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 1 in the reporting period, according to the data, after US drillers added 6 rigs in the week prior. Oil rigs are now at 414, which is 68 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 2 to 127, which is 24 more…

Hungary has secured an agreement to receive natural gas from Azerbaijan for the next two years, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, as the central EU member state disputes the bloc’s pledge to phase out Russian gas imports.   “We have secured another gas purchase agreement, this time with Azerbaijan: 800 million cubic metres over two years,” Szijjarto posted on X.  Earlier this week, Rovshan Najaf, the president of Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas firm SOCAR, met with the chief executive of Hungary’s…

Fermi America announced their first potential tenant for the Project Matador data center campus terminated their $150 million Advance in Aid of Construction agreement (i.e., lease). The stock has plunged as much as 50% in premarket trading in what is a wild overreaction with unprecedented demand for data center space (especially data centers named after the president) still offset with limited supply. Several weeks ago, we documented Fermi's difficulties with signing their first major tenant last month for their President…

India’s government approved on Friday auctions for coal that buyers could use for industrial activity and exports in yet another reform in the vast coal sector.   The government endorsed the new policy for auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU)—supply that buyers can procure via auctions and use the coal for any industrial purpose and for exports.        Coal holders will be eligible to export coal up to 50% of their volumes, according to…

India’s government approved on Friday auctions for coal that buyers could use for industrial activity and exports in yet another reform in the vast coal sector.   The government endorsed the new policy for auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU)—supply that buyers can procure via auctions and use the coal for any industrial purpose and for exports.        Coal holders will be eligible to export coal up to 50% of their volumes, according to…

India’s government approved on Friday auctions for coal that buyers could use for industrial activity and exports in yet another reform in the vast coal sector.   The government endorsed the new policy for auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU)—supply that buyers can procure via auctions and use the coal for any industrial purpose and for exports.        Coal holders will be eligible to export coal up to 50% of their volumes, according to…

India’s government approved on Friday auctions for coal that buyers could use for industrial activity and exports in yet another reform in the vast coal sector.   The government endorsed the new policy for auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU)—supply that buyers can procure via auctions and use the coal for any industrial purpose and for exports.        Coal holders will be eligible to export coal up to 50% of their volumes, according to…