Tajikistan is seeking Russia’s help in containing raids by Islamic militants operating out of Afghanistan. Two attacks within the past week have left five Chinese nationals working on road construction and gold mining projects in Tajik border areas dead. The Reuters news agency reported December 2 that Tajik officials are negotiating with their Russian counterparts on mounting joint patrols along the almost 850-mile-long frontier with Afghanistan. Moscow maintains military facilities housing thousands of troops in and around Dushanbe, the…

The Vaca Muerta shale play in southern Argentina continues delivering strong production growth. In a mere decade, shale oil and gas production have regularly soared to all-time highs, boosting Argentina’s hydrocarbon output to new records. Even waning output from the Latin American country’s aging conventional oil fields has had little impact on overall production volumes, with growing unconventional hydrocarbon output filling the gap. October 2025’s numbers, like the month prior, reflect those trends and the rising outsized contribution…

Austrian businessman Bernd Bergmair, former majority owner of Pornhub, has approached the U.S. Treasury about buying assets of Russian oil major Lukoil after the Trump administration sanctioned the company.  "Obviously Lukoil International GmbH would be a great investment and anybody would be fortunate to have the privilege of owning those assets,” Bergmair told Reuters. "I don’t comment on potential investments as a matter of course," he added. Last month, U.S. Treasury issued the greenlight for companies to begin talks with Lukoil…

For the fifth time this year, Cuba suffered a massive power outage after a partial collapse of the electrical grid early on Wednesday.  The capital city of Havana and many of the western provinces are without power, according to a state media reporter who spoke to Reuters.  It was not immediately clear what caused the grid collapse. Cuba’s power system has deteriorated in recent years as the fuel and oil supply crisis has hit heavily the old oil-fueled power plants.   Cuba’s power generation is heavily dependent…

Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 600,000 barrels during the week ending November 28, after adding 2.8 million barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 427.5 million barrels according to government data, which is 3% below 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 suggested that crude oil inventories…

Hungary on Wednesday vowed to challenge the EU’s decision to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas at the Court of Justice of the European Union, claiming it is impossible for the central European nation to halt energy imports from Russia.   “Accepting and implementing this ?Brussels order is impossible for ‌Hungary,” Hungarian Peter Szijjarto said at a briefing, as carried by Reuters. The EU on Wednesday agreed to permanently stop Russian gas imports and phase out Russian oil by 2027.  The agreement will…

A US delegation led by special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his aides for almost five hours at the Kremlin on December 2 for talks on a proposal aimed at ending Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On a day of intense diplomatic efforts to end Europe's largest and deadliest conflict since World War II, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there is a better chance “now than ever” to reach a deal. But just before the talks, Putin accused European governments of trying to block the peace…

Saudi Arabia has launched production at the giant Jafurah natural gas field, the largest non-associated gas development in the Kingdom, which is key to the Saudi goal to significantly boost its gas processing capacity to meet rising demand.  Saudi Aramco, the state oil giant, has completed the first phase of the Jafurah Gas Plant construction and launched production at the field with a capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day, the Saudi Finance Ministry said in the 2026 Budget announcement.  Sustainable production at Jafurah is expected…

Previously, we reported that U.S. electricity prices have been surging, thanks in large part to the proliferation of AI, high-performance computing (HPC) data centers and clean energy manufacturing. U.S. residential electricity prices have surged nearly 40% since 2021, with states with the highest concentration of data centers recording the biggest increase. To wit, Virginia--the state with the biggest number of data centers at 666--saw electricity prices jump 13% in the current year from 2024 levels, the second highest clip nationwide after Illinois’…

The world’s biggest private equity groups are investing in infrastructure assets of the national oil companies of the Middle East as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) opened their pipeline networks to foreign capital. Private equity giants are now seeking a slice of the infrastructure assets of the international majors in deals that would give Big Oil funds to reinvest in oil and gas production. These days, amid lower oil prices and continued reluctance of public-market investors despite the dramatic shift in the ESG narrative,…

As the U.S., European Union (E.U.), and Great Britain have dramatically ratcheted up sanctions on Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow last week sent Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Rosneft chief executive officer Igor Sechin, and other senior officials to China to discuss deepening energy ties and wider cooperation. This deputation follows the major reduction in Russian oil that China has bought so far this year in the wake of the heightened Western sanctions on Moscow, and increased surveillance on Beijing’s role in assisting its…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States saw a draw of 2.48 million barrels in the week ending November 28. Crude oil inventories shed 1.9 million barrels in the week prior. Crude oil inventories in the United States are so far showing a net gain of 4.9 million barrels for the year, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) have risen by 300,000 barrels to 411.7…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States saw a draw of 2.48 million barrels in the week ending November 28. Crude oil inventories shed 1.9 million barrels in the week prior. Crude oil inventories in the United States are so far showing a net gain of 4.9 million barrels for the year, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) have risen by 300,000 barrels to 411.7…

The United States is launching a pivotal diplomatic push with eight allied nations to forge secure, end-to-end supply chains for the critical minerals and advanced semiconductors that underpin the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) sector. The effort, driven by geopolitical concerns over concentrated global production, is set to formally begin with a summit at the White House on December 12, according to Jacob Helberg, the Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs. This strategic alignment, involving Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands,…

Energy Costs Prompt Europe To Reconsider Oil, Gas Opposition Europe’s Green Dreams Buckle Under the Weight of Its Power BillsSoaring Energy Costs Push Europe Back Into Oil and Gas’s ArmsEurope’s Transition Stalls as Voters Rebel Against Sky-High Electricity Prices The Most Boring Oil Month in Years Sets the Stage for a High-Stakes December When Germany earlier this year approved an offshore gas drilling project, it raised a lot of eyebrows. An energy transition champion, a record breaker in wind and solar installations, now Germany…

Zipcar has reached the end of the road in the UK after its US owner pulled the plug on operations in the run up to the introduction of fresh London Congestion Charges for electric vehicles. The car hire business has begun a formal consultation with employees in the UK and will stop taking new bookings beyond the end of the year, according to a company statement, in a move likely to lead to dozens of job losses. In an emailed message to customers, Zipcar UK general manager James Taylor said: “I’m writing to let you know that we are proposing…

Saudi Arabia is doing something that might seem confusing; it’s spending more, borrowing more, and pushing ahead with massive economic projects, even though oil prices are far too low to balance the budget. According to the new 2026 budget outline released on Tuesday, Riyadh plans to spend 1.3 trillion riyals (about $350 billion) next year and keep it at roughly that level through 2027. That kind of spending locks in a deficit of about 3.3% of GDP in 2026. But here’s the part many outsiders miss: in Saudi Arabia, deficits are not viewed…

U.S. natural gas futures spiked to their highest levels in nearly three years as models now show a frigid first half of December across the Lower 48. Several forecasters are also warning of a potential polar-vortex-driven Arctic blast event later this month, which could drive temperatures even lower.  Let's begin with an unusual sight (for this time of year) of winter storm alerts across the Northeast on Tuesday morning. ???? WINTER STORM TODAY ????Heavy snow (5-10" expected) in the Interior Northeast & disruptive…

The hydrogen fuel cell market is on the verge of a major inflection point, projected to nearly double in value over the next six years as global powers scramble to hit critical net-zero emission targets. The technology, which provides emissions-free electricity for everything from heavy-duty trucks to corporate data centers, is now being hailed as indispensable to the global energy transition. A recent market analysis from DataM Intelligence forecasts the global market, valued at $3.64 billion in 2024, will expand significantly to reach an estimated…

TotalEnergies has emerged as the favorite to buy into a major oil discovery offshore Namibia and become a partner of Portugal’s Galp in its development, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter.   Galp, which announced the Mopane oil discovery in 2024, plans to sell a 40% stake in the field and find a partner by the end of the year. Chevron was also said to be in the race for buying a minority stake in the Mopane field.  But TotalEnergies appears to be in pole position, at least according…