Southeast Asia needs to invest heavily in upgrading and modernising its transmission networks if countries across the region hope to deploy larger quantities of renewable energy over the next decade. With investment in green energy growing ever higher, the grid systems in countries such as Indonesia, India, and Vietnam simply cannot keep up with capacity growth, creating a bottleneck in power distribution. Upgrading and expanding transmission networks would respond to the growth in regional power demand while reducing dependence on fossil fuels. …

China's energy strategy has largely shielded it from the fallout of the war in Iran and the resultant closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil and gas trade. However, the country's newest five-year plan for its oil and gas sector reveals ongoing anxieties about geopolitical tensions, future conflicts, reliance on energy imports, and the country's dwindling crude supplies. Released to the public on Monday by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, the newest five-year plan focuses…

Countries around the globe are racing to become the world’s first geologic hydrogen hotspot. A few years ago, the United States Department of Energy released a bombshell report that estimated that there are trillions of metric tons of natural hydrogen deposits sitting in underground pockets around the world – and that a considerable amount of that could be extracted for industrial use. Energy companies around the world have been eagerly exploring for the most ideal locations to put that theory to the test – and they’re zeroing…

The extreme heat experienced across Europe in recent weeks has caused widespread disruption to nuclear power plants. Governments across the region have been forced to take extraordinary measures to keep nuclear facilities operating, but some are failing to meet their goals, with river levels at record lows. This is expected to have a significant impact on Europe’s GDP, with economic losses in the billions.  Europe has endured five heatwaves so far this summer, bringing record temperatures, prolonged drought, and wildfires, with many…

Iraq wants to more than double its oil production within six years. First, it needs OPEC to let it. Baghdad is targeting output of between 8 million and 10 million barrels per day, up from roughly 4 million bpd before the Iran war, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Friday. Iraq dispatched its oil and finance ministers to Saudi Arabia the same day to make the case for a higher OPEC production quota. OPEC+ has hired DeGolyer and MacNaughton to independently assess the maximum sustainable production capacity of most members, including Iraq. The consultancy…

Iraq wants to more than double its oil production within six years. First, it needs OPEC to let it. Baghdad is targeting output of between 8 million and 10 million barrels per day, up from roughly 4 million bpd before the Iran war, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Friday. Iraq dispatched its oil and finance ministers to Saudi Arabia the same day to make the case for a higher OPEC production quota. OPEC+ has hired DeGolyer and MacNaughton to independently assess the maximum sustainable production capacity of most members, including Iraq. The consultancy…

Venezuela has plenty of oil buyers again. What it does not have is enough functioning port infrastructure to get them their crude. Tankers are waiting as long as 30 days to load Venezuelan oil as aging terminals, power outages and crude-quality problems create a de facto ceiling on exports, according to Reuters. That ceiling appears to be around 1.25 million barrels per day. PDVSA and its partners have been unable to push exports meaningfully above that level in recent months despite rising production, inventory drawdowns and strong demand for…

China is challenging Russia’s stranglehold on Central Asia’s arms market. Uzbekistan appears to have taken delivery of four PRC-made ChengduJ-10CE multi-role combat aircraft, according to multiple reports, one of which includes a photo of one of the fighters supposedly acquired by the Uzbek Air Force.  Tashkent reportedly has an agreement with Beijing to receive a total of 24 fighters. Uzbek and Chinese officials have yet to confirm the initial delivery. If accurate, the deal signals a significant expansion of China’s military…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US falling to 588, up 50 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs fell by 3, sinking to 452 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 41 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 1 to 127, which is 5 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs fell by 1 to 9. The latest EIA data showed that…

Solar power developers in India have started to add battery storage to photovoltaic projects to attract buyers and reduce the large share of curtailments for power supply that the grids are unable to absorb, Santosh Sarangi, Secretary of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said on Friday. As much as 42 gigawatts (GW) of solar projects are still struggling to find offtakers, with about 18 GW of solar-only projects without batteries most at risk of continuing to struggle, Sarangi said at the BNEF Summit in New Delhi, as carried by…

When Uzbekistan celebrates 35 years of independence on September 1st, Washington should do more than congratulate its people and government. It should recognize a strategic opportunity and make Uzbekistan the anchor of its policy in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most populous country, strategically located between Russia, China, Iran, Afghanistan, and the Caspian Sea. It is opening its economy, improving relations with its neighbors, and seeking greater integration with global markets. A remarkable transformation. When Uzbekistan became…

China’s refiners have imported lower volumes of Iranian crude in August compared to July as the U.S. blockade reinstated in mid-July is squeezing crude supply to Iran’s top oil customer.    So far this month, China is estimated to have imported about 534,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude oil, down from an estimated 823,000 bpd in July, according to preliminary data by Kpler cited by Reuters. The reinstated U.S. blockade on Iranian oil exports is preventing new supply from Iran to leave the Persian Gulf, while the…

Hormuz traffic remains near a standstill as Trump’s ‘Economic D-Day’ campaign pushes Brent closer to $100. Friday, August 21, 2026 Transits through the Strait of Hormuz have been in single digits the entire week, with Trump’s announcement of an ‘Economic D-Day’ campaign against Iran increasing geopolitical risk premia in the markets. With ICE Brent at $94 per barrel, Asian LNG prices at $24 per MMBtu and VLCC freight rates at exorbitant levels, this week’s gradual upward creeping momentum towards $100-per-barrel…

Ukraine overnight hit with drones an oil refinery in the Perm region, deep into Russian territory, as the Ukrainian military has been targeting Russia’s oil processing and exporting facilities on a nearly daily basis in the past few weeks. Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on Perm, which is over 1,600 kilometers, or 1,000 miles, from the Ukraine-Russia border, hitting an oil refinery, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday.  “Last night, our deep strikes hit an oil refinery in Perm, more than 1,600 kilometers…

Ukraine overnight hit with drones an oil refinery in the Perm region, deep into Russian territory, as the Ukrainian military has been targeting Russia’s oil processing and exporting facilities on a nearly daily basis in the past few weeks. Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on Perm, which is over 1,600 kilometers, or 1,000 miles, from the Ukraine-Russia border, hitting an oil refinery, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday.  “Last night, our deep strikes hit an oil refinery in Perm, more than 1,600 kilometers…

Ukraine overnight hit with drones an oil refinery in the Perm region, deep into Russian territory, as the Ukrainian military has been targeting Russia’s oil processing and exporting facilities on a nearly daily basis in the past few weeks. Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on Perm, which is over 1,600 kilometers, or 1,000 miles, from the Ukraine-Russia border, hitting an oil refinery, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday.  “Last night, our deep strikes hit an oil refinery in Perm, more than 1,600 kilometers…

Numbers Report – August 21, 2026 In the latest edition of the Numbers Report, we will take a look at some of the most interesting figures put out this week in the energy and metals sectors. Each week we’ll dig into some data and provide a bit of explanation on what drives the numbers. Let’s take a look. 1. US Oil Majors Turn Homeward as War Hits Output - US oil majors are increasingly prioritizing upstream investment in the US and the wider Americas region as Donald Trump’s war against Iran has slashed their 2026 production…

Saudi Arabia has boosted its crude oil exports from Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir by about 33% in the month since the Houthis threatened Saudi oil shipments in the southern Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Friday. Saudi state oil giant Aramco, the world’s single largest crude oil exporter, has started shuttling oil from its Yanbu port on the Red Sea north toward Egypt to avoid the threat from the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen. Western ship operators and owners,…

For the past several weeks, I have been working my way through the major findings in the Energy Institute’s 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy. This article concludes that series. For readers who want to catch up, the previous installments are: Energy Demand Outpaced the Transition in 2025 Global Emissions Hit a New Record as U.S. Emissions Rebounded The U.S. Is Both the World’s Top Oil Producer and Top Consumer The U.S. Supplied 93% of Global LNG Export Growth in 2025 Global Coal Use Hit a Record in 2025, Even as Coal Power Declined…

October WTI crude oil futures are trading at $86.31 late Thursday, up $4.82 or 5.91% for the week. The contract opened at $81.62, traded as low as $80.80, and reached $87.69. Friday’s session is still ahead, so the weekly result is not final. The market has already made its decision about the week. WTI rallied because the agreement traders were waiting for never appeared. The Strait of Hormuz is still operating far below normal. The ceasefire is finished. No talks are scheduled. Washington and Tehran are moving farther apart, not closer together.…