Nearly 600 million people in Africa lack access to electricity, and the continent’s population is projected to double between 2050 and 2070. This growing demand underscores the urgent need for scalable, reliable energy solutions. As Africa transforms its power infrastructure, utility-scale batteries such as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are becoming essential. These technologies help stabilize energy supply, manage the intermittency of renewables, and support off-grid systems critical to expanding access. This visualization, via Visual…

US President Donald Trump again played down the likelihood of a quick meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian leaders and raised the possibility of new sanctions on Moscow, although he also said the Ukrainian side is not without blame. "I want to see that [war] end," Trump told reporters on August 26 at the White House. "It's very, very serious what I have in mind, if I have to do it. But I want to see it end." "We want to have an end. We have economic sanctions." "It will not be a world war, but it will be an economic war," Trump said. "An economic…

Russia’s Gazprom Neft reported a steep first-half earnings decline as taxes and weaker ruble realizations squeezed margins across upstream and refining. The producer’s net profit fell 54% year-on-year to 150.5 billion rubles, while the board backed a 17.3-ruble per-share interim payout, according to its first-half results, Reuters reported.  The company said it continued to prioritize project execution across its core oil and condensate hubs, but external headwinds, including export duties, mineral extraction levies, and transport…

Russia’s Gazprom Neft reported a steep first-half earnings decline as taxes and weaker ruble realizations squeezed margins across upstream and refining. The producer’s net profit fell 54% year-on-year to 150.5 billion rubles, while the board backed a 17.3-ruble per-share interim payout, according to its first-half results, Reuters reported.  The company said it continued to prioritize project execution across its core oil and condensate hubs, but external headwinds, including export duties, mineral extraction levies, and transport…

The World Bank appears to be pulling back from involvement in the construction of the Rogun Dam in Tajikistan. According to regional media reports, the bank has paused project funding until Tajik authorities develop a plan to responsibly repay construction-related debts and prove the dam can be commercially viable as a power-generating entity. The bank’s board of directors approved a $350-million development grant in late 2024 for Rogun, which, if completed to full specifications, would become the world’s tallest dam at 335 meters. …

Denmark has summoned the U.S. envoy after intelligence reports of suspected influence operations in Greenland, a mineral-rich Arctic territory central to offshore oil prospects and critical minerals, Reuters reported on Wednesday, describing the effort as an attempt to promote secession.  The development adds urgency to oversight of exploration and mining policy, with Danish officials saying the case could impact licensing timelines and control of future export routes. According to media reports, at least three Americans tied to U.S. President…

Denmark has summoned the U.S. envoy after intelligence reports of suspected influence operations in Greenland, a mineral-rich Arctic territory central to offshore oil prospects and critical minerals, Reuters reported on Wednesday, describing the effort as an attempt to promote secession.  The development adds urgency to oversight of exploration and mining policy, with Danish officials saying the case could impact licensing timelines and control of future export routes. According to media reports, at least three Americans tied to U.S. President…

According to MetalMiner’s sources, ArcelorMittal sought another increase in its hot rolled coil coffers on August 5. This is in addition to the increase the steel industry leader sought in the previous week. Reports indicate that the Luxembourg-headquartered company is now seeking up to €610 ($705) per metric ton EXW for Q4 delivery, up almost 3.4% from the €590 ($685) it was seeking in the previous week. Traders Doubt Buyers Will Accept Hikes One industry trader did not believe that buyers would so readily accept the hikes, especially…

CNOOC Ltd, China’s top offshore crude oil and natural gas producer, booked a 13% drop in first-half earnings as record-high domestic and overseas oil and gas production couldn’t offset the decline in oil prices amid volatile and challenging markets.     CNOOC, which specializes in offshore oil and gas developments in China and internationally, reported on Wednesday a net profit of $9.7 billion (69.5 billion Chinese yuan) for the first half of 2025, down by 13% from a year earlier.  The value of oil and gas sales…

CNOOC Ltd, China’s top offshore crude oil and natural gas producer, booked a 13% drop in first-half earnings as record-high domestic and overseas oil and gas production couldn’t offset the decline in oil prices amid volatile and challenging markets.     CNOOC, which specializes in offshore oil and gas developments in China and internationally, reported on Wednesday a net profit of $9.7 billion (69.5 billion Chinese yuan) for the first half of 2025, down by 13% from a year earlier.  The value of oil and gas sales…

CNOOC Ltd, China’s top offshore crude oil and natural gas producer, booked a 13% drop in first-half earnings as record-high domestic and overseas oil and gas production couldn’t offset the decline in oil prices amid volatile and challenging markets.     CNOOC, which specializes in offshore oil and gas developments in China and internationally, reported on Wednesday a net profit of $9.7 billion (69.5 billion Chinese yuan) for the first half of 2025, down by 13% from a year earlier.  The value of oil and gas sales…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 2.4 million barrels during the week ending August 22, after falling 6 million barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The build brings commercial stockpiles to 418.3 million barrels according to government data, which is 6% 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…

Kazakhstan is in discussions to resume crude oil exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean coast after supply was interrupted last month due to organic chlorides found in Azeri oil on the pipeline, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on Wednesday.  Kazakhstan’s top oil official confirmed for the first time that there had been disruption to oil supply via the pipeline and that deliveries were halted.  Kazakhstan, an oil producer part of the OPEC+ group, has decided to reroute…

Kazakhstan is in discussions to resume crude oil exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean coast after supply was interrupted last month due to organic chlorides found in Azeri oil on the pipeline, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on Wednesday.  Kazakhstan’s top oil official confirmed for the first time that there had been disruption to oil supply via the pipeline and that deliveries were halted.  Kazakhstan, an oil producer part of the OPEC+ group, has decided to reroute…

Kazakhstan is in discussions to resume crude oil exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean coast after supply was interrupted last month due to organic chlorides found in Azeri oil on the pipeline, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on Wednesday.  Kazakhstan’s top oil official confirmed for the first time that there had been disruption to oil supply via the pipeline and that deliveries were halted.  Kazakhstan, an oil producer part of the OPEC+ group, has decided to reroute…

The Gulf of America (GoA) has witnessed an outstanding 2025 in terms of startup activity. Three new floating production units (FPU) are set to begin operations by year-end, with the potential to drive the basin’s deepwater output to an all-time high of nearly 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2026. The year started with a bang when Shell brought its Whale FPU on-line in January, reportedly achieving peak oil production rates of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) within five months. Private operator Beacon Offshore Energy…

Over the past decade, the United States has become the world’s biggest crude oil producer and the top LNG exporter—all thanks to the shale boom. Fracking has boosted U.S. oil and gas production to record highs and significantly raised America’s oil and gas exports, giving the United States sway over global oil and LNG markets. Soaring U.S. oil production has challenged OPEC’s decades-long influence on global oil supply and prices, while American LNG exports have upended global natural gas trade, both in cargo flows and pricing…

The government of Canada’s biggest oil-producing province is in talks with Japanese parties with a view to investing in the latter’s refining industry. The move, according to unnamed sources who spoke to Reuters, should secure a table overseas market for Alberta’s crude. Per the report, this would be the first Alberta government investment in foreign energy infrastructure, potentially marking a new stage in the province’s energy policies and a departure from the historical almost complete reliance on the United States as…

Back in April, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that, among other things, recognized coal as a critical mineral and opened federal lands to coal mining. Trump ordered the Secretary of Energy to examine the potential for expanding coal-based infrastructure to meet the electricity needs of AI data centers and other high-performance computing operations. Then in May, Trump ordered the massive  JH Campbell coal-fired power plant at the edge of Lake Michigan to be kept open for three months, before extending the deadline until…

The supply and demand model of economists suggests that oil prices might rise to consistently high levels, but this has not happened yet: Figure 1. Average annual Brent equivalent inflation-adjusted crude oil prices, based on data of the 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy, published by the Energy Institute. The last year shown is 2024. In my view, the economists’ model of supply and demand is overly simple; its usefulness is limited to understanding short-term shifts in oil prices. The supply and demand model of economists does…