1m ago 9:56pm CST Israel Launches New Strikes in Iran and Lebanon Israel has launched a new wave of strikes against targets in Iran and Lebanon as the conflict continues to escalate. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it began “an additional wave of strikes” targeting infrastructure linked to the Iranian regime in central Iran. Israeli officials said the strikes are part of ongoing operations aimed at Iranian military and command infrastructure. In Beirut, the IDF said it also struck infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed militant…

Oil prices surged in early Asian trading on Monday, breaking above $100 per barrel for the first time in nearly four years as the Iran conflict escalated and Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen as supreme leader. At the time of writing, WTI crude was trading at $108.66, up $17.76 or 19.54%, while Brent crude was at $108.69, up $16.00 or 17.26%. The rally follows a dramatic escalation in the conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel over the weekend, with attacks on energy infrastructure and military targets across the region heightening…

Oil prices surged in early Asian trading on Monday, breaking above $100 per barrel for the first time in nearly four years as the Iran conflict escalated and Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen as supreme leader. At the time of writing, WTI crude was trading at $108.66, up $17.76 or 19.54%, while Brent crude was at $108.69, up $16.00 or 17.26%. The rally follows a dramatic escalation in the conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel over the weekend, with attacks on energy infrastructure and military targets across the region heightening…

Back in September 2025, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA), a landmark pact elevating their security cooperation to a formal alliance. The agreement dictates that an attack on one nation is considered an attack on both, potentially extending Pakistan's nuclear umbrella to Saudi Arabia and strengthening joint military intervention. The pact alters the regional security architecture, particularly affecting Iran, India, and Israel, while potentially signaling a shift in Saudi reliance away from the U.S.…

The European Union’s gas in storage levels are below 30%, benchmark gas prices are the highest in over a year, and QatarEnergy just shut down the world’s single biggest LNG production facility. The situation looks like a recipe for disaster, and the chances of a painless solution are slim. EU’s benchmark natural gas price has gained as much as 60% since the United States and Israel started bombing Iran on Saturday, and while some of these gains were erased this week, significant upside potential remains. Not only has QatarEnergy…

Solar power is on a meteoric rise around the world. Over the next five years, solar photovoltaics will account for an astonishing 80 percent of new renewable power additions, according to estimates from the International Energy Agency. And that will amount to a whole lot of added capacity on a global scale. Despite a pivot away from clean energy in some policy spheres, renewables have simply become too cheap to fail, and installations are expected to more than double by 2030. A huge amount of the world’s installed solar pv growth has been…

Rural electric cooperatives may be next in line for meaningful disruption from lower-cost, renewable power generation technologies such as wind and solar.  The co-operative movement, a creation of FDR's New Deal, has survived the past ninety six years with a simple mandate: provide low-cost, reliable electricity in under-served rural areas. From a business perspective rural electrification always seemed like a terrible idea. The electric utility has to spend prodigiously on poles and wires for a sparsely populated area with a few customers…

Cuba has long been suffering from an energy crisis, with residents facing regular blackouts, which has been exacerbated by the recent United States intervention in Venezuela and the halt of critical energy exports to Cuba. Now, the island nation is assessing a potential future in renewables to diversify its energy mix and boost security.  In February, Cuba’s energy crisis deepened as fuel rationing was implemented, following U.S. President Trump’s campaign to provoke regime change by cutting off the island’s energy supply,…

Argentina has become a major mining hotspot in recent years, as energy firms eye the South American country’s vast critical mineral reserves and build upon its strong mining reputation. In addition to lithium and copper, companies are showing interest in Argentina’s uranium reserves, particularly as several governments worldwide look to rapidly develop their nuclear energy capacity. However, many Argentinians are less enthusiastic about the prospect of uranium mining.  Argentina’s uranium resources total roughly 10,500 tonnes…

The conflict in Iran is unlikely to lead to 1970s-style oil rationing, but policymakers must use price mechanisms and encourage domestic energy investment to insure against unpredictable escalations, says Andy Mayer In 1979 the Iranian Revolution sparked the ‘second oil crisis’ as the price of crude oil more than doubled to $40 per barrel. Although global production only fell four per cent, then seven per cent during the following year’s Iran-Iraq war, it took time for policy and global supply chains to adjust. The price shock…

Interest in Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) is increasing across the United States. A VPP relies on the combined power of various renewable energy projects, such as home or small-scale solar and wind power projects. Solar panels and home batteries have significantly increased in popularity in recent years, as people look to drive down energy bills, as well as switch to green energy.  VPPs are networks of small energy-producing or storage devices, which, together, provide power to the electricity grid. Utilities are increasingly partnering with…

As things continue to pop off in the Middle East, the United States is still focused on Venezuela - and has brokered a multimillion-dollar gold deal.  The agreement, first reported by Axios, involves the sale of between 650 and 1,000 kilograms of gold doré bars - which are semi-refined with approximately 98% gold content - from Venezuela's state-owned mining company, Minerven, to the global commodities trader Trafigura. The gold is destined for refineries in the United States, marking a shift in Venezuela's resource exports toward American…

A few years ago, I analyzed the growth of world energy consumption, breaking it down into (a) the growth in energy consumption needed to support the growth in world population, and (b) the growth in energy consumption available to support higher standards of living. This analysis covered the period 1820 to 2020. I found that periods of low growth tended to coincide with wars, depressions, and collapses. This is not surprising in a world economy governed by the laws of physics. Every part of the economy requires adequate energy of appropriate…

Following the United States intervention in Venezuela on 3rd January, which brought an end to President Nicolás Maduro’s 13-year dictatorship, all eyes have been on the South American country’s oil industry. Once one of the world’s biggest oil producers, output has waned in recent years. However, with U.S. President Trump setting his sights on Venezuelan crude, many are speculating just how quickly its resources can be tapped. While the focus is on Venezuela’s potential as an oil power, others think that more immediate…

Azerbaijan risks getting sucked into a widening Middle East conflict after Iran conducted a drone attack March 5 on the Nakhchivan exclave, wounding four civilians.  One of four drones targeting Nakhchivan, a territory sitting on Iran’s northern border, hit a terminal at the region’s airport. Another narrowly missed a school building, according to a statement issued by Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry. Azerbaijani anti-air defenses shot down one of the drones, the statement added. Iran has denied initiating any attack against…

Americans are experiencing a sharp rise in gas prices this week, with the national average gasoline price posting its largest weekly jump since the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war. If fuel prices continue to climb as the U.S.-Israeli Operation Epic Fury intensifies against Iran, the fallout for consumer sentiment may weigh on the broader economy and affect voting polls in the near term. The surge in gasoline and diesel prices at pumps nationwide doesn't appear to be a concern for President Trump (at least not yet). "I don't have…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 551 this week, down 41 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 4 to 411 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 75 below this same time last year. The number of gas sunk by 2, reaching 132, which is 31 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 8. The latest EIA…

India’s largest private refiner, Reliance Industries, is sounding the market for buying Russian crude, an anonymous source told Bloomberg on Friday, after the United States on Thursday issued a temporary one-month license to India allowing it to purchase Russia-origin crude loaded on vessels before or on March 5.  Even before the waiver was issued, India was considering returning to buying Russian crude amassed in floating storage in Asia as the war in Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes in the region have severely disrupted…

India’s largest private refiner, Reliance Industries, is sounding the market for buying Russian crude, an anonymous source told Bloomberg on Friday, after the United States on Thursday issued a temporary one-month license to India allowing it to purchase Russia-origin crude loaded on vessels before or on March 5.  Even before the waiver was issued, India was considering returning to buying Russian crude amassed in floating storage in Asia as the war in Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes in the region have severely disrupted…

India’s largest private refiner, Reliance Industries, is sounding the market for buying Russian crude, an anonymous source told Bloomberg on Friday, after the United States on Thursday issued a temporary one-month license to India allowing it to purchase Russia-origin crude loaded on vessels before or on March 5.  Even before the waiver was issued, India was considering returning to buying Russian crude amassed in floating storage in Asia as the war in Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes in the region have severely disrupted…