A top Uzbek government official has revealed that Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan are in “conceptual agreement” on creating a transit corridor to connect the Central Asian nation to ports on the Arabian Sea. The semi-official Gazeta.uz news outlet cites Deputy Minister of Transport Jasurbek Choriev as saying a feasibility study is already being undertaken, adding that surveying work has begun on a corridor. "The next stage is to understand how quickly and how much capital we can attract, as well as what partners will be interested,"…

Norwegian offshore oil production significantly exceeded expectations in April, with total liquids output climbing to 2.158 million barrels per day — 6.7% above official forecasts — as Europe grows increasingly dependent on a stable North Sea energy supply in an increasingly fragile global market. Fresh production data from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate also showed total liquids production rose by 16,000 barrels per day from March levels and surged 129,000 barrels per day above April 2025 production. The April liquids stream consisted…

The challenge of solar-powered energy has always been the means to store it. And the intermittency of solar and wind energy makes that storage capability essential. Energy from the sun and wind can only be created — and stored — when the sun shines or the wind blows. But that technological gap may be closing thanks to scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who have created a “rechargeable solar battery” that stores sunlight in molecules and later releases enough heat to boil water. The scientists started…

The escalation of conflict across the Middle East and the disruption to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz have introduced a variable into the maritime energy transition that regulatory frameworks were never designed to handle: the possibility that conventional marine fuel becomes unavailable because competing domestic priorities absorb the available supply. This changes the analytical framing for clean shipping in a big way, just as Norway introduced its new GHG-reduction rule. Steeper decline than FuelEU Maritime, similar architecture…

Electric vehicle sales could hit nearly 30% of all car sales in the world this year as drivers accelerate a shift to EVs and hybrids amid spiking fuel prices in the wake of the Iran war, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday. Following strong growth in 2025, this year EV sales are set to reach 23 million globally in 2026, accounting for almost 30% of all cars sold worldwide, the IEA said in its annual Global EV Outlook 2026 report out today. Last year, EV sales grew by 20% globally and accounted for one-quarter of all new cars…

Electric vehicle sales could hit nearly 30% of all car sales in the world this year as drivers accelerate a shift to EVs and hybrids amid spiking fuel prices in the wake of the Iran war, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday. Following strong growth in 2025, this year EV sales are set to reach 23 million globally in 2026, accounting for almost 30% of all cars sold worldwide, the IEA said in its annual Global EV Outlook 2026 report out today. Last year, EV sales grew by 20% globally and accounted for one-quarter of all new cars…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 7.9 million barrels during the week ending May 15, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 445.0 million barrels, according to government data, which is now 2% 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 reported that crude oil inventories saw a draw of 9.1 million barrels in the period.…

As a result of spiking fuel prices and concerns about jet fuel supply shortages, the UK government has waived sanctions on imports of diesel and jet fuel processed from Russia-origin crude in third countries. The easing of a small part of the UK’s strict sanctions and bans on Russian crude and oil product imports is to protect supply security, the Labour government argues. But the Conservatives slammed the decision as “insane” and a sign that the sanctions are being undermined by domestic political agenda. This “small and…

As a result of spiking fuel prices and concerns about jet fuel supply shortages, the UK government has waived sanctions on imports of diesel and jet fuel processed from Russia-origin crude in third countries. The easing of a small part of the UK’s strict sanctions and bans on Russian crude and oil product imports is to protect supply security, the Labour government argues. But the Conservatives slammed the decision as “insane” and a sign that the sanctions are being undermined by domestic political agenda. This “small and…

Brits are set to face a sharp hike in energy costs this summer, with household bills forecast to rise by more than £200 a year, as the conflict in the Middle East ripples into the UK market. Energy analyst Cornwall Insight predicts that the annual bill for a typical dual-fuel household will increase to £1,850, according to its final forecast for the July to September price cap. This represents a 13 per cent increase from the current cap of £1,641. The rise has been credited to the volatile wholesale market, which has been damaged…

Plastic is cheap, but it’s an ecological, environmental, and human health disaster that actually costs Americans over $1 trillion a year, according to some estimates. By 2040, plastic waste management alone will cost the United States nearly $37 billion a year. Plastic is everywhere. We built it to be durable. We built it to be forever, and without the advanced technology to break it back down into something usable, its unstoppable production momentum will bury us all alive. Breaking down something that was manufactured to last forever has…

For years now, China has been the world’s most generous sponsor of alternative energy systems and electric vehicles. This has not only made it the biggest market for such technologies but also the biggest exporter, and that has helped the country offset economic troubles in other sectors and cement its place as the top transition player globally. China’s economy is undergoing a seismic shift, where the previously dominant real estate sector has been hit by turmoil and is no longer the engine of the country’s growth, Reuters’…

The massive energy needs of AI servers and hyperscale data centers are driving a boom in grid storage. Standalone battery systems are scaling at an unprecedented rate to pair with solar and wind power, enhancing grid stability and base-load capability. The global BESS market is experiencing explosive structural growth, driven by the integration of renewable energy and declining lithium-ion costs.  Global BESS capacity is projected to surge by up to 15x in the current decade, with market value expected to exceed $100 billion by 2030. …

Hydropower is the quiet workhorse driving the global clean energy transition. Although it gets just a mere fraction of the media and political attention that solar and wind energy do, hydropower is by far the largest source of clean energy worldwide, and is the third-largest source of power overall, after coal and natural gas. In 2024, hydro provided nearly 15% of all the world’s electricity. However, hydropower has been declining in global energy systems. This could spell major trouble for global climate goals, not to mention energy security…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 9.1 million barrels in the week ending May 15. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 2.188 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 3.4 million-barrel draw for the current reporting period. US crude inventories have risen by 26 million barrels so far this year, according to API data. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending May…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 9.1 million barrels in the week ending May 15. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 2.188 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 3.4 million-barrel draw for the current reporting period. US crude inventories have risen by 26 million barrels so far this year, according to API data. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending May…

The second energy crisis in four years is further eroding Europe’s industrial competitiveness as energy costs are spiking again and undermining the European ambition to compete with the United States and China to attract AI and data center developments. Energy costs in Europe are so much higher than in the U.S. or Asia, and the grid stability is so fragile and in dire need of modernization and upgrades that many European countries are out of the competition for hosting new data/AI centers. In addition, Europe’s already congested grid…

U.S. natural gas exporters are asking Europe for something increasingly common in global energy markets these days: a timeout. American LNG suppliers want the European Union to push back enforcement of its methane emissions rules until at least 2028, arguing the regulations are already creating enough uncertainty to freeze long-term gas deals at exactly the wrong moment. Charlie Riedl, senior vice president of the Natural Gas Supply Association, said Tuesday that some U.S. companies have gone as far as telling commercial teams not to sign long-term…

U.S. natural gas exporters are asking Europe for something increasingly common in global energy markets these days: a timeout. American LNG suppliers want the European Union to push back enforcement of its methane emissions rules until at least 2028, arguing the regulations are already creating enough uncertainty to freeze long-term gas deals at exactly the wrong moment. Charlie Riedl, senior vice president of the Natural Gas Supply Association, said Tuesday that some U.S. companies have gone as far as telling commercial teams not to sign long-term…

If we think of electricity purely as a commodity, then we should apply to it the one financial rule that dominates all commodity markets everywhere: the lowest cost producer always wins. The logic behind this is simple. Why would anyone pay more for an identical product, scarcity concerns notwithstanding? If a pound (or kilo) of say sugar was $5 at store A and $10 at store B, it’s no mystery whose inventory will sell out first. The same logic applies to the production of electricity. And, to us, that’s why industry leaders have been…