Following the Nobel Prize for graphene's discovery in 2010, the gee-whiz nanomaterial has been lauded as a "wonder material" with endless theoretical applications, including graphene super batteries, leading to a "sugar rush" of investor excitement and high valuations of graphene makers such as Applied Graphene Materials Plc. (OTCQB:APGMF) and First Graphene Limited (OTCMKTS:FGPHF). Unfortunately, the actual pace of commercial adoption has been much slower than initially anticipated, causing huge market corrections as expectations realigned with…

South Korea’s move to kill coal will almost certainly have repercussions on two of its largest energy customers, Australia and the United States. A decision on the polluting fossil fuel was made at the COP30 climate conference in Brazil, when South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced plans to retire most of the country’s coal-fired power plants by 2040, and to at least halve its carbon emissions by 2035. Forty of the plants already have confirmed closure dates. South Korea has been criticized for not…

The energy transition is often sold as a story of ethereal "green" progress, but if you look at the balance sheets of the companies actually building it, the story is written in soot and high-voltage electricity. While the financial press spends its time obsessing over the price of lithium or the latest solid-state battery breakthrough, a much more grounded, and expensive, reality is setting in. We are entering the era of the engineered anode. New data suggests the market for ultra-high-purity (UHP) graphite is on a trajectory to hit $1.43 billion…

Iran's leadership is facing mounting pressure from abroad and emerging dissent from within as street protests over its reeling economy and the threat of a new round of military strikes hang over the country. Demonstrations were reported in several cities, with markets and shops shuttered and students holding rallies at universities, on December 30. This follows two days of demonstrations that saw security forces launch volleys of tear gas to disperse crowds. People were chanting anti-government slogans to protest a sharp weakening of the currency.…

As tech companies worldwide invest heavily in the deployment of large-scale data centres to power advanced technologies, not everyone is so happy about the new phenomenon. Concerns over energy security and a prolonged reliance on fossil fuels are just two of the issues that are repeatedly coming up, as governments seek to better regulate the sector.  In the United States, $64 billion in data centre projects have been blocked or delayed due to growing opposition. A Data Centre Watch report estimates that $18 billion worth of data centre projects…

Argentina, in a surprise development, overtook Colombia to become South America’s fourth-largest oil producer. The country is undergoing a once-in-a-generation unconventional hydrocarbon boom, which began with Buenos Aires nationalizing integrated energy major YPF in 2012. Since then, Argentina’s oil and natural gas output has kept soaring higher, regularly hitting new monthly highs as volumes of shale oil and gas production grow. It is Argentina’s national oil company, YPF, which is at the forefront of the boom with it responsible…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States saw a build of 1.7 million barrels in the week ending December 26. Crude oil inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels in the week prior. Crude oil inventories in the United States are so far showing a net decrease of 5.1 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 200,000 barrels…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States saw a build of 1.7 million barrels in the week ending December 26. Crude oil inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels in the week prior. Crude oil inventories in the United States are so far showing a net decrease of 5.1 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 200,000 barrels…

Several trends emerged in the energy markets in 2025 and are set to continue shaping the global oil, gas, and energy equities markets into 2026. Sure, there will be many wild cards in 2026, especially concerning geopolitics and tensions flaring up from the Caribbean to Yemen. These, while impossible to predict, will also impact global energy markets and investor sentiment.   Of those trends that can be predicted, supply-demand balances in the oil and gas markets, and the challenges and opportunities facing Big Oil and other oil and gas firms,…

For nearly two months, Sayed Wali, a young Afghan truck driver, has watched the sun rise, and the sun set in the fabled Khyber Pass, which connects western Pakistan to eastern Afghanistan. But he's not here for the view. He's stuck. Wali can't even leave his 10-wheel truck and its cargo unattended for fear it could be robbed or ransacked. He was taking a shipment of Afghan imports from Pakistan's southern seaport city of Karachi through some 1,800 kilometers of roads that wind from the Arabian Sea up through to the treacherous Khyber mountains…

Oil tankers are still making their way to Venezuela despite Washington’s naval blockade, a sign that Caracas is leaning harder on floating storage and debt-linked crude shipments even as its export system begins to clog. At least two tankers arrived in Venezuelan waters in recent days, and others are approaching the coast, according to Reuters calculations and data from TankerTrackers.com. The arrivals come as U.S. enforcement has cut Venezuela’s oil exports roughly in half from November levels, seized two cargoes, and pushed many shipowners…

The latest flare-up between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over Yemen looks dramatic on the surface, but OPEC cohesion, not missiles or militias, is what ultimately matters to the oil markets, which is why the latest public spat between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over Yemen created just a temporary blip in crude prices. Saudi forces intercepted this week what they said was an unauthorized UAE-linked shipment of weapons and military equipment destined for southern Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition dished out an airstrike on the southern Yemeni…

The latest flare-up between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over Yemen looks dramatic on the surface, but OPEC cohesion, not missiles or militias, is what ultimately matters to the oil markets, which is why the latest public spat between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over Yemen created just a temporary blip in crude prices. Saudi forces intercepted this week what they said was an unauthorized UAE-linked shipment of weapons and military equipment destined for southern Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition dished out an airstrike on the southern Yemeni…

The latest flare-up between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over Yemen looks dramatic on the surface, but OPEC cohesion, not missiles or militias, is what ultimately matters to the oil markets, which is why the latest public spat between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over Yemen created just a temporary blip in crude prices. Saudi forces intercepted this week what they said was an unauthorized UAE-linked shipment of weapons and military equipment destined for southern Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition dished out an airstrike on the southern Yemeni…

Russia’s pipeline gas exports to Europe collapsed by 44% in 2025, falling to their lowest level since the mid-1970s, according to Reuters calculations. The drop marks the clearest statistical endpoint yet for what was once Moscow’s most lucrative and politically potent energy relationship. The decline was driven primarily by the closure of the Ukrainian transit route at the start of the year, leaving TurkStream as the only remaining pipeline corridor for Russian gas into Europe. Even that route now serves a shrinking group of buyers,…

India has once again kicked the can down the road on its biggest oil and gas licensing round, extending the deadline for bids under OALP-X to February 18. It is the fourth extension since the round was launched with much fanfare during India Energy Week in February, and it says a lot about the gap between ambition and investor appetite. OALP-X is not a small offering quietly tucked away in some dark corner of the upstream segment. It is the largest acreage round India has ever put on the table under its Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy,…

India has once again kicked the can down the road on its biggest oil and gas licensing round, extending the deadline for bids under OALP-X to February 18. It is the fourth extension since the round was launched with much fanfare during India Energy Week in February, and it says a lot about the gap between ambition and investor appetite. OALP-X is not a small offering quietly tucked away in some dark corner of the upstream segment. It is the largest acreage round India has ever put on the table under its Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy,…

Crude oil exports from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal on Russia’s Black Sea coast have been suspended due to adverse weather, the consortium said on Tuesday, as transshipment and loadings of oil from Kazakhstan face another setback. Adverse weather conditions in the CPC MT operation area forced the consortium on Monday to suspend oil transshipment until weather improves and storm warnings are lifted, CPC said in a statement on Tuesday. The terminal halted accepting oil on Monday, too, due to insufficient storage space. “It…

Oil markets are focused on Venezuela tensions and the suspension of crude oil loadings at Kazakhstan's CPC terminal. Venezuela Starts Cutting Production as Trump Ratchets Up His Strangling Strategy - Donald Trump’s maximum pressure strategy on Venezuela is finally starting to impact Venezuela’s oil production, with state oil company PDVSA beginning to shut down wells in the Orinoco Belt amidst swelling inventories and ongoing tanker seizures. - Venezuela’s oil production has been continuously growing in 2025, with…

Crude oil exports from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal on Russia’s Black Sea coast have been suspended due to adverse weather, the consortium said on Tuesday, as transshipment and loadings of oil from Kazakhstan face another setback. Adverse weather conditions in the CPC MT operation area forced the consortium on Monday to suspend oil transshipment until weather improves and storm warnings are lifted, CPC said in a statement on Tuesday. The terminal halted accepting oil on Monday, too, due to insufficient storage space. “It…