Oil prices nudged higher on Boxing Day as geopolitical risk rises in the markets. Friday, December 26, 2025The festive Christmas lull in oil trading saw oil prices post a weekly gain as geopolitical tensions helped push ICE Brent above the $62 per barrel mark. Venezuela and the potential choking of its heavy crude production remains the No. 1 topic, however the U.S.’ Boxing Day strikes on Nigeria could open up a new front of bullishness. US Continues to Hunt Down Venezuela Tankers. The White House has ordered US military forces around Venezuela…

China has issued the first batch of fuel export quotas for the new year, at a total of 19 million tons, Reuters reported today, citing unnamed sources. The volumes were relatively unchanged on the first fuel export quota batch for this year. The quotas include gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. In addition to those, Beijing also issued export quotas for 8 million tons of low-sulfur bunkering fuel. The bulk of the quotas, at over 70%, are going to state-owned energy majors Sinopec and CNPC. The two together received fuel export quotas for a total of…

Russia’s crude oil production this year will remain unchanged from the previous year at some 516 million tons, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said today, adding that in 2026, oil production should rise to 525 million tons, Interfax cited the official as saying. The 2025 total is equal to around 10.36 million barrels daily, to rise to 10.54 million barrels daily in 2036, based on a conversion ratio of 7.33 barrels in a ton. The 2026 increase is about 2% on this year and will be pursued “in accordance with the socio-economic development…

Crude oil prices were set for the most substantial gain since October this week amid intensifying U.S. pressure on Venezuela, with both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate gaining over $2 per barrel in the last full week of 2025. A newly reported U.S. military strike on Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria contributed to the oil price climb. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $62.41 per barrel... With West Texas Intermediate at $58.54 per barrel, after media cited President Donald Trump as saying U.S. forces had delivered a “powerful…

Santa runs on diesel. Every year, the global holiday economy depends on a short, unforgiving surge in distillate consumption that powers trucks, ports, warehouses, refrigeration, and backup generation, all under winter operating conditions. That commercially driven holiday cheer strains logistics and exposes how thin the margin has become in some already-tight diesel markets, particularly in Europe.  After crude, diesel is the most economically important fuel in the system, and Christmas is when that reality asserts itself. In the U.S., distillate…

When we talk about energy storage today, lithium-ion batteries tend to dominate the conversation. They are sleek, compact, and have become the default image of the clean energy revolution. Yet behind the headlines, a quieter cast of characters has been doing the heavy lifting. Some of the most effective ways to store energy are not based on exotic chemistry at all, but on gravity, heat, air, and even sand. They are often strange, wonderfully simple, and surprisingly effective. If the world’s energy transition were a movie, lithium-ion batteries…

The digital economy’s favorite gimmick...the subscription...has finally arrived for the world of physical steel and copper. Data from the latest sector forecasts indicates the commercial Energy as a Service (EaaS) market is set to double, ballooning from $28.79 billion in 2024 to over $55 billion by 2030.  On paper, it is a clean, easyu narrative: commercial landlords and data center operators trade their volatile utility bills and aging HVAC units for a smooth, predictable monthly fee. But when you audit the reality of a 11.4% compound…

The headlines from the London Metal Exchange tell a story of a world on the brink of a copper famine.  2025 is closing out with prices up nearly 40%...the most violent annual move since the post-crisis bounce of 2009.  We’ve watched prices breach $12,000 a tonne, a level that would usually imply the world’s electrical grids were physically melting. But if you look at the actual hardware...the physical metal sitting in sheds...the story isn't one of scarcity, but of a massive, expensive game of logistical hide-and-seek. The…

Santa runs on diesel. Every year, the global holiday economy depends on a short, unforgiving surge in distillate consumption that powers trucks, ports, warehouses, refrigeration, and backup generation, all under winter operating conditions. That commercially driven holiday cheer strains logistics and exposes how thin the margin has become in some already-tight diesel markets, particularly in Europe.  After crude, diesel is the most economically important fuel in the system, and Christmas is when that reality asserts itself. In the U.S., distillate…

As a special Christmas treat to our readers, we have made this month's Global Energy Alert stock deep dive available to all! Enjoy the read, and if you want more of where this came from, then make sure you sign up! Gas-focused E&P stocks have been getting a bid in the last few months. It’s normal around this time of year. Storage injection season has come to a close, and across most of North America, people are turning their heat higher to keep out the cold. For the gas drillers, that means it’s finally time to ring the cash register. …

U.S. natural gas futures surged the most since late October as one energy trader warned that "winter isn't over," with another wave of cold air set to spill into the eastern half of the Lower 48 early next week. The upcoming cold blast arrives even as much of the U.S. enjoys a brief warm-up following an early-month polar vortex that plunged large parts of the U.S. East into Arctic-like conditions. "Winter isn't over yet. Here are forecast anomalies for this time next week showing a large area of unseasonably chilly temperatures across the major…

There is a specific, sharp smell that hits you when walking through a high-volume solar module assembly line. It isn’t the clean, clinical scent of silicon or the metallic tang of glass. It’s the sweet, cloying odor of heated ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)... the industrial-grade "hot glue" that essentially holds the world’s energy transition together. We are currently witnessing a massive, multi-decade financial bet on the physical integrity of a thin layer of plastic. Data from Valuates Reports shows that the global photovoltaic…

A year of building an AI business has given Lewis Liu a lot to think about. He gives us his 12 AI assumptions to live by in 2026 ‘Tis the season for 2026 predictions, a ritual I usually hate. Every December, pundits confidently forecast the future, only to forget their words 12 months later. I’m hardly innocent: I’ve made my share of half-formed predictions across podcasts and blog posts, promptly buried by the next news cycle. This year feels different. Building a new company has shifted my thinking from forecasts to assumptions;…

Russia carried out a series of overnight air attacks on Kyiv and key energy infrastructure targets as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Ukrainians to prepare for the possibility of Christmas Day strikes. Ukrainian air defense officials said Russian troops were carrying out a combined attack using cruise missiles and strike drones on December 23, with a large-scale air raid alert declared across the country. Zelenskyy stated that Russia launched over 650 drones and more than 30 missiles in the overnight attack on Ukraine. "An attack carried out…

BP is closing out the year with a flurry of moves that underline a decisive shift in strategy, marked by major portfolio changes, a leadership transition, and continued momentum in upstream project delivery. The company has agreed to sell a majority stake in its Castrol lubricants business, one of BP’s best-known consumer-facing brands, in a deal that values the unit at just over $10 billion, including debt. BP will retain a significant minority interest, but the transaction hands operational control to a financial partner and represents…

WTI crude futures advanced more than 3% during the final full trading week of 2025, rising to $58.46 after gaining $1.94 since last Friday. The rally stands out during a traditionally muted period between Christmas and New Year’s, when thin liquidity often dampens movement. Instead, geopolitical events have reshaped short-term sentiment, prompting traders to reprice supply risk despite widespread expectations that 2026 will bring heavy oversupply. Reduced participation has amplified price action, leaving the market more sensitive to developments…

Where Are Nigeria’s Oil Exports Going? Nigeria’s crude exports outside of the country have fallen to their lowest reading in a year, averaging 1.2 million b/d this month to date, adversely affected by an explosion at the Escravos-Lagos pipeline earlier in December. Luckily, the country’s only operational refinery – the 650,000 b/d Dangote plant – has been mopping up Nigerian grades, importing 1.7 million tonnes this month, the highest on record. Nigerian crude has been faced with extremely tepid buying demand lately…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict U.S. actions around Venezuelan oil exports are now affecting actual flows. Chasing a third tanker in less than two weeks has made shippers more cautious and reduced the number of willing buyers. Loadings are slowing. Insurance and scheduling risk are rising. If this continues, exports fall first and production follows once storage fills. Public messaging about Venezuela having “stolen” U.S. oil does not line up with the record. The industry was nationalized decades ago. U.S. firms operated under…

Over the past week, several oil and gas-related engagements involving Syria have surfaced, but none constitute an investment or production deal. Saudi contractor ADES has confirmed discussions around gas-sector service and maintenance work. Syria and Iraq have publicly acknowledged renewed technical talks on reviving the Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline as a possible export route. Syrian officials have disclosed exploratory technical contact with Chevron, described as preliminary and non-binding. Regional service firms are also assessing pipelines,…

Oil prices stabilized on Wednesday after a run of gains, with markets digesting U.S. economic strength and ongoing supply uncertainty tied to Venezuelan crude exports and the continued war between Russia and Ukraine. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading just 0.13% higher at $62.46, while West Texas Intermediate had risen 0.17% to $58.48. Both contracts are up over 4.5% in the last five trading days, as geopolitical risk has pushed prices higher. Robust U.S. economic data underpinned the latest rally, with Tuesday's data showing the U.S.…