Europe’s natural gas storage sites are depleting at the fastest pace in years, suggesting stocks would end this winter at their lowest level since 2022. End-of-winter supply in storage at the lowest in four years means that Europe will need very high imports in the shoulder seasons and the summer to replenish the stocks to adequate levels of 80-90% full storage by November 2026, as per the EU regulations. It’s a good thing then for Europe that the global LNG market will tilt into oversupply from this year until late this decade, as…

The European Union needs to diversify its natural gas sources, Brussels’ energy commissioner said this week, expressing a growing unease in European capitals that the EU has become too dependent on liquefied natural gas from the United States. Yet succeeding in that diversification drive will be tricky because of the bloc’s emissions-focused energy policies – and the sanctions on Russia. “We are speaking to countries around the world that are able to deliver LNG to us,” Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen told media…

The 56th World Economic Forum, also known as Davos 2026, was held in Switzerland in January, allowing world leaders and business representatives to meet with the aim of shaping global, regional, and industry agendas, with 60 heads of state, more than 400 political leaders, and 830 CEOs and Chairs in attendance this year. This year’s forum came at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, particularly between the United States and its NATO allies, including Canada, Greenland, and Europe.  Addressing Global Risks and, to a Lesser Extent,…

This week, the World Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation announced that they will funnel tens of millions of dollars into the budding African solar power sector. The two major global funding bodies are investing in non-profit organizations across the African continent to expand solar power projects with the tandem goal of helping to boost the agricultural sector through solar-powered technologies.  “The initiative will support the rollout of solar-powered cold storage facilities, refrigerators, water pumps and grain mills in Kenya, Nigeria,…

If global heating reaches the 2-degree-Celsius mark, we can expect living conditions to change dramatically, according to the broad scientific consensus. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has repeatedly called for countries to decarbonise and shift to renewable energy to control global warming in the coming decades before it causes irreparable damage. However, with recent forecasts suggesting that several countries are going to fall short of their climate pledges, it is important to understand what that could mean for the world.  The Paris…

Trinidad and Tobago is once again trying to bring its long-idled one-and-only oil refinery back to life, but this time the government is talking to Indian Oil Corp about making it happen. The 165,000-barrel-per-day Guaracara refinery sits in southern Trinidad, near the town of Point-a-Pierre, along the Gulf of Paria and within sight of Venezuela’s coast on a clear day. It has been shuttered for years—since 2018 when the previous government pulled the plug, citing mounting losses, runaway upgrade costs, and a balance sheet that had gone…

After U.S. forces snatched Nicolas Maduro in a daring night raid earlier this month, President Donald Trump began pressing oil companies to invest in Venezuela’s heavily corroded petroleum industry. The U.S. president eagerly urged drillers to invest in Venezuela, which sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves, with Washington’s protection. But those overtures received a lukewarm reception from U.S. and European energy companies. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods called Venezuela uninvestable provoking Trump’s ire, but some…

The European Union is quietly preparing to take a much bigger swing at Russia’s oil trade. And this time, Brussels is aiming less at price optics and more at enforcement reality. The EU is reportedly weighing whether to scrap its Russian oil price cap altogether and replace it with a blanket ban on maritime services, Bloomberg sources have suggested. This would mean that European firms could no longer provide insurance, shipping, or transport services for Russian oil cargoes at any price. It would close one of the most persistent loopholes…

Brazilian independent Brava Energia’s acquisition of Petronas’ 50% non-operating share in the Tartaruga Verde and Espadarte Module III assets in Brazil marks the country’s first major merger and acquisition (M&A) deal of 2026 and follows the trend of local independents consolidating stronger positions in the offshore sector. Upon completion of the $450 million deal, Brava Energia will have the capacity to produce over 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day and could enter the ranks of the country’s top five…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose by 2 this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US  to 546 this week, down 36 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs stayed at 411 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 68 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 3, reaching 125, which is 27 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count slipped by 1 and now is…

Eager to counter a spreading perception of unreliability due to financial woes, Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear energy agency, is trying to double down on its construction promises to build up Uzbekistan’s nuclear energy capacity. Instead of just building reactors, Rosatom is now proposing to create a “nuclear cluster” in Uzbekistan. Rosatom boss Alexei Likhachev reportedly made the offer during a tête-à-tête with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on January 27 in Tashkent. The proposed cluster “would…

The OPEC+ group is expected to maintain its oil production policy unchanged this weekend and affirm a pause in output hikes in March even as Brent Crude prices hit $70 per barrel this week for the first time in five months, delegates from the alliance told Reuters on Friday. The OPEC+ group meets online on February 1 to discuss output levels, and it is widely expected to keep oil production levels flat in March, as it had pledged in November to pause hikes for the first quarter. Early this month, the eight OPEC+ members that have been implementing…

Markets looked past rising supply as shifting U.S. rhetoric on Iran and ongoing weather-related disruptions kept risk premiums elevated. Friday, January 30, 2026 Trump’s erratic rhetoric has been greatly supportive of oil prices this week, first promising ‘speed and violence’ to Iran, only to talk about dialogue the next day. The gradual return of Kazakhstan’s shut-in production was not an impediment to see ICE Brent end the week above $70 per barrel, with the bullish sentiment also bolstered by US supply still bearing the…

The global oversupply is set to override geopolitical flare-ups this year, keeping oil prices close to the $60 per barrel mark, the monthly Reuters poll showed on Friday. Brent Crude prices are expected to average $62.02 per barrel in 2026, according to 31 economists and analysts surveyed by Reuters in January. This month’s estimate for the average Brent price this year is higher compared to the December forecast of $61.27. The analysts in the poll expect the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, to average $58.72 per barrel in 2026, slightly above…

Even as US President Donald Trump threatens to strike Iran, he has repeatedly called on Tehran to “make a deal.” Trump’s demands for an agreement are clear: Iran must end its nuclear program, limit its ballistic missile capabilities, and sever ties with armed proxies in the Middle East. In return, the United States will not attack Iran and remove crippling sanctions. If the Islamic Republic does not accept those terms, Trump has warned that the country will suffer consequences “far worse” than last year, when the United…

Despite lower oil prices, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) booked higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter as quarterly production in the Permian basin and offshore Guyana set new records. Exxon reported on Friday earnings excluding identified items of $7.3 billion for the fourth quarter, or $1.71 per share. This beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.70 per share. Earnings were lower in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, due to lower oil prices and weak chemicals margins.  Early this month, Exxon had flagged an $800 million to $1.2…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict On the US-Iran front, this week was full of bluster with Trump’s trademark tactic of ambiguous escalation, roiling markets and sending gold and crude soaring on apocalyptic hedging. Trump publicly said the U.S. is ready to strike Iran, which was purposefully ambiguous. Alongside the rhetoric, the U.S. military is maintaining an elevated posture in the Middle East. Iran responded on the military front by announcing live-fire drills in and around the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. warships in nearby waters.…

This week, French and U.S. officials convened a quiet meeting in Paris between representatives of Libya’s rival power centers: figures close to Abdulhamid Dbeibah, the Tripoli-based prime minister whose authority rests on control of state finances, and figures aligned with Khalifa Haftar, the eastern commander whose power derives from armed force and oil leverage.  Publicly, the talks were about strengthening Libya’s “institutions” (Central Bank, the NOC, and budget oversight bodies). In practice, they’re about…

Iran Tensions Put Risk Premium Front and Center The biggest driver this week has been a sharp escalation in U.S.–Iran tensions, injecting a sizeable risk premium into both benchmarks. Reports that President Trump is considering targeted strikes on Iranian leadership have pushed Brent to around $70.70 and WTI to the mid-$60s—the highest levels since mid-2025. Trump warned Tehran it faces military force unless it accepts a new nuclear deal, with talk of a "massive armada" headed toward the region. The U.S. has reinforced its naval presence…

If you will forgive me, I intend this week to write about something other than energy. Or, at least, not to address energy stocks or commodity prices directly. US interest rates, often considered a somewhat boring, nerdy storyline by many traders and investors, are still one of the biggest factors in determining the prospects for the global, as well as the American, economy.  It is, therefore, essential that investors in energy, as just about the most sensitive sector to global conditions, follow the ongoing saga at the Fed. As I write, on…