The UN climate conference, COP29, held in Baku in November garnered plenty of global attention. But another, lower-profile UN-sponsored COP, shorthand for conference of parties, convened earlier in December in Saudi Arabia. That COP tackled another global warming-related challenge – the spread of desertification.  Barron Joseph Orr, the lead scientist for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), cautioned at the COP about a “knock-on effect” in which warming-caused loss of agricultural land can cause the loss…

  Last week, China imposed export bans on antimony, gallium, and germanium—all of which are listed on China’s dual-use export control list. Other minerals on the list and, thus, at risk of future bans include aluminum, magnesium, and zinc, among others. Beyond their economic importance, many of these minerals have military applications. For example, tungsten superalloys are used in military turbines and armor-piercing munitions, while bismuth is used in ammunition and alloys for defense. With many minerals, the U.S. government…

Normally, the week leading up to the winter holiday in the European Union is the busiest, with thorny decisions to be made before the year ends. Just look at last year, when EU leaders eventually gave Moldova and Ukraine the green light to start accession talks, granted Georgia candidate status, and approved a rather wide-ranging sanctions package on Russia. They also agreed to channel some previously frozen funds for Hungary while controversially failing to get Budapest's thumbs up for a 50 billion euro ($53 billion) package for Ukraine. (That…

Sometimes, no deal is better than a bad one—or so Kosmos Energy seems to think. The U.S. oil and gas firm abruptly called it quits on its potential takeover of West Africa-focused Tullow Oil, sending Tullow’s shares into a 10% tailspin on Tuesday. Kosmos didn’t offer up a reason, but “challenging” seems to be the word of the day: operational overlaps, debt-heavy balance sheets, and the ever-delicate dance with the Ghanaian government likely threw a wrench in the works. Had the two companies tied the knot, the combined…

Previously, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico for failure to clamp down on drugs and migrants crossing the border, with Canadian oil imports not exempt. Analysts have pointed out that imposing tariffs on Canada would drive up fuel prices for Americans, throwing into turmoil the biggest supplier of crude to the U.S. According to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan, more than 20% of the oil processed by U.S. refiners is imported from Canada. According to De Haan, consumers in the…

India’s second-largest fuel retailer, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), plans to raise its refining capacity by 10 million tons per year by 2028, as the biggest Indian refiners consider a massive expansion to processing capacity to meet growing demand. State-controlled BPCL expects to raise its total refining capacity to 45 million tons per year by 2028 from the current 35.3 million tons per year, BPCL’s head of refining Sanjay Khanna said on Tuesday, as carried by Reuters. The increase in refining capacity is expected to…

Russian crude oil exports by sea have dropped by 11% from a recent high in October, due to maintenance at the Baltic port of Primorsk, pressure for Russia to align with its OPEC+ quota, and increased sanctions pressure. In the four weeks to December 15, Russia’s seaborne crude exports averaged 3.06 million barrels per day (bpd), tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday. That’s 11% lower compared to a recent peak of a four-week average volume of 3.46 million bpd in early October, according to the data reported by…

Spare oil production capacity at the highest quartile in history is weighing on Brent crude prices, and time spreads have looked undervalued since the summer, according to Goldman Sachs. The expectations for a large surplus next year are also likely weighing on the deferred time spreads, the investment bank said in a recent note. “Nevertheless, we believe neither currently low inventory levels nor our expected 2025 surplus of 0.37mb/d warrant the oversupply priced in the futures curve,” the Wall Street bank’s analysts wrote. “Deferred…

Spare oil production capacity at the highest quartile in history is weighing on Brent crude prices, and time spreads have looked undervalued since the summer, according to Goldman Sachs. The expectations for a large surplus next year are also likely weighing on the deferred time spreads, the investment bank said in a recent note. “Nevertheless, we believe neither currently low inventory levels nor our expected 2025 surplus of 0.37mb/d warrant the oversupply priced in the futures curve,” the Wall Street bank’s analysts wrote. “Deferred…

The U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to extend a record $15 billion low-interest loan to California’s utility giant PG&E to fund grid infrastructure improvements and resilience, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, quoting sources with knowledge of the plan. The DOE’s Loan Program Office is expected to extend the loan in several cash installments over several years and the funding cannot be withdrawn by subsequent U.S. Administrations, according to the Journal’s report. The loan is aimed at helping PG&E, the…

The U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to extend a record $15 billion low-interest loan to California’s utility giant PG&E to fund grid infrastructure improvements and resilience, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, quoting sources with knowledge of the plan. The DOE’s Loan Program Office is expected to extend the loan in several cash installments over several years and the funding cannot be withdrawn by subsequent U.S. Administrations, according to the Journal’s report. The loan is aimed at helping PG&E, the…

The U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to extend a record $15 billion low-interest loan to California’s utility giant PG&E to fund grid infrastructure improvements and resilience, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, quoting sources with knowledge of the plan. The DOE’s Loan Program Office is expected to extend the loan in several cash installments over several years and the funding cannot be withdrawn by subsequent U.S. Administrations, according to the Journal’s report. The loan is aimed at helping PG&E, the…

The U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to extend a record $15 billion low-interest loan to California’s utility giant PG&E to fund grid infrastructure improvements and resilience, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, quoting sources with knowledge of the plan. The DOE’s Loan Program Office is expected to extend the loan in several cash installments over several years and the funding cannot be withdrawn by subsequent U.S. Administrations, according to the Journal’s report. The loan is aimed at helping PG&E, the…

Oil prices are under pressure ahead of the next Federal Reserve meeting, with demand concerns continuing to weigh on both WTI and Brent.- The huge price volatility of the past couple of months has made European natural gas futures one of the favorite trading instruments of hedge funds as TTF futures continue to trade above €40 per MWh.- The combination of rapidly depleting European gas inventories and a still unclear outlook for Russian pipeline gas into Europe next year have lifted total long positions of institutional investors to almost…

Equinor has made an oil and gas discovery next to the giant Troll field in the North Sea and will continue to explore the area for further potential resources close to existing infrastructure. The discovery, provisionally named Ringand, is currently estimated to contain between 2 and 12 million barrels of oil equivalent and is only 10 miles (17 kilometers) west of the Troll field, Equinor said on Tuesday. “It's a small discovery, but in an interesting area that we plan to further explore with much existing infrastructure,” said Geir…

Follow Dan on: @dandoyleoil Following is an open letter to Mr. Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy, nominee   Mr. Chris Wright Nominee, Secretary of Energy Liberty Energy 950 17th Street, FL 24 Denver, CO 80202   Dear Chris,   Congratulations on your nomination to head the US Department of Energy. Truly the honor of a lifetime, and from where I sit, a laudable and well-deserved gesture. We haven’t met, but I’ve watched your extraordinary career from a distance, from MIT to founding tech-heavy Pinnacle Technologies…

U.S. shale is the biggest source of oil and gas output growth on a global scale. It’s in every forecast and projection that sees continued depression in oil prices. But that role as a growth driver might be coming to an end due to natural processes. Well productivity and efficiency improvements have been in the spotlight of U.S. shale oil and gas discourse ever since the industry served up a massive surprise to analysts by reducing the total rig count but boosting production by 1 million bpd last year. The unexpected jump in output was attributed…

Ecuador and its state-run oil firm Petroecuador are losing millions of U.S. dollars as organized crime groups are increasingly targeting fuel pipelines to tap and steal gasoline and diesel to support drug trafficking and production. The number of instances in which illegal homemade valves are being used to tap Ecuador’s pipelines has surged in recent years, from around three dozen back in 2022 to more than 770 this year through October, a Reuters investigation has found. All these illegal taps have cost Petroecuador more than $215 million…

A recent Financial Times article highlighted the challenges faced by Northvolt, once considered Europe’s flagship battery manufacturing startup, and underscores broader concerns about the green industrial transition in Europe. However, those same lessons are applicable for the U.S. as it seeks to compete in a space dominated by China. Systemic Challenges in Green Transition Northvolt’s bankruptcy serves as a cautionary tale about Europe’s struggle to compete in the electric vehicle (EV) and clean tech sectors against better-established…

European Union nations on Monday will discuss preparations for the winter with Ukraine having signaled it has no intention to renew a five-year pipeline transit agreement to supply natural gas to EU countries when it expires on December 31, 2024. “Energy affordability remains a pressing concern, with volatile prices driven by geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and reliance on fossil fuel imports,” Hungary said in a document shared with energy ministers. Whereas natural gas prices have declined sharply from the all-time…