Kazakhstan is now richer than Russia.  That is according to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund, showing Kazakh GDP per capita is projected to hit an all-time high of $14,770 this year, compared with Russia’s $14,260. The fresh numbers, updated earlier in August, show Kazakhstan’s GDP per capita now leads all post-Soviet states other than the Baltics and is even running ahead of China’s.  The data helps illustrate Kazakhstan’s impressive economic growth over the past quarter-century, fueled by…

For the first time since taking office a few weeks ago, Poland’s new President Karol Nawrocki used his veto power to block a bill passed by Parliament—and it was a green energy bill easing rules for building onshore wind farms but bundling it with a freeze on energy prices. “This is the first bill which I’ve decided to veto,” Nawrocki said on Thursday, as carried by Bloomberg. “It was a kind of blackmail by the parliamentary majority,” the president added. The president and his allies of the nationalist…

For the first time since taking office a few weeks ago, Poland’s new President Karol Nawrocki used his veto power to block a bill passed by Parliament—and it was a green energy bill easing rules for building onshore wind farms but bundling it with a freeze on energy prices. “This is the first bill which I’ve decided to veto,” Nawrocki said on Thursday, as carried by Bloomberg. “It was a kind of blackmail by the parliamentary majority,” the president added. The president and his allies of the nationalist…

Africa is poised for a green energy revolution. The continent is incredibly rich in clean energy resources, but the vast majority of them are untapped. At the same time, African nations are in dire need of electrification, as approximately 600 million Africans currently lack access to electricity entirely, and the population is set to boom, creating major hurdles for development.  Although African nations have contributed the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, they stand to suffer the most from the impacts of climate change. Plus, they…

The largest Chinese and Asian refiner Sinopec reported on Thursday a 36% decline in its first-half profit on the back of lower oil prices and refining margins and weakening domestic fuel demand. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, as it is more commonly known, booked a profit attributable to shareholders of $3.3 billion (23.75 billion Chinese yuan) for the period January to June 2025, down by 35.9% from the same period last year. “Dragged by various factors such as the declining international crude oil prices combined…

Oil prices have been trading in a narrow range over the past week, with Brent crude sinking to an intra-day low of $65.01 per barrel (bbl) on 13 August before rising to an intra-day high of $67.06/bbl on 15 August with momentum skewed to the downside thanks to a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Recent meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders have weighed on prompt prices, pushing them below several key moving averages.  Trump…

Strategic acquisitions of premier assets and the drive for efficiency and scale led to a stellar year for mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. oil and gas industry in 2024. Following a 331% surge in deal value to $206.6 billion last year, the number of the top publicly traded exploration and production companies in the American oil and gas sector has declined from 50 to just 40, Ernst & Young LLP said in a new study published this week. Despite the smaller number of the top players, the resulting 40 large listed U.S. oil and gas firms continued…

The energy transition was supposed to kill demand for oil, natural gas, and coal. The more wind and solar capacity that was built, the less hydrocarbons were supposed to be in demand. Instead, demand for all three continues to grow—especially natural gas. So Big Oil is doubling down on this core business, much to the chagrin of transition advocates. CNBC’s Sam Meredith noted in an article this week the latest quarterly reports of several Big Oil majors, all of which had emphasized the importance of their LNG business. Indeed, LNG has…

China’s shipments of rare-earth permanent magnets snapped back in July, signaling a return toward pre-curb trade flows even as the West doubles down on alternative supply. Overall magnet exports hit a six-month high of 5,577 metric tons in July—up ~75% month-on-month and 5.7% year-on-year—after Beijing agreed to normalize sales as part of a trade truce with Washington and Europe. Shipments to the U.S. climbed ~76% m/m to 619 tons, recovering from a May low of just 46 tons during the height of the tit-for-tat restrictions. Germany…

That the Colorado River’s flow has been declining is not new in water circles. Truth is that the states bordering the Colorado divided up the water supply on the basis of a wet year, a century ago, and have been fighting over the diminishing supply for some time. (From a negotiating standpoint this made a lot of sense at the time. Dividing relatively scarce water resources among various political bodies is like slicing up a pie among hungry people and everyone wants a big piece. Except here government officials were able to essentially riff…

BP’s 440,000-barrel-per-day Whiting refinery in Indiana is in the process of restarting after severe flooding disrupted operations earlier this week, Reuters reported on Wednesday, with industry monitor IIR saying it would take several days to fully ramp the plant up, with full capacity expected by early next week.  The outage followed a powerful thunderstorm that caused flooding and led to visible flaring. While IIR provided a projected restart schedule, BP has declined to comment on the refinery’s timeline, Reuters reported.…

BP’s 440,000-barrel-per-day Whiting refinery in Indiana is in the process of restarting after severe flooding disrupted operations earlier this week, Reuters reported on Wednesday, with industry monitor IIR saying it would take several days to fully ramp the plant up, with full capacity expected by early next week.  The outage followed a powerful thunderstorm that caused flooding and led to visible flaring. While IIR provided a projected restart schedule, BP has declined to comment on the refinery’s timeline, Reuters reported.…

Global oil markets are facing a period of short-term pressure as production swells, but Canadian energy fund manager Eric Nuttall says the groundwork is already being laid for the next major bull market in crude. Speaking to BNN Bloomberg, Nuttall, a partner at Ninepoint Partners, said he remains bearish on oil for the remainder of 2025 as inventories rise and new supply comes online. But he expects a powerful reversal in 2026 as the market absorbs spare OPEC+ capacity and balances the influx of new production from South America. “We have…

BP’s 440,000-barrel-per-day Whiting refinery in Indiana is in the process of restarting after severe flooding disrupted operations earlier this week, Reuters reported on Wednesday, with industry monitor IIR saying it would take several days to fully ramp the plant up, with full capacity expected by early next week.  The outage followed a powerful thunderstorm that caused flooding and led to visible flaring. While IIR provided a projected restart schedule, BP has declined to comment on the refinery’s timeline, Reuters reported.…

Russia’s Far East is grappling with acute fuel shortages after a new wave of Ukrainian drone strikes forced multiple refineries offline, squeezing supplies just as seasonal demand rises. According to The Moscow Times, queues have formed at filling stations in Khabarovsk and Primorsky regions, with some depots rationing gasoline as refiners halt operations for repairs. The outages come on top of cumulative damage that has sidelined nearly 13% of Russia’s refining capacity in recent months. Ukrainian outlets including NV.ua reported that…

Russia’s Far East is grappling with acute fuel shortages after a new wave of Ukrainian drone strikes forced multiple refineries offline, squeezing supplies just as seasonal demand rises. According to The Moscow Times, queues have formed at filling stations in Khabarovsk and Primorsky regions, with some depots rationing gasoline as refiners halt operations for repairs. The outages come on top of cumulative damage that has sidelined nearly 13% of Russia’s refining capacity in recent months. Ukrainian outlets including NV.ua reported that…

Via Metal Miner The Stainless Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved sideways, with a modest 0.32% increase from July to August. Though it also remained flat for the month, the nickel price continued on an overall downtrend. Stainless Mills Note Weak Demand Despite a round of price hikes in recent months, the stainless market remains weak, with no evidence of a turnaround. Supplier financial results from Q2 indicate that while tariffs improved pricing conditions for mills, U.S. service centers struggled amid lackluster market conditions. For example,…

After years of ratcheting tensions between nuclear-armed rivals China and India, which actually came to literal blows along their disputed Himalayan border over the last several years - including the deadly 2020 Galwan valley clashes among rival troops, which left dozens dead and wounded - relations between the two Asian regional powers are thawing fast. Monday and Tuesday have seen a major breakthrough during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to Delhi, where he declared that India and China should view each other as "partners" rather…

In Tbilisi, whether you are inching through traffic or weaving down side streets, you cannot escape the same slogan splashed across the backs of some passing cars: “Build Your Dreams.”  That is a branded motto etched onto vehicles made by BYD, China’s largest automaker. Each vehicle is a moving data point in a quiet shift, signaling the rise of Chinese electric vehicles on the streets of the Georgian capital, home to nearly half of the country’s population, as well as in other cities. According to official data for…

South Korea is urging its struggling petrochemicals sector to slash excess capacity and restructure operations amid a global glut that has depressed petrochemicals margins and threatened the industry in many Asian and European countries. China, South Korea, and other Asian petrochemical producers have faced free-falling margins in recent months, with many companies struggling to break even. In Europe, the crisis in the petrochemicals industry has a different root cause – high energy costs – but the result is the same, a struggling industry.…