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The history of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), their danger to the ozone layer, and the drive to replace them reminds me of an observation from former CBS news correspondent and commentator Eric Sevareid: "[T]he real cause of problems is solutions." When chemists F. Sherwood Roland and Mario Molina asked where chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) go after leaking from refrigerators and air conditioners or being intentionally released from aerosol cans, they did not know that the answer would lead to the world-shaking discovery that these chemicals were threatening…
Abu Dhabi’s national oil company, ADNOC, keeps making headlines again, not only when looking at upstream but also in its LNG strategic operations. At present, the oil and gas giant’s quiet acceleration in LNG shipping is often treated as merely a capacity add. Mainstream media is focusing on factors such as increased hulls, greater flexibility, and improved service for export projects. This focus is, however, too narrow, as the UAE’s national champion is not simply expanding its fleet. ADNOC is clearly establishing the physical…
Ford and General Motors (GM) have both announced plans to venture into the world of energy storage, following in the footsteps of the electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla. The two U.S. automakers have big plans for business expansion, which could drive down EV manufacturing costs, reduce reliance on imports, and expand their portfolios. The U.S. EV market is growing at a slower pace than anticipated as the Trump administration waters down aims set by the previous government to restrict the sale of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and incentivise…
A right-wing group pushing the province of Alberta to secede from Canada has ramped up a petition campaign aimed at achieving independence after meeting with officials from the Trump administration. The group has already held three meetings with officials from the State Department, where they’ve discussed the logistics of a potential secession from Canada, including border security, switching over to U.S. currency and how their radical plan can benefit the United States. Volunteer canvassers have set a target to collect approximately 177,000…
Artificial intelligence is often viewed as a catalyst for electrification and subsequently decarbonization. Yet one of its most immediate effects may be the opposite of what many assume. The rapid buildout of AI infrastructure is increasing demand for reliable power, and that reality could strengthen the role of natural gas and other dispatchable energy sources for many years. Investors focused on semiconductors and software valuations may be overlooking a key constraint. AI runs on electricity, and those electricity systems operate within physical…
Tesla’s energy business could become $20 billion to $50 billion more valuable if Elon Musk’s plan to build 100 gigawatts of yearly solar cell manufacturing capacity in the United States pans out, analysts at Morgan Stanley say. “The solar opportunity is underestimated,” Musk told analysts on Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last month. “We think the best way to add significant capability to the grid is solar and batteries on Earth and solar in space,” he added. As Musk sees opportunities in the solar manufacturing…
To help navigate the uncertainty, we have framed five possible scenarios, detailed below, that outline plausible pathways, from diplomatic normalization to severe destabilization, and assess their consequences for geopolitics and global oil markets. Only a week ago, the balance of risks appeared tilted towards military action. More recently, intensified diplomatic engagement and signalling from both Washington and Tehran have shifted expectations toward a less confrontational path. That said, developments can unfold quickly, and the probability…
The average margin on a US Gulf coast (USGC) cargo destined to Europe, including regasification costs, was $4.56 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) between 2023 and 2025, or $17.5 million per one LNG vessel, compared to negative margins prior and during the pandemic in 2019 and 2020. These attractive profits have spurred national oil companies and majors, sovereign wealth funds, private equity, Asian utilities and other energy buyers to flock to the USGC with their checkbooks to get in on the action. As a result, a flurry of LNG final investment…
The United States has cemented its position as the world's leading exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) over the past couple of years, thanks to surging natural gas demand in Europe and Asia. U.S. LNG exports hit a record 111 million tons in 2025, surpassing 100 million metric tons for the first time, driven by high utilization and new capacity additions from projects like Plaquemines LNG. But this could be just the beginning of the U.S. LNG boom: the EIA has predicted that U.S. LNG export capacity will more than double by 2029, with an estimated…
Several automakers are investing heavily in robots in a bid to further automate operations in the future. It does not seem to matter that the current generation of humanoid robots works at a slower pace than humans, as automakers still view these machines as more cost-efficient for their factories. While Elon Musk invests heavily in Tesla’s Optimus Robots, Hyundai has big plans for incorporating robots in its United States operations in the coming years. A recent estimate by Barclays suggests that the current humanoid robot market has a value…
The oil and gas sector is continuing to consolidate after years of ‘merger-mania’, with ramifications for the entire energy sector and wider economy. But a recent report reveals that the spate of mergers and acquisitions that has characterized the fossil fuels industry over the last decade is not as widespread as it may seem, but rather concentrated among a few key players. A newly released report from the consulting firm Bain & Co found that, within the oil and gas sector, “fewer companies are doing more of the deals…
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy says it has seized two vessels near Farsi Island allegedly carrying large quantities of smuggled fuel, the country's Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported Thursday - at a moment the nation's military has its "finger on the trigger" amid threats from the Trump White House and Israel. More than one million liters of diesel were discovered aboard the ships, according to the IRGC Navy's public relations office, and the seized 15 foreign crew members have been handed over…
The push into electric vehicles was always bullshit, sold by the left as the move that would future-proof America’s and Europe’s legacy automakers and save the planet - and anyone not buying it was subject to a guilt trip from smug, private-jet-owning elitists. Instead, EVs are now looking like one of the costliest strategic blunders in modern automotive history. Major U.S. and European brands - including Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen - have collectively burned through nearly…
Washington is preparing to take another step deeper into Venezuela’s oil sector, with plans to issue a broad license that would allow companies to pump crude in the country for the first time in years. According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg, the U.S. Treasury could issue the general license as soon as this week. If it happens, it would follow last week’s authorization allowing companies to buy, sell, ship, and refine Venezuelan crude—provided the activity runs through established U.S.-linked entities.…
As stated earlier last month, Europe’s reliance on China for the minerals and materials underpinning the clean energy transition is no accident; it was a policy choice. And just as it chose dependency, Europe can choose resilience. The contours of that choice are now sharp and urgent: this is not about isolationism, but about strategic autonomy, industrial renaissance, and practical competitiveness. Europe’s vulnerability lies not in geology but in policy and capacity. Europe is not barren of lithium, nickel, graphite, rare earths,…
Texas’ environmental regulator this week issued the largest air pollution permit in the country to an enormous planned complex of gas power plants and data centers near the oilfields of the Permian Basin, according to an announcement from the project’s developers. Pacifico Energy, a global, investor-owned infrastructure company, called its 7.65 gigawatt GW Ranch in Pecos County “the largest power project in the United States” in a press release this week. It’s among a handful of similarly…
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…
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…
As Americans brave a brutal cold snap, households are facing higher heating bills this summer. According to a report released last week by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), heating prices are expected to rise by 9.2% in the 2025-2026 winter vs. one year ago. According to the NEADA analysis, electricity costs are expected to rise $12.2%, or $133 this winter, while gas prices are projected to rise 8.4% or $54. Heating oil costs are expected to remain flat, while propane should be down 1.4%,…
Iran is bracing for a potential attack as the United States deploys key military assets, including an air carrier and additional bombers, to the Middle East. US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters. If Trump authorizes military action, Tehran would be virtually powerless to stop an aerial attack, experts say. But that does not mean Iran cannot retaliate against US military and commercial assets in the region, experts say, citing Tehran's formidable arsenal of…
Iran’s oil industry has been under sanctions since Donald Trump’s first term. Since then, Iran has seen its pool of buyers shrink to leave only China—but China has been a big enough buyer to not only keep Iran’s oil industry afloat, but help it grow, at least in terms of production. In terms of revenues, perhaps not so much. One big reason why Iran was able to boost its crude oil production to levels from before the first Trump administration began imposing sanctions on it, was China. China’s insatiable appetite for…
The global onshore wind sector entered 2026 with overall stability in capacity growth, but beneath the surface, the industry is undergoing a profound shift in priorities. As markets mature and renewable energy penetration rises, the focus is moving from sheer scale and turbine costs to system-level value, integration, and revenue resilience. Original equipment manufacturers, developers, and policymakers alike are adapting to evolving economics, advanced technologies, and geopolitical pressures, setting the stage for a year in which strategic decisions…
Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that the UK has 500 years of oil reserves left in the North Sea, and blamed the country’s high energy prices on the government’s unwillingness to drill. However, the unfortunate fact is that the North Sea oil and gas sector has been in a significant and prolonged decline due to the basin's aging oil fields, with production falling sharply since its peak in the early 2000s. According to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), the UK's energy regulator, the North Sea had ~2.9 billion barrels…
Despite President Trump’s big promises of driving down consumer energy bills, the cost of energy actually rose for consumers in 2025. Throughout his electoral campaign and during his first year in office, Trump pledged to slash Americans’ energy bills. However, his new approach to energy seems to have done the opposite, with higher prices expected for 2026 and beyond. Upon entering office for his second term, President Trump announced a state of energy emergency, quickly passing executive orders to curb the rollout of former-President…
