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It's been a busy few weeks up on the windswept Russian archipelago of Novaya Zemlya: people, earthmoving trucks, shipping containers, temporary housing, heavy-lift aircraft, helicopters, cargo ships. The activity shows up in satellite imagery, aircraft hazard notifications, ship transponder trackers, and open-source intelligence reporting at a time when long Arctic days and good weather mean favorable conditions for building projects at the Pankovo test range and nearby air base. The betting money for close watchers of Russian weapons development…
In a wide-ranging television interview, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev asserted a key provision of the Trump peace plan for the Caucasus can be implemented quickly. The same cannot be said for the restoration of stable relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, he indicated. Aliyev spoke at length about the provisional peace deal he signed with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and US President Donald Trump on August 8 in Washington, sounding broadly optimistic that the agreement signals the end of almost four decades of conflict and “opens…
Amid lower oil prices this year, the U.S. shale patch is in a wait-and-see mode, expecting to ride the price decline with minimal tweaks to strategies. U.S. oil producers are trimming capital expenditure budgets, relying on efficiency gains from current drilling activity to keep output levels. American oil production is rising, due to the lag between oil price slides and drilling, but large shale producers are already calling the peak of oil output, despite the Trump Administration’s best efforts to support the fossil fuels industry. “We’re…
Lithium-ion batteries power the world around us. Their prevalence in our daily life is growing steadily, to the extent that lithium-ion batteries now power a whopping 70 percent of all rechargeable devices. From electric vehicles to smartphones to utility-scale energy storage, lithium-ion batteries are increasingly forming the building blocks of innumerable sectors. But despite its dominance in battery technologies, there are some serious issues with lithium supply chains that make it a less-than-ideal model upon which to base our world. Not only…
Pakistan is undergoing an energy revolution fuelled by a sharp rise in solar-plus-battery systems. This rapid evolution and decentralization of power grids is helping to shore up the nation’s energy security and meet international decarbonization pledges. However, while the solar boom is helping to keep the lights on for many Pakistanis, it is also hurting the poorest citizens. Pakistan has long struggled with rolling blackouts, power shortages, and crippling energy costs, and – like many emerging economies around the world –…
U.S. President Donald Trump is taking India to task, and we are a long way from what then-President Barack Obama called a "defining partnership of the 21st century." But India’s neighbor, and enemy, and America’s frenemy, escaped Trump’s ire. Why? Despite a successful visit to India by Vice-President J.D. Vance in April 2025, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House in February 2025, Trump hit India, America’s #12 trade partner, with two rounds of 25% tariffs. (Pakistan’s tariff of 19%,…
Since the 1950s, the Middle East has established itself as the world’s most prolific oil producing region, typically accounting for a third of global production. The oil crises of 1973–74 and 1978–80 spurred growth in Middle Eastern oil production and began the shift in market control from multinational corporations to national oil companies within OPEC nations. However, the region still exported most of its oil in crude form and had limited refining capacity at that time. However, that has changed in recent years, with the Gulf…
Trade uncertainty and tariffs are prompting America’s battery makers and battery material manufacturers to expand overseas to have production sites in the biggest demand centers now that clean energy isn’t a favorite with the U.S. Administration. The trend has become evident in recent weeks, in which two U.S. battery companies have taken over production sites in South Korea and Europe, betting on being close to customers in markets favoring green technology and renewable energy expansion. First, it was California-based…
For years, energy workers from the fossil fuel sector have been growing increasingly concerned about their future working in the sector. As many countries invest heavily in renewable energy, in a bid to decrease dependence on oil, gas, and coal, many traditional energy jobs are disappearing. However, the knowledge and experience that workers in this sector hold could be well-suited to new jobs in the renewable energy industry, so long as governments invest in a just transition. According to the European Union definition, a “Just transition…
Libya’s eastern-based parliament is preparing to approve a 2019 maritime pact that would allow Turkey to explore for oil and gas in Libyan waters, according to people familiar with the talks in Benghazi and Ankara. Most obstacles to the accord have been cleared, they said, a striking reversal for the east—long aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army and historically opposed to Turkish involvement. Tripoli, which already maintains close ties with Ankara, backs the deal. If ratified, Turkish survey and drilling…
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…
Mexico is betting on ‘complex geology’ development to reverse the fortunes of its state-owned oil and gas giant Pemex, which has been struggling with declining production and enormous debts in recent years. A return to unconventional exploration could be a boon to the Mexican firm’s production and profits and to the state’s finances. New Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum is open to shale resource development, unlike her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had cancelled previous contracts and…
Global oil supply at current rates may not be enough to meet rising demand if it grows at the pace expected by OPEC, according to the latest resource estimate by intelligence firm Rystad Energy. Recoverable oil resources, including estimates for undiscovered fields, have stabilized at approximately 1.5 trillion barrels globally. However, in the most significant revision in resources over the last 10 years, Rystad Energy has lowered its estimate by around 456 billion barrels for yet-to-find resources. That’s because frontier exploration has…
U.S. LNG exports so far this year have smashed yet another record, prices are on the rise without sapping demand, and the outlook remains robust. But there’s a hitch: pipelines. Exports of liquefied natural gas from the United States between January and August this year went up by 22% from the first eight months of 2024, Reuters’ Gavin Maguire reported this week, citing data from Kpler as showing exports reached 69 million tons. This was 12.4 million tons more than U.S. LNG producers exported last year. The report also noted that domestic…
Nuclear power has always been a paradox. It can produce massive amounts of low-carbon electricity, yet it must constantly battle the headwinds of politics and public perception. The latest Statistical Review of World Energy shows that while nuclear generation is growing globally—setting a new record high in 2024—the trend is anything but uniform. Some countries are charging ahead, while others are stepping back. Global Output: Modest Growth, Unevenly Shared In 2024, global nuclear generation reached 2,817 terawatt-hours, a modest…
An insurance association has urged its members to assess their exposure to Russian oil as the UK and EU prepare to update their oil price cap regimes. The oil price cap, introduced by the G7, EU, and Australia, aims to restrict Russia’s oil revenues by preventing Russian companies from selling oil above a specified threshold. In July, the UK and EU announced plans to lower the price cap to further limit Russia’s ability to fund its war in Ukraine. The new measures take effect on 2 September in the UK and 3 September in the EU. However,…
Soaring crude oil supply will lead to a record glut later this year and in early 2026 as demand growth will continue to disappoint, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The agency has now downgraded its expectations of global oil demand growth in six out of eight monthly oil reports so far this year. The latest report out this week was no exception and reaffirmed the IEA’s view since the spring that a large glut is coming later this year once the peak summer season is over. In the IEA’s forecast, demand growth is much…
Long-suffering U.S. motorists are set to finally enjoy some reprieve at the pump, with indications that gas prices could decline to multi-year lows. U.S. gasoline prices appear poised to fall below $3 a gallon this summer, a level they last sank to more than four years ago, thanks to surging imports filling inventories at a time when bad weather events are dampening fuel demand. According to AAA data, the national average price of gasoline fell to 3.15 per gallon, the lowest level recorded during summer months over the past four years. Average…
Nuclear fusion could be a “silver bullet” for near-infinite clean energy if scientists can figure out how to make it commercially viable. By copying the process that powers our sun here on Earth, we could unlock enormously powerful energy production without any of the radioactive waste hazards associated with nuclear fission. Due to its enormous potential, there is a high-stakes global race to unlock the science that will allow us to make the nascent and lab-bound technology a commercial reality. Currently, China and the United States…
Global refining is at a crossroads, as shifting regional demand, mounting sustainability pressures and heightened energy security concerns reshape the industry. Rystad Energy’s research shows that even though there are fewer refineries today, overall refining capacity has grown to keep up with the rising volume of oil that needs processing. In the last two decades, global primary refining capacity has increased by about 13.5 million barrels per day (bpd), or roughly 15%. In contrast, the absolute number of refineries peaked in 2011 and has…
Financing for oil and gas projects from the six biggest Wall Street Banks is on the decline, and it is a rather sharp decline. Since the start of this year, funding by banks to the hydrocarbons industry has fallen by a quarter, according to Bloomberg calculations. But it’s not because all the money is going into wind and solar. Wall Street’s top players provided $73 billion in financing to oil, gas, and coal projects since the start of the year. This was down by 25% from the first seven months of 2024, with the decline most pronounced…
The Trump administration is attempting to breathe new life into the nation’s declining coal industry, but greater market forces indicate that the dirtiest fossil fuel will likely continue its terminal decline. Though the sitting president has signed an executive order aimed at “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry,“ there are zero new coal plants under construction as utilities “continue to prioritize adding renewables, batteries, gas and nuclear power ahead of new coal-fired capacity based on the…
Critical minerals startup General Matter announced ambitious plans this week to construct a $1.5 billion uranium enrichment facility at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in McCracken County, Kentucky, as the Trump administration seeks to reduce reliance on rare earths from China. The groundbreaking project would be the first U.S.-owned, privately developed uranium enrichment facility and marks the largest economic development initiative in Western Kentucky's history. General Matter will develop the 100-acre uranium enrichment facility on the…
Taiwan’s energy industry is in grave peril. The nation’s grid is already struggling to keep up with demand, and this Achilles' heel has not gone unnoticed by neighboring China. The island nation is heavily dependent on imports to keep its isolated energy grid up and running, and a blockade from China could send the nation’s energy security and national security into a rapid tailspin. In May of this year, Taiwan shuttered its last remaining nuclear power plant, making good on a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) policy promise…
