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With strong government backing and billions of dollars at their disposal, Middle Eastern oil giants are aggressively expanding into the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, aiming to nearly double their LNG capacity within the next decade. Companies like Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and QatarEnergy are investing heavily in LNG production and trading, driven by the growing demand for natural gas as a transition fuel and a desire to diversify their portfolios beyond crude. “LNG seems to be still the best bet across…
A team of researchers in China is using artificial intelligence to help breathe new life into old electric vehicle batteries. Extending the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles would be a major boon for making electric vehicles more endurable and cost-effective, help mitigate skyrocketing lithium demand, and slow the flow of critical – not to mention toxic – minerals into landfills. The China-based scientists wanted to discover a molecule that could re-infuse a dead cell with lithium ions, replenishing its capacity.…
The UK government is mulling over a change to the law to oil and gas projects in the North Sea in a drive to lower energy bills. Michael Shanks, a minister working under energy secretary Ed Miliband, will be visiting Scotland on Thursday with a decision set to be made on the government’s intervention on legal cases won by environmentalists last year over an oil project by Equinor at Rosebank and a gas field by Shell in Jackdaw. The government has given extra funds for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to invest between 2026…
Today, the world is filled with conflict. Part of the problem is oil limits, but there are many other issues as well: Resources such as coal, lithium, and copper are also becoming more expensive to extract. Fresh water is often inadequate for the world’s rising population. Debt levels are very high. Complexity is very high. An adequate standard of living is becoming unaffordable for many people. The increasing world population leads to a need for more food and more paved roads. These symptoms strongly suggest that the world economy is headed…
Last Friday the world woke to the kind of news that rattles the oil markets. In the early hours of June 13, Israel launched airstrikes against Iran, reportedly hitting nuclear sites and killing several senior military officials, including Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “strategic action” aimed at neutralizing what he described as existential threats. The reaction in the oil markets was swift. Brent crude jumped nearly 8%, briefly topping $78.50, and West Texas Intermediate…
Oil bulls have finally found some relief as crude prices rallied to multi-month highs, driven by escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, which continue to trade attacks in one of the region's most volatile periods in recent years. As of Tuesday morning, Brent crude for August delivery had surged $9 from a week earlier to reach $75 per barrel, with WTI following suit. Prices, which had remained under pressure much of the year due to concerns over oversupply and flagging demand, are now being buoyed by the specter of widening geopolitical…
In the last 25 years, China has gone from providing less than 2 percent of Latin America’s exports to being the second largest trade partner for the region and the single biggest trade partner of South America. This skyrocketing trade relation comes on the back of China’s ambitious Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative, and gives Beijing enormous influence in critical emerging markets. In addition to trading goods, China is also a key lender in Latin America, particularly in the context of providing funding for energy…
In the past, oil price wars were short, sharp and, to those who profited from them, sweet. Now, an oil price war is a more cautious affair—assuming what OPEC is doing with its supply return is a price war, of course. And because most assume just that, all eyes are on the group’s chances of success. These are uncertain, to say the least, with most demand forecasts predicting a disaster for prices. OPEC and its friends from OPEC+ decided to start returning 411,000 barrels daily to the global oil market in May. Since then, they have agreed…
Israel's strikes against Iran's nuclear complex and military leadership have sent shock waves around the globe, raising fears of escalation and a wider war in the region. But the shock-and-awe campaign also reverberated in Moscow, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has positioned himself as a powerful interlocutor with Tehran. Russia's response to the strikes was swift and unequivocal. In a lengthy statement, the Foreign Ministry expressed its "utmost concern about the dangerous escalation of tensions in the Middle East" and accused Israel…
Kiggans and a nearly identical group of House Republicans wrote to their House colleagues last month seeking positive changes to the clean energy tax credit phaseout plan that came out of committee work on the reconciliation bill. Instead, the House-passed version of the bill imposes a faster phaseout timeline, including a repeal of tax credits for projects that don’t begin construction within 60 days of the bill’s enactment. The Republican lawmakers in support of IRA’s clean energy credits asked that the Senate alter that provision…
The nuclear power industry has been enjoying the spotlight lately. In just the past two days, the UK pledged $19 billion in additional funding for a nuclear project, and the World Bank lifted a ban on nuclear financing in developing nations, in place since 2017. A nuclear age is coming. “We need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance, because that is the only way to protect family finances, take back control of our energy, and tackle the climate crisis,” UK energy minister Ed Miliband said in a statement in comments…
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) on the global stage has resulted in data centers putting immense strain on global power grids, a turnaround from their previous role as minor electricity consumers. As chatbots become a permanent fixture in work and daily life, demand is being propelled to record heights as each search consumes power. While US data centers consumed 50 terawatt-hours (TWh) of power a decade ago, that figure has risen to 140 TWh today, thereby accounting for 3.5% of the country’s total electricity consumption. …
The computing industry is running out of energy. Though the technology in computer chips has been growing smaller and more energy efficient at a rapid clip for decades, advancements are set to slow down rapidly due to fundamental physical limitations. This is unfortunate timing, as the tech sector’s energy demands (and chip demands) are set to skyrocket as the growth of artificial intelligence’s already prodigious energy footprint outpaces the growth of new energy production capacity. “The semiconductor industry will soon…
Despite the lowest coal prices in Asia in four years, India’s coal power generation dipped in May to the lowest since the Covid lockdowns of 2020, as a lack of heatwaves and soaring renewable energy installations and generation pushed down coal demand in the electricity sector. To be sure, the share of coal in India’s power output remains above 70%, but at 70.7% in May, it was the lowest in three years, according to data from federal power grid regulator Grid India reviewed by Reuters. Natural gas-fired generation and its share in the…
China earlier this year introduced restrictions on its exports of rare earths. The move marked a new stage in the US- China trade spat, when the two sides no longer tried to out-tariff each other but took to more concrete steps. The problem is, the restrictions don’t just apply to U.S. companies. And they may well deliver the fatal blow to Europe’s struggling auto industry. China controls 90% of the world’s rare earths processing capacity. It is the indisputable, if not exactly celebrated in the West, master of the rare earths…
Via Metal Miner The Rare Earths MMI (Monthly Metals Index) found more price stability month-over-month. As a result, it moved sideways, with only a 0.81% increase. Despite this, the short-term outlook for rare earths remains uncertain. Chinese export restrictions jolted prices in H1 of 2025 and fractured long-running supply lines. Shortly after, global automakers warned that Beijing’s April curbs on alloys and magnet exports “could cause production delays” without fast relief. China’s Rare Earths Shockwaves Continue…
US President Donald Trump on June 5 compared Russia's war against Ukraine to children fighting in comments during a visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, telling reporters at the White House that "sometimes you're better off letting them fight for a while." Trump downplayed prospects for an immediate peace between the countries despite his diplomatic efforts to push the two sides to negotiate a cease-fire and eventually a peace deal. The US president has become increasingly frustrated over the lack of progress toward either goal. During last…
Having arrived in Central Asia to make deals, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did a lot of name-checking during a policy address at the Astana International Forum. First, she went for the low-hanging fruit, giving a shout-out to Marco Polo, pointing to the legendary 13th century Venetian merchant-explorer to support her assertion that it is in “the DNA of the Italian people” to seek new trade possibilities. She then dusted off a name that had fallen out of favor for decades — Halford Mackinder, the early 20th century British…
Tariff whiplash under the Trump administration has raised a lot of concerns about the United States’ relationship with its first- and second-largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. This is especially true for energy trade, which all members of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) depend on to keep their economies healthy. Experts contend that recognizing the vital role of energy trade for all parties, and strengthening those relationships, is critical in these volatile times. While this is true for all of North America,…
In recent years, Colombia’s oil production and reserves have been in decline and interest in investing in the country’s crude seemed limited in the post-pandemic landscape. In addition, President Petro has been vocal about supporting a green transition and restricting investment in new fossil fuel projects. However, in recent months, there has been a renewed interest in developing exploration and production. Colombia has long relied on its fossil fuel revenues to support the national economy, with oil and gas contributing around…
In his 2003 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush offered a bold vision of a cleaner energy future. Standing before Congress and the nation, he announced a $1.2 billion initiative to develop hydrogen-powered vehicles, proclaiming that “the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen and pollution-free.” The appeal was clear: a shift away from imported oil and a meaningful reduction in vehicle emissions. After all, the combustion product of hydrogen is just water. That child would be…
A week ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” designed to deploy large tax cuts, extra spending on defense and immigration enforcement by primarily leveraging deep cuts to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. With the contentious bill now headed for the Senate, some energy experts are warning of dire consequences for some renewable energy industries if it becomes law. To wit, the sweeping policy bill seeks to phase out billions in tax credits for the budding green hydrogen and EV battery…
Power grids around the world are decentralizing at a rapid pace as renewable energy production vastly reshapes where electricity is produced. This will require a massive systems overhaul in the way that our power grids are designed, maintained, and protected. Instead of maintaining grid management at a central hub, more and more software and hardware developments are taking place at the grid edge. According to Wood Macenzie, ‘grid edge’ is “an umbrella term to cover all the distributed hardware, software and business innovations…
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is trying to position Kazakhstan as a leading advocate for changing “the architecture of international relations” in ways that give “middle powers” a greater say in global affairs. In an opening speech at the May 29-30 Astana International Forum, Tokayev offered a full-throated endorsement for a return to a global order rooted in multilateralism. While many emerging threats, such as global warming, are transnational, “our responses are becoming increasingly fragmented,” he said.…
