News
Crude burn—the direct use of crude oil in power plants and industrial facilities, primarily for electricity generation—has long been a staple in Saudi Arabia’s energy mix. The kingdom burns significant volumes of oil to meet domestic electricity demand, which hovers around 171 terawatt-hours (TWh). However, analysis from Rystad Energy shows the upcoming Jafurah shale gas field, set to start production in 2025 and the largest of its kind globally, could dramatically shift this dynamic. By tapping into unconventional gas,…
On an international scale, researchers have been hard at work making magnesium batteries a feasible replacement for lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, in a development that could upend the electric vehicles industry on a worldwide scale. Currently, the global EV fleet runs on lithium-ion batteries, but these fundamental building blocks of the decarbonization movement carry some critical drawbacks. As it stands lithium production and refining for use in lithium-ion batteries and other applications is all but monopolized by China.…
Just one day after U.S. negotiators met their Iranian counterparts in Oman to discuss drawing up a new nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), Energy Secretary Chris Wright flew into Saudi Arabia to talk about a nuclear deal with the Kingdom as well. Such a deal with Riyadh would place enormous pressure on its historical religious, political and military enemy Tehran to reach an agreement on its own nuclear energy programme with the U.S. sooner rather than later. It would also be pivotal in reversing the decade-long drift of Saudi…
This week, the Interior Department axed a major offshore wind power project in New York. The grounds for the decision to halt construction at Empire Wind 1 was a sub-par environmental assessment. The wind industry was shocked, and more shocks are coming. Yet it won’t be Trump’s administration that could eventually kill the transition. It would be the transition itself. The Trump presidency has certainly ushered in even harder times for energy transition industries than they were having to deal with before. Tariffs are a big problem,…
Rising market and policy uncertainties forced companies to cancel $8 billion in investments in U.S. clean energy projects in the first quarter of the year. In a dramatic surge in cancellations of projects amid the chilling effects of the Trump Administration’s trade policy and attempts to repeal part of the green energy incentives, companies have withdrawn $7.9 billion in investments since January, clean energy business group E2 said in a monthly update this week. The value of the canceled investments in the first quarter alone was more than…
Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev wants the European Union to ease regulatory hurdles and improve financing conditions to enable an expansion of natural gas exports. But recently published data raises doubts about whether Azerbaijan can meet a commitment of exporting 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually to the EU by 2027. Azerbaijani gas exports are now trending in the wrong direction, according to data published by Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank dedicated to improving “the quality of economic policy with open and fact-based…
Their names are difficult to pronounce, they're essential for modern manufacturing, and they're increasingly at the center of the escalating trade war between the United States and China. The global supply of these rare earths -- an essential group of 17 elements that find themselves in everything from electric vehicle batteries to vital defense technology -- are also mostly controlled by China. Beijing is now looking to use that strategic leverage amid the growing trade spat and rising tensions with Washington. In response to recently imposed…
US oil and gas operators have encountered an avalanche of economic policy changes from the Trump administration over the last week, creating market uncertainty in an already maturing industry. Rystad Energy expects onshore Lower-48 production will fall short of the record high output of 11.37 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, achieved in November 2023, until at least June of this year. However, this outlook faces serious downside pressure should the recent price downturn hold, forcing operators to cut back on rig activity. Consistent returns…
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has concluded the 83rd session of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83), marking a significant advancement in maritime decarbonization efforts. A pivotal outcome of this session was the approval of the IMO Net-Zero Framework, despite reservations expressed by certain member states, including the US and several oil production states.Rystad Energy's research highlights that the IMO's direct compliance targets are notably more ambitious compared to those set by FuelEU Maritime. Under the…
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices dipped into the low $60 per barrel range following President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announced on 2 April. While the subsequent 9 April move to pause the new levies at 10% for most countries for the next 90 days helped WTI prices recoup some losses, the market remains extremely volatile. This price level is well above the fundamental upstream breakevens for most US shale players, especially those in the Permian. However, Rystad Energy finds that additional corporate items, including higher…
Last week, eight OPEC+ countries unveiled plans to advance their planned phase-out of voluntary oil output cuts by ramping up output by 411,000 barrels per day in May--equivalent to three monthly increments. The announcement of the accelerated unwinding clip comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on trading partners, deepening the shock to oil markets. Brent crude for June delivery was up 0.1% to trade at $63.32 per barrel at 9.45 am ET on Friday while WTI crude was flat at $60.12 per barrel. The move confirms…
Decarbonization in the oil and gas sector has long been a pressing and highly debated topic among stakeholders. With 2025 being a milestone year for emissions targets, the question remains: will it mark a period of downward revisions, a continuation of the current trajectory, or a moment for companies to intensify their efforts? The direction and scale of change will ultimately determine whether these companies can achieve their intermediate emission targets and make meaningful progress towards broader net-zero commitments. This year will be pivotal…
It appears that the Trump administration’s single-minded pursuit of critical minerals is starting to bear fruit in Central Asia. According to an Uzbek government statement April 9, meetings in Washington involving Uzbek Investment Ministry officials and US business executives yielded several agreements covering the exploration, extraction and processing of minerals in the Central Asian state. The deals also reportedly cover the provision of innovative US technologies to Tashkent, and the training of Uzbek specialists. “The agreements…
A global nuclear energy renaissance is unfolding. Around the world, the public and private sectors are warming to the idea of nuclear energy expansion to meet ballooning energy demand driven by data centers without throwing decarbonization accords out the window. The International Energy Agency projects that the world will produce more nuclear energy in 2025 than ever before. “More than 70 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity is under construction globally, one of the highest levels in the last 30 years, and more than 40 countries around…
Most US biofuel production numbers are clearly on track to end the first quarter of this year in negative territory either on a quarter-over-quarter or year-over-year basis, Rystad Energy analysis suggests. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the updated statistics for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program on 20 March covering the supply, trade and price dynamics for February 2025. Similar to previous months, we still observe uncertainty around future biofuel policy starts having a tangible impact on the actual supply for…
Increasing financial constraints, a low commodity price environment and a shrinking pool of prospective basins have transformed how oil and gas players explore for new barrels. Across the globe operators are prioritizing low-risk, low-cost near field or infrastructure-led exploration (ILX) prospects instead of expensive, high-risk exploration plays. ILX, although not a recent phenomenon, is a reliable avenue that capitalizes on existing production hubs and pipeline networks to commercialize smaller discoveries that might otherwise remain untapped.…
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently reported that U.S. natural gas consumption set new winter and summer consumption records in 2024, highlighting the growing importance of natural gas in the global energy mix. This surge in consumption comes amid record production levels, even as drilling activity remains subdued. The implications of these trends are significant, influencing everything from energy prices to power generation choices. Record-Breaking Natural Gas Consumption and Production According to the latest EIA data,…
It is 3 April, so any country buying Venezuelan oil must face a 25% tariff on all its trade with the United States. That is according to President Donald Trump’s executive order signed on 24 March. The White House has also ordered companies with sanctions waivers to quit Venezuela by 27 May, including Chevron, Repsol, and Maurel et Prom. But it looks like some traders are undaunted by the U.S. government’s threats. Tankers are still sailing to Venezuela, contradicting Trump’s statement on 30 March: “Every ship just got out…
The first quarter of 2025 ended on a challenging note for the financial markets, as the S&P 500 posted a 4.6% decline—its first quarterly loss since Q3 2023. The Dow and Nasdaq also declined in Q1. Macroeconomic and geopolitical factors weighed heavily on investor sentiment, leading to widespread equity sell-offs and significant sector rotations. While many sectors faced headwinds, energy stocks emerged as a rare bright spot, delivering resilient performance and reinforcing their reputation as a defensive play during market volatility.…
On the eve of the first-ever Central Asia-European Union summit, Kazakhstan announced the discovery of vast deposits of rare earths, a big nugget of information clearly designed to attract foreign investment. The two-day summit kicked off on April 3 in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, with the leaders of Central Asian states, along with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in attendance. The EU’s primary objective is to deepen its trade & investment relations with the…
As U.S. President Donald Trump looks increasingly likely to shift away from the Biden-era acceleration of renewable energy deployment in favour of the expansion of the fossil fuel industry, oil executives are calling on the government to create greater market stability. The U.S. energy market has boomed in recent years, largely due to the introduction of former President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which attracted high levels of green financing, and the increase of domestic oil and gas production. Favourable federal policies have…
Mexico’s energy sector is undergoing a dramatic transformation, which was announced on the 87th anniversary of the original oil expropriation by Lazaro Cardenas. These new ‘leyes secundarias’ will substantially alter the path set by the 2013 energy reforms that opened the industry to private and foreign investment. Former President Enrique Peña Nieto’s government promised that inviting private companies into oil, gas and electricity production would modernize infrastructure, reduce costs and boost efficiency. However,…
I have said in recent posts that the world economy is hitting resource limits of many kinds. These limits include oil, coal, and other sources of energy, including uranium, used as a fuel for nuclear power generation. Because of these limits, the world economy is being forced to shrink back. In my opinion, the direction it is headed in is toward smaller, mostly less-advanced, more independent, economies. This change is also likely to lead to various types of financial collapse for many of today’s Advanced Economies. Per-capita…
The Indian steel sector—the world’s second-largest—faces a critical challenge in 2025 as the European Union (EU) tightens its environmental standards, intensifying its focus on carbon neutrality. With Europe being key customer for Indian steel, accounting for 25% of exports, India must urgently comply with stricter carbon regulations to avoid steep financial penalties that could undermine its global position in the steel market. Rystad Energy’s research suggests that by 2034, India and Russia could face some of the highest…
