China looks to reduce emissions in industry by introducing a new policy for industrial parks to use more renewable energy from their micro-grids and dispatch less green energy to the main grid. Chinese authorities on Friday issued new guidelines on micro-grids at industrial parks to address hurdles, including a lack of unified technical standards, incomplete market-based mechanisms, and insufficient coordination with the main power grid. Under the new policy, unveiled by five central government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and…

The numbers are not adding up at Tajikistan’s signature infrastructure project, the Rogun Dam. An independent audit of the project’s financial statements has found a $540 million accounting gap and has determined that electricity-production operations at the work-in-progress facility are losing money. Controversy is nothing new for the Rogun project, which, if completed to its maximum specifications, would become the world’s tallest dam. Critics argue the dam is a white elephant in the making that…

Iran unrest and tempered Venezuela expectations lifted Brent toward $63 a barrel. Friday, January 09, 2026 Iran protests have added some impetus to 2026’s heretofore surprisingly bullish start, putting potential supply disruptions back on the agenda. Moreover, the failure of the Trump government to entice US oil majors to invest in Venezuela and Treasury Secretary Bessent’s call for ‘wildcatters’ to drill there soothed some concerns that Venezuela’s oil production could soar in the near term. As such, ICE Brent is…

Russia fired a new nuclear-capable ballistic missile with multiple warheads at western Ukraine, part of a barrage of missiles and drones that pounded Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, where at least 4 were killed and dozens wounded. Russia's Defence Ministry said on January 9 that the use of the missile, called the Oreshnik, was in response to an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in late December that Moscow said had targeted a residence used by President Vladimir Putin. Kyiv denied the allegation, and the CIA has also called the allegation false.…

Before I left for my break over the holidays, I penned an article outlining what I expected for crude in 2026. That is not an original idea, I will grant you, but I have found over the years that having a base case: a rational, unemotional, clearly defined view of what, all things being equal, will drive market pricing in the long term. Every short-term opinion can then be weighed against that long-term view in order to set appropriate time horizons and parameters for potential trades.  But, as we now know, all things would not remain equal…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are discussing an arrangement that would see Pakistan supply JF-17 fighter jets in exchange for financial support or loans. The development is destabilizing because it pulls Saudi defense planning toward a nuclear-armed partner outside the US security structure that has anchored Gulf deterrence for decades. It means Saudi security decisions would no longer run primarily through Washington, Iran would have to account for Pakistan in any confrontation with Riyadh, and the US would no…

There are historical precedents for one power taking control of another country’s oil, but they are rarer than headlines suggest, and they usually occurred under conditions of war, occupation, or overt regime subjugation. That’s what makes Venezuela a precedent.  The closest analogue is Iran. In 1953, when then-Iranian PM Mohammad Mossadegh nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Britain and the U.S. responded by removing the government itself. After the coup, Iran’s oil did not return to Iranian control. It was reorganized…

The week ending January 9, 2026, was anything but ordinary for crude oil markets. As of late Thursday, WTI was trading at $58.42, up $1.10 or 1.92% for the week so far, with a weekly high of $58.87 and a low of $55.76. While these numbers might suggest relative stability, the forces at play beneath the surface tell a far more dramatic story—one that could reshape global energy markets for years to come. The Venezuela Shock The single biggest story this week was President Trump's military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan…

TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with Lebanon to obtain an offshore exploration permit in the eastern Mediterranean next to a block where it has started exploration, the French oil and gas supermajor said on Friday. TotalEnergies, as the operator and holder of 35% in the permit, and its partners Eni (35%) and QatarEnergy (30%) have signed the agreement with the Lebanese government to enter Block 8 exploration permit.  Block 8 is located west of Block 9, where TotalEnergies drilled for potential resources in 2023.  “Although…

The volume of Venezuelan oil in tankers at sea has jumped to over 29 million barrels following the U.S. blitz to extract Nicolas Maduro out of Venezuela, up from 20 million barrels held at sea at the start of this week, Bloomberg reported on Friday, quoting vessel-monitoring data by Kpler.  The U.S. captured Maduro in a weekend operation by U.S. forces and flew him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges. The Trump Administration strong-armed the authorities in Venezuela to give the United States “total access” to its oil…

The volume of Venezuelan oil in tankers at sea has jumped to over 29 million barrels following the U.S. blitz to extract Nicolas Maduro out of Venezuela, up from 20 million barrels held at sea at the start of this week, Bloomberg reported on Friday, quoting vessel-monitoring data by Kpler.  The U.S. captured Maduro in a weekend operation by U.S. forces and flew him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges. The Trump Administration strong-armed the authorities in Venezuela to give the United States “total access” to its oil…

The prospect of increased Venezuelan heavy crude and fuel oil flows to the U.S. Gulf Coast has upended the high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) market as far as Asia.     The premium of HSFO prices in Asia over the same fuel in the West has surged this week to the highest in eight months, since May 2025, as supply from Venezuela is set to increase in the U.S. and the Western hemisphere. At the same time, flows of sanctioned supply from Venezuela to China, its key buyer, are dwindling amid the U.S. blockade of shadow fleet vessels carrying…

The prospect of increased Venezuelan heavy crude and fuel oil flows to the U.S. Gulf Coast has upended the high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) market as far as Asia.     The premium of HSFO prices in Asia over the same fuel in the West has surged this week to the highest in eight months, since May 2025, as supply from Venezuela is set to increase in the U.S. and the Western hemisphere. At the same time, flows of sanctioned supply from Venezuela to China, its key buyer, are dwindling amid the U.S. blockade of shadow fleet vessels carrying…

India saw a seasonal record power consumption in December, with peak demand surging very close to the summer levels, when electricity demand in the country is at its highest.  Chillier weather in December and the increased use of heating appliances have resulted in peak demand surging to 241 gigawatts (GW), up by 7.5% compared to December 2024, according to data from India’s Central Electricity Authority cited by Bloomberg. This was very close to the 243 GW peak demand this summer. India’s electricity demand is typically at its…

Oil prices continued to climb in early Asian trade on Friday morning after posting a sharp increase on Thursday, with the market again pricing in geopolitical risk across multiple key producers and shipping routes. At the time of writing, West Texas Intermediate was trading around $58.27 per barrel, up by 0.85% or $0.49. On Thursday, both WTI and Brent climbed by over 3%, with Brent on the brink of breaking the $62 mark. Venezuela remained a major driver of the risk premium after the U.S. escalated enforcement against sanctioned flows by seizing…

Earlier in the week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Venezuela’s interim authorities will be turning over up to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, before later declaring his administration will control Venezuela's oil sales 'indefinitely'. Trump has decried the state of Venezuela’s oil sector, noting that the country is producing well below its full potential. “They were pumping almost nothing by comparison to what they could have been pumping and what could have taken place,” Trump said. “We’re…

A dip in tanker rates has improved the price outlook for U.S. crude this month, as it signals stronger demand. However, the relief may not last too long as most tanker market forecasts for the year still see rates much higher than they were in 2025. “The shipping markets are freeing up, and rates are tanking from the US to Asia, and the UK to Asia,” one analyst from financial services provider TP ICAP told Bloomberg this week, adding that the trend was boosting demand for U.S. crude oil. As a result, local U.S. benchmark prices have…

Big Tech firms are requesting hundreds of gigawatts of power demand from data centers to connect to the U.S. grids. But aging grid infrastructure in key regional markets and grid investments lagging behind the soaring demand are forcing grid operators to offer some alternative options to the hyperscalers looking to hook up their proposed data centers to the grids.      One is “bring your own generation”—a trend that’s expected to rise in the coming years. In many areas, grid operators are telling Big…

New York City’s government has achieved a remarkable drop in greenhouse gas emissions. A new report shows that the city’s municipal operators are using less energy and emitting less carbon than they were twenty years ago. In fact, while greenhouse gas emissions around the world continue to climb, New York’s governmental emissions have dropped a stunning 31 percent since 2006, reaching their lowest level in decades. This remarkable achievement comes thanks to several different policy approaches to making New York City greener and…

In 2025, the Middle East solidified its role as the primary stabilizing force in a fragmented global energy system. While international markets faced geopolitical dislocation and divergent transition pathways, the leading Middle Eastern national oil companies (NOCs) adopted a consistent strategy of sustaining hydrocarbon primacy while systematically reducing costs and carbon intensity. More than $100 billion in upstream capital deployment enabled the NOCs to expand crude spare capacity and accelerate gas development, while selective international…