Oil prices surged on Monday as the fallout from U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran rippled through global energy markets, with tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz already heavily impacted and military strikes continuing across the region. In early Asian trade, Brent futures broke the $80 mark, briefly trading at $82.37 before trimming gains slightly as markets digested volatility. Similarly, WTI futures climbed rapidly, soaring past the $72 mark in early trading before dropping back to $71 at the time of writing. The spike in oil…

In a typical Chinese rare earth processing plant, 200 workers move through a maze of massive chemical tanks, risking life and limb to produce the materials that power everything from fighter jets and missile components to cellphones. Hundreds of these facilities operate across China, and they give Beijing overwhelming control over the single most critical choke point in the modern industrial economy. But now, in Saskatchewan, Canada, a hi-tech plant of engineers and chemists is beginning to break that monopoly. The facility is built around an AI…

China's imports last year broke yet another record, despite talk of waning oil demand. Since the start of this year, the world’s biggest oil importer has continued buying crude at elevated rates, but this may be about to change as prices extend their rally. Brent crude has been hovering around $70 per barrel for over a week now, and the outlook remains rather bullish compared to forecasts from the end of 2025, which could not foresee the latest geopolitical developments and their potential implications for supply security. China, while not…

BP is betting big on the U.S. shale patch to raise its worldwide production and accelerate drilling while keeping a tight capital budget. The UK-based supermajor is doing something few other pure shale producers are doing. Shale drillers have been slowing drilling activity, or at least not spending too much on raising production, amid volatile oil prices that have dropped below the estimated break-even levels too many times to count in the past few months. For example, Diamondback Energy, one of the biggest names in the patch, plans to keep activity…

Several Middle Eastern states have introduced overarching national strategies with aims to diversify their energy mix to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, as they also seek to expand their economies beyond a dependence on oil and gas revenue. This has led countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, to invest heavily in the expansion of their renewable energy and cleantech industries.  Oil and gas production has provided several Middle Eastern countries with significant revenue for many decades, allowing…

For decades, the West has been sleepwalking into dependency. While we built the world’s most advanced fighter jets, smartphones, and electric vehicles, we quietly surrendered the most important component of modern tech. Rare earth elements. Today, China controls 95% of the world’s rare earth processing capacity…a leverage point so powerful, it could cripple Western economies in a matter of months. But in the heart of Canada, the tide is finally turning. Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), Canada’s second-largest research…

The race for nuclear fusion is heating up around the world as scientific breakthroughs continue to pick up speed. For years, the joke was that the ability to unlock commercial nuclear fusion would always be 30 years away. But now it truly might be – or, with the way the timeline is picking up pace, maybe even sooner.  Already this year, researchers on opposite sides of the globe have announced critical advancements in nuclear fusion research and development. A team of scientists in Russia has reached a fusion milestone by successfully…

Many countries around the globe are rapidly ramping up their renewable energy capacity and moving away from fossil fuels in a bid to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. However, decarbonising certain sectors, such as heavy industry, is not so simple. Various companies worldwide are searching for ways to decarbonise the steel industry, with little luck to date. While some companies have adapted operations to ensure their steelmaking is cleaner than it once was, producing green steel is no easy feat, and it could take several years to make significant…

The world’s largest pumped hydro energy storage facility is nearing completion in China. The megaproject will bring China one step closer to its goal of being the world’s first and preeminent electrostate, and will advance the nascent but rapidly growing long-duration energy storage sector. The storage project being built at the Lianghekou Dam in Western Sichuan plateau will have four units of 300 megawatts (MW) each when completed, making it the largest facility of its kind. The project will house a conventional hydropower plant in…

Governments worldwide have been racing to unlock the secret to nuclear fusion energy for several decades, with the aim of producing abundant, clean energy. While several generation milestones have been achieved in recent years, accomplishing commercial-scale production continues to be extremely complex. However, with more recent successes, are we edging closer to achieving this goal and producing vast quantities of clean power? Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the sun and stars. Fusion takes place when two atomic nuclei – typically…

For decades, the West has been sleepwalking into dependency. While we built the world’s most advanced fighter jets, smartphones, and electric vehicles, we quietly surrendered the most important component of modern tech. Rare earth elements. Today, China controls 95% of the world’s rare earth processing capacity…a leverage point so powerful, it could cripple Western economies in a matter of months. But in the heart of Canada, the tide is finally turning. Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), Canada’s second-largest research…

There are still many areas of the world where people do not have access to electricity, due to a lack of funding for the necessary transmission infrastructure and several other challenges. Now, some countries are tackling the issue by investing in programmes to support battery rental. By allowing those without access to power to rent batteries, which helps provide a mid-term solution to the lack of power, until long-term infrastructure can be developed. Approximately 730 million people worldwide did not have access to electricity in 2024, marking…

1m ago 8:32am CST Israel Moves Energy Sector Into Emergency Mode as Iranian Missile Threat Grows Israel is preparing to shift its energy sector into emergency operations as concerns mount over potential Iranian missile attacks, according to a report from Haaretz. The newspaper reports that refinery activity has already been scaled back and portions of the country’s natural gas infrastructure have been temporarily suspended. Bazan Group confirmed it has partially shut down operations at its Haifa refinery, while Energy Minister Eli Cohen has…

Global energy markets are set to see significant volatility following a United States-Israel coordinated wave of military strikes across Iran early this morning. The attack, which targeted multiple cities including the capital of Tehran, marks a huge escalation in a regional conflict that has simmered for months. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the "preemptive strike" as a state of emergency was declared across Israel. U.S. officials described the operation as "not a small strike," involving attack planes from regional bases and…

Once one of South America’s poorest countries, Guyana is now ranked among the world’s richest because of the vast petroleum wealth contained in its territorial waters. A swath of major oil discoveries in the offshore Stabroek Block by operator ExxonMobil, with partners Chevron and CNOOC, saw Guyana emerge as a major oil producer and exporter. There is considerable production growth ahead which will boost the economy and global oil supply. U.S. intervention in Venezuela, with President Nicolas Maduro captured during a daring night raid,…

Average daily crude oil production in the United States eased in December to the lowest daily production rate in months, according to the latest EIA data. Total December production, however, was higher than in November. According to the EIA, U.S. crude oil output averaged 13.655 million barrels per day in December, down from 13.788 million in November and the lowest daily average since June 2025. The dip from November to December was modest at the national level — roughly 1% — but some regions saw sharper percentage declines. The steepest…

Average daily crude oil production in the United States eased in December to the lowest daily production rate in months, according to the latest EIA data. Total December production, however, was higher than in November. According to the EIA, U.S. crude oil output averaged 13.655 million barrels per day in December, down from 13.788 million in November and the lowest daily average since June 2025. The dip from November to December was modest at the national level — roughly 1% — but some regions saw sharper percentage declines. The steepest…

Average daily crude oil production in the United States eased in December to the lowest daily production rate in months, according to the latest EIA data. Total December production, however, was higher than in November. According to the EIA, U.S. crude oil output averaged 13.655 million barrels per day in December, down from 13.788 million in November and the lowest daily average since June 2025. The dip from November to December was modest at the national level — roughly 1% — but some regions saw sharper percentage declines. The steepest…

Rolls-Royce has laid out plans to return billions to investors over the next two years after the blue-chip giant’s profit rocketed, leading to an upgrade of targets. The aerospace titan revealed plans for a £7bn to £9bn multi-year share buyback from 2026 to 2028, which comes as the firm wraps up a £1bn buyback from the last 12 months. Up to £2.5bn of the buyback is set to be delivered in 2026. The FTSE 100 darling also declared a final dividend of 5p a share, taking the total for the year to 9.5p, meaning around 32…

Every cycle produces its own comforting myth, for 2026, that is the “inevitable oil glut.” The reasoning behind that is mainly that crude oil producers are pumping more, Iran is still exporting despite sanctions pressure, and the market expects OPEC+ to edge toward output hikes. The current story in the market still is that surplus is building and prices must eventually fall. When, however, looking at the physical market, the latter is bluntly refusing the script. There are no real signs, at least for a longer period, that the tanks…