During the Cold War, the Kremlin worried about the threat posed by American nuclear missiles. Now, Russian leaders seem panicked at the thought of an American nuclear reactor at their doorstep. Since the United States and Armenia signed a nuclear cooperation deal on February 9 during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Yerevan, the Kremlin has seemingly gone to a civilian equivalent of DEFCON 3 with a wide-ranging effort to scuttle the construction of a US-designed nuclear plant on Armenian soil. In addition to media…

Hungary and Slovakia have formally requested that Croatia authorize the transit of Russian crude oil via the Adriatic pipeline, following the complete suspension of oil flows through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline, which has been out of service since January 27. The two countries seek to use the Adria pipeline (operated by the Croatian state-owned company Janaf), which connects the Croatian port of Omišalj to refineries in Hungary and Slovakia.  According to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó,…

The headlines in early 2026 have been dominated by political upheaval in Caracas. Following the dramatic events of early January and the overhaul of Venezuela’s Hydrocarbons Law on January 29, analysts have rushed to debate the morality of renewed American involvement in the Orinoco Belt. But while the world focuses on the politics, the real story is unfolding thousands of miles away, inside the distillation towers along the U.S. Gulf Coast. To understand why Chevron is moving aggressively to ramp Venezuelan production, you have to look past…

Eni has made a major natural gas and condensate discovery offshore the Ivory Coast in Africa, in part of what is estimated to be the second largest discovery in the country after Baleine, the Italian energy major said on Monday.  Eni has focused on exploration offshore Africa in recent years as it looks to boost its natural gas resources and farm out minority shares to other companies and investors to fast-track the development of the discoveries.       In the latest discovery offshore Côte d'Ivoire, also…

As gold prices surged more than 230% since 2020, central banks around the world launched one of the largest gold-buying waves in modern history. For many countries, bullion became more than just a hedge—it became a strategic reserve asset amid rising geopolitical tensions, currency volatility, and growing efforts to diversify away from the U.S. dollar. Yet not every nation followed the same playbook: some were accumulating gold aggressively, while others were trimming reserves. This chart, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, ranks the…

A Chevron-led consortium on Monday signed the lease contracts for oil and gas exploration offshore Greece as the southern European country aims to become a major gas supplier in the Mediterranean.   Chevron, in partnership with Helleniq Energy, signed the lease agreements with Greece concerning the exploration of four offshore blocks south of Crete and the Peloponnese.  Greece picked the consortium as the preferred bidder at the end of last year following a tender, and has now made Chevron’s entry official with the signing…

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has emphasized a diplomatic approach to Iran, saying he wasn't going to speak about a military attack and that President Donald Trump "has made it clear he prefers diplomacy." Speaking at a joint press conference in Bratislava with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on February 15, Rubio said that "no one has ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran, but we are going to try." Rubio is in Slovakia for one day as part of a broader European tour focused on strengthening ties with key allies. "Right now, we…

China’s oil imports from Russia are on track for all-time high of over 2 million barrels per day in February as India is withdrawing from Russian spot purchases and supply is now heavily discounted for Chinese independent refiners.    China is set to import 2.07-2.08 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Russia this month, according to data from Vortexa and Kpler cited by Reuters.  The figure would be a new record high and significantly higher than the 1.7 million bpd estimated imports of Russian oil to China in January. …

Retired General Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and a long-standing voice on defense readiness, has joined the board of REalloys as the company brings online North America’s first industrial-scale heavy rare-earth processing and metallization platform dedicated to the defense supply chain.For decades, the U.S. defense industry relied on Chinese processing to turn rare earths into finished metals and alloys that could be used in weapon systems. A newly announced merger between Blackboxstocks Inc. (NASDAQ: BLBX) and…

Near-term demand for Saudi Arabia’s oil in China is soaring after the Kingdom early this month slashed its official selling prices (OSPs) for Asia to the lowest level versus regional benchmarks in more than five years. In early February, Saudi Aramco cut the OSP of its flagship Arab Light for March loadings to parity with the Oman/Dubai average benchmark, off which the Kingdom prices its crude oil going to Asia. The cut of $0.30 per barrel, to parity with Oman/Dubai from a $0.30 a barrel premium for February, was the fourth consecutive cut…

Iran and the United States could invest jointly in oil and gas development as part of the new nuclear deal the two are currently negotiating, an official from Tehran’s foreign ministry said Sunday, in the latest signal that Iran is willing to close a deal with the U.S. and avoid war. “For the sake of an agreement's durability, it is essential that the U.S. also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns,” Hamid Ghanbari, deputy director for economic diplomacy at the Iranian foreign ministry, said, as quoted by the…

United States forces boarded a second oil tanker in a week in the Indian Ocean, claiming it was attempting to escape from what Washington has called a quarantine on tankers carrying sanctioned crude oil from Venezuela. “Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility,” the U.S. Ministry of War reported on X. “The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine — hoping to slip away. We tracked it from…

U.S. natural gas prices extended a slide that started earlier this month due to forecasts of warmer weather in the near future. In morning trade in Asia today, the futures contract for March shed 7.4% from Friday, falling to just above $3 per million British thermal units, the lowest price level seen since mid-October last year. Earlier in the year, natural gas prices soared to the highest in years amid freezing winter weather that gripped most of the United States, driving demand for heating much higher, with wind and solar largely unable to respond…

When the UK’s government slapped a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers in 2022, the industry warned this could be the death knell for local oil and gas production. Four years later, the UK’s oil and gas industry is being described as “irrelevant”. The UK’s oil and gas production has slumped from some 4.4 million barrels of oil equivalent daily 25 years ago to some 1 million barrels of oil equivalent daily to date. This is seen dropping to as little as 150,000 barrels by 2050. In fact, it may drop even more sharply…

Abu Dhabi’s national oil company, ADNOC, keeps making headlines again, not only when looking at upstream but also in its LNG strategic operations. At present, the oil and gas giant’s quiet acceleration in LNG shipping is often treated as merely a capacity add. Mainstream media is focusing on factors such as increased hulls, greater flexibility, and improved service for export projects. This focus is, however, too narrow, as the UAE’s national champion is not simply expanding its fleet. ADNOC is clearly establishing the physical…

Canada-based Ensign Energy Services has been working in Venezuela for 25 years and has never left the country, where rig counts have plummeted, and the political and regulatory landscape has been a minefield to navigate. “We’re the only Canadian company — the only oilfield service drilling company — operating in Venezuela,” Bob Geddes, Ensign Energy Services’ president and chief operating officer, told the Financial Post in an interview. “We’ve stuck through Venezuela, thick and thin, and here we…

The runaway energy demands of the artificial intelligence boom are pushing a new wave of innovative next-gen energy ambitions. Big Tech is pouring money into fast-tracking the development of futuristic energy alternatives like enhanced geothermal and nuclear fusion in an attempt to stay one step ahead of the energy monster the sector is creating.  Large language models are already consuming about 1.5 percent of the world’s energy, according to figures from the International Energy Agency. And as AI models become more advanced, they will…

British aviation company Rolls-Royce has big plans for nuclear power, as well as other major energy projects, having been selected as the United Kingdom’s preferred bidder to build the country’s first small modular reactors (SMRs) last year. The company is expected to fast-track the development of the U.K.’s first SMRs, as well as explore other innovative fields, such as producing power from space. In June, the U.K. government announced that Rolls-Royce SMR had been selected as the preferred bidder to partner with Great British…

The massive unconventional oil boom underway in Argentina continues to gain momentum. During late 2024, Argentina, which is South America’s second largest economy after Brazil, overtook Colombia to become the continent’s fourth largest oil producer. The surge in petroleum revenues, coupled with President Javier Mieli’s economic reforms, is a boon for one of the world’s most unstable and crisis-riven economies. There are signs of strong production growth ahead with shale oil and gas output expanding at a solid clip. …

Ford and General Motors (GM) have both announced plans to venture into the world of energy storage, following in the footsteps of the electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla. The two U.S. automakers have big plans for business expansion, which could drive down EV manufacturing costs, reduce reliance on imports, and expand their portfolios. The U.S. EV market is growing at a slower pace than anticipated as the Trump administration waters down aims set by the previous government to restrict the sale of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and incentivise…