Global insurers had just shaken off the ESG push from earlier this decade when the Middle East conflict upended oil and gas upstream project coverage. The world’s lowest-cost oil and gas producing region became a war zone at the end of February, with war-risk premiums and oil and gas drilling and construction projects facing either delays or significant cost inflation.   Five months of uncertainties about new oil and gas projects in the Middle East have prompted insurance giants to turn to underwriting drilling and project construction…

The best performing asset class of this decade is also the most under owned. Since October 2020, when we first called for a decades-long super-cycle in commodities, the broad commodity indices like the S&P GSCI are up 200 per cent; gold 140 per cent. This year commodities are up 37 per cent with petroleum up 81 per cent. The bottlenecks rotated – gold, copper, silver, coffee, cocoa, oil and most recently diesel. But not the trend. In contrast, crypto indices are up 157 per cent, the Nasdaq 145 per cent and the S&P 500 117 per cent.…

Kazakhstan should, in theory, be one of the major beneficiaries of Russia’s growing isolation from global energy markets. Its crude is unsanctioned and European refiners need alternatives to Russian barrels. Yet instead of gaining a clear geopolitical advantage, Kazakhstan has found itself exposed to many of the same risks as its northern neighbour: attacks on export infrastructure, disruptions inside Russia and repeated operational failures at its own largest fields. The roots of that vulnerability lie partly in geography and partly in the…

There is major potential to develop hybrid renewable energy projects on existing hydropower sites, according to a new report by the think tank Ember Energy. We often think of renewable energy projects as standalone operations rather than resources that can be combined to produce higher clean energy output. However, there could be great potential for hybrid projects, as energy companies look to maximise and stabilise their energy production. According to a report published this week by Ember, 25 GW of wind and solar can be added to existing hydropower…

India expects to build domestically five small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2033, India’s Atomic Energy Minister, Jitendra Singh, has said. The five SMRs would be part of India’s push to accelerate nuclear power capacity installations over the next two decades, the minister told lawmakers in a written reply to questions as carried by local media. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India’s premier nuclear research facility under the Department of Atomic Energy, is currently developing a 220-MW Bharat Small Modular Reactor,…

India expects to build domestically five small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2033, India’s Atomic Energy Minister, Jitendra Singh, has said. The five SMRs would be part of India’s push to accelerate nuclear power capacity installations over the next two decades, the minister told lawmakers in a written reply to questions as carried by local media. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India’s premier nuclear research facility under the Department of Atomic Energy, is currently developing a 220-MW Bharat Small Modular Reactor,…

India expects to build domestically five small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2033, India’s Atomic Energy Minister, Jitendra Singh, has said. The five SMRs would be part of India’s push to accelerate nuclear power capacity installations over the next two decades, the minister told lawmakers in a written reply to questions as carried by local media. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India’s premier nuclear research facility under the Department of Atomic Energy, is currently developing a 220-MW Bharat Small Modular Reactor,…

Brent crude has broken back above $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly two months as escalating attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea deepen concerns that the Middle East supply crisis is spreading beyond the Strait of Hormuz. As of mid-morning Thursday, front-month Brent for September delivery was trading at $100.69 a barrel, up more than 7% on the day after touching an intraday high of $101.01. WTI was also sharply higher, with the entire Brent forward curve moving higher as traders priced in a greater risk of prolonged supply disruptions.…

The last EU agreement about the latest sanctions package against Russia is being presented by Brussels as another demonstration of European unity and determination to sustain economic pressure on the Kremlin. Since February 2022, sanctions have been one of the EU's principal strategic instruments, targeting Russian banking, technology, defense industries and increasingly Russia’s energy sector. However, the negotiations surrounding the latest package have now revealed that Europe continues to face an uncomfortable dilemma. Brussels needs…

India is on track to export the highest volume of refined petroleum products in months as refining margins have jumped with the re-escalation of the Middle East conflict. India is estimated to ship as many as 1.55 million barrels per day (bpd) of light and middle distillates in July, per data by commodity analysts Kpler cited by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell. The July volumes would be nearly double the fuel export volumes of just 866,000 bpd in May, when the Strait of Hormuz crisis hit crude supplies to India and the rest of Asia. In May, India…

India is on track to export the highest volume of refined petroleum products in months as refining margins have jumped with the re-escalation of the Middle East conflict. India is estimated to ship as many as 1.55 million barrels per day (bpd) of light and middle distillates in July, per data by commodity analysts Kpler cited by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell. The July volumes would be nearly double the fuel export volumes of just 866,000 bpd in May, when the Strait of Hormuz crisis hit crude supplies to India and the rest of Asia. In May, India…

India is on track to export the highest volume of refined petroleum products in months as refining margins have jumped with the re-escalation of the Middle East conflict. India is estimated to ship as many as 1.55 million barrels per day (bpd) of light and middle distillates in July, per data by commodity analysts Kpler cited by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell. The July volumes would be nearly double the fuel export volumes of just 866,000 bpd in May, when the Strait of Hormuz crisis hit crude supplies to India and the rest of Asia. In May, India…

India is on track to export the highest volume of refined petroleum products in months as refining margins have jumped with the re-escalation of the Middle East conflict. India is estimated to ship as many as 1.55 million barrels per day (bpd) of light and middle distillates in July, per data by commodity analysts Kpler cited by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell. The July volumes would be nearly double the fuel export volumes of just 866,000 bpd in May, when the Strait of Hormuz crisis hit crude supplies to India and the rest of Asia. In May, India…

Ukraine and the United States have signed a bilateral statement of intent that lays the groundwork for an unprecedented defense partnership, allowing Ukrainian combat drones to be exported to the United States for military testing, according to two sources familiar with the agreement who spoke to RFE/RL. "The deal has been sealed," one official told RFE/RL, while a second source confirmed that the document had been “signed by both sides.” The bilateral statement of intent establishes the framework for future drone cooperation and represents…

The war in the Middle East has diminished the negotiating power that key regional LNG exporters Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have enjoyed for years. Importers of LNG from Europe to Asia plan to negotiate better terms in future long-term deals and ask for lower prices and higher contract flexibility, industry executives at LNG importing companies have told Reuters. For years, Qatar and the UAE commanded significant negotiating power, tied to their reliability as LNG suppliers. The Iran war has reduced the reliability of these LNG exporters…

U.S. refinery utilization has been near-capacity for weeks, with American fuel exports jumping to record high levels amid tight global fuel markets in the wake of the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The average refinery capacity utilization across the United States was 96.2% as of July 17, the latest reporting week available, up from 94.7% in the same week in 2025, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The average may be just above 96% nationwide, but the Midwest and Rocky Mountains regions,…

Two China-owned and operated tankers loaded with Saudi crude continued on Thursday to travel in the Red Sea toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait despite the overnight Houthi attacks on Saudi vessels, ship-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed. The Cosco Shipping-operated tankers, the Xin Long Yang and the Cosnew Lake, are openly broadcasting their Chinese destination as they are traveling through the Red Sea approaching Bab el-Mandeb. Both China-owned tankers had loaded Saudi crude at Yanbu over the past week, according to Bloomberg's data. The…

Two China-owned and operated tankers loaded with Saudi crude continued on Thursday to travel in the Red Sea toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait despite the overnight Houthi attacks on Saudi vessels, ship-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed. The Cosco Shipping-operated tankers, the Xin Long Yang and the Cosnew Lake, are openly broadcasting their Chinese destination as they are traveling through the Red Sea approaching Bab el-Mandeb. Both China-owned tankers had loaded Saudi crude at Yanbu over the past week, according to Bloomberg's data. The…

Oil prices rose for the fifth consecutive day early on Thursday, topping $98 per barrel to the highest level in nearly two months, as Houthi attacks on tankers on the Red Sea route intensified concerns about supply from the Middle East.  Early on Thursday in Europe, Brent Crude prices passed $98 per barrel, rising by 4.21% to $98.03. The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was nearing the $90 per barrel mark, trading at $89.57, up by 3.16% on the day, as the Iran-aligned Houthis appeared to make good on their pledge to target Saudi Arabia’s oil…

The latest oil price rally showed no sign of stopping in early Asian trading on Thursday, with both benchmarks climbing to their highest levels in more than six weeks as the U.S. and Iran continued to exchange strikes. At the time of writing, WTI crude was trading at $88.05 per barrel, up 1.41% on the session, while Brent crude had gained 1.76% to trade at $95.73 per barrel. The price rise came as the U.S. launched its 12th consecutive wave of strikes against Iranian military targets, while Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis intensified threats against…