Commodity traders are having the rug pulled out from under one of their biggest paydays yet as refiners start bypassing oil and traders and buying Venezuelan crude directly, according to Reuters. Refiners and major oil-producing firms are rapidly gaining market share in Venezuelan crude by locking in direct supply contracts with state-run Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), bypassing the global middlemen and commodity trading houses such as Trafigura and Vitol that previously dominated the space. Six months after traders reopened Venezuela’s…

The regional price of natural gas produced in the Permian, the top U.S. oil basin, was negative for most of the first half of the year. Rising associated gas output from oil-targeting wells has had nowhere to go. Producers had to either flare the gas, within allowed limits, or pay to get rid of what many Permian players see as an undesirable by-product of the valuable crude. For years, the key constraint to local gas prices has been the insufficient pipeline takeaway capacity, which hasn’t grown in lockstep with the soaring gas production…

Europe's effort to rebuild natural gas inventories before winter suffered another setback on Wednesday after Equinor CEO Anders Opedal warned the region may struggle to reach its 80% storage target, highlighting intensifying competition for global LNG supplies. Speaking after Equinor's second-quarter earnings release, Opedal said Europe may not succeed in filling its gas storage facilities to 80% before winter. "We do not think Europe will necessarily reach 80% storage before winter," Opedal said. European gas storage sites are currently around…

Europe's effort to rebuild natural gas inventories before winter suffered another setback on Wednesday after Equinor CEO Anders Opedal warned the region may struggle to reach its 80% storage target, highlighting intensifying competition for global LNG supplies. Speaking after Equinor's second-quarter earnings release, Opedal said Europe may not succeed in filling its gas storage facilities to 80% before winter. "We do not think Europe will necessarily reach 80% storage before winter," Opedal said. European gas storage sites are currently around…

Renewed Houthi blockade of Saudi Red Sea ports threatens up to 4 million bpd of redirected Saudi crude exports, adding fresh supply risks as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively disrupted The latest reignition of hostilities between the United States and Iran led to a spike in oil prices that, contrary to some observers’ expectations proved to be temporary. After jumping, prices once again moved lower, driven by hope for peace. Yet the recent announcement by Yemen’s Houthis that they would blockade Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports…

Researchers at MIT have developed a new framework to map out geographical hotspots and pain points for our beleaguered electrical grids. As extreme weather events and soaring summer heat waves become more commonplace, and energy demands on the electric grid skyrocket thanks to data center hyperscalers, understanding the minutiae of climactic patterns as well as how they map onto regional trends in energy supply and demand will be critical to ensure grid stability and security going forward. This summer’s blistering heat waves have underlined…

East Africa has spent decades exporting one commodity and importing another. The region holds roughly 4.7 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and more than 70 trillion cubic feet of natural gas across Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya and the DRC, according to the African Energy Commission (AFREC). Yet it imports 100% of its refined fuel after Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL), the region’s last operating refinery, shut down in 2013. Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote now says he intends to reverse that equation with a $17 billion (KSh2.2…

Metals markets remain in a delicate tug-of-war, with structural deficits and massive AI-driven data center infrastructure buildout providing forward momentum, while global growth reassessments, high energy prices and the growing risk of interest rate increases increasingly challenge the bullish thesis. Base metals prices have been highly volatile so far in the current year, with the LMEX hitting an all-time high in early June before plunging to a 3-month low a couple of weeks later after the collapse of the ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran…

Central Asian states are tilting towards Beijing amid intensifying competition between the United States and China for predominance in artificial intelligence development. Top officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan gathered recently in Shanghai to attend the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping presented an ambitious vision for Beijing’s leadership in the global AI race. The American and Chinese models for AI development differ significantly. Ahead of the conference on July 16,…

GE Vernova raised its full-year revenue forecast on Wednesday after another quarter of booming demand for gas turbines, grid equipment and AI-driven electricity infrastructure. Wind was the clear exception. The company’s wind business posted deeper losses as turbine manufacturers continue to struggle with weak project economics, rising costs and politics. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $11.1 billion, up 22% year-over-year and ahead of analyst expectations, while orders surged 88% to a record $24.2 billion, lifting its backlog…

GE Vernova raised its full-year revenue forecast on Wednesday after another quarter of booming demand for gas turbines, grid equipment and AI-driven electricity infrastructure. Wind was the clear exception. The company’s wind business posted deeper losses as turbine manufacturers continue to struggle with weak project economics, rising costs and politics. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $11.1 billion, up 22% year-over-year and ahead of analyst expectations, while orders surged 88% to a record $24.2 billion, lifting its backlog…

GE Vernova raised its full-year revenue forecast on Wednesday after another quarter of booming demand for gas turbines, grid equipment and AI-driven electricity infrastructure. Wind was the clear exception. The company’s wind business posted deeper losses as turbine manufacturers continue to struggle with weak project economics, rising costs and politics. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $11.1 billion, up 22% year-over-year and ahead of analyst expectations, while orders surged 88% to a record $24.2 billion, lifting its backlog…

Since Middle East hostilities reignited, oil prices have soared higher, although they remain below the highs witnessed during April 2026. This can be blamed on U.S. strikes against Iran, with Tehran and Washington disrupting traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global hydrocarbon supplies are shipped. This has sparked greater demand for Brazil’s high-quality oil grades, notably from Asia, because there is no need for shipments to pass through contested waters. This will drive greater petroleum investment and production,…

The resumption of the Iran conflict, including the effective closures of the Strait of Hormuz and now the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb has driven up natural gas prices, particularly in Europe and Asia. Asia accounts for nearly 90% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from key Middle East producers like Qatar and the UAE, while Europe imports 7-11% of its LNG imports from the region. European gas prices surged to four-month highs amid fears the US-Iran war will cause winter shortages. As The Guardian wrote, The Dutch natural gas benchmark briefly…

Crude oil inventories in the United States saw an increase of 2.0 million barrels during the week ending July 17, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 411.7 million barrels, according to government data, which are now 6% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories had risen by 2.603 million barrels in…

Europe is unlikely to refill its natural gas storage facilities to even 80% before winter, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said on Wednesday, Reuters reported, raising the prospect that the continent will enter the heating season with its smallest supply buffer in years. European gas storage sites are currently about 54% full, the second-lowest level for this point in the year in 15 years and well below the five-year average, according to Equinor and Gas Infrastructure Europe data. Earlier this month, the European Union’s energy regulator ACER…

Europe is unlikely to refill its natural gas storage facilities to even 80% before winter, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said on Wednesday, Reuters reported, raising the prospect that the continent will enter the heating season with its smallest supply buffer in years. European gas storage sites are currently about 54% full, the second-lowest level for this point in the year in 15 years and well below the five-year average, according to Equinor and Gas Infrastructure Europe data. Earlier this month, the European Union’s energy regulator ACER…

Europe is unlikely to refill its natural gas storage facilities to even 80% before winter, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said on Wednesday, Reuters reported, raising the prospect that the continent will enter the heating season with its smallest supply buffer in years. European gas storage sites are currently about 54% full, the second-lowest level for this point in the year in 15 years and well below the five-year average, according to Equinor and Gas Infrastructure Europe data. Earlier this month, the European Union’s energy regulator ACER…

For years, policymakers in Washington have viewed Asia primarily through the lens of Taiwan, the South China Sea, and China's military rise. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has only reinforced that perspective, cementing Europe and East Asia as the principal arenas of geopolitical competition. But security experts in Southeast Asia increasingly argue that another crisis thousands of kilometers away in the Middle East may ultimately reshape the regional balance of power far more profoundly than either Ukraine or Taiwan. The strategic importance…

Asian refiners that had bet on a flood of crude supply from the Middle East in August are now faced with potential delays in deliveries amid the re-escalation of hostilities, which could thwart their plans to ramp up crude processing rates in the coming weeks, analysts have told Reuters. At the end of June and early July, Asian refiners were optimistic that the tentative reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding would bring steadily rising crude volumes from the Middle East. With the collapse of the ceasefire,…