The American and Israeli attacks on Iran to “obliterate” its nuclear program have hit another target: Central Asia’s opportunity to use Iran’s transport links to trade with the wider world. The American and Israeli attacks made an impression in Central Asia as immediately afterwards Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev “ordered a review of foreign trade and transport routes, emphasizing the need to redirect cargo flows to safer ports amid instability in the Middle East,” changes that could raise logistics…

China’s oil demand declined year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, but strong naphtha consumption helped limit the drop, according to a new report by Energy Intelligence, which estimates that apparent oil demand fell by 450,000 barrels per day from Q2 2024, primarily due to weak diesel and gasoline margins. In contrast, naphtha demand remained steady as petrochemical producers maintained feedstock purchases amid steady cracker utilization rates. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that China’s naphtha demand will grow…

Since the start of 2025, US copper prices have surged to unprecedented highs, fueled by the market anticipation of the 50% tariff on imported copper goods under President Trump’s administration trade agenda. The market rally was largely triggered by the fears of possible supply disruptions and increased costs of copper raw materials for the US manufacturers after the tariffs would come into force starting August 1. However, the current US administration's erratic trade policy has once again put the markets into a state of bewilderment: the…

A group of U.S. investors is in talks with the Bulgarian government to acquire a minority stake in the Chiren underground gas storage facility, the country’s only such site and a key regional hub for balancing and reverse flows across southeastern Europe, Reuters reported exclusively on Monday. The group reportedly includes financier Stephen P. Lynch, infrastructure specialist Fei Wang, and former Trump campaign official Brad Parscale. Bulgarian state energy officials confirmed the exploratory discussions, though no transaction terms have…

At first glance, the energy transition seems stuck in reverse: fossil fuels still dominate, political winds have shifted, and crises abound. Global energy headlines fixate on wars, inflation, and shifting priorities. Yet beneath the noise, something far more powerful is happening: renewables are growing, almost entirely on their own, while fossil fuels creep toward irrelevance. Fossils still dominate... but only in headline share Critics point out that fossil fuels still supply roughly 80?percent of global primary energy, only a bit down from 85?percent…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he would “substantially raise tariffs” on Indian exports in response to the country’s continued import and resale of Russian crude oil. The remarks, posted on Truth Social, marked the first time Trump directly tied trade penalties to India’s energy sourcing decisions, according to a report by Reuters. Trump accused India of purchasing “massive amounts” of Russian oil and reselling it for profit, saying the country was indifferent to Ukrainian casualties. While no specific…

Russia has put a price on Europe’s withdrawal from trade and energy deals with Moscow in the past three years.  The European Union has lost $1.16 trillion (1 trillion euros) due to the termination of energy and other trade deals with Moscow, Russian media quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Monday.  “There are different estimates. If we talk about the majority of experts, the total amounts to as much as more than a trillion euros taking into account losses from termination of energy cooperation with…

Venezuela’s crude and fuel exports fell in July by some 10% from June to average 727,000 barrels per day (bpd), as Chevron and other partners of state oil firm PDVSA were waiting for U.S. authorizations to resume operations and exports that were prohibited in May.  Venezuela also exported about 227,000 metric tons of oil by-products and petrochemicals last month, roughly the same volume as in June, according to PDVSA documents and vessel-tracking data Reuters has compiled.  China had the largest share of Venezuela’s oil exports…

Sentiment among oil traders has turned bullish recently despite forecasts flagging sluggish demand growth and OPEC+’s latest decision to add more barrels to its combined production. The reason for the change in sentiment was U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose new sanctions on Russia unless it agreed to a quick ceasefire with Ukraine. Following the news, oil jumped to the highest in a month—despite those sluggish demand forecasts. Brent crude began trading this week at over $69 per barrel, even after OPEC+ announced…

Hammerfest LNG, the liquefied natural gas export facility in Norway, is back online following more than three months of scheduled maintenance works. The return of LNG supply from Norway, which is also Europe’s top pipeline gas supplier having replaced Russia in 2022, contributed to the fall in Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices on Monday.  Hammerfest LNG, Europe’s first LNG export plant, is an onshore plant on the island of Melkøya which receives and processes natural gas from the Snøhvit field via a pipeline…

Ukrainian forces continued to hit military-linked infrastructure deep inside Russia, as Kyiv and Moscow traded strikes ahead of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for the Kremlin to accept a peace deal with Ukraine. Russian authorities in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi said Ukrainian drones had set a regional oil depot on fire early on August 3, but the fires were later extinguished after more than 120 firefighters battled the flames. Sochi Mayor Andrei Proshunin said there were no victims. In the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv,…

Tankers loaded with Russian crude that had stayed idle off India’s coast for days discharged their cargo at Indian oil import terminals over the weekend, in defiance of the U.S. threats of additional “penalties” on the world’s third-largest crude importer for buying Russian oil.  While Indian refiners last week were scrambling to understand the implications of President Trump’s threatened “penalties” on India for buying Russian oil, at least four tankers carrying crude cargoes from Russia were staying…

Oil prices slipped in early Asian trading on Monday as OPEC+ confirmed another substantial production increase for September, continuing its rapid unwinding of voluntary output cuts despite tepid demand growth in Asia. Brent crude futures fell 0.46% to $69.35 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate declined 0.45% to $67.03. Both benchmarks had already lost roughly $2 per barrel in the previous session. The decline followed OPEC+’s announcement that it would boost production by 547,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September. This follows…

China followed by India have been the two biggest wartime buyers of Russian fossil fuels, here defined as any oil, coal or gas purchased after Jan. 1, 2023. Turkey was the third-biggest buyer while the European Union came fourth. The economic bloc has attempted to wean itself off its dependency on Russian fossil fuels but has struggled to do so after 2022, especially when it comes to natural gas. Timelines published by CREA show that EU reductions in purchases were very significant during the first year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but have…

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is betting big on nuclear power and aims to fast-track projects to prepare for the massive increase in electricity demand over the next decade. However, experts fear that his plans to accelerate project development could compromise safety standards, particularly as the independent U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission comes under threat. In May, the Trump administration announced a target to deploy 300 GW of net new nuclear capacity by 2050 to quadruple domestic nuclear power, as well as to begin construction…

Egypt has been steadily increasing its renewable energy capacity in recent years in a bid to enhance its energy security. By 2024, Egypt had a total installed capacity of renewable energy of almost 7.8 GW. While its hydropower segment has remained stable at around 2.8 GW since 2018, it has significantly expanded its wind and solar energy sectors. Egypt’s solar energy capacity increased from 35 MW in 2012 to almost 2.6 GW in 2024, with several more large-scale solar projects currently under development. The North African country has also invested…

The European Union’s drive to replace Russian energy imports within two years, boost renewable energy rollout, and meet net-zero goals has put it in a position to become even more dependent on the two antagonistic global powers, the United States and China.   The EU trade deal with the U.S. and the EU's reliance on China-made solar PV panels, wafers, and critical battery metals are likely to keep shaping the pace of energy transition in the European Union, which remains firmly committed to decarbonizing economies and becoming a…

United States President Donald Trump aims to develop the country’s seabed mining industry to access a supply of critical minerals, which are vitally needed across several industries, to reduce reliance on China. However, as seabed mining is an international issue, with strong regulations and norms on operations, Trump’s plan has attracted widespread criticism from international organisations and environmentalists worldwide.  The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an autonomous organisation that was established in 1982 under…

Russian energy entities are experiencing financing woes, raising questions about whether Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear energy agency, will be able to fulfill its obligations to build Kazakhstan’s first atomic power plant. Already, financing troubles have caused another Russian state-controlled firm, Inter RAO, to lose out on constructing three thermal power plants in Kazakhstan.  During a July 30 appearance before the Russian State Commission on Energy, Andrei Petrov, a top Rosatom official, openly acknowledged that Rosatom was seeking…

I’ve been following the oil market closely this year—daily, even hourly at times—and if there’s one thing I can say with confidence, it’s that the surface-level calm belies several meaningful shifts that are underway. To fully grasp those shifts, and the long-term direction of oil prices and markets, one needs to look at some of the big-picture changes taking place. From Asia’s resilient demand to a quiet transformation in the supplier landscape, and now the growing tension between physical tightness and projected…