This week, Zimbabwe took a historic step to protect its own value chains from external exploitation by fast-tracking a ban on raw lithium exports, effective until further notice – and the impacts have been widespread both domestically and abroad. The February 25 ban was immediate and unexpected, as were its impacts on global battery supply chains and local mining operations.  Originally, the export ban was planned for January 2027, with the intent of incentivizing the local processing and refining of lithium instead of leaving value…

Since coming into power in January 2025, United States President Trump has pursued an energy policy centred around fossil fuels. As part of his plan to expand U.S. oil and gas production, Trump has made it easier to attain licences to dig for fossil fuels on federal land and has reopened several regions to exploration. One such region is Alaska, where new exploration had previously been restricted due to environmental concerns. However, during the recent sale of oil and gas leases in Alaska, there was little interest in the region, suggesting that…

A new coalition of tech firms, including Google and Tesla, is banding together to address the growing issue of energy affordability in the United States. The AI boom is pushing energy grids around the country to the max, and skyrocketing energy demand from the data centers that power large language models is causing energy prices to soar. Until now, consumers have had to pay the price for Big Tech’s AI ambitions, but the coalition – called Utilize – is pledging to lower energy prices across the board by optimizing grid utilization.…

2026 is shaping up to be a ‘hot year for lithium.’ The metal, which is sometimes referred to as ‘white gold’ due to skyrocketing demand for the stuff, is integral in the production of all kinds of technology and clean energy manufacturing. You probably have at least one lithium-ion battery within arms reach at this very moment inside of your phone or smartwatch or any number of other rechargeable devices.  And while lithium prices have been volatile for years as producers struggle to match production with demand growth,…

For almost a decade, the global oil debate has been dominated by a powerful narrative: the world is drowning in crude. Financial pundits, banks, and energy agencies were all hitting the drums to announce a structural “oil glut”. A majority in oil markets was following the theory that the combined impact of US shale expansion, Russian exports, and sanctioned Iranian barrels quietly appearing in markets, along with slower demand due to energy transition investments, would all subdue prices for years. As indicated by the IEA, but also…

Bank of America is warning investors not to chase oil prices higher if crude climbs above $100 per barrel, arguing that prices at those levels tend to trigger government and central bank responses aimed at cooling the economy. The bank said oil has already been one of the biggest market movers this year. Crude prices are up nearly 70% year-to-date, far outpacing broader commodities, which are up about 41%, and gold, which has gained roughly 17%. Over the same period, the S&P 500 has fallen about 2.5%, while bitcoin has dropped around 20%. According…

Bank of America is warning investors not to chase oil prices higher if crude climbs above $100 per barrel, arguing that prices at those levels tend to trigger government and central bank responses aimed at cooling the economy. The bank said oil has already been one of the biggest market movers this year. Crude prices are up nearly 70% year-to-date, far outpacing broader commodities, which are up about 41%, and gold, which has gained roughly 17%. Over the same period, the S&P 500 has fallen about 2.5%, while bitcoin has dropped around 20%. According…

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the current energy crisis triggered by the war in the Middle East marks the “largest disruption” in the history of the oil market. The group made a record intervention in the market on Wednesday, with the release of 400m barrels from the strategic reserves. But the move has made little difference to the surging price of Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – which once again eclipsed the $100 mark on Thursday on the news two Iraqi tankers had been struck…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 553 this week, down 39 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 1 to 412 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 75 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs also rose by 1, reaching 133, which is 33 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 8. The…

The United States and Israel have largely destroyed Iran's conventional naval fleet in a massive bombing campaign since February 28. But Tehran's threat to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping routes, has not diminished. Iran has effectively closed the narrow waterway, through which 20 percent of the world's oil supplies flow, by using asymmetric warfare tactics. Besides Iran's conventional navy, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the country's armed forces, has its own naval…

Saudi Arabia has slashed oil output by roughly 20% as the war with Iran continues to choke off exports from the Persian Gulf, in what could become one of the largest sudden supply losses the global oil market has ever faced. Saudi production has dropped by about 2 million barrels per day to around 8 million bpd after the kingdom shut down output from the massive Safaniya and Zuluf offshore fields, according to sources cited by Reuters. The two fields together produce more than 2 million bpd of mainly heavy and medium-heavy crude. The shutdown is…

Saudi Arabia has slashed oil output by roughly 20% as the war with Iran continues to choke off exports from the Persian Gulf, in what could become one of the largest sudden supply losses the global oil market has ever faced. Saudi production has dropped by about 2 million barrels per day to around 8 million bpd after the kingdom shut down output from the massive Safaniya and Zuluf offshore fields, according to sources cited by Reuters. The two fields together produce more than 2 million bpd of mainly heavy and medium-heavy crude. The shutdown is…

The operator of Tengiz, the biggest oilfield in Kazakhstan, on Friday said it is investigating an incident from Wednesday, which has not interrupted supply.  The field, operated by a Chevron-led consortium, has not stopped oil production, sources told Reuters.   Uninterrupted operations at Tengiz, which has the capacity to produce as much as 950,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, would be crucial for global oil supply at these times in which about 10% of daily oil supply is already shut in by the producers in the Middle East,…

The operator of Tengiz, the biggest oilfield in Kazakhstan, on Friday said it is investigating an incident from Wednesday, which has not interrupted supply.  The field, operated by a Chevron-led consortium, has not stopped oil production, sources told Reuters.   Uninterrupted operations at Tengiz, which has the capacity to produce as much as 950,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, would be crucial for global oil supply at these times in which about 10% of daily oil supply is already shut in by the producers in the Middle East,…

The operator of Tengiz, the biggest oilfield in Kazakhstan, on Friday said it is investigating an incident from Wednesday, which has not interrupted supply.  The field, operated by a Chevron-led consortium, has not stopped oil production, sources told Reuters.   Uninterrupted operations at Tengiz, which has the capacity to produce as much as 950,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, would be crucial for global oil supply at these times in which about 10% of daily oil supply is already shut in by the producers in the Middle East,…

The operator of Tengiz, the biggest oilfield in Kazakhstan, on Friday said it is investigating an incident from Wednesday, which has not interrupted supply.  The field, operated by a Chevron-led consortium, has not stopped oil production, sources told Reuters.   Uninterrupted operations at Tengiz, which has the capacity to produce as much as 950,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, would be crucial for global oil supply at these times in which about 10% of daily oil supply is already shut in by the producers in the Middle East,…

Brent crude is set to close above $100 for the first time since 2022 as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz intensify. ICE Brent is set to settle above $100 per barrel for the first time since August 2022, undeterred by the US’ easing of sanctions on Russia and the IEA’s mulled release of strategic petroleum stocks. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz sits front and centre to any oil price outlook, with Iran already striking at least 18 vessels since the US-Iran conflict started two weeks ago. Iran’s New Supreme Leader Goes All…

The war in the Middle East has effectively shut in 15% of TotalEnergies’ global oil and gas output, while the now-offline barrels account for about 10% of the supermajor’s upstream cash flow. Following requests from shareholders and to answer the question about the status of TotalEnergies’ exposure to Middle East, the France-based international major said on Friday that “production has been shut down or is in the process of shutting down in Qatar, Iraq, and UAE offshore, representing approximately 15%” of the group’s…

For decades, global attention has focused on the potential “red line” of Iran’s nuclear program. Intelligence agencies track centrifuge installations, debate enrichment levels, and speculate about the possibility of a nuclear breakout. But while the world has been watching Iran’s nuclear program, it has a far more immediate strategic lever. Iran’s most powerful weapon is not a bomb. It is the geography it controls. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow shipping corridor between Iran and Oman. If that passage is effectively…

Investment banks are scrambling to revise up their oil price forecasts as the Middle East war cripples supply from the most important oil-producing region, with some expecting oil to surge to $150 per barrel or even higher if the Strait of Hormuz remains off limits for tanker traffic for several weeks.  Analysts at Macquarie warned of this potential price spike, while all other major investment banks hiked their first-quarter and second-quarter forecasts.   Goldman Sachs, for example, expects Brent Crude prices to average over $100…