Falling U.S. energy sales in China and India failed to offset increases elsewhere in Asia as the Trump Administration’s trade policies have upended Asia’s energy imports.   While Japan and South Korea have increased their imports of American crude oil, China has slashed U.S. crude and LNG imports, after halting purchases of LNG in February in response to the trade frictions with the United States, according to data from Kpler cited by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell.  India has also reduced LNG imports from America this…

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the operator of Truth Social, announced Thursday it has reached a definitive agreement to merge with TAE Technologies in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $6 billion. The move effectively turns a social media company into a deep-tech player, targeting the massive power requirements of the artificial intelligence boom. The deal, which is set to close in mid-2026, would create one of the first publicly traded fusion energy firms. TMTG is putting up $200 million in cash at signing and another $100 million…

For years, perovskites have been hailed as the "holy grail" of solar energy thanks to their promise of highly efficient and cheaper solar cells. Perovskites are a class of materials with similar crystalline structures with high superconductivity, high magnetoresistance, and high ferroelectricity, making them a potential replacement for silicon. Perovskite thin-film PV panels can absorb light from a wider variety of wave-lengths, allowing them to reach efficiencies of around 40% compared to silicon's theoretical limits around 30%. Unfortunately,…

Earlier this week, Brent crude slipped below $60 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate dipped to $55, under the combined weight of a projected supply overhang and media reports claiming the United States and Russia were close to a peace deal for Ukraine. Even a blockade on sanctioned tankers carrying Venezuelan crude ordered by President Trump did not do much for prices. The question now is just how low Brent and WTI could sink from here. President Trump said this week that a peace deal for Ukraine is closer than ever. However, this may be just…

Mexico’s state oil giant Pemex is struggling to reverse a years-long decline in oil and gas production while trying not to incur additional liabilities on top of its already massive pile of $100 billion debt that makes it the world’s most indebted energy firm.   Petroleos Mexicanos, as Pemex is officially known, has received major government support this year under Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum. Unlike her predecessor and mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, incumbent President Sheinbaum has signaled…

The visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi just over a week ago seems to have been overlooked by many geopolitical observers, which is surprising. It represents one of the most consequential recalibrations of India–Russia ties in years -- combining defence access, energy guarantees, and diplomatic symbolism -- at a moment when global alignments are shifting faster than ever. At the heart of the visit was the ratification of the ‘Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Support’ (RELOS) pact, a…

For years, heat pumps were seen as the fragile heroes of mild climates, efficient in theory but unreliable when the mercury dropped. That narrative has now collapsed under the weight of experience. From the frozen lakes of Finland to the prairies of Canada, heat pumps are thriving where they were once thought impossible. The data from the multiple past winters tells the story clearly. Even in subzero temperatures, installations are growing faster than almost any other clean heating technology. This shift is more than a technical achievement; it…

U.S. gasoline prices are set to fall to the lowest level since 2020, thanks to increasing supplies, despite some ongoing refinery maintenance, GasBuddy has predicted. GasBuddy has predicted that U.S. motorists will pay an average of $2.79 per gallon on Christmas Day, down from $2.95 per gallon a year ago. That will mark the cheapest gas since prices averaged $2.26 per gallon in the Christmas of 2020. “Christmas is often when gas prices settle near the lowest levels of the year, and 2025 is no exception,” said Patrick De Haan, head of…

Brazil, Guyana, and Argentina are set to be major drivers of non-OPEC oil supply growth in 2026, accounting for half of the expected 0.8 million barrels per day (b/d) increase in 2026 the U.S. Energy Information Administration has predicted. According to the energy watchdog, Brazil's growth will mainly be driven by new offshore pre-salt projects coming online, including the start-up of Equinor’s (NYSE:EQNR) Bacalhau field in October as well as the start-up of two additional FPSOs by Petrobras in December. EIA has projected a 0.2 mb/d increase…

Brazil, Guyana, and Argentina are set to be major drivers of non-OPEC oil supply growth in 2026, accounting for half of the expected 0.8 million barrels per day (b/d) increase in 2026 the U.S. Energy Information Administration has predicted. According to the energy watchdog, Brazil's growth will mainly be driven by new offshore pre-salt projects coming online, including the start-up of Equinor’s (NYSE:EQNR) Bacalhau field in October as well as the start-up of two additional FPSOs by Petrobras in December. EIA has projected a 0.2 mb/d increase…

Since early December 2025, a wave of protests has swept across Iran, ranging from human rights campaigns in major urban areas to labor strikes in industrial hubs. As Statista's Tristan Gaudiat reports, part of the growing popular unrest concerns the accelerating use of the death penalty by the Iranian regime (more than 1,000 executions documented so far in 2025), while the country's economic situation has significantly deteriorated. Iran is currently facing one of its most severe economic and social crises of the decade, as the country grapples…

The latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has revealed lingering pessimism in oil markets, with executives seeing lower activity and higher costs amid weak oil prices, but AI is offering hope for improved efficiency. Activity in the oil and gas sector fell in the final quarter of the year with the business activity index remaining negative at -6.2, unchanged from the third quarter.The company outlook index improved slightly to -15.2 from -17.6 in the third quarter, suggesting continuing pessimism among firms. Oil and gas production…

The latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has revealed lingering pessimism in oil markets, with executives seeing lower activity and higher costs amid weak oil prices, but AI is offering hope for improved efficiency. Activity in the oil and gas sector fell in the final quarter of the year with the business activity index remaining negative at -6.2, unchanged from the third quarter.The company outlook index improved slightly to -15.2 from -17.6 in the third quarter, suggesting continuing pessimism among firms. Oil and gas production…

European Union sanctions are “slowly but surely” choking Russia’s oil exports -- and are also stepping up in speed and scope, according to the 27-nation bloc’s chief sanctions official. EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan told RFE/RL in an interview on December 16 that while enforcement was “a game of cat and mouse,” the measures were working and Russia’s revenues were “suffering.” O’Sullivan spoke in a video call from Brussels two days before an EU summit that’s due to consider…

The United States is considering a fresh barrage of sanctions against Russia’s oil exports if Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects a peace agreement for Ukraine, anonymous sources with knowledge of the plans told Bloomberg on Wednesday.  Earlier this week, the U.S. and Ukraine both signaled progress in negotiations about a peace agreement during talks in German capital city of Berlin. Washington is now reportedly offering Ukraine security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense pledge.  However, key issues…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 1.3 million barrels during the week ending December 12, after losing 1.8 million barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 424.4 million barrels according to government data, which is 4% 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 suggested that crude oil inventories…

Ukraine has damaged an offshore drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer field in the Russian Caspian Sea in a drone attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday.  As a result of a strike on December 14, drones damaged the gas drilling rig at the Grayfer oilfield. Following the damage, all 14 wells at the platform have halted operations, Ukraine said today, claiming yet another hit at a field in the Caspian Sea.   Grayfer is operated by Russian major Lukoil, as well as the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields in the north Caspian…

Ukraine has damaged an offshore drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer field in the Russian Caspian Sea in a drone attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday.  As a result of a strike on December 14, drones damaged the gas drilling rig at the Grayfer oilfield. Following the damage, all 14 wells at the platform have halted operations, Ukraine said today, claiming yet another hit at a field in the Caspian Sea.   Grayfer is operated by Russian major Lukoil, as well as the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields in the north Caspian…

Ukraine has damaged an offshore drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer field in the Russian Caspian Sea in a drone attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Wednesday.  As a result of a strike on December 14, drones damaged the gas drilling rig at the Grayfer oilfield. Following the damage, all 14 wells at the platform have halted operations, Ukraine said today, claiming yet another hit at a field in the Caspian Sea.   Grayfer is operated by Russian major Lukoil, as well as the Filanovsky and Korchagin fields in the north Caspian…

Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in southern Russia and a fuel depot in the Rostov region overnight, Kyiv’s military confirmed via Telegram on Wednesday, continuing a relentless campaign to dismantle the energy infrastructure financing Moscow’s war effort. The latest barrage, which lit up the night sky over the Krasnodar region on December 17, targeted the Slavyansky Oil Refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban.  Ukrainian defense officials stated the refinery was being used to supply fuel to Russian occupation forces. While…