China appears to continue sending crude into strategic and commercial reserves despite the plunge in its imports and the world’s biggest-ever supply shock. China likely sent 430,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude to reserves last month, according to estimates by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell based on official data about imports, refinery throughput, and domestic production. Unlike the United States, China does not report inventories. Analysts are looking at overall supply (domestic production plus imports) and refinery processing rates…

As the United States continues to explore its vast geothermal potential, researchers are exploring the possibility of using abandoned oil wells to produce clean energy. A growing body of literature is emerging on the topic, with many hopeful scientists worldwide promoting the potential for well conversion for geothermal energy production.  Geothermal energy is produced by drilling into underground heat pockets in the Earth’s surface to access heat. The Earth’s core has a temperature of roughly 5,200°C, while rock and water…

Despite the lowest production and export volumes on record, Saudi Arabia saw the value of its oil exports surge by 37.4% in March to the highest level in three and a half years, data from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics showed. The value of the Kingdom’s total merchandise exports rose by 21.5% in March 2026 from a year earlier, with oil exports surging by 37.4% as the soaring oil prices and the re-routing of crude exports to the Red Sea port Yanbu helped the world’s top crude exporter offset most of the traffic…

Over two days, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect that the cease-fire with Iran will be broken by new US military strikes -- in comments that have drawn close scrutiny from analysts and policymakers. In a Truth Social post on May 18, Trump said the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates had asked him to hold off on what he called a "planned military attack," scheduled for May 19, to allow diplomacy more time. On May 19, he said an attack may take place "Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, ‌maybe…

Back in March, the 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) unanimously pledged a record-breaking release of 400 million barrels of crude oil from their Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) shortly after Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz triggered oil price spikes, more than double the 182.7 million barrels released during the 2022 response to the Ukraine war. As usual, the United States shouldered the lion’s share of the release, committing to 172 million barrels. For the first batch, the Department of Energy…

Roughly one-fifth of global LNG flows has been impacted by the Hormuz crisis. The cumulative losses in crude oil supply have topped 1 billion barrels since the start of March. Governments are rationing fuel and advising conservation. Some are already predicting a complete transformation of global energy consumption patterns. But these predictions are a bit premature. Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency warned in its monthly oil report that the world’s oil supply this year will be 3.9 million barrels daily lower than it was…

Americans are commuting on the bus and train more and even turning toy cars into two-gallon cars to use for supermarket runs as the highest gasoline prices in four years are changing consumer behavior. With prices soaring to $95 to fill the tank of a Toyota Highlander, drivers are improvising with small toy cars or using public transportation in cities and for commuting, Reuters reports. While the surge in gasoline prices globally has spurred electric vehicle (EV) sales in Europe and Asia, the United States public is less inclined to buy an electric…

The United States Geological Survey has made a potentially game-changing discovery in the Appalachian region. New research suggests that the ancient mountain range may be home to over 300 years' worth of lithium resources, presenting a potentially critical opportunity for the United States to wean itself off of international lithium deposits and build up domestic lithium markets. Sometimes referred to as 'white gold', lithium has become increasingly ubiquitous and indispensable in global technological and clean energy supply chains. Lithium-ion…

Five years ago, over 40 countries pledged to scale back and phase down unabated coal power at the COP26 UN Climate Summit by 2030-2040, with hundreds of institutions promising to end international coal financing. Three years later, the Group of Seven (G7) nations, namely the United States, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, officially agreed to exit from unabated coal power generation between 2030 and 2035, marking the first major commitment by the world’s largest economies. But the rules are now being rewritten, and in times…

A top Uzbek government official has revealed that Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan are in “conceptual agreement” on creating a transit corridor to connect the Central Asian nation to ports on the Arabian Sea. The semi-official Gazeta.uz news outlet cites Deputy Minister of Transport Jasurbek Choriev as saying a feasibility study is already being undertaken, adding that surveying work has begun on a corridor. "The next stage is to understand how quickly and how much capital we can attract, as well as what partners will be interested,"…

Norwegian offshore oil production significantly exceeded expectations in April, with total liquids output climbing to 2.158 million barrels per day — 6.7% above official forecasts — as Europe grows increasingly dependent on a stable North Sea energy supply in an increasingly fragile global market. Fresh production data from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate also showed total liquids production rose by 16,000 barrels per day from March levels and surged 129,000 barrels per day above April 2025 production. The April liquids stream consisted…

Norwegian offshore oil production significantly exceeded expectations in April, with total liquids output climbing to 2.158 million barrels per day — 6.7% above official forecasts — as Europe grows increasingly dependent on a stable North Sea energy supply in an increasingly fragile global market. Fresh production data from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate also showed total liquids production rose by 16,000 barrels per day from March levels and surged 129,000 barrels per day above April 2025 production. The April liquids stream consisted…

Norwegian offshore oil production significantly exceeded expectations in April, with total liquids output climbing to 2.158 million barrels per day — 6.7% above official forecasts — as Europe grows increasingly dependent on a stable North Sea energy supply in an increasingly fragile global market. Fresh production data from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate also showed total liquids production rose by 16,000 barrels per day from March levels and surged 129,000 barrels per day above April 2025 production. The April liquids stream consisted…

The challenge of solar-powered energy has always been the means to store it. And the intermittency of solar and wind energy makes that storage capability essential. Energy from the sun and wind can only be created — and stored — when the sun shines or the wind blows. But that technological gap may be closing thanks to scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who have created a “rechargeable solar battery” that stores sunlight in molecules and later releases enough heat to boil water. The scientists started…

Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports plummeted to 4.974 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, marking the lowest level on record since the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) began tracking the data. According to official figures released on May 20, 2026, and cited by Reuters, shipments from the world's top oil exporter dropped sharply by 31.6% month-on-month from the 7.276 million bpd recorded in February.  Saudi production in March clocked in at 6.967 million bpd, down from 10.882 million bpd in February, also the lowest on record,…

Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports plummeted to 4.974 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, marking the lowest level on record since the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) began tracking the data. According to official figures released on May 20, 2026, and cited by Reuters, shipments from the world's top oil exporter dropped sharply by 31.6% month-on-month from the 7.276 million bpd recorded in February.  Saudi production in March clocked in at 6.967 million bpd, down from 10.882 million bpd in February, also the lowest on record,…

Nigeria is actively increasing its crude oil production in response to major global supply disruptions caused by the ongoing war in Iran, with authorities now aiming to raise output by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the immediate term to capture widening supply gaps. Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) shows Nigeria's total liquid volume output at 1.66 million bpd, buoyed by high-performing offshore assets including Bonga, Erha and Egina. Whereas intermittent output spikes have hit ~1.8 million bpd, structural…

The escalation of conflict across the Middle East and the disruption to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz have introduced a variable into the maritime energy transition that regulatory frameworks were never designed to handle: the possibility that conventional marine fuel becomes unavailable because competing domestic priorities absorb the available supply. This changes the analytical framing for clean shipping in a big way, just as Norway introduced its new GHG-reduction rule. Steeper decline than FuelEU Maritime, similar architecture…

Electric vehicle sales could hit nearly 30% of all car sales in the world this year as drivers accelerate a shift to EVs and hybrids amid spiking fuel prices in the wake of the Iran war, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday. Following strong growth in 2025, this year EV sales are set to reach 23 million globally in 2026, accounting for almost 30% of all cars sold worldwide, the IEA said in its annual Global EV Outlook 2026 report out today. Last year, EV sales grew by 20% globally and accounted for one-quarter of all new cars…

Electric vehicle sales could hit nearly 30% of all car sales in the world this year as drivers accelerate a shift to EVs and hybrids amid spiking fuel prices in the wake of the Iran war, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday. Following strong growth in 2025, this year EV sales are set to reach 23 million globally in 2026, accounting for almost 30% of all cars sold worldwide, the IEA said in its annual Global EV Outlook 2026 report out today. Last year, EV sales grew by 20% globally and accounted for one-quarter of all new cars…