It's been a busy few weeks up on the windswept Russian archipelago of Novaya Zemlya: people, earthmoving trucks, shipping containers, temporary housing, heavy-lift aircraft, helicopters, cargo ships. The activity shows up in satellite imagery, aircraft hazard notifications, ship transponder trackers, and open-source intelligence reporting at a time when long Arctic days and good weather mean favorable conditions for building projects at the Pankovo test range and nearby air base. The betting money for close watchers of Russian weapons development…

The European Union has signed a deal to import $750 billion worth of liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels from the United States by 2028. The agreement, announced on July 27 by U.S. President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is part of a wider trade package under which the EU will accept a unilateral U.S. tariff of 15 percent on most of its exports to the U.S., while also committing to $600 billion in investments to the country. As Statista's Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, the EU has greatly reduced…

Cuba has been experiencing an energy crisis that has led residents to experience almost daily blackouts and gas cuts. Years of underinvestment in Cuba’s transmission network and power plants have led them to run below capacity, with the country’s energy supply falling far below its demand. In addition to localised power outages, in the last eight months, Cuba has experienced four nationwide blackouts. In May, Cuba’s electricity demand rose to 3.05 GW, compared to 2.58 GW in March, as the supply stood at around 1.9 GW. This means…

Air pollution from oil and gas causes as many as 91,000 premature U.S. deaths a year, according to a study published in Science Advances in August. Meanwhile, during a time when many governments are shifting to green, the U.S. government is doubling down on its fossil fuel production and has recently carried out actions that aim to water down the rigorous air pollution standards enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The link between fossil fuels and premature deaths has been stressed by scientists and doctors for decades, although…

After months of saber-rattling and harsh rhetoric, U.S. President Donald Trump dispatched military assets to Latin America to combat the narcotics trade. Three Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers were sent to Caribbean waters off Venezuela, with Washington planning to send 4,000 marines to the region. The White House also issued a $50 million bounty for President Nicolas Maduro’s arrest as part of the crackdown on Venezuela. The autocratic president, who was charged with cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism in 2020, is accused…

In a wide-ranging television interview, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev asserted a key provision of the Trump peace plan for the Caucasus can be implemented quickly. The same cannot be said for the restoration of stable relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, he indicated. Aliyev spoke at length about the provisional peace deal he signed with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and US President Donald Trump on August 8 in Washington, sounding broadly optimistic that the agreement signals the end of almost four decades of conflict and “opens…

Over the past year, the world’s biggest banks‘ net zero enthusiasm has quickly and quietly dried up. Top lenders have backtracked, diluted or outright abandoned their environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. The return of President Donald Trump has been highlighted as a turning point for green finance with firms across the financial industry turning sour on ESG commitments. Trump has made no secret of his disdain for such policies, branding ESG investing as a “way to attack American business”.  The President,…

U.S. crude oil production hit a new record in June at 13.58 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration’s latest Petroleum Supply Monthly. That’s 133,000 barrels more than May and 2.5 percent higher than a year ago. The new monthly figures also show a sharp disconnect from the EIA’s weekly estimates. For June, weekly reports pegged production at an average of 13.43 million barrels per day. The monthly tally now confirms the U.S. pumped about 150,000 barrels per day more than traders and analysts…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell again this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count in the US slipped to 536, according to Baker Hughes, down 47 from this same time last year. The rig count is still near four-year lows. The number of oil rigs rose by 1, landing at 412. Year over year, this represents a 71-rig decline. The number of gas rigs fell by 3, to 119 for a gain of 24 active gas rigs from this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed…

Europe’s biggest gas supplier, Norway, is starting the annual maintenance on gas fields, processing plants, and pipelines, which will see Norwegian gas flows slashed through the middle of September. Some planned works have already begun this week, including the processing plant at Nyhamna. Others begin this weekend, with most maintenance expected to be completed by September 18. The giant Troll gas field in the North Sea—Europe’s biggest gas-producing field, and the Kollsnes onshore processing plant, will start maintenance on…

In a rare win for the oil and gas industry in California, the state’s regulators are expected to delay the enforcement of a cap of refinery profits, Bloomberg reports, citing sources with knowledge of the plans.  The California regulator, the California Energy Commission, plans to vote on Friday a five-year delay to the so-called refinery profit cap, passed in the state in 2023 with the goal to limit spikes at the pump for Californian residents.   Senate Bill X1-2, the California Gas Price Gouging and Transparency Law, was…

In a rare win for the oil and gas industry in California, the state’s regulators are expected to delay the enforcement of a cap of refinery profits, Bloomberg reports, citing sources with knowledge of the plans.  The California regulator, the California Energy Commission, plans to vote on Friday a five-year delay to the so-called refinery profit cap, passed in the state in 2023 with the goal to limit spikes at the pump for Californian residents.   Senate Bill X1-2, the California Gas Price Gouging and Transparency Law, was…

Oil prices fell on Friday due to expectations of lower demand in the U.S. Friday, August 29, 2025 Oil prices are headed towards a second straight weekly gain of 1%, with ICE Brent hovering slightly above $68 per barrel, as hopes for a negotiated settlement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict dissipate and US-India trade tensions remain unresolved. Market activity was seasonally low in late August; however, next week could provide a much-needed boost to oil trade as OPEC+ countries meet on September 7 to assess current market conditions and their output…

When the Taliban retook control over Afghanistan four years ago, China was quick to sign an oil field development deal to extract crude in the central Asian country and boost its footprint and influence there.  But the oil deal, signed in 2023 by the Taliban and China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co., Ltd (CAPEIC) and planned to last for 25 years, has now collapsed, with each side accusing the other of breaching the contract.  In early 2023, the Taliban signed the 25-year deal with CAPEIC for the Amu Darya oil project.…

When the Taliban retook control over Afghanistan four years ago, China was quick to sign an oil field development deal to extract crude in the central Asian country and boost its footprint and influence there.  But the oil deal, signed in 2023 by the Taliban and China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co., Ltd (CAPEIC) and planned to last for 25 years, has now collapsed, with each side accusing the other of breaching the contract.  In early 2023, the Taliban signed the 25-year deal with CAPEIC for the Amu Darya oil project.…

When the Taliban retook control over Afghanistan four years ago, China was quick to sign an oil field development deal to extract crude in the central Asian country and boost its footprint and influence there.  But the oil deal, signed in 2023 by the Taliban and China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co., Ltd (CAPEIC) and planned to last for 25 years, has now collapsed, with each side accusing the other of breaching the contract.  In early 2023, the Taliban signed the 25-year deal with CAPEIC for the Amu Darya oil project.…

When the Taliban retook control over Afghanistan four years ago, China was quick to sign an oil field development deal to extract crude in the central Asian country and boost its footprint and influence there.  But the oil deal, signed in 2023 by the Taliban and China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co., Ltd (CAPEIC) and planned to last for 25 years, has now collapsed, with each side accusing the other of breaching the contract.  In early 2023, the Taliban signed the 25-year deal with CAPEIC for the Amu Darya oil project.…

Britain, France, and Germany have triggered the so-called snapback mechanism of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to reinstate UN sanctions against Tehran. The European trio, known as the E3, wrote to the UN Security Council on August 28 to initiate the process, which takes 30 days. In a statement, the E3 foreign ministers said, "We will use the 30-day period to continue engaging with Iran regarding our extension offer or any meaningful diplomatic efforts to restore its compliance with commitments." They emphasized that they "share the fundamental objective…

Rising supply from both OPEC+ and non-OPEC+ producers, slowing demand growth after the peak summer consumption, and uncertainties about demand amid inconsistent U.S. trade and tariff policies are set to keep oil prices subdued around current levels, analysts said in the monthly Reuters poll released on Friday.  The price of Brent Crude, the international benchmark, is expected to average $67.65 per barrel this year, according to nearly three dozen economists and analysts surveyed by Reuters. The forecast in the August poll is slightly lower…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Ukraine began the week with more deep-strike drone attacks on Russian infrastructure, hitting two oil refineries near Moscow and torching a drone-production site more than 1,000 km from the front, causing localized fuel shortages; Russia responded with one of its heaviest bombardments of the war, firing hundreds of drones and missiles at Kyiv and other cities, killing at least 15-21 civilians and damaging EU and British Council offices; the Kremlin says it remains open to peace talks but rejected public ceasefire…