Since the 1950s, the Middle East has established itself as the world’s most prolific oil producing region, typically accounting for a third of global production. The oil crises of 1973–74 and 1978–80 spurred growth in Middle Eastern oil production and began the shift in market control from multinational corporations to national oil companies within OPEC nations. However, the region still exported most of its oil in crude form and had limited refining capacity at that time. However, that has changed in recent years, with the Gulf…

A new man-made crystal that can “breathe” oxygen may be a game changer for energy efficiency and the clean energy transition. The material is made from an oxide of strontium, iron, and cobalt, and when heated in a simple gas environment, the thin film crystal has been observed to release and then reabsorb oxygen, much like a human lung. Moreover, it can repeat the action over and over without breaking down. The potential applications of such a material are vast, and could be instrumental in the clean energy transition. "It is like giving…

Will Artificial Intelligence be the downfall of the clean energy transition, or the catalyst that makes it possible? The answer is complicated, and somehow contains a bit of both. Training the large language models that power AI is incredibly energy-intensive, and as models like ChatGPT and DeepSeek become increasingly complex, each individual query can rack up a serious ecological footprint.   Already, the AI boom has seriously compromised tech sector commitments to reach carbon neutrality. Last year, Google admitted that the company’s…

As companies worldwide invest in decarbonisation efforts, this has been found to be easier in some industries than others. In hard-to-abate industries, such as steel and cement production, it has proved extremely difficult to reduce emissions. Meanwhile, the demand for these staple building materials is increasing in line with higher spending on infrastructure projects. So, what would it take to develop the “green cement” and “sustainable steel” industries? In 2024, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a commentary…

South Korea, one of America’s top-10 trading partners, has become one of the most high-profile targets of Washington’s shifting tariff regime. After months of tug-of-war diplomacy, the United States imposed a 15% duty on Korean imports effective August 7 – less severe than the 25% levy initially floated but still painful for Asia’s fourth-largest economy. In exchange, Seoul agreed to ramp up investment in US projects and pledged to purchase $100 billion worth of American energy products, a deal that was meant to soften the…

Trade uncertainty and tariffs are prompting America’s battery makers and battery material manufacturers to expand overseas to have production sites in the biggest demand centers now that clean energy isn’t a favorite with the U.S. Administration.      The trend has become evident in recent weeks, in which two U.S. battery companies have taken over production sites in South Korea and Europe, betting on being close to customers in markets favoring green technology and renewable energy expansion. First, it was California-based…

In recent years, several countries have introduced carbon taxes as a way of making consumers change their habits to support a green transition. However, it remains unclear whether carbon taxation and rebates can have a lasting impact on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and consumer spending. Austria introduced a range of carbon taxes aimed at encouraging consumer decarbonisation. In the Austrian model, the money raised from the tax gets returned directly to taxpayers. This was aimed and encouraging higher levels of public spending…

A great debate is unfolding about the subjectivity of data in producing the energy outlooks that guide public policy and private spending, shaping the future of the global energy sector. The International Energy Agency has been caught in the crossfire of a partisan debate in which environmental and energy industry leaders vehemently disagree about what constitutes accuracy, truth, and good science in data, and particularly in the agency’s flagship World Energy Outlook report. And this year, the fossil fuels industry is getting its way. It’s…

For years, energy workers from the fossil fuel sector have been growing increasingly concerned about their future working in the sector. As many countries invest heavily in renewable energy, in a bid to decrease dependence on oil, gas, and coal, many traditional energy jobs are disappearing. However, the knowledge and experience that workers in this sector hold could be well-suited to new jobs in the renewable energy industry, so long as governments invest in a just transition.  According to the European Union definition, a “Just transition…

Summer can be a quiet time in Central Asian capitals, but this August officials in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have launched initiatives designed to get a handle on water-related challenges threatening the region. Uzbekistan has unveiled a three-year water-management program that strives to promote conservation via the modernization of the country’s vast irrigation network. Under the plan, antiquated equipment will be replaced on over 2,500 kilometers of canals and other hydraulic systems, covering 1.4 million hectares of…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count in the US slipped to 538, 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 fell by 1, landing at 411. Year over year, this represents a 72-rig decline. The number of gas rigs stayed the same this week, at 122, for a gain of 25 active gas rigs from this time last year. The miscellaneous rig…

In a notably quiet week, holiday-thinned liquidity kept ICE Brent range-bound at $65.80–$67.90/bbl despite a steep U.S. stock selloff. August 22nd, 2025 In one of the least eventful trading weeks of 2025, ICE Brent has been trading within a narrow bandwidth of $65.80-67.90 per barrel as the end of summer holidays dragged trading volumes notably lower than usual. The huge drop in US stocks and several refinery upsets across the country (such as the Whiting outage) could’ve triggered a more important pricing reaction, however low liquidity…

Cenovus Energy on Friday announced it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to acquire MEG Energy Corp in a cash and stock deal valued at US$5.7 billion (C$7.9 billion), including assumed debt. The agreement between Cenovus and MEG marks the end of a months-long saga in which suitors have sought to buy MEG Energy. Earlier this year, Strathcona Resources made an unsolicited offer to acquire MEG Energy, but MEG’s board rejected the offer and advised shareholders to reject it too and not tender their shares. MEG’s board said…

Cenovus Energy on Friday announced it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to acquire MEG Energy Corp in a cash and stock deal valued at US$5.7 billion (C$7.9 billion), including assumed debt. The agreement between Cenovus and MEG marks the end of a months-long saga in which suitors have sought to buy MEG Energy. Earlier this year, Strathcona Resources made an unsolicited offer to acquire MEG Energy, but MEG’s board rejected the offer and advised shareholders to reject it too and not tender their shares. MEG’s board said…

Cenovus Energy on Friday announced it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to acquire MEG Energy Corp in a cash and stock deal valued at US$5.7 billion (C$7.9 billion), including assumed debt. The agreement between Cenovus and MEG marks the end of a months-long saga in which suitors have sought to buy MEG Energy. Earlier this year, Strathcona Resources made an unsolicited offer to acquire MEG Energy, but MEG’s board rejected the offer and advised shareholders to reject it too and not tender their shares. MEG’s board said…

Cenovus Energy on Friday announced it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to acquire MEG Energy Corp in a cash and stock deal valued at US$5.7 billion (C$7.9 billion), including assumed debt. The agreement between Cenovus and MEG marks the end of a months-long saga in which suitors have sought to buy MEG Energy. Earlier this year, Strathcona Resources made an unsolicited offer to acquire MEG Energy, but MEG’s board rejected the offer and advised shareholders to reject it too and not tender their shares. MEG’s board said…

Over the past month, friends, family, and acquaintances have asked why their electricity bills have skyrocketed. One friend wrote, “I am curious if you have any thoughts about why electric bills are doubling and, in some cases, tripling? People in my area are in shock. In two months, my bill doubled.” I live in Phoenix, and we actually have reasonable electric bills because we are served by the Palo Verde Generating Station. Despite the intense heat here, my electric bill never rises above $300 except in July. More on that later. …

Just days after flows on the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia resumed following a Ukrainian attack on a pumping station, Ukraine hit the infrastructure anew, and supplies to the central European countries were suspended again.   Major Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said early on Friday that Ukraine had again hit the pumping station at Unecha.   Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto posted on Facebook on Friday that due to the latest attack, oil pipeline deliveries would…

Just days after flows on the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia resumed following a Ukrainian attack on a pumping station, Ukraine hit the infrastructure anew, and supplies to the central European countries were suspended again.   Major Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said early on Friday that Ukraine had again hit the pumping station at Unecha.   Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto posted on Facebook on Friday that due to the latest attack, oil pipeline deliveries would…

Private Chinese firm China Concord Resources Corp (CCRC) is developing two oilfields in Venezuela, from which it expects to produce 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude by the end of next year, thanks to a planned investment of $1 billion, an executive involved in the project told Reuters on Friday. Private Chinese operators are a rare sight in Venezuela, where Chinese state-held majors have developed oilfields in the past.   Yet, CCRC has signed a 20-year production sharing contract with Venezuela and is already producing 12,000 bpd from…