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Governments worldwide are racing to find a solution to contend with the severe energy shortages brought about by the war in Iran and the ongoing Middle East conflict. For some, this means accelerating the deployment of renewable energy, which is likely to be a longer-term solution. For others, it means relying on stockpiles of crude, while the oil trade remains limited. And, for many, it means using any type of energy available, including coal. Several countries have reduced their reliance on coal in recent years in favour of oil, gas, and renewable…
A widespread myth in energy circles is that U.S. refineries are “unable” to process the light, sweet crude produced by the shale boom. The claim tends to surface whenever gasoline prices rise or energy independence becomes a talking point. The argument is usually that the U.S. is producing record volumes of oil, yet still imports crude because its refineries were built for heavier foreign barrels. It’s a compelling narrative, but it’s mostly wrong. U.S. refineries can and do process shale crude every day. The issue isn’t…
No country was more prepared for the war in Iran than China. As the rest of Asia reels from oil and gas shortages due to the Iran War, Beijing is sitting pretty thanks to its vast stores of crude oil and its enormous clean energy infrastructure. China has been building up its domestic clean energy sector faster than any other country on Earth at the same time that it has been stockpiling massive amounts of surplus oil and gas, all in anticipation of a major geopolitical disruption just like the one we’re seeing now. As a result, China is…
The Strait of Hormuz has been closed for business for well over a month now. The effective blockage of the waterway that typically hosts the passage of at least one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas resources on the average day has sent global energy markets into a tailspin. The resounding impacts of this disruption – which is now larger than those in the 1973 and 1979 oil crises combined – are just beginning. The question is how the world will choose to deal with the fallout – will we retreat into well-worn fossil fuel supply…
Global energy crises often act as severe stress tests that expose deep, structural fragilities in global supply chains that are erstwhile ignored. Such crises reveal weaknesses that extend far beyond fuel availability, causing systemic disruptions to industrial manufacturing, trade routes and food security. A good case in point is Germany, which effectively boxed itself into a corner with its decades-long energy policies. Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, successive German governments pursued an energy policy that significantly…
