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Found 2016 articles
Norway’s Supreme Court opened hearings Monday to determine the fate of three major North Sea oilfields after lower courts invalidated their development permits. The government aims to reverse these rulings, defending the legality of operations at the Breidablikk, Yggdrasil, and Tyrving sites against environmental legal challenges.
A 20 percent spike in nationwide day-ahead electricity prices has pushed Japan to its highest energy costs since January 2023. The surge follows an intense nationwide heatwave and renewed disruptions to liquefied natural gas shipments from the Middle East, leaving the country’s power grid under severe strain.
Energy Minister Terje Aasland confirmed that Norway intends to pursue oil and gas exploration in the Barents Sea, disregarding the European Union’s current moratorium on Arctic drilling. As Europe’s primary gas supplier, Oslo argues that expanding production remains essential to maintaining continental energy security through 2035.
Deep in the southern province of Fars, Iran has uncovered a gas reservoir containing 7.5 trillion cubic feet of reserves. This discovery, announced by the oil ministry, arrives just as Washington signals an intent to escalate financial warfare against Tehran, casting a long shadow over the country’s energy ambitions.
ExxonMobil has emerged as a primary contender for Shell’s U.S. chemical division, an asset portfolio valued at approximately $8 billion. The supermajor enters a competitive field of bidders, including LyondellBasell, Apollo Global Management, and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, all of whom have submitted preliminary non-binding offers to the London-based energy giant.
While crude oil prices remain relatively contained, the global market for diesel is fracturing under the weight of geopolitical instability. With nearly 20% of Middle Eastern refining capacity offline and Russian exports restricted, the world is facing a structural fuel squeeze that threatens to sustain inflationary pressure for months to come.
Only four tankers traversed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, marking a sharp decline in activity as Washington and Tehran trade increasingly hostile rhetoric. The chokepoint, vital for global energy supplies, now sees transit volumes hovering nearly 90% below pre-conflict baselines, according to recent UK Maritime Trade Operations data.
Oil prices retreated by over 2% during early Asian trading on Monday, as investors locked in profits following last week’s 5% surge. The market now pivots toward a looming U.S. Treasury announcement from Scott Bessent, which the secretary has framed as an "economic D-Day" for Iranian petroleum exports.
With sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific surging toward historic highs, meteorologists are bracing for a Super El Niño that threatens to upend global supply chains. The phenomenon, already linked to disrupted planting seasons and water shortages, may push an additional 50 million people into acute hunger.
A rare bipartisan alliance is forming in Washington, united by a singular grievance: the runaway energy consumption of AI data centers. As hyperscalers scramble to build private power plants to feed their servers, critics warn that this shift risks bypassing essential grid oversight and inflating consumer electricity costs nationwide.
Mexico’s state-owned Pemex has joined forces with Brazil’s Petrobras to probe ultra-deep Jurassic formations in the Gulf of Mexico. By targeting reservoirs located miles beneath the seabed, the partnership seeks to reverse years of declining production, banking on Petrobras’ extensive expertise in complex offshore salt-layer drilling.
Off the coast of Oregon, a 100-kilowatt geothermal generator will settle onto the seafloor this September to harvest heat from a 750-degree hydrothermal vent. This pilot project, spearheaded by Seattle-based Endurance Energy, marks a strategic attempt to transform volatile underwater volcanic activity into a steady, emissions-free stream of commercial electricity.
While the Strait of Hormuz remains the focal point of energy market anxiety, the global oil supply chain is fracturing across five other critical chokepoints. With 16.7 million barrels per day rerouted due to the Persian Gulf crisis, the world’s narrowest maritime passages are now operating at dangerous capacity limits.
If you ordered a heavy-duty gas turbine from GE Vernova today, you would be waiting until 2031 for delivery. This production schedule, confirmed during the company's July 22 earnings call, reveals a fundamental reality: the surge in AI data center power demand is colliding with a manufacturing wall that cannot be moved.
Despite federal efforts to dismantle clean energy incentives, the United States is on track to hit a record $180 billion in renewable energy investment by the end of 2026. Market forces, driven by surging AI power demands and grid instability, have effectively decoupled the sector's growth from shifting political priorities.
The Rhine’s water levels have crept above the critical 10-centimetre floor recorded in August, yet the relief is largely an optical illusion. While barges remain unable to carry full loads, the continent avoids a total supply collapse only because industrial demand has already withered to historic lows.
To support its rapid transition to renewable energy, Southeast Asia must nearly quadruple annual grid investment to $50 billion by 2050. Current infrastructure in nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, and India is failing to keep pace with capacity growth, threatening to stall the region’s ambitious climate and net-zero targets.
Energy companies are scouring the globe for geologic hydrogen, hoping to tap into massive underground deposits that could fundamentally reshape the power sector. From record-breaking purity levels in China’s Sichuan Basin to massive seeps in the Philippines, the race is on to prove that natural gas alternatives exist beneath our feet.
The escalating conflict between the United States and Iran has forced global oil majors to aggressively recalibrate their production strategies. As output in the Middle East stutters, giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron are funneling capital back into the Americas to protect their bottom lines from regional instability.
Strait of Hormuz traffic has dwindled to single digits this week as President Trump’s declared 'Economic D-Day' against Iran sparks a surge in geopolitical risk premiums. With Brent crude climbing toward $100 per barrel, the campaign’s threat of severe penalties for those trading with Tehran is destabilizing global energy supply chains.
Beijing is bracing for a volatile global energy landscape by aggressively expanding its natural gas infrastructure and strategic reserves. While the nation accelerates its transition toward electrification, the new five-year plan from the National Development and Reform Commission underscores a persistent, deep-seated reliance on foreign fossil fuel imports.
Uzbekistan has reportedly taken delivery of four Chengdu J-10CE combat aircraft from China, marking a pivotal shift in a region long dominated by Russian weaponry. As Moscow struggles to maintain its military supply chains amid the war in Ukraine, Beijing is rapidly filling the vacuum through defense and industrial cooperation.
Iran has issued a stark warning to Gulf nations, declaring that any cooperation with U.S. military operations will effectively categorize them as active participants in the ongoing conflict. This escalation follows the UAE’s decision to suspend all trade and financial ties with Tehran after allegations of ballistic missile fire near Emirati waters.
Israeli warplanes struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase on Tuesday, signaling a forceful attempt to veto the expansion of Turkish military influence in Syria. The operation targeted the facility as it underwent Turkish-backed renovations, heightening regional tensions and risking an accidental aerial clash between two of the Middle East’s most potent militaries.
Domestic drilling activity contracted this week even as oil markets pushed higher, with the total U.S. rig count sliding to 588. Baker Hughes data released Friday shows the retreat despite Brent crude prices surging toward $94.23 per barrel, marking a notable $7 increase over the past seven days.
Five consecutive heatwaves have forced nuclear operators across Europe to slash power output or shutter reactors entirely as record-low river levels render cooling systems ineffective. With temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, the resulting environmental safeguards and mechanical failures are now threatening regional energy security and broader economic stability.
As Uzbekistan marks 35 years of independence this September, Washington faces a decisive moment to pivot its regional strategy. Rather than viewing Tashkent through the lens of Cold War remnants or minor regional player status, the U.S. has a rare opening to cultivate a partnership that secures American economic and strategic interests.
Global battery energy storage capacity surged to 301.7 gigawatts in 2025, marking a staggering 65.8% increase in a single year. What was once a niche technology for grid stability has exploded over the last decade, growing 158-fold since 2015 to become a cornerstone of modern electrical infrastructure.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced Iraq’s ambition to more than double its crude output to 10 million barrels per day within six years, a plan that hinges on securing higher quotas from OPEC. Baghdad has dispatched ministers to Saudi Arabia to lobby for these terms ahead of critical baseline negotiations.
Tankers anchored off the Venezuelan coast are waiting up to 30 days to load crude, as crumbling port infrastructure and frequent power outages impose a hard ceiling on exports. Despite surging global demand and rising production, the country’s terminal capacity has stalled at approximately 1.25 million barrels per day.