Iraq’s plan to begin LNG imports this summer has unraveled, forcing a compressed reset of its floating terminal ambitions. With electricity demand surging and Iranian supply increasingly constrained, the Oil Ministry has relaunched its FSRU tender in a bid to secure regasification capacity in time for summer 2026. U.S.-based Excelerate Energy is now positioned as the most likely supplier, after an earlier agreement with UAE-based Breeze Investment failed to advance. The timing is critical. Baghdad is confronting another peak season without…

A growing share of the global economy is increasingly committed to large-scale, complex, and expensive undertakings involving massive infrastructure development and technological advancements, aka megaprojects. Annual worldwide spending on megaprojects such as high-speed railway systems, international airports, hydroelectric dams, motorways, power plants, wind and solar farms, as well as large public ICT systems to digitize tax, health, and pensions is estimated at between US$6 and US$8 trillion, or 8% of global GDP. Unfortunately, it has become…

The Energy Institute recently published its updated energy report, the 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy, showing data through the year 2024. In this post, I identify trends in the new data that I consider worrying. These trends help explain the strange behaviors that we have been seeing from governments recently. A major hidden issue is that prices never seem to rise high enough, for long enough, to prevent production of fossil fuels and other mineral resources from declining relative to what is needed for the world’s rising population.…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose sharply for the second week in a row, this time gaining an additional 19.10 million barrels in the week ending July 11. That’s on top of last week’s 7.1 million barrel build. It is the largest single week build reported by the API in at least a decade. Analysts were a mile off, estimating a 2.0-million-barrel draw. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up 30 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data, with…

While the industry chatters about electric dreams, General Motors is pouring $4 billion into the steel-and-combustion reality of gas-powered trucks and SUVs—an investment that will retool three U.S. plants to build more of what actually sells—and it’s placing big bets in Michigan. Starting in 2027, Escalades will roll off the line in Orion Township, Michigan, not Texas, and that same Michigan facility will also add production of GM’s money machines: the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. This isn’t a pivot—it’s…

When US President Donald Trump said he would make a “major statement” on Russia, it led to speculation he might tap nearly $4 billion in unused US military aid for Ukraine or finally slap sanctions on Moscow and its major trading partners. Instead, Trump announced that NATO members would send existing weapons like Patriot missile systems to Ukraine and backfill them by buying new ones from the United States. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who joined Trump in the White House for the July 14 announcement, said the dollar amount of…

Weeks after New Fortress Energy rallied on news of a temporary contract extension for LNG supply to Puerto Rico, Bloomberg now reports the island has idled temporary power plants after the company abruptly halted a critical gas shipment, raising the risk of power outages at the peak of summer demand. Puerto Rico Energy Chief Josue Colon slammed the LNG shipment cancellation as "unjustified," disputing New Fortress's claims of being owed millions of dollars since 2020. With 10 out of 14 temporary generators offline and the rest running on expensive,…

The mining sector continues to face new and growing challenges. President Trump only yesterday pushed copper prices to record highs after threatening 50 percent tariffs on the precious metal. Latin America is as exposed as any other region to the US tariff policy. But when it comes to the green energy transition, it's mining companies and governments that will play an outsized role. Understanding what drives relevant sectors across the region is therefore crucial. For decades, the region’s abundant mineral wealth has positioned it as one…

Silence from Kyrgyz officials is adding to international concerns about alleged transactions worth billions of dollars on a cryptocurrency exchange registered in the Central Asia country. Grinex, the platform at the center of the controversy, reportedly facilitated $9 billion in transactions between January and April this year, primarily using a ruble-pegged stablecoin (a type of cryptocurrency) known as A7A5. These revelations, first brought to light by The Financial Times in late June, raise concerns that Grinex could be a crucial player in Russian…

The UK government has confirmed it will extend the length of its renewable energy contracts—from 15 years to 20—under the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. This change, confirmed July 15, kicks in with Allocation Round 7 (AR7), opening for bids in August 2025, and applies to solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, and floating offshore wind technologies. The CfD scheme, the government’s flagship program for supporting low-carbon electricity, offers developers a guaranteed price for the power they generate. By stretching the contract…

The UK government has confirmed it will extend the length of its renewable energy contracts—from 15 years to 20—under the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. This change, confirmed July 15, kicks in with Allocation Round 7 (AR7), opening for bids in August 2025, and applies to solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, and floating offshore wind technologies. The CfD scheme, the government’s flagship program for supporting low-carbon electricity, offers developers a guaranteed price for the power they generate. By stretching the contract…

From “Dutch Disease” to “German De-Industrialization,” the energy transition is no longer a distant threat but a pressing issue already impacting the Dutch economy. Europe’s ongoing energy transition, driven by the need to reduce dependence on risk-prone suppliers like Russia, the Middle East, and Africa, continues to receive support from the European Union and its member states. The push for more renewables—especially offshore wind, solar, and increasingly biofuels—is not only reducing CO? emissions but…

Non-OPEC producer Kazakhstan, which is boosting its oil output in defiance of its quotas in the OPEC+ deal, doesn’t plan to leave the alliance of producers, the country’s top officials said on Tuesday. Kazakhstan is not considering leaving the OPEC+ pact as it believes it helps stabilize the oil market, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said on Tuesday, as quoted by Russian news agency Interfax. “We will do our best to fulfill our obligations, but we’ll take into account national interests,” the prime minister was quoted…

Non-OPEC producer Kazakhstan, which is boosting its oil output in defiance of its quotas in the OPEC+ deal, doesn’t plan to leave the alliance of producers, the country’s top officials said on Tuesday. Kazakhstan is not considering leaving the OPEC+ pact as it believes it helps stabilize the oil market, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said on Tuesday, as quoted by Russian news agency Interfax. “We will do our best to fulfill our obligations, but we’ll take into account national interests,” the prime minister was quoted…

Non-OPEC producer Kazakhstan, which is boosting its oil output in defiance of its quotas in the OPEC+ deal, doesn’t plan to leave the alliance of producers, the country’s top officials said on Tuesday. Kazakhstan is not considering leaving the OPEC+ pact as it believes it helps stabilize the oil market, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said on Tuesday, as quoted by Russian news agency Interfax. “We will do our best to fulfill our obligations, but we’ll take into account national interests,” the prime minister was quoted…

As Trump officials signal plans to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)—drained under the Biden-Harris regime—a new report reveals that ExxonMobil has begun drawing from the SPR due to contaminated crude supplies from offshore rigs in the Gulf of America to avoid refinery outages. Bloomberg reports Exxon is borrowing up to 1 million barrels of crude from the SPR due to quality issues with Mars crude — a Gulf of America oil grade contaminated with high levels of zinc, which can damage refinery equipment.  According…

Google has signed a $3-billion agreement to source electricity for data centers from Brookfield Asset Management’s hydropower facilities, in the world’s largest corporate clean power deal for hydroelectricity, the asset manager said on Tuesday. The first contracts executed under the agreement to deliver up to 3 gigawatts (GW) of carbon-free hydroelectric capacity across the United States are for Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydroelectric facilities in Pennsylvania, representing more than 670 MW of capacity. The 20-year…

Google has signed a $3-billion agreement to source electricity for data centers from Brookfield Asset Management’s hydropower facilities, in the world’s largest corporate clean power deal for hydroelectricity, the asset manager said on Tuesday. The first contracts executed under the agreement to deliver up to 3 gigawatts (GW) of carbon-free hydroelectric capacity across the United States are for Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydroelectric facilities in Pennsylvania, representing more than 670 MW of capacity. The 20-year…

Oil markets have largely ignored Trump's threats to impose 100% secondary tariffs on any country that buys Russian exports, with prices dropping significantly on Tuesday morning.- European natural gas prices have posted a five-day hot streak as Northeast Asian heatwaves drained South Korean and Japanese inventories, prompting buyers to divert cargoes there, only for Europe to confront its own sultry weather.- Front-month TTF gas futures, the benchmark for the European market, moved up to €35 per MWh ($13/mmBtu) as US President Trump’s…

U.S. gasoline prices climbed for a second consecutive week despite falling oil benchmarks, with the national average rising to $3.11 per gallon and diesel hitting $3.676, the highest since August 2024, according to GasBuddy. GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan cited tight inventories and strong seasonal demand as key factors, noting diesel remains under the most upward pressure due to export strength and regional supply constraints. The price increase comes as crude benchmarks see a small rebound. As of morning trading on Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET, the…