China has certified 147 million barrels of oil reserves in a new shale play operated by state energy giant Sinopec in the southwestern part of the country, as the world’s top crude oil importer look to boost domestic output. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, as it is more commonly known, announced on Thursday that the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources certified 20.1 million metric tons, or 147 million barrels of oil, in the Fuxing shale play, as well as 12.35 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves. The Fuxing…

China has certified 147 million barrels of oil reserves in a new shale play operated by state energy giant Sinopec in the southwestern part of the country, as the world’s top crude oil importer look to boost domestic output. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, as it is more commonly known, announced on Thursday that the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources certified 20.1 million metric tons, or 147 million barrels of oil, in the Fuxing shale play, as well as 12.35 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves. The Fuxing…

The British Columbia government has agreed to invest CAD$200 million in the Cedar liquefied natural gas project — the second Canadian LNG project expected to come online after LNG Canada, the first, shipped its first cargo from its LNG export terminal in Kitimat in early July. Cedar LNG, jointly owned by the Haisla First Nation and Pembina Pipeline Corp, has an in-service date of late 2028. The project consists of a floating natural gas liquefaction plant and marine export terminal located in the Douglas Channel near Kitimaat Village,…

There are signs that western measures and a domestic crackdown on Kyrgyzstan’s traditional banking sector are starting to bite, hindering Russian efforts to evade sanctions. Yet, booming transactions of a Kyrgyzstan-registered, ruble-linked cryptocurrency on a Kyrgyz exchange this spring indicate that sanctions-busters are still very active in the Central Asian nation. Russian entrepreneurs have complained in recent months that their transactions have grown more expensive or slowed after the United States and United Kingdom sanctioned a Kyrgyz…

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of the Interior did something that just a couple of years ago would have been unthinkable. It permitted a coal mine in Tennessee. New coal mines are being approved around the world despite calls for a ban on the commodity. And this might yet intensify. Last year saw the slowest growth in global coal mine capacity since 2014, energy transition advocacy Global Energy Monitor reported earlier this week. Total new capacity that opened last year stood at 105 million tons, which was a 46% decline from the previous…

On July 31 and August 1, hundreds of officials and politicians will gather in Finland to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. That agreement was something of a high-water mark of the Cold War detente, with 35 countries -- including the Soviet Union and United States -- agreeing on numerous principles after two years of talks known as the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). This would shape the geopolitical architecture of the wider European continent and laid the foundation for what became the Organization…

Low oil prices may be squeezing U.S. shale producers, but Interior Secretary Doug Burgum isn’t worried. In a new interview with The National’s Hadley Gamble, Burgum predicted that skyrocketing demand from the tech sector—particularly AI data centers—will be the next great engine of growth for the American energy industry. “The tech guys are becoming the biggest customers in the world for energy,” Burgum told Gamble during On the Record. “And it will only get bigger.” As chairman of President Trump’s…

The state refiners in India have not purchased any crude from Russia this week after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened secondary tariffs on the buyers of Russian oil and as discounts of Moscow’s crudes narrowed to alternatives, industry sources with knowledge of the procurement plans told Reuters on Thursday.  Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IndianOil), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) have not attempted to buy crude…

New Zealand reopens for oil and gas exploration after the country’s Parliament on Thursday voted to repeal a 2018 ban on offshore resource drilling.  Back in 2018, the center-left government of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern banned offshore oil and gas exploration to protect New Zealand from the effects of climate change and help it reach its net-zero goals.  The current coalition government has pushed for reversing the ban in a bid to strengthen New Zealand’s energy security and alleviate the cost of living crisis. …

New Zealand reopens for oil and gas exploration after the country’s Parliament on Thursday voted to repeal a 2018 ban on offshore resource drilling.  Back in 2018, the center-left government of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern banned offshore oil and gas exploration to protect New Zealand from the effects of climate change and help it reach its net-zero goals.  The current coalition government has pushed for reversing the ban in a bid to strengthen New Zealand’s energy security and alleviate the cost of living crisis. …

Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, has freshly warned in newly published comments that oil sanctions will have a serious and hard-hitting economic impact if properly enforced - though they haven't been up till now, he suggested. His prediction comes after President Trump's announcement early this week that he would shorten Russia’s deadline to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine down to ten days from the previous 50. "We haven’t really applied full pressure on the oil sector yet," Kellogg said on The Record…

Rising prices of Middle Eastern crudes have opened the arbitrage window for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to flow to Asia, which is set to buy higher volumes of the U.S. crude grade in the coming weeks, trade sources have told Reuters.    Key grades from the Middle East, such as Dubai and Murban, have seen their prices rise in recent weeks on the back of strong demand for high-sulfur crude in Asia and reduced shipments of Murban. Moreover, the prices for Middle Eastern crudes going to Asia have jumped this week amid concerns that…

Rising prices of Middle Eastern crudes have opened the arbitrage window for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to flow to Asia, which is set to buy higher volumes of the U.S. crude grade in the coming weeks, trade sources have told Reuters.    Key grades from the Middle East, such as Dubai and Murban, have seen their prices rise in recent weeks on the back of strong demand for high-sulfur crude in Asia and reduced shipments of Murban. Moreover, the prices for Middle Eastern crudes going to Asia have jumped this week amid concerns that…

Shell (NYSE: SHEL) posted better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, as reduced expenses and higher marketing margins partly offset lower oil and gas prices and weaker trading results. Shell on Thursday reported adjusted earnings of $4.26 billion for the second quarter, down by 24% from the first quarter and down 32% from a year earlier. Still, the earnings beat the analyst consensus estimate of about $3.7 billion.   Following the results release, Shell’s shares popped 3% at the start of trade in London on Thursday. …

Oil prices traded flat on Thursday in Asian markets, holding on to gains from earlier in the week as traders continued to weigh intensifying geopolitical risks and new tariff deals that could reshape global crude flows. As of Thursday morning in Asia, WTI crude had dipped to $69.99 per barrel and Brent crude was trading at $73.10 per barrel. Though slightly lower on the day, both benchmarks have risen approximately 7% this week, underpinned by rising concern over supply constraints stemming from new U.S. sanctions and trade policies. This…

President Trump announced a deal that imposes a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea, a move that averts a steeper 25% levy originally threatened by Washington. The agreement, unveiled two days before the August 1 deadline for countries to strike bilateral deals, is similar to those accepted by the EU and Japan. Most significantly for energy markets, South Korea committed to purchasing $100 billion worth of U.S. liquefied natural gas and other energy exports, a move hailed by Trump as a win for American workers and energy producers. Speaking…

Crude oil futures have jumped to the highest levels in six weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up threats to slap Russia with extra sanctions and tariffs unless it agrees to a ceasefire with Ukraine. Brent crude for September delivery gained 1.2% to trade at $73.34/barrel in Wednesday’s morning session, while WTI crude was up 1.5% to $70.24. Trump told reporters that he would give Russia 10 more days to negotiate a truce with Ukraine, extending his earlier deadline to August 3 from July 14. Trump says he is not concerned about…

China’s undisputed leadership in electric vehicle sales and renewable energy expansion has come at a cost for numerous companies that have been running a race to the bottom in recent years. The surge in EVs and solar and wind power installations has resulted in excessive manufacturing capacity in these key clean energy industries, igniting price wars that have hurt most companies in the cleantech sector, including the biggest solar panel manufacturers.   Chinese authorities realized last year that cutthroat competition, overcapacity,…

In recent years, growing alarm has surrounded the narrative of Europe’s alleged deindustrialization. Headlines speak of factory closures, declining production in key sectors, and a continent losing its industrial edge. Germany, once the bastion of manufacturing prowess, has seen a net loss of hundreds of thousands of industrial jobs. Energy-intensive sectors such as steel, chemicals, and basic materials appear to be in retreat, squeezed by rising costs and global competition. Yet, a deeper look into the data and expert analysis reveals a…

As data centers place more and more demand on global power grids, policy and economic priorities are shifting from creating more clean energy to creating more energy, period. Projected clean energy additions are simply not enough to meet the runaway demand of the global tech sector, meaning that climate goals could be at risk.  The proliferation of artificial intelligence is causing massive increases in energy demand from data centers, and the areas that host them are struggling to keep up. A 2024 study from scientists at Cornell University…