When people talk about oil majors, the same names always come up—Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Aramco. But geopolitics and barrel math don’t run solely on brand recognition. There’s a whole class of mid-tier players and state-run oil companies operating in the shadow of the supermajors—quietly shaping energy flows, regional alliances, and even global trade. Here are 10 oil companies punching well above their weight—and why you should be paying attention. ONGC (India)India’s National Champion with a Refining Ambition…

As U.S. President Donald Trump has reignited the trade war with China, he is gutting federal government funding for foreign aid agencies and media outlets, in a move touted as an ‘America first’ approach by his Administration and slammed by Democrats and critics as damaging the U.S. soft power on the global stage.  Following decades of efforts to build partnerships and influence, including with the promotion of democratic and free-economy values, the U.S. is now retreating, leaving a void that China would be happy to fill. …

In 2022, the European Union slapped the Kremlin with sanctions on all coal exports, impacting a quarter of all Russian coal exports worldwide in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The United States has also tightened its own sanctions on Russian coal companies in recent years as part of a unified Western front. Three years later, the Russian war in Ukraine rages on, but the coal sector is now showing serious cracks and is likely on the verge of collapse. Russia has the 6th largest coal industry in the world,…

The energy storage sector is on the cusp of a revolution. As variable energies like wind and solar become more prevalent in global energy grids, energy storage becomes increasingly pivotal for maintaining energy security and grid resilience. But our current battery storage solutions have some major limitations that are holding the clean sector back. So, the race is on to find the next big long-term storage solution. And a team of scientists from the United Kingdom thinks they may have just found it using the humblest of materials. The new battery…

Norway has major plans to expand its hydropower capacity through expansion projects and new developments. The Scandinavian country, which is well-known for its strong and diverse energy sector, recently announced plans to collaborate with the United States Department of Energy (DoE) to support research and development into hydropower in the two countries. In addition, Norway aims to ramp up its hydropower production in the coming years to supply clean power as the domestic energy demand continues to rise. In July, the DoE said that it had extended…

“There is no peak in oil demand on the horizon,” the head of OPEC, Haitham al Ghais, said last month in Canada. Demand will continue to increase as global population grows, he added. And OPEC will be there to respond with what supply is necessary. OPEC is now playing the long game. Fast-forward a month and Reuters is reporting on “signs of strong demand more than offset the impact of a higher-than-expected OPEC+ output hike for August”, not to mention now chronic worry about Trump’s tariffs. In fact, after OPEC+ announced…

With much of the world’s attention focused on wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles, natural gas has grown in importance as the backbone of modern energy systems. It fuels power plants, heats homes, drives industry, and—through liquefied natural gas (LNG)—connects continents. The newly released 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy highlights just how indispensable natural gas has become, despite mounting pressure to decarbonize. Following the previous article on global oil production and consumption trends, let’s…

Upstream merger and acquisition (M&A) activity experienced a sharp downturn in early 2025, with global deal value plunging 39% from the fourth quarter of 2024 to just $28 billion in the first quarter of 2025 – less than half the $66 billion recorded in the same period a year earlier. Although activity has picked up in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, it is not enough to make up for North America’s dominant market share, which stood at 71% of the deal value in the first quarter of this year. As the year progressed, upstream M&A…

The world is going to need a whole lot of lithium to power a more sustainable future. The critical mineral is an essential ingredient in a wide range of clean energy technologies and is particularly essential in batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage–two rapidly expanding global sectors. But there are a lot of problems associated with extracting and sourcing lithium, from environmental degradation and public health hazards to market uncertainty and heightened geopolitical vulnerabilities. However, a brand new technological breakthrough…

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Norway launched a $200 million initiative in July, aimed at transforming Ukraine’s war-damaged energy sector and supporting the development of the country’s renewable energy capacity. The new initiative will focus on both immediate crisis response and long-term modernisation in line with national priorities. The UNDP announced the strategic partnership during the July Ukraine Recovery Conference, held in Rome. The initiative is part of the UNDP’s Green Energy…

British oil giants BP and Shell last week signed a range of agreements with Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC) aimed at boosting the country’s oil and gas output recovery. Very few people outside the oil and gas industry appreciate the much broader and deeper strategic significance that often lies behind the announcement of new exploration and development deals or how that significance can be manifested on the ground. At the core of this is the international legal position surrounding such developments, which at its most basic level…

Shares of rare earths companies have exploded higher since MP Materials (NYSE:MP) unveiled a game-changing deal with the U.S. Department of Defense that marks the most aggressive federal intervention in the rare earths space in decades. The DoD-backed investment package will see the Nevada-based producer build out a fully domestic magnet supply chain and lock in long-term pricing support for neodymium-praseodymium, the critical alloy used in everything from fighter jets to iPhones. MP shares have doubled in just days, taking year-to-date gains…

The Construction MMI (Monthly Metals Index) traded flat month-over-month, with no noteworthy price movement in either direction. Meanwhile, the U.S. construction industry is bracing for fallout from a new round of tariffs on key building materials. Industry groups warn that these tariffs, alongside persistently high interest rates, threaten to squeeze project budgets. Surging Costs for Steel, Aluminum and Other Metals As metal prices remain somewhat volatile, contractors nationwide report mounting cost pressures.  Now that President Trump…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, following a string of losses for US drillers. The total rig count in the US rose by 7 to 544 rigs, according to Baker Hughes, down 42 from this same time last year. The number of oil rigs fell by 2 to 422 after falling by 7 during the previous week—and down by 55 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs  rose by 9 this week, at 117 for a gain of 14 active gas rigs from…

Israel’s only Red Sea port at Eilat is on the verge of a full commercial halt as municipal authorities freeze the operator’s accounts, citing unpaid taxes and concession fees totaling around NIS 10 million (~$3 million). The financial crisis reflects the sharp fallout from nearly 20 months of Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea, which have slashed port revenues by over 90%, according to the Times of Israel. The closure, which is set to begin on July 20, has been confirmed by both Israel’s Ports Authority and National…

Israel’s only Red Sea port at Eilat is on the verge of a full commercial halt as municipal authorities freeze the operator’s accounts, citing unpaid taxes and concession fees totaling around NIS 10 million (~$3 million). The financial crisis reflects the sharp fallout from nearly 20 months of Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea, which have slashed port revenues by over 90%, according to the Times of Israel. The closure, which is set to begin on July 20, has been confirmed by both Israel’s Ports Authority and National…

Israel’s only Red Sea port at Eilat is on the verge of a full commercial halt as municipal authorities freeze the operator’s accounts, citing unpaid taxes and concession fees totaling around NIS 10 million (~$3 million). The financial crisis reflects the sharp fallout from nearly 20 months of Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea, which have slashed port revenues by over 90%, according to the Times of Israel. The closure, which is set to begin on July 20, has been confirmed by both Israel’s Ports Authority and National…

Mexico’s new president is making a major play to reform the country’s energy industry for greater energy independence and sovereignty, as well as a cleaner energy future. While this bodes well for the Mexican economy and for global climate goals, there is a critical tradeoff for this new plan: a major shortage of freshwater in the regions where the energy industry plans to expand. A former climate scientist, President Claudia Sheinbaum is picking up the energy sovereignty torch where former president and fellow Morena party candidate…

Saudi Arabia is reassessing the scope and timeline of its $500-billion NEOM initiative, according to Bloomberg and CNBC, with officials reportedly reviewing key components of The Line in response to deepening financial strain across the kingdom’s Vision 2030 infrastructure program. The move comes amid mounting vendor arrears and a liquidity crunch that has prompted an urgent reallocation of energy-sector capital and personnel. According to sources cited by CNBC, planners have frozen development on large portions of The Line, NEOM’s…

Saudi Arabia is reassessing the scope and timeline of its $500-billion NEOM initiative, according to Bloomberg and CNBC, with officials reportedly reviewing key components of The Line in response to deepening financial strain across the kingdom’s Vision 2030 infrastructure program. The move comes amid mounting vendor arrears and a liquidity crunch that has prompted an urgent reallocation of energy-sector capital and personnel. According to sources cited by CNBC, planners have frozen development on large portions of The Line, NEOM’s…