Spain has rapidly transformed its energy industry to be a global leader in renewable deployment and to ease its reliance on foreign oil and gas imports. The sun-baked country now sources more than 40 percent of its electricity supply, with more to come. But while this transition has been a boon for the nation’s energy independence, climate goals, and cheap and abundant clean energy, the costs of clean energy production in Spain have become too cheap for their own good. Instead of serving as a green energy inspiration for the rest of the world,…

Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach resumed oil and gas exploration drilling in Libya in mid-October, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Thursday, as several international majors have restarted work in Libya’s oil and gas basins.   Algeria’s Sonatrach is drilling an exploration well in the Ghadames basin close to the Libyan-Algerian border, according to an NOC statement carried by Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.  Sonatrach is back working at the site in the Ghadames basin, after quitting more than 10…

The U.S. sanctions on the top Russian oil firms are reverberating through markets with Russia’s main crude buyers as India’s Reliance Industries will stop importing crude under a long-term deal with the now-sanctioned Russian oil giant Rosneft, sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Thursday.  Reliance, India’s top private refiner which operates the world’s biggest refinery complex at Jamnagar with 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of processing capacity, has a long-term deal with Rosneft to buy…

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) easily beat analyst forecasts of third-quarter earnings as refining margins surged by 44% from a year earlier, exceeding the average increase in U.S. refining margins.  Valero reported on Thursday an adjusted net income of $1.1 billion, or $3.66 per share, for the third quarter of 2025. This compares to $371 million, or $1.16 per share, in net income for the third quarter of 2024.  The $3.66 per share income easily beat the $3.05 consensus estimate for EPS in the Wall Street Journal.   The…

Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital for the second night in a row on October 22, injuring four people, officials said within hours of an announcement from Washington imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said drones had damaged several dwellings and other buildings. Air assaults the night before struck throughout the country, killing at seven people and causing power outages. One of the attacks hit a kindergarten in Kharkiv and another hit an apartment…

The sanctioned Russian Arctic LNG export facility continues to ship cargoes to China as the U.S.-sanctioned project did not incur additional sanctions in Wednesday’s U.S. package imposed “as a result of Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.” While the U.S. slapped sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, and a number of their subsidiaries, it stopped short of imposing further sanctions on Arctic LNG, developed and operated by Russian energy firm…

The EU on Thursday adopted the 19th sanctions package against Russia, which includes a ban on imports of Russian LNG from 2027, sanctions on additional shadow fleet vessels and on entities in China and Hong Kong supporting Russia’s energy trade and revenues.   The sanctions package includes placing Rosneft and Gazpromneft on a full transaction ban, sanctions on 117 additional vessels from the shadow fleet, bringing the total blacklisted tankers by the EU to nearly 560, and a ban on Russian LNG imports into the EU starting January…

Amid a global race to secure critical minerals outside China’s control, U.S. rare earth developer REAlloys Inc. has forged a strategic alliance with Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), the government agency under Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) charged with safeguarding the nation’s industrial supply chains. The agreement, outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), sets out a framework for joint development, technology transfer, and industrial-security cooperation, according…

A looming oil glut has taken over the energy commodities market as the dominating sentiment among traders and analysts. Everyone is predicting a glut—the only difference is in its size. But there is a fly in the bearish ointment. The IEA admitted this week that it was unable to account for 1.47 million barrels of supply. The International Energy Agency deepened the glut mood last week, when it predicted a supply overhang of 2.35 million barrels daily for this year, and an all-time high surplus of 4 million barrels daily for 2026. In the same…

Two of the founding members of the BRICS alliance, India and Brazil, drew the short straw when it comes to new U.S. trade policy. South America’s largest economy and Asia’s second-biggest economy have both been slapped with 50% tariffs on their goods exported to the United States. Faced with the highest U.S. tariffs of any nation, India and Brazil are seeking closer strategic, economic, trade, and energy cooperation and have recently signed deals to expand their trade agreements. Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin visited…

There is a lot more than meets the eye to a series of meetings by U.S. and European firms recently to talk to Iraq’s leadership about opportunities in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, LNG has become the world’s emergency energy source, as unlike pipelined gas or oil, it can be secured and shipped very quickly to wherever it is needed. Iraq does not have an LNG sector to speak of, but it is now planning to build   its first LNG import terminal at Khor Al-Zubair port, with a second…

Two drastically different trends in energy careers are taking place on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. While the Trump administration pulls back billions of dollars in clean energy funding and seeks to prop up coal careers, the United Kingdom is rolling out a plan to add 400,000 clean energy jobs to the national economy. Just this week Edward Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change of the United Kingdom, announced a national plan to train hundreds of thousands of plumbers, electricians, carpenters, welders, HVAC installers,…

Oil prices jumped ~3.5% in afternoon trading, extending gains to the highest levels in nearly three weeks as traders reacted to reports that Washington is weighing new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to a surprise draw in U.S. crude inventories. Live market data show Brent crude trading around $63.40 a barrel, up 3.39%, as of Wednesday at 4:39 p.m. ET, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) trading at $59.30, up roughly 3.60%. The late-session rally accelerated after reports that the U.S. administration is considering expanded restrictions on…

Oil prices jumped ~3.5% in afternoon trading, extending gains to the highest levels in nearly three weeks as traders reacted to reports that Washington is weighing new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to a surprise draw in U.S. crude inventories. Live market data show Brent crude trading around $63.40 a barrel, up 3.39%, as of Wednesday at 4:39 p.m. ET, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) trading at $59.30, up roughly 3.60%. The late-session rally accelerated after reports that the U.S. administration is considering expanded restrictions on…

Mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. upstream oil and gas sector fell for a third straight quarter, marking an end to blockbuster takeovers seen in recent years amid persistently low energy prices. According to Enverus Intelligence Research, deals worth $9.7 billion were closed in the third quarter, marking a 28% drop from the second quarter and putting the current year far below the record $192 billion recorded in 2023. U.S. crude futures averaged ~ $65 a barrel during the third quarter, around the level most U.S. oil producers require to break…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has decided to postpone the adoption of its Net-Zero Framework (NZF) for another year. This delay, while creating additional uncertainty, warrant careful examination of the proposed mechanisms. Prior to the IMO MEPC meeting, in-depth research by Rystad Energy 's maritime decarbonization specialists revealed critical gaps in the current NZF that would to be addressed to ensure an equitable and sustainable transition for the global shipping industry. The delay will now give member states time to refine…

Mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. upstream oil and gas sector fell for a third straight quarter, marking an end to blockbuster takeovers seen in recent years amid persistently low energy prices. According to Enverus Intelligence Research, deals worth $9.7 billion were closed in the third quarter, marking a 28% drop from the second quarter and putting the current year far below the record $192 billion recorded in 2023. U.S. crude futures averaged ~ $65 a barrel during the third quarter, around the level most U.S. oil producers require to break…

We think the concept of the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) as a solution to many of our future energy needs is in the midst of a major bubble or hype cycle.  Think of the latter as an inverted “V”. In the up leg, investors feel great about prospects and profits, which are, they believe, soon on the way. In the down leg, investor disappointment sets in as earlier financial forecasts are seen as pure fiction, with reality being much worse. In a way, this is how free markets with imperfect information work. The question is: what triggers…

Major oil companies are drilling in East Texas again, but not for oil. This time, they're after lithium for batteries and other rare elements. Chevron and Halliburton announced East Texas projects this summer. Exxon has acreage across the border in Arkansas. Smackover Lithium, a joint venture of a Norwegian oil giant and a Canadian miner, announced in late September the discovery of the most lithium-rich fluids ever reported in North America, measured deep beneath its Texas claims in a massive brine deposit called the Smackover Formation. "It's…

Hungary will begin negotiations to purchase nuclear fuel from the United States as it looks to diversify its supplies, the country’s foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told the country’s MI state news channel on Wednesday, noting that Budapest needs extra nuclear fuel to meet surging energy demand, and adding that the country would nonetheless continue buying Russian fuel. Currently, Hungary's Paks nuclear plant has four Russian-built VVER 440 reactors supplying a combined 2,000 megawatts, but could more than double that capacity with…