Fortescue has secured a Chinese yuan-denominated loan of about $2 billion (14.2 billion yuan) as Australia’s energy and metals group is betting on increased collaboration with China in green energy after halting clean energy projects in the U.S. and Australia.    Fortescue’s loan in Chinese yuan with participation from Chinese, Australian, and international lenders, is the first yuan-denominated Syndicated Term Loan of its kind by an Australian corporate, the group said on Friday, adding it is “a landmark transaction…

Russia’s Urals crude grade, which usually goes from the western Russian ports to India, is now being offered at discounts in China amid uncertainties over Indian purchases of Moscow’s oil following the additional tariffs.  Spot Urals shipments going to China would be a significant re-routing of the Russian oil export flows. Prompt Urals cargoes are now being pitched to Chinese buyers, who typically import the Far Eastern Russian grade ESPO. Urals is being offered at a premium of $1.50 over London Brent, down from a $2.50 a barrel…

Brazil’s Petrobras reported a profit for the second quarter of the year, booking a net positive result of some $1.6 billion after posting a loss of $480 million for the first quarter of the year. The positive result came despite weaker average oil prices, the company noted. The company reported an average production rate of 2.91 million barrels of oil equivalent for the three-month period, noting it was 5% higher than the average for the first quarter of the year. Petrobras said it had started production from 14 new wells during the reporting…

Crude oil prices were headed for a steep weekly drop as of Friday morning, with a combination of tariff fears and OPEC+ production instilling a strong sense of bearishness in oil traders. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $66.39 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate at $63.79 per barrel, both down from Thursday’s close. Interestingly, prices fell despite President Trump’s decision to slap an additional tariff of 25% on all Indian imports as a punishment for India’s purchases of Russian crude. The additional…

President Trump has announced his intention to nominate Stephen Miran, his close economic adviser and an outspoken Federal Reserve critic, to temporarily fill a vacant seat on the Fed's Board of Governors. The appointment, which comes amid renewed calls from Trump for deep interest rate cuts, marks another chapter in Trump's struggle for control over U.S. monetary policy. Miran is set to take over the remainder of Adriana Kugler's term, who resigned unexpectedly to return to her academic post at Georgetown University. While the term ends on January…

The European Union has increased its imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 9% since the war in Ukraine began in 2022, even as it calls out other nations for allegedly financing the Kremlin. According to The Economic Times, Russian LNG shipments to the bloc rose while purchases from the U.S. and other exporters fell. In 2024 alone, the EU imported 17.8 million tonnes of Russian LNG—up more than 2 million tonnes from the previous year—reaching what Rystad Energy analyst Jan-Eric Fähnrich described as “record levels.”…

Argentina’s booming Vaca Muerta shale play isn’t immune to the decline in oil prices and company spending this year. Drilling activity is set for a near-term slowdown as foreign firms and the biggest domestic producer YPF SA are pulling out some frac crews amid lower international oil prices and a major asset reshuffle with mergers and acquisitions in recent months. But the long-term prospects of the Vaca Muerta shale resources—one of the world’s biggest—remain intact, and Argentina is looking to monetize both the…

Second-quarter financial reporting season is over and it has revealed two things. First, that Big Oil’s recovery from its energy transition experiment is still ongoing and that European supermajors have yet to catch up with their American sector players—on production and earnings alike. Exxon and Chevron both reported record oil and gas output for the second quarter despite weaker prices in international markets. For Exxon, the daily average was 4.6 million barrels of oil equivalent, made possible by continued strong growth in Guyana…

Taiwan’s energy industry is in grave peril. The nation’s grid is already struggling to keep up with demand, and this Achilles' heel has not gone unnoticed by neighboring China. The island nation is heavily dependent on imports to keep its isolated energy grid up and running, and a blockade from China could send the nation’s energy security and national security into a rapid tailspin. In May of this year, Taiwan shuttered its last remaining nuclear power plant, making good on a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) policy promise…

At a press conference on July 31, Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar revealed that China will build Kazakhstan's third nuclear power plant, further deepening Beijing's growing influence over the Central Asian country's nuclear future. "The third plant (like the second one) will also come from China," Sklyar said, responding to a question from an RFE/RL journalist. "Our colleagues from the relevant agency are currently working on this matter." The announcement follows an earlier June decision to award the second plant to China's…

General Motors is turning to Chinese battery giant CATL for help powering its next-generation Chevrolet Bolt, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move—described by insiders as a temporary fix—will keep the new Bolt on schedule while GM races to spin up its own U.S.-based battery production with LG Energy Solution. Despite steep tariffs on Chinese imports imposed by the Trump administration, GM will source lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries from CATL for roughly two years, starting with the Bolt’s relaunch out of its…

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. surpassed analyst expectations for second-quarter earnings, thanks to increased oil and gas production that helped offset the impact of lower crude prices. The company reported total production of 1.42 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for the three months ending June 30, up from 1.29 million boepd a year earlier. The rise in output was driven by strong performance across its asset base and the integration of recent acquisitions, particularly in the Duvernay region. “We are realizing more value…

California-based Lyten has signed a binding agreement to acquire nearly all remaining assets of failed European battery firm Northvolt, including its Swedish and German gigafactories and all remaining intellectual property. In the deal, announced on Thursday, the company confirmed it would take over Northvolt Ett, Northvolt Labs, and Northvolt Drei, including projects developed with more than $5 billion in capital investment. According to Energy-Storage.news, the assets include 16GWh of operational lithium-ion capacity at Ett, with an additional…

California-based Lyten has signed a binding agreement to acquire nearly all remaining assets of failed European battery firm Northvolt, including its Swedish and German gigafactories and all remaining intellectual property. In the deal, announced on Thursday, the company confirmed it would take over Northvolt Ett, Northvolt Labs, and Northvolt Drei, including projects developed with more than $5 billion in capital investment. According to Energy-Storage.news, the assets include 16GWh of operational lithium-ion capacity at Ett, with an additional…

Solar is an industry with a target on its back under President Trump. The 47th president has made clear he prefers fossil fuels and nuclear to renewables, singling out solar and wind. Trump has also pulled funding for electric vehicles and battery-making facilities. Climate Program Portal states the Trump administration as of May 7 has attempted to cancel $23.3 billion in clean energy grants. According to a new analysis by research group E2, which has tracked clean energy projects since Biden’s Inflation Reduction act was passed in mid-2022,…

In a landmark move reshaping East Mediterranean energy dynamics, Israel’s Leviathan Partnership has signed a record $35 billion natural gas export agreement with Egypt. The deal, finalized between NewMed Energy and Egypt’s Blue Ocean Energy, will supply an estimated 130 billion cubic meters (BCM) of gas from the offshore Leviathan field through 2040, marking the largest such transaction in Israeli history. The new accord upgrades a previous 2020 deal and commits to a two-phase delivery expansion. Phase One will add 20 BCM beginning…

Kuwait expects oil prices to remain below $72 per barrel in the near term, Tareq Al-Roumi, the Oil Minister of one of OPEC’s top producers, said on Thursday.  Brent crude prices were trading at around $67 per barrel early on Thursday.  Kuwait, as well as OPEC, are monitoring the market and all statements coming from U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, the minister added.  “Through OPEC, we are monitoring the market in terms of supply and demand, and we are monitoring the U.S. President’s statements,”…

Cheniere Energy (NYSE: LNG), the biggest U.S. LNG exporter, booked an 85% higher net income for the second quarter from a year earlier amid strong demand for LNG and higher price margins of LNG cargoes delivered in 2025.   Cheniere reported on Thursday a net income $1.63 billion for the second quarter, an 85% surge from the $880 million income for the same period last year.  Total revenues jumped by 43% to $4.64 billion, of which $4.5 billion was LNG revenues.  Cheniere also announced it achieved this month substantial completion…

Cheniere Energy (NYSE: LNG), the biggest U.S. LNG exporter, booked an 85% higher net income for the second quarter from a year earlier amid strong demand for LNG and higher price margins of LNG cargoes delivered in 2025.   Cheniere reported on Thursday a net income $1.63 billion for the second quarter, an 85% surge from the $880 million income for the same period last year.  Total revenues jumped by 43% to $4.64 billion, of which $4.5 billion was LNG revenues.  Cheniere also announced it achieved this month substantial completion…

A top Kremlin aide says President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will meet in the "coming days" after the Russian leader had "useful and constructive" talks with a US special envoy in Moscow over bringing more than three years of war in Ukraine to an end. Putin's foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said on August 7 that preparations for the meeting had begun and the two sides had already agreed on the venue "in principle." "At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement has been reached in principle to hold a bilateral summit…