U.S. President Donald Trump has, over the past couple of weeks, renewed efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, going as far as proposing the swapping of territories between the two countries. Unlike the situation during the first meeting between Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin earlier in the year, Trump has adopted a far less conciliatory tone ahead of their second meeting in Alaska on August 15th, warning that Russia will face “very severe consequences” unless Putin agrees to end the war in Ukraine.…

In 2024, total battery storage installations in Europe went up by 11.9 GW to a total of 89 GW. Yet periods of negative prices in the wholesale electricity market became more frequent, despite this increase. For some in commodity trade, the solution is building even more battery storage—and making good money from it. “It is the ultimate fast and scalable way to pick those instances of extreme volatility and address that volatility,” the head of principal investments at trading firm Castleton Commodities International told Bloomberg…

By Peter Tchir of Academy SecuritiesA few months ago, we started to regularly check in on the Tariff Revenue chart. We look forward to getting the next “large” number in a little less than 2 weeks. In the meantime, this chart has attracted our attention. Full credit to zerohedge for pounding the table on it, but it fits a few of our themes quite well: Energy = Electricity. We have started trying to disassociate energy with oil and make sure we highlight that energy, in this day and age, means electricity even more than…

Soaring crude oil supply will lead to a record glut later this year and in early 2026 as demand growth will continue to disappoint, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The agency has now downgraded its expectations of global oil demand growth in six out of eight monthly oil reports so far this year. The latest report out this week was no exception and reaffirmed the IEA’s view since the spring that a large glut is coming later this year once the peak summer season is over. In the IEA’s forecast, demand growth is much…

In the spring of 2024, the Belarusian government placed the Manalit radio components plant in Vitsebsk on its Republican Honor Board for "outstanding economic results." It was the second time in a row the plant had received this recognition. The recognition of Manalit, a Russian-owned manufacturer based in Belarus, came as the plant become a critical supplier of high-reliability electronic components for missiles, radars, and aircraft used by Russia in its war against Ukraine. Within the first two years of Russia's full-scale aggression against…

Nuclear has been a core investment theme since December 2020, followed by the launch of "The Next AI Trade" in April 2024 and the introduction of the "Powering Up America" theme shortly thereafter.  We expanded our nuclear coverage yesterday as Goldman initiated bullish coverage on Uranium Energy Corp. As a reminder, we first flagged Cameco Corp. as a buy around $9 a share; it's now trading above $78.  Goldman's latest nuclear reactor tracker, which charts out global project progress, underscores…

Citgo Petroleum, the U.S. refining arm owned by Venezuela, reported second-quarter net earnings of $100 million, rebounding from a $25 million loss in the same period a year earlier. The Houston-based company ended the quarter with $2.6 billion in liquidity, according to its statement on Thursday. The refiner, controlled by parent company PDV Holding, is currently the subject of a U.S. court-ordered auction intended to compensate creditors over Venezuela’s historic debt defaults and asset seizures. Citgo had posted losses in the previous…

Citgo Petroleum, the U.S. refining arm owned by Venezuela, reported second-quarter net earnings of $100 million, rebounding from a $25 million loss in the same period a year earlier. The Houston-based company ended the quarter with $2.6 billion in liquidity, according to its statement on Thursday. The refiner, controlled by parent company PDV Holding, is currently the subject of a U.S. court-ordered auction intended to compensate creditors over Venezuela’s historic debt defaults and asset seizures. Citgo had posted losses in the previous…

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Thursday that former Pemex chief executive Carlos Treviño has been detained in the United States and will be deported to face corruption charges in Mexico. Treviño led the state-owned oil company from 2017 until 2018, leaving the role when former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador assumed office. Sheinbaum told reporters at her daily press briefing that prosecutors intend to bring Treviño to trial over alleged corruption committed during his time at the helm of…

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Thursday that former Pemex chief executive Carlos Treviño has been detained in the United States and will be deported to face corruption charges in Mexico. Treviño led the state-owned oil company from 2017 until 2018, leaving the role when former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador assumed office. Sheinbaum told reporters at her daily press briefing that prosecutors intend to bring Treviño to trial over alleged corruption committed during his time at the helm of…

India’s state-owned refiners, which paused Russian crude buying a few weeks ago, have now started to inquire traders about potential purchases of the flagship Russian crude Urals, sources familiar with the development told Reuters on Thursday. The biggest Indian state-owned refiners have pulled out of spot purchases of Russian crude for cargoes loading in October, after the U.S. announced an additional 25% tariff on India over its imports of crude from Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order enacting an additional 25%…

India’s state-owned refiners, which paused Russian crude buying a few weeks ago, have now started to inquire traders about potential purchases of the flagship Russian crude Urals, sources familiar with the development told Reuters on Thursday. The biggest Indian state-owned refiners have pulled out of spot purchases of Russian crude for cargoes loading in October, after the U.S. announced an additional 25% tariff on India over its imports of crude from Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order enacting an additional 25%…

Brent crude rose 1.63% to $66.70 and WTI gained 1.74% to $63.74 on Thursday, as of 11:50 a.m. ET, with traders positioning ahead of a closely watched meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The talks, expected to touch on Arctic oil and gas development as well as the war in Ukraine, come as markets weigh the potential for new energy cooperation or geopolitical friction between two of the world’s top producers. Traders are watching for any indications of an easing of sanctions, which could…

Chinese state-controlled company Zhenhua Oil is doubling its offtake of crude from Abu Dhabi’s state oil and gas firm after taking over as lead developer of the UAE’s biggest onshore oilfield, industry sources in China told Reuters on Thursday. Zhenhua Oil will double the volumes of crude it receives from Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC from 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 200,000 bpd. Earlier this year, the Chinese firm took over from French supermajor TotalEnergies as asset leader for Bu Hasa, ADNOC’s largest onshore asset, located…

Canada’s major oil sands producers are boosting crude production even if they aren’t starting up new projects. The secret sauce appears to be reducing maintenance times and extending maintenance cycles to squeeze more oil and raise efficiencies, Bloomberg reports. Suncor Energy, for example, completed ahead of schedule a multi-year effort to replace eight coke drums at its Base Plant, extending the life of the facility’s Upgrader 1 by about 30 years. “Everything went flawlessly, resulting in the project being completed safely,…

Canada’s major oil sands producers are boosting crude production even if they aren’t starting up new projects. The secret sauce appears to be reducing maintenance times and extending maintenance cycles to squeeze more oil and raise efficiencies, Bloomberg reports. Suncor Energy, for example, completed ahead of schedule a multi-year effort to replace eight coke drums at its Base Plant, extending the life of the facility’s Upgrader 1 by about 30 years. “Everything went flawlessly, resulting in the project being completed safely,…

The Trump administration is poised to introduce new rules that could make it more challenging for renewable energy companies to claim federal tax credits, potentially slowing the development of wind and solar projects across the United States. The Treasury Department is expected to revise the definition of what constitutes "under construction" for these projects, a critical factor for qualifying for subsidies. This action follows a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump, issued in July, to review the existing regulations. The…

Major data center operator Equinix (EQIX.O) has announced a series of agreements to secure advanced nuclear electricity, including power purchase agreements and a pre-order for microreactors, to fuel its data centers. The move comes as the growing energy demands of data centers, driven by technologies like generative artificial intelligence (AI), raise concerns about global power supplies. According to a company statement, the agreements are part of Equinix's long-term strategy to ensure a stable and sustainable electricity supply for its global…

Just two days ahead of a summit with President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump has warned Russia of "very severe consequences" if it doesn't halt its war against Ukraine. Trump gave no details on what consequences Moscow could face if it doesn't put an end to more than 3 1/2 years of war in Ukraine, but he spoke on August 13 shortly after being urged by several European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to protect fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests. "The aim is to end the war," he said of what he hopes…

The oil price structure has started to slowly shift as prompt futures premiums are softening compared to later-dated contracts, signaling that the market believes supply would be plentiful as soon as peak summer travel season ends.  The rise in supply from OPEC+ producers, as well as from Latin America and Europe, has eased the backwardation in the oil market in recent weeks, analysts and traders told Reuters on Thursday.   The backwardation structure in oil prices typically occurs when supply is tight, and in it, prices for front-month…