India is kicking off exploration efforts for cobalt and copper deposits in Zambia by sending a team of geologists to the African country known for its critical minerals reserves, sources at the Indian government told Reuters on Tuesday. In March this year, India bought land in Zambia to explore copper and cobalt, signaling a significant move to secure its mineral supply chains in Africa. India’s government has acquired greenfield land in Zambia’s northwest province with plans to explore copper and cobalt. Zambia’s economy is mainly…

Oil markets are now refocusing on OPEC+ as the Iran-Israel ceasefire continues to hold, with the cartel's meeting this weekend likely to be the next big market mover.- Ever since OPEC+ countries started to unwind their 2.2 million b/d worth of voluntary production cuts, the expectation was that Middle Eastern producers would start to flood the markets in order to re-gain market share.   - Saudi Arabia’s June export numbers indicate that Saudi Aramco is doubling down on its production hikes, shipping 6.4 million b/d in seaborne…

Kazakhstan’s crude oil output jumped 7.5% in June to 1.88 million barrels per day (bpd), matching the country’s all-time high set in March, according to figures leaked to Reuters. This puts Kazakhstan well over its official OPEC+ quota of 1.5 million bpd, and continues a pattern of months-long noncompliance that’s frustrating the group’s core members—especially Saudi Arabia. Total oil and condensate production rose to 2.15 million bpd in June, up from 2.02 million in May. Most of the increase came from Tengiz—the…

OPEC’s second-largest producer, Iraq, was the single biggest supplier of crude from the cartel to the United States in May, per data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) cited by Iraqi media outlets Shafaq News and IraqiNews. Iraq ranked first among the 12 OPEC producers in terms of exports to the United States in May. Shipments totaled nearly 7 million barrels of crude, 6.95 million barrels to be precise. The second-largest OPEC supplier to the U.S. was Nigeria with 6.803 million barrels of crude oil exports, followed by…

Kazakhstan’s crude oil output jumped 7.5% in June to 1.88 million barrels per day (bpd), matching the country’s all-time high set in March, according to figures leaked to Reuters. This puts Kazakhstan well over its official OPEC+ quota of 1.5 million bpd, and continues a pattern of months-long noncompliance that’s frustrating the group’s core members—especially Saudi Arabia. Total oil and condensate production rose to 2.15 million bpd in June, up from 2.02 million in May. Most of the increase came from Tengiz—the…

Electric utilities in the United States face a high degree of uncertainty over future revenues as the boom of AI data centers generates widely varying forecasts of peak demand in many areas across the country. U.S. power utilities are investing a record amount of money into transmission and grid connection, but current forecasts of AI-driven power demand vary so much that there is a massive margin of error, analysts and utility officials have told Reuters Events. The U.S. market faces “a moment of peak uncertainty,” according to Rebecca…

Electric utilities in the United States face a high degree of uncertainty over future revenues as the boom of AI data centers generates widely varying forecasts of peak demand in many areas across the country. U.S. power utilities are investing a record amount of money into transmission and grid connection, but current forecasts of AI-driven power demand vary so much that there is a massive margin of error, analysts and utility officials have told Reuters Events. The U.S. market faces “a moment of peak uncertainty,” according to Rebecca…

Britain’s energy regulator, Ofgem, has given the provisional green light to an investment program of $33 billion (£24 billion) to maintain essential gas distribution networks and expand the power grid in a move to boost energy security and allow more renewables to enter the electricity system. A total of $20.7 billion (£15 billion) will ensure the continued safe operation of Great Britain’s gas transmission and distribution networks, making sure they deliver safe and secure supplies of gas to households and businesses across…

Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) have announced the successful completion of hydrocarbon production testing at the Makori Deep-03 Development Well in the TAL Block in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Drilling operations reached a final depth of 3,887 meters and yielded 2,112 barrels per day of condensate and 22.08 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMSCFD), according to a filing by POL. POL holds a 25% working interest in the block, while OGDCL has a 27.763% stake. Production is expected to commence…

In the aftermath of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities vital to its nuclear weapons development programme and Iranian strikes on Israeli targets and the U.S.’s Al Udeid base in Qatar, each side will have just one key question to ask of itself. In the U.S.’s case, with heavy Israeli input, it is whether now is the time to deliver a final push to change the regime in Iran. After all, the current Presidential Administration unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or colloquially…

African countries have recently started making more and more headlines with their plans to develop local oil and gas reserves despite strong opposition from foreign environmentalist organisations and international lenders. The latest to join the oil and gas club is Sierra Leone. And it has big plans for its hydrocarbons. The small Western African state earlier this month concluded a round of seismic research that it now hopes would lure international oil majors in, after several discoveries that failed to produce commercial volumes of hydrocarbons.…

China is increasingly integrating artificial intelligence into its energy system to increase the sector’s efficiency and enhance national energy security. From managing energy storage to more accurately forecasting energy supply and demand, large language models can make the whole sector smarter, by streamlining energy systems and minimizing waste.  As early as 2020, the Chinese state-owned natural gas giant Gas Holdings Ltd. was using artificial intelligence to more accurately predict complex and dynamic shifts in natural gas demand.…

U.S. crude oil production surged to an all-time high of 13.24 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, according to newly released data from the Energy Information Administration. The increase of 0.4% over March volumes reinforces America’s standing as the world’s top oil producer and follows months of steady gains driven by improved drilling efficiencies and  stronger prices. Texas led the charge with an output of 5.7 million bpd, up 1.6% from March, while New Mexico, the second-largest producing state, posted a 0.7% increase to…

Last week the Energy Institute (EI) released the 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy, which was published previously for more than 70 years by BP. The full report and all data can be found at this link. The Statistical Review is instrumental in providing comprehensive data on global oil, gas, and coal production and consumption, as well as on carbon dioxide emissions and renewable energy statistics. Over the next month, I will delve into the various categories from the report. But today, I want to highlight a foundational change in how global…

Turkmenistan has attracted lots of diplomatic attention this week from both the United States and Russia. The flurry of activity suggests geopolitical jostling is intensifying over the Central Asian state, apparently catalyzed by the recent Iranian-Israeli conflict.  Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov capped a hectic week with a June 26 phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the Trend news agency reported, adding that the topic of Iran’s clash with Israel came up during the discussion. The two had also met in person…

An abundance of high-quality iron ore and the recent discovery of a 55 billion metric ton reserve have pushed Western Australia into the top spot as the world’s leading iron ore supplier. Now, many are wondering what effects this might have on the country’s export markets as well as global iron ore prices. Iron Ore Prices: A $6 Trillion Discovery The newly identified reserve in the Hamersley region is valued at around US $6 trillion and has significantly shaken up the global sector. Experts now expect a surge in investment from major…

The City minister has reaffirmed the government’s ambition for a green transition across the financial services sector, despite the industry pivoting on climate priorities. Speaking at City Week on Monday, Emma Reynolds said: “The UK has a world leading financial and related professional services ecosystem and the research that is needed to integrate sustainable finance.” Reynolds said the Treasury’s upcoming Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy – a key pillar in the government’s economic agenda…

Senate Republicans stunned clean energy developers early Monday by inserting sweeping revisions to President Donald Trump’s $1.2-trillion “One Big, Beautiful Bill” just ahead of floor debate. The last-minute amendments slash wind and solar tax incentives, introduce excise taxes on imported Chinese energy components, and move eligibility criteria from start-date to in-service date, upending financing models across the renewable sector. At stake is nearly $360 billion in clean energy tax credits passed under the Inflation Reduction…

Senate Republicans stunned clean energy developers early Monday by inserting sweeping revisions to President Donald Trump’s $1.2-trillion “One Big, Beautiful Bill” just ahead of floor debate. The last-minute amendments slash wind and solar tax incentives, introduce excise taxes on imported Chinese energy components, and move eligibility criteria from start-date to in-service date, upending financing models across the renewable sector. At stake is nearly $360 billion in clean energy tax credits passed under the Inflation Reduction…

It is widely agreed that a large part of decarbonization will occur through market-based solutions that put a price on carbon. A growing part of the world’s carbon emissions are covered by mandatory carbon markets – regional or national – the so-called compliance markets. But market watchers see an ongoing need for voluntary markets, in which companies and organizations purchase carbon credits to offset their carbon emissions. In fact, a convergence of voluntary and compliance markets is beginning to appear, potentially opening…