Russia has seized a village near Shevchenkove in eastern Ukraine, just kilometers from a major untapped lithium deposit, according to a pro-Russian local official cited by Reuters on Wednesday. The area lies close to the Kruta Balka site, one of Ukraine’s most valuable hard-rock lithium prospects, raising fresh alarm over Europe’s long-term access to critical energy transition materials. The Kruta Balka deposit is part of a cluster of lithium-rich zones in eastern and central Ukraine, previously estimated to contain over 500,000 metric…

It was a sunny, unremarkable Monday in April. Demand was low, just 25 GW, well below winter peaks, and wholesale power prices hovered around €18.5/MWh as solar generation surged across the Iberian Peninsula. At first glance, the conditions seemed ideal for a high-renewables day. But behind the scenes, several things were already going wrong. A large number of high-voltage (400 kV) transmission lines in central Spain were offline for maintenance. One of the two HVDC interconnectors to France was down. And while Spain was exporting power at…

Sudan and South Sudan have not reached an agreement during discussions on revised oil export fees which South Sudan pays to Sudan to export oil from its ports, local outlet Radio Tamazuj reported on Thursday, quoting technical sources and officials.  South Sudan, a landlocked country in East Africa, broke from Sudan in 2011 and took with it around 350,000 barrels of day (bpd) in oil production at the time.  However, the only export oil pipeline out of South Sudan passes through its neighbor to the north, Sudan.  To access Port Sudan…

Sudan and South Sudan have not reached an agreement during discussions on revised oil export fees which South Sudan pays to Sudan to export oil from its ports, local outlet Radio Tamazuj reported on Thursday, quoting technical sources and officials.  South Sudan, a landlocked country in East Africa, broke from Sudan in 2011 and took with it around 350,000 barrels of day (bpd) in oil production at the time.  However, the only export oil pipeline out of South Sudan passes through its neighbor to the north, Sudan.  To access Port Sudan…

On Monday June 23, 2025, Iran launched a missile strike on the U.S. Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar—a retaliatory move following U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. Explosions were reported near Doha, and additional strikes were reported against American assets in Iraq. We would normally expect such developments to send oil prices soaring. Instead, crude prices fell by 6% in late Monday trading. That decline may seem puzzling at first. After all, this was a direct Iranian attack on the largest U.S. military base in…

A sanctioned LNG tanker appears to be headed for the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia, vessel-tracking data on Bloomberg showed on Thursday, in what could be another attempt by Russia to load LNG and try to find buyers.  The LNG tanker Iris, which is blacklisted by the U.S., was headed on Thursday to the Arctic LNG 2 facility. The tanker flashed destination at Sabetta, the terminal at the Yamal LNG, which is not under sanctions. But the vessel passed Sabetta earlier on Thursday without stopping and appears to be now headed to the…

A sanctioned LNG tanker appears to be headed for the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia, vessel-tracking data on Bloomberg showed on Thursday, in what could be another attempt by Russia to load LNG and try to find buyers.  The LNG tanker Iris, which is blacklisted by the U.S., was headed on Thursday to the Arctic LNG 2 facility. The tanker flashed destination at Sabetta, the terminal at the Yamal LNG, which is not under sanctions. But the vessel passed Sabetta earlier on Thursday without stopping and appears to be now headed to the…

NATO leaders agreed to a sharp increase in defense spending at their June 25 summit in The Hague, delivering a big win for US President Donald Trump while reaffirming their “ironclad commitment” to come to each other’s aid if attacked. Here are the main takeaways from the meeting. Trump Flattery As head of the military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte really had just one task at his first summit, which was held in his hometown, The Hague: to make sure that Trump was on board and didn’t cause any ruckus similar…

Texas-based company Excelerate Energy is one of the bidders in a tender to provide a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that would welcome Iraq’s first-ever LNG imports, a senior Iraqi official told Bloomberg. The country, which looks to shake off its dependence on Iranian gas supply for power generation, is in advanced talks with Excelerate Energy for LNG import infrastructure at the Khor Al-Zubair commodities port near Basra in southern Iraq.   U.S. firm Excelerate Energy – which offers floating LNG import terminals,…

LNG imports into China, the world’s top buyer of the super-chilled fuel, continue to be weaker than the prior-year month for the eighth consecutive month in June, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler cited by Bloomberg. China is on track to import about 5 million tons of LNG this month, per Kpler’s data. This volume, if confirmed, would be a 12% decline compared to June last year.  Chinese demand for overseas LNG has thus extended its year-over-year decline for the eighth straight month amid rising pipeline gas flows and…

New oil and gas pipeline projects in Canada need changes in legislation, pipeline major Enbridge has said, noting shortened approval times would be much appreciated. The company was commenting on a bill proposed by Mark Carney’s government that envisages just that: faster environmental and other reviews to accelerate the time from pitch to construction. Dubbed Bill C-5, the piece of proposed legislation aims to speed up the buildout of infrastructure—including oil and gas pipelines. “We will be there to build what is needed for…

Global energy demand rose by 2% last year with all sources of energy seeing upticks, the Energy Institute said in the latest edition of its annual Statistical Review of World Energy, previously compiled by BP. Oil, gas, and coal consumption increased modestly, at 1%, with oil demand specifically falling in China, by 1.2%. Global bas demand, however, expanded by 2.5%, the Energy Institute reported, while India saw a substantial increase in coal demand. Now, the subcontinent consumes as much coal as the former Soviet Union, now known as the Commonwealth…

For years, battery systems have only played a marginal role in U.S. electricity networks, with power utilities focusing more on building out capacity from natural gas plants and renewable energy sources. According to energy data portal Cleanview, five years ago, the United States had 74 times more wind farm capacity and 30 times more solar capacity than battery capacity within its power generation system. However, steady cost declines coupled with rising energy density levels have encouraged utilities to ramp up their battery installations, with…

Rising Canadian oil production and continued demand for more shipping capacity at the key U.S. refining hubs have prompted Canada’s pipeline giant Enbridge to test interest from potential shippers for a new pipeline in Illinois linked to the Mainline system. Enbridge is considering raising the crude shipment capacity from Canada to the United States via the pipeline that could boost oil flows by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd). Enbridge and its partner Energy Transfer are gauging potential shippers’ interest in an open season until mid-July…

Oil and the security of its supply have stolen the media spotlight in the context of the new Middle East war, and with good reason. Ever since Israel first bombed Iran, diesel prices have soared, jet fuel prices have soared, and importers have been troubled. For Europe, the situation is even worse due to natural gas. Europe has been hurt more than others by the diesel price surge because it has boosted its imports considerably over the past years. About 20% of the diesel Europe consumes comes from imports, and a lot of these imports come from the…

Via Metal Miner Amidst the tariff wars, are we about to see the birth of new energy dynamics in the Americas? A few days ago, Russia offered to supply liquefied natural gas to the United States’ neighbor, Mexico. Because of the strategic, economic and geopolitical implications, the move quickly made sector analysts sit up and take note Media reports quoted Russia’s Energy Minister, Sergei Tsivilev, as saying that the country was already working with Mexico in other sectors. Now it was offering to share its liquefied natural gas technologies…

There are several important energy chokepoints around the world, but none is more significant and vulnerable than the Strait of Hormuz. Now, following the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday, the Iranian Parliament has reportedly voted to close this important energy transit chokepoint. Such a move could severely disrupt the world’s energy markets.  While the final decision still rests with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council–and Iran has failed to follow through on previous threats to close the Strait–the…

In a world scrambling to wean itself off coal, the black rock might just be staging a comeback—thanks to a war halfway across the globe. Oil and gas prices pulled back sharply on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump called for a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, a day after the United States Air Force and Navy attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is ready to respect the truce as long as Israel does not break it, with the two sides accusing each other of continuing attacks. Brent…

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has fully launched the second phase of its Deep-Sea No. 1 natural gas project in the South China Sea, boosting domestic output by 4.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year. The project, China’s largest deepwater gas development to date, officially reached full capacity on June 26, according to CNOOC officials cited by China Daily. With total geological reserves exceeding 150 bcm, Deep-Sea No. 1 is seen as a cornerstone of China’s efforts to strengthen energy security and reduce reliance…

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has fully launched the second phase of its Deep-Sea No. 1 natural gas project in the South China Sea, boosting domestic output by 4.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year. The project, China’s largest deepwater gas development to date, officially reached full capacity on June 26, according to CNOOC officials cited by China Daily. With total geological reserves exceeding 150 bcm, Deep-Sea No. 1 is seen as a cornerstone of China’s efforts to strengthen energy security and reduce reliance…