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Kazakhstan insists that the international oil majors pay a hefty $4.4 billion fine for sulfur pollution despite a court win for Big Oil earlier this month. At the beginning of August, a Kazakh appellate court sided with the international oil majors operating the huge Kashagan oilfield, overturning the massive environmental …

U.S. natural gas consumption is on track to set a new record in 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the agency projected demand will average 91.4 billion cubic feet per day, up from 90.5 bcf/d in 2024. January usage climbed to 126.8 bcf/d, …

Despite record solar and wind capacity additions and booming renewable energy output, China is not giving up on coal, on the contrary. During the first half of 2025, China commissioned as much as 21 gigawatts (GW) of coal power, the highest amount in the first half of the year since …

The Commerce Department just opened a Section 232 “national security” probe into imported wind turbines and parts—quietly on Aug. 13, publicly today. That matters because 232 isn’t a press release; it’s a legal on-ramp to more tariffs on top of the new 50% duty already applied to the steel and …

When Aramco listed on the Tadawul stock exchange in Riyadh, many hailed the move as the listing of the decade and bet on whether it would immediately reach top market cap status. Six years later, Aramco has turned into something of a disappointment—because of oil prices. One could argue with …

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may issue a host of waivers for biofuel blending mandates for small refiners, countering a proposal made by the federal government earlier this year for an increase in biofuels blending with regular fuels. In that proposal, the Trump administration eyed an 8% increase in the …

The Chinese government is planning to reduce the number of oil refiners and petrochemicals producers in the country in a bid to solve the industry’s problem with overcapacity. According to a Bloomberg report, the authorities will shut down some smaller refineries and upgrade facilities that have become outdated. The latter …

Security guarantees for Kyiv are a key issue at the heart of efforts to bring an end to fighting amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and now White House special envoy Steve Witkoff has put the term “Article 5-like” center stage. Witkoff told CNN on August 17 that it was …

China has boosted imports of Russia’s flagship Urals crude, as refiners buy additional volumes of discounted oil while India is hesitant amid U.S. threats over its purchases of Russian oil. China is the top buyer of Russian crude, but most of its imports consist of the ESPO grade shipped from …

Top U.S. and Iraqi officials have discussed the potential resumption of oil exports from Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan and the role of the U.S. oil companies operating in the country, the Iraqi foreign ministry said on Monday. Oil exports from Kurdistan have now been halted for two and a …