China?s Coal and Gas Power Faces Its First Annual Decline in a Decade
by Irina Slav
14 Dec 2025 at 10:48pm
Coal- and gas-fired power generation in China is on course for an annual decline for the first time since 2015, unless demand surges this month. Over the first 11 months of the year, electricity generated from coal and gas plants ticked down by a modest 0.7%, Bloomberg reported today, citing government data. In November alone, thermal power output dipped by 4.2%. Unless demand increases significantly in December, the hydrocarbon-based part of China?s power generation mix is set for an annual decline. Per the Bloomberg report, wind and solar?

U.S. Moves to Disrupt the Venezuela?Cuba Oil Axis
by OilPrice.com
14 Dec 2025 at 3:00pm
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has realized that it is all about following the money. If the U.S. military posture in the Caribbean is one of "gunboat diplomacy" aimed at ushering in regime change in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, against the country's autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, then one way to accelerate regime instability is to weaken Cuba materially. During President Trump's first term, there was a brief moment in which the Maduro regime appeared close to being overthrown, but it was countered by support from Cuba. According to The?

China Upends the Weak Oil-Demand Narrative
by Irina Slav
14 Dec 2025 at 2:00pm
China?s latest oil import data has been rather bullish, with November imports rising 5% year on year. Not only that, but China is building new storage capacity, so it can keep buying more crude, instead of demonstrating that its oil demand growth is weakening, as forecasters say. China is making oil demand forecasting uncertain. FGE NexantECA, for instance, recently reported that China?s apparent demand in October had been revised downwards to 14.6 million barrels of crude daily, or 570,000 barrels daily less than earlier expected.?

Canada Considers Major Pipeline Revival Amid U.S. Trade Tensions
by Felicity Bradstock
14 Dec 2025 at 12:00pm
Canada could approve the development of a new oil pipeline, four years after plans for the cross-border Keystone XL Pipeline were scrapped over environmental and human rights concerns. While Canada?s oil-rich Alberta province is highly supportive of the plan, environmentalists and Indigenous leaders are concerned about what impact the development of a new pipeline might have on both land and communities. This marks a significant shift away from the national energy policy of recent years, which was increasingly focused on decarbonisation.?

The AI Boom Is Pushing Data Centers Past the Thermal Wall
by Michael Kern
14 Dec 2025 at 10:00am
As hyperscale operators race to deploy increasingly powerful infrastructure, the thermal limits of traditional data centers are being tested, triggering a massive surge in demand for advanced cooling technologies. According to a new report from Verified Market Reports, the global data center cooling market was valued at $14.21 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $34.12 billion by 2033. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3% over the forecast period, a trajectory driven by a fundamental shift in how the internet?s?

India Deepens Russian Oil Ties Despite U.S. Tariff Pressure in 2025
by Felicity Bradstock
14 Dec 2025 at 8:00am
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the global energy landscape has changed significantly, as the United States and Europe introduced strict sanctions on Russian energy. This led to a rapid movement away from Russian oil and gas by Europe, as countries scrambled to find alternative supplies. As Russia lost many of its main energy trade partners, it also looked elsewhere, offering oil and gas at heavily discounted prices. The tactic worked, as China and India stockpiled vast quantities of low-cost Russian energy. Moscow now aims to strengthen?

Venezuela?s Oil Future Hinges on U.S. Tensions and Possible Regime Shift
by Tsvetana Paraskova
13 Dec 2025 at 4:00pm
Escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela could lead to profound changes in the oil industry of the world?s largest crude resource holder. Any regime change of President Nicolas Maduro could be a game-changer for oil production in Venezuela, U.S. access to Venezuela?s heavy crude fit for U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, and America?s influence in the Western Hemisphere and Latin America. Although it?s not certain that U.S. President Donald Trump would necessarily pursue regime change or an incursion of some?

How White Hydrogen and Carbon Mineralization Could Decarbonize Industry
by Michael Kern
13 Dec 2025 at 12:00pm
In the remote geology of western Newfoundland, a specific formation of ancient oceanic crust is shifting from a subject of academic study to a target for industrial decarbonization. The region?s ophiolite belts, sections of Earth?s mantle pushed onto land, are drawing attention for their theoretical ability to produce low-cost hydrogen while permanently mineralizing carbon dioxide. This geological convergence arrives as the energy sector seeks scalable alternatives to manufactured hydrogen. While "green" hydrogen produced via electrolysis?

The New Power Rules Driving Europe's Battery Storage Boom
by OilPrice.com
13 Dec 2025 at 10:00am
The economics of battery storage systems (BESS) in Europe look much rosier following changes to the European Union?s (EU) power pricing structure in October, with several countries offering the potential for BESS profits to rise more than a 15%, according to Rystad Energy analysis. The new EU system sets power prices every 15 minutes, rather than every hour, giving BESS operators more opportunities to buy electricity when it?s cheap and sell it when prices rise. Since the new system was implemented, arbitrage potential has increased?

U.K. Sets Stage for a Nuclear Rebuild With Ambitious 2026 Expansion Plans
by Felicity Bradstock
13 Dec 2025 at 8:00am
The United Kingdom has big plans for its nuclear sector, with the construction of two conventional nuclear plants underway and plans to develop small modular reactor (SMR) technology. France?s EDF Energy is managing the development of the Hinkley Point C power plant in Somerset and Sizewell C in Suffolk, while Rolls-Royce was recently selected as the preferred bidder to construct the U.K.?s first SMRs. However, the plans do not stop there. In December, the country?s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband stated the government has ?only?

Massless Structural Batteries Will Transform Vehicle Design
by Haley Zaremba
12 Dec 2025 at 4:00pm
An electrified future is going to require a whole lot of batteries. Keeping our power grids stable and our cars running won?t only necessitate huge increases in production for current battery models, but it will also hinge on the development of new technologies that have better energy efficiency, quicker charging, longer duration, and diversified supply chains. Currently, the market is almost completely dominated by lithium-ion batteries, but a litany of alternatives are quickly progressing through research and development phases and could?

Sanctions Cloud Future of Turkey's Gas Deals with Iran and Turkmenistan
by OilPrice.com
12 Dec 2025 at 2:00pm
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is traveling to Turkmenistan for festivities December 12 marking the Central Asian state?s 30th anniversary of neutrality. While in Ashgabat, Erdogan will also hold talks with Turkmen leaders likely focusing on the topic of natural gas supplies. Speaking to reporters earlier in December, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Ankara is working to expand gas imports via a long-time arrangement with Iran, augmented by a swap deal with Turkmenistan. A lack of clarity about sanctions currently?

South Sudan Deploys Troops to Secure Heglig Oil Field
by Julianne Geiger
12 Dec 2025 at 12:30pm
South Sudan has moved troops into Sudan?s Heglig oil field under what it calls a tripartite agreement with Sudan?s two warring factions. The move is a rare arrangement aimed at shielding critical oil infrastructure as fighting escalates across West Kordofan. South Sudan?s army chief of staff, Paul Nang, appeared in a video address from Heglig, saying South Sudanese forces entered the field following an agreement between President Salva Kiir, Sudanese Armed Forces leader Abdelfattah El Burhan, and Rapid Support Forces commander?

AI Chip Market to Explode to $565 Billion by 2032
by Michael Kern
12 Dec 2025 at 12:00pm
The global market for artificial intelligence (AI) chips is projected to skyrocket from $203.24 billion in 2025 to nearly $565 billion by 2032, driven by an insatiable demand for real-time analytics and generative AI capabilities.  According to a new report by MarketsandMarkets?, the sector is forecast to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.7% over the next seven years. This trajectory highlights a critical pivot in the global technology infrastructure, where specialized silicon is becoming as vital a commodity as the?

Nigeria Taps Flared Gas to Cut Emissions and Boost Power Supply
by Julianne Geiger
12 Dec 2025 at 11:30am
Nigeria has approved 28 companies to buy natural gas that is currently being flared at oil fields, a long-running problem the country has talked about fixing for years and is now trying?again?to turn into something usable. The permits were issued under the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Program, the upstream regulator said this week. Forty-two companies applied to capture gas from 49 flare sites in the Niger Delta. Fourteen bidders did not meet the requirements and were not approved. The regulator estimates that between 250 million?