Oil up to $94 with Geopolitical Choke Points Under Stress

Global oil markets are navigating heightened volatility as geopolitical tensions, ongoing conflicts, militant attacks, environmental constraints, and regulatory hurdles converge on several of the world’s most critical maritime and pipeline chokepoints. Brent crude prices have shown sharp swings, with peaks well above $90 during periods of acute disruption (including levels around or exceeding $94 in […]

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Fossil Fuels Still Generate 57% of the World’s Electricity — But We Remain Deeply Dependent on Them for Transportation, Manufacturing, and Building the “Renewables” Themselves

Recent data confirms that fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) still supply 57% of global electricity generation. Wind and solar together reached about 17% of electricity in 2025, according to Ember’s Global Electricity Review. This marks progress from a decade ago, yet it tells only part of the story. Electricity represents a minority slice […]

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Data Center Growth on Track to Absorb a Fifth of US Power Use by 2035: Nuclear Had Better Be Implemented Before We Get There

The explosive growth of data centers, driven primarily by artificial intelligence, is reshaping America’s electricity landscape. High-end projections now show data centers potentially consuming up to 20% of total U.S. electricity by 2035 in aggressive scenarios—roughly a four- to five-fold increase from today’s ~4-5% share. Even as AI model developers announce efficiency gains, the underlying […]

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U.S. Needs 5,000 Miles of New High-Voltage Lines Annually — It Only Built 392

The U.S. electric grid faces a critical bottleneck: explosive growth in electricity demand from AI data centers, manufacturing resurgence, and electrification is outpacing the physical expansion of the high-voltage transmission network that moves power across regions. According to energy economists Leonard Hyman and William Tilles in a new OilPrice.com analysis, the country needs roughly 5,000 […]

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US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Sites Left Inoperable Under Biden Administration — Trump and Energy Secretary Wright Race to Fix the Damage

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the world’s largest emergency crude oil stockpile, is facing serious operational challenges after years of massive drawdowns, deferred maintenance, and mismanagement. One of the four primary storage sites has been left inoperable, equipment purchased with taxpayer dollars was left exposed and unusable, and critical infrastructure repairs were neglected. President […]

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Net Zero and the Heat Wave Are an Energy Crisis in Europe Unfolding – Live Podcast Monday 7:00 am

Europe is facing a perfect storm in the summer of 2026: record early heatwaves clashing with the structural weaknesses of aggressive Net Zero policies. The EU and UK have systematically dismantled reliable baseload power from coal, nuclear, and natural gas, replacing it with intermittent wind and solar—without sufficient storage or flexible backup. The result? Some […]

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China Indefinitely Suspends Power of Siberia 2 Negotiations: A Major Blow to Russia’s Energy Export Ambitions

A recent Wall Street Journal report has confirmed that China has effectively put negotiations for the Power of Siberia 2 (PoS2) natural gas pipeline on indefinite hold. This development, highlighted in a July 19 X post by commodities analyst Jack Prandelli, underscores Beijing’s hardball tactics and Russia’s increasingly desperate position in pivoting its energy exports […]

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WellDatabase Weekly Rig Report for July 18, 2026: US Rig Count Climbs Up 11 with Strong Horizontal and Oil Activity

The latest WellDatabase US Rig Report (dated July 18, 2026) shows the U.S. active drilling rig count at 567, marking a solid +11 week-over-week (WoW) increase and +37 year-over-year (YoY) gain. This reflects resilient drilling activity amid a stable-to-rising trend over the past 12 months, with the count holding in the mid-to-high 500s range. Key […]

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Oil and Gas Markets are rebalancing

Energy News Beat Stand Up – Buckle Up – 10 Huge Stories Welcome to the Energy News Beat Standup, where host Stu Turley breaks down the 10 biggest energy stories reshaping global markets. In this episode, we dive into a world in flux: Russia’s refining capacity is crumbling under Ukrainian drone strikes, Iraq is suspending […]

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