Global Energy Market In Flux with Russia, Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandab Strait and drought in the EU all in play

The global energy landscape remains highly volatile in early August 2026, shaped by overlapping geopolitical, security, and climate pressures. Disruptions centered on Russia’s refined product exports, ongoing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, escalating risks in the Bab el-Mandab Strait, and a severe drought across Europe are tightening supplies of crude oil, petroleum products, LNG, […]

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed a halt on new data center connections to the ERCOT grid pending a comprehensive audit of their energy use, water consumption, financing, ownership, and community impacts.

This action, announced August 3, 2026, comes roughly three weeks after New York became the first state to impose a temporary statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data centers. It applies to projects seeking to interconnect with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) system and pauses related transmission planning work, including the “Batch Zero” study. […]

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China Approves Eight New Nuclear Plants, Including Four With Hualong One 2.0 Tech

China’s State Council approved the construction of eight new nuclear reactor units on July 31, 2026, during an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang. The projects, spanning four provinces, represent a total investment exceeding 170 billion yuan (approximately $25 billion) and continue the country’s aggressive expansion of nuclear capacity as a cornerstone of its […]

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Hormuz Tanker Traffic Stalls as Attacks Escalate

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has sunk to its lowest level in more than two months as attacks and threats intensify, leaving the world’s most critical oil chokepoint effectively stalled despite intermittent diplomatic noise from Washington. Ship-tracking data show vessel movements—including commodity carriers—plunged after a brief mid-June to early-July uptick tied to a […]

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Qatar, Bessent Signal Progress on Short-Term US-Iran Deal — With Mixed Signals from Iran

Oil markets swung lower on Tuesday as Qatar and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed to advancing mediation efforts aimed at a short-term arrangement between the United States and Iran, centered on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The chokepoint, which normally handles roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies, has been heavily disrupted since […]

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Williams Cos. Reaches Deal to Buy Momentum Midstream for Up to $5.5 Billion

Tulsa-based The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB) has signed an agreement to acquire Momentum Midstream in a strategic transaction valued at up to $5.5 billion, establishing a premier position in the Haynesville Shale to serve expanding Gulf Coast LNG, power, and industrial demand. The deal, announced alongside Williams’ strong second-quarter 2026 results on August 3, […]

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America is watching the world’s movement to nuclear power generation

ENB Pub Note: This article was originally published on America Out Loud, and we recommend reading and following Ronald Stein!  Most California politicians have hated the zero-emissions electricity generated by nuclear power since 1976, when they passed a moratorium on new nuclear power plants. Nuclear is the cleanest, safest, proven, least-emitting fuel of all, and yet most […]

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Net Zero has hit the Bank of England, and they cut all support for coal. But the rest of the world increases use of coal and low-cost energy.

The Bank of England is moving further away from thermal coal. From October 2026, it will no longer accept bonds issued by companies deriving revenue from thermal coal mining as eligible collateral in its lending operations. Commercial banks borrowing from the Bank (including major UK institutions) will not be able to post those bonds. The […]

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