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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Brent Tops $90 as Tanker Hit in Strait of Hormuz Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions — Is “Higher for Longer” Here to Stay?

Oil markets are back on edge. Brent crude has surged above $90 per barrel for the first time in weeks, driven by a fresh attack on a Kuwaiti tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and renewed fighting between the United States and Iran. Early Tuesday (July 21, 2026), the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported […]

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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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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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What are tank bottoms?

Crude oil inventories held at storage facilities in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell below 20 million barrels during the week ending June 19 until the week ending July 10, according to our Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Storage facilities for crude oil and petroleum products require a minimum volume of product in their tanks and pipe infrastructure to remain […]

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California is ramping its war with the White House over Energy

California is escalating its legal and political confrontation with the Trump administration over energy policy. As detailed in a recent OilPrice.com analysis, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration and state officials are pushing back hard against federal actions favoring fossil fuels, including the reallocation of offshore wind funds, challenges to the California Coastal Commission, and the use […]

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The Coal Reality that Western Policy Ignores

An in-depth look at the July 2026 brief by the National Center for Energy Analytics (NCEA), Dr. Lars Schernikau, and Portia Roberts, with updates on U.S. policy and global fleet management. Dr. Schernikau has been on the Energy News Beat Podcast, and we highly recommend buying his book.  In a world racing toward ambitious net-zero […]

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Anas Alhajji Asks the Right Questions: How Long Can Strong U.S. Petroleum Product Exports Continue Before Causing Domestic Shortages and Price Spikes?

Energy markets are flashing warning signs as U.S. petroleum product exports remain near record highs while domestic inventories tighten amid escalating geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Veteran energy analyst Anas Alhajji (@anasalhajji) highlighted these concerns in his July 9, 2026, Daily Energy Report on X and Substack, posing a series of pointed questions that […]

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MOU violations look like Iran ended their path to a peaceful ending. What does this mean for the oil and gas markets?

The fragile ceasefire and sanctions relief framework between the United States and Iran has collapsed. President Donald Trump’s blunt assessment at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026, made that clear: the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is “over,” the ceasefire is finished, and he has no interest in further dealings with the […]

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Nat Gas May Lose Its Seasonality and Become More Expensive Due to Surging Demand

The era of ultra-cheap U.S. natural gas appears to be ending. A combination of explosive demand growth from LNG exports and AI-driven data centers, paired with maturing supply dynamics, is poised to push Henry Hub prices higher while potentially flattening the traditional seasonal price swings that have defined the market for decades. Traditional Seasonality Under […]

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