Author: Stu

Oil Jumps as Trump Pushes Europe to Stop All Russian Energy Purchases

In a bold move that sent shockwaves through global energy markets, U.S. President Donald Trump urged European nations to immediately halt all purchases of Russian energy, including oil and natural gas. This call, renewed amid ongoing geopolitical tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine, coincided with a rally in oil prices on Tuesday, with ICE Brent […]

Texas ERCOT was ok this summer, but are we ready for winter? Are we wrong to ask if we are ok?

Doug Sheridan on LinkedIn writes: Last month we came across the attached series of charts on the Grid Status app. They show continual generation on Ercot for the 30 days ending Aug 4—ie, the middle of the Texas summer. We marked the demand peaks in each chart with green dots, and demand troughs with red […]

Russia’s Crude Flows Hit 16-Month High on Rising Output, Attacks

Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports have surged to their highest levels in over a year, driven by a combination of increased production and disruptions to domestic refining capacity from Ukrainian drone strikes. According to recent vessel-tracking data, the four-week average shipments reached 3.62 million barrels per day (bpd) in the period ending September 21—the highest […]

Is China’s Debt Bomb About to Explode, and What Is the Impact on Global Markets?

In a stark admission during a September 2025 press conference, China’s Finance Minister revealed that “every penny we spend is borrowed,” highlighting the precarious state of the nation’s finances. This confession has reignited global concerns about China’s mounting debt crisis, often dubbed a “debt bomb” poised for detonation. With official government debt reaching 92.6 trillion […]

Surging VLCC rates propel ClarkSea Index to two-year high

– Surging VLCC rates have seen the cross-sector ClarkSea Index, a weighted average of tanker, bulk carrier, containership, and gas carrier earnings managed by Clarksons Research, reach a two-year high of $29,888 per day as of last Friday, 50% above the 10-year trend. VLCC rates leapt last week, with some fixtures breaking through the $100,000 […]

Utility-scale batteries are more commonly used for price arbitrage

 In-brief analysis September 22, 2025 Utility-scale batteries are more commonly used for price arbitrage Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Electric Generator Report Data values: File 3.4—Energy Storage In our annual survey of power plant activity, we ask operators of utility-scale batteries how they are using their systems, and one use case is increasingly prevalent: price arbitrage. Arbitrage […]

Comoros takes action on dark fleet

Israeli maritime analytics firm Windward is reporting that the government of Comoros has begun a clean-out of its international registry, a flag which has been central to sanctions-circumventing dark fleet tankers shipping Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil. There are now 62 tankers, three liquefied petroleum gas carriers and one tug declared as falsely flying the […]

US and Kazakhstan reach $4 billion locomotive deal to boost rail industry

WASHINGTON (TNND) — The United States and Kazakhstan reached a $4.2 billion locomotive agreement on Monday that will support thousands of U.S. jobs in Texas and Pennsylvania. Parts maker Wabtec, based in Pennsylvania, will provide the country’s national railway company, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), with 300 “evolution Series ES44Aci heavy-haul locomotive kits over the next decade,” […]

Net-zero emission ideologies will be destructive to future generations.

The vast resources of underground coal, crude oil, and natural gas are all useless unless refined or processed into the fuels and products that support the lives of 8 billion people. Refineries, coal gasification, and coal liquefaction plants—though emission generators—remain indispensable to modern civilization. Are you Paying High Taxes in New Jersey, New York, or […]

UK Government Policies: Taxes, Bans, and Accelerated Decline and Fiscal Collapse 

Under the Labour government, North Sea operations face a barrage of measures that critics argue are deliberately stifling investment and production. A 78% tax rate on offshore profits, including a prolonged windfall tax introduced in 2022, has shattered investor confidence and led to slashed capital expenditures. Operators have cut UK investments, with production projected to […]