Tech Breakthrough Could Upend the $650 Billion Plastics Market
by Michael Kern
14 May 2025 at 10:37am
For decades, recycling plastic has been a losing game ? too slow, too expensive, and too limited in scope. Most methods rely on high-heat extrusion and mechanical separation, degrading the material each cycle until it?s useless. The result? Over 90% of global plastic waste still ends up in landfills or incinerators, despite widespread collection efforts and consumer demand for sustainability.That cycle may have just ended.A new depolymerization breakthrough now makes it possible to reverse-engineer plastic ? not by melting it,?

Libyan Oil Logistics Disrupted as Tripoli Clashes Resume
by Charles Kennedy
14 May 2025 at 10:00am
Libya's oil sector faces renewed disruptions following the resumption of intense fighting in Tripoli, just hours after a ceasefire was declared by officials. The Sirte Oil Company, a key state-run energy operator, announced the suspension of all land-based fuel and material transport due to escalating security concerns in western Libya, Devidiscourse News reported on Wednesday. The company emphasized that this measure aims to protect personnel and assets amid the deteriorating situation. The capital has been engulfed in violence since the assassination?

Russia and Ukraine Prepare for Direct Peace Talks in Turkey
by RFE/RL staff
14 May 2025 at 9:00am
All of a sudden, Ukraine and Russia are preparing for what could be their first direct peace talks since the spring of 2022, when negotiations launched shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor broke up. The path to the talks expected in Turkey on May 15 has been a short one. On May 7, US Vice President JD Vance said direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were the priority. On May 10, European leaders joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in calling for a 30-day cease-fire starting on May 12, warning Russia would?

ADNOC?s XRG Takes Stake in Offshore Gas Block in Turkmenistan
by Charles Kennedy
14 May 2025 at 8:30am
XRG, the newly created energy investment firm of Abu Dhabi?s national oil company ADNOC, has taken a 38% stake in a production sharing contract for an offshore block of gas and condensate fields in Turkmenistan. XRG, Malaysia?s state energy firm Petronas, and Turkmenistan?s state firm Hazarnebit have signed a new Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with state company Turkmennebit for the offshore Block I gas and condensate fields. As part of the transaction, XRG and Petronas signed a long-term gas sales agreement (GSA) with Turkmengas.?

EIA Confirms Surprise Oil Inventory Build
by Julianne Geiger
14 May 2025 at 7:36am
Crude oil inventories in the United States saw an increase of 4 million barrels during the week ending May 9, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday. Crude oil prices were trading down prior to the crude data release by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise build in US crude oil inventories of 4.287 million barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories with draws in gasoline and distillate stocks. At 10:21am in New York, the?

OPEC+ Production Fell in April Despite Pledge to Start Hiking Output
by Charles Kennedy
14 May 2025 at 7:30am
All the countries in the OPEC+ pact saw their combined crude oil production drop by 106,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April compared to March, despite the pledge of the eight OPEC+ producers who are withholding supply to begin easing their cuts. OPEC+ producers Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman have decided to begin raising production in April, for the first time since 2022. The figures in OPEC?s Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) published today suggest that the eight OPEC+ producers added fewer than 30,000?

OPEC Cuts Forecast of Oil Supply Growth From Rival Producers
by Charles Kennedy
14 May 2025 at 7:00am
Lower upstream spending amid falling oil prices is set to slow the growth in oil supply from producers outside the OPEC+ pact this year and next, OPEC said in its monthly report on Wednesday. Liquids supply from OPEC+?s rivals ? including the United States ? is set to increase by 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2025, down by 100,000 bpd compared to OPEC?s assessment of 900,000-bpd growth last month. In 2026, liquids supply from non-OPEC+ producers is expected to rise by another 800,000 bpd, also down by 100,000 bpd from?

Indian Coal Imports Dip as Domestic Output Rises
by Charles Kennedy
14 May 2025 at 6:21am
India?s coal imports fell by 9.2% in the period April 2024 - February 2025 from a year earlier as domestic production rose by more than 5%, data from the Indian Ministry of Coal showed on Wednesday. Imports of all types of coal fell to 220.3 million tons in the 11 months to February 2025?the first 11 months of the Indian fiscal year ending March 2025. The lower coal imports saved India nearly $6.93 billion, according to the coal ministry. At the same time, India?s coal production increased by 5.45% during the period, to 929 million?

Denmark Reconsiders Nuclear Power Ban After Four Decades
by Tsvetana Paraskova
14 May 2025 at 5:10am
Denmark?s government has started weighing the opportunities and risks of lifting a 40-year-old ban on the use of nuclear energy, Minister of Climate and Energy Lars Aagaard said on Wednesday.  Denmark banned the use of nuclear energy in 1985, after the Parliament voted to remove nuclear power from the country?s energy planning. The ban from March 1985 was enacted a year before the Chernobyl disaster of 1986.  Now Denmark is considering the potential and risks of using advanced nuclear technology such as small modular reactors?

EU Approves New Sanctions Targeting Russia's Shadow Tanker Fleet
by Tsvetana Paraskova
14 May 2025 at 4:20am
Representatives of the EU?s 27 member states approved on Wednesday a new sanctions package against Russia, targeting another nearly 200 tankers of the shadow fleet Russia uses to ship its oil to markets.  The 17th sanctions package is expected to be officially endorsed and adopted by a meeting of the EU?s defense ministers on Tuesday next week.  The latest sanctions target the shadow fleet which Russia has been using for years to skirt the Western sanctions and the $60 per barrel price cap on its crude oil sales.  The?

Ethiopia Secures $1.6 Billion Energy and Minerals Deals
by Tsvetana Paraskova
14 May 2025 at 3:35am
Ethiopia secured more than $1.6 billion worth of investment deals ? most of these with Chinese firms ? in its energy and minerals sectors at the end of the Invest in Ethiopia High-Level Business Forum 2025, the Ministry of Finance of the East African country said in a statement. Ethiopia is currently looking to enact reforms and boost its economy via private-led growth, including by attracting investments in its natural resources.  Last year, the country reached a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3.4 billion?

Global EV Sales Surge Despite Trade Disputes
by Tsvetana Paraskova
14 May 2025 at 2:43am
Despite the ongoing trade tensions, global electric vehicles sales jumped by 29% from a year earlier to 1.5 million units in April, EV research firm Rho Motion said on Wednesday.     Sales, however, fell by 12% compared to March 2025.  Year-to-date, global EV sales rose by 29% compared to the period January-April 2024, with China and Europe leading the growth.  EV sales in China jumped by 35% in the first four months of the year to 3.3 million, and sales in Europe rose by 25% to 1.2 million units. North America saw?

Woodside Courts Aramco for Louisiana LNG Stake
by Irina Slav
14 May 2025 at 1:19am
Australia?s Woodside Energy and Saudi Aramco have signed an agreement to explore cooperation opportunities that may include the Saudi company buying a stake in the Louisiana LNG project. The agreement is non-binding, Woodside said, adding that it could involve ?Aramco?s potential acquisition of an equity interest in and LNG offtake from the Louisiana LNG project.? Woodside?s CEO, Meg O?Neill, said the deal was ?another demonstration of the ongoing interest Louisiana LNG is generating among high-quality?

Canadian Prime Minister Carney Signals Support for New Pipeline
by Irina Slav
14 May 2025 at 12:32am
Canada?s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, suggested he would support a new pipeline project if there is consensus about it, he said in an interview with CTV News. First off, I?ve said repeatedly: yes. First point,? Carney said in response to a question about new pipelines. ?Secondly, because I understand the need for that consensus. I?m a prime minister who can help create that consensus,? Carney also said. The Prime Minister did not elaborate on what specific kind of pipeline he would seek to create consensus?

Goldman: Trump Wants Oil Prices in the $40-50 Range
by Irina Slav
13 May 2025 at 11:46pm
U.S. President Donald Trump likes crude oil prices in the range of $40 to $50 per barrel, Goldman Sachs analysts have said, following an analysis of his social media posts on the topic. The president?s ?inferred preference for WTI appears to be around $40 to $50 a barrel, where his propensity to post about oil prices bottoms,? the team wrote, also noting that Trump ?has always been focused on oil and on US energy dominance, having posted nearly 900 times,? on the topic, Bloomberg reported, citing parts of the Goldman?