Citigroup has raised its third-quarter 2026 Brent crude forecast to $80 per barrel from $75, citing the prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict and continued constraints on oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The bank left its fourth-quarter 2026 forecast unchanged at $70 per barrel and continues to project an average of $65 per barrel for full-year […]
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On the night of August 7-8, 2026, Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes targeting energy infrastructure and civilian areas. Russian forces launched ballistic missiles and drones at the Kyiv region and capital, while Ukrainian forces conducted long-range drone strikes on two Russian oil refineries. Russian strikes hit the Brovary district near Kyiv and areas in the […]
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The Renewable Treadmill of Financial Death The Renewable Treadmill of Financial Death is a topic that David Blackmon , The Nemeth Report (Dr. Tammy Nemeth) and I will be covering at our new time at 9:00 Central this Monday. The following week at 9:00, we have a special edition of the Energy Realities Podcast with Dr. Joseph Fournier, another great Substack […]
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s directive pausing new data center interconnections to the ERCOT grid has placed nearly one-fifth of the entire U.S. data center development pipeline at risk of delays, according to analysis from BloombergNEF (BNEF). The move, announced August 3, 2026, requires a comprehensive audit of energy use, water consumption, financing, ownership, and community […]
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Houston-based ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), the largest U.S. independent oil and gas producer, reported second-quarter 2026 results on August 6, 2026, that beat Wall Street expectations. Higher commodity prices more than offset a year-over-year decline in production, driving sharp gains in earnings and cash flow. The company also reaffirmed full-year guidance, doubled share repurchases, achieved a […]
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The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the 2026 Iran-related conflict has fundamentally altered global liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) trade flows. Middle Eastern exports from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Iran slowed sharply as tanker traffic collapsed and infrastructure faced risks or attacks. Before the escalation, roughly 54 oil, chemical, and LPG […]
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Evonik CEO Christian Kullmann has delivered a blunt verdict on Germany’s Energiewende. In July 2026 interviews with the Rheinische Post and others, the head of one of Germany’s largest specialty chemicals companies stated that the energy transition has cost around €1,000 billion—and delivered “nothing.” “Wir haben nicht genug Gaskraftwerke. Wir haben eine Netzinfrastruktur wie in […]
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A recent post by Peter Clack (@PeterDClack) on X captured a growing reality that policymakers and industry advocates have long downplayed: the coming wave of wind turbine and solar panel retirements will expose a physical and financial nightmare of continuous renewal. The fleet average in wind is 19 years, and they are rapidly approaching the […]
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Gulf shipping traffic effectively stalled this week after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed a “precise hit” with several ballistic missiles on the Saudi-flagged products tanker NCC WAFA (also referred to as Wafaa) in the northern Red Sea off the Yanbu area. The Houthi statement, reported via outlets including Al Bawaba, described a military operation targeting the […]
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The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted how battery energy storage systems (BESS) are shifting from niche applications to meaningful scale in the United States, with residential deployments accelerating particularly fast. Companies like Base Power are installing home batteries at a rapid clip, and broader market data confirm strong growth in both utility-scale and behind-the-meter segments. […]
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