The European Union said that they expected to reach an agreement during a summit of the EU this week regarding an 18th package against Russia. Slovakia and Hungary use it as a bargaining tool for concessions about Russian energy. The European Commission proposed the package to encourage Russia to negotiate with Ukraine a ceasefire after EU leaders demanded "massive sanction" in May. The package aims to target more of Russia's revenues from energy by listing its banks and destroying its shadow tanker fleet. Hungary and Slovakia announced on Monday that they will not support new sanctions unless the proposal to...

The wholesale gas price in the Netherlands and Britain fell by more than 10% Tuesday morning, following the news that Iran had agreed to a ceasefire with Israel. This removed the premium for risk the market had built into the market due to potential disruptions of oil and gas supplies. The benchmark Dutch front month contract at the TTF Hub fell by 4.86 euro to 36.38 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), which is $12.38/mmBtu by 0939 GMT. It had traded as low 35.45 Euros/MWh earlier, LSEG's data showed. The British front-month contracts was down 13.72 pennies at 84.85 cents per...

The wholesale gas prices for the Dutch and British front months fell by more than 10% Tuesday morning, following the news that Iran had agreed to a ceasefire with Israel. This removed the risk premium that the market had built in due to potential disruptions of oil and gas supplies. LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract for the TTF hub dropped by 4.61 Euros to 36.63 Euros per megawatt hour (12.41/mmBtu) or 12.41 euros/MWh by 0818 GMT. The contract has fallen to its lowest price since June 12, the morning of the first Israeli strike on Iran....

Rosatom, the state-owned nuclear corporation of Russia, signed a deal with Uzbekistan’s Atomic Energy Agency on Friday to examine the feasibility and cost of building a nuclear power plant capable enough to generate large amounts in this Central Asian nation. Rosatom has already planned to build smaller nuclear units in Uzbekistan. The agreement was signed with the Uzbek Government at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Over the weekend, the Kazakh government also asked the Russian energy company to lead a group to build the country's first nuclear power station. The five former Soviet Central Asian republics do not have...

The Russian energy point person for President Vladimir Putin said that the world needed more oil, and OPEC+ was ready to make adjustments if necessary amid the conflict between Israel & Iran and a trade dispute. Crude oil prices have increased in recent days due to fears of a major Middle East war after Israel attacked Iran and U.S. president Donald Trump encouraged people to leave Tehran. Alexander Novak, Russian Deputy Premier Minister, said that the risks of disruptions in supply through the Strait of Hormuz and the global economic recovery as well as the trade wars launched by Washington...

Ajay Banaga, president of the World Bank, said that its board had agreed to lift a ban on financing nuclear energy projects for developing countries. This is part of an effort to meet the growing demand for electricity. Banga sent an email outlining the bank's new energy strategy to its staff following what he described as a constructive meeting with the board. Banga said that the board had not reached a consensus on whether or not the bank should be involved in upstream natural-gas projects. He wrote, "This will need further discussion." In 2017, the global development bank, a lender...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday that data centers, which are power-hungry and provide computing power to artificial intelligence and crypto currencies, will drive U.S. electric consumption to new records in 2025 and in 2026. EIA projects that power demand will increase to 4,193 billion Kilowatt Hours (kWh) by 2025, and 4,283 kWh by 2026. This is a significant rise from the record 4,097 kWh of 2024. The United States is expected to increase its electricity consumption for heating and transportation, in addition to data centres. EIA estimates that by 2025, residential customers will consume 1,517 billion kWh...

The Japanese refinery Taiyo Oil said that it had purchased its first Sakhalin Blend from Russia in over two years, at the request of the Japanese government. This was to ensure the stability and reliability of the plant, which also supplies Japan with liquefied gas. Trade data shows that Japan imported its last Russian crude oil in February 2023 after Tokyo and other G7 nations agreed to phase out the imports as a response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to Kpler and traders, China is the only importer of Sakhalin Blend since the Biden administration imposed sanctions...

British Energy's Centrica signed a 10-year contract worth over 20 billion pounds ($27.07billion) with Norwegian producer Equinor to receive gas, the companies announced on Thursday. Gas-fired power stations account for about a quarter (70%) of Britain's electricity. In a press statement, Centrica CEO Chris O'Shea stated that "this landmark agreement highlights the vital role natural gas plays in our transition to a low-carbon energy future." Equinor is supplying five billion cubic metres (bcm), or around 8%, of the gas required by Britain until 2035. The contract allows the sale of natural gas to be replaced in future with hydrogen. The...

The Department of Energy announced on Thursday that Sempra’s Port Arthur Phase 2 Project in Texas had won U.S. approval for exporting liquefied gas to Europe and Asia. The first final LNG export approval was given by President Donald Trump, reversing a pause in the approvals ordered by former President Biden to study the environmental and economic impacts of this booming industry. According to U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the project is "a significant expansion of a first phase that was already under construction – turning more liquid gold underneath our feet into energy for the American public." Port...

NextDecade, a U.S. producer of liquefied gas, announced on Thursday that it had signed a deal for supplying Japan's largest power generator JERA 2 million tonnes of LNG per year from the fifth liquefaction plant in its Rio Grande Project. Early trading saw NextDecade shares up 5.5% to $8.11. The United States will be the largest LNG exporter in the world in 2024. It is expected to ship 11.9 billion cubic foot per day. This has been boosted by President Donald Trump lifting a moratorium in January on new export licenses. NextDecade’s deal with JERA - Japan's largest LNG buyer...

The Polish energy regulator has reduced the gas prices charged by wholesaler PGNiG to households, hospitals and schools as well as vulnerable users such as schools and hospitals by 14.8%. This increases the chances of further interest rate reductions. The regulator, URE said that gas distribution fees will remain the same, resulting in average bills dropping between 8.1% to 11%, depending on consumption volume. The regulator sets the gas prices for household use, and this has a significant impact on inflation. The main reason for the central bank's hesitation to reduce interest rates was uncertainty over energy prices. ING economists...

Next week, scores of world leaders are expected to bask in the sun of southern Spain at the once-a decade United Nations Development Financing Summit aimed at curbing poverty and disease around the globe as well as the worst threats of climate changes. The United States' decision to not attend the event earlier this month, the largest aid donor and major financier in the world, casts a chill over the event. UN countries are trying to fill a funding gap of $4 trillion per year, which they estimate is preventing the developing world from achieving Sustainable Development Goals. These goals...

After Donald Trump was elected, a Canadian startup has reported an increase in inquiries from U.S. firms. Deep Sky, a startup, recently finished construction of its "Alpha Direct Air Capture" test ground, in Alberta. It will allow 10 companies to fine-tune and deploy technologies as they work towards developing commercial-scale plants. Deep Sky CEO Alex Petre stated that due to the Trump administration’s decreased focus on climate and uncertainty regarding the future funding support of DAC technology in the U.S., Deep Sky has received more inquiries from U.S. carbon tech developers than they expected. She said that the changes south...

A document obtained by revealed that Germany, the Czech Republic, and 14 other nations have asked the European Union to introduce stricter controls on the new carbon market of the bloc, out of fear the policy would increase consumer bills. The paper, with support from enough countries for the "qualified majority" required to pass EU legislation, aims at pressuring the European Commission to alter the EU carbon market, due to be launched in 2027, for fuels used to heat and transport vehicles. The paper stated that improvements should be made prior to the launch of the market to address legitimate...

Meteorologists warned that a tropical depression could hit southern China on Thursday. It will bring rain and gales in a region still recovering after the Typhoon Wutip. China's National Meteorological Centre published an online bulletin Wednesday that the tropical depression may land between the island provinces of Hainan on the mainland and Guangdong in the south on Thursday morning. The flood defences in densely populated Guangdong, as well as Guangxi or Hunan farther inland will be tested by the storm. Wutip, which ravaged the region between June 13 and 15, dropped record rainfall and damaged roads and crops. Five people...

On Tuesday, nearly 30 former employees and officials at the U.S. Nuclear Power Regulator criticized President Donald Trump for firing a commissioner from the independent agency. They said that the action placed politics above safety and public health. Why it's Important The firing of Chris Hanson this month, a Democrat at the five member Nuclear Regulatory Commission, followed Trump's Executive Orders on accelerating the Agency's reactor approvals, as artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers are driving the first increase in U.S. energy demand in 20 years. These orders also included efforts to restructure NRC and evaluate its staffing levels. Experts...

The European Union stopped Monday negotiations on a proposed law that would require companies to prove their claims of being climate-friendly. This was after the European Commission warned it could overburden smaller companies, and threatened to put the plan on hold. This dispute is part of a series of moves by Brussels to simplify or weaken its green agenda. The EU wants to limit a backlash to ambitious environmental policies and reduce regulation for struggling industries. A spokesperson for Poland which currently holds the rotating EU presidency said that it decided to cancel Monday's round of negotiations between EU countries...

Donald Trump claimed that Iran's nuclear sites were "obliterated", including the Fordow deep-buried facility, in military strikes carried out overnight. The U.S. also joined Israel's attacks on June 13th. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that the U.S. military attacks on Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities posed limited contamination risks. Which Iranian nuclear sites have been hit so far? The U.S. Military struck sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Trump claimed that Iran's nuclear enrichment sites had been "completely obliterated". These attacks come after Israelis announced attacks on nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan Arak, and Tehran. Israel claims it wants to prevent...

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday that the legal challenge against California's vehicle emission standards and electric cars, under a federal law on air pollution, should not have been dismissed. In a 7-2 decision, the justices overturned a lower-court's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a Valero Energy affiliate and groups from the fuel industry. The lower court concluded that plaintiffs did not have the legal standing required to challenge the 2022 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to allow California to set its own regulation. The majority wrote: "The government cannot target an industry or business through a stringent,...

Loreto, Peru: Illegal gold mining pollutes the region Nearly 80 percent of the population has mercury levels that are unsafe Most at risk are pregnant women and children By Dan Collyns Test results revealed this month showed that nearly 80% (of those tested) had mercury levels far above the safe limit in six communities along the Nanay River and Pintuyacu River. Jairo Reategui davila, Apu or leader of San Antonio de Nanay - one of the communities tested - said that the majority of its population was contaminated. He said, "We are concerned and we want the authorities to act."...

Experts say that Israel's attacks on Iran's nucleonic installations have so far only posed limited contamination risks. They warn, however, that an attack on Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant could lead to a nuclear catastrophe. Israel claims it wants to prevent a nuclear catastrophe in the region, which is home to millions of people as well as producing much of the world’s oil. It is determined to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability in its military campaign. Israel's military announced that it had hit a Bushehr site on the Gulf Coast, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant. But later they said...

Underwater forests teem with life in the icy waters off Chile's northern coast. Red and green towers of seaweed rise from the ocean floor. They provide food for wildlife and income for the locals, as well as oxygen and carbon for the planet. Scientists believe that these forests have even greater potential for sustainable food, protein and other materials, despite the fact that they are threatened due to human pollution and warming oceans. "They form a band along the coastal edge, which is essentially an armour of protection and biodiversity," said Alejandra González, a marine scientist from the University of...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against Texas and the oil industry in their challenge of Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority to license certain facilities for nuclear waste storage. The conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the 6-3 ruling that reversed an earlier court decision declaring illegal a license granted by the NRC for a company named Interim Storage Partners, to operate a storage facility of nuclear waste in western Texas. The NRC regulates nuclear power in the United States. The NRC granted a license to Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture between France's Orano and Dallas' Waste Control Specialists in 2021...