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Europe spends record €7.3bn on Russian Arctic gas in just eight months, surpassing 2025 total

Despite public declarations that economic ties with Russia will be severed, Europe has paid an estimated €7.28 billion for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Moscow's Arctic Yamal project in just over eight months this year, already surpassing the €7.3 billion spent in all of 2025. The figures were revealed by an investigation by Urgewald, an NGO that exposes the financial institutions and companies backing climate-damaging projects. During the first eight months of 2026, European ports received 156 Yamal LNG cargoes carrying 11.39 million tonnes, compared with 142 cargoes and 10.34 million tonnes between January and August 2025 – an increase of 10.1% year on year, according to the German NGO Urgewald. Real-time data from the market intelligence firm Kpler reveals that between 1 January and 5 September this year, European ports swallowed 88.9% of Yamal's total global exports, up from ...

U.S.-Venezuela Oil Deal Threatens China’s Oil-Backed Loans

China's decades-long bet on Venezuela is under threat, with U.S.-backed NABEP gaining 100-year rights to 17 oil fields containing an estimated 65 billion barrels. Beijing still faces at least $10 billion in Venezuelan debt exposure, while U.S. control over future barrels could complicate oil-backed repayments and restrict Chinese access. China risks financial, commercial, and geopolitical losses, including reduced access to discounted crude, displaced upstream investments, and diminished influence over Venezuela's oil sector. For decades, Venezuela has been one of China's most important partners in Latin America and the largest recipient of Chinese government funds in Latin America, with Beijing lending Caracas tens of billions of dollars and accepting oil as repayment. Chinese policy banks provided it with at least $60 billion in oil-backed financing through 2015, while broader estimates of Chinese lending and investment commitments exceed $100 billion. Analysts estimate that ...

Brent Crude Oil Rises Above $100 a Barrel as Middle East Conflict Intensifies

HOUSTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Brent crude futures breached $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since late July, as Iran and the U.S. hit tankers in the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the war began, threatening to worsen the ongoing impairment of energy supplies from the Middle East. Front-month Brent crude futures were up $3.40, or 3.5%, at $101.32 a barrel as of 11:15 a.m. ET, after touching a high of $101.55. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $3.45, or 3.7%, at $96.48 a barrel, highest since early June. Since late May, oil benchmarks have generally traded well below the $100-per-barrel psychological threshold, reflecting expectations that the conflict would remain on a low simmer. Optimism rose in particular after the U.S. and Iran came to a temporary agreement to cease attacks, even though a permanent peace ...

What to know about the Southcentral Alaska gas crunch

Southcentral Alaska is facing a natural gas shortage. Demand from the state's most populated region could outpace supply as soon as this winter. Here's what you need to know about the gas crisis. What's the problem? In 2024, almost 60% of all the energy consumed by Alaskans came from natural gas. On average, Alaskans use about 70 billion cubic feet of natural gas from Cook Inlet each year. The largest chunk of that is used by utility companies to make electricity — think Chugach Electric or Homer Electric. Another quarter goes to residential customers, and about a fifth goes to businesses. All of that is at stake, because when it comes to getting natural gas out of Cook Inlet, one company is really running the show: Hilcorp Alaska has a near-monopoly in the region. And in 2022, the company said it ...

Iran claims to have attacked 10 ships near strait of Hormuz after US strikes

Tehran has said it attacked 10 ships around the strait of Hormuz after the US sunk five Iranian tankers, as escalating strikes between the two countries sent the oil price above $100 a barrel for the first time since July. The attacks were the sharpest flare-up of strikes in weeks, as the two sides struggled to break a deadlock in the six-month-long war. Fighting in recent weeks has largely revolved around who controls the strait of Hormuz, as Iran attempts to close off the waterway and Washington enforces a blockade of Iranian ports. The strait is a critical route for global energy supplies, with up to 20% of the world's oil and gas transiting it before the US-Iran war. The rising price of oil, above the psychologically significant $100 mark, is likely to raise inflation and the price of goods. ...

3,200 km Into Russia: Ukraine Hits Major Gas Facility in Record-Breaking Strike

Ukraine reportedly attacked the Novy Urengoy condensate preparation plant in the city of Novy Urengoy in Russia's Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, covering a distance of about 3,200 kilometers (1,988 miles) from Ukrainian territory. Russian outlet Astra reported that Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) attacked Yamal for the first time, and that a fire broke out at an industrial facility in Novy Urengoy on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Yamalo-Nenets Governor Dmitry Artyukhov confirmed that a drone attack had taken place. "Today, a drone attack on one of the industrial facilities in Novy Urengoy was repelled. As a result of the fall of UAV debris, a fire broke out. Emergency services specialists are working at the scene," he wrote. According to Artyukhov, there were no deaths or injuries. The extent and nature of the damage are being established. The governor did not specify which ...

Oil pushes past $100 as wave of US-Iran attacks exposes dwindling safety net

SINGAPORE/LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices topped $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time in six weeks as an escalation in fighting by U.S. and Iranian forces deepened concerns over supply from the region and raised fears of inflationary pressures and higher energy costs for consumers and businesses. Brent, a global oil benchmark, has risen by a quarter since early last month as hopes fade for a permanent resolution to the six-month-old U.S.-Iran conflict. The rally accelerated this week after Iran-backed Houthi attacks on Saudi energy facilities set oil installations ablaze, increasing the risk that disruptions could spread across the wider Gulf region. Oil's break above the $100 level signals growing concerns that the global market has become increasingly vulnerable after months of supply losses due to disruptions to oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz and ...

Seoul eyes $22.3b Texas gas project as first under $350 US investment pact

South Korea is considering spending $22.3 billion on a natural gas power project in Texas, which would mark the first investment under its $350 billion commitment to the US, according to government sources Tuesday. The project proposed for Encinal, Texas, would build a 6.3-gigawatt gas-fired power plant in Texas to meet surging electricity demand fueled by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers and advanced semiconductor facilities in the state. The industry ministry had reported the details of the project during a closed-door consultation between the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, held at the National Assembly on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter. Park Jung-sung, South Korea's trade minister, and officials involved in negotiations with Washington briefed lawmakers from parliamentary committees overseeing finance and industry on potential projects, investment amounts and the status of negotiations ...

Two Middle East Flashpoints Drive Oil Above $100 as Wall Street Sees $150 Risk

International oil prices surged to the brink of $100 a barrel on Sept. 8. The move was driven by mounting concern over supply disruptions after Saudi Arabian energy facilities were attacked by the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels. Brent crude for November settlement rose 92 cents, or 0.95%, to settle at $97.92 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. On Sept. 9, it traded above $100 intraday for the first time since July 24. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery gained $1.55, or 1.69%, to settle at $93.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. If the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis intensifies, the risk of a shutdown of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait will increase. The waterway handles about 5% of global oil shipments. Global investment banks have raised their fourth-quarter oil price forecasts to as high as ...

Brent crude tops $100 for first time since July as U.S.-Iran tit-for-tat strikes stoke supply worries

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, with international benchmark Brent crude futures crossing the $100 threshold for the first time since July, as escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran fueled concerns over further disruptions to Middle East energy supplies. Futures for Brent crude were last seen trading 2.57% higher at $100.44 a barrel, as of 5:11 a.m. ET. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures for November delivery jumped 2.03% to $94.92 a barrel. The U.S. military destroyed five Iranian crude tankers Tuesday in retaliation for attempted attacks on an American warship. The U.S. warship successfully evaded Iranian attack and no American personnel were harmed, Centcom said in a statement. The escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict, now in its seventh month, is raising the risk of oil prices surging above $120 a barrel as attacks on shipping intensify, according to Daan ...

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