Financial News on Oil

The global oil industry has revenues of $4.2 trillion/year. One of the more socialist global industries, since the fossil fuel industry receives $7 trillion in subsidies each year. This is split between explicit subsidies (undercharging for supply costs - a small fraction), and implicit subsidies of which the most important is undercharging for environmental costs. Wikipedia: Oil, Oil Industry, KukaXoco: USA Oil Fund stock chart, Oil stock charts

Note: some of the articles below are locked, accessible only to paid subscribers of the respective publication. Titles of the news articles are often edited with bracketed [] comments to make them more informative or more honest. Occasionally, the editor's body is taken over two socialists: by Karl Marx [KM] or Jesus of Nazaerth [JC]. Also, all bracketed comments are implicitly preceded by IMHOOOO - "In My Humble unOrthodox Outrageous Obnoxious Opinion".

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• JPMorgan's analysis of the oil crisis: 6.5 million barrels/day are shut-in in the Middle East, rising to 12 million barrels/day next week
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 13 March 2026

• Trump's Pentagon sends Marine Expeditionary unit to the Middle East, as oil spikes on fears Trump wants to start a ground war. Are we really doing this (again)?
  - Zero Hedge, 13 March 2026

• A "bigger disruption for longer": Goldman Sachs increase its forecast for Brent crude oil prices to over $100 for March
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 13 March 2026

• Gold prices fell on Friday, putting it on pace for its second weekly decline as the war in the Middle East kept oil prices around $100 a barrel, underpinning global inflationary pressures. Bullion dropped as much as 1.2% to retreat to levels near $5,000 an ounce as the dollar strengthened.
  - Bloomberg (@ YF), 13 March 2026

• Globalization faces its next crisis. Beyond its effects on oil and gas, [Trump's] unfolding war in the Middle East is roiling shipping and airfreight, threatening the availability of a vast range of goods.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 March 2026

• Surging energy costs put industries in Deutschland "really in danger". Four years after the invasion of Ukraine by Rossiya sent energy prices soaring, [Trump's] war in Iran is posing another challenge to efforts to revive the factories of Europe.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 March 2026

• Airfares have doubled on some flights [as Trump's/Israel's war on Iran pushes up the price of oil]. The sticker shock for spring travel is upon us.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 March 2026

• Emboldened by oil price shock, the leaders of Iran play diplomatic hardball. Iran's battered leaders are making tough demands as Arabs hope to spark talks.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 March 2026

• Kharg Island, a small strip of land in the northern Persian Gulf, is widely considered one of Iran's most sensitive economic targets, handling 90% of Iran's oil exports. The island has been left untouched, however, during nearly two weeks of the U.S. and Israeli-led war on Iran. Analysts say any attempt to attack or seize Iran's strategic oil hub is likely to be fraught with risk.
  - Versant's CNBC, 13 March 2026

• "High oil prices are not good for mortgage rates", an economist argues. The average rate on a typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.35% as of Thursday, compared with 5.9% before the February 28 USA-Israeli attack on Iran.
  - Versant's CNBC, 13 March 2026

• Nihon withdraws oil from its reserves, as the war in Iran spreads across the Middle East oilfields. Could the withdrawals give Zhōngguó leverage amid tense bilateral relations?
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 13 March 2026

• Italy challenges the EU's carbon market: a hidden tax driving industry abroad. While Deutschland's federal government remains steadfast in defending the CO2 trading system, Italy's Giorgia Meloni administration is calling for a reversal. Apparently, the pain threshold from climate policy's damage has been reached in Italy.
  - Zero Hedge, 12 March 2026

• Trump's plan to release 172 million barrels from oil reserves, (as part of Trump's tactics in his war with Iran), would reduce by 40% the oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 12 March 2026

• With the Strait of Hormuz choked and blocked by [Trump's war with Iran], the Panama Canal reaps the benefits
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 12 March 2026

• [Trump's] war with Iran is causing the largest ever oil distruption in history, according to the IEA
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 March 2026

• Attacks on vessels and energy sites in the Persian Gulf [due to Trump's/Israel's war with Iran] is creating the "largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market"
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 12 March 2026

• Stock index futures contract prices decline as oil jumps above $100 on the chaos of [Trump's] war with Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 12 March 2026

• Oil soars above $100 as oil tankers are attacked in the Persian Guld and the Strait of Hormuz
  - Thomson's Reuters, 12 March 2026

• Oil soars above $100 despite historic release of reserves as supply fears persist
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 March 2026

• Oil soars above $100 despite historic release of reserves as supply fears persist
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 12 March 2026

• Iran escalates attacks on infrastructure and transport networks across the Gulf [in response to continual attacks against it by the USA and Israel]
  - The Guardian, 12 March 2026

• The two oil pipelines that are helping Saudi Arabia and UAE bypass the Strait of Hormuz
  - Versant's CNBC, 12 March 2026

• Iran may let oil tankers destined for Bharat to sail through the Strait of Hormuz
  - Zero Hedge, 12 March 2026

• It is not just oil. [Trump's] war with Iran is disrupting many essential goods. Prices of some commodities are already rising, while stockpiles of others could dwindle as the war drags on.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 March 2026

• The "VIX" volatility indicator for oil is over 120 - the markets are not pricing [or believing in] de-escalation in Trump's war with Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 11 March 2026

• [The extremely brave] USA Navy refuses to provide escorts to oil tankers transiting the Hormuz Strait - "the risk is too high"
  - Zero Hedge, 11 March 2026

• Energy shock threatens fertilizer supplies as echoes of 2022 food price spike return. "You can't even buy fertilizer right now and I think that is the bigger concern for this coming..."
  - Zero Hedge, 11 March 2026

• Stock prices drop as oil rebounds over $90 on escalating war in Iran, ignoring looming SPR release
  - Zero Hedge, 11 March 2026

• A food shock could be as bad for bonds as an energy shock
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 11 March 2026

• Dozens of oil tankers divert to Red Sea as Saudi Arabia reroutes crude flows from Hormuz chokepoint
  - Zero Hedge, 11 March 2026

• [In response to Trump's continual missile attacks on Iran], Iran attacks three ships in the Strait of Hormuz
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 March 2026

• The IEA agrees to release record 400 million barrels from emergency stockpiles: here is why this will have little impact
  - Zero Hedge, 11 March 2026

• The IEA will launch its largest-ever release of oil, 400 million barrels, from its reserves
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 March 2026

• The IEA will launch its largest-ever release of oil, 400 million barrels, from its reserves
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 11 March 2026

• [In response to Trump's continual missile attacks on Iran], Iran attacks three ships in the Strait of Hormuz
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 11 March 2026

• [In response to Trump's continual missile attacks on Iran], Iran attacks three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz
  - Versant's CNBC, 11 March 2026

• Oil prices rise again, as more ships are attacked near the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude rises above $91, and West Texas rises above $87.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 11 March 2026

• [In response to Trump's continual missile attacks on Iran], Iran begins laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing oil tankers to stop moving through the Strait
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 11 March 2026

• Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz means that it is exporting more oil than before the war [thanks to Trump]
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 March 2026

• Most ships transiting the Strait Of Hormuz since war started [by Trump and Israel] are oil tankers linked to Iran or Zhōngguó
  - Zero Hedge, 11 March 2026

• As [Trump's war with] Iran pushes up oil prices, Putin can barely conceal a smirk. The Trump administration has rolled back some efforts to put pressure on Rossiya's economy, and held out the possibility of easing sanctions further.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 March 2026

• Trump can't TACO (always chickens out) out of the oil price shock he caused by attacking Iran (with the help of Israel)
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 11 March 2026

• Gasoline prices jump for 11th straight day, and oil prices push higher
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 March 2026

• Oil prices rise higher to $85 as traders await possible historic reserve release
  - Versant's CNBC, 11 March 2026

• Steep depreciation and improving reliability are drawing more Americans to used electric vehicles, turning the pre-owned market into a key entry point for buyers priced out of new EVs as federal incentives fade
  - Reuters (@ YF), 11 March 2026

• Soaring gasoline prices are latest blow for auto industry in constant whiplash. A sharp rise in gas prices is a headache that automakers - and consumers - don't have easy answers to.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 March 2026

• Nearly 40% of nonorganic fruits and vegetables grown in California contain traces of pesticides that are also PFAS, or 'forever chemicals'. "We can't just harm the mold spores or insects on a peach and not potentially harm the little kid that eats the peach." Newer PFAS pesticides also show worrisome impacts on human cells and animal reproductive and nervous systems, although levels of exposure are hard to determine." "The new generation of pesticides are PFAS, and it is genuinely frightening. At a time when most industries are transitioning away from PFAS, the pesticide industry is doubling down."
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 11 March 2026

• Oil settles up nearly 5% as supply fears mount despite record stocks release plan
  - Thomson's Reuters, 10 March 2026

• The Treasury Bond market is not ready for an energy shock. Treasury yields are not yet pricing in the full ramifications of the energy shock.
  - Zero Hedge, 10 March 2026

• Bitcoin ETF inflows have turned positive as gold ETFs see record outflows after a historic rally. Is capital beginning to rotate from gold to Bitcoin?
  - Zero Hedge, 10 March 2026

• First Deutsche Bank, now UBS, warns that airlines in the USA are "nearly 100% unhedged" against energy shock
  - Zero Hedge, 10 March 2026

• The world's biggest hedge funds are crushed by oil price surge. Some of the s biggest multi-strat hedge funds like Millennium, Poin72 and Balyasny suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in losses last week after the war against Iran sent oil prices surging and triggered wild market moves.
  - Zero Hedge, 10 March 2026

• The IEA delivers no SPR action after extraordinary meeting as crude oil price jawboning mania enters day two
  - Zero Hedge, 10 March 2026

• Stock prices rises, and oil prices decline, after the IEA calls an extraordinary meeting to decide on releases of oil for its strategic oil reserve
  - Zero Hedge, 10 March 2026

• After 144 years in New Jersey, Exxon asks its shareholders to back a relocation to Texas to reduce risks of litigation
  - Zero Hedge, 10 March 2026

• Coal prices surge as energy shock forces power plant fuel switching in countries exposed to oil shortages due to Trump's war with Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 10 March 2026

• Trump's war in Iran, and rising gasoline prices, collide with midterm agenda. The attack on Iran has led to a surge in energy prices at a moment when the cost of living is a major issue heading into the fall elections.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 March 2026

• Trump's war with Iran threatens catastrophic consequences for the oil market, the EO of Saudi oil giant Aramco has warned. Amin Nasser said the war had caused "a severe chain reaction" and "a drastic domino effect" beyond shipping, "on aviation, agriculture, automotive, and other industries."
  - Versant's CNBC, 10 March 2026

• How surging oil prices [from the 'good' Christian Trump's unplanned, goal-less war with Iran] could eliminate the benefits from his "big beautiful tax law" [JC: of 2025 that took trillions from my 'blessed meek' to give to the rich]
  - Versant's CNBC, 10 March 2026

• Zhōngguó has built a 120-day stockpile of oil, which will buffer the effects of oil shortages due to Trump's war with Iran. Crude volumes rose sharply in January and February as Beijing amassed reserves, pre-empting Mideast risks, and analysts say it provides a strong buffer for global supply disruptions.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 March 2026

• For Zhōngguó, billions of dollars are at risk from a widening war with Iran. Zhōngguó found a home in the Middle East for its investments and growing markets for steel, electric vehicles and solar panels. These business activities are now in jeopardy.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 March 2026

• Zhōngguó has built a 120-day stockpile of oil, which will buffer the effects of oil shortages due to Trump's war with Iran. Crude volumes rose sharply in January and February as Beijing amassed reserves, pre-empting Mideast risks, and analysts say it provides a strong buffer for global supply disruptions.
  - Versant's CNBC, 10 March 2026

• Cancer haunts the people who live nearby the oil sands wastelands of Alberta, Canada. Though high rates of the disease persist among the nearby Indigenous communities, the government of Canada is considering [racist] rules that may allow energy giants to release treated mining waste into the river system.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 March 2026

• Trump wanted Bharat to stop buying oil from Rossiya. Trump's war with Iran is now undermining that goal, with the USA allowing Bharat to buy oil from Rossiya as supplies from the Mideast dwindle due to Trump's war.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 10 March 2026

• The imminent depletion of water supplies in Corpus Christi threatens to cut off the flow of jet fuel to Texas airports and other oil exports from one of the largest petroleum ports in the USA, triggering potential shockwaves through energy markets in Texas and beyond.
  - Zero Hedge, 09 March 2026

• It is the duration, stupid: the impact of oil on S&P 500 earnings. For USA equities, the bigger risk is a sustained period of severe oil disruption that weighs on economic growth.
  - Zero Hedge, 09 March 2026

• [Trump's/Israel's] War in the Middle East threatens global food production. The Persian Gulf is a major source of fertilizers, making the conflict disruptive to the global production of food.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 March 2026

• Gasoline prices in the USA, rising again, are now up 17% since [Trump and Israel attacked Iran]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 March 2026

• Oil is already near a price that hurts the economy. The USA remains more on oil than others, making it harder for consumers to shield themselves from rising gasoline prices.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 March 2026

• Trump is making President Carter's mistake on Iran and oil
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 March 2026

• The many similarities between [the 'good' Christian] Trump's justification for war in Iran and [the Christian] Rossiya's messaging on Ukraine underscore the risks of a vaguely defined, open-ended war.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 March 2026

• Across Asia, where countries are highly exposed to rising oil and gas costs and tightening supply, governments are acting to mitigate economic harm [from Trump's invasion of Iran].
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 March 2026

• Stocks reduce losses as oil falls back below $100; Dow is down 450 points
  - Versant's CNBC, 09 March 2026

• Oil prices aren't at recession levels, but they might be at $150
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 09 March 2026

• Oil prices soar over $120/barrel as Iran names new supreme leader and digs in
  - Associated Press, 09 March 2026

• The long-feared Gulf squeeze is here as oil hits $100
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 March 2026

• Iran names Mojtaba Khamenei supreme leader as war fuels spike in oil prices over $120/barrel
  - Murdoch's Fox News, 09 March 2026

• Trump triggers a world financial panic as the Iran war (launched without goals) spirals into chaos
  - The Daily Beast, 09 March 2026

• Trump's war on Iran (with no fixed goal) is causing the biggest oil disruption in history
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 09 March 2026

• Trump's war on Iran (with no fixed goal) is causing the biggest oil disruption in history
  - Versant's CNBC, 09 March 2026

• The oil price shock threatens to hurt people in the USA where it counts in their budgets
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 09 March 2026

• Congressional Democrats are demanding that the Trump administration immediately reverse a sanctions waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil as the Iran war wreaks havoc on global energy markets. "This waiver constitutes an inexplicable act of material benefit to the enemy." After the sanctions waiver was issued, however, it was reported that Russia is assisting Iran in targeting U.S. ships, aircraft and bases in the region.
  - Versant's CNBC, 09 March 2026

• Bharat to the USA: we don't need permission to buy oil from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 09 March 2026

• With only oil tankers linked to Iran transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia increases shipments of oil through the Red Sea to record levels
  - Zero Hedge, 08 March 2026

• Black 'toxic rain falls on Tehran, after [Jewish] Israel attacks the oil depots of [Islamic] Iran in Tehran
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 March 2026

• Black 'toxic rain falls on Tehran, after [Jewish] Israel attacks the oil depots of [Islamic] Iran in Tehran
  - Forbes, 08 March 2026

• Black 'toxic rain falls on Tehran, after [Jewish] Israel attacks the oil depots of [Islamic] Iran in Tehran
  - Zero Hedge, 08 March 2026

• Black 'toxic rain falls on Tehran, after [Jewish] Israel attacks the oil depots of [Islamic] Iran in Tehran
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 08 March 2026

• Black 'toxic rain falls on Tehran, after [Jewish] Israel attacks the oil depots of [Islamic] Iran in Tehran
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 March 2026

• The prices of diesel are increasing faster than the prices of gasoline. This will push up the prices of consumer goods and food, because most of it is transported in trucks fueled with diesel.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 08 March 2026

• Why this winter was so weird: Even our coldest colds can no longer make a dent in record-setting heat. Despite the cold weather, the lower 48 states of the USA experienced their 2nd-warmest winter on record. This is one measure of the strength of global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 08 March 2026

• Goldman Sachs panics, expects oil to hit $100 next week and reach "demand destruction" levels
  - Zero Hedge, 07 March 2026

• The natural gas potential of Venezuela could overshadow its famous oil reserves
  - Zero Hedge, 07 March 2026

• Gasoline prices in the USA rise again, as oil tops $90 for the first time in years
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 March 2026

• Oil surges 35% this week for biggest gain in futures trading history dating back to 1983
  - Versant's CNBC, 07 March 2026

• [The latest nationalist socialist industrial policy]: the Trump administration announces that its USA nternational Development Finance Corporation will insure losses up to $20 billion on a rolling basis, for oil tankers during the Iran war
  - Versant's CNBC, 07 March 2026

• Why $100 oil is now in sight. Who wins, who loses. Until now, producers have been able to keep the taps flowing, and store any excess oil in tanks on land or ships at sea. Not anymore.
  - Barron's, 07 March 2026

• Treasury Secretary Bessent says that the USA may "unsanction" more oil exports from Rossiya amid an energy crisis [caused by Trump invading Iran]
  - Zero Hedge, 06 March 2026

• Gasoline consumption in the US, in terms of product supplied to gas stations, declined by about 1% in 2025, to 8.91 million barrels per day, even though the US population increased by 52 million people, or by 18%, over the same period.
  - Zero Hedge, 06 March 2026

• JPMorgan's new math for the Strait of Hormuz closure: just 3 days until commodity chaos. By day 8 of the conflict, there would be roughly 3.3 mbd of shut-ins, rising to 3.8 mbd around day 15 and 4.7 mbd by day 18. We are now in day 5.
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 06 March 2026

• Gold prices are stuck - the oil panic is the real crisis trade. Gold was supposed to be the geopolitical hedge. Instead, it is oil volatility doing all the work.
  - Zero Hedge, 06 March 2026

• In a major win for Rossiya, the USA grants Rossiya a license to sell its oil to Bharat while the Strait of Hormuz is blocked due to the war in Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 06 March 2026

• Oil prices explode to 29-month highs after [the authoritarian] Trump says that there will be no deal with [Islamic] Iran until there is an "unconditional surrender" to the [Christian] USA and [Jewish] Israel
  - Zero Hedge, 06 March 2026

• Oil shipments from Venezuela are surging at an opportune time. Fuel producers in the USA are buying large amounts of heavy crude oil from Venezuela, even as the missile attacks of the USA and Israel against Iran have stalled global oil shipments.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 06 March 2026

• Brent crude oil prices rise above $90 per barrel due to Trump's war with Iran, with some estimates that the USA is spending $2 billion per day [JC: on swords, not ploughshares]
  - Versant's CNBC, 06 March 2026

• Gasoline prices in the USA jump again, the highest in one year and a half
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 March 2026

• Kuwait reduces oil production as storage tanks fill up, due to the USA's war with Iran. The reductions signal a broader oil storage crisis that poses new risks to the global oil market.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 06 March 2026

• Kuwait reduces oil production as storage tanks fill up, due to the USA's war with Iran. The reductions signal a broader oil storage crisis that poses new risks to the global oil market.
  - Zero Hedge, 06 March 2026

• Stock prices are slammed below a key support level, as the price of oil continues to rise, and Treasury Bond yields soar
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 05 March 2026

• The Dow loses more than 780 points as oil rises above $80 per barrel
  - The Hill, 05 March 2026

• Systemic risk: a 12-order cascading analysis of a zero-flow Strait Of Hormuz closure. What appears at first as a maritime blockade is in fact the exposure of the entire global system as a hierarchy of brittle interdependencies.
  - Zero Hedge, 05 March 2026

• Wall Street investors desperately seek details on Trump's plans [if any] to unclog the oil and natural gas shipping chokepoint in the Strait of Hormuz
  - Zero Hedge, 05 March 2026

• Iran says the Strait Of Hormuz open as Zhōngguó-linked ship transits maritime chokepoint
  - Zero Hedge, 05 March 2026

• Zhōngguó halts exports of diesel and gasoline, as blockages at the Strait of Hormuz risks an energy stock
  - Zero Hedge, 05 March 2026

• Why oil shale frackers in the USA are not rushing to pump more oil
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 05 March 2026

• Crude oil princes in the USA rise to the highest level since June 2025 after Iran says it attacked an oil tanker [as one action in Trump's war on Iran]
  - Versant's CNBC, 05 March 2026

• Why the Iran war oil price shock won't stop Fed pick [and Trump puppet] Kevin Warsh from reducing interest rates
  - Versant's CNBC, 05 March 2026

• Crude oil inventories rise by 3.5 million barrels, highest since May 2025. This was a welcome report as it showed that not only is US oil production humming along, but US commercial stocks continue to increase and in a worst case scenario of prolonged Hormuz closure, the US can remain relatively energy independent.
  - Zero Hedge, 04 March 2026

• Rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere (due to the burning of fossil fuels) could be altering the blood chemistry of humans. If the trend continues, some blood chemistry values could approach the limit of today's accepted healthy range by around 2076.
  - Science Alert, 04 March 2026

• Global [heating] has accelerated "significantly" over the past 10 years, meaning the world may barrel through crucial global warming limits faster than expected, according to the study published Friday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 04 March 2026

• Scientists find sea levels are already much higher than we thought, more than 3 feet in some region, caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels. The findings suggest that if sea level rises by around 3 feet, it would put 37% more land under water than currently assumed, affecting up to 132 million people across the world.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 04 March 2026

• With fuel running out, the tourism economy in Cuba is collapsing. The Trump administration's decision to block foreign oil to the island is devastating its tourism, a key source of income for the government.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 04 March 2026

• Oil refiners in Asia consider reducing crude oil processing levels, as the Iran war threatens supplies
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2026

• As oil surges to $80/barrel, the huge stockpiles of oil amassed by Zhōngguó become strategic leverage
  - Oilprice.com (@ YF), 03 March 2026

• Oil tankers burn from the Strait of Hormux to the Mediterranean Sea, amid spillover actions from the war in Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2026

• The blockages on the Strait of Hormuz send the spread in prices between Brent crude oil and Dubai crude oil to multi-year highs. Brent's premium to the Middle East's Dubai benchmark has blown out to its widest level since 2022, confirmation that the global oil market is squarely trading on disruption.
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2026

• [The latest nationalist socialist industrial policy] Trump Announces the USA will cover insurance for all ships traveling through Gulf, will provide USA Navy escorts
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2026

• "From orderly selloff, to panic": stocks, bonds plunge as oil, dollar soar on Iran war
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2026

• "Gulf oil producers could likely sustain production for no more than 25 days under a full Hormuz disruption", according to JPMorgan
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2026

• Iran expands strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure as more oil hubs are hit
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2026

• The Persian Gulf goes dark for container shipping and there is no detour left. "There is no viable alternative to getting containers in or out of ports such as Jebel Ali by ocean if the Persian Gulf is off limits."
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2026

• Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is paralyzed: another oil tanker hit, amd the floating 'parking lot' of ships swells in the Strait
  - Zero Hedge, 02 March 2026

• Today's oil surge - which is fading fast - was only the 38th largest oil spike since 1990 - not a big deal
  - Zero Hedge, 02 March 2026

• Oil tankers and oil refineries are under attack as the [Christian] USA and [Jewish] Israel exchange strikes with [Islamic] Iran and this war/widens [JC: geesh, not another crusade in my name]
  - Associated Press, 02 March 2026

• Qatar halts output of liquid natural gas, and oil and natural gas fields in Saudi Arabia and Israel are shut, amid this Mideast war
  - Thomson's Reuters, 02 March 2026

• [Sunni Islamic] Qatar halts output of liquid natural gas, after attacks by [Shia Islamic] Iran, shaking global energy markets
  - Versant's CNBC, 02 March 2026

• A federal judge in Texas has dismissed Exxon Mobil's bombshell defamation lawsuit against environmental groups that it had accused of trying to sabotage its recycling business in collusion with an Australian mining magnate.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 02 March 2026

• Why the USA's war in Iran will accelerate the efforts of Zhōngguó to become an "energy powerhouse". The conflict does not pose an immediate threat to the oil supply of Zhōngguó, but will spur on the the energy security drive of Zhōngguó.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post (locked), 02 March 2026

• The $58 billion merger between Devon Energy and Coterra Energy will create a new oil and natural gas giant company in the USA
  - The Motley Fool (@ YF), 01 March 2026

• OPEC+ agrees to boost oil output as the USA/Israel war on Iran disrupts oil shipments
  - Zero Hedge, 01 March 2026

• The first oil tanker is attacked in the Strait of Hormuz
  - Zero Hedge, 01 March 2026

• Oil shipments in the Persian Gulf already disrupted by the USA/Israel attack on Iran
  - Thomson's Reuters, 01 March 2026

• The price of oil jumps 10% after the USA and Israel attack Iran, and could spike to $100
  - Thomson's Reuters, 01 March 2026

• Missile attacks by the USA and Israel in Iran could force up the price of oil by $10/barrel to $20/barrel, if not more, with no deescalation
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 01 March 2026

• Prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, after being attacked by the USA and Israel, could push oil prices up to $100/barrel, sparking a 1970s-style energy shock
  - BBC, 01 March 2026

• Oil tankers avoid the Strait of Hormuz, after the USA and Israel attack Iran, while shipping insurers raise rates or cancel policies
  - Zero Hedge, 28 February 2026

• The missile attacks by the USA and Israel against Iran could cause oil prices to jump $10/barrel to $20/barrel more
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 28 February 2026

• After the USA and Israel attack Iran, perpetual swap futures, a type of futures contract that does not expire, tied to oil jumped about 6.2% to $70.6 per barrel on crypto exchange Hyperliquid, while those for gold and silver rose more than 5% and 8% to $5,464 and $97.5 per troy ounce, respectively.
  - Bloomberg (@ YF), 28 February 2026

• Big Oil is urging Trump to stop his battle against offshore wind power generation. Trump's assault on wind farms is stalling a legislative push to speed permitting for energy projects.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 28 February 2026

• [VIDEO]: a new study from a research institute finds that the world's grasslands could shrink by half as climate change [and global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels] becomes more intense, threatening global food systems
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 28 February 2026

• The mineral riches of Antarctica are exposed as climate warms [due to the burning of fossil fuels]. Mining is banned on the frozen continent. But new research suggests that could change as ice melts and land and valuable minerals are exposed.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 27 February 2026

• A new report warned that the worsening water crisis affecting both the United States and Mexico is not just the result of drought [caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels], but of what experts are calling a "global water bankruptcy" [as people in both countries extract too much water from the environment]
  - The Cool Down, 26 February 2026

• Why [the repeatedly bankrupt] Trump's oil dreams for Venezuela will fail. This is the same government (Venezuela) that has stolen from companies, and there are cheaper and easier sources for oil, writes retired U.S. Ambassador James Story.
  - MS.NOW, 26 February 2026

• The population of birds in North American is shrinking faster and getting worse. Experts blame agriculture and global [heating due to the burning of fossil fuels]
  - Associated Press, 25 February 2026

• Chronic ocean heating [caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels] is causing a "staggering" loss of marine life
  - The Guardian, 25 February 2026

• [Oil-derived] 'forever chemicals' may accelerate aging in men in their 50s and early 60s
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 26 February 2026

• Insurance rates for oil supertankers rise to six-year highs
  - Zero Hedge, 25 February 2026

• West Texas crude oil prices extend losses after the biggest increase in crude oil supplies in 3 years
  - Zero Hedge, 25 February 2026

• Saudi Arabia reports its largest budget deficit since 2020
  - Zero Hedge, 25 February 2026

• Goldman Sachs hikes year-end oil price forecast by $6 per barrel. Much of the global surplus continues to materialize as rising inventories of sanctioned crude "stuck at sea".
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 23 February 2026

• XLE shorts carried out on stretchers as oil breaks trendline and rises. Largest short covering in Energy since October 2022.
  - Zero Hedge, 23 February 2026

• For Bharat, buying oil from Rossiya just got more complicated. The prime minister of Bharat acceded to many of Trump's demands under pressure of heavy taxes/tariffs. It would be awkward to reject them now.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 21 February 2026

• Bharat increase imports of oil from Saudi Arabia, and decreases buying of oil from Rossiya, amid pressure from the USA
  - ZN, 21 February 2026

• How BofA's Michael Hartnett is trading the coming geopolitical shock: "Trade oil, own gold"
  - Zero Hedge, 21 February 2026

• As [the authoritarian 'good' Christian] Trump considers missile attacks on [Islamic] Iran, Trump declines to make clear case for why. Rarely in modern times has the USA prepared to conduct a major act of war with so little explanation or public debate [KM: well, at least many in the public of Jewish Israel will be pleased]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 February 2026

• As [the authoritarian 'good' Christian] Trump considers missile attacks on [Islamic] Iran, Trump declines to make clear case for why. Rarely in modern times has the USA prepared to conduct a major act of war with so little explanation or public debate.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 20 February 2026

• Oil prices hit six-month highs after Trump warns Iran of "bad things" if there is no deal over its nuclear program in the next "10 to 15 days".
  - Versant's CNBC, 20 February 2026

• In Zhōngguó, the military and a technology firm have released high-resolution satellite imagery showing the USA military build-up around Iran, amid reports that Washington may strike Tehran as soon as this weekend.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 20 February 2026

• Under orders from [the Christian] Trump, the military of the [Christian] USA moves into place for possible missile attacks on [Islamic] Iran, [which would please Jewish Israel].
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 February 2026

• Trump must be confident that the USA has a plan in place to lower oil prices, if it invades Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 19 February 2026

• Iran and Rossiya are strengthening their economic and energy cooperation and consider joint development of another oilfield in Iran.
  - Zero Hedge, 18 February 2026

• Oil prices surge on report warning USA-Iran war is far closer than realized
  - Zero Hedge, 18 February 2026

• The oil industry defied expectations over the past year by weathering low crude prices with record-breaking production. But big drillers are preparing for a slowdown.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 18 February 2026

• Zhōngguó's unprecedented stockpiling of oil sparks questions if Beijing is preparing for war
  - Zero Hedge, 17 February 2026

• Oil prices decline as Iran says that it has reached an "understanding" in nuclear negotiations with the USA
  - Zero Hedge, 17 February 2026

• Natural gas available in Venezuela, not oil, might be a big early prize. Venezuela has natural gas that could be extracted and exported quickly, but U.S. sanctions, which are now being eased, have stymied development.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 17 February 2026

• Bharat might soon replace oil from Rossiya with oil for Venezuela at scale. A new USA license is being interpreted as prohibiting energy companies in Veneuzuela from transactions with Zhōngguó among other countries.
  - Zero Hedge, 16 February 2026

• By buying oil from Rossiya - even though there are alternative supplies available, Hungary is fueling the war machine of Rossiya - and enriching foundations linked to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, instead of passing savings from cheaper oil from Rossiya to consumers in Hungary.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 16 February 2026

• The oil industry in Venezuela is in ruins after decades of neglect. Reviving it won't be easy, not matter how hard Trump wishes.
  - Los Angeles Times, 15 February 2026

• A niche but crucial part of the oil market is being rocked by a huge bet from a South Korean tycoon, Ga-Hyun Chung, who has amassed a large share of the tanker market - with help from one of the industry's wealthiest men, Gianluigi Aponte, the founder of a sprawling shipping empire that includes Mediterranean Shipping Company.
  - Bloomberg, 15 February 2026

• Scrapyards in Bharat welcome a growing number of dark flank tankers
  - Zero Hedge, 14 February 2026

• From fishing nets to furniture in España: turning ocean plastic into usable products, such as stadium seating and decorations
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 February 2026

• Rossiya to send oil to Cuba amid a blockade imposed by the USA
  - Zero Hedge, 12 February 2026

• Exxon's CEO says that Venezuela is currently "uninvestable" - too risky. What will happen? Most likely, even more government support for foreign oil and gas extraction layered on top of [socialist] subsidies that already exist.
  - The Hill, 12 February 2026

• The [Christian] USA considers seizing tankers carrying oil from Islamic Iran in order to pressure Islamic Iran. But using the same strategy the White House directed at Venezuela is seen as likely to spark retaliation by Tehran and a surge in oil prices.
  - Zero Hedge, 11 February 2026

• The [Christian] USA considers seizing tankers carrying oil from Islamic Iran in order to pressure Islamic Iran. But using the same strategy the White House directed at Venezuela is seen as likely to spark retaliation by Tehran and a surge in oil prices.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 February 2026

• British Petroleum suspends share buybacks as profit slumps. The British energy giant said it would put money toward new oil and gas opportunities ahead of the arrival of its new chief executive, Meg O'Neill.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 February 2026

• British Petroleum suspends share buybacks as profit slumps. The British energy giant said it would put money toward new oil and gas opportunities ahead of the arrival of its new chief executive, Meg O'Neill.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 February 2026

• TotalEnergies, a giant in the oil industry, says that Trump's oil plans/dreams in Venezuela are "too expensive and too polluting"
  - Versant's CNBC, 11 February 2026

• Iceland in October classified the potential collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation -- the ocean current system that ferries warm water northward from the tropics and essentially functions as the country's central heating -- as a national security risk, a designation that amounts to a formal reckoning with the possibility that climate change [global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels] could render the island nation uninhabitable.
  - Bezos' Washington Post, 10 February 2026

• New laws for climate 'Superfunds' spread nationwide, despite legal battles. The laws aim to force oil companies to help pay for damage from global [heating]. [The socialistically subsidized] oil industry is gearing up for state-by-state battles.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 February 2026

• Transocean agreed to acquire fellow offshore drilling services company Valaris in an all-stock deal worth $5.8 billion
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 February 2026

• In a world too warm even for fake snow [because of global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels], the Winter Olympics face an uncertain future
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 10 February 2026

• The USA seizes an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after monthlong chase from the Caribbean. The sanctioned ship was the eighth vessel apprehended by the USA in connection with the quasi blockade of the oil industry of Venezuela.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 February 2026

• [The authoritarian] Trump's oil grab in Venezuela shatters an American taboo. Past presidents of the USA have long been accused of plotting to control/[seize] foreign oil. But Trump has asserted a USA right to take it.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 February 2026

• Cuba shutters beach resorts as fuel crisis spreads economy-wide. Havana has drastically reduced public transportation services, shortened the workweek (Monday through Thursday), and moved university classes online.
  - Zero Hedge, 07 February 2026

• A federal judge blocks a law in Texas targeting critics of fossil fuels. The court ruled that it was unconstitutional to bar state agencies from investing with firms that the state had accused of boycotting the oil industry.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 February 2026

• Scientists in Zhōngguó have developed a plant-inspired method to convert carbon dioxide and water into valuable chemicals, such as the building blocks for petrol, by using solar energy. The process is inspired by photosynthesis, where plants harness sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to generate energy.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 07 February 2026

• Turbulence on Hawaii flights has increased up to 30%, study says, due in part to global warming [caused by the burning of fossil fuels]
  - SF Gate, 06 February 2026

• The $100 billion bet on oil from Venezuela relies on a broken state company. Foreign energy companies are facing a legal minefield dealing with PdVSA, which has long been accused of corruption.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 05 February 2026

• In a bayou in Mississippi, oil from Venezuelan is already big. And could get bigger. The USA's claim on oil from Venezulea means even more of it could come to a huge Chevron refinery. Neighbors worried about pollution want the company to buy their homes.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 04 February 2026

• Oil prices give back Iran premium as glut narrative reasserts itself. Add in a call skew coming off highs and it appears sentiment is becoming more negative.
  - Zero Hedge, 03 February 2026

• Oil refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast are struggling to absorb a rapid surge in Venezuelan crude shipments since last month's flagship $2 billion supply deal between Caracas and Washington, pressuring prices and leaving some volumes unsold, according to traders and shipping data.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 03 February 2026

• Ski resorts in the western USA and their terrible, horrible, no snow, very bad year. Little snowpack, strikes by mountain staff and Trump's trade wars that are keeping international visitors away have made this a difficult season in the Rockies and beyond. A snow drought of historic proportions (caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels) is hobbling many ski areas.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 February 2026

• A historic winter storm sends more beach homes in North Carolina crashing into the ocean. Coastal erosion and rising sea levels [caused in part by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels] are blamed for the loss of more than 30 homes, which often are left to topple due to high removal costs.
  - HuffPost, 03 February 2026

• Oil from Venezuela is important to Trump's plans for Rossiya. There is a problem with that. Venezuela is not prepared to increase oil production quickly enough to allow Bharat buy more from Venezuela and less from Rossiya.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 February 2026

• One month after the USA abducted Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela assures Zhōngguó investments are safe. Venezuelan envoy Remigio Ceballos dismisses reports that the USA will set the price for all oil transactions between Zhōngguó and Venezuela.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 03 February 2026

• Trump has announced the USA will reduce its punitive 25% tax/tariff to 18% on imports from Bharat. The reduction depends on Bharat having reportedly ended its purchases of crude oil from Rossiya, and swapping them for massive purchases of energy and goods from the USA.
  - Zero Hedge, 02 February 2026

• Trump has announced the USA will reduce its punitive 25% tax/tariff to 18% on imports from Bharat. The reduction depends on Bharat having reportedly ended its purchases of crude oil from Rossiya, and swapping them for massive purchases of energy and goods from the USA.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 02 February 2026

• In a huge Monday development, Trump has announced the USA will reduce its punitive 25% tax/tariff to 18% on imports from Bharat. The reduction depends on Bharat having reportedly ended its purchases of crude oil from Rossiya, and swapping them for massive purchases of energy and goods from the USA.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 02 February 2026

• Oil prices tumble 5% amid signs of a de-escalation between the USA and Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 02 February 2026

• A crisis emerges across the USA as [oil-derived] 'forever chemicals' quietly contaminate drinking water wells
  - Associated Press, 02 February 2026

• Snow drought in the West reaches record levels. Warm temperatures and extremely low snowfall threaten water resources for the year. The stunning decline in snowpack in the Colorado Rockies and the Colorado River basin adds to the 26-year-long megadrought in the region, which has led to extremely low levels in the two largest reservoirs on the Colorado River. From Dec. 1 last year to Jan. 15, temperatures were up to 15 degrees above normal in the Rockies, the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada. Colorado is having its warmest winter since 1895. Precipitation that normally would have arrived as snow in many places instead appeared as rain and caused widespread flooding. [Much of the cause is due to global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels.]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 02 February 2026

• USA shale oil producers Devon and Coterra to merge in a $58 billion deal
  - Versant's CNBC, 02 February 2026

• Devon Energy is buying Coterra Energy to create a new USA shale giant, but shares of Coterra fell on Monday, as the implied purchase price is below where the stock last closed. Devon plans to buy Coterra in an all-stock deal, as the companies look to increase scale so they can compete with larger rivals in the Permian Basin.
  - Murdoch's MarketWatch, 02 February 2026

• Oil revenue for Rossiya, the lifeblood of its war machine for its invasion of Ukraine, is plummeting. The new reality has forced the Kremlin to raise taxes and increase debt, for a war whose costs exceed about $170 billion a year.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 February 2026

• Chevron points to Venezuela's promise as Big Oil earnings fall. The two largest U.S. oil companies, Chevron and Exxon Mobil, reported their lowest annual profits in years.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 31 January 2026

• The CEO of Chevron says that it is too early to determine the outlook for oil production in Venezuela. Trump is pressing energy companies to invest $100 billion into oil projects in Venezuela to rebuild its shattered infrastructure.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 31 January 2026

• Lukoil, the second-largest producer of oil in Rossiya, has agreed to sell the bulk of its international assets - initially valued at $22 billion by analysts - to private equity heavyweight Carlyle, as Western sanctions continue to force a fire sale of Russian energy holdings abroad.
  - Zero Hedge, 30 January 2026

• The CEO of Exxon says that Venezuela needs to transition to democracy for oil investment to make sense
  - Versant's CNBC, 30 January 2026

• The Hague District Court orders the Netherlands to protect Bonaire, a Caribbean island, from climate change [caused by the burning of fossil fuels]. Bonaire, a Dutch overseas territory, deserves the same protections as Europe, the ruling said. The decision adds to a growing body of precedent worldwide.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 30 January 2026

• Brent crude oil prices surge to 4 month high above $70 after Trump threatens Iran with militaryl force
  - Zero Hedge, 29 January 2026

• Marco Rubio says Venezuela will submit monthly budget to White House. Democrats sharply questioned the plan, including the role of Qatar in managing an account funded by the sale of oil from Venezuela.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 29 January 2026

• The state of Michigan sues oil giants, saying they collude to make energy costlier, colluding as a 'cartel' under antitrust laws. The lawsuit accuses the companies of raising prices by working against solar and wind power and by downplaying the risks of climate change.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 29 January 2026

• Oil prices rise more than 2% as Trump considers strikes on Iran
  - Versant's CNBC, 29 January 2026

• Sanity returning to global oil forecasts, but damage has been done; expert study shows how the IEA lost credibility
  - Real Clear Wire, 28 January 2026

• The largest oil producer in Zhōngguó suspends purchases of oil from Venezuela. PetroChina has told traders not to buy or trade oil from Venezuela
  - Zero Hedge, 27 January 2026

• The president of México says that México has paused oil shipments to Cuba
  - Associated Press, 27 January 2026

• Cuba is losing an important supplier of oil, as the USA pressures México to ship less oil to Cuba. President Claudia Sheinbaum says México will continue to show solidarity with Havana, even as its crude shipments plummet.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 27 January 2026

• Iran is selling more oil but making less money. The decline was largely driven by a web of middlemen and buyers who know Tehran has limited options for unloading its sanctioned crude.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 27 January 2026

• Saudi Aramco dismisses oil glut prediction as "seriously exaggerated". Global oil stocks are low, while the amassed barrels in floating storage on tankers are mostly sanctioned supplies.
  - Zero Hedge, 26 January 2026

• [To appease fossil fuel and chemical companies], the Trump administration how thinks that clean air for people is worthless. The Environmental [no longer giving] Protection Agency weakened a proposal to regulate emissions from certain power plants and other industrial facilities. The new, nihilistic E.P.A. position is that environmental safeguards have essentially no benefits.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 26 January 2026

• In Venezuela, freeing the economy, but nothing else. Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez is liberalizing the economy without dismantling her s repressive apparatus, raising questions about her aims.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 26 January 2026

• The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, said Sunday she has had "enough" of Trump's orders, as she works to unite the country after the US capture of its former leader, Nicolás Maduro. "Let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and our internal conflicts."
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 26 January 2026

• Meet [the authoritarian] Trump's [authoritarian] partners in Venezuela. Delcy Rodrídguez is bad news. So are her brother and her rival Diosdado Cabello.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 January 2026

• Two fossil fuel companies in Europe - with a big unpaid bill - want to help rebuild the economy of Venezuela. Italy's ENI and Spain's Repsol are seeking repayment for gasoline they have been pumping into Venezuela free of charge.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 January 2026

• [Despite Trump's fantasies], it will be many years before major oil companies in the USA decide to make substantial investments in Venezuela (after the USA's recent temporary invasion), not least because they are expected to navigate unpredictable and potentially volatile security challenges. Their lousy experiences after the USA invaded Iraq. [Similar to Iraq], Venezuela is a "highly militarized country", with four main armed groups: the Venezuelan army; organized criminal gangs; Colombian guerilla groups; and colectivos, paramilitary groups loyal to Maduro enforcing rule in many neighborhoods.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 26 January 2026

• The USA pledges to "starve" Iraq of oil revenue if pro-Iran parties join new government. First time USA has threatened to cut off flow of dollars from NY Federal Reserve to the Central Bank of Iraq.
  - Zero Hedge, 24 January 2026

• Libya will sign a 25-year oil deal with TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips
  - Versant's CNBC, 24 January 2026

• Crude oil prices rallying on supply disruptions and Middle East geopolitical risks
  - Zero Hedge, 23 January 2026

• Solar and wind generated power overtakes the use of fossil fuels in the Euroepan Union
  - Semafor, 22 January 2026

• Oil prices drop as geopolitical risk eases, gasoline stocks at highest since 2020
  - Zero Hedge, 22 January 2026

• IEA increases its oil demand forecast but warns supply surplus persists. An improved economic outlook and lower crude prices drove the decision, but the agency warned that supply is still expected to outpace consumption.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 22 January 2026

• A group of Senate Democrats are demanding to know whether Trump's inner circle will profit from sales of oil from Venezuela after CNN recently reported details of the administration's private talks with the biggest oil companies in the USA.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 22 January 2026

• Half of fossil fuel carbon emissions in 2024 came from jusr 32 [extremely-rich and socialistically-subsidized] oil, coal, natural gas and cement companies.
  - Inside Climate News, 21 January 2026

• Twice bitten, thrice shy: what oil majors want before betting on Venezuela a third time. "Oil companies in the USA will not commit serious capital to Venezuela without a credible reset on rule of law.", Jason Isaac, American Energy Institute CEO, said.
  - Zero Hedge, 21 January 2026

• Chevron's dilemma in Venezuela: support Trump's vision without losing money
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 21 January 2026

• The world has entered a new era of 'water bankruptcy', with irreversible consequences. People are using more water than is naturally provided by snow and rain - extracting from its rivers, lakes, wetlands and underground aquifers at a much faster rate than they are replenished, putting us in debt. Climate change-fueled heat [caused by the burning of fossil fuels] and drought are compounding the problem, reducing available water.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 21 January 2026

• Trump is obsessed with oil. But batteries and renewable energy from Zhōngguó will soon run the world.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 January 2026

• The government of Syria and a Kurdish-led militia agree to merge after clashes. The new deal also calls for a cease-fire. Government forces have taken strategic assets from the militia in recent days, weakening the militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 January 2026

• Kurds withdraw from the largest oil field in Syria as military forces of the government of Syria move in
  - Zero Hedge, 19 January 2026

• The military of Syria take control of the Al-Omar oilfield, as Kurds withdraw their military forces. Al-Omar was home to the largest USA base in Syria. It had been controlled by Kurdish-led forces since 2017 after Islamic State group was pushed out.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post (locked), 19 January 2026

• Big Oil's complicated calculus for investing in Venezuela. The [socialistically-subsidized] industry has long prioritized projects with quick and reliable payback. Trump is pushing for a return to risk [and capitalism].
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 January 2026

• The next hurricane could inundate New York City in a far worse way than Superstorm Sandy in 2012, according to new projections. Much of that increase has to do with extreme rain [caused by global warning due to the burning of fossil fuels]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 18 January 2026

• Not all drilling in Texas is about oil. Texas has become a hub of innovation for creating electricity using geothermal power. [The Christians who control the state are too dishonest to call it 'renewable energy'.]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 18 January 2026

• What is next for Cuba, now that its main oil supplier is gone? The Soviet Union was Cuba's benefactor for decades. Venezuela took up the slack, and Mexico has supplied "humanitarian aid". But the world is changing rapidly, our columnist says.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 18 January 2026

• The tanker tycoons and oil brokers cashing in on the Venezuela trade. Oil traders Vitol and Trafigura and Greek tanker owners are diving back into the country after Nicolas Maduro's ouster.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 17 January 2026

• An oil price shock due to events in Iran would be ugly. It is still a live risk. The Iranian regime, embattled by protesters, the USA, and Israel, might panic.
  - Barron's, 17 January 2026

• Sharks are famous for their fearsomely strong teeth, but their teeth could become weaker due to ocean acidification [caused by CO2 absorption from the burning of fossil fuels]
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 16 January 2026

• Trump's/Republicans 2025 tax bill, [with huge transfers of money to the rich], created billions of dollars of new [socialist] subsidies for fossil fuel companies [KM: which should stop denying that they receive socialist subsidies]
  - The Hill, 16 January 2026

• "Massive" untapped oil and gas reserves are discovered beneath the Permian that straddles West Texas and New Mexico - enough to supply the USA for 10 months.
  - Houston Chronicle, 16 January 2026

• Shale oil pioneer Harold Hamm, for the first time in decades, is shutting down drilling in North Dakota's Bakken oil fields. Costs are rising just as prices fall, prices pushed down in part because of Trump's oil policies (and Hamm still supports Trump). A typical Bakken well now needs about $58 a barrel to break even, nearly 4% higher than a year ago. Not good, when oil is now $59/barrel, weighed down by fears of oversupply and expectations of more barrels entering the market, including from Venezuela (thanks to Trump).
  - Zero Hedge, 16 January 2026

• How Venezuela becomes a quagmire. [Trump] is repeating mistakes the USA made in Iraq: not denying the USA only wanted oil, not democracy; it must provide ample foreign aid; and it needs regional partners.
  - Foreign Affairs (locked), 16 January 2026

• Trump [gifts] first sale of swiped oil from Venezuela to a megadonor's company. John Addison poured millions into political action committees backing Trump's re-election. [Addision is earning tens of millions on the gift of oil from Venezuela.]
  - The Daily Beast, 16 January 2026

• The [authoritarian Christian] Trump chooses oil over democracy. Two conversations this week confirmed that Trump backs the [corrupt] remnants of Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian regime over the Venezuelan opposition seeking to hold elections.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 16 January 2026

• A Chevron board member made sizable donation/[bribe] to Trump-affiliated PAC. The administration is encouraging the oil giant to increase its presence in Venezuela after the USA invention.
  - MSNOW, 16 January 2026

• Why Greenland matters for a world [that is getting hotter due to the burning of fossil fuels]. The fate of the world's largest island has outsize importance for billions of people on the planet, because as the climate warms, Greenland is losing ice. That has consequences.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 16 January 2026

• [Seized] oil from Venezuela is fetching 30% higher prices, according to the USA Secretary of Energy, after the first sale worth $500 million
  - Versant's CNBC, 16 January 2026

• Trump's latest nationalist socialist industrial policy is to sell more oil from Venezuela in the global markets, with the goal of lowering prices in the USA, causing concern in West Texas, where producers say cheaper oil threatens drilling, jobs and local business activity. At the same time, tariffs have raised costs for materials such as chemicals and steel tubing, according to Midland oil executives. [KM: cry all you want - you voted for this]
  - Zero Hedge, 15 January 2026

• Prices for oil, gold and silver tumble after report signaling no imminent action against Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 15 January 2026

• The EPA, under the control of "states' rights" Republicans, want to limit one state right - that of states to block oil and natural gas pipelines that might threaten the environment and public health. The EPA wants to curtail a section of the Clean Water Act that Democratic governors have used to restrict fossil fuel development.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 15 January 2026

• Microplastics from washing your [cheap, fast-fashion] clothes could be hurting your tomatoes. A new study found that polyester microfibers, a common type of microplastic pollution, slowed the development of cherry tomatoes.
  - Bezos's Washington Post, 14 January 2026

• How BRICS countries may deliver structural shock to the USA dollar system. Venezuela now illustrates a critical case: Can a major oil producer survive outside of the US dollar system - without being destroyed? The 'Empire of Chaos' - the USA - has ruled, "NO". The US dollar now represents less than 40% of global currency reserves - the lowest in at least 20 years. Gold now accounts for more global foreign exchange reserves than the euro, the yen and the pound combined. Central Banks are stockpiling gold like crazy, while BRICS accelerates the test of alternative payment systems. One of the scenarios being directly proposed to BRICS, and designed as an alternative to cumbersome SWIFT, which does at least $1 trillion in transactions a day, features the introduction of a non-sovereign, blockchain-based trade token - 'The Unit'.
  - Zero Hedge, 14 January 2026

• Shares of crude oil companies rise most in two months as oil production in the USA finally declines. USA oil production may have finally peaked: while US crude production hovers near record highs, last week saw a notable drop in total production, dropping by 58K barrels to 13.753 million.
  - Zero Hedge, 14 January 2026

• Global temperatures soared in 2025 [due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels], but a NASA statement published Wednesday alongside its latest benchmark annual report makes no reference to climate change, in line with [the environment-hating] Trump's push to deny the reality of planetary heating as a result of human activities - [especially the burning of fossil fuels].
  - France24, 14 January 2026

• Venezuela suffers from a 50-year old curse. Will the USA inherit this problem? 50 years ago, an oil minister in Venezuela put it bluntly: "Ten years from now, 20 years from now, you will see: Oil will bring us ruin. It is the devil's excrement. We are drowning in the devil's excrement." [KM: sadly, so is the rest of the world with other countries' oil]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 January 2026

• Smaller natural disasters incurred record insurance costs last year. The USA was spared by a direct hurricane hit last year, but claim costs for typically smaller, more frequent and localized natural disasters [due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels] reached their highest to date for 2025.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 14 January 2026

• The government of Zhōngguó responds as Trump's new Iran-related taxes/tariffs risk derailing the trade deal between Zhōngguó and the USA
  - Zero Hedge, 13 January 2026

• Fears are brewing over an oil-price shock that could rattle markets and the economy, as geopolitical tensions escalate. Oil prices have climbed 10% in the last week amid tensions between the USA and Venezuela and unrest in Iran.
  - Business Insider, 13 January 2026

• Here in Midland, Texas, the last thing anyone wants is cheap oil from Venezuela. A boom-and-bust region is feeling the pinch from cheap oil, even as low prices for gasoline help at the pump.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 January 2026

• For these tribal nations in the USA, water is a through line. And now, a threat. Warming seas [due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels] and increased flooding threaten a way of life for Native Americans who have called the Pacific Northwest coast their home for generations.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 January 2026

• [Bully-boy] Trump is "inclined" to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela. Trump said he didn't like [skeptical] comments from the company's CEO during a meeting at the White House [to divide up oil being seized from Venezuela]
  - Thomson's Reuters, 12 January 2026

• [Bully-boy] Trump is "inclined" to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela. Trump said he didn't like [skeptical] comments from the company's CEO during a meeting at the White House [to divide up oil being seized from Venezuela]
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 January 2026

• [Bully-boy] Trump is "inclined" to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela. Trump said he didn't like [skeptical] comments from the company's CEO during a meeting at the White House [to divide up oil being seized from Venezuela]
  - Versant's CNBC, 12 January 2026

• In November 2025, Aliko Dangote, the richest businessman in Africa, signed a $1 billion development agreement with the president of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to build a 1,300-mile fuel pipeline stretching from Walvis Bay in Namibia through Botswana to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. Teams are working on routing, logistics, land procurement, and regulatory details.
  - Zero Hedge, 11 January 2026

• The oceans just keep getting hotter, due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels. For the eighth year in a row, the world's oceans absorbed a record-breaking amount of heat in 2025.
  - Condé Nast's Ars Technica, 11 January 2026

• Climate change [and global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels] has now reduced the salaries of workers in the USA by up to 12% (partly because of the effect of hotter weather on supply chains). And worse is to come. [KM: yes, as extremely rich AI companies further heat up the planet with their data centers to become even more rich.]
  - BBC, 11 January 2026

• Billions of dollars at risk in the ocean, as Trump [tries to destroy] the offshore wind power industry [to favor environmentally-destructive oil and natural gas industries]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 January 2026

• The CEO of ExxonMobil calls Venezuela uninvestable. "If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, it is uninvestable."
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 January 2026

• The CEO of ExxonMobil calls Venezuela uninvestable. "If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, it is uninvestable."
  - Quartz, 09 January 2026

• The CEO of ExxonMobil calls Venezuela uninvestable. "If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, it is uninvestable."
  - BBC, 09 January 2026

• USA success in Venezuela could be trouble for oil producers in Canada. Both countries produce a similar type of "heavy" crude oil that US refineries crave.
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 10 January 2026

• [The authoritarian] Trump signs executive order to prohibit courts and creditors from seizing revenue from sales of oil from Venezuela in the USA, once again declaring another [fake] national security threat.
  - Versant's CNBC, 10 January 2026

• People in the USA are sick and tired of pointless [Christian USA] wars [KM: that only make rich weapons manufacturers richer]. People in the USA have lived through enough USA military campaigns to be skeptical of Trump's Venezuela policy from the start
  - The Intercept, 10 January 2026

• How Trump's oily dreams may collapse in a Venezuelan dark pit. Major oil producers in the USA balk at the sight of investing fortunes in Venezuela that may be engulfed by total chaos if neo-Caligula Trump forces a traitorous government over 28 million people. Neo-Caligula Trump will capture, actually steal the sale of crude from PDVSA, with the money theoretically deposited in US-controlled offshore accounts to "benefit the people of Venezuela". There is no way Delcy Rordiguez's interim government will accept what amounts to de facto theft. And companies from Zhōngguó have many legal binding contracts with companies in Venezuela.
  - Zero Hedge, 10 January 2026

• "Uninvestable": Trump's $100 billion Venezuela invasion/gamble meets oil industry reality
  - Zero Hedge, 10 January 2026

• Trump' push to revive the oil sector of Venezuela is colliding with a major technical obstacle: vast methane leaks from crumbling infrastructure that could scare off large international investors. Rely on smaller comnpanies? Smaller companies often lack the capital and incentives needed to modernize operations and control emissions at scale. Even if leaks are reduced.
  - Zero Hedge, 10 January 2026

• Trump's oil grab is a big problem for the OPEC cartel. Bringing the oil output of Venezuela under USA control has the potential to disrupt the power balance in the world market.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 January 2026

• Trump's industrial policy of a goal of $50/barrel oil is doable, but painful. There are ways to bring down gasoline prices without punishing oil drillers in the USA.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 January 2026

• [The authoritarian] Trump's gunboat diplomacy [piracy] illegally seizes another oil tanker in the Caribbean
  - Zero Hedge, 09 January 2026

• House Democrats on Friday launched a probe into possible conflicts of interest following the U.S. military incursion into Venezuela last weekend, seeking to learn whether Trump administration officials or oil companies have or will benefit from the situation.
  - MSNOW, 09 January 2026

• Six global energy trends shaping the Middle East in 2026. National oil companies in the Middle Eastern reinforced their role as a critical buffer in the global energy system through a consistent strategy of capacity expansion and cost reduction.
  - Zero Hedge, 09 January 2026

• "Profound impacts": record ocean heat is intensifying climate disasters, data shows. Oceans absorb 90% of global heating [due to the burning of fossil fuels], making them a stark indicator of the relentless march of the climate crisis [due to the burning of fossil fuels].
  - The Guardian, 09 January 2026

• In 2025, frequent and severe thunderstorms and the Los Angeles wildfires drove U.S. disaster damage costs above $100 billion, reaching that level for the fifth time in the past six years - [environmental destruction caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 January 2026

• "Screwing us over ... again": shale oil producers [who gave/bribed Trump with lots of donations] are furious over Trump's [national socialist industrial policy] to lower crude oil prices using oil seized from Venezuela, which could cripple oil production in the USA. The anger is deep in Texas, where many executives backed Trump's return to power, and now describe the shift as "betrayal". [KM: tough luck, eat cake]
  - Zero Hedge, 09 January 2026

• Trump's risky fixation [national socialist industrial policy] with other countries' oil. The Venezuela [invasion] reflects a long-held desire to leverage [Christian] military might into control over energy - though falling prices are hurting oil producers in the USA.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 January 2026

• The economics of seizing the oil of Venezuela: low risk, low reward. The world has changed, and controlling the oil of Venezuela now has only modest and uncertain benefits.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 January 2026

• The western USA is in a snow drought, raising fears for summer water supplies. Record-hot temperatues - caused by global heating due to the use of fossil fuels - is causing snow/water deficits across the West.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 09 January 2026

• Trump's [national socialist industrial policy] for 30 million barrels of oil from Venezuela doesn't add up financially. The plan is both light on specifics and full of contradictions.
  - Reason, 08 January 2026

• Top energy executives are weighing telling Trump a more practical goal - that the industry can increase Venezuela's oil output by hundreds of thousands of barrels per day over the coming months. The pledge would be aimed at setting a realistic initial goal for accelerating Venezuela's output, while preempting demands by Trump for the companies to make massive new investments in rebuilding the energy infrastructure of Venezuela. But the promise to hit that mark would come with a set of conditions: the USA would first need to lift key sanctions that have suppressed Venezuela's production, as well as provide some of the supplies necessary to move the heavier crude oil produced.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 08 January 2026

• Trump's $100 billion scheme to exploit Venezuela's oil encounters skepticism amongst oil industry executives, who have already lost billions already and don't want to help push down oil prices
  - MSNOW, 08 January 2026

• Trump wants oil prices to drop to $50 a barrel. The economic doesn't work for the oil industry in the USA [KM: what they deserve for all of their campaign donations to Trump to weaken environmental protection]
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 08 January 2026

• [The authoritarian] Trump, 79, makes a staggering admission about his invasion of Venezuela, saying he has no plans for the USA to give up control of Venezuela for many years - colonialism reduxr
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 January 2026

• [The authoritarian] Trump makes plans to control oil in Venezuela for years to come [- colonialism redux]
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 08 January 2026

• [The authoritarian] Trump, 79, makes a staggering admission about his invasion of Venezuela, saying he has no plans for the USA to give up control of Venezuela anytime soon [- colonialism redux]
  - The Daily Beast, 08 January 2026

• Maduro is gone [making it easier for the USA to control the oil], but political repression in Venezuela has intensified. Security forces have boarded buses, searched phones and interrogated people, looking for evidence that they welcomed the capture of Nicolas Maduro.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 January 2026

• Oil companies say that Venezuela owes them billions over earlier investments. Companies like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips say that Venezuela owes them billions of dollars for confiscating their assets two decades ago.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 January 2026

• Why Trump's move against Venezuela's Maduro is unlikely to drive Zhōngguó from Latin America. By signalling how far it will go to defend its interests in Venezuela, [the 'good' Christian] Trump might have intensified conflicts closer to home rather than resolving them.
  - Versant's CNBC, 08 January 2026

• [Trump invades Venezuela to seize its oil to profit USA oil companies.] Trump wants to sell oil from Venezuela. But who would buy it? Zhōngguó has long been one of Venezuela's biggest customers for oil. But its hunger for that oil is waning, as the country pulls off a stunningly fast transition to electric vehicles. What oil it needs, Zhōngguó can buy from Rossiya or Iran. As the world, led by Zhōngguó, rushes to renewable energy (as Trump destroys the renewable energy industry in the USA), oil becomes less valuable. [Trump invaded Venezuela for little benefit to the USA, and much harm.]
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 08 January 2026

• Oil refiners in Zhōngguó are expected to replace heavy crude oil from Venezuela with heavy crude oil from Iran [and/or Rossiya]
  - Thomson's Reuters, 08 January 2026

• The authoritarian Trump demands that Venezuela end relationships with enemies of the USA, in order to resume oil production - [one more reason for Zhōngguó to stop buying oil from Venezuela]
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 08 January 2026

• Trump orders the USA military to to seize an oil tanker, in European waters, carrying the flag of Rossiya that is transporting oil from Venezuela
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 January 2026

• Trump orders the USA military to to seize an oil tanker, in European waters, carrying the flag of Rossiya that is transporting oil from Venezuela
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 January 2026

• Trump orders the USA military to to seize an oil tanker, in European waters, carrying the flag of Rossiya that is transporting oil from Venezuela
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 07 January 2026

• Trump orders the USA military to begin operations to seize an oil tanker, in European waters, carrying the flag of Rossiya that is transporting oil from Venezuela
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 January 2026

• Trump orders the USA military to begin operations to seize an oil tanker, in European waters, carrying the flag of Rossiya that is transporting oil from Venezuela
  - The Guardian, 07 January 2026

• It looks like Trump is running a private equity playbook in Venezuela [KM: to exploit its oil]
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 January 2026

• The authoritarian USA to control oil sales in Venezuela "indefintely", according to the USA Secretary of Energy. Chris Wright said the Trump administration was in "active dialog" with the government of Venezuela about the plan.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 January 2026

• Five things that need to happen for Big Oil to return to Venezuela
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 January 2026

• Oil prices decline more than 1%, after Trump said Venezuela would hand over 30m to 50m barrels of Venezuela's blockaded crude to the USA.
  - The Guardian, 07 January 2026

• Oil prices decline more than 1%, after Trump said Venezuela would hand over 30m to 50m barrels of Venezuela's blockaded crude to the USA.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 January 2026

• Citgo is a crown jewel of the oil industry of Venezuela. Elliott is set to reap the benefits. The hedge fund could soon close its proposed takeover of the refiner - and profit from any increase in oil production from Venezuela.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 January 2026

• Trump's disruption of oil flows out of Venezuela, including to Cuba, put Cuba's long-suffering economy into a "free-fall". With widespread power outages, medicine shortages and rising food prices, experts say that the economy of Cuba has never been worse, with the crisis coming just as the supply of oil from Venezuela is threatened. "It is dark, the people are sick, and they don't have medicine."
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 January 2026

• Cuba is already on the brink of economic collapse. Maduro's ouster by Trump brings Cuba closer to collapse. Cubans are speculating about whether their government will be the next to fall, with oil imports from Venezuela now in jeopardy.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 January 2026

• Editorial: [if Trump cared in the least about democracy, instead of oil], free political prisoners in Venezuela. Why hasn't Trump told the new government of Venezuela to releast the 800 dissidents it holds in prisons?
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 January 2026

• The brutal Maduro [authoritarian] enforcer standing in [the authoritarian] Trump's way in Venezuela. Diosdado Cabello looms as the biggest obstacle to s hopes for a stable, U.S.-friendly oil state.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 January 2026

• The Trump administration may provide [socialist] subsidies to extremely rich Big Oil companies to help them rebuild the energy sector in Venezuela
  - Zero Hedge, 06 January 2026

• The Trump administration may provide [socialist] subsidies to extremely rich Big Oil companies to help them rebuild the energy sector in Venezuela
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 06 January 2026

• Trump's military intervention in Venezuela serves [the socialistically-subsidized] Big Oil, not the people of the USA. Trump's recent military actions in Venezuela risked the lives of American service members at a steep cost to the American taxpayer, all in an effort to benefit the Trump's Big Oil donors.
  - American Progress, 06 January 2026

• [The authoritarian] Trump's ambassador to the UN says: "Enemies of the USA are not allowed to control large oil reserves". But, [nonsensically], Ambassador Mike Waltz insists, however, that the US is not going to "occupy" Venezuela.
  - Zero Hedge, 06 January 2026

• John Bolton, a former national security adviser to President Trump, said he doesn't think that Trump grasps the specifics of the situation in Venezuela in the wake of the U.S. capturing its leader, Nicolas Maduro. "I don't think he understands anything."
  - The Hill, 06 January 2026

• María Corina Machado vows to return to Venezuela and rejects rule of Maduro's vice-president, Delcy Rodríquez. The opposition leader says her movement is ready to win a fair election and praises Trump for toppling the president (even though Trump seems to be Rodríquez).
  - The Guardian, 06 January 2026

• Using the boom/bubble involving shale oil in the USA to predict where we are in the AI bubble
  - Zero Hedge, 06 January 2026

• Venezuela preapres for economic collapse from the blockade imposed by the USA. Venezuela could lose the bulk of its oil export revenues this year if the USA blockade stays in place, a scenario that would set off a humanitarian crisis. [KM: the heinous idiocy being that a collapsed economy will send more illegal immigrants to the USA]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 January 2026

• The latest national socialist industrial policy from [the racist] Trump: Trump admits that [mostly non-rich] taxpayers in the USA will have to pay to socialistically fund the "tremendous" investment needed to upgrade oil production in Venezuela: [with the profits going to rich oil companies and their rich investors]
  - The Daily Beast, 06 January 2026

• How Chevron socialistically benefits from the USA seizing the oil fields of Venezuela: the latest national socialist industrial policy from [the racist] Trump: Trump admits that [mostly non-rich] taxpayers in the USA will have to pay to socialistically fund the "tremendous" investment needed to upgrade oil production in Venezuela: [with the profits going to rich oil companies and their rich investors]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 January 2026

• Sanctioned oil tankers flee Venezuela in defiance of USA blockade ordered by Trump. The ships are using deceptive tactics as part of a seemingly coordinated attempt to bypass American naval forces in the region.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 January 2026

• Trump is relying on the same repeatedly-failed regime strategies (Iraq, Libya, etc.) in his invasion of Venezuela. His invasion will fail because the government of Venezuela is hollowed out, rotten with corruption, crippled by sanctions and filled with factions - some heavily armed - that will compete for power. It can take many months for that competition to turn violent or chaotic. Past regime changes in Latin America usually ended badly for the people of countries left with repressive right-wing governments, civil wars or rampant criminality. [KM: yes, but much profit in Christian-induced misery]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 January 2026

• The legislators of Venezuela only offer scorn as [the 'good' Christian] Trump demands obedience. The convening of the National Assembly made it clear that Maduro loyalists remain entrenched across Venezuelan institutions after decades of purges and crackdowns on dissent.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 January 2026

• Venezuela's men with guns remain the ultimate power after Maduro's ouster. Diosdado Cabello and Vladimir Padrino command Venezuela's police and mil;5Citary, and represent a wild card for Trump [and his efforts to seize oil]
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 06 January 2026

• [The 'good' Christian] Trump doesn't care about democracy or the people in Venezuela, since after kidnapping Maduro, he left the rest of a corrupt government in place - including in the military and the police. All [the 'good' Christian] Trump cares about is getting Venezuela's oil.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 January 2026

• Sensitive technology owned by Zhōngguó is at risk, after Trump kidnaps Venezuela's president. From oil infrastructure to telecommunications, investments made by Zhōngguó in the country have been long-standing and extensive.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post (locked), 06 January 2026

• Crude oil tankers from Venezuela sail out of Venezuelan waters towards ports in Zhōngguó
  - Zero Hedge, 05 January 2026

• Reviving the flow of oil in Venezuela will not come easily or cheaply. It will take years and tens of billions of dollars in investment to revitalize the oil industry of Venezuela, and energy producers will likely be cautious before stepping in.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 January 2026

• The environment-hating Trump wants to unlock the oil reserves of Venezuela. A huge challenge awaits, beyond the tens of billions of dollars that will be needed. The problem is the world doesn't have much appetite for more oil - [the world wants to buy solar power from Zhōngguó, an industry Trump is destroying in the USA]
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 05 January 2026

• The dispute between the Islamic Saudi Arabia and the Islamic UAE, over military actions in Islamic Yemen, exposes a deeper regional Islamic power struggle
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 05 January 2026

• Trump is launching his own 'Iraq' regime change - based on [Christian] hypocrisy instead of [Christian] lies. Will blood be shed for oil?
  - The Daily Beast, 05 January 2026

• What Trump's invasion of Venezuela and seizing its oil fields means for oil prices, according to Goldman Sach's trading desk. "The last time this happened (with the Iran strikes in June), crude sold off twelve dollars the next day and vol and call skew collapsed."
  - Zero Hedge, 04 January 2026

• Trump invades Venezuela to seize their oil reserves to profit the USA. Good luck with that. After the USA invaded Iraq in 2003, it fantasized over the same type of oil profits. The quick riches promised did not materialize there, as firms grappled with years of political turmoil and security threats, struggled to negotiate workable contract terms and confronted vexing infrastructure inadequacies. Venezuela may not be any easier, industry analysts warn. Restoring peak oil production there would cost up to $100 billion and take about a decade. And that is assuming there is enough political stability for companies to operate unencumbered during that entire period. Dangers include former members of the military of Venezuela, and Colombian drug trafficking organizations in Venezuela. Also, the in Venezuela is a heavy form of crude that is more difficult to process and carries a heavier carbon footprint than oil pumped elsewhere.
  - The Washington Post, 04 January 2026

• [The authoritarian] Trump has started carving up the world into spheres of influence run by dictatorships (namely the USA, Rossiya, and Zhōngguó), most recently invading Venezuela to seize its oil. Both Rossiya and Zhōngguó are watching and learning. The invasion of Venezuela ordered by Trump is a naked act of aggression based on the flimsiest of pretexts. Congress was not consulted, and the executive branch has far exceeded the 60 days allowed by the 1973 War Powers Act to get congressional approval for ongoing military action. Trump and [his puppet Christian] Republicans have laid bare their desires for hegemony, colonialism, and empire, and the dangerous global consequences of America pursuing these cannot be understated. It will be impossible for the USA to whine when Rossiya and Zhōngguó do the same, for example, Zhōngguó invading Taiwan. Worse, Trump does not appear to have a coherent plan for how to take and maintain control. [KM: the economic power of Christian hate]
  - The New Republic, 04 January 2026

• Why the collapse of Cuba looks inevitable after the kidnapping of Nicholas Maduro. Few people realise that the government of Cuba doesn't just use oil from Venezuela to keep the lights on, they used it as a major source of income by selling the surplus.
  - WION News, 04 January 2026

• Why the collapse of Cuba looks inevitable after the kidnapping of Nicholas Maduro. Few people realise that the government of Cuba doesn't just use oil from Venezuela to keep the lights on, they used it as a major source of income by selling the surplus.
  - Barclay's The Telegraph, 04 January 2026

• Meet the new leader of Venezuela, Delcy Rodrígueez, a longtime socialist who turned to market reforms after the economy collapsed
  - Jiaravanon's Fortune, 04 January 2026

• [The 'good' Christian] Trump's warns the acting leader of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, that the USA will not deploy troops to Venezuela if Venezuela "does what the USA wants" [KM: presumably an offer she can't refuse. I wonder if she owns a prized horse?]
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 04 January 2026

• [The 'good' Christian] Trump's warns the acting leader of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, that the USA will not deploy troops to Venezuela if Venezuela "does what the USA wants" [KM: presumably an offer she can't refuse. I wonder if she owns a prized horse?]
  - El Colombiano, 04 January 2026

• [The 'good' Christian] Trump's lack of loyalty to anyone. After giving support of Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Price winner, Maria Corina Machado, Trump's addiction to oil leads him to supporting a Maduro loyal ally, vice president Delcy Rodríguez as the next leader of Venezuela, because she can keep the oil flowing [Trump never cared about drugs]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 04 January 2026

• [The 'good' Christian] Trump's lack of loyalty to anyone. After giving support of Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Price winner, Maria Corina Machado, Trump's addiction to oil leads him abandon Machado - "don't count on my support or respect" and instead will support a Maduro loyal ally, vice president Delcy Rodríguez as the next leader of Venezuela, because she can keep the oil flowing [Trump never cared about drugs]
  - El Pais, 04 January 2026

• [The 'good' Christian] Trump's lack of loyalty to anyone. After giving support of Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Price winner, Maria Corina Machado, Trump's addiction to oil leads him abandon Machado - "don't count on my support or respect" and instead will support a Maduro loyal ally, vice president Delcy Rodríguez as the next leader of Venezuela, because she can keep the oil flowing [Trump never cared about drugs]
  - El Colombiano, 04 January 2026

• Why [the 'good' Christian] Trump only cares about seizing the oil of Venezuela, with his kidnapping of President Maduro, and why [the 'good' Christian] Trump doesn't care about the people of Venezuela: Venezuela is not a nation held together by a government or a social contract, but a collection of individuals trapped in a struggle for survival. Replacing the man at the top will not dismantle the web of bosses, private loyalties, corrupt practices and institutional ruins that have replaced public life here.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 04 January 2026

• The [Christian] USA invaded Iraq, Libya (with NATO) and Afghanistan with some noble purposes in mind. Decades later, all three countries are in chaos. Venezuela will be the fourth country in recent times that the USA has plunged further into chaos.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 04 January 2026

• [The 'good' Christian] Trump hints at his next illegal kidnapping victim after his invasion of Venezuela. Trump warned the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, that Petro needs to "watch his ass". [JC: onward Christian soldier?]
  - The Daily Beast, 04 January 2026

• [The 'good' Christian] Trump hints at his next illegal kidnapping victim after his invasion of Venezuela. Trump warned the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, that Petro needs to "watch his ass". [JC: onward Christian soldier?]
  - Murdoch's Fox News Video, 04 January 2026

• [While the 'good' Christian has kidnapped the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro], his top allies still hold power in Venezuela, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez who both support Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as the new leader of Venezuela.
  - Versant's CNBC, 04 January 2026

• Is the USA's invasion of Venezuela not about trying to stop the meager flow of drugs from Venezuela into the USA, but rather to grab control of the global oil market? Removal of Venezuelan leader could be part of US effort to regain global pricing power as petrodollar system comes under strain: analysts.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 04 January 2026

• Why [the 'good' Christian] Trump's war with Venezuela is dumb, brazen - and of course, all about oil
  - The Daily Beast, 04 January 2026

• [Will the 'good' Christian] Trumps invasion of Venezuela give lessons to Zhōngguó on it can invade Taiwan without international repercussions? Analysts say that the USA invasion should serve as warning to separatist forces in Taiwan following PLA drills targeting Taiwan's leadership.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 04 January 2026

• Energy bills this winter in the USA surge, leaving families in the USA struggling financially, at least in the Baltimore region, where a new increase raises the average residential electric bill by $1.07 per month and gas by $2.65. Beginning in February, an additional PSC-approved increase adds 72 cents for electric customers and $1.95 for gas customers each month through 2027.
  - Zero Hedge, 03 January 2026

• Turkey to launch first overseas deepwater exploration project off Somalia
  - Zero Hedge, 03 January 2026

• In 2019, Trump [puppet], Tulsi Gabbard, published an argument that predicted that military intervention in Venezuela would be "disastrous". Seven years later, [her strings pulled], she fully supports this disastrous invasion of Venezuela.
  - Mediaite, 03 January 2026

• In 2019, Trump [puppet], Tulsi Gabbard, published an argument that predicted that military intervention in Venezuela would be "disastrous". Seven years later, [her strings pulled], she fully supports this disastrous invasion of Venezuela.
  - The Independent, 03 January 2026

• [More Christian hypocrisy]: one month after Trump pardons the convicted drug trafficking (and former) president of Honduras, Trump invades Venezuela and arrests current President Maduro for ... drug trafficking. "If you think the illegal invasion of Venezuela is a war on drugs, you are fooling yourself." - a comment from a former Trump aide.
  - Mediaite, 03 January 2026

• [More Christian hypocrisy]: one month after Trump pardons the convicted drug trafficking (and former) president of Honduras, Trump invades Venezuela and arrests current President Maduro for ... drug trafficking. "If you think the illegal invasion of Venezuela is a war on drugs, you are fooling yourself." - a comment from a former Trump aide.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 January 2026

• [The 'good' Christian] authoritarian Trump creates a devastatingly bad precedent by invading Venezuela. By attacking Venezuela, seizing its president, and promising to "run" the country indefinitely, all without any legal congressional or United Nations authorization, [the authoritarian Christian] Trump may well have shredded what little is left of international norms and opened the way to new acts of aggression from USA rivals Zhōngguó and Rossiya on the world stage.
  - Foreign Policy, 03 January 2026

• The [authoritarian] Trump attacked Venezuela and arrested its president. Is that legal? In November, Trump administration officials privately told members of Congress that they lacked the legal justification to support attacks against any land targets in Venezuela. It has now done so without the approval of Congress. [Republican puppets in Congress will do nothing.]
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 January 2026

• Dropping the facade: propaganda, power, and the absurdity of [oil-seeking] empire [even when done by the USA]. Whenever you see a coordinated full-frontal assault [Trump's invasion of Venezuela], a blizzard of;5C the same rhetoric all focused on an end result with a particular narrative attached, you know that it is pure unadulterated propaganda.
  - Zero Hedge, 03 January 2026

• The political opposition rejoiced at President Maduro's kidnapping by the USA, but the [authoritarian] Trump doesn't seem interested in working with them, as Trump considers working with Maduro's vice-president, Delsy Rodríguez.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 January 2026

• Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene strongly criticizes Trump's illegal invasion of Venezuela: "MAGA Republicans thought [idiotically] that they voted to end this - Boy were we wrong!"
  - Mediaite, 03 January 2026

• [After "thou shalt not" lying to voters that he won't send troops into foreign countries], Trump says that the USA will temporarily run Venezuela, and if necessary, is "not afraid" ... to send in troops to this foreign country.
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 03 January 2026

• After Trump rambles [incoherently] for 20 minutes on how the USA is going to "run Venezuela until such time as we could do a safe, proper and judicous transition" [like we did in Iraq and Afghanistan?], a baffled reporter asked "Can you explain how the US will run Venezuela?"
  - Mediaite, 03 January 2026

• Editorial: [the 'good' Christian] Trump's attack on Venezuela is illegal and unwise
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 January 2026

• Rossiya, Iran and Zhōngguó are outraged as [the 'good' Christian] Trump's "flagrant armed agression" on Venezuela as the EU shrugs. [JC: Well, as flagrant as Rossiya's aggression against Ukraine, and Zhōngguó eventual aggression against Taiwan, and Europe's historic colonial aggression]
  - Zero Hedge, 03 January 2026

• The USA ran a military war game on [illegally] ousting President Maduro. The result was that Venezuela falls into chaos. [KM/JC: Christians causing more misery to profit from oil]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 January 2026

• Before his illegal capture, President Maduro argues the real reason for Trumps unhinged invasion of Venezuela. "[It has nothing to do with drugs, but everything to do with controlling our country's vast oil reserves.]"
  - The Daily Beast, 03 January 2026

• The authoritarian Trump said that the USA will size control of the massive oil reserves of Venezuela, and recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars to refurbish Venezuela's gutted oil industry. [JC: my message was never 'might makes right']
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 January 2026

• Trump unconstitutionally bombed Venezuela and detained its president without informing Congress or the Senate, keeping a deadly secret with only high-ranking members of his Cabinet
  - The Daily Beast, 03 January 2026

• By invading Venezuela, Trump turns his back on the very MAGA Republicans who voted him into office, in part, to stop the USA from ... invading other countries.
  - The Daily Beast, 03 January 2026

• 48 hours after the 'good' Christian Trump declares that his 2026 resolution is "Peace on Earth", he invades Venezuela and illegally seizes President Maduro and his wife.
  - The Daily Beast, 03 January 2026

• Trump's [illegal] kidnapping of the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, to bring them to the USA for trial, shows a new level of unrestrained global power. Why Venezuela? The drug cartels of Colombia and Mexico are bigger threats to the USA, not Venezuela. Oil is one factor to want to seize control of Venezuela. So too is immigration from Venezuela, but overthrowing governments tends to worsen people leaving a country to immigrate to the USA.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 January 2026

• The USA launches large military attacks on Venezuela, and [illegally] kidnaps President Maduro and his wife, actions hat drew quick condemnation and concern from across the globe
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 January 2026

• The USA launches large military attacks on Venezuela, and [illegally] kidnaps President Maduro and his wife, actions hat drew quick condemnation and concern from across the globe
  - CBS News, 03 January 2026

• The USA illegally attacks Venezuela, [illegally] captures President Maduro and his wife. USA Attorney General Pammy Bondi says charges include 'narco-terrorism'
  - Versant's CNBC, 03 January 2026

• What Trump's illegal kidnapping of the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, means for the massive oil reserves of Venezuela, which has been severely damaged in recent decades under Chavez and Maduro.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 January 2026

• How Kazakhstan aims to tap more oil riches below its grassy plains. After spending nearly $50 billion to expand the Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan, Chevron and its partners encounter more uncertainty. Chevron and the Kazakhstan government are beginning what could be difficult negotiations to extend their agreement on the oil field, which is set to expire in 2033.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 January 2026

• Why oil stocks are worth investing in, in 2026. Oil prices are already reflecting loads of bad news. For oil, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.
  - Barron's, 03 January 2026

• Silver prices are up (up 140% in 2025), oil prices are down (down 20% in 2025). Is this an indicator of a bubble in the stock markets? The oil-to-silver ratio is highly divergent from a long term average of 3.8.
  - Barron's, 03 January 2026

• Warplanes from Islamic Saudi Arabia carried out fresh missile attacks on sites near the Saudi-Yemeni border in Islamic Yemen's Hadramout province on Friday, as clashes erupted between forces loyal to the Saudi-backed provincial governor and fighters affiliated with the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC).
  - Zero Hedge, 02 January 2026

• Rossiya requests that the Trump administration stop its pursuit of an oil tanker in the Atlantic basin transporting oil from Venezuela
  - Zero Hedge, 01 January 2026

• The oil tanker fleeing the USA Coast Guard is now listed in a ship database in Rossiya. The listing could make it more challenging for U.S. forces to board the ship, which an arm of the s maritime authority says is now flying the flag of Rossiya.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 January 2026

• A new political conflict between the USA and Zhōngguó approaches, as oil tankers from Zhōngguó travel to Venezuela despite the USA blockade
  - Zero Hedge, 31 December 2025

• Oil heads for worst annual loss since Covid as crude production in the USA hits record high
  - Zero Hedge, 31 December 2025

• Where do microplastics come from anyway? Over one-third of microplastic pollution comes from synthetic textiles like fleece jackets and polyester shirts.
  - Zero Hedge, 30 December 2025

• A new study of the Amazon rainforest has found the region is shifting toward a 'hypertropical' state as droughts become longer, hotter, and more frequent [- due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels]. These conditions have "no current analogue" according to the international team of researchers behind the study. Trees are becoming exposed to whole new levels of stress, and the Amazon's capacity to absorb carbon dioxide is being reduced, too.
  - Science Alert, 30 December 2025

• Glaciers are melting due to global heating caused by the burning of fossiul fuels. It may reawaken the s most dangerous volcanoes. As the planet warms, humans could face a much more risky and explosive future.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 30 December 2025

• The world wants more ube, a purple yam. Farmers in the Philippines are struggling to grow more. Soaring demand and extreme weather worsened by climate change (due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels) have wiped out harvests of the popular purple yam.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 30 December 2025

• CNOOC, the top offshore crude oil and natural gas producer in Zhōngguó, has announced the discovery of a major new oilfield in the Bohai Sea (offshore of the east coast of Zhōngguó). The Qinhuangdao 29-6 discovery in the shallow Neogene formations of the Bohai Sea is yet another oilfield estimated to hold more than 100 million tons of crude, or about 730 million barrels.
  - OilPrice.com, 29 December 2025

• Zhōngguó now drives short-term oil price moves as its opaque import patterns, refinery margins, and strategic stockpiling increasingly shape marginal demand and near-term price discovery. OPEC's influence has shifted to the medium term.
  - Zero Hedge, 29 December 2025

• Trump's blockade of oil exports from Venezuela leaves $1 billion of oil from Venezuela stranded on tankers
  - Zero Hedge, 28 December 2025

• The Permian Basin is drowning in its own wastewater. The Permian basin's massive oil production from hydraulic fracturing generates huge amounts of wastewater, and the industry is running out of safe places to dispose of it. The Texas Railroad Commission has restricted new disposal wells due to widespread increases in reservoir pressure, leading to drilling hazards, ground deformation, and seismic activity.
  - OilPrice.com, 26 December 2025

• The Permian Basin, the biggest oil field in the USA, is turning into a dangerous 'pressure cooker'. The injection of salty, toxis, wastewater by driller is creating [huge dangers] across the Permian Basin, raising concern about the future of fossil-fuel production there. [KM: which will require the usual socialist bailout for the oil industry]
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 December 2025

• Oil prices fall 2% due to a looming supply glut, and hopes of a peace del between Ukraine and Rossiya
  - Thomson's Reuters, 26 December 2025

• The probability of snow on Christmas Day in the USA and northern Europe has declined 20% to 50% in the last 70 years (down to 12% in New York City), due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels
  - Zero Hedge, 25 December 2025

• Trump's White House orders a "quarantine" on oil exported from Venezuela, as gunboat diplomacy drives dark fleet tanker into Atlantic
  - Zero Hedge, 25 December 2025

• The [authoritarian] Trump's [illegal] seizures of oil tankers will do little but embolden other countries to seize or detain ships who will be more comfortable bending/breaking international maritime laws
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 25 December 2025

• Trump's [authoritarian] gunboat diplomacy intensifies against darkest corner of oil fleet propping up Venezuela [yeah, so the USA shouldn't whine when Zhōngguó does the same to Taiwan]
  - Zero Hedge, 24 December 2025

• Oil giant BP to sell 65% stake in $10 billion Castrol unit to Stonepeak (a private investment firm) for $6 billion, as BP plans to divest of $20 billion of assets by the end of 2027.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 24 December 2025

• Oil giant BP to sell 65% stake in $10 billion Castrol unit to Stonepeak (a private investment firm) for $6 billion, as BP plans to divest of $20 billion of assets by the end of 2027.
  - Versant's CNBC, 24 December 2025

• Harbour Energy pushes into USA with $3.2 billion deal to buyout LLOG Exploration. The expansion into the USA. is part of the UK oil-and-gas producer's strategy to bulk up its operations through dealmaking.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 23 December 2025

• The oil blockade of Venezuela by the USA pushes Cuba towards collapse. The economy of Cuba, dependent on cheap oil from Venezuela for decades, now struggles to function as a result of the USA military's buildup in the Caribbean and the sharp drop in oil shipments from Venezuela.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 22 December 2025

• Zhōngguó says that the USA is violating international law by seizing oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela
  - Bloomberg, 22 December 2025

• Zhōngguó says that the USA is violating international law by seizing oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 22 December 2025

• Grappling with its worst drought in a century, Iraq bets on a controversial oil-for-water deal. Approximately 60% of Iraq's water comes from sources in neighboring Turkey, yet the country is currently receiving less water compared to previous years. So, the two countries formalized the multi-billion-dollar Water Cooperation Framework Agreement, under which companies from Turkey will build new infrastructure to improve water efficiency and storage in Iraq. The projects will be financed with Iraqi oil revenues, effectively an attempt to convert the crude oil exports of Iraq into water security.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 21 December 2025

• Gunboat diplomacy accelerated: the USA illegally seizes another oil tanker off of the coast of Venezuela [Christian might makes right]
  - Zero Hedge, 20 December 2025

• Oil tankers carrying oil from Rossiya appear to be avoiding the fastest Black Sea route to the Turkish straits and travel along the Georgian and Turkish coasts (a route 70% longer) to avoid drone attacks from Ukraine.
  - Zero Hedge, 19 December 2025

• Ukraine makes its first attack in the Mediterranean Sea on a 'shadow fleet' oil tanker transporting oil from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 19 December 2025

• Food is becoming more calorific but less nutritious due to rising carbon dioxide due to the burning of fossil fuels. Researchers noticed "dramatic" changes in nutrients in crops, including drop in zinc and rise in lead.
  - The Guardian, 19 December 2025

• [The socialistically subsidized oil and natural gas industry in the USA whines to Trump for more protection from being responsible.] The Trump administration wants the European Union to exempt American oil and gas companies from a landmark law aimed at curbing emissions of methane, a powerful planet-warming gas. The methane law requires European importers to demonstrate, by 2027, that the oil and gas they buy from the United States or any other country adheres to strict monitoring standards. By 2030, all imports will have to be produced with low levels of methane emissions, though the specific limit has not yet been finalized. The law requires U.S. companies that sell oil and gas in Europe to monitor and report emissions and to repair methane leaks in their facilities. [KM: what, give up profits to protect people and the environment?]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 December 2025

• Heating costs expected to rise 9.2% this winter. Colder weather and rising electricity and fuel costs will lead to a big jump in costs for individuals, according to estimates from a group representing state energy officials.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 18 December 2025

• The new CEO of BP, Meg O'Neill, is set to become the first woman to lead a major oil company.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 18 December 2025

• The $8 billion black market for oil from Venezuela is suddenly closing down. About 70% of the oil exports of Venezuela rely on a fleet of sanctioned vessels now being targeted by the military of the USA.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 18 December 2025

• A massive 'lawfare' claim backed by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth has been filed in the UK's Royal Courts of Justice claiming that Shell Oil played a part in a devastating typhoon in the Philippines in 2021. At the centre of the case is a Green Blob-funded weather 'attribution' study that claims Typhoon Rai, also known as Odette, was made significantly worse due to human caused climate change.
  - Daily Skeptic, 17 December 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices are steady, after Trump announces a blockade of oil from Venezuela, despite a small drawdown of oil supplies, and a record production of oil in the USA
  - Zero Hedge, 17 December 2025

• Trump orders full blockade of sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela
  - Zero Hedge, 17 December 2025

• Arctic warming, caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels, is turning the rivers of Alaska red with toxic runofff. A yearly checkup on the region documents a warmer, rainier Arctic and 200 Alaskan rivers 'rusting' as melting tundra leaches minerals from the soil into waterways.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 17 December 2025

• Gasoline pump prices decline as progress with a peace deal between Rossiya and Ukraine causes a decline in oil prices
  - Zero Hedge, 16 December 2025

• Oil prices tumble to lowest since May, on pace for biggest annual decline in 7 years
  - Versant's CNBC, 16 December 2025

• Looking at the number of glaciers disappearing, the Alps could reach their peak loss rate as early as 2033 to 2041. Depending on how sharply the planet warms, this period may mark a time when more glaciers vanish than ever before. Worldwide, the peak glacier loss rate will occur about ten years later and could rise from 2,000 to 4,000 glaciers lost each year. The cause is global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Phys.org, 15 December 2025

• Scientists extend global heating data back from 1850 to 1750. This is important because greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increased 2.5 percent between 1750 and 1850, enough to have caused some warming that the data has not been accounted for.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 15 December 2025

• The oil tanker from Venezuela seized by the USA was part of an effort to finance Cuba. Firms with ties to Cuba are getting a larger share of Venezuelan oil exports, as the island's security agents boost President Nicolás Maduro's defenses.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 December 2025

• Feedback loops from oil fields accelerate Arctic warming and other atmospheric changes, study shows (changes for which taxpayer dollars eventually have to pay for)
  - Phys.org, 12 December 2025

• The white [devout Catholic Christian] Harold Hamm, the billionaire who pushed the [environment-of-his-Jesus-hating] white Trump to go all in on fossil fuels [that contribute so much to global heating and the resulting damages to the environment that the taxpayers socialistically have to pay to repair]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 December 2025

• Officials of Trump joined officials from Christian Rossiya, and Islamic Saudi Arabia and Islamic Iran, in objecting to language on fossils fuels, biodiversity and plastics in a United Nations report that was three years in the making
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 December 2025

• Seizure of oil being shipped from Venezuela, in violation of international law, is an effort by Trump to weaken President Maduro's hold on power in Venezuela. USA officials said they plan to [illegally] confiscate more crude tankers in an effort to oust the strongman.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 December 2025

• Ukraine strikes an important Lukoil oil platform in the Caspian Sea owned by Rossiya. The attack on Dec. 11 marks the first time Kyiv has targeted hydrocarbon extraction assets in the Caspian region, a development that signals a new phase in the targeting of Rossiya's economic lifelines and raises questions regarding the security of energy corridors previously considered beyond the reach of the conflict.
  - OilPrice.com, 11 December 2025

• Regulators voted Thursday to extend a shutdown preventing New England fishermen from catching shrimp, a historic industry that has recently fallen victim to warming oceans due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels. Rising temperatures have created an inhospitable environment for the shrimp, and their population is too low to fish sustainably, scientists have said.
  - Associated Press, 11 December 2025

• Ukraine is trying to destroy as much of Rossiya's oil production - domestic and for export - as possible, with repeated strikes on its oil facilities
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 11 December 2025

• Chevron CEO sees growing potential in biofuels and geothermal energy. Mike Wirth outlined the oil-and-gas company's hopes for everything from carbon capture to hydrogen.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 December 2025

• A billion-barrel oil glut is forming at sea. Geopolitics and sanctions are causing crude oil inventories to accumulate on the ocean.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 December 2025

• Gunboat diplomacy returns: the USA seizes a sanctioned oil tanker offshore of Venezuela
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 December 2025

• Gunboat diplomacy returns: the USA seizes a sanctioned oil tanker offshore of Venezuela
  - Zero Hedge, 10 December 2025

• Venezuela condemnds an "act of piracy" as gunboat diplomacy returns: the USA seizes a sanctioned oil tanker offshore of Venezuela
  - BBC, 10 December 2025

• Trump lacks support or logistics for a ground invasion of Venezuela. It would take a significant, visible logistical effort to move thousands of troops to a friendly country or U.S. territory nearby to stage an invasion.
  - Axel Springer's Politico, 10 December 2025

• Deep discounts tempt oil refiners in Bharat to seek non-sanctioned oil from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 10 December 2025

• WTI holds losses after big product inventory builds, USA crude production nears record highs
  - Zero Hedge, 10 December 2025

• Underwater 'storms' are eating away at the Doomsday (Thwaites) Glacier in Antarctica. It could have big impacts on rice of sea levels. These glaciers have experienced rapid melting driven by warming ocean water (due to global heating caused by fossil fuels), especially at the point where they rise from the seabed and come afloat as ice shelves.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 10 December 2025

• Multiple satellite images show the scale of the huge destruction from recent flood in Asia, massive floods and landsides caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Al Jazeera, 09 December 2025

• Oil trading giant Trafigura warns of looming "super glut" due to supply surge, predicting $50/barrel for oil prices in the first part of 2026
  - Zero Hedge, 09 December 2025

• "Food and fossil fuel production causing $5 billion of environmental damage an hour". UN GEO report says ending this harm key to global transformation required "before collapse becomes inevitable".
  - The Guardian, 09 December 2025

• Oil volatility vanishes as prices march slowly lower. Oil will tread a path of lower prices and volatility, thanks to noisy geopolitics and a slowly-growing supply glut.
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 09 December 2025

• Gasoline prices drop to the lowest level in nearly 5 years across the USA, the average price being $2.79/gallon
  - Zero Hedge, 09 December 2025

• Iraq has invited major oil companies based in the USA to develop the giant West Qurna 2 field after the forced exit of Rossiya's Lukoil oil company. West Qurna-2 produces nearly 10% of Iraq's output and can sustain 635,650,000 bpd, and USA oil companies are now positioned to take over development.
  - OilPrice.com, 08 December 2025

• Beef prices are soaring. Here is why the USA is facing record-low cattle numbers - severe drought due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels, Trump's taxes/tariffs, cattle disease and imports of beef.
  - Versant's CNBC, 08 December 2025

• Independent oil refiners in Zhōngguó's are buying sanctioned crude oil from Iran again, and raising their processing rates, making room for Iran's oil to move out of floating and bonded storage and potentially easing the year-end glut on the market.
  - Zero Hedge, 05 December 2025

• American consumers should not have to pay twice for the damage done by [the socialistically subsidized] multinational oil and gas companies - once through the harm their products cause to our health and our planet, and again when those same companies use lawsuits filed by local communities as an excuse to hike prices at the pump. They have built a business model on avoiding accountability. When someone points out that elephant in the room, they panic, because the public might start asking why they have gotten away with it for so long.
  - The Hill, 03 December 2025

• Separatist forces backed by the UAE sweep into oil-rich region in Yemen. The separatists were battling to secure the region's oil fields, residents and the group's officials said. Their swift advance could be a turning point in the decade-long Islamic civil war in Yemen.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 December 2025

• OPEC+ confirms plans to pause increases of oil output in Q1 2026
  - Zero Hedge, 30 November 2025

• Wall Street warns of a deepening oil glut in 2026. Executives warn U.S. shale will stagnate or decline if WTI stays in the $50-$60 range.
  - Zero Hedge, 28 November 2025

• The environment-hating Trump vowed fewer regulations and lots more oil. Trump has delivered on one. Trump's energy strategy is projected to generate more pollution, but so far production has not risen significantly and price drops have been modest, analysts say.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 28 November 2025

• How extreme weather (caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels such as oil) is making pollution due to oil-derived plastic - more mobile, more persistent and more hazardous
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 27 November 2025

• JP Morgan predicts that oil prices could plunge into the $30s range by 2027
  - Zero Hedge, 26 November 2025

• As US military activity ramps up in the Caribbean and the Pacific off Central America, President Gustave Petro of Colombia alleges that Trump's pressure campaign on Venezuela is more about accessing Venezuela's oil than fighting drug trafficking (few drugs flow through Venezuela to the USA).
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 26 November 2025

• Maria Machado, won just won the Nobel Peace prize, spreads false claims [i.e., lies] about President Maduro. Maria Corina Machado faces criticism that she is exaggerating threats posed by the leader of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, to justify the USA using its military to overthrow Maduro.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 26 November 2025

• How climate change is fueling more deadly and destructive floods. Fossil-fueled [global heating] increases the intensity of floods, worsening the impacts on public health, the economy, and communities.
  - Center for American Progress, 25 November 2025

• How much does AI rhyme with 'shALe'? Some argue that it makes sense for Big Tech AI to spend more than 100% of cash flow if a single generative AI model can achieve monopolistic profits; however, thus far AI looks more like a basic commodity industry. It is perfectly fine for AI to be a commodity, of course: just don't be surprised when industry multiples get priced like one.
  - Carlyle Compass, 25 November 2025

• The incomprehensible march towards the USA overthrowing the government of Venezuela because of its role in trafficking drugs into the USA. But little fentanyl comes to the USA through Venezuela, and most of the cocaine passing through Venezuela ends up in Europe. Maybe oil-happy Trump wants to control the oil in Venezuela.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 25 November 2025

• [Oil producers use their incredible wealth to bribe another climate summit to do nothing.] Oil producers, but maybe not the planet, get a win as climate talks end. The final agreement, with no direct mention of the fossil fuels dangerously heating the Earth, was a victory for countries like Islamic Saudi Arabia and Christian Rossiya, diplomats said.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 24 November 2025

• To placate Trump, the Energy Department overhauls its structure, eliminating offices to support renewable energy to promote climate-destroying fossil fuels [another Trump policy benefitting Zhōngguó]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 23 November 2025

• Alaska Native villages have few options and little US help as climate change devours their land, climate change caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Associated Press, 22 November 2025

• Hydropower is getting less reliable as the world needs more energy. Demand for power is growing fast, but hydro plants, the oldest source of clean energy, are struggling because of droughts, floods and other extreme weather linked to climate change [due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels].
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 November 2025

• Climate change is stressing cows in Italy, and coming for your Burrata cheese. Extreme heat [caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels] causes cows to produce less milk. This poses problems in cheese-obsessed Italy, especially as it tries to meet growing demand for favorites like burrata.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 November 2025

• Diesel trucks are quickly shifting to electric motors in Zhōngguó. That shift could change global demand for liquid natural gas and diesel fuel.
  - Associated Press, 19 November 2025

• Scientists in Zhōngguó have developed a catalyst that can turn biomass and coal-derived syngas directly into building blocks for plastic and synthetic rubber with higher efficiency and sustainability than existing methods. The iron-based nanoparticle catalyst converts syngas, or synthesis gas, into hydrogen and carbon-based compounds called olefins by coupling two reactions that separately have limitations but together have synergistic effects. This could significantly reduce Zhōngguó's need to import oil.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 18 November 2025

• Islamic Saudi Arabia has fought efforts to fight global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels. But now Saudi Arabia is building a clean energy empire, including building huge solar power generation facilities, with a goal to generate 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Meanwhile [the 'good' Christian] Trump is doing his best to destroy the solar and wind power industries in the USA.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 17 November 2025

• Oyster farmers battle the climate crisis in Fiji's troubled seas, a crisis due to global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels. As fishing traditions are threatened by storms and poachers, pearl oyster farming offers a lifeline to coastal communities.
  - Al Jazeera, 16 November 2025

• How a shrimper in Texas, Diane Wilson, stalled Exxon's $10 billion plastic plant, frustrating Exxon's to quickly obtain tax abatements without fully following the law.
  - The Guardian, 14 November 2025

• Oil prices rise over 25% after a missile attack by Ukraine damages a major oil export hub for Rossiya on the Black Sea
  - OilPrice.com, 14 November 2025

• Scientists in Zhōngguó warn that warming temperatures [due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels] are melting the Greenland ice sheet, sending freshwater into the North Atlantic and slowing the tlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, raising the risk of an 'Ice Age'
  - Zero Hedge, 14 November 2025

• Melting ice from the Himalayas is creating thousands of unstable lakes, a growing menace to towns and cities below. The melting is due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 November 2025

• Trump's taxes/tariffs are helping to increase the prices of beef in the USA to new highs as less beef is being imported into the USA at a time when the cattle herd in the USA is the lowest in 75 years as drought [(due to global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels)] and parasites is further reducing the supply of beef
  - Versant's CNBC, 14 November 2025

• Oil prices remain steady, despite a big increase in oil inventories and record production of oil in the USA
  - Zero Hedge, 13 November 2025

• Emissions of carbon dioxide (much from the burning of fossil fuels) is predicted to reach another record high in 2025, worsening global heating
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 November 2025

• Bitcoin and oil decline in price, and bonds and gold prices increase, as AI [bubble] angst accelerates
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 12 November 2025

• Sanctions imposed by the USA push oil refiners in Bharat away from crude oil supplies from Rossiya. All but two oil refiners in Bharat have skipped placing orders for crude oil from Rossiya for December after the USA sanctioned the top oil producers of Rossiya, Rosneft and Lukoil.
  - Zero Hedge, 12 November 2025

• Oil prices slide as OPEC glut fears Trump IEA's demand optimism
  - Zero Hedge, 12 November 2025

• A new report describes an unlivable future with global heating now expected to blow past a key limit for human safety, global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 12 November 2025

• Two 'godfathers' of wind power raise the alarm as Trump urges countries to abandon the fight against climate change and global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Versant's CNBC, 12 November 2025

• Researchers are discovering 'zombie forests' (where trees can grow, but can't produce seeds for new baby trees) across the western USA, due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels
  - The Cool Down, 11 November 2025

• Coffee production in Colombia grew 14% year-to-year in October, but there was a 10% decline in production due to global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - El Colombiano, 11 November 2025

• How South America became the up-and-coming oil capital of the world, with new discoveries in offshore of Guyana, Brazil and Argentina
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 10 November 2025

• [TACO] Trump gives Hungary a one-year exemption from sanctions the United States has imposed on countries buying oil from Rossiya after meeting with the Hungarian prime minister
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 November 2025

• A price of $60/barrel undercuts the environment-hating Trump's "Drill, Baby, Drill" agenda. Shale producers in the USA are not embracing the "drill, baby, drill" mantra because current oil prices, which hover near or below their breakeven point, do not justify accelerating production.
  - Zero Hedge, 07 November 2025

• Saudi Arabia reduces December oil prices for Asia in sign of caution. The price is seen as a key indicator of Saudia Arabia's outlook on regional demand and the move follows OPEC+ pausing output increases for early next year.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 November 2025

• In climate-change denying North Carolina, homes are collapsing into the ocean, as ocean levels rise due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels. It is coming problem for other coastal areas that will be battered by powerful storms and eroded by rising sea levels.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 November 2025

• Lakes in the Amazon in 2023 became 'simmering basins' as their temperatures spike over 105 degrees Farenheit - above recommended limits for hot tubs, due to heat and drought caused by global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 November 2025

• Lakes in the Amazon in 2023 became 'simmering basins' as their temperatures spike over 41 degrees Celsius - above recommended limits for hot tubs, due to heat and drought caused by global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 November 2025

• How thousands of richly-paid lobbyists for extremely rich fossil fuel companies got access to UN climate change talks - while the companies kept drilling for more global-heating causing fossil fuels. Exclusive: Research shows oil, natural gas and coal companies' unprecedented access to Cop26-29, blocking urgent climate action.
  - The Guardian, 07 November 2025

• Global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels made Hurricane Melissa more damaging. Climate change enabled the storm last month to churn faster and grow more quickly, an analysis found.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 November 2025

• Trump weighs options, and risks, for military attacks on Venezuela. Trump has yet to make a decision, but his advisers are pressing a range of financial objectives - from attacking drug cartels to seizing oil fields - to try to justify ousting the elected president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. Not a lot of drugs flow through Venezuela to the USA.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 November 2025

• Recycling of oil-derived and natural-gas-derived plastics is in trouble. Consumer product companies have walked back their plastics sustainability goals, and many recyclers are closing their doors.
  - Chemical & Engineering News, 04 November 2025

• Texas-based Exxon funded rightwing thinktanks to spread climate change denial across Latin America, according to hundreds of previously unpublished documents that reveal a coordinated campaign to make the global south "less inclined" to support the UN-led climate treaty process. Stoking confusion and doubt about climate change among developing nations, as Exxon and Atlas Network sought to do during critical early moments of climate diplomacy, exacerbated geopolitical faultlines and economic fears that still persist to this day.
  - The Guardian, 04 November 2025

• Zhōngguó is quickly filling up its oil reserves. The cushion could protect the country from any short-term supply disruptions related to new USA sanctions on crude oil from Rossiya.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 04 November 2025

• The Hektoria Glacier, roughly the size of Philadelphia, on the Antarctic Peninsula, shrunk by nearly 50% in just two months, the fastest retreat recorded in modern history, according to a new study -- and the way it retreated could have big implications for global sea level rise. It is melting more quickly due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 November 2025

• OPEC+ pauses increases in oil production, after a small increase in December
  - Zero Hedge, 02 November 2025

• OPEC+ pauses increases in oil production, after a small increase in December
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 02 November 2025

• Drones fired from Ukraine damage and set fire to one of the biggest oil terminals of Rossiya on the Black Sea
  - Zero Hedge, 02 November 2025

• How climate change and global heating fuelled Hurricane Melissa - and why it is only going to get worse. Jamaica contributes barely anything to global carbon emissions, yet has been rocked by devastation that could take it decades to recover from. The global carbon emissions are much due to the burning of fossil fuels by countries extremely much richer than Jamaica.
  - The Independent, 01 November 2025

• Trump has his administration not renew the contract of the National Park Service's chief petroleum engineer, who tracked leaky oil wells in national parks. He was not replaced.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 November 2025

• Chevron profit falls on lower oil prices. Chevron said its third-quarter profit fell, citing lower crude oil prices and expenses from its acquisition of Hess.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 01 November 2025

• Exxon Mobil logged lower profit in the third quarter, hurt by weaker oil prices and higher costs, despite increasing production at two important oil fields.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 01 November 2025

• Black vultures attack and kill cattle. Global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels is one reason that they are spreading from the southeastern USA to the northern USA and the desert Southwest of the USA.
  - Associated Press, 31 October 2025

• BP presses ahead with major discovery offshore Brazil. The company is moving ahead with plans for its largest oil and gas discovery in 25 years, after confirming that the site offshore Brazil holds a significant volume of liquids.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 31 October 2025

• Crushed by punishing sanctions imposed by the USA, Rossiya's Lukoil accepts an offer to sell its international oil business to commodity trader Gunvor
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 30 October 2025

• Crushed by punishing sanctions imposed by the USA, Rossiya's Lukoil accepts an offer to sell its international oil business to commodity trader Gunvor
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 30 October 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices stall their decline after large inventory reductions, while crude oil production in the USA hits a new record high
  - Zero Hedge, 29 October 2025

• Does Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang support his close friend Trump and his close friend Trump's Republicans, who are joining Big Oil's all-out push to use their riches to shut down climate liability efforts? Republican attorneys general, GOP lawmakers, rich industry groups and Trump himself are all maneuvering to foreclose the ability of cities and states to hold the fossil fuel industry liable for damages linked to climate change and global heating. [JC: Woe to you who are (extremely) rich]
  - Inside Climate News, 29 October 2025

• Texas service sector activity contracted further in October, according to business executives responding to The Dallas Fed's survey. The revenue index, a key measure of state service sector conditions, fell four points to -6.4, its lowest reading since July 2020. Threats include Trump's taxes/tariffs, high interest rates, falling demand, the government shutdown, and Trump's demands for lower oil prices
  - Zero Hedge, 28 October 2025

• A record number of short oil positions squeezed by sanctions despite record crude glut
  - Zero Hedge, 27 October 2025

• Increasingly hot sea waters have essentially wiped out two important coral species on the reefs off the coast of Florida. Elkhorn and staghorn coral are now functionally extinct around the state, researchers say, meaning they no longer play any significant role in their ecosystem. Corals cannot survive hotter ocean waters due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 27 October 2025

• Bharat wants to develop a deep-sea port on its Nicobar Islands, part of its Act East Policy. "By developing Great Nicobar into a deep-sea port, airport, and military hub, Bharat gains a vital strategic foothold just 160 kilometers from the Malacca Strait, a vital chokepoint through which 80% of Zhōngguó's oil imports and 40% of global trade pass. This allows Bharat to monitor maritime traffic, project power across the eastern Indian Ocean, and quickly use naval and air assets."
  - Zero Hedge, 26 October 2025

• Hurricane Melissa forecast to rapidly intensify into a rare Category 5 tonight, seek shelter now in Jamaica. Rainfall totals up to 40 inches are expected from Melissa in parts of southern Haiti, southern Dominican Republic, and Jamaica through Tuesday, with local maxima of 40 inches. Eastern Cuba could receive totals of up to 18 inches. This explosive strengthening is happening more often due to global warming caused by fossil fuel pollution. Three of the four Atlantic hurricanes this season underwent extreme rapid intensification: Erin, Gabrielle and Humberto.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 26 October 2025

• Hurricane Melissa forecast to rapidly intensify into a rare Category 5 tonight, seek shelter now in Jamaica. Rainfall totals up to 40 inches are expected from Melissa in parts of southern Haiti, southern Dominican Republic, and Jamaica through Tuesday, with local maxima of 40 inches. Eastern Cuba could receive totals of up to 18 inches. This explosive strengthening is happening more often due to global warming caused by fossil fuel pollution. Three of the four Atlantic hurricanes this season underwent extreme rapid intensification: Erin, Gabrielle and Humberto.
  - Versant's CNBC, 26 October 2025

• While Zhōngguó continues to expand and dominate the renewable energy industry, Trump orders the Interior Department to allow drilling for oil in the Alaska wilderness, and allow a road to be built through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 25 October 2025

• How a 'dark fleet' of tankers helped a drug cartel in México build a fuel-smuggling empire. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has mastered the use of tankers to smuggle fuel to México. USA oil players are helping them. Reuters traces one ship's brazen journey.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 24 October 2025

• Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene: Trump's socialist bailout of Argentina is a "punch in the gut" to cattle ranchers in the USA
  - The Hill, 24 October 2025

• Small farmers / farming families in Latin America need more than $26 billion to survive and be able to adapt to climate change (more sever droughts, flooding during rainstorms) due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fu;5Dels
  - El Colombiano, 24 October 2025

• Major state-owned oil companies in Zhōngguó suspend purchases of oil from Rossiya due to the sanctions of the USA
  - Thomson's Reuters, 23 October 2025

• Iceland reports the presence of mosquitoes for the first time in history, due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - NPR, 22 October 2025

• Iceland reports the presence of mosquitoes for the first time in history, due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 October 2025

• Prices of Brent crude oil jump about 5% after the Trump administration sanctions two big oil companies in Rossiya
  - Versant's CNBC, 22 October 2025

• The USA sanctions the two largest oil companies in Rossiya, while the USA demands than Rossiya agree to an immediate ceasefire
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 22 October 2025

• In first half of 2025, the financial cost of weather catastrophes escalated at record pace, [as global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels worsens weather catastrophes]. The environment-hating Trump's administration stopped updating a database tracking the costs of the s worst disasters. A group of scientists has revived it.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 October 2025

• With oil at a relative cheap price of $58/barrel, Trump is buying only a tiny 1 million barrels for the USA's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, while Zhōngguó unleashes a record oil stockpiling spree
  - Zero Hedge, 21 October 2025

• How a giant oil company, Chevron, became a pillar of the fragile economy of Venezuela. Chevron exploits unusual power in socialist-led Venezuela, positioning the company to financially gain from whatever comes of the crisis between Washington and Caracas.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 October 2025

• Crude oil imports into Zhōngguó from Rossiya continue, despite USA sanctions, while imports of oil from Indonesia and Brazil into Zhōngguó have also increased, while purchases of oil (similar to soybeans) from the USA remain suspended.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 20 October 2025

• The government of the USA is shutdown, but not for fossil fuels. Federal workers who issue permits for oil, gas and mining operations are on the job, along with those working to repeal pollution limits - under the orders of Trump.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 18 October 2025

• Oceans lose their luster as concentrations of phytoplankton decline in many ocean regions. Phytoplankton are a crucial food source in ocean food chains, and are a vital source of oxygen generation and CO2 removal. The cause is global heating of the oceans due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Inside Climate News, 17 October 2025

• Poison cigars, propaganda and coups litter the sordid history of the CIA in Latin America. For much of the 20th century, the CIA devised plots to overthrow governments, kill high-profile leaders or arm dissident groups.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 17 October 2025

• Trump might want to use the CIA to overthrow the government of oil-rich, gold-rich Venezuela (these riches give it little need to produce illegal drugs). CIA overthrows have been disasters in Latin America across the decades, and the last oil-rich country the USA helped overthow - Iraq - has become a disaster.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 17 October 2025

• Oil prices drop to the lowest level in nearly five years. A glut of crude has pushed U.S. oil futures 19% lower over the past year.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 17 October 2025

• Trump claimed Bharat had agreed to stop buying oil from Rossiya. The government of Bharat says it knows nothing about such a promise.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 17 October 2025

• A non-socialist non-subsidy to the oil and natural gas industries. A privately financed fund, not taxpayers' dollars, will be used to retire 20,000 oil and natural gas wells in West Virginia with no cost to the public.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 16 October 2025

• Just a day after a major report in the Financial Times said that US intelligence has been helping Ukraine conduct long-range drone strikes on Russian oil facilities since at least July, major oil depot in Crimea caught fire overnight following a Ukrainian drone strike. This marks the second time in a week that the the Feodosia facility has been struck and gone up in flames. Importantly, it is Crimea's largest oil storage and transshipment hub, with a capacity of around 250,000 tons.
  - Zero Hedge, 13 October 2025

• Almost 75% of drought-prone regions around the world will be at risk of extreme water shortages known as "day zero droughts" by 2100 if CO2 emissions are not reduced (which causes global heating and droughts from the burning of fossil fuels). A third of these regions could have "zero day droughts" (zero water available throughout a city or region) before 2030.
  - Live Science, 13 October 2025

• Earth is grappling with a "new reality" as it reaches the first in a series of catastrophic and potentially irreversible climate tipping points: the widespread death of coral reefs, according to a landmark report produced by 160 scientists across the world. The deaths of coral reefs are due to warmer ocean temperatures, caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 13 October 2025

• Earth is grappling with a "new reality" as it reaches the first in a series of catastrophic and potentially irreversible climate tipping points: the widespread death of coral reefs, according to a landmark report produced by 160 scientists across the world. The deaths of coral reefs are due to warmer ocean temperatures, caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels [KM: the lastest burning to fuel mostly useless AI data centers to make the rich richer].
  - Time, 13 October 2025

• Water shortages in Corpus Christi, in south Texas, are posing major risks to a fast-growing industrial hub that is crucial to Trump' twin goals of dominating global energy markets and slashing trade deficits. Poorer citizens are being pitted against huge rich corporations such as Exxon Mobil, Kocj Industries, Celanese and Occidental Petroleum - over access to water and who will pay for it. "The abatements that they [big rich corporations] get, the low water rates that they enjoy, the amount of water that they consume, it is just made the quality of our life go down."
  - Bloomberg, 12 October 2025

• Countries in Asia hope for cheaper oil as an Israeli-Hamas ceasefire increases hope for more calm in the Middle East. Traders are watching to see if the deal will lead to safer shipping routes and renewed progress on Iran's nuclear negotiations.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 11 October 2025

• Summers in Nihon are longer by 3 weeks over the last 42 years, researchers state. In comparison, the average durations of spring and autumn shortened from 1982 to 2023 due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 11 October 2025

• A possibility of peace between Israel and Palestine raises hopes of investors to the end of the shipping crisis in the Red Sea
  - Zero Hedge, 10 October 2025

• Oil tumbles to 5-month lows as gaza ceasefire holds. "We are heading for a challenging weekly close below $65 which is likely to attract some attention from short sellers."
  - Zero Hedge, 10 October 2025

• Melting sea ice and deforestation are continuing to drive many species toward extinction, with the latest Red List of Threatened Species showing that more than a quarter of all animals, plants and fungi assessed are at risk. Three species of Arctic seals now face extinction due to global heating (due to the burning of fossil fuels), while half the s birds are in decline due to habitat loss. But the return of the green sea turtle shows how, with coordinated conservation efforts, these losses can be turned around.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 10 October 2025

• Traders in Bharat begin switching to using the yuan of Zhōngguó for purchases of oil from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 09 October 2025

• Iraq signs deal with Exxon to help develop a large oilfield
  - Versant's CNBC, 08 October 2025

• Iraq signs deal with Exxon to help develop a large oilfield
  - Zero Hedge, 08 October 2025

• Coal is unreliable, expensive and dirty. The Trump is going all in on investments into coal. Coal is neither economical nor reliable. Coal plants are are costly to maintain and increasingly unsound. [The repeatedly-bankrupted] Trump does not understand this economics. The government of Zhōngguó does.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 October 2025

• Zhōngguó is leading the way to a renewable energy future, while the USA under the environment-hating Trump is frozen in the past [by attacking renewable energy and further supporting fossil fuels that cause global heating]
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 07 October 2025

• Three CNN reporters on three continents wore chemical-tracking wristbands. The results were alarming - a large number of unhealthy chemicals enter the human body each day.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 October 2025

• How Zhōngguó secretly pays Iran for oil, and avoids the sanctions of the USA
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 06 October 2025

• Tiny nanoplastic fragments (derived from oil) present in soil can make their way into the edible parts of vegetables, research has found. The particles have the potential to be accumulated within the plants, and be passed on to anything that eats the plants, such as humans.
  - Science Alert, 05 October 2025

• Oil prices are predicted to rise up to $1 per barrel, after OPEC+ raises output by far less than expected
  - Zero Hedge, 05 October 2025

• Saudi Arabia's spending spree meets the reality of lower oil prices. Fitch Ratings warned Friday that Riyadh faces rising financial risks as oil prices soften and government spending balloons, threatening the plans of Saudi Arabia for fiscal consolidation.
  - Zero Hedge, 05 October 2025

• Trump's economic plans called for more oil drilling and lower gasoline prices. He has only achieved lower gasoline prices. Oil production activity in the USA has declined in the last two quarters.
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 04 October 2025

• Sea level rise could put more than 100 million buildings across the Global South at risk of regular flooding if fossil fuel emissions are not curbed quickly, decreasing their value and making them harder to insure
  - Phys.org, 03 October 2025

• Costly and deadly wildfires really are on the rise, new research finds. The past decade in particular has seen an uptick in devastating blazes linked to climate change due to global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels, according to the study.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 October 2025

• The cost of Rossiya's war in Ukraine, attacks by the military of Ukraine, and sanctions by the USA and Europe, have hastened the decline of oil production in the Rossiya.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 03 October 2025

• Drones launched by Ukraine hit an oil refinery and chemical plant 1500 kilometers deep inside of Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 03 October 2025

• The Panama Canal needs a staggering amount of water to operate. Global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels could threaten that, study warns. The vital commercial artery depends on a supply of fresh water to move ships between the two oceans. Drought conditions that were once rare could become common by the end of the century, greatly impacting the operation of the canal.
  - Live Science, 02 October 2025

• For the first time in human history, the glaciers of California will soon disappear due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - SF Gate, 02 October 2025

• The premier of Alberta, Canada, Danielle Smith, proposes a new pipeline through British Colombia. Opposition, however, has been swift. The Premier of British Columbia said that "The problem that we have is Smith continues to advance a project that is taxpayer-funded, has no private sector proponent [i.e., socialist subsidy for the oil industry], is not a real project and is incredibly alarming to British Columbians, especially First Nations people along the coast." Indeed, a representative of several coastal First Nations said they would not support a new pipeline project "now or ever".
  - OilPrice.com, 02 October 2025

• Sanctions on oil shipments from Rossiya, and threats of attacks by Houthis in the Red Sea, are increasing the demand for fuel oil. Contrary to earlier expectations, global demand for fuel oil has jumped the most since 2019 as longer routes to avoid the Houthi threat around the Red Sea and the surge in shadow fleet numbers have contributed to higher fuel oil use.
  - Zero Hedge, 02 October 2025

• Researchers at the University of Birmingham published a new study analyzing 31 different beverages, including coffee, tea, juices, sodas, and energy drinks, and found microplastics in every single one. The biggest disappointment was the discovery of the highest concentrations of microplastics in hot beverages, such as tea and coffee. Researchers found that heat significantly increased plastic shedding from packaging, with polypropylene and PET among the most common polymers found in the drinks.
  - Zero Hedge, 02 October 2025

• France arrests the captain and first officer of an oil tanker linked to the 'shadow fleet' of Rossiya
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 02 October 2025

• France arrests the captain and first officer of an oil tanker linked to the 'shadow fleet' of Rossiya
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 02 October 2025

• In July this year, the Mexican government did something no other government had ever done. It used a corporate debt tool to reduce the massive debt pile of state-owned energy major Pemex. Now, others are using this as a template for their struggling state entities. In July, the government of México issued $12 billion worth of something called P-Caps (much used by insurance companies). Normally used in corporate circles, P-Caps, or pre-capitalized securities, allow a borrower access to debt funding in case of need but without being included in its balance sheet. The securities sit in a trust to keep them separate from the company's liabilities and avoid having them affect its credit rating.
  - OilPrice.com, 01 October 2025

• The Trump administation will keep oil and gas permitting moving unhindered, despite the federal government shutdown that began on Wednesday, while approvals for renewable energy projects will halt
  - OilPrice.com, 01 October 2025

• Big Oil is getting leaner and leaner. Exxon is the latest large oil company to announce firings of people as the industry continues to adapt to lower oil prices.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 01 October 2025

• Big Oil is getting leaner and leaner. Exxon is the latest large oil company to announce firings of people as the industry continues to adapt to lower oil prices.
  - Zero Hedge, 01 October 2025

• Oil prices decline after report that OPEC+ will accelerate increases in production
  - Zero Hedge, 30 September 2025

• Respondents to the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index survey become 'apocalyptic' amid Trump's nationalist socialist industrial policies to push down the price of oil
  - Zero Hedge, 29 September 2025

• The current war on science (and thus innovation) and the corporate interests behind it. "There is, unquestionably, a coordinated, concerted attack on science by today's Republican Party.", who are controlled by [the rich] "plutocrats [of Silicon Valley] and their PACs, and petrostates and their politicians and polluters".
  - Condé Nast's Ars Technica, 29 September 2025

• Self-interest benefiting the public for once: oil executives are unexpected critics of Trump's destruction of the windpower industry in the USA, especially critical of stopping wind projects that had earlier received federal approval. Their concern? That the next liberal administration will cancel their oil and natural gas projects. "Ever-changing policy, particularly as administrations change, is not good for business."
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 27 September 2025

• $1,090,000,000 - The competition authority of Italy imposed more than $1.09 billion of fines on Eni and five other oil companies after closing a probe into allegations they set up a cartel to raise fuel prices
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 27 September 2025

• Ukraine is upending the global oil market with its attacks on Rossiya. Drone attacks on Russian refineries are reducing output. Here is the impact on oil refiners in the USA.
  - Barron's, 27 September 2025

• Oil prices set for sharpest weekly jump since Israel-Iran war. Crude oil prices today were set for their sharpest weekly rise since early June, when Israel launched a missile strike on Iran. This time, the jump was triggered by the news that Russia would introduce curbs on diesel exports.
  - Zero Hedge, 26 September 2025

• Why the largest untapped deepwater oil field in Africa, TotalEnergies' Venus project in Namibia's Orange Basin, has yet to produce oil
  - Zero Hedge, 26 September 2025

• The undeniable [except to Christian politicians who prostitute their votes] science of extreme weather. How global heating is supercharging droughts, floods and storms - all due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - The Climate Brink (substack), 25 September 2025

• Gold and oil prices rise after Europe "privately" warned Rossiya that Europe is ready to shoot down its jet airplanes
  - Zero Hedge, 25 September 2025

• Trump is forfeiting the clean-energy industry/future to Zhōngguó, [by heaping more socialist subsidies on the oil and natural gas industries, and taking them away from the renewable energy industry]
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 25 September 2025

• Shares of Transocean plunged 14% Thursday after the offshore driller announced the sale of a large number of shares at a discount
  - Versant's CNBC, 25 September 2025

• The world's oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life. Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed.
  - The Guardian, 24 September 2025

• The Ganges, a lifeline for hundreds of millions across South Asia, is drying at a rate scientists say is unprecedented in recorded history. Climate change, global heating and shifting monsoons - due to global heating caused by the burning of fossial fuels, relentless extraction and damming are pushing the mighty river towards collapse, with consequences for food, water and livelihoods across the region.
  - The Conversation, 24 September 2025

• Zhōngguó has logged a sharp increase in crude imports from Indonesia in recent months (though decrease imports from Malaysia), suggesting Zhōngguó has found "new workarounds" to buy oil from Iran, despite USA sanctions, using the waters offshore of Malaysia for ship-to-ship transfers
  - Zero Hedge, 24 September 2025

• Can hybrid grapes solve the problem of global heating [due to the burning of fossil fuels] that is hurting the wine industry?
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 24 September 2025

• Oil and gold rise in price, and stocks drop in price, as Fed Chair Powell calls the stock market "fairly highly valued"
  - Zero Hedge (locked), 23 September 2025

• Many parts of the world are predicted to endure "day-zero droughts", periods of extreme and unprecedented water scarcity, which could happen as soon as this decade in certain hotspots including parts of North America, the Mediterranean and southern Africa, according to a new study. This water scarcity is due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 23 September 2025

• Farmers in England have lost over 50% of their grass/hay harvest this year, due to dry and hot weather conditions due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - The Cool Down, 21 September 2025

• How sanctions against exports of oil from Rossiya has created an illicit shipping economy controlling 17% of all oil shipments in the world, a criminal activity which will outlast the sanctions, another crime activity created by Western prohibitions
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 21 September 2025

• Zhōngguó is delivering renewable energy to the world, while Trump is making the USA the king of global-heating fossil fuels. Trump is making sure that Zhōngguó controls the future of renewable energy. But is the debt Zhōngguó imposes on countries it helps too burdensome?
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 21 September 2025

• Groceries are more expensive because of Trump's taxes/tariffs, racist deportations of immigrants and global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 20 September 2025

• Top scientists at the National Academy of Sciences find growing evidence that greenhouse gases (caused by the burning of fossil fuels) are, in fact, a danger. The assessment contradicts the [environment-hating] Trump administration's legal arguments for relaxing pollution rules. The report notes that multiple lines of evidence now show that human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are producing greenhouse gases that are heating the planet, and that climate change is exacerbating a wide variety of health risks like intense heat waves and increased wildfire smoke. Climate-driven changes in temperature and rainfall patterns have also led to negative effects on crops and less water availability in some places, among other disruptions.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 September 2025

• The world must spend $540 billion every year looking for oil just to maintain current output by 2050. This means that any low prices for oil are only temporary, because as more drillers pull the plug (as they can't break even on their investment) the less oil will be pumped out of the ground, resulting in a supply squeeze which in turn sends prices soaring.
  - Zero Hedge, 18 September 2025

• More than 10 oil refineries in Rossiya have been hit by drones launched from Ukraine, since early August
  - Zero Hedge, 18 September 2025

• The global water cycle has become "increasingly erratic and extreme" with wild swings between droughts and floods, spelling big trouble for economies and societies, according to a report published Thursday by the World Meteorological Organization. Climate change and global heating, driven by humans burning fossil fuels, is upending this process.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 18 September 2025

• ~$1,600,000,000 - More socialist losses for American taxpayers due to the socialist oil industry (we get profits, you pay for our pollution): a recent report says abandoned oil infrastructure in New México could cost the state up to $1.6 billion in coming years, to pay for what now-bankrupted socialist oil companies should have paid when raking in the profits
  - The American Prospect, 17 September 2025

• Chevron and other Permian producers are navigating a quiet but growing crisis in America's most prolific oil patch. After regulators restricted deep wastewater injection due to earthquake risks, the industry pivoted to shallow disposal zones to keep production on track. That shift may have bought timebut it's now backfiring. Wells long thought dead are erupting with toxic brine, lawsuits are multiplying, and academic research is pointing to a disturbing trend: pressure is building underground, and it's looking for ways to escape. Chevron, Kinder Morgan, and others are now under pressureboth legally and geologically as legacy wells rupture and claims of contamination pile up.
  - GuruFocus, 17 September 2025

• Prices of arabica coffee beans soar as analyst warns of "weather disasters" [due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels] risk denting global production. "... there is ZERO POSSIBILTY for global production to recover until 2030 and it's a FACT that The World IS Running Out of Coffee ..."
  - Zero Hedge, 17 September 2025

• Heat waves and flooding caused by global heating, due to the burning of fossil fuels, could cost the European Union $50 billion in damage to buildings and agricultural crops as well as a loss of productivity, a new study found.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 17 September 2025

• Oil needs $63 a barrel to bring marginal production online. In commodities, near-term prices are often set by inventory levels while long-term prices are determined by the marginal supply cost.
  - Zero Hedge, 16 September 2025

• Kamikaze drone attacks launched by Ukraine are greatly reducing the refining capacity of Rossiya. The latest kamikaze drone attacks in August and September taking an estimated 300,000 barrels per day of refining capacity offline.
  - Zero Hedge, 16 September 2025

• Extreme heat caused by global heating spurs new laws aimed at protecting workers worldwide. Governments around the world are enacting measures to try to protect workers from the dangers of heat stress. They are barely keeping up with the risks caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 15 September 2025

• Texas is not only the most socialist state for the huge socialist subsidies its fossil fuel industries receive, but also for having the most socialistically-subsidized farms per state in the USA. The power of Christian nationalist socialism.
  - Zero Hedge, 14 September 2025

• Zinc roofs give Paris its signature look. But they are a nightmare in heat. As global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels helps fuel more severe heat waves, Paris is struggling between maintaining its architectural heritage and keeping apartments livable.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 September 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump is having the EPA plan to make polluters not report on much they have polluted. The plan will end a program requiring coal-fired power plants, industrial factories and oil refining facilities to report their planet-warming pollution to the federal government. Environmentals critique the corruption: "This proposal gives polluters the secrecy they want in violation of the law."
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 12 September 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump is having the EPA plan to make polluters not report on much they have polluted. The plan will end a program requiring coal-fired power plants, industrial factories and oil refining facilities to report their planet-warming pollution to the federal government. Environmentals critique the corruption: "This proposal gives polluters the secrecy they want in violation of the law."
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 September 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump is having the EPA plan to make polluters not report on much they have polluted. The plan will end a program requiring coal-fired power plants, industrial factories and oil refining facilities to report their planet-warming pollution to the federal government. Environmentals critique the corruption: "This proposal gives polluters the secrecy they want in violation of the law."
  - Bloomberg, 12 September 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump is having the EPA plan to make polluters not report on much they have polluted. The plan will end a program requiring coal-fired power plants, industrial factories and oil refining facilities to report their planet-warming pollution to the federal government. Environmentals critique the corruption: "This proposal gives polluters the secrecy they want in violation of the law."
  - Versant's CNBC, 12 September 2025

• Oil prices surge on drone attacks by Ukraine on oil facilities in Rossiya, and on expanded fears of more Trump sanctions on Rossiya, Zhōngguó and Bharat. The Trump administration will urge its allies in the Group of Seven to imposes tariffs as high as 100% on Zhōngguó and Bharat for their purchases of oil from Rossiya.
  - Zero Hedge, 12 September 2025

• Global oil markets are bracing for an even larger surplus than previously anticipated as supply growth continues to far outstrip demand, the International Energy Agency said.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 September 2025

• The European Union to resist the pressure of Trump to impose taxes/tariffs on imports from Zhōngguó and Bharat because the two countries continue to by oil from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 11 September 2025

• Wind and solar power generated more than a third of the electricity in Btazil in August, the first month on record the two renewable sources have crossed that threshold
  - Associated Press, 11 September 2025

• Oil giant Saudi Arabia is emerging as a leader in solar energy. The kingdom is betting that sunshine can power new AI data centers and help boost oil exports.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 September 2025

• As global temperatures rise due to the burning of fossil fuels, scientists believe we may see fewer low, cooling clouds but not fewer of the high, warming clouds. It would be a classic feedback loop that accelerates the very global heating that triggered it.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 September 2025

• Capitalistic socialist Zhōngguó is "the engine" driving countries to abandon fossil fuels that cause global heating. Zhōngguó's vast investment in solar, wind and batteries is on track to end an era of global growth in the use of coal, oil and natural gas. Meanwhile, the environment-hating Trump is trying to destroy the renewable energy industry of the USA.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 September 2025

• For the first time, scientists have quantified the causal links between worsening heat waves and global warming pollution from individual socialistically-subsidized fossil fuel and cement companies. Of the extreme heat events the researchers focused on, as many as a quarter of them would have been "virtually impossible" without the climate pollution from any of the 14 biggest "carbon majors" - the largest fossil fuel and cement producers. These so-called carbon majors include oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 10 September 2025

• To pressure Putin, Trump pressures the European Union to impose 100% taxes/tariffs on Bharat and Zhōngguó, because of the two countries' continual purchase of oil from Rossiya
  - Versant's CNBC, 10 September 2025

• To pressure Putin, Trump pressures the European Union to impose 100% taxes/tariffs on Bharat and Zhōngguó, because of the two countries' continual purchase of oil from Rossiya
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 September 2025

• Despite more national socialist subsidies and industrial interference by Trump, oil and natural gas producers in the USA (and the rest of the world) are bracing for a prolonged downturn, with job losses and investment cuts spreading through the industry
  - Zero Hedge, 09 September 2025

• Six countries account for the vast majority of plastic waste in the ocean: Zhōngguó, Philippines, Bharat, Brazil and Indonesia, and Nigeria
  - Zero Hedge, 09 September 2025

• Incredible proposals to save the ice sheets of the Earth, including giant underwater sea curtains and refreezing Arctic ice, are gaining popularity as the Earth gets hotter due to the burning of fossil fuels. But none of the most high-profile ideas are viable - and worse, they may cause irreparable harm, according to a new study.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 09 September 2025

• Warming seas [due to global heating from the burning of fossil fuels] threaten key phytoplankton species that fuels the food web, study finds
  - Associated Press, 08 September 2025

• As summers become hotter and hotter, due to global heating due to the burning of addictive fossil fuels, people are consuming more of some of their favorite drugs: more sugary beverages and ice creams. For every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit of warming, added sugar consumption in US households increased by 0.7 grams per person per day, the researchers found, with a marked escalation as temperatures hit between 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 08 September 2025

• Oil tycoons bet/bribed big on the environment-hating Trump. Thebets/bribes are paying off. The environment-hating Trump administration has opened land to drilling and is moving to roll back environmental restrictions and hobble renewable energy. But crude prices have dropped, [as the rest of the world evolves beyond fossil fuels that cause global heating.]
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 08 September 2025

• OPEC+ accelerates oil production hikes despite 'glut' concerns. OPEC+ members say they will boost oil production by 137,000 barrels a day in October, beginning to roll back voluntary cuts previously put in place.
  - Zero Hedge, 07 September 2025

• Throwaway plastics has corrupted us. For example, in 1957, 92 percent of American children were potty-trained by 18 months of age. Four decades later, that number had dropped to just 4 percent. Why? Disposable, oil-derived, plastic disposable diapers, first offered by Procter & Gamble, eroded the incentives to start potty training early. Worse, between 2011 and 2018, disposable diapers were among the top 25 most littered items on the seafloor and among the 40 most littered items on land. In the United States alone, more than 18 billion diapers are discarded every year, creating an enormous drain on natural resources. Cheap, versatile plastics made throwaway culture explode, fueling overconsumption and turbocharging corporate profits.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 September 2025

• Irfaan Ali re-elected for second term as oil-rich the president of oil-rich Guyana. The center-left 45-year-old politician gets new mandate to manage Guyana's newfound oil wealth.
  - Al Jazeera, 07 September 2025

• The climate crisis and global heating (due to the burning of fossil gfuels) will increase frequency of lightning-sparked wildfires, study finds. These wildfires tend to burn in more remote areas and grow larger faster, posing a higher risk to public safety and health, especially in increasingly drier environments due to global heating.
  - The Guardian, 06 September 2025

• Oil refiners in the USA have found an unlikely ally in their opposition to Trump's proposed changes to biofuel policy: Zhōngguó. A plan to slash incentives for renewable diesel produced from imported feedstocks will disrupt trade, harm USA fuelmakers and undermine efforts to slash carbon emissions, a government agency in Zhōngguó said in an letter last month to the Environmental Protection Agency.
  - Bloomberg, 05 September 2025

• ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance told employees on Thursday that one of the reasons he had to cut up to 25% of the workforce was because the U.S. oil and gas producer had become less competitive as it focused on swallowing smaller rivals. "I fault myself for not paying attention and keeping the other things sort of centered and important." [KM: But of course he won't fire himself for his self-admitted incompetence.]
  - Thomson's Reuters, 05 September 2025

• Crude oil prices tumble to 3-month-lows as Saudi Arabis pushes to accelerate an incease in oil production by OPEC+
  - Zero Hedge, 05 September 2025

• Oil derived microplastics are linked to heart disease
  - Zero Hedge, 05 September 2025

• Hop picking season starts amid fears dry summer could hike beer prices. UK hop farmers warn of a national shortage after the hottest summer on record (due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels) slashed yields by up to 60%.
  - SWNS, 04 September 2025

• BlackRock has lost a mandate worth $17 billion with PFZW, one of the largest pension funds in the Netherlands with $290 billion in assets, amid concerns that BlackRock, one of the biggest money managers in the world, isn't acting in the best interests of clients when it comes to climate risk and global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels. PFZW is the latest asset owner to voice discontent with money managers in the USA that have cowardly retreated from climate alliances amid an all-out assault on net zero policies by the environment-hating Trump.
  - Bloomberg, 03 September 2025

• The world's methane emissions (most due to fossil fuel use) continue to rise steadily with no signs of slowing, as global trade contributes some 30% to the total amount of the greenhouse gas swirling around the planet. With a global heating potential 80 times greater than CO2 over a 20-year period, methane mitigation offers a critical opportunity to slow climate change in the near term.
  - Phys.org, 03 September 2025

• ConocoPhillips says it will fire 20% to 25% of the people working for the company
  - Thomson's Reuters, 03 September 2025

• ConocoPhillips says it will fire 20% to 25% of the people working for the company
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 September 2025

• Exxon and California spar in dueling lawsuits over oil-derived plastics. Exxon accused the attorney general of California and four nonprofit groups of defamation after they sued over recycling claims.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 September 2025

• Global map shows where ocean plastics pose greatest threats
  - EurkeAlert, 03 September 2025

• Nihon and South Korea suffer from record high temperatures, due to global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels. The prolonged heat is disrupting the natural cycles of Nihon, causing cherry trees to bloom earlier and Mount Fuji's snowcap to appear later.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 01 September 2025

• Weakening Malaysia's RON95 subsidy for petrol/gasoline will cost the country dearly. The government keeps delaying the inevitable with full RON95 subsidy reform, but diluting it will cost the country in the long run. Fuel subsidies in 2022 cost the government of Malaysia about $12 billion.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 31 August 2025

• Two million people are impacted as the Punjab region of Pakistan experiences its worst floods in its history. While South Asia's seasonal monsoon brings rainfall that farmers depend on, climate change and global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels is making it deadly.
  - Al Jazeera, 31 August 2025

• Two million people are impacted as the Punjab region of Pakistan experiences its worst floods in its history. While South Asia's seasonal monsoon brings rainfall that farmers depend on, climate change and global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels is making it deadly.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 31 August 2025

• A 'plague' of octupus has financially hurt the shellfish industry in the United Kingdom. Warming seas have increased the number of octopuses off the waters of the UK, decimating shellfish numbers and leaving fishermen floundering.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 31 August 2025

• México has lots of oil. Why México is not an energy powerhouse. President Claudia Sheinbaum has a recovery plan aimed at getting state-owned Pemex (which lost $30 billion in 2024, with $100 billion in debt) off the state dole and adding 200,000 barrels of output. Some analysts are skeptical: México needs more public-private partnerships to increase oil production.
  - Barron's, 30 August 2025

• Oil refiners in Bharat are increasing their purchases of oil from Rossiya, despite onerous taxes/tariffs imposed by Trump on Bharat
  - Zero Hedge, 29 August 2025

• Europe buys less natural gas from Rossiya and more natural gas from the USA and Norway. The European Union will further ramp up purchases of U.S. oil, natural gas and coal, with trade rising from about $75 billion in 2024 to $250 billion annually over the next three years.
  - Zero Hedge, 29 August 2025

• A survey compiled by WSJ showed Brent crude is expected to average $63.57 a barrel in the fourth quarter, while West Texas Intermediate is seen at $60.30 a barrel. That is down from last month's projections of $64.13 and $61.11, respectively
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 29 August 2025

• People inhale as much as 68,000 microplastic particles daily, a new study reports. Oil-derived particles are small enough to burrow into lungs, says report, with health "more substantial than we realize". Concentrations indoors are higher because it is an enclosed environment with high levels of plastic in a small area, and there is generally poor ventilation.
  - The Guardian, 28 August 2025

• More corporate socialism: a Trump appointee at the EPA has proposed rewriting a measure that requires companies to clean up oil-derived 'forever chemicals'. The new regulation would socialistically shift costs from the polluting companies to the public. More socialist subsidies for the socialist oil and chemical industries.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 28 August 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump has made no secret of his hatred of wind and solar power in the USA, prefering to heap socialist subsidies on the oil and natural gas industries. Now he is taking his environment-hating agenda overseas, trying to strong-arm nations to retreat on goals to fight global heating caused by the burning of socialisitically subsidized fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 28 August 2025

• Punishing droughts, caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels, put fresh pressure on meat and dairy production. Investors are calling for farm-based businesses to address increasing concerns about their water use. Demand for freshwater is set to exceed supply by 40% by 2030. Water use concerns have also risen as rich AI companies suck tons of water to cool data centers that power their AI systems.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 27 August 2025

• Instances of Vibrio vulnificus, the deadly flesh-eating bacteria, are rising. Global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels is the reason. These potentially deadly bacteria are naturally found and thrive in coastal waters during the warmer months, especially in brackish waters, where fresh water meets the sea.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 27 August 2025

• Across major corn-growing states in the USA, global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels is fueling conditions that make watching the corn grow a nail-biter for farmers. Factors like consistently high summer overnight temperatures, droughts and heavier-than-usual rains at the wrong time can all disrupt the pollination of plants - making each full ear of corn less of a guarantee and more of a gamble.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 25 August 2025

• Glaciers around the world are vanishing faster than ever before. Last year, all 58 global reference glaciers across five continents tracked by the American Meteorological Society lost mass for the second year in a row - the greatest average ice loss recorded in the reprot's 55-year history. The cause? Global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - SF Gate, 25 August 2025

• Canada's main oil-producing province of Alberta is considering a financial investment in the oil refining industry in Nihon, an attempt to reduce its overwhelming dependence on top trade partner the USA for oil exports
  - Thomson's Reuters, 25 August 2025

• Modern subway systems are built to handle high temperatures and excessive flooding caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 25 August 2025

• PepsiCo is on another list of a region's biggest oil-dervied plastic polluters - this time for the polluting the Himalayan region of Bharat. Coca-Cola is on the top-10 list as well. The socialist economics that profit Coca-Cola and Pepsi - they profit, everyone else pays for the pollution.
  - The Cool Down, 24 August 2025

• Ukraine is increasing its attacks on energy infrastructure in Rossiya - and they are have success, causing gasoline prices in Rossiya to rise to record highs (up 50% in 2025). Ukraine is focusing drone attacks on refineries, pumping stations and fuel trains in an effort to hurt the military operations of Rossiya - but also to disrupt daily life in Rossiya.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 24 August 2025

• Air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels causes 90,000 premature deaths each year in the USA (more than killed by cocaine), according to a new study. Study analyzed health impacts of fossil fuels from exploration to end use, and found communities of color bear brunt of harm in the Christian USA.
  - The Guardian, 22 August 2025

• Bharat and Rossiya plan to increase their annual trade to $100 billion over the next five years - an increase of 50% - despite USA opposition to the growing cooperation between New Delhi and Moscow. Additionally, the government of Bharat cancels some major planned purchases of weapon systems from the USA.
  - Zero Hedge, 22 August 2025

• Trump is "very angry" at Ukraine for repeatedly attacking an oil pipeline from Rossiya to Hungary and Slovakia
  - Zero Hedge, 22 August 2025

• Socialist and now racist: air pollutants from oil and natural gas operations in the USA are causing 91,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of health issues each year (more than are killed by cocaine) - with racial and ethnic minority populations bearing the biggest burden, a new study has found. [This racism and socialism is often coupled with nationalism in the fossil fuel industry.]
  - The Hill, 22 August 2025

• Earnings of Zhōngguó's oil refining giant, Sinopec, plunge due to low oil prices and weaker fuel demand
  - Zero Hedge, 22 August 2025

• Bharat and Rossiya vow to deepend trade ties, defying the authoritarian Trump's tax/tariff threats concerning oil
  - Versant's CNBC, 22 August 2025

• The oil-fracking billionaire owner of the Buffalo Bills is enjoying his $100 million yacht, while taxpayers are forced to fund his $850 million stadium - crony socialism. Critics have torched the socialist arrangement as "corporate welfare" [for the filthy rich] and one of the worst stadium subsidy deals in sports history while economists argue the massive subsidy should fund education, infrastructure or social services instead of making a rich billionaire richer.
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 21 August 2025

• The mental moods of humans around the wold are declining, due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels
  - Phys.org, 21 August 2025

• Zhōngguó buys more oil (which is $3/barrel cheaper than oil from the Middle East) from Rossiya as demand from Bharat declines, after Trump decided to punish Bharat for buying oil from Rossiya by imposing huge taxes/tariffs on Bharat, but not punishing Zhōngguó for the same purchases of oil
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 20 August 2025

• Zhōngguó buys more oil (which is $3/barrel cheaper than oil from the Middle East) from Rossiya as demand from Bharat declines, after Trump decided to punish Bharat for buying oil from Rossiya by imposing huge taxes/tariffs on Bharat, but not punishing Zhōngguó for the same purchases of oil
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 20 August 2025

• Rossiya offers Bharat a "special mechanism" to help Bharat to continue to buy oil from Rossiya, despite Trump's taxes/tariffs on Bharat (but not Zhōngguó)
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 20 August 2025

• Even without tax incentives, solar and wind are beating fossil fuels such as oil and gas in the affordability department. As reported by PV Magazine, Lazard's latest Levelized Cost of Energy report finds that unsubsidized utility-scale solar ranges from $0.038 to $0.078 per kilowatt-hour, while onshore wind comes in at $0.037 to $0.086 per kWh. By comparison, new-build natural gas peaker plants cost $0.138 to $0.262 per kWh, even before factoring in volatile fuel prices.
  - The Cool Down, 20 August 2025

• Why the health and environmental harms of microplastics are an increasing liability for the socialist oil and natural gas industries, whose products are used to make plastics, whose profits don't have to pay for the damages. "The [socialist] oil and natural gas industries are going to have to try to tell us that exposure to microplastics every day, from birth to death is just fine. It is just great. You should just eat more of it. It is no problem. And I just don't think they can win that argument."
  - Versant's CNBC, 20 August 2025

• Northern destinations for vacations (Norway, Sweden, Scotland, etc.) , known for being cool during the summar, now experience extreme heat due to global heating doe to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 19 August 2025

• Hurricane Erin is one of the fastest rapidly intensifying storms in the history of the Atlantic Ocean, from a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds at 11 a.m. Friday to a Category 5 with near 160 mph winds just over 24 hours later. Even more hurricanes are rapidly intensifying in the Atlantic as the oceans and atmosphere warm in response to fossil fuel pollution and the global heating it causes. This likely makes Erin another example of the increasing extremes due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 17 August 2025

• Trump does his buddy Putin another favor, and Zhōngguó a favor, by saying that there are no imminent plans to penalize Zhōngguó for buying oil from Rossiya
  - Versant's CNBC, 16 August 2025

• Trifluoroacetic acid is causing a new type of acid rain that is everywhere, is almost impossible to clean up, and could be a threat to every living thing on planet Earth. Trifluoroacetic acid is a type of persistent oil-derived 'forever chemical'.
  - Science Focus, 15 August 2025

• Glaciers in the Arctic, already melting due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels, are further melting as microbes accelerate ice melt
  - The Guardian, 15 August 2025

• Negotiations for a global plastic treaty end in failure as countries remain bitterly d;5Civided over how to tackle the crisis. More than 100 countries had called for legally binding caps on plastic production. Many also demanded action to tackle toxic chemicals in plastics. But powerful oil and gas producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia pushed back strongly arguing the treaty should focus more on recycling, reuse and redesign than production caps or a phase-out of chemicals.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 15 August 2025

• Islamic Malaysia is accused of "blocking progress" on a treaty to address the many problems of plastic, as Malaysia sides with the oil giants to resist efforts to phase out toxic additives and cap plastic production. The rich must get richers, environment and health be damned.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 15 August 2025

• The International Court of Justice, the world's highest judicial body, recently delivered its first-ever advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change and global heating. The UN court said that fossil fuel production, including licensing and socialist subsidies, "may constitute an internationally wrongful act". The court said in a unanimous ruling that governments and countries have a legal obligation to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions, protect present and future generations from the climate crisis and to cooperate internationally. "If socialist subsides are unlawful, then one should expect that subsidies are somehow stopped at a certain point in time."
  - Versant's CNBC, 15 August 2025

• High levels of oil-derived microplastics are found on the beaches of 'environmentally-friendly' Costa Rica
  - Tico Times, 14 August 2025

• Global oil markets are poised for a larger surplus than previously expected this year, with supply set to grow more than three times faster than demand, the International Energy Agency said
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 14 August 2025

• The six million people in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, could have no water by 2030. The Islamic government is desperately seeking for solutions, but financial reserves to pay for water infrastructure are as 'dry' as the water basins of Kabul.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 August 2025

• Shipments of refined petroleum products out of Russia declined by 6.6% in July from the previous month as domestic demand rose and capacity under planned maintenance increased
  - Zero Hedge, 13 August 2025

• How Iran could trigger a global economic collapse by halting all shipping through the Gulf of Hormez, through which 20 million barrels of oil are shipped each day
  - Zero Hedge, 13 August 2025

• Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence in coordination with the military have claimed a direct major hit on yet another site within Russia's oil infrastructure: a key oil-pumping station on the Druzhba pipeline located in Unecha, Bryansk Oblast
  - Zero Hedge, 13 August 2025

• What to know about the heat wave in Southern Europe caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels. Firefighters were battling blazes in France, Spain, Portugal and elsewhere. Forecasters warned that temperatures would soar well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in some places.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 August 2025

• The global oil market looks 'bloated' amid lackluster demand from major economies
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 13 August 2025

• Extreme heat, due to the burning of fossil fuels, is threatening tropical birds, even in untouched forests
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 13 August 2025

• A glacier outburst is underway in Alaska. It could send a wave of water downstream toward Juneau. The glacial lake outbursts have become a regular occurrence since 2011 and have worsened considerably each year since 2023. They are yet another consequence of global heating due to fossil fuel pollution.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 12 August 2025

• Evacuation warnings intensify as a glacier outburst is underway in Alaska. It could send a wave of water downstream toward Juneau. The glacial lake outbursts have become a regular occurrence since 2011 and have worsened considerably each year since 2023. They are yet another consequence of global heating due to fossil fuel pollution.
  - CBS News, 12 August 2025

• As a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution inches forward, the hunt continues for workable substitutes
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 August 2025

• All of our bodies are contaminated: with oil-derived plastics; PFAS forever chemicals; endocrine-disrupting chemicals called phthalates; waterways are suffused with pharmacological runoff, too: antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, cocaine and methamphetamine, heart medicine and painkillers - waterways also polluted from nitrogen and phosphorus residues from agriculture.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 August 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump tries to stop wind projects because of potential bald eagle deaths, while easing rules for oil and natural gas companies. Biiger donations/bribes from the oil and natural gas companies, apparently.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 August 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump has federal agencies issuing a barrage of restrictions that could halt construction of solar and wind farms on public and private lands
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 August 2025

• A famously stable glacier in Argentina suddenly looks anything but stable. After holding steady for decades, the beloved Perito Moreno has thinned considerably since 2019, scientists said. Blame global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 August 2025

• Reliance and Nayara Energy, two large oil companies in Bharat profitting from importing cheaper oil from Rossiya
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 August 2025

• Costa Rica confronts the potential collapse of its national waste management system. The country generates more than 4,000 tons of solid waste each day, an estimated 80% of which could be recycled or reused.
  - Tico Times, 08 August 2025

• Some insurance professionals fear the world is fast approaching temperature levels - global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels sold by the socialist energy industry - where professional risk managers will no longer be able to offer cover for financial services. Top insurers fear the climate crisis and global heating could soon outpace industry solutions, effectively threatening to make entire regions around the world uninsurable.
  - Versant's CNBC, 08 August 2025

• The fire season in California is starting earlier, study finds, due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Summertime fire activity is creeping into spring, and the hotter climate is a major driver, scientists said.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 August 2025

• Trade between Rossiya and Zhōngguó continues to increase in 2025, but overall trade remains below levels in 2024. This as Trump threatens an additional 25% tariff on imports from Zhōngguó because of Zhōngguó's purchases of oil from Rossiya.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 07 August 2025

• Turbulence is getting worse in the atmosphere, due to global heating due to fossil fuel. Here are the airplane flight routes with the highest levels of turbulence.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 August 2025

• Deadly monsoon floods this year in Pakistan were worsened by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 August 2025

• Record high temperatures in Nihon, caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels, is prompting worries over rice crops in Nihon. The worries are about drought, and a proliferation of stink bugs in some rice-growing areas.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 07 August 2025

• Shale oil giant, Diamondback, reduces captial expenditures again, ahead of a 'flood' of crude oil supplies
  - Zero Hedge, 06 August 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices have traded in a volatile range overnight as API reported a big crude draw and then Trump announced 25% additional taxes/tariffs on imports from Bharat due to Bharat's oil purchases from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 06 August 2025

• Trump seems to be favoring Zhōngguó over Bharat on trade, even though both countries buy oil from Rossiya
  - The Hill, 06 August 2025

• With threats of taxes/tariffs up to 50 %, Trump seems to be eliminating the USA's plan to turn Bharat into a counterweight to Zhōngguó, declaring instead that Bharat is a "dead economy".
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 August 2025

• Trump increases taxes/tariffs on imports from Bharat to 50%, because Bharat continues to buy oil from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 06 August 2025

• Trump increases taxes/tariffs on imports from Bharat to 50%, because Bharat continues to buy oil from Rossiya
  - Versant's CNBC, 06 August 2025

• Trump increases taxes/tariffs on imports from Bharat to 50%, because Bharat continues to buy oil from Rossiya
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 06 August 2025

• In another win for Zhōngguó, the environment-hating Trump allows the EPA to cancel $7 billion in grants for sola energy, so there is more money for socialist subsidies to the environment-worsening fossil fuel industries
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 August 2025

• $875,000,000 - Chemical giants Chemours, DuPont and Corteva agreed on Monday to pay New Jersey $875 million over the next quarter-century to settle claims linked to pollution from so-called oil-dervied 'forever chemicals'.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 August 2025

• The Great Barrier Reef offshore of Australia has been devastated by the worst coral bleeching in history, due to a marine heatwave caused by global heating due to burning fossil fuels
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 06 August 2025

• Diesel prices at the pump in the USA have surged to the highest in almost a year as retail markets catch up with tightness in global supplies of the widely used fuel, threatening to boost inflation
  - Bloomberg, 05 August 2025

• Bharat defies Trump with regards to buying oil from Rossiya, despite threats by Trump of new taxes/tariffs on imports from Bharat
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 05 August 2025

• Rossiya on Tuesday commented on Trump's attacks on Bharat, with the Kremlin saying Bharat is free to choose its own trading partners.
  - Versant's CNBC, 05 August 2025

• Even in the face of threats by Trump to levy taxes/tariffs on countries that import products from Rossiya, analysts expect that Zhōngguó "will not stop" buying oil from Rossiya, given their mutually beneficial relationship of energy cooperation.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 05 August 2025

• Taiwan could run out of energy in 10 days, if the military of Zhōngguó were to impose a blockade
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 05 August 2025

• Oil jumps as Trump threatens Bharat with 'substantial' taxes/tariffs for buying crude oil from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 04 August 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump is planning to destroy to two major satellite missions. The data the two missions collect is widely used, including by scientists, oil and gas companies and farmers who need detailed information about carbon dioxide and crop health. They are the only two federal satellite missions that were designed and built specifically to monitor planet-warming greenhouse gases. [Which is why Trump wants to destroy the satellites. Another favor for the socialist oil and natural gas industry that donates/bribes to Trump.
  - NPR, 04 August 2025

• BP makes its biggest oil and natural gas discovery in 25 years, off the coast of Brazil, as it refocuses on fossil fuels to profit more while worsening global warming
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 04 August 2025

• BP makes its biggest oil and natural gas discovery in 25 years, off the coast of Brazil, as it refocuses on fossil fuels to profit more while worsening global warming
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 04 August 2025

• Por Colombia, ingreso de dólares por remesas equipara a las ventas de petróleo en lo corrido del año.
  - La Republica, 04 August 2025

• The authoritarian Trump betrays the people of Venezuela. Trump first cancels Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela, controlled by the authoritarian Maduro, and then quietly restores Chevron's ability to conduct oil operations in Venezuela.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 04 August 2025

• OPEC+ makes another large increase in the output of oil in an attempt to increase its market share
  - Thomson's Reuters, 03 August 2025

• Bharat will continue to buy oil from Rossiya, despite Trump's threats
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 02 August 2025

• Bharat suffers from the shock of Trump's attacks. Buying oil from Rossiya is just one problem. Business groups are flummoxed by the variety and vagueness of Trump's complaints.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 02 August 2025

• How Zhōngguó uses 'dark fleets' of ships to circumvent trade sanctions. The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish.
  - The Week, 01 August 2025

• Standard Chartered predicts higher long-term oil prices as the cost of shale oil rises
  - Zero Hedge, 01 August 2025

• How Bharat became one of the biggest buyers of oil from Rossiya over the last three years - part of their long trade history, with few complaints from the West. Suddendly, Trump is attacking and threatening Bharat with high taxes/tariffs if it doesn't stop buy oil from Rossiya.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 August 2025

• Trump and other Republicans running the government have declared war on the very idea of climage change and global heating, .
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 01 August 2025

• The shocking number of oil-derived microplastics you may be inhaling every day - it is 100-times higher than previously thought - more than 70,000 particles each day in an indoor environment. Many of the oil-derived particles are tiny enough to penetrate our organ tissue.
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 31 July 2025

• A new accounting of Trump's tax breaks and other incentives totals tens of billions of dollars of socialist subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. And all the oil industry had to do was donate/bribe Trump with less than $1 billion donation for his election campaign.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 31 July 2025

• Why Europe's promise to buy $750 billion worth of energy products from the USA, as part of a deal with Trump, is mathematically impossible
  - Zero Hedge, 30 July 2025

• Oil prices spike up as Trump's shortened 100% tax/tariff deadline for Putin/Rossiya (to agree to a truce in Ukraine) will soon reveal which of them miscalculated
  - Zero Hedge, 29 July 2025

• More ills of the socialized oil and natural gas industry. The Permian Basin produces over 5 million barrels of oil daily. With that, the Permian also produces a lot of wastewater, which has started to turn into a problem. Some drillers are even suing others for ruining their reserves. Texas regulators are restricting new injection wells due to rising reservoir pressure, seismic activity, and potential damage to oil reserves and freshwater resources. Legal disputes are emerging among drillers, with Stateline Operating suing Devon Energy and Aris Water Solutions for $180 million.
  - OilPrice.com, 29 July 2025

• The Islamic Houthi to increase attacks on ships in the Red Sea "regardless of nationality", ships that are linked to companies dealing with Jewish Israel because of these companies support for the genocide of Islamic Palestinians by Jewish Israel. Stop the genocide - we will stop the attacks.
  - Zero Hedge, 28 July 2025

• Freshwater is disappearing from the Earth at alarming rates, due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels, overconsumption (including grow food in deserts) and drough (also caused by global heating)
  - The Hill, 28 July 2025

• Dozens of wildfires burn in Greece and Turkey as temperatures soar due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 28 July 2025

• Toxic algae are turning the coral reefs off of the coast of South Australia into underwater 'graveyards'. A harmful algal bloom, caused by a marine heat wave due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels, has poisoned more than 4,500 square kilometers (about the size of Rhode Island), killing over 15,000 animals.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 25 July 2025

• A company based in Canada finds large oil reserves in Poland
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 25 July 2025

• Trump authorizes Chevron to resume pumping oil in authoritarian Venezuela
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 25 July 2025

• Trump authorizes Chevron to resume pumping oil in authoritarian Venezuela
  - Bloomberg, 25 July 2025

• The European Union tightens its restrictions on imports of oil from Rossiya, but remaining loopholes undermine the impact - with Greek-owned tankers helping transport oil from Rossiya, and non-OECD nations like Zhōngguó and Bharat continuing to import above the restrictions.
  - Zero Hedge, 24 July 2025

• Alarming report warns that huge number of once-valuable homes may soon be "worthless" due to destructive weather patterns [due to global heating due to burning of fossil fuels] making these homes insurable
  - The Cool Down, 22 July 2025

• Fire weather is becoming worse for the world's forests, due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 July 2025

• The government of Zhōngguó is boosting domestic production of oil and the EV industry in the name of national security. There are 14 million chargers nationwide for electric vehicles.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 22 July 2025

• Very high levels of toxic PFAS chemicals are found in eco-friendly menstrual pads and panties.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 22 July 2025

• More miserable summer weather? Thank fossil fuel pollution - along with other factors - that has turned summers into months of mounting peril, punctuated by relentless heat waves, rampant wildfires and catastrophic flooding. Flash floods? Too much water in the air due to global heating. As Trump undermines environmental protection, if you voted for him, enjoy paying more for insurance.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 20 July 2025

• For the first time in modern history a capital city, Kabul in Islamic Afghanistan, is close to having no water for human use. Too many people, evaporation due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels, and groundwater depletion (the remaining groundwater contaminated) has left Kabul pretty much without water. Worse, women have to spend a lot of their time seeking water in public, only to be harassed by the authoritarian misognistic Islamic government of Afhganistan.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 20 July 2025

• For the first time in modern history a capital city, Kabul in Islamic Afghanistan, is close to having no water for human use. Too many people, evaporation due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels, and groundwater depletion (the remaining groundwater contaminated) has left Kabul pretty much without water. Worse, women have to spend a lot of their time seeking water in public, only to be harassed by the authoritarian misognistic Islamic government of Afhganistan.
  - Zero Hedge, 20 July 2025

• OPEC is pursuing a long-term strategy to increase its market share and is unwinding production cuts, with oil prices remaining strong due to factors beyond OPEC's direct control. "There is no peak in oil demand on the horizon."
  - OilPrice.com, 19 July 2025

• Chevron completed its $53 billion purchase of Hess after prevailing in a legal dispute with Exxon over one of the most promising oil projects in the world, off the shores of Guyana in northern South America
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 July 2025

• Chevron completed its $53 billion purchase of Hess after prevailing in a legal dispute with Exxon over one of the most promising oil projects in the world, off the shores of Guyana in northern South America
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 19 July 2025

• Zhōngguó might not want Rossiya to lose its war with Ukraine, but Zhōngguó might not want Rossiya to win. A loss by Rossiya would be a loss for the security of Zhōngguó, while a win by Rossiya could end the discounted energy supplies that Zhōngguó is obtaining which is helping Zhōngguó maintain its economic growth during an economic slowdown.
  - Zero Hedge, 18 July 2025

• Climate catastrophes (wildfires, floods, storm damage), due to global heating from the burning of fossil fuels, is creating a "new market reality" for insurance companies, with insurance losses in 2025 expected to rise about $100 billion
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 18 July 2025

• Climate catastrophes (wildfires, floods, storm damage), due to global heating from the burning of fossil fuels, is creating a "new market reality" for insurance companies, with insurance losses in 2025 expected to rise about $100 billion
  - Versant's CNBC, 18 July 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices maintain their decline, even after a surprise decline in oil inventories, as the oil rig count also declines as oil drillers reject Trump's "drill, baby, drill" exhortations
  - Zero Hedge, 16 July 2025

• Global oil consumption reaches an all-time high
  - Zero Hedge, 16 July 2025

• The USA was already losing to Zhōngguó in profitting from clean energy technology. The environment-hating Trump's/Republican's latest tax/spending law will make the USA a bigger clean-energy loser, but eliminating tax credits for solar and wind power, while giving more tax credits to the socialist oil and natural gas industries. And with all of that renewable energy, Zhōngguó is making great progress elminating climate-worsening gasoline-powered vehicles.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 16 July 2025

• Meanwhile, the environment-hating Trump administration threatens to quit the International Energy Agency if the IEA continues to support a transitio to renewable energy. Zhōngguó celebrates the stupidity.
  - Zero Hedge, 16 July 2025

• Consumers are slowly reducing their purchases of products using oil-derived, unsustainable, plastic packaging
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 15 July 2025

• We warned about the first economic shock to the USA caused by compeittion from Zhōngguó. The next economic shock of Zhōngguó will be worse for the USA. The USA builds weapons and gives socialist subsidies to oil and natural gas - Zhōngguó builds industries of the future.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 July 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump is destroying weather science in the USA and reducing the government's ability to help the non-rich deal with environmental disasters, made worse by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels whose very rich industries are being given more socialist subsidies by Trump
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 July 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump is allowing the Energy Department to destroy funding for solar and wind projects, ending hundreds of millions of dollars for renewable energy and efficiency initiatives, to give more socialist subsidies to the oil and natural gas industries whose products cause global heating
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 July 2025

• The oil and natural gas industry in Zhōngguó continues to become a leading exporter of advanced offshore drilling equipment, as a state-owned company made its first delivery of a new kind of deep-sea suction cassion/anchor to Brazil
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 14 July 2025

• As electric vehicles continue to become more popular in Zhōngguó, displacing gasoline-powered vehicles, the global demand for oil will signficantly decline
  - Barclay's The Telegraph, 11 July 2025

• More than 50% of the supply of soybean oil in 2026 in the USA will be used to product biofuels, as socialist energy tax credits and lower imports create more demand
  - Thomson's Reuters, 11 July 2025

• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries repeated its prediction that global oil demand will keep rising through mid-century and that there is no peak in sight.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 July 2025

• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries repeated its prediction that global oil demand will keep rising through mid-century and that there is no peak in sight.
  - Zero Hedge, 10 July 2025

• A study published in the journal Nature estimates the volume of oil-derived nanoplastics, which are even smaller than microplastics and invisible to the naked eye, to be at least 27 million metric tons in the seas of the North Atlantic -- more than the weight of all wild land mammals. Some of this plastic ends up in the bodies of fish that humans eat.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 July 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices decline after the biggest inventory build since January
  - Zero Hedge, 09 July 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices decline after the biggest inventory build since January
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 July 2025

• Extreme heat is a killer. A recent heat wave show how much deadly extreme heat (caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels) is becoming.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 09 July 2025

• The environment-hating, science-hating Trump wants to kill the USA Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, a small but important federal agency. Even the chemical industry thinks that it is a horrible idea.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 July 2025

• Increasingly acidic ocean waters are threatening oyster farming in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. The increased acidity is due to the burning of fossil fuels, which produced CO2 that when absorbed by the oceans can be converted in to acid.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 July 2025

• Oil drillers are investing more money in Brazil, Guyana and Argentina, which are increasing their share of the global oil market
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 08 July 2025

• By 2035, a third of the global supply of semiconductor processor chips is threatened by climate change and drought due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 08 July 2025

• Oil prices close at session highs after Houthi rebels hit a second Greek vessel in the Red Sea
  - Zero Hedge, 07 July 2025

• 'Master' negotiator Trump fails again: Houthis attack a ship in the Red Sea after Trump announced a truce there two months ago
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 July 2025

• Insurance companies in the USA are refusing to sell insurance for homes in high-risk climate zones because the losses from extreme weather events (caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels) makes such policies unprofitable to sell. Without insurance, would-be home owners cannot obtain mortgages from banks and other lenders. Yet the environment-hating Trump is eliminating funding for emergency services and weather monitoring, eliminate funding for renewable energy, to give more tax credits to the fossil fuel companies that are the root cause of the destructive extreme weather.
  - Zero Hedge, 07 July 2025

• Goldman Sachs president that OPEC will again increase oil output in September
  - Zero Hedge, 07 July 2025

• Oil prices dropped below $67 as OPEC+ agrees to increase production starting in August
  - Bloomberg, 06 July 2025

• Over 50 people have been confirmed to be killed by the recent flash flooding in Texas, with more rain and flash flooding to come. Yet another heavier rain storm due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 July 2025

• Elon Musk's Groq AI system is blaming Musk and Trump for the multiple deaths in Texas due to flooding - using facts (anathema to Trump and Musk). "Trump's NOAA cuts, pushed by Musk's DOGE, slashed funding 30% and staff 17%, underestimating rainfall by 50% and delaying alerts. ... This contributed to the floods killing 27, including about 20 girls at a camp." More Grok: "Climate models from IPCC and NOAA project more intense flooding in Texas due to warmer air holding more moisture, exacerbating events like this. ... Ignoring it - regardless of politics - will not stop the trend; global emission cuts are needed." -- yeah, from the burning of fossil fuels so popular in Christian-controlled Texas.
  - The Daily Beast, 06 July 2025

• A "thou shalt not" lying Christian Republican congressional candidate from Georgia, Kandiss Taylor, calls the recent floods in Texas "Fake Weather", and that someone (who?) manipulated the weather to kill people.
  - The Daily Beast, 06 July 2025

• As flash floods struck parts of Texas, important roles were vacant at National Weather Service offices in Texas, due to budget cuts by the environment-hating Trump and Musk. Some experts say staff shortages might have complicated ability to coordinate responses with local emergency management officials.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 July 2025

• State officials in Texas (all of whom voted for Trump) severely criticize Trump's downgraded National Weather Service for its bad forecasts of recent flooding in Texas. That's what happens when you vote for an anti-environment president.
  - The Daily Beast, 06 July 2025

• Extreme rain is becoming even more extreme, as the world heats up due to the burning of fossil fuels, now made worse as Trump gives new tax credits to the fossial fuel industry by taking them away from the renewable energy industry
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 July 2025

• Heat waves in Europe, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, causes wildfires, fish kills and power outages. And it will get worse.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 July 2025

• In the race to power the future safely, Zhōngguó is racing ahead. While Zhōngguó dominates/sells clean energy to the world, Christian Republicans in the USA end government support for renewable energy to be able to give more socialist subsidies to the oil and natural gas industry
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 July 2025

• Government relief and insurance programs require significant reform to be equipped to handle a future of increasingly intense and costly climate events due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 05 July 2025

• Members of OPEC+ agree to increase oil production in August higher than predicted by analysts
  - Versant's CNBC, 05 July 2025

• While Trump destroys the solar energy industry in the USA by giving its tax credits to oil and natural gas companies, Zhōngguó has launched a fully seawater-based solar energy system - the first of its kind suitable for industrial use and large-scale power production.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 05 July 2025

• Brazil, Argentina and Nigeria are producing more and more oil, at a time when OPEC+ is trying to limit global oil production
  - Barron's, 05 July 2025

• Researchers at the University of Sydney have invented a new deivce that uses plasma and electrolysis to turn air into ammonia, with needing to burn fossil fuels
  - Interesting Engineering, 04 July 2025

• Some nuclear reactors in Europe were temporarily shutdown due to extreme heat caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels. The nuclear reactors typically send their heated cooling waters into rivers, rivers which are now already very hot. The output of the reactors could make the rivers hotter, harming animals such as fishes in the rivers.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 04 July 2025

• A majority of companies around the world are already suffering financially from global heating, according to a new Morgan Stanley report
  - Bloomberg (locked), 03 July 2025

• Trump ends socialist support for the solar and wind industryies, eliminating their tax credits in the new spending/tax law, and gives the socialist tax credits to the socialist oil, natural gas and coal industries that still have to pay nothing for the huge environmental damage their products cause.
  - Versant's CNBC, 03 July 2025

• A signal of the coming end of oil? Oman is planning to be the first country in the oil-producing Persian Gulf to impose on its citizens ... an income tax (5% on income over $100,000)!
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 July 2025

• While the environment-hating Trump is destroying efforts by the USA to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (much due to the burning of socialistically-subsidized fossil fuels), the European Union is trying to achieve even greater levels of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 03 July 2025

• Saudi Arabia, while a big producer of oil (which leads to gasoline), is investing more money in infrastructure for electric vehicles. Saudi Arabia also wants to start manufacturing electric vehicles.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 July 2025

• The environment-hating Trump allows government websites hosting important climate reports for the USA - to be eliminated. This will make it harder for the public, local governments and researchers to deal with climate disasters due to global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Associated Press, 02 July 2025

• A report from the United Nations argues that recent droughts are a "slow moving catastrophe" for the world. Droughts are a "silent killer" that "creeps in, drains resources, and devastates lives in slow motion". Global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels worsens the droughts.
  - BBC, 02 July 2025

• After España imports a record amount of diesel fuel from Morocco, the El Pais newspapers argues that much of the oil originated from Rossiya, in defiance of EU sanctions
  - Zero Hedge, 02 July 2025

• After España imports a record amount of diesel fuel from Morocco, the El Pais newspapers argues that much of the oil originated from Rossiya, in defiance of EU sanctions
  - El Pais, 02 July 2025

• The head of the Environmental PROTECTION Agency is promoting an aggressive policy for more drilling for oil and natural gas - environmental ANTI-PROTECTION activities that should be the job, if at all, of the Department of Energy
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 02 July 2025

• Iraq has become the largest supplier of oil in the Middle East to the USA
  - Zero Hedge, 01 July 2025

• BP (British Petroleum), once an aggressive acquirer in the world of oil, is now being hunted itself after years of many poor decisions
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 July 2025

• The heat wave in Europe, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is dangerous and becoming worse
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 July 2025

• Corporations are shirking their financial reporting responsibilities by reporting fewer details about the hazards of extreme weather (drought, flooding, wildfires) caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 01 July 2025

• The environment-of-his-Jesus-hating Trump tries to kill the most indisputable evidence of human-caused climate change by shuttering to kill the most indisputable evidence of human-caused climate change by shuttering observatory which measures levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Measurements from the laboratory have shown a steady increase in the levels of CO2, which worsens global heating, due to the burning of fossil fuels. [KXnote: A nice return for the fossil fuel industry for the investments/donations/bribes to Republicans.]
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 01 July 2025

• The lone star tick, a tick that feeds on blood and can trigger a bizarre allergy, the alpha-gal syndrome, to meat in the people they bite, are rapidly increasing in number and spreading across the USA, to the extent that they could cover the entire eastern half of the country and infect millions of people, experts have warned. They can expand because of global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - The Guardian, 01 July 2025

• Europe endures relentless heat wave due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Extreme heat has gripped countries including France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, with record temperatures, health alerts and wildfires.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 30 June 2025

• A surprise tax in the Republican spending/tax proposed law to make the rich richer could cripple the wind and solar power industry in the USA (another gift to Zhōngguó) so that there is more money for socialist subsidies for oil, coal and natural gas
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 30 June 2025

• A surprise tax in the Republican spending/tax proposed law to make the rich richer could cripple the wind and solar power industry in the USA (another gift to Zhōngguó) so that there is more money for socialist subsidies for oil, coal and natural gas
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 30 June 2025

• The environment-hating Trump gives his political support to environment-hating Big Oil companies in negotiations with the European Union over greenhouse-gas regulations
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 28 June 2025

• It is bulletproof, fire-resistant and stronger than steel. It is 'superwood'. Waste wood scraps, changed at the molecular level, could become heavy-duty building materials -- and even replace plastic, aluminum and carbon fiber in our vehicles and gadgets.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 28 June 2025

• Inside a corporate plan to use AI to amplify doubts about the dangers of pollutants. Both the tobacco and oil industries have a history of weaponizing scientific uncertainty, experts say, with some arguing that similar tactics drive the Trump administration's current deregulatory efforts. These lies become easier with AI.
  - The Guardian, 27 June 2025

• Extreme heat is breaking the USA, due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels. People across the USA who are living through these extreme heat episodes and stressing over escalating electric bills, dying livestock and dangerous working conditions. Exposure to heat in the workplace drags down labor productivity, suppresses local gross domestic product and hits rural economies hardest - especially those heavily dependent on manufacturing or agriculture. Supply chain disruptions and power outages that destroy inventories also drive up costs for producers and consumers, from food spoilage in grocery stores and warehouses to heat-damaged electronics and pharmaceuticals rendered unusable. [KXnote: but the rich get richer through their investments in fossil fuels.]
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 27 June 2025

• The Earth is heating up, and the increased heating is happening faster. Human-caused global warming has been increasing faster and faster since the 1970s, due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 27 June 2025

• How Big Pharma, Big Oil and Big Banks funded Trump's tax scam by getting Trump and a puppet Congress elected
  - The Lever, 26 June 2025

• Coffee farms in the Los Santos region of Costa Rica are being devestated by climate change due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Heavy rains are a big culprit, fueling diseases like coffee rust and anthracnose. Wet soils cause young fruit to drop early, and irregular flowering throws off the crop cycle. Farmers now obsess over weather forecasts, trying to adapt to unpredictable rains and rising temperatures that disrupt the delicate balance coffee plants need.
  - Tico Times, 26 June 2025

• Crude oil inventories in the USA posted a fifth straight weekly decline, falling by 5.8 million barrels, compared to expectations for a drop of only 1.3 million barrels
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 June 2025

• Interesting causality: as oil prices rise, the demand for ethanol rises, causing sugar mills to divert production from sugar to ethanol, decreasing the supply of sugar and pushing up the price of sugar
  - barchart.com, 25 June 2025

• Shell in talks to acquire BP in a blockbuster $80 billion deal. Someone finally noticed that energy stocks are trading at single digit price/earnings ratios.
  - Zero Hedge, 25 June 2025

• Shell in talks to acquire BP in a blockbuster $80 billion deal. Someone finally noticed that energy stocks are trading at single digit price/earnings ratios.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 25 June 2025

• Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber has turned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company into one of the world's most ambitious -- and well-funded -- energy companies.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 25 June 2025

• Why the prices of gasoline are not declining in parallel with the decline of the price of oil
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 25 June 2025

• Nearly 20% of packaged foods and drinks sold in the USA contain oil-derived synthetic food dyes, according to a startling new study of 40,000 grocery items. The researchers determined that confectionery companies had the most products with synthetic dyes. Ferrero (60%) and Mars (52%) were named the "worst offenders". Around 79% of sports drinks were found to have these dyes, with researchers highlighting that 51% of PepsiCo's energy drinks contain them. Remarkably, the average sugar content of synthetically dyed products was more than double that of foods without the dyes, the study also found.
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 25 June 2025

• $7,200,000,000 - The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria has arrested two ex-oil officials, including the former chief financial officer of Nigeria's state energy firm NNPC, over an alleged $7.2-billion fraud, corruption, and abuse of office.
  - OilPrice.com, 24 June 2025

• The Department of Energy declares a electric power grid emergency in the southeast of the USA to avert "blackouts", as the region experiences a very hot heatwave due to global heating due to burning of fossil fuels
  - Zero Hedge, 24 June 2025

• The Dow Jones Index rises 500 points (about 1.2%) as oil prices decline 5%, as investors expect that the ceasefire between Israel and Iran will hold
  - Versant's CNBC, 24 June 2025

• Oil prices are falling so much that they are now cheaper than they were before the Iran-Israel conflict
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 24 June 2025

• How decades of oil drilling expansion helped shield oil prices in the USA from rising sharply, amid the war between Iran and Israel
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 24 June 2025

• Trump starts a war with Iran, which greatly impacts the price of oil and gasoline, but then doesn't want to take responsibility for his actions by demanding on social media that producers in the USA "keep oil prices down"
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 24 June 2025

• TACO Trump appeared to undermine years of USA sanctions on Iran, giving its biggest customer Zhōngguó the green light to continue buying its oil as he seeks to bolster a ceasefire with Israel.
  - Bloomberg, 24 June 2025

• Crude oil prices decline after TACO Trump says that Zhōngguó can "continue to purchase oil from Iran"
  - Zero Hedge, 24 June 2025

• Oil prices decline 3% as Trump warns Israel against violating ceasefire with Iran
  - Versant's CNBC, 24 June 2025

• The Middle East is in turmoil. Frackers in the USA see no reason to pump more oil, despite Trump's pleas. Well-supplied markets and weakening demand for crude concern drillers in the USA.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 24 June 2025

• Ripping the plastic wrap from the meat or prepackaged fruit and veggies you purchased at the grocery store may contaminate your food with micro- and nanoplastics. Plastic contamination may also occur when you are unwrapping deli meat and cheese, steeping a tea bag in hot water, or opening cartons of milk or orange juice. Glass bottles and jars with a plastic-coated metal closure may also shed microscopic bits of plastic, the study found.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 24 June 2025

• While reducing benefits for the poor, [Christian] Republicans try to pass a new tax law that includes $18 billion in new tax benefits for oil and natural gas companies and guts those for renewable energy and electric vehicles. [Nationalist socialist industrial policy that causes further global heating.]
  - Inside Climate News, 23 June 2025

• New lies from the socialistically subsidized fossil fuel industry. No longer able to deny climate change and globel heating, they are now attacking the economics of renewable energy such as solar and wind power, to delay the transition away from socialistically subsidized fossil fuels.
  - The Verge, 23 June 2025

• Oil prices crash, stock prices soar, gold and bitcoin prices rise - as a muted 'scripted' retaliation by Iran against USA military bases gladdens markets
  - Zero Hedge, 23 June 2025

• Rabobank: even if Iran does not close the Straight of Hormuz, insurance costs will soar pushing oil prices higher
  - Zero Hedge, 23 June 2025

• Traders shorting oil are betting that the Iran situation will not escalate
  - Zero Hedge, 23 June 2025

• "Real distress" hits the solar panel industry as a tsunami of bankruptcies loom, as Republicans plan to eliminate tax credits for the solar and wind power industries (while not ending socialist subsidies for oil, coal and natural gas). Another industry Republicans are gifting to Zhōngguó.
  - Zero Hedge, 23 June 2025

• A dangerous 'heat dome' caused by the burning of fossil fuels causes record temperatures across much of the USA. Officials warn of health risks as massive weather system traps sweltering air.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 23 June 2025

• Oil prices rise 1% as investors consider whether retaliation by Iran after being bombed by the USA will disrupt crude supplies
  - Versant's CNBC, 23 June 2025

• The parliament of Iran supports the forced closing of the Strait Of Hormuz, causing the oil markets to brace for turmoil
  - Zero Hedge, 22 June 2025

• The parliament of Iran supports the forced closing of the Strait Of Hormuz, putting one-fifth of the world's oil supply at risk
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 22 June 2025

• Options traders are uncertain how to position themselves, given the stock markets' limited reaction to the war in the Middle East, now involving the USA
  - Bloomberg, 22 June 2025

• Cites in the Midwest of the USA are baking under intense heat (due to global heating caused by burning of fossil fuels), with East Coasts expected to bake as well in coming days. Climate scientists have found that climate change and global heating has made heat waves more common, more intense and longer lasting worldwide, though attributing a specific heat wave to climate change is tricky.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 June 2025

• Scientists at Oregon State University discovered that, in the last glacial period, Earth experienced its highest CO2 increase: 14 parts per million in just 55 years. Now, the Earth experiences that increase every five years due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Popular Mechanics, 21 June 2025

• A huge heatwave caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels is striking the USA this week. AccuWeather estimates that 170 million people will experience temperatures at or above 90 degrees during the building heat wave into next week, with millions of people facing temperatures over 100 degrees.
  - USA Today, 21 June 2025

• Increasing and troubling for the environment is that birds are more and more using all sorts of oil-derived plastics and other trash to build their nests. Innovative birds, but is it health for them, and for people?
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 21 June 2025

• Rosiya is ready to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to México and share energy sector technologies. Rossiya is prepared to offer oil extraction technologies suited for challenging geological conditions, as well as solutions aimed at improving the efficiency of oil processing.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 21 June 2025

• Investors are wildly bullish on oil prices. Follow the options skew. The current geopolitical instability naturally appeals to many investors who want oil exposure, given the potential for a price surge.
  - Barron's, 21 June 2025

• The next hot stocks to ride the AI bubble? Chevron and Exxon, since their energy supplies powers AI data centers. [KM: Destroying the environment, destroying human-paid jobs? Good for bubbling their stock price.]
  - Barron's, 21 June 2025

• Under Darren Woods, Exxon Mobil is aiming to cut its break-even oil price to $30. The CEO is focused on reducing Exxon's costs and making savvy acquisitions.
  - Barron's, 21 June 2025

• The Catholic Christian controlled Supreme Court ruled in favor of the fuel industry Friday in a case Ketanji Brown Jackson argued it should not have heard in the first place for favoring the rich. The case involved the Clear Air Act. "For some, this silence will only harden their sense that the Court softens its certiorari standards when evaluating petitions from moneyed interests, looking past the jurisdictional defects or other vehicle problems that would typically doom petitions from other parties." and "I worry that the fuel industry's gain comes at a reputational cost for this Court, which is already viewed by many as being overly sympathetic to corporate interests."
  - HuffPost, 20 June 2025

• The Catholic Christian controlled Supreme Court ruled in favor of the fuel industry Friday in a case Ketanji Brown Jackson argued it should not have heard in the first place for favoring the rich. The case involved the Clear Air Act. "For some, this silence will only harden their sense that the Court softens its certiorari standards when evaluating petitions from moneyed interests, looking past the jurisdictional defects or other vehicle problems that would typically doom petitions from other parties." and "I worry that the fuel industry's gain comes at a reputational cost for this Court, which is already viewed by many as being overly sympathetic to corporate interests."
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 June 2025

• Fewer ships enter the Strait Of Hormuz even as satellite images show Iran races to get its tankers out of the Gulf
  - Zero Hedge, 19 June 2025

• General Mills announces the removal of oil-derived synthetic food dyes from its products, starting with cereals
  - Zero Hedge, 19 June 2025

• Oil prices soar on mounting fears that the USA will attack Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 19 June 2025

• Central and southern Zhōngguó were on high alert for more flash floods on Friday as the annual East Asia monsoon gathered pace and extreme rainfall threatened disruption in the world's second-largest economy. Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change and global heating due to burning of fossil fuels, increasingly pose major challenges for policymakers as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions, and wreak havoc on Zhōngguó's $2.8 trillion agricultural sector.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 19 June 2025

• Insurance companies want businesses to "wake up" to the costs of extreme heat caused by global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels. The market for extreme heat insurance is only likely to increase as risk modelers for insurers and lending institutions offer clients the ability to see heat impacts on properties or types of businesses.
  - Bloomberg, 18 June 2025

• Chevron has announced its entry into the lithium industry in the USA through a major land deal with energy startup TerraVolta and East Texas Natural Resources. The multinational oil giant acquired leases totaling 125,000 acres across southern Arkansas and eastern Texas - 100,000 of which came from as TerraVolta - as it pursues plans to establish a commercial-scale domestic lithium business.
  - OilPrice.com, 18 June 2025

• Why forecasters, predictors, cannot agree on when oil demand will peak
  - OilPrice.com, 18 June 2025

• Oil speculators hold shorts despite the crisis in the Middle East
  - Zero Hedge, 18 June 2025

• The International Energy Agency repeats its prediction of peak oil demand, which contradicts OPEC's view of growing demand for oil at least into the 2040s
  - Zero Hedge, 18 June 2025

• Major banks around the world, their environment-hating coming out again due to Trump, increase fossil-fuel funding as they betray their climate pledges. New report shows that banks poured nearly $900 billion into financing coal, oil and gas projects in 2024.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 18 June 2025

• It exports of oil from Iran are halted, Zhōngguó will be hurt economically. Refineries in Zhōngguó have become hooked on cheap imports of sanctioned Iranian crude.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 18 June 2025

• Living near heavily microplastic-polluted waters along the United States coastline may significantly raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, stroke and coronary artery disease, a condition in which plaque blocks the blood vessels feeding the heart, a new study found. "While this study measured pollution in ocean water, pollution is not limited to the sea. Microplastics are everywhere: in drinking water, in the food we eat, especially seafood, and even in the air we breathe."
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 18 June 2025

• Sea surface temperatures in 2024 broke records and about 25% of the world's oceans are experiencing temperatures that qualify as a marine heat wave, due to global heating caused by burning of fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 17 June 2025

• OPEC predicts a lower supply growth from rivals, keeps demand outlook steady. The cartel trimmed next year's forecast for supply growth from the USA and other rivals while keeping its oil demand expectations unchanged as it continues to ramp up production.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 17 June 2025

• Who will pay for climate change and global heating? You will, until we break our addiction to fossil-fuels. Unlike Big Tobacco, Big Oil does not accept responsibility. It wants Congress to give it immunity from lawsuits. The industry likes the 2005 precedent in which Congress gave immunity to gunmakers from liability for deaths and injuries resulting from unlawful misuse of firearms. Big Oil's attorneys argue that energy consumers, not energy companies, are the polluters. The environment-hating Trump agrees: he ordered the U.S. Attorney General to stop states from enforcing climate liability laws and programs like carbon trading.
  - The Hill, 16 June 2025

• Prices of oil, gold and bitcoin swing wildly on the latest headlines about the war between Iran and Israel
  - Zero Hedge, 16 June 2025

• Oil-derived 'forever chemicals' detected in 65% of the private wells that were sampled in Pennsylvania
  - Phys.org, 16 June 2025

• After oil prices rise to $77/barrel on outbreak of war between Israel and Iran, traders appeared calm, and oil prices dropped back down to around $72/barrel
  - Versant's CNBC, 16 June 2025

• The prices of oil and gold jump as Israel attacks energy infrastructure in Iran with missiles
  - Zero Hedge, 15 June 2025

• Quantum Capital seeks $4.5 billion for oil-patch investments. Growing demand for power in the U.S. and limited competition for fossil-fuel assets make this a good moment to bet on the sector, the firm said in a presentation to investors.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 14 June 2025

• The outbreak of war between Iran and Israel could greatly disrupt the oil industry. Thirty percent of the world's seaborne oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and its proxies could block it.
  - Barron's, 14 June 2025

• How is how oil prices could rise to $120/barrel, according to one strategist
  - Barron's, 14 June 2025

• Saudi Arabia is grabbing oil-market share, but it can increase oil supplies only so far. Saudi Arabia wants to squeeze oil frackers in the USA, although an all-out price war would be costly.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 June 2025

• Oil prices could top $90 as the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates tensions in Middle East
  - Yahoo Financ, 13 June 2025

• Oil prices could rise as high as $130/barrel in a "worst case scenario", according to JPMorgan. "A more general Middle East conflagration could ignite retaliatory responses."
  - Zero Hedge, 12 June 2025

• Oil prices jump more than 7% after Israel launches missile attacks against the nuclear facilities of Iran
  - Versant's CNBC, 12 June 2025

• The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Hossein Salami has been killed in Israel's major missile attack on Tehran and other locations in Iran.
  - Zero Hedge, 12 June 2025

• Trump allows the EPA to repeal air-pollution standards on power plants. The proposals would roll back Biden-era climate rules and Obama-era limits on mercury and CO2 emissions.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 June 2025

• Trump allows the EPA to repeal air-pollution standards on power plants. The proposals would roll back Biden-era climate rules and Obama-era limits on mercury and CO2 emissions.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 June 2025

• Zhōngguó resumes imports of propane from the USA, easring fears of shutdowns at plastic manufacturing plants
  - Zero Hedge, 11 June 2025

• Oil prices rise as Trump says that he is "less confident" about nuclear talks with Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 11 June 2025

• Oil prices rise to 2-month highs on concerns about political instability in the Middle East, and optimism in trade talks
  - Investopedia, 11 June 2025

• The European Union proposes a ban on natural gas flows through Nord Stream, and reducing the maximum price payable for oil from Rossiya, as part of its latest round of sanctions against Rossiya for its invasion of Ukraine.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 June 2025

• Scientists mapped what happens if a crucial system of Atlantic Ocean currents collapses. The weather impact would be extreme. Parts of the world would suffer a deep freeze, with winter temperatures plunging to around minus 55 degrees Fahrenheit in some cities. This huge cooling, despite global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels. Crops would die, threatening food security, and infrastructure could buckle in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere, meanwhile, is projected to experience increased warming.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 11 June 2025

• A group of 20 internationally renowned scientists have issued a strong warning against attempts by politicians to narrow the definition of 'forever chemicals' in what they describe as a politically or economically motivated effort to weaken regulation of the potentially harmful chemicals.
  - The Guardian, 10 June 2025

• Oil prices could spike higher on coming CTA short covering, predicts the Bank of America. Medium to long-term trend followers are short Crude Oil futures contracts, with longterm models stretched even more so.
  - Zero Hedge, 09 June 2025

• Microplastics from biodegradable material may be linked to diabetes, study finds. Polylactic acid - used in food packaging, disposable tableware and clothing - found to alter gut metabolism and harm gut barrier of mice.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 08 June 2025

• Petronas, the state energy company of Malaysia, has reportedly announced plans to fire 10% of its people, in response to the challenging operating conditions in the oil and gas sector, particularly falling crude prices
  - Global Data, 06 June 2025

• Despite the intentions of the environment-hating Trump, investments into renewable energy are expected to be double that of investments in global-heating-causing fossil fuels. Around $3.3 trillion will flow into the energy sector in 2025 and around $2.2 trillion of that will go to renewable and nuclear energy, energy storage, low-emission fuels, efficiency and electrification, the International Energy Agency said.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 06 June 2025

• Oil prices decline on a report that Saudi Arabia wants to 'super-size' increases in oil production by OPEN by at least 400,000 barrels a day in August and maybe in September
  - Zero Hedge, 04 June 2025

• Wildfires in Alberta force the shutdown of about 7% of the oil production in Canada. The loss of supplies from the world's fourth-largest oil producer comes at a time when heavy crude supplies already are strained.
  - Bloomberg, 02 June 2025

• Wildfires in Alberta force the shutdown of about 7% of the oil production in Canada. The loss of supplies from the world's fourth-largest oil producer comes at a time when heavy crude supplies already are strained.
  - Zero Hedge, 02 June 2025

• Nearly 40% of the world's glaciers are already doomed, according to scientists, even if global temperatures stopped rising immediately, unlikely as the world continues to worsen global heating with the burning of oil, coal and natural gas
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 02 June 2025

• Rising snow and glacier melt, due to global heating from use of fossil fuels, puts almost 2 billion in South Asia at risk. The risks are aggravated by black carbon pollution, which could curb water supply from many rivers flowing through the Himalayan plains.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 02 June 2025

• Oil prices increase 4% after OPEC+ does not change the levels of output of their oil
  - Thomson's Reuters, 01 June 2025

• Oil companies are sued over the death by hypothermia of a woman in the 2021 heat wave. Experts said it is the first wrongful death case targeting fossil fuel companies over their role in global heating. The suit alleges that they failed to warn the public of the dangers of the planet-warming emissions produced by their products and that they funded decades-long campaigns to obscure the scientific consensus on global warming.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 June 2025

• Wildfires in Alberta, Canada, threaten the ouput oil from oil sands well sites that produce 459,000 barrels of oil daily. Canada is the largest foreign oil supplier to the U.S., accounting for approximately 60% of total crude imports, with the vast majority of that coming from Alberta's oil sands.
  - Zero Hedge, 31 May 2025

• OPEC+ agrees to increase in July its output of oil by 411,000 barrels per day
  - Versant's CNBC, 31 May 2025

• The oil industry in the USA is preparing for the OPEC+ meeting on Saturday, which is widely expected to further increase oil production despite weak demand.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 31 May 2025

• Exporters in the USA face potential disruption to their shipments of petrochemical feedstock ethane after the Commerce Department told them to seek licenses to export to top buyer Zhōngguó. Petrochemical companies in Zhōngguó rely on imports from the USA for almost all their imports of ethane, buying about half of the total exports of ethane from the USA. If U.S. exporters are unable to obtain licenses quickly, they will need to seek alternative buyers. Costs for petrochemical makers in Zhōngguó will rise as they compete for alternative sources of ethane or switch to another more expensive petrochemical feedstock such as naphtha.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 30 May 2025

• NRG Energy, once viewed as a boring retail energy supplier, suddenly is one of hottest stocks in the USA. Investors see a power producer expanding rapidly to tap surging demand driven by AI. But the looks more like a risky derivatives energy trader than a simple power producer, with volatile earnings and a weak balance sheet.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 30 May 2025

• The eastern government of Libya has warned of potential disruptions to oil production and exports following an attack by a Tripoli-based militia on the headquarters of the state-owned National Oil Corporation's. The threat of a force majeure declaration reintroduces the possibility of a geopolitical risk premium in Brent crude markets already contending with oversupply concerns.
  - Zero Hedge, 29 May 2025

• An Islamic kingdom of illusions: the oil empire of Saudi Arabia falters as Saudi royals spend money like oil will never run dry
  - Zero Hedge, 29 May 2025

• Elon Musk and Tesla severely criticize Republican plans to end socialist clean energy subsidies in the proposed tax law. Tesla has been highly dependent on socialist subsidies for years to make Musk rich. For example, the proposed tax law would terminate most credits for electric vehicles at the end of the year, disqualifying Teslas from a $7,500 incentive at a time when the company is experiencing declining sales and backlash linked to Musk's actions to destroy the federal workforce. Musk does point out one huge socialist hypocrisy of Republicans: "There is no change to tax incentives for oil and natural gas, just EV/solar."
  - Axel Springer's Politico, 29 May 2025

• In a landmark ruling advancing efforts to hold major polluters accountable for transnational climate-related harms, on May 28 a court in Deutschland concluded that a corporation can be held liable under civil law for its proportional contribution to global climate change and global heating, Climate Rights International said today. "The message of the court is clear: major carbon polluters can be held legally responsible for their role in driving the climate crisis and the resulting human rights and economic harms. If the reasoning of this decision is adopted by other courts, it could lay the foundation for ending the era of impunity for fossil fuel giants and other big greenhouse gas emitters."
  - Climate Rights International, 28 May 2025

• Global temperatures are forecast to reach record or near-record levels during the next five years - due to global heating from the burning of fossil fuels, setting the stage for more deadly extreme weather, according to an annual report from two of the top meteorological agencies in the world. More than 1.5 degrees of global warming increases the risks of more severe impacts, including triggering tipping points in the climate system. Melting sea ice and glaciers could soon reach a point of no return, with dramatic implications for sea level rise, scientists have warned.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 28 May 2025

• The chief executive of Enquest criticizes the UK's Energy Profits Levy, claiming it is doing "irreversible damage" to the oil and gas industry and discouraging investment. Enquest argues that the UK is the only country levying a windfall tax on its domestic energy producers where no windfall profits exist, further impacting competitiveness.
  - Zero Hedge, 28 May 2025

• Authoritarian Venezuela's shadow war with Guyana is escalatin over the oil-rich region of Essequibo that is part of Guyana but historically claimed by Venezuela.
  - OilPrice.com, 27 May 2025

• Trump is playing a dangerous game with water waste, water shortages, and oil-derived plastics pollution, which are serious national problems.
  - The Hill, 27 May 2025

• Beer drinkers beware: scientists find oil-derived 'forever chemicals' exceeding EPA limits in American beers. Through their research, it was found that beer brewed in North Carolina, California, and Michigan had elevated levels of these PFAS chemicals.
  - Murdoch's Fox News, 26 May 2025

• Zhōngguó and Iran launch a new commercial railroad route from the eastern city of Xian in Zhōngguó to the Aprin port in Iran near Tehran. ailway infrastructure connecting Iran and Zhōngguó allows freight trains to travel from Shanghai to Tehran in 15 days, compared to 30 days via the maritime route. The rail line between the two countries enables exports of oil from Iran to Zhōngguó and allows products from Zhōngguó to reach Europe without interference from the USA Navy.
  - Zero Hedge, 26 May 2025

• Trump has approved the EPA to erase limits on the emissions of greenhouse gases by power plants. Non-scientists political puppets of Trump at the EPA argue that carbon emissions from power plants do not contribute "significantly" to climate change and global heating. Scientists disagree.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 25 May 2025

• Trump has approved the EPA to erase limits on the emissions of greenhouse gases by power plants. Non-scientists political puppets of Trump at the EPA argue that carbon emissions from power plants do not contribute "significantly" to climate change and global heating. Scientists disagree.
  - Zero Hedge, 25 May 2025

• The latest oil war due to Trump makes landfall in the USA: rigs in the Permian basin and crew counts plummet as oil prices plunge, and it is about to get much worse
  - Zero Hedge, 23 May 2025

• The government of Iraq has signed a deal with GeoJade Petroleum, based in Zhōngguó, to expand production at the Tuba oil field, build a refinery and two power plants
  - Zero Hedge, 23 May 2025

• Oil prices decline on report of another potential OPEC+ increase in oil supplies
  - Bloomberg, 22 May 2025

• The state oil company of Mexico, Petroleos Mexicanos, is discussing plans to fire 3,000 people, in part to save $540 million via restructuring. The cuts would amount to about 28% of the operational budget for tenured personnel this year. Pemex has more than $100 billion in debt.
  - Bloomberg, 22 May 2025

• Treasury Bond yields soar, with Big Tech stocks and oil declining in price, and gold and bitcoin rising in price
  - Zero Hedge, 21 May 2025

• Due to global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels, the ice sheets of the world are on course for runaway melting, leading to multiple feet of sea level rise and "catastrophic" migration away from coastlines, even if the world pulls off the miraculous and keeps global warming to within 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to new research. Since the 1990s, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have quadrupled the amount of ice that has melted, now about 370 billion tons a year. Around 230 million people live less than 1 meter (3.2 feet) above sea level.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 20 May 2025

• Almost half of all mid- and small-cap oil and gas stocks in the US are now trading below their book values. At this point, 33% of Russell 3000 energy stocks are trading below their book values. A similar proportion of large and small oil and gas stocks in Canada have also fallen into the same range, Bloomberg calcualtes.
  - Zero Hedge, 19 May 2025

• Goldman Sachs raises its prediction for the demand for oil, but maintains its oil price forecast at $60 per barrel of Brent crude and $56 per barrel of West Texas Intermediate for this year
  - Zero Hedge, 19 May 2025

• The environment-hating Trump has his administration declare that litigation to hold oil companies responsible for climate change a threat to the American economy and has taken aggressive steps to fight it
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 May 2025

• Oil drillers in the USA say that peak shale oil has arrived. Lower oil prices are expected to precipitate a decrease in crude output that will not easily be reversed.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 19 May 2025

• Authorities in Indonesia have contacted a number of Singapore-based trading companies to request their cooperation in a US$12 billion corruption inquiry involving state-owned oil giant PT Pertamina. Indonesian authorities arrested executives from Pertamina subsidiaries in February on accusations that they pushed refiners to import marked-up crude and oil products from abroad, causing state losses.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 19 May 2025

• Environmental investment funds in Europe are holding more than $33 billion of investments in in major oil and natural gas companies, despite fossil fuels being the root cause of the climate crisis. Some of these investment funds used dishonest branding such as Sustainable Global Stars and Europe Climate Pathway.
  - The Guardian, 18 May 2025

• Zhōngguó on Sunday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9% on imports of POM copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from the USA, the European Union, Nihon and Taiwan
  - Versant's CNBC, 18 May 2025

• Zhōngguó imposes a large 75% tax on imports from the USA of a vital engineering plastic. The tax, which also hits firms from the EU, Nihon and Taiwan came despite a 90-day truce in the trade war between the two countries.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 18 May 2025

• Indonesia criticizes the high fuel prices it pays for imports of fuel from Singapore, and plans to switch to more imports from the USA. Despite being an oil producer, Indonesia has a low level of capacity for refining oil, and has relied heavily on Singapore to refine its oil.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 17 May 2025

• How the sovereign funds of oil-rich nations in the Middle East are joining the AI investment bubble, more trillions of dollars to [KM: to inflate the AI bubble]
  - Barron's, 17 May 2025

• The rise and fall of oil-dervied synthetic food dyes - because they cause cancer, inflammation and other diseases
  - Zero Hedge, 16 May 2025

• How Goldman Sachs is trading its "oil lower-for-longer" prediction
  - Zero Hedge, 16 May 2025

• 31 million tons of supercharged Sargassum seaweed, is creeping towards beaches in Florida and the Caribbean. As it rots on beaches, it emits harmful gases. Rising ocean temperatures due to the burning of fossil fuels is fueling even more growth of Sargassum then in decades past.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 15 May 2025

• As the Rio Grande runs dry, politicians and business leaders in South Texas look to new water supplies to sustain growth, such as water for capturing more rain and from treating groundwater. Water levels at the two international reservoirs that store the river water supply for South Texas reached record lows last year, and water levels continue to hover around 20%. And demand for municipal water is only expected to increase over the next several decades, with no increase in supply on the horizon. Global heating caused by burning the fossil fuels that profit Texas so greatly -- are more quickly evaporating more water from the surfaces of rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
  - Texas Tribune, 15 May 2025

• For the first time, the growth in clean power generation in Zhōngguó has caused the nation's carbon dioxide emissions to fall despite rapid power demand growth.
  - Carbon Brief, 15 May 2025

• $350,000,000 - Chemical manufacturer 3M has entered into a settlement agreement with New Jersey to resolve claims accusing the company of contaminating water and other natural resources with oil-derived PFAS substances, popularly known as 'forever chemicals'. The chemicals have been found in drinking water, livestock, and food packaging, and are linked to several adverse health issues such as cancers, endocrine disorders, developmental issues in fetuses, and negative impacts on reproduction and immune function. The settlement will be paid out between 2026 and 2050.
  - Zero Hedge, 15 May 2025

• Sanctions on oil exports from Rossiya would hurt Rossiya harder now, than in 2022, because demand is growing slowly while supply is increasing faster than usual.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 15 May 2025

• Renewable energy is booming in Texas. But Republicans want to change that. Despite soaring power demand, Republican lawmakers in the Texas Legislature are pushing to rein in renewable energy, part of a national wave of opposition that seeks more use of oil and natural gas.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 May 2025

• Saudi Aramco has signed 34 agreements with major U.S. companies, potentially worth as much as $90 billion
  - Thomson's Reuters, 14 May 2025

• Shell faces fresh legal challenge over development of new oil and natural gas fields. Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie said that by developing new fields, the oil and gas giant is in breach of legal duties to cut carbon emissions.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 14 May 2025

• Global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels threatens the banana, the fourth most important food crop in peril as Latin America and Caribbean suffer from slow-onset climate disaster. Rising temperatures, extreme weather and climate-related pests are pummeling banana-growing countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica and Colombia, reducing yields and devastating rural communities across the region.
  - The Guardian, 12 May 2025

• Republicans reduce funding for renewable energy, and increased funding for global heating fossil fuels
  - The Hill, 12 May 2025

• Sewage sludge fertilizer (with toxic oil-derived 'forever chemicals' from Maryland? People in Virginia say "no thanks". Maryland has restricted use of the toxic fertilizer. A plan to send more to Virginia has sparked fears of contaminated farms and fisheries. In Virginia, Synagro, one of the nation's leading exploiters of sludge for use as fertilizer, has sought permission to apply more sludge in rural Virginia, according to local filings. Synagro is controlled by a Goldman Sachs investment fund. The fertilizer industry says more than 2 million dry tons of sewage sludge were used on 4.6 million acres of farmland in 2018.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 May 2025

• Oil prices jump 4% after the USA and Zhōngguó agree to reduce taxes/tariffs on each others' exports
  - Versant's CNBC, 12 May 2025

• An important businessman in the trading of oil from Rossiya, Etibar Eyyub, is hit with sanctions by the United Kingdom. These latest sanctions increase economic pressure on Rossiya to strengthen Ukraine in peace negotiations with Rossiya.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 May 2025

• Oil at $50 per barrel? The high cost of cheap crude oil. Oil has supply-and-demand problems. OPEC and its allies are ramping up supply faster than expected. But demand is not rising fast enough to buy up the extra supply. At $50 a barrel, most companies can still make money on operating wells. But they will almost certainly spend less on policies like stock buybacks, and few will be able to drill new wells profitably.
  - Barron's, 10 May 2025

• The rate of annual sea level rise has more than doubled over the past 30 years. The cause? Human-caused global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 09 May 2025

• Oilfield giants in the USA, including SLB, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes, prepare for tough financial conditions as the decline in the price of oil rattles oil producers
  - Thomson's Reuters, 09 May 2025

• Citigroup must face a revived lawsuit claiming it caused more than $1 billion of losses by orchestrating and concealing a vast fraud at the now-bankrupt Mexican oil and gas services company Oceanografia, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 08 May 2025

• Gasoline prices in California could rise 75% by the end of 2026, due to the expected shutdown of oil refineries in California.
  - Zero Hedge, 07 May 2025

• Two of the largest players in gasoline distribution are looking to form a marriage, and it could create a ripple effect when consumers head to the pump. Sunoco, which is based in the USA, has announced its intention to purchase Parkland (based in Canada) in a multi-billion-dollar deal that would create a dominating force in the North American petroleum industry. But the deal for Sunoco to acquire its rival in Canada also hinges on regulatory and government approval that could be made harder by the current political rift between the USA and Canada.
  - Zero Hedge, 05 May 2025

• Gold rises in price, the USA dollar is at October lows, crude oil prices crushed, as stocks decline ending a long winning streak
  - Zero Hedge, 05 May 2025

• Goldman Sachs again lowers predictions for oil prices as Saudi Arabia launches a price war on quota-buster Kazahksatan
  - Zero Hedge, 05 May 2025

• Shale oil giant Diamonback says oil output in the USA has peaked, and the company slashes CapEx spending amid an OPEC price war
  - Zero Hedge, 05 May 2025

• Crude oil supplies in the USA will rise more slowly than expected for the rest of 2025 and in 2026 and peak as early as this year, as WTI benchmark prices below $60 per barrel are testing the breakeven point of shale production, energy flows intelligence firm Kpler said on Monday
  - OilPrice.com, 05 May 2025

• Electricity generation in the USA using fossil fuels declines below 50% for the first time ever
  - OilPrice.com, 05 May 2025

• The natural gas industry in the USA pushes back on Trump's shipbuilding rules. The main oil and natural gas trade group wants the Trump administration to reconsider maritime rules released in April that would require it to use some USA ships to transport liquefied natural gas. An ndustry association estimated that five LNG tankers built in the USA would be needed in 2029 and said building them was "not feasible", citing a lack of shipyard capacity and skilled workers, among other concerns.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 May 2025

• Oil prices in the USA drop to $55.80 per barrel, down $2.49, after OPEC+ agreed to accelerate production for a second straight month
  - Axios, 05 May 2025

• Oil prices in the USA drop to $55.80 per barrel, down $2.49, after OPEC+ agreed to accelerate production for a second straight month
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 May 2025

• Oil prices in the USA drop to $55.80 per barrel, down $2.49, after OPEC+ agreed to accelerate production for a second straight month
  - Versant's CNBC, 05 May 2025

• Trump's tax/tariff trade war is already hurting oil demand. Taxes/tariffs are already slashing container traffic between Zhōngguó and the USA, hitting shipping and aviation demand, with trucking and diesel next in line - all reducing demand for oil.
  - Zero Hedge, 03 May 2025

• Why OPEC+ is increasing oil supplies despite falling prices. The group agreed to raise output in June, a sign that Saudi Arabia and its allies appear to be weary of cutting output and may be trying to appease President Trump, who has pushed for lower prices.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 May 2025

• Eight OPEC+ countries meeting on Saturday have agreed to a further accelerated oil output hike for June of 411,000 barrels per day. Last month, the eight countries made a larger-than-planned output hike for May, also of 411,000 barrels per day.
  - Versant's CNBC, 03 May 2025

• Despite public rhetoric, the reliance of Europe on natural gas from Rossiya remains substantial. A proposed bipartisan law in the USA Senate could reshape global energy trade, imposing massive 500% taxes/tariffs on countries importing fossil fuels from Rossiya.
  - OilPrice.com, 02 June 2025

• $300,000,000 - A family based in Utah is arrested for allegedly running a $300 million scam smuggling oil from Mexico. Court documents state that the family brought 2,881 shipments of crude oil into the USA -- falsely labeled as "waste of lube oils" and "petroleum distillates".
  - MoneyWise, 02 May 2025

• How the oil and natural gas industries have suffered financially under Trump: their stocks have plummeted, crude oil prices have plummeted and gasoline prices remain high.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 02 May 2025

• Shares of Chevron fall 2% as lower profits (down 30% year-to-year) and lower oil prices are expected to slow the pace of stock buybacks
  - Versant's CNBC, 02 May 2025

• Trump's newest oil sanctions is a threat to Zhōngguó, which buys a lot of oil from Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 01 May 2025

• Trump says that any country that buys oil from Iran will not be allowed to do business with the USA
  - Versant's CNBC, 01 May 2025

• Oil prices plunge, with West Texas prices dropping 4%, on a report that Saudi Arabia is preparing for a price war, and can "live with lower prices"
  - Zero Hedge, 30 April 2025

• A study of 200 fossil fuels ads in South Africa found that polluting fossil fuel companies use manipulative language and imagery to "create a false image of environmental responsibility. ... They prominently display wind turbines and solar panels, misleading the public into believing they are driving the transition to clean energy when, in reality, they continue expanding fossil fuel production."
  - The Cool Down, 30 April 2025

• The dreams of Saudi Arabia to build a sustainable economy are now drowning in oil. Between its own self-interest and the Trump effect on international priorities, the country seems to be backing away from its big plans for economic diversification.
  - New Republic, 28 April 2025

• Oil prices might not recover soon. Here is what that means for Saudi Arabia's ambitious transformation plans. A per barrel price of above $100 is required for the country to balance its budget. Oil now is in the $60s range.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 28 April 2025

• A growing number of sizable companies, from mining giants to energy majors, are embracing the hype for natural hydrogen. Hydrogen has long been billed as one of many potential energy sources that could play a key role in the energy transition, but most of it is produced using fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.
  - Versant's CNBC, 28 April 2025

• For Trump, chemicals in straws are a crisis. In water, lesser so. An administration document aimed at eradicating paper straws highlights the dangers of PFAS chemicals. Their presence in tap water nationwide has not gotten the same attention.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 27 April 2025

• For years, a textile mill in South Carolina gave farmers its sewage sludge as free fertilizer. Today 10,000 acres of farmlands are contaminated with oil-derived 'forever chemical' - and are still being used to grow food. The use of industrial sewage as fertilizer broadens a crisis already affecting farmers nationwide. What should be done?
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 26 April 2025

• Iran will sign a $4 billion oilfields deal with Rossiya in an effort to improve relations between the two countries. Seven oilfields in Iran will be developed in cooperations with oil companies based in Rossiya.
  - Al Jazeera, 25 April 2025

• The capital of Bharat, New Delhi, plans to limit gasoline and diesel-powered cars a family can buy as well as ban sales of fuel-guzzling motorbikes and scooters, according to a draft policy aimed at cleaning up one of the most polluted cities in the world.
  - Sydney Morning Herald, 24 April 2025

• $28,000,000,000,000 - Scientists calculate that 111 fossil fuel companies caused the world $28 trillion in damage from 1991 to 2020 from extreme heat and climate change. Other scientists are mixed on their support for the assumptions used in the model. Still, the damage is in the trillions.
  - Nature, 23 April 2025

• Harmful bleaching of the world's coral has grown to include 84% of the ocean's reefs in the most intense event of its kind in recorded history. Last year was the hottest year on record for the Earth, and much of that heat is heating the oceans. This global heating is deadly to corals, which are key to seafood production, tourism and protecting coastlines from erosion and storms.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 23 April 2025

• Oil prices decline on report that some OPEC+ members want to accelerate the increase in the output of oil
  - Zero Hedge, 23 April 2025

• West Texas oil prices declined $1.00 per barrel after Kazakhstan said it will prioritize national interests over those of the OPEC+ alliance, a move that risks fueling further tensions within the cartel.
  - Zero Hedge, 23 April 2025

• Big Oil in the USA is offshoring its prized engineering jobs to Bharat. Chevron and other oil companies are cutting thousands of positions, while offshoring more white-collar jobs to Bharat.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 23 April 2025

• Stroke patients have high levels of oil-derived microplastics in the plaque clogging their arteries, researchers find
  - Business Insider, 22 April 2025

• Trump authorizes the EPA to cancel federal spending aimed at protecting children from toxic chemicals, including oil-derived 'forever' chemicals that contaminate the food supply
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 April 2025

• Oil companies struggling to process huge amounts of wastewater have bold plans to turn the wastewater into a valuable product
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 22 April 2025

• Many plastic factories in Zhōngguó are going to have to close, because they depend on imports of ethane (made from natural gas) from the USA, and those imports will have retaliatory tax/tariffs imposed by the government of Zhōngguó
  - Zero Hedge, 21 April 2025

• Oil supertankers owned-by/built-by companies in Zhōngguó could pay up to $5 million in new taxes when docking at ports in the USA. Not good for oil exports from the USA.
  - OilPrice.com, 21 April 2025

• Researches have found microplastics in a new part of the human body: in the ovary follicular fluid of 14 out of 18 women they studied. Follicular fluid surrounds eggs developing in the ovaries, delivering nutrients like glucose, triglycerides, fatty acids, albumin and globulin.
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 21 April 2025

• Oil prices in the USA fall over 2.5% on signs of progress in nuclear talks between the USA and Iran, and fears of lower demand
  - Thomson's Reuters, 20 April 2025

• Extreme weather disasters, increasing as the planet warms due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels, can reduce blood donations while increasing demand, a new analysis found
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 April 2025

• Trump's tax/tariff trade war threatens one of the top energy exports of the USA. Propane is among the most important products that the USA sells to Zhōngguó, which turns it into plastic and sells it back to the USA.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 19 April 2025

• The oil and natural gas industries once rallied around Trump. That may be changing. The energy industry is moving to a fortress mentality in the face of prolonged lower oil prices.
  - Barron's, 19 April 2025

• Shares of Exxon rise 3% after the Trump administration seeks to eliminate clean energy projects
  - Zero Hedge, 17 April 2025

• Climate change and global heating (due to the burning of fossil fuels) may significantly impact arsenic levels in paddy rice, a staple food for millions across Asia. The research shows that increased temperatures above , coupled with rising carbon dioxide levels, lead to higher concentrations of inorganic arsenic (iAs) in rice, potentially raising lifetime health risks for populations in Asia by 2050.
  - Phys.org, 16 April 2025

• Climate change and global heating (due to the burning of fossil fuels) may significantly impact arsenic levels in paddy rice, a staple food for millions across Asia. The research shows that increased temperatures above , coupled with rising carbon dioxide levels, lead to higher concentrations of inorganic arsenic (iAs) in rice, potentially raising lifetime health risks for populations in Asia by 2050.
  - Condé Nast's Ars Technica, 16 April 2025

• Lee Zeldin, the head of the EPA, sounds the alarm on a rouge climate startup, Make Sunsets, that is launching balloons filled with sulfur dioxide to geo-engineer the Earth. Quoting this ZH article: "Allowing rogue activists to play God with the climate is a disaster waiting to happen." [Allowing fossil fuel companies to play God with the CO2 emissions they profit from is a disaster already happening.]
  - Zero Hedge, 16 April 2025

• The length of deadly ocean heat waves has tripled, thanks to global heating caused by the burning of carbon-based fuels
  - The Guardian, 14 April 2025

• OPEC lowers its prediction for oil demand in 2025, due to Trump's trade wars
  - Zero Hedge, 14 April 2025

• OPEC lowers its prediction for oil demand in 2025, due to Trump's trade wars
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 14 April 2025

• Plunge in oil prices threatens the vast military spending of Rossiya for the war against Ukraine
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 April 2025

• Prices of gasoline in the USA expected to decline, now at $3.20 per gallon, as oil prices hover near $60 per barrel
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 11 April 2025

• DuPont is again in Zhōngguó's 'firing line' in Trade War II. Shortly after Trump announced an increase in taxes/tariffs on imports from Zhōngguó, regulators in Beijing unveiled a probe of DuPont, alleging unspecified monopolistic behavior.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 April 2025

• Trump promised a golden age for oil and natural gas, but his taxes/tariff trade war undermines his pledge. Fractured trade relations and a potential global recession are poised to reduce international sales and domestic output of fossil fuels.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 April 2025

• Trump's taxes/tariffs threaten the status of the USA as an energy superpower. Fractured trade relations and a potential global recession are poised to reduce international sales and domestic output of fossil fuels.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 April 2025

• Oil prices in the USA fall back below $60 per barrel as traders focus on the escalating trade war between the USA and Zhōngguó
  - Versant's CNBC, 10 April 2025

• Oil industry executives are quiet on Trump's policies. Privately, they are worried. Eager to stay in the good graces of the authoritarian Trump, oil executives refrain from publicly criticizing Trump. But privately, "everybody is scared". Ironically, oil industry executives are usually the ones scaring others (such as environmentalists).
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 April 2025

• The scared-of-Trump Republican party that forgets its own economic policies. Republican Senators once lauded the benefits of free trade. They had better find their old convictions. They can't be reluctant to tell Trump that his ideas on taxes/tariffs are bonkers.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 April 2025

• What are oil-derived microplastics doing to our bodies? This lab at the University of New México is racing to find out. Inside a New México lab, researchers estimate there is five bottle caps worth of plastic in human brains. Now they are trying to find out its effects. They have found that human brain samples from 2024 had nearly 50 percent more microplastics than brain samples from 2016.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 April 2025

• Oil prices in the USA steady around $60, after experiencing steep losses on fears of Trump's full-blown trade war
  - Versant's CNBC, 08 April 2025

• As states in the USA legislate against products containing 'forever chemicals' derived from oil and very dangerous to human health, the chemical and consumer products industries are deploying lawyers and lobbyists to protect their investments and profits .
  - Wired, 07 April 2025

• Crude oil prices in the USA fall below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
  - Versant's CNBC, 07 April 2025

• Live results: US futures for the indexes are down over 4%, with crude oil dropping below $50 on fears of a recession, and bitcoin below $78,000 - all thanks to tax/tariff policies of Trump, Bessent, Lutnick and Navarro
  - Zero Hedge, 06 April 2025

• Crude oil prices in the USA fall below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears. Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
  - Versant's CNBC, 06 April 2025

• $744,600,000 - Oil company Chevron must pay $744.6 million to restore damage it caused to southeast Louisiana's coastal wetlands, a jury ruled on Friday following a landmark trial more than a decade in the making.
  - Associated Press, 04 April 2025

• OPEC+ is accelerating oil production as oil prices are plummeting due the recession being induced by Trump's tax/tariff trade war, with predictions of oil prices dropping down into the low $60s.
  - Versant's CNBC, 04 April 2025

• Allianz, one of the world's top insurers, warns that climate change and global heating, due to burning of fossil fuels, could destroy capitalism, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate. Without insurance, which is already being pulled in some places, many other financial services become unviable, from mortgages to investments.
  - The Guardian, 03 April 2025

• Eight OPEC+ producers accelerate crude oil output increases, pushing oil price 6% lower
  - Versant's CNBC, 03 April 2025

• Oil refiners in Bharat seek alternatives to buying oil from Rossiya after Trump's threatens more taxes/tariffs
  - Versant's CNBC, 01 April 2025

• Trump is imposing taxes/tariffs on imports of products from countries that buy oil from Venezuela, an unprecedented move that increases trade uncertainty. Any country that buys oil from Venezuela will face 25% "secondary taxes/tariffs" on all of its trade with the USA. The tariffs will primarily affect Zhōngguó, the largest importer of Venezuela oil. Bharat and Spain would also face levies unless the U.S. decides to grant exemptions for some countries.
  - Versant's CNBC, 01 April 2025

• The price of gold and oil soar as US stocks suffer the worst quarter versus the rest of the world in 23 years, thanks to Trump
  - Zero Hedge, 31 March 2025

• The price of gold and oil soar as US stocks suffer the worst quarter versus the rest of the world in 23 years, thanks to Trump
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 31 March 2025

• After more than a decade of relentless drilling in the top U.S. oil-producing basin, the Permian, some areas have hit geological limits while others, yet to be drilled, are not expected to be as prolific as the prime Tier 1 acreage that producers have started to exhaust.
  - Zero Hedge, 31 March 2025

• The Zhōngguó National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has discovered an oil field in the South Zhōngguó Sea with proven reserves exceeding 100 million tons
  - Thomson's Reuters, 30 March 2025

• Global sea ice declines to a new low. The data comes after researchers reported that the past 10 years have been the 10 hottest on record due to global heating.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 29 March 2025

• Some US oil executives see disaster in Trump's economic agenda, while dismissing his "drill, baby, drill" as a "myth and populist rallying cry". In anonymous comments, respondents decried the uncertainty and higher costs of tariffs while predicting that trying to lower crude prices to $50 a barrel would reduce production instead of expand it.
  - Jiaravanon's Fortune, 29 March 2025

• A conservative group is suing for emails of a law professor who helped create legislation to force oil, gas and coal companies to pay for climate damage. The group is tied to the oil/naturalgas/coal industries and the administration of Trump
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 29 March 2025

• Black carbon (from the burning of fuels in many industries): the super pollutant melting the glaciers of Asia. While CO2 gets the spotlight, black carbon's potent, short-lived warming effect is destroying the glaciers of Asia.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 29 March 2025

• Nearly half of the people in the USA have toxic PFAs ('forever chemicals') in their drinking water. The EPA is requiring U.S. water utilities to test for 29 PFAS compounds (out of 9000+ compunds).
  - Scientific American, 28 March 2025

• The non-fossil-fuel power generation capacity of Zhōngguó rises above 2,000 gigawatts for the first time ever, accounting for about 60% of the total installed power capacity of Zhōngguó.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 28 March 2025

• Economic growth now depends on electricity, not oil. Surging demand for electricity presents huge new investment needs as well as regulatory challenges.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 27 March 2025

• Oil executives issued scathing criticism of Trump's policies in anonymous responses to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. They said that Trump's tariffs and his "drill, baby, drill" message are creating uncertainty and making it difficult to plan for future projects. "Trump's chaos is a disaster for the commodity markets." "The threat of $50 oil prices by the administration has caused our firm to reduce its 2025 and 2026 capital expenditures." "Saying 'drill, baby, drill' does not work with $50 per barrel oil. Rigs will get dropped, employment in the oil industry will decrease, and oil production in the USA will decline as it did during COVID-19."
  - Versant's CNBC, 27 March 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices rise above $70 - a 3-week high - after across-the-board inventory drawdowns
  - Zero Hedge, 26 March 2025

• Three energy charts suggest that demand of oil is recovering in Zhōngguó. The bottoming-out of the country's oil imports, rising tanker rates, and private refineries' soaring run rates suggest a turnaround, opening a path for WTI to move above $70.
  - Zero Hedge, 26 March 2025

• Chewing some types of gum can release up to hundreds of thousands of oil-derived microplastics into saliva. Plastic polymer is used as an ingredient in gum. Most, if not all, gum product labels and websites do not disclose what their gum base includes nor how they are processed. Analysis revealed that just 1 gram of chewing gum released approximately 100 microplastics on average, with 1 gram of some gums releasing as many as 637 microplastics. A typical stick of gum can weigh anywhere from 1 gram to several grams, according to various reports. Additionally, 94% of microplastics were released within the first eight minutes of chewing.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 25 March 2025

• Mining giant Fortescue says that the Trump and the Big Oil industry is getting it wrong about renewable energy: "Your customers want green energy". Our customers are saying "we want energy but not at any cost, and if you can give us green energy at the same price as dirty [energy] then we are going to buy green every day".
  - Versant's CNBC, 24 March 2025

• Harold Hamm, the billionaire Christian oligarch who wants to take the USA back to the 1990s, when there was not a renewable energy industry on the rise, to when the fossil fuel industry dominated the energy business. He is a good friend of Trump. He will end-up hurting the USA, along with Trump, by ceding the renewable energy industry to Zhōngguó and other countries .
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 24 March 2025

• Big Oil companies want Trump's help to avoid the financial penalties that tobacco companies faced. The oil industry is asking for Trump's protection against legal challenges.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 24 March 2025

• Frackers, once jubilant, are unnerved by Trump's first weeks in office. Trump's job reductions, taxes/tariffs, and push for lower energy prices are creating a more uncertain world for the oil industry.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 24 March 2025

• Trump says any country buying oil from Venezuela will face a 25% tax/tariff on exports to the USA
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 24 March 2025

• The dependence of Bharat on imports of oil should rise to a record high level in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, as fuel demand in Bharat continues to grow while domestic crude production remains flat. Bharat imported 88% of the crude it consumed in the April 2024-February 2025 period.
  - Zero Hedge, 23 March 2025

• The new head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin, appointed by Trump, , wants to turn the Environmental PROTECTION Agency into a child of the Department of Energy. "We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the USA, and more." That may be the mission of the Department of ENERGY, not the Environmental PROTECTION Agency.
  - Zero Hedge, 23 March 2025

• The fossil fuel industry attacks environmental activists with success. Environmentalists are suffering under Trump's pro-fossil fuel and anti-climate actions, as they suffer big losses in courts to a very well-funded fossil fuel industry
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 21 March 2025

• Oil prices rise 2% after the USA unveils new sanctions on oil tankers owned by companies in Zhōngguó who support Iran's oil exports
  - Zero Hedge, 20 March 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices are not changing much, as inventories of crude oil rise. Meanwhile, retail prices of gasoline decline for the 4th straight week.
  - Zero Hedge, 19 March 2025

• Despite Trump's calls to "drill, baby, drill", oil producers need oil prices at $80/barrel (now at $67 in the USA) to cover the costs of drilling wells. That's non-Trumpian economics.
  - OilPrice.com, 19 March 2025

• Why OPEC+ is supporting a potentially disastrous rise in oil production. Lower oil prices is precisely what Trump wants to see in his second term, but with budget breakeven oil prices much higher than even current levels, many wonder why OPEC+ members are supporting such a disastrous production rise.
  - Zero Hedge, 18 March 2025

• People in Texas suffer health problems due to increased amounts of toxic pollution, as oil and natural gas production increases by energy companies. Millions of Texans now live within striking distance of oil infrastructure -- exposed to airborne chemicals, groundwater contamination and, in extreme cases, sudden, violent failures of aging wells, all of which creates public concern. Fracking is contaminating groundwater that people drink. In the Permian Basin, there are numerous pumpjacks and storage tanks dripping 'produced water', or wastewater resulting from the fracking process, on the soil, sometimes in close proximity to farms. This water can resurface tainted with salt, heavy metals, benzene, toxic 'forever; chemicals, and even radioactive isotopes. Deep injection wells also lubricate faults in the Earth, sometimes causing earthquakes bad enough to crack home walls and foundations. And air pollution can be even worse.
  - Nextstar Media's The Hill, 17 March 2025

• Wall Street braces for oil in $60s range on Trump's tax/tariff war, and volatility due to production volatility with OPEC+
  - Bloomberg, 17 March 2025

• Asia's ability to supply sustainable aviation fuel will outpace regional demand this year and next as more production comes online, increasing exports and potentially lowering prices for the fuel, oil executives and analysts said. Unlike in Europe, where flights departing EU and UK airports must now use 2% SAF in their tanks, Asia's mandated demand remains low with compulsory use of the renewable fuel in some nations to start only later this decade.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 16 March 2025

• Oil companies in Rossiya are using bitcoin and USDT for trade with Zhōngguó and India, despite global sanctions that render such cryptocurrency use yet another illegal activity supoprted by cryptocurrencies
  - Zero Hedge, 15 March 2025

• Oil imports into Zhōngguó from Africa have dropped sharply in recent years, but investments by companies in Zhōngguó in liquified natural gas are booming, both to Zhōngguó meet its swelling demand and to cut its reliance on natural gas from Australia.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 15 March 2025

• Wildfires quickly spread across Texas and Oklahoma. The wildfires are fueled by dry conditions due to global heating caused by the burning of the oil and natural gas produced ... in Texas and Oklahoma.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 15 March 2025

• "Microplastics are hindering photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert energy from the sun into the fruit and vegetables we eat." The results of this study indicate that millions could be exposed to food shortages in the near future.
  - The Cool Down, 14 March 2025

• Global sea level rose faster than expected in 2024, due to global heating caused by the burning of oil, gasoline, coal and natural gas.
  - Disney's ABC News, 14 March 2025

• Trump taxes/tariffs threat are pushing the largest oil producing province in Canada, Alberta, to reduce its dependence on sales to the USA. Most of Canada's oil exported to the USA is from Alberta. Now companies there want to increase their sales to other countries, such as in Asia or Europe
  - Versant's CNBC, 13 March 2025

• Trump orders the Interior Department to suspend 20 Biden-era legal opinions, including one leading to fines against energy companies if birds die in oil spills or other industrial activities, weakening protection for birds.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 March 2025

• Microplastics derived from oil may be creating antibiotic-resistance superbacteria. His team studied how the common bacteria E. coli reacted in a closed environment with microplastics. The bacteria attached to and colonized the plastics, as they do to any surface, creating a slimy, complex coating called a biofilm. Biofilms protect bacteria from environmental stressors, antibiotics and immune responses. The biofilms on microplastics turned out to be stronger and thicker than those observed on other materials, like glass. The rate of antibiotic resistance on the microplastics was also much higher.
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 11 March 2025

• Microplastics derived from oil hinder plant photosynthesis, study finds, threatening millions with starvation. Researchers say problem could increase number of people at risk of starvation by 400 million in next two decades.
  - The Guardian, 11 March 2025

• On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected a lawsuit by Republican attorneys general that aimed at blocking left-wing lawsuits targeting energy companies for their alleged role in contributing to "global heating". The general claim by these lawsuits is that energy companies allegedly misled the public as to the environmental impact of their operations and products.
  - Zero Hedge, 11 March 2025

• Climate change and global heating, due to the burning of fossil fuels, caused heat waves in South Sudan to appear 10-times more often. For the last three weeks, extreme heat has settled over a large region of continental Eastern Africa, including parts of Kenya and Uganda. Residents have been told to stay indoors and drink water, a difficult directive for countries where many people work outdoors, electricity is sporadic, access to clean water is difficult and modest housing means there are few cooling systems.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 March 2025

• The expansion of artificial intelligence capabilities will augment the already significant algorithmic trading in oil futures markets, Vitol Group Chief Executive Officer Russell Hardy said
  - Bloomberg, 10 March 2025

• $283,000,000 - Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras said on Friday its board approved an agreement to settle a U.S. court dispute with EIG Energy Fund XIV, including a $283 million payment by the Brazilian company. The case is related to EIG's investment in FIP Sondas, a former shareholder of drillship company Sete Brasil.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 07 March 2025

• The USA considers a plan to disrupt oil shipments from Iran with interventions by the USA in international waters
  - Zero Hedge, 06 March 2025

• Half of the CO2 emissions in the world come from 36 fossil fuel firms that are heavily subsidized by governments. Researchers say data strengthens case for holding firms to account for their contribution to climate crisis, instead of socialistically making taxpayers pay for remediation to fight global heating. The ten biggest oil companies impacting the environment are: [state-owned] Aramco, Coal India, CHN Energy, NIOC and Jinneng Group; (rich investor owned): ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, BP.
  - The Guardian, 05 March 2025

• Prices of Brent crude oil crash to the low prices of 2021 after a surprise increase in inventories in the USA at Cushing Hub, the fourth straight week of rising inventories
  - Zero Hedge, 05 March 2025

• Oil prices decline on worries about Trump's taxes/tariffs and increases in output by members of OPEC
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 March 2025

• The European Union spent more money on energy from Rossiya than aid to Ukraine, in 2024. "A quarter of Russia's fossil fuel export revenues still come from Europe."
  - Zero Hedge, 05 March 2025

• Trump's taxes/tariffs are raising costs for one of his favorite industries: oil. The cost of steel pipe used to line oil and gas wells rose after Trump said he would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Oil refineries are separately bracing for a tariff on Canadian oil, which some of them need to produce gasoline, diesel and other fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 March 2025

• Rossiya struggles to offload cargos of oil due to sanctions imposed by the USA
  - Zero Hedge, 04 March 2025

• Trump orders his administration to give Chevron 30 days to close its operations in Venezuela, squeezing the authoritarian Nicolas Maduro. Chevron has ramped up production in recent years to supply about 20% of the oil output of Venezuela, helping tame sky-high inflation and inject hard currency into the country's private sector.
  - Bloomberg, 04 March 2025

• Trump orders his administration to give Chevron 30 days to close its operations in Venezuela, squeezing the authoritarian Nicolas Maduro. Chevron has ramped up production in recent years to supply about 20% of the oil output of Venezuela, helping tame sky-high inflation and inject hard currency into the country's private sector.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 04 March 2025

• Global heating and rising temperatures are scrambling the base of the ocean food web. Scientists are gaining new insights into how plankton supports life on Earth -- just as global heating caused by fossil fuels is changing everything.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 04 March 2025

• The Washington power broker embroiled in a global hacking scandal. Justin Peterson, a strategist and lobbyist, is alleged to have sought dirt on environmentalist critics of Exxon Mobil.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 04 March 2025

• The oil giant of Saudi Arabia, Aramco, posts drop in full-year profit (from $121 billion to $106 billion), and slashes dividend. The dividend, the highest in the world, has played a key role in strengthenin Saudi Arabia's state coffers. The announced cut will hit the budget deficit for Saudi Arabia.
  - Versant's CNBC, 04 March 2025

• The oil giant of Saudi Arabia, Aramco, posts drop in full-year profit (from $121 billion to $106 billion), and slashes dividend. The dividend, the highest in the world, has played a key role in strengthenin Saudi Arabia's state coffers. The announced cut will hit the budget deficit for Saudi Arabia.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 04 March 2025

• Oil prices plunge as OPEC+ confirms increases in oil output amid pressure from Trump
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2025

• The clean energy revolution is unstoppable. Trump is determined to promote fossil fuels, but the economic and technological forces driving solar, wind and other sources are now too powerful to resist.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 01 March 2025

• "Liar's Poker" : Trump revokes oil licenses to Venezuela after Maduro failed to take enough immigrants back
  - Zero Hedge, 26 February 2025

• "Liar's Poker" : Trump revokes oil licenses to Venezuela after Maduro failed to take enough immigrants back
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 26 February 2025

• "Liar's Poker" : Trump revokes oil licenses to Venezuela after Maduro failed to take enough immigrants back
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 February 2025

• Petrobras announces $1.6 billion payout after a surprise loss
  - Bloomberg, 26 February 2025

• A new report reveals that tap water in the USA is delivering harmful chemicals like PFAs ("forever chemicals"), heavy metals, and radioactive substances to millions of Americans -- often at levels far beyond what scientists consider safe. The latest update to the Tap Water Database, from the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG), reveals that 324 contaminants were found in drinking water systems across the country, with almost all systems having some amount of detectable contaminants in its water.
  - Jiaravanon's Fortune, 26 February 2025

• Trump authorizes the head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin, to fire up to 65 percent of the people at the EPA, which protects the Earth. Lee Zeldin, has also reportedly recommended that the White House end its 2009 "endangerment finding" that that climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is a danger to human health.
  - Nextstar Media's The Hill, 26 February 2025

• Trump authorizes the head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin, to seize $2 billion in federal grant money from a coalition of nonprofits that includes Habitat for Humanity. The money is set to be used to build thousands of affordable, energy-efficient houses by Power Forward Communities, an umbrella organization for five nonprofits including Habitat for Humanity and United Way .
  - The Daily Beast, 26 February 2025

• Oil major BP to slash renewable spending and double down on fossil fuels in strategy reset, announcing plans to increase annual oil and gas investment to $10 billion through 2027 as part of a fundamental strategic reset
  - Versant's CNBC, 26 February 2025

• Oil major BP to slash renewable spending and double down on fossil fuels in strategy reset, announcing plans to increase annual oil and gas investment to $10 billion through 2027 as part of a fundamental strategic reset
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 February 2025

• Antioxidants in fruits and flowers seem to counteract harmful effects of microplastics derived from oil. Anthocyanins in nuts, fruits and vegetables seem to lessen harmful effects of microplastics on reproductive systems.
  - The Guardian, 24 February 2025

• In an oil industry effort to destroy Greenpeace, a critic, the owner of Dakota Access Pipeline is suing Greenpeace, claiming the environmental group masterminded protests that hurt the company's business . Losing could bankrupt Greenpeace. The CEO of Energy Transfer (owner of the pipeline) is a strong supporter of Trump.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 24 February 2025

• The richest man in Africa and his $20 billion oil refinery from hell. After making billions in cement, Nigerian Aliko Dangote is tackling oil and corruption in his quest to become the 'Rockefeller' of Africa.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 24 February 2025

• Oil and natural gas companies are lobbying the Trump administration to keep their subsidies for hydrogen, despite Trump's ambition to destroy Biden-era climate incentives.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 22 February 2025

• Trump orders government agencies to fast-track hundreds of global-heating-causing fossil fuel projects, with Trump using the lie that there is a national energy emergency.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 February 2025

• How Trump's 10% tax/tariff on oil imports from Canada would hit the heartland of the USA, including the heartland that voted for him. The 10 percent tariff the president said he might impose in March could cause refineries in the USA to cut production and lead to higher prices. No matter how much oil the United States pumps, its refineries were designed to run on a blend of different types of oil. Many cannot function well without the darker, denser, cheaper crude that is hard to find domestically. Canada is flush with that oil, known as heavy crude. Industry is not happy. In a sign that Trump heard the industry, which gave/bribed more than $75 million to his campaign, he lowered the planned tariff on Canadian energy imports to 10 percent, from 25 percent.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 February 2025

• The European Union is prepared to impose new sanctions on vessels transporting illegal oil from Rossiya, but Trump has yet to say if the USA will participate in these actions against Trump's authoritarian buddy, Vladimir Putin.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 18 February 2025

• Zhōngguó unveils the world's first oil production ship with carbon capture facilities. The floating production storage and offloading unit carries technology designed to mitigate its environmental impact.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 16 February 2025

• Rates of shipping of crude oil from Rossiya to Bharat surge 20% amid sanctions
  - Zero Hedge, 14 February 2025

• Eating from takeout containers made from oil-derived plastics can increase the risk of congestive heart failure. Chemicals that leach from the plastic causes changes to the gut biome that cause inflammation that damages the circulatory system.
  - The Guardian, 12 February 2025

• West Texas oil prices continue losses after the third straight week of increased supply
  - Zero Hedge, 12 February 2025

• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway buys more shares of Occidental after its stock price declines 30% since April 2024. Berkshire now owns 28% of Occidental.
  - Versant's CNBC, 12 February 2025

• Chevron will fire up to 20% of its workforce as part of a plan to slash costs by between $2 billion and $3 billion by the end of 2026
  - Versant's CNBC, 12 February 2025

• BP vows a "fundamental reset" in strategy as profit plunges. The energy giant was vague on details, but analysts say the changes is likely to include less spending on renewable sources and a bigger investment in oil and natural gas production.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 February 2025

• BP vows a "fundamental reset" in strategy as profit plunges. The energy giant was vague on details, but analysts say the changes is likely to include less spending on renewable sources and a bigger investment in oil and natural gas production.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 February 2025

• Demand for oil in Europe is predicted to spike as natural gas prices surge beyond $100/barrel-equivalent, which makes burning oil more cost-effective than using natural gas
  - Zero Hedge, 11 February 2025

• Shares of BP rise 7% after activist hedge fund Elliott Management builds a stake in British oil major BP and will push for transformational changes to improve the performance of the company. Currently, BP's market value of around $87 billion is less than half of Shell's and less than one-fifth of Exxon's.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 February 2025

• "Recycling" plastic makes things worse. A lot of plastic collected for recycling is not economical enough to be recycled, so recyclers just dispose of the plastic in landfills, defeating the purpose of collecting the plastic.
  - Zero Hedge, 07 February 2025

• Selling Citgo, the oil company owned by Venezuela, is proving a tough purchase for bidders. The coming auction for Citgo Petroleum could leave its buyer on the hook to other creditors of Venezuela, a stumbling block for the court-ordered sale.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 February 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices extend their losses after the biggest increase in crude oil inventories in a year
  - Zero Hedge, 05 February 2025

• The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, ordered the state-run oil company Ecopetrol to cancel a joint venture with a USA-owned company, Occidental Petroleum, that was expected to produce around 90,000 barrels of oil per day. The joint venture was drilling in the Permian basin in the USA.
  - Associated Press, 04 February 2025

• Oil prices spike after Trump issues executive order to apply "maximum pressure" on Iran with an aim of driving its "oil exports to zero", which will make Israel.
  - Zero Hedge, 04 February 2025

• Frackers in the USA, and officials in Saudi Arabia, tell Trump that they will not drill for more oil. Trump says lower prices could solve a range of problems, but finds early resistance in the oil market, which wants higher prices.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 04 February 2025

• Oil prices rise as Trump's taxes/tariffs raise supply fears. Oil prices jumped on concerns that Trump's taxes/tariffs against its major trade partners could disrupt supplies and raise prices for gasoline.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 04 February 2025

• Ukraine launched another large-scale drone attack on territory in Rossiya overnight targeting oil refineries and infrastructure. Drones reportedly struck an oil refinery in the southern Volgograd region as part of the larger attack. Infrastructure in the southern Astrakhan region was also targeted, including gas facilities.
  - Zero Hedge, 03 February 2025

• Is the war machine of Rossiya finally facing bankruptcy? Moscow's wealth fund is being depleted after three years of war -- and signs of fragility are starting to emerge. Interest rates are 21%, inflation is around 10%, and there are acute labor shortages.
  - Barclay's The Telegraph, 03 February 2025

• Cognitively normal human brain samples collected at autopsy in early 2024 contained more tiny shards of oil-derived plastic than samples collected eight years prior, according to a new study. Overall, cadaver brain samples contained seven to 30 times more tiny shards of oil-derived plastic than their kidneys and liver. "The concentrations we saw in the brain tissue of normal individuals, who had an average age of around 45 or 50 years old, were 4,800 micrograms per gram, or 0.48% by weight." That is the equivalent of an entire standard plastic spoon. Finding higher levels of microplastics in human tissues today "makes sense" because plastic manufacture, plastic pollution and human exposure to plastics have all been increasing rapidly.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 February 2025

• Exxon and Chevron yearly profits down as investor payouts hit fresh highs. Annual profits fell, but the oil giants made record distributions to shareholders as production rose to historic levels in key regions.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 01 February 2025

• DeepSeek hit energy stocks such as Vistra. Many of these stocks are still expensive. Even after week's losses with Nasdaq companies, few AI-related power stocks look like bargains.
  - Barron's, 01 February 2025

• Executives in the oil and natural gas industries welcomed Trump's early moves on energy policy , but many said they did not plan to increase production unless prices rose significantly. The oil industry is thrilled by Trump's executive orders, which are designed to make life harder for renewable energy companies and easier for oil, gas and pipeline businesses. The oil and natural gas industries, are happy to see Trump loosen the rules that govern extracting, transporting and exporting fuels while kneecapping the competition, including wind turbines, electric vehicles and other low-emissions technologies.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 31 January 2025

• Trump's threatened taxes/tariffs on oil imports will not significantly hurt oil companies in Canada. The USA has become reliant on their crude, and Canada has ways to limit any financial hit.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 31 January 2025

• Trump says 25% taxes/tariffs on México and Canada may not include oil
  - Versant's CNBC, 31 January 2025

• Shell keeps $3.5 billion buyback amid earnings miss. Shell's adjusted earnings fell more than expected, weighed by lower oil prices and refining margins.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 31 January 2025

• Microplastics in placentas linked to premature births. Tiny plastic pollution more than 50% higher in placentas from preterm births than in those from full-term births. But at least rich people are getting richer from the sales of oil-based plastics.
  - The Guardian, 30 January 2025

• Oil traders are making big moves in the Brent-Dubai spread, a contract that lets them bet on the price gap between Middle Eastern crude and global benchmark Brent. The action has hit record levels, thanks to U.S. sanctions on Russian oil that are forcing buyers to look elsewhere for supply, with the situation presenting a lucrative opportunity for traders willing to play.
  - OilPrice.com, 30 January 2025

• Attacks by Ukraine using drones disrupt key oil export route for Rossiya near Andreapol
  - OilPrice.com, 30 January 2025

• Bharat is looking to expand its investments in the mining, gas and oil sectors of Argentina, with a focus on lithium, to secure resources needed for the energy transition in Bharat
  - Thomson's Reuters, 29 January 2025

• Insurance companies are financing oil and natural gas -- even as climate change is pummeling their bottom line. Insurers have long been aware of the risk of climate change, and yet in the USA, the insurance companies have done little to help mitigate the causes of climate change and global heating.
  - Fast Company, 29 January 2025

• Why oil industry jobs are down, even with production up. The industry is pumping ever more oil and natural gas, but it is doing so with only about three-quarters as many workers as it employed a decade ago.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 28 January 2025

• A storm, an oil spill and a disaster for the beaches of the Black Sea. Vast stretches of the coastline of Rossiya have been tarred by heavy fuel oil from two freighters that foundered in a storm.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 27 January 2025

• Trump allows many lobbyists from the oil, natural gas and chemical industries - polluters of the environment - to be appointed to the Environmental PROTECTION Agency .
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 26 January 2025

• Oil, coal and natural gas companies should help pay for the costliest wildfires the history of the USA now occurring in Los Angeles. Coal, oil and gas companies that have contributed substantially to the conditions fueling this and other climate disasters. Major oil and gas companies have known for decades that burning their products could lead to "potentially catastrophic events", like the higher temperatures and abnormally dry conditions that fed the fires still being battled in Los Angeles. Exxon scientists warned about this internally starting in the 1970s. Instead of disclosing these risks, big oil companies deliberately misled the public, policymakers and investors. According to a years-long congressional investigation, even as these companies publicly pledged to meaningfully contribute to a transition away from fossil fuels, they were privately working to continue production for decades to come.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 25 January 2025

• Insider-selling soars as SP500 hits record high; gold and cryptocurrencies jump as dollar and crude oil prices decline
  - Zero Hedge, 24 January 2025

• West Texas crude oil prices decline on comments by Trump, while ignoring the 9th straight week of crude oil drawdowns
  - Zero Hedge, 23 January 2025

• The growth of the electric vehicle industry in Zhōngguó has been extraordinary. More than half of new cars sold are electric, putting the world's largest automarket on a path to all but erase gas-powered cars over the coming decades. Zhōngguó accounted for more than 60% of global electric car sales in 2024. Zhōngguó's EV revolution and successes helps cement its dominance in clean technology and its claim on global climate leadership, just as the administration of Trump doubles down on planet-heating fossil fuels and demonizes clean energy. The IEA predicts global oil demand is going to level off at the end of this decade and start declining in the 2030s, with EVs playing a big role in this downward trend.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 23 January 2025

• Two industry executives join the EPA to help oversee chemical regulations. Nancy Beck and Lynn Ann Dekleva worked in the first Trump administration, where they fought chemical restrictions. Beck rewrote rules, for example, that made it harder to track the health consequences of a "forever chemical" linked to cancer, and therefore to regulate it. She also helped scale back proposed bans on other substances like asbestos and methylene chloride, a harmful chemical found in paint thinners. Under Dekleva, EPA were pushed to approve new chemicals based on less stringent assessments and were retaliated against if they raised concerns.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 23 January 2025

• Sanctions imposed by the USA could hit 1.5 million barrels/day of oil exports from Rossiya. One week into the latest -- and most aggressive yet -- USA sanctions on oil exports from Rossiya, buyers in Asia of crude oil from Rossiya are scrambling for alternative supply.
  - Zero Hedge, 22 January 2025

• Trump wants to stop buying oil from Venezuela. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Venezuela is "governed by a narco-trafficking organization".
  - Zero Hedge, 22 January 2025

• Islamic Iran is experiencing a systemic energy crisis. While many times in the past, Islamic Iran has had gas shortages or refined product shortages, this time Iran is undergoing an energy meltdown, with parallel shortages of electricity, natural gas and refined products. Islamic Iran holds the world's second largest natural gas reserves and is the fourth-largest holder of oil reserves globally. With 300 sunny days annually, vast coastal and mountainous windy regions, the country also has strong wind and solar potential. Yet, Iran faces a constant 20% electricity deficit, a 25% natural gas deficit, and severe shortages of petroleum products, especially gasoline. For years, the Islamic leaders of Iran have seen the energy crisis coming but took no meaningful steps to avert it.
  - Zero Hedge, 22 January 2025

• Trump, issues executive orders designed to stop the country from tranisitioning to renewable energy. This will also benefit Zhōngguó as it successfully takes control of another global industry.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 January 2025

• Renewable energy giants shrug off Trump's anti-wind energy policies: "Electrification is absolutely unstoppable."
  - Versant's CNBC, 22 January 2025

• How a Trump trade war puts at risk cheap oil from Canada. The cheap Canadian oil America craves is becoming a key bargaining chip in Trump's threatened trade war.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 22 January 2025

• Trump announces the withdrawal of the USA from the Paris climate agreement - again, an international climate change treaty in which nearly 200 countries agreed to work together to limit global heating. The head of the Agreement argues this is worse for the USA, including economically, in that the clean energy boom taking place around the world, valued at $2 trillion last year and rising, and warned that countries that don't embrace it will be left behind. "Ignoring it only sends all that vast wealth to competitor economies, while climate disasters like droughts, wildfires and superstorms keep getting worse, destroying property and businesses, hitting nation-wide food production, and driving economy-wide price inflation."
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 21 January 2025

• Trump announces the withdrawal of the USA from the Paris climate agreement - again, an international climate change treaty in which nearly 200 countries agreed to work together to limit global heating. The head of the Agreement argues this is worse for the USA, including economically, in that the clean energy boom taking place around the world, valued at $2 trillion last year and rising, and warned that countries that don't embrace it will be left behind. "Ignoring it only sends all that vast wealth to competitor economies, while climate disasters like droughts, wildfires and superstorms keep getting worse, destroying property and businesses, hitting nation-wide food production, and driving economy-wide price inflation."
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 21 January 2025

• Trump announces that he is declaring an energy emergency, will increase drilling for oil and natural gas, and end support for electric cars (giving another industry to Zhōngguó, and a giving a return to Elon Musk on his donations to the Trump campaign). Trump's pivot to oil and natural gas follows the hottest year in recorded history.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 21 January 2025

• Prices of crude oil decline more than 2% as Trump considers new taxes/tariffs while aiming to boost oil production
  - Versant's CNBC, 21 January 2025

• Good news for bullish oil traders: Trump vows to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve "right to the top", while major refiners Zhōngguó rush to buy crude from the Middle East, Africa and the Americas to make up for the loss of from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 20 January 2025

• Extreme cold and snow in parts of Texas places the state's power grid on 'red alert'
  - Zero Hedge, 20 January 2025

• The electric power grid of France in 2024 relied 95% on nuclear and renewable energy sources
  - Bloomberg, 20 January 2025

• The European Union plans to ban oil-derived "forever chemicals" in consumer products. Lawsuits in the USA have yielded settlements worth more than $11 billion involving companies selling "forever chemicals" including 3M and Chemours over issues of water contamination.
  - Zero Hedge, 20 January 2025

• The USA, the world's largest polluter of plastics derived from oil, recycles a mere 5% of its household plastic waste. Around the world, the situation is slightly better, but a staggering 91% of waste due to plastics derived from oil is still incinerated, landfilled, or mismanaged (e.g. dumped into the ocean).
  - Zero Hedge, 18 January 2025

• South Korea considers increasing its purchases of oil and natural gas from the USA to appease Trump
  - Zero Hedge, 18 January 2025

• Oil prices are up, but oil stock prices are not. Why energy markets have gotten so unpredictable.
  - Barron's, 18 January 2025

• Shares of SLB (formerly Schlumberger) rise 6% after the oilfield services giant announced a $2.3 billion stock buyback, bumped dividend payouts higher and reported quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street predictions.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 17 January 2025

• Output from oil refineries in Zhōngguó declined for the first time in over 20 years. Oil demand in Zhōngguó was lackluster in 2024, with consumption growth slowed, due to weaker economic performance and a shift to electric vehicles and LNG-fueled trucks.
  - Zero Hedge, 17 January 2025

• British oil company BP to fire 4700 people as part of a major effort to reduce costs. BP will also fire 3000 contractors.
  - Versant's CNBC, 16 January 2025

• A benign inflation report and bullish bank earnings sparks a short-squeeze across all assets: gold, bitcoin, stocks, bonds and oil rise higher in price as the dollar dips in value
  - Zero Hedge, 15 January 2025

• "Oil is no longer an energy security challenge -- it is going to be natural gas, electricity, predominantly rare earth minerals", of which Zhōngguó controls roughly 60% of the world's production
  - Versant's CNBC, 15 January 2025

• Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced a new mineral investment project valued at $100 billion, with $20 billion already in the final engineering phase or under construction. Saudi Arabia last year increased the valuation of its unexploited mineral resources from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion, boosted by the discovery of rare earth elements and metals.
  - Versant's CNBC, 15 January 2025

• In a first, the EPA issues warnings for "forever chemical" (oil-derived plastics) in sludge fertilizer. Levels of PFAs in sewage sludge used as fertilizer can pose risks that sometimes exceed safety thresholds "be several orders of magnitude".
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 15 January 2025

• In a 'parting gift' to Trump, President Biden sends oil prices soaring with sanctions on Rossiya, days before Trump's inauguration, something Biden refused to do when Rossiya first invaded the Ukraine.
  - Zero Hedge, 13 January 2025

• The Supreme Court of the USA declined on Monday to hear a bid by Sunoco and other oil companies to scuttle a lawsuit by Honolulu accusing them of misleading the public for decades about the dangers of climate change induced by the burning of fossils fuels. Time for the companies to pay their fair share from their profits.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 13 January 2025

• WSJ editorial argues that "Trump speaks truth to wind power. He says wind farms only work because of subsidies. He is right". Trump is right only to the extent that the fossil fuel industry only works because of subsidies and from not having to pay for the environment harm their products (including plastics) cause. So the Journal should not complain about subsidies for wind power.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 January 2025

• Constellation Energy's deal to buy Calpine for $16.4 billion is being driven by fast-rising demand for electricity in part by the technology industry's investments in AI
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 January 2025

• Constellation Energy's deal to buy Calpine for $16.4 billion is being driven by fast-rising demand for electricity in part by the technology industry's investments in AI to destroy paid human jobs
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 January 2025

• Oil surges to 3-month highs as the USA escalates its sanctions on the oil industry in Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 10 January 2025

• Oil prices jumped on Friday as the USA Treasury Department announced sweeping sanctions against the oil industry of Rossiya. Brent gained $2.84, or 3.69%, to close at $79.76 per barrel, while U.S. crude oil advanced $2.65, or 3.58%, to settle at $76.57 per barrel. Brent broke $80 per barrel for the first time since October earlier in day, hitting a session high of $80.75.
  - Versant's CNBC, 10 January 2025

• 2024 was the first year above 1.5 degress Centigrade of global heating above pre-industrial times, due to the burning of oil, coal and natural gas
  - Thomson's Reuters, 09 January 2025

• Ukraine successfully attacks an important fuel depot in Engels crucial to the victory plans of Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 09 January 2025

• Trump wants oil drilling in Alaska . But a lease sale there just failed. No companies bid for the chance to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It was the second auction in four years that failed to draw strong interest.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 January 2025

• The executives at Exxon Mobil sue the Attorney General of California, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups on Monday, alleging that they conspired to defame the oil giant and kneecap its business prospects amid a debate over whether oil-derived plastics can be recycled effectively.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 January 2025

• Thailand has banned plastic waste imports over concerns about toxic pollution, as experts warn that failure to agree a global treaty to cut plastic waste will harm human health. Thailand is one of several south-east Asian countries that has historically been paid to receive plastic waste from developed nations who refuse to penalize the producers and users of plastic. Thailand became a leading destination for exports of plastic waste from Europe, the USA, the UK and Nihon.
  - The Guardian, 07 January 2025

• The plastics industry in the USA has no responsibility for what happens to the bottles and containers after production, the plastic product sellers have no esponsibility for what happens to the bottle after it's sold, and the consumer who tosses it in the river after consuming the contents has no responsibility for what happens to the bottle once they're done consuming the product. The only possible result of this system is self-destruction. Consider the Great Pacific Garbage Gyre, the poetic name for a floating mass of plastic and other waste generated by the "growth at any cost" global economy roughly the size of Texas. (See chart below.) This is not the only garbage patch in the planet's oceans; it's merely one of the biggest. Harmless? No. Nor are harmless the 'forever' chemicals, the depleted freshwater aquifers, the mountains of electronic and other waste leaking toxic sludge and the rest of the consequences of a system that is blind to everything but "growth at any cost" self-interest .
  - Zero Hedge, 04 January 2025

• Coca-Cola is under fire for drastically reducing its sustainability goals. This is a big blow to the environment, as the company has long been one of the top plastic polluters in the world. Coca-Cola announced it will try to use 35% to 40% recycled material in its packaging by 2035. This might sound good, but it previously pledged to use 50% recycled material by 2030. The company also announced drastic reductions to its recycling pledges. After stating it wanted to recycle every bottle it produced by 2030, it says it will recycle only 70% to 75% of bottles and cans.
  - The Cool Down, 03 January 2025

• Big Tech stocks drop in price on the first trading day of 2025, while bitcoin, gold and oil rise in price
  - Zero Hedge, 02 January 2025

• Biologists in Florida are closely monitoring how alligators in the Everglades are responding to rising global temperatures due to burning of fossil fuels. Since the 1970s, researchers have documented erosion that is changing the nesting patterns of this reptile along the coast of the southern Everglades and in Florida Bay. Croc Docs team member Sergio Balaguera-Reina believes the overheating of our planet will make the situation worse - bad for the crocodiles .
  - The Cool Down, 31 December 2024

• Progress on fighting global heating pretty much halted in 2024, due to the efforts and obstacles created by one Islamic country, oil-dependent Saudi Arabia. For years, the oil-rich Islamic kingdom has been accused of using its vast resources and savvy negotiating tactics to push against and delay climate progress, but multiple experts say this year it has been bolder than ever. "The Saudis are blocking everything." to help fight global heating, much caused by burning oil. At the COP29 talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, last month, Saudi negotiators explicitly rejected any mention of fossil fuels in the final agreement. They got their way: The summit ended with a $300 billion finance deal for developing countries, heavily criticized as insufficient, and no recommitment to move away from oil, coal and gas.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 31 December 2024

• According to an October 2024 study published in Nature Geoscience, vegetation is taking over the Antarctic Peninsula, turning its edges into a verdant landscape. This is an ominous warning of faster vegetation growth that evidences the effects of global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - SF Gate, 30 December 2024

• The soft agricultural market has seen a rollercoaster of performances, with orange juice, cocoa, cattle, and coffee hitting record highs amid persistent global supply concerns. These trends show little sign of abating and are expected to continue into 2025. According to Javier Blass, a columnist for Bloomberg, "Order your espresso now. It will be more expensive in 2025, and anyone trading energy and commodity markets into the new year will need caffeine to survive."
  - Zero Hedge, 30 December 2024

• The EPA promotes toxic fertilizer. But 3M told the EPA of the risks to people years ago. The EPA obtained research from 3M in 2003 revealing that sewage sludge, the raw material for the fertilizer, carried "forevr chemicals" derived from oil. Research at 3M had already linked exposure to birth defects, cancer and more of the toxic sewage used as fertilizer on farmland nationwide, a practice encouraged by the EPA. The presence of PFAS in the sewage meant those chemicals were being unwittingly spread on fields across the country. Today, the EPA continues to promote sewage sludge as fertilizer and does not require testing for PFAS, despite the fact that whistle-blowers, academics, state officials and the agency's internal studies over the years have also raised contamination concerns. In 2003, the EPA eliminated the job of the scientist at the agency investigating this health threat to humans.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 29 December 2024

• A test of plastic chemicals in 300 foods bought in the San Francisco Bay area found: plastic chemicals in 86% of all foods, with phthalates in 73% of the tested products and bisphenols in 22%; and detected phthalates in most baby foods and prenatal vitamins. And sadly for humans, almost every single one of the foods we tested satoisfy both USA FDA and EU EFSA regulations.
  - Zero Hedge, 28 December 2024

• Can the insurance industry survive global heating due to fossil fuel burning? In one scenario, vulnerable parts of the world become completely uninsurable, and economic and/or natural forces dismantle communities, as natural catastrophes cause more and more multi-billion payouts for insurance claims.
  - Anthropocene, 28 December 2024

• Prices of West Texas crude oil extend gains after another drawdown of crude oil supplies, as inventories at Cushing approach "tank bottoms"
  - Zero Hedge, 27 December 2024

• Maryland is suing the company that produces the waterproof material Gore-Tex often used for raincoats and other outdoor gear, alleging its leaders kept using 'forever chemicals' long after learning about serious health risks associated with them.
  - Associated Press, 27 December 2024

• The state of New York passes a law that will penalize fine fossil fuel companies a total of $75 billion over the next 25 years to pay for damage caused to the climate. The law is intended to capitalistically shift some of the recovery and adaptation costs of climate change from individual taxpayers to oil, gas and coal companies that the law says are liable.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 26 December 2024

• The state of New York passes a law that will penalize fine fossil fuel companies a total of $75 billion over the next 25 years to pay for damage caused to the climate. The law is intended to capitalistically shift some of the socialist recovery and adaptation costs of climate change from individual taxpayers to socialist oil, gas and coal companies that the law says are liable.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 26 December 2024

• Driving an electric vehicle? The Big Oil industry hopes that you do not reduce your use of human-polluting, environmentally-polluting (micro)plastics. The oil-and-gas industry needs plastic production to rise to offset a decline in demand for transport fuel.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 December 2024

• Saudi Arabia becomes the top buyer of fuel oil from , under sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine
  - Zero Hedge, 24 December 2024

• The electric vehicle boom in Zhōngguó is starting to financially hurt oil producing companies. Big, integrated oil companies could face a double whammy from the shift in Zhōngguó's car market. Demand for gasoline and diesel is declining in Zhōngguó as electric vehicles become more popular.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 24 December 2024

• EU-sanctioned sales of oil from Rossiya has not prevented Bulgaria from processing and selling oil from Rossiya delivered by "shadow fleets". The governemtn of Bulgaria has declined to sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, creating a rift with 25 EU member states that have signed similar agreements.
  - Zero Hedge, 23 December 2024

• The energy crisis in oil-rich Iran hits a 'dire point' as industries are forced to shut down. Although Iran has one of the biggest supplies of natural gas and crude oil in the world, it finds itself in a full blown energy emergency, coming just as it also suffers major geopolitical setbacks. The energy crisis is due, in part, to years of sanctions, mismanagement, aging infrastructure, and wasteful consumption. An industry leader said that the situation was catastrophic and unlike anything industries had ever experienced.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 23 December 2024

• Commercial tea bags release millions of oil-derived microplastics, entering human intestinal cells
  - Medical Xpress, 20 December 2024

• Trump said he told the European Union it must reduce its trade gap with the U.S. through oil and gas purchases or face tariffs.
  - Versant's CNBC, 20 December 2024

• Trump said he told the European Union it must reduce its trade gap with the U.S. through oil and gas purchases or face tariffs.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 20 December 2024

• The zero emission regulations in force in California are causing truck shortages and rising costs, according to the trucking and heavy-duty vehicle industry. State officials plan to end traditional combustion truck sales by 2036.
  - Zero Hedge, 18 December 2024

• The Islamic Revolutionary Guard of Iran uses religion to extend its control over the oil exports of Islamic Iran, and now control up to half the exports that generate most of the revenue of the government
  - Thomson's Reuters, 18 December 2024

• Tanker ships are now being fitted with sails to cut carbon footprints. The appeal of sails may grow as shippers transition from oil to pricier, cleaner marine fuels.
  - Zero Hedge, 18 December 2024

• Crude oil shipments from Rossiya decline by 11% in two months. As the UK and the EU have ramped up sanctions on the so-called shadow fleet used by Rossiya to ship its crude oil and petroleum products.
  - Zero Hedge, 17 December 2024

• Trafigura saw its net profit for the financial year 2023/2024 ended on September 30 plunge by 62% as the commodity trading giant recorded a loss of $1.1 billion related to serious misconduct by individuals in its oil business in Mongolia.
  - Zero Hedge, 16 December 2024

• Rossiya agreed to supply Bharat with nearly half a million barrels of discounted oil a day for 10 years in a deal that is worth $13 billion a year at prices today, and amounts to 0.5% of global supply. The deal disproves speculation that Rossiya is leaning towards Zhōngguó at the expense of Bharat in their RIC triangle, which forms the core of BRICS and the SCO.
  - Zero Hedge, 13 December 2024

• Exxon, the largest oil producer in the USA, is designing a natural gas power plant outfitted with carbon capture technology to meet the voracious power demand of technology companies
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 December 2024

• IEA lifts 2025 oil-demand forecast but expects growth to remain subdued. The IEA increased its oil-demand estimates for next year, citing the impact of stimulus measures in Zhōngguó.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 December 2024

• OPEC further reduces its predicts for oil demand after a delay in the increase of output by its members. OPEC reduced its predictions for the fifth consecutive month after further postponing plans to increase output amid softer prices and market concerns over weaker global consumption.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 December 2024

• The demain for oil in Zhōngguó could peak in 2025. Oil demand in Zhōngguó, the world's top crude oil importer, could peak as early as 2025 as the penetration of electric vehicles and LNG trucks is accelerating, state-owned Zhōngguó National Petroleum Corporation said on Tuesday.
  - Zero Hedge, 10 December 2024

• BP will merge its offshore wind-energy business with that of Japanese power-utility JERA to create a standalone company, in line with BP's strategy to focus on its more profitable oil-and-gas operations.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 December 2024

• Oil output in Argentina is predicted to surpass that of Colombia, making Argentina the third largest oil producer in South America after Brazil and Venezuela. In Colombia, natural gas reserves are half of what they were a decade ago and crude reserves have stagnated as President Gustavo Petro shunned oil exploration in favor of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
  - Bloomberg, 09 December 2024

• Trump's selection of the next Secretary of Energy is worrying. Fracking CEO Chris Wright points to positive changes produced by global heating, in contrast with what some oil giants say, and the huge economic damages being caused by global heating.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 December 2024

• The Food and Drug Administration is considering a potential ban on a carcinogenic food dye, Red Dye No. 3, derived from petroleum, commonly found in beverages, snacks, cereals, and candies. No problem, because alternatives are widely available. For example, "Froot Loops" in the USA uses 4 such oil-based dyes, but "Froot Loops" in Canada uses natural coloring agents.
  - Zero Hedge, 07 December 2024

• A trillion-dollar ambition: Saudi Arabia accelerates metal mining plans to reduce its reliance on oil income. Saudi Arabia has signed a slew of deals with companies from Zhōngguó, Bharat and Australia amid growing interest in the massive mineral reserves of Saudia Arabia.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 07 December 2024

• Despite Trump want to "drill, baby, drill", Chevron has reduced by $2 billion the amount of capital expenditure it will allocate for its operations in the Permian Basin next year. Oil companies are wary of it and remain focused on cash and shareholder returns above production growth.
  - OilPrice.com, 06 December 2024

• Chevron on Thursday said it will take up to $1.5 billion in fourth-quarter charges for restructuring, asset impairments and property sales costs related to its oil production business
  - Versant's CNBC, 06 December 2024

• Oil prices fall to a two-week low around $71.20 as OPEC+ fails to allay supply concerns
  - Bloomberg, 06 December 2024

• OPEC+ postpones plan to increase oil output for three months. The oil cartel had aimed to start opening the taps in January, but delayed in the face of weak demand and plans by other countries to raise production.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 December 2024

• Dozens of small trading players and middlemen have recently dropped out of trading crude oil from Rossiya to Bharat, as interest rates in Rossiya and costs to fund trades have soared.
  - OilPrice.com, 05 December 2024

• Carrboro, a town in North Carolina, sues Duke Energy over climate change and global heating. Carrboro accused Duke, one the largest utility companies in the USA, of ignoring data about climate change and global heating while increasing use of fossil fuels, often in disadvantaged communities. The town said that Duke Energy's actions were costing its residents millions of dollars because climate change and global heating had increased damage from floods and other extreme weather - Duke profits by having others pay for the damages.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 December 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices hold their levels, despite a big surprise drawdown in oil inventories
  - Zero Hedge, 04 December 2024

• Coca-Cola is scaling back its packaging sustainability goals, igniting outrage from environmental activists. The beverage company, which has long been criticized for being one of the top producer of plastic pollutants in the world, changed its "voluntary environmental goals" this week. It now aims to use 35% to 40% recycled material in its packaging by 2035 -- a drastic reduction from its previous goal of 50% by 2030. It will further socialize its pollution, profiting more while the public pays for waste disposal.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 04 December 2024

• Zhōngguó to shun oil from Iran on mounting fears of economic sanctions imposed by Trump
  - Zero Hedge, 02 December 2024

• Another useless UN environmental summit. A summit to create a UN plastics treaty collapse without a deal. It was a disappointing conclusion to a summit that many hoped would yield a landmark treaty to tackle a worsening global plastic pollution crisis. At the heart of the disagreement was a refusal by oil-rich nations led by Saudi Arabia to accept a deal that put limits on plastic production. The vast majority of plastic is made from oil or natural gas.
  - Zero Hedge, 01 December 2024

• Another useless UN environmental summit. A summit to create a UN plastics treaty collapse without a deal. It was a disappointing conclusion to a summit that many hoped would yield a landmark treaty to tackle a worsening global plastic pollution crisis. At the heart of the disagreement was a refusal by oil-rich nations led by Saudi Arabia to accept a deal that put limits on plastic production. The vast majority of plastic is made from oil or natural gas.
  - BBC, 01 December 2024

• How Suriname and Guyana plan to share oil and gas wealth with citizens. Suriname will distribute revenues from new oil and gas discoveries among its more than 600,000 citizens - "Royalties for Everyone".
  - Al Jazeera, 30 November 2024

• AI technology is helping oil companies produce more oil at least cost. The machinery in the vast Permian Basin is getting a lot more productive. And notably less noisy. It still is worsening global heating.
  - Barron's, 30 November 2024

• An analysis of satellite photos shows the enormity of a secretive oil shipping hub used to transport oil from Iran to Zhōngguó
  - Zero Hedge, 29 November 2024

• More oil for fewer migrants: Trump is urged to make a deal with the dictatorship in Venezuela. Lobbying efforts push for negotiations with the dictator, Nicolas Maduro, instead of seeking regime change.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 29 November 2024

• Lobbyists/bribeists for the plastics industry comprise the biggest group at vital UN treaty talks that are trying to reduce the huge amount of plastic pollution caused by the industry. Fossil fuel and chemical industry representatives outnumber those of the EU or host country South Korea. The world's largest plastic producers have lobbied repeatedly against caps. Countries with large fossil fuel industries such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran have rejected production cuts and emphasised waste management as the main solution to the crisis, despite the failures of waste management that they do not want to pay for. Two of those five companies, Dow and Exxon Mobil, two of the world's biggest producers of plastic, are among the best represented plastic industry lobbyists at the Busan talks, with five and four delegates respectively.
  - The Guardian, 27 November 2024

• Republicans in oil/coal-loving Texas sue BlackRock and other investment firms for "conspiring" to quash dirty coal as a power source
  - Zero Hedge, 27 November 2024

• Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles in Zhōngguó account for more than half of retail passenger vehicle sales in the four months from July, a trend that is predicted to reduce the demand for transport fuels such as gasoline that will in turn have a major impact on the oil industry. For a global oil market, which has come to rely on Zhōngguó as its main growth driver for most of this century, that will erode a major pillar of consumption.
  - Bloomberg, 27 November 2024

• Contrary to expectations for a self-defeating flood of new energy production under the second Trump admin, Exxon's Upstream President Liam Mallon said that oil and gas producers in the US will not raise output significantly in the coming years despite demands from Trump to "drill, baby, drill". "I think a radical change is unlikely because the vast majority, if not everybody, is primarily focused on the economics of what they are doing", Mallon said on Tuesday at a conference in London.
  - Zero Hedge, 27 November 2024

• The world seeks an end to plastic pollution at talks in South Korea. Many nations hope to reduce the half a billion tons of plastic made each year. But opposition from powerful and rich plastic and oil producers, and Trump's hostility towards the environment, could destroy an agreement.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 26 November 2024

• A giant oil discovery in the Falkland Islands is even bigger than originally thought, it has emerged. An independent report into the North Falkland Basin has upgraded estimates of recoverable oil resources from 791 million barrels to 917 million barrels -- twice the annual output of the entire North Sea.
  - Barclay's The Telegraph, 25 November 2024

• The UK on Monday sanctioned as many as 30 tankers identified as belonging to the 'shadow' fleet of Rossiya that circumvents the Western oil sanctions, in the single largest sanctions package aimed at the 'shadow' fleet of Rossiya and at stifling oil revenues that Putin needs.
  - OilPrice, 25 November 2024

• Trump prepares a wide-ranging plan to refill the national SPR oil reserve, boost oil drilling and LNG exports
  - Zero Hedge, 25 November 2024

• Oil and gold prices slump as Israel's Netanyahu approves, 'in principle', a ceasefire deal in Lebanon
  - Zero Hedge, 25 November 2024

• Gold, oil and copper are all down since the election, even as inflation expectations have risen. Have they lost their ability to offer protection?
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 25 November 2024

• The shirt on your back, the carpet beneath your feet, and the takeout container from last night's dinner share a troubling secret: they are slowly breaking down into invisible particles, microplastics, that are turning up everywhere from the peak of Mount Everest to your bloodstream.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 21 November 2024

• Visualizing 80 years of the gold-to-oil ratio: flat from 1950 to 2010, and then started steadily rising as the Fed printed huge amounts of money for quantitative easing
  - Zero Hedge, 21 November 2024

• Aliko Dangot, the richest man in Nigeria confronts the "oil mafia" of Nigeria, by building a new $20 billion oil refinery. The Dangote Oil Refinery began producing gasoline and selling it domestically to Nigeria's state oil firm, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), marking the first time in decades that the largest oil producer in Africa is refining its own crude. To sweeten the deal further, the facility is buying crude and selling refined fuels in Nigeria in the local currency, saving the country's much-needed foreign exchange, especially the dollar. According to the BBC, since oil was discovered in the West African nation in 1956, the country's downstream sector has largely been a cesspit of shady deals with little accountability by the NNPC.
  - Zero Hedge, 21 November 2024

• Exxon Mobil, heavily criticized for its low level of the recycling of plastic, is spending $200 million to expand its recycling plants in Texas
  - Thomson's Reuters, 21 November 2024

• "Capitalism incarnate" - inside the secret world of McKinsey, the consulting company addicted to consulting for fossil fuel companies. Interviews and analysis of court documents show how the world's most prestigious consulting firm quietly helps fuel the climate crisis. For example, McKinsey has quietly worked on a government program which aims to keep poorer nations hooked on Saudi oil, sources alleged. It is just one example of the firm claiming to help the world move to cleaner energy while quietly advising its clients on boosting fossil fuel production or sales.
  - The Guardian, 20 November 2024

• Oil and chemical companies who created a high-profile alliance (the Alliance to End Plastic Waste) pretend to end plastic pollution have produced 1000 times more new plastic in five years than the waste they diverted from the environment, according to new data obtained by Greenpeace.
  - The Guardian, 20 November 2024

• Crude oil exports decline to a two-month low
  - Zero Hedge, 19 November 2024

• Average fuel prices in the USA are nearing a three year low. "Refineries are struggling under weak crack spreads already, meaning that gasoline demand is anemic, and they are having a hard time finding a home for all the gasoline that they are producing".
  - Zero Hedge, 19 November 2024

• Islamic Saudi Arabia is reportedly "leading a push back" on restating climate commitments to transition away from fossil fuels put into place last year. Saudi Arabia is reportedly using "a mix of delaying tactics and outright blocking maneuvers" to resist commitments to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy.
  - Zero Hedge, 18 November 2024

• Saudi Arabia is a "wrecking ball" in global climate talks. Despite endorsing a transition away from fossil fuels last year, government officials from Saudi Arabia have since worked to undermine it in at least five UN forums, diplomats said. Diplomats say the current Saudi opposition was unlike anything they had seen. It is taking the form of procedural objections that have blocked almost every set of talks, whether on carbon markets, decarbonization, or scientific research. Saudi diplomats have blocked negotiating texts, some of which were years in the making, from being allowed to move forward and, in at least one case, flatly refused to join meetings.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 18 November 2024

• Shares of Liberty Energy rise 5% premarket, after Trump picks its CEO, Chris Wright, as the next Secretary of Energy. Wright has denied that global heating is a global crisis that requires a transition away from fossil fuels that has made him very rich.
  - Versant's CNBC, 18 November 2024

• Scientists in Zhōngguó have developed a significantly more efficient system for separating oil and water in complex emulsions, which could transform the sustainability of waste water treatments and other industrial applications. The researchers achieved simultaneous oil and water recovery of up to 97 per cent and 75 per cent, respectively, with purity levels approaching 99.9 per cent for both.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 17 November 2024

• Inflation may not be tamed. Commodities can protect you. If prices start rising again, copper, corn, and oil could offer protection.
  - Barron's, 16 November 2024

• A new report forecasts temperature increases due to global heating well above the level that world leaders have pledged to avoid. The report by the Climate Action Tracker, a research group, estimates that the climate and energy policies currently pursued by governments around the world would cause global temperatures to rise roughly 2.7 degrees Celsius, or 4.9 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2100. The lie of the 2015 Paris Agreement was a goal of 1.5 to 2.0 degress Celsius. The world is still heading for significant warming because global energy demand is growing faster than clean energy is expanding, which means fossil fuel use has been rising to fill the gap.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 15 November 2024

• Global carbon dioxide emissions, a big cause of global heating, are rising to record highs. Countries promised to move away from coal, oil and natural gas at last year's waste-of-time summit. New research shows that many countries are burning more fossil fuels than ever before.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 November 2024

• Peso colombiano cayó por preocupaciones de presupuesto, y oscilaciones del petróleo
  - La Republica, 13 November 2024

• The Colombian peso declines on national budget concerns and swings in oil prices. The peso fell as much as 2% on Wednesday to an 18-month low.
  - Bloomberg, 13 November 2024

• Ecopetrol, the state-owned oil company in Colombia, reports that its 3rd quarter profits declined 28%
  - Thomson's Reuters, 13 November 2024

• OPEC+ faces two economic challenges: weakening demand for oil in Zhōngguó, and the energy policies of Trump
  - Zero Hedge, 13 November 2024

• OPEC slashes oil demand growth estimate again (for the 4th straight month). OPEC now expects global oil demand to grow by 1.82 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, down by 107,000 bpd from last month's assessment.
  - Zero Hedge, 13 November 2024

• Even as Earth sets new records for global heating, people this year is pumping 330 million tons (300 million metric tons) more carbon dioxide into the air by burning fossil fuels than it did last year, with Zhōngguó leading the world in carbon emissions, exploiting its opportunity to grow its economy burning fossil fuels as did Europe and North America
  - Associated Press, 12 November 2024

• An appeals court in the Netherlands has ruled that Shell oil company can continue to pollute, and is not obliged to dramatically reduce its planet-heating pollution by 2030. While The Hague Court of Appeal ruled that Shell is obliged to limit its CO2 emissions -- in order to protect the planet from dangerous climate change -- it said there is insufficient agreement in climate science on a specific reduction percentage that an individual company such as Shell should adhere to.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 12 November 2024

• Oil production in OPEC countries rises by 470,000 barrels/day, as oil production in Libya returns
  - Zero Hedge, 12 November 2024

• The corporate crime of 'forever chemicals' is a growing problem in the drinking water supplies of the USA. With more than 7,200 public water systems affected, water and waste professionals say tackling contaminated water in the USA is no easy task.
  - Zero Hedge, 12 November 2024

• The CEO of Exxon Mobil, a company that isn't a big lover of the environment, wants Trump to keep the USA in the Paris climate pact. CEO Darren Woods says that Trump's plans to exit the pact is a bad idea.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 November 2024

• The CEO of Exxon Mobil, a company that isn't a big lover of the environment, wants Trump to keep the USA in the Paris climate pact. CEO Darren Woods says that Trump's plans to exit the pact is a bad idea.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 November 2024

• An estimate of the total cost of damage from climate-related extreme weather events globally was approximately $2 trillion between 2014 and 2023, extreme weather events caused by global heating due to burning of fossil fuels that profits the socialist fossil fuel industry.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 10 November 2024

• The sustainable giant fish harvest in the Amazon is threatened by severe drought caused by global heating. Two years of drought has fishermen and indigenous communities requesting government aid, in what is being called a matter of climate justice, as these people suffer .
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 09 November 2024

• Rossiya explores plan to merge oil giants into mega producer. The resulting company would be the second-largest crude producer in the world, behind Saudi Arabia's Aramco, and would pump almost three times the output of Exxon Mobil.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 November 2024

• "A total waste of time": why Papua New Guinea withdrew from COP29 and why climate advocates are worried. The foreign minister of Papua New Guinea argues that UN climate summits have produced "no results" as the country takes the rate step of withdrawing from the upcoming COPY29 summit. Cop, the UN's annual year-ending climate fiesta, has faced persistent criticism that big-emitting countries have not done enough to take meaningful climate action. "The last three Cop meetings have gone around in circles, producing no tangible results for small island states. COP29 will be no different, so Papua New Guinea will not participate at the political level."
  - The Guardian, 08 November 2024

• The CEO of (the useless) COP29 environmental summit is filmed agreeing to facilitate global-heating fossil fuel deals at the climate summit. Elnur Soltanov recorded speaking with fake oil and gas group that asked for deals in exchange for sponsoring talks. Soltanov is the deputy energy minister of Azerbaijan, agreed to these deals, and spoke of a future that includes global-heating fossil fuels "perhaps for ever".
  - The Guardian, 08 November 2024

• The Trump victory sets back the world's attempt to rein in dangerous levels of heating and potentially isolates the United States in the global energy transition, given Trump's and Republican's paid-for hostility to global heating and love of huge subsidies to the fossil fuel industry
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 November 2024

• Plastic pollution is changing the entire Earth system. While oil and plastic companies earn billions without having to pay for the disposal of their wastes, now paid for by taxpayers, their plastic pollution is affecting the climate, biodiversity, ecosystems, ocean acidification and human health.
  - The Guardian, 07 November 2024

• Will Trump's win be a pyrrhic victory for the oil industry? Sagging crude oil prices will have a bigger impact on industry behavior than federal policy, and rising trade tensions could dampen the outlook for companies in the USA.
  - Axel Springer's Politico, 07 November 2024

• 2024 will be the first year on record to surpass the Paris Agreement's goal to keep global heating under 1.5 degrees Celsius, a level under which countries could prevent cascading and worsening impacts such as droughts, heat waves and catastrophic sea level rise. Scientists warn at that level, the human-caused climate crisis -- fueled by heat-trapping fossil fuel pollution -- begins to exceed the ability of humans and the natural world to adapt.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 06 November 2024

• To a great degree (about 80%), profits from sales of oil in Ecuador end up in Northern Hemisphere companies. While this money is being stolen (like the silver and gold stole in the past by Spain), the Amazon is further damaged and non-white Indigenous communities suffer. he oil companies receive 20%, the refineries and distribution intermediaries 21%, and the Government of Spain 38%, due to the special tax on hydrocarbons because they are not sustainable.
  - Phys.org, 05 November 2024

• Canada acts to limit the carbon emissions of the oil and natural gas industry. The Trudeau government has focused on the oil and natural gas production industries because the large amounts of energy they use make them the largest source in Canada of greenhouse gases that cause global heating.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 November 2024

• Why heat waves of the future, caused by global heating , may be even deadlier than feared. The human body's cooling defenses fail at lower "wet bulb" temperatures than scientist had estimated.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 November 2024

• Oil prices rise nearly 3% after OPEC+ delays an increase in production of 2.2 million barrels/day until December, with an increase already delayed from October because of falling prices and weak demand
  - Thomson's Reuters, 04 November 2024

• Oil prices rise nearly 3% after OPEC+ delays an increase in production of 2.2 million barrels/day until December, with an increase already delayed from October because of falling prices and weak demand
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 04 November 2024

• ~$1,100,000,000 - Trafigura Group, a giant investment firm in commodities trading, last week admitted that it faces a loss in Mongolia of up to $1.1 billion, linked in part to suspected fraud by its own employees. Trafigura alleges that staff manipulated payments while concealing a mountain of overdue debts, allowing the exposure to run out of control for years without raising any red flags.
  - Bloomberg, 03 November 2024

• Violent repression intensifies in Azerbaijan, as the country prepares to host another useless COP climate meeting. But the country has a lot of oil and natural gas, so the global community looks the other way.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 02 November 2024

• How a year of rain fell on parts of Spain in eight hours. The region is no stranger to storms like those that caused this week's deluges. But global heating caused by burning fossil fuels helps the storms become more destructive.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 02 November 2024

• Climate change caused by global heating due to fossil fuel burning is making disasters deadlier. More than half a million people were killed in 10 disasters in the last 20 years that climate change worsened, according to a new report.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 November 2024

• Shares of Chevron rise 2.6% after it beats earnings expectations, returns more than $7 billion to shareholders
  - Versant's CNBC, 01 November 2024

• The meteorological data recorded over the past two decades by sensors of the Roque de los Muchachos astronomical observatory facilities point to a rise of 1.1 degree Centigrade in the average temperature due to global heating. The analysis, led by UAB researchers, shows more than double the increase predicted by climate models for the same area, and even more than expected for the next 20 years.
  - Phys.org, 31 October 2024

• Bharat will become the biggest single source of extra consumption of oil in the remainder of the decade, and account for 6-7% of world demand by 2030.
  - Zero Hedge, 31 October 2024

• Is surging global liquidity about to send oil prices higher?
  - Zero Hedge, 31 October 2024

• One of the driest months in United States history is coming to a close after causing the worst drought in more than 20 years in parts of the East as temperatures soar well above average there. But an upcoming pattern flip could change things as the weather seesaws in the USA from one extreme to the next -- a telltale sign of the increasing weather extremes as the planet heats up .
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 31 October 2024

• In 2023, there were a record level of deaths due to extreme heat. Heat-related deaths, food insecurity and the spread of infectious diseases caused by the global heating climate crisis have reached record levels. "The relentless expansion of fossil fuels and record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions compounds these dangerous health impacts, and is threatening to reverse the limited progress made so far and put a healthy future further out of reach."
  - Zero Hedge, 30 October 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices hold gains after inventories of gasoline decline to 2-year lows (and as gasoline pump prices plunge?)
  - Zero Hedge, 30 October 2024

• Profits at BP fall to a four-year low due to weakness in commodity markets. BP's profit tumbled in the third quarter, although less than expected, as weak oil prices and refining margins continue to weigh on the energy sector.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 30 October 2024

• Easing political situations allow the price of oil to drop. The sudden de-escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran led to a widespread cancellation of call options held by market participants who wanted to hedge their exposure against sudden upward price swings.
  - OilPrice.com, 29 October 2024

• Zhōngguó is planning 10 trillion yuan (about $1.4 trillion) of new debt to be used a stimulus of the economy, causing a rebound in the price of oil and commodities
  - Zero Hedge, 29 October 2024

• Oil prices plunge 8% as retaliatory strikes by Israel against Iran will not attack the crude oil facilities of Iran
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 28 October 2024

• SP500 futures are higher pre-market (and options will rise) as a limited attack by Israel on Iran sends oil prices down over 5%, and shares of oil companies down 2%
  - Zero Hedge, 28 October 2024

• The state of California is close to losing two more major refineries that produce 14% of the state's gasoline due to suffocating regulation. With existing closures already requiring California to import 8% of its supply, the state could soon face a greater dependence on refined imports, adding to its reliance on Middle Eastern and South American crude.
  - Zero Hedge, 26 October 2024

• Increased use of natural gas for power generation has made the USA more dependent on fossil fuels for its electricity supply this year than Zhōngguó.
  - Zero Hedge, 25 October 2024

• Top executives of two USA energy pipeline operators on Thursday ruled out building new crude oil lines to move volumes out of the Permian shale field in West Texas because of tepid volume growth and difficulties constructing new lines.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 24 October 2024

• The Colombian peso drops with regional markets as oil prices decline
  - Fininimize, 23 October 2024

• $1,200,000,000 - The USA charges Venezuelan media tycoon with money laundering. Raul Gorrin Belisario, owner of Globovision, allegedly took part in $1.2 billion scheme to launder corrupt oil money.
  - Al Jazeera, 23 October 2024

• Bonds and bitcoin decline, while the USA dollar and crude oil prices jump, as leading economic index hits 8 year lows
  - Zero Hedge, 21 October 2024

• An alarming glimpse into a future of historic droughts due to global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Record dry conditions in South America have led to wildfires, power cuts and water rationing. The world's largest river system, the Amazon, which sustains some 30 million people across eight countries, is drying up.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 October 2024

• Bharat is expected to receive investments worth $87 billion in the next decade to meet the nation's rising demand for petrochemicals. Bharat consumes 25 to 30 million metric tons of petrochemical products annually, and the chemical and petrochemicals sector, currently valued at $220 billion, is expected to grow to $300 billion by 2025.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 18 October 2024

• A 'dark fleet oil tanker train' transporting crude oil from Rossiya to refineries in Bharat shows the uselessness of the G7 sanctions
  - Zero Hedge, 18 October 2024

• West Texas Intermediate slid more than 2% to trade below $69 a barrel while Brent retreated below $73 a barrel, on news that the USA is pushing for a truce in the Gaza Strip, and on news that demand for oil is falling in Zhōngguó
  - Bloomberg, 17 October 2024

• The Senate of Mexico approved amendments in the constitution that give preference to state electricity firm CFE over other companies in dispatching electricity to the system. The constitutional amendments favoring CFE will come into force after it passes a majority of state legislatures and is published in the official gazette. Under the change, national grid operator Cenace will be required to take first and prioritize electricity from the power plants owned and operated by the state company CFE regardless of the price and whether it is more expensive than the electricity generated from private power producers.
  - OilPrice.com, 17 October 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices hold above $70 despite large inventory drawdowns and record US production. US gasoline inventories dropped to the lowest in about two years.
  - Zero Hedge, 17 October 2024

• Countries in Africa plan to launch their own 'energy bank'. African resource-rich countries have grown frustrated with Western banks' refusal to lend money for the development of oil and natural gas fields.
  - Zero Hedge, 17 October 2024

• PPG Industries will fire 1800 people in the USA and Europe, and and close various facilities as part of a cost-reduction program, the paints and coatings maker said on Thursday
  - Versant's CNBC, 16 October 2024

• PPG to cut 1,800 jobs, shrink costs with sale of architectural-coatings business. PPG agreed to sell its architectural-coatings business in the USA and Canada to private-equity firm American Industrial Partners for $550 million, and outlined cost and job cuts.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 16 October 2024

• The IEA predicts a "sizeable surplus" in the oil market as demand growth slows. "Demand for oil in hōngguó is particularly weak, with consumption dropping by 500 kb/d y-o-y in August, its fourth consecutive month of declines."
  - Zero Hedge, 15 October 2024

• The weak economy of Zhōngguó, and record oil production in the USA, will lead to a surplus of one million barrels of oil a day next year, IEA predicts
  - Business Insider, 15 October 2024

• Prices of crude oil fall more than 4% as looming surplus overshadows Iran-Israel tensions. World oil demand is expected to slow this year and in 2025 as consumption in Zhōngguó is particularly weak, according to the IEA.
  - Versant's CNBC, 15 October 2024

• Trees and land absorbed almost no CO2 last year. Is nature's carbon sink failing? The sudden collapse of carbon sinks was not factored into climate models -- and could rapidly accelerate global heating due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  - The Guardian, 14 October 2024

• The prices of crude oil fall nearly 2% after OPEC predicts lower demand again for 2024 and 2025
  - Versant's CNBC, 14 October 2024

• The state of California tries 'Trump-proofing' its climate policies. A second Trump administration would be expected to shred climate polices as payment for huge political donations from the oil and coal industries. California officials are devising ways to insulate its environmental regulations.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 October 2024

• The USA tightens oil sanctions on Iran as the USA seeks to contain, but still support, attacks on Iran by Israel
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 October 2024

• The 'war premium' for prices of oil are back. Can oil prices rise above $100? As violence escalates in the Middle East, traders are scooping up oil-sensitive stocks and options. It is a risky strategy.
  - Barron's, 11 October 2024

• Global heating caused by the burning of oil and coal made Hurricane Helene more destructive. In cooler times, a similarly rare storm over the Southeast would have delivered less rain and weaker winds, a team of scientists concluded in an analysis.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 October 2024

• In a first, a gas utility is sued over global heating deception. The Oregon lawsuit, filed by state officials, alleges that a utility, NW Natural, knew of the dangers of burning fossil fuels and misled its customers. The company joins Exxon, Shell and other fossil fuel companies as defendants in the lawsuit. The complaint alleges that Exxon, Shell and other companies, now including NW Natural, had schemed to "rapaciously" sell fossil fuel products and cover up what they knew about the risks to the planet, and that the companies bear responsibility for the effects of climate change including a deadly heat wave in 2021 that killed at least 69 county residents.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 October 2024

• The secret warning of Iran to allies of the USA in the Middle East: do not help Israel
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 11 October 2024

• Crude oil prices minimizes losses after a large build in crude oil supplies, and after a huge drawdown in gasoline supplies
  - Zero Hedge, 09 October 2024

• The Alpe du Grand Serre ski station in southeastern France's Isere region to close as snow shortage leaves it struggling to build a future. The resort, near the higher altitude Alpe d'Huez, is one of several lower lying ski destinations in Europe to face an existential reckoning over the past couple of years as global heating, driven by humans burning fossil fuels, brings warmer, shorter winters.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 09 October 2024

• Fossil fuel interests are working to kill solar energy generation in Knox County, Ohio. The hometown newspaper is helping. After the local paper was sold to Metric Media, part of a 'pink slime' network, the Mount Vernon News published one-sided coverage and dubious claims about solar power. Opposition to solar was stoked by a group whose major donor -- a retired natural gas-industry executive -- also leads a pro-gas dark-money organization.
  - ProPublica, 08 October 2024

• The plans of the Canada division of Chevron to sell its stakes in oil sands and shale assets to Canadian Natural Resources for $6.5 billion as part of efforts to achieve divesting goal by 2028.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 08 October 2024

• The largest transhipment hub for crude oil in the Crimea is on fire after a drone attack by Ukraine
  - Zero Hedge, 07 October 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA rise more than 3%, closing above $77 as market waits for Israel strike against Iran
  - Versant's CNBC, 07 October 2024

• BP has abandoned a target to cut oil and gas output by 2030 as CEO Murray Auchincloss scales back the firm's energy transition strategy to regain investor confidence
  - Thomson's Reuters, 07 October 2024

• Futures contracts prices decline as bond yields rise back over 4%, while the yield curve reinverts, and oil prices surge
  - Zero Hedge, 07 October 2024

• Global heating due to fossil fuel use is scorching the biggest river in the world. As a punishing drought due to global heating dries up stretches of the Amazon River, Brazil is resorting to dredging to try to keep food, medicine and people flowing along the watery superhighway.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 October 2024

• Homeowners are rushing to file insurance claims after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction across six states. Many of them will likely be able to buy full coverage. Property insurers in recent years have hollowed out coverage and sharply increased rates to compensate for steep underwriting losses driven by worsening natural disasters caused by global heating due to fossil fuel use.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 October 2024

• Big Oil urges Trump not to eliminate the huge subsidies they receive due to Biden's climate law. Oil companies try to persuade the former president and his Republican allies not to slash the subsidies provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act potentially worth billions of dollars of subsidies.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 October 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA rise 2%, trading near $76, as market waits for Israel strike against Iran
  - Versant's CNBC, 07 October 2024

• A historic short squeeze in oil has only begun. Crude oil soared last week as a result of the rapidly deteriorating situation in the middle east. On Tuesday, spot month WTI and Brent rallied >5% from the lows on the initial headlines from the White House that an Iranian attack was imminent. Goldman's research desk noted on Tuesday that the jump in oil prices reflected a moderate risk premium as actual production disruptions have been limited and spare capacity remains elevated.
  - Zero Hedge, 06 October 2024

• Goldman Sachs argues that Zhōngguó must do QE/moneyprinting now, "or it will end up in a bigger hold in 12 months", and once it does go all in, oil will soar, and bitcoin and gold will be orders of magnitude higher.
  - Zero Hedge, 06 October 2024

• How two billionaire Christian preachers, who made their money worsening global heating in the oil industry, remade and took control of Republican politics in Texas. Now they are poised to take their Christian theocratic agenda nationwide.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 October 2024

• Britain backs plan to store carbon dioxide under the sea. Two proposals in Northern England, led by the energy giants BP and Eni, aim to establish an industry in burying emissions from industrial plants.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 October 2024

• Saudi Arabia declares neutrality in the war between Iran and Israel (which is supported by the USA). Saudi Arabia does not want a repeat of the 2019 attacks on its Aramco oil facilities (which many blame on Iran).
  - Zero Hedge, 04 October 2024

• Ayatollah Khamenei clutches rifle, threatens that Iran will attack Israel's energy sites if Israel retaliates
  - Zero Hedge, 04 October 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA have risen nearly 9% this week as traders fear Middle East supply disruption. Oil prices would spike by $10 to $20 per barrel if an Israeli strike knocks out 1 million barrels per day of Iranian production over a sustained period, according to Goldman Sachs.
  - Versant's CNBC, 03 October 2024

• Oil prices rise $3 (and up $6 in last three days) after report that the Biden administration might support Israel attacking oil facilities in Iran
  - Zero Hedge, 03 October 2024

• Oil prices rise $3 (and up $6 in last three days) after report that the Biden administration might support Israel attacking oil facilities in Iran
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 03 October 2024

• Rossiya's war against Ukraine could suffer setbacks if Saudi Arabia forces down the price of oil. A Saudi move to grab market share will squeeze the finances of Rossiya. Saudi Arabia is increasingly frustrated with other petrostates' failure to coordinate on cutting supply to raise oil prices to about $100 per barrel -- up from the current $70. Oil traders say Saudi Arabia is now set to respond by flexing its muscles and turning the tables on smaller producers, exporting more oil itself to grab market share and profits, even as prices fall. This is bad news for Rossiya, since oil and natural gas have been the largest single source of revenue for the Russian state over the past decade, making up as much as half of the budget of Rossiya.
  - Axel Springer's Politico, 03 October 2024

• If Israel attacks high-value oil assets of Iran, oil prices could rise sharply. Citigroup analyst Francesco Martoccia told clients that any IDF strike on Iran's export capacity could reduce 1.5 million barrels of crude per day from the global market overnight. He said a minor attack on energy infrastructure, such as downstream assets, could remove 300,000 to 450,000 barrels of daily output. This week, Brent's implied volatility gauge climbed to its highest level in nearly a year. In options markets, a surge in Brent call options shows traders forecasting $100/barrel.
  - Zero Hedge, 03 October 2024

• The oil minister of Saudi Arabia predicts that oil prices will drop to $50 as OPEC+ members ignore curbs on production. The kingdom called out members for overproducing, in what was seen as a veiled threat of a price war.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 03 October 2024

• Oil and natural gas output slides, squeezed by lower prices. Oil production growth in the USA continues to slow in response to the fall in prices, as the initial shock from Rossiya's invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed in response more than two years ago fades.
  - Zero Hedge, 01 October 2024

• Private equity firms are investing billions of dollars into the fossil fuel industry, analysis reveals, seeking to profit from the destruction of the environment. USA public sector worker's retirement savings in pension funds are being invested in projects that pump out a billion ton of emissions a year - profits from hedge funds, clean-up costs paid by taxpayers.
  - The Guardian, 01 October 2024

• Oil prices surged today as the record spec shorts suddenly realized that the Middle East is shitshow of geopolitical bomb fuses just ready to be lit. WTI spiked dramatically up near $72 on the Iranian missile attack in Israel before fading back a little. At the same time, inventories of crude oil at Cushing are down to the lowest levels since April 2022.
  - Zero Hedge, 01 October 2024

• Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is finally set to clinch a $13 billion-plus deal for Germany's Covestro, a big chemical producer, in a $13 billion deal, as part of efforts to transform into a fully integrated energy company similar to ExxonMobil and other major oil companies in the USA
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 01 October 2024

• The three largest USA energy exploration companies - Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips - paid more than $42 billion to foreign governments last year, about eight times more than what they paid in the United States, despite receiving huge subsidies from the government of the USA. ""The truth is, here in the USA, we get one of the worst deals for the extraction of our natural resources." About 90% of Exxon's nearly $25 billion in global payments went to foreign governments in 2023, even though close to a quarter of Exxon's global exploration and production earnings come from the United States.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 30 September 2024

• Elliott-led group named as winner of auction to acquire Citgo Petroleum based in Venezuela. Elliott and other investors in the USA have agreed to pay nearly $7.3 billion to acquire Citgo's parent company, with proceeds set to help compensate creditors of the bankrupt Venezuelan government.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 30 September 2024

• Goldman Sachs: watch for a massive squeeze in energy after the biggest shorting frenzy in five years. At a time when everything is melting up, the one place where hedge funds are furiously piling on shorts, is energy: as usual, it will explode in their face.
  - Zero Hedge, 28 September 2024

• Microplastics threaten the beaches and marine ecosystems of Costa Rica
  - Tico Times, 28 September 2024

• Oil-rich millionaires in Dubai are 'fueling' a boom in sales of private jets
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 26 September 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA fall nearly 3%, trade below $68 on report Saudi committed to production increase
  - Versant's CNBC, 26 September 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA fall nearly 3%, trade below $68 on report Saudi committed to production increase
  - Zero Hedge, 26 September 2024

• The world economy is on track for a slight pickup as inflation is tamed. Falling interest rates and recovering real wages will help drive a slight pickup in global economic growth this year and next, while recent falls in oil prices could aid the final push to tame inflation, the OECD predicted.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 September 2024

• The two big insurers still betting on fossil fuels. Most companies have cut back on oil, gas and coal investments after big climate-related losses. But State Farm and Berkshire Hathaway's insurance companies increased theirs. Insurers have been pricing in the risks of events such as wildfires and passing the costs on to their customers.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 September 2024

• The high-stakes spat over how much oil the world really needs. OPEC is sticking with its estimate that the world will need an extra two million barrels a day this year, despite signs this is unrealistic.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 September 2024

• Zhōngguó fires a monetary 'bazooka' to boost its economy, but it will not be enough
  - Zero Hedge, 24 September 2024

• Traders shorting oil lose huge amounts of money, after Zhōngguó announces new economic stimulus
  - Zero Hedge, 24 September 2024

• Zhōngguó panics, as the government reduces multiple interest rates and reserve ratio requirements for banks, going all-in to prop up stocks
  - Zero Hedge, 24 September 2024

• Zhōngguó fires a policy 'bazooka' to boost its economy, led by mortgage rate reduction, and measures to support the real estate market. The interest rate cut, support to the acquisition of real estate companies' land banks and new tools to boost capital markets among economic strategies rolled out on Tuesday.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 24 September 2024

• Shell abandons hydrogen projects in Norway due to a lack of demand
  - Zero Hedge, 24 September 2024

• Her children were sick. Was it "forever chemicals" on the family farm? Pastures were fertilized with toxic sewage decades ago. Nobody knew, until the cows' milk was tested. Decades earlier, the organic farm had been fertilized with sewage sludge tainted by a dangerous class of chemicals linked to certain cancers, liver disease and a host of other health problems. Their cattle had grazed on contaminated pastures, making the beef and milk too dangerous to eat. Yet her family had been eating it for several years without knowing.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 24 September 2024

• The attorney general of California, Rob Bonta, sued Exxon Mobil on Monday alleging that the oil giant carried out a "decades-long campaign of deception" that overhyped the promise of recycling and spawned a plastic pollution crisis. The lawsuit, filed in superior court in San Francisco, argued that people were more likely to buy single-use plastics because of a false belief, promoted by Exxon Mobil, that they would be recycled. Mr. Bonta said the company is a leading producer of a key component used to make single-use plastics.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 24 September 2024

• Amazon, Tesla, Meta, Blackstone, and ExxonMobil among top companies in the world that are undermining democracy. They are accused of undermining democracy across the world by financially backing far-right political movements, funding and exacerbating the climate crisis, and violating trade union rights and human rights in a report published on Monday by the International Trade Union Confederation.
  - The Guardian, 23 September 2024

• Gold, oil and bitcoin soar as the Fed slashes interest rates with stocks at record highs
  - Zero Hedge, 20 September 2024

• Satellite data shows that the fossil fuel industry in the USA is releasing into the atmosphere more and more of methane, a potent gas for worsening global heating, researchers said, despite pledges to cut back. Apparently the fossil fuel industry want to burn-up their planet ever quicker to earn more money .
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 September 2024

• A rise in oil prices, fueled by Fed, CTAs and record shorts, has room to rise more. Given oil prices regularly overshoot in either direction, it would not be a surprise to see this recovery rally gain momentum.
  - Zero Hedge, 19 September 2024

• How cowboys and conversationists in Colorado joined forced to stop drilling. The members of a self-described ragtag group had little in common, but their campaign could serve as model for future environmental efforts.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 September 2024

• The Department Of Energy is short on cash to refill SPR at low prices. The Energy Department has just $841 million left to buy crude for the SPR.
  - Zero Hedge, 18 September 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices hold gains as the Cushing 'tank bottoms' loom after api reported draw. It has been the 10th weekly drawdown at the Cushing Hub in the last 11 weeks.
  - Zero Hedge, 17 September 2024

• Why Washington and Big Oil are investing billions in ammonia. Capturing carbon makes the chemical cleaner, boosting its popularity for fertilizer and fuel.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 17 September 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA trade above $70 per barrel, as production recovers in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Francine
  - Versant's CNBC, 17 September 2024

• Bitcoin and Big Tech (Apple, Nvidia) are battered down, while bond yields and oil rise, as expectations for an interest rate reduction by the Fed of 0.5% soar
  - Zero Hedge, 16 September 2024

• Traders are most bearish oil on record as bears conclude OPEC+ has run out of options
  - Zero Hedge, 16 September 2024

• Floods devastate west and central Africa. Flooding caused by heavy rains has left more than 1,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed, with 1 million people forced to leave their homes in Nigeria, Mali, and Chad. Another consequence of global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 16 September 2024

• Floods brought on by days of heavy rainfalls have been ravaging countries in Central and Eastern Europe including Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Austria. Another consequence of global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
  - Versant's CNBC, 16 September 2024

• Trump's obsession with oil could destroy the auto industry of the USA. By prioritizing oil in the 2010s, the Trump administration proudly tore up dozens of policies meant to lower American greenhouse gas emissions and build a competitive domestic clean energy industry. It prioritized oil, coal and natural gas businesses over wind, solar and batteries, and as president, Donald Trump often seemed to revel in picking policies that would increase emissions by design. These choices came with costs: American automakers failed to make their cars more efficient, and within a few years, they had fallen behind their international competition, especially automakers in South Korea and Zhōngguó. A second Trump administration would devastate the growing electric vehicle industry in the USA. The policies would allow Zhōngguó to consolidate its control of the world's electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery industries, and they would hamstring American - or European or East Asian - companies from developing the necessary expertise to compete with Zhōngguó.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 15 September 2024

• Prices of electric trucks will need to fall 30-50% to compete with diesel-fueled trucks.
  - Zero Hedge, 13 September 2024

• How oil-rich Arkansas became a hotbed of lithium mining
  - Versant's CNBC, 13 September 2024

• A rapid slowdown in oil-demand growth in Zhōngguó is driving down global consumption, reinforcing expectations that demand will peak by the end of the decade, the IEA said.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 September 2024

• Trillions of USA dollars are "greenwashed" by banks extending loans and credit lines to subsidiaries of fossil fuel companies in secrecy jurisdictions, thus helping hide the true scale of banking support for oil, natural gas, and coal. The analysis of the fossil fuel financing of the world's largest 60 banks revealed that 68% of the fossil fuel financing provided by these banks is being granted to subsidiaries in secrecy jurisdictions.
  - Zero Hedge, 11 September 2024

• A menacing hurricane, Francine, sparks short cover in WTI as oil production shut-ins soar
  - Zero Hedge, 11 September 2024

• Oil facing a physical shortage crisis: API crude draws 9 of past 10 weeks as Cushing hits tank bottoms. This unprecedented divergence between paper and physical markets is why earlier today we warned that with prices artificially depressed in an environment of healthy physical buying, we will soon hit the dreaded "tank bottoms" in Cushing, which could results in a slingshot higher in prices as suddenly there is no accessible physical oil, and certainly no deliverable to satisfy all those record shorts. Think of it as a mirror image to what happened in April 2020 when the glut of oil, and inability to park it, send prices negative.
  - Zero Hedge, 10 September 2024

• Jeff Currie (chief strategy officer of energy pathways at Carlyle,) claims fears of an oil market glut are "completely overplayed". Oil market participants are "dramatically overestimating" a supply glut, as demand in Zhōngguó is not as doom-and-gloom as headline figures suggest and crude oil production in the USA is basically flat this year.
  - Zero Hedge, 10 September 2024

• The renewable energy transition in hōngguó is slowing growth for its demand for oil. Zhōngguó's il demand growth has been slowing down due to weaker economic performance and a shift to electric vehicles and LNG-fueled trucks.
  - Zero Hedge, 10 September 2024

• Oil resumed its downward trend on Tuesday, tanking more than 4% after oil alliance OPEC lowered its demand growth forecast in 2024 and 2025
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 10 September 2024

• Pollution from the potent warming gas methane soars and people are mostly to blame, greatly worsening global heating. Humans cause methane emissions by burning fossil fuels, engaging in large-scale agriculture and filling up landfills.
  - Associated Press, 10 September 2024

• Brent crude oil prices drop below $70/barrel, as hedge funds are the least bullish about oil on record
  - Zero Hedge, 10 September 2024

• Kuwait has tons of money from the sales of global-warming causing oil, but it can't keep the power on. The Persian Gulf nation has instituted rolling blackouts to cope with surging summer electricity demand (for air conditioning to beat high temperatures caused by global heating), stirring frustration among citizens.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 September 2024

• Banks in Iraq used a USA-created system to funnel funds to Iran. The New York Fed's process to move Iraq's oil earnings lacked key money-laundering safeguards, resulting in illicit transfers that financed terrorist groups for years.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 10 September 2024

• A powerful drought in the Amazon rainforest led on Monday to the lowest water levels on the Paraguay River in more than a century, disrupting commerce on the major waterway, creating hazards for local transport and offering a grim warning for other parts of the world about the dangers of global heating due to burning fossil fuels.
  - Associated Press, 09 September 2024

• The Consumer Brands Association, representing many household brands such as Coca Cola and Clorox, believes companies should be able to stamp "recyclable" on products that are technically "capable" of being recycled, even if they are all but guaranteed to end up in a landfill. They want to appear more environmentally friendly while remaining environmentally hostile . No one in the oil industry wants to take any responsibility for its environmental, crimes.
  - ProPublica, 09 September 2024

• Tropical storm Francine may hit the energy industrial complex in Louisiana as a category 2 hurricane
  - Zero Hedge, 09 September 2024

• Why oil prices remain subdued. Despite war in the Middle East and political turmoil in Libya, investors are focusing on what look like ample global supplies.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 September 2024

• Bharat tops global plastic waste emissions with 9.3 million ton, study shows. Experts say lack of infrastructure for proper waste collection is a primary cause, call for industry-specific policies to address crisis. Bharat is responsible for nearly one-fifth of global plastic emissions.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 08 September 2024

• Heat waves, the killer climate disaster that are not named (caused by global heating ). In typical years, more people in the USA die in heat waves than in hurricanes, tornadoes and floods combined.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 08 September 2024

• Chevron wants the oil to keep flowing in the dictatorship of Venezuela after a stolen election - profits over people. Behind the scenes, Chevron's message to the White House is that the oil giant needs to stay in Venezuela, even if Nicolas Maduro remains the dictator - profits over people.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 06 September 2024

• Oil prices decline despite huge draw sending total USA crude inventories to 2024 low
  - Zero Hedge, 05 September 2024

• Is your water bottle really made from recycled plastic? A dishonest green accounting method called 'mass balance' certifies that something was manufactured with recycled plastic -- just not necessarily much of the bottle making the claim. So the company can market Tritan Renew as "up to 50 percent recycled plastic", even if it has little recycled material in it, because something it manufactured contained those recycled chemical building blocks.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 05 September 2024

• How Reuters manipulates the oil market, in two headlines: one arguing oil prices were to come down (more output), and then 4 days later, one arguing that they won't be more output, all curiously timed
  - Zero Hedge, 04 September 2024

• The world is spewing out 57 million tons of plastic pollution a year. The study examined plastic that goes into the open environment, not plastic that goes into landfills or is properly burned.
  - Associated Press, 04 September 2024

• Oil tumbles below $75, erasing all 2024 gains on hopes of Libya production restart
  - Zero Hedge, 03 September 2024

• Something is poisoning the farmland of the USA. Farmers fear that it is 'forever' chemicals. Fertilizer made from city sewage has been spread on millions of acres of farmland for decades. Scientists say it can contain high levels of the toxic substance. In some cases the chemicals are suspected of sickening or killing livestock and are turning up in produce. Farmers are beginning to fear for their own health.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 September 2024

• A liberal business group sued state officials in Texas this week in a major challenge to a 2021 law that bars state entities from doing business with investment firms that the state comptroller says are boycotting energy companies. The suit, filed by the American Sustainable Business Council in United States District Court in Austin, argues that the law violates the First Amendment because it prohibits doing business with firms on the basis of their "actual or perceived" political views on fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 September 2024

• ExxonMobil's oil opportunities in Guyana: a trillion dollar opportunity. XOM moves with higher or lower oil and gas prices and is likely to perform in lockstep with these commodities well into the future.
  - Zero Hedge, 31 August 2024

• News sources in Ukraine have reported that starting January 2025, the transit of oil from Rossiya through the Druzhba pipeline in Ukraine will be halted, along with the transit of natural gas. This is yet more geopolitical risk premium for European energy markets ahead of the Northern Hemisphere heating season.
  - Zero Hedge, 30 August 2024

• Oil prices suddenly drop $2 on a news story from Reuters that OPEC+ will increase output in October
  - Zero Hedge, 30 August 2024

• Oil prices jump as an oil shutdown in Libya deepens with loading halt at five main terminals. The daily oil rollercoaster continues, and one week after tumbling to the lowest price of the year, oil is once again spiking, as news of more Libyan oil turmoil emerge.
  - Zero Hedge, 29 August 2024

• Wildfires in Canada produced more planet-warming carbon than almost any country, researchers found. That could upend key calculations on the pace of global heating. The wildfires that ravaged the boreal forests in Canada in 2023 produced more planet-warming carbon emissions than the burning of fossil fuels in all but three countries. While the hot and dry weather that fueled the fires in Canada last year was extraordinary when compared with historical records, climate projections suggest it will become common in the 2050s if the world continues on the current trajectory of global heating due to burning of fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 29 August 2024

• Heat deaths due to global heating caused by burning fossil fuels have doubled in the USA in recent decades
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 29 August 2024

• What sanctions against Iran? Zhōngguó imports record amount of oil from Iran. Officially, Zhōngguó hasn't purchased oil from Iran since June 2022, according to government data. Unofficially, it is buying record amounts.
  - Zero Hedge, 28 August 2024

• The citizens of Ecuador voted to stop oil drilling in the heart of Amazon. A year later, it has not happened. Worse, the government is now seeking a five-year extension for the state-run oil company to get out.
  - Associated Press, 28 August 2024

• The USA warns that a missile strike on a tanker in the Red Sea hit By Houthis could cause largest ship oil spill in history
  - Zero Hedge, 28 August 2024

• $48,000,000 - A trading unit of TotalEnergies SE, the French oil major, was fined $48 million by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission over allegations that the firm attempted to manipulate gasoline markets
  - Investors, 28 August 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices extend losses after a smaller-than-experted drawdown of crude oil inventories.
  - Zero Hedge, 28 August 2024

• The world's largest wetland is burning, and rare animals are dying. In Brazil, wildfires have roared across the Pantanal, a maze of rivers, forests and marshlands that sprawl over an area 20 times the size of the Everglades. The Pantanal has suffered years of severe droughts due to global heating and deforestation (to grow more meat ).
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 28 August 2024

• Goldman Sachs reduces its target price for oil by $5 to $70-$85, just as sentiment hits an all-time low
  - Zero Hedge, 27 August 2024

• Producing plastics from fossil fuels emits a lot of carbon dioxide, but a new study finds the life cycle emissions are actually lower than glass and aluminum
  - Reason, 27 August 2024

• Oil prices rise nearly 3% on a production halt in Libya, and military attacks made by Israel and Hezbollah
  - Versant's CNBC, 26 August 2024

• Oil prices rise nearly 3% on a production halt in Libya, and military attacks made by Israel and Hezbollah
  - Zero Hedge, 26 August 2024

• The outgoing president of Mexico made a big bet on the oil industry. Claudia Sheinbaum, the new president of Mexico, is a climate scientist who has signaled a clean energy pivot. But the huge investments into fossil fuels by her political mentor stands in her way.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 25 August 2024

• A video captures a SuezMax tanker exploding in the Red Sea after being hit by a missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen, as the West fails to secure the shipping chokepoints in the Red Sea
  - Zero Hedge, 24 August 2024

• Crude oil holds above $72 per barrel after erasing most of 2024 gain. The USA benchmark is now up just 0.91% for the year, while Brent has erased all of its gain for 2024. Demand is slowing in Zhōngguó as drivers switch from gas to electric vehicles and trucks transition to liquid natural gas from diesel.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 August 2024

• Microplastics, from plastics used in consumers goods to make more profits, are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show: "There is nowhere left untouched". Twenty-four brain samples collected in early 2024 measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight.
  - The Guardian, 21 August 2024

• Another lie from a politician: Trump vows the impossible goal of reducing energy costs by 50% if elected
  - Zero Hedge, 20 August 2024

• Oil futures fall on expectations of a ceasefire in Gaza. Also, oil prices fell, as the prospect of weak demand in Zhōngguó offset any gains from risks to supply, with apparent demand in the country falling 8% on year in July according to government data, ANZ Research said.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 20 August 2024

• The mission to clean up the Motagua river in Guatemala, one of the most polluted rivers in Central America. Each year, the river transports 40 million pounds of trash into the Caribbean Sea, about 2% of the total oil-derived plastic waste that enters the oceans of the world each year.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 19 August 2024

• Gold, oil, and copper prices are set to rise, this energy analyst argues. What is driving demand now. Carlyle's Jeff Currie shares his take on how various market forces have pushed commodities into a new 'supercycle'.
  - Barron's, 17 August 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA fall more than 2% as Qater prime minister urges Iran to hold off on attacking Israel
  - Versant's CNBC, 16 August 2024

• When is 'recyclable' not really recyclable? When the plastics industry gets to define what the word means. Companies whose futures depend on plastic production are trying to persuade the federal government to allow them to put the label 'recyclable' on plastic shopping bags and other items virtually guaranteed to end up in landfills and incinerators.
  - ProPublica, 15 August 2024

• Diesel demand in Zhōngguó fell in June by most in three years
  - Thomson's Reuters, 15 August 2024

• How extreme heat caused by global heating due to oil and coal burning is threatening education progress worldwide. Children today face many more extreme weather hazards that can undermine global gains in education.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 15 August 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices extend losses despite inventories at Cushing tumbling to 6-month lows
  - Zero Hedge, 14 August 2024

• One consequence of the struggle between USA and Iran: if Iran blockades the Strait of Hormuz (only 3.2 kilometers wide at narrowest point), through which 40% of global oil supplies flow, and 33% of global LNG supplies, oil prices will skyrocket - to as much as $400/barrel, and the global economy will go into a depression
  - Zero Hedge, 14 August 2024

• Deadly landslides in Bharat were made worse by climate change and global heating. Extreme rainfall made 10 percent heavier by human-caused (the buring of oil and coal) climate change and global heating triggered landslides that killed hundreds, according to a new study.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 August 2024

• Global oil-demand growth is still forecast to slow to under a million barrels a day this year and next, with a continued slowdown in consumption by Zhōngguó weighing on the outlook, the IEA said.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 14 August 2024

• Excessive heat caused by global heating due to oil and coal burning, contributed to 47,000 deaths in Europe last year. A new study shows how deadly warming can be, and how behavioral and social changes can reduce mortality.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 August 2024

• Gold, bonds and oil soar in price, as stocks swing wildly in price to end unchanged, ahread of a big data week
  - Zero Hedge, 12 August 2024

• Bloomberg reports that four major refiners, including Marathon Petroleum, owner of the largest US refinery, plan to reduce refining capacity at 13 of its plants to an average of 90%, down 4% from the same quarter in 2023. Similarly, PBF Energy announced plans to refine the least amount of crude in three years. Phillips 66 will operate refineries near two-year lows, and Valero Energy expects to cut oil processing soon.
  - Zero Hedge, 12 August 2024

• U.S. crude oil rallies more than 4%, tops $80 as Pentagon sends more forces to Middle East
  - Versant's CNBC, 12 August 2024

• Stocks erase the losses from 'Black Monday' as volatility tumbles; bond yields and black gold (oil) surge
  - Zero Hedge, 09 August 2024

• Some biofuels are good for the environment. But some biofuels also have serious implications for environmental justice and land-use competition, affecting food security, sustainable infrastructure, and land-based carbon sinks. "Not all biofuels are beneficial when their full environmental impacts are assessed, [and] some of the most important, such as those produced from corn, sugarcane, and soy, perform poorly in many contexts."
  - JSTOR Daily, 08 August 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices extend bounce off 6-monoth lows after sixth straight weekly drawdown of crude oil supplies
  - Zero Hedge, 07 August 2024

• Canada will fund an Indigenous-led study into how oil sands development impacts the health of local communities, following a tailings water leak from an Imperial Oil site that heightened pollution concerns. The government will provide about $9 million over 10 years for the Fort Chipewyan Health Study, which may include an assessment of whether there are heightened risks of cancer for communities downstream of the oil sands region. For years those communities have reported higher rates of cancer and other health issues including autoimmune diseases, skin irritations and severe arthritis.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 07 August 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA rise more than 2% after stock market snaps losing streak. Crude oil prices have risen to nearly $75 per barrel, after following equity markets lower earlier in the week on recession fears.
  - Versant's CNBC, 07 August 2024

• The USA has dozens of secret military bases around the Middle East, to help protect Israel and to protect the oil interests of USA oil companies. The military bases keep getting attacked. An Intercept investigation found 63 USA bases, garrisons, and shared facilities in the region. U.S. troops are "sitting ducks", easy to attack, according to one expert.
  - 404, 06 August 2024

• Saudi Aramco predicts that oil demand will rise by 1.6 million barrels/day in second half of 2024
  - Zero Hedge, 06 August 2024

• Business model failures of green-energy revive bets on natural gas. European energy giants Shell and BP are sticking to their core business as clean-energy investments make slow progress.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 06 August 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA fall below $72 per barrel, hits six-month low as market sells off
  - Versant's CNBC, 05 August 2024

• Hungary and Slovakia consider ending electricity supplies to Ukraine if Kiev keeps blocking oil supplies from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 03 August 2024

• Exxon reports blowout earnings, record output thanks to the recent closing of the $63 billion Pioneer acquisition, which made Exxon into the second biggest energy player in the world after Aramco (while closest competitor Chevron is still choking on its Hess acquisition).
  - Zero Hedge, 02 August 2024

• After the state of California cracks down, with regulations, on the global-warming fossil fuel industry, trying to hold them accountable for their destruction, Chevron decides to move its headquarters to global-warming denying Texas
  - Zero Hedge, 02 August 2024

• After the state of California cracks down, with regulations, on the global-warming fossil fuel industry, trying to hold them accountable for their destruction, Chevron decides to move its headquarters to global-warming denying Texas
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 02 August 2024

• Stocks, crude oil, and Treasury Bond yields plunge in price, as a "growth scare" sparks a surge in hopes that the Fed will increase interest rates soon, hopefully at least 4 times in the rest of 2024
  - Zero Hedge, 02 August 2024

• Four key pillars of the global climate are melting in the heat trapped by rising emissions of fossil fuels - oil, coal, natural gas. The relatively stable climate that nurtured human civilization depends in large part on these structures: the ice sheets of Greenland and West Antarctica, the Amazon rainforest and the Atlantic currents that warm Europe.
  - The Hill, 02 August 2024

• A vital system of Atlantic Ocean currents that influences weather across the world could collapse as soon as the late 2030s, scientists have suggested in a new study -- a planetary-scale disaster that would transform weather and climate. Several studies in recent years have suggested the crucial system -- the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation -- could be on course for collapse, weakened by warmer ocean temperatures and disrupted saltiness caused by human-induced climate change. In the decades after a collapse, Arctic ice would start creeping south, and after 100 years, would extend all the way down to the southern coast of England. The average temperature of Europe would plunge, as would the temperature of North America -- including parts of the USA. The Amazon rainforest would see a complete reversal in its seasons; the current dry season would become the rainy months, and vice versa.
  - The Hill, 02 August 2024

• More than 300,000 Brent call option contracts traded on Wednesday, the largest one-day amount since the last round of elevated regional tensions in April. The volume was dominated by large call spreads, which offer cheaper ways to profit from a rally, including $87 and $90 spreads for October, as well as $110 and $130 spreads for November. Brent was last near $81.
  - Zero Hedge, 01 August 2024

• Crude oil prices in the USA rise more than 3% after a political leader of Hamas is assassinated in Tehran
  - Versant's CNBC, 31 July 2024

• Crude oil pipelines in Texas are near full capacity, with potential constraints on exports a near possibility
  - Zero Hedge, 30 July 2024

• The Railroad Commission of Texas, the oil regulator in the top oil-producing state in the USA, has opened a probe after a series of earthquakes hit the Permian basin last week. Last week, dozens of tremors were registered in counties close to oil and gas operations in Texas, the largest earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale. After the series of quakes, the Railroad Commission is investigating wells in which operators have injected salty water that comes out of oil wells.
  - Zero Hedge, 29 July 2024

• Rossiya could ban again exports of diesel
  - Zero Hedge, 24 July 2024

• A surge in new oil and gas production in 2024 threatens to unleash nearly 12 billion tons of planet-heating emissions, with the world's wealthiest countries -- such as the US and the UK -- leading a stampede of fossil fuel expansion in spite of their climate lies commitments, new data reveals.
  - Versant's CNBC, 24 July 2024

• As the fossil fuel industries continue to bribe politicians to deny global heating, the planet shatters the heat record of the hotest temperature for the second time in two days, hitting an average surface temperature of 17.15 degrees C (62.87 degrees F)
  - Versant's CNBC, 24 July 2024

• Putting profits over ethics and morality , some oil executives and Wall Street creditors in the USA are quietly embracing the authoritarian President Maduro, while his opponents say democracy is needed to restore the rule of law.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 24 July 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices rebound off technical support after API reports across-the-board inventory draws
  - Zero Hedge, 23 July 2024

• Oil prices may have been confined to a tight range this month, but an array of signals from the physical market suggest the next move could be a break to the upside
  - Zero Hedge, 22 July 2024

• Wildfires in Alberta threaten 350,000 barrels/day of oil production
  - Zero Hedge, 21 July 2024

• Why the era of soaring carbon emissinos in Zhōngguó might be ending. Analysts are seeing promising signs from the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 July 2024

• Africa emerges as focal point in global oil and gas exploration. Global oil and gas exploration is increasingly concentrated in "core" areas like Guyana and Namibia, where recent discoveries have been made.
  - Zero Hedge, 19 July 2024

• High prices, ongoing subsidies, and growing demand have helped oil producers in the USA take in record profits despite global efforts to spur greater use of renewable energy and electric cars
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 July 2024

• Wildfires in Canada have returned after $10 billion economic blow from previous fires. Evacuations have started for residents in Western Canada, and one of the biggest oil companies in Canada has curbed production.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 18 July 2024

• Wall Street wants to invest in the battery storage boom in the USA. A surge in solar power lets battery companies charge up during the day when power prices are low and sell in the evening at higher prices.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 18 July 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices extend gains as crude inventories tumble to lowest since February
  - Zero Hedge, 17 July 2024

• Puerto Rico filed suit against fossil fuel companies this week, alleging that the oil and gas giants have misled the public about climate change and delayed a transition to clean energy. The suit seeks $1 billion in damages to help Puerto Rico defend itself against climate disasters.
  - The Verge, 16 July 2024

• International oil companies caught in a smuggling web in Iraq. The smuggling operation generates an estimated $200 million in monthly revenue, but the destination of the funds remains unclear.
  - Zero Hedge, 15 July 2024

• $242,000,000 - Marathon Oil agrees to record penalty for alleged Clean Air Act violations. The company will spend $242 million to resolve allegations that it released methane, a greenhouse gas, and other pollutants in North Dakota.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 July 2024

• Heat in Las Vegas breaks records and stuns even the forecasters. A brutal heat wave that has gripped the West for days will shift eastward on the weekend, while much of sweltering Houston still lacks electricity.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 July 2024

• "More heat, more often": temperature records keep breaking. The burning of fossil fuels has created more frequent and more intense heat waves. Experts warn these heat waves are "the new normal". Republican politicians, bribed/lobbied by the fossil fuel industry, deny all of this warming of their Earth.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 12 July 2024

• A scandal involving cooking oil may prompt Zhōngguó to tighten food safety policies. Authorities in Zhōngguó are investigating a report that companies were using the same tankers to carry fuel and food products such as cooking oil, soybean oil and syrup.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 12 July 2024

• The International Energy Agency trimmed its forecast for oil-demand growth in 2025 and raised supply estimates, a scenario that would likely leave the market in surplus, reinforcing its expectations of a major glut this decade.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 July 2024

• Global heating - out-of-control heat is making the Earth more "weird" - and more deadly. For 13 straight months, global heat records have been shattered. This is unprecedented in human history, thanks to the burning of fossil fuels .
  - Salon, 11 July 2024

• A company owned by British Petroleum is selling carbon credits on trees that are not in danger, analysis finds, credits that offer little or no benefit to the climate. Satellite analysis by Renoster, a compliance expert, looked at credits sold by Finite Carbon, which runs some of the largest offset projects in North America. Of the credits Renoster looked at, they found that about 79% should not have been issued.
  - The Guardian, 11 July 2024

• Microplastics in the bloodstream of humans increase the risk of a stroke 4.5-fold
  - Zero Hedge, 11 July 2024

• With tiny shampoo bottles soon to be banned, hotels in New York consider options. Starting January 1st, large hotels will no longer be able to offer small containers of shampoo and conditioner. The bill is part of an effort to cut down on single-use plastic.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 11 July 2024

• The 89th year of subsidies for the nuclear power industry (which is no longer an 'infant' industry that needs support). A 1957 law gave nuclear power plants a $60 million subsidy, and up-to-$500 million indemnification guarantee per accident.
  - Master Resource, 10 July 2024

• Saudi Arabia threatened to sell European bonds if assets of Rossiya were confiscated to help undermine Rossiya's invasion of Ukraine, the Saudis choosing the more oil-rich country to support
  - Zero Hedge, 10 July 2024

• The policy platform of the Republican party does not mention the word "climate" once - even after the hottest year on record that is killing their fellow Republicans and destroying the homes of their fellow Republicans. Not much hate to be milked there. But the platform does call for an expensive weapons system, the American Iron Dome (even though no one is firing missiles at the USA) and the largest deportation ever of
  - The Intercept, 09 July 2024

• Shares of BP drop 3% after warning of up to a $2 billion loss/impairment and weak refining margins
  - Zero Hedge, 09 July 2024

• What do bagged chickens have to do with sliced cheese? Both have gotten caught up in fights over plastic packaging. When Costco recently tried to trim its plastic use by selling rotisserie chickens in bags, some shoppers disapproved.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 July 2024

• As hedge funds dump everything else, they buy energy and material stocks at fastest pace in 5 months. Still, these two sectors remain the most hated among the hedge fund community, with Long/Short ratios for both at or near 5 year lows.
  - Zero Hedge, 07 July 2024

• Attacks by the Houthi based in Yemen (in protest of Israel's devastation of Palestine, with the support of the USA) on ships soar most this year in June as critical maritime chokepoint ablaze in conflict
  - Zero Hedge, 03 July 2024

• Hurricane Beryl, category level 4, heads toward Texas, a threat to major oil refineries
  - Zero Hedge, 03 July 2024

• The governor of North Dakota, and one of the current of Trump to be chosen as the vice-presidential candidate, is playing a deciding role in allowing a massive carbon dioxide pipeline project -- backed by rich GOP megadonors who have bribed given to the political campaigns Burgum and Trump -- to seize property rights from rural landowners in his state, rural landowners who voted for him but are not rich enough to bribe donate to Burgum. Apparently, Burgum's earlier promises to protect his citizens was nothing but a good-old lie.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 03 July 2024

• Stories like those on the petrodollar and others on the "imminent" death of the dollar have been around for decades. Someday they will be right, and the dollar will follow the way of prior global reserve currencies. But for that to happen there needs to be a better alternative, and today, nothing even close exists.
  - Real Investment Advice, 03 July 2024

• Shell pauses construction at major biofuels facility as European market falters. Shell will pause construction work at its biofuels facility in Rotterdam as it seeks to cut costs in pursuit of better returns for investors.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 03 July 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices at multi-month highs on concerns about the Middle East, and concerns of disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico due to Hurricane Beryl
  - Zero Hedge, 02 July 2024

• The Trans Mountain pipeline delivered enough crude oil to load 20 tankers from Canada's Pacific Coast in the first full month of operations of the expanded link, just below the expectations of the company. The expanded Trans Mountain pipeline has tripled the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from oil sands in Alberta to British Columbia on the Pacific Coast.
  - OilPrice.com, 01 July 2024

• A set of decisions by the Supreme Court are destroying rules to protect the environment . Four lawsuits backed by white conservative activists in recent years have combined to diminish the power of the Environmental Protection Agency, conserving their environment less important .
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 30 June 2024

• The permafrost damaged caused by heated oil pipelines in Zhōngguó could trigger "environmental disaster". A pipeline mega project carrying heated crude oil is gradually degrading large areas of permafrost, increasing geohazard risks, scientists say. The pipeline runs from Skovordino in Rossiya's far-eastern Amur region to Linyuan in Zhōngguós northeastern province of Heilongjiang, and has reliably delivered millions of tons of crude oil annually.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 30 June 2024

• A set of decisions by the Supreme Court are weakening the power of regulatory agencies (while further enriching the rich who buy all of the regulatory influence they want).
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 30 June 2024

• Islamic states in the Persian Gulf have huge ambitions. Will extreme heat, caused by the trillions they earn from selling oil, hold them back? The high temperatures blamed for the deaths of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia are taking a broad toll in countries that have spent vast sums to attract tourists and investors, spent monies earned from selling trillions of dollars of oil which when burned increases global heating and extreme heat .
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 28 June 2024

• The five men of the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration "pollution-fighting" plan that would mean crippling new emissions requirements on power plants and pipelines in parts of the country to stem ozone pollution that wanders into downwind states. This will allow Republican states to generate power and send the pollution to harm the health of people in other states.
  - Zero Hedge, 27 June 2024

• The five men of the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration "pollution-fighting" plan that would mean crippling new emissions requirements on power plants and pipelines in parts of the country to stem ozone pollution that wanders into downwind states. This will allow Republican states to generate power and send the pollution to harm the health of people in other states.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 27 June 2024

• The oil output in Canada is booming as producers ramp up projects and extraction amid expanded market access and narrowing discounts of the Canadian heavy crude to the U.S. benchmark.
  - Zero Hedge, 27 June 2024

• $114,000,000,000 - Secretive court system has given over $100 billion in subsidies to corporations , finds new analysis. Fossil fuel firms are biggest beneficiaries of investor-state dispute settlement courts which have awarded $114 billion of public money. ISDS is the secret weapon for fossil fuel companies against climate laws. ISDS gives foreign investors the right to sue states for billions of dollars when their anticipated profits are affected by public measures such as green regulations.
  - The Guardian, 26 June 2024

• Israel buys lots of oil from Azerbaijan, while Israel sells lots of weapons to Azerbaijan, including key weaponry used by Azerbaijan to defeat Armenia in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. And Israel also gets with Azerbaijan an anti-Iran ally on the border of Iran.
  - Zero Hedge, 26 June 2024

• State prosecutors in Arizona could reasonably file homicide charges against Big Oil companies for deaths caused by a July 2023 heatwave, lawyers wrote in a new prosecution memorandum.
  - The Guardian, 26 June 2024

• Plastic companies blocked efforts to mitigate pollution caused by the plastics they sold, and may have broken laws in the USA. Paper outlines different legal theories that could help governments pursue accountability for harms.
  - The Guardian, 26 June 2024

• Efforts to reduce global heating by reducing the burning of oil, coal and natural gas are helping to increase global heating. Tiny particles from the combustion of coal, oil and gas can reflect sunlight and spur the formation of clouds, shading the planet from the sun's rays. Since the 1980s, those particles have offset between 40 and 80 percent of the warming caused by greenhouse gases.
  - Bezos' Washington Post, 25 June 2024

• Biggest short squeeze in Brent Oil futures since 2016 sparks flood of bullish commentary on oil prices
  - Zero Hedge, 25 June 2024

• Extreme wildfires have doubled in 2 decades. Due to global heating much caused by the burning of oil and coal, extreme wildfire events are becoming far more common and more intense.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 25 June 2024

• The USA and Europe cannot agree on what counts as sustainable aviation fuel. That is leaving investors uncertain how to invest. Fuel producers and airlines are scratching their heads over how best to invest their cash because of one major problem: No one agrees on what counts as "sustainable".
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 25 June 2024

• Citizen for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit watchdog organization, filed a complaint with the Justice Department alleging criminal bribery regarding Trump's meeting with industry leaders. The former president told them the $1 billion would be part of a deal in exchange for loosened regulations of the oil industry.
  - New Republic, 24 June 2024

• Citizen for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit watchdog organization, filed a complaint with the Justice Department alleging criminal bribery regarding Trump's meeting with industry leaders. The former president and convicted felon told them the $1 billion would be part of a deal in exchange for loosened regulations of the oil industry.
  - The Hill, 24 June 2024

• The international oil companies operating in Nigeria are seeking to undermine the operations and profit margins of largest refinery in Africa, Dangote, by asking for high premiums for domestically produced crude, a senior official at the Dangote refinery has told local media. The refinery had to pay $6 per barrel above the market price at one point, an official stated. "It appears that the objective of the IOCs is to ensure that Nigeria remains a country which exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum products."
  - OilPrice.com, 24 June 2024

• The Supreme Court of the UK rules that oil projects must consider the full impact on the global climate. Previously, local council and planning groups in Britain had to weigh only the planet-warming emissions from their own operations.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 24 June 2024

• The government of Hawaii on Thursday settled a lawsuit with a group of young people who had sued the state's Department of Transportation over its use of fossil fuels. It was the latest in a series of victories around the world in cases filed by young plaintiffs. The state agreed to take steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 June 2024

• Brazil is a 'wildcard' in the oil market after a near-million-barrel plunge in production (about 25% of capacity) due to maintenance, though more than one-third of the deficit has been restored. The recent surprise decision by OPEC and its allies to relax some controls on oil exports could come back to bite if the Brazilian rebound is too robust.
  - Bloomberg, 22 June 2024

• Nearly 100 million under temperature advisories as a heat wave of moer than 90 degrees lingers in the USA, due to global heating caused by the use of oil, natural gas and coal. The heat is expected to peak over the weekend in the Northeast, but not until early next week in the South and the Great Plains, according to the National Weather Service.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 21 June 2024

• Global heating caused by the burning of oil, natural gas and coal made the recent heat wave in the USA and Mexico more likely. Extreme heat across parts of Central America and the Southern United States in May and early June was 35 times more likely because of human-caused global heating.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 21 June 2024

• BP to take control of biofuels joint venture in Brazil, in a $1.4 billion deal. BP is taking full control of its Brazilian biofuels joint venture, BP Bunge Bioenergia, with the acquisition of its s 50% shareholding, as part of its plan to focus on new biofuels projects.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 21 June 2024

• Bullion and black gold (gold and oil) bid up, but 'bad news' was bad news for big-tech. NVDA's worst day in two months as macro data dumped to its weakest in five years.
  - Zero Hedge, 20 June 2024

• Drones from the Ukraine score direct hits on two more oil depots in Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 20 June 2024

• Scientists have found microplastics in human penises for the first time, as concerns over the tiny particles' proliferation and potential health effects mount.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 19 June 2024

• A case of "inadvertent geoengineering" - researchers founding the some shipping regulations worsened the environment
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 19 June 2024

• The oily truth about this unethical Supreme Court . The court has a chance to grant two big wins to fossil fuel companies. The unethical financial links/bribes of these judges to the oil companies should worry us all.
  - New Republic, 18 June 2024

• Recycling plastic is a dangerous waste of time. The recycling industry -- and the world at large -- has yet to fully reckon with a bombshell study that dropped last year. Multiple paper trails indicate that industry leaders knew from the start that recycling could never work at scale. And indeed, it has not.
  - Quillette, 17 June 2024

• $394,000,000 - BNSF Railway must pay nearly $400 million to a Native American tribe in Washington state, a federal judge ordered Monday after finding that the company intentionally trespassed when it repeatedly ran 100-car trains carrying crude oil across the tribe's reservation.
  - Associated Press, 17 June 2024

• Bitcoin, oil and Big Tech jump to start the week, despite bond yields rising and lower expectactions of pumping interest rate reductions
  - Zero Hedge, 17 June 2024

• End all energy subsidies now! The energy crisis is decades past, and technology advances in oil and natural gas drilling have yielded booming supplies, allowing the U.S. to become a major oil and natural gas exporter. So maybe it is time (or past time) to end the dense and expensive thicket of federal energy market interventions (including subsidies and mandates for wind, solar, ethanol, electric vehicles, plus fuel economy standards).
  - Master Resource, 13 June 2024

• OPEC Slams the IEA its "dangerous" forecast of peak oil demand by 2030
  - OilPrice.com, 13 June 2024

• The world will be 'swimming' in excess oil by end of this decade, IEA predicts. The global energy watchdog has forecast a major glut, citing surging supplies and slowing demand growth thanks to lower-emission energy sources.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 June 2024

• The IEA predicts a massive oil supply glut at the end of this decade. Oil demand growth is set to slow in the coming years and global demand will peak in 2029, while rising production will lead to a major glut this decade, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its new medium-term oil outlook.
  - Zero Hedge, 13 June 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices fall after unexpected builds in crude and gasoline inventories; and with biggest imports in 6 years
  - Zero Hedge, 12 June 2024

• Goldman Sachs predicts that Brent crude oil prices will rise to $86 by the end of September on solid summer demand
  - Apollo Global's Yahoo Finance, 10 June 2024

• Oil and gas revenues for Rossiya surged by 73.5% from January to May of 2024, while other revenues were up 34%
  - Zero Hedge, 10 June 2024

• The USA Ambassador to Hungary launches an attack on the conservative government of Hungary for still relying on energy from Rossiya, while the USA hypocritically relies on Rossiya for uranium
  - Zero Hedge, 09 June 2024

• The heat wave scenario that keeps climate scientists up at night. What if, instead, the electricity goes out for several days during a blistering summer heat wave in a city that depends on air-conditioning? Especially if it happens in an already hot city such as Houston, in Texas, where state politicians take donations/bribes from the fossil fuel industry to deny climate change.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 June 2024

• Zhōngguó is the world's biggest extract of materials (fossil fuels, metal ores, non-metallic minerals) at 34 billion tons in 2023, followed by Bharat at 8 billion tons and the USA with 8 billion tons, and Brazil at 5 billion tons
  - Zero Hedge, 08 June 2024

• Markets have overreacted to OPEC's plan to phase out production cuts. Overall, analysts say that OPEC+ decisions will ultimately prove positive for oil prices.
  - Zero Hedge, 06 June 2024

• La Nina will complicate things for President Biden ahead of elections as hurricanes threaten oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico
  - Zero Hedge, 06 June 2024

• Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are surging "faster than ever" to beyond anything humans ever experienced, officials say
  - CBS News, 06 June 2024

• Key ministers of OPEC+ dismiss the bearish market reaction to output plans
  - Zero Hedge, 06 June 2024

• The government of the USA could accelerate the refill rate of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
  - Zero Hedge, 05 June 2024

• Oil market "oversold"? Analysts and traders pin the price plunge of crude oil on declining demand and trading strategies based on oil being oversold
  - Versant's CNBC, 05 June 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices test 4-month lows as the American Petroleum Institute reports across the board increases in inventory
  - Zero Hedge, 04 June 2024

• For the next 2-5 years, there is an extraordinary imbalance in favor of demand for power
  - Zero Hedge, 03 June 2024

• OPEC+ meeting shows that there is persistent demand weakness
  - Zero Hedge, 03 June 2024

• Oil and natural gas companies rig the marketplace. Fossil fuel interests - including think tanks, trade associations and dark money groups -- are often preventing the market from shifting to the lowest cost energy. Similar to other industries from tobacco to banking to pharmaceuticals, oil and gas interests use tactics like lobbying and manufacturing 'grass-roots' support to maximize profits. As renewables have become a more formidable competitor, there is a large-scale effort to deceive the public into thinking that the alternative products are harmful, unreliable and worse for consumers.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 June 2024

• OPEC+ extends deep reductions in oil output into 2025
  - Zero Hedge, 02 June 2024

• OPEC+ extends deep reductions in oil output into 2025
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 02 June 2024

• High levels of purchases of oil by Bharat push crude imports in Asia to one-year high. Crude oil demand from Bharat has been growing this year despite consistently higher prices, suggesting that it is more resilient to price rises than some expected.
  - Zero Hedge, 01 June 2024

• OPEC to meet amid signs of waning influence on oil prices
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 June 2024

• The resurgence of the oil industry in Canada is doomed without a supply of younger workers
  - Zero Hedge, 30 May 2024

• The government of Zhōngguó targets wasted production in critical sectors to curb pollution, and to ease overcapacity. Four industrial sectors - steel, petrochemicals, non-ferrous metals, and building materials -- with new production capacity strictly prohibited or restrictde in some subsectors.
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 30 May 2024

• A reduction in ship pollution sparked global heating spurt. Sudden cut in pollution in 2020 meant less shade from sun and was "substantial" factor in record surface temperatures in 2023, study finds.
  - The Guardian, 30 May 2024

• The plastic industry says that "chemical recycling" is a way to deal with gigantic amounts of plastic pollution plaguing the environment. Critics say that this claim is an economi lie.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 30 May 2024

• Treasury Bond yields soar as hopes plunge for interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve - stocks, oil and gold are sold, while Nvidia hits a record new high
  - Zero Hedge, 29 May 2024

• Lawyers to plastics makers: prepare for "astronomical" PFAS lawsuits. At an industry presentation about dangerous "forever chemicals", lawyers predicted a wave of lawsuits that could dwarf asbestos litigation, audio from the event revealed.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 29 May 2024

• Most biodegradable plastic really does not biodegrade
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 28 May 2024

• Retailers are being urged to stop making everyday products such as drinks bottles, outdoor furniture and toys out of brightly coloured plastic after researchers found it degrades into microplastics faster than plainer colours
  - The Guardian, 27 May 2024

• A huge oil industry deal, a $53 billion megadeal, entwines the legacies of three CEOs. The leaders of Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Hess are duking it out over a generational oil discovery in Guyana.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 27 May 2024

• Democrats in the USA Senate open an inquiry into the request by Trump for a $1 billion bribe donation from the oil industry
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 24 May 2024

• Oil companies were enjoying record profits under the Biden administraiton. But then President Biden decided to pause permits for terminals that export natural gas. The oil industry decreased its bribes to Biden and increased their bribes donations to Trump.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 22 May 2024

• $30,000,000 - TPC Group, a petrochemical company in Texas, has pleaded guilty to a violation of the Clean Air Act and agreed to pay more than $30 million in connection with two explosions that injured workers and caused the evacuation of thousands, due to explosions at a TPC Group plant in the coastal city of Port Neches the day before Thanksgiving 2019
  - Associated Press, 21 May 2024

• Mainstream investors finally get it: the AI investment tactic is not technology, but energy such as from natural gas - the electric power needed to fuel the growth of AI
  - Zero Hedge, 21 May 2024

• Microplastics found in every human testicle in study. Scientists say discovery may be linked to decades-long decline in sperm counts in men around the world.
  - The Guardian, 20 May 2024

• Analyzing the strategic importance of the oil hub in Afghanistan reporteddly being constructed by Rossiya. Continued maritime exports to the Indian Ocean Region across the Baltic, Black, and Mediterranean Seas might be deemed strategically undependable.
  - Zero Hedge, 20 May 2024

• Utility stocks are suddenly white hot, thanks largely to artificial intelligence's thirst for electricity. Investors accustomed to thinking of the sector as sleepy and safe need to realize the game has changed.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 18 May 2024

• Republican politicians in Florida, pass a law deleting 'climate change' from the state policies of Florida. The law also stops programs designed to encourage renewable energy and conservation in a state that is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Meanwhile, it is geting harder and more expensive to obtain home insurance in Florida ... because of climate change.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 17 May 2024

• Millions of people in eastern Texas as thunderstorms topple electricity transmission towers
  - Zero Hedge, 16 May 2024

• The Falklands have just become the most valuable piece of real estate on earth. The discovery by Rossiya of vast oil reserves in the British Antarctic Territory has fired the starting gun on a mad scramble for resources.
  - Barclay's The Telegraph, 13 May 2024

• The state of Georgia is a magnet for data centers and other cutting-edge industries, but vast electricity demands are clashing with the green-energy goals of the companies demanding more electricity.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 May 2024

• Big Oil has flourished, despite Biden's best efforts, and will back Trump in 2024 because Trump will let Big Oil destroy even more of the climate
  - Zero Hedge, 12 May 2024

• Ukraine uses drones to successfully attack one of the the largest oil refineries in Rossiya in Volvograd
  - Zero Hedge, 12 May 2024

• At a dinner, Trump assailed rules to protect the climate from being worsened further, and asked for a $1 billion bribe from Big Oil, an industry always glad to politicians. At a private meeting at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said fossil fuel companies should donate/bribe-him to help him beat President Biden.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 10 May 2024

• Is oil demand in Zhōngguó about to experience a major increase?
  - Zero Hedge, 09 May 2024

• In an effort to curb microplastics and marine pollution, state lawmakers in FLorida voted to ban intentional releases of balloons
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 May 2024

• Fuel cargos from Rossiya pile up at sea as buyers in South Korea grow cautious. Buyers in South Korea grow reluctant to go through with their deals amid a government crackdown on sanction evasion.
  - Zero Hedge, 07 May 2024

• Two energy giants in Europe, TotalEnergies of France and Shell of Britain, are considering moving their stock listings to New York, as pressure mounts for them to improve their valuations, which lag their counterparts in the USA.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 May 2024

• Oil price increases by Saudi Arabia may signal a bottom in oil prices. Crude took a marked step lower last week thanks to a surge in inventories in the USA, and optimism that Middle East tensions can cool further, but there is a decent chance it is busy finding a new floor rather than settling in for sustained declines.
  - Zero Hedge, 06 May 2024

• Inside a $10 billion bet on the world's longest heated oil pipeline. The East African Crude Oil Pipeline, or EACOP, faces challenges from forest fires to deadly snakes. But funding is the biggest worry.
  - Barron's, 04 May 2024

• Its distrust simmers by Bulgaria of a Black Sea oil terminal controlled by Rossiya. Rossiya has been losing its grip on the Rosenets Oil Terminal, near the port city of Burgas, as authorities in Bulgaria seek to assert greater control over the oil facility operated by Rossiya.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 02 May 2024

• A yeast-like bacteria can cut carbon emissions while creating sustainable aviation fuel and sneakers. Technology invented by LanzaTech can reduce the CO2 output of steel plants by a third while also creating ethanol for environmentally friendly plastics and fuel.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 02 May 2024

• Just as Rossiya had started to bring back some refinery capacity damaged by Ukrainian drone attacks earlier this year, a new wave of drone attacks hit a major refinery owned by Rosneft, for a second time, in Ryazan, southeast of Moscow.
  - OilPrice.com, 01 May 2024

• Exxon to win FTC approval for $60 billion pioneer deal, creating energy supergiant. Having adversely intervened in virtually every other M&A deal in the past 3 years, the Biden FTC will reportedly allow Exxon's $60 billion purchase of Pioneer to go through after the companies agreed to minor concessions.
  - Zero Hedge, 01 May 2024

• How big data centers are money-grubbing mega-billion dollar Big Tech companies are slowing the shift to clean energy. In the data center alley in Virginia, rising power demand means more fossil fuel.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 30 April 2024

• In a desolate stretch of desert spanning West Texas and New Mexico, drillers are pumping more crude than Kuwait. The oil production is so frenzied that huge swaths of land are literally sinking and heaving. The land was subsided as much as 11 inches since 2015 in a prime portion of the Permian Basin. More earthquakes and pressure increases have local communities worried .
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 29 April 2024

• Venezuela's use of digital currencies, expected to increase after the USA ordered a wind-down of oil deals with the sanctioned country by May 31, will require greater scrutiny by regulators and law enforcement, experts said on Monday.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 29 April 2024

• Another oil refinery in ROssiya attacked by kamikaze drones from the Ukraine
  - Zero Hedge, 27 April 2024

• Just days after the Biden administration signed a new military aid package worth billions of dollars to Ukraine, Kyiv launched a series of suicide drone attacks on Russian oil refineries. Biden's top officials have pleaded with Kyiv to stop attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure because of the fears that turmoil in crude markets would send pump prices in the US higher ahead of the presidential elections in November.
  - Zero Hedge, 26 April 2024

• Shares of Exxon fall 2% as earnings miss on lower natural gas prices and squeezed refining margins
  - Versant's CNBC, 26 April 2024

• USO, the largest ETF for oil, experiences a record outflow on subsiding geopolitical risk premium
  - Zero Hedge, 25 April 2024

• Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA plans to increase digital currency usage in its crude and fuel exports as the USA reimposes oil sanctions on the country
  - Thomson's Reuters, 23 April 2024

• Cancer rises 30% in Beirut as diesel generators poison the city and its people. The economy of Lebanon, is very broken and much power is generated locally with diesel, with devastating effects on air quality and health
  - The Guardian, 22 April 2024

• The head of climate research at hedge fund Andurand expresses skepticism over carbon-credit boom. "I don't think you're going to find people stampeding to buy credits".
  - Zero Hedge, 22 April 2024

• The world procduces about 400 million tons of plastic waste each year. Every day, 2000 tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean, rivers and lakes. Only 9% of plastic products are recycled each year.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 22 April 2024

• Ocean spray from crashing waves emits more PFAs (forever chemicals) than industrial polluters, raising concerns about environmental contamination and human exposure along coastilnes
  - The Guardian, 19 April 2024

• Toxic chemicals from microplastics can be absorbed through the skin
  - Univ. Birmingham, 19 April 2024

• How Big Tech is consuming more and more electricity and water in the USA (and thus causing more environmental harm)
  - Zero Hedge, 19 April 2024

• Oil prices fall after brief spike as traders realize Israeli strike on Iran was limited
  - Versant's CNBC, 18 April 2024

• We must protect the global plastics treaty from corporate interference. A United Nations-backed agreement to end plastic pollution is within reach -- but only if scientists, civil society and businesses unite against powerful vested interests.
  - Nature, 17 April 2024

• The computation demand for the new, job-destroying AI, by 2030 could be consuming more energy than Bharat, much of that energy generated by burning coal and oil, worsening the environment
  - Bloomberg, 17 April 2024

• Wall Street is betting that OPEC+ can fend off $100 oil. Traders expect spare capacity will cap crude prices despite the conflict in the Middle East.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 17 April 2024

• The oil and plastic industries earn hundreds of billions, while people end up with microplastics in their brains
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 16 April 2024

• As the price of oil soars, trapped hedge funds are flooding into energy stock shorts and hoping for a selloff
  - Zero Hedge, 15 April 2024

• The administration of President Biden is raising the costs to private companies of drilling and mining on lands owned by the public
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 April 2024

• Plastic is used everywhere. Now Big Oil companies are producing even more of what ends up polluting the environment. With gasoline's days numbered, oil companies are sending huge amounts of their production to chemical plants for plastic. What it means for companies and the environment.
  - Barron's, 13 April 2024

• Prices of oil from Rossiya are trading everywhere above the price caps imposed by the western G7 nations
  - Zero Hedge, 11 April 2024

• Natural gas prices in Texas turn negative as drillers chase sales of oil. "They are bringing these drilled, uncompleted wells online because the price of oil is higher. It is flooding the market with gas, and there is no demand."
  - Zero Hedge, 11 April 2024

• Americans now worry about out-of-control power bill inflation
  - Zero Hedge, 11 April 2024

• Much the same as the oil industry, trillions in subsidies for wind and solar power have not made these sources of renewable energy much cheaper for people in the USA
  - Murdoch's New York Post, 09 April 2024

• Pump prices for gasoline surge to 6-month highs ahead of the latest CPI report, while crude inventories see another build
  - Zero Hedge, 09 April 2024

• Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - 'forever chemicals' - are pervasive in water worldwide, study finds. A global survey found harmful levels even in water samples taken far any obvious source of contamination. A new study of more than 45,000 water samples around the world found that about 31 percent of groundwater samples tested that were not near any obvious source of contamination had PFAS levels considered harmful to human health by the Environmental Protection Agency.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 09 April 2024

• Here is what will push the price of oil above $100
  - Zero Hedge, 08 April 2024

• Contaminated fuel is a hard-to-fix problem in ocean shipping. Fuels such as 'cappuccino' and the improper mixing of oils aboard ships plague the industry as investigators probe the cause of the cargo vessel Dali's crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the harbor of Baltimore.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 08 April 2024

• There is an explosion of plastic waste, as big companies want more billions by shifting disposal problems to taxpayers. Big brands like Procter & Gamble and Nestlé say a new generation of recycling plants will help them meet environmental goals, but the technology is struggling to deliver, meaning more billions earned at the public expense.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 April 2024

• Are the new oil riches of Guyana a blessing or a curse? More than any single country, Guyana demonstrates the struggle between the consequences of climate change and the lure of the oil economy.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 April 2024

• Saudi Arabia increases oil prices in anincreasingly tight market for the second consecutive month
  - OilPrice.com, 05 April 2024

• Gasoline prices in the USA hit the highest levels in six months, amid speculation that President Biden will order more oil be withdrawn from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  - Zero Hedge, 04 April 2024

• People may be putting plastic into recycling bins, but most of it generally ends up in landfills or incinerated. The Center for Climate Integrity alleges that as the plastics industry faced mounting concerns over plastics being incinerated and piling up in landfills, they promoted recycling as a viable solution while dismissing it internally as impractical. They argue that the efforts to sell the false promise of plastic recycling were to avoid restrictive regulations and potential product bans.
  - Zero Hedge, 03 April 2024

• Drones using AI launched from Ukraine are disrupting the oil and energy industry of Rossiya. So far, the cost-effective strategy is working.
  - Warner Brothers CNN, 02 April 2024

• Lawmakers in Texas rush to stop "catastrophic-level event" at oil fields in Texas due to leaks of toxic and radioactive water from the oil wells. "We are going to have complete and utter ecological devastation."
  - The Cool Down, 29 March 2024

• Over 20% of the world's oil refining capacity is at risk of closure. Weakening refining margins and carbon taxes put a fifth of global refining capacity at risk.
  - Zero Hedge, 28 March 2024

• SLB (Schlumberger) to invest nearly $400 million in carbon capture company in push to scale technology in a project in Norway
  - Versant's CNBC, 28 March 2024

• JPMorgan warns that Putin can push oil to $100 by September to "pressure Biden ahead of elections"
  - Zero Hedge, 27 March 2024

• Retail prices for gasoline to rise back to $4 per gallon as "real sleeper risk" for oil market looms
  - Zero Hedge, 26 March 2024

• Bharat suspends purchases of oil from Venezuela fearing USA sanctions return, and stops accepting oil tankers from Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 26 March 2024

• South Sudan is on the brink after oil exports derailed by civil war in Sudan between Islamic majority in the north and the Christians of South Sudan. Experts say that a halt in oil production could escalate already acute levels of violence and insecurity in South Sudan.
  - Al Jazeera, 26 March 2024

• PetroChina posts record profit, but revenue misses estimates on weaker oil prices. State-controlled oil company PetroChina said its annual profit rose to a record due to lower operating expenses, but revenue fell on weaker oil prices.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 26 March 2024

• Oil surges as production unexpectedly tumbles in the USA after shale merger wave fizzles, and Rossiya orders companies to cut production
  - Zero Hedge, 25 March 2024

• The world's largest oilfield services group, SLB (formerly Schlumberger), refuses to exit its business in Rossiya, preferring to help Rossiya earn money from oil exports that can be used to kill people in the Ukraine. Its two competitors, Baker Hughes and Halliburton, have ceased activities in Rossiya. "The oil SLB helps to dig up in Russia funds a war that has killed ten thousand Ukrainian civilians. SLB leaving would be a major blow to Putin. What are they waiting for?"
  - Financial Times, 24 March 2024

• The 'Powell put' sparks surge in stocks, bonds, & the dollar; gold and oil flat for week
  - Zero Hedge, 22 March 2024

• The Biden administration demands that Ukraine halt attacks on oil refineries in Rossiya which are sending oitl prices surging
  - Zero Hedge, 22 March 2024

• The high-cost oil industry in Nigeria is in decline. That will leave a gaping hole in exports and public finances.
  - Economist, 21 March 2024

• $13,200,000 - Chevron will pay the state of California $13.2 million to settle a lawsuit over oil spills in Kern County.
  - Economist, 21 March 2024

• Rossiya considers a security buffer zone, as attacks by drones from Ukraine shut down 600,000 barrels of daily refining of oil in Rossiya
  - Zero Hedge, 18 March 2024

• Big Tech and oil surge in price, as bond pricesand bitcoin decline in price, all ahead of the next Fed meeting
  - Zero Hedge, 18 March 2024

• Oil prices hit new cycle high after data from Zhōngguó, refinery attacks in Rossiya, and oil supply cuts by Iraq
  - Zero Hedge, 18 March 2024

• A new surge in power use is threatening climate goals in the USA. A boom in data centers and factories is straining electric grids and propping up fossil fuels.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 18 March 2024

• The 'zombies' of the tax code in the USA: why fossil fuels subsidies for rich oil companies seem impossible to kill. For the fourth year in a row, President Biden is trying to eliminate $35 billion over the next ten years in federal tax deductions for coal, oil and gas companies. But fossil fuel subsidies have proven difficult to stop.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 18 March 2024

• Brent crude prices climbed to their highest level in four and a half months last week following attacks on multiple Russian oil refineries by Ukrainian drones. Additionally, this morning, drone strikes on two more oil refining facilities were reported deep within Russia. Oil prices could rise higher if Iran-backed Yemen's Houthi rebels start targeting key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
  - Zero Hedge, 16 March 2024

• Oil set for strong weekly gains of 4% on demand revisions as gasoline price surge to accelerate
  - Zero Hedge, 15 March 2024

• Ukraine, stalled on the battlefield, targets the oil industry of Rossiya
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 15 March 2024

• The divergence on oil demand between OPEC and the IEA becomes too big to ignore. Ever since the IEA switched from a pure-play information provider to an advocate of the energy transition, its forecasts about oil demand have shifted to increasingly reflect this advocacy.
  - Zero Hedge, 14 March 2024

• Producer prices surged again in February as energy costs re-accelerated. 70% of the rise in February Goods PPI can be attributed to the index for energy, which jumped 4.4%.
  - Zero Hedge, 14 March 2024

• The oil/Amazon contradiction in Brazil. State-owned Petrobras could soon be the world's third-biggest oil producer, in stark contrast to Brazil's promises to fight climate change and slow destruction of the Amazon.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 March 2024

• Oil fields release far more methane than thought, a new study reports. In parts of New Mexico, more than 9 percent of all natural gas produced goes into the atmosphere, where it acts as a powerful greenhouse gas that worsens global heating.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 14 March 2024

• 'Green imperialism': de facto EU ban on recycled plastics imports sparks row in Brussels. A last-minute 'mirror clause' from France has EU trade officials scrambling to kill landmark packaging rules seeking level global playing field. EU recycling sector figures warn that if plastic imports from Zhōngguó are not curbed, "the industry will collapse".
  - Alibaba's South China Morning Post, 13 March 2024

• OPEC holds oil demand view steady, raises 2024 economic forecast. OPEC left its estimates for global oil-demand growth unchanged, but raised its economic forecast for this year further amid falling inflation and anticipated interest-rate cuts.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 13 March 2024

• No big North Sea fossil fuel country has plan to stop drilling in time for 1.5C goal. UK, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Denmark have failed to align oil and gas policies with Paris pledges, say campaigners.
  - The Guardian, 12 March 2024

• Saudi oil giant Aramco raised its total 2023 dividend payment by 30% to nearly $98 billion, even as the world's largest oil firm by both production and market capitalization reported a 25% drop in earnings for 2023 due to lower oil prices/
  - Zero Hedge, 11 March 2024

• $1,000,000,000,000+ - The oil industry has sought to block state backing for renewable energy technology since the 1960s. Research shows the oil industry lobbying against support for solar panels and electric cars while the oil industry enjoyed vast subsidies for propping up its polluting business model. In 2022, the total subsidies for fossil fuels -- including costs to society -- came to $760 billion in the US and $310 billion in the European Union, according to the International Monetary Fund.
  - The Guardian, 08 March 2024

• State-owned oil and natural gas giant, CNOOC, based in Zhōngguó, has discovered a new reserve in the South China Sea containing over 100 million tons of oil equivalent proved in-place
  - Thomson's Reuters, 07 March 2024

• The SEC approves new climate rules far weaker than originally proposed. The rules, designed to inform investors of business risks from climate change, were rolled back amid opposition from the Republican party, fossil fuel producers, farmers and others.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 07 March 2024

• The SEC approves new climate rules far weaker than originally proposed. The rules, designed to inform investors of business risks from climate change, were rolled back amid opposition from the Republican Party, fossil fuel producers, farmers and others.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 07 March 2024

• The world must rethink plans for ageing oil and gas platforms. The oceans of Earth are awash with ageing energy infrastructure. A change in the law is needed to ensure that these structures are decommissioned in ways that maximize environmental and societal benefits.
  - Nature, 06 March 2024

• Global heating, due to carbon emissions from oil, natural gas and coal use -- is particularly bad for women-led families. New U.N. research shows that climate change disproportionately erodes income in households led by women in poorer countries.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 06 March 2024

• A Turkish oil terminal on the Mediterranean will stop importing oil from Rossiya amid intensified USA sanctions pressure on Moscow's exports, the terminal's operator told Reuters on Tuesday.
  - OilPrice.com, 05 March 2024

• De-dollarization in Bharat, as Bharat urges Gulf exporters to accept rupees as payment for oil. The Reserve Bank of Bharat has asked the major state-owned refiners in Bharat to press Persian Gulf suppliers to accept at least 10% of oil payments in rupees in the next financial year, three executives at the processors said.
  - Zero Hedge, 05 March 2024

• Oil from Rossiya no longer sells at a discount as nobody complies with Western sanctions imposed by the USA
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2024

• OPEC+ extends oil output cuts through mid-year in bid to further boost prices
  - Zero Hedge, 03 March 2024

• OPEC+ extends oil output cuts through mid-year in bid to further boost prices
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 March 2024

• The percentage of households in Maine burning home heating oil is the highest in the country. Yet no other state is adopting climate-friendly heat pumps as fast. In 2023 heat pumps outsold gas furnaces in the United States for the second year running, a climate win.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 03 March 2024

• $661,000,000 - Geneva-based commodities trading firm Gunvor said Friday that it has reached a $661 million settlement with U.S. and Swiss prosecutors after convictions for bribery of foreign officials in connection with the petroleum industry in Ecuador. The Swiss prosecutors said the case involved payouts to that led the state petroleum company Petroecuador to award two oil-related contracts to Gunvor.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 01 March 2024

• Oil-and-gas companies are accelerating investments in geothermal energy, betting the technologies that fueled the shale revolution can turn the budding industry into a large producer of clean power.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 01 March 2024

• Oil refiners in Bharat are concerned that the latest sanctions imposed by the USA against Rossiya could further impact their ability to import cheap crude oil from Rossiya as freight rates are set to rise and dent refining margins
  - Zero Hedge, 28 February 2024

• OPEC+ could extend oil output cuts through the end of the year
  - Zero Hedge, 27 February 2024

• Microplastics have been found in every human placenta tested in a study, leaving the researchers worried about the potential health impacts on developing foetuses. The scientists analysed 62 placental tissue samples and found the most common plastic detected was polyethylene, which is used to make plastic bags and bottles. A second study revealed microplastics in all 17 human arteries tested and suggested the particles may be linked to clogging of the blood vessels.
  - The Guardian, 27 February 2024

• Chevron's $53 billion deal with Hess is in jeopardy as Exxon prepares a counteroffer. Exxon has said it could pre-emptively match the price Chevron offered Hess for its 30% stake in a booming oil prospect off the coast of Guyana.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 27 February 2024

• Chevron's $53 billion deal with Hess is in jeopardy as Exxon prepares a counteroffer. Exxon has said it could pre-emptively match the price Chevron offered Hess for its 30% stake in a booming oil prospect off the coast of Guyana.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 27 February 2024

• The oil-producing provinces of Argentina have threatened to cut off oil supply to the rest of the country if the government of Javier Milei goes through with plans to withhold billions in federal tax revenues
  - Oil Price, 26 February 2024

• Despite the continued decline in supply and inventories, oil prices remain rangebound and seem unable to breakout solidly about the low 80s. Why is that? In a word: financialization, aka "paper oil", because while the physical oil market is screaming higher, financial players (managed money) continue to aggressively sell and short the sector.
  - Zero Hedge, 26 February 2024

• Plastic experts say recycling is a scam. Should we even do it anymore? Evidence shows fossil fuel companies pushed recycling instead of addressing our growing plastic problem. The oil and plastics industry have known for a long-time that plastic recycling is not technically or economically viable at scale.
  - Salon, 24 February 2024

• Renewable power growth in the USA is setting new records with the support of government subsidies. Wind and solar power are projected to become more popular than natural gas in replacing coal.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 23 February 2024

• The rising cost of the slow death of the oil and natural gas industries. Unplugged oil and gas wells accelerate climate change, threaten public health and risk hitting the pocketbooks of taxpyers. ProPublica and Capital & Main found that the money set aside to fix the problem falls woefully short of the impending cost.
  - ProPublica, 22 February 2024

• The United Kingdom withdraws from an archaic treaty from 1994 that allows environmentally-destructive oil firms to sue governments for the environment protection politicies
  - Zero Hedge, 22 February 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices after a big product draw and a smaller crude build
  - Zero Hedge, 22 February 2024

• Deutsche Bank sees prices of Brent oil at $88 by the end of 2024
  - Zero Hedge, 22 February 2024

• Wall Street, realizing that there are no large easy profits in protecting the environment, re-embraces oil and natural gas and does $250 billion in deals last year - burn, baby Earth, burn.
  - Zero Hedge, 21 February 2024

• A day after a New York court ruling that the laws of Venezuela would determine the validity of bonds issued by state-run PDVSA oil company, Bloomberg reports that bonds have "collapsed", slumping on questions over their validity. At stake is $2 billion in PDVSA bonds, and PDVSA notes dropped 17 cents following the ruling on Teusday, according to Bloomberg.
  - OilPrice.com, 21 February 2024

• How Bharat became the most nimble energy buyer in the world. With a rapidly growing population and economy, Bharat has high demand for oil and natural gas at the right price.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 21 February 2024

• Until it was publicly mentioned at a Congressional hearing, an insurance company in the USA, American Club, was selling insurance to shadowy oil tankers carrying oil from Iran, in violations of sanctions of the government of the USA. It is unclear who the U.S. government considers primarily responsible for identifying suspicious tankers.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 20 February 2024

• The oil production power of the USA might be near its peak. Gushers of new crude oil in the USA have helped limit soaring oil prices despite OPEC production cuts and global turmoil, but that growth is expected to slow dramatically this year.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 20 February 2024

• Investors push up the prices of bitcoin and oil as stagflation in the USA wrecks a 52-year-old equity streak
  - Zero Hedge, 16 February 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices drop after huge crude build, and production in the USA back at record highs
  - Zero Hedge, 14 February 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices increase after a big drawdown in supplies, with prices at the pump set to soar
  - Zero Hedge, 13 February 2024

• Permian rivals reach deal to create $50 billion oil-and-gas behemoth. Diamondback Energy and Autry Stephen's Endeavor announce merger as torrid dealmaking continues in the oil patch.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 February 2024

• The government of Venezuela tries some blackmail, announcing that it will refuse to accept deported migrants if the U.S. reimposes oil and gas sanctions. Venezuela is feeling the heat from the international community to hold a free and fair election this year. One reason it is also saber-rattling on the Guyanese border.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 12 February 2024

• The 'banana' republic of Venezuela is moving light tanks, missile-equipped patrol boats and armored carriers to the border with Guyana, the most serious escalation in the conflict of the two oil rich nations, putting Biden in a very unpleasant position.
  - Zero Hedge, 09 February 2024

• The 'banana' republic of Venezuela is moving light tanks, missile-equipped patrol boats and armored carriers to the border with Guyana, the most serious escalation in the conflict of the two oil rich nations, putting Biden in a very unpleasant position.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 09 February 2024

• Diesel prices primed to rise sharply in 2024. Global stocks of diesel and other middle distillates are below normal and prices could start to rise quickly if the industrial economies of North America and Western Europe emerge from their lingering recession in 2024.
  - Zero Hedge, 08 February 2024

• Nine states in the USAM are working together to accelerate the adoption of heat pumps powered by electricity (especially from renewable sources), in an effort to eliminate natural gas and oil furnances.
  - Newhouse Wired, 07 February 2024

• The diesel fuel supply in the USA tightens as manufacturing comes roaring back. Manufacturers in the USA are recovering from an extended slump in activity and their energy consumption is about to start rising, with the risk of tightening an already tight diesel market.
  - Zero Hedge, 05 February 2024

• Zhōngguó is poised to take further control of important oil assets in the south of Iraq, as it completes a big crude oil storage facility in Nasiriyah
  - Zero Hedge, 02 February 2024

• Exxon and Chevron beat estimates, report second-biggest annual profits in past decade
  - Zero Hedge, 02 February 2024

• Exxon and Chevron beat estimates, report second-biggest annual profits in past decade
  - Zero Hedge, 02 February 2024

• Oil imports into Asia hit an 8-month high in January, with strong buying by Zhōngguó and Bharat
  - Zero Hedge, 02 February 2024

• Many private refiners in Zhōngguó, often referred to 'teapots', have started this year struggling, squeezed between higher prices for importing sanctioned oil and depressed refining margins amid sinking domestic diesel prices in Zhōngguó.
  - Zero Hedge, 02 February 2024

• The parliament of Iraq is calling to abandon the USA dollar when trading for oil, aiming to counter US sanctions on the Iraqi banking system. "The US Treasury still uses the pretext of money laundering to impose sanctions on Iraqi banks. This requires a national stance to put an end to these arbitrary decisions."
  - Zero Hedge, 02 February 2024

• Earnings of Shell beat forecasts on strong trading of natural gas, and it launches a $3.5 billion stock buyback
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 02 February 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices extend losses after a surprise increase in crude oil supplies
  - Zero Hedge, 31 January 2024

• New documents show that the fossil fuel industry (oil, natural gas, coal) knew of the future danger's of global heating due to their products, only for the industry to then publicly lie/deny this science for decades and fund ongoing efforts to delay action on the climate crisis.
  - The Guardian, 30 January 2024

• In shocking reversal, Saudi Arabia unexpectedly orders Aramco to drop oil capacity expansion plans
  - Zero Hedge, 30 January 2024

• Oil shorts squeezed as inventories at Cushing tumble to historic low for January
  - Zero Hedge, 29 January 2024

• President Biden will renew oil sanctions on Venezuelas if President Maduro continues barring opposition presidential candidate backed by the USA
  - Zero Hedge, 29 January 2024

• The oil and gas industry is expected to spend more than $1 trillion on natural gas supply, driven by demand for gas in Europe. So what if the planet burns to death due to more global heating?
  - Zero Hedge, 29 January 2024

• President Biden's 'oil-for-fake democracy' deal is ruined after Venezuela blocks the leader of the opposition from running for president in the next elections
  - Zero Hedge, 27 January 2024

• An international team of chemical and environmental engineers has found that oil sands operations in Canada are emitting significantly more pollutants into the air than previously thought
  - Phys.org, 26 January 2024

• Zhōngguó will starting refilling its strategic oil reserve after draining it for most of 2023.
  - Zero Hedge, 26 January 2024

• British oil tanker carrying naphta from Rossiya on fire in the Red Sea after a missile attack by the Houthis in Yemen
  - Zero Hedge, 26 January 2024

• Another oil refinery in Rossiya is engulfed in fire after a drone attack from Ukraine. The refinery is owned by Rosneft, and is in sourthern Roosiya on the Black Sea.
  - Zero Hedge, 25 January 2024

• Global emissions from electricity set to fall even as power demand climbs, the IEA predicts. Starting this year, record generation from renewables and nuclear will cover rising power demand from growth in emerging markets, AI and data centers, the agency says.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 25 January 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices extend gains after a big drawdown of crude oil supplies, and a slump in production, while the Biden administration bought oil to add to the Strategic Petroleum reserve
  - Zero Hedge, 24 January 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices are steady near one-month-highs after API reports big crude drawdown
  - Zero Hedge, 23 January 2024

• Exxon sues to prevent climate proposal from getting a shareholder vote. The complaint, filed in a U.S. District Court in Texas, said a proposal by activist investors calling for the oil giant to cut emissions faster would not create shareholder value.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 23 January 2024

• Aliko Dangote, the richest person in Africa, just opened a $19 billion oil refinery to help reduce fuel imports into Nigeria. He founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the largest cement producer in Africa. Great profits for him with these two industries that worsen global heating.
  - Business Insider, 21 January 2024

• Widening discounts for oil from Rossiya and lower international benchmark prices dragged oil export revenues for Rossiya down to a six-month low in December, despite higher export volumes
  - Zero Hedge, 19 January 2024

• Doctors are now being encouraged to consider more blood testing for oil-derived PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals', according to guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  - Disney's ABC News, 18 January 2024

• The USA is 'drowning' OPEC in oil. Shale country in the USA keeps putting pressure on the oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia.
  - Quartz, 18 January 2024

• What to do as the "USA Empire" crumbles and global shipping goes back to a 19th century world of piracy of oil and other cargos
  - Zero Hedge, 18 January 2024

• A blast of cold air from the Arctic forces half of the oil production offline in North Dakota
  - Zero Hedge, 17 January 2024

• More from the Abrahamic civil wars. The attacks in the Red Sea are "getting worse, not better", forcing more ships to detour around Africa
  - Zero Hedge, 17 January 2024

• Shell has agreed to sell its onshore oil and gas business in Nigeria to a group dominated by local companies for $1.3 billion. The transaction is an effort by the largest energy company in the world to reduce its risks in the country that is the largest oil producer in Africa.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 17 January 2024

• "2025 is when the world will be short of oil": Occidental CEO warns oil supply crunch begins next year
  - Zero Hedge, 16 January 2024

• Shell PLC becomes latest to suspend shipments in the Red Sea after two fresh attacks by the Houthi against tankers. Malta-flagged Greek-owned bulk carrier suffers direct hit by missile.
  - Zero Hedge, 16 January 2024

• Oil attracts cautious buying from hedge funds. Portfolio investors purchased petroleum in the first full week of 2024, reversing sales the previous week and continuing the pattern of choppy trading that has continued since early December.
  - Zero Hedge, 16 January 2024

• Thousands of German truck drivers, farmers, and agricultural workers have parked their trucks in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in protest over the government's 'green' plan to end tax breaks on diesel fuel.
  - Zero Hedge, 16 January 2024

• Global heating and the dirty energies of oil, natural gas and coal. How temperature records were shatttered as 2023 became the hottest year ever. Month after month global temperatures not only break records, but also they surpassed them by far. This year could be even warmer.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 16 January 2024

• Biden administration to fine oil and natural gas companies for excess methane. A plan to impose a fee of $900 to $1,500 on every excess ton of methane emissions would be the first federal price on greenhouse gas pollution.
  - Ochs-Sulzberger's New York Times, 13 January 2024

• Wind turbines are friendlier to birds than oil-and-gas drilling
  - Economist, 10 January 2024

• Shipping rates for oil supertankers are soaring after Korean shipper sparks market frenzy. A flurry of booking activity by Sinokor Merchant Marine in the past week rapidly tightened the availability of tankers, spurring what Bloomberg said was a "market frenzy." While the transporters were booked for long-haul voyages, the motivation for the unusually large hiring spree was unclear.
  - Zero Hedge, 09 January 2024

• People are swallowing hundreds of thousands of microscopic pieces of plastic each time they drink a liter of bottled water. A new study finds that 'nanoplastics' are even more common than microplastics in bottled water.
  - Bezos' Washington Post, 08 January 2024

• Bitcoin and Big-Tech burst higher amid bloodbath in Boeing and black gold (oil)
  - Zero Hedge, 08 January 2024

• Oil prices plunge $3 to below $70, after Saudi Arabia cuts oil prices for February amid "persistent weakness"
  - Zero Hedge, 08 January 2024

• The Supreme Court of the USA declines to hear an appeal from Exxon and Koch Industries to move a lawsuit filed by Minnesota accusing them of worsening climate change out of state court and into federal court (which are friendlier to companies destroying the environment). Federal courts last year rejected similar appeals, forcing these environmental lawsuits filed by states to be held in ... state courts.
  - Thomson's Reuters, 08 January 2024

• The unhealthy plastic chemicals hiding in your food. Consumer Reports tested popular fast foods and supermarket staples for bisphenols and phthalates, which can be harmful to your health. 79 percent of tested samples had bisphenols while 84 out of 85 items had phthalates. Exposure to such plasticizers can cause severe health issues, like for example in children, bisphenol A (BPA) exposure can negatively affect the brain and prostate glands as well as their behavior. BPA has also been linked with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and high blood pressure. Phthalates have been associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, lower sperm motility and concentration, early puberty in girls, and cancer.
  - Consumer Reports, 04 January 2024

• Meet the shrewdest operators in the oil markets of today. Supermajor oil companies in the USA should worry OPEC+.
  - Economist, 03 January 2024

• Lower imports into Bharat of crude oil from Rossiya in recent weeks were the result of unattractive discounts, not because of payment issues amid tougher U.S. sanctions on exports from Rossiya, tke oil minister of Bharat said on Wednesday.
  - Zero Hedge, 03 January 2024

• West Texas crude oil prices hold price increases for the day, after the API reports a big crude oil drawdown
  - Zero Hedge, 03 January 2024

• Shale is keeping the world awash with oil as conflicts abound. The shipping crisis in the Red Sea is expected to raise consumer prices. But it has had little impact on energy prices, largely because of surging supplies from frackers in the USA.
  - Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (locked), 02 January 2024