The Diesel Weapon
Twenty-Four Hours in October
On 1 October Washington told Europe to release 120 million barrels of diesel from its emergency stocks over six months, or...
The New Geography of Energy: Why Refining Capacity May Matter More Than Oil Reserves
Crude Came Back. Diesel Didn't.
This week, seven months after the Iran war shut the Strait of Hormuz, crude oil finally returned to normal. Around...
Could the Energy Transition Become Its Own Source of Critical Minerals?
The global energy transition is creating a problem that could increasingly undermine its own momentum: the enormous quantities of minerals needed to electrify economies...
The Red Sea, Not Hormuz, Now Decides Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Policy
A Pipeline Back On, and Nowhere to Go
On 22 September, Saudi Aramco began pumping crude again through the East-West pipeline, the 1,200-kilometre line that...
China’s Fuel Export Halt: Is Beijing Turning Energy Security Into Geopolitical Leverage?
A Holiday Notice That Moved the Oil Price
On Wednesday, on the eve of China's Golden Week holiday, PetroChina cancelled most of the gasoline and...
America’s Diesel-Ban Threat Shows Europe Is Paying for the Iran War
A Promise Meets a Midterm
On 22 September, Donald Trump said he might support a ban or quantitative limit on US diesel exports. Soon afterwards...
Europe’s Winter Arithmetic: Why 2026 Is Not a Rerun of 2022
Two Documents, One Winter
On 25 September, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen wrote to every member state warning of “a price crisis linking to a...
Washington’s Diesel Ban Would Hit Its Allies Harder Than Iran Does
A Phone Call, a Denial, and a Meeting in Brussels
On the evening of 23 September, Energy Secretary Chris Wright reportedly told energy executives that...
The Persistent Myth of Lower Prices
Europe's energy debate continues to be influenced by assumptions that belong to a different era. Throughout much of the period that followed the end...
Africa Energy Week: Africa Must Prioritize Its Energy Security
Convening energy ministers, investors, financiers, and experts for the next African Energy Week (AEW), on October 12–16, in Cape Town, South Africa, aims at...