The extreme heat experienced across Europe in recent weeks has caused widespread disruption to nuclear power plants. Governments across the region have been forced to take extraordinary measures to keep nuclear facilities operating, but some are failing to meet their goals, with river levels at record lows. This is expected to have a significant impact on Europe’s GDP, with economic losses in the billions.  Europe has endured five heatwaves so far this summer, bringing record temperatures, prolonged drought, and wildfires, with many…

Iraq wants to more than double its oil production within six years. First, it needs OPEC to let it. Baghdad is targeting output of between 8 million and 10 million barrels per day, up from roughly 4 million bpd before the Iran war, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Friday. Iraq dispatched its oil and finance ministers to Saudi Arabia the same day to make the case for a higher OPEC production quota. OPEC+ has hired DeGolyer and MacNaughton to independently assess the maximum sustainable production capacity of most members, including Iraq. The consultancy…

Venezuela has plenty of oil buyers again. What it does not have is enough functioning port infrastructure to get them their crude. Tankers are waiting as long as 30 days to load Venezuelan oil as aging terminals, power outages and crude-quality problems create a de facto ceiling on exports, according to Reuters. That ceiling appears to be around 1.25 million barrels per day. PDVSA and its partners have been unable to push exports meaningfully above that level in recent months despite rising production, inventory drawdowns and strong demand for…

China is challenging Russia’s stranglehold on Central Asia’s arms market. Uzbekistan appears to have taken delivery of four PRC-made ChengduJ-10CE multi-role combat aircraft, according to multiple reports, one of which includes a photo of one of the fighters supposedly acquired by the Uzbek Air Force.  Tashkent reportedly has an agreement with Beijing to receive a total of 24 fighters. Uzbek and Chinese officials have yet to confirm the initial delivery. If accurate, the deal signals a significant expansion of China’s military…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US falling to 588, up 50 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs fell by 3, sinking to 452 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 41 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 1 to 127, which is 5 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs fell by 1 to 9. The latest EIA data showed that…

Solar power developers in India have started to add battery storage to photovoltaic projects to attract buyers and reduce the large share of curtailments for power supply that the grids are unable to absorb, Santosh Sarangi, Secretary of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said on Friday. As much as 42 gigawatts (GW) of solar projects are still struggling to find offtakers, with about 18 GW of solar-only projects without batteries most at risk of continuing to struggle, Sarangi said at the BNEF Summit in New Delhi, as carried by…

When Uzbekistan celebrates 35 years of independence on September 1st, Washington should do more than congratulate its people and government. It should recognize a strategic opportunity and make Uzbekistan the anchor of its policy in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most populous country, strategically located between Russia, China, Iran, Afghanistan, and the Caspian Sea. It is opening its economy, improving relations with its neighbors, and seeking greater integration with global markets. A remarkable transformation. When Uzbekistan became…

China’s refiners have imported lower volumes of Iranian crude in August compared to July as the U.S. blockade reinstated in mid-July is squeezing crude supply to Iran’s top oil customer.    So far this month, China is estimated to have imported about 534,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude oil, down from an estimated 823,000 bpd in July, according to preliminary data by Kpler cited by Reuters. The reinstated U.S. blockade on Iranian oil exports is preventing new supply from Iran to leave the Persian Gulf, while the…