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Category: Renewable energy/fossil fuels

China presses Iran to help rein in Houthis after Saudi appeal, sources say

China presses Iran to help rein in Houthis after Saudi appeal, sources say

Reuters reports: China has privately asked Tehran to help rein in Yemen’s Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia following the Iran-backed group’s military blitz in the past week, according to three Iranian sources familiar with ​the matter. Riyadh turned to China for help after the Houthis made rapid advances along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, moves that have left Saudi oil exports and ‌shipping more exposed, the sources said. China has publicly…

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Follow the money: Democrats demand to know where Venezuelan oil revenue is going

Follow the money: Democrats demand to know where Venezuelan oil revenue is going

The Washington Post reports: Three Democratic senators are pressing the Trump administration for transparency on billions of dollars in oil revenue from Venezuela believed to be in a U.S. government-controlled account. In a letter obtained by The Washington Post, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) are asking Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for information about the status and use of this revenue, which is being disbursed from an account…

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Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply

Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply

Reuters reports: Saudi Arabia will run out of oil stocks for exports ‌if it doesn’t restart its major pipeline to the Red Sea within days, leading to a loss of up to 4% of global supply, Saudi oil buyers and traders said. A further decline in Saudi flows will worsen the global supply crunch, which has already pushed global fuel prices to record highs, spurred ​inflation around the world and sent U.S. bond yields to the highest levels since the…

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As hostilities flare and oil prices spike, U.S. consumers pay at the pump

As hostilities flare and oil prices spike, U.S. consumers pay at the pump

By Marianne Lavelle September 8, 2026 This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. Hours after President Donald Trump predicted on Truth Social that oil prices would fall precipitously once the United States wins its war with Iran, strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure by Iranian-backed Houthis Tuesday caused global oil prices to spike to nearly $100 per barrel. The latest runup,…

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Houthis’ lightning advance down Red Sea coast is ‘a Saudi-American f**k up of epic proportions’

Houthis’ lightning advance down Red Sea coast is ‘a Saudi-American f**k up of epic proportions’

CNN reports: The desperate pleas for air cover from Yemeni generals started coming mid-morning on Thursday. An advance by the Iran-backed Houthis toward Yemen’s strategic port city of Mocha was in full swing, and backup support from chief ally Saudi Arabia was nowhere in sight. “The Houthis committed everything they had – waves upon waves of fighters … along with their available ballistic missiles and weapons,” a senior Yemeni source attached to their military forces told CNN. The source said…

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Saudi Arabia has few options as it faces mounting threats from Iran and its allies

Saudi Arabia has few options as it faces mounting threats from Iran and its allies

The Associated Press reports: A lightning advance by Houthi rebels threatens a crucial Red Sea shipping route. Drone attacks blamed on Iraqi militias have forced the closure of a major pipeline, and Iran is still disrupting the Strait of Hormuz. It’s a nightmare scenario for Saudi Arabia, and it has sent jitters through global markets. The Saudis’ most essential ally, the United States, has been unpredictable and sometimes unreliable. U.S. President Donald Trump seems reluctant to widen an already unpopular…

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Houthis’ lightning advance means a third of the world’s oil shipments is now under threat

Houthis’ lightning advance means a third of the world’s oil shipments is now under threat

Robert F Worth writes: As recently as last week, the Iran war appeared to be turning slightly in America’s favor. The Houthis—the Yemen-based militia that is Iran’s most formidable remaining ally in the Middle East—were under pressure from their local rivals, and the Saudi air force was pounding them with air strikes. The president of Yemen’s internationally recognized government issued a triumphant statement declaring that the Houthis’ miscalculations “will open the door to their complete collapse.” With their Houthi partners…

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U.S. diesel price tops $6 per gallon, a record high as Ukraine and Iran wars ripple through economy

U.S. diesel price tops $6 per gallon, a record high as Ukraine and Iran wars ripple through economy

CNBC reports: U.S. diesel prices hit $6 per gallon on Friday for the first time ever, as fuel supply disruptions triggered by the Ukraine and Iran wars raises transportation costs across the entire economy. Truckers and farmers are paying about 63% more to fill up their semis and tractors than they did at this time last year, according to data from AAA. The average price nationwide is now about $6.06 per gallon. Prices are even higher in California, the biggest…

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Oil’s rise past $100 per barrel deepens GOP’s midterm elections challenge

Oil’s rise past $100 per barrel deepens GOP’s midterm elections challenge

The Washington Post reports: As Republicans gather with President Donald Trump in Dallas this week in an effort to boost their sagging midterm elections prospects, their political challenges mounted with an ominous number flashing across financial terminals and news sites: $100. Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, crossed that threshold Wednesday amid fresh fighting in Iran, dimming the GOP’s hopes that the high gas prices driving voter frustration would ease before ballots are cast. The elevated oil price is…

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Profiteer-in-Chief: Trump has made millions from war in Iran as oil investments rose

Profiteer-in-Chief: Trump has made millions from war in Iran as oil investments rose

CNBC reports: As President Donald Trump’s wartime directives in Iran repeatedly jolted global markets, his personal energy portfolio surged. Throughout the first six months of fighting, Trump’s investment accounts continued aggressively trading energy stocks. Between the eve of the war, on Feb. 27, and Aug. 31, his nine largest oil and gas holdings gained approximately $1.5 million to $4.4 million, according to a CNBC analysis of his annual financial disclosure, quarterly corporate reports and FactSet market data. CNBC identified the…

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Price of diesel hits a record high

Price of diesel hits a record high

NPR reports: The price of diesel has reached an all-time high, according to AAA. The national average for a gallon is now $5.85. That exceeds the previous high in June 2022, when the average for a gallon reached $5.81 a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine, according to AAA data. The record high is significant because diesel powers much of the industrial supply chain in the United States via the “three t’s” of the economy: trains, tractors, and trucks, says…

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The plot to steal Venezuela’s oil is both vile and deeply stupid

The plot to steal Venezuela’s oil is both vile and deeply stupid

Paul Krugman writes: The United States has an ugly reputation in Latin America — a reputation that, I’m sorry to say, is mostly well deserved. Our government has a long track record of supporting dictators, assisting in the overthrow of democratic governments, and sometimes even sending in the Marines, often on behalf of American corporations trying to pillage other nations’ natural resources. Excluding the Trump II presidency, we have, I think, behaved better in the recent past. And this was…

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‘A new form of U.S. colonialism’: Venezuelans bristle as Trump takes the oil and leaves the dictatorship

‘A new form of U.S. colonialism’: Venezuelans bristle as Trump takes the oil and leaves the dictatorship

The New York Times reports: Many Venezuelans suspected that there was going to be a price to pay for President Trump’s brazen capture of their autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, who was arrested by U.S. forces in January. On Friday, that cost became clear when Mr. Trump announced that the U.S. would be taking majority control of a vast part of Venezuela’s oil reserves — national resources long considered by many in the country to be a birthright. By Saturday, many…

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Trump says U.S. has entered deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of oil reserves

Trump says U.S. has entered deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of oil reserves

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration has entered a sweeping agreement with Venezuela that, if realized, could give the U.S. access to vast amounts of the South American country’s untapped oil reserves, at cost. Trump in a social media post announcing the agreement said it was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez. “The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement…

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Trump seeks vast, potentially costly U.S. stake in Venezuelan oil industry

Trump seeks vast, potentially costly U.S. stake in Venezuelan oil industry

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration is negotiating a long-term stake in a vast share of Venezuela’s oil fields, according to three people close to the discussions, a costly and legally precarious proposal that aims to nudge reluctant energy companies to drill in the risky region. The contours of the plan, which is still evolving and could change or fall apart, would involve the United States taking more direct control over Venezuelan reserves as crime and steep logistical challenges…

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New tariffs and expired tax credits put a dent in U.S. solar panel sales, but there’s reason for optimism

New tariffs and expired tax credits put a dent in U.S. solar panel sales, but there’s reason for optimism

By Dan Gearino August 27, 2026 This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. Rooftop solar installers feel like a dog that’s been repeatedly kicked. President Donald Trump has made solar more expensive—or at least slowed the long-term decline in costs—by imposing tariffs on imported photovoltaic panels and other parts. Trump also signed a measure last year that phased out the main…

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