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China expands nuclear build as capacity overtakes France
China has approved the construction of eight more nuclear reactors, extending the country's rapid expansion of atomic power as newly completed units enter service and installed capacity moves ahead of France for the first time.
Moldova imposes energy and water consumption restrictions amid regional crisis
Moldova has introduced restrictions on electricity and water consumption as the country faces a regional energy crisis and critically low water levels in the Dniester River, its main source of drinking water.
Venezuela’s top court okays Halliburton to go back into the oilfields
A Supreme Court ruling restores seized assets to the US oilfield services giant, one of several signs Caracas and Washington are inching toward normalising an oil relationship governed piecemeal by sanctions licences since Nicolas Maduro's removal.
Hungary's prime minister seeks political unity as energy crisis deepens
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar urged political parties, businesses and households to reduce energy consumption to avoid supply disruptions caused by the imminent shutdown of the Paks nuclear power plant.
Belgium imports only Russian LNG in July
Belgium imported all of its LNG from Russia in July as European and Asian countries compete for scarce supplies of the super-chilled fuel amid the Middle East conflict.
Greek vessel carrying Qatari LNG hit off coast of Oman
A Greek shipping line’s vessel GasLog Shanghai was stuck off the coast of Oman while exiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Italy is Europe’s top LNG importer in July as Rome hedges against volatile market
Europe’s largest LNG importer changed from the Netherlands in June to Italy in July.
DRC cobalt exports to China may have contained up to 5,000 tonnes of uranium, study finds
The peer-reviewed study raises concerns over weak monitoring and undeclared radioactive material in the global mineral supply chain.
Iran ties Hormuz reopening to end of US strikes and naval blockade
Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz while US military action and its naval blockade continue, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, calling a safe-passage deal with Oman necessary but not sufficient.
Sunken Nazi warships resurface on Danube as Serbia's drought deepens
Dozens of Nazi-era warships, deliberately sunk in the Danube in 1944 to stop them falling into Red Army hands, have resurfaced near Prahovo in eastern Serbia as a summer drought pushes the river to some of its lowest levels on record.
Hungary avoids mandatory power curbs as voluntary savings ease pressure on grid
Voluntary energy savings ease pressure on power system following sharp reduction in output at the Paks nuclear power plant.
Romania seeks to divert Danube water to keep Cernavoda nuclear plant online
Romania is taking emergency measures to divert more Danube water towards the Cernavoda nuclear power plant as severe drought threatens to force the shutdown of its remaining operating reactor.
Sempra pushes back commissioning of Mexico’s Energia Costa Azul LNG
Sempra LNG developer Sempra is extending the commissioning of Phase 1 of the Energia Costa Azul project in Ensenada, Mexico.
Canada’s Ksi Lisims finalises 20-year LNG contract with Uniper
Cargoes from the proposed project in British Columbia could begin being delivered by as early as 2032.
Baghdad and Ankara sign one-year Ceyhan export deal
Iraq’s oil ministry has signed a one-year agreement with Turkey covering the transport and loading of Iraqi crude through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan
OPEC+ completes voluntary cut rollback with September hike
OPEC+ agreed on August 2 to raise output by around 188,000 barrels per day (bpd) from September
Oman opens EPC race for Ras Markaz expansion
Oman has invited contractors to prequalify for the next construction phase of the Ras Markaz Crude Oil Park
Iran says talks with Oman on new Strait of Hormuz shipping route nearing conclusion
Iran says talks with Oman on a new Strait of Hormuz shipping route are nearing conclusion, but stresses any deal would not by itself reopen the waterway.
Europe's worst wildfire season in years flags a global El Nino already moving commodity markets
Several European countries are having their worst wildfire year in more than a decade and worst than last year’s record wildfires that burnt over one million hectares, according to data from the EU's Global Wildfire Information System.
Iran issues Gulf-wide energy hit list if Trump carries through on threats to destroy Iran’s energy sector
US President Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s energy sector in a joint operation with Israel, prompting Tehran to issue a hit list of some of the most valuable assets in the Gulf if he carried through with the threat.
Ukraine's refinery strikes settle into a routine of damage, repair and restart
Ukraine's long-range drone campaign against Russian oil refineries has become routine enough that analysts are now describing it as a predictable cycle rather than a series of shocks: strike, assess damage, repair, and restart.
Europe enters the Pyrocene age of fire that makes its own weather
"The Pyrocene is here," climate researcher Peter Dynes wrote on X on July 28, as wildfires near Bordeaux began generating huge pyrocumulus clouds intense enough to create their own weather.
UPDATE: Iran's IRGC says it struck two tankers attempting to cross Strait of Hormuz
Iran's IRGC says it struck and stopped two oil tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz under US air escort, with four others turning back. The claim could not be independently verified, and the US military has given a competing account.
Quetta coal mine blast in Pakistan kills 26 miners
A methane gas explosion at a coal mine on the outskirts of Quetta in Pakistan's Balochistan province killed at least 26 miners on July 30, while rescue teams continued efforts to locate workers still trapped underground.
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