Category: Global

June 26, 2020

Following last week’s release of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, I began to review and analyze the data. Today I take a deeper dive into the numbers on petroleum. Oil accounts for a third of the world’s […]

June 19, 2020

The new BP Statistical Review of World Energy was published this week. It’s worth a look: a treasure trove of energy data, published annually since 1952. (Full disclosure: I led the production of the Review for a dozen years…) The […]

May 26, 2020

A fundamental problem facing subsidy-free solar and wind in renewables-heavy grids is emerging as coronavirus cuts energy demand in Europe. The fall in demand is driving up the proportion of clean energy on many grids and highlighting an issue flagged […]

May 5, 2020

COVID-19 is transforming the global energy system in ways unthinkable just four months ago. This crisis is, without exaggeration, the biggest shock to the global energy system in at least seven decades, and the implications of that shock will be […]

March 30, 2020

A study published by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) shows peak demand and energy use decreased as much as 21% in some areas as a result of actions taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The report—COVID-19 Bulk System […]

January 27, 2020

The increase in the share of renewables is essential to reaching the EU climate and energy goals. According to Eurostat’s report, the EU’s target is to reach 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and at least 32% […]

November 15, 2019

Global oil demand in the third quarter of 2019 grew by 1.1 million barrels a day, more than double the 435,000 barrels a day in the previous quarter, according to the latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). China […]

October 11, 2019

Natural gas has become the go-to fuel globally to lower CO2 emissions and backup wind and solar, power sources that are naturally intermittent. The best modeling agencies confirm that gas demand increases under any practical energy policy scenario No wonder: […]

October 10, 2019

OPEC trimmed its forecast for oil demand growth for the third month in a row on Thursday, citing weaker-than-expected data in the Asia Pacific region as well as advanced economies in the Americas. The move is likely to add to […]

October 4, 2019

EIA’s international outlook includes analysis of eight countries and eight multi-country regions. Different regional and technology specific factors influence the growth rates of renewable technologies throughout the world. Resource availability, renewable policies, regional load growth, and declining technology costs drive […]

September 11, 2019

By 2050, energy demand of developing countries will exceed total energy demand of OECD countries. Access to abundant clean energy will facilitate rapid economic growth in the developing world, and with it plummeting maternal and infant mortality, billions lifted out […]

July 16, 2019

A $20 billion investment aims to supply electricity to Singapore from what will be, for the time being, the world’s largest solar farm: Sun Cable. Located in Australia and linked by a 3,800-kilometer submarine cable, its magnificent 15,000 hectares of […]

June 28, 2019

This article is the third in a series on BP’s recently-released Statistical Review of World Energy 2019. The Review provides a comprehensive picture of supply and demand for major energy sources on a country-level basis. In the first article of […]

June 17, 2019

Though a plan to decarbonize the European Union looked to be in trouble last week, developments in recent days combined with political paralysis in choosing the EU’s top jobs means EU governments may take a surprise decision to endorse a […]

June 13, 2019

Oil output from OPEC fell in May, hitting a five-year low as the group warned that U.S.-China trade tensions could lead to slower economic growth and weak fuel demand. Production from the 14-nation producer club fell by 236,000 barrels per […]

June 11, 2019

The production and consumption of energy – from wind and solar to fossil fuels and renewables – plays an enormous role in our economic and political systems and therefore elicits strong public reactions. In a new paper in Nature Energy, […]

June 7, 2019

It was only a month ago that I began advising investors to ease up on certain energy stocks, following 20%-30% gains since the beginning of the year. But a brutal May and a weak start to June have sent oil […]

May 15, 2019

A trio of publications in the past 10 days paints a grim picture of the state of the world’s ecosystems and the species they support, including the significant toll on rivers from the world’s drive to generate electricity. At the […]

April 12, 2019

Saudi Arabia will become a regional heavyweight in windpower by the early 2020’s, according to new research. A report by analysts at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables states that developers will build 6.2 GW of wind capacity between now and […]

March 26, 2019

Global energy demand is now increasing at its fastest pace in over a decade, with fossil fuels meeting 70% of that growth in electricity consumption. As fossil fuel emissions continue to exacerbate the effects of climate change, carbon-free solutions like […]