Javier Blas

An oilfield crew, contracted by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), works a service rig during a state-funded oil well plugging operation in Midland, Texas, US, on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. Oil fluctuated in choppy trading as tensions between Russia and NATO intensified, with European leaders warning the Kremlin that Western military alliance is ready to respond with force to violations of its airspace. Photographer: Eli Hartman/Bloomberg

Big Oil will miss the financial discipline imposed by ESG

After a long silence, big asset managers are again talking about their fossil-fuel funds

The world will reap a record rice harvest of about 541 million tonnes in 2025 to 2026.

Rice can feed the world – even with fewer farmers

The world’s most important crop for food security is reaching its lowest price in 18 years

FILE PHOTO: Miniatures of oil barrels and a rising stock graph are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Winter is coming for oil – and not in a positive way

Shifting seasonality means global demand will be lower in the fourth quarter than the third

Oil storage tanks at a petrochemical production base on the outskirts of Shanghai, China. China buys around 90 per cent of Iran's oil exports of roughly 1.7 million barrels a day.
THE BROAD VIEW

What sanctions? Iranian oil industry is booming

Historically, Washington often shows that keeping prices of the commodity low is the priority

The average Indian today consumes about 1.4 barrels of oil a year, well below the 4.3 barrels a year of the average Chinese.
THE BOTTOM LINE

The oil market has a bigger problem than a slowing China – India

Demand in the world’s most populous country isn’t growing fast enough

Oil ships docked at a Chinese port. For China and many other developing countries, barrels from Russia, Iran and Venezuela – the three major oil producers under Western sanctions – are as good as any.
THE BOTTOM LINE

The black market for oil will continue to thrive

The business is so lucrative that everyone involved is motivated to find alternative routes, tricks and ploys to keep the wheels turning

FILE PHOTO: Labourers work at a tungsten mining factory at Zhongshan, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China June 2, 2017. Picture taken June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA./File Photo

Don’t fall for the hype about China’s critical-minerals controls

READING some of the commentary about looming shortages, one would think America is doomed after China imposed export controls on five so-called...

A worker picks coffee berries at a plantation in Anolaima, Colombia December 4, 2024. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

Your cup of morning Joe is about to shock you

With a growing deficit between demand and supply, double-digit inflation looms for coffee drinkers in early 2025

A member of Trump's family on a private visit to Greenland.

Trump’s folly? Greenland for critical minerals is utter nonsense

The Danish island is nowhere near becoming a commodity superpower

The US isn’t completely free from the ups and downs of the oil market — but the influence of Saudi Arabia via its crude reserves is significantly diminished.

US reliance on Saudi oil is nearing its endgame

The energy market is no longer a constraint on American foreign policy in the Middle East