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Britain approves first Rolls-Royce SMR, riling Washington
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement that the United Kingdom’s first small modular nuclear (SMR) reactor will be built in north Wales has drawn immediate scorn from the United States, which had wanted a large, U.S.-led plant built there as part of its greater involvement in the UK's energy sector. The decision by the British government to nominate engineering company Rolls-Royce to design the SMR follows on the heels of a UK and U.S. nuclear partnership agreed upon in September, potentially worth around £76 billion. Touted as a first of its kind, the UK’s first SMR at Wylfa, on Anglesey in North Wales, will be built by the publicly owned Great British Energy-Nuclear (GBE-N) and is backed by £2.5 billion (US$3.29 billion) investment from the government. However, plans for an SMR at Wylfa provoked an angry response from the U.S., with Ambassador Warren Stephens describing his country as “extremely disappointed” by the decision. While the ambassador had been pushing for a larger reactor, the decision to award the design to Rolls-Royce is seen as a broadside to the U.S. firm Westinghouse, which had reportedly presented plans to the UK government to build a new gigawatt station at the site. Stephens told th
Energy
G7 nations pressure countries still buying Russian oil
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven advanced economies, including Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, have agreed that it is time to "maximise pressure on Russia's oil exports". By taking coordinated action to increase pressure on countries continuing to increase their purchases of Russian oil, the G7 plans to reduce the revenue that Moscow needs to sustain its war with Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Further efforts to cut off Russian revenues have also seen the group’s finance ministers agree on the importance of trade measures and other restrictions, including tariffs, plus import and export bans on refined products sourced from Russian oil. While refraining from naming India or China, a G7 statement outlined plans to “target those countries that are continuing to increase their purchase of Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine and those that are facilitating circumvention”. "We will take concrete measures to significantly reduce, with the objective of phasing out, our remaining imports from Russia, including on hydrocarbon imports," the G7 statement added. Yesterday’s statement by the G7 follows strong hits by the U.S. Trump Administration last month that it was
Energy
Faster phasing out of Russian energy on the table for EU
The European Commission is set to propose plans for a faster phase-out of Russian energy resources. European Union executive's head, Ursula von der Leyen, confirmed the planned proposal on Tuesday after a call with U.S. President Donald Trump. The call between the two focused on increased efforts to place economic pressure on Russia. Currently, the bloc had intended to end purchases of Russian fossil fuels by January 1, 2028, but von der Leyen said the new proposal would see an acceleration of that timeline. "The Commission will soon present its 19th package of sanctions, targeting crypto, banks, and energy," von der Leyen wrote in a post on social media platform X. “The Commission will propose speeding up the phase-out of Russian fossil imports."
Energy
US offshore wind on verge of collapse under Trump
Offshore wind energy development in America is teetering on the verge of collapse after the Trump administration's Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told an energy conference in Italy this week that it has no future as a source of electricity generation in the United States. This latest missive by Burgum follows speculation by renewable energy executives last month that the Trump administration’s attacks on solar and wind will lead to a power crunch that increases electricity prices. Burgum’s declaration that offshore wind energy has no future in America follows an order from the U.S. authorities on 22 August for Danish renewable energy company Orsted to halt construction of the 704MW offshore wind project, after citing national security concerns. Dubbed Revolution Wind, the Orsted project – which is 80% complete and has had all necessary approvals since 2023 – is capable of powering more than 350,000 homes. Orsted, which, together with partner Skyborn Renewables, has already invested $5 billion in Revolution Wind, may end up facing a double-digit billion-dollar write-down and $1 billion in breakaway costs from existing contracts if the project never supplies electricity to the U.S. Orsted has since appealed to the U.S
Energy
OPEC+ chooses volume over price to win back market share
Having commenced an increase in oil production back in April after years of cuts to support the oil market, OPEC+ took the decision yesterday to further boost output as its leader, Saudi Arabia, pushes to regain market share. While much lower than the monthly increases of 555,000 for September and August and 411,000 in July and June, eight members of OPEC+ agreed on Sunday in an online meeting to raise production from October by 137,000 barrels per day. The unwinding of a second tranche of cuts - 1.65 million barrels per day (mbpd) – over a year ahead of schedule, adds to the first tranche of 2.5 mbpd since April, equivalent to about 2.4% of global demand. “The barrels may be small, but the message is big,” said Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad and a former OPEC official. “The increase is less about volumes and more about signalling – OPEC+ is prioritising market share even if it risks softer prices.” While raising production when demand was growing in summer was relatively easy, the real challenge for OPEC+ - comprising the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies – adds Rystad will come in the fourth quarter amid expected slowing demand. OPEC+ retains options to accelerate, p

Energy
Syria dusts off oil sector to revitalise economy
While the United States has imposed sanctions targeting Iran's oil revenue stream, its Middle-Eastern neighbour, Syria, has re-entered the international oil trade from its port of Tartus after a 14-year hiatus. Syria’s decision to export 600,000 barrels of heavy crude oil from the western port of Tartus - an emerging export hub for Syrian oil shipments - follows recent oil production hikes by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ states. The crude is understood to have been shipped aboard via the tanker Nissos Christiana on behalf of the company “B Serve Energy”, which is linked to the global oil trading firm BB Energy. In addition to weakening oil prices, there’s mounting speculation that production increases will further widen the previously projected surplus on the global oil market of 2.6 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter, easing to 2.2 million bpd in 2026. The 14 years of civil war and proxy wars in Syria have halted official oil exports and devastated vital infrastructure.Rebuild the Syrian economyWhile Syria produced nearly 380,000 barrels per day prior to conflict that began in 2011, by 2023, output dropped to a trickle at around 40,000 barrels per day. Syria’s Energy Ministry said the recent oil shipment
Energy
ATSE on decarbonising diesel industries: Report
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering has released a new report on decarbonising diesel fuelled industries. In Australia, the mining, freight, agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors are all primarily powered by diesel. However, this brings considerable environmental and economic impacts, which ATSE has now addressed in its report, as well as presenting cleaner, alternative strategies for the future of these industries. Central to the report are five suggestions from the Academy: a national technical and economic assessment of decarbonisation pathways, a review of financial incentives supporting diesel use, a coordinated future diesel strategy, investment in comprehensive infrastructure for clean energy transition and targeted support across the technology maturity spectrum. Alternative fuels put forward by the report include biofuels, electrification and green hydrogen. “Diesel combustion contributes approximately 17% of Australia’s total carbon emissions, posing a major obstacle to meeting the country’s climate targets of a 43% reduction by 2030”, the report said. “Despite these clear challenges, current policy settings inadvertently support diesel use by subsidising fossil fuel
Energy
Victoria's renewable energy plan set to double in cost
Victoria’s plan to increase its renewable energy generation is projected to double in cost, after expanding the land set aside for its solar, wind, and battery hubs. The final edition of the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan allocates 1.88 million hectares of land for solar energy, wind energy, and battery farms, in an increase of 220,000 hectares. The plan’s estimated cost is A$7.9 billion. “As coal-fired power stations close and we move further toward a future powered by renewables, we need to support this transformational change with a plan that balances the long-term interests of all Victorians,” said Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio. “The plan attempts to minimise the area of Victoria required for renewable energy zones and the new transmission infrastructure needed, while also providing project developers and investors with sufficient opportunity to generate the energy we need to power homes, farms, schools, businesses, hospitals and other essential services.” Victoria’s government had estimated the project would cost just $4.3 billion two months ago. The increase follows new Australian Energy Market Operator projections for the transmission lines’ costs. The difficulty of connecting
Energy
DoE allocates US$1bn to counter China supply chains
The United States Department of Energy has unveiled plans for nearly US$1 billion in funding to accelerate domestic critical minerals production, marking Washington's most aggressive push yet to reduce America's dangerous dependence on Chinese supply chains. The funding blitz, announced under President Trump's "Unleashing American Energy" executive order, targets every stage of the critical minerals value chain from upstream mining through downstream manufacturing. China currently controls 60-70% of global rare earth mining and a staggering 85-90% of processing capacity, creating a bottleneck that has left U.S. industry and defence contractors exposed. The Middle Kingdom imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements in December last year, targeting materials vital to defence technologies where the U.S. is entirely dependent on Chinese supply. Beijing's move came as direct retaliation for U.S. semiconductor restrictions, demonstrating how critical minerals have become weapons in the trade war. For heavy rare earths, China processes 90% of global supply, while the U.S. has no commercial-scale separation facilities in operation. Even when new nameplate capacity comes online, facilities will be dwarfed by