What Russia’s recent ban on diesel and gasoline exports could mean for energy markets and the economy (from Bloomberg on September 21)…

Russia’s decision to ban exports of diesel — and gasoline — risks disrupting fuel supplies ahead of winter, but how deep the impact will be depends on how long it lasts. The nation shipped more than one million barrels a day of diesel-type fuel so far this year, narrowly making it the world’s biggest seaborne

Microsoft appears to be exploring a major investment in modular nuclear power (from Data Center Dynamics on September 22)…

Microsoft is hiring for a principal program manager of nuclear technology to “be responsible for maturing and implementing a global small modular reactor (SMR) and microreactor energy strategy.” Late last year, the company procured Clean Energy Credits (CECs) from Canadian energy firm Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to power its data centers. The credits include power

And here’s what one energy strategist says is behind the move (from Mark Nelson via X on September 23)…

Word is out: Microsoft is plunging ahead on nuclear energy. They want a fleet of reactors powering new data centers. And now they’re hiring people from the traditional nuclear industry to get it done. Why? Lack of stable long-term power, whether clean or dirty, is constraining Microsoft’s growth. They need to build big data centers

Harris “Kuppy” Kupperman – CIO of Praetorian Capital and long-time uranium bull – believes the energy metal may finally be starting a new bull market (from Kuppy via X on September 23)…

1) Assets sometimes undergo a sudden phase shift. Just like a liquid can become a gas when you add heat, the same can be said of public assets. It seems that uranium has now undergone a phase shift. The personality of the trading changed dramatically… 2) Think back to earlier this year. Uranium would rally

U.S. shale production is set to fall next month for the first time this year (from Reuters via Nasdaq.com on July 17)…

U.S. shale oil production is set to fall to nearly 9.40 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, which would be the first monthly decline since Dec. 2022, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Monday. Output from the Permian basin, the top oil producing region in the country, is set to fall to

The shale oil industry is shutting down drilling rigs at the fastest pace in years (from The Wall Street Journal on July 17)…

The shale patch is shedding rigs at the fastest pace since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic despite healthy oil prices.  Behind the drop in rigs is a tale of the haves and the have-nots. Private companies, which added rigs at a breakneck pace as the pandemic abated, have drilled up many of their best

A startup aimed at commercializing a more advanced form of nuclear energy – and backed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman – is set to go public (from the Financial Times on July 11)…

A nuclear fission start-up backed by Sam Altman is to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company set up by the OpenAI chief executive in a deal that values the business at $850mn.  Oklo, where Altman serves as board chair, has agreed a transaction with AltC Acquisition Corporation, a blank-cheque company