All Energy Voices

The Islamic State is believed to be producing between 25,000 and 40,000 barrels of oil per day, smuggling and selling it on the black market. In its effort to degrade the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL), the US will aim to cut off the group's oil sales. 

The US will aim to cut off Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) oil sales as part of its broader effort to 'degrade and destroy the Islamic State'; New Western sanctions on Russia energy aim to 'shut down' its most prized oil and gas projects; Record high carbon dioxide levels will add urgency to upcoming global climate talks. Read the latest on energy around the globe with the Monitor's Recharge. 

New US sanctions on Russia are the strongest yet against Russia. The point of new Russia sanctions on five major energy firms is to 'shut down' Russia's deepwater, shale, and Arctic exploration, according to one senior US official.

Russian gas to Poland through Ukraine has dropped by at least 20 percent, but it's unclear who's at fault. Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom says that gas flows through Ukraine hasn't changed, and if there's a reduction, it's Poland's fault.

Oil supermajors BP and Shell are closely watching next week's Scotland independence referendum, hoping voters will choose to remain part of the United Kingdom. The reason? Companies like certainty, and a newly independent Scotland could change how the energy firms have long done business in the region.

No major energy legislation has passed the Senate since 2007, but that could change if Republicans take control in November's midterm elections. Sen. Rob Portman (R) of Ohio told reporters at a Monitor-hosted breakfast Thursday that a majority GOP Senate would 'get the president to the table' on Keystone XL and other key energy issues.  

Driverless cars are almost certainly a part of our transportation future as companies like Google experiment with autonomous driving. Depending on how you look at it, impact of driverless cars on our energy use could either be incredibly good or incredibly bad, or somewhere in between. 

A new biofuel factory in Iowa uses farm waste to produce renewable fuel on a large, commercial scale. Unlike corn-based ethanol, this so-called cellulosic ethanol doesn't push up food prices or use farm space. 

Obama's plan to curb coal-fired emissions is in the spotlight now that the president has postponed executive action on immigration until after the midterm elections. Republican lawmakers blasted the proposed EPA rules Tuesday at a hearing on the policy's implications for state regulators.

As a Ukraine crisis continues, Europe is reconsidering its stance on a controversial drilling technique that has unlocked vast amounts of oil and natural gas in the United States. Europe is concerned about the security of its gas supply from Russia as the Ukraine crisis shows little sign of easing. 

Th EU adopted new Russia sanctions on energy as an uneasy ceasefire continued in Ukraine; Russia and China broke ground last week on a massive gas pipeline that offers an alternative for Russia amid the Ukraine crisis; Nevada struck clean-energy gold by landing the Tesla Motors gigafactory. Catch up on the latest in global energy with Recharge.  

Pacific Gas and Electric got hit with a record $1.4 billion fine from the California Public Utilities Commission. But Wall Street thinks the final penalty will be smaller.

BP was grossly negligent in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a US district judge has ruled. The BP ruling is a critical milestone in a legal case that is looking at the cause of the worst offshore oil spill in US history.

The supply of oil and natural gas is booming in the US, but gas prices and electricity costs remain high. Even as the US posts record production, global demand and bottlenecks in supply have prevented consumers from enjoying price breaks.

China holds enormous potential for shale gas development, but water scarcity stands in the way of any kind of major gas production boom. A new report outlines the high water stress that may prevent China from recovering its shale gas resources.

As the Ukraine crisis continues, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia may let China hold a share in one of its biggest energy projects in Siberia. It's a sign that Putin is looking increasingly to Asia for new energy customers as its relations with Ukraine and Europe deteriorate. 

NATO is looking to the US to shore up energy security, particularly as tensions rise with gas-rich Russia over the Ukraine crisis. At this week's NATO Summit, European allies will likely press President Obama for accelerated gas exports and a lift of the US oil export ban as a counter to Russian influence.

Oil supermajor Shell is considering a return to Arctic drilling, after a series of setbacks nearly ended the company's plans in the Arctic for good. But before Shell can move its rigs into the Arctic, several obstacles remain.

Failed Russia-Ukraine-EU gas talks last week raise the specter of a cold, dark winter in Ukraine; the Islamic State's oil-fueled spread is bolstering similar aspirations among Boko Haram in Nigeria; President Obama looks to sidestep Congress in global climate change efforts. Catch up on the week in global energy with Recharge.  

Aging plants and competition from cheaper alternatives threaten the future of US nuclear power, the country's largest source of carbon-free electricity. Even with renewable energy, it will be exceedingly difficult to meet US climate change targets if much of American nuclear goes offline, Cunningham writes.