oil
The EU’s oil ban is a damp squib
When Putin’s tanks rolled into Ukraine on 24 February there was a conceit that this might be the first war…
No, BP’s profit hasn’t boosted Starmer’s windfall-tax call
BP’s ‘underlying’ first-quarter profit of $6.2 billion, compared with $2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2021, was a direct…
It's time to clamp down on militant protesters
The right to protest against the policies of the government of the day, the system in general or even just…
Biden is right: the crypto world needs to be controlled
President Biden’s executive order ‘Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets’ won praise on all sides, an unfamiliar experience for one…
The West has to bite its lip for Saudi oil
It would be ridiculous to claim that Boris Johnson’s visit to Saudi Arabia is not morally problematic. He is going…
Is fracking the answer to the energy crisis?
I’ll approach the hot topic of a ban on Russian oil by way of personal anecdote: I’ve never been a…
Can Boris get the Saudis to pump more oil?
The oil price is up by more than 40 per cent since the start of the year. It is being…
Why would the Saudis bail out Biden?
Is Saudi Arabia shunning Washington? Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly been refusing to phone Joe Biden, who wants the kingdom to…
For all its absurdity, it delivers the goods: BBC2's Louis Theroux’s Forbidden America reviewed
In the latest episode of Louis Theroux’s Forbidden America, Louis asked a rapper called Broke Baby if ‘it’s important to…
Does Nicola Sturgeon care more about oil revenue or climate change?
‘Now, as I’ve hopefully made clear throughout all of my remarks, the North Sea will continue to produce oil for…
Is the UK trapped in an inflationary spiral?
Are we heading for a 1970s-style inflationary spiral? Not according to Catherine Mann, former chief economist at Citigroup, who argues…
Peru’s beauty has been a real curse
As the planet gets more and more ravaged, the mind can begin to glaze over at the cumulative general statistics…
Trump sealed the deal last night
First, let me pay brief homage to Kristen Welker, moderator of Thursday night’s debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.…
Putin plans to make the West destroy itself
There’s only one person who’ll be genuinely pleased with the UK Intelligence and Security Committee’s Russia report, finally revealed on…
Oil on troubled waters: the US-Saudi alliance is crumbling
Donald Trump said in October 2018 that the Saudi royal family ‘wouldn’t last two weeks’ without American military support. Last…
Rishi Sunak must stick to his guns
Was the Chancellor wrong to guarantee only 80 per cent, rather than 100, of ‘coronavirus business interruption loans’ to keep…
What is the US Navy doing in the Persian Gulf?
American alliances and security commitments tend to live on long after the world has changed. Many of our far flung…
The price of oil just hit $0 a barrel. What’s going on?
If you’ve ever wanted to own a barrel of oil, today might be your lucky day – for the first…
Saudi may have won an oil truce – but a greater conflict now looms
For the first time in months, the coronavirus panic was briefly demoted as the main news story on Sunday when…
Treating oil companies as pariahs will kill off any green revolution
When fossil fuel divestment was merely a gesture by universities, the Church of England and the Prince of Wales it…
Why trouble in the Middle East no longer means an oil price hike
Not so long ago, you could judge the stability of the Middle East by looking at the oil price. Now:…
An oil price spike doesn’t mean a recession is on the way
An oil price surge from $60 to $72 per barrel, as happened after the drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq…
If investors are fleeing to gold, this is not the time to be smug
It came as no great surprise that the UK economy contracted by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, following…
How is the country split over Brexit?
German customs The original customs union, or Zollverein, was established by Prussia along with 17 other states which make up…
How Calouste Gulbenkian became the richest man in the world
Whenever I find myself visiting some great historic house, I always like to break off from gawping at tapestries to…
