oil

Rome turned North Africa into its great oil fountain. And we have found the mega-oil mills of the Empire

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He Roman empire He founded the foundations of Western civilization both socially and in the most functional part: the infrastructure. Its roads are famousbut wherever they passed, They also founded industry. And an international group of archaeologists has found one of the most significant discoveries related to the roman industry. The second largest oil pressing complex in the entire Empire. Mega-oil mill. In the Tunisian region of Kasserine is the archaeological site identified as ‘Henchir el Begar’. Specifically, there are two settlements found to the north and west of Kasserine (the ancient Roman Cillium), and archaeologists are clear that they are part of the same industry dedicated to oil. They estimate that both were operational between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD, demonstrating that they were incredibly valuable to the Empire, and the data reflects the productive ambition of the area: The settlement has 33 hectares with two main sectors: Hr Begar 1 and Hr Begar 2. Hr Begar 1 has twelve beam presses, being the largest mill in Tunisia and the second largest in the entire Roman world. We are talking about beams and counterweights capable of exerting tons of pressure. It has cisterns and a water collection basin. HR Begar 2 has another eight presses of the same type, as well as another water collection basin and cisterns. Context. In addition to the two “oil mills”, georadar has identified a network of settling tanks for oil, warehouses, a dense fabric of housing for workers and the site’s population, and road tracks for the ‘trucks’ of the erato, trains that transported the amphoraethey will reach the coast and places of distribution. Apart from making it clear that the site was an oil megafactory, they have also found stone mills. They estimate that production was mixed: oil and also cereals, which points to the strategic importance of this region around Kasserine. Strategic good. In it releasearchaeologists highlight that the territory is characterized by high steppes and a continental climate with modest rainfall that would have been collected in wells, all of this favoring ideal conditions for the cultivation of olive trees. This border area of ​​Africa would have been a point of exchange between cultures, but a discovery of these dimensions shows that this Proconsular province of Africa would have been the great supplier of oil to the Roman Empire both for consumption (the highest quality oil) and for fuel and other consumables (oil for lighting, bases for medical ointments and cosmetics). Perspectives. That powerful Henchir el Begar oil industry is not the only thing the team has found. They have also found pieces such as a bracelet decorated in copper or brass, a stone projectile and some architectural elements that had later been reused in a Byzantine wall. The mission in Kasserine began in 2023 as a project co-led by the Ca’Foscari University of Venice, the University of La Manouba in Tunisia and the Complutense University of Madrid and, according to Professor Luigi Sperti, one of the project coordinators, it allows “an unprecedented perspective on the agrarian and socioeconomic organization of the border regions of Roman Africa.” We will see what they find in future prospecting, but the investigations of this third campaign have borne fruit in understanding the importance of the region in issues such as the production, marketing and transportation of oil on a scale not seen until now in that area. Images | UCM, Unive In Xataka | Modern tunnel boring machines are real monsters compared to those of 1950. The paradox is that they are just as slow

Russian oil never stopped arriving in Europe and this 30-year-old German knows it well because he has earned millions by supporting the system.

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JR Ewing, the oil magnate dallasused to repeat that “the essential thing in this business was to always be one step ahead.” If I lived in 2025, I probably wouldn’t be wearing a Texan hat: I’d be a trader in my late 30s with a laptop, a rented office in Dubai, and a German passport. And perhaps he would look a lot like Christopher Eppinger, the young man who, according to an extensive report in the Financial Timeshas managed to become a millionaire by speculating with sanctioned Russian oil while Europe proclaimed from the rooftops that it was breaking dependence on the Kremlin. Because while Brussels talked about “energy sovereignty” and announced price caps, a parallel ecosystem of nomadic traders, ghost fleets and opaque companies continued to move millions of barrels away from the official radar. In that underground of the global economy, Eppinger found his opportunity. The sanctioned oil never stopped flowing; It simply stopped being visible. And he knew how to make it profitable. When a door closes. Christopher Eppinger, marked since childhood by the chapters of dallas that he saw with his grandmother, he found in the war a window to get rich. The young German moved with the same logic that much more veteran intermediaries have used for decades: special purpose companies in the United Arab Emirates, triangulated operations with India or China, sales contracts for discounted crude oil and the logistics of a ghost fleet that operates on the margins of maritime law. While European governments presented sanctions in solemn press conferences, he took advantage of every crack in the system to buy low and resell high. He didn’t need his own ships, or infrastructure, or even physically touching a barrel: it was enough to know where the opportunities were and who didn’t want to look too closely. Showing an uncomfortable truth. The story of this young German is not an anecdote, but evidence that the sanctioning system never acted as intended. Organization reports like Public Eye show that, between 2023 and 2024 alone, newly created companies or companies relocated to Dubai accounted for more than half of the Russian oil exported by sea, displacing traditional centers such as Switzerland and Singapore. According to Bloombergkey figures in the energy trade, such as Murtaza Lakhani, helped Rosneft reconfigure its export chains through the Emirates to keep flows active despite sanctions. And while much of Europe tried to break ties with Moscow, some countries —like Hungary and Slovakia— took advantage of exceptions to continue receiving crude oil and gas through the Druzhba pipeline. Energy dependence, far from being broken, fragmented into a more chaotic, less transparent and more vulnerable system. In this environment, profiles like Eppinger’s are not only possible: they are almost inevitable. The recipe for enrichment. Eppinger’s method follows a clear logic that the Financial Times details precisely. The first step is to move to Dubai, which has become the “Desert Ireland”thanks to minimal taxation, thousands of special purpose companies created in record time and a confidentiality regime that allows operations without revealing the beneficial owner. The United Arab Emirates does not apply sanctions against Moscow and serves as a perfect platform to move cargo, contracts and dividends without European surveillance. The second pillar is the ghost fleet: hundreds of aging, poorly insured oil tankers, with registrations in opaque countries and with transponders that turn off just when the ship approaches a Russian cargo. These ships They are the heart of parallel trade which has kept Russia exporting above the $60 limit imposed by the G7. The third consists of the Offshore transfers and triangulations. The scheme is simple: buy cheap Russian crude, transfer it to another tanker in international waters, mix it or rename it “Malaysian” or “Indian”, and resell it at an international price. A digital business, fast and — above all — difficult to track. And the fourth element is the ambiguous tolerance of the West. As Bloomberg has detailedthe United States avoided acting harshly for months to avoid causing a global rise in the price of oil. In the EU, exceptions and loopholes allowed non-European companies, although controlled by Europeans, to operate without restrictions. Eppinger moved precisely in that gray space: a legally ambiguous but economically explosive territory. The great gray void where everything is possible. The short answer is: it depends. The long answer is more uncomfortable. According to regulators cited in the different sources, an operation can be technically legal if Russian oil is purchased below the price ceiling, transported to a country that does not apply sanctions and is executed from a legally established entity outside the EU. Switzerland even recognizedaccording to Public Eye— that subsidiaries of Swiss companies established in Dubai are not subject to Swiss sanctioning legislation, as long as they are formally “independent.” This legal architecture allows traders like Eppinger to act without violating the letter of the law, even if they clearly violate its spirit. The question is not so much whether what you do is legal, but why it is possible to do it. Will there be consequences? The cracks in the system are beginning to produce visible effects. On the military front, Ukraine has expanded the war towards Russian energy infrastructure: attacking refineries thousands of kilometers from the front and disabled tankers linked to sanctioned crude oil trading. Russia has lost around 13% of its refining capacity and several regions have suffered queues and gasoline rationing, according to the Financial Times. On the diplomatic and economic level, according to BloombergWashington is already studying specific sanctions against intermediaries in the Emirates, while the United Kingdom has begun to penalize marketing companies with opaque property registered in Dubai. In Europe, pressure is growing on countries that continue to receive Russian energy by land, such as Hungary and Slovakia, identified as leakage points in the system. Eppinger’s business, like that of many others, could have its days numbered if the regulatory fence tightens. For now, it is still profitable. Russia gets richer while Europe … Read more

Olive oil is following in the footsteps of wine. And that happens through the pre-umification of the oil mills

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There are few pleasures in this life that surpass that of dipping a good bread with plenty of crumbs in a bowl with quality olive oil. It depends on the time and the point of the roller coaster that is the olive oil priceit is something that we can do more or less frequently, and to weather the situation there are oil mills that are reimagining themselves. From simple industrial warehouses and cooperatives closed to the public, they are being transformed into living museums about oil, in the purest style of the wine cellars. It is the pre-umification of the industrial warehouse. roller coaster. Talking about olive oil is talking about Spain. We are the great engine on a global scale, contributing more than 40% of world olive oil. After some disastrous harvests24/25 has recovered, with a production of 1.4 million tons, and a similar production is expected for 25/26. Despite the good feelings, It is still a complicated segment because weather conditions can easily transform the scenario. Prices at the beginning of 2024 skyrocketed because the previous harvest was hit by drought, and oil mills have begun to take measures to protect themselves against price fluctuations and, above all, to have a stable income flow throughout the year. From wine tourism to oil tourism. If you’ve ever wondered why everything is now a subscription, even when it doesn’t make sense, it’s because companies are looking for a constant flow of money. A single large payment is no longer worth it: they want more distributed, but consistent income. There is one grape harvest a year and the wineries reacted by converting themselves into wine museums. In these visits to wineries we see how the product is made, but it is also a cultural and gustatory journey, with tastings of the product itself and others that “match” well, such as cheese. The oil mills are doing exactly the same. Of these cold and industrial facilities, some are moving to design buildings that combine the production of the oil, its culture and the tasting. It is the search for oleotourism through the pre-umification of the oil mill, and it is something that has drawn on this much more consolidated wine tourism. From the industrial warehouse to the museum. The idea is to offer a complete sensory experience in which there is a story about the territory in which it is located, the production of the oil, the local culture and, obviously, the tasting. At the same time, thematic routes can be developed with cheese factories or wineries, but also with agreements with rural accommodations and restaurants. These new oil mills also behave like a museum, since historical pieces and machinery are exhibited, as well as a review of the manufacturing tradition of the place. And, of course, there are direct sales stores that not only offer the main product, but any that may be related, such as cheese, oil, local sweets or even ceramic pieces in which to store that oil. Spanish tourism websites now stand out oil mills as exponents of modern tourism. There are oil mills that are converted and others that are more ’boutique’ that were born with the visitor in mind. LA Almazara. Jaen is a land of olive trees and there are several oil mills of this style, such as ‘EVOOland‘in Baeza or the Olive Culture Museum at Hacienda la Laguna. Ciudad Real is another important oil focus –with the healthiest oil in the world in 2024-, with examples like ‘Infanta Elena Museum of Contemporary Art‘ and more “at the foot of the olive tree” experiences that teach cultivation techniques, production, landscape and, for about 20 euros per person, of course, a tasting. Interior of LA Almazara But if there is a point worldwide that right now screams the terms “pre-umified oil mill” louder, that is ‘LA Almazara LA Organic’ in Ronda. It is the same concept that we have reviewed so far: a cultural center dedicated to olive oil that combines restoration, accommodation in a farmhouse and tasting, all around what they have called “the first signature oil mill”. The prices of this pre-umification? Specifically, those at LA Almazara are in line with others, between 10-30 euros, but with options to spend… whatever you want, with an “EXCLUSIVE visit” that closes the oil mill for you and takes you there by helicopter. I go to one and dip some good bread… so happy. Images | The Almazara, Wine tourismSpain In Xataka | China is devouring all technology sectors: the surprising thing is that it is also making good wine

Cheese and oil have skyrocketed so much in Türkiye that travel agencies have a star destination: a Lidl in Greece

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The cost of living has skyrocketed. Except the cocaine marketa multitude of basic products have risen in price when salaries have not grown at the same level. In Spain we have a year-on-year inflation of around 3%. In Türkiye, on the same date, it is 33%, and that is leading thousands of Turks to travel to Greece every week, and not for pleasure. But to Lidl for make the purchase. Supermarket migration. In the mid-2010s, the Greek economy was a drama. The purchasing power is collapsed and the country’s debt crisis forced many households to squeeze every euro. Neighboring countries that also used the euro were no consolation, so they looked east: to Türkiye. Within the economic context, the lira was cheap and the euro strong, so many Greeks, especially from the islands, went to Turkish bazaars and supermarkets to buy clothes, utensils and food. The ferries they were bursting. It is estimated that the cost per visit was about 120 euros and, since filling the shopping cart in Turkey was considerably cheaper, the Greeks bought large shipments of cheese, oil, meat and sausages. One of the “supermarket corridors” was Lesbos-Ayvalik, and in the middle of the decade spoke up to 100,000 visits annually. Now, the tables have turned. The tragedy of the lyre. More than two decades of controversial policiesamong other factors, have led to the collapse of the lira. The cost of imports has multiplied and the inflation rate does not reach 80% of a few years agobut it has stagnated at that more than 30% that is suffocating the population. It is something that is disproportionately affecting food, including basic necessities. Now it is the Turks who have enormous problems when buying fresh productsmeats, cheese and oil. The situation does not seem to be changing in the short term due to massive debt, default rates (with the penalty that entails) and that price increase in subsistence products. It is the “typical”: products that increase a lot and stagnant salaries, the perfect combination to ruin the purchasing power of families. To Lidl in the neighboring country. What is happening? That this dynamic of cross-border purchases has been completely reversed. If a decade ago it was the Greeks who crossed the border, now it is the Turks who, with a euro that is not so buoyant, but enough to make it worth it compared to the prices in their local markets, flock to Greece to make that weekly purchase. In a report by Bloomberg There are concrete figures that compare a Lidl in Alexandroupolis (about 40 kilometers from the Turkish border) and a Turkish Carrefour. For example, minced meat costs 9.36 euros per kilo in Greece, compared to 12.10 in Türkiye. Greek sausages cost half as much as Turkish ones, Gouda cheese costs a third and oil makes one of the biggest differences: 10 euros per liter in Greece compared to 20 in Turkey. Social networks. Social networks are a loudspeaker – let them tell it to the influencers from Australian mines-, and those who visit Greek cities to make purchases share their experience through networks such as TikTok. The word spreads and more citizens are encouraged to take the leap. For Alejandrópolis, it represents an injection of money for both food businesses and restaurants. Bloomberg details how, after a day of shopping, Turks have a drink in Greek restaurants while sharing the experience. and it esteem that there are 3,000 Turks who are making this weekly trip. travel agencies. Because if we have to define this it is as a need, yes, but also with that word: experience. Because although it may be something private for a family to do, travel agencies are organizing tours to Greek cities, with groups of supermarket tourists who do not want to visit the city, but rather the Lidl on duty. For about 50 euros, buses loads of Turkish shoppers leave on Friday afternoons and arrive in Greek cities on Saturday morning and spend three and a half hours in the supermarkets. Then they spend some free time around the citythey can go to eat and, in the afternoon, on the way home with a full cart. The biggest annoyance? Apart from having to go to another country to buy because in yours the cost of living is very expensive, of course, it is the line at border control. How long will this last? Türkiye trust to halve inflation by 2026, but it will still remain extremely high. We will see how long this situation lasts, which, from January to September of this year, has carried to the fact that 6% of the Turks who visited Greece did so only with the aim of filling the car. Images | Zoshua Colah, Aldin Nasrun In Xataka | Private labels are having an unexpected effect on the food industry: the biggest price drop since 2014

There are a lot of people replacing the oil on ham toast with coffee and orange. And oddly enough, it makes sense.

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“You insist on putting olive oil on our Iberian ham toast and this is like putting sugar on top of a chocolate cake.” Víctor Sanchego did not know it, but with those words was about to make thousands of people prepare the strangest breakfast we’ve seen in a long time. How come you don’t have to add oil to the ham? Sanchego’s argument is that “the fat of Iberian ham contains more than 60% oleic acid, the same component of extra virgin olive oil.” Therefore, as happens in a perfumery when we have already worn several colognes, when we mix oil and ham at the same time our taste buds become saturated. “Instead of helping it enhance the flavor, it is subtracting it,” says the ham man. The reality, of course, is more complex. The general idea is true for Iberian ham: adding oil (especially if it is an intense and complex one) blurs the flavor profile and can actually oversaturate the bite. This, however, does not happen with the rest of the hams or with the rest of the oils. It is, so to speak, a borderline case. And a well-known one, at that. The normal thing when we talk about Iberian ham, in fact, is that it is recommended to enjoy it alone or with an accompaniment that cleanses the palate, such as a piece of neutral bread. Nobody usually proposes eating a plate of ham with a glass of EVOO on the side. The striking thing about all this is not that. The striking thing is the coffee with orange zest. Because Víctor Sanchego does not propose to eat ham with white bread, nothing like that. He suggests smearing the bread in a mixture of black coffee and orange peel, toasting it and, now, putting the Iberian ham on top. It’s a strange thing, yes; but we cannot define it as madness either. We said before that the ideal thing is to eat Iberian ham with something that ‘cleanses the palate’ and Sanchego’s idea goes directly there: coffee, due to its dry and intense qualities, allows us to enhance the organoleptic properties of our ham. Is it the most interesting decision? Well, the truth is that I couldn’t say. On a theoretical level, there could be dozens of similar combinations that fit better with our usual organoleptic repertoire; but without a doubt it is bold and many of those who try it (on social networks) They are delighted with the result. And that, without a doubt, is good news. Not because of the ham, not because of the coffee, not because of the orange zest. It’s good news because culinary Talibanism It is a practice that greatly impoverishes our understanding of food. And it limits us for no reason. Being open to ‘playing’ with products as iconic as Iberian ham is a symptom of a gastronomic maturity that, used well, can help us resolve problems in a much simpler way. big problems of the food security of the century. Image | Stephan Coudassot | Nathan Dumlao In Xataka | Why salads are the biggest source of food poisoning and what to do to avoid it

US soybean silos are bursting because China no longer buys them. The threat to the US is used oil

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The trade war and the exchange of tariffs between the US and China is having repercussions at many levels and agriculture is one of the sectors that is suffering the most from the consequences. Due to its size, China is one of the main importers of food products and is using this advantage to punish its rival. They are doing it with beef and also with soybeans. Now Trump has a threat to China. What has happened? China was the main US customer in the soybean business, but the trade war is reconfiguring the game board and soybeans are being one of China’s main weapons in this tug of war. The decision to stop buying soy is wreaking havoc in the US and now Trump pushes to stop buying another product from them: used cooking oil. The president has used your social network Thruth to describe China’s move with soybeans as “an act of economic hostility” and has assured that “we can easily produce cooking oil ourselves, we do not need to buy it from China.” Why it is important. The used cooking oil market moved 6.9 billion dollars in 2024. This oil is used to create biofuels, and with increased recycling and sustainability initiatives, the figure is expected to double by 2032. The United States is the world’s largest buyer of used oil and China is its largest supplier. According to data from the Department of Agriculture American, in 2024 the United States bought 43% of all the used oil produced by China. The soy problem. China was the US’s main customer in the soybean business. Until not long ago, they bought 40% of all production from them, a figure that was reduced to 20% in 2024. Despite the reduction, it was still a lot: 27 million tons and a value of 12.8 billion dollars. In 2025 only about 16 million tons have been imported until July, but this was just the beginning. Currently, China has further reduced imports of US soybeans, which aim to be practically zero in the last quarter of the year. Instead, China is doing business with other countries: Brazil and Argentina. Consequences. American farmers’ silos are bursting with soybeans. They count in the New York Times that states like North Dakota sold more than 70% of their production to China and now find that their best customer no longer buys from them. It is an enormous amount to be able to place before production goes to waste. The damage to the agriculture sector is enormous, with farms projecting losses of up to $400,000 this year. Tensions. A few days ago we learned of Beijing’s decision to consolidate its dominance over rare earthsa strategic sector in which they are the key player. The United States responded with a 100% tariff which is accumulated to those already imposed previously. Trump exploded on social Thruth against the measure, but in one of his usual changes of position, days later posted another message in which he lowered his tone: “Don’t worry about China, everything will be fine. The highly respected President Xi has only had a bad time.” The threat to stop buying used oil represents a new escalation of tension, although there are voices like that of Rush Doshi, Biden’s former security adviser, They believe that it will not have great consequences and in Beijing it will be seen as a sign of weakness. Image | Pexels 1, 2In Xataka | Holland has just declared war on China in the most important battle of the century: control of semiconductors

95% of plastics are manufactured with oil and gas. Japan has gotten a bacterium in place

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The world is flooded with plastic. There are microplastics even in our testicles. And the vast majority of them are manufactured from fossil fuels, which aggravates our dependence on these non -renewable resources. In Japan, a bioingenier team from the University of Kobe has found a promising solution. From Pet to PDCA. 95% of the plastics that we use in our day to day are manufactured from oil and gas (98%, if we add coal). In containers, textiles and to the interior of the cars we find a plastic known as polyethylene terephthalate or PET. The objective is to find a high performance alternative to the PET using renewable and biodegradable sources. Exists. It is called pyridineodycarboxylic acid (PDCA) and is a environment -respecting monomer that, when it is polymerized, has comparable physical properties or even superior to those of the PET. The problem, until now, had been to produce large -scale PDCA. Traditional methods to synthesize it are not very efficient and generate unwanted by -products. The solution: a bacterium. The novelty of Japanese research, published in the magazine Metabolic Engineeringis that it uses the cellular metabolism of the bacteria Escherichia coli To produce PDCA from glucose. Unlike the previous bioproduction methods, this makes the bacteria assimilate nitrogen and build the compound from beginning to end, eliminating the problem of by -products. While the existing bioproduction methods They had encountered limitations regarding the quantity and purity of the final compound, bioreactors based on this bacterium are capable of making a clean PDCA synthesis at more than seven times higher concentrations. And with abundant and cheap raw material. E. coli as factory operators. The process has not been exempt from difficulties. The largest bottleneck was to prevent one of the enzymes introduced into the bacteria to produce hydrogen peroxide, a highly reactive compound that deactivated the enzyme itself. The researchers managed to overcome this obstacle by refining the crops and adding a compound capable of eliminating hydrogen peroxide. Now they look for a more profitable solution for large -scale production. The future of bioplastic. Despite the pending challenge, this progress feels the foundations of large -scale plastic microbial synthesis. The practical implementation of bioreactors for the production of high performance PDCA is not only possible, but is a step closer to becoming a reality at an industrial scale. Image | USDA In Xataka | Scientists already investigate a solution to climate change and famines: eat us plastic

To Holy What Buy China so much oil now

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From the port of Singapore to the port of Houston. The entire energy market is asked these days the same question: Why is China buying oil as if there were no morning? The collection is so massive and sustained that analysts have more doubts than certainties. 90% of world oil. So far this year, China has bought about 150 million more barrels than you consume, publishes Bloomberg. At the current price, that is an invoice of 10,000 million dollars in raw that, For what we knowyou don’t need. To put the data in context, the International Energy Agency estimates that, in the second quarter of 2025, China has absorbed more than 90% of the storage of measurable crude oil worldwide. According to ReutersAugust’s surplus exceeded one million barrels per day. So that? It is the million dollar question and there is no clear answer. If we attend the Ockham razor, one of the simplest explanations would be that oil is “cheap.” Although prices fluctuate, in terms adjusted to inflation the barrel is at a price similar to that of 20 years ago: $ 64 per barrelaccording to the futures market of the WTI crude. An explanation is that Chinese government planners, known for their long -term vision, are taking advantage of a golden opportunity to fill their deposits at a reasonable cost. They have where to save it: China has been adding massive storage capabilities with the construction of new tanks and the entry into force of a new law. A lot of hole to fill. On January 1, the new Energy Law In China. For the first time, the country establishes as a legal obligation that both state and private companies maintain strategic reserves. In essence, the private sector now shares with the government the responsibility of storing raw. Consequently, there is still a lot of hole to fill. According to him Oil & Gas Journalgovernment strategic reserves are 80% of their capacity, while commercial storage tanks are only 50%. A “giant”. In case the above reasons were few, analysts have a range of geopolitical explanations. China buys approximately 20% of its oil from countries under western sanctions, mainly IranRussia and Venezuela. He knows that the United States could, at any time, harden control and hinder that flow. Another theory points to a diversification of its foreign exchange reserves. Instead of continuing to accumulate United States Treasury bonds, China could be investing part of that capital in a physical and strategic asset such as oil, a play similar to its constant purchases of gold, seeking to reduce its exposure to assets linked to the dollar. Do war drums sound? Here we enter the purest terrain of speculation, but for the most pessimistic analysts, this massive accumulation of reserves only makes sense if Beijing is preparing for a possible military conflict over Taiwan. In that scenario, having full energy pantries is not an option, it is a strategic need. How it affects us others. The sudden thirst for crude oil has a direct effect on the global market. According to the International Energy Agency, the world is directed downhill and without brakes to a surplus of “unsustainable” production of 2.5 million barrels per day for the second half of 2025, which could reach 3 million in 2026. Normally, a surplus thus would cause a collapse of prices. But, according to the analysis of Argus MediaChina is acting as a giant sponge that absorbs much of that excess supply and helps maintain the most stable prices than they should. In summary, either by pure commercial strategy, by legal imperative or in preparation for a conflicting future, China has become the “X factor” of the oil market. While continuing to buy, prices will have a floor. The day I step on the brake, the huge global surplus could flood the market. And no one, except perhaps a few in Beijing, know when that will happen. Image | Corey Seeman (Flickr, CC BY-C-SA 2.0) In Xataka | A European satellite has caught two ships transferring natural gas in the Mediterranean. The key: is Russian LNG

The countries that consumed the most oil last year, exposed in a graph that is a blow of reality

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Despite the renewable boomoil remains the source of energy that moves the world. Such is the level that, although the main oil companies The path of decarbonization began supporting renewable energies, a few months ago announced a change of coursediscovering that It was the best possible bet. The estimate is that the oil market continues to grow. And this chart illustrates what the largest oil consumers were during the past year. A Burrada. With data from Energy Institutethe graph prepared by Visual Capitalist Plasma the 25 countries with the highest daily oil consumption of 2024. The estimated total was 101.4 million barrels per day, and the graph leaves no doubt: the United States with 19 million barrels per day and China with 16.4 million leads. And a lot of distance from the rest. By colors, we can easily differentiate which area (Asian includes Australia) is the one that most consumes, and also see differences by region. For example, removed the monster that are the two powers, we see that Only a South American country appears In the top or that consumption in Europe, removing Russia, is quite even. The top 10> the others. The striking thing is that the first ten consumers (USA, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Canada and Germany) represented 61% of the global fee. Among the first 20 countries, that figure increases to 80% and, in general, an annual 0.7% increase worldwide was observed. Because, as we said, despite the impulse of renewables, oil remains the main source of energy worldwide. A few months ago, the IEA (the International Energy Agency) reviewed its world supply forecasts for this year, projecting an increase of 1.6 million barrels per day and estimated that the oil demand in 2025 would be 103.9 million barrels per day. Where is it consumed? The case of India is tremendous, since in the last decade it has grown to one of the fastest rates worldwide, with 3.8% per year. And, if we see what the main oils spend on that oil, we see that the United States, for example, uses 70% of its 19 million barrels per day in the transport sector, followed by 24% in industrial use as raw material. Just 3% is consumed in residential and commercial use. In China, se esteem that half of the oil is used in transport and another large part in the industrial sector. Now, to generate electricity, although it remains a country very dependent on oil (even after Huge impulse to renewables), In its energy mix, oil is marginal, prioritizing coalthe Hydroelectricthe nuclear and the mentioned renewable. The future. And that dependence on oil is not only not being renewable, but it will go to more. If a few months ago IEA projected that increase of 1.6 million barrels per day, now OPEC+ says, as we read in Reuterswhich has more manga and can increase crude oil. And, in addition, China is also focused on becoming a Important actor in oil production. In the end, It is a very volatile market that depends on both internal tensions and conflicts and the not few active wars at the moment. But what seems clear is that, when we have the complete data of 2025, those 101.4 million barrels of last year will have been exceeded. And it will be interesting to see where the Indian brand leaves. In Xataka | How much electricity produces each country with renewable energy, exposed in a graphic

Far from being in decline, oil companies are doing business thanks to AI

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Artificial intelligence is not only transforming technology, it is also redefining the worldwide energy economy. The most coveted resource is no longer oil, but the electricity necessary to train AI models and feed gigantic data centers. In fact, great technological ones, such as Microsoft, Millions of dollars have invested In data infrastructure, more than double what exxon and Chevron together plan to allocate to capital investments. Megawatts have become the new black gold. The turn of the service oil companies. Petroleum service companies are going through a period of weakness. The number of land platforms in the United States has fallen since 2022, According to Enverus data cited by Wall Street Journal. Given this panorama, several firms – Solaris Energy Infrastructure, Liberty Energy, Atlas Energy Solutions, Prpetro and Profrac – have found an unexpected client: the great technological ones. Its proposal is to reuse the experience acquired in the fracking to install independent electricity generation units, fed with natural gas, directly next to the data centers. The most visible case is Solaris, which has been associated with XAI to operate 900 megawatts of gas turbines in Memphis destined for the Colossus 2 supercomputer. Unlike large oil companies, which seek to place their own gas in data centers, these service companies do not produce fuel. His commitment is to take advantage of his equipment and technical knowledge to transform from off-Grid electricity suppliers. In other words, while Majors try to give way to their production, services reinvent themselves to survive in a depressed market. Position yourself quickly. While electric companies take up to four years to give access to the network, modular gas units that install these firms may be operational in less than two. In a sector that lives a counterreloj career to expand capacity, that difference is decisive. In addition, executives such as Liberty Energy highlight the certainty of prices offered by its generators against the volatility of the electricity supply, According to Wall Street Journal. Downward pressure in oil. The OPEC+ policy also helps explain the turn of American companies. The poster, led by Saudi and Russia Arabia, is pumping more crude than the market demands, which keeps prices under pressure. As we have explained in Xatakathe strategy seeks to gain market share and, incidentally, favors the United States with cheaper gasoline that contains inflation. But this movement has a collateral effect: weakens the American fracking, which needs quotes of between $ 60 and $ 65 per barrel to be profitable, and pushes many of these companies to look for new customers, such as data centers. Geopolitical volatility adds uncertainty. The last episode was the Israeli attack in Doha against Hamas leaders, which stirred the markets and forced the White House to give guarantees to caste to avoid an escalation. Although the immediate impact on the supply was limited, the episode recalled the fragile of the current balance. In the opinion of the analyst Javier Blasbeyond specific tensions, what we live is not an accelerated substitution of fossil fuels, but a ENERGY ADDITION: Renewables grow, but oil and gas continue to increase their weight in the mix, which prolongs the dependence of these sources and reinforces their role in the energy fever that unleashes artificial intelligence. Beyond. The phenomenon goes far beyond oil services in the United States. Startups like Crusoe Energy They have gone from mine bitcoin to lift data centers next to gas wells to take advantage of a fuel that was designed before. The firm already participates in the Openai, SoftBank and Oracle Stargate megaproject with 360 megawatts of capacity. Large oil companies are also looking for their site: Exxonmobil and Chevron They are developing off-Grid plants With carbon capture systems, while in Europe the Italian eni promotes “green” artificial intelligence and CO₂ storage businesses supported by its HPC5 supercomputer. The movement even reaches turbine manufacturers, such as Siemens Energy, that has doubled orders Thanks to the data centers boom. For its part, the unavoidable geopolitical dimension must be taken into account: countries like Russia, Iran and Qatar They concentrate more than half of world reserves of natural gas. In a context in which AI demands a constant and reliable electricity supply, this fuel is consolidated as a strategic asset, key not only for the technological industry, but also for the balance of global energy power. An electric future, but fossil. The figures point to accelerated growth. As we have detailed in Xatakathe demand for gas for data centers will increase by 47 GW until 2030. In the United States, the electrical consumption of these facilities could triple, from 290 TWH in 2024 to more than 700 SWH in 2030. The International Energy Agency, According to Javier Blasprepare scenarios where oil and gas consumption will not reach its peak, but will continue to grow up to 2050. Natural gas, in particular, remains the most reliable source to meet demand peaks. Not everything is opportunities. How Wall Street Journal warnsmodular generation projects have several limitations. Its temporal character is the first: many data centers could resort to these solutions such as a patch for a few years and then replace them with renewables or even nuclear reactors. To this is added the economic aspect: although the modular turbines are installed quickly, they are less efficient than the large combined cycle plants, which implies greater fuel and replacement costs. There is also the risk of social rejection, as has already been seen in Memphis, where the installation of XAI turbines has generated protests on air pollution. Finally, the ease of replicating this technology can make it a very competitive market, with narrow margins and little space for sustainable advantages. The new black gold. The AI ​​has changed the rules of the energy game. Startups, turbine manufacturers, petroleter majors and fracking suppliers are converging towards the same objective: feeding the electrical appetite of data centers. In this new scenario, what was once oil today are megawatts. The battle for who will provide that reliable and abundant energy … Read more

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