Connect with us

Published

on

Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco.

Adam Galica | CNBC

The chief executive of Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco on Wednesday attributed the ongoing depression of oil prices to recessionary fears and economic headwinds, painting a more optimistic landscape for demand to come.

“This is in a year where there [are] economic headwinds, where there [are] recessionary signs everywhere … China’s still picking up,” Aramco’s Amin Nasser said at a Vienna conference of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries, in answer to a CNBC question on the continuing low level of oil prices.

Global crude oil prices have stayed tightly rage-bound just above the $75-per-barrel threshold despite a spate of additional voluntary cuts that some OPEC members are implementing until the end of 2024.

On Monday, heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia — who lead the group of OPEC countries and its allies, known as OPEC+ — crowed this effort with pledges for additional declines. Riyadh intends to extend a 1-million-barrel-per-day voluntary cut initially declared for July into August, while Moscow has committed to lower its exports by 500,000 barrels per day next month.

Yet prices for Brent futures with September expiry were just $76.76 per barrel at 2:28 p.m. London time, up by 51 cents per barrel from the previous settlement.

Aramco chief blames recessionary signals for oil drop, says China demand will pick up

Nasser signaled that the demand picture is likely to improve, stressing the potential of China, the world’s largest importer of crude oil.

“When things picks up, and [the] economy starts improving, China starts picking up, jet fuel picks up … we are optimistic about the future,” he said, noting that the demand for the jet fuel supplies that are integral to the aviation sector remain below levels experienced before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He did not specify a timeline for this demand recovery, but Paris-based energy watchdog the International Energy Agency in May flagged “tighter market balances we anticipate in the second half of the year, when demand is expected to eclipse supply by almost 2 mb/d.”

Market watchers have been on the particular lookout for demand improvements from China, whose consumption was limited by zero-Covid measures before beginning to resurge since the start of the year.

“We are making bigger investments. Our guidance is $45 to $55 billion for this year, that’s growing in leaps. So that shows our confidence in the future,” Nasser said, referencing Aramco’s capital expenditure for 2023.

Nasser has historically echoed the position of several OPEC+ officials that dual investment in fossil fuels and decarbonization is necessary to avoid energy supply deficits throughout the green transition. This stands in contrast to the position of the IEA, which in a landmark report in May 2021 called for no new oil and gas projects if the world is to reach net zero by 2050.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the climate challenge,” OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais said on Wednesday at the start of the OPEC conference. “Of course, as an industry we want to ensure that we have an emissions-free future.”

Continue Reading

Environment

750W e-bikes in Europe? Discussions underway to update e-bike laws

Published

on

By

750W e-bikes in Europe? Discussions underway to update e-bike laws

The e-bike industry in the West has long been a tale of two territories. North Americans enjoy higher speeds and power limits for their electric bicycles while Europeans are held to much stricter (i.e. slower and lower) speed and power limits. However, things might change based on current discussions on rewriting European e-bike regulations.

New power levels are not totally without precedent, either. The UK briefly considered doubling its own e-bike power limit from 250 watts (approximately 1/3 horsepower) to 500 watts, though the move was ultimately abandoned.

But this time, the call for more power is coming from within the house – i.e., Germany. The Germans are the undisputed leaders and trend setters in the European e-bike market, accounting for around two million sales of e-bikes per year. Home to leading e-bike drive makers like Bosch, the country has yet another advantage when it comes to making – or regulating – waves in the industry.

And while there aren’t any pending law changes, the largest German trade organization ZIV (Zweirad-Industrie-Verband), which is highly influential in achieving such changes, is now discussing what it believes could be pertinent updates to current EU electric bike regulations.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Some of the new regulations involve creating rules maxing out power at levels such as 400% or 600% of the human pedaling input. But a key component of the proposed plan includes changing the present day power limit of e-bikes from 250W of continuous power at the motor to 750W of peak power at the drive wheel.

The difference includes some nuance, since continuous power is often considered more of a nominal figure, meaning nearly every e-bike motor in Europe wears a “250W” or less sticker despite often outputting a higher level of peak power. Even Bosch, which has to walk the tight and narrow as a leader in the European e-bike drive market, shared that its newest models of motors are capable of peak power ratings in the 600W level. That’s still far from the commonly 1,000W to 1,300W peak power seen in US e-bike motors, but offers a nice boost over an actual 250W motor.

Other new regulations up for discussion include proposals to limit fully-loaded cargo e-bike weights to either 250 kg (550 lb) for two-wheelers or 300 kg (660 lb) for e-bikes with more than two wheels. As road.cc explained, ZIV also noted that, “separate framework conditions and parameters must be defined for cargo bikes weighing more than 300 kg (see EN 17860-4:2025) as they differ significantly from EPACs and bicycles in their dynamics, design and operation.” Such heavy-duty cargo e-bikes, which often more closely resemble small delivery vans than large cargo bikes, are becoming more common in the industry and have raised concerns about cargo e-bike bloat, especially in dedicated cycling paths.

It’s too early to say whether European e-bike regulations will actually change, but the fact that key industry voices with the power to influence policy are openly advocating for it suggests that new rules for the European market are a real possibility.

ride1up prodigy v2 electric bike brose motor

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

China overhauls EV charging: 100,000 ultra-fast public stations by 2027

Published

on

By

China overhauls EV charging: 100,000 ultra-fast public stations by 2027

China just laid out a plan to roll out over 100,000 ultra-fast EV charging stations by 2027 – and they’ll all be open to the public.

The National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) joint notice, issued on Monday, asks local authorities to put together construction plans for highway service areas and prioritize the ones that see 40% or more usage during holiday travel rushes.

The NDRC notes that China’s ultra-fast EV charging infrastructure needs upgrading as more 800V EVs hit the road. Those high-voltage platforms can handle super-fast charging in as little as 10 to 30 minutes, but only if the charging hardware is up to speed.

China had 31.4 million EVs on the road at the end of 2024 – nearly 9% of the country’s total vehicle fleet. But charging access is still catching up. As of May 2025, there were 14.4 million charging points, or roughly 1 for every 2.2 EVs.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

To keep the grid running smoothly, China wants new chargers to be smart, with dynamic pricing to incentivize off-peak charging and solar and storage to power the charging stations.

To make the business side work, the government is pushing for 10-year leases for charging station operators, and it’s backing the buildout with local government bonds.

The NDRC emphasized that the DC fast chargers built will be open to the public. This is a big deal because a lot of fast chargers in China aren’t. For example, BYD’s new megawatt chargers aren’t open to third-party vehicles.

As of September 2024, China had expanded its charging infrastructure to 11.4 million EV chargers, but only 3.3 million were public.

Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles


If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Two charged in $650 million global crypto scam that promised 300% returns

Published

on

By

Two charged in 0 million global crypto scam that promised 300% returns

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as “Main Justice,” is seen behind the podium in the Department’s headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Federal prosecutors have charged two men in connection with a sprawling cryptocurrency investment scheme that defrauded victims out of more than $650 million.

The indictment, unsealed in the District of Puerto Rico, accuses Michael Shannon Sims, 48, of Georgia and Florida, and Juan Carlos Reynoso, 57, of New Jersey and Florida, of operating and promoting OmegaPro, an international crypto multi-level marketing scheme that promised investors 300% returns over 16 months through foreign exchange trading.

“This case exposes the ruthless reality of modern financial crime,” said the Internal Revenue Service’s Chief of Criminal Investigations Guy Ficco. “OmegaPro promised financial freedom but delivered financial ruin.”

From 2019 to 2023, Sims, Reynoso and their co-conspirators allegedly lured thousands of victims worldwide to purchase “investment packages” using cryptocurrency, falsely claiming the funds would be safely managed by elite forex traders, the Department of Justice said.

Prosecutors said the pair flaunted their wealth through social media and extravagant events — including projecting the OmegaPro logo onto the Burj Khalifa, Dubai’s tallest building — to convince investors the operation was legitimate.

A video posted to the company’s LinkedIn page shows guests in evening attire posing for photos and watching the spectacle in Dubai.

Read more CNBC tech news

In reality, authorities allege, OmegaPro was a pyramid-style fraud.

When the company later claimed it had suffered a hack, the defendants told victims they had transferred their funds to a new platform called Broker Group, the DOJ said. Users were never able to withdraw their money from either platform.

The two men face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The Justice Department, FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations led the multiagency investigation, with help from international partners.

Continue Reading

Trending